Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 108 Two Directors Fight Over a Script

Ordinary people don't know much about France; most of their knowledge comes from history and textbooks. People generally believe that France is very revolutionary among European and American countries.

Compared to other Western countries, people are generally more fond of France.

Liu Zhenyun and the other two sat around Liu Yimin, but unfortunately Liu Yimin didn't know much about the trip to France and couldn't answer their questions.

"Yimin, when did you meet Mr. Ba Jin?" Liu Zhenyun asked curiously.

“My novel was reprinted in Harvest magazine, and it was around this time that Mr. Ba Jin took notice of me,” Liu Yimin replied.

He didn't mention that they met at Cao Yu's house, otherwise people would think he got in through connections. The three people in the dorm might not be that kind of people, but if word got out, people would think differently.

“Speaking of novels, I only have a rough idea for my novel, nothing at all. Yimin, why don’t you give us some guidance!” Chen Dazhi took his manuscript out of the bed and handed it to Liu Yimin.

Liu Yimin took the document and looked at it. Chen Dazhi was talking about a carpenter in a village who was very good at making cabinets. He was honest and upright, and he did his best when making furniture for his clients, but he couldn't speak clearly and was a bit dull.

He also had a junior apprentice who was eloquent but had a bad heart. The junior apprentice wasn't very skilled, but he often got big jobs because of his silver tongue.

The story revolves around the two men working in villages within a ten-mile radius, and the people and events they encounter. Eventually, the surrounding people want to test their abilities, so they put them together in a competition to create a piece of furniture and see who can do it better.

The senior student won the competition effortlessly, while the junior student slunk away in disgrace. Through the people and events encountered, and the final competition, the story conveys some simple principles of life to the reader.

"The rural flavor isn't strong enough. You're also from Jincheng, so you should study Mr. Zhao Shuli's works carefully and write with that 'rustic' flavor. When you open your work, you should be able to feel the rural atmosphere coming right out of you. Since the main focus is on writing about the people and events you encounter, you need to write about the people you meet well and write them brilliantly."

There's no need to fully explore the complexities of supporting characters; just focus on portraying one or two key traits: greed, kindness, wickedness, and so on.

After Liu Yimin finished recounting Chen Dazhi and Li Xueqin's stories, Liu Zhenyun's manuscript was handed to him. The current draft was about a hundred words longer than the last one, and it talked about how his father thought that after returning from the army, he had accomplished nothing and would definitely not be able to find a wife in the countryside.

Liu Yimin told him to focus on the stories of the review classes, to write about several typical students, and finally advised them not to be impatient.

“Writing isn’t something you can do in a day; it’s something you refine over time. Once you’ve written enough, it will come naturally!” Liu Yimin comforted him.

Liu Zhenyun said with a wry smile, "How can I not be anxious? I've spent several yuan on this writing project, even the money for chewing gum. If I don't earn some royalties, it's like I've lost money."

Liu Zhenyun ran his fingers through his fingers, having his own financial calculations regarding this manuscript.

The next day, after class, all the students got up and left, but Liu Zhenyun and his two companions didn't move. Instead, they stared at Liu Yimin with obvious suspicion.

"I owe you guys, let's go!" Liu Yimin said with a smile as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

Li Xueqin also bought a bicycle, but it was a second-hand one, which cost him eighty yuan. Now there are two bicycles in the dormitory, which is just enough for the four of them to go out.

The weather in Yanjing was fine a while ago, but these past two days it has started to experience a cold snap again, and the sandstorm is even more intense than before the Lunar New Year. Liu Yimin had to turn up the collar of his overcoat to cover his mouth and face.

"Yimin, what's this?" Li Xueqin couldn't help but ask when Liu Yimin took out a cushion from his bag.

After putting the seat cover on, Liu Yimin demonstrated it to him: "Can't you see? This is a seat cover. With this, it won't be so cold when riding a bicycle."

"Hey, a dog with horns causing trouble!" Liu Zhenyun said disdainfully.

"Exactly!" Li Xueqin touched his cold bicycle seat and stubbornly insisted.

"Only those who are truly affected know the truth!"

Seeing that Chen Dazhi was already seated, Liu Yimin smiled, got on his bicycle, and left.

Upon arriving at the Long March Canteen, the three of them, as usual, defered over their order, opting for the same old stir-fried liver slices.

