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

Chapter 242: Sales of "Mr. Donkey" are getting better and better.

On April 10, more than 4 representatives from all walks of life in the capital came to the Capital Hospital to bid farewell to Mr. Mao Dun's remains.

After Mr. Mao Dun's death, the organization immediately established a funeral committee with extremely high standards. The day after the farewell ceremony, a formal memorial service for Comrade Shen Yanbing was held in the Great Hall of the People.

Before entering the Great Hall of the People, Liu Yimin saw many people standing in front of Tiananmen Square, all of whom were waiting to attend the memorial service.

Liu Yimin followed behind Cao Yu, with Li Yuru and Wan Fang also present. As they walked up the steps, Cao Yu glanced back at the crowd seeing people off in the square, his expression a complex mix of emotions…

There were already many people inside, packed tightly together, all wearing gray or black Zhongshan suits.

Security inside and outside the Great Hall of the People was extremely tight, and the organization was meticulous. The media was not allowed to enter.

After they entered, they waited in a hall of the Great Hall of the People to enter. Literary figures such as Ba Jin, Xia Yan, and Ye Shengtao were already there, their expressions sorrowful.

Then many leaders came in, and once everyone was almost there, they began to walk into the memorial hall.

Many funeral couplets were displayed in front of the hall, and Wei Tao and his wife and children stood to the side. Liu Yimin did not recognize the people behind them.

The memorial service was a high-profile event, where Liu Yimin met many important figures, but they all passed by in a flash, their images blocked by the backs of other people's heads the next second.

The last item on the agenda of the memorial service was that, led by the leaders, the mourners stepped forward one by one to express their condolences to the family. Liu Yimin followed behind Cao Yu.

"Uncle Wan!" Wei Tao cried out in grief.

"Good boy, please accept my condolences. Old Shen was so tired in his final days!" Cao Yu held Wei Tao's hand, patted his shoulder, and two streams of cloudy tears flowed down his cheeks.

"Brother Wei, please accept my condolences!" Liu Yimin said.

"Yimin, thank you!"

After the ceremony, they left the memorial service. Wei Tao and other relatives then proceeded to Babaoshan Cemetery to have his ashes interred.

At some point, Zhang Guangnian squeezed next to Liu Yimin and began recounting past events. Before liberation, there was a time when they mistakenly believed Mao Dun had died, and they held a memorial service for him, even writing a eulogy.

Cao Yu sighed upon hearing this and remained silent.

Liu Yimin followed Cao Yu back to the Beijing People's Art Theatre, and then returned to his own courtyard house. Not long after, Xu Chi knocked on the door of the courtyard house.

As April arrived, the weather in Yanjing was already quite hot. Sweat dripped from Xu Chi's temples; he had just attended Mr. Mao Dun's memorial service.

There were too many people at the scene, and Liu Yimin couldn't see him at all.

When Xu Chi met Liu Yimin, he first sighed, and then told him about his past with his fellow villager Mao Dun.

In the past, when Xu Chi was in or back in Yanjing, he would always bother Mao Dun.

Liu Yimin brewed the tea and placed it in front of Xu Chi, then listened quietly as Xu Chi spoke.

Xu Chi arrived in Yanjing the day before yesterday and barely rested. He first attended the farewell ceremony for the deceased, and then the memorial service. He was exhausted at his age.

Before long, Xu Chi's energy was waning. Liu Yimin told him to rest there, but Xu Chi refused, waving his hand and saying he wanted to go to his general brother-in-law's house to rest, as he had to catch the train back to Hubei Province that night.

"Comrade Xu, why are you in such a hurry? Why don't you stay in Yanjing for a few more days?" Liu Yimin asked.

"Sigh, I can't stay any longer. I'm leaving Yanjing to go back to my hometown and stay for a few days. I'm getting old, and I've been traveling all the time. After attending the memorial service today, I suddenly felt a strong homesickness. The image of the swaying awning boats on the river keeps popping into my head!"
This is a copy of Walden published this year; I'm giving it to you as a souvenir!

Xu Chi placed Walden on the stone table and prepared to leave. It was a book published by a foreign literature publishing house, but apart from the original author's name, Xu Chi's name was replaced by the word "translator".

Liu Yimin wanted to keep Xu Chi a little longer, but Xu Chi, looking at the spring scenery in the courtyard, said regretfully, "Next time!"

Liu Yimin escorted Xu Chi to the alley entrance before turning back into his own courtyard.

I turned on the radio, and news of the memorial service was being broadcast.

