1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 300: "Long Live Understanding"

Peng Jingfeng felt so uncomfortable.

Xie Jin was really rude to him. Just looking at the numbers on the list, he found it difficult to approve them.

Sorry for the first time!

If he had taken on the job of adapting "The Garland", he would not have to face such a dilemma now.

Xie Jin felt relaxed all over, and together with Jiang Xian, Li Jun and Peng Jingfeng, they took a drink of tea.

Peng Jingfeng drank absent-mindedly, very anxious, and thinking about the things on the list.

This list was like a hot potato, but he couldn't refuse it. After all, if he rejected Xie Jin again, he would not be able to answer Comrade Huang Mei.

In the 1950s, Chen Huangmei supported young writers and Peng Jingfeng benefited greatly from him.

Even some time ago, when Peng Jingfeng wrote a new work "Green Net", Chen Huangmei immediately wrote him a long letter to discuss his suggestions for revision.

Such deep affection is unforgettable. How could he bear to disappoint Comrade Huang Mei?

"I have no choice but to find an 'imperial sword' to pave the way." Peng Jingfeng thought secretly.

"They have fought back many times."

The Jeep Cherokee drove slowly along the road.

Sitting in the car were Jiang Xian, Xie Jin, Li Jun, and military writer Guo Mingxiao.

The three people admired the scenery of the border area while listening to Guo Mingxiao's battle experience:

"I experienced a division-level counterattack. It was an enemy force of seven regiments. They were the ones who took the blame that day."

Li Jun frowned, "Taking the blame?"

"Yes, carrying a marching pot."

Guo Mingxiao chuckled, "These monkeys are planning to go to our main peak to have lunch! That day, I remember we fought from four in the morning to nine in the evening. I'm not going to reveal the details of the battle."

Jiang Xian was unhappy, "Old Guo, don't keep us on suspense."

"Let me tell you about the results of the battle."

Guo Mingxiao said with a proud look on his face: "Seven regiments finally fled back in disgrace, leaving behind more than a thousand corpses and more than a thousand marching pots."

"it is good!"

Xie Jin clapped his hands and said, "Well done! This is a great victory!"

"Just listen to me first."

Guo Mingxiao immediately said: "Although it was a great victory, there are also problems. As you can see, the weather here is hot and humid. The marching pots are of course fine, but with so many corpses, they will smell after a few days, which is another problem."

"What should we do? We can't just collect the monkey's body." Li Jun said.

"Of course not."

Guo Mingxiao smiled and said, "We are very humanitarian. We have sprayed some disinfectant here and sent propaganda bombs to the monkeys, notifying them to collect the bodies themselves. However, they must come with a white flag. As long as they are waving the white flag of the Red Cross, we will definitely not do it."

"Did the monkey really come?" Xie Jin asked.

“I didn’t dare to come at first.”

Guo Mingxiao said, "The monkeys also know that our soldiers are so blood-thirsty that we can't let them drag the bodies so easily. They also know how fierce the battle is. If they don't fight, it would be strange if they don't fire a few shots."

Jiang Xian nodded. He fully understood the soldiers' feelings.

Just like Baoqiang's movie "My Brother is Called Shunliu", Baoqiang finally had the chance to avenge his sister, but the Japanese had already surrendered.

At this time, his enemy was in his sights.

Do you think we should fight or not?
Do you think this gun should be fired?

Guo Mingxiao also said: "Some soldiers don't care about that. Their old squad leaders and old comrades have died. At this time, no matter what punishment you get, I will do it first and talk about it later."

Xie Jin nodded.

"I can understand the fighters."

"In the end, the soldiers were forced to remove the bullets, and only then did the monkey dare to come over."

At this point, Guo Mingxiao paused, a look of reminiscence appeared on his face, and he said with great pride:

"Although I can't fight, it's a relief!"

"The enemy came to collect the bodies with a white flag. Which soldier would not be proud and proud when seeing this? This is a lifetime honor!"

When Guo Mingxiao reached this point, Xie Jin and Li Jun both clapped excitedly, and even Jiang Xian was yearning for this scene.

"I'd rather be a centurion than a scholar."

Guo Mingxiao smiled and said, "Comrade Jiang Xian, don't worry. The motherland has not yet needed you. Please continue to contribute to the motherland's literary cause. We are still waiting for you to create more excellent novels."

"Yes, yes." Xie Jin nodded with a smile.

After a round, the car returned to the residence. Jiang Xian didn't expect Peng Jingfeng to come to him again.

He was already sitting in the house drinking tea.

