The Mightiest Little Peasant c1-799
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“Exactly! Everything produced by Haotian is amazing!”
“Most importantly, he’s so young. How ridiculous!”
The reporters started discussing about Tang Hao.
“Let’s go! We still have an event!”
After a long while, they continued to report on the signing event.
Chapter 624 - Another Year Passes
The next seven days passed In the blink of an eye.
The exams were over, and it was finally the winter break.
Liu Bingyao flew all over Huaxia in the past week for signing events, which contributed to a rise in album sales.
Meanwhile, Haotian Pictures released the second trailer of “Mao Mountain Taoist Master” which set off another wave of excitement. The number of followers of the official Weibo account rose soared again.
The film critics and directors crawled out of the woodwork once more.
“Haha! It’s actually releasing on the first day of the Lunar New Year? How daring! Are the people of Haotian Pictures all idiots?”
“How dare this small-time trash movie release on Lunar New Year? Hahaha! I’m dying of laughter!”
All of them mocked.
Admittedly, the two trailers were very well-produced, but a good trailer did not mean that the movie was good.
It happened too often that a bad movie was saved by an amazing trailer.
Moreover, the movie only had a production time of three and a half months, from October last year to mid-January.
How would one shoot a movie in three and a half months? Even the simplest rom-com would have taken longer.
An action movie like “Mao Mountain Taoist Master” that had many special effects would take at least one year to make.
In conclusion, one could imagine how bad and rushed the movie could be. They probably blew their entire special effects budget on the trailer.
Every Lunar New Year, the box office would be a battlefield on which major films would vie for dominance. A debut film by a no-name director would be easily crushed.
The Lunar New year period of this year was no exception. All the big-name directors would release their films on the same day.
Director Tian’s fantasy masterpiece “The Legend of Deification”, Director Zhang’s mystery masterpiece “Bait and Switch”, Director Chen’s fantasy masterpiece “Journey to the West”, and so on…
These were all famous veteran directors with huge followings. Their names alone had a great appeal at the box office.
Those companies would be dividing the majority of the Lunar New Year’s box office profits among themselves.
Other movies, including the rising star Director Liu’s “Middle School Detective Genius” and Director Mo’s “Potsticker Man” among others, had great potential.
It was quite reckless to release “Mao Mountain Taoist Master” with such intense competition.
The production crew was used to those remarks. They did not bother replying to the negativity, instead focused their efforts on advertising.
After the winter break started, Tang Hao brought Yan’er and Cao Fei back to Westridge.
A few days later, Qin Xiangyi’s factory closed for Lunar New Year. The two of them enjoyed their intimate time together for the next few days.
Lunar New Year got closer and closer as the days passed. The atmosphere was getting livelier.
Tang Hao prepared gifts and other items for the festivities.
Now, he was not alone anymore. He was obligated to give gifts to many of his friends.
Last year, he had prepared many jade talismans and potions. This year, he had prepared many talismans and pendant-shaped Artifacts.
Artifacts were precious items and were meant for the people closest to him. The other friends would receive jade talismans.
He spent the next five days crafting everything and putting them into gift bags.
Meanwhile, Qin Xiangyi decorated the mansion, which made it more festive.
Before the Lunar New Year, Tang Hao made a trip to the provincial capital, then to River Delta City and the Capital to deliver gifts.
On New Year’s Eve, Tang Hao and Qin Xiangyi went to Greenwillow village and had a lively reunion dinner.
Close to midnight, the couple sat on the top of a skyscraper, waiting for the new year to come.
The night wind that brushed past their faces was slightly cold.
They leaned against each other, looking at their watches without saying a word.
The second hand marched rhythmically toward midnight.
“Ten… nine… eight… seven…” She counted softly.
“Zero!” The second hand struck the number twelve.
Bang! Bang!
Fireworks were set off everywhere in the city, lighting up the night sky in a dazzling display.
“So beautiful!” Qin Xiangyi exclaimed.
She turned her head and looked at Tang Hao. “Happy New Year, Lil Tang!”
“Mm! Happy New Year!” Tang Hao replied and held her hand tightly.
“How time flies, Lil Tang. It’s been another year. This is the second year we are together.” She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder.
“Yeah! It’s so fast!” Tang Hao said.
“Actually… I hope it can be faster. You’re only twenty years old this year. You’re still too young!” She muttered.
She paused for a while and continued, “Lil Tang, do you remember last year? We celebrated the New Year like this too. We’ll celebrate New Year this way every year after this, OK?”
“OK!” Tang Hao kissed her forehead and said solemnly.
After a while, she looked at her watch and said softly, “Let’s go! We’re going to miss the premiere!”
Then, she stood up in a hurry.
Tang Hao smiled and said, “Don’t worry, we won’t miss it!” Then, he picked her up and rode the wind.
She cried out in surprise and hugged Tang Hao tightly.
