1978: Female educated youth, don’t want an illiterate husband

Liang Xiaosheng came in!

Cheng Xuemin was also quite surprised. Lao Liang's impulsive and impulsive manner was unlike his usual calm and composed personality!
Little did they know, Liang Xiaosheng had acted entirely out of desperation!

He is now a highly sought-after screenwriter of popular martial arts novels at Yan Film Studio, or rather, in the national film industry.

Ever since Cheng Xuemin recognized his talent and picked him out from a bunch of young screenwriters at Yanying Film Studio, and gave him a few brilliant martial arts ideas to write several scripts, which were then made into movies by other film studios, the box office and print sales soared.

Cheng Xuemin's martial arts style has created a nationwide craze.

It can be said that a single manuscript is extremely difficult to obtain, and even a single copy is hard to come by.

Of course, Cheng Xuemin was also extremely annoyed and had no intention of continuing to shine in this popular martial arts genre.

So they simply pushed Liang Xiaosheng, who was supposed to be the ghostwriter, out of the picture.

Anyone who needs scripts or martial arts novels should contact Liang Xiaosheng and his brother-in-law Feng Jiazhao!
Because Feng Jiazhao went to France with him this time, it caused a delay.

During this period, Liang Xiaosheng developed rapidly, accepting all commissions for articles!
In no time, the name became famous.

Nowadays, the number of film studios and directors seeking his services for martial arts scripts could stretch from the entrance of Yanying Film Studio all the way to Xizhimen.

In his own words, he is now experiencing a happy dilemma: inspiration is flowing like a torrent, but he is also running out of ideas!

"Xuemin! Xuemin! You're finally back!"

Liang Xiaosheng's eyes lit up the moment he saw Cheng Xuemin sitting on the sofa. He didn't bother with any pleasantries with the old factory director and rushed over to Cheng Xuemin in a few steps, as if he was afraid that Cheng Xuemin would disappear at any moment.

The old factory director, Wang Yang, was interrupted and frowned slightly in displeasure, but when he saw that it was Liang Xiaosheng and thought about his current status and relationship with Cheng Xuemin, he suppressed his displeasure.

He just snorted and said, "Xiaosheng, what are you doing? In such a hurry, didn't you even knock?"

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! Old factory director, I was just in a hurry to find Xuemin and Director Cheng!"

"I knocked on the door, but there was no answer from inside. I got anxious and..."

Liang Xiaosheng then realized his rudeness and quickly turned around to explain to the old factory director with a smile, but he didn't move his feet away and his eyes were still glued to Cheng Xuemin.

Cheng Xuemin remained calm, and even a faint smile flickered in his eyes.

He naturally knew why Liang Xiaosheng had come!

This rising star of martial arts fiction is probably experiencing a sweet creative block right now.

The ideas I gave him back then were like a jar of honey. He savored the taste and brewed some more, but the jar of honey always runs out eventually.

Especially recently, he has been busy with Cannes and has no time for anything else. After independently working on two scripts, Liang Xiaosheng is probably out of ideas and his inspiration has dried up. He is scratching his head in frustration.

"Old Liang, is there something you need?"

Cheng Xuemin picked up the half-cooled boiled water that the old factory director had just poured for him from the coffee table, took a sip, and asked with a smile.

"Something's wrong! Something extremely important!"

When Liang Xiaosheng saw Cheng Xuemin strike up a conversation, he immediately seized the opportunity, not caring that the old factory director was still watching nearby.

He plopped down on the armrest of the sofa next to Cheng Xuemin, tossing his old canvas bag to the ground with a thud.

He leaned closer to Cheng Xuemin, lowering his voice, but his urgency was undiminished: "Xuemin! Teacher Cheng! Factory Director Cheng! My dear Factory Director Cheng! You're finally back!"

"You're going to France for almost two weeks, and I... I can't live like this anymore!"

He wore a bitter expression, his fingers unconsciously running through his already messy hair, making the hairstyle even more unruly: "You have no idea how many people are asking me to write them!"

"People from Changchun Film Studio, Shanghai Film Studio, Xi'an Film Studio... and more than a dozen other local film studios, they block my dormitory door and my office every day!"

"My phone line is about to explode! This month alone, I've received no fewer than twenty invitation calls!"

The old factory director listened from the side, raised an eyebrow, said nothing, sat back in his chair, picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and adopted an attitude of "you guys talk, I'll just listen."

He actually didn't quite take Liang Xiaosheng's complaints seriously!

The ability to gain both fame and fortune is something many people would kill for, yet it has become a burden for you, Liang Xiaosheng.

However, he also knows that when it comes to creation, sometimes fame and connections are not enough; you also need real talent and inspiration.