"I heard the fish here is good. I want to eat fish. Zhenyun, write down the name of the fish!" Liu Yimin couldn't help but say. The fish was the most expensive dish here.

Liu Zhenyun glanced at Liu Yimin, swallowed hard, and wanted to say that there was enough food, but his body wouldn't obey him, and he wrote it down as if possessed.

Years later, when Liu Zhenyun achieves great success, he will surely remember the night Liu Yimin treated him to fish.

"When it comes to fish, you have to have the Yellow River carp from our area. The carp noodles we make there are especially delicious, with a unique Yanjin recipe!" Liu Zhenyun said excitedly.

"Have you eaten it?" Li Xueqin asked.

Liu Zhenyun wiped his mouth, concealing his expression, and said with a smug smile, "I've eaten. I'll treat you to another meal whenever you go to Yanjin!"

In fact, he was also pondering what exactly carp braised noodles should taste like, so that people from all around would keep thinking about this dish and drool just thinking about it.

Li Xueqin spoke about the fish in Zhejiang Province: "The fish from our area is delicious, like West Lake Vinegar Fish!"

Liu Yimin subtly pouted, thinking to himself, "Are you sure it really tastes good?"

After the fish was served, Liu Yimin took a bite of the meat first. The meat was delicate, and the sauce on top of the fish was particularly flavorful and slightly sweet. The only downside was that there were a lot of fish bones.

For the three northerners, eating fish was a chore, with them constantly spitting out fish bones. Li Xueqin fared much better. However, seeing how everyone else was doing, he felt embarrassed to eat too much and slowed down his spitting-out-of-fish-bones pace.

“Yimin, now that you’re back from France, you have to tell us all about France. Going abroad, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to go abroad in my life. I used to think our county was too big to leave, but then I went to the Northwest to join the army, and I realized how vast the Northwest is. When I came to Beijing, I realized how big our country is, but I still can’t leave.”

Liu Zhenyun sighed.

"I'll bring you gifts when I come back from France!"

The Writers' Association also required Liu Yimin to learn some common French phrases. There would be a French translator in the delegation visiting France, but the translator would definitely be following Mr. Ba Jin; they couldn't possibly have one for everyone—it wasn't that extravagant. After having dinner with Liu Zhenyun and the others, Liu Yimin went alone to the international student dormitory, found Li Congren, told him about his upcoming trip to France, and asked him to help him find a French exchange student to learn some basic French skills.

The Writers' Association did not give a specific date for departure to France, only that it would be in April. Even if it is early April, they still have a month to learn some everyday sentences, and it is not required that they be able to communicate fluently.

In addition, there are definitely many French people who understand English, so it's fine to communicate in English.

When Li Congren heard that Liu Yimin was going to France, he was very happy and took him to room 403 on the 4th floor of the international student building, where a French student and a Chinese student lived.

The international student dormitory is filled with the body odor of international students and the smell of various perfumes.

Upon entering the dormitory, the international students' rooms are double rooms with two single beds, and each person has their own desk and cabinet, which looks similar to a slightly better guesthouse.

"Liu, this is Fernando, from Marseille, France!"

"Fernando, this is Yimin Liu. He's a Chinese writer and the vice president of our Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. I think you should have heard of him."

After Li Congren finished speaking, Fernando put down the French book in his hand, smiled and extended his hand to Liu Yimin: "Li Congren, I understand Chinese. Liu Yimin, hello!"

Fernando has short, curly blond hair, deep-set eyes like Li Congren, a beard like short thorns, and a face that is much redder than the rest of his body, like a peeled sausage.

"Hello, Fernando, I would like to learn some basic French from you."

Upon hearing that Liu Yimin was going to France, Fernando immediately became interested and began introducing him to aspects of French culture. Fernando was a typical French left-wing student who had come to China with a burning revolutionary fervor.

Liu Yimin found the French pronunciation difficult to learn, but Fernando told him that there were many English speakers in France, so as long as he knew English, he didn't need to worry about the language problem.

“If you ever go to Marseille, you must experience it for yourself. Marseille is the oldest city in France, and you absolutely must try the Marseille anise liqueur!” Fernando said happily.

