Exciting 1979!

Chapter 212: Drama adaptation, buying another apartment, meeting parents for the first time
Fortunately, Wei Ming didn't drink water or tea, otherwise he would have probably sprayed it out.

The old man actually used such a code name back then? So immature!

Moreover, Old Master Lan never told me this in my previous life, otherwise I would definitely ask Qian Yanqiu to change the name of the protagonist so that they all know him.

Now Wei Ming can no longer look his grandfather in the face. Whenever he thinks of him, he would think of lines like "I bet there are no bullets in your gun."

Then Old Lan picked up some things to tell Wei Ming about Wei Senhao's glorious military achievements in the past. This made Wei Ming respect him a lot. He didn't expect that Old Wei had the blood of so many traitors and devils on his hands. It seemed that "Bloody Hand Butcher" was more suitable for him.

"Later, I heard that he went to the Magic City to carry out a higher-level mission. Since then, we have basically lost contact. Since we are from the same hometown, I was one of the few people who knew his real name at that time."

The two were chatting when someone knocked on the door. As soon as the person came in, Wei Ming stood up and said, "Dean Yu."

The visitor was none other than Yi Shizhi, the actor who played the male lead Wang Lifa in "Tea House" and was also the first vice president of the People's Art Theatre. Mr. Cao Yu was the president.

Yi Shizhi and Lan Tian are of the same age, but Yu is slightly younger.

"Writer Wei, we meet again. You and Old Lan are now considered fellow villagers."

The two shook hands. They had met before at the Writers' Congress and took a photo together.

"Yes, we are not only fellow villagers, but also the descendant of an old friend," Lan Lao patted Wei Ming's shoulder, "We will visit each other often in the future. You are always welcome to visit the People's Art Theatre."

"sure."

Yi Shizhi said hurriedly: "Don't just play around, why don't you write a script for our People's Art Theatre? I know you can write a script."

The dispute over the script of "The Horse Herder" showed that his playwriting ability was definitely not a problem.

Of course, movie scripts and drama scripts are two different systems. Drama scripts place more emphasis on lines, and sometimes even require more exaggerated lines.

Wei Ming scratched his head and said, "Then Dean Yu, you may have to wait a while. I am busy writing a novel recently, and all my energy is focused on it."

I really couldn't take on any other work except writing a fairy tale for Melinda, because my outline was already quite complete and I could start working on it at any time.

Lan Tian also hurriedly asked what the subject of the novel was.

Wei Ming did not hide it: "It is a story about the war period that combines some of my grandfather's experiences. I basically heard about my grandfather's life from my grandmother and father. Today, I heard some real deeds from you, and I feel more confident."

Lan Tian also smiled and said, "Your grandfather's story is very interesting. Let's wait and see. I will tell you my home address later. You can chat with me anytime. I can tell you anything I can."

"Okay!"

Wei Ming then said to Shi Zhi: "Dean Yu, if you want a script, you can consider adapting my previous works. Although they are not masterpieces, as long as you like them, I will let you modify them for free."

He knew that the National Theatre of China also had screenwriter positions and that they were more professional in writing scripts for plays.

Yi Shizhi replied: "Writer Wei, you are too modest. I am currently re-watching Animals, which is a classic. I especially like the story of The Sheep Class, and it has few scenes. However, there are too many child characters, so it is difficult to adapt it."

After all, it's a bit inappropriate to use adults to play children.

Wei Ming thought about his novels and said, "I think it would be much easier to revise The Story of Two Donkeys."

Yi Shizhi pondered for a moment. As Wei Ming's debut work, this novel was quite famous, but it caused quite a controversy at the time, especially the discussion about who had a harder life, the farmers or the educated youth, which made many educated youth unable to hold their heads up.

If this novel is adapted, would it be too shocking?

However, Dean Yu really likes the dialogue style of this novel. The long paragraphs are like machine guns, sharp and sarcastic, and the scenes are simple. It has the potential to become a good book.

Moreover, the main characters are all young people, which can be used to train a team of young drama actors.

Finally, he said to Wei Ming: "I will seriously consider it."

Afterwards, Wei Ming talked with the two elders in the office about the art of drama. Because Wei Ming had been immersed in the People's Art Theatre for ten years, his deep understanding of drama surprised the two elders.

