Chapter 2: New Year's Eve in 2004
January 21, 2004, New Year's Eve
Coal Province, Railway Dormitory
At 8 PM, the Spring Festival Gala had just begun, and the voices of Zhu Jun and Ni Ping emanated from the television. Several hosts stood on the stage, enthusiastically offering auspicious greetings for the 'Year of the Monkey'.
Outside, the sound of 'crackle' firecrackers could be heard, and the night sky was colored by fireworks.
Although Longcheng had issued the "Regulations on Prohibiting the Setting Off of Fireworks and Firecrackers" as early as 1994, during the New Year, everyone still set off their own, and no one really bothered to enforce it.
The sound of firecrackers accompanied the singing and dancing, and a festive atmosphere spread. According to the custom of the Zhang family, when the Spring Festival Gala began, it was time to make New Year's greetings. On the sofa, Zhang's Father took out his newly bought Motorola cell phone and dialed the first New Year's greeting call.
In the past, cell phones were not common, and everyone used landlines or pagers for New Year's greetings. In the past two years, with the increasing popularity of cell phones, more and more people owned them, and everyone switched to text message greetings.
But for someone like Zhang's Father, New Year's greetings definitely had to be made by phone, as that showed more sincerity.
"Hello, Old Li, Happy New Year... I wish you good health, and I hope your family is well. Please send my regards to your family..."
"Old Zhang, Happy New Year, Happy New Year! It's been a long time since I saw you. Are you back from out of town? Good, good, good, let's get together after the New Year..."
Zhang's Father was a small leader in the railway's tertiary industry department, with many friends. During the New Year, naturally, there were many calls coming in and going out.
Each person spoke for a few minutes, adding up to quite a bit. This went on for over an hour, and the New Year's greetings finally came to an end.
Zhang's Father put down his cell phone, and Zhang's Mother peeled a mandarin orange and handed it to her husband.
At that time, logistics were not yet developed, and there weren't many fruit choices in Coal Province for the New Year. Mandarin oranges were among the more popular ones.
Zhang's Father took it, broke off a segment, and put it in his mouth. It wasn't very juicy, but it was very sweet.
"Is Xiao Chen still asleep?"
"Yes, he's been sleeping ever since he drank at noon. I just checked, and he's not awake yet. It's all your fault, I told you to drink less, but you wouldn't listen, and you got the child drunk..."
Speaking of this, Zhang's Mother looked displeased, as that was her precious son.
Zhang's Father laughed heartily upon hearing this: "This kid dared to challenge me at noon, I had to teach him a lesson. How can a father drink less than his son? But don't worry, he'll be fine. It's the New Year, a little extra drinking won't hurt. Besides, Xiao Chen is already an adult. When he enters society, drinking is an essential skill, and he'll have to experience these things sooner or later."
"Even so..."
In the living room, Zhang's Mother complained about Zhang's Father's lack of moderation. In the bedroom, Zhang Chen, lying on the bed, was experiencing a dream, or more precisely, merging with another soul.
His eyes darted rapidly beneath his closed eyelids, clearly indicating intense brain activity.
In his dream, he seemed to review the life of another version of himself.
He completed elementary, middle, and high school at the railway children's school, then rejected his father's decision to arrange for him to work at the railway, and, on his own initiative, applied to Beijing Film Academy, becoming a member of the 2002 directing class.
After graduation, he made his first movie, which flopped, and then, there was no 'then'.
Because he was a new director and couldn't attract investment, the money for his debut was provided by his family. After the failure, his family was unable to support his continued creative work.
Zhang Chen lost the opportunity to continue directing and had to find a job as a director at a TV station.
After nearly 20 years of stagnation, he finally seized an opportunity, made a web movie, and became an overnight sensation, finally having a representative work.
He then continued to delve into the field of web movies, gained some fame, and finally made a name for himself, living the dream life of nightly revelry, but then inexplicably died in a traffic accident when he was at the height of his ambition.
Crackling sounds~~
A sudden burst of intense firecrackers sounded outside, and Zhang Chen slowly opened his eyes.
The memories were completely fused, and the soul from 2024 disappeared. He could feel the reluctance of that soul.
Was this his future life?
Perhaps it was precisely because of that reluctance that he found his 20-year-younger self.
Zhang Chen was a little confused whether everything he had just experienced was real or just a dream.
He also remembered the movie he had made, how to put it, it was very artistic...
So, it was normal for it to flop.
The movie made no splash after its release, getting lost among a host of blockbusters.
Being a directing student is like this; not only is the competition for job opportunities fierce, but besides those in the major, there are also a large number of photography, art, and acting students vying for your livelihood. Even the cost of trial and error is ridiculously high.
One failed movie, and there won't be a second chance.
After all, even a low-budget movie would cost hundreds of thousands to a million yuan, and in Longcheng in 2004, tens of thousands of yuan could buy a second-hand apartment.
This failure directly led to him having no chance to make a comeback for over a decade, until the concept of micro-movies became popular.
Micro-movies are short in duration and have lower requirements in all aspects. Directing students learn a wide range of subjects, needing to understand acting, screenwriting, cinematography, lighting, and so on. Zhang Chen took on multiple roles and finally produced a micro-movie.
