A widower's entertainment

Xinghua Hutong, Beijing.

Since Lin Youcheng was planning to write the script for his daughter Lin Zhaomei, "Slumdog Millionaire," he would naturally start to seriously consider how to adapt the story for the local audience. After all, it was a genuinely good script and could not be adapted casually.

He had to write the story out in advance so that it would be both reasonable and moving.

He was well aware that the domestic environment was completely different from that country's. The most important thing was to use the questions in the quiz show to connect the protagonist's entire life experience.

Lin Youcheng wrote down some thoughts in his notebook. In fact, he knew very well that the most important thing was the questions in the program, because those questions had already determined the protagonist's life experience.

First of all, the name of the story naturally had to be changed. After thinking about it carefully, Lin Youcheng felt that the name "Our Millionaire" might be more suitable.

Because from beginning to end, this story tells the life experiences of people at the bottom of society. Those extremely painful and tragic fates are not only the story of the protagonist, but also the fates that others will experience. When the protagonist, Xu Qingshan, unexpectedly participated in the program, he was just a waiter in a restaurant. In the end, he won a million-dollar prize. He is also a winner in the hearts of those at the bottom of society, or rather, many ordinary people in society.

The protagonist, Xu Qingshan, should have come from a poor rural family and had not received much formal education.

No, maybe it is possible—

Lin Youcheng suddenly thought of a case that had been reported in the newspapers not long ago, and another very cruel movie, "Blind Mountain," which contained a very tragic story, namely the real case of being sold by a monster.

So, could we start the story of the male protagonist's childhood from that village?

The first question is, in which of the following cities is Qingcheng Mountain located?

Of the four options, the answer is Chuancheng.

The first question in the story should be very simple, and most people should know the answer.

The answer is in the protagonist Xu Qingshan's memories, but this city is not Xu Qingshan's hometown, but an experience from his childhood. His village is in the mountains near Yuncheng, which are also continuous mountains. In the village, there are women who are sold by monsters. The kind-hearted Xu Qingshan helped a woman send a letter. The woman was determined to escape, so Xu Qingshan helped send the letter. The mailing address of that letter was Qingcheng Mountain in Chuancheng.

This issue reveals that the cases currently appearing in society are similar to the story in "Blind Mountain".

As Lin Youcheng was thinking this, he suddenly felt that the story of "Our Millionaire" was not easy to write, or perhaps he had another surprising idea.

Could we borrow some stories from the movie "Our Millionaire," just like the ones hidden in "Human Wonders"?

This could make the story of "Our Millionaire" even more amazing.

The second question should have been very simple, a matter of common sense, but the protagonist couldn't answer it and chose to ask the audience for help, thus using up this opportunity.

The second question is, which class is designated as the leader of the country according to the constitution?
The answer is the working class.

Lin Youcheng thought for a moment and put a question mark after the question in the notebook. Would this question be too direct or too straightforward if it appeared in the movie? After all, the question was supposed to have a touch of irony, but would the irony in this question be too direct and not subtle enough?

Perhaps we could ask a different question.

After all, it was precisely because of this common-sense question that the protagonist couldn't answer and chose to ask the audience for help. This led to the protagonist being taken to the police station. The police also believed that the protagonist had cheated because, in their view, even their elementary school-aged daughter could answer the question correctly, while the protagonist couldn't answer it but was able to answer the subsequent questions correctly, which was obviously cheating.

Lin Youcheng didn't think about the second question any further; he'd leave it for now.

So, the third question is whether we can borrow the story from "Blind Shaft," since this movie is also based on a true story, namely the extremely cruel and even horrific cases reported in the "Coal News" in the early 90s in the coal mines.

Perhaps, filming it would allow society to truly see such tragedies.

With that in mind, Lin Youcheng wrote down the third question in his notebook.

The third question is, what is the most common underground mining method in coal mining?
Of the four options—open-pit mining, underground mining, hydraulic mining, and blasting mining—the answer is underground mining.

This question is somewhat difficult, but not too difficult. Even if you don't know the answer, you can answer it by elimination. The answer is well drilling.

