China Entertainment 1997

February 8, 2005, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Eve

In a snack bar in Beijing, the proprietress was tiptoeing to reach the rolling shutter door. Before she could reach it, one hand grabbed the rolling shutter door and pulled it down.

The boss lady looked back and said happily: "Don't your crew have a holiday during the Chinese New Year?"

"We don't have a long holiday during the New Year, but we have a short holiday. Otherwise, who would have the time to work on New Year's Eve and the first two days of the Lunar New Year?"

Jiang Chang opened the door halfway and suddenly remembered something: "Why didn't you post the Spring Festival couplets?"

The landlady was a little embarrassed: "You're not here, I'm afraid of heights."

"Do you have any in the store? Is there anyone who doesn't post Spring Festival couplets during the Chinese New Year? Leave after posting them."

"I remember that the beverage seller in the store gave me a set before, but there was no paste. Is transparent tape okay?"

"OK."

Jiang Chang stepped on the chair and, under the direction of the proprietress, put up the printed Spring Festival couplets advertising the beverage factory.

[Cross-strait golden rooster sings for unification, Kyushu’s innocent children announce the spring]

Jiang Chang admired the couplet for a while and nodded: "I need to buy more drinks in this restaurant. The boss pays attention to people."

The proprietress didn't care about the Spring Festival couplets, so she turned around and ran to the store to buy a bunch of firecrackers. She didn't dare to light them herself. Now that Jiang Chang was here, she started to use them vigorously.

Amidst the crackling firecrackers, the snack bar officially closed, and the notice on the door said it would open on the third day of the Lunar New Year.

The landlady clapped her hands and called to Jiang Chang: "Let's go home and make dumplings."

On the way back, the two bought some cooked food. Originally, the landlady planned to celebrate the New Year alone and didn't buy much food. Now that Jiang Chang is here, she still has to prepare some.

Prices doubled during the Spring Festival. Jiang Chang bought a catty of beef with soy sauce and a roast chicken, but was quickly stopped by the landlady. When he got home, he was still muttering about the evil intentions of the merchant.

Unlike Jiang Chang, who is from Beijing, the landlady is from Beijing, or rather from Mentougou.

Although the place is an out-and-out Beijing native in terms of geographical location and administrative affiliation, in the eyes of old Beijing residents, it is from Yaji Province, so much so that the landlady always claims to be an outsider.

In the late 1990s, a newly married landlady and her husband came to the capital to work hard. However, within a year, her husband died for some reason and she became a widow.

The landlady couldn't stand the various comments from her family, husband's family, relatives and friends, so she simply stayed in the capital for a long time and used her savings and borrowed money to open a snack bar. Although she didn't make money, she didn't have to worry about food and clothing.

With the confidence to become financially independent, the landlady rarely contacted her hometown and lived alone.

Although he was free and at ease, he was sometimes lonely until Jiang Chang appeared.

In 2001, when Jiang Chang arrived in the capital for the first time, he could not earn much money and life was difficult. He often went to snack bars to shamelessly watch TV and get to know the proprietress from time to time.

At the beginning of 2002, Jiang Chang, who felt that there was no hope of success, was ready to give up his career in Beijing, leave the capital, and return to his hometown.

Before leaving, Jiang often came to the proprietress's shop to drink away his sorrows. He happened to see Cao Xuan's new song "Your Answer". He was inspired by the song and the inspirational story in the MV and decided to stay in the capital.

Three years later, Jiang Chang still failed to realize his dream of becoming a star.

But fortunately, he persisted for a long time, and he was willing to endure hardships and had certain abilities. He gradually became famous in the group performance circle in Beijing.

Nowadays, Jiang Chang is one of the biggest group leaders in Beijing Film Studio. He has thousands of special contracts and extra resources at his disposal, and can even talk to many crews and middle-level executives of the company.

Huayuwen, who is placed at the beginning of the group performance, can also be regarded as the big boss of Novice Village...

In the past two years, the mainland's film and television market has begun to prosper, and Jiang Chang's income has continued to increase. Although he is far from a well-off level, his life is finally getting better.

That night three years ago not only made Cao Xuan his idol in life, but the landlady who always comforted and encouraged him also left a deep mark on Jiang Chang's psychology.

So in the past few years, he has actually been working two jobs, working as an extra in the daytime, and at night working at a snack bar as a waiter, cook, handyman, and accountant for free, creating a modern version of "Wulin Gaiden."

Jiang Chang dares to dream of being a star, but his appearance is somewhat desirable, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a bit like Zhu Shimao when he was young.

The landlady tolerated him watching TV and comforted him when he was at his lowest point. Although she didn't say she liked him, she still had a good impression of him.

