Chapter 1457
Drunk
The next day, he personally instructed Yang Siwei to contact Zhuo Wei.
"What are the standards for doing things?" the plump woman asked earnestly.
"Salute first, then soldiers."
"If your part about etiquette doesn't work, I'll figure out how to use troops."
Zhang Yuanxin felt troubled.
It's annoying if you don't scare them.
Ideally, after I set a trap for them last time, they would be scared and wouldn't dare to investigate me again.
It hasn't been that long since things calmed down.
Dig another hole?
It's not that easy to find them, and they're shrewd enough not to fall for it again.
He was afraid of another possibility.
In other words, the attempt to create a trap for the other party backfired, and the other party became "enraged".
There are plenty of people like that in the market who won't give up until they reach the Yellow River or shed tears until they see the coffin.
Zhuo Wei himself is a very persistent person.
He enjoys the feeling of manipulating other people's fates.
If they remain obstinate and intend to fight me to the death, then we're in trouble.
The cost of dealing with this will increase significantly.
Moreover, the difficulty will increase significantly.
Because the opponent attacked his weakest point, and attacking weaknesses is indeed the opponent's specialty.
It's like I'm a Fire-type Pokémon, but the other one is a Water-type.
Yang Siwei felt much more at ease after hearing what his boss said.
I don't need to worry about being criticized for not doing my part well, as I'm the one who brings the gift.
But it is clear that this is a matter of utmost importance.
Because the boss is the pillar of the company, the other party may not be able to bring him down, but if he suffers losses, the consequences will be amplified on others.
She relaxed a little and even asked with a smile.
"I feel like you've been gentler this time than before."
What did I tell you?!
Zhang Yuan nodded vigorously. I told him I was mild-mannered, but Zhang Weiping wouldn't admit it.
She has good taste.
“Your sister Cheng Hao has lectured me, no, educated me, that’s not right either… she’s guided me.”
"Tell me not to be so violent."
"We must be reasonable."
Listen to advice and you'll eat your fill; besides, your kind older sister is giving you the best advice.
This is related to her personality and principles, so I just went along with her advice.
"Also, I recently played Qian Xuesen, so I need to learn from my seniors."
"They are very reasonable."
Although the pursuit of truth...
People reason with him only because he holds the truth.
"Besides, this is a big production, a tribute and a biographical film, so I have to keep a low profile."
"Don't cause any problems and make it so the film can't be released, that would be a real hassle."
Thinking about this, he decided to go talk to Lao Han about it.
He told his subordinates to handle it first, and he would wait for their reply before deciding on the specific course of action.
After a busy morning, I was just about to take a break and have a bowl of noodles when I received a call from Teacher Guo.
Come early tonight.
"night?"
"Tsk, you forgot!" The other person immediately emphasized.
"Oh, I remember now, I promise I'll be there. See you at the Beijing Exhibition Center."
He slapped his forehead hard; he'd really forgotten in his busy schedule.
Because I've been busy with big things lately, Han Han wants to make a movie, and making a few hundred million is a small matter.
Only deals like Tudou and Bilibili, which are expected to generate billions or tens of billions in revenue in the future, can be considered big businesses.
But for Teacher Guo, it had nothing to do with money.
This year marks the 15th anniversary of the founding of Deyuan Society.
Logically speaking, it hasn't even been 10 years yet, but that's not how Teacher Guo calculates it.
First of all, broadly speaking, it has a substantial amount of substance.
Which store doesn't want to be a century-old establishment?
The place should have few people and be an established shop.
Teacher Guo returned to Beijing in early 88. At that time, he looked about 9% like the later Guo Qilin, but he returned to Tianjin after only a year.
The second time was in 94, when he only stayed for a few days, and he also called it his second time in the capital.
Then you'll understand his mentality. From the novels, whether it's the story of Zhuge Liang being invited three times, Meng Huo being captured seven times, or Ji Gong crossing the Yellow Maiden nine times.
The larger the number, the stronger the determination and the bigger the matter.
He said that as a way to enhance his resume and build momentum.
In 95, I met Li Jing and Wang Yuebo and started telling stories. The stall closed down in less than two years.
In 97, they managed to organize the Beijing Crosstalk Festival by bringing together several older gentlemen, but it failed shortly afterward.
After reopening the theater, it went through several years of ups and downs, but it always used the name "Crosstalk Assembly" and continued to perform crosstalk near Dashilan.
So he was grouped into the group, and the count started from 97, which led to the large number of 15 years.