Yi Zhidu wanted to transfer Wei Ming to the People's Art Theatre, but when he thought of his current employer, Peking University, he immediately gave up the idea. It would be fine if Wei Ming was a temporary worker, but he was a full-time employee of Peking University.

Even though the National People's Art Theatre is the highest hall of Chinese drama, the status of the two supreme institutions of learning is still very high in the hearts of their actors. Moreover, Shi Yizhi himself graduated from Peking University and studied French, but he dropped out.

After chatting for a while, someone announced that there was a visitor from the Beijing Film Studio. Mr. Cao was not there, so Yi Zhi, the first vice president, had to come out to receive him.

Lan Lao told Wei Ming: "It's probably Director Xie Tian. He wants to bring Tea House to the big screen."

"Oh, this is a big challenge. Will you also participate?"

"Director Xie Tian wants to invite all the original cast members of the drama version to make the movie. I think Qin Zhongyi will be the one to make the movie."

Wei Ming suggested: "It's also good to act in movies, so that more people can appreciate the acting skills of these famous artists of the People's Art Theater, and benefit more ordinary people."

If he acts in movies now, he will be able to act in TV series in the future. He is looking forward to seeing Mr. Lan’s most classic role appear sooner rather than later.

Afterwards, Mr. Lan took Wei Ming to watch the actors rehearse, and at noon, Wei Ming called Li Guangfu out.

Li Guangfu was embarrassed to kill people, so he asked Wei Mingding to do it.

Wei Ming asked him, "Can you eat spicy food?"

"sure."

Wei Ming: "Then let's go to Emei Restaurant. I am half Sichuanese."

This is considered as a way for him to try out the dishes in advance, so that he can treat his grandmother to a meal when she comes to Beijing.

This is a big restaurant. Li Guangfu felt flattered. At the same time, he couldn't help wondering if writer Wei wanted to order something for him.

Emei Restaurant is also a time-honored Chinese brand. It was founded in the 50s by the national treasure-level Sichuan cuisine chef Wu Yusheng, and received an inscription from Mr. Mei Lanfang in the 60s.

The hotel is on the second floor of Xidan Shopping Mall, not too far away, and it only takes a few minutes by motorcycle to get there.

When you go to Emei Restaurant, Kung Pao Chicken is a must-order dish. This dish is relatively homely, but the Kung Pao Chicken in Xiaolizhikou, which is unique to Emei Restaurant, has a unique flavor.

After that, Wei Ming ordered two more dishes, fish-flavored pork shreds and pickled pepper fish head. Li Guangfu quickly stopped him and said, "That's enough. You can't finish it now."

Moreover, these are all meat dishes. Li Guangfu usually only eats like this during Chinese New Year, after all, his family has fallen on hard times.

Old Li's father was a very successful man in his time. He opened a rubber factory and a brewery in Tianjin, ran a foreign company in Yanjing, and invested in large factories. When Li Guangfu was a child, he used to play with gold bars. However, after his father passed away when he was 11, and the family property was either joint ventured or taken away, things didn't go well for him.

However, Wei Ming knew that Lao Li also had a good business sense. In his previous life, when he first joined the People's Art Theater, Li Guangfu was running a side business as a photocopier agent besides filming. Later, he trained his son to become a barrister.

Finally, Wei Ming ordered another vegetarian dish, "Emei Tofu", making a total of four dishes, and that was the end.

Li Guangfu exclaimed, "It's so rich!"

"I entered the People's Art Theatre today and met so many drama masters. I'm so happy."

After eating for a while, Wei Ming turned the topic to the house.

"I went to your house to pick you up this morning. It seems like there's another family living in your house?"

Li Guangfu sighed, "It's all a historical problem. When I was a child, this house was taken away, leaving only one room for us, an orphan and a widow. In the past two years, the policy has improved, and the property rights have been returned to us. However, the yard has been full of people over the years, and we can't drive them out. We can only let them move out after they have a house to settle down in. Now I am their landlord and I get some rent."

And the rent is very low, just a token of my appreciation.

Wei Ming: "Is this the case with all the courtyard houses that are being returned to individuals? They are all full and cannot be taken back?"

"That's about right~" After taking a bite of food, Li Guangfu understood a little bit about why Wei Ming came to him, "Writer Wei, you are not going to buy a courtyard house, are you?"

