1990: Starting from Baojia Street

The next morning, while Zhou Yan was still sleeping, he heard the gurgling sound of water coming from the bathroom, and not long after he heard the buzzing of the hair dryer.

He got up and looked at the quartz clock on the wall and found that it was only half past seven.

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Zhou Yan got up and walked outside, where he found Wang Zuxian in pajamas and drying his hair.

Seeing Zhou Yan, Wang Zuxian smiled and said, "Third brother, wake up. Come and help me dry my hair."

Zhou Yan walked over, took the hair dryer from Wang Zuxian's hand, and while drying her hair, he said, "I must have said it right yesterday. Today I went to my grandparents' house for lunch, not breakfast."

"That's right, I know."

"Then you got up so early."

"Go there earlier. It will make a better impression on your grandparents. Didn't you say it's far away? It's snowing again today. It will definitely take a long time to get there."

"It doesn't have to be so early." Zhou Yan curled his lips.

"Be prepared in advance, don't let anything happen."

Seeing how interested she was, Zhou Yan didn't say anything. He didn't want to dampen his girlfriend's enthusiasm.

Wang Zuxian's hair was long, thick and very beautiful, but when he blew it, Zhou Yan found that long hair was really difficult to take care of. Just blow-drying his hair would take a long time.

Zhou Yan washes his hair by himself. In summer, he doesn't do it at all. In winter, it only takes two or three minutes at most.

But Wang Zuxian's hair was still not dry after blowing it for more than ten minutes. She was worried that the wind would be too strong and would damage her hair, so she only used a medium wind.

Finally, when his hair was almost dry, Zhou Yan estimated that it would take more than half an hour, which was enough time for him to take a shower.

After blow-drying his hair, Wang Zuxian began to take care of it himself, and Zhou Yan changed his clothes and went out to buy breakfast.

After he bought breakfast, Wang Zuxian took care of his hair.

After breakfast, Wang Zuxian started putting on makeup again.

She said that Zhou Yan's family is more traditional, so she had to wear simple makeup.

Hearing what she said, Zhou Yan thought that it would not take too long to put on makeup, but it turned out that he was wrong, very wrong.

Wang Zuxian studied hard in front of the mirror for an hour. After finishing the painting, Zhou Yan found that at first glance, she looked like she had no makeup on.

Zhou Yan then understood that the so-called simple makeup only meant that it looked simple, not that it was simple to paint. The more difficult to detect the makeup, the more difficult it is to apply.

By the time Wang Zuxian finished putting on his makeup, it was already nine o'clock. Zhou Yan thought it was almost time, so they could change their clothes and go out.

But then he found that he wanted to be simple again.

The night before yesterday, after they left Jinling Middle School, they went to the department store and bought a lot of clothes for Wang Zuxian. These clothes came in handy today.

It took her another half an hour just to pick out clothes and change them.

At this point, she was not done yet. After finishing herself, she started messing with Zhou Yan again.

"You can't wear whatever you want today, you have to match my outfit."

Then she started choosing clothes for Zhou Yan, which took another ten minutes.

The reason why she was able to get it done so quickly was because Zhou Yan didn't have many clothes at home, which greatly limited her performance.

So after choosing clothes for Zhou Yan, Wang Zuxian muttered, "I wish I had picked out a few sets of clothes for you the night before yesterday, but this one is still a bit inferior."

Zhou Yan rolled his eyes. They could barely carry her clothes alone that night.

However, Wang Zuxian's "work" was not in vain. The two of them changed their clothes and stood together, and they really looked like a good match.

Finally, Wang Zuxian put on high heels and said with a smile, "Put on these shoes, I will reach just above your eyebrows, perfect."

Zhou Yan's bare feet are 1.81 meters tall. The leather shoes he wore today are high-heeled, about 1.85 meters tall. If Wang Zuxian didn't wear high heels, they would probably reach the tip of his nose.

When he went out, Zhou Yan looked at his watch and saw that it was almost ten o'clock.

Carrying the box containing the gifts, Zhou Yan said to Wang Zuxian, "I have to apologize to you."

"Ah?" Wang Zuxian was stunned for a moment: "What are you apologizing for?"

"I said you don't need to get up so early, but now it seems that I was wrong. If you don't get up so early, we won't be able to make it to lunch."

