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

Chapter 281 The Army is Still the Most Generous
In March, "Red River Valley" was officially released. According to data provided by Xu Sangchu of Shanghai Film Studio, "Red River Valley" sold nearly 3 copies, making it a clear hit film at the time.

On the day of the premiere, Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin arrived at the cinema hand in hand that evening. A huge poster hung at the entrance, and while queuing, everyone carefully examined the content on the poster.

"Teacher Liu, is 'Red River Valley' a good read?" Zhu Lin asked with a smile.

"Does it look good or not? Don't you know?"

"I've only ever seen stage plays, not movies!"

"Just take a look and you'll know!"

After checking their tickets, Liu Yimin took Zhu Lin's hand and walked into the movie theater. Their seats were in the front row, and the viewing experience was quite good.

Not long after the movie started, Zhu Lin whispered in Liu Yimin's ear, "This actress is really beautiful. I didn't see her when I went to the Shanghai Film Studio last time!"

"In my opinion, the actress who played Xue'er Dawa in the play is better!" Liu Yimin said in a low voice.

In the quiet movie theater, Zhu Lin blushed involuntarily as she listened to Liu Yimin's sweet words. No one else could see it, but she felt her face burning, and everyone around her was watching her.

"Teacher Liu, you're just trying to fool me!"

"I'm telling the truth. I dare say this even in front of everyone!" Liu Yimin said, then immediately craned his neck.

Zhu Lin quickly grabbed Liu Yimin's hand, afraid that he would shout in the movie theater.

"Let's watch a movie!" Zhu Lin held Liu Yimin's arm tightly with both hands and focused on watching the movie.

The other spectators nearby did not notice this scene.

Xie Jin's films are of excellent quality; otherwise, the Shanghai Film Studio wouldn't have given him the script for "Red River Valley," which they had worked so hard to obtain.

After the movie ended, the audience began to walk outside. Some people exclaimed that the movie was good, while others praised the actors' good looks.

"This actor has acted in many movies before, but they weren't that famous!" someone commented.

"She's so beautiful, she can rival Zhu Lin from 'Romance on Lushan Mountain'!"

"Nonsense, Comrade Zhu Lin is clearly prettier!"

Hearing the discussion, Liu Yimin pulled Zhu Lin away.

The film "Red River Valley" quickly dominated the film market upon its release, replacing the Beijing Film Studio's "Xu Mao and His Daughters" as the dominant film.

The most distressed party at this time was undoubtedly the August First Film Studio. Their film "Xu Mao and His Daughters" had only been released for a short time when it was preempted by the Beijing Film Studio. Not only that, but before it could be shown on the market for long, "Red River Valley" came out strong behind it.

Director Li Jun poured all his emotions into "Wolf Smoke Over Beiping," striving to create a good TV series.

Following closely behind is "Mountains High and Rivers Long," which has already been filmed by Beijing Film Studio and is currently being edited. Its release date is estimated to be around May.

The Beijing Film Studio declared that "Mountains High and Rivers Long" would be no less impressive than "Red River Valley" and would compete for the Golden Rooster Award and the Hundred Flowers Award.

Audiences and the film bureau are both happy to see this competition, and everyone is full of anticipation for the release of "Mountains High and Rivers Long".

Besides the Shanghai Film Studio and the director team, Gong Xue was the biggest beneficiary of the film "Red River Valley".

With the film "Red River Valley", Gong Xue quickly became a national sensation and a name that moviegoers would often mention.

When Gong Xue is mentioned, people often compare her to Zhu Lin.

"It's a pity that compared to Comrade Zhu Lin, Comrade Gong Xue is missing the Golden Rooster Award and the Hundred Flowers Award!" someone lamented.

"I think 'Red River Valley' will definitely be on the awards show next year, but whether it will win the Best Actress award is another question."

"It's not like Comrade Zhu Lin is incapable of winning awards!"

"I heard that Comrade Zhu Lin has become a great director; she directed 'The Button'!"

"what--"

"Wow—that's amazing!"

On March 10, Liu Yimin rode his bicycle to the location of the Yanjing Military Region headquarters building—No. 3, Badachu Courtyard.

This is the location of various units of the Yanjing Military Region, with all sorts of living facilities, almost like a small city.

Many children of high-ranking officials emerged from here, living a life of luxury and extravagance in their youth.

Upon seeing Liu Yimin, the guards at the gate immediately came over to verify his identity.

Liu Yimin handed his ID to the other person, who glanced at it and said, "A student from Yenching University, here to visit a friend?"

