Chapter 332: Better to go without

Zhao Wenxuan gently pushed open the door to the second floor of the attic. Seeing the "world of plants" that appeared before his eyes, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, then his gaze was drawn to the room full of greenery, and he couldn't help but look around.

When he saw the boss, You Bencang, sitting behind a table preparing to eat, he couldn't help but bow slightly: "Sorry, to disturb you!"

"Come in," You Bencang said while pouring tea.

The camera followed Zhao Wenxuan's figure into the room, revealing more plants by his side as he passed. By the window was a table laid out with all sorts of things, with a small space in the middle for grilling. Although the room looked a bit cluttered, every item felt so simple and full of life, without a hint of falseness or affectation.

You Bencang didn't look up: "Have you eaten?"

"Hm?" Zhao Wenxuan withdrew his gaze and looked at the boss.

"Your wife hasn't come back yet, has she?" You Bencang asked while pouring a cup of tea and placing it opposite himself.

Zhao Wenxuan nodded lightly, sighed, and replied: "Yes."

"Come, have a taste. My cooking should be decent enough." As he spoke, You Bencang took another bowl, chopsticks, and a plate from the table and set them opposite him.

Seeing You Bencang use his chopsticks to flip the food on the grill, Zhao Wenxuan couldn't help but ask: "What is this?"

"Pufferfish roe. Sprinkle a little salt and grill it; it's very fragrant." You Bencang placed a piece of roe onto Zhao Wenxuan's plate.

But Zhao Wenxuan didn't pick up his chopsticks. He looked at You Bencang, who was bowing his head to fiddle with the food. Twice he opened his mouth, wanting to bring up his resignation, but You Bencang simply wouldn't look up at him.

It was then that his gaze inadvertently caught a photo frame sitting on a shelf not far behind You Bencang.

You Bencang seemed to notice where his gaze had landed. He put down his chopsticks and raised a hand to gesture slightly behind him: "My wife. She passed away from an illness nine years ago."

Zhao Wenxuan nodded slightly, his eyes revealing a look of regret and respect.

You Bencang chewed the food in his mouth, took a sip of tea, and continued:

"Among a married couple, one is bound to go first. The painful part is for the one left behind."

As he spoke, You Bencang took another sip of tea, while Zhao Wenxuan looked at him.

You Bencang's words actually had a hidden meaning, because now the protagonist's wife, Jiang Qinqin, had left Zhao Wenxuan.

Afterward, You Bencang put down his teacup, his profile revealing a look of reminiscence, as if he had thought of something beautiful, and then he smiled and said: "I dressed her up beautifully and sent her off."

Having finished, he turned his body to look at his wife's photo: "She was the first one I sent off."

Then he turned back: "After that, I started doing this line of work."

The next moment, You Bencang picked up the pufferfish roe from the plate: "Take this, for example."

He put it in his mouth, took a bite, and chewed with an expression of enjoyment: "This is also a corpse!"

Then he looked at the roe in his hand and sighed with emotion: "One creature survives by eating the remains of another. Heh!"

Zhao Wenxuan understood what You Bencang meant. Humans themselves survive by constantly eating the remains of other lives. Every day, death and remains enter our mouths, so what is there to be disgusted by in the profession of an encoffiner who sends off the dead?

You Bencang held the roe in his hand and continued: "If you want to live, you have to eat."

He took a bite and swallowed: "Since you have to eat, you should eat the best."

Zhao Wenxuan looked at You Bencang, knowing the other man was saying that the profession of an encoffiner is a social necessity, and at the same time, he was saying that since people have to eat to live, what is wrong with being an encoffiner?

A profession requires doing what that profession should do. If one has made up their mind to be an encoffiner, then one must hold firm to their conviction and do it to the best of their ability.

Zhao Wenxuan didn't speak; instead, he lowered his head to look at the pufferfish roe on his plate, then picked it up and took a bite. It was a bit hot when it first entered his mouth, but the next moment, he suddenly opened his eyes wide in an exaggerated manner and raised his eyebrows.

You Bencang looked at him and asked: "Delicious, right?"

A smile appeared on Zhao Wenxuan's face: "Very delicious!"

You Bencang sighed meaningfully: "So delicious it makes things difficult!"

As he spoke, he licked his fingers, and Zhao Wenxuan also smiled and ate the pufferfish roe in his hand clean.

"Cut! Teacher You performed wonderfully, and so did Wenxuan!"

