Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 299: "An Unfinished Game of Chess" without any Splash

The symposium on "Life" was organized by China Youth Publishing House and held in the publishing house's conference room. The decoration of the conference room was unremarkable. The only thing worth mentioning was the banner hanging on the wall that read "Symposium on the novella "Life"".

But China Youth Publishing House put a lot of thought into inviting guests, and the scene was full of big names.

The writers invited included Lin Chaoyang, Wang Meng and veteran writer Du Pengcheng. Last year, Lin Chaoyang and others visited the old comrades after attending a writers' conference in Huangdao.

The critics invited were Chen Yong and Tang Dacheng, one of whom is a senior critic from Yan'an, and the other is the deputy director of the editorial office of Literary Gazette, and both have a high status in the domestic criticism circle.

Several China Youth Publishing House editors and young and middle-aged critics also participated in the symposium.

At a symposium of this scale, it is natural that the guests would not just say a few polite words to get by. If the quality of their speeches is too low, they might be looked down upon.

Lin Chaoyang had previously written a review article on "Life" and had unique insights into the novel. His speech caused everyone to nod their heads frequently.

After the symposium, Lin Chaoyang chatted with Du Pengcheng and Wang Meng for a while. Chen Yong asked, "When will Comrade Chaoyang hold a symposium on Shutter Island? I want to go and show my support."

Lin Chaoyang smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Shutter Island will not hold any symposiums or seminars."

Wang Meng interrupted with a smile: "Comrade Chen Yong, you don't have much contact with Chaoyang. He has never been involved in these things. It's not easy to meet him at the symposium today."

Chen Yong was surprised when he heard this. "Oh, then it seems that I can only praise you in newspapers and magazines in the future."

Lin Chaoyang joked, "You can praise me in person."

Everyone couldn't help but laugh.

On Sunday, everyone in the editorial department of Yenching Literature happily gathered in Xiaoliubukou Hutong.

As soon as we entered the door, we saw Wang Meng sitting in the yard. No one expected Wang Meng to appear here. After all, as a nominal deputy editor-in-chief, he might not appear in the editorial department for a month or two. But he came to Lin Chaoyang's house to meet everyone.

Wang Meng explained with a smile that he had met Lin Chaoyang at a symposium two days ago, and he came to join in the fun when he heard that the editorial department was going to have a party.

This explanation was flawless, and everyone was still talking and laughing happily.

Tao Yushu also said that everyone should not disperse. It was a rare opportunity like this, and everyone should sit together and communicate with each other. Everyone thought it made sense, so they all gathered together.

Tao Yushu prepared fruits such as pears, peaches, peanuts and melon seeds for everyone, and everyone gathered together chatting and laughing, having a great time.

Then Tao Yushu suggested that Zhou Yanru talk about his experience in reviewing manuscripts. Everyone was happy to see the fun and applauded.

Zhou Yanru thought that it was a bit strange to talk about reviewing at such a weekend party, but everyone was in high spirits, so she could only briefly talk about a few points.

"Lao Zhou has set a good example. Now we invite Dening to talk about how she battled wits and courage with the writers when collecting manuscripts, so that we young people can gain more knowledge!"

Tao Yushu hosted the event like a real host, and there was no sense of incongruity, so no one noticed at all.

Before they knew it, more than an hour had passed. Lin Chaoyang prepared a table full of delicious food, and everyone ate voraciously.

Lin Chaoyang's cooking skills are well-known in the Yanjing literary circles. Being able to taste his food once makes everyone feel that the trip is worthwhile.

After the meal, Tao Yushu naturally organized everyone together again. This time he did not share his work experience, but discussed with everyone the high-quality manuscripts that the editorial department had recently received.

The meeting, which was not a discussion but was more like one, took more than two hours to finish. Until the end, everyone couldn't help but feel a little dazed. Why did they feel more tired after taking a day off than working in the editorial department?
After the party, Tao Yushu asked Wang Meng, "Comrade Wang, what do you think of our party?"

Wang Meng's eyes were smiling, and her face was as friendly as ever. She said, "Great! Although we have been colleagues for many years, we don't have many opportunities to get along with each other in private. A gathering like today is just the right time to bring everyone together. I think we can do more."

Everyone felt the joy in Wang Meng's words and was also very happy. Tao Yushu listened to Wang Meng and continued, "What you said makes sense. This form is really good. I will definitely organize more in the future."

"Okay, okay!" Wang Meng said with relief.

No one noticed anything unusual about the conversation between the two. Instead, they thought that it was causing trouble for Tao Yushu, and they kept thanking her and thanking Lin Chaoyang for his hard work.

After seeing everyone off, Tao Yushu revealed a cunning smile, like a little fox who had just stolen a chicken.

"You better be careful and don't let your boss think you are trying to form cliques and usurp the throne," Lin Chaoyang reminded.

"Don't worry, how could I not have this sense of propriety? It sneaks into the night like the wind, moistening things silently." She raised her eyebrows proudly at Lin Chaoyang.

Tao Yushu felt a special sense of accomplishment as he was able to get his colleagues in the editorial department moving like an eagle catching chickens.

A few days later, Yanda officially opened its doors, and the campus, which had been quiet for a long time, became lively again.

Lin Chaoyang has been on duty at the front desk of the lending library these past two days, and he always feels like some students are pointing fingers at him.

He has encountered situations like this from time to time in the past few years. After all, his fame is growing and he has a large number of readers. Some enthusiastic readers who have been admitted to Yanjing University always come to pay their respects to him.