Wei Ming nodded: "I do have this idea."

Li Guangfu waved his hand and said, "If you have some spare money, I suggest you buy a commercial building in Tuanjiehu that has just been opened. Although I have lived in a courtyard house since I was a child, I still envy people who live in buildings. Now that Tuanjiehu is open, you can buy one if you have money. If you have more money, you can also consider the houses in the Overseas Chinese Apartments."

Wei Ming smiled and said, "I have already bought a house in the Overseas Chinese Apartment. It is close to Peking University and convenient for commuting. However, I also want to buy another one in the city, so I am thinking about this courtyard house. Today, I also want to ask you for advice."

Hearing this, Li Guangfu stopped eating with his chopsticks. Wow, he has already bought a house in the Overseas Chinese Apartment, and he wants to buy another one. This novel writer must be too rich!

He joked, "I heard a while ago that a fairy tale writer couldn't buy a house because of too many letters from readers. It seems that you have even more letters from readers?"

Wei Ming was a little embarrassed. He didn't expect that Wei's pretentiousness had become so popular.

He smiled and said, "I want to buy a courtyard house because I like this traditional old house, and also because it will give me a place to stay if any relatives from my hometown come to visit. It's so difficult to live in a guesthouse now."

Li Guangfu gave a thumbs up, saying it was so damn righteous.

He thought Wei Ming was prepared for the folks in his hometown, but in fact, Wei Ming was mainly prepared for Old Wei and his mother. If they lived in the Overseas Chinese Apartment, how could he live a good life with Sister Lin and Sister Xue?

So even for the sake of a happy sex life in the future, you have to find a new house. Since you already have an apartment, you might as well buy a courtyard house.

"So, brother, if you know of anyone who wants to sell a courtyard house, especially one that is owned entirely by one person and has clear ownership, be sure to notify me."

Li Guangfu is sociable and well-informed, so he can help find out: "But don't hold your hopes too high. There are definitely people who take back a whole house, but they are very rare. And they are basically the descendants of powerful and famous people. They are not comparable to the descendants of businessmen like me. They are basically not short of money."

But these people usually want to move away after the political situation stabilizes, because they have money but nowhere to spend it and they have many concerns.

So Wei Ming added: "Also, I can trade in foreign exchange, not foreign exchange certificates, but US dollar cash."

"What!" Li Guangfu looked at Wei Ming with higher regard. It took a lot of talent to come up with so much foreign exchange in this day and age.

"Okay, I'll help you find out after work today. If it's a dollar transaction, I think more people will be interested," Li Guangfu actively offered advice. "In fact, you can also inquire about the courtyard houses in government-owned units. If the workplace is relocated, the courtyard houses left behind may be sold, and there won't be so many bad things going on."

Wei Ming smiled and said, "That's a good feeling."

Afterwards, Li Guangfu talked about his comments on the advantages and disadvantages of the courtyard houses in various districts of Beijing. As a hutong wanderer for decades, he knows much more about it than young people like Biaozi and Xiaomei. If you want to buy a house, you have to find someone like him.

After dinner, Wei Ming personally sent Li Guangfu back to the People's Art Theatre, and then returned to Xidan because he had just seen Mei Wenhua's car when he was riding a motorcycle.

He parked his car outside a store, side by side with Mei Wenhua's motorcycle.

Xiaomei was shaking hands with a man who looked like a civil servant and was escorting him out.

After everyone left, Xiaomei saw Wei Ming coming over, and she quickly and happily welcomed him in. "Brother Ming, come quickly, this is our Oriental New World!" Xiaomei said excitedly while standing in the empty store.

Wei Ming went inside. The shop had been abandoned for a while and needed to be redecorated. The space was decent, about 270 to 280 square meters.

Wei Ming asked: "How much?"

Mei Wenhua said: "If we calculate it based on 60 yuan a day, and round off the decimals, the annual rent we received is 20,000 yuan."

Originally, the minimum rent was three years, but fortunately Mei Wenhua had US dollars to pave the way, so it was reduced to one year. Otherwise, they wouldn't even be able to afford the rent.

However, Mei Wenhua has already thought it through. If business is good, he will sign a few more years' contract to avoid rising costs.

When Wei Ming heard the price, he exclaimed, “Wow!”

