Exciting 1979!

Chapter 374 Journey to the West: The Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"It's too dangerous, someone could die," Wei Ming said, hugging Sister Lin.

“I’ve been seeing Su Su and Xiao Fenghuang a lot lately. When I go home, my niece is always hanging around me. She loves kids so much,” Zhu Lin said, knowing she was in the wrong. “When we get to Shanghai, I’ll apologize to Xiao Xue. If, I mean if I really do get pregnant, I won’t bother you.”

"What, you want to be a single mother?"

Speaking of this, even the usually strong-willed Zhu Lin couldn't help but feel a lump in her throat and her eyes redden.

Wei Ming quickly hugged and comforted her, saying, "Don't worry, I won't let you be a single mother."

Just as Zhu Lin was about to be moved, Wei Ming added, "Let Sister Xue help you take care of the child, then two mothers won't count as a single mother, right?"

"You little rascal~" Her Majesty the Queen's little fists pounded wildly on Wei Ming.

Comfortable!

The next day, Zhu Lin packed up her things and left alone with the photos, without asking Wei Ming to see her off.

As a result, he ran into Li Chengru again at the entrance of the alley, on his way to work. This time, there was no way to avoid him.

Zhu Lin replied naturally, "I came to visit a friend. I'm busy, Xiao Li."

"Ah, you're working at CCTV. What have you been busy with lately?" Li Chengru's gaze drifted towards Wei Ming's house.

"I just finished filming a movie, and next I'm going to Shanghai to film another one."

Li Chengru said with envy, "You keep taking pictures one after another, you're so busy you can't stop."

"I'll take a break after filming these two movies; I still need to study," Zhu Lin said. "I have to catch a train to Shanghai, so I'll be going now."

"Okay, see you later."

Li Chengru watched Zhu Lin walk away before riding his bicycle to CCTV.

When I arrived at work, I first heard a lot of gossip.

This includes "The Legendary Fok Yuan-gap," which Guangdong TV imported from RTV last month. It aired two years earlier than the original timeline.

Thanks to Wei Minghe's charity concert, "The Great Wall Will Never Fall" became popular in mainland China early on. Many places in Guangdong had already secretly watched the show. After Guangdong TV officially introduced it, its local viewership rating reached almost 90%, surpassing other local TV dramas.

CCTV has decided to dub the show in Mandarin, given its excellent quality and positive theme, and it will air on CCTV next year.

Just as Li Chengru was about to continue listening, someone came in and announced that a meeting for team leaders was to be held. The senior who had been spreading rumors immediately grabbed a pen and notebook and went to the meeting. This level of meeting was not for Li Chengru.

This meeting was a routine meeting of the Arts and Literature Department organized by Deputy Director Hong Minsheng.

Deputy Director Hong first raised the issue of "The Great Hero Huo Yuanjia," which had already spread throughout the station.

"Indeed, this drama has been confirmed for import. It needs to be re-dubbed and the name needs to be changed. We won't talk about chivalry or anything like that. Let's just call it 'Huo Yuanjia'. When this drama airs next year, you can imagine how strong the demand for TV series will be and how high the quality requirements will be. Comrades, we must catch up."

The biggest achievement in Chinese TV dramas this year is "Enemy Camp Eighteen Years," the first mainland TV series directed by Wang Fulin, but even those who haven't seen "The Great Hero Huo Yuanjia" know the difference.

Moreover, there haven't been any particularly outstanding TV series since "Enemy Camp Eighteen Years," and domestic television programs remain relatively scarce.

"Therefore, the station decided to adapt two of the Four Great Classical Novels, 'Dream of the Red Chamber' and 'Journey to the West,' into TV series."

After Deputy Director Hong announced the news, the audience below the stage started discussing excitedly. The Four Great Classical Novels! This is obviously not something that can be covered in eight or nine episodes. What a huge project this is!

Deputy Director Hong then said, "First, we need to determine the director. The station has decided to have Comrade Wang Fulin direct 'Dream of the Red Chamber.' Director Wang, do you have anything to say?"

Fifty-year-old Wang Fulin stood up: "I firmly support the station's decision and will definitely make a good film of 'Dream of the Red Chamber'!"

