Chapter 429 A Warm and Loving Family Gathering

"Link, you're back."

In a high-rise apartment on the Bund in Dahai City, Link had just returned from outside. Zeng Li and Jiang Qingqing hurried over to him, took things from him, helped him take off his coat, and put on comfortable slippers.

Lin Ke hugged Zeng Li and kissed her, and when Jiang Qingqing stood up, he also put his arms around her willow-like waist.

Both of them are around twenty years old, which is the best age in life. Their youthfulness can be described as cardamom and flower buds, their fragrance can be described as flowers, their softness can be described as flowing water and willow branches, and their appearance and temperament can be described as the moon, rose, hibiscus, peach blossoms, etc.

These metaphors are not exaggerations.

Because they are beautiful and loved by many people, Link is more likely to feel satisfied when hugging them.

"What are you doing at home today?"

"We went out with Sister Chong to buy groceries this morning, and Sister Chong said she would continue to cook a big meal today."

"Sister Chong's cooking skills are so good. I have obviously gained weight in the past few days."

"It's better to be a little fatter. Being fatter is healthier."

"That's what you said. You can't look down on me just because I'm fat."

"Won't!"

Link leaned back on the couch, the two girls snuggling up to him on either side, leaning towards him with their softest sides and speaking sweetly to him.

Xu Qing came out of the kitchen with a fruit plate and saw the three of them fooling around on the sofa. Her cheeks turned red.

When she put down the fruit plate and prepared to leave, Zeng Li and Jiang Qingqing reached out and grabbed her. The three of them rolled into a ball on the cashmere carpet, like a painter's paint palette that had been knocked over on the ground. The red, white, pink and black paints were so colorful and dazzling.

Chen Hong heard the sound in the kitchen, walked to the door to take a look, then returned to the kitchen with a red face, and whispered something in Chen Chong's ear. Chen Chong, who was making soup, smiled.

"Link has been quite busy these past few days, so it's good for him to come back and relax. Go out and ask Xu Qing and Zeng Li to help each other out and not let Link get too tired."

"Okay, should we add some wolfberries, deer antlers, and sea cucumbers to the soup to help Link replenish himself?"

"Don't do that. Link is in good health. If you give him more nourishment, we will be the ones who will suffer."

Thinking of how powerful Link was, Chen Hong couldn't help but clamp her knees together and didn't dare to joke about this anymore.

More than half an hour later, the meal was ready. A table full of Jiangnan cuisine, full of color, aroma and taste. The tempting aroma of food filled the restaurant.

Xu Qing and the other two also tidied their clothes and came to the restaurant. They thanked Chen Chong and Chen Hong for their hard work and praised Chen Chong's excellent cooking skills.

Chen Chong scolded them and called them three lazy girls.

During the meal, Zeng Li mentioned something. Two girls in her class called and asked if Dongfeng Pictures needed any new people. They also wanted to sign with the company.

Jiang Qingqing also said that some students from her school contacted her and wanted to join Dongfeng Pictures.

"Link, are we going to sign any more new artists? We already have six artists under contract at the moment."

Chen Chong placed the bowl of soup in front of Link.

"You handle it. Sign those with potential and don't sign those without potential. This matter won't have much impact on the company."

"good!"

Chen Chong smiled slightly. In the past few years, under her management, although Dongfeng Pictures' performance was average and it did not make much money, there were no major mistakes. Lin Ke also trusted her more and more, allowing her to have more autonomy in her work. This felt good.

"Link, Mr. Wang from Chinese Films contacted me and hopes to meet you at some point. He's probably looking for investment from you."

Chen Chong thought that he didn't know much about the domestic film industry, so she told him about the situation of Chinese Films and Mr. Wang and Mr. Wang, and asked for his opinion.

"How much money is left in the company's account?"

"We have more than 20 million in cash. When the box office revenue of Zheng Chenggong comes back, we may be able to get back 100 million or 200 million."

Chen Chong said with a smile.

When I was an actor, I would get nervous and excited when talking about hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. Now, I can easily talk about tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars, and I feel very calm.

This change is quite significant.

And all this is thanks to Link.

Lin Ke thought for a while while holding the spoon. "The Wang brothers have deep connections in the industry and are good at running movies. This means that this company has certain potential. You can talk to them. If they are sincere, you can invest in Huayi through Dongfeng Pictures. In the future, when making movie projects, the two companies can also work closely together and share resources."

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

Chen Chong leaned close to him, picking up food and serving him soup, providing him with very considerate service.

Xu Qing, Chen Hong and the other three did not interrupt them when they were chatting, but just ate quietly and listened to them talk.

When they heard the two talking about projects worth tens of millions or even hundreds of millions, they couldn't help but feel their hearts pounding.

Link is worth tens of billions, but he doesn't like to put on airs, nor does he flaunt his wealth like some other wealthy people. As a result, when they get along with Link, they often forget that he is a big shot and say whatever they want.

