Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 193 Beijing Film Studio visits for script
Liu Yimin did not go straight back to the courtyard house, but instead went to the Beijing People's Art Theatre for a walk. The theatre was still the same as before, and he did not see many familiar faces. He left after walking around for a while.

The drama troupe is preparing to return, and the Beijing Opera Troupe and some opera troupes are also preparing to return the stage to the Beijing People's Art Theatre. The only familiar face in the opera troupe, Wang Zengqi, is also not there.

Liu Yimin walked along Di'anmen Street into Nanluoguxiang, and then wandered around several alleys to see if there were any courtyard houses for sale.

With the reform and opening up, prices began to rise in the 1980s. If you put your savings in the bank and don't spend them, they will shrink. The interest alone is not enough.

It's more worthwhile to exchange the money for a house or something else that can appreciate in value. After looking around, I came to the vicinity of Gulou, but I didn't find any houses for sale.

The key issue is that I'm unfamiliar with the area, so searching like this isn't a good idea.

Liu Yimin was sitting in the shade under the Drum Tower, with an ice cream in his mouth. When he saw an older woman wearing a red armband walk by, he immediately thought of a solution.

We must always connect with the people!

Thinking of this, he hopped on his bicycle, rode into the alleyway, and found the neighborhood auntie who had been watching him. Liu Yimin saw her and waved to her from a distance.

The woman from the neighborhood office said warily, "Young man, I'm just passing by this time, don't take it personally. I'm doing this for your own good, afraid that you young people might turn to crime. You don't know, the public security isn't as good as it used to be. Not to mention the unemployed, even many young workers with jobs are turning to crime."

Liu Yimin looked at the old woman helplessly. He hadn't said anything, so was this considered an admission of guilt?

However, what the neighborhood committee lady said is indeed true. Not to mention the unemployed, it is true that there are frequent cases of young workers with jobs being caught stealing factory parts to sell.

Liu Yimin laughed and said, "Aunt Liang, I really didn't think much about it. With you here to supervise and encourage me, and inspired by your upright character, I'm sure I can follow the sun like a sunflower."

“That’s right, young comrade, a revolutionary must act uprightly and honestly!” Aunt Liang from the neighborhood office raised her fist of justice at Liu Yimin.

"Aunt Liang, I greatly admire your revolutionary spirit; you always radiate vitality!"

Aunt Liang works at the subdistrict office, not as the director, but she's an active member of the subdistrict community. Liu Yimin saw her a few times when he went to the subdistrict office to register.

Aunt Liang stood proudly with her hands on her hips, brimming with energy: "Comrade Liu Yimin, I never imagined you were such a young man with revolutionary spirit!"

"Aunt Liang, do you still remember my name!"

"Of course, you're my priority." Aunt Liang quickly tied her tongue in a knot, stopping herself from speaking.

The two chatted for a while, becoming increasingly open with each other. They ended up sitting under a tree in the alley, discussing various things. Aunt Liang wasn't originally from Beijing; her family was poor, and she had no choice but to go with human traffickers. She escaped along the way and met her current husband.

Her husband was from Yanjing, so she became a new Yanjing resident.

Both of them were from out of town, so they chatted much more warmly. She was from Shandong Province, and since Shandong and Henan have always been considered close, their accents were quite similar. When things got interesting, she pulled Liu Yimin along to go to her house for dinner.

"Aunt Liang, I keep hearing people arguing in the alley lately, what's going on?" Liu Yimin asked.

"Hey, isn't it because there aren't enough houses? Sometimes several families live in the same courtyard, and their upper teeth often bump into each other. With so many families living together, how can they not fight?" Aunt Liang said.

"Too!"

"Many people want to move to another place, but no one is buying the houses!"

Taking the opportunity, Liu Yimin said, "Aunt Liang, do you know anyone who wants to sell a courtyard house? Of course, I'm looking to buy an individual's house, not a company dormitory or anything like that."

She explained it in more detail, and Aunt Liang nodded repeatedly.

After she finished speaking, Aunt Liang slapped her thigh and said, "You're helping us out here too. I'll keep an eye out for you. See if there are any vacated houses where the original owners have come back. If so, I'll ask them for you!"

"Alright, I'll stay here, but I might not come back sometimes. Let's chat when we meet." Liu Yimin shook the old lady's hand and said goodbye.

"Don't worry, Yimin, I'm just doing a good deed. I'm helping you and those who want to leave."

