1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 512 Additional Rewards
"I'm a writer named Bao Kang. You haven't heard of me?"

"Oh, no, I'm so sorry."

In the office of "3T" company, manager Yu Guan was receiving the third customer of the morning, a young man with a big head and delicate skin.

My pen name is Zhiqing.

"I still can't remember. Tell me, what do you need? You're not just here to experience life, are you?"

"No, no, my life experience is more than enough. It's like this, I've written some things, very brilliant and substantial, all niche topics. Anyone who reads them will be stunned for a moment—I'm not exaggerating at all; many readers think so, that they think it could at least win a national award, but..."

"It didn't work out?"

"To be precise, I didn't even participate in the award competition. I thought it was hopeless. See, I'm a self-aware person. Maybe you don't know much about the literary world. Every award competition is a result of balance. Some good works get in, but equally good works just don't."

"We're afraid we can't help with that. We don't have any business dealings with the Writers' Association right now, and we lack attractive female staff."

"Oh, I'm not asking you to exercise for me. I don't care about winning a national award. I'm actually quite indifferent to fame and fortune. I just hope my work gets some kind of recognition, any award will do."

"You mean even a 'Triple T' award?" Yu Guan asked tentatively. Bao Kang laughed nervously, "I'm so sorry, so embarrassed, was I being too obvious?"

"No, no, you've got it just right. Of course you'd like it to be on a larger scale, right?"

"The size doesn't matter, but it must be grand, with generous prizes, the most luxurious theater, and some vice chairmen of democratic parties—I have plenty of money."

How about we make each person receive an air conditioner as a prize?

"Each one? I'm doing this for myself."

"Even the most beautiful flower needs green leaves to support it. Aren't you lonely standing on this stage all by yourself? You should find a few people to join in the fun. I'd like to present awards to some famous writers at the same time as you, so that our award will seem more meaningful and you can also be considered a famous writer. How enviable it would be to receive an award on the same stage as famous writers."

"One air conditioner per person, how much would that cost? Although I would love to have the opportunity to stand side by side with a famous writer, I don't want to go bankrupt because of it."

"If you don't approve of extravagance, there are also ways to save money. We can divide the prizes into first, second, and third prizes. The grand prize is an air conditioner for you to keep, and the other prizes are different levels of 'point-and-shoot' cameras. We can also control the number of winners and only select the most famous ones."

“That’s much better, that makes more sense.” Bao Kang beamed. “I get the air conditioner, and everyone else gets the ‘idiot’ (referring to a device). You make a budget, and I’ll pay you back later.”

"When you come to pay, could you bring your work so we can read it? Of course, we don't care which one wins, you can decide for yourself. I've just never been so close to a real writer before, face to face. Even though I have no connection with literature, I can't help but be moved."

“Sure,” Bao Kang said with a mix of reserve and humility. “I can even sign my name for you. My most famous works are ‘The Legend of the Empress Dowager’ published in ‘Fiction Group’ and ‘I Want to Say What I Don’t Want to Say But Still Want to Say’ published in ‘Writer’s Forest’.”

"That's amazing, it must be really interesting, I can't concentrate on anything else."

"Do you think those famous writers might put on airs and refuse to accept the award?" Yu Guan saw the young writer to the door, and the young writer suddenly became somewhat worried.

Yu Guan comforted him, "Don't be afraid. Whether they accept it or not is their business. If they don't accept it, we'll still give it to them."

"Thank you, thank you so much." The young writer turned around and shook hands warmly with Yu Guan. "Your words have truly enlightened me."

"You're welcome. Our company's mission is to help people like you who have great ambitions but no way to achieve them."

After reading the novella "The Playboy" in his mind for a while, Jiang Xian rubbed his temples.

Should have thought of it earlier.

Three young men from Beijing, Yu Guan, Ma Qing, and Yang Zhong, started a company called "3T" with the motto "Solve people's worries, solve their problems, and take the blame for them".

Isn't this just a combination of "Beijing Youth" and "Substitute"?

"Playboy" is not a good term.

Like "old-timer," this is a term used in old Beijing dialect, a word from the 1960s and 70s.

The term "laopao'er" originally referred to "laopao'er," which roughly meant those idle, unemployed young people in the city who were in their prime, came from poor families, had low levels of education, and spent all their time at home without working.

Later, this group was dealt with, and the term was changed to "unemployed youth".

Because Lao Pao'er was never written down, it was passed down among the people and eventually became known as Lao Pao'er.

As for "wan zhu" (顽主), similar to "lao pao'er" (老炮儿), it was originally called "wan er zhu" (玩儿主), meaning someone who knows how to have fun.

