Chapter 376

Seeing that her son's guests had arrived, Xu Shufen took out her lunch box and packed some dishes: "You all eat, I'm leaving first."

Li Chengru hurriedly said: "Auntie, don't go. You've worked so hard to prepare such a big table of food for us, stay and eat together."

Xu Shufen lifted her lunch box: "I still have to deliver lunch to our Lao Lao Lao Wei; he isn't used to the cafeteria food at his workplace."

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

Li Chengru said: "Old Uncle Wei is a smooth talker and no ordinary person; quite a few of the good things in this house were collected by him."

Wei Ming laughed: "Old Li, you've done your homework quite thoroughly."

Li Chengru hurriedly said: "I didn't ask around on purpose; I just happened to see it once when I was helping move things."

Wei Ming pointed to the table under the tree in the courtyard: "Everyone, please sit. Let's chat while we eat."

At a small square table, the four of them each occupied a side. Wang Zhongqiu looked over Wei Ming's private little courtyard; it wasn't large, but it was kept very elegantly, without the cramped clutter of those hutong courtyards, and it must be very comfortable to live in—it looked like the residence of a refined scholar at a glance, though that patch of Chinese cabbage and green onions seemed slightly out of place.

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

Yang Jie: "They certainly will. I am also from Sichuan; I grew up in the Magic City as a child, and returned to Sichuan when I was older."

Immediately, she introduced the person next to her, Wang Zhongqiu: "This is my husband, Wang Zhongqiu, a Hubei native, and also the cinematographer for our 'Journey to the West' crew."

Wei Ming nodded, not looking surprised in the slightest, just smiling: "Have we met before?"

Wang Zhongqiu: "Wei Laoshi has a good memory. I was the cinematographer at the Sada Masashi concert."

"A pleasure, a pleasure." Wei Ming shook hands with him.

He wasn't surprised because he had long known about their relationship, and later, after entering the film and television industry, he had crossed paths with Wang Zhongqiu, so he was naturally clear about their May-December romance.

However, in Li Chengru's view, it was perfectly normal for Wei Laoshi not to be surprised, because he and Wang Zhongqiu shared the same hobbies.

At this moment, Yang Jie had already taken a bite of the Mapo Tofu, and she exclaimed in surprise: "What I said just now was just polite talk, but what I'm saying now is the truth—your mother's culinary skills are truly top-notch."

Wei Ming also boasted: "If I hadn't stopped her, my mother would definitely have opened a private restaurant."

Li Chengru: "Private restaurants are very profitable now. Of course, they definitely can't compare to your Dongfang Xintiandi, Wei Laoshi."

Yang Jie was startled again: "Dongfang Xintiandi is also yours?"

"Opened in partnership with friends; I'm just a hands-off manager." As he spoke, Wei Ming opened the wine, chatting while they drank.

"Director Yang, your courage in wanting to film 'Journey to the West' is truly admirable, but the difficulties are also obvious. Tell me, what do you need little Wei for?"

Yang Jie didn't beat around the bush: "I hear Wei Laoshi is very knowledgeable about 'Journey to the West,' so I want to invite you to participate in our screenwriting work."

Wei Ming was also direct: "I can't do it. I'm a person who can't stay in one place; I'm going to Hong Kong next month, and I might have to run to many places next year. I'm afraid I'll delay your important business."

Screenwriting requires being on call whenever the director wants to find you, and what Wei Ming said was also an objective problem.

Actually, Yang Jie didn't want Wei Ming to be the screenwriter that much; she still didn't want to use someone too strong-willed. Wei Ming had become famous young and had extremely high prestige both domestically and abroad, and she was afraid she wouldn't be able to handle him—even if her aunt hadn't divorced, it would still be a struggle.

So hearing Wei Ming say this, Yang Jie added: "Then writing a few songs for us related to Journey to the West is still okay, right? I believe your music can definitely add luster to this work."

Wei Ming felt that writing them was certainly possible, but it didn't have much meaning, because the collaboration between Yan Su, Xu Jingqing, and others was already perfect. Journey to the West had given birth to countless classics, and even if Wei Ming created them in advance, there wasn't much money in it.

He shook his head: "If you only let me write a few songs, then I feel it would be a waste of talent."

