Rebirth of Rural Literary Life

Chapter 181 The Wind Comes from the Northeast

When He Ping followed Bi Likui to the Shanghai Film Studio, he only met Li Zhun, the screenwriter who talked with him on the phone.

Bi Likui explained to him: "Director Xie is filming "Legend of Tianyun Mountain" in Beijing. Editor Li has been in poor health for the past two years, and has been in the factory all the time without following the crew."

He Ping nodded and didn't say anything else. He has a working model, and he came here to be a consultant.

"Hello, Teacher Li." He Ping greeted politely.

Li Zhun was fat and looked very kind, and he greeted He Ping with a smile.

"You two sit down first. How are you? Have you arranged a place for Comrade He Ping?" Li Zhun asked Bi Likui.

"Not yet, I just picked him up from the train station. Let writer He come over to meet you first, and I'll take him to the guest house later." Bi Likui said.

Li Zhun is an old screenwriter at Shanghai Film Studio. He has a lot of experience and is also a novelist with a lot of works. Therefore, Bi Likui showed special respect for Li Zhun.

When He Ping saw this kind of fellow with real kung fu, it would be a lie if he said he wasn't afraid, so he could only calm down, and simply talked to He Ping for the first time when he met Li Zhun.

After talking briefly in the office for a few minutes, Bi Likui took He Ping to the guest house and opened a room.

"Writer He, please rest here for a while, let's go out for dinner at dinner time."

After explaining to He Ping, Bi Likui left the guest house first.

He Ping stayed alone in a room in the guest house of the Shanghai Film Factory. This room was not much different from the fast-food hotels in later generations, except that there was no TV and network cable, and the quality of the furniture was much better. The toilet and shower room were shared, at the end of the corridor.

The conditions are not bad. He Ping also often stays in some budget hotels when he is on a business trip. He has not stayed in such a place for a long time.

He Ping was a little tired from the two days of traveling, and he fell asleep after lying on the bed.

He struggled to get up when he heard a knock on the door, and saw that it was almost six o'clock in the evening.

"Teacher Bi, you are here."

"Writer He, how are you resting? Let's go out for dinner?"

"It's just that I'm hungry, so let's go."

He Ping followed Bi Likui to a state-run hotel outside the Shanghai Film Studio, where Li Zhun was already waiting.

"Come, come, Comrade He Ping, sit down quickly." Seeing He Ping coming, Li Zhun enthusiastically stood up and greeted him, "Tonight is to greet you."

"Mr. Li, you are welcome." He Pingqian offered to sit down.

"Let's order first. Comrade He Ping is from the Northeast. Today I will let you try our local dishes in Shanghai. This restaurant has been open for many years in front of our Shanghai Film Studio. The taste is very authentic!" Li Zhun Introduced.

"Yes, Writer He. The braised pork here is a must. You must try it later. This is Mr. Li's favourite. You must order it every time you come."

Shanghai cuisine is also called Benbang cuisine. The so-called Benbang means local.It is characterized by thick oily red sauce, moderate saltiness, original taste, mellow and delicious. The cooking method is mainly braised, stewed and sugared.

He Ping ate it a few times when he was on a business trip before, but he never found something delicious. After all, he is from the Northeast, and his eating habits are mainly heavy oil and salt.

The three humbly ordered a few dishes, including Li Zhun's favorite braised pork, boiled chicken, braised winter bamboo shoots with salted herring, wine and herb head, marinated Duxian, braised rapeseed with fermented bean curd and vegetarian duck.

Unlike Northeast cuisine, the portions of Shanghai cuisine are relatively small. It is normal for three people to order six or seven dishes for a meal.

When ordering, He Ping looked at the prices of the dishes. There was not much difference from those in Ping County, but considering the amount of dishes, the price of this dish was twice as expensive as that in Ping County.

After ordering, Li Zhun and Bi Likui chatted with He Ping about the film adaptation, but they didn't go into details when they were in Li Zhun's office just now.

It turns out that director Xie Jin has been filming "Legend of Tianyun Mountain" in Beijing since last year. During the filming, he accidentally saw the novel "Spirit and Flesh" published in "Contemporary", and he came up with the idea of ​​making a movie.

But at that time, "The Legend of Tianyun Mountain" had just started filming, so it was really difficult to do it all together. In addition, the screenwriter Li Zhun had been in poor health for the past two years, so it was delayed until this year.

From the time Xie Jin and the others contacted the publishing house to when He Ping came to Shanghai, it actually took four months.

During this period, Li Zhun had already completed the first draft of the script, so he waited for He Ping to come and conduct some discussions to see if there was anything that needed to be revised.

Bi Likui was originally the production director of "Legend of Tianyun Mountain", but this year he returned to Shanghai from Beijing for the New Year. Director Xie Jin saw that the filming of "Legend of Tianyun Mountain" was on track, so he asked him to stay in Shanghai to take charge of the next one. This play, that is, the preparatory work for "Soul and Flesh".

Several people chatted for more than ten minutes, and the dishes began to be served one after another.

"Come on, try this braised pork, I won't let you."

Li Zhun saw that he was a glutton. As soon as his favorite braised pork was on the table, he asked He Ping to grab a piece for himself first.

The fat and thin pieces of meat were crystal clear under the sauce, and Li Zhun swallowed them in one gulp, with oil stains on the sides of his mouth.

"Hmm~" Li Zhun let out a long nasal sound with an intoxicated and joyful expression on his face.

"It's been a long time since I've had it, and it's still so delicious." He sighed.

He Ping also ate a piece of it, probably because of Li Zhun's infection, or maybe because of the chef's craftsmanship, it really tasted better than what he ate in later generations.

Li Zhun said: "Ever since my body failed, I've been thinking about this one, and I don't know if there will be such a fragrance in the Underworld in the future."

Li Zhun's words were slightly pessimistic, but He Ping could tell from them that he was open-minded about life and death.

Bi Likui explained: "Ms. Li, you are not terminally ill. You just need to take medicine on time and control your diet. Speaking of which, we are making an exception today. If my sister-in-law finds out, I will give you a good beating."

Li Zhun said with a smile: "Life must be enjoyed in time, not to mention Comrade He Ping is here today, if your sister-in-law has an opinion, you can push it on him!"

This is really a person sitting on the table, and the pot comes from the sky.

He Ping was just passing by. To him, it didn't matter that Li Zhun's wife was angry and resentful. He took it as a blame for Bi Likui.

Li Zhun's jokes were playful but not cruel, and several people laughed.

After a joke, the atmosphere on the table became more and more relaxed. Li Zhun didn't drink because of his health.

People in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai drank a lot of rice wine, and He Ping only drank it a few times in later generations, because he used to drink only sauce-flavored liquor and beer, and the first taste of rice wine was not good.

Afterwards, I slowly drank more, and gradually tasted some of the sweetness and mellowness of the rice wine, and then I got used to it.

After drinking a glass of rice wine, my body became much warmer.

(End of this chapter)