Training the Heavens

Chapter 79: Pretending to serve the public good for personal gain
Why is this story so good? The reason is simple. The original film was a tribute film, released in 99, and the actors are from both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The actor who plays Fang Zhenjin is the veteran Taiwanese actor Jin Shijie. Twenty years after the film was released, we still often see him in movies and TV series.

Meihua, a descendant of the Mei family, is played by Jacklyn Wu, while Jordan Chan plays Wu Shaolong, a descendant of the Long family. Lang Xiong, who performed the most classic cooking scene in Chinese-language films in Ang Lee's "Eat Drink Man Woman", plays Li Lang, a descendant of Li Yishao.

This film grossed tens of millions at the time. You have to know that the annual box office champion at that time was only more than 30 million. It was really not easy for a tribute film to get such a box office.

What was 99? Hong Kong had already returned to China, and Macau's return was imminent. Making a film about the cross-strait, Hong Kong-Macau partnership to revive the Westgate Restaurant at this time was incredibly significant.

Gao Jialin moved this story to the present day, and there is almost no incongruity. The only thing that needs attention is how to deal with the process of finding the descendants of these families. After all, it is still difficult to get out now.

He did not completely copy the original plot. The quality of this movie is good, but it cannot be called excellent. The cooking scenes are not as impressive as "Eat Drink Man Woman" and "Golden House", and the plot is not very smooth.

So Gao Jialin made some changes. In the movie, Li Lang, the old man who instructed Fang Zhenjin, was not from Macau. Gao Jialin felt that it would be better and more meaningful to change it to four people coming from four different places.

The situations of the descendants of the three families are different, and Gao Jialin also needs to make modifications according to the current situation. Otherwise, if the appearance of the 1990s is copied, readers who are familiar with the situation will definitely feel uncomfortable.

"I will tell the editor-in-chief the framework of this story tomorrow. I guarantee he will agree with it! You should start writing as soon as possible. Once you finish writing, I will convince the editor-in-chief to give you the best layout!" Niu Xinliang no longer cared about the delicious food in front of him. His mind was full of this story.

"You said yes before you even finished listening to the outline?" Gao Jialin looked at Niu Xinliang with a smile.

"Needless to say, the rest is about the descendants of the four families reviving Meilong Town and re-hosting the Victory Banquet! Hey, the Victory Banquet is a great name. Driving out the Japanese is a victory, and the reunification of the motherland is also a victory!"

Thinking of this, Niu Xinliang became even happier. Last year, it was decided to take back Hong Kong, and this year a work reflecting the reunification of the motherland will be released. As long as the quality is slightly better, it will definitely have a chance to win a big prize.

"Mengya" has not yet published a work that won the Mao Dun Literature Prize. Perhaps this is an opportunity.

"Write, write quickly!" Niu Xinliang urged impatiently. If Gao Jialin didn't have to go to school, he would have wanted to tie Gao Jialin back to No. 675 Julu Road and lock him up in the manuscript revision dormitory, and release him when he finished writing.

Gao Jialin leaned back and spread his hands, "I can't write."

Poof, Niu Xinliang almost spat out a mouthful of blood. You gave me such a wonderful outline, I can't wait to see the finished article, and you tell me I can't write it? This is not the way to play tricks on people, right?

"What did you say you can't write it?" Niu Xinliang's eyes were red.

"I can't write it now. I'm a student from the mountains of northern Shaanxi. How can I know what Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are like? I've only been eating delicious food with you for a year. How can I write about the essence of a victory banquet?" Gao Jialin asked back righteously.

"This..." Niu Xinliang was stuck. It seemed to be true. "But just because I can't write now doesn't mean I can't write in the future. If you want me to write quickly, you have to take me out for more delicious meals, tell me more about cooking and tasting dishes, and include anecdotes and stories from the food industry. Once I've accumulated enough, I can write about the victory banquet!"

"I can't go to Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan, but there are quite a few people from these places here in Shanghai, right? Invite a few of you over, so we can sit down together for a meal and chat. Also, find me some local newspapers, magazines, and books. I'll study them carefully, and I think I can write a realistic account of the lives of those descendants, right?"

It would be a shame not to use such a good opportunity for personal gain. Under the pretext of preparing for writing, Gao Jialin can not only eat and drink all over Shanghai, but also get in touch with people from these places. If he encounters the right opportunity, he can also earn foreign exchange through them!
What's the point of just earning money domestically? Earning foreign exchange abroad is the real skill!
Gao Jialin felt that achieving three goals at once was not enough, he wanted to achieve four or five goals at once.

Niu Xinliang looked hesitant. "Eating is no problem. As long as you have time, I'll accompany you. Even if we finish eating in Shanghai, we can still go to Suzhou or Nanjing. We'll leave on Saturday and be back on Sunday. As for reading foreign books and interacting with foreign people, that's not something I can decide."

Gao Jialin took out a stack of papers from his bag and said, "I've already written the outline. Take it to the editor-in-chief. If he's not satisfied, just pretend I didn't say anything today. If he likes it, then we can talk about other things."

"That's fine. I'll just hand it in and give the editor-in-chief a headache! I can't make the decision on this matter anyway." Thinking of this, Niu Xinliang felt relieved. I'm just an ordinary editor. I just need to hand it in. The leader will still have to decide what to do.

After that, the two of them could finally have a good meal, but Niu Xinliang's mind was still full of the story Gao Jialin told him. While eating, he told Gao Jialin the history of the Meilong Town Restaurant and various anecdotes about the Shanghai food scene in the Republic of China, hoping that these would help with the novel.

The next day, as soon as the editor-in-chief came in, Niu Xinliang came over with the outline. Like him, the editor-in-chief excitedly slammed the table as soon as he saw that the three descendants came from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, and said, "Great, this story is really great!"

After reading it, he picked up the phone on the table and said, "I'll call Jialin right now and ask him to start writing immediately. If necessary, we can help him apply for leave from school!"

"Editor-in-chief, I can't write it." Niu Xinliang poured a basin of cold water on him.

"Why can't you write?" The editor-in-chief was completely disappointed.

"Without sufficient accumulation, I can write an outline, but I can't fill in the details."

Niu Xinliang embellished Gao Jialin's words from yesterday and relayed them to the editor-in-chief, who fell silent. He definitely wanted this novel, but the topic Gao Jialin posed did put him in a difficult position.

The editorial department had helped writers contact units to arrange for them to take up positions and introduced relevant people to help them understand the situation, but those were local matters and would at most involve other provinces. Now it even involves overseas, which is difficult to deal with.

He couldn't bear to give up on him, but he couldn't make up his mind to agree to him. After thinking it over again and again, the editor-in-chief said, "Xiao Niu, go notify the other leaders and we'll hold a meeting to discuss this carefully."

(End of this chapter)