This is not cheap. Nowadays, people with an annual income of 10,000 yuan are still a rare sight. But they have to pay 20,000 yuan in rent at one time, which is equivalent to a profit of at least 60 yuan a day. 60 yuan is almost the average monthly salary in Yanjing.

"Are you confident that you can make it back?" Wei Ming asked.

"It must be!" He had also dealt in things like jeans and knew how big the profit margin was.

Even though people’s wages are low nowadays, a pair of jeans can be sold for about twenty yuan and can be worn for several years.

So he only needs to sell a few pairs of jeans to make back his daily rent.

What's more, such a big store must sell more than just jeans, there are also women's clothing, and women are more willing to spend money. I just don't know if the "Lush Mountain Love" that Brother Ming mentioned can really be that popular.

However, the advance payment has already been given to those street garment factories, including the factory where Biaozi's mother works, and several of them are rushing to finish the work.

In addition, he also bought a batch of denim fabrics through a big trader and commissioned the production of jeans.

Wei Ming: "This storefront needs to be renovated as soon as possible, and it must be open within half a month."

Mei Wenhua nodded: "Brother Ming, I have thought it through. Biaozi and I will resign now and concentrate on our business."

Wei Ming had no objection. It was indeed too tiring to work at night and run business during the day.

He then made some suggestions on decoration and store layout, which were basically valuable advice that was ahead of its time.

Xiaomei and her friends had seen many fashionable clothing stores in Guangzhou. She thought she knew how to decorate a store, but after listening to Brother Ming's words, she realized that she still had a gap. How could he know so much?

Because it is still uncertain how much money it will cost to buy the courtyard house, Wei Ming has put on hold his plan to buy an electric water heater, as long as he can install it in the winter.

Afterwards, he returned to Peking University to work and began creating new fairy tales. He also witnessed the resignation of two temporary workers, Mei Wenhua and Zhao Debiao.

Mei Wenhua immediately devoted himself to the opening preparations of Oriental New World, and Biaozi told Wei Ming.

"Brother Ming, Director Xu met with me yesterday and told me to be ready at any time because we are going to Sichuan and Chongqing to film next."

In the past month, Xu Xiaoming has traveled to all the places that appear in Wei Ming's novels, mainly in the Sichuan-Tibet region, and has basically selected the filming locations. Yuan Xiangren has also returned to Beijing with his team and is on standby.

Wei Ming asked, "Has the male lead been decided?"

"It's settled. It's that little brat named Wu."

Biaozi was very satisfied with this. If he asked a ten-year-old boy to play the role of his daughter Yan Zi's husband, he was afraid that he would not be able to control his energy during filming.

Wei Ming: "It's a pity that I don't think I can take you there. I can go to Sichuan to visit the studio later."

Two movies adapted from his novels started shooting this summer, and Wei Ming feels that he has a lot to do.

The next day was also the first day of July.

Wei Ming was woken up by Zhu Lin in the morning. She opened the door by herself and then quietly got into Wei Ming's bed.

Then why are you still sleeping? Get up!

"Stop making trouble, I bought you breakfast, eat first!"

"No hurry, I'll eat you first!"

Fortunately, Zhu Lin arrived early, otherwise she would be late for work because of all this trouble. She took the risk of being late for work to make this trip because Wei Ming was leaving tomorrow.

I saved a few more Durex today, and after Sister Lin left, Wei Ming had 30 more Big Unity cigarettes in his bed.

Wei Ming didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Did he learn this from Melinda? Why did it look so much like his hard work fee?

Wei Ming took out five more cards: "Sister, I still owe you 50 yuan."

Zhu Lin brought up Nene: "You can continue to owe me. I want to be your creditor."

Wei Ming held the creditor's legs and began to prevent her from putting on her pants.

~
Today Wei Ming went to the Film Academy and took Liu Rulong, who was on vacation, to his dormitory at Peking University. The two of them will go to the Capital Airport early tomorrow morning.

He didn't want to endure the pain of long-distance train travel anymore, so he asked Uncle Ping'an to help him get a certificate in advance so that he could be eligible to buy a ticket.

But Aaron felt that it was a bit of a waste: "We don't need that much time."

"You're not bad, I am." If we go to Shanghai earlier, we can spend more time with Sister Xue and save time.

But once he got on the plane, Aaron exclaimed that the money was well spent. He even took out a drawing board and painted a picture called "Rainbow in the Clouds".