Wang Zhongqiu nodded; with Wei Ming's current achievements, he was qualified to say such things.

Yang Jie knew that Wei Ming had rejected her again, but he seemed to have even bigger plans.

The little smarty-pants Li Chengru hurriedly said: "That's for sure. Wei Laoshi's ability is definitely more than this, but you still have to create, and you have work at Peking University, so you can't fully invest in our Journey to the West crew. What should we do about this?"

He set up this line, which was to let Wei Ming say it himself.

Wei Ming laughed: "I can hold a consultant title, belonging to the extra-staff personnel, providing the crew with some suggestions on actors and location scouting, or if the crew has any other big or small difficulties, you can all vent to me. As long as I can help, I will do my utmost."

When Yang Jie heard this, this was good—he would manage things, but it wouldn't affect her authority.

Li Chengru directly cheered: "This is good. Wei Laoshi is well-informed and has many friends; he can help us save a lot of trouble."

However, Yang Jie also wanted to test whether this so-called consultant, Wei Ming, was reliable.

So she asked: "The most critical character in 'Journey to the West' is Sun Wukong. Does Wei Laoshi have any good suggestions?"

Wei Ming: "If I designate who should play him, that's a bit inappropriate. I can give Director Yang a few choices. One is Dong Zhihua from the China Opera School; he performed in the Peking Opera 'Havoc in Heaven,' and his posture, age, and skills are all quite good. Another is the Southern Monkey King, Liu Lingtong. He is older, but his youngest son, Liu Xiaolingtong, has followed his father to learn the craft since childhood; he has that monkey-like quality, and his age is also suitable."

At this time, Wang Zhongqiu asked: "Then are there also Northern Monkey Kings?"

Wei Ming pointed to Li Chengru: "Old Li, you tell them why I didn't recommend the Northern Monkey Kings."

This was a matter belonging to the opera circles, and Li Chengru was very clear about it: "Is it because the two sons of Old Master Li Wanchun are not the right age?"

"Right. One is in his forties, the other in his thirties; it would be a bit strenuous to play Sun Wukong, and the difficulty of transforming the Peking Opera performance mode into film and television is not small."

Yang Jie nodded; this little Wei Laoshi really had some know-how.

She asked again: "Then who do you think is suitable for the Bai Gujing?"

"Liu Xiaoqing." Wei Ming said directly.

Li Chengru, who was drinking soup, almost spat it out; you really dare to think.

However, Wei Ming and Yang Jie thought of the same thing; she also felt that Liu Xiaoqing had the temperament of that female demon, which greatly increased her confidence in Wei Ming.

In fact, in his previous life, the Bai Gujing role had indeed been offered to Liu Xiaoqing, and Liu Xiaoqing was also willing to come, but she requested to play the Bai Gujing while also playing the young girl and the old woman that the Bai Gujing transformed into—one person playing three roles, challenging her own limits.

Yang Jie didn't agree, and coupled with the fact that Liu Xiaoqing had too many film contracts and no time to mess around with her, she had to choose someone else and found Yang Chunxia.

Even that was tricked into it; she promised her that while playing the Bai Gujing, she could also play the Queen of the Daughter Kingdom, and only then was she willing to come over. As a result, the Queen was eventually chosen to be Zhu Lin.

"But would Liu Xiaoqing agree? She is such a big star?" Wang Zhongqiu voiced Li Chengru's concerns for him.

Wei Ming said: "I can come forward to invite her; she will give me face."

After all, the female lead for "Behind the Curtain" hadn't been officially decided yet, and he would tell Liu Xiaoqing that both Zhu Lin and Gong Xue would be participating. Based on her personality, she would definitely want to compete across the air with Southern Gong Xue and Northern Zhu Lin in the same play.

Li Chengru laughed: "Look, this is the necessity of inviting Wei Laoshi to be this consultant. Never mind Liu Xiaoqing, he could even invite Northern Zhu Lin and Southern Gong Xue."

Yang Jie indeed had the heart to recruit all the great beauties under heaven for Journey to the West, but would it be too dreamy for both Gong Xue and Zhu Lin to join the "Journey to the West" crew? There was no need to let the audience eat that well, right?

