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

Chapter 131 Zhu Lin: You can sit anywhere.

In Cao Yu's office, Liu Yimin sat on the sofa. Cao Yu told him that two drama troupes in Shanghai and Zhejiang Province also wanted to stage "Mr. Donkey".

The idea of ​​adapting plays is a consensus in the drama and theater world. Different theater companies have different creative abilities. If they only performed plays from their own theater, they would have starved to death long ago because they had no plays to perform.

"Does this require the consent of our Beijing People's Art Theatre?" Liu Yimin asked.

Cao Yu smiled and looked at Liu Yimin, "Our People's Art Theatre, well said!"

“Generally speaking, they don’t need it, but they do need our rehearsal experience and insights. If they start rehearsing from scratch, it will definitely be much more difficult. Of course, helping these drama troupes is the Beijing People’s Art Theatre’s inescapable responsibility. I’ve already asked Lao Lan to compile the final version of the script for rehearsals, and I’ll send it to these drama troupes later.”

After Cao Yu finished speaking, he handed Liu Yimin two envelopes containing script fees forwarded by two drama troupes. The Beijing People's Art Theatre kept a portion and gave the rest to Liu Yimin.

The theater troupes that perform publicly must pay this fee.

Internal theater troupes that don't need to perform publicly or amateur drama groups from various places certainly wouldn't voluntarily pay this money. For example, the current drama club at Yenching University is also rehearsing "Mr. Donkey" and has invited Liu Yimin to give guidance several times.

The instruction fee is one popsicle and two cups of plain water (without tea leaves).

Liu Yimin didn't care about plain boiled water without tea leaves.

However, this amount is less than the script fee provided by the Beijing People's Art Theatre.

"How are the classes going lately?" Cao Yu asked with concern.

"The exams are almost over, and I still feel some pressure, but not too much!"

"I heard that Yenching University has raised the passing score requirement for you. Are you okay with that?"

In response to Cao Yu's concern, Liu Yimin assured him, "Teacher, of course there's no problem!"

"Then we'll move to the Beijing People's Art Theatre during the summer vacation after your exams!"

Liu Yimin: This teacher doesn't seem to care about me that much.

This summer, Liu Yimin's goal is to revise the script of "Romance on Lushan Mountain". Cao Yu's intention is definitely to discuss the script adaptation of "The Flames of War in Beiping".

"Teacher, I'll try my best. It seems I'll have to suffer a bit more." He worked hard on his writing and finished revising both books during the summer vacation.

"Haha, it's nothing for young people to suffer a little. It's a great thing to revise scripts at the Beijing People's Art Theatre. When I was writing 'Thunderstorm,' I could write scripts and date at the same time. Never mind, why am I telling you all this?"

Cao Yu seemed to have thought of something, waved his hand, and stopped talking about it.

Cao Yu thought of his first wife, Zheng Xiu. At that time, the two were at Tsinghua University. Cao Yu was creating while enjoying the sweetness of love, and he did not neglect either his career or love.

But in the end, he entered someone else's world.

Stepping out of the office, Liu Yimin glanced at the money in the envelope; the two theater troupes had given him 100 yuan.

Inside the restaurant next to the Beijing People's Art Theatre, Pu Cunxi first let Liu Yimin order. Liu Yimin ordered a plate of stir-fried pork with chili peppers and a plate of shredded pork with garlic sauce.

"What would you like to eat?" Liu Yimin asked Zhu Lin.

Zhu Lin glanced at Pu Cunxi apologetically and said, "You guys choose, I'm fine with whatever I eat."

"Comrade Zhu Lin, don't be so polite. We're all actors in the same script, comrades-in-arms. Come on, let's see what we want to eat. Old Pu is rich, we won't eat him out of house and home!" Yang Lixin kept enlivening the atmosphere.

Zhu Lin then ordered a sweet and sour cabbage dish.

During the event, Yang Lixin repeatedly thanked Liu Yimin. Although he was not the lead actor, he had at least appeared in the entire series.

Pu Cunxi was a little reserved at first, but after drinking some draft beer, he loosened up. He started talking about some interesting things that happened to him when he was sent to the countryside in Heilongjiang Province. As he spoke, he became heavy-hearted and said, "The Great Northern Wilderness, the sky is vast, the land is boundless, a field of withered grass and reeds. The reeds are green, the reeds are yellow, the living die, the dead rot, fertile soil..."
"Things are alright where we are, but some companies have to go and clear swamps. Wild animals and swamps coexist there, it's like crossing a grassland; you never know when you might step in and be gone."

The Great Northern Wilderness is a representative example of land reclamation in Heilongjiang Province, and the difficulty of its reclamation was no less than that of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. It was through their hard work that it was transformed into vast stretches of fertile land.

“Comrade Yimin, I really hope that one day we can stage a play with a similar theme. When will you be able to write about the Great Northern Wilderness?” Pu Cunxi said.

"Don't worry, this is the history of the country and the people's struggle, and someone will definitely write it."

As they walked out of the restaurant, the four of them walked side by side. Yang Lixin tugged at Pu Cunxi, signaling them to go first.

Pu Cunxi wanted to say something, but Yang Lixin dragged him away, saying, "Comrade Yimin, we have things to do back home, so we'll be leaving now!"

Liu Yimin smiled and looked at Yang Lixin. This kid is sensible!
"Let's go, Comrade Zhu Lin, escort me back!"

There was no performance of "Mr. Donkey" today, so Zhu Lin had nothing to do in the evening. Zhu Lin smiled and nodded when he heard Liu Yimin's teasing.

"Oh no, my bicycle tire is flat!" Zhu Lin had just pushed his bicycle when he sensed something was wrong. He immediately bent down to check and found that the front tire had gone flat.

Liu Yimin looked around by the light of the street lamp but couldn't find anything wrong. He borrowed the air pump from the gatekeeper, but it wouldn't pump up the air at all.

"It must have punctured something." Zhu Lin kicked the bicycle and angrily propped it up again.

"How about I take you back? There's no one to fix it right now!"

Zhu Lin thought about it and realized that this was the only way. So he pushed Liu Yimin's bicycle and, under Liu Yimin's astonished gaze, patted the back seat and said, "Let's go, Comrade Liu Yimin, I'll give you a ride. I have plenty of strength."

Liu Yimin glanced around the area near the Beijing People's Art Theatre, not recognizing anyone, and asked with a grin, "Should I sit on the front beam or the back?"

"Where do you want to sit? Anywhere is fine!" Zhu Lin stammered.

Liu Yimin chuckled, and Zhu Lin quickly placed his satchel on the iron bar: "Sit here, use the satchel as a cushion. If you sit in front, I won't be able to pedal, and I won't be able to see the road."

After the two left, a dark figure flashed past in the corner of the Beijing People's Art Theatre building.

And so, Liu Yimin sat in the back seat with Zhu Lin, and this odd couple attracted a lot of attention whenever they passed by.

After walking away, he spat out his doubts.

Zhu Lin was so nervous that her words were incoherent, but at least the two of them didn't have an awkward silence.

The roads in Yanjing were smoother than those in Ruxian, so my backside didn't hurt as much.

Upon arriving at Zhu Lin's building, Zhu Lin returned the bicycle to Liu Yimin and prepared to leave without saying a word.

"You're carrying a bag!"

"Oh, oh!" Zhu Lin slung his bag over his shoulder, took a few steps, then turned back and said, "Comrade Liu Yimin, do you have time on July 1st?"

"No, there's an exam on the 1st!"

"When are you free?"

"There's no exam on the 3rd!"

"Let's go to the Summer Palace together on the 3rd!"

P.S.: I will definitely update on time tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)