It seems that Cheng Xuemin's true ideas have given Liang Xiaosheng a taste of success, and he can't live without them.

Cheng Xuemin put down his water glass, looked at Liang Xiaosheng's anxious expression, and said calmly, "This is a good thing, Lao Liang!"

"This means your martial arts scripts are popular and recognized by the market. Writing more will not only satisfy the audience's needs but also increase your income, a win-win situation."

"Oh, my dear Factory Director Cheng! Please stop teasing me!"

Liang Xiaosheng was so anxious he almost jumped off the sofa armrest. He spread his hands, his expression almost wailing, and said:

"A win-win situation? I'm suffering from both sides! Yes, there are buyers for the notebook, and the price is not low."

"But...but I have nothing left! Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice! Director Cheng!"

He leaned forward again, almost touching Cheng Xuemin's ear, his voice lowered, filled with utmost sincerity and pleading:
"The ideas you gave me back then: the framework of 'Lotus Battle,' the character conflicts in 'The Seven Princesses of Martial Arts,' the artistic conception of 'The Mad Swordsman and the Flying Cat,' and the feeling of 'The Six-Fingered Demon of the Qin'..."

"I've really thought it over and over again, tried it out and tried it out again, and written two different versions of it. Now I'm completely out of ideas and have run out of tricks!"

"If you ask me to write again, I... I could rack my brains and still not come up with anything new! It's all formulaic, all imitation, even I'm sick of looking at it!"

As Liang Xiaosheng spoke, a genuine look of pain appeared on his face.

For an aspiring creator, repeating oneself and running out of inspiration is indeed the greatest pain, even more painful than being ignored.

"Xuemin, Factory Director Cheng, Teacher Cheng! Please, have mercy and show me another way, give me some pointers!"

Liang Xiaosheng clasped his hands together, making a gesture almost like praying to Buddha, and stared longingly at Cheng Xuemin through his eyes behind his glasses.

That look in its eyes was like that of a dog waiting for its owner to feed it a bone...

Yes, a starving pedigree dog.

"Anything is fine, even just an idea, a fragment, or an interesting character design!"

"Give me a little hint, just a little! Let me catch my breath, give me a reason to write up another tens of thousands of words of drama! Please!"

Looking at Liang Xiaosheng's expression, Cheng Xuemin felt a mix of amusement and emotion. Back then, when he'd asked Liang to ghostwrite a few popular martial arts novels for him, the old man was still quite resentful!

I find it hard to believe that Cheng Xuemin, such a promising young literary talent, would stoop to writing such vulgar and lowbrow romance novels!

I used to keep advising Cheng Xuemin not to ruin his reputation, let alone help him ghostwrite.

But after Lao Liang, with a helpful attitude, wrote several articles for Cheng Xuemin and received a generous fee for them!
Old Liang instantly threw away all his scholarly arrogance!

Refusing to bow down for five pecks of rice—that's the mark of a poet and a literary sage!

Liang Xiaosheng doesn't even own a house in Yanjing, and he's too poor to afford a wife. He's a bachelor in his thirties!

So once he tasted success, he really couldn't stop!

Using the framework and outline Cheng Xuemin gave him, he did indeed write several blockbuster movies.

While Cheng Xuemin was busy producing "Redemption" in Hong Kong, he also independently created several novels and scripts, all of which achieved considerable success.

It can be said that Lao Liang reaped the first wave of benefits from the new martial arts trend.

But this is ultimately not a long-term solution!

Ultimately, creation relies on the author's own inner accumulation, reflection, and expression.

He himself had reached a point of creative exhaustion!
That's not entirely true!

He probably felt superior because of his status and didn't want to repeat the same tricks to exploit people repeatedly; he himself was tired of it.

So they want to innovate, but they don't have their own innovative ideas.

Now that they've heard that Cheng Xuemin has returned, and they've finally bumped into this founding father, they can't help but beg for his teachings!
Cheng Xuemin could help him again.

After all, a prolific and high-quality Liang Xiaosheng is a good thing for Yan Film Studio and for enriching the genres of Chinese films!
"Old Liang!" Cheng Xuemin then smiled and nodded, telling him not to rush.
He then reassured her, saying, "Creativity is about accumulating knowledge and experience before unleashing it. Relying solely on external ideas is like water without a source!"

Upon hearing this, Liang Xiaosheng's face fell even more, thinking that Cheng Xuemin was going to refuse, and he quickly said, "I know, I know! Xuemin, I understand the reasoning!"

"But isn't this... isn't this putting me in a very precarious position! So many commissions, so many expectations, I... I can't ruin my reputation, and I can't let you down!"