The protagonist knows about coal mining, and naturally he also knows what underground mining is, because he almost died in a mine.

This is because the villagers later found out that the protagonist, Xu Qingshan, was helping women send letters, and the father and son were targeted by the villagers. Although the father was also dissatisfied with the protagonist helping outsiders, he was targeted because of the targeting. In addition, the protagonist's mother died early, and the father and son were also very simple. So they chose to take the protagonist away from the village to make a living outside. Later, the protagonist's father went out to work and disappeared without a trace. The protagonist went out to work to find his father and was taken to work in the mine by the two men who treated him as their nephew.

And it is obvious that the sixteen-year-old protagonist Xu Qingshan's life experience is just like that of the young man in "Blind Shaft". Those two people caused a safety accident while working underground, killed their so-called relatives, and then sought a private settlement with the mine owner.

However, what followed was the most terrifying event. One of the men learned that the protagonist had come to find his father, who had already been murdered in the same way. It was because of this knowledge that one of the men struggled. Having already killed the man's father, he now had to kill the child, who was about the same age as his own. This momentary reluctance allowed the protagonist to escape. The two men died in the mine, and the protagonist later received a sum of money from the mine owner.

Lin Youcheng thought that the story of this problem should be written as subtly and simply as possible, after all, the case was too cruel, and the loss of life was compensated with money, which also revealed the satirical meaning of "Our Millionaire".

As for the fourth question?

Lin Youcheng thought carefully and remembered the short film "Bus 44," which tells the story of a female bus driver's experiences on a remote road while driving a bus full of passengers. So, how should the questions in the program be structured?

The fourth question: Which of the following actresses starred in the movie "The Reader"?
Of the four options, the answer is naturally Pan Hong.

Naturally, they couldn't have Pan Hong make a cameo appearance; they needed to find an actress who bore a resemblance to Pan Hong to play the female bus driver. Of course, Lin Youcheng thought they could also use another actress.

If the question were, "Which of the following actresses starred in the movie 'Red Sorghum'?", then the answer would naturally be Gong Li.

The protagonist, Xu Qingshan, had certainly never seen the movie "The Reader" nor knew Pan Hong. But just as he was about to return to his hometown with the blood-stained compensation money, he managed to board a long-distance bus, number 44, on the way.

It was because of the female driver's kindness that Xu Qingshan got into the car on the road. Xu Qingshan was naturally very grateful to the driver, and they chatted for a while. He noticed a poster on the driver's side of the car, which looked like a woman who had been cut out, and she looked somewhat like the female driver.

Lin Youcheng wrote down the general idea in his notebook. Perhaps the female driver noticed the protagonist Xu Qingshan's gaze and said that this was Pan Hong. When Xu Qingshan looked again, he didn't know who Pan Hong was. Then he said that she was the Berlin Film Festival Best Actress who starred in "The Reader" and that he liked her very much. A colleague said that she looked like Pan Hong.

Of course, this is the origin of the fourth question, and also why the protagonist knows the female lead of the movie "The Reader".

The reason why the protagonist Xu Qingshan couldn't forget the female bus driver was naturally because a very terrifying thing happened after the No. 44 long-distance bus. Two bandits encountered the bus on the highway. They not only robbed the female driver of all the tickets, but also dragged her to the roadside wasteland. All the passengers on the bus were indifferent.

However, the protagonist Xu Qingshan is kind-hearted, just like when he was a child he was able to help the woman in the village send a letter. He is kind by nature. Even after seeing the dark scene below the mine, he still stood up and wanted to help the female driver. But how could the young man be a match for the two bandits?

One of the men rushed to the car and demanded that the bandits release the female driver, but he was stabbed instead, and the female driver also perished. After the bandits released the driver, she continued driving, but then they forced the protagonist, Xu Qingshan, out of the car. Xu Qingshan naturally didn't understand why he was being forced out, but he would later find out the answer.

Because the No. 44 bus overturned into a ravine, the female driver and all the passengers on board perished, while the protagonist, Xu Qingshan, became the only survivor on the entire bus.

