Chapter 25 National Day Tribute Film
After sending Luo Baoming back to the guesthouse, Liu Hongmin drove Cha Jianying back to school.
"Hongmin, why didn't you ask for more royalties?"
"It's impossible to get it out. Your distant relative is not a generous person."
Cha Jianying nodded, feeling somewhat dissatisfied with Mr. Jin Yong. What would it matter if he gave him more royalties? You are so rich.
Liu Hongmin didn't know what Cha Jianying was thinking, so he continued, "But don't worry, as long as the first part is successful, they will take the initiative to find me."
"It will definitely produce results. Although Shao Bao is a serious literary work, it has advantages when it is published in Hong Kong. Entertainment is popular there, especially martial arts novels. Shao Bao also contains martial arts elements, and has a wider audience than serious literary works."
"I thought so too, that's why I dared to sign with him one by one."
"You don't have to worry about not being able to raise enough money to buy a house this time, right?"
"Come to think of it, I really have to thank you."
"Hey, how are you going to thank me?"
Liu Hongmin thought about it and realized that in those days when supplies were scarce, it was difficult to sell gifts.
"How about I treat you to a meal?"
Cha Jianying slapped him on the back and said, "You only know how to eat."
"Then why don't you eat?"
Cha Jianying rolled his eyes and said, "Please treat me to a movie!"
"Watch a movie?" Liu Hongmin was very surprised. How much does a movie ticket cost?
"A tribute film will be shown for the National Day event. Didn't Chen Jiangong say before that he was involved in this project? Let's go and see what kind of movie it is?"
"Sure!" Liu Hongmin was also very curious. He had a good relationship with Chen Jiangong. He was also very curious about the movie that his friend participated in producing.
So, on National Day, the two met at the school gate early in the morning and went to the cinema together.
Liu Hongmin looked around the entrance of the cinema, but he didn't see any popcorn or Coke. After entering the cinema, there were quite a lot of people inside.
There were no entertainment programs in this era, and watching movies was a hobby for many people. Movie tickets in this era only cost one or two cents, but the box office could reach hundreds of millions. It was not until the 90s that the film market gradually declined due to various reasons and had to undergo reforms before it started to grow again.
"Are you sure this is the movie that Chen Jiangong participated in?"
Liu Hongmin asked, pointing at the movie poster.
Zha Jianying was also stunned. "Didn't he say it was about the capitalist-roaders?"
The poster shows a girl in armor holding a handful of soil. Obviously, this is a costume film, and the title is also strange.
"Aolei Yilan"?
“This name is a bit weird.”
"It should be a person's name." Liu Hongmin analyzed: "It can be a National Day tribute film, and it is a costume film, so it must be about resisting invasion."
Zha Jianying turned around and asked, "Are you still watching?"
"Since we're here, wouldn't it be a waste if we don't take a look?"
Liu Hongmin finally gave himself a day off today. If he didn't watch this movie, how would he spend his time? Moreover, he promised to accompany Cha Jianying to watch a movie, how could he go back on his word?
So, the two of them lined up to buy movie tickets. When they got them, they found that it was actually after 3pm.
"Let's go and have dinner first. We can come over here after dinner." Cha Jianying was speechless. She didn't expect there would be so many people. These were tickets for the third and fourth shows later.
The two found a small restaurant nearby and had a meal. Before leaving, Liu Hongmin asked for two bottles of Beibingyang, "I'll send the bottles back to you after the movie."
There are no plastic bottles these days, only glass bottles, which have to be recycled.
On the way, Liu Hongmin met an old man selling popcorn, and he went up to buy some. When he arrived at the cinema, everyone was staring at the two guys who had food and drinks.
Cha Jianying was a little embarrassed, "Hongmin, isn't it a bit inappropriate to eat in a movie theater?"
"What's wrong with that? We watch movies with our eyes and brains, not with our hands and mouths. Movie theaters in Hong Kong sell popcorn and Coke, so we should learn from them. This is called keeping pace with the international community."
Cha Jianying was speechless, but she didn't know what to say. It was she who told Liu Hongmin about the sale of popcorn and cola in the Xiangjiang Cinema.
"Let's go!"
Liu Hongmin called Cha Jianying and followed the crowd into the theater. After finding a seat according to the ticket, Liu Hongmin took Cha Jianying to sit down and then handed the bag of popcorn to Cha Jianying.
Cha Jianying was embarrassed to take it, but soon the lights in the theater were turned off, and then Cha Jianying grabbed a handful like a thief.
Liu Hongmin laughed and stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth.
"Squeak!"
It's a bit hard and not as good as the big popcorn in the future.
But conditions are limited, so just eat what you can!
Soon, the movie started.
As expected, Liu Hongmin was right. This costume film is indeed about resisting aggression. It tells the story of Aolei Yilan's participation in the desperate struggle to defend the country's borders against the Russian invaders in the mid-17th century. In this harsh struggle, she grew from an innocent Daur girl to a heroic woman who led her tribe and nation to fight the Russian invaders to the end.
Liu Hongmin felt very embarrassed watching this film. It's not that the film was badly made, but that the films of this era had just broken away from the stereotype of model operas, and even the realistic style still didn't look that realistic. For those who have been used to watching movies made in the future for more than 30 years, watching movies now will feel very fake.
Cha Jianying did not have this worry and watched the show with great interest.
“It seems pretty good!”
"It's a good story," Liu Hongmin said. "It has some echoes of Hua Mulan joining the army to replace her father. There were many such stories in ancient times, and each one has been passed down for a long time."
Cha Jianying raised an eyebrow, "Do you know any other stories about women joining the army?"
Liu Hongmin smiled and said, "There are many, Princess Pingyang, Lady Xian, Qin Liangyu..."
Cha Jianying blinked and said, "Hongmin, can you tell me their story?"
"Then let's talk about Princess Pingyang!"
While Liu Hongmin was riding his bike with Cha Jianying, he told him the story of Princess Pingyang.
"Princess Pingyang was the third daughter of Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan. She married Chai Shao in her early years. Chai Shao was one of the 24 meritorious officials in the Lingyan Pavilion of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin. The couple made great contributions to the establishment of the Tang Dynasty. Chai Shao followed Li Yuan in his army and was often the first to attack the enemy. He was a brave general."
"Princess Pingyang was even more powerful than Chai Shao. When Li Yuan started his rebellion in Jinyang, Princess Pingyang was in Chang'an. In order to support her father, she sold the Li family's property in Chang'an, recruited hundreds of refugees, and contacted anti-Sui armies from all over the country. Soon, she had tens of thousands of troops. The Sui army attacked Princess Pingyang's army many times, but was defeated by her every time. Even the Sui general Qu Tutong was no match for her. Because Princess Pingyang had very strict military discipline, the people respectfully called her Lady Li and her army the Lady Army."
"After reuniting with her father, Princess Pingyang was sent to Shanxi to guard Li Yuan's base camp. She led her troops to garrison at Weize Pass in Pingding County, Shanxi. From then on, Weize Pass was renamed Niangzi Pass..."
(End of this chapter)