Later, when I saw Jiang Chang working as a laborer for free, I started to use him half-heartedly.

Although the salary was not a dime, it provided Jiang Chang with three meals a day and clothes for all seasons. Later, he also made a utility room in the snack bar and made a bedroom, and let Jiang Chang look after the store, but he actually saved more than half a year's rent.

In this way, the two men were in love and the concubine was in love, and they were tired of each other for more than a year. Jiang Chang took advantage of his birthday to drink too much, and a drunk chicken came to seize the Eagle Castle and captured the high ground in one fell swoop.

Things became simple after that. In less than two months, Jiang Chang moved from a snack bar to the owner's wife's house.

Now, the two have reached the point of discussing marriage, but the boss's wife feels that she is a little inferior in her second marriage, and she has not dared to go home with Jiang Chang to meet his parents.

Jiang Chang didn't care about this, but he didn't think it would be a problem to rent a house all the time. He wanted to see if he could get a house before getting married.

However, in early 2005, housing prices in Beijing had begun to soar. The average price per square meter was about 8,000 to 9,000 per square meter, and it was not uncommon to see prices exceeding ten thousand per square meter.

Jiang Chang inquired about relatively suitable houses, and found that the cheapest ones cost more than 6,500 per square meter. This price was really difficult for him to afford.

These two things have always been in the hearts of the two of them. Even when they went home to make dumplings for the New Year, they did not forget to say a few words.

"Today I heard from an old customer in the store that an expert said that house prices will definitely collapse this year, and he asked us to delay buying for two years."

The landlady rolled out the dumpling wrappers and said, Jiang Chang was talking about buying a house at home every day, which made her pay special attention to the house price.

"Yeah?"

"No, he said he had a friend who was involved in something. Inside information, he even persuaded his relatives who had dinner with him at the time to sell the house while the house prices were high, rent it for two years, and then buy a new one when the house prices were low. of."

Jiang Chang's education is not high and he dropped out of high school. The boss's wife just graduated from junior high school. The two of them know little about these aspects and value other people's advice.

"I don't think what your customer said is reliable. I met an old man when I was working as a squatter, and he told us that house prices will definitely rise. If you want to buy something, buy it quickly, otherwise it will be even higher after the Olympics."

Jiang Chang talked about what he had seen, and the proprietress was unhappy: "Although there are no big bosses in my store, there are also many small bosses and cadres. You are all old men who live in the basement and know nothing about housing prices."

"That old man is different."

Jiang Chang recalled: "We were looking for a living, and he came to be an extra to experience life. He only came two or three times a month, and he didn't care about the pay. Sometimes he even invited people to dinner.

I heard someone say that his son is very rich. One time it rained heavily and a Mercedes-Benz came to pick him up after a phone call. This kind of person must have more inside information than we know. "

"There must be something wrong with this old man who has so much money and still does squatting."

The landlady complained, and Jiang Chang smiled: "Who knows what rich people think about, it's just boring."

Seeing that the dumplings were almost done, Jiang Chang went to boil water and peel the garlic himself, then hesitated and said.

"Daughter-in-law, actually I have something that I don't know how to tell you."

"If there's anything we can't talk about, let's talk about it."

Jiang Chang lowered his head and gathered his words: "As you know, a new film and television city has been built over in Baiyangdian. After the Chinese New Year, the crew will be officially recruited.

There will definitely be a shortage of some professional extras. The person in charge there contacted me and wanted me to bring a group of people there.

That film and television city is invested by Fanxing. It is very large and directly targets Hengdian in the south. If I can establish a foothold there in the early stage and win enough business share, then I will really have enough money for the down payment to buy a house. "

The construction of a large-scale film and television city is inseparable from all aspects, and group performances are also a top priority.

The various management systems related to group performances must be the official responsibility of Fanxing Film and Television City.

However, the film and television city does not have so much energy and manpower to manage the specific work and business, and will definitely distribute it to some companies or group leaders.

This is a good opportunity for Jiang Chang.

Fanxing Film and Television City has just been established. If he enters first and takes part of the group performance business, there will be many benefits when the film and television city prospers later.

However, this is not without risks.

Fanxing Film and Television City has just started, it will not accept too many crews, and its business volume is limited. He will have to survive a period of pain.

It was hard for him to gain a foothold at Jingying Film Studio. If he rashly went to Fanxing, everyone would be happy if he won the bet. But if Fanxing didn't rise in the end, he would have wasted his time, and Jingying Film Studio's territory and business volume would no longer exist.

This is a big gamble for Jiang Chang, and he personally prefers to take a gamble.

