Training the Heavens

Chapter 80 Start Writing

After everyone arrived, the editor-in-chief circulated Gao Jialin's outline and then expressed his opinion. "Jialin's story is indeed good. If it can be written, it will be a great thing for us at Mengya. However, the problems he mentioned do exist. So, should we let him write it? What are your thoughts?"

"The rise and fall of a restaurant reflects the feelings of family and country. It would be a shame not to write such a story!"

"It's also our editorial department's responsibility to help writers solve problems that arise during the writing process. Since Xiao Gao's story is so good, let's do our best to help if we can, right?"

"If he really wants to write a novel, we can invite a few foreign experts to come and talk to him. We have no shortage of resources in this area. Doesn't the Federation of Literary and Art Circles have a department for foreign exchanges? We can ask them to help find him, right?"

"Just like Lao Wang said, the premise is that he really wants to write a novel. If he has other ideas and something goes wrong, we will also be implicated!" someone reminded.

The overall environment in recent years is much better than in previous years, but there are still many concerns about foreign relations. It is normal for him to have such concerns.

"You shouldn't worry about this. Gao Jialin is a student leader at Pujiang College. He was featured in newspapers and praised by leaders some time ago. His integrity is trustworthy!" the editor-in-chief interrupted.

"If that's the case, then I agree to provide some help to Gao Jialin! But before contacting people from abroad, we must do a good job of training, and it would be best if someone from our editorial department is present during the meeting!" The person who questioned it cast a cautious vote in favor.

The main reason is that Gao Jialin is too young and people are worried that he may not be firm in his thoughts. If he were replaced by an old and famous writer, these problems would not exist.

"I can offer help, but I can't be too casual, and I certainly can't make them feel uncomfortable. I need to be more diplomatic in my approach!"

Leaders expressed their opinions one after another, and they all failed to resist the temptation of this good story.

"Okay, I'll go find the department in the Federation of Literary and Art Circles responsible for external relations and ask them to help!" The editor-in-chief felt relieved.

After get off work, he first visited a familiar leader of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles in private and showed him Gao Jialin's outline. Seeing that the leader was also very interested in the outline, the editor-in-chief told the leader the purpose of his visit and wanted to ask the leader for help and tell the comrade in charge of external liaison.

This way it will be easier for them. If they go about doing things publicly without any preparation, they might get rejected for some reason. If they try to find a solution at that time, the cost of favors will be much greater than it is now.

The leader attached great importance to this work. The next day, he contacted the comrades in the external liaison department. The editor-in-chief went there to explain the situation, and they quickly agreed to provide assistance.

Shanghai was one of the first five cities to open to the outside world after the reform and opening up policy. Due to its history, there are still many old Shanghainese scattered around the country. In recent years, a growing number of them have returned to Shanghai from all over the world to trace their roots and invest.
It is quite easy to find a few guests from Hong Kong and Macau, and it is not too difficult to find guests from Taiwan. Although there is no direct travel between the two places now, there are still people who go to third places such as Hong Kong and Japan to look for relatives and friends.

Many of these people were art enthusiasts, some even writers, poets, and screenwriters themselves. Having previously interacted with domestic writers, they were immediately drawn to the idea of ​​a young author seeking their help and writing material. A glance at the story outline intrigued them even more. Anyone who could come to Shanghai at this time of year possessed a deep sense of patriotism, so how could they not be moved by such a work?

Soon, Gao Jialin met his first guest, a poet from Taiwan who came to Shanghai to help his father find his grandmother who had been lost for many years.

The meeting place was an old Shanghai restaurant, and Niu Xinliang accompanied them. The reason was that Niu Xinliang knew a lot about food and could make their meal more comfortable. But in fact, it was to remind Gao Jialin that if they talked about something they shouldn't, Niu Xinliang would change the subject in time.

Gao Jialin had no objection to this. First, Niu Xinliang was a good person and would not interfere with normal conversation. Second, when dealing with people from abroad at this time, especially a young man with a bright future like him, it was a good thing to have multiple people present as witnesses to avoid any gossip in the future that would affect his future.

The poet recounted his life on the island over the years to Gao Jialin: "Uncle Lu across the street is from Sichuan, Uncle Cao next door is from Jiangxi, my tenant Uncle Mantou is from Shandong, Teacher Li and Teacher Tan at the elementary school are both from Jiangsu, my two aunts married people from Shandong and Jiangsu respectively, and my father's best friend, Teacher Xu, is from Shanghai. This Chinese mainland feels both near and far, both far and near, and it always stirs up the romantic feelings in my blood."

"My impression is that during Chinese New Year, these elders miss their mainland homeland through food! Elders from Shandong must make dumplings, and those from Jiangsu and Zhejiang always prepare a 'Ruyi dish' for their New Year's Eve dinner. This Ruyi dish must include soybean sprouts, because they resemble the Chinese character 'Ruyi,' symbolizing perfection and good fortune."

"Now they are all old and want to return to their hometowns. Unfortunately, it is difficult for most people to return. As Yu Guangzhong wrote in his poem, 'Homesickness is a shallow strait. I am on this side, and the mainland is on the other.'"

"Many people, before dying, still recite Yu Lao's poem with tears in their eyes: 'Bury me on a high mountain, so I can see my hometown; my hometown cannot be seen, but I can never forget it.'"

Friends in Hong Kong and Macau also told Gao Jialin similar stories. Only then did Niu Xinliang truly understand Gao Jialin's real intention of using food as an entry point.

"For ordinary people, the most unforgettable source of homesickness is perhaps the delicious food of their hometown. It's the red bean and fermented rice dumplings their mothers cooked for them when they were little; it's the candied haws sold by elderly people at the street corner after elementary school; it's the dandan noodles carried on the shoulders of street vendors; it's a bowl of steaming hot mutton soup buns. Truly, nothing evokes homesickness more than delicious food!"

I really didn’t think so. Gao Jialin looked confused. This is how the movie was shot. I just copied it as it is.

But he didn't explain and let Niu Xinliang go to Dihua. Maybe that's what the screenwriter thought in the beginning?

I met many guests from the three places and collected a lot of information from them. The most important of these were the homesickness of the people in the three places, the living habits of young people today, and their views on the mainland.

With these materials, Gao Jialin can finally start writing this work.

(End of this chapter)