Chapter 67

The official Weibo account of "Legend of the Qing Dynasty" released an announcement as scheduled, shocking netizens.

It's still the New Year holiday, and both office workers and college students are at home with nothing to do, so this nationwide actor recruitment notice has spread widely and even stayed on the trending topics list for several hours.

Many people find it unbelievable.

- Nationwide actor auditions? ??

What kind of film crew would dare to make such a big fuss...?

- Li Ming held a talent search back then to attract attention, and as a result, the drama flopped completely. Isn't that embarrassing?

-The director is Zhou Yu, the screenwriter is Er Yue Tian, ​​what are these names? I've never heard of either of them.

What is "Legend of the Qing Dynasty"?!

"Legend of the Qing Dynasty" is very popular in the novel community, but looking at the internet as a whole, the novel community is really not a mainstream circle, so it is normal for netizens not to have heard of it, and it is also normal for them to think that the production team is just trying to attract attention.

After all, casting a cast is time-consuming and labor-intensive. In the past, only big directors and big productions were willing to do this. Otherwise, what's the point of ordinary people spending so much time and effort without even getting any benefits?

Zhou Yu may not be a famous director, but he has directed more than a dozen TV series over the years, and his directing skills are still quite good.

That's not the point. The point is that netizens are focusing their attention on him, thinking he's the one in charge of the auditions, which is a huge mistake.

Looking at the uproar online and the fact that his posts, which usually only had a hundred or so replies, suddenly surged to over a thousand today, Zhou Yu felt incredibly wronged.

Why are netizens yelling at him? The audition was a joint decision made by the screenwriters and producers, so why is he the one taking all the blame?!

"Look at these netizens, aren't they all laughing at me...?"

He held the phone screen up to his wife's face.

To everyone's surprise, his wife didn't even look up or say a word; she just stretched out a finger and swiped back and forth on her phone screen.

"What are you looking at so intently?"

Zhou Yu leaned closer to look at his wife's phone screen.

His wife's phone screen was covered with tiny print; she was reading a novel... He looked closely and finally saw the title of the book, "Legend of the Qing Dynasty," in the upper left corner.

He exclaimed in surprise, "You're watching 'Legend of the Qing Dynasty'? Don't you never pay attention to what shows I'm in?"

In the past, when he directed TV series, the scripts would be brought home and left on the coffee table for ten days or half a month. Unless he was cleaning, his wife would never touch them.

Now she's suddenly changed her tune and is actually watching his upcoming drama, "Legend of the Qing Dynasty." It truly lives up to its name; it's certainly legendary.

His wife also snapped out of her reverie while reading the article and gave him a disapproving look: "Who said I don't pay attention to your acting? I know everything you've done before, I'm just not interested."

Upon learning that Zhou Yu was going to film "Legend of the Qing Dynasty," she immediately searched for the original novel online.

She had searched for Zhou Yu's previous dramas as well, but the only difference was that she wasn't interested in those, so she didn't watch them. This one, however, she was interested in and was willing to watch.

"This novel is very good, you can't stop reading it," she said, even though she is quite old, she still gets absorbed in it. "If you do a good job filming this drama, it might become your masterpiece."

Zhou Yu laughed: "You think this show is so good?"

His wife retorted, "If you don't think it's a good idea, why did you accept the job?"

"Of course, it's because Old Zhang strongly recommended it..."

Old Zhang is Zhang Botian, the director of "Empress Wu Zetian".

When Zhou Xingyun first looked for a director, he was the first person she thought of. He also contributed to the success of "Wu Zetian" last year, and this time she wanted to work with the original production team again.

Zhang Botian really wanted to collaborate again, but he had already accepted invitations from other investors, signed contracts, and the filming schedule coincided with the expected start date of "Legend of the Qing Dynasty." He had no choice but to reluctantly decline and recommend his friend Zhou Yu instead.

Zhou Yu and Zhang Botian were classmates in college, and they had always had a good relationship.

Therefore, Zhou Yu had great faith in Zhang Botian's judgment.

He had also read the novel and felt that, as his friend had said, the drama had great potential.

*

After arriving in Shanghai, Xu Ying's life didn't change much. She still stayed at home every day writing novels, but her work was indeed much more convenient.

Online communication inevitably presents various communication problems, while meeting in person is much more convenient and efficient.

Xu Ying had arranged to meet someone at 3 p.m.

She glanced at her phone; it was almost time. She turned off her computer, got up, went to the entryway, put on a thick coat, and wore a scarf before leaving.

She needs to go to Liu Meng's studio.

Liu Meng was the head of the costume department for the original "Empress Wu Zetian" drama series, and she is also the person in charge of costume for their current "Legend of the Qing Dynasty" drama series.

The two had already worked together on a TV series before and were very familiar with each other's ways of doing things, so they could get straight to the point without any adjustment period when they met again.

There's another person coming today, and that's Duckling Learning to Talk.

Ya Ya's real name is Zhang Wenyu, but Xu Ying still habitually calls her Ya Ya. What a cute name! The others were influenced by her and started calling her Ya Ya as well.

Zhang Wenyu didn't mind at all.

Liu Meng didn't exchange many pleasantries. She led Xu Ying and Ya Ya directly into the studio. The long corridor of the studio was covered with character designs that Ya Ya had drawn before.

