1979 Golden Age

\u003c/ins\u003e

Chongqing North Road.

In the morning, the alley is quiet. Children go to school, adults go to work, and the elderly open the windows to hang clothes while the sun is shining.

The Gong family, like the Chen family in Dashilan, has become a landmark celebrity. Father Gong is relatively safe, because his daughter, grandson, and wife are all in Beijing, and he is alone and has not been disturbed.

His pension is enough, but Gong Xue still sends him 50 yuan every month. So imagine, an old man has money and free time, and no wife to nag him, how happy his life is.

When he missed his family, he would go to Beijing to visit them. Chen Qi was away most of the time, so they did not meet very often.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name Taiwan Novel Network →𝕥𝕨𝕜𝕒𝕟.𝕔𝕠𝕞]

"Oh my, Teacher Gong bought so many delicious foods. Do you have guests today?"

"Yes, my son-in-law is here."

"Son-in-law? That one, that one..."

"Yeah, yeah! I have to go home and get ready."

Father Gong came back with a bag of vegetables and entered the Shikumen. As usual, he lived with two families and shared the kitchen. Mother Gong could cook, and he was also good at cooking. It was not uncommon for Shanghai men to be able to cook.

She worked efficiently in the kitchen and soon set the table.

Coincidentally, Chen Qi also came with a lot of bags and shouted as soon as he entered the door: "Dad!"

Oh my!

This made Gong's father feel very relieved, and he came out quickly: "Xiao Chen is here! Why did you bring so many things?"

"They are all Guangdong specialties. What are you busy with?"

"You came at the right time, the food is just right!"

The two of them went upstairs amid the envious and jealous gazes of their neighbors. The Gong family raised a good daughter and found a good son-in-law, who was a director at the age of 26 (enjoying the treatment of a deputy director). Who could compare to him?

Entering the house, it was tidy and clean, with an intellectual atmosphere. There were four dishes and a soup steaming on the table, and the wine was good. Everywhere showed that Mr. Gong led a decent life.

The two of them met seldom and were not very familiar with each other, but as long as they were deliberately warm to each other, there would be no problem.

"I'll drink less. I'm going to the Meiying Film Studio this afternoon."

"So you're leaving tomorrow?"

"Well, I'll go back to the capital tomorrow."

"You are too busy..."

Father Gong picked up some food for him and said sincerely, "I know you are doing big things, so I won't advise you. Just take a break when you can and spend time with Xiaoxue and Zhuangzhuang. Children change every day, and it's a pity that you are not around when they are growing up."

"Alas, there is nothing we can do about it."

Chen Qi felt a little sad. If he didn't go back home during the summer vacation, he would only be able to go home at the end of the year, until the end of the Spring Festival. The time for reunion every year would only be 3-4 months at most.

Father Gong quickly comforted her and changed the subject: "Does Xiaoxue want to work?"

"Yes, I will go back this time to discuss it with her. It's not good to stay at home all the time. I have to maintain my career. By the way, if she is working, you'd better come to Beijing and accompany the children with mom."

"Well……"

Father Gong had some concerns, but he nodded: "As long as you two are at ease, we will definitely take good care of the rear."

The wine is rice wine.

Chen Qi drank about two liang of wine, and then chatted with his father-in-law for a while, and the alcohol wore off. This was the first time the father-in-law and son-in-law had a private conversation. Gong Xue's parents always had a "climbing up" mentality, and as his career became more successful, this mentality became more serious.

I always feel that he will have problems with his sexual behavior and then divorce his daughter.

Fortunately, Chen Qi has been performing well.

…………

Wanhangdu Road spans the JA District and the CN District. The former residences of Hu Shi, Zhang Yuanji, and Sheng Enyi are located there. The stories about these people are talked about by old Shanghainese.

There is another inconspicuous courtyard, which is the Shanghai Animation Film Studio.

Chen Qi came to visit in the afternoon. Nothing had changed: the animation building, photography workshop, small white villa were still there... but looking at the employees rushing to and fro, there was a sense of something unusual.

That is the taste of working people in later generations who go to work to earn money.

"Director Yan!"

"Comrade Chen Qi, welcome, welcome!"

The factory director Yan Dingxian came to greet us personally, a smiling 50-year-old man.

In 1984, the old leaders of the country retired to the second line, and the former factory director Te Wei also retired, and Yan Dingxian took over. He has a rich experience and has participated in works such as "Havoc in Heaven", "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King", "The Tadpole Looking for His Mother", "The Monkey King Conquers the Demons", etc.

Under his leadership, Shanghai Animation Film Studio carried out reforms cautiously.

It launched cartoons such as "Huluwa", "Black Cat Sheriff" and "The King of Sloppy", vigorously supported OEM and promoted young talents, making Shanghai Animation Film Studio earn more than one million yuan a year, an unprecedented profit.

However, this caused dissatisfaction among conservatives.

Finally, in 1988, Shanghai Animation Film Studio took on the task of processing the Japanese animation "Journey to the West", which intensified the conflict between the two factions. Under the strong request of the conservatives, Yan Dingxian had to give up the outsourcing.

The reformists were also dissatisfied. 37 young and middle-aged business backbones resigned and moved south, accounting for three quarters of the core talents in the factory. It was called the "Victory Escape" at the time.

Shanghai Animation Film Studio was badly damaged and Yan Dingxian resigned.

"Thanks to your "Star Dinosaurs", we were given the task of processing. The cartoon was very popular in the United States, and we were also known by our American counterparts and received more work."

"You're welcome. I didn't do anything. What's important is the policy."

“Yes, it’s policy!”

Yan Dingxian was stunned for a moment, then agreed.

Today, studying at Shanghai Animation Film Studio is different from before because the policy is to silence the conservatives. This is the country's order to earn foreign exchange.

"I heard that the old comrades have a lot of opinions?" Chen Qi asked.

"How do you say it?"

Yan Dingxian paused and said, "At first, they were dissatisfied with outsourcing. They felt that it was destroying the traditional system and it was not right to work for foreigners. Later, those young people made money one by one, and the old comrades became unbalanced again."

"So how do we deal with this?"

"It's a stalemate. Some old comrades are shy and want to make money but are too embarrassed to apply for transfer. They can be easily dealt with. Some old comrades really don't like OEM and hope to stick to their position and make the best animation.

Oh, I am in a dilemma now. "

"I understand!"

Chen Qi nodded. These people are the last artists of Chinese animation.

"Director Yan, I'm here this time because I have a project that I want to entrust you with."

"Commission?"

"I can't give you any national tasks and force you to complete them. But this is also the implementation of the Ministry of Truth's strategic policy, which is to carry out cultural propaganda abroad and increase foreign exchange earnings. I will pay for all the costs, and you just need to focus on the production."

"Okay, okay. What's the subject of the work? Do you have any initial ideas?"

"Yes, I'll tell you briefly."

Chen Qi began to narrate: "The story takes place in ancient China a long, long time ago, in a place called Peace Valley. It is a thriving and peaceful place with five great masters in charge and a great master living in seclusion here."

"Kung Fu theme, this is good! Foreigners like our Kung Fu the most."

Yan Dingxian applauded. He thought Chen Qi was talking about the five greatest masters of mankind, the grandmasters.

"The protagonist is called Po. His father runs a noodle shop. Po is an apprentice. He is clumsy, lazy, and likes to roll around... He dreams of becoming a hero..."

"Please wait a moment!"

Yan Dingxian scratched his head and asked, "Why does this Po have to roll around?"

“Because it’s a panda!”

"Bear, panda???"

(No more…)

\u003c/ins\u003e