When Xie Jin saw Peng Jingfeng's delighted expression, he immediately looked at him with anticipation.

"Man, is there any progress?"

"Sit down, sit down and talk slowly."

The three of them sat down and heard Peng Jingfeng say, "Brother Xie Jin, you really gave me a big problem this time."

Xie Jin looked ashamed, "I know my requirements are a bit high. I'm sorry to bother you with this matter."

Peng Jingfeng waved his hand and said, "Your Shanghai Film Studio wants our military region to provide support. This is not easy to do. I went to see Comrade Li Ying with the mentality of giving it a try."

"Comrade Li Ying?"

Xie Jin and the other two looked at each other.

Jiang Xian had lived in the border area for some time, so he knew clearly that Comrade Li Ying was the Minister of Culture of the General Political Department.

"Comrade Li Ying used to be my good friend."

Peng Jingfeng explained: "After I asked him for instructions, he said: Local comrades are enthusiastic about making military-themed films that promote patriotism and heroism, and we should support them!"

"Comrade Li Ying said this?!" Xie Jin's face was full of surprise.

If Chen Huangmei's words before were already a "imperial sword", then Li Ying's words were another one. In a sense, his words were more useful in the border areas than Chen Huangmei's.

"I wrote down Comrade Li Ying's instructions in a telephone record and submitted it to Director Xiao Jian of the X District Political Department.

Comrade Xiao Jian has always been concerned about literary creation and is very considerate of his subordinates. He ordered the secretariat to immediately forward it to the military region party committee."

Peng Jingfeng told the three of them about his hard work and left them in suspense at the end.

"Guess what now?"

"What?" "You'll never guess!"

Peng Jingfeng slapped his thigh happily, "X District Political Commissar Xie Zhenhua and Deputy Director Huang Demao will meet with you."

"Is it?"

The three of them looked at each other in bewilderment. Even Xie Jin had not expected that just making a movie would have escalated to the point where they would have to meet comrades of this level.

Peng Jingfeng said: "Comrade Xie Zhenhua is an old general. He only likes to watch singing and dancing, acrobatics, and does not like to watch dramas. He refused to be invited and even ordered the military drama troupe to be disbanded.

I was quite worried about him this time, but I didn't expect that he would be willing to come forward. Brother, this shows that Comrade Xie Zhenhua respects you as a director!"

Xie Jin was very clear, "I am just a director, what is there to respect? Rather than saying that Comrade Xie Zhenhua respects me as a director, it is better to say that he respects Comrade Jiang Xian and his work "The Wreath under the Mountain"."

Peng Jingfeng smiled and said, "Pack up. A car will come to pick you up tomorrow. Don't be nervous. Both leaders are very kind."

The next day comes quickly.

"You must be Jiang Xian."

"It's me. It's me."

Jiang Xian shook hands with Zhenhua vigorously, feeling very complicated at the moment.

He just wrote "Red Sorghum" some time ago, and the main part of "Red Sorghum" is about the anti-Japanese war.

He wrote a novel, but the man in front of him was actually a man who had beaten the Japanese.

"'The Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain' is very well written," Xie Zhenhua said. "Many of the words you wrote touched my heart."

"The soldiers' deeds are touching, so I wrote their stories into the novel," Jiang Xian said modestly.

"not like this."

Xie Zhenhua waved his hand and said, "Some time ago, Comrade Peng Jingfeng used the name of our military region's publication "National Defense Literature and Art" to entertain a group of writers from various military regions who came to Yunnan, and also invited several local writers to join.

I was invited to go, but I didn't go because I felt there were no famous writers and no outstanding works. I even wondered how it was that with so many military writers, their military literature novels were not as good as those written by an amateur like you."

Jiang Xian didn't know how to answer. He could tell that Xie Zhenhua was a very proud and straightforward person.

Xie Jin interrupted to help him out, "Comrade Jiang Xian has a keen sense of observation, which is unmatched by ordinary people. If not, he would not have produced so many masterpieces that shocked the literary world."

Xie Zhenhua nodded and looked at Xie Jin again, "Are you familiar with Xie Tieli? He is an old subordinate of mine."

This time it was Jiang Xian's turn to help Xie Jin out. "You may not know that in the film industry there is a saying 'Xie in the South and Xie in the North', referring to Comrade Xie Jin and Comrade Xie Tieli. One of them is the white jade pillar that supports the sky, and the other is the purple gold beam that spans the sea."

When Guo Mingxiao heard this, wasn’t it Li Jun who built the Purple Gold Beam across the sea before?
Is this the iron-clad white jade pillar that supports the sky, or the flowing purple gold beam that spans the sea?
During the meeting that day, Xie Zhenhua had a very good chat with the three people.

