Chapter 6: Arriving in Hengdian

The development of Hengdian owes much to the support of Dongyang City. Of course, after Hengdian became the Greater Heng Kingdom, Dongyang also became a hub for numerous film and television companies. Tangde Film and Television, Dongyang Noon Sunshine, Dongyang Joy Entertainment… Oh, and the headquarters of Xinli Media is also in Dongyang.

At this stage, these companies have yet to fully exert their influence. After all, the capitalization of the film and television industry has not yet begun, and hot money has not flooded into the entertainment circle. Currently, the Chinese television industry still strictly divides dramas into mainline and non-mainline categories.

But even television stations’ commissioned dramas have started to become more entertainment-oriented! Mango TV commissioned "Let’s Watch the Meteor Shower Together," and then Dragon TV began producing their own commissioned series like "My Splendid Life." However, this trend did not continue because no one could guarantee the quality of self-produced dramas.

If the ratings failed to meet expectations, it meant a reduction in advertising revenue. With less advertising income, the television stations’ profits would take a hit. In fact, after 2015, television stations were no longer the main force in drama distribution, and exclusive broadcasting became rare.

Returning to "The Living Buddha Ji Gong," this project was never worried about selling once it was approved. Its producer, Zhou Zhiguang, had experience within the broadcasting system before becoming a screenwriter, with the "Red Poppy" series as his representative work.

The first installment had a slightly more rigorous plot logic. The story’s original template mainly derived from "The Complete Biography of Ji Gong," a long supernatural novel written by the Qing dynasty scholar Guo Xiaoting. It primarily tells the tale of the monk Ji Gong wandering the world, encountering various injustices, and on his journey punishing evil, promoting good, and helping those in need.

Famous stories include "The Flying Peak," "Cricket Fighting," and "The Eight Demons Refining Ji Dian."

"The Living Buddha Ji Gong" is divided into eight units: "Old Well Wood Transport," "Pregnant Young Gentleman," "Blood Pearl," "Heart Excavation," "Ghost Mother," "Heavenly Thunder Retribution," "Good Daughter-in-Law," and "Rouge Tears."

Yang Qian, though billed as the female lead, has little direct interaction with Ji Gong, who is Li Xiuyuan. She is actually the wife of Ji Gong’s disciple Chen Liang. The true female lead is Chen Zihan’s Rouge, who is Li Xiuyuan’s fiancée.

Shen Yan is most likely to appear as a supporting character in one of the units, with at most two weeks of filming. Two weeks is manageable; it’s just a quick way to earn some money.

Upon arriving in Hengdian, Shen Yan first went to the set of "Misty Rain and Setting Sun," where Yang Qian played the second female lead. By the way, the female lead in this drama is Tong Yali, and the male lead is Chen Jianfeng.

"Misty Rain and Setting Sun," "Rouge Snow," and "Love at Qinghe" all fall into the same genre—melodramatic Republican-era romantic dramas reminiscent of Qiong Yao’s style. During this period, many directors from Hong Kong and Taiwan moved north to film a large number of such dramas because these types of series were almost guaranteed to air on satellite TV.

"Distant Dreams" and "Bridge of Life and Death" are examples from this timeframe. The male leads in these dramas were either young actors heavily backed by major companies, like Chen Kun, or male actors from Hong Kong and Taiwan, the most typical being Wallace Huo, Chen Jianfeng, and Hawick Lau.

To be honest, the mainland young actors had a tough time during those years. Whether in film or television, it was truly difficult to make a breakthrough.

Ahem…

Shen Yan had deliberately styled his hair, combing his bangs to the side to reveal his forehead. His previous hairstyle was called the collegiate boy style, with very long bangs. That was wrong; there’s a saying: a man should expose his forehead because it’s the place that gathers the energy of the sun god!

With sword-like brows, bright eyes, and sharply defined facial features, he wore a long coat on his upper body, sea-blue jeans below, and canvas shoes on his feet. He exuded an aura of youthful vigor.

Yang Qian quite liked this younger brother, especially his eyes… How to put it? They were soulful and moist, as if filled with deep affection.

“Big Sister Yang!”

A bit disappointing—Yang Qian was alone, without the rumored female best friend accompanying her. It would have been great to take this chance to get to know Tong Yali!

Yang Qian motioned for him to sit down. “I heard you were in Beijing for half a year? Preparing for the art college entrance exams?”

Shen Yan felt a bit awkward. “No, I just wanted to try my luck in Beijing… After all, Wang Baoqiang’s story is so inspiring!”

“And then?”

“Well…” Shen Yan smiled bitterly, “I almost starved to death!”

“Wang Baoqiang is one of a kind,” Yang Qian recalled something. “Why didn’t you tell your uncle?”

“I told him…” Shen Yan explained quietly, “I was a bit immature before.”

After a brief chat, Yang Qian glanced at the time. “Have you eaten? Let me treat you to a meal!”

“No need, I’ll treat you… After all, you helped me get into the crew.”

“You have money?”

“I do have enough to treat you to a meal…”

“Alright, then let’s go for barbecue!”

Actually, Shen Yan wanted to ask about the rumors between her and Director Zhang Li but didn’t dare to open his mouth.

Recently, gossip suggested that Yang Qian was Director Zhang Li’s girlfriend, which supposedly explained how she got the role in "The Correct Path of the Human World."

Director Zhang Li was classmates with Zhang Yimou and Gu Changwei, all part of the Fifth Generation filmmakers. His romantic history was extremely rich, with countless rumors swirling around him—his fifth wife was Liu Bei, and a former girlfriend was Liu Lin (Dehua).

Yang Qian was also rumored to be one of his affairs. Most likely, this was a publicity stunt by Wang Jinghua. Since leaving Huayi, Wang Jinghua seemed to have lost her mind, fabricating all kinds of gossip. During the Orange Sky period, her artists produced few works but appeared frequently in gossip magazines.

Shen Yan knew that Yang Qian had already registered her marriage with Zhao Hai, the art director of "The Correct Path of the Human World." Zhao Hai was a protégé of Zhang Li.

Zhang Li was like an elder brother to him. How desperate must Zhang Li have been to have an affair with his little brother’s wife?

Moreover, since last year, Director Zhang Li had been taking care of his mother, who suffered from Alzheimer’s. Besides directing, he stayed at home most of the time.

Therefore, in the following decade, although Director Zhang Li helmed many films and TV dramas such as "Salt Merchant of the Qing Dynasty," "49 Days·Ritual," "Young Marshal," "Martial Movement Universe," "Win or Lose," "Out of Court," and "Harbin 1944," and worked with many actresses, no more scandals emerged.

During dinner, Yang Qian took the initiative to talk about the roles in "The Living Buddha Ji Gong." Well, she wasn’t very clear about the specific casting arrangements.

“Tomorrow, I’ll take you to meet the casting director. They will make the arrangements.”

“Won’t that interfere with filming here?”

Yang Qian waved her hand. “No, it’s very close, and I also need to get the script.”

“You haven’t read the script yet?”

“No,” Yang Qian explained, “Sister Hua got me this role.”

“Oh,” Shen Yan nodded, then remembered something. “Will you introducing me to the crew affect Sister Hua’s side?”

“No,” Yang Qian waved her hand. “This isn’t a big production. Most likely, it’s just a soap opera…”