In fact, if it weren't for Chen Chong's introduction, with their identities, they would probably be like the Wang brothers, unable to meet Link even once, let alone eat at the same table with him or sleep in the same bed with him.

Zeng Li and Jiang Qingqing beside her looked at each other and smiled knowingly. At first, they felt a little uncomfortable when they became Link's girlfriends, worried about other people's strange looks and rumors in the circle.

But now they are not worried anymore, because Link is not only a Hollywood giant, but also a giant in the domestic entertainment industry with massive resources.

As women of giants, they also have status in the circle. No one dares to look down on them, only people will envy them.

"Sister Chong, why don't you prepare any wine? Link, what kind of wine do you want to drink? I'll go get it."

Xu Qing put down her chopsticks and stood up, twisting her slender waist.

"No drinking today!"

Chen Chong pulled her aside and said, "Drinking is bad for your health. Let's just sit down and talk as a family."

"All right!"

Xu Qing blinked and looked at Chen Chong, as if she had thought of something.

Lin Ke smiled lightly and said nothing. After Liu Xiaoli became pregnant, Chen Chong also begged him to have a child with her, saying that she was getting old and would never have the chance to be a mother if she didn't have a child.

Lin Ke understood her thoughts. During the rest nights these past few days, Chen Chong often did the finishing work, hoping to get pregnant soon.

The same thing happened tonight.

Due to the strong publicity efforts of the distribution company, "Zheng Chenggong" also performed well at the box office in its second week, earning 43.48 million yuan in theaters on the mainland and 23.91 million yuan in theaters in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, totaling 67.39 million yuan.

In the first two weeks, it grossed a total of 150 million yuan in domestic box office, becoming the fastest film to break the 100 million yuan mark in domestic box office.

After the box office results were released, official media reported the good news promptly.

The China Youth Daily stated that the domestic film industry has great potential. The box office success of Zheng Chenggong not only demonstrated the huge potential of the Chinese film market, but also showed that the Chinese film industrialization system has reached international production standards. The box office of Zheng Chenggong exceeded 100 million yuan in two weeks, which is also an important milestone for the Chinese film industry.

The West China Metropolis Daily commented that the huge box office success of Zheng Chenggong is a symbol of the vigorous development of the domestic film industry in recent years. It is also an important step in the reform of the entertainment industry from state-owned to private enterprises, and a successful step. As long as China Film continues to move forward unswervingly, it will surely create greater glory in the future.

Hong Kong's Ta Kung Pao and Ming Pao also published articles praising the film's achievements, believing that the combination of advanced film technology and Chinese historical content can create a blockbuster. This idea is worth learning from for Hong Kong films that are gradually reaching a dead end.

However, Ming Pao also pointed out that the film cost about US$35 million to produce, and the global box office must exceed US$70 million to guarantee profitability.

Still no return on investment.

If this movie wants to make money, it needs to test the waters in the foreign film market to see what foreign moviegoers think of the movie.

After finishing his domestic affairs, in mid-February, Lin Ke returned to the United States with Gong Li, Yu Feihong, Wang Yan and others to promote the film's release in North America.

——

After returning to the United States, Link first went to Seattle to check on the physical conditions of several pregnant women, give them some positive energy appropriately, and try to make them feel happy during pregnancy.

At other times, he stayed at his Beverly Hills home with Jennifer Connelly, Sophia, Nicole Kidman and others, and regularly admonished them to behave better and not perform "Empresses in the Palace" at home.

Sometimes he would go to several villas outside to accompany Vivian Chow, Rosamund Kwan, Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung, Jennifer Aniston and Drew Barrymore.

The days are busy and fulfilling.

In late February, the 50th British Academy Film Awards ceremony was held in London, and Link and the crews of "The English Patient", "Network", and "Batman Forever" were invited to attend.

Last year, his affair with Diana caused a lot of controversy. The British people had a bad impression of him, thinking that he had stolen Britain's "treasure" Diana and made the British lose face internationally.

Even after seeing Dianna getting better on TV, they were unwilling to forgive Link's banditry.

This unforgiveness is also reflected in the British Academy Film Awards.

After the release of "The English Patient", the literary and art circles in both the United States and the United Kingdom gave very positive reviews to the film.

Many media outlets gave the film close to full marks, believing that "The English Patient" is a classic love movie and its artistic level is higher than all the movies released last year.

Before the awards ceremony, the media predicted that "The English Patient" would be the biggest winner of this year's British Academy Film Awards.

But at the awards ceremony, "The English Patient" only won four awards: Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Music, while Link lost all the nominations for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing.

This is also the first time that Link missed the Best Director and Best Editing awards at the awards season at the beginning of the year.

It felt like the British judges were targeting him.

Afterwards, the media reported that due to the impact of the Dianna incident, the British people had no intention of forgiving Link for the time being, and the Film Academy was reluctant to give him the award.

Some media also criticized the Film Academy for its lack of professionalism and objectivity in selecting awards, which was very unfair to Link.

(End of this chapter)