Chapter 2 New Year’s Eve in 2004
January 21, 2004, New Year’s Eve
Coal Province, Railway Dormitory
At eight o’clock in the evening, the Spring Festival Gala has just begun, Zhu Jun and Ni Ping’s The sound came from the TV, and several hosts stood on the stage, enthusiastically saying various auspicious words about the 'Year of the Monkey'.
The sound of 'cracking' firecrackers sounded outside, and the night sky was colorfully dyed by fireworks.
Although Longcheng issued the "Regulations on the Prohibition of Setting Off Fireworks and Firecrackers" as early as 1994, everyone still set off their own fireworks during the Chinese New Year, and no one really took care of it.
The sound of firecrackers was accompanied by singing and dancing, and the festive atmosphere was spreading. According to the old Zhang family’s habit, the Spring Festival Gala began, and it was time to pay New Year greetings. On the sofa, Zhang’s father took out his newly bought Motorola mobile phone. Make the first New Year greeting call.
In the past, when mobile phones were not popular, everyone would send New Year greetings via landline phones or leave messages on BP phones. In the past two years, as the popularity of mobile phones has continued to increase, more and more people have mobile phones, and everyone has changed to text messages. pay a New Year call.
But for people like Mr. Zhang, he must make a phone call to pay New Year greetings, so that he can be sincere.
"Hey, Lao Li, have a good Chinese New Year... You are healthy and your family is well. Please bring good things to your family for me..."
"Lao Zhang, happy New Year, happy New Year. I haven't seen you for a long time. Are you back from other places? Okay, okay, let's go out and sit together after the new year..."
Father Zhang is a young man in the tertiary industry department of the railway. There are many leaders and friends. During the Chinese New Year, there will naturally be a lot of incoming and outgoing calls.
How many minutes each person speaks adds up to a lot. This fight lasted for more than an hour, and the New Year greetings finally came to an end.
Zhang’s father put down his cell phone, and Zhang’s mother peeled a tangerine and handed it to her husband.
Logistics was not yet developed at this time, and there were not many fruits to choose from during the Chinese New Year in Coal Province, among which tangerines were considered the most popular.
Father Zhang took a piece and put it into his mouth. The water was not big, but it was very sweet.
"Is Xiaochen still asleep?"
"Well, I have been sleeping since I finished drinking at noon. I just saw it and I haven't woken up yet. I blame you. I said drink less. Eat less and drink more, but you won’t listen and feed the child too much..."
Speaking of this, Mother Zhang looked unhappy, that was her precious son.
After hearing this, Father Zhang laughed: "This kid dared to follow me at noon. I have to teach him how to be a good man. I can't drink my son. But don't worry, it's okay. It's the New Year, so much It’s okay to drink a little, and Xiaochen is already an adult. Drinking is a necessary skill in the future, and he will have to experience this sooner or later.”
"That can't be..."
In the living room, Zhang's mother complained about Zhang's father's lack of care. In the bedroom, Zhang Chen, lying on the bed, was experiencing a dream. To be precise, he was talking to Zhang Chen. Another soul merges.
The eyes moved rapidly under the tightly closed eyelids, which was obviously a sign of intense activity in the cerebral cortex.
In the dream, he seemed to be reviewing another life of his own.
After attending elementary school, junior high school and high school at the Railway Children's School, he rejected his father's decision to arrange for him to join the railway and applied for Nortel on his own initiative, becoming a member of the 02-level directing department.
After graduation, I made my first movie, which was a hit, and then nothing happened.
Because he is a new director, he cannot attract investment, so Virgo’s money comes from his family. After the failure, his family is unable to support him in continuing to create.
Zhang Chen lost the opportunity to continue directing, so he had to find a job as a director at a television station.
After nearly 20 years of wasted time, he finally caught an opportunity and made an Internet drama, which became an instant hit and became a masterpiece.
Then he continued to work hard in the Internet field, gained some fame, and finally managed to make some appearances, and lived the life of playing music every night that he dreamed of. However, when he was satisfied, he died inexplicably. A traffic accident.
Crack, crack, crack~~
A violent sound of firecrackers sounded outside, and Zhang Chen opened his eyes leisurely.
The memories were completely integrated, and the soul from 2024 disappeared. He could feel the unwillingness of that soul.
Is this my future life?
Perhaps it was because of his unwillingness that he found himself 20 years ago.
Zhang Chen couldn't tell whether what just happened was real or a dream.
He thought again of the movie he made. How should I put it, it was very artistic...
So it is normal to rush into the street.
After the movie was released, it did not make any splash and was submerged in many blockbusters.
This is the case for those who study directing. Not only are there fierce competition for job opportunities, but in addition to those majoring in this major, there are also a lot of people studying photography, art, and acting competing for your job. Even the cost of trial and error is high. Ridiculously so.
When a movie fails, there is no second chance.
After all, no matter how low the cost of a movie is, it still costs hundreds of thousands to one million, but in Dragon City in 2004, tens of thousands of dollars could buy a second-hand house.
This failure directly resulted in him not having a chance to make a comeback for more than ten years, until the concept of micro-films became popular.
The short duration of the micro-film has relatively low requirements in all aspects. The directing department is relatively complex and requires understanding of all aspects such as acting, screenwriting, photography, lighting, etc. Zhang Chen wears many hats and finally produced it. A short film.
