Gong Xue

"Director Wang!"

That day, after another meeting, Chen Qi called out to Wang Haowei.

"Little Chen, what is it?"

"Well, I had nothing to do yesterday, so I read a magazine. It featured a film called Sacrificial Red, made by Changchun Film Studio. The lead actress was both pure and beautiful. She might be right for Romance on Mount Lu."

"Oh?"

Wang Haowei grew attentive and asked, "Tell me more."

"Her name is Gong Xue. I don't know which work unit she's with, but she played three roles in it."

"Three?"

"That's right. The mother, the daughter, and a fairy-she played all three. Anyway, I thought she looked the part, so I wanted to recommend her."

"Gong Xue... all right, I'll remember that. I'll ask someone about her right away! Oh, you've really gone to a lot of trouble over the casting, haven't you?"

"I'm part of the crew too. It's only right."

After Chen Qi left, Wang Haowei immediately contacted Changchun Film Studio.

"You're asking about Gong Xue? Oh, we went to an awful lot of trouble to get her to act in our film..."

The person on the other end launched straight into the story. "She's with the General Political Department Drama Troupe. Two years ago, we wanted her for The Lamp, but the General Political Department wouldn't release her. Then, when we were preparing Sacrificial Red, we thought of her again, but they still wouldn't let her go. They said she was going to perform in Yunnan.

"As it turned out, she fractured a bone and couldn't go. She was in the hospital recovering.

"To wait for her, we delayed the start of filming by a full four months. We sent people to persuade them again and again, pleaded with them, and pulled strings. Only then did the General Political Department finally give in."

"What kind of fairy could she be, for you to pursue her so doggedly?" Wang Haowei asked with a laugh.

"Haha, you'll know when you meet her!"

That conversation thoroughly piqued Wang Haowei's interest, and she hurried to contact the General Political Department.

The General Political Department Drama Troupe was a formidable organization, so she didn't act rashly. She first sought out a friend named Che Xiaotong. Che Xiaotong was an actor in the drama troupe. He had played Great King Gold Horn in Journey to the West, done voice work for Haier Brothers, and played Marshal Liu in Drawing Sword. He had portrayed Marshal Liu many times and was considered a specialist in the role.

He had a daughter named Che Xiao-the father and daughter's names were quite interesting...

Che Xiaotong brought over a few photographs of Gong Xue.

One look, and Wang Haowei understood why Changchun Film Studio had been willing to wait four long months to get her.

These were unusual times.

Chen Qi might have looked uninhibited, but he actually knew exactly what he was doing.

Take English, for example. He only dared carry an English book around and read it every day, creating the impression that he was studying hard. If he didn't cover his tracks and suddenly, snap, he could speak English-come on! Did he think rooting out enemy spies was a game?

Though only a year separated 1979 and 1980, many things were as different as heaven and earth.

The eighties were wild, and the nineties were even wilder. That was an era when people threw all restraint to the wind.

Take Romance on Mount Lu, too. Its content looked bold, but it was actually catering to the tastes of the higher-ups. And as for the casting, if the crew's progress hadn't been so slow, he wouldn't have spoken up.

Wang Haowei was a woman of action. She first bypassed the General Political Department Drama Troupe and privately invited Gong Xue to come over.

So that morning, the creative team gathered once again in the small meeting room to wait for the candidate.

Chen Qi sat off to the side as usual, looking forward to it himself. As the internet saying went, "Zhu Lin in the north, Gong Xue in the south"-the twin beauties of the eighties! But no one said that at the time. It was a phrase later netizens came up with while reminiscing and digging through the past.

Gong Xue really was a huge star. Zhu Lin was actually a little less so. She appeared in more television dramas and had the Daughter Kingdom's king buff maxed out.

Now that he was here, he naturally had to meet the beauties of this era one by one by one by one. He couldn't just keep seeing Cai Ming all the time...

They hadn't waited long when they suddenly heard someone speaking outside, apparently asking for directions.

Footsteps followed, suddenly growing softer at the door. A figure appeared before them, and Wang Haowei and the creative team all turned their gazes toward the entrance.

She had come in uniform, wearing a cap and a pair of white sandals. She was of medium height, around 163 centimeters.

Her feet were small and dainty too.

