Entertainment Era: My Good Sister Is All Over the World

I have managed to survive, to live to this day.

It lies in: believing in the future and cherishing life.

—Shi Zhi, "Love of Life", 1979.

…………

Liang Xiaosheng went to the editor's office to retrieve the manuscript paper for the novel, and also took some blank manuscripts and pens, put them in a bag, and then returned to the guesthouse.

As soon as I reached the third floor, an elderly man with gray hair but a refined demeanor walked towards me.

"Director Chen." As soon as Liang Xiaosheng saw the person approaching, he immediately bowed slightly and stepped aside to make way for him.

This refined old man was none other than Chen Huaikai, the father of the later renowned director Chen Kaige.

Chen Huaikai was also a renowned director at the Beijing Film Studio, but he mostly directed opera films.

A traditional opera film, "The Iron Bow," was released this year and has performed well in terms of both print sales and critical acclaim.

Chen Huaikai really wanted to make a feature film on his own, but the old leaders in the factory didn't dare to take the risk and still asked him to make a traditional opera film.

Right now, he's writing a new opera script at the guesthouse.

Chen Huaikai greeted him with a smile, "Xiao Liang, who are you looking for? Has a film crew moved into the building?"

"Ah, no, that's not it." Liang Xiaosheng quickly explained, "A screenwriter came and is staying on the fourth floor revising the script."

The refined-looking old man casually asked, "What kind of notebook?"

"It's a short story." Liang Xiaosheng casually pulled out a photocopy of the manuscript. "It was published in *Yanjing Literature* last year. Would you like to take a look?"

Chen Huaikai smiled and nodded: "Okay, then let me take a look."

Liang Xiaosheng handed over the manuscript paper.

"A coffin?"

Chen Huaikai took the manuscript, glanced at the novel's title, then at the author, "Huang Wenbin?"

The author is not someone I know well.

"The Funeral Coffin" was only a few tens of thousands of words long, and Chen Huaikai finished reading it very quickly at his reading speed.

"This notebook is interesting!"

Chen Huaikai's eyes lit up, and he asked excitedly, "Which director took a liking to this script?"

"It's Director Xie," Liang Xiaosheng replied.

Chen Huaikai looked regretfully at the manuscript in his hand, and said with some reluctance, "It's Tie Li. Since he's taken a liking to it, I can't very well try to take it from him."

He and Xie Tieli were old partners, so of course he couldn't take away what Xie Tieli liked.

Liang Xiaosheng said with a smile, "Actually, the author submitted three more manuscripts to the factory, but Director Jiang didn't like them."

"Oh?"

Chen Huaikai immediately became interested and said to Liang Xiaosheng, "Then quickly go and bring those three manuscripts to me so I can take a look."

Liang Xiaosheng was taken aback; he hadn't expected Director Chen to be so interested.

"Which room is he staying in?" Chen Huaikai smiled and lightly waved the manuscript in his hand. "I'll go hand him the manuscript. You find those three scripts for me."

Liang Xiaosheng didn't hesitate and replied, "He's in room 404. I'll trouble Director Chen to pass on the manuscript for me."

Chen Huaikai waved his hand: "Go get the script quickly, I'll wait for you in room 404!"

"Okay." Liang Xiaosheng quickly agreed and turned to run back to the editorial office of the Literature Department.

Chen Huaikai, carrying the manuscript, slowly walked to the fourth floor and knocked on the door of room 404.

Inside the door, Huang Wenbin was lying down. He immediately replied, "The door isn't closed, Teacher Liang, you can just come in."

Hearing the voice, Chen Huaikai felt it was very young, so he pushed open the door and entered.

Huang Wenbin turned his head to look at the door, about to say something, when he saw an old man walk in. He quickly sat up.

He couldn't help but apologize to the old man: "I'm sorry, I was a little tired just now, so..."

"It's alright." Chen Huaikai didn't mind at all, waving his hand with a smile: "Young people should be more easygoing, there's nothing wrong with that."

Huang Wenbin dared not be too casual, and instead moved a chair for the old man: "May I ask who you are, sir?"

"oh."

Chen Huaikai handed the manuscript paper to Huang Wenbin and said with a smile, "I ran into Xiao Liang and saw the manuscript paper in his hand. I was curious and took a look, so I brought it up for him. You don't mind, do you?"

"I don't mind, I don't mind."

Looking at the old man's face, Huang Wenbin felt that he looked familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

"Did you write this novel?" Chen Huaikai was somewhat unsure, seeing how young Huang Wenbin was.

"Yes, I wrote it." Huang Wenbin nodded in acknowledgment.

Chen Huaikai asked, "How old are you?"

"19 years old," Huang Wenbin replied.

"He's much younger than my son." Chen Huaikai shook his head and smiled, then praised Huang Wenbin, "Your novel is very well written, excellent. You are truly talented and have amazing abilities. No wonder the ancients said that heroes emerge from among the young."

"You flatter me, sir," Huang Wenbin quickly said modestly. "This junior is not worthy of such praise."

The more Chen Huaikai looked at Huang Wenbin, the more he liked him, and he asked with a smile, "Do you have any other works?"

"Huh?" Huang Wenbin was taken aback, and couldn't help but feel a little suspicious. Could this old man be a leader in the Beijing Film Studio?

