China Entertainment 1997

Not long after Cao Xuan returned to the dormitory, he was informed to move to the dormitory. As a formal actor, his salary was improved and he was moved from an eight-person room to a double room.

In fact, Cao Xuan's requirements for accommodation are not high, just shelter from wind and rain and a bed to sleep on.

When he was working as an extra in Beijing, he lived in basements, small bungalows, and Datong shops. During the most difficult period, he even spent two nights under a bridge pier.

However, Cao Xuan would not be stupid enough not to change his accommodation if he could change it. What's more, there were too many people in the original dormitory, which was not suitable for him to read scripts and prepare for the show. The two of them would be quieter.

When he packed his luggage and moved to the new dormitory, he discovered that it was said to be a room for two people, but in fact he was the only one living there.

After asking the staff, I found out that Cao Xuan was lucky. An actor happened to be finishing the filming and an empty dormitory was vacated, allowing him to have a dormitory all to himself.

After putting down his luggage, Cao Xuan got some water and tidied up briefly.

Compared with the eight-person room, the double room is slightly smaller in size, but has "luxurious" configurations, including a single bed, desk, wardrobe, heater, and most importantly, its own bathroom, so you don't have to queue in the morning and evening to wash up and go to the toilet.

After cleaning up and looking at the brand new dormitory, Cao Xuan was in a good mood. He opened the doors and windows for ventilation, then took out Ximen Qing's script and started reading it.

The character of Ximen Qing is an out-and-out villain and buffoon, lustful and of low character.

If Pan Jinlian could still manage to say "hateful people must have pity", then for Ximen Qing, she would be nothing but contempt.

Many actors are not willing to play such a clown, but Cao Xuan accepted it well.

There is no distinction between high and low characters, everything is for the sake of art.

Not to mention Ximen Qing, the director just let him play Pan Jinlian, and Cao Xuan dared to wear women's clothes...

And then again, although Ximen Qing's character is extremely unlikable, the character itself attracts a lot of attention.

In the entire "Water Margin", Wu Song's reputation for killing his sister-in-law is definitely in the top three, if not the first.

Except for Song Jiang, Wu Song, Li Kui, Lu Zhishen and a few others, there are really few remaining Liangshan heroes who are as well-known as Ximen officials.

Ximen Qing only had a few dozen scenes, so Cao Xuan spent an entire afternoon reading the script carefully.

I also compared it with the Ximen Qing-related plot of "Water Margin" that I borrowed from the staff. The difference is not big, but it is more three-dimensional through film and television shaping.

Golden Finger also contains memories of the original version of "Water Margin" that "Cao Xuan" has read, and Cao Xuan can learn from it.

After finishing work in the evening, Zhang Chong and Sun Jiang, who had returned from filming, learned that Cao Xuan had played Ximen Qing and ran to his new dormitory to ask Cao Xuan to treat him.

Cao Xuan didn't refuse, but he said that he just got the role, so he shouldn't be too high-profile and would wait a few days before talking about it.

Zhang Chong immediately agreed and walked around Cao Xuan's new dormitory with envy. Sun Jiang was a little disappointed and his brows drooped, but he didn't dare to say anything.

Cao Xuan and Zhang Chong have a very good relationship. They met in 1995 and rented a house together. However, later because Zhang Chong had a girlfriend, Cao Xuan moved out and lived on his own.

Zhang Chong and Sun Jiang are fellow villagers, and the relationship between the three of them is maintained by Zhang Chong in the middle.

If we just talk about Sun Jiang and Cao Xuan, they are probably barely enough to be friends. Seeing that Cao Xuan is now prosperous, Sun Jiang is trying every means to get close to him, but he doesn't dare to show it even if he has small intentions.

We can't go out to eat for the time being, but we can celebrate a little in the canteen. The three of them came to the canteen, picked up their own dishes, and then put them together.

Stewed pork and cabbage vermicelli, fried shredded radish, vegetarian potato slices, and stir-fried bean sprouts with meat.

There are two meat and two vegetables, and the dishes are decent. Cao Xuan is handsome, and the aunt in the cafeteria even added a few extra slices of meat.

Many people in later generations would not like to eat those fat and oily meat slices, but now they are more popular than lean meat.

Cao Xuan himself is not very picky about food, he likes to eat both fat and lean meat, not to mention Zhang Chong and Sun Jiang, they like meat if it is meaty and fishy, ​​especially fat meat that is fragrant and satiating.

After eating, everyone went back to their homes. Not two minutes after Cao Xuan arrived at his dormitory, there was a knock on the door.

A bald man with a sinewy face and round arms blocked the door: "You must be Cao Xuan."

"Hello, Teacher Zang."

Cao Xuan knew this strong man. Zang Jinsheng, who played Lu Zhishen, was also the captain of the cast of "Water Margin".

"You don't need to call me teacher. I'm older than you. Just call me Brother Zang. I just heard the news. Come over and have a look. If you need anything in the future, just come to me. I'm in the dormitory at the west staircase on the second floor."

Zang Jinsheng has a bold and bold personality, but he is also rough and subtle. When he speaks, he pays attention to the emotions of Cao Xuan, a newcomer.

There was a very famous incident on the set of "Water Margin". Zheng Shuang, who originally played Hu Sanniang, was often absent from the set because of her involvement in the drama. This angered Zhang Jizhong and wanted to replace her.

