Chapter 00193: The Golden Rooster Lays an Egg
# The Golden Rooster Lays an Egg
Chapter 193
Novel: 1979 Golden Age
Chapter 193: The Golden Rooster Lays an Egg
Hangzhou.
By the West Lake, at the guesthouse.
At 71 years old, Mr. Yuan Wenshu woke up early and took a walk along the West Lake before returning for breakfast.
Around nine o'clock, he picked up his usual enamel mug and headed to the meeting room.
"Mr. Yuan!"
"Mr. Yuan!"
More than twenty people were already seated inside, greeting him in unison.
Yuan Wenshu waved his hand and took his seat at the head of the table.
He was a renowned expert in drama and film theory in China, having served as the director of the Shanghai Film Studio and the executive vice chairman of the Film Association.
His prestige was immense, and he was also the chairman of the first Golden Rooster Awards jury.
The twenty-some people present were all judges who had been staying here for ten days, dedicated to evaluating the awards.
In those days, people loved traveling for meetings and events because it was usually difficult to go out otherwise.
This was a perfect excuse to travel, with all expenses covered, and they could even enjoy some sightseeing along the way...
"Today is the last day of the meeting, and we must reach a conclusion. There are two awards still undecided. Let's tackle the first one: Best Feature Film. The competition between *Legend of Tianyun Mountain* and *Night Rain in Bashan* has been fierce. We'll hold another round of voting today, and no matter the outcome, we must finalize the result."
Yuan Wenshu tapped the table and said, "Alright, enough talk. Let's start voting!"
The judges were all respected veteran artists in the country.
Initially, there had been discussions about whether to include films from Hong Kong and Taiwan, but they eventually decided it was too complicated and would wait for a better opportunity.
Having spent ten days together, everyone was familiar with the process.
They each wrote their votes on slips of paper.
Yuan Wenshu also cast his vote, then collected and tallied them.
"Thirteen votes for *Legend of Tianyun Mountain*, twelve for *Night Rain in Bashan*. It seems *Legend of Tianyun Mountain* has won."
"Mr. Yuan, I still think it's a shame," one of the veteran artists spoke up. "*Night Rain in Bashan* is also an excellent film. If the difference had been four or five votes, it would be one thing, but with just one vote, it shows the two works are evenly matched. Should we hold another round?"
"I think we shouldn't waste any more time. A win is a win!"
"But we can't let a gem be overlooked. Otherwise, the Golden Rooster Awards will be mocked for having poor judgment!"
The room erupted into debate again.
After some discussion, Yuan Wenshu made the final decision.
"Let's declare both films as winners and submit them together!"
"That's a good idea!"
"I support this. It's the safest approach."
And so, in the year of Xinyou, the Golden Rooster, making its debut, laid a double-yolked egg.
This trend would continue for decades, with the awards producing so many "double-yolked eggs" that people eventually stopped complaining.
It wasn't exactly a case of "sharing the pork," as the Best Actor award was left vacant—they preferred to leave it empty rather than give it to someone undeserving.
But it also wasn't entirely fair, as the judges, with good intentions, didn't want excellent works to be left out.
However, they failed to consider how to establish the authority of an award...
In short, the award mechanism was unprofessional.
The Oscars, on the other hand, were much more professional.
We all know that winning an Oscar requires lobbying, but they maintain a facade of fairness and justice, keeping the behind-the-scenes dealings hidden—which makes it all the more convincing.
Of course, the Oscars have also become overly politicized and are now somewhat of a joke.
"Now, let's move on to the second award: Best Actress. The competition is fierce between Gong Xue from *Romance on Lushan Mountain*, Zhang Yu from *Night Rain in Bashan*, and Wang Fuli from *Legend of Tianyun Mountain*. Although Zhang Yu and Wang Fuli are the leading actresses, both films are ensemble pieces with many compelling characters, which somewhat diminishes the prominence of the leading roles. Their performances, while excellent, don't carry the same absolute weight. *Romance on Lushan Mountain*, however, is a two-person show. Gong Xue has a significant amount of screen time, and her role is irreplaceable. Her performance is also groundbreaking, but..."
Yuan Wenshu paused, and everyone understood. *Romance on Lushan Mountain* had been released the previous summer and was still being shown in many small cities and towns.
There were still die-hard critics attacking it with the same old arguments: bourgeois decadence, corrupting the youth with romance, and so on...
After some hesitation, Yuan Wenshu said, "Let's vote and let the numbers decide."
"Alright, let's vote!"
"That's the best way!"
Soon, the votes were tallied, and Yuan Wenshu announced the results.
"All the Golden Rooster Awards have been decided. I'll report them to the Ministry of Culture for approval. We can now notify the relevant units and ask them to arrive in Hangzhou by the 23rd. We'll also inform them of the specific procedures to avoid any last-minute chaos."
"Meeting adjourned!"
At the same time, the results of the *Popular Film* Hundred Flowers Awards were also finalized and would be submitted to the Ministry of Culture for approval before the awards ceremony.
…………
The area where the Beijing Film Studio was located was called Beitaipingzhuang.
In later years, it would be part of the North Third Ring Road, but at this time, there was no Third Ring Road, and even the Second Ring Road wasn't fully completed.