"Ah, I haven't introduced myself yet, that's a bit rude of me." Chen Huaikai observed Huang Wenbin's expression and couldn't help but say, "My name is Chen Huaikai, I'm a director, and I'm currently short of good scripts. If you have any novels of similar quality, you can let me take a look."

"Are you Chen Kaige's father?" Upon hearing his self-introduction, Huang Wenbin automatically pictured Chen Kaige in his mind; no wonder he looked familiar.

Chen Huaikai was somewhat surprised: "You know my son?"

Huang Wenbin smiled somewhat embarrassedly: "Kaige and I are classmates."

"You're a student in the directing department at Beijing Film Academy?" Chen Huaikai was surprised again.

Because the college entrance examination was only reinstated in 1977, the candidates in recent years are generally older, with many university freshmen in their twenties or even thirties.

Even his son, Chen Kaige, was admitted to the Beijing Film Academy at the age of 26.

These days, it's not uncommon for people to get into university at the age of seventeen or eighteen, but they are still a minority.

Moreover, this young man in front of us has written such a mature novel at the age of 19. It is no exaggeration to call him a genius!

"Truly remarkable for someone so young!" Chen Huaikai concealed the surprise in his eyes. "You're far more capable than my good-for-nothing son."

Huang Wenbin replied with high emotional intelligence: "Kaige is also a prominent figure at school. He is very talented, and many teachers believe that he will become a great director in the future."

"Him? Hmph." Chen Huaikai was well aware that those teachers were giving him face, which was why they were praising his son so much.

In his eyes,

His son was talented, but he was too frivolous, arrogant, and thought himself the best in the world.

It's okay if you don't succeed; you can remain humble.

Once they succeed, they'll be so arrogant they won't care about anyone anymore.

"Director Chen, Wenbin, you two are chatting now."

Liang Xiaosheng ran back at just the right moment, carrying a large stack of bound manuscript papers: "I didn't disturb you, did I?"

"These are the three scripts he handed over to the factory?" Chen Huaikai's eyes fell on the large stack of manuscript papers.

Liang Xiaosheng handed over the manuscript paper: "Yes."

Chen Huaikai took the manuscript, took out his reading glasses from his jacket pocket, and began to examine it carefully.

He became completely absorbed in it.

Huang Wenbin had no choice but to pull Liang Xiaosheng outside to speak: "Teacher Liang, what's Director Chen doing here...?"

"Don't worry, this is a good thing."

Liang Xiaosheng lowered his voice and explained to Huang Wenbin, "Director Chen has filmed several opera films in a row, and he may be getting a little tired of them. He has always wanted to make a feature film, but the old leaders in the factory are not willing to take the risk, and he has not found a good script, so he has put the idea on hold."

"He just read your novel and became very interested. When he heard that you submitted three screenplays, he immediately asked me to bring them to him."

As he spoke, Liang Xiaosheng winked at Huang Wenbin: "If Director Chen takes a liking to your script, we might be able to start filming right away. Wouldn't that be a good thing for you?"

Huang Wenbin naturally hopes that his script can be made into a movie as soon as possible.

At the time, he had this idea in mind, so after winning the lottery for "Shaolin Temple" and "The Cotton Robe," he immediately submitted them to "People's Literature" and "Yanjing Literature and Art," but neither was accepted.

He then drew the movie "Let the Bullets Fly" and threw it out again, but it still went unanswered.

He could only submit all three scripts to "Film Creation," a publication under the Beijing Film Studio.

If that doesn't work, he'll submit his work to Popular Cinema and other provincial magazines.

This trick was something he learned from Yu Hua before he transmigrated.

More than an hour later.

After reading through the three scripts, Chen Huaikai finally understood why the editor had rejected them.

These three notebooks are very well completed and of top quality.

The only thing that worried the editors was that the ideas expressed in the manuscript did not conform to current trends.

The current trend of thought can be divided into two parts.

One is reflection, the other is reform.

The former mainly manifests as reflective literature and scar literature, such as Lu Xinhua's "The Scar", Liu Xinwu's "The Class Teacher" and Zhou Keqin's "Xu Mao and His Daughters".

There's also the stage play "In the Silence" and the film "The Prisoner in Handcuffs" that Director Yu is currently filming.

The latter naturally reflects the surging tide of reform, such as Jiang Zilong's "The Appointment of Factory Director Qiao," and there will be more works in this regard in the future.

Huang Wenbin's three scripts are neither related to reflection nor to "scars," and they also seem to have little to do with reform.

However, the solid content and captivating stories made him truly love it.

"Let the Bullets Fly" tells the story of bandits fighting against tyrants, but it also contains many unsettling metaphors, much of which Chen Huaikai did not understand.

"The Cotton Robe" is a very simple chivalrous story, nothing more than the framework of the villains stealing treasure and the heroes taking it back.

In Chen Huaikai's view, the script for "Shaolin Temple" was the most unremarkable, with relatively little to say, and it had little value unless it was made like a Hong Kong martial arts film.

Looking at the three notebooks, Chen Huaikai became somewhat conflicted.

Does this mean I should continue making opera films?

Although he truly loves traditional opera to the core, he has already filmed enough of it.

However, without a good script, his superiors wouldn't agree to let him film anything else.

He looked at the three scripts again and finally made a decision.

Chen Huaikai picked up one of the scripts, slowly stood up, and went outside to find Huang Wenbin: "Could you revise this script again?"