It was decided on the spot that a film support office would be established, led by Xie Zhenhua, with a deputy chief of staff from the Department of Administration, a deputy director from the Department of Political Affairs, and a deputy chief of staff from the Department of Logistics.

Give people when you need them, give things when you need them!
A comrade who had served as the chief of the military region’s operations department should also be selected to serve as the military advisor for the film "The Garland under the Mountain".

Xie Jin's mouth stretched to his ears with joy.

Even Peng Jingfeng was surprised. Although their Kunming Military Region has always had a tradition of attaching importance to literature and art, such strong support for a film is absolutely unprecedented!

At this time, he thought of what Xie Jin said yesterday. Xie Zhenhua respected the author Jiang Xian, who wrote the novel "The Wreath under the Mountain".

This is indeed the case.

Previously, many film studios had approached the military region to propose the idea of ​​seeking support, asking them to provide support in this or that aspect, but they were all rejected.

The reason why this time it went so smoothly is not because the movie was adapted from the novel "The Garland under the Mountain"?
From this we can see what a special place the novel "The Wreath" holds in the hearts of soldiers in border areas.

Peng Jingfeng believes that no other novel will be able to surpass this influence for a long time.

When Jiang Xian came to the border area, he brought a small cardboard notebook with him. Now, it is full of copied stories and heroic deeds that he heard from various places in the border area.

He was deeply impressed by Cai Chaodong's "Long Live Understanding". Combining the materials on these hard paper books, he quickly compiled a report entitled "Long Live Understanding" on paper.

Once the report was written, his work in Yunnan was completed.

Before leaving Yunnan, Jiang Xian took his special car, a military green-painted Jeep Cherokee, for a tour around Kunming for the last time.

Kunming is more than 2,600 kilometers away from Beijing. It’s not easy to come here, so I must bring some local specialties back home.

The development here is not as fast as that in Beijing, but the streets are also full of people and bicycles.

The car drove along Qingnian Road, the main road in KM city. This eye-catching car attracted many citizens to look at it.

"Girls from ethnic minorities are quite good-looking." Jiang Xian muttered while leaning against the car window.

"Writer Jiang, what did you say?" asked Xiao Zhang, the guard who was responsible for protecting him.

"Ahem, it's nothing."

Jiang Xian spent an entire afternoon riding in a car and purchasing some local specialties in the city.

Like something like fried soybeans.

There is also the delicious local tamarind from Yunnan.

Ding Ding candies sold on a shoulder pole.

He was riding in such a big car that people selling things called him "Boss" and didn't even dare to take his money.

Jiang Xian still forced it in.

On the day of returning to Beijing, Xie Jin came to the train station to see him off.

He said that with the support of the army this time, he could save a lot of expenses, and he could also use two cameras at the same time to shoot the same scene from different angles, and then choose the best pictures for editing.

“This effect is much better than shooting with a single camera!”

Jiang Xian was also very happy to hear this, "It seems that I, as a director, made the right choice. I can't give it to anyone else but you, Xie Jin."

After chatting with him for a while, Xie Jin expressed that he was more concerned about the future distribution of the film.

He said that during this period, there was a trend in the literary and art circles against writing about war and heroic characters, and some people were opposed to the so-called "Xie Jin model" in movies.

"Before the filming even started, I was already surrounded," Xie Jin said with a wry smile.

“Although the subject matter is important, the most important thing is the artistic quality of the film. As long as it is well made and the people like it, the direction of the trend that those people in the literary and art circles are messing with is nothing.

At that time, we will invite the heads of film distribution companies in all provinces and cities across the country to watch the sample film and let them see the quality of the film for themselves. I don’t believe that the number of orders for copies will be low.”

After Jiang Xian finished speaking these heroic words to him, he opened his arms and gave Xie Jin a hug before getting on the train back to Beijing.

Good news, he was arranged a sleeper berth on the train.

Bad news, there is no air conditioning in the entire train.

The feeling is definitely not as good as the green-skinned train sleeper berths in later generations, but it is much better than the hard seats. At least there is a bed to lie down on.

After a bumpy journey, Jiang Xian returned to the capital. After putting down his luggage, he went home and rushed to Chen Huangmei's apartment without even wiping his face.

Seeing that he was dishevelled, extremely haggard, and trembling as if ready to die suddenly at any time, Chen Huangmei couldn't help but feel guilty.

Comrade Jiang Xian is very capable, but we can't oppress him like this!

(End of this chapter)