Seeing Zhou Yan's serious and sincere expression, Wang Zuxian rolled his eyes, "Why do I feel like you are mocking me?"

Zhou Yan smiled, did not answer the question, and walked out of the unit door with the box in hand: "Let's go."

Yesterday evening, the snow stopped, but the road was not easy to walk. It was a slow journey, and we didn't reach the place until close to eleven o'clock.

The door was ajar. As soon as the two of them arrived at the door, they heard lively sounds coming from inside. They knew that there were many people there.

When Zhou Yan called his grandparents yesterday to tell him that they were going there today, Zhou Yan knew that there would definitely be a lot of people, most likely the whole family.

After Zhou Yan pushed the door open, there was a moment of silence in the room, and then Zhou Yan saw everyone in the room staring in the direction of the door.

Before Zhou Yan could speak, Xiaojiu and the others came over and greeted Wang Zuxian warmly.

"Sister Xiaoxian."

Seeing Xiao Jiu and the others, Wang Zuxian, who was a little nervous at first, relaxed a lot. She could be considered someone on the inside.

"Jiu'er, Qianqian, hello, long time no see."

At this time, grandma and the others came out of the kitchen and saw Wang Zuxian. Grandma smiled so hard that she couldn't close her mouth and said, "Here comes the girl."

Zhou Yan introduced accordingly, "Grandma, this is Xiaoxian. Xiaoxian, this is my grandma."

"Hello grandma."

"This is my eldest aunt."

"Auntie."

"This is the third aunt."

"Hello, third aunt."

……

Zhou Yan introduced these people in his family to Wang Zuxian one by one. After the introduction, Wang Zuxian opened the box, took out the gifts from inside, and delivered them to everyone one by one.

Grandma held the brooch given by Wang Zuxian and couldn't put it down. "This brooch is very beautiful. It just matches the silk scarf you gave me last time."

She still remembered that the gift Zhou Yan brought back last time was chosen by Wang Zuxian.

Wang Zuxian smiled and said, "Grandma, as long as you like it, do you need my help in the kitchen?"

"No, no, you sit outside for a while, the food will be ready soon. We were worried just now. The road is not easy to walk, don't let anything happen. The same goes for his father and his second brother. I don't know how to pick you up. ”

"Grandma, there's no need to answer. Third brother drives very steadily."

When she heard Wang Zuxian calling Zhou Yan the third brother, grandma pursed her lips and smiled: "Sit on the sofa for a while, Qianqian, and let your sister Xiaoxian watch TV."

In the end, grandma did not let Wang Zuxian enter the kitchen, so Wang Zuxian obeyed and went to the sofa to chat with Zhou Qian and others.

Zhou Yan said a few words to Wang Zuxian and then went to the "Meeting Hall".

As soon as he sat down, his eldest brother Zhou Yu winked at him and said, "Lao San, you can do it."

Uncle Zhou Yaohua glanced at his son and coughed lightly, "Xiaoyan, is it okay on the road?"

"It's okay, it's a little slippery. It'll be fine if you drive slower."

"How many days are Xiaoxian going to stay in Jinling? If you have time, come to our house for dinner tomorrow."

"I should have time, I'll ask her later."

Zhou Yaohua nodded, and then he looked at Zhou Yaowen, "Second brother, you have to thank the heavy snow, otherwise you will miss it."

According to the original plan, Zhou Yaowen was going to Pengcheng yesterday. But because it was snowing, we couldn't go there, so Zhou Yaohua said this.

Zhou Yaowen rarely smiled, "Even if we miss it this time, there will still be opportunities to meet in the future."

Of course Zhou Yaowen was very happy to see Zhou Yan bring his girlfriend home. His feelings for his youngest son were very complicated. After all, Zhou Yan had been following his mother after he divorced his wife, so he felt a little guilty about Zhou Yan.

But as a father, he didn't want to show his guilt. As for Zhou Yan's affairs, he wanted to take care of it, but he was worried that Zhou Yan would be disgusted.

Now that Zhou Yan's marriage was settled, he felt that he had an explanation to his wife.

After that, they didn't talk about Wang Zuxian anymore. After all, this place was very close to the living room, and it would be rude to talk too much.