"I'm looking for Comrade Wei Wei from the Political Department, also known as Comrade Wei Hongjie!"

"Vice Minister Wei?" the guard asked, puzzled.

"Yes, just tell him that Comrade Liu Yimin has arrived!"

The guard went into the guard post to make a phone call, and came out of the guard post with a smile, saying, "Hello comrade, Vice Minister Wei said to wait for you a moment, he will come to pick you up right away!"

"Okay!" Liu Yimin stood aside and waited.

A while later, Wei Wei arrived in a jeep and quickly asked Liu Yimin to get in.

“Yimin, just call me and I’ll come right over. It’s a long bike ride from Yanjing,” Wei Wei said with a smile.

"Since I had nothing else to do, I thought I'd just wander around!"

Liu Yimin's gaze swept over the simple buildings beside him. Many of them were made of red bricks and cement, and although they were not tall, they were densely packed together.

"These are all from various work units, and the Zhan You Drama Troupe is behind them!" Wei Wei kept introducing the compound to Liu Yimin.

Upon arriving at Wei Wei's office, Liu Yimin handed him the script for the play.

Wei Wei's office is filled with all sorts of books.

"Yimin, please sit down and have some plain water. The office is a bit basic; we don't have anything fancy like coffee!"

"I don't like it either!"

Wei Wei smiled and picked up the script to read. Liu Yimin looked out the window, constantly peering at this mysterious place.

Every now and then, veteran comrades in military uniforms would get out of the jeeps, followed by younger cadres or staff officers who would report on their work in hushed tones.

You almost never see soldiers with two pockets; they all have four.

Most people looked relaxed, unlike the tense soldiers on the front lines. Occasionally, you could see a few officers chatting with their arms around each other, but when they saw their superiors, they would immediately stand at attention and salute!
"Yimin, I think the script for this play doesn't need any changes. Let them rehearse it as is! If there are any parts that are not suitable, let the drama troupe members revise them themselves, what do you think?"

Wei Wei closed the script and said with a smile.

"it is good!"

This way, it would save Liu Yimin a lot of trouble, so he naturally agreed.

Wei Wei led him to Wei, the director of the Zhan You Drama Troupe. Wei was wearing a green military uniform and an old-fashioned woolen overcoat. After reading the script, Wei praised it highly.

"What a talent! Comrade Wei, it would be a real waste if someone like him didn't join our army!" Regiment Commander Wei looked Liu Yimin up and down, thinking the young man would look very dashing in a military uniform. "Too late! Comrade Yimin will be an associate professor at Peking University when it opens in September. Trying to poach him from Peking University? I advise you to forget about it!" Wei Wei said with a smile.

"What a pity, what a pity. But creation is creation no matter where you are. Even if you're not a writer in the military, you can still write more about the military!" Commander Wei said.

At the entrance, a young soldier peeked in. When Commander Wei saw him, he smiled and said, "Come in if you want to take a look!"

The young soldier gave a salute, chuckled, and didn't act as seriously as the ordinary soldiers.

"Greetings, Commander!" The young soldier saluted Wei Wei again.

"This is Comrade Shen Bing from our drama troupe. He loves writing scripts and greatly admires you, even to the point of looking up to you. When he heard you were coming, of course he wanted to come and see you!"

Shen Bing later became the head of the General Political Department Drama Troupe, and is now about the same age as Liu Yimin.

"Hello, Comrade Shen Bing!"

Shen Bing said in a loud voice, "Hello, Comrade Liu Yimin!"

"From now on, you should learn more from Comrade Liu Yimin and tell us stories about our army properly," Commander Wei said with a smile.

After reading the script, Commander Wei set the price at one thousand yuan, a price so high that Liu Yimin thought he had misheard.

As expected, the military is the most generous!
After exchanging a few words in the office, they left the drama troupe building. Director Wei shook Liu Yimin's hand and said, "When the performance comes, I'll have Shen Bing deliver tickets to you!"

Back in the jeep, Wei Wei said to Liu Yimin, "There's something else, I don't know if the Writers' Association has told you about it."

"From April 19th to 28th, the General Political Department's Cultural Department will be holding a joint conference with the Writers Association on military-themed literary creation. The main purpose is to promote the development and innovation of military-themed literature. You must attend!" Wei Wei said.

"How large is it?"

"It is estimated that around 150 authors, both inside and outside the military, will participate!" Wei Wei said with a smile.

"Wow, this is huge!"

"Everyone is working on innovative themes, and the military can't be too isolated from the world; it also needs to innovate. Your 'Triumph at Midnight' is a great example. We might even have to ask you to give a speech and share your thoughts!"