That's what they say, but "Dream of the Red Chamber" is really hard to adapt. The original novel has too much romance and love, and a lot of feudal dross is not suitable for television broadcast. It certainly can't be adapted exactly as it is. And when it comes to adaptation, there are so many scholars of "Dream of the Red Chamber" across the country with different opinions. It's bound to cause a bloody storm.

However, Wang Fulin was glad that he wasn't asked to direct "Journey to the West," as "Journey to the West" is full of gods and ghosts that go to heaven and earth, which he thought would be even more difficult to film.

Sitting opposite Wang Fulin, Yang Jie sighed softly. "Dream of the Red Chamber"—she had been familiar with it since childhood and loved the work very much. She wondered if Director Wang needed an assistant, but she wouldn't mind working as a helper for a young person.

"As for 'Journey to the West'," then Deputy Director Hong pondered for a moment and said, "Comrade Yang Jie, if you were asked to direct 'Journey to the West,' would you dare to accept the role?"

These words struck Yang Jie like a thunderbolt. She could hardly believe her ears, and she instinctively blurted out, "If you have money, you dare to do it. Why wouldn't you dare!"

"Great! The station has decided that Journey to the West will be entrusted to you!"

The appointment caused a much bigger sensation and heated discussion at the meeting than Wang Fulin's "Dream of the Red Chamber".

Although Wang Fulin is younger, his achievements in the field of television drama speak for themselves, making him one of the most accomplished television drama directors in China. Therefore, it was natural and natural for him to take on the role in "Dream of the Red Chamber".

Yang Jie was a director who specialized in directing traditional operas, mainly Hunan operas for great figures. She had only just finished directing a TV series, "The Taoist Priest of Laoshan," last year. To be given such an important subject matter surprised and excited her, but afterwards she felt apprehensive and pressured.

Deputy Director Hong was under a lot of pressure when he gave her this appointment, but he thought Yang Jie's "The Taoist Priest of Laoshan" was very good. He felt that "Journey to the West" and "The Taoist Priest of Laoshan" which came from "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" were of the same type.

After the meeting, the news quickly spread on CCTV. Two famous works and two major projects—if one were fortunate enough to participate, it would be a very good qualification in the future.

Upon learning this, Li Chengru's little brain immediately started working. He then walked towards director Wang Fulin's office, thinking that with his fair skin, red lips, and wealthy background, he was quite suitable to play Jia Baoyu.

Then I saw that Director Wang's office was completely blocked by people, and I couldn't get in at all.

Goodness, everyone wants to enter the Grand View Garden, surrounded by a bunch of younger sisters, right?

Li Chengru sighed, then turned to Yang Jie's suggestion. Actually, he could accept playing Tang Sanzang; shaving his head would even be cooler.

At this moment, Yang Jie is talking about this with her husband, Wang Chongqiu, a cameraman at the station.

She's the director, so her husband will definitely be the cinematographer. The next thing she needs to do is write the screenplay, but she doesn't have anyone in mind yet.

Casting will only happen after the screenwriting is finished.

However, now there is someone who has stepped forward to recommend himself as an actor, Li Chengru. He attended a performance training class at the Film Academy and was in the same class as the famous Bei Zhulin. Now he works as a brick in the arts and culture group of CCTV, the kind of person who goes wherever he is needed.

"Xiao Li, you've come at the right time. Let's put aside what role you're going to play for now. I'm setting up a film crew and I need people right now. Would you like to join my team?"

Li Chengru thought that since he had been busy with all the pre-production preparations, the director would surely let him play Tang Sanzang, so he readily agreed.

"Great, now we have three people!" Yang Jie said excitedly. "Next, we need to find a screenwriter."

Li Chengru said, "Director Yang, I think there is someone who is very suitable."

"Who?"

"Wei Ming!"

"Wei Ming? That Wei Ming?"

"Correct!"

Yang Jie shook her head: "How could a famous writer like him possibly write a script for us?"

"It's not like he hasn't written it before."

“Can a movie script be the same as a TV script?” Yang Jie said. “Besides, I heard that they make foreign exchange, hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. I guess they wouldn’t want to take it.”

Moreover, Yang Jie didn't want to work with big names. If such a world-renowned writer became the screenwriter, would she listen to him or to her?

Yang Jie was very determined and immediately contacted Zou Yiqing, with whom she had previously collaborated.