Earlier this year, he appeared in The New York Times again, saying that Chinese crosstalk is reviving and that he was the one who spearheaded it.
It made Teacher Guo's steps more vigorous than before.
This is part of a series of performances, and today is the first commercial performance, so we invited him to the venue well in advance.
Given his status, he not only had to go to the venue, but also had to go backstage for a while first.
"It's time to change our mindset."
"A head full of US dollars, life is too tiring."
He consoled himself, thinking of it as a change of pace.
I checked the ticket prices online; the cheapest was 180 yuan, and the most expensive was 1000 yuan.
And this is just the price in Beijing; it's a national tour, plus two shows in Australia.
There are also tickets priced at nearly 2000 yuan in other places.
Even so, it still sold extremely well.
The most common venue in Beijing is the Beijing Exhibition Center Theater, also known as the BJ Exhibition Hall Theater, which has nearly 2800 seats, and you still have to fight for those seats.
It can earn millions in box office revenue in a single movie.
With that kind of income, how could the competitors not be envious?
Zhang Yuan calculated that all of Deyuan Society's commercial performances were now under his company's name, and he could earn hundreds of thousands of yuan for each performance.
He shook his head vigorously, wondering why he was thinking about money again.
After finishing my meal, I tidied up, changed into a casual suit, and went out.
Being too formal seems uncouth and stiff.
"congratulations."
"Happy together."
"Thank you for your hard work, everyone."
Meeting you all is hard work, and there's bound to be some camaraderie. As soon as he arrived backstage, he greeted everyone in turn.
All the important figures and actors are here.
Teacher Guo said it with a beaming smile.
"Leaders from the cultural department and the Quyi Association will be here today."
Zhang Yuan straightened his body.
"Am I not a leader of the Chinese Quyi Artists Association?"
Teacher Guo was so happy he clapped his hands in delight.
The other actors dared not speak, because he was right.
He felt that being a board member wasn't enough and wanted to move up the ranks.
But Liu Lanfang said he doesn't usually do this kind of thing; if he were in a higher position, people would definitely start cursing, and she wouldn't be able to control it.
Zhang Yuanxin said, "Then I'll do some more traditional storytelling programs when I have time later."
Traditional folk art forms like "Godzilla vs. Kong," "Captain America vs. Iron Man," and "Alien vs. Predator" are all examples that can be discussed.
"Steve saw Spider-Man leap towards him, tripped him with a sweeping kick, and then chased after him, hurling his shield at him with a whoosh. The shield was a vibrant purple and a deep blue, radiating countless rays of light and auspicious colors; it was truly a fine weapon..."
I know everything Yuan Kuocheng doesn't, so I should be given a vice chairman position or something.
We chatted for a while longer, and Teacher Guo was still the same as always, speaking and acting with righteous indignation.
The small theater already held a 15th anniversary special a few days ago.
He and hundreds of people backstage put together a crosstalk play, which took several months of work.
As a result, after only half an hour of the one-and-a-half-hour script, the audience started causing trouble and demanding refunds.
"We've put so much effort into this, but nobody appreciates it!" Teacher Guo said fiercely.
"Senior, the audience and the market may not do what the creators want."
"I think the script for my recently released art film is very good."
"But after so long in theaters, it has only grossed a little over ten million yuan at the box office, and a lot of people went to see it because of me."
"After watching the cursing, I was disappointed."
"The same principle applies to you."
People buy tickets because of Guo Degang's name and for his crosstalk performances; who wants to see a bunch of crosstalk performers putting on a stage play?
How about we go to the Beijing People's Art Theatre to see a stage play?
People come here to have fun, but a bunch of oddballs and untrained performers mess around on stage for half an hour, and when asked, they said they'd be messing around for another hour.
They started making a scene because they felt the product didn't match the description.
The performance was stopped halfway through, and they only calmed down after switching to crosstalk.
“That’s different.” After hearing his words, Teacher Guo waved his hand.
"Your audience just doesn't understand; mine is someone in the industry deliberately trying to sabotage me!"
That's what he thinks anyway.
Zhang Yuan was too lazy to analyze or explain. Once a person makes up their mind, they won't change it; that's human nature.
The other party pulled him aside and started cursing his competitors.
He was straightforward, but Zhang Yuan didn't want to listen, so he made an excuse to avoid him.
"Hey, where's Brother Qian?"
"Why haven't I seen him?"
"Aren't you going to talk to him today?"
“Tell me, we have three sections.” Teacher Guo’s expression relaxed a little when she mentioned Brother Qian.
"You know he can attend three dinner parties a day, and during the Chinese New Year, he has so many friends that they can line up at his doorstep."