At the critical moment, it was Zang Jinsheng who called Zheng Shuang and ordered Zheng Shuang to return to the group. Then he took her and Er Zhang to apologize, wrote a letter of guarantee, read it out in a meeting, etc., and just saved the role for Zheng Shuang.

Loyalty, good character, deep qualifications, and neat and meticulous work make Zang Jinsheng the most popular among the crew of "Water Margin".

He has extremely high prestige among actors and responds to hundreds of requests. Even Li Xuejian, the biggest star in the crew, is slightly inferior to him in this regard.

Just in line with that sentence——

Everyone loves Master Lu!

In comparison, Cao Xuan, Ximen Qing's character, is not well received by others, but Zang Jinsheng has a good impression of Cao Xuan himself.

Although he has a pretty face, he is not squeamish.

When I heard that Cao Xuan had been an extra for two years, I was even more impressed. Before leaving, I even took the initiative to invite Cao Xuan to his dormitory when he was free.

After Zang Jinsheng left, Cao Xuan memorized the script for a few more hours, turned off the lights and went to sleep at nearly 12 o'clock.

However, after a long day, Cao Xuan's spirit was particularly high. He tossed and turned in bed and couldn't fall asleep, so he simply thought about the math problems he learned in high school.

Five minutes later, Cao Xuan met Mr. Zhou...

………

Leisure time always flies by, and in a blink of an eye it's the day when Cao Xuan goes on stage.

At four o'clock in the morning, Cao Xuan, who was notified in advance, ran to the dressing room to put on makeup and change clothes. He simply put a cushion on his stomach, changed clothes, and went to the shooting venue of the base to wait.

Xinwu Film and Television Base was founded in 1987 and is China's first large-scale film and television shooting and tourism base.

Prior to this, the most famous film and television work born here was the CCTV version of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

Nowadays, the main filming location of "Water Margin", the last of CCTV's four famous works, is also located here.

In order to film "Water Margin", CCTV built a Water Margin city at the Xinwu Film and Television Base, covering an area of ​​more than 2,000 acres of water and land, and is roughly divided into three parts: Zhouxian District, Jingcheng District, and Liangshan District.

The scene in Yanggu County is set on Zishi Street in Zhouxian District. The main scenes of the scene are Wu Dalang's house, Wang Po's Tea House, and the Lion House.

In addition, Zheng Tu’s butcher shop in Guanxi, where Wu Song’s blood was spattered with blood, is also located here.

When Luda first bought the Meat Hammer Man, Wang Po and Pan Jinlian were probably sitting across from each other watching the excitement.

Wu Song killed Ximen Qing in a lion tower fight with his front foot. If he walked a few dozen meters to the side, there would be another blood-spattered Yuanyang Tower. If he wanted to return to the scene, he could go to Wu Dalang's house and kill Pan Jinlian.

All over the streets, the "blood debt" of Lu Zhishen and Wu Song is everywhere...

At the Zishi Street filming site, Cao Xuan met himself, the actor opposite Ximen Daguanren.

Grandma Wang is played by veteran drama star Li Mingqi. Her most famous role is that of Grandma Rong, who is "no good person under the needle".

But unlike the ruthless character in the TV series, the old lady was very kind in private, with a smile on her face from beginning to end.

The actor who plays Wu Dalang is called Song Wenhua. As mentioned before, this is not a professional actor, but runs a canteen at home. Later, he was spotted by Wang Guanghui, the actor who plays Yan Qing, and recommended to the crew.

Song Wenhua originally wanted to play the short-legged tiger Wang Ying, but Zhang Zhaolin thought he had a simple and honest face and arranged for him to play Wu Dalang.

It is worth mentioning that Song Wenhua was once the champion of the Beijing workers' martial arts competition and a serious practitioner.

Therefore, despite the fact that Wu Dalang is cowardly and honest in the movie, the cast and crew of "Water Margin" are among the best in terms of martial arts outside the movie, and Wu Song may not be his opponent.

Ding Haifeng, who plays Wu Song, will be most famous in the future as Zhao Donglai, the director of the Jingzhou Municipal Bureau in "In the Name of the People".

Speaking of which, Cao Xuan's favorite character in "Water Margin" is Wu Song. When he was a child, he dreamed of growing up to become the tiger-fighting hero Wu Erlang.

Now that I have played Ximen Qing, who was killed by Wu Song, this dream is barely half fulfilled...

The last one left is the actor Wang Siyi who plays Pan Jinlian. She is from Taiwan and a former model. She is beautiful and tall.

Wearing a costume, her brows are pure and yet there is a bit of softness hidden in the corners of her eyes, fully displaying the alluring charm of a good young woman mixed with virtuousness and style.

Gee, Zhang Zhaolin’s vision is simply amazing!

Cao Xuan secretly admired Director Zhang, but he didn't know that his mistress in the play, Pan Jinlian, was also silently sizing him up.

Seeing Cao Xuan's tall figure and handsome face, Wang Siyi breathed a sigh of relief.

Pan Jinlian and Ximen Qing have a lot of passionate scenes in the play, and Wang Siyi has been mentally prepared for this.

But people, whether they are actors or actresses, always hope that their passionate opponents will be more beautiful/handsome, let alone eye-catching or not, at least they can feel more comfortable when they bite.

Obviously, Cao Xuan's appearance meets Wang Siyi's requirements, and is even a surprise beyond expectations...