1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 153: Border Town Released

Every weekend, the literary lectures will be given a day off.

After studying for a week, they were almost excited and started humming songs excitedly in the morning.

A few friends had already made an appointment to go out and play, and they gathered in the front yard, chattering and discussing the movie they were going to watch today.

"Border Town? I remember it was a novel, right?"

"Have you never read Shen Congwen's novels?"

“I’ve never heard of it.”

"Why worry about it? Just watch it. It's better if you haven't watched it. The purpose of watching it is to find it fresh and new."

Jiang Xian finished washing up in the sink, put on his clothes, and went out to call out the soldiers: Kong Jiesheng, Wang Anyi, Chen Shixu, Wang Xiaoying, and Qu Xiaowei.

He couldn't help but keep his eyes on Chen Shixu, "Comrade Chen Shixu, why are you dressed like this?"

Chen Shixu was wearing a dark blue synthetic Zhongshan suit. It was a sunny day today and his synthetic clothes were shining in the sun. He looked like a blue enchantress standing there.

"What, what's wrong?" Chen Shixu was stunned when he saw the students looking at him with strange eyes. He immediately realized that he might be unsophisticated. His face turned red and he felt hot.

"Comrade Shixu, the weather is so hot today, so don't wear such thick clothes."

Jiang Xian helped him out in a natural tone: "Especially in a movie theater, it's very stuffy, you will definitely not be able to stand it, and this dress looks expensive, it's a mess inside, if someone scratches it, it will be ruined. I remember your sailor shirt is very good."

"I, I'll go change it." Chen Shixu nodded gratefully and quickly returned to the dormitory.

A few people were left standing in the front yard, talking in low voices.

Qu Xiaowei revealed: "You may not know that this is the suit that Comrade Shixu's wife bought for him when he got married. His wife was an educated youth who went to work in the countryside in Shanghai. She stayed with them and bought this suit for him when she came home to visit her family."

"But this is too much..." Wang Xiaoying looked embarrassed.

Kong Jiesheng said, "He came from a small town, and he might be afraid of being embarrassed in a big city like Beijing if he doesn't dress well."

"Comrade Shixu wants to express his respect for us, so he dresses formally. Let's stop saying anything bad." Jiang Xian interrupted their discussion.

"That's not what I meant." Kong Jiesheng blushed.

Chen Shixu quickly changed into casual clothes, a green military jacket and a sailor shirt underneath.

"Okay, just like a gangster!" Jiang Xian gave a thumbs up.

"A troublemaker? What is a troublemaker?" Chen Shixu scratched his head in confusion.

"Praise a man with good words. If you want to praise someone in the future, just say this to him." Jiang Xian explained the "Beijing dialect" to him.

A group of people left the campus, crowded in front of the bus stop, took bus No. 18 from Zuojiazhuang to Dongzhimen, and gradually appreciated the prosperous cityscape of the capital.

"Grandma, please sit here."

Wang Anyi offered her seat. She was shorter than me, so she held on to the iron bar tightly. "Where are we going to watch the movie? Are we almost there?"

Jiang Xian glanced at her and said, "It will be soon. I will take you to the best place to see it."

There are about 100 cinemas in Beijing at present, including Dahua, Huashi, Ziguang, Daming, Changhong, Shengli, Red House, Geology Auditorium, Xidan Theater, Children's Theater, Workers Club, etc.

The ticket price for a movie ranges from 5 cents to 3 cents. Even at 5 cents, watching a movie is considered a luxury, but it is difficult to resist the enthusiasm of the audience.

According to statistics, in 1979 alone, there were 354812 screenings in Beijing's cinemas throughout the year, with a total audience of 34626 million, so it is called the "golden age" of the film industry.

After arriving at Xidan, Jiang Xian led them to the old Capital Cinema, which was diagonally opposite the Telegraph Building. The ticket office was crowded with people.

Seeing a line of students enjoying discounted tickets at the Capital Cinema, Kong Jiesheng slapped his thigh and said, "What a loss! What a loss! We should have asked the creative class to get us a letter of introduction saying that we are students and can buy discounted student tickets."

"Come on, people can see that we don't look like students." Qu Xiaowei complained.

"Why don't they look the same? There are still people in their thirties in the university." Kong Jiesheng said.

"Alright, alright." Jiang Xian interrupted them. "Follow my instructions. Men, go buy tickets. Women, go buy soda. Gather here in ten minutes. Do you understand? If you understand, please come back."

"Got it." The friends reported one after another. Unconsciously, Jiang Xian had been regarded as the backbone of the team.

The three men rolled up their sleeves and tried their best to squeeze in. Chen Shixu looked at the ticket-selling line that looked like a vegetable market and secretly felt lucky that he had listened to Jiang Xian.

On the other side, Wang Xiaoying and Wang Anyi went together to buy Arctic Ocean drinks.

As for Jiang Xian, he sat in the center, carrying his satchel, and hurried to No. 7 West Chang'an Avenue.

He pushed open the door of the small office with ease. Zhang Dening was sitting in the office. He took out the manuscript of "Letter from a Stranger" from his bag and placed it on her desk.

"Teacher Dening, I have finished revising it. I will give it to you."

"It's been fixed so quickly?"

"You take a look first. I'm leaving now."

"Why go?"

"Watch a movie, Border Town."

"I saw that movie!" Zhang Dening smiled. "You know what, it's really well made. Did you write the script?"

"I adapted it. Have you forgotten? I went to Xiangxi to shoot this movie and wrote Furong Town." He slapped his forehead and said, "I forgot that I didn't give you Furong Town."

"."

When he strolled back, Wang Xiaoying and Wang Anyi were waiting there, holding a few bottles of Arctic Ocean. The man who bought the movie tickets had not returned yet.

"The soda seller said that this movie is very popular and good, so everyone goes to watch it this weekend." Wang Xiaoying bit the microphone straw.

Wang Anyi was reluctant to drink it, and fiddled with the straw around the bottle.

In the huge crowd, the three kids finally returned victorious, and Kong Jiesheng held high the movie ticket of "Border Town" in his hand.

"Comrades, victory!"

Qu Xiaowei panted, bent over, and felt nauseous. "I took a shower yesterday for nothing. The crowd was so crowded that I breathed in a mouthful of fleshy smell and sweat."

"Everyone says this movie is good. Those who bought tickets are talking about it." Chen Shixu lifted his collar and wiped the back of his neck.

"Thank you for your hard work, thank you for your hard work."

Jiang Xian handed over three bottles of Arctic Ocean, took the tickets, and invited everyone to go into the cinema.

The Capital Cinema has unique conditions, with a wide screen, elegant decoration, good sound effects and spacious space. Before each show starts, three dull bells ring, adding a full sense of ceremony and style.

Especially the seats. Other cinemas usually have wooden folding chairs. If you stand up, you might hit your butt if you are not careful.

The Capital Cinema has replaced its seats with soft leather ones.

Of course, movie tickets are much more expensive than other places.

The group hurriedly found a row of seats and sat down. The surrounding seats were also full, with adults calling out and children crying.

When it was time for the screening, a slide appeared on the screen with a red and green light - "The film has not started yet, pause for a moment."

There was a burst of boos in the screening room, but fortunately, the image appeared on the screen soon, and some crackling noises and murmurs could be heard.

Everyone immediately became quiet.

First, there was a silhouette of the Tiananmen Gate Tower on the screen, with a line of "Beijing Film Studio" written below it.

Immediately, a melodious flute sound rang in my ears.

"Border Town", Ling Zifeng.

Original work——Shen Congwen.

Screenwriter: Jiang Xian.

(End of this chapter)