Liu Yimin turned and went back to the courtyard house. Besides the five thousand yuan in the bank, he had less than a thousand yuan in his hand. He owed the original owner of the courtyard house two thousand five hundred yuan, which he would not repay until the end of the year.

If the journal *Harvest* published the novel *The Kite Runner* at a rate of ten yuan per thousand words, the royalties would be two thousand one hundred yuan. Li Xiaolin didn't mention the royalty rate in his letter, but Liu Yimin believed he would definitely be paid ten yuan.

Is calling someone "senior sister" just for show?
The royalty check is probably coming soon, which will give him around 8,000 yuan, enough to buy another house without much trouble.

Besides the royalties from these standalone books and reprints, all that's waiting for Liu Yimin in the coming months!

When he first bought the courtyard house, Cui Daoyi introduced him to a two-courtyard house, but unfortunately the owner has already sold it, otherwise he wouldn't have needed to look for one again.

Once in the courtyard, Liu Yimin took an ice cream from the refrigerator, put it in his mouth, and returned to his study. After reviewing the revision suggestions given by Xia Yan and Mao Dun yesterday, he began revising and writing.

In the afternoon, someone from the Shanghai Film Studio came by. They were reporting to the Film Bureau and brought with them the Shanghai specialties that Xu Sangchu had promised him last time. The coarse cloth bag was sealed with a button, and after Liu Yimin cut it open with scissors, a pile of things came into view.

Inside were White Rabbit milk candies and four glass bottles of liquor, with red and white labels that read "Shen Gui Yang Rong Jiu" (参桂养荣酒). As the first liquor advertised on mainland China's television, Shen Gui Yang Rong Jiu has become a highly sought-after product thanks to television promotion.

It seems to be quite expensive.

Liu Yimin didn't need this thing, so naturally he hadn't paid attention to its price.

Looking at the Yangrong wine in his hand with an awkward expression, Liu Yimin snorted, "Who the hell do you think you are? Why would I need to drink this stuff?"

Even if I don't drink it, that solid wood bed can't withstand it!

Liu Yimin placed the White Rabbit milk candy and the wine together on the shelf behind him, but placed the Ginseng and Osmanthus Nourishing Wine in an inconspicuous corner, and casually put the label facing the wall.

After putting it away, he continued writing at the table, trying to finish the first part before Cao Yu returned. When he saw the person he'd met in Xia Yan's office at the courtyard gate, Liu Yimin realized he was from the Beijing Film Studio. Liu Yimin warmly opened the gate and welcomed him inside.

The other party was Zhu Dexiong, the deputy director of Beijing Film Studio, and director Wang Yan. In the reception room, Liu Yimin poured tea for the two and asked them which script they had come for.

Zhu Dexiong said happily, "Comrade Liu Yimin, you really are a straightforward person. We were originally going to exchange a few pleasantries here, but since you're so direct, we'll just say it. We've taken a liking to your 'Mr. Donkey'."

"What? A film studio beat us to it?" Wang Yan asked instinctively.

Liu Yimin's expression returned to normal, and he waved his hand, saying, "No, it's just that when you said it was Beijing Film Studio, I thought you were going to make 'The Flames of War in Beiping,' but I didn't expect you to choose 'Mr. Donkey.'"

The Beijing Film Studio didn't make "The Flames of War in Beiping," but instead came to ask for the script for "Mr. Donkey."

Liu Yimin felt that their film selection was somewhat poor. He believed that "Mr. Donkey" would definitely not be as effective as "The Flames of War in Beiping." Of course, it's also possible that he, as an outsider, didn't understand.

Wang Yan and Zhu Dexiong exchanged a wry smile and said, "Of course we wanted to film 'The Flames of War in Beiping,' but alas!"

"What's a pity?" Liu Yimin asked.

"Unfortunately, after careful calculation, we found that the manpower and resources used in 'The Flames of War in Beiping' ultimately cost far more than the filming budget we have now. We only have about 500,000 yuan, which is clearly not enough to make a film about such a grand era as 'The Flames of War in Beiping'."

The script for *Mr. Donkey* uses few people and has few scenes, so after careful calculation, the cost is very low. Moreover, the film *Mr. Donkey* might have an unexpected and positive impact.

Wang Yan explained his reasons, and Zhu Dexiong next to him nodded in agreement, indicating that they had already discussed it internally.

"The time span and the number of characters involved in 'The Flames of War in Beiping' are too vast to be supported by the current filming budget. Moreover, I believe that compressing the plot into a two-hour film would result in the loss of much of the story content."