Zhou Yan took the opportunity to ask his father and second brother about the business, "It snowed heavily and I didn't rush there. Is there any impact?"

Hearing that Zhou Yan was concerned about family affairs, Zhou Yaowen was also very happy. He waved his hand and said, "It doesn't matter. The boss is not a supervisor. Many things can be left to the people below to look at. And now that communications are developed, most things can be solved by communicating on the phone. ”

As he spoke, he couldn't help but teach his son, "You now have your own studio and you are also a boss. When you encounter problems, you should always ask your second brother for advice. He must have more experience in business than you."

Zhou Hong said with a smile, "Dad, you are worrying too much. Xiaoyan has done a very good job in management. I still have to learn from him in some aspects."

Grandpa Zhou Minnong laughed and said, "Brothers, please don't be so polite when talking. Xiaoyan, don't be burdened. You can't look forward and backward in your career. Just close your eyes and rush forward. If you can't rush through, let's start over."

Compared with ordinary people, apart from their connections, Zhou Yan's biggest advantage is the opportunity for trial and error. When it comes to doing business, the Zhou family can support him and make many mistakes.

But Zhou Yan is different from ordinary business people. He mainly relies on his works to make a living. In just a few years, he has accumulated a lot of capital for himself. Two movies and so much music make his future path particularly easy. .

Zhou Yu also asked about the movie, "How is the box office performance of your movie "The Sixth Sense" in North America? Do you have any new news to share with me?"

"I haven't been paying attention recently. If there is any new news, I will let you know at any time."

"Okay, our newspaper will leave a big section for you at any time."

A large part of "Yangtze Evening News"'s support for Zhou Yan comes from Zhou Yu.

Of course, this is also mutual support. Because of Zhou Yan's relationship, "Yangzi Evening News" can always get first-hand information.

Most of the time, Zhang Youan would take the initiative to share the news with Yangzi Evening News without Zhou Yan telling Zhou Yu.

……

They didn't chat for long, and they shouted that dinner was ready.

While eating, several elders were concerned about Wang Zuxian's situation, but they didn't ask any more questions. After all, it's the first time we meet, so it's not good to ask too many questions.

After dinner, the eldest aunt was planning to play mahjong, and Wang Zuxian decided to play mahjong.

Wang Zuxian plays mahjong like a wandering spirit, her reactions are a bit slow, but her eldest aunt and third aunt both spoke highly of her.

"Xiao Xian is good at playing mahjong."

Zhou Yan couldn't help laughing when he heard the comments from the two elders. Sure enough, everyone likes a "cash machine" that only loses money.

Their mahjong winnings were not big, and Wang Zuxian only lost more than 20 yuan in one afternoon.

When he went home in the evening, Wang Zuxian also "reviewed" his performance in meeting his parents today with Zhou Yan, fearing that he might not have done well.

"I thought grandma and the others would ask me a lot of questions, and they prepared the answers in advance, but I didn't expect that they wouldn't ask me any questions."

"Do you believe that our family doesn't have many rules now?" Zhou Yan said with a smile.

Wang Zuxian shook his head, "That's not true, it's just that your family's rules don't make things difficult for others."

Although they have only been in contact for one day, Wang Zuxian can feel that the Zhou family just does not pay lip service to the rules, but actually reflects the rules in many details.

When eating, the elders sit down first and use their chopsticks first.

When the elders spoke, the younger ones listened quietly.

Among the younger generations, the older children have the absolute right to speak.

For example, when watching TV, they will ask Joey Wang what he wants to watch. If Joey Wang doesn't comment, it will be Zhou Qian who decides. In many families, the younger children can watch whatever they want.

There is a kind of discipline in the rules of the Zhou family. When the higher "boss" is absent, the eldest one automatically becomes the leader and is in charge of everything on the scene. However, these children of the Zhou family take it for granted.

Wang Zuxian had some experience of this when he was in Xiangjiang before. This time when he came to Zhou Yan's house, he felt it even more obvious.

And these details cannot be formed in a day or two.

Zhou Yan smiled and said nothing. Wang Zuxian was right. Their family did not have many cumbersome rules, but there were some hard rules that no one could break.

Wang Zuxian asked again, "I'm going to my uncle's house tomorrow. Do you want to bring something with you?"