Duck covered its mouth, looking excited.

She never imagined that her paintings would receive such treatment one day. Although it was just an ordinary art studio rather than a gallery, she still felt incredibly happy and proud.

"These paintings were all done by YaYa, and we were pleasantly surprised when we received them..."

"No, no," Duck said modestly.

"I'm not being polite with you. Actually, everyone was quite unhappy at first when they found out we were going to use someone else's artwork. They thought the screenwriter didn't trust our abilities. But after the artwork was faxed to us in February, everyone's complaints disappeared. These costumes and designs are indeed very beautiful..."

Liu Meng is very straightforward.

"However, there is something I need to tell you in advance. After all, you are not a fashion design major. Some clothes may look beautiful, but the actual effect may not be satisfactory. Therefore, our team will make appropriate modifications to your creations based on actual needs."

"Of course, of course."

Ya Ya had no objections at all. How could all the costumes and accessories be exactly as she had written, without any changes? She wasn't that naive or foolish.

Liu Meng nodded.

That's good. She was just telling the truth and wasn't deliberately targeting anyone.

Xu Ying listened to their conversation the whole way and saw how open and honest they were, so she suddenly felt that she had nothing to worry about.

After staying in the studio until almost dinner time, Xu Ying treated the two to a meal before saying goodbye.

She really didn't know anything about choosing fabrics, cutting, and making clothes, and she couldn't help much if she stayed in the studio. These things still needed to be overseen and directed by Liu Meng.

Her main purpose in coming here today was to introduce Ya Ya to us.

Now that she has achieved her goal, it's time for her to gracefully retire.

After saying hello, Xu Ying took her car keys and went out. Before leaving, she looked back and saw Ya Ya following Liu Meng through the transparent glass window, stroking small pieces of clothing fabric with her fingers.

There are hundreds of types of fabrics, and it takes a lot of effort just to distinguish them one by one.

Duck was very happy and patient.

Seeing that the atmosphere between the two was relatively harmonious, Xu Ying turned around and left with peace of mind.

*

The weather today is bad.

The sky remained overcast, threatening to rain but not quite. On her way home, Xu Ying finally saw it start to rain, the rain pattering against the car windows. She turned on the wipers and drove slowly home, listening to music.

It was damp outside, but warm and dry inside.

Xu Ying took off her thick coat and boots, changed into comfortable cotton slippers, and went upstairs.

The computer is upstairs.

However, the atmosphere outside was really nice today because it was raining, so she didn't hesitate to take her laptop downstairs. She wanted to curl up in a corner of the living room sofa and type.

The first floor has large floor-to-ceiling windows. Sitting on the sofa, you can look up and see the banana leaves in the yard bent over by the rain. If you put on a vinyl record at this time, it will be even more pleasant.

Unfortunately, Xu Ying had neither vinyl records nor a record player.

I'll buy one when I have time.

As she thought about it, images from Republican-era films and television dramas naturally came to mind: vinyl records slowly turning, and melodious music flowing through the banquet.

At the banquet, men and women were dressed in fine clothes, clinking glasses and exchanging toasts. However, behind the glitz and glamour, countless undercurrents were surging.

......

The thought of writing a spy story set in the Republican era suddenly popped into Xu Ying's mind.

Xu Ying was somewhat tempted.

But she knew it was just a passing fancy, and she might lose interest by tomorrow. Nevertheless, she quickly turned on her computer and wrote down all the flashes of inspiration that came to her mind.

She has many similar fragments of inspiration, and it's uncertain whether she will be able to use them in the end, but it's always good to write them down.

Immersed in the joy of new inspiration all night, Xu Ying didn't write a single word for "Interstellar Internet Celebrity". Staring at the empty document, she belatedly realized that she needed to focus her mind.

The recruitment period for actors in "Legend of the Qing Dynasty" lasted for one month.

In other words, she will become a judge in a month. This period is her last free time, and she has to make the most of this month to wrap up "Interstellar Internet Celebrity".

It's been almost five months since "Interstellar Internet Celebrity" was written. The major plot points have been covered, and the male and female leads have confessed their feelings for each other and gotten together.

There's only one thing: the storyline regarding interstellar diplomacy isn't finished yet.

That's right, even interstellar space needs diplomatic relations.

The story states that the male protagonist was wounded and went missing on the battlefield while fighting against another star system. Now that the two star systems have reached an agreement to coexist peacefully, it is normal for the other side to visit their capital star.

This interstellar-level visit is being taken very seriously by the entire galaxy.

The Interstellar Affairs Bureau handled every aspect perfectly, striving to leave a flawless good impression on their long-time adversary.

Everything else was fine, but the problem lay with the food served to the VIPs.

The interstellar chefs vied for the job, showcasing their best skills and preparing table after table of delicious dishes, but none of them could satisfy the picky old men and women of the Institute of International Affairs.

I feel like something's missing.

At this point, the female lead stepped in.

Her cooking was a feast fit for an emperor, which immediately shocked the entire audience, and the interstellar delegation behind her also praised it highly.

Thus, the diplomatic visit between the two interstellar nations concluded amicably, and the female protagonist became famous throughout the entire galaxy because of the state banquet she attended...