Going from the Beijing Film Studio to the city center was considered "going into the city."
Traveling from places like Changping, Miyun, or Tongzhou to the city center was an even bigger deal—it was called "going to Beijing."
Outside the Beijing Film Studio, there was a bus stop with only a cracked asphalt road.
On either side were dirt paths, surrounded by vegetable fields, the China Education Publishing House, military family housing, a military retirement home, and the Beitaipingzhuang Store.
The Beitaipingzhuang Store was the largest shopping spot in the area.
It was a single-story building, about five to six hundred square meters.
Every late autumn, they would sell cabbages outside the store, piling them up like small mountains.
Nearby residents would line up early in the morning, afraid they might miss out.
Gong Xue had been here for over half a year and was growing more accustomed to life in this place.
At the moment, she was walking out of the Beitaipingzhuang Store with a bag of pastries, riding her small bicycle back to the studio.
She had a sweet tooth and loved pastries and candies.
As she passed through the gate, she noticed a message written on the small blackboard: "Gong Xue has a big pile of letters!"
"Uncle, I'm here to pick up my letters!"
"Pick them up, pick them up. You get a bag of letters every day. I've become your personal mailman!"
"Ah, I know it's a lot of trouble for you. Here, have a pastry..."
She smiled sweetly, coaxing the gatekeeper, and placed the bag of letters on the back of her bike before heading back to her dormitory.
A flood of love letters addressed to Chen Shaomei poured into the Beijing Film Studio, occasionally mixed with letters professing love for Zhou Yun.
Well, *Romance on Lushan Mountain* and *Tai Chi* were still being shown.
The former had been running for a year, and the latter could run for three.
As the saying goes, fame nourishes a person.
This is especially true for actors.
You can tell the difference in their mental state—those who are currently popular, those who have fallen out of favor, those who have never been popular, and those who have made a comeback.
The contrast is stark.
Gong Xue was now in her prime, full of energy and confidence, and her skin had even improved.
She entered her room, poured herself a cup of tea, opened the pastry box, and sprawled on the sofa, exuding a vibe reminiscent of a modern-day homebody.
"Why are there letters challenging me to a duel? Are they out of their minds?"
"Shaomei, your eyes are like stars in the sky. I have fallen deeply in love with you. You are like a piece of coal in winter, burning in my heart... The writing is terrible, not moving at all. Besides, I already have my little Chen..."
She read through a few letters, critiquing them as she went—a habit she had picked up from a certain someone.
She tossed the letters into a corner, where they were already piled up like a small hill.
Any more, and there would be no space left.
Then, she started going through the larger envelopes.
Regular letters came in small envelopes, but the larger ones were usually official correspondence.
"Huh?"
"Golden Rooster Awards and Hundred Flowers Awards organizing committee?"
Gong Xue, still munching on a pastry, quickly opened the envelope.
Inside was an invitation to attend the event, with two specific notes: first, she had been selected as a representative of the actors and would need to give a speech, so she should prepare a draft.
Second, after the awards ceremony, there would be a cultural performance, and everyone was expected to participate.
She should also prepare a performance.
"A speech..."
Gong Xue held the invitation, her heart pounding.
She couldn't help but let her imagination run wild, but she quickly reined it in.
"No, no, I can't think about that now. The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment."
"Knock knock... knock... knock!"
Just then, there was a distinctive knock at the door.
She went to open it, and Chen Qi slipped inside, looking surprised.
"What are you doing alone? Why is your face all flushed?"
"Did you get your invitation?"
"I did. Why are you so excited about an invitation?"
"No, no, they want me to give a speech. Do you think I might win an award?"
Gong Xue threw her arms around his neck, and Chen Qi took the opportunity to lift her up, sitting down on the sofa with her in his lap.
He laughed, "We can't talk about that now. Keep it low-key. The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment!"
"Mm-hmm, that's what I thought too. So I really should... okay, I won't say anything more!"
She covered her mouth with her hand.
Chen Qi found her adorable now, or rather, since they had been together, her cautious, reserved, and overly careful demeanor had softened.
She had become more confident and cheerful—all thanks to him, of course.
Gong Xue picked up a pastry and handed it to him.
"I went to the store earlier and wanted to buy some dried shrimp, but I didn't have the right coupons. I've already used up all my meat coupons, and they've all gone to feeding you."
"Once the Yuan brothers send the money, I'll have more foreign exchange coupons, and I'll buy you meat every day."
"You're going to feed me meat?" Gong Xue laughed.
"Yeah, and it'd be even better if you added a 'stick' to it."
"What?"
"Never mind, you'll understand later..."
Chen Qi also glanced at the letter and thought for a moment.
"The awards are on the 23rd, so there's still some time. I want to go a few days early."
"Why?"
"I need a change of scenery for my writing. Staying cooped up in the guesthouse all day, the room is starting to smell. I want to see the West Lake. Do you want to come with me?"
"I can't. If I go out, I need a letter of introduction from the studio. If people see us going out alone, what would they think? I'll go with Director Wang and Old Tang."
"Alright, then I'll take Xiao Ji with me."
Chen Qi kissed her and smiled.
"If anyone asks for me, just tell them I've gone to Hangzhou."
(End of Chapter)