Even though he is the leader of a group that controls thousands of extra resources, he is actually called an extra boss, but he is actually an intermediary.

A large part of all the proceeds is spent on managing and maintaining relations with the crew. He is a very loyal person and has principles in doing things. Unlike other group leaders who desperately exploit their extras, he never does a lot of gray dirty work. bump.

This gave him an excellent reputation among the group performers at Beijing Film Studio. He rose to prominence in just two or three years and was spotted by the person in charge of Fanxing Film and Television City.

But behind the good reputation, Jiang Chang's income is much lower than that of many group leaders at the same level.

At this rate, it would take at least four to five years for him and his wife to save a down payment for a 100-square-meter house, plus wedding, decoration, and miscellaneous expenses, as long as no major changes occurred.

Jiang Chang didn't want to wait so long, and he didn't want the boss's wife to wait so long for him, so he wanted to take a shortcut.

The landlady is three years older than Jiang Chang. They are a real sister and brother, and Jiang Chang doesn't hide anything from the landlady.

It was the same this time. When he talked about it, he told all his concerns, risks and future plans. Then he looked at the landlady. Whether she supported or opposed it, there was always someone to help him think about it.

The landlady had been listening quietly. After Jiang Chang finished speaking, she stretched out her hand to pull up her hair. The white noodles on her hands were stained with cream on her temples, and she smiled cheerfully, just like three years ago.

"You can do it if you want. If not, I will go back to your hometown with you and open a snack bar. If you can't afford a house in the capital, you can't afford it in your hometown."

"daughter in law."

Jiang Chang's eyes were filled with tears. He was so moved that he wanted to come over and give the boss's wife a hug, but the boss's wife pushed him away in disgust.

"Stop being pretentious, the water is boiling, let's make the dumplings."

………

After cutting the beef and tearing up the roasted chicken, the proprietress cooked two more stir-fries.

Four dishes, two cold and two hot, plus freshly baked pork and green onion dumplings, the New Year's Eve dinner is simple but full of warmth.

"The meal is ready, but the Spring Festival Gala hasn't started yet?"

Jiang Chang glanced at the TV advertisement and muttered. The landlady ignored him and took out a bottle of red wine.

"Want some?"

"Come."

There were no goblets or decanters. Two large bowls that were exactly the same as those used to hold dumplings were filled with red wine. The young couple clinked them together and drank from the bowls.

The landlady, who seldom drank alcohol, looked bitter and hurriedly picked up a dumpling to squish it.

"This stuff tastes terrible, astringent and bitter. I remember the one you bought last time was sour and sweet, wasn't it?"

"That's grape juice."

Jiang Chang was not used to drinking, but he was not willing to waste it. He frowned and took a few sips, then glanced at the TV, which was counting down.

"Hey, hey, the Spring Festival Gala has begun."

"Don't just look at it, eat it quickly, the dumplings will get cold after a while."

The dumplings were paired with red wine. Although the taste was a bit strange, neither of them were picky people and they ate them with great enjoyment. Their eyes were still watching the TV programs.

The first program of this year's Spring Festival Gala is the opening dance, and then several hosts appear. It is a must-see every year. The young couple who are familiar with the Spring Festival Gala immediately noticed the difference.

"Is there a change of host this year?"

"Ni Ping is not here, she is a newcomer."

"She looks pretty, what's her name?"

"It's not written on it anymore, Dong Qing."

After a few discussions, the young couple didn't pay much attention to it. To be honest, the host of the Spring Festival Gala didn't really remember much besides brushing his face over and over again.

Many Spring Festival Gala hosts can be remembered not only through qualifications but also by participating in language programs.

This year, the four main hosts, Zhu Jun, Li Yong, and Zhou Tao, have all performed sketch programs.

Dong Qing has also played Huang Hong in the future, but the most impressive one is the "Tota King" in magic...

The first program is singing and dancing, and the second program is Liu Tianwang's "Fu Lu Shou Xi".

The absence of [cai] is probably to distinguish it from Cao Xuan's "Gong Xi Fa Cai".

One thing to say is that Liu Tianwang's song was filled with joy and good luck, and the program was quite effective, but maybe it was because Cao Xuanzhuyu was in front, so it always felt a little less flavorful.

However, as the opening program, it was really lively and festive, which made many old Spring Festival Gala viewers very happy.

This is the Chinese New Year. It’s outrageous that Cao Xuan makes everyone shed tears every year!

The three programs are the cross talk "Consultation Hotline", performed by Li Weijian and Wu Bin, winners of the National Cross Talk Competition.

