1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 253 The Interrupted Manuscript
The light in the auditorium was dim and Yingda had a complicated expression.

Compared to the excitement of others at this moment, Yingda felt a little disappointed. He looked at the couplets on the stage with some unwillingness on his face, but he had to admit the reality.

“Is this play so good?”

From the first act, he saw the first clues. The overwhelming urban atmosphere and the vivid characterization all revealed how outstanding this drama is.

Compared with the performances in the previous three days, the quality of today's "The World's Number One Restaurant" is obviously not on the same level as those three shows.

Yingda has been watching drama performances at the Beijing People's Art Theatre since he was a child. If this script were performed by the main actors of the Beijing People's Art Theatre, he even felt that the level of excitement would be comparable to "Tea House".

"Yingda, why are you still here?" Liang Zuo glanced at Yingda who was dazed in his seat and called out, "Let's go, Teacher Jiang is treating us to roast duck, let's go together."

"I'm not going." Yingda's voice was low and a little frustrated.

"." Liang Zuo pursed his lips, then closed them, packed up his things and left.

Among the performances in the first three days, Yingda's play "Nine of Us" was the most popular at Yanda University, and was even praised by teachers from the Department of Drama, which was something worth bragging about.

But today, when "The Best Restaurant in the World" was released, it was like a mountain hanging in front of Yingda.

In the face of such a timeless classic, "Nine of Us" is like a game between students.

For other students, drama is just a whim, but for Yingda, it has a different meaning.

Liang Zuo put himself in Yingda's shoes and could imagine the despair he felt facing the gap.

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Luo Guanzhong wrote about Zhou Yu’s sigh, “If I were born, why was Liang born?” This is probably a reflection of Zhou Yu’s state of mind.

"Ah, why do you have to compete with Jiang Xian?"

Liang Zuo muttered quietly to himself, "That's Jiang Xian after all."

He said with emotion.

It’s a pity that "Journey to the West" has not been filmed yet, otherwise Liang Zuo would have a suitable picture in his mind.

The Nine-Headed Insect said to Benboerba, "Go and get rid of Tang Seng and his disciples."

Or maybe Xiaoze ordered Xiaomeng: "Go and catch Xiaojing."

On the other side, Wang Yao was holding Jiang Xian's hand, smiling, with a big pipe in her mouth, puffing and flickering.

"Phoenix head, pig belly, leopard tail! Comrade Jiang Xian, the play you created is really beautiful. I haven't seen such a wonderful play in many years!"

Although he was already quite old, he sat in the audience with great energy, watching the entire performance of "The Best Restaurant in the World" with great interest. He was impressed by the exquisiteness of the drama, and his eyes were filled with admiration as he looked at Jiang Xian.

"Don't say that. I feel embarrassed." Jiang Xian smiled.

Wang Yao then sighed, "Thunderstorm was written before liberation, and Teahouse was written after liberation. These are classics that are hard to shake with other works of the same period. After watching this drama today, I think there will be another one to add to the buzz, The World's No. 1 Restaurant."

Wang Yao's high evaluation of "The World's Number One Restaurant" shocked Jiang Xian and the people around him.

This professor has served as the president of the Chinese Modern Literature Research Association for many years, and his understanding of modern Chinese literature is almost unmatched.

He listed "The World's Number One Restaurant" as a buzz-worthy work that could lead an era, just like "Thunderstorm" and "Tea House". This praise is absolutely significant.

Wang Xiaoping and other actors of "The World's Number One Restaurant" were also excited at this moment. They had a sense of accomplishment in participating in a great cause, and even had an urge to worship Jiang Xian.

There may be another Cao Yu who wrote "Thunderstorm" and Lao She who wrote "Tea House" in the future, Jiang Xian who wrote "The World's No. 1 Restaurant"!

Capital Theatre, backstage.

The air was filled with the smell of vegetable oil and oil paint.

Oil paint is used for makeup, and vegetable oil is used for makeup removal.

The floor was covered with red carpet, spotless, as if to indicate the status of this place as the highest palace of art.

Since 56, the Capital Theatre has always belonged to China's first art troupe: Beijing People's Art Theatre. It is a sacred place that all drama actors dream of joining.

Ying Ruocheng was removing her makeup, her face was rosy, and she looked particularly beautiful under the light.

"Teacher Ying, thank you for your hard work." Director Xia Chun greeted him.

"Oh, it's not hard."

He had just finished performing in Thunderstorm, in which he played the despicable character Lu Gui.

As for Xia Chun, he is the drama director of "Thunderstorm". He also collaborated with the late chief director Jiao Juyin to direct "Teahouse". He is one of the "four great directors" of Beijing People's Art Theatre.

"Old Xia, have you read the script I gave you?" Ying Ruocheng asked.

"'The World's No. 1 Restaurant'?"

Xia Chun slapped his head and said, "I was so busy rehearsing Thunderstorm that I forgot about it."