This generally refers to people who have special skills in non-formal professions such as bird walking or fishing, and who have rich social experience.

These people are idle and do not have a proper job, but they are not necessarily ignorant and incompetent.

They genuinely treat playing as a serious matter, and they have to play it in a creative and sophisticated way.

Here we need to make a distinction:
There is a difference between a "tough guy" and a hooligan or hoodlum.

Ordinary hooligans and thugs don't deserve to be called "tough guys".

Take, for example, Zhong Yuemin from the TV series "Blood Romance".

Zhong Yuemin grew up in government compound, had lived on the streets, worked all night, worked in the countryside, served in the army, sold pancakes, worked in the police station, and had several girlfriends.

He is a righteous man with a chivalrous spirit. He calls himself a "tough guy," but he's not really; he's more like a "hooligan."

In summary, the characteristics of a "playboy" can be roughly summarized as follows:
First, they treat having fun as their main job, pursue variety, and yearn for achievement in play;

Second, although he may not be engaged in his proper work, he may not necessarily be ignorant and incompetent.
Third, they adhere to the rules of the underworld;
Fourth, and most importantly, most of the "playboys" come from well-off families.

In later generations, people may have become accustomed to such figures and no longer find them surprising. Moreover, most of these people have devoted themselves to the short video industry and become video bloggers.

But in this era where the whole society is striving to "strive," such people are especially rare.

This story, "The Playful Masters," originally written by Wang Shuo, tells the story of a group of genuine "playful masters."

In later years, Feng Xiaogang directed a movie called "The Dream Factory" and another movie called "Personal Tailor," which was about "which cadre couldn't resist such temptation."

Both movies are about fulfilling other people's dreams.

"The Troubleshooters" is the ancestor of these two films, sharing the same concept and pioneering the story mode of fulfilling other people's dreams.

It was later made into a movie, with Ge You playing Yang Chong. In the later film "Personal Tailor," Ge You didn't even change his name; he was still called Yang Chong, but the core spirit of the character changed.

In "The Troubleshooters," Yang Chong lectures and mocks everyone, including an expert on anal sex and a mentor for young people. In "Personal Tailor," the same Yang Chong becomes the same expert on anal sex and a mentor for young people that he himself mocked, and even says righteously, "I'm just a silly boy."

There's nothing we can do about it; it's a commercial film.

Jiang Xian did nothing all day but flipped through "The Troubleshooters" several times, laughing non-stop.

This is hilarious!

Ma Qing, Yu Guan, and Yang Zhong, who are also Liang Tian, ​​Zhang Guoli, and Ge You in the movie, started a "3T" company, whose main business is "to solve other people's problems, solve other people's difficulties, and take the blame for other people".

As a result, guests flocked to the area in no time.

Yang Zhong, also known as Ge You, is acting as a go-between for a doctor and his girlfriend Liu Meiping.

Ma Qing, also known as Liang Tian, ​​is a man who argues with his wife on behalf of another man.

Yu Guan, also known as Zhang Guoli, received Bao Kang, a self-proclaimed "writer" whose work deserves a major award, which is the opening paragraph of the work.

But things took an unexpected turn.

Yang Chong arranged a romantic relationship with Liu Meiping on behalf of a customer, but Liu Meiping unexpectedly developed feelings for him.

Yu Guan held an awards ceremony for "writer" Bao Kang, and had to temporarily recruit people from the mall to act as celebrities giving speeches.

A customer, fearing his girlfriend would cry during their breakup, came to him for help. When he arrived, he discovered that the girlfriend he was about to break up with was none other than Liu Meiping.

A man who took care of a seriously ill elderly woman on behalf of a customer ended up being sued by her relatives.
In short, everything went wrong. SanT Company was ordered to suspend operations for rectification and also received a court summons. The old lady's relatives were still sitting in the business office demanding compensation for their losses.

Finally, the three of them stormed into the street, venting their anger by bumping into other people.

They would all turn around and stare at each other as soon as they bumped into each other, ready to swarm and slap each other in the face as soon as the other person complained.

As a result, none of the middle-aged men with thick waists showed any reaction.

No one paid any attention to the three brothers.

The novel's ending is rather ordinary; everything returns to a mundane state.

Jiang Xian preferred the ending of the movie.

The ending of the movie is quite dramatic.

When the three brothers, looking disheveled, packed their things and prepared to leave the now-closed company, they discovered a long queue outside the company gate.

They are all people who need help solving their life problems.
It's impossible to know who wrote this ending.

It may have been written by Wang Shuo, or it may not have been written by Wang Shuo; it may have been created by the director himself.