This work made him stand out in the short film competition.
Later, the concept of online movies emerged. Because of the achievements and connections made by micro-films, Zhang Chen successfully persuaded an investor to invest in him to shoot online movies, and he had the opportunity to pick up the director again.
Having experienced the last failure, his idea is very simple. The works he shoots this time must be commercial enough and must allow investors to make money, so that he can continue.
God will not give him a third chance.
The good intentions paid off, this time the Internet University became a hit, and Zhang Chen finally gained a foothold in this industry. After that, he successively filmed a number of Internet dramas, with better and better results, and gradually gained some fame in the Internet drama circle.
At this time, he had achieved some success and was considered the number one figure in the Internet circle. Actresses began to come into his room and beg him for coaching on his acting skills. Zhang Chen also lived a life of partying every night.
Just when everything was going in the right direction, he unexpectedly died in a car accident.
While Zhang Chen was still recalling these things, there was a noise at the door, and it was his mother who came in to check.
"Are you awake? Get up as soon as you wake up. Come out and watch the Spring Festival Gala. It will be Zhao Benshan's sketch in a while."
After Zhang's mother said that, she went out. Zhang Chen stared in confusion. sit up.
The Lao Baifen I drank at noon has not been metabolized yet, my head is still hazy, and my stomach is slightly uncomfortable.
At this time, Father Zhang also came to the door and said very experiencedly: "Get up and wash your face. I'll make you some honey water. Just drink it and you'll be fine."
Zhang Chen was obedient. I washed my face, then sat on the sofa and drank honey water. The hot honey water entered my stomach, and I felt much better.
The somewhat boring Spring Festival Gala program on TV is still going on, but everyone’s attention is actually not on it.
For the New Year, turning on the TV and tuning to Central Channel 1 is the minimum respect for the New Year. As for whether you can watch it or not, it doesn’t actually matter. Anyway, there are only a few programs that everyone is interested in. Feng Gong’s cross talk and Zhao Benshan's sketch.
Zhang Chen walked to the balcony and was surrounded by colorful lights.
For the New Year in Coal Province, every household will decorate their balconies with colorful lanterns. The Coal Province is incredibly beautiful at night.
These lights are always on and will not turn off until fifteenth day.
Zhang Chen looked around and saw that it was really beautiful. The whole community was in a cyberpunk style.
Cyberpunk?
It seems that this word also appeared in later generations. After merging his memories, he also learned that only coal provinces would hang lanterns on their balconies during the New Year. Decades later, coal provinces became a small hit on the Internet because of this and the habit of taking a nap. Bundle.
"Zhao Benshan's skit has begun."
Zhao Benshan is currently the mainstay of the Spring Festival Gala. The south dare not say it, but the north has a high degree of recognition for Lao Zhao. Many people on New Year's Eve I stayed up all night watching the Spring Festival Gala just to watch Zhao Benshan's sketches.
Especially the previous films "Selling Kidnappings" and "Selling Cars" can still make people laugh even decades later, which shows the strength of Lao Zhao.
The skit is called "Water Delivery Man". In the first scene, Uncle Benshan walked onto the stage carrying a bucket. Zhang Chen peeked at his parents, and Zhang's father and Zhang's mother unconsciously had smiles on their faces.
Uncle Motoyama has this kind of charm. As long as he stands on the stage, the audience starts laughing before he even starts making jokes.
After watching Uncle Benshan’s skit, I no longer had any expectations for the Spring Festival Gala. The Zhang family didn’t have the habit of staying up late on New Year’s Eve, so the family went to bed.
......
In the dark bedroom, listening to the sound of firecrackers outside, Zhang Chen did not feel sleepy at all.
With a 'click', the lighter's flame lit up. In the flickering light of the cigarette butt, Zhang Chen began to think about his future.
Why did that soul find him 20 years later? It was because he was unwilling to follow his old path again.
In my memory, I was in a state of despair after the failure of my first movie, and it wasn’t until I was in my forties that I became successful.
Now, I will naturally not let this happen again.
Zhang Ailing said that you should become famous as early as possible.
There is nothing wrong with what I said.
The entertainment industry is a circle of fame and fortune, and in this circle, fame means wealth.
If Zhang Chen wants to make a name for himself in this life, the first step is to become famous.
How to become famous? Of course, making a movie.
In the dream, it took him a lifetime to figure out what movies the audience likes, and he also knows which movies the audience likes. This is his greatest advantage.
He thought of Zhao Benshan again. This name has become a business card of sketches. When people mention Zhao Benshan, they think of good sketches.
Zhang Chen also wants to be such a person.
It’s just that we need to think carefully about what we want to make for our first movie.
In the darkness, the light of cigarette butts flickered on and off, and there were gradually more cigarette butts in the ashtray.
I don’t know how long it took, but the sound of firecrackers outside suddenly became louder. You don’t have to guess, it must be the countdown to midnight, when people light firecrackers to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new.
In the bedroom, the desk lamp turned on, dispelling the darkness. At this time, Zhang Chen also solemnly wrote the name of the first movie after thinking about it on the letter paper - "Dark Invasion".
(End of this chapter)