The literary era since 1979

Along with the appearance of anonymous letters of complaint, some gossip spread from the central station and began to spread everywhere.

Zhu Lin could no longer sit still, and immediately went to find Gong Xian, who invited him to the small garden in the yard.

"Don't worry, Yanzi has already gone to find out the situation."

"No wonder I didn't see Teacher Fang."

"He is the consultant of the Journey to the West crew. How could he not ask about something like this?"

Gong Xing used tea sets to make lily, red dates, wolfberry and chrysanthemum tea for the two of them.

I don’t know how long it had been, but just as steam was slowly coming out of the spout of the teapot, I heard a series of light footsteps outside the door.

Zhu Lin and Gong Xing's conversation came to an abrupt end. They both stood up at the same time, and Fang Yan's solemn face came into view.

"Well? What's the situation?"

"Director Wang and his team have decided to send a team to the crew to check the accounts."

Fang Yan said that most of the people in this group were dissatisfied with Yang Ju and the "Journey to the West" crew.

"How could things turn out like this!" Gong Xing said worriedly.

Zhu Lin said firmly, "I believe in the character of Director Yang, Cheng Ru and others. They will never do such a thing."

"Like you said, I don't believe it either."

Fang Yan said, "So the purpose of this investigation is to maintain justice and to clear Director Yang and the entire crew of all grievances. So you don't have to worry too much. A person with a clear conscience has nothing to fear. No matter how hard the investigation team checks, they will not find anything."

Gong Xing and Zhu Lin looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

"Xiaoxiang, come and help me pack my luggage. I'm going to Jicheng with the investigation team."

Fangyan picked up Gong Xing's tea bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

Gong Xing understood and said, "I'll go with you!"

Fangyan raised his eyebrows, but after changing his mind, he agreed without hesitation.

"Teacher Fang, can I go with you?" Zhu Lin asked suddenly.

Fangyan was very surprised: "You want to go too?"

"You are a consultant to the crew of Journey to the West, so you will not stand idly by."

Zhu Lin nodded and said, "I was also chosen by Director Yang to play the role of the 'King of the Kingdom of Women'. How could I not go at this time?"

"Director Yang really didn't make a mistake!"

Fang Yan said: "Since you said so, let's go together. Go back and pack your luggage quickly. We will set off tomorrow."

………………

The next day, a special team from CCTV, including Fang Yan, Gong Xing and Zhu Lin, along with Yang Jue and others, set out for the crew's location.

Most members of the investigation team were full of firm belief that they could discover hidden flaws and uncover the truth about the huge expenses of "Journey to the West". However, when they arrived at Changbai Mountain in Jicheng, they saw that the entire crew was living in a simple wooden house temporarily arranged by the forest farm.

Lesbians live in slightly more spacious rooms, while gay men are squeezed into several large bunk beds that can sleep more than ten or twenty people.

Moreover, unlike the guesthouse, meals were not provided. All we had to eat was bread purchased from the forest managers. The bread was stored in fertilizer bags and gave off a sour smell. The humid environment even caused the bread to go bad and even grew mold in some places.

However, the entire "Journey to the West" crew was very frugal in their spending on food and beverages, with a budget of only 50 cents per person per meal.

This is obviously not enough for the crew members who work hard and run around every day, so Yang Jie and her husband, Wang Chongqiu, the photographer of "Journey to the West", use their own wages and savings to subsidize the crew's food and beverage.

The account book is filled with fifty cents of food expenses.

The bulk of the expenditure is on costumes, props, travel, etc., while actors only account for a small portion of the money, because extras also get ten yuan a day. In order to save money, the crew often has one person play multiple roles, and these actors only get a few hundred yuan in the end.

The group that received the most was the pilgrimage team. For example, the six little spiritual children were supposed to be paid 100 yuan per episode, but soon the number became 40 yuan, and then to yuan. The salaries of Wang Yue, who played Tang Monk, Ma Dehua, who played Zhu Bajie, and Yan Huaili, who played Sha Monk, also decreased again and again.

"This this……"

This group of people who once had strong dissatisfaction with Yang Jie and others couldn't help but shed tears after carefully examining the accounts.

I had always thought that the crew of "Journey to the West" took the funds and did nothing but travel around, and even went abroad for sightseeing as it was not enough to travel around the country. But I never expected that Yang Ju and his crew had to endure so much hardship in order to make "Journey to the West" well.

"It's hard work, but as long as we can make Journey to the West satisfy audiences across the country, our efforts will not be in vain."

Yang Jue waved his hand generously.

"Iwako."

Gong Xing's eyes were filled with tears, and he lowered his voice and said, "No matter what, we have to help them."

Fang Yan agreed solemnly, but what made him feel difficult was that CCTV did not allow the "Journey to the West" crew to accept external investment.

In other words, you can’t give money directly.

