Chapter 376: Chief Consultant of the Journey to the West Production Team

Seeing her son's guest arrive, Xu Shufen took out her lunch box and packed the dishes: "You eat, I'll be off."

Li Chengru hurriedly said: "Auntie, don't go— you went to so much trouble preparing this whole table, join us for a bite."

Xu Shufen lifted her lunch box: "I still have to take lunch to my old man— he can't stand the canteen food."

Yang Jie sighed: "Teacher Wei, your parents have such a good relationship."

Li Chengru said: "Old Wei's a smooth talker, not an ordinary man— plenty of good things in this house were brought back by him."

Wei Ming smiled: "Old Li, you've done your homework."

Li Chengru quickly replied: "I didn't go snooping— I saw it once when I helped move stuff."

Wei Ming pointed to the table under the tree in the courtyard: "Please sit, eat while we talk."

A small square table, four people each on one side— Wang Zhongqiu surveyed Wei Ming's private courtyard: small in area, but neatly and elegantly arranged, free of the cramped chaos of alleyway courtyards, surely comfortable to live in— clearly the abode of a refined soul, though the row of cabbage and scallions looked oddly out of place.

"My mother is from Sichuan— I don't know if these dishes suit everyone's taste."

Yang Jie: "They'll suit me fine— I'm from Sichuan too. Grew up in Shanghai, moved back to Sichuan later."

She then introduced the man beside her: "This is my husband, Wang Zhongqiu, from Hubei— he's our cinematographer on the Journey to the West crew."

Wei Ming nodded, showing no surprise, only smiling: "Have we met before?"

Wang Zhongqiu: "Teacher Wei, you've got a good memory— I was the photographer at Satoya Masashi's concert."

"Pleasure to meet you." Wei Ming shook his hand.

He wasn't surprised because he already knew their relationship— later, when he entered the film industry, he'd crossed paths with Wang Zhongqiu and was fully aware of their age-gap romance.

But to Li Chengru, Teacher Wei's lack of surprise was perfectly normal— they shared the same interests.

At that moment, Yang Jie had taken a bite of mapo tofu and exclaimed: "What I said earlier was politeness— now I speak truly: your mother's cooking is superb."

Wei Ming added: "If I hadn't stopped her, my mom would've opened her own private restaurant."

Li Chengru: "Private restaurants make good money now— though of course, nothing compares to your new Tian Di."

Yang Jie was stunned again: "You own New Tian Di too?"

"Opened with a friend— I'm just a silent partner." Wei Ming opened the wine and drank as they talked.

"You're shooting Journey to the West— your courage is admirable, but the difficulties are obvious. Tell me, what can little Wei do for you?"

Yang Jie didn't beat around the bush: "We heard Teacher Wei knows Journey to the West inside out, so we'd like you to join our scriptwriting team."

Wei Ming was direct: "I can't— I'm someone who can't stay in one place. Next month I'm going to Hong Kong, next year I'll be traveling even more— I don't want to hold you up."

A scriptwriter must be available whenever the director needs them— Wei Ming's words were objectively true.

In truth, Yang Jie didn't really want Wei Ming as scriptwriter— she didn't want someone too dominant. He was famous young, with immense domestic and international prestige— she feared she couldn't control him, even her aunt before her divorce would've struggled.

So hearing this, Yang Jie added: "Could you at least write a few songs for Journey to the West? I'm sure your music would greatly enhance this work."

Wei Ming thought writing songs was possible, but pointless— Yan Su and Xu Jingqing's collaborations were already perfect. Journey to the West had already produced countless classics, and even if he composed them early, he'd earn little.

He shook his head: "If it's just writing a few songs, that's overkill."

Wang Zhongqiu nodded— given Wei Ming's current achievements, he had every right to say that.

Yang Jie knew Wei Ming had turned her down again, but he seemed to have something bigger in mind.

Clever Li Chengru quickly said: "Of course— Teacher Wei's talents go far beyond that, but you're still creating, and you've got your Peking University job— you can't fully commit to our Journey to the West crew. What's the solution?"

He'd set the stage— now it was Wei Ming's turn to speak.

Wei Ming smiled: "I can take the title of consultant— an unofficial member. I can offer advice on casting and locations, or if the crew runs into any problems big or small, you can always vent to me— if I can help, I'll do my best."

Yang Jie thought: Perfect— involved, but won't undermine her authority.

Li Chengru cheered: "Great! Teacher Wei's well-traveled and well-connected— he'll save us so much trouble."

But Yang Jie still wanted to test whether this so-called consultant was truly reliable.

So she asked: "The most crucial role in Journey to the West is Sun Wukong. What suggestions do you have?"

Wei Ming: "I can't directly name someone— that wouldn't be appropriate. But I can give you a few options: Dong Zhihua from the Chinese Opera School—he played the Monkey King in Peking Opera's 'Rao Tian Gong,' his physique, age, and skill are all excellent. Or Liu Liuchang, the Southern Monkey King— he's old, but his younger son, Liu Xiaoling, has trained since childhood under his father, looks and acts like a monkey, and is the right age."

At that moment, Wang Zhongqiu asked: "Is there a Northern Monkey King too?"

Wei Ming pointed at Li Chengru: "Old Li, tell me why I didn't recommend the Northern Monkey King."