"He's eating right now. I asked Xiao Meng to drive him to pick him up. He'll be here in a bit."
We chatted for a while longer and then ate a bowl of noodles with soybean paste that the apprentice had bought.
It was almost 7 o'clock when the show was supposed to start, but Brother Qian still hadn't arrived.
Guo Degang's agent kept making phone calls, and the person on the other end said they were on their way. At exactly seven o'clock, the "Little Meng" that Guo Degang mentioned, who later became Meng Hetang, finally rushed into the backstage area.
"Master, it's no use."
"Where's your master?"
"We need two people to help carry it."
Hearing the word "lift" tells you it's bad.
Zhang Yuan went to smoke, and when he came back, he saw Brother Qian lying on the backstage floor in a long line.
The area was surrounded by people, chattering away.
"what happened?"
"Drinked."
"How much did you drink to get like this?"
"Isn't Uncle Qian the God of Wine? What's he drinking?"
Zhang Yuan's hand trembled slightly.
Oh no, I forgot again because I was busy!
He forgot about this part.
Just as Teacher Guo said, Brother Qian went to a lunch party before the show started.
He eats and drinks lavishly even when he's on stage, and he still talks like that.
But today is different.
Knowing he has to work, he at least won't drink during this meal.
But this time the situation is different; he is breaking his fast today.
Teacher Yu has just quit drinking several months ago.
He told the public that he was unwell and needed to rest, but that's not entirely true.
I am indeed taking care of my health, but my main purpose is to have a second child.
I must abstain from alcohol before having children, otherwise I fear it will be bad for the baby.
I've succeeded now; after abstaining from alcohol for a few months, my craving for it has returned.
Brother Qian has always been a heavy drinker, a well-known alcoholic. As long as he's not working, he drinks three times a day, and he can even drink early in the morning.
It's like someone who's been abstaining from dog poisoning for months suddenly seeing heroin.
It's good that I haven't tried it, but I'm afraid of these recurring symptoms.
Like many girls, before they were in a relationship, they would think that a photo showing nipples was very pornographic and violent.
After falling in love, she gets hooked and feels that her boyfriend doesn't love her anymore if they don't talk for three days.
Then it's easy to cheat, just for fun. There were a lot of people that day, I can't remember exactly...
The most terrifying thing is when addiction strikes; it's unstoppable.
I happened to be having dinner with some friends from Inner Mongolia today.
People from Inner Mongolia can be divided into two types: those who can't drink and those who can drink a lot without getting drunk, which is quite extreme.
Those with a high alcohol tolerance are truly frightening.
At first, Brother Qian was polite, saying that he had quit for several months and needed "rehabilitation training".
I won't drink baijiu anymore, I'll have some beer instead.
After drinking tea at noon, I go home to rest for a few hours and have some more tea. Then I work perfectly fine in the evening.
He's quite responsible.
And then... it was all over.
Once you get involved, things get out of control!
I drank 18 pitchers of beer.
That is, 36 jin (18 catties) of beer.
If you send this to Brother Qian now, even the White-browed Tiger with piercing eyes will cover his nose and say, "I don't eat drunken food."
Even if a mosquito bites him, taking off again would be considered drunk driving.
Forget about going home to rest, let's drink all the way until night.
When Qian Ge gets high, he's just like you, who keeps saying you want to go to bed early but ends up scrolling through your phone until 2 a.m.
It's no wonder that eating, drinking, gambling, and smoking are equated; there's no difference between a drunkard and an opium addict.
Xiao Meng tried desperately to pull him back, but Brother Qian acted like an elder and wouldn't listen at all.
"What do you know? I know what I'm doing."
"Call me again at 6 o'clock."
After getting on the bus, this person sat in the back seat.
When the car arrived at the theater, the person was already unconscious, and even slapping him couldn't wake him up.
If it weren't for the occasional light snoring, he should have been taken to the hospital.
"Get out of the way!"
Zhang Yuan shouted and used his arms to push the crowd aside.
"Xiao Meng, go prepare some warm water and pour him plenty to drink."
"Xiao Yue, go get a trash can, put several plastic bags in it, and let him vomit."
Zhang Yuan used his strength to support his back and lift him up.
At this moment, Brother Qian was no different from a dead man, falling straight down.
He then used his thumb, applying about 50% of his strength, to press on acupoints on most of the patient's stomach, intestines, and kidneys.
"Ouch!"
A scream woke him up from the pain.
"Come on, vomit!"
"Drink hot water."
"Help me to the toilet."
