Entertainment Era: My Good Sister Is All Over the World

"We stepped into 1979 with great excitement."

—People's Daily editorial on New Year's Day, 1979.

Late summer of 1979.

Huang Wenbin, who had just turned 19 a few days earlier, arrived at the Beijing Film Studio.

"Hello, sir. My name is Huang Wenbin. I'm here to revise the manuscript at the invitation of editor Liang Xiaosheng."

Huang Wenbin politely asked the gatekeeper, "Could you please pass this message on for me?"

He was a student in the Directing Department of Beijing Film Academy, class of 78.

With the idea that one should become famous as early as possible, he wrote prolifically last year, producing three literary plays, five short stories, two novellas, and one novel.

Fortunately, all of the novels were published in several newspapers and magazines in Yenching.

Unfortunately, all three of his scripts were rejected by the magazine editors, so he submitted them to a film magazine under the Beijing Film Studio. He only received a phone call yesterday asking him to come over.

It wasn't that his writing was bad, but the magazine editor felt it didn't fit current trends.

His three screenplays are "Let the Bullets Fly", "The Cotton Robe", and "Shaolin Temple".

His novellas are "The Coffin" and "Hibiscus Town".

As for the novel, it was "Bloody Romance," which mainly aligned with the current trend of reflection. As soon as it was selected, it was sent to "Yanjing Literature and Art," and the full text was published very quickly.

Of course, he directly deleted the parts of the novel that were ahead of their time, keeping them for future reference.

By now, the reader has probably realized what's going on.

Indeed, Huang Wenbin is a time traveler.

He was originally a middle school Chinese teacher in 2024, and also a part-time online novelist.

I just finished writing a fantasy novel that flopped, and the editor asked me to write a historical fiction, saying it's the latest trend.

Although he knew nothing about historical documents, he impulsively collected a lot of images and textual materials.

But before he could even put pen to paper, he died suddenly from staying up all night.

When he woke up, he had been reborn into the body of an 18-year-old youth with the same name as him.

Huang Wenbin was not an educated youth sent to the countryside; he was a rural person, so the return of educated youth to the city had nothing to do with him.

The only way for him to escape rural life is through the college entrance examination.

Fortunately, the college entrance examination had just been reinstated, and the questions themselves were not too difficult. He was also a Chinese language teacher before he transmigrated, so he had his own efficient learning methods.

He eventually got into the directing department of Yenching Film Academy, where he was classmates with Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou.

His cheat code finally arrived after he entered university.

That was the computer hard drive from before he time-traveled, which had merged with his current brain.

For some unknown reason, he could only randomly select three works from the hard drive each month.

Over the course of that year, he gradually retrieved more than thirty works from his hard drive.

However, most of them are out of step with the times and cannot be published.

The things published now are all quite relevant to this era.

As for why they didn't copy the original "The Herdsman," the answer is that they didn't get to draw it!

Huang Wenbin came to the Beijing Film Studio today because he received a call from Liang Xiaosheng, the studio's literary editor, who said that someone had taken a liking to one of his works and hoped that he would come over to discuss it and make some revisions.

The Beijing Film Studio provides subsidies for revising manuscripts and even offers accommodation in guesthouses.

Huang Wenbin had long admired him, so he didn't ask which work he wanted to revise and just came at the agreed time.

"You're Huang Wenbin, the author of the novella 'The Funeral Coffin'?"

A moment later, a thin young man with thick eyebrows came out.

"Yes, it's me." Huang Wenbin flashed a standard eight-tooth smile.

"How old are you?" Liang Xiaosheng looked at Huang Wenbin, who still looked quite young, with some surprise.

Huang Wenbin replied with a smile, "I'm 19 years old, studying at the Beijing Film Academy, and I'll be a sophomore soon."

"No wonder." Liang Xiaosheng nodded subconsciously, but he was still amazed by Huang Wenbin's young genius.

Huang Wenbin followed Liang Xiaosheng slowly into the legendary Beijing Film Studio, asking, "Mr. Liang, I'd like to ask, which of my scripts has passed the review?"