Just when the two were in trouble, Zhu Lin keenly noticed that the crew's difficulties were not only in budget, but also in camera equipment.

At that time, CCTV provided the crew of "Journey to the West" with only an old-fashioned camera with a resolution of only 300p. Although it was a Sony brand, it was an old machine and it was not a camcorder but a camera tube machine, which was quite cumbersome to use.

Before each shoot, I have to painstakingly adjust the focus according to the scene. If the focus is off by a little bit, the picture will be blurry.

No wonder the early pictures of the TV series Journey to the West were so bad, sometimes blurry.

In addition, the entire crew only had one tripod, and the shooting angle could only be level.

Such a configuration is not enough to cope with the shooting of students' project assignments. Even Gong Xing had never felt so poor when she was studying directing at Beijing Film Academy. She really couldn't imagine how the crew of "Journey to the West" completed the shooting of the entire work with this set of equipment.

Fang Yan invited Wang Chongqiu, Pan Yue and others over, handed them cigarettes one by one, and started asking them questions.

"How does the saying go, 'As long as your thinking doesn't slip, there are always more solutions than problems.'"

Wang Chongqiu said: "Although we can't use multi-camera shooting to solve specific shots, we can work on shooting techniques."

Listen to the dialect quietly, such as the scene in "The Monkey King 3: The Legend Begins" where Tang Monk is reciting the Tightening Curse.

Sun Wukong needed to appear to be in extreme pain and dizziness, and to achieve this effect, the six little spirit boys had to lie on the ground and roll around clockwise, while cinematographer Wang Chongqiu moved the camera counterclockwise to capture the action.

This is relatively simple. When gods like Zhenyuan Daxian and Guanyin Bodhisattva are performing their magical powers of riding on clouds and ascending to heaven and earth, the cameraman needs to flexibly adjust the angle of the lens, sometimes looking down and sometimes looking up. It is relatively easy to shoot from a downward angle, but the upward angle is difficult.

There was no camera jib in the crew, but Yang Ju and Wang Chongqiu also thought of an alternative solution.

By fixing Wang Chongqiu on the chair and then slowly pulling him up to mid-air with a rope, this difficult upward-looking shot can be completed.

"Is this too dangerous?"

Gong Xing frowned, and asked worriedly, "Would it be better to use wire as a substitute?"

Wang Chongqiu smiled bitterly. The crew had very few camera equipment, and there was no wire equipment at all. Not only were they expensive, but they were also very inconvenient to replace. They had to go to Hong Kong. Moreover, the entire crew knew nothing about wire technology and no one knew how to use it.

"I understand!"

Gong Xing turned to look at Fang Yan and made up his mind to provide the "Journey to the West" crew with cameras, wire ropes and other equipment.

"No, no, how can this be allowed? The station has regulations..."

Wang Chongqiu's eyes were filled with longing and reluctance, but he still gritted his teeth and declined. "We won't give it to you, but it should be okay to borrow it, right?"

Seeing Fangyan winking at him, Gong Xing immediately understood and started to persuade her along with his wife.

After all, according to their idea, they would set up a film, television, entertainment and publishing company in Hong Kong in the future. By then, they would have to purchase a series of equipment such as photography, videography, lighting, etc. They even thought of buying a batch of second-hand equipment from Shaw Brothers Films to make do with. Isn't this a coincidence?

"To be honest with you two, we really want this batch of equipment, but this does not comply with the regulations."

Wang Chongqiu was wavering and becoming more and more conflicted.

"Didn't you just say that as long as we don't lose our way of thinking, there are always solutions that are better than problems. As long as we don't violate the rules, we should act in accordance with the rules. You can say that this batch of equipment was borrowed by me, the consultant." Fang Yan glanced at Gong Xian, "Or you can just temporarily hire her as a stage manager for Journey to the West, specifically responsible for managing the props and equipment of the crew..."

"Yes, I am happy to contribute my efforts to the TV series Journey to the West!"

Gong Xing smiled sweetly, knowing that this was just a way for him to put his name on the list so that he could use it to get things done.

Wang Chongqiu was very excited, but he didn't dare to make a decision on his own. He reported the matter truthfully to Yang Ju and let her make the decision.

Yang Jue listened to the whole thing from beginning to end, and excitedly held their hands, shaking them vigorously a few times:
"I really don't know what to say. Anyway, on behalf of all the staff of the Journey to the West crew, thank you!"

"You're welcome, Director Yang. Please don't say that."

Fang Yan said: "I am one of you, so I should do what I can."

Zhu Lin and Gong Xi smiled at each other, and then their names were called.

Fangyan asked Gong Xing to record the equipment that the crew needed most urgently, and asked Zhu Lin to accompany him to find a restaurant. Under the pretext of entertaining the CCTV group, he wanted to reward the entire "Journey to the West" crew and fill their stomachs with delicious food.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, I decided to find a guesthouse to improve my accommodation conditions.