Wu Yuchen watched the playback on the monitor, very satisfied with the effect of this final take.

This segment was the elderly Teacher You using his life's wisdom to dismantle, step by step, Lin Wu's desire to resign, while also conveying to him bit by bit that although an encoffiner deals with corpses, how could there be anything unclean about it?

At the same time, this was the third time animal remains had appeared in the film: the first was the octopus, the second the salmon in the small river, and the third the pufferfish roe. Each time, it brought different reflections to the protagonist, Lin Wu.

Hearing Wu Yuchen's praise, You Bencang walked over with a smile: "Wu Wu Da Dao, it's still your dialogue that is well-written. This kind of open-mindedness that has seen through life and death, and the dialogue that has grasped the true meaning of life, really makes me admire you!"

Wu Yuchen smiled upon hearing this: "Teacher You, you flatter me! It is your performance in this scene that makes this dialogue shine!"

In the hotel, after Wu Yuchen hung up a phone call, his brow furrowed. He stood by the window, gazing into the distance, thinking quietly.

Jiang Qinqin noticed his state and walked over to ask: "Husband, what's wrong? What is bothering you so much?"

Wu Yuchen shook his head, then smiled at Jiang Qinqin and said: "Bothering me? I suppose you could say that..."

Then he sighed: "A happy bother!"

"A happy bother? What on earth is it?" Jiang Qinqin asked curiously upon hearing this.

Wu Yuchen looked at his phone and said: "A leader from the Olympic Organizing Committee just called me to remind me that the solicitation and selection period for the opening ceremony proposal for next September is coming up, and they want me to prepare early!"

Jiang Qinqin was overjoyed upon hearing this. This was almost an explicit hint that the Organizing Committee hoped Wu Yuchen would take on the burden and prepare a good proposal to serve as the chief director of the opening ceremony!

Jiang Qinqin immediately hugged Wu Yuchen and kissed him, saying joyfully: "Husband, you're amazing!"

However, thinking of the sigh Wu Yuchen had just let out, she couldn't help but ask: "This is a great thing! Why do you look so troubled?"

Wu Yuchen sighed and said: "I don't have enough time!"

Although there was still more than half a year until next September, he, Wu Wu Da Dao, had quite a lot of work already scheduled.

It was not certain he could carve out that much time to prepare. Not to mention the post-production for *Departures*, which hadn't finished filming yet, there was also *Batman* over in Hollywood in preparation, waiting for him to start filming next year.

To be honest, every film Zhang Yimou directed had more or less controversy and points of criticism, but the Olympic opening ceremony he put together was truly beyond reproach. It received unanimous recognition from the entire nation and audiences from all over the world.

So, this phone call from the Organizing Committee leader put him in a difficult position. Wu Yuchen asked himself: if he were asked to come up with a version better than Zhang Yimou's, he couldn't do it!

You couldn't just go and copy Zhang Yimou's proposal, could you? That simply wouldn't work!

If Zhang Yimou himself brought out that same proposal, wouldn't that create a huge scandal? Who would the Organizing Committee believe between the two of them?

With Wu Yuchen's current status and prestige, he could suppress Zhang Yimou, make the Organizing Committee lean entirely toward him, Wu Wu Da Dao, and paint Zhang Yimou as the villain. But he wouldn't do such a thing. For the sake of being chief director, why bother?

And with his current influence, would being this chief director really add that much to his career?

Wu Yuchen pondered for a long while and decided to forget about it; this chief director position was better left alone!

Although the Organizing Committee hoped he would take it, he could find excuses to decline when the time came; it wouldn't be a big deal. The worst-case scenario would be to act like a poetry-reciting enthusiast, go over, recite a poem, and then be honorably eliminated.

Once Wu Yuchen had thought it through, his smile relaxed.

However, Jiang Qinqin didn't know this. She asked with some worry: "Husband, is the time really that tight? Can you rush it?"

Wu Yuchen shook his head: "It's not that easy. This isn't just one person's business. If you really want to make a complete proposal, you have to put together a reliable team and prepare meticulously; it would take several months at least. For me, I'd better pass!"

Jiang Qinqin quickly said: "Husband! You can't pass! The Olympics is such a huge event; who knows how long it will be before our country hosts it again! The whole country is watching; this might be the only chance!"

Wu Yuchen sighed: "One year, two films, *Departures* and *Batman*... it's very hard for me to say I'll have enough time to prepare for this..."