"Look at you, Old Xia. When you drink, you always complain that our People's Art Theatre is short of good scripts. Now I hand you a good script, but you don't want to read it." Ying Ruocheng said dissatisfiedly.

After the buzz, the entire literary and art circles are faced with the dilemma of a lack of successors. Even the Beijing People's Art Theatre, a holy land of drama, is facing a script shortage. Mr. Cao Yu has run out of inspiration, and the theatre lacks other outstanding screenwriters.

The most mainstream solution in theaters at the moment is to translate and introduce foreign drama works. This year, Beijing People's Art Theatre has been in contact with British director Toby Robertson and plans to stage Shakespeare's classic play "The Trap" for the People's Art Theatre.

But what we import is not our own after all. This is just a delaying tactic and cannot be implemented for a long time. Otherwise, the stage of the Beijing People's Art Theater will be full of foreign plays? It cannot produce a single Chinese drama.

Xia Chun noticed that Ying Ruocheng's tone was unusual and asked in surprise, "Did you write the script for me very well?"

"Good! Even the dean said it was well written." Ying Ruocheng said hurriedly.

"I happen to be free tonight, I'll take a look first." Xia Chun replied.

Ying Ruocheng thought for a moment and said, "It's getting late now, so forget about watching it. My son said that there will be a May Fourth Festival performance at Yanda tomorrow, and students will be performing this play in the auditorium. Why don't you come and watch it with me, Old Xia?"

"Performance by Yanda University?" Xia Chun asked curiously, "Performed by students from Yanda University?"

Ying Ruocheng nodded and said, "We set up an amateur troupe, a bit like the 'Camel Troupe' we had at Southwest Associated University back then."

"Okay then, I'll go with you tomorrow."

The next day, Xia Chun and Ying Ruocheng came to the campus of Yanda University. They were accompanied by the People's Art Theater director Lin Zhaohua, who was a teacher at Yanda University.

"The best building in the world?"

Lin Zhaohua smiled and said, "I know. I have read the script of this play. This play has been very popular in Yanda University recently. Many students have come to me to discuss and consult. I haven't seen the stage performance yet, but judging from the quality of the script, it is definitely a top-notch work."

What a great script?

Xia Chun was surprised.

Lin Zhaohua joined the Beijing People's Art Theatre in the early 70s as a director, and Xia Chun still has great trust in his evaluation.

There was also a teacher in the same profession who happened to have watched the premiere of "The World's Number One Restaurant" that day.

"It's of a very high standard. I couldn't believe it the other day when I saw it. This is a play put together by a group of students."

Two more teachers joined the topic, and without exception, they all talked about how wonderful "The World's Number One Restaurant" was.

Xia Chun listened quietly, his eyes shining, and his curiosity about "The World's Number One Restaurant" grew even stronger.

There were a lot of people on the Yanda campus today. Ying Ruocheng was a little surprised. Why were there so many students in Yanda? After listening to Lin Zhaohua, he realized that many of them came from Qinghua next door to visit and watch the drama performance.

Especially outside the school auditorium, there were crowds of people, college students were jostling each other, it was hard to tell how many people there were, it was noisy and bustling, many of them were college students from other schools who came here because of its reputation.

"It seems that the students are very enthusiastic." Xia Chun couldn't help but sigh.

"Comrade Xia Chun, Comrade Ying Ruocheng, let's go in quickly." The school leaders urged.

Xia Chun nodded, "Okay." Several people entered the auditorium, found seats and sat down. Xia Chun took a look and saw that the seats were almost full. Even the aisles were full of people standing. It can be said that the attendance rate completely exceeded that of their Beijing People's Art Theatre.

He was quite happy to see that the students were so interested in the drama.

However, deep down, I was more looking forward to the drama “The World’s Number One Restaurant”. I wonder what kind of drama it was that aroused the anticipation of all the students in the school.

Soon the curtain opened and the actors appeared on stage.

While Fujude's business was booming, the two young masters of the Tang family believed in slander, bossed Lu Mengshi around, and were even meaner to the shop assistants.

Foreigners rushed into the store, and Chang Gui was beaten by them and had a stroke because he did not allow them to bring dogs into the store. When he fell down, Chang Gui did not forget to stretch out his five fingers with effort.

"Five ounces of white wine."

Lu Mengshi was anxious to send Chang Gui to the hospital, but Tang Maosheng sneered, "You are very good to your buddies, but all the money is ours. Fujude makes hundreds of gold every day, where did all the money go? Don't think we don't know!"
Don't forget, his surname is Tang! No matter how long Fujude lasts, we are also the shopkeepers, we want to take back the business."

A wave of unrest, a wave of up again.

Ke Wu, who had a deep hatred for Fujude, led the detective team to falsely accuse Luo Datou of hiding opium and wanted to use Fujude's large scale to weigh Luo Datou.