Since it's a story about gods and demons, special effects makeup is also very important. Sun Wukong needs to look like a monkey, and Zhu Bajie needs to look like a pig.

Yang Jie thought of Wang Xizhong, a famous makeup artist at Beijing Film Studio, so she took Xiao Li to Beijing Film Studio again.

Upon arriving at the Beijing Film Studio, they hadn't yet found Wang Xizhong, but instead bumped into the famous director Ling Zifeng.

He knew Yang Jie too, and jokingly asked her what she was doing there. But when they found out, they were both shocked – they had crashed their car!
After finishing filming "Rickshaw Boy", Ling Zifeng was preparing to film the movie version of "Journey to the West".

Director Ling Zifeng smiled slightly: "Where did you find the makeup artist? These character designs are not simple."

Yang Jie countered, "And you? Who are you looking for?"

Ling Zifeng proudly stated, "We hired American stylists; their skills are world-class."

Hearing this, Yang Jie felt a little relieved, at least she wouldn't have to compete with him for Wang Xizhong.

Later, Ling Zifeng also said that the factory would buy him an underwater camera to film the underwater scenes of the Dragon Palace. Yang Jie was stunned when she heard this. She still didn't know how much money the station would give her.

I doubt they'll give much; the station's budget is too tight. This is far inferior to the movie version. With the movie version to compare it to, Yang Jie is under even more pressure.

After meeting with Wang Xizhong and reaching a consensus on cooperation, Yang Jie said to her assistant Li Chengru, "You said you know Wei Ming, right?"

"We know each other very well, we're neighbors, and I even helped him set up his yard!"

Yang Jie said, "Then take me there to pay a visit. Actually, we can find a few more screenwriters."

"okay!"

The two then rode their bicycles to Beichizi, but the gate of the courtyard was locked. They could see a fat black and white cat lying on the wall, and there were barking dogs inside the courtyard.

“No one’s home,” Li Chengru said. “Teacher Wei actually has another home elsewhere, so perhaps…”

"Alright, it's getting late, let's head back," Yang Jie waved her hand, then glanced at the plump cat, "Black Cat Sheriff, huh?"

She also has a daughter. Although she is over fifty, her husband is only in his thirties and her daughter is only 11 years old. She is a loyal reader of Wei something, and never misses an issue of "Black Cat Detective" and "Calabash Brothers".

Wei Ming didn't expect the "Journey to the West" production team to contact him so soon. He had just submitted a few articles, and in the spirit of spreading the word, they were published in various magazines and newspapers. They were all travelogues and short essays.

Zhu Lin had been in Shanghai for two or three days now. Initially, she stayed at a guesthouse arranged by the film crew, but on this day, she finally went to Gong Xue's old house. After arriving, she waited for more than an hour before Gong Xue returned home.

"You're back." Gong Xue said naturally, like an old married couple. "I also bought some fruit, do you want some?"

Zhu Lin came up and apologized first: "Xiaoxue, I'm sorry."

Gong Xue's heart skipped a beat: "You, what have you and Xiao Wei confirmed?"

"No, no, it's just that I ran into him last time I went back, and I wasn't wearing it."

"It's really uncomfortable to wear."

"Dangerous period".

"You!" Gong Xue stood up.

She was indeed anxious, so Zhu Lin quickly gave Gong Xue the Walkman that Wei Ming had asked her to bring.

Gong Xue wasn't in the mood.

Zhu Lin: "Don't blame him for this. I stopped him. He's been obsessed with having kids lately."

Gong Xue could understand. She sighed, "At this age, who wouldn't want to go home? I don't go home much because I'm afraid of seeing my little nephew."

Zhu Lin quickly said, "Next time you see him, have him come too, and we'll be even."

"Come on, if we both get pregnant at the same time, do you want him to die, or do you want the three of us, five lives, to die together?" Gong Xue decided not to let Xiao Wei touch her until Zhu Lin's pregnancy was confirmed.

She looked at Zhu Lin's belly: "When will we know?"

"It will take at least a month, but I heard that there is a pregnancy test in foreign countries that can give you the result within half a month."

Gong Xue: "Aren't they available in China?"

"I've never seen a hospital or a pharmacy before."

Gong Xue: "The Friendship Store should have it. I'll go check it out when I have time."

The next day, Gong Xue bought it for her: "You can't use it now, wait another week."