Liu Yimin carried a bucket of water and watered the garden in the yard, and then tidied it up a bit.
After Mao Dun's death, Cao Yu was not in a good mood, but it was also the crucial moment when the two plays, "Mountains High and Rivers Long" and "Red River Valley," commemorating the 30th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet, were about to premiere, and he was under a lot of pressure.

Seeing Cao Yu's exhaustion, Li Yuru and Wan Fang were very worried. So they sought help from Liu Yimin. In the end, the three of them decided to take Cao Yu to the Summer Palace for a walk on Sunday.

Mid-to-late April is a perfect time for travel, neither too cold nor too hot. The four of them followed the same route they had taken with Zhu Lin last time and walked into the Summer Palace. Wan Fang happily took photos with her camera.

Standing by the lake, watching the clear water ripple and the fish playing in it, Cao Yu's brows finally relaxed, and he exhaled a few breaths of pent-up frustration, feeling much better.

"Teacher, would you like to go boating in the middle of the lake?" Liu Yimin asked with a smile.

Cao Yu said with great interest, "Great! I'll row, and the three of you can ride in the boat!"

He walked towards the rented boat, rolled up his sleeves, and took the lead, boarding the boat. Unfortunately, he could only row halfway before he couldn't move anymore: "Getting old, getting old, it's really good!"

Liu Yimin and Wan Fang picked up the oars and started rowing. Wan Fang said, "Dad, you're not old at all! You're still so young! Even if you are old, like an old steed in its stall, you still have the ambition to gallop a thousand miles!"

"Even in their twilight years, heroes still cherish lofty ambitions!" Liu Yimin continued.
Looking at the kite flying in the sky, Cao Yu said helplessly, "Even the divine tortoise, though long-lived, has its end. Look how high this kite flies in the sky, but it can't fly without wind. And even if it does fly, there's a string below that's always pulling it down."

Cao Yu seemed to be using a kite as a metaphor for himself, and Li Yuru helplessly took Cao Yu's arm, their conversation turning into a sad one.

After a while, Cao Yu laughed, looking refreshed and as if he had regained his confidence: "Don't worry, I will create even better works. I won't be satisfied if I don't write a few more great plays!"

The atmosphere of the rest of the tour was surprisingly good. The four of them toured almost the entire Summer Palace. Wan Fang was worried about Cao Yu's health and asked him repeatedly if he could handle it. Cao Yu waved his hand and insisted on walking the entire park.

When they left the park, it was already around 2 p.m. The group had eaten some dry food and biscuits they had brought with them for lunch.

Upon arriving at the gate of Yenching University, Liu Yimin took them to the Changzheng Restaurant for a meal.

After finishing his meal, Cao Yu wanted to go inside and take a look at Yenching University, but Wan Fang stopped him and pulled him back to rest.

“There’s plenty of time to come to Yenching University!” Wan Fang said with a smile.

On the way back, Liu Yimin said, "After this play performance, you should take your teacher's wife to Beidaihe to rest." "Okay!" Cao Yu looked at the interested Li Yuru and agreed with a smile.

Li Yuru, supporting Cao Yu, said, "Then I'll wait for you to keep your promise!"

At the end of April, "Mr. Donkey" was officially released. Zhu Dexiong informed Liu Yimin of the situation over the phone; the copies were not selling very well.

The film prints of "Romance on Lushan Mountain" sold nearly 400 copies, but the prints of "Mr. Donkey" sold less than 100 copies, making it a relatively unpopular film.

Around 200 is considered a relatively popular movie. "Romance on Lushan Mountain" had 400, making it a huge hit.

Zhu Dexiong told Liu Yimin over the phone: "Everyone feels that this type of film is difficult to appreciate and audiences don't like it, so film distribution companies in various places don't dare to buy more. However, this does not mean that the film is a failure. Comrade Wang Yan said it well at the time: even if no one watches it for a while, it does not mean that the film has no value."

Although it seems that few people bought the film, the Beijing Film Studio internally had a high opinion of it and made a lot of money from it.

Since last year, China Film Group has raised the minimum acquisition price for films, from 70 yuan to 90 yuan per film.

"Mr. Donkey" only cost 10 yuan to make and earned 80 yuan. This was the highest profit among the films made last year.

With this 80 yuan, Beijing Film Academy can invest in another film.

Wang Yan also wrote to Liu Yimin, asking him not to be pessimistic, as the problem wasn't with the film itself. Many people in the newspapers also reviewed "Mr. Donkey," considering it an excellent art film with superb cinematography and character development.

Liu Yimin thought to himself, it seems that art films didn't have much of a market in the 1980s.

