Chapter 240: Gift From a Shadow Puppet Artist

September 21, eight o'clock in the morning.

The capital's straight roads are jammed with traffic.

A car moved slowly eastward from the west side of the capital.

An old man with gray hair in the back row frowned and complained: "It's better to take the subway."

The middle-aged man next to him smiled awkwardly.

Subway?

With your physique, if you squeeze into the subway during the morning rush hour with the young people at work, your hunched back will be squeezed straight.

"Master, it's okay for me to go by myself. Why do you have to go through all the trouble?"

The old man looked out the window and said, "I'll help you check. What's the matter? Xiaoluo, when you become the leader of the regiment, you don't look down on the master's craftsmanship?"

"No no."

Luo Ruisong, the leader of the Capital Shadow Puppet Troupe, sighed silently in his heart.

The shadow puppet troupe contacted Oriental Media last week to offer support.

The two parties agreed to meet today.

As the group leader, he has enough network knowledge to cooperate with film and television companies.

I never thought that the old man would go too.

Master, I think, is a very aloof and conservative person. He has been engaged in art all his life and has never been in administration.

Performances are fine, but talking about business cooperation with Lai is really terrible...

This time, you must not mess it up.

In recent years, the older generation of viewers has passed away, and technological development has brought about many entertainment models.

The audience for shadow puppet shows is getting smaller and smaller, and survival is getting harder and harder.

It relies almost entirely on state subsidies, museum income and sales of shadow puppet art films.

Some artists had to change careers.

Lack of money leads to a lack of successors and a lack of good performance venues. Then there is even less money, forming a vicious cycle.

A movie may not fundamentally solve their problems, but it can be considered a timely blessing.

Therefore, you must not have any conflicts with others.

The leader tried to persuade:

"Master, your attitude will be better soon."

"Last week I called a friend who makes oil-paper umbrellas. He said that there is really no market and he can't bear it anymore and he has to change his career. Although our situation is not that bad, we still... hey, we need the exposure of this movie."

"I checked and found that Director Chen is very easy to talk to, but he has high requirements for details and may even be slightly innovative."

"He asked us to adjust. Let's try our best to adjust. Don't..."

The group leader paused.

Not to mention getting scolded.

But today, young artists can barely make ends meet.

If being scolded can give the industry a shot in the arm, then scold them!

The leader gritted his teeth and continued: "Don't be stubborn. Even if we are as innovative as changing a face into a husky in Sichuan Opera, don't refuse. Let's discuss it again. If you continue to be stubborn, there will be no audience and you won't be able to eat!" "

Master Yan Wei frowned and slowly turned his head, "What is Husky in Sichuan Opera? And what do you mean by this? Don't I care about the industry?"

"No, no, please be polite later. I've prepared some tea, and you try to be considerate of the world. How about I tell you about Director Chen's preferences? Let's..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a cold snort from his master.

"Luo Ruisong, what kind of messy worldly knowledge have you learned? Also, you still know that I am your master? When will it be your turn to teach me how to do things?"

Hearing the slightly angry voice of the master, the leader sighed, pursed his lips, sat upright, and looked to the other side.

Forget it.

Whenever there is a conflict, try to smooth things over.

It was another day that tested his flexible brain.

…

45 minutes later.

The two followed the receptionist to the reception room.

On the other side, Chen Xiao got the news, came out of the office, and was about to go downstairs.

As soon as he walked out of the door, he met Chi Yu who was walking in a hurry and handed him two small bags.

"Director Chen, they came with tea. This is the return gift I chose."

Chen Xiao took the bag.

This is a return gift.

Every time he meets a partner in the company, his assistant Chi Yu will roughly judge what gift the other person is bringing, or wait for the other person to bring out the gift, and then select a suitable return gift from the gift library as soon as possible to bring him.

This time the return gift is...

Chen Xiao picked up the bag and took a look.

It is a figure of a Peking Opera villain.

He is also the chief director of "Farewell My Concubine". It is indeed appropriate to use this as a return gift to the shadow puppet troupe.

"Okay, no problem, thanks."

This assistant is really worth hiring.

Chen Xiao quickly walked into the reception room.

When I entered the door, I saw an uncle in his 50s stood up with a smile and helped up an old man with half-white hair next to him who looked to be in his 70s.

He had read the information of the two of them last night. The photos don't look alike, but you can tell who they are based on their age.

Chen Xiao quickly stepped forward and said, "You two are welcome, please sit down."

"Hello Director Chen, I am Luo Ruisong, the leader of the Capital Shadow Puppet Theater Troupe. This is my master Yan Wei, a shadow puppet performance artist who also serves as a visiting professor at the Capital Academy of Fine Arts and other universities."

Chen Xiaoshen shook hands with the two of them, "Hello, Teacher Yan, and Hello, Captain Luo."

The group leader turned sideways and picked up the bag next to him, "Director Chen, this is tea from my hometown. It's not valuable. It's just a small gift. I hope you like it."

"Thank you, you're welcome."

Chen Xiao also took out two Peking Opera villain figures as a return gift.

"Thanks."

Yan Wei on the other side nodded, took the gift box, took out his backpack from behind, and unzipped it.

The group leader next to him was stunned.

What is Master doing? Put it on? No matter how much you like it, there is no need to package it now, right?

He quickly thought about how to smooth things over.

But Chen Xiao, who was sitting opposite him, really didn't care about this.

Thinking that the polite part was over and he could talk about the main topic, Chen Xiao picked up a file bag and prepared to take out the materials.

At this moment, Chen Xiao saw the old man opposite him take out a rectangular object from his bag, which seemed to be a photo frame.

"A meeting gift, a worthless trifle, don't despise it."

As he said, he handed the photo frame over.

"You're welcome." Chen Xiao bowed slightly, took the photo frame, looked down, and his eyes lit up.

In the photo frame was a shadow puppet kitten squatting in the bushes.

There were a few black patterns on the golden hair, and a piece of white hair on the chest.

The kitten's eyes were bright, its ears were erect, and its tail was lightly curled, revealing a smart and elegant temperament.

There were flowers and plants dotted around.

The overall color was mainly gold, supplemented by green and red. The pigments were bright and the lines were smooth.

Is this Huoyun's rebellious son?

Could it be that the master made a shadow puppet for him based on Huoyun as the prototype?

Chen Xiao asked tentatively: "Teacher Yan, is this... Fire Cloud?"

Yan Wei nodded and smiled.

"Yes, I made it. I wonder if it suits your young taste. It's not ugly, right?"

"Very beautiful, thank you Teacher Yan."

"I like it."

Listening to Yan Wei's words, Chen Xiao's heart was moved, and he looked at the shadow puppet in his hand again.

Although he didn't know how to play shadow puppets, he also learned about this industry when he was writing the script.

Even if there is suitable leather material, skipping the process of selecting leather, the subsequent drawing, engraving, coloring, sweating, ironing, and stitching will also take a lot of time. Even if it is fast, it will take five days to a week.

Especially the engraving step, which is very energy-consuming.

This gift is really troublesome.

He read Yan Wei's information yesterday.

In short, he is an old artist who is serious, quiet and conservative.

The first time they met, he gave him a customized shadow puppet of Fire Cloud.

Obviously, the old artist did this for the shadow puppet industry.

This cat is not light.