~
On Zou Yiqing's recommendation, director Yang Jie met Dai Yinglu, who specializes in writing historical dramas. After talking with the two screenwriters, they reached a consensus on "being faithful to the original work and being cautious in innovation." The next step was to determine which "difficult" elements to include in their script.

Although it is said to be 81 tribulations, some of them are not so exciting, and some are very similar and repetitive. There is no need to film them all. Not only is it not good for the audience to enjoy, but the budget also cannot support it. She just talked to several station directors, and they will give her a maximum of 3 million.

Only 300 million? Well, that's not a small amount. "Eighteen Years in the Enemy Camp" was made for 10. But "Journey to the West" is a special subject, and Yang Jie always felt a little nervous.

Then she saw an old newspaper on the table. It wasn't hers. She glanced at Li Chengru, who was pretending to be busy, and then picked it up to read.

The photo on the article directly in front of her shows Wei Ming holding up a comic book of "Journey to the West" and saying something.

There are many comic book versions of "Journey to the West". The Shanghai Animation Film Studio has published one, but it is incomplete. The one that Wei Ming has is the complete version published by Jimei Publishing House. It was completed by a group of comic book artists, including Mr. Yang Songqiao, Liu Rulong's maternal grandfather.

The article states that, thanks to Wei Ming's eloquent recommendation, this version of "Journey to the West" sold its copyrights to England, France, and Germany, generating substantial foreign exchange for the Jimei Publishing House.

Afterwards, he told his companions that his favorite classic novel was "Journey to the West," and that it was the greatest treasure of Chinese culture and an inexhaustible source of material.

After reading it, Yang Jie murmured, "It seems he knows a lot about Journey to the West."

Li Chengru quickly leaned over: "That's right. Don't underestimate Wei Ming just because he's young. He's incredibly knowledgeable and has traveled all over the country. He's very experienced. I think he's exactly the kind of talent our team needs."

Yang Jie thought for a moment and said, "After get off work, come with me again. He has two homes, right? Let's go see both of them."

“His other home seems to be in the Overseas Chinese Apartments,” Li Chengru said.

Yang Jie: "I know about the Overseas Chinese Apartments."

Upon arriving at the Overseas Chinese Apartment, they first registered with Old Man Sun. When he heard that CCTV had come to talk to Wei Ming about work, he said, "Little Wei hasn't returned yet."

"And what about his parents?" Li Chengru asked. "I'm also quite familiar with Uncle Jiefang."

"They haven't come back yet," Old Sun said.

Yang Jie asked, "Does their family have a telephone?"

"There are some."

Yang Jie: "Can you tell us your phone number?"

"Is it really from CCTV?" Old Sun asked.

The two quickly pulled out their work IDs, and Old Sun then said, "I don't have his phone number, but I can tell him you're looking for him."

Li Chengru said, "If you mention my name, Li Chengru, to Teacher Wei, he will know."

Yang Jie then suggested going to the courtyard house again, just in case it was there.

The door was still locked. Wei Ming was at the zoo playing with the pandas with his parents.

Steel Egg is slightly bigger than Bas. At first, Bas was a little afraid of people, but it wasn't afraid of Steel Egg. The two little pandas got along very well, like childhood sweethearts.

Thanks to Steel Egg, Bass first accepted Old Wei as his daddy, and now even Xu Shufen can touch him.

Wei Ming is not up to par; brother-in-law, please have some self-respect.

When the deputy director of the Beijing Zoo heard that Teacher Wei Ming was visiting, he also came over, since the gift of the pandas to Hong Kong was initiated by him.

The deputy director said, "The latest news is that Ocean Park in Hong Kong is still building the panda enclosure, which is nearing completion. At the latest, the pandas will be sent there before the Lunar New Year, so that the two giant pandas can spend the Spring Festival with the people of Hong Kong."

It seems that Wei Ming's hopes of having Lao Wei go with him have been dashed, as he has been invited to Hong Kong at the beginning of next month.

Wei Ming then inquired about the personnel accompanying the panda to Hong Kong.

"There should be four people from Sichuan, two from our side, plus Lao Wei and his wife."

There are eight people, including Xu Shufen, but neither Lao Wei nor Xu Shufen are the main keepers of the pandas.

This is good, giving the two pandas a good home, and preventing Lao Wei from being tied up in Hong Kong forever. Gouzitun is his eternal home.