They flew past the tall buildings and landed near the cinema.
The entrance of the cinema was very lively, even though it was past midnight. Many people brought their families to watch a movie. They looked very happy, greeting each other with “Happy New Year!”
“What are we watching, dear?”
“Let me see. ‘Bait and Switch’ should be pretty good. The director is very famous. Look at the all-star cast. ‘The Legend of Deification’ should also be good.”
“What about this ‘Mao Mountain Taoist Master’? I heard that the trailer is amazing.”
“Ha! It’s a trash movie. You can tell by the name of the director. I don’t even know all these actors.”
Tang Hao could hear those conversations as soon as he stepped into the cinema.
He grimaced and felt a little helpless.
Many people decide on what movie to watch based on the names of the director and actors. “Mao Mountain Taoist Master” had no renowned director and big-name actors, which put it at a disadvantage.
According to Manager Zhuo, the movie got a pitifully low number of screenings in the cinemas.
That was within expectations. It was indeed quite difficult to take on the major titles.
However, the Lunar New year holiday period was still long, and he was confident that his movie would perform better. It might not be number one, but it should not perform too badly either.
There was one midnight showing of “Mao Mountain Taoist Master”, and that was specifically requested by the company. After all, Westridge was the home base of Haotian Group, and the cinema owner was acquainted with the owner of the cinema.
The couple bought popcorn and went into the theater.
“Hey! Isn’t that chairman Tang?”
They ran into familiar people as soon as they entered. A group of people stood up from their seats and greeted him.
Tang Hao was surprised. They were all young Haotian Group employees.
“You guys are here too!” Tang Hao said.
“Of cours
e! We have to support our own movie.”
“Some people say that the movie is terrible. I’d like to see how bad it can be.”
They laughed jokingly.
Tang Hao could not help but laugh. He and Qin Xiangyi found their seats and sat down.
Not long after, the screening began.
Chapter 625 - Positive Reviews
In the theater, bursts of laughter could be heard from time to time.
Many people were doubled over with laughter. Some people even spat out the popcorn in their mouths.
The whimsical comedy scenes that took the viewers by surprise also made them spit out the popcorn in their mouths.
Tang Hao had already watched it once, so he was not caught by surprise. Qin Xiangyi, sitting next to him, was laughing so hard that her entire body was trembling, and her body that would fall on him occasionally.
“It’s so funny!”
“Why is it so funny?”
She was laughing so hard that she did not dare to eat the popcorn, afraid that she would spit it out.
The hall fell silent when everyone concentrated on the action scenes. From time to time, they would exclaim in surprise.
“Wow! That zombie is so realistic! It looks like the real deal!”
“Wow! The special effects are so cool. It’s better than any random special effects house out there.”
At the climax of the movie, the audience held their breaths, fully engrossed in the plot.
The main plot was easy to follow. The story was about several Taoist masters pursuing a bloody murder and slaying demons. It was adapted from a real-life experience from the Taoist masters themselves.
That was one of the story arcs in the “Mao Mountain Taoist Master” novel. The story in the novel was already humorous, and Trendy Taoist Masters added more whimsical scenes in the script.
With the superb adding skills of the Taoist masters, the movie was endlessly exciting and hilarious. It was practically flawless.
The final part of the movie was a decisive battle. The audience could not take their eyes off the screen, and their mood fluctuated along with the exciting plot.
As the credits rolled, the audience remained captivated.
When the hall lights came on, the audience suddenly came to their senses and exclaimed loudly.
“That was amazing!”
“Is this really made by our company? It’s unbelievable!”
Everyone was excited and in disbelief.
They entered the theater without high expectations. They thought that the best result would be a passable movie of average quality.
They never expected that the movie would be so wonderful.
Was the movie really shot by a director who had never made a movie before? Furthermore, was it really completed in about three months?
Even though they did not know much about movie production, they knew that it was an incredible feat.
The audience discussed the movie excitedly.
The employees of Haotian Group were especially proud.
“That was amazing!” Qin Xiangyi exclaimed, “How could those old Taoist masters act so well? They could even win awards!”
“Ah! Right, you said before that you were in the movie. Why didn’t I see you?”
“I’m a corpse!”
Qin Xiangyi was stunned at first, but she soon burst out laughing.
“A corpse? You’re the only one who could think of that!” She gave Tang Hao a side-eye, pulled him from the seat, and walked out.
They went to watch another movie, “The Legend of Deification.”
The mood in the theater was different than the fiery atmosphere earlier. It was filled with boos and jeers.
“What the f*ck? What the hell is this?”
“What is this? Go to hell, Director!”
“Bad movie! Trash movie! And it’s in f*cking 3D too? What’s the point? This is a f*cking cash grab!”
The boos did not stop.
With the cheap special effects, the incredulous character designs, and the nonsensical plot, that was the so-called “fantasy epic.”