"Your three scripts have been submitted and are still under review."

Liang Xiaosheng explained to Huang Wenbin in a reassuring tone, "Don't worry about it, the first trial won't be passed so quickly."

Actually, he had already given up, but he was too embarrassed to say it outright.

"What piece of work did Teacher Liang ask me to revise?" Huang Wenbin asked, somewhat puzzled.

He only submitted those three scripts to the Beijing Film Studio's "Film Creation" magazine. Now Liang Xiaosheng says that none of the three scripts have passed the first review, so what kind of work is he supposed to revise?

"You were a well-known literary rising star last year, with your works published in major magazines and newspapers in Yenching."

Liang Xiaosheng smiled and, without keeping him in suspense, gave the answer: "Your novella 'The Funeral Coffin,' which you published in 'Yanjing Literature and Art,' has caught the eye of a director at our factory, who plans to adapt it into a screenplay."

"It was this novel that got the attention?" Huang Wenbin looked surprised.

"The Coffin" is actually a remake of Xin Yukun's "The Coffin in the Mountain," but he made significant changes, removing elements that no longer fit the current era while retaining the story framework. Most importantly, the multi-narrative structure is refreshing and innovative.

After randomly selecting the novel from the hard drive, he expanded upon and enriched the relationships between many characters hidden in the original film in order to earn more royalties, eventually writing a novella of more than 50,000 words.

It was published in the 12th issue of Yanjing Literature and Art last year and caused quite a stir at the time. A critic even published a commentary in China Youth Daily, giving it a high evaluation.

Before long, the two passed by an old building that was three and a half stories high.

"This is the main building, where the Literature Department and the editorial office of 'Film Creation' are located."

"Those two buildings are the editing and film processing buildings."

Liang Xiaosheng casually introduced the place to Huang Wenbin, "There are photography studios and such in the back, and the guesthouse is further back. You'll be staying there for the next few days."

The guesthouse is seven stories high and is an old building.

"No movies are being filmed recently, so the building is still empty. We can give you a private room."

As Liang Xiaosheng spoke, he led Huang Wenbin into the building. "Once there's a film, almost all the staff will live here. It'll be quite lively then."

Huang Wenbin couldn't help but ask, "Um, Mr. Liang, may I ask which director has taken a liking to my novel?"

Liang Xiaosheng lowered his voice, but his tone was full of envy: "It's the great director Xie Tieli."

"what?"

Huang Wenbin was completely taken aback that Xie Tieli would be the one to choose his novel. "Didn't his movie 'The Great River Flows' just finish its run?"

"right."

Liang Xiaosheng echoed Huang Wenbin's words, then explained, "The copies sold quite well. Director Xie should take a break for a few months to half a year before taking on a new film."

"He came across your novel from somewhere, fell in love with it instantly, and decided on the spot to make it into a movie."

"He's a big shot in the factory. If he gives the word, the higher-ups will naturally make arrangements."

"However, don't rush it. It will definitely take some time to adapt a novel into a screenplay."

"Just stay at the guesthouse and work on your reformation. A month or two won't be a problem."

"Anyway, we'll cover your food and lodging, and give you a 2 yuan subsidy every day."

Huang Wenbin couldn't help but marvel at how wealthy and powerful the Beijing Film Studio truly was.

Liang Xiaosheng helped Huang Wenbin complete the check-in procedures, and he stayed in room 404.

Huang Wenbin actually wanted to change rooms, but he swallowed the words back. This wasn't like staying in a hotel in later times, where you could just change rooms whenever you wanted.

It's just a regular number; there's no need to be so sensitive about it.

The room is only about ten square meters in size, but it is fully furnished with all the necessary furniture and daily necessities.

"I have already made a copy of the original text of the novel."

Liang Xiaosheng turned and walked out, but her voice came back: "I'll go get it now, please wait a moment."

Huang Wenbin collapsed onto the single bed, muttering, "Now that I'm in this era, I'm going to make a name for myself. Let's start building a golden age of arts and culture from this little room!"