At first he didn't pay much attention to this situation. It was not until he met a student holding a book and asking him to sign it on his way back from the cafeteria after dinner that Lin Chaoyang truly realized that this class of Yan University students seemed to be becoming less and less "reserved".

After signing his name, Lin Chaoyang thought again that it seemed inaccurate to describe these students' behavior as "reserved" or not. In fact, it should be "lively".

Compared with the bitter and resentful students after the resumption of the college entrance examination, the students who entered in the past two years, especially this year, seem to be particularly energetic. This is partly because the average age of students entering school is indeed decreasing. In the past, students over 30 in a grade could form a reinforced company, but now students in their twenties have become rare.

On the other hand, with an increasing number of college students, the sense of mission and honor that "God has given them a great responsibility" is gradually weakening.

Students actually feel this, too. In the past two years, senior professors at Yanda University have been teaching undergraduates less and less in person.

Thinking in his mind, Lin Chaoyang felt the reality of the passage of time for the first time in recent years.

Another weekend, Lin Chaoyang and Tao Yushu came to Langrun Lake Apartment for dinner.

During the pregnancy, the couple did not come over for dinner every week like they used to. The last time they went back to the Tao family for dinner was more than half a month ago.

When Tao Yucheng saw Tao Yushu, he said in an exaggerated tone: "Oh! How did you become so fat?"

Tao Yushu, who had happily returned to her parents' home for dinner, turned as black as the bottom of a pot when she heard these words. Her sister-in-law Zhao Li secretly pinched her husband, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Yushu, don't listen to your brother's nonsense. We women gain weight when we are pregnant so that the baby in our belly will have nutrition. I was even fatter when I was pregnant.

When this thing in your belly comes out, you will be in great shape!"

Zhao Li's words made Tao Yushu's expression slightly better, but he couldn't help but glare at his elder brother fiercely.

Tao Yucheng knew he was in the wrong and didn't dare to offend her again. Instead, he started chatting with Lin Chaoyang.

The filming of "The Burning of the Old Summer Palace" started a while ago, which attracted much attention from the Yanjing literary and art circles. There were hundreds of mainland staff in the crew, and if there was any movement, rumors would fly everywhere.

Recently, the difference in treatment between Hong Kong and mainland staff in the crew has been widely reported, and the news that Lin Chaoyang helped the mainland staff to fight for better treatment has also spread.

And after being passed through who knows how many hands, the situation has gradually become distorted.

According to Tao Yucheng, it was Lin Chaoyang who caused a scene on the set, denounced the Hong Kong people for discrimination, and argued for his compatriots, which resulted in everyone getting fair treatment.

Tao Yucheng described what he heard in an exaggerated tone and asked Lin Chaoyang to confirm whether it was true.

Lin Chaoyang said with a smile: "It's not that exaggerated! The crew just wanted to save some money. I persuaded Director Li and he agreed."

To be honest, we can't blame the crew entirely for this. Our mainland staff are all cared for by their own units. Some units only give us 3.3 cents a day for food allowance, which is indeed a bit too little.

And no one spoke up for everyone, otherwise the crew wouldn’t dare to do it rashly.”

"It's a combination of natural disasters and man-made calamities. These leaders really don't care about the lives of their subordinates!" Tao Yucheng said indignantly.

After talking about "The Burning of the Old Summer Palace" for a few more words, Tao Yucheng changed the subject and asked Lin Chaoyang: "Hey, "An Unfinished Game of Chess" is out now, did you know that?"

Lin Chaoyang was stunned for a moment and shook his head, "I don't know."

Since Tao Yushu became pregnant, the couple has rarely gone to the cinema. Tao Yushu didn't know who told her that the sound in the cinema was too loud and would affect the fetus's hearing.

Tao Yucheng said happily: "It's normal that you haven't heard of it. It's been released for several days and there's not a single splash. I went to see it specially. What kind of crap is it!"

Last year, his brother-in-law and Yan Film Studio had a conflict over "A Game of Chess That Has Not Been Finished". Naturally, he would side with his relatives instead of the other party and mindlessly stand on Lin Chaoyang's side.

Therefore, when he saw that "A Game of Chess" had no response after its release, he couldn't help but gloat.

"The movie should be pretty good, right?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

Although the narrative perspective of the script of "A Game of Chess That Is Not Finished" has problems, it is still of a certain standard, not to mention that it brings together many outstanding filmmakers.

"How can I tell you? Isn't this a co-production? My biggest feeling after watching it is that the level of screenwriters and directors of China and Japan is quite different and they are not on the same level.

The Japanese are a bit too smuggled in, saying that they want to show the harm of war to the people of both countries, but the Chinese side gives people the feeling of chaos and disorder, while the Japanese side seems to be the victim. What you said before was really right. "

Tao Yucheng was a little indignant when he said this. "I don't know what people here think. Even if you want to consider diplomatic relations, shouldn't you write and film our scenes better? It's like you're cooking for others."

Listening to his brother-in-law's words, Lin Chaoyang felt very calm. He had anticipated this situation a long time ago, and he had seen the lists of main creators from both China and Japan.

The directors and screenwriters in Japan are all well-known figures. In comparison, the level of directors and screenwriters in China cannot be said to be very bad, but there is indeed a gap.

Moreover, he had heard from Jiang Huaiyan before that during the filming, the Japanese screenwriter paid close attention to the script and revised it several times.

Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that the final quality of the film is so poor.

After chatting with Tao Yucheng for a while, Lin Chaoyang didn't take the matter to heart.

But unexpectedly, someone would insist on linking this matter with him.

(End of this chapter)