We've discussed increasing the budget for this series internally, but unfortunately we also have our own filming commitments, so we can't currently allocate a single budget specifically for making this movie.

Their internal calculations show that the production cost of "Mr. Donkey" only needed to be around 100,000 yuan. The main setting was just a primary school, the crew didn't need to travel around, and the actors' salaries would be less than 5,000 yuan each.

Liu Yimin nodded, indicating that he had no objection. The client is in charge of receiving the money.

If the movie "Wolf Smoke Over Beiping" were to be made, given the current acting styles of the actors, it might not necessarily be a good film.

"Are you sure you want to make 'Mr. Donkey'?"

"Yes, we've considered everything, including the potential backlash and censorship issues. We trust your script, the Beijing People's Art Theatre's judgment, and our own. Your 'Romance on Lushan Mountain' is excellent, it's a pity my former employer got it," Zhu Dexiong said with a smile.

Zhu Dexiong originally worked at the Shanghai Film Studio, where he was involved in filmmaking during the underground Communist Party period. Later, he came to Beijing to help establish the Shanghai Film Studio. He was also one of 15 young film workers who went to Moscow to study. To fill the gap in art direction in China, he switched from being a director to becoming an art director.

Later, he set up his own business and together with another deputy director and others, they established a film technology development company. In 1990, their 70mm stereo film production technology won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award. In 1992, they built the first panoramic cinema in China in Yanjing Amusement Park.

In 1993, China's first experimental motion-sensing film, lasting 2 minutes and 40 seconds, was shot, and motion seats were successfully developed, breaking China's reliance on foreign countries for motion-sensing films.

"Mr. Donkey" already had a stage play script. Although stage plays and movies are different, they don't need to be completely rewritten; they only need some modifications.

For Liu Yimin, this saved him a lot of trouble.

"Alright, Director Zhu, Director Wang. Once I've revised the script, I'll send it directly to our Beijing Film Studio!"

Zhu Dexiong and Wang Yan happily extended their hands and reached a cooperation agreement with Liu Yimin on the film script.

"Yimin, you've taken good care of this courtyard. It's located near the heart of the capital, a quiet oasis amidst the hustle and bustle. Has this house been renovated?"

"You noticed? I had it repaired when I first bought it. I planted some flowers myself, so it has a bit of life now."

“Great, what a great place. Seeing you like this, I’m even thinking of buying a courtyard house in Yanjing to live in…” Zhu Dexiong finished speaking, but then he remembered his meager monthly salary of just over a hundred yuan and immediately fell silent, stopping his words.

Liu Yimin smiled and handed the old stage play script of "Mr. Donkey" to Zhu Dexiong, asking them if they had any suggestions for revision.
Zhu Dexiong, an experienced director, and Wang Yan, a director, discussed the matter on the side. Liu Yimin then cut some watermelon and other things to entertain them.

The two of them looked at it very carefully, discussing it from time to time, just like a review meeting in the factory.

After the discussion, I carefully wrote down my revision suggestions, and finally organized them separately on several sheets of paper, marking the corresponding parts of the original script with each revision suggestion.

Zhu Dexiong and Wang Yan had spent nearly four hours going through the entire script. They had thought it was just a short meeting to discuss the script, but it turned out to be almost time to leave work.

Stepping out of the reception room, the three stretched wearily, gazing at the setting sun in the distance. Zhu Dexiong, inspired by the poem, recited: "The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it is nearing dusk."

Liu Yimin treated them to a meal, and Zhu Dexiong volunteered, "This meal should be on us. Don't worry, after eating so much watermelon and mung bean soup, it's our turn to show our appreciation."

The group sat in the state-run restaurant. Zhu Dexiong asked curiously about the filming in Lushan, and Liu Yimin told them everything he knew.

"That kiss was filmed using a camera angle trick!" Zhu Dexiong and Wang Yan realized, wondering why they hadn't noticed it when they watched the film.

"Haha, Yimin has given us a taste of the saying 'a mountain range appears different from different angles,' making us unable to see its true face!"

"It's simply because I'm standing in the mountain!"

"Come on, have some beer." Zhu Dexiong asked the waiter to bring some beer, draft beer from the store, which cost 25 cents a pound. The three of them each drank about a pound. The beer tasted refreshing, and the alcohol content seemed a bit high, somewhat like Urumqi beer from Xinjiang.

"Director Zhu, just say what you have to say?" Liu Yimin asked, raising his beer as he looked at Zhu Dexiong who seemed hesitant to speak.

(End of this chapter)