Hair peeked out from beneath her cap, seemingly with a bit of a natural curl. Below it was a face no bigger than a palm. Her brows were curved, her eyes lovely, and her lips delicately shaped. When she smiled, her teeth were white and even, which was particularly rare.

Everyone knew the phrase "bright eyes and pearly teeth," but they didn't have a very clear idea of what it looked like. Now that they saw her, those four words suddenly sprang to everyone's mind.

"Hello, Director Wang!"

"Hello, teachers!"

She was a little nervous and bowed as soon as she came in.

"Hello, hello. Please sit!"

Wang Haowei had her sit down and said with a smile, "I invited you here privately today. Teacher Che told you about it, didn't he?"

"He did. Thank you for thinking so highly of me."

She had barely sat down before she started to rise again. Wang Haowei hastily waved her down. "All right, all right, there's no need to be so formal. It's making me feel awkward. Let's just have a casual chat. Could you take off your cap?"

"All right!"

She reached up and lifted it off. Wang Haowei's eyes brightened even more, and she asked, "I hear you're from Shanghai?"

"Yes, I was born in Shanghai."

"What do your parents do?"

"My father is a photographer, and my mother is an artist. After I graduated from middle school, I went to Jiangxi to work in the countryside."

"Jiangxi?"

Wang Haowei blinked and asked, "Then how did you end up at the General Political Department?"

"I first applied to join the army as a performing arts soldier. At the time, the General Political Department Drama Troupe was putting on a play called Ten Thousand Rivers and Mountains, and they picked me. I stayed on after that... Last year, I acted in Changchun Film Studio's Sacrificial Red..."

The room grew very quiet, with only the sound of questions and answers remaining.

She spoke so gently, utterly unlike Fang Shu, that big-city girl from Beijing, that everyone unconsciously lowered their voices too. She sat there with her legs together, her hands on her thighs, and her back perfectly straight, like a student taking an exam.

"Do you know anything about Romance on Mount Lu?"

"Not very much. Teacher Che said it's a love story."

"More or less. There's romance in it, and patriotic feeling too... Oh, I hear you're twenty-six. Are you married?"

"Not yet."

"Then have you ever been in love?"

"I've been in the army all this time..."

She blushed. "I don't have much experience."

Wang Haowei smiled again and had her read a passage of dialogue. After considering it, she asked, "Would you be interested in starring in Romance on Mount Lu?"

"I'd be very willing to. I mean, if I could be given the chance."

"How about this? Take a copy of the script home and study it first. Leave the drama troupe to me; I'll speak to them. But let me be clear: I can't guarantee you'll get a part. For now, you're just auditioning and making preliminary preparations."

"All right. Thank you, Director, and thank you, teachers!"

She stood up and bowed again.

"Let me introduce you. This is the screenwriter, our famous young talent, Chen Qi!"

"Hello, it's nice to meet you!"

"Hello, hello!"

Gong Xue was surprised by how young he was, but still addressed him respectfully. The two shook hands lightly. She was then introduced to the cinematographer, the assistant director, and the others, before saying goodbye and leaving.

The others immediately held a meeting.

"First, she's pure; second, she's Western-looking!"

"There's no question she's pure, but she's still a little short on the Western look."

"I think she's quite good. What does Western-looking even mean? If you mean someone who naturally looks Western, that would be far too hard to find. Really, dress her up in pretty clothes and give her a fashionable hairstyle, and that's Western-looking!"

"The audience has never seen what overseas Chinese from the United States look like. If we really try to find someone who meets that standard, it might not work at all. We still have to suit Chinese people's idea of beauty."

"In any case, let's bring her in first. Pair Fang Shu with Zhou Lijing, and Gong Xue with Tang Guoqiang. Ship the clothes over from Hong Kong and see how they look."

"Mm, that works too!"

"..."

Chen Qi was a little speechless.

In filmmaking these days, it was commonplace to shoot one shot a day and spend a year on a single production.

You could call it meticulous devotion to art, or you could call it inefficiency. Everything had to be discussed in meetings, studied over and over again. He had experienced that in full during this time.

Clutching his notebook, Chen Qi lowered his head and left the meeting room.

A screenwriter really doesn't have much say. I'm going to climb to the very top, step by step by step by step!

(Thanks to Ice Slime for upgrading to a silver patron...

That's all!)

(End of chapter)