Wei Ming, however, said: "I actually do have this idea. I think Zhu Lin is very suitable for the Queen of the Daughter Kingdom; I just haven't decided on Gong Xue yet."

"Her, the Queen of the Daughter Kingdom?" Yang Jie thought for a moment, but couldn't quite imagine it; after all, she hadn't seen Zhu Lin perform in a costume drama.

Seeing her hesitate, Wei Ming stood up and said: "Director Yang, please wait a moment."

He returned to the room and took a photo of Zhu Lin taken on the set of "Du Shiniang."

"Director Yang, take a look at how Zhu Lin's costume appearance is."

Yang Jie examined it carefully: "Oh my, this outfit is noble and imposing. What was this filmed for?"

"Du Shiniang."

"This doesn't look like Du Shiniang at all; it looks like my Queen of the Daughter Kingdom!"

This was the problem with the costume, makeup, and props of the "Du Shiniang" crew; the courtesan didn't have a hint of vulgarity, and she really looked more like a talented woman.

Yang Jie still had some doubts about whether Wei Ming could persuade these two to appear, but Li Chengru felt that this was easier than inviting Liu Xiaoqing.

Of course, it might be just as easy to invite Liu Xiaoqing; he just wasn't very clear about it. However, Liu Xiaoqing seemed to have a husband, right?!

Next, Wei Ming proposed letting Gong Xue's designated son, Wei Xi, play the Red Boy. This proposal received the unanimous approval of the other three.

After all, it wasn't easy to find a veteran actor in the Red Boy age range, and Wei Laoshi Xi fit perfectly!

However, when Wei Ming mentioned Erlang Shen, Yinxing happened to come over to ask for a bone.

Seeing Wei Ming seriously looking at his own dog, Director Yang hurriedly said: "Wei Laoshi, you really can't let it play the role of the Howling Xiao Tianquan. The Howling Xiao Tianquan is a slender hound! It's too sturdy!"

Wei Ming threw a bone: "Director Yang, you misunderstood. I was seeing if it could play a lion demon."

"Pfft!"

And it was "translated and written" by the original author himself, but the other party had lived overseas for 30 years, and his Chinese had already degraded somewhat. At this time, it was being polished and revised by classical literature expert Shen Yucheng.

That's right, this book, which Gao Zhiwu loved the most, was actually an English work originally. As soon as it was released this year, it caused a warm response in the American academic circle and was cited as a textbook by many prestigious universities.

The stories of the Ming Dynasty were quite interesting. Wei Ming put down the book. It had been a month since he returned from Frankfurt, and he felt that his speed of reading English originals was getting faster and faster.

In this month, Wei Ming didn't write too many things. At this moment, he wanted to continue to try English creation.

He took out a new notebook, and a picture of a spaceship flashed in his mind. That's you!

In the evening, Wei Ming ate at school, and after eating, he strolled to the boys' dormitory to chat with the graduating classmates, occasionally hearing "Wish You a Smooth Journey" coming from the room next door.

"Old Pan, what did you just say?" Wei Ming asked Pan Weiming, who was from the '78 Chinese department, Liu Zhenyun's classmate, and the current student union president. ===== CHAPTER 370 =====

For some places where Wei Ming didn't have photos on hand, such as Mount Huang, Huangguoshu Waterfall, Mount Qingcheng, and Zhangjiajie, he also recommended them to them based on his powerful memory, and Wang Zhongqiu had already taken out a notebook and started recording.

Yang Jie also exclaimed that Wei Ming was the right consultant to find; he was indeed well-informed.

Because there were a vast number of Redology scholars for "Dream of the Red Chamber," a consultant was needed to study the script. Originally, Yang Jie hadn't thought of finding any consultant for "Journey to the West," but Wei Ming, this consultant, appeared at such a timely moment, saving them so much trouble.

Wei Ming: I just didn't want to suffer so much from waiting for updates.

However, location scouting and actors were not what delayed the progress the most; money was the key.

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

"Currently, they say it's 3 million, but no document has been formed yet."

In the end, it was 3 million. Wei Ming was clear about this; it was 2 million less than the neighboring "Dream of the Red Chamber," and both of them ended up not having enough in the end, so they both found social sponsorships.