Tang Hao felt secondhand cringe when watching the movie, while Qin Xiangyi almost fell asleep. She closed her eyes for a while, then browsed on her phone.
Tang Hao could not bear watching the movie anymore, so he took out his phone and went online to check the reviews.
“This movie sucks! That Tian Qiuming has sunk to a new low!”
“Is the movie meant for human eyes? It’s more for pigs!”
Weibo was filled with negative comments about the movie.
Tian Qiuming was engaged in an argument with the netizens.
[All of you are trolls. Someone must’ve paid you to slander me!
[You don’t understand the movie. You’re just not at my level.]
Those were his only two points against any criticism.
A short while later, some voices came to defend Director Tian and “The Legend of Deification.”
Obviously, Tian Qiuming had paid people to do that.
He searched Weibo for “Mao Mountain Taoist Master” which only returned a few results, and they were all from Westridge.
Not many cinemas were open at midnight, and all of them had scheduled the blockbusters.
They saw through the movie with great difficulty and went to watch “Bait and Switch.”
They thought that “The Legend of Deification” was bad enough, but “Bait and Switch” had struck rock bottom.
Ten minutes into the movie, the theater was filled with boos.
Tang Hao watched it for a while and felt that he would rather gouge his eyes out.
‘How could this be called a blockbuster? There’s nothing positive about the movie other than the cast of celebrities. It’s a total waste of time.’
“Let’s go home and sleep!”
Tang Hao brought Qin Xiangyi back home.
The next morning, the internet was abuzz with discussions about the blockbuster movies.
“The Legend of Deification”, “Bait and Switch”, and the other blockbusters were all labeled as trash movies.
Meanwhile, “Potsticker Man” was surprisingly good and won a lot of praise.
As for “Mao Mountain Taoist Master”, people seemed to have forgotten it. No one talked about it, especially because it was labeled a bad movie a long time ago.
The situation began to change at about ten o’clock.
“Ah ah ah! That was so good! So wonderful! I couldn’t look away! Highly recommended!”
“I’m going to explode! It’s so good! I want to watch it again and again until I can’t!”
Posts like those mushroomed on Weibo.
The movie earned a full score on a famous movie review website.
“‘Mao Mountain Taoist Master’ is a genuine and conscientious local production.”
“Haotian Pictures, a magical company!”
Long and short reviews kept popping up.
Those positive reviews were written by people who had watched the movie.
The movie did not have many scheduled screenings, and not many people watched it at first. However, as time passed, more and more people watched it, and word-of-mouth spread.
“Look, Haotian Pictures has no sense of shame! They paid for those positive reviews. No matter what they do, they cannot change the fact that it’s a bad movie.”
A well-known film critic spoke up.
“What? Why are you trolls attacking me? What do you mean that I don’t have the right to comment about the movie if I haven’t watched it? Fine, I’m going to watch it now. When I come back, I’ll make all of you pay.”
He did not tweet any messages for the next few hours.
Eventually, he returned.
“I’m sorry, I was wrong! I apologize for my previous ignorance and recklessness!”
He apologized as soon as he came back. His attitude had transformed. He even tagged Haotian Pictures.
“@HaotianPictures, the hope of Huaxia
nese cinema!”
Then, he began to heap praises on Haotian Pictures and “Mao Mountain Taoist Master.”
Many people were like him. At first, they despised it, but they changed their minds after watching the movie. They did their best to support the movie.
Chapter 626 - Box Office Champion
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“‘Mao Mountain Taoist Master’ is a genuine and conscientious local production?”
“Haotian Pictures, the hope of Huaxia cinema?”
Tian Qiuming’s lips curled up into a sneer when he read the screen full of positive reviews.
“Pay all the comments you want! What kind of trash film is this? And you call it the hope of Huaxia cinema? Dammt, are you looking down on me?” He snorted.
He switched to his movie review page, and the corner of his eye twitched when he saw the page full of negative reviews.
The negative comments had been pouring in since midnight.
However, he was not angry. After many years as a director, he had long gotten used to it. There was no such thing as negative publicity. The more they commented, the more famous his movies became, and the higher his profits.
It did not matter if the movie was horrible. Any movie that could entice viewers to pay for cinema tickets was a good movie.
Tian Qiuming’s name alone was very appealing. With a bunch of big-name celebrities starring in the movie, it would not be a problem for him to earn 500 to 600 million during the Lunar New Year period.
“All you Internet trolls are vulgar and crass. How could you possibly understand my movie?”
He sat in his villa which was worth tens of millions, lit a cigar, poured a glass of red wine, and slowly sipped it. From time to time, he would quarrel with netizens. What a relaxing day!
“All these losers are idiots! What do they know?”
He felt disdainful toward the people dogpiling on his movie.
As he scrolled down his feed, he gradually realized that something was amiss. Why were there more and more people speaking up for Haotian? He wondered how much money they spent on paid commenters.