"Not about the payment," Master Yuan shook his head and said, "I’ve read your script too, and it’s just some Kung Fu competition. Honestly, this type of film is more suited to Masters like Hong Bin and Li Long. They are the top inheritors of the Doctrine of the Mean faction. Your style matches theirs better. It’s not quite suitable for me, as I can’t muster any interest in these action movies."
"I’ve also considered this," Director Deng hurriedly said, "but as you know, the audience recognizes that your actions are more creative, and you use props very well, making the fights look good. Could you please help us out? As for the payment, we can discuss it. Look at all the colleagues here; please give me some face, how about it?"
"Let’s not talk about that," Master Yuan simply ignored him, closed his eyes, and tapped his fingers on the tea table, "I just wrote this poem and gained some insights. Let me savor it a bit more, is that alright?"
What crap—how can we leave without resolving this?
Director Deng and Li Xinghan’s groups looked at each other, unable to find a solution.
No choice; Master Yuan was universally recognized in the industry as a giant. Anyone who could get him to help with a Kung Fu film would create a huge buzz!
But he simply wouldn’t respond, leaving everyone at the scene feeling helpless.
Suddenly, the room fell into an eerie silence.
Just as everyone was at a loss, a somewhat youthful voice suddenly spoke up—
"Laughter in the World of Red Dust."
"Young and ignorant, following the waves, the road is long and dreams are distant with many obstacles."
"The wind and rain batter but the boat does not retreat, using joy as the oar and pain as the lake."
After these two lines were read, the voice continued, "This poem is well-written, and the calligraphy is great too! Not bad, not bad. But there’s something... slightly off, don’t you think?"
People turned their heads, only to see an unknown young man at the desk shaking his head and reciting the poem.
With everyone present being middle-aged, the sudden appearance of such a young person was indeed bizarre.
"Who is this person? Who brought him here? Doesn’t he have any manners?"
"Don’t know, he’s not one of ours, right?"
"Does he know calligraphy? He dares to speak his mind about anything!"
"Hey, who are you?" Director Deng frowned and asked, "Who brought you here? Why don’t you have any manners? Master Yuan’s poetry and calligraphy are not something a young person can simply comment on."
As he spoke, the room fell silent once more.
"Me?" The young man pointed to his nose and grinned, "I’m Wang Hao, just here to buy some soy sauce, passing by, hehe. You guys keep chatting, don’t mind me, I’m just looking around."
Li Chuang covered his face with one hand—Great, bringing Little Wang here might have been a mistake; if he angers Master Yuan, there’d be even less hope...
"Little Wang, don’t talk nonsense!" Li Chuang waved at him hurriedly, "Quickly apologize to Master Yuan... Master Yuan, please don’t be angry; he’s a screenwriter from our crew. He just happened to be here today, so I brought him to take a look."
"Hehe, it’s fine, it’s fine," Master Yuan didn’t seem to mind; he smiled and then looked at Wang Hao, asking, "I just want to know what you meant by feeling something was slightly off?"
The entire study went quiet, everyone waiting for Wang Hao’s explanation.
Director Deng thought to himself, "It’s probably just some attention-grabbing trick, praising the calligraphy for being neat and aligned, while pointing out tiny flaws like uneven ink or slight pauses—old tricks we’ve all played before! None of them work!"
At this moment, everyone was waiting for Wang Hao’s critique, all looking on with keen interest.
"Looks like I have to show some tricks today, or you won’t know what Brother Hao is capable of!" Wang Hao thought with a cold laugh.
He knew that if he didn’t demonstrate some skills and impress Master Yuan today, there wouldn’t be any chance of getting him to help.
Given the current situation, he had to drop a bombshell; otherwise, turning this guy around seemed unlikely!
"As for the poem, it really is a good one," Wang Hao looked at the calligraphy on the table and said, "This seven-character quatrain perfectly rhymes and speaks of the spirit of struggling in youth despite all kinds of adversities, never retreating. The first line, ’Young and ignorant, following the waves, the road is long and dreams are distant with many obstacles.’ The rhyme is undeniable, but the meaning, I fear, is slightly lacking."
Hearing Wang Hao’s words, Director Deng sitting in the corner suddenly snorted with laughter—How can someone so young be so pretentious...
Master Yuan had read a book titled "Venturing the World" that afternoon, which was essentially about a young man who persevered against odds and finally succeeded, an inspirational story. He was so captivated by the book, which reminded him of the turbulent era when everyone was encouraged to start their ventures, and recalled his own impoverished youth. This inspiration led him to write this poem, especially combining his calligraphy skills, making him quite complacent.
Now hearing Wang Hao say it was slightly lacking, he immediately felt displeased and his expression cooled, he snorted, "Oh? Perhaps then, the young brother can enlighten us?"