Just as Liu Yimin was about to say, "Forget about your thoughts," Wei Wei immediately said, "That's not up to you! Your experience is very important to everyone!"

Wei Wei offered to take Liu Yimin home, but Liu Yimin refused and instead rode his bicycle slowly, observing his surroundings.

Groups of three or five children from various compounds rode out of their courtyards, dressed in a mix of military uniforms, cigarettes dangling from their mouths, and swearing from time to time.

At the Beijing People's Art Theatre, Liu Yimin handed over the special report he had written for the Ministry of Culture to Cao Yu.

Cao Yu picked up the thick paper, glanced at it, and said with a smile, "You really put your heart into this; the two thousand yuan in funding really wasn't wasted!"

“I need to let the Ministry of Culture know that there’s a reason why things are expensive,” Liu Yimin replied.

Cao Yu read the report from beginning to end. It was like a thesis, but it didn't pay attention to the format like a formal thesis, nor did it deliberately use any obscure words.

Therefore, it is a very comfortable read from beginning to end.

The analysis covers the meaning of cultural aggression, the practices adopted by foreign countries, and their impact.

"Let's go see Old Shen tonight and give him a look at this. How's your graduation thesis coming along?"

"It's basically finished, and I can hand it in to the school by the end of the month!" Liu Yimin said.

"Are the postgraduate entrance exam results coming out soon?"

"It will also be released at the end of the month!"

"Are you confident? You'd better do well on the exam, otherwise I'll lose face if they post your admission notice!" Cao Yu joked.

After leaving Cao Yu's office, Liu Yimin did not go back, but went to the rehearsal hall to watch the rehearsal.

This is also why Cao Yu invited him to come in and learn. Lan Tianye is currently rehearsing the Swiss play "The Visit".

As soon as I pushed open the door to the rehearsal room, I heard an angry and resentful voice echoing inside: "Since this world has turned me into a prostitute, I will turn the whole world into a giant brothel!"

"The Visit" is a famous play by the renowned Swiss playwright Friedrich Dürrenmatt. It tells the story of Claire, the heroine who is framed by her lover and the mayor, and her subsequent return to seek revenge.

It's not essentially a revenge story or a feel-good tale; rather, it exposes money and satirizes capitalism.

In this hell woven by money, a bottle of brandy can bribe a witness, and people will abandon their moral bottom line for money.

The wealthy Claire used money to design a series of traps, successfully exploiting everyone's greed to carry out her revenge.

Cao Yu invited Liu Yimin to learn about this absurd writing style and critical spirit of drama.

On stage, the actors dressed up as foreigners, but spoke fluent Chinese.

Stepping onto the stage, Zhu Lin nodded to Liu Yimin. In this drama, Zhu Lin was also Lan Tianye's assistant director.

However, since it is a foreign play, Lan Tianye was the main person in charge of rehearsals this time, while Zhu Lin played a supporting role.

"How is it?" Lan Tianye asked as usual, leaning closer.

"Tell the truth?"

"That's the truth!"

"The performance style and translation style are too strong. I think it could be more normal. It's too eager to prove to the audience that this is a foreign play. Actually, the greatest success is making the audience not feel that this is a foreign play!"

Occasionally, the stage would echo with translation-like tones such as "Oh, Madam, Your Excellency."

"It's a foreign play after all!" Zhu Lin retorted.

"But the audience is Chinese!"

Liu Yimin said with a smile, "Goodness, Director Zhu Lin can refute this now!"
"However, I'm here to watch, not to direct!"

In the evening, after Liu Yimin finished reading and had dinner, he followed Cao Yu to Xia Yan's house.

Xia Yan was watching TV while holding her cat when she saw Liu Yimin and Cao Yu and asked, "Is it finished writing?"

"Mr. Xia, you guessed correctly!"

"If it weren't for this, how would Lao Wan and you have arrived at the same time!"

Shen Yun was doing her homework in the room when she saw Liu Yimin and wanted to come out, but was scared back by her father's glaring eyes.

"Xiaoyun'er's grades have dropped drastically recently, and her parents are trying to find a way to discipline her!" Xia Yan explained casually.

Upon arriving at the study, Xia Yan took the report from Liu Yimin and immediately put on his glasses to read it. Cao Yu and Liu Yimin, meanwhile, picked up chess pieces and began playing as if no one else was around.

After checkingmate once again, Cao Yu looked at Liu Yimin and asked, "What? Are you letting me win?"

"Teacher, I really tried my best!"

(End of this chapter)