This was opera insider knowledge— Li Chengru knew it cold: "Because Li Wanchun's two sons are the wrong age?"

"Correct. One's over forty, the other over thirty— too old for Sun Wukong. Plus, adapting Peking Opera performance to film is extremely difficult."

Yang Jie nodded— this young Teacher Wei clearly knew his stuff.

She asked: "Who do you think is right for the White Bone Spirit?"

"Liu Xiaoqing," Wei Ming said directly.

Li Chengru nearly spat out his soup— you really think that far.

But Wei Ming had thought exactly what Yang Jie had— she too felt Liu Xiaoqing had the perfect evil queen aura, and this greatly boosted her confidence in him.

In fact, in the original timeline, the White Bone Spirit had indeed been offered to Liu Xiaoqing— she was willing, but demanded to play all three roles: the spirit, the maiden, and the old woman— a triple role pushing her limits.

Yang Jie refused, and since Liu Xiaoqing had too many film offers, she had no time to negotiate— they chose someone else: Yang Chunxia.

Even that was a trick— they promised her she could play the Queen of the Women's Kingdom too, and only then did she agree. In the end, Zhu Lin got the Queen role.

"But will Liu Xiaoqing agree? She's such a big star," Wang Zhongqiu voiced Li Chengru's concern.

Wei Ming said: "I can invite her personally— she'll give me face."

After all, 'The Last Empress' hadn't even finalized its lead actress yet, and I'll tell Liu Xiaoqing that Zhu Lin and Gong Ying will both be in it— knowing her personality, she'll definitely want to go head-to-head with the Southern Gong Ying and Northern Zhu Lin in the same drama.

Li Chengru laughed: "See? That's exactly why we need Teacher Wei as consultant— not just Liu Xiaoqing, he could even bring in Zhu Lin and Gong Ying."

Yang Jie did want to gather the most beautiful actresses for Journey to the West, but would having both Gong Ying and Zhu Lin in the same cast be too dreamlike? Wouldn't that be too much for viewers?

Wei Ming said: "I actually do have that idea— I think Zhu Lin is perfect for the Queen of the Women's Kingdom. I'm still unsure about Gong Ying."

"Her? The Queen of the Women's Kingdom?" Yang Jie thought— she couldn't picture it, since she'd never seen Zhu Lin in historical costume.

Seeing her hesitate, Wei Ming rose: "Director Yang, wait a moment."

He went inside and brought out a photo of Zhu Lin on the set of 'Du Shiniang.'

"Director Yang, take a look at Zhu Lin's historical costume."

Yang Jie studied it closely: "Oh my, this outfit radiates nobility— what film is this from?"

"Du Shiniang."

"This doesn't look like Du Shiniang— this looks exactly like my Queen of the Women's Kingdom!"

This was the issue with the 'Du Shiniang' crew's costume and makeup— the courtesan had no trace of vulgarity, appearing more like a cultured scholar.

Yang Jie still doubted whether Wei Ming could persuade these two to join, but Li Chengru thought it would be easier than inviting Liu Xiaoqing.

Of course, inviting Liu Xiaoqing might be just as easy— he just didn't know. But didn't Liu Xiaoqing have a husband?!

Next, Wei Ming suggested Gong Ying's adopted son Wei Xi play Red Boy— this proposal won unanimous approval from the other three.

After all, finding a seasoned child actor for Red Boy's age range was hard— Teacher Wei Xi was perfect!

But when Wei Ming mentioned Erlang Shen, Xingyin happened to come over begging for bones.

Seeing Wei Ming seriously studying his own dog, Director Yang hurriedly said: "Teacher Wei, you can't let Xiao Tianquan play— Xiao Tianquan is a slender hound! He's too stocky!"

Wei Ming tossed a bone: "Director Yang, you misunderstand— I'm wondering if he can play the Lion Spirit."

"Pfft!"

"Hahaha~"

After the joke, they turned to discussing locations.

Wei Ming pulled out photos he'd taken in Yunnan, Sichuan, and Jiangsu— several caught Yang Jie's eye, and she eagerly asked where they were.

Someone at the station had said: Why leave Beijing to shoot Journey to the West? There are plenty of mountains in the suburbs— that's enough.

Yang Jie only wanted to say: Pfft!

Don't you want to film our nation's magnificent landscapes? You want me to shoot around Beijing? That stuff won't look good even if you pray to heaven!

Never cut the budget for outdoor shooting.

For places Wei Ming didn't have photos of— Huangshan, Huangguoshu Waterfall, Qingcheng Mountain, Zhangjiajie—he recommended them from memory. Wang Zhongqiu had already pulled out a notebook and started writing.

Yang Jie declared: We've found the right consultant— truly well-traveled and knowledgeable.

'Dream of the Red Chamber' had a whole army of Redology scholars to consult on the script, so Yang Jie hadn't planned to hire a consultant for Journey to the West— but Wei Ming appeared just in time, saving them countless headaches.

Wei Ming: I just didn't want to suffer through waiting for updates.

But locations and casting weren't the biggest delays— money was the key.

By the end of the meal, Wei Ming wiped his mouth and asked: "Director Yang, how much funding has the station allocated for the Journey to the West crew?"

"They've said three million, but no official document yet."

It would be three million— Wei Ming knew that. Two million less than 'Dream of the Red Chamber,' and both productions would end up underfunded, both forced to seek outside sponsorship.