Upon hearing this, a look of guilt appeared in Jiang Qinqin's eyes. If she hadn't begged Wu Yuchen for the lead role back then, would he not have had to start this *Departures*? Wouldn't he have had those months of time?

A look of struggle appeared on her face. After hesitating for a long while, she said: "Husband, how about, how about we... this film..."

Seeing her like this, Wu Yuchen said directly: "What are you thinking? Am I the kind of person who gives up halfway? This film is the crystallization of everyone's hard work, not just ours!"

Then his tone softened, and he rubbed Jiang Qinqin's shoulder: "Don't think too much. Let's film the current movie well first!"

Jiang Qinqin nodded and said nothing more, just lying quietly on Wu Yuchen's chest, waves of warmth surging through her heart.

"It looks like it's still alive."

"Probably carbon monoxide suicide."

"How do you know?"

"The expression is completely painless. Dying in a cold car, if discovered early, it would be like this."

In the shot, You Bencang and Zhao Wenxuan were preparing a body for encoffining, the two of them exchanging words.

Afterward, Zhao Wenxuan looked carefully at the deceased's face: "It's clearly so beautiful..."

The camera also focused on the deceased, a beautiful woman with long hair.

At this moment, You Bencang suddenly asked Zhao Wenxuan: "Do you want to try?"

Before Zhao Wenxuan could answer, he heard Wu Yuchen shout "Cut." He initially thought it was his own problem, but seeing that Wu Yuchen wasn't looking for him, but rather talking to the cinematographer, it seemed it wasn't an issue with the two actors.

At this time, Wu Yuchen was saying to the cinematographer: "For this shot, don't use a high-angle shot. The camera position must be lowered to a position parallel to Lin Wu, with Teacher You's face at the edge of the frame."

This dialogue shot actually expressed the meaning of You Bencang and his apprentice Lin Wu formally handing over the work. Before, when he hadn't finished his apprenticeship, a high-angle shot could be used, but after the formal handover today, the camera position had to be parallel to them.

This meant Lin Wu could take on encoffining work independently. For this serious, solemn job that would not gain the favor of most people, the significance of inheritance was naturally more important.

A moment later, in the shot, Zhao Wenxuan reached out to touch the deceased under the bedding, then his expression changed slightly, his hand lingering below the lower abdomen, touching back and forth to confirm.

Then he pulled his hand back, retreated to You Bencang's side, and whispered to him sideways: "He has that thing..."

"What?" You Bencang asked, puzzled.

Zhao Wenxuan whispered again: "That thing..."

The next moment, You Bencang seemed to understand, then looked at the face of the deceased lying there. It was clearly a beautiful woman!

You Bencang was also stunned for a moment. After Zhao Wenxuan handed him the gloves, he put them on and reached over to confirm for himself.

Seeing this scene, the family members of the deceased standing to the side had different expressions: the father lowered his head, while the mother took a deep breath.

After You Bencang confirmed it, he walked to the employer's side and asked in a low voice: "I have a question to ask."

"Ah? What?" The man seemed a bit hard of hearing, his voice very loud.

You Bencang leaned in closer and asked in a low voice: "When we do the makeup for the deceased later, there is a difference between male and female makeup..."

The employer said "Oh": "Wait a moment."

Then he went to the middle-aged couple and asked loudly again: "Big sister, what kind of makeup do you want for Zhou Zhou Tienan? Boy or girl?"

After speaking, a trace of a smile remained on the corner of his mouth, clearly mocking this situation in his heart.

The middle-aged woman glared at him, then mocked her husband: "If I had given birth to her as a girl in the first place, this kind of thing wouldn't have happened today!"

The middle-aged man turned his head, his eyes flickering, not wanting to pay attention to his wife.

"This is all your fault!"

Hearing his wife's complaints, the middle-aged man turned his head to meet her gaze, his eyes full of anger, and the wife glared back at him without showing any weakness.

The man watching from the side asked with a smile: "Big sister, then let's do female makeup?"

"Yes!" the woman said emphatically.

In the shot, Zhao Wenxuan was applying makeup to this "beauty," the face gradually becoming more exquisite and beautiful.

And to the side, at this moment, his mother had already rushed over, wailing loudly.

His father, holding a memorial photo of his son with short hair, looked at his son's face, unable to control his tears, murmuring: "Zhou Zhou Tienan..." ===== CHAPTER 333 =====