These two can be regarded as the decline of cross talk in the Spring Festival Gala. There are few cross talk actors who can make people laugh during the Spring Festival Gala.

The phrase "neck and cervical vertebrae, vertebrae and cervical vertebrae" is still remembered by many people after more than ten years.

It's not like the Spring Festival Gala in later generations, where a cross talk can make people sleepy. Everyone bangs their feet on the floor in embarrassment. Only the little black fat man and his disciples laugh...

Another sketch in the seventh program once again set off a wave of laughter.

Although Huang Hong is also a frequent visitor to the Spring Festival Gala, the overall number of programs is actually not as good as the others.

Needless to say, Lao Zhao, Chen Xiaoer and Zhao Lirong also have numerous masterpieces. The crosstalk between Feng and Niu is still regarded as a model of mainstream crosstalk.

In comparison, Huang Hong can only be regarded as the second echelon in the language category of the Spring Festival Gala.

In fact, Huang Hong had many excellent works in his early years, and even outshone Lao Zhao, who was at his peak at the time. However, after entering the 21st century, the overall quality of his sketches has seriously declined, and he has almost no threat to Lao Zhao.

But this does not mean that Huang Hong does not have any high-quality works. This year's "Decoration" is his Spring Festival Gala masterpiece.

Not only is the classic meme of "80 with a big hammer, 40 with a small hammer" everlasting, but it has also given Gong Hanlin, who has been struggling with development since Zhao Lirong left, a second spring.

At the same time, it also allowed Lin Yongjian, who has attended the Spring Festival Gala several times, to be out of the circle for the first time.

"What are you doing, what are you doing, what are you doing!!!"

"Luckily I hid quickly, otherwise my face would be ruined, you know (puff puff)!"

"It's my house you're destroying!"

One person plays three roles, especially the eldest sister, who is simply the soul of this sketch. As long as Jiang Chang and his wife see him, their smiles never stop.

After the skit "Decoration", there is the dance "Thousand-Hand Guanyin".

Usually when the Spring Festival Gala dance program is broadcast, everyone basically goes to the toilet, clears away the dishes, or chats and waits for the next program.

Jiang Chang and his wife were not interested at first, but the landlady's sharp eyes saw the fine print at the beginning of the program.

"Hey, Jiang Chang, Cao Xuan is a special guide."

"Where is it? Where is it?"

As a die-hard fan of Cao Xuan, Jiang Chang doesn't care about other shows, and his idol must support him.

"Didn't you talk about singing with Jay Chou? Why did you also participate in the dance?"

"Thankfully, you are still a fan. You don't watch the news. Cao Xuan is the artistic consultant of this year's Spring Festival Gala and directed this program."

"I don't have time to watch the news every day."

Jiang often maintains the dignity of his fans, but when it comes to a die-hard fan like him, he is indeed a bit "inadequate".

He rarely surfs the Internet and doesn't buy newspapers. He gets news about Cao Xuan from TV or other scattered channels. The timeliness is very poor. Many Cao Xuan news are not even understood by ordinary passers-by who are familiar with entertainment gossip.

He often doesn't have time to watch Cao Xuan's TV series; he usually sees pirated CDs of Cao Xuan's movies and rarely spends money to support them in theaters.

Cao Xuan's albums, except for the album "Si" of "Your Answer", he bought the genuine album once for collection, and at other times he listened to pirated copies or the radio.

Despite this, Jiang Chang admired Cao Xuan more than most people. He regarded Cao Xuan as his life idol in a true sense, and regarded what Cao Xuan said and did as his life creed. He imitated and learned from Cao Xuan. One of the most loyal fans.

Jiang Chang often wanted to go to Fanxing Film and Television City to gamble. Although it was largely for the sake of his future, Cao Xuan's influence was also one of the important reasons.

The landlady made a few jokes, but did not pursue him. She knew that Jiang Chang was busy with work and had no time to pay attention, so she helped pay attention and sometimes shared it with him.

Although she sometimes even gets jealous of Jiang Chang's crazy admiration for Cao Xuan, she also understands what Cao Xuan means to Jiang Chang, so she supports "chasing stars".

Of course, Jiang Chang's stingy star-chasing mentality is also an important reason why she turns a blind eye.

Another more important reason is that Cao Xuan is a male. If it were a female star, she would have exploded...

Because Cao Xuan was there, the young couple paid more attention to "Thousand-Hand Guanyin" and then enjoyed a peak visual feast.

Movement, stillness, contraction, and expansion are endless and ever-changing. The rhythm is consistent and extremely fast. The power and beauty of the body rhythm, coupled with Buddhist elements and gorgeous and exquisite costumes and makeup, make the "Thousand-Hand Guanyin" in the center of the TV lifelike, holy and solemn. .