These three processes are repeated over and over.
Just think about it, 36 pounds of beer, how many times would you have to pee just to get through that?
Otherwise, Brother Qian's vegetable garden would be filled with his own fertilizer.
It took about 40 minutes for Brother Qian's face to turn pale.
It's whimpering, but it can stand up on its own now.
Xiao Meng, who had helped him to the toilet seven or eight times, had already gotten his shoelaces and trouser legs wet.
He's so drunk, don't expect him to be able to aim.
There are even worse cases.
Today's opening act features Shaobing and his partner.
It refers to a "child's play" program called "solving lantern riddles".
The original plan was for 20 to 25 minutes, but after that, the main course was served by Guo and Yu.
As a result, Brother Qian was unable to go on stage and could only delay it.
There was someone specifically standing at the entrance to give Shaobing hand gestures, indicating "code back".
This is another springtime moment in the martial arts world. Before you start coding, you're quick and fast-paced; after you start coding, you're slow and dragging it out.
As a result, after starting with one code, it took an hour to code.
Shaobing felt like dying on stage.
After the second brother went upstairs, he came down and collapsed onto the ground, unable to even walk to the chair.
"I... I threw things on stage for an hour."
This person almost cried as they spoke.
"Get some rest," Zhang Yuan said, stepping forward to comfort her.
The kid was trembling as he clung to his leg.
Zhang Yuan thought to himself, "You should be secretly happy."
Because of my massage, it was already much earlier than expected.
You were originally going to say it was a 90-minute film called "Solving Lantern Riddles".
Brother Qian's true nature is just like Teacher Guo's; once it's unleashed, it's unstoppable.
After finishing their first program, the two came down, and Brother Qian continued to drink water.
While drinking, she fell asleep again, and her originally pale complexion quickly turned red.
People around him even praised him.
"Hey, it has to be Lao Qian again."
“Even in this condition, I can still go up and say it exactly the same way, without any difference.”
"Not only is it perfect, but the size and energy are also excellent, even more relaxed than usual."
"Tsk tsk tsk, your skill is profound."
Zhang Yuan shook his head. "You guys are still fucking beautiful!"
The second performance was "Fenhe Bay".
When Qian Ge was woken up with a flushed face, his eyes were unfocused.
Drinking alcohol will make you vomit, but you'll feel sober for a while afterward.
But after that moment of sobriety, an even stronger intoxication followed.
When he goes on stage again, he can only rely on "stream of consciousness" to be the straight man.
He just couldn't get into character, and he couldn't even keep up with the conversation that Teacher Guo was trying to give him.
His voice was several degrees higher than usual, clearly indicating that he had lost control of his voice.
The play "Fenhe Bay" is supposed to be about Xue Rengui and Liu Yinhuan, but he somehow turned it into Xue Pinggui and Wang Baochuan.
But the audience doesn't know these things; they're watching crosstalk, and some of them are old-timers who have heard of Peking Opera.
I just felt that Brother Qian was particularly relaxed, and his temper was fiery.
To cover for him, Mr. Guo even did somersaults on stage.
The audience applauded enthusiastically, feeling that the tickets were well worth the price and that the two had really put in a lot of effort.
The crosstalk play, which had been rehearsed for several months, was forced to be canceled due to criticism.
Brother Qian talks nonsense when he's drunk, but the audience loves watching it.
this is the truth.
Zhang Yuan sat in the audience, blending in with the crowd, pretending not to know anything, and clapping with a smile.
But he knew that it wasn't just crosstalk, but also movies and TV series.
Despite being such a brilliant drama, "Da Ming Dynasty 1566" suffered dismal ratings.
Zheng Shuang's remake of "Meteor Garden" achieved phenomenal ratings.
Popular celebrities act, but their lines and performances are worse than when they're drunk, yet they still make money and people watch.
Veteran actors put in a lot of effort, but they can't even get screen time.
This world... Zhang Yuan sighed. It won't get better; it will only get more chaotic.
He could only do his best to support those things that were well-received but not commercially successful.
After the whole event, Brother Qian went home lying down, while Teacher Guo lost several pounds.
He then requested the "rare" footage from the Youku camera crew who were broadcasting the live stream.
Next year, for Brother Qian's birthday, I'll play this clip.
It was already past midnight when I got home. Qian Ge's situation today made him even more determined to "quit drinking".
To make up his mind, he drank another two ounces of alcohol before going to bed.
We'll talk about it tomorrow...
The following day at noon, he unusually went to Yang Siwei's office to listen to her work report. (End of Chapter)