This work allowed him to stand out in the micro-movie competition.
Later, the concept of web movies emerged. Because of the achievements and connections he made with micro-movies, Zhang Chen successfully persuaded an investor to fund his web movie, giving him another chance to pick up the director's megaphone.
Having learned from his previous failure, his idea was simple: this time, the work he filmed had to be commercial enough, and it had to make money for the investor, so that he could continue.
Heaven wouldn't give him a third chance.
His painstaking efforts were not in vain. This web movie became a hit, and Zhang Chen finally found his footing in the industry.
After that, he successively filmed many more web movies, with increasingly better results, and gradually gained some reputation in the web movie circle.
At this time, he had achieved a small degree of success, considered a figure in the web movie circle. Actresses began to sneak into his room, begging him to teach them acting, and Zhang Chen lived a life of nightly revelry.
Just when everything was developing in a good direction, he unexpectedly died in a car accident.
While Zhang Chen was still recalling these things, there was a movement at the door; it was his mother coming in to check on him.
"Are you awake? If you're awake, get up and come out to watch the Spring Festival Gala. It'll be Zhao Benshan's skit soon."
Zhang's Mother finished speaking and left. Zhang Chen sat up groggily.
The old Bai Fen he drank at noon hadn't been metabolized yet; his head was still fuzzy, and his stomach felt a little uncomfortable.
Zhang's Father also came to the doorway at this moment and said, with much experience: "Get up and wash your face. I made you honey water; you'll feel better after drinking it."
Zhang Chen obediently washed his face, then sat on the sofa and drank the honey water. The warm honey water entering his stomach indeed made him feel much better.
The somewhat boring Spring Festival Gala program continued on the TV, but everyone's attention wasn't really on it.
It's the New Year, after all; turning on the TV and tuning to CCTV-1 is the minimum respect for the New Year. As for whether to watch it or not, it's not really important. Anyway, everyone is only interested in a few programs: Feng Gong's crosstalk and Zhao Benshan's skit.
Zhang Chen walked to the balcony, surrounded by colorful lights.
During the New Year in Coal Province, every household would decorate their balconies with colorful lights. Coal Province at night was incredibly beautiful.
These lights stayed on continuously until after the fifteenth day of the lunar new year.
Zhang Chen looked out, and it was truly beautiful; the entire neighborhood had a cyberpunk feel.
Cyberpunk?
It seemed this term also appeared in later generations. After integrating the memories, he also knew that only Coal Province would hang colorful lights on balconies during the New Year, and decades later, because of this and the habit of napping, Coal Province even gained a small bit of fame online.
"Zhao Benshan's skit has started."
Zhao Benshan, at this stage, was the pillar of the Spring Festival Gala. Without mentioning the south, in the north, Uncle Zhao was highly regarded. Many people stayed up on New Year's Eve to watch the Spring Festival Gala just for Zhao Benshan's skit.
Especially his previous works like "Selling Crutches" and "Selling a Car," which could still make people laugh even twenty years later, fully demonstrating Uncle Zhao's talent.
The skit was called "The Water Delivery Man," and the first scene was Uncle Benshan carrying a water bucket onto the stage. Zhang Chen secretly glanced at his parents; Zhang's Father and Zhang's Mother unconsciously smiled.
Uncle Benshan just had that kind of charm. As soon as he stood on stage, even before he started delivering punchlines, the audience would start laughing.
After watching Uncle Benshan's skit, there was no further anticipation for the Spring Festival Gala. The Zhang family also didn't have the custom of staying up late, so the family washed up and went to bed.
...
In the dark bedroom, listening to the firecrackers outside, Zhang Chen couldn't sleep at all.
With a 'click,' the lighter's flame lit up, and amidst the flickering light of the cigarette, Zhang Chen began to ponder his future.
Why did that soul from 20 years later find him? Because of reluctance, and also because he didn't want himself to repeat his old path.
In his memories, his debut movie failed, and he remained dejected until he finally made a name for himself in his forties.
Now, he naturally wouldn't let all of that repeat.
Eileen Chang said, "One should become famous early."
There was no mistake in that statement.
The entertainment industry is a circle of fame and fortune. In this circle, fame represents wealth.
For Zhang Chen to make something of himself in this life, the first step was to become famous.
How to become famous? Of course, by making movies.
In his dream, he spent a lifetime figuring out what kind of movies audiences loved, and he also knew which movies audiences loved. This was his biggest advantage.
He also thought of Zhao Benshan. This name had become a calling card for skits. When people thought of Zhao Benshan, they thought of good skits.
Zhang Chen also wanted to be that kind of person.
However, what to make for his first movie still required careful consideration.
In the darkness, the glow of the cigarette tip flickered, and the number of cigarette butts in the ashtray gradually increased.
After an unknown amount of time, the sound of firecrackers outside suddenly became more intense. Without guessing, he knew it must be the countdown to midnight, when people lit firecrackers to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new.
In the bedroom, the bedside lamp lit up, dispelling the darkness. At this moment, Zhang Chen also solemnly wrote down the name of his first movie after much thought on a piece of notepaper—"the descent".