When the movie was being filmed, the director asked Wang Shuo to supplement the script because the novel's content was insufficient.

As it turned out, Wang Shuo was at the peak of his creative career and busy writing his new novel, so he couldn't take care of it at all. Director Mi Jiashan said that when he went to get the script from Wang Shuo, he found that he had cut out paragraphs of the novel "The Troubleshooters" from the magazine and pasted them onto the manuscript paper, with some handwritten text mixed in between.

This was the first time Mi Jiashan had seen such a script, and he had no choice but to take it back and painstakingly rewrite it himself.

Regardless, both the film and the novel "The Troubleshooters" are high-quality and rare gems.

Jiang Xian was also ashamed. He had already taken Wang Shuo's best film, "Ferocious Animals," and now he had taken away another film, "The Troublemakers," which was no less than "Ferocious Animals."

That's so well written.

The story of the novel is already fun enough, but the words spoken by Ma Qing, Yu Guan, and Yang Zhong are even more entertaining.

For example, at the end of the story, when the three of them went out into the street to cause trouble and wanted to find someone to vent their anger on.

Ma Qing walked ahead excitedly, waving his fist and shouting to the pedestrians:

Who the hell dares to mess with me? Who the hell dares to mess with me?

A burly man in work clothes approached him and said in a low voice:
'I dare to mess with you.'

Ma Qing paused for a moment, looked at the towering young man, and said, glancing around:
"Then who the hell dares to mess with us?"

This is hilarious!

This feeling permeates the entire novel and forms its main theme.

Moreover, Ma Qing, Yu Guan, and Yang Zhong truly embodied the term "playboy" to the fullest extent, treating play as a career, and possessing an extremely high level of thought and spirit.

They mocked everything: the sublime, reason, society, life, morality, history, politics—in short, everything grand and respectable, everything that hierarchical order created by rational civilization.

They all mocked.

"What are you thinking about?"

During dinner that evening, the old lady Rao Yuemei looked at Jiang Xian in a daze.

Jiang Xian snapped out of her reverie and smiled. "It's nothing, just about the novel."

"novel?"

Rao Yuemei scratched her head. "Even great writers need to eat before they can think about novels. They need to eat first."

"Harmful."

"By the way, how's that crosstalk performance that Jiang Kun asked you to work on?"

"I heard there's going to be a performance in a couple of days. If you'd like to see it, I'll ask him to get you a seat."

"Oh dear, that's too much trouble."

"It's no trouble at all, he'd be happy for me to go."

Jiang Xian wiped his mouth, then wiped his little emperor's mouth, "I'm full."

"Oh dear, you've only eaten a few bites. You haven't even eaten as much as your daughter," Rao Yuemei complained.

Although the little princess is young, she has a really big appetite. Jiang Xian is worried that she will be malnourished and that she will become a little chubby. After all, their family's standard of living would be quite affluent even by today's standards.

Ignoring all that, I went back inside, gripped my pen, and continued pondering the matter of "The Troubleshooters."

The novel "The Troublemakers" is excellent in itself.

But Jiang Xian had even more ideas:

Add some of your own ideas.

He had previously guessed that the system would give more rewards for this synthesis.

Just as he had guessed.

The rewards unlocked this time are not limited to the novel "The Mischievous Master".

Writing ability +10

"Mastery of 'New Beijing-style Novels' has been unlocked."

Along with "The Mischief Maker," this synthesis also unlocks two writing ability rewards.

After gaining 10 points in writing ability, Jiang Xian felt that his writing skills had been significantly improved.

What embarrassed him before was that, apart from his synthesized works, his own writing ability was not outstanding among contemporary writers; he was just an average writer who could publish in People's Literature.

But after acquiring these 10 writing skills, Jiang Xian could clearly feel his own improvement and progress in writing ability.

For example, writers often share their writing insights, but Jiang Xian used to just read these insights and that was it.

But now, he can understand it, and he can also have the same realization.

This improvement in his skill level at least brought him to the level of being recognized as an outstanding novelist nationwide.

It should be noted that writers who win the National Excellent Novel Award may have a fleeting moment of fame, like Chen Shixu, who faded into obscurity after his first work.

But Jiang Xian's current writing level allows him to maintain the ability to write excellent novels at the national level, which is quite formidable.

As for the second reward, he was proficient in the new Beijing-style novels, having almost completely mastered the writing style and essence of "new Beijing-style novels".

With these two awards, Jiang Xian was eager to try and add some of his own ideas to "The Troubleshooters".

In other words, in addition to replacing the award ceremony and the romance plot, he added some elements that he himself came up with.

This is still quite easy.

(End of this chapter)