When the family of three returned home, they heard from Old Sun that Li Chengru from CCTV had contacted them.

Although the specifics weren't mentioned, Wei Ming roughly knew what it was about from the fact that an elderly woman was with them.

Wei Ming was planning to go directly to CCTV the next day, but then he received a call from Yang Jie that evening.

Wei Ming has too many friends in Yanjing; Director Yang can easily find out his phone number by asking around.

"Teacher Wei, I am Yang Jie, the director of the CCTV 'Journey to the West' production team. It's so hard to find you. I've come twice but still haven't been able to meet you."

"Director Yang, I'm sorry, how about I come to your station tomorrow?"

“No, we’ve already made two trips. We have to make a third visit,” Yang Jie insisted. “Teacher Wei, where are you tomorrow? Let’s agree on that beforehand. We’ll go visit you tomorrow.”

Wei Ming thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll wait for you two at the courtyard house at noon, and we can eat and chat."

"Okay, it's a deal."

After hanging up the phone, Wei Ming began to ponder what Director Yang Jie wanted him to do: play Tang Sanzang? Or be a screenwriter?
He can't do either of those jobs. Filming would take six years, and he doesn't have that much time to spare. Sometimes, the screenwriter also has to adjust the lines with the crew.

Moreover, with dozens of episodes of a TV series and hundreds of thousands of words of manuscript, it would be more cost-effective for Wei Ming to do something else.

However, he really wanted to participate in the CCTV version of "Journey to the West". In his opinion, the CCTV version of "Journey to the West" had many regrets, and perhaps he could make up for some of them.

First of all, it wasn't finished filming. 25 episodes was not the original plan. The original plan was for more than 30 episodes, including the classic plots of the true and false Monkey King, Lion Camel Ridge, and Biqu Kingdom in the later "Journey to the West Sequel", which were all written long ago.

However, due to a severe lack of funding, some of the most exciting scenes had to be cut, leaving 25 episodes that viewers have watched repeatedly over the decades.

When they finally had enough funding in 2000, they made a sequel to Journey to the West, but many people's original intentions had changed, and their mental and physical condition was not as good as before.

So even though the special effects were better and the funding was more sufficient, the reviews were far inferior to the 86 version. In particular, the wig and makeup done by Director Yang's daughter were heavily criticized.

The second regret is that the filming took too long, from 82 to 88, a full six years. There were indeed many objective difficulties involved, such as having only one camera, a severe shortage of funds, and difficulty in choosing location shooting sites.

However, as a viewer, it would be difficult to follow a novel for six years, let alone a TV series. Moreover, the slow filming process also increased the production costs. The price difference between 82 and 88 was enormous.

In addition, the price reform in 88 meant that even though the centipede demon attracted 300 million in sponsorship fees, totaling 600 million, they still couldn't continue filming after 25 episodes. They had to abandon those exciting stories and make the audience wait another 12 years.

Wei Ming felt he could be of some help in this regard, at the very least in location scouting; he could simply tell them where to shoot.

If you want to film Huaguo Mountain, go to Huangguoshu Waterfall; if you want to film Red Boy, go to Changbai Mountain; if you want to film the birth of the Monkey King, go to Beidaihe; if you want to film the ginseng fruit of Wuzhuang Temple, go to Qingcheng Mountain.

At that time, the tourism industry was not booming, and many beautiful places were unknown to anyone, but Wei Ming knew them. Moreover, he had a reputation for being knowledgeable and well-traveled, so what he said must be correct.

Furthermore, Wei Ming originally only intended to use Li Chengru's connections to recommend Sister Xue and Sister Lin to the "Journey to the West" production team. Since you took the initiative to contact me and even went to great lengths to visit me, it's not something that can be resolved with just two roles.

Biaozi, Xizi, Huang Qiuyanzi, arrange them all for me!

The next day, Wei Ming left work early, and Xu Shufen didn't go to work. Instead, she prepared a large table of delicious food for her son in the courtyard.

When Yang Jie brought Wang Chongqiu and Li Chengru in, Wei Ming was holding a palm-leaf fan, not a feather fan, so please understand.

Li Chengru glanced at the three people on his side and thought, "Hey, it really is like the story of the Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage!"
……

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(End of this chapter)