"No, you've already given me a gift today. Just take it to dinner tomorrow."

"Well, then I'll listen to you."

Before leaving today, both the eldest aunt and the third aunt sent invitations to Wang Zuxian, and Wang Zuxian also agreed, so they will go to the uncle's and third uncle's houses for dinner tomorrow and the day after tomorrow respectively.

……

Not only did Wang Zuxian eat at several restaurants, he even went to the Zhou family to celebrate the Lantern Festival.

The Zhou family likes Wang Zuxian very much. Not to mention her beauty, the key is that she is very decent.

Moreover, Wang Zuxian is from Taiwan, and her great-grandfather was a member of the Tongmenghui. These two items are a plus in the eyes of the Zhou family.

In the intervening days, the weather was very good, so Zhou Yan took Wang Zuxian for a walk in Jinling.

For Zhou Yan, there really wasn't much to see in Jinling, but Wang Zuxian was very excited. He grabbed Zhou Yan and asked him to take pictures along the way. Everywhere he went felt novel.

And her favorite turned out to be the duck boat on Xuanwu Lake.

You can row the boat to the middle of the lake without worrying about being recognized. It’s very comfortable.

In a few days, a box of film alone was used.

However, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, they did not rush to wash it. Instead, Zhou Yan took it back to Yanjing and washed it himself in the studio.

On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Zhou Yan and Wang Zuxian went to the airport together. However, Wang Zuxian had to fly to Xiangjiang, while Zhou Yan was going back to Yanjing.

As soon as Zhou Yan arrived in Yanjing, the final box office results of "The Sixth Sense" in North America were released.

US$13.2 million was the final result of this film in North America, and this result far exceeded the US$7.3 million of "The Wedding Banquet", making it the highest-grossing Chinese-language film in North American box office history.

Now there is no need to consider whether An Li is American or Chinese. Zhou Yan has truly ascended to the throne of the highest-grossing Chinese director overseas.

Naturally, the domestic media boasted about such achievements.

However, among the praises, there are also some different voices.

It's the same "Film Perspective" that they published before. They published another article with the title: Beware of some directors' flattering foreigners. The industrialization of American film is poisoning the film art.

This article pointed out that a certain popular movie at the moment copied the American film industrialization model and only focused on pleasing American audiences. It had no artistic aesthetics and lacked self-expression.

The author sincerely hopes that other domestic directors will not follow suit, otherwise Chinese films will have no future.

The article did not beat Western films to death with a stick. While criticizing the excessive industrialization of American films and destroying film art, it also expressed praise for some European films and praised the judging standards of the three major film festivals.

The person who wrote the article is very smart and even invited the film festival to endorse himself.

This means that his criticism of "The Sixth Sense" is not unfounded. According to the judging criteria of the three major film festivals, "The Sixth Sense" is not a good movie at all.

When Zhou Yan saw this article, he believed that the article had something to do with Xie Fei, because Xie Fei had just won the film festival award just two years ago. To promote the three major film festivals is to promote Xie Fei.

The article may not be written by Xie Fei, but the person who wrote the article is most likely related to Xie Fei.

Zhou Yan didn't care about this matter, but there were other people who were eager for justice and helped start the war.

What Zhou Yan didn't expect was that the first one to step forward was Jiang Wen.

When Jiang Min was promoting his movie "Sunny Days", a reporter at the scene asked him what he thought of "The Sixth Sense".

Usually when faced with this kind of problem, Jiang Min's best choice is to practice Tai Chi. However, Jiang Min said very directly that "The Sixth Sense" is a good movie. Some people who criticize this movie are purely out of jealousy. .

He suggested that when these people have time to pay attention to others, it is better to make the movie themselves first, instead of always doing things that are self-conscious and behind closed doors. In that case, it will not be beneficial to the development of Chinese movies.

Although Jiang Min's appearance is passive, it is also real.

Jiang Min's actions are a bit like riding on the popularity. After all, "Sunny Days" will be released this year, and it is normal to ride on the popularity to promote the movie.

However, Zhou Yan feels that Jiang Min doesn't seem to be a person who wants to be popular, and if the popularity goes down, he may offend some people, which may not be a good thing for Jiang Min. (End of chapter)