As for all the expenses, they will all be paid by Teacher Fang!

…………

The guesthouse was not far from the forest cabin, and the crew spent an afternoon moving it.

Although it is not an official residence, the conditions are quite good, and most importantly, meals are provided.

Everyone was filled with joy and excitement, especially facing the sumptuous dinner in the evening.

Cabbage, pork, vermicelli and other ingredients are stewed in a large iron pot, and wild vegetables, smoked chicken, soybean paste soup and so on are placed on the table.

"Teacher Fang, I really made you spend a lot of money."

Yang Ju was both moved and grateful.

"Where, where."

Fangyan waved his hand.

"You have come from afar, so we should be the hosts and entertain you well. Who would have thought..."

There was a hint of bitterness in Yang Jue's smile.

"Director Yang, please don't say that. I should be the one treating you to this meal."

Fang Yan said, "As a consultant for Journey to the West, this is my first time on the set. I never expected that you guys had such a hard time. I'm really sorry. This dinner tonight is both a welcome for us and our apology to you."

"What are you talking about!"

"Yes, Mr. Fang, you haven't done anything wrong to us, so you don't need to apologize to us."

"Instead of having to apologize, we should thank you for your hospitality, allowing us to enjoy this wonderful dinner!"

The more the members of the "Journey to the West" crew did this, the more ashamed the investigation team who came from afar felt, and shame was written all over their faces.

"Stop talking about this."

Yang Ju stood up and said, "Let's raise our glasses and toast to Teacher Fang and our comrades who have come all the way from Yanjing!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the room cheered and the atmosphere at the table reached its climax.

Everyone in the investigation team had great respect for the "Journey to the West" crew. They toasted everyone one by one, with a hint of apology in their words.

Yang Ju originally thought that after the misunderstanding was resolved and the truth was clarified, CCTV would be able to provide follow-up funds for Journey to the West. Not to allocate 300 million like Dream of Red Mansions, but at least 100 million to solve the urgent problem. However, the result was disappointing.

The central TV station was short of funds and could not provide more financial support, so it asked the crew to finish filming immediately after completing the required shots.

"What!?"

Yang Jue, Wang Chongqiu and others were stunned by the news as if they were struck by lightning.

Once the filming of "Journey to the West" is suspended, it will be extremely difficult to restart it in the future.

When thinking of this, the originally lively scene immediately became quiet, and everyone had different expressions, frustrated, angry, puzzled, shocked...

Fang Yan frowned and said, "Do you want to reconsider it?"

"We don't want to dampen the enthusiasm of our comrades, but this is what the station wants."

The head of the investigation team reluctantly repeated Wang Feng's instructions. Regardless of whether the "Journey to the West" crew had wasted filming funds or not, further filming must be stopped, because CCTV must ensure that one of the two famous TV series can be successfully produced.

Now that "Dream of Red Mansions" has received two budgets of 300 million yuan, it obviously has a higher chance of success than "Journey to the West".

Therefore, they had to choose to abandon "Journey to the West" and keep "Dream of Red Mansions", otherwise they would face the fate of both TV series being stillborn.

"What about the loan?"

Yang Ju still didn't want to give up, "Can the station approve us to apply for a loan from the bank?"

"I'm afraid not, Director Yang. You know the situation in the station."

The head of the investigation team said that since last year, CCTV has added "Midday News", "Evening News", "English News", "Economic News", "Sports News", "Morning News", etc., which have brought with them huge expenses in personnel, establishment, funds, equipment, etc.

Yang Jue's whole body shook violently, with resentment written all over his face.

"In my opinion, can this set a precedent for Journey to the West?"

Fangyan suggested that the station give the crew a green light and allow them to attract external funds to sponsor the TV series.

"Yes, yes, yes. We can raise money for Journey to the West ourselves. That should be no problem, right?"

Yang Jue cast an expectant look.

Immediately afterwards, Wang Chongqiu, Liu Xiaolingtong and all the other members of the crew swarmed over and surrounded them in three layers, as if they would not let them pass unless they agreed. Each of them held a bowl of wine in his hand, with a gleam of desire in his eyes.

"We strongly support Mr. Fang's idea just now!"

The head of the investigation team drank the wine in one gulp. "Although we cannot make the decision, we will report the situation here and the opinions of our comrades to the leaders of the station truthfully, and ask them to consider it and allow the crew of Journey to the West to seek external sponsorship!"

"well said!"

Fangyan smiled and asked everyone to toast.

All of a sudden, the atmosphere that had just reached freezing point began to boil again, with people toasting each other and having a lively time.

Zhu Lin and Gong Xi stared at him for a while, then they looked at each other face to face and clinked their glasses with a smile. (End of this chapter)