However, Liu Yimin wasn't really sad; he had anticipated it.

To show his support for "Mr. Donkey", Zhu Lin bought several movie tickets and gave them to his parents or other friends.

The next day was May, and more than half a month had passed since the release of "Mr. Donkey," which Liu Yimin had long since stopped paying attention to.

In the dormitory, Liu Yimin was sitting on his bed reading when Liu Zhenyun walked in and said to the two people next to him, "This is weird. Didn't everyone say that not many people watched 'Mr. Donkey'? I went to buy tickets today, but I couldn't buy a single one."

"Why are you buying a ticket?" Li Xueqin asked.

Liu Zhenyun didn't speak, but emphasized again, "The main problem is that I can't buy tickets!"

Chen Dazhi asked, "Yes, why are you buying a ticket?"

"Why do you two monks from the temple care about this?" Liu Yimin teased.

Liu Zhenyun smiled and looked at the two of them. Yimin's words were more pleasant to hear, and they made him feel comfortable.

Chen Dazhi and Li Xueqin were speechless after being choked up. They stammered and said things like, "How can someone so young think about relationships all the time?"

Liu Zhenyun asked, "Yimin, why can't we buy movie tickets?"

"Because there aren't many movies showing in theaters!"

Liu Zhenyun sat wearily on the bed. He had finally managed to buy a movie ticket to invite his junior classmate Guo Jianmei to watch a movie, catch up on their hometown ties, and strengthen their friendship. But now, he couldn't buy one!

"You'd better think about how to write your thesis!" Chen Dazhi said indignantly, feeling a strange sense of satisfaction at shattering Liu Zhenyun's dream.

Liu Zhenyun said dejectedly, "How am I supposed to write this? Even the professor doesn't know how to write it, and you're asking me?"

I'm about to be a senior, and it's time to write my graduation thesis. My previous theses were based on Soviet sources.

Unfortunately, now that we are learning to write graduation theses from Western universities, many professors don't know how Western theses are written, and they are not very familiar with the format.

Even some of the Yenching University teachers who stayed on as workers, peasants, and soldiers never wrote a thesis at that time.

However, the school will soon import a batch of Western academic papers for professors and students to refer to.

Liu Yimin didn't pay attention to Liu Zhenyun's problem of not being able to buy tickets. Then, in May, Zhu Dexiong called Liu Yimin again.

“Yimin, I think the film ‘Mr. Donkey’ was also popular among the masses. In 79, I went abroad. I found that foreign cinemas were recording data such as attendance rates as an important indicator.”

I recently went out with my colleagues from the factory to check things out, and I found that "Mr. Donkey" is selling extremely well; every show is 100% full!

Liu Yimin rolled his eyes: "Director Zhu, there aren't many movies to watch these days. Which movie isn't 100% full?"

Zhu Dexiong laughed and said, "You're right, but it's different. Yimin, now the newspapers and the audience are all praising 'Mr. Donkey.' I think everyone has recognized the artistic charm of 'Mr. Donkey' and is increasingly optimistic about it!"

As Zhu Dexiong predicted, there were more and more comments about "Mr. Donkey" in the newspapers, and many students on the Yenching University campus were also discussing the movie.

The movie was also shown in the dining hall in the evenings. Every evening, students from Yenching University would carry their small stools and movie tickets to the dining hall.

Wang Yan wrote to Liu Yimin, saying that when he was filming a movie in Sichuan Province, he went to several cinemas in the surrounding area and found that the cinemas in the county were all full, with more and more screenings.

However, another situation made him feel a little disappointed, because many people watched this movie as a comedy rather than an art film.

Liu Yimin replied that this is normal; different levels of artistic appreciation lead to different aesthetic tastes. A film that is appreciated by both the refined and the common is the highest praise one can give.

Tickets for "Mr. Donkey" were selling like hotcakes, and some distribution companies were even preparing to purchase more film prints, which excited Wang Yang. Although the number of prints sold did not necessarily increase revenue, it enhanced the influence of the Beijing Film Studio.

Which film studio doesn't want to produce a few good movies so they can brag about it? If you don't have any good movies, you won't be able to hold your head high when meeting with the directors of several film studios.

The number of copies continued to increase, eventually reaching 150. This was almost double the initial number sold.

The quantity reached another revenue-sharing standard with China Film Group, and Beijing Film Studio made another fortune. Wang Yang happily called it an unexpected windfall at a meeting of the entire studio.

【The film "Mr. Donkey" showed us the power of good works. Good works have a vibrant life force; even if they don't shine immediately, the audience will vote with their hearts!】

(End of this chapter)