Chapter 174: The Grand Chen Family

The city of ice and snow in winter is covered in silver, and it is even more beautiful when heavy snow falls from the sky.

Chen Hao and his group were lucky to arrive in Meicheng before the highway was closed due to heavy snow. It was a fresh small city. This was Ma Zhong's evaluation of the city when he first saw it. It was well-behaved, without any complicated blocks. The city was not big, and it exuded a sense of cleanliness. In particular, the car drove along the river and saw the buildings on both sides of a river in the center of the city. The car window was slightly opened to let a little cool air from outside drift into the car with a little snow. The heat from the warm air in the car was dissipated, and he put on his coat, which made him feel a little comfortable.

"Brother Ma, are you tired? Let's take a break first. Although there are no high-end hotels here, it is quiet."

"I slept on the plane, so I'm not tired. You haven't gone home yet, right? Let's go to your house directly. I want to try authentic Northeast farm dishes. Don't take me to eat anywhere else, just eat at your house."

"Okay."

The countryside is very quiet in winter. In addition to seeing the smoke from every household, you only look forward to the children running around in and out of the village, playing snowballs and pulling sleds at a certain time. Playing mahjong, drinking and chatting are standard life outside of normal housework every day.

For example, in the Chen family, early in the morning, Chen Yuanping swept the yard to make sure there was no snow in the yard. This is very important. In the countryside, some old etiquette is followed, just like if your house does not draw the curtains and the chimney does not smoke at dawn, people will think that you are not diligent. If the yard is not clean, the villagers who pass by will think that your Chen family is not a family that lives a normal life.

At this time, Qiao Xinmei would light a fire and cook. Now that Chen Er was at home, no matter how late he slept at night, he would get up in the morning to help sweep the yard and light a fire to make the whole house warm. After breakfast, Chen Er would help Qiao Xinmei feed the poultry and livestock in the backyard. Chen Yuanping drove to the village committee, not for work, but to have a good place to chat together. Besides, he was driving without a license, so he only dared to drive for a few minutes on the village road where there were few people and cars. If he was not addicted to driving, it would actually be more convenient to walk.

At home, Qiao Xinmei finished everything and went out to play mahjong in the village store. The automatic mahjong machine charged a table fee, which she would care about in the past, but now her son has raised her to not care about those things in a short time.

In winter, the family has two meals, breakfast at around nine o'clock, dinner at two or three o'clock, and some cakes at seven or eight o'clock in the evening when they are hungry. Most people go to bed at eight or nine o'clock. Qiao Xinmei plays less mahjong during this period. Now there are several cars in the family. The eldest daughter comes home from time to time to stay for a few days. Originally, the village next door is not far away. The two families get along well now. They eat together three or four days a week. It's no different from a family.

High-end electric gates, pay attention to a little maintenance, there will be no problem even in winter. Before the Wrangler entered the yard, the family had already heard the sound. The second son was the first to come out. A large family was there, Chen Xue's parents-in-law, Zhang Dongmei and her boyfriend were preparing to cook dinner. Everyone was sitting on the kang chatting and teasing Chen Xue's children. The whole family was very lively.

As soon as Chen Hao and Chen Gang came back, they felt that the house suddenly had a lively atmosphere. Seeing that there were guests in the car, everyone showed the enthusiasm of welcoming guests in the northeastern countryside, and quickly let the guests in. It was cold outside, but it was warm inside.

"This is from Shanghai, Director Ma Zhongma, who shot the MV for me. He came here recently to take a look. He will shoot an online movie for us in the spring."

MV?

Movie?

Such words are a bit high-end and a bit distant to this big family. In their life dictionary, these have never had any intersection with their lives.

"Ah, ah! Director Ma, come in quickly, come in quickly, it's warm inside."

"Uncle, just call me Xiao Ma or Ma Zhong, we will have many contacts in the future, no need to be polite, I came this time, but I must try the Northeast farmhouse dishes made by my aunt, sorry to bother you, I am thick-skinned enough, I didn't bring any gifts, I didn't treat myself as an outsider, please don't be polite, uncle."

"You are a big director, it's great that you can come to our house, how do you say it, yes, the humble house will be glorious!"

Chen Yuanping's idiom made everyone laugh, and the living room of the Chen family was also warm. After all, not everyone is used to sitting cross-legged on the kang when they go to other people's houses, and the whole family sits in the living room. Ma Zhong is not a pedantic person, he also understands the ways of the world, but he is a little arrogant about his talent, which makes him hit a wall repeatedly.

After sitting down, he took out a thousand yuan from his pocket and stuffed it into Chen Xue's child, saying it was a gift from the elders. Chen Xue and Qiao Xinmei kept refusing and refused to take anything.