"Please give me another hand. Once I've caught my breath, I'll calm down, reflect, and learn from my mistakes!"

Cheng Xuemin raised his hand, stopping his eager confession.

He looked out the window. In the factory area, workers were pushing carts piled high with props past. In the distance, from the direction of the film studio, he could faintly hear the director speaking through a loudspeaker.

His thoughts seemed to drift a little further away, thinking of those popular martial arts classics from later generations, those works full of whimsy, subverting tradition yet forming their own unique style.

The office quieted down, with only Liang Xiaosheng's slightly heavy breathing and the occasional soft clatter of the old factory director picking up his teacup.

The sunlight moved silently!

After a moment, Cheng Xuemin withdrew his gaze and looked again at Liang Xiaosheng, whose face was full of anticipation. His voice was calm, yet it carried a peculiar, captivating rhythm:

"Here's what we'll do, Lao Liang. I recently had a sudden thought of a story... which could perhaps be called a martial arts tale."

"But it might be quite different from what you wrote before!"

Liang Xiaosheng's eyes lit up instantly, like two light bulbs that had suddenly been turned on. His body involuntarily leaned forward again, and his ears perked up. This was exactly what he wanted!

"In this story, there is a place called Jianghu!"

"But this world of martial arts is not in the mountains and forests, but in the imperial court, in the marketplace, and in people's hearts."

Cheng Xuemin's voice was not loud, and his pace was slow, but it seemed to have a certain magic, slowly pulling Liang Xiaosheng, and even the old factory director who seemed indifferent but was actually listening attentively, into the scene he was describing.

"There is a person, or rather, a type of person. They may not have unparalleled martial arts skills, but they each have their own unique skills."

"Or they might steal the world's most precious treasures with the skill of stealing nothing, as easily as taking something out of a bag."
Or perhaps their ventriloquism is so amazing that they can imitate all kinds of sounds in the world, making them indistinguishable from the real thing;
"Even with meticulous planning, one can create an inescapable trap and unravel age-old mysteries..."

As Cheng Xuemin spoke, he observed Liang Xiaosheng's reaction.

Liang Xiaosheng had already slid off the sofa armrest and squatted down at Cheng Xuemin's feet, tilting his head back with his eyes wide open and his mouth slightly agape, completely absorbed in the moment.

"They were gathered together by a mysterious organization, or by a powerful and treacherous figure, through various means, to complete a mission that was almost impossible."

"For example... infiltrating a heavily guarded and heavily forbidden area to steal a treasure that is related to the fate of the nation;

Or, to unravel a shocking secret that has been passed down for hundreds of years, a secret that may involve immense wealth or the rise and fall of dynasties…

Cheng Xuemin paused here, looked at Liang Xiaosheng who was listening intently, and slowly asked:
"Old Liang, do you think there's anything worth writing about this group of people and this story?"

Liang Xiaosheng remained silent for a long time. He stayed in a squatting position, his eyes were fixed, and his lips moved silently, as if he were chewing and digesting every word that Cheng Xuemin had just described.

A few seconds later, he slammed his fist into his thigh with a loud crack, and his whole body bounced up like a spring.

Because he had been squatting for too long, his legs went numb, and he staggered, almost falling, but he didn't care.

His hands waved excitedly, his face flushed red, and his voice trembled with excitement:
"There's so much to write about! Absolutely so much to write about! My dear Director Cheng! My living Buddha! This... this isn't just something to write about, this is... a gold mine!"

He paced back and forth in his office, gesturing wildly and babbling incoherently: "Treasure hunting! Extraordinary people! Teamwork! Everyone showing their unique abilities! Conspiracy! Secrets! The imperial court and the martial world!"

"My God... the scale, the character design, the conflicts... it's amazing! Absolutely amazing!"

"Xuemin, what's wrong with your brain? This... this is much more interesting than simple martial arts competitions and romance! It has depth! It has tension! It has potential!"

Liang Xiaosheng suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at Cheng Xuemin with shining eyes, his gaze so intense it was almost igniting: "Xuemin, say more! Say more!"

"What is the background of that mysterious organization? What exactly is that mission? What is the treasure? What is the secret?"
What are the unique skills of these extraordinary individuals? What are their personalities like? How do they work together? How do they outwit and outmaneuver each other?

Did it ultimately succeed or fail? If it succeeded, what happened next? What was done with the treasure? What kind of turmoil would the revelation of the secret cause?

He bombarded him with a series of questions, his breathing rapid and his chest heaving, clearly completely captivated by this rather unusual concept of a martial arts story.

All the previous sorrows about running out of creative ideas have long been forgotten.

……

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