Anise liquor? How many ways are there to write the character "茴" (huí)?
When we walked out of the international student building, there was one more member in the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

On Sunday morning, Liu Yimin rode his bicycle to the Beijing People's Art Theatre. It was his day off, and his schedule was packed. However, he made a special trip to the Xidan MZ wall to take a look at this artifact with its distinctive historical significance.

The MZ wall is a low, gray wall located on the south side of Xidan Cultural Square. Liu Yimin pushed his bicycle into it.

It also contained Liu Yimin's articles published by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press and China Youth Daily. After reading for a while, I found it boring, so I rode my bicycle to the Beijing People's Art Theatre and knocked on Cao Yu's office door.

Upon seeing Liu Yimin, Cao Yu said with displeasure, "Why did you suddenly have time to come see me? You little rascal, I thought you'd forgotten about me!"

"How could that be? I'm thinking of you all the time, so I came as soon as I had some free time!" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

"Alright, I've informed you about the trip to France, haven't I?"

Cao Yu stood up and gestured for Liu Yimin to sit on the sofa, where the latest issue of "People's Literature" was placed on the coffee table.

"The comrades from the Writers' Association's External Liaison Office have already notified me, teacher. Thank you and Teacher Ba!" Liu Yimin poured Cao Yu a cup of tea and expressed his gratitude.

Cao Yu took a small sip: "No need to thank us. Old Ba already had this idea. He brought you along because he thinks you're capable. Otherwise, would Old Ba be considered unprincipled just because I said something? When you get to France, just don't embarrass me. Young people should travel and see the world."

"Just you wait and see, I definitely won't let you down!" Liu Yimin laughed.

Cao Yu smiled noncommittally and pointed to the magazine on the table, saying, "The novel 'Wolf Smoke Over Beiping' is finished, and the script adaptation needs to be done. I've also read the article you published in the China Youth Daily. It's well-written, but some parts need polishing. I wrote you some suggestions and put them in the magazine. You can read them when you get back."

What do you think of the novel?

"The characters and plot of the novel are very well-developed, especially Wen San'er, who is portrayed very well. Wen San'er's life has experienced all the major events in modern Beiping, reflecting the changes of the times... Hmm... It's better than I expected. Lao Lan is very satisfied and is vying with Lao Su for the director's position. Neither of them will give in."

After Cao Yu finished speaking, his expression darkened as if he had thought of something: "If only Lao Jiao were here. He directed 'Teahouse,' and he has the most experience with this kind of script."

After spending some time in Cao Yu's office, Liu Yimin came out with an extra packet of tea in his bag, a gift from Cao Yu, who was worried that he might be too tired to write.

As soon as he stepped outside, a man approached him, took his hand, and said, "Yimin, I'm Su Min, you can just call me Lao Su. Come on, let's go to my office, sit down and have some tea and chat. I'm so grateful to you for Cunxi's matter, I haven't had a chance to thank you yet!"

He hadn't walked more than a few steps when he heard a cough behind him again: "Old Su, why didn't you invite me to have tea? We've been friends for so many years, do we have to sneak around to have tea?"

Su Min turned around helplessly to look at Lan Tianye, who had his arms crossed, and said with a forced smile, "If you want to drink, I'll treat you to a drink separately in a few days. I need to thank you both separately."

"Don't be like that! It's no fun if the two of us get too drunk. It's more fun with three people. Come on, let's brew some tea and discuss heroes."

Su Min reluctantly led Lan Tianye into his office, took out a can of tea from the cabinet, and opened it, releasing the fragrant aroma of tea.

"So that's why you didn't treat me to a drink. Turns out you had something good and were deliberately hiding it. Next time I come, I bet you won't be drinking this can!" Lan Tianye said sarcastically.

"Alright, Lao Lan, be content. Let's not beat around the bush. We've known each other for so many years, we know each other well!" Su Min was annoyed by Lan Tianye's sarcastic remarks, so he said impatiently.

"Haha, the fox's tail has finally been revealed! Let's not talk about the script, just have some tea. Yimin, when are you coming to my house for a meal?" Lan Tianye asked.

Su Min's hand trembled as he was making tea. Old Lan was becoming more and more inhuman!

"You're directing 'Mr. Donkey' now, where do you find the energy for that? Stop arguing!"

"Old Su, you're still directing 'Wang Zhaojun,' you still have a lot of energy!"

Two chapters will be updated later. I've been experiencing tinnitus lately, which has affected my typing speed...

(End of this chapter)