"Mom, sister, you have to give Brother Ma a way out. Take it. Treat Brother Ma to a good meal tonight and you'll have everything." Chen Hao came out to help. A thousand yuan of courtesy could be easily repaid by him. This time, he arranged everything well. When they cooperated in filming, he would give more director's fees and repaid it everywhere.

"Then I'll prepare it. What do you want to eat, kid?"

Chen Xue accepted the money. Qiao Xinmei felt that the other party was a guest from afar, and she was a little timid. She was worried that the other party would not be used to the farm dishes she cooked.

Ma Zhong smiled and said, "Auntie, I came to Northeast China to film before. I like our Northeast dishes, pickled cabbage, and pickled vegetables."

Chen Hao also smiled and said, "Mom, you can just use the dishes that we usually use to entertain guests at home. Erzi, help my mom think about it and don't use some big fish and meat."

Chen Er nodded, "I know, brother."

Inside the house, Chen Yuanping also took out the good tea and cigarettes. The women in the family were a little afraid of seeing guests, so they left the living room on the pretext of looking after the children and helping with the dishes, leaving the living room to the men. Chen Xue's father-in-law and Zhang Dongmei's boyfriend were both farmers. When they saw the director, the two words alone were enough to make them restrained. They didn't know what to say, for fear of saying the wrong thing. Now they need to look up to the Chen family, who are high above them. Their guests are all honored guests. If we can accompany them to drink tea and smoke cigarettes, and say a few words along with them, it will be enough to brag to others in the future.

"Brother Ma, let's go to my place, take a shower, change clothes and get comfortable, then we'll come over for dinner. Dad, make some genuine liquor, it'll go well with our dishes."

After drinking two cups of tea, smoking a cigarette, and chatting for more than ten minutes, we talked about the mountains and forests in the countryside, what fun, delicious, and beautiful things there are in winter, and after checking the time, Chen Hao ended this relatively awkward chat.

Ma Zhong gave a thumbs up to the renovation of the farmyard. He took a hot shower, changed into the sportswear he brought, and put on a down coat. He entered the fitness room. There was the temperature of the kang wall and the temperature of the air conditioner. It was very warm. The brand new billiard table was covered with dustproof cloth. When he opened it, everything inside was new. He liked this and couldn't help it. Chen Gang played with him. He poured a glass of Chivas Regal and put two ice cubes in it. He drank wine and played ball, and played rhythmic music. In the countryside of this small northeastern city, Ma Zhong actually found the feeling of a private club in the Magic City, and there was a better place here - quiet, especially when you look through the window and see the snow outside the plastic greenhouse, the taste is even better.

Chen Er came over to take over Chen Hao's position. The three of them played with a little bit of winning or losing. After Chen Yuanping came in, he smiled and said that he would join in the fun later. He has been playing since he was young. Ma Zhong also smiled and responded to uncle, let's have a good discussion.

In the east room, Qiao Xinmei, Zhang Dongmei and Chen Xue's mother-in-law were busy plucking the feathers of the goose. One of the main dishes in the evening was goose stewed with sauerkraut. At this time, the goose was delicious.

Chen Xue also called her husband and second sister, asking them to buy some things when they came back, fresh fruits, and some ingredients that were not available at home. Ma Defu faithfully followed his wife's orders. Chen Yu heard that her younger brother brought a director back and said that he would shoot a movie in the spring, so he directly changed shifts with the director and drove back as fast as possible.

Chen Hao's trophy also made the family love it and touched it for a long time. They didn't know how much gold content the Best Male Newcomer of the Year award had, just like they didn't know the gold content of the Top Ten Golden Songs of the Chinese Music Chart, but they felt that as long as it was an award won by Chen Hao, it would be an honor and worth bragging about in many places.

"Son, you said you wanted to make a movie. What's going on? Tell me about it. You're getting bigger and bigger. I'm a little worried." Chen Yuanping became the village director, and he improved a lot in all aspects. He talked and chatted, and he also had some of the standards of a village official.

"Don't look at me. I just wrote a script. It's not a movie that is shown in the cinema. The cost is too high. Besides, we have no experience. This investment may be less than one million. I was going to invest by myself at first. Now the consortium of the live broadcast room wants to invest together. I guess I won't have a chance to get the money by then. There will be no need for any famous actors. Except for the professional shooting team, everything else is more lifelike. It will be broadcast on the Internet." Chen Hao explained to his family in the simplest way.

"Then how do you make money? You can't make a movie for free, right?"

"Dad, how should I put it? There will be paid sales online, but it's not for making money. Internet movies need fame. Once you become famous, there will be follow-up filming, and then you can get sponsorship and advertising placement. At the same time, the actors who are famous in the play can also carry out commercial activities and participate in other money-making activities. Internet movies are more like a platform. They don't have much commercial value, but they can provide commercial value to the people who perform on the platform. Well, let's put it this way, you can understand that this is my dream plan for myself after failing the art exam several times."