With this in mind, Lin Youcheng finalized the fourth question.

As for the fifth question, it was naturally more difficult, because in a normal quiz show, answering the fifth question meant you were halfway there. If you continued answering the questions, you would naturally win more prize money.

Lin Youcheng was thinking about the fifth question: how should it be designed?

The fifth question should introduce the female lead, right?

Since there hasn't been a female lead yet, the story must be about her. The protagonist, Xu Qingshan, is a waiter at a restaurant, so the female lead should also be a nobody.

Lin Youcheng suddenly thought of another story, namely Xiaoyu, who worked at the front desk of a bathhouse in the movie "A Touch of Sin".

Xu Qingshan then took odd jobs in various places, moving around Jiangcheng to make a living. He worked as a bricklayer in a construction site, and later as a waiter in a restaurant. His life gradually stabilized. However, it was only after his life stabilized that he met Xiaoyu, the female protagonist who worked at the front desk of the bathhouse next door. The two ordinary people met like that. They met frequently, and naturally, they got to know each other because they often ate there. They gradually became acquainted and started to grow closer.

When the two were together, Xu Qingshan would naturally wait for Xiaoyu to get off work late at night. The two lowly people looked at the bustling big city and the rapid economic development, which seemed to have nothing to do with them. They would squat by the roadside eating boxed lunches and discussing the TV show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". Xiaoyu would naturally sigh about whether they could become millionaires, and even jokingly say that if Xu Qingshan participated in the show, he could win the million-dollar prize.

Clearly, this is just a simple introduction, which is why Xu Qingshan appeared on the show.

But because she worked in that place, Xiaoyu was mistaken for a prostitute by customers. Later, just like in the movie "A Touch of Sin," Xiaoyu retaliated by stabbing one of the men in the chest with a fruit knife. Fortunately, the man didn't die, but he was later sentenced for excessive self-defense and attempted murder.

Thinking about this, Lin Youcheng felt that the fifth question could be about criminal law.

Firstly, the show wanted to stump the protagonist, Xu Qingshan, so that he couldn't answer and his prize money would be forfeited. Unfortunately, Xu Qingshan had specifically sought out people and lawyers because of Xiaoyu's matter, so he knew a little about criminal law and knew that this wasn't a particularly difficult question, but the show's producers thought the protagonist shouldn't be able to answer it.

Question 5: When was my country's Criminal Law revised and passed?

A. 1976; B. 1977; C. 1978; D. 1979.

Lin Youcheng looked at the question he had written in his notebook and underlined it heavily.

This question isn't too difficult for people with legal knowledge, since the audience for a quiz show with prizes is the general public. It won't be particularly difficult, but it definitely covers a very wide range of topics. For example, the first question was about geography, the second was about politics, the third was about mining, the fourth was about film and television works, and now the fifth is about legal knowledge.

If the issues weren't so broad, such a program could easily produce millionaires, which is certainly not what the program wants.

So, what's the next question?
The sixth and seventh questions can be answered following the plot of the original movie.

The sixth question didn't have any backing life experience, but the protagonist still managed to deduce the answer. Because of this, it didn't feel too deliberate. If every subsequent question had a corresponding life experience as an answer, it would feel more contrived. On the show, even when the answer wasn't known, the protagonist could still deduce and choose, which made it feel very real.

As for the seventh question, just like in the original version, the protagonist Xu Qingshan surprised the production team and the host by answering six questions correctly.

Fortunately, the protagonist couldn't answer the next question at all. But it was at this moment, during the commercial break, that the host, just like the host in the original story, gave the protagonist a hint of the wrong answer while using the restroom. However, it was clear that the protagonist was no longer an ignorant teenager; he understood human nature and did not choose the wrong answer given by the host.

It was precisely because of this answer that the program host called the police, believing that the protagonist, Xu Qingshan, had cheated.

Lin Youcheng looked at the questions already listed in his notebook, carefully considering whether they were appropriate, what the subsequent questions should be, and what their answers should be. (End of Chapter)