Beijing Airport, 2 PM.

Nearly 300 media outlets gathered at the Beijing airport.

"Hello everyone, I am Li Zheng, a reporter from CCTV. I am currently at Beijing Airport. At this moment, a crowd of nearly 10,000 people has gathered outside the airport, and more than 300 television media outlets are present, all waiting for a hero to return. Let's wait and see."

Zhang Yimou, dressed in a black Zhongshan suit, walked out of the airport terminal with a sharp and energetic air, holding an Oscar statuette in his left hand!

As soon as Zhang Yimou stepped out of the hall, the scene erupted in excitement. Flashbulbs went off incessantly, and crowds surged forward. More than 200 security personnel, who had been prepared in advance, formed a human wall around him. Zhang Yimou smiled and waved to the crowds on both sides.

People stood up and shouted: "Hero!!! Hero!!! Hero!!!!"

When Zhang Yimou walked up to the reporters, Shen Fang and Han Sanping each presented him with a bouquet of flowers.

Shen Fang glanced at Zhang Yimou: "Senior brother, the moment of glory has arrived, please..."

Zhang Yimou nodded with a smile, and the reporters crowded around him, microphones raised high, eager to interview the country's top director.

Li Zheng still holds considerable influence, being from CCTV. He looked at Zhang Yimou with a smile.

"Director Zhang, now that you've won the Oscars for Best Director and Best Foreign Language Film, what would you like to say to the audience across the country?"

Zhang Yimou chuckled and said, "There's not much to say. I feel like I'm riding high on a spring breeze, seeing all the flowers of Chang'an in a single day. Thank you everyone for your support, thank you to the audience across the country, thank you to the investors, thank you to Longteng, China Film Group, and thank you to the leaders for your support. This award owes a debt to them. I plan to donate this award to China Film Group. Thank you to Director Han Sanping for his support. I will continue to work hard, make good films, and bring better works to the audience and movie fans, so as not to disappoint everyone. Chinese cinema has risen; what is Chinese is global!!!"

Shen Fang patted Han Sanping's arm: "How about it? You've taken this favor from your uncle. You'll have to put in a lot of effort during the review process in the future."

Han Sanping said with a smug look, "Director Zhang, you've made me feel so bad. Okay, I'll take your favor. Xiao Fang, you really know how to handle things."

Why did Han Sanping receive so much praise from Zhang Yimou in front of so many media outlets? He even gave the Oscar to China Film Group, attributing the vast majority of the credit to them. It's no surprise that when he returns home, his superiors will definitely praise him for his contributions.

People's Daily reporter: "Director Zhang, what are your expectations and hopes for the future development of Chinese films? The situation is very promising now, and Chinese films have finally gained a foothold abroad. Is there anything you would like to say to everyone?"

Zhang Yimou looked at Shen Fang beside him.

"Let me ask my boss, who is also my investor and junior colleague, to talk about this. He has a lot of insights into this."

Shen Fangzheng and Han Sanping were joking around when they heard Zhang Yimou mention him, so they quickly came over.

Looking at the People's Daily reporter: "Regarding the future development of Chinese films, Longteng, along with all industry staff and colleagues, holds extremely high expectations. I predict that within 20 years, the Chinese mainland film market will become a major global box office, the mainland market will become increasingly professional, gradually moving towards market industrialization, the variety of film categories will increase, and there will be more and more high-quality film and television works. The entire industry will improve, and with the development of China's economy, the Chinese mainland entertainment industry will gradually reach its peak. Strengthening the nation and strengthening culture—we will work together to promote Chinese culture to the world!!!"

Shen Fang spoke with such righteous indignation, such imposing manner, and such full confidence.

There's no way around it, it's the People's Daily, you can't just spout nonsense, right? It's definitely going to talk about some bright prospects, but that's exactly what Shen Fang thinks too, it's all about boosting morale, after all, today is a joyous day, how exactly things will develop, we'll have to plan slowly when the time comes.

Beijing News: "Director Zhang, when do you plan to start filming your next movie?"

Zhang Yimou smiled and said, "After I come back and rest for a week, on March 8th, I will start casting at the Beijing Theater. This time, we are preparing to film a Three Kingdoms movie, with an estimated investment of 50 million US dollars. We have invited Andy Lau, a handsome man, to join us. This movie is quite interesting. The investment mainly focuses on the legendary story of Zhao Zilong, a peerless general from the Three Kingdoms period of China. We will explain in more detail at the press conference."

Zhang Yimou's words caused a huge stir. The Three Kingdoms, Zhao Zilong, Andy Lau—the subject matter, the combination, the scale, the investment.

The reporter from Southern Metropolis Daily was so flustered that he almost shoved the microphone into Zhang Yimou's mouth.

"Is Mr. Andy Lau joining the cast? What's the name of your movie? And Daniel Wu too, two handsome men. Director Zhang, you don't seem to like casting handsome men as leads, do you?"

Shen Fang's lips twitched as he listened. This reporter was something else, offending a whole bunch of male celebrities with those words. But it was also the truth. Looking back at Zhang Yimou's films over the years, the only one who could be called handsome was Chen Daoming. The rest of the male leads were Ge You, Uncle Ge in Red Sorghum, Jiang Wen in Shake It Off, Li Baotian in Ju Dou, and Li Baotian in Raise the Red Lantern, but the male lead's face never even appeared.

Zhang Yimou was also a little embarrassed: "Well, the male actors I chose before were all quite handsome, but it was the kind of handsome that was charismatic, full of masculine hormones, and had a down-to-earth feel. This time, I'm looking for handsome actors in terms of appearance. This was recommended to me by my junior colleague. To be honest, it's quite stressful to use handsome actors because it's easy to be distracted by them. But I also want to give it a try and see if I can create some chemistry with them. Let's wait and see."

"This is also a global release. We have also reached a good cooperation with Japan Public Company Limited. Some popular celebrities from Japan will also participate in the filming of this movie."

A reporter from Tianjin Daily asked, "A co-production?"

Han Sanping stepped forward: "That's right, it's a co-production. The national situation is great, and there's cross-strait cooperation. Our China Film Group should be the vanguard and set an example for everyone. Director Zhang is fully responsible for everything in this co-production, and he also has the power to make decisions. Rest assured, it's an absolutely conscientious production."

Why say this? Well, it's common knowledge that co-productions are often synonymous with bad films—well, not entirely. "The Last Emperor" was pretty good, though. The vast majority are bad.

The relationship between China and the mainland is relatively good now; co-productions are a matter of policy, otherwise, Jin Tianxia Er wouldn't have found Han Sanping. The policy was issued, so they had to show their support, and China Film Group, being the agency in charge of film, had to fulfill its mandate.

Following that, the reporter visited Zhang Yimou to ask many questions, such as the issue of having more children than allowed, the issue of director's remuneration, and some gossip about his daily life.

The visit lasted about half an hour.

Shen Fang, Han Sanping, and Lao Mouzi then got into the car.