Suddenly, Lu Mengshi seemed to see the humiliation of his father reappearing, and shook his head, "Wait! Luo Datou is a cook in a grill, not a tobacco dealer. I am willing to testify, and Fu Jude is willing to protect me!"

"Who can protect you?" the detective captain asked with a squint.

All the shop assistants looked at the two young masters of the Tang family, and the entire audience also looked at them.

But no one said a word, like quails, not uttering a word.

The audiences all felt desolate.

When the birds are all gone, the bows are put away; when the rabbit is dead, the dog is cooked.

"Mengshi! Lu Mengshi!" The actor who played Yu Chu'er screamed heartbreakingly.

"I just wronged you."

Lu Mengshi raised his head and looked at the building he had built with his own hands: "I didn't get on this 'palanquin' when I arrived."

Some in the audience clenched their fists, some shed tears.

Ke Wu jumped onto the armchair in a flash, and said in a very arrogant manner: "From now on, Master Wu will be your regular customer, so hurry up and serve me! Master, I will eat one and take one away, and you can send the duck frame home to me!"

As soon as Lu Mengshi left, those who were riding on the guys' heads came back.

"."

This time, the performance was much better than the last time, with even better props and costumes. At the end of the performance, the curtain slowly fell, leaving a couplet outside.

"it is good!"

Xia Chun slapped his thigh fiercely, "What a great movie 'The World's No. 1 Restaurant', superb! Brilliant! Beautiful!"

Thinking back to the scenes that just happened.

In Xia Chun's opinion, the students' performance was quite average, but he still ignored these flaws and was completely immersed in the story of the script.

"What a show! Absolutely a great show!"

Xia Chun looked at Ying Ruocheng excitedly and asked, "Who came up with this last idea?"

What he was referring to, of course, was the idea of ​​the couplet being “closed” outside the curtain.

The ending was so beautiful, and the prolonged applause at the end of the play was the best proof of that.

Ying Ruocheng didn't understand either. It was not until they were led by the teacher and met the student actors that he got the answer from Liang Zuo.

"This is Jiang Xian's idea."

"He thought of keeping the couplet outside the curtain, even after the actors took their bows, so that the audience would always look at the couplet when they left, looking back every few steps."

Xia Chun's eyes lit up.

Can write and arrange!
Talent!

He immediately pulled Ying Ruocheng to visit Jiang Xian.

As the president of the drama troupe and Ying Ruocheng's son, Yingda was of course standing aside.

Hearing that a big director like Xia Chun was interested in Jiang Xian's drama, she suddenly became jealous.

This is Xia Chun!

Vice President of Beijing People's Art Theatre, who has devoted his life to drama.

It takes a very good script to catch his eye.

Another person who felt equally frustrated was Lin Zhaohua, who also had his eyes on the script of "The World's Number One Restaurant".

Seeing that the vice president was quite interested in the script, he didn't want to say anything more.

Jiang Xian was writing his latest novel, and he never expected that Xia Chun and Ying Ruocheng would come to him.

Ying Ruocheng first introduced Xia Chun's identity, and then got straight to the point: "Old Xia and I just came from Yan University. We watched your play "The World's No. 1 Restaurant" which was produced at Yan University."

"Did you see it?" Jiang Xian was surprised. This was something he had not expected.

“This script is really good.”

Xia Chun exclaimed, "The last scene was really well arranged. The couple was locked outside the curtain. I heard that was your idea?"

"I'm sorry for making fun of this immature idea." Jiang Xian said modestly, and then asked, "Why are you two here?"

Ying Ruocheng was stunned and didn't know how to explain. He couldn't say that the two of them had come all this way just to let Xia Chun, the old senior, see Jiang Xian's style.

Xia Chun was decisive and said bluntly: "Jiang Xian, I want to stage your script."

This director was well-known for his love of joking. In order to get the actors into the role, he once deliberately arranged a scene in which a female actress was hit by a car, but the truck escaped. When the actors were furious and wanted to find the army to argue, he stopped the scene and said that he had designed this scene on purpose and hoped that everyone would remember their emotions.

But at this moment, his tone was sincere, and Jiang Xian could fully feel the sincerity in his heart.

"Okay, if you want to shoot, I have no objection, but it's so late today, how about I go to the Capital Theatre to talk to you in detail another day?"

Xia Chun nodded in agreement.

I went downstairs with Zhu Lin to see them off.

On the way back, Zhu Lin said in surprise.

"Is your play, The World's No.1 Restaurant, going to be performed on the stage of Beijing People's Art Theatre?"

Jiang Xian smiled and said, "Who makes me look up to others?"

In fact, he was not too surprised. It was only natural for the long-lasting classic "The World's Number One Restaurant" to be performed on a stage like the People's Art Theatre.

When he got home, he sat back at his desk.

He reorganized his thoughts and continued writing the manuscript that had been interrupted by Ying Ruocheng and Xia Chun.

His face was solemn as he wrote:

"Let's drink this glass of wine, and see you at the Martyrs' Cemetery!"

(End of this chapter)