It was just too short. The plane landed at Hongqiao Airport in more than two hours, and because it was a morning flight, they missed the lunch on the plane.

Wei Ming: "Next time I fly to Hong Kong, I'll probably be able to have a meal on the plane."

But it's just pre-prepared food, prepared on the ground and heated with electricity on the plane.

Aaron asked excitedly, "Ah Ming, are you going to Hong Kong soon?"

Wei Ming nodded. "Heroes have always been young. The filming is about to start. It will be released in Hong Kong. I will ask Blue Bird to send me an invitation letter. I should be able to get it. After all, he is the original author and screenwriter."

"What about me, what about me?" he asked hurriedly.

"As for you," Wei Ming smiled, "I'll ask for you. You're the main writer of the comic with the same name. I'm afraid you don't have enough qualifications, but if you're willing to pay for your own travel expenses, it's possible."

"That's totally fine with me!" Aaron said, "I've saved more than 2,000 yuan following you."

Wei Ming chuckled and said, "You are richer than me now. I don't even have that much RMB. If I don't have enough money, you have to lend me some."

"Why do you spend so much money?"

Wei Ming stroked his chin and said, "I don't know how much a meal at the Peace Hotel costs."

When he came to Shanghai for the first time to revise a manuscript, he was strolling on the Bund with Professors Chen Rong and Qu and passed by the Peace Hotel. He wanted to have a meal there, but he was short of money at the time and could only think about it.

Aaron has now completed the first three volumes of the comic version of "Heroes Have Always Been Young", and will continue to complete the last two volumes after school starts.

This time he also planned to personally deliver the drawings for the third volume to the Shanghai People's Fine Arts Publishing House, and collect the royalties for the second volume, so that Wei Ming would not have to borrow from him.

Wei Ming was a little nervous: "Ah, I want to go too?"

"Aren't you going? Let's go to the Shanghai Animation Film Studio together after we finish this."

In this way, Wei Ming was pulled by Aaron onto a toad cart and headed straight to the Art Publishing House.

~
Gong Xing's mother, Zhuang Che, was not yet sixty years old. She was a retired employee of a fine arts publishing house who had just been rehired. She couldn't sit idle at home and wanted to make use of her remaining energy.

She had previously contributed to Wei Ming's comic book "Heroes Have Always Been Young". The first volume sold very well, so the second volume was immediately published, and there were plans to increase the print run.

But in fact, she is not in charge of the comic book business.

The Shanghai People's Fine Arts Publishing House has a wide range of business operations. In addition to comic strips, it also publishes photography albums, picture collections, calendars, daily life books, travel readings, and reference books, etc. This publishing house is involved in everything related to pictures and photos.

Because Zhuang Che was the manager of a photography agency before and had good photography skills, she was also in charge of photography books.

After taking a group of photos for her daughter a while ago, she felt that her daughter's photos could be used as the cover of a photography magazine she was in charge of.

So at noon she wanted to look at the photos again at home and choose the most beautiful one.

After searching for a long time, she still couldn't find it. She even made a public phone call to the Shanghai Film Studio to ask Xiaoxue where she put the photo.

Gong Xing had previously said that she wanted to use the photos to make clothes, but after the photos were developed she sent them all to Wei Ming. It wasn't that she didn't want to develop more photos, but she was really short of money.

She had to take photos of the front and back of dozens of outfits, and develop them in color. Her monthly salary was not enough to cover the cost.

However, she still received subsidies for filming, so she never thought of asking Xiao Wei to pay it back.

Gong Wei hesitated and finally told the truth: "I took these photos for a friend. He wanted to open a clothing store and needed some styles."

I was wondering, how can you take so many photos? Zhuang Che asked, "What friend? Then take me to visit the store when it opens."

"Friends in Yanjing, the store is also in Yanjing, you can go there if you want." Sister Gong Xing was naughty.

When it comes to Yenching, Zhuang Che immediately thought of the famous writer Wei Ming, but can writers also do business?

Helplessly, Zhuang Che took out the film and prepared to go back to the office to develop two more photos.

When she arrived at work in the afternoon, she saw two young men looking around at the door, so she approached them and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

……

(Monthly tickets 10000+10500 plus more! More in the evening!)

(End of this chapter)