At the same time, the overwhelming impact was so stunning that all the viewers in front of the TV were shocked.

Jiang Chang and his wife were both dumbfounded. During the nearly 6 minutes of the video, the two of them remained silent until the dance show ended.

The lady boss rubbed her arms and said, "Hubby, I'm getting goosebumps."

Jiang Chang was silent for more than ten seconds before uttering two words that summed up the thousands of words in his heart.

"Awesome!"

After "Thousand-Hand Guanyin", two programs later was "Chasing Dreams" sung by the top ten "Stars of Tomorrow" and popular contestants.

The song is a good song, and the contestants performed well. Although it is not a surprise, the contestants who have been popular all summer are reunited, which still makes many "Tomorrow Stars" viewers happy and emotional.

At that time, these grassroots newcomers who they watched all the way are now standing on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala. How can they not make people feel sad.

By the way, everyone discussed the second season of "Tomorrow's Star" a few times.

Fanxing and Beijing TV announced before the Spring Festival that they would no longer host "Stars of Tomorrow" in 2005 and would change the entire program cycle to every two years.

The reason is that in addition to the talent show, the biggest theme of "Tomorrow's Star" is to cultivate new forces in the music industry.

Nowadays, many of the contestants from the first season have not yet made their debut, and have not even released an album, so immediately launching the next batch of new contestants is a bit of a waste of money.

Of course, if you want the singers to develop sustainably and drain the popularity of the program to the greatest extent, it is more appropriate to hold the show every three years.

However, the advertising fee for "Star of Tomorrow" is still very good. Cao Xuan can pay for it every two years, and he admires his integrity.

Once every three years, it may be a good thing for the players, but from the business perspective of the company, the gains outweigh the losses. Even if it is held every two years, there is great resistance within Jingcheng TV and Fanxing. That is, Cao Xuan has high prestige, so he can barely suppress it. Live.

After "Chasing Dreams", it is a must-have opera program for the annual Spring Festival Gala, starring opera artists such as Ma Jinfeng, Meng Guanglu, Liu Guijuan, and Ma Lan.

It is worth mentioning that Gao Xiumin, one of the Iron Triangle, did not participate in the sketch, but performed this opera program as a duo actor.

This is also the only time in the Spring Festival Gala that the duo has performed with other crews for decades. It is of extraordinary significance to the Northeastern duo.

After this opera program, there was also a program with opera color.

"Island ice wheel first turns

See the Jade Rabbit, the Jade Rabbit rises to the east again early

…”

The first one to come out was the beauty Zeng, the Empress of the West Palace, who was wearing light opera makeup. She was wearing gorgeous palace clothes. She stood on the high platform, holding a cup in her hand to pretend to be drunk, and chanting in a dramatic voice.

The next second the prelude song sounded, and under the platform, a figure wearing a colorful embroidered Tang suit appeared, singing with a microphone.

"That year the snowflakes fell and the plum blossoms bloomed on the branches

There was so much sadness left by the Huaqing Pool that year

Don't say who is who, it's not about feelings, wrong or right

I just want to get drunk with you again in my dream

…”

The moment the singer appeared, countless people were stunned in front of the TV, including Jiang Chang.

Why did Cao Xuan come out?

Didn't he sing with Jay Chou?

Cao Xuan definitely has something to say here. In the beginning, it was definitely Zeng Li who sang "The Drunken Concubine" alone.

But later everyone felt that Zeng Li acted as a concubine and then sang the lyrics, which seemed a bit split. It was better to have a male singer and the two of them collaborate.

So starting from the fourth round of rehearsals, "The New Drunken Concubine" changed from a solo to a two-person chorus, and Cao Xuan was the cooperating male singer.

Although Cao Xuan has announced the program before, the Spring Festival Gala does not stipulate that he cannot perform two programs by himself.

Moreover, he said before that he wanted to sing a duet with someone, but he never named him and said he would only collaborate with Jay Chou.

As the singing and dancing director of this Spring Festival Gala, isn’t it normal to contribute more to the Spring Festival Gala?

The Spring Festival Gala program team also suppressed the matter and kept suppressing the matter. The singer of the program "The Drunken Concubine" was released to the public - Zeng Li...etc.

Just because of the word "wait", the moment Cao Xuan appeared, all the viewers who knew about it were shocked.

————

ps: Plot voting, do you think Cao Daguan and Xiao Zhou sang a decent chorus of "Thousands of Miles Away", or some other "original" song...

It’s the last two days. Please give me some monthly tickets.