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

Chapter 430 Institute of Literature and Art Annual Meeting
After rushing back from the Shanghai Film Studio, Zhu Shimao and Chen Peisi hurriedly went to see Liu Yimin, their primary purpose being to thank him for giving them two opportunities.

"These are the latest style of buttons made by Comrade Zhang Huamei." Zhu Shimao took a packet of buttons from his pocket and placed it on the desk.

Liu Yimin looked at them and estimated there were hundreds of buttons of various kinds: "Now my family will have no shortage of buttons."

Chen Peisi said enviously, "Comrade Zhang Huamei really has a business mind. She has become rich by relying on these buttons. When we met her, she was a business tycoon."

After discussing Zhang Huamei, Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao thanked Liu Yimin again and then brought up their second purpose: to have Liu Yimin take a look at the script for "Making a Movie" and see if there was any room for improvement.

“We read the novel ‘The Stage’ and really loved its comedic style, humorous dialogue, and plot design. When we were reading it with the crew in Wenzhou, we often laughed out loud. With that kind of talent, adapting ‘Making a Movie’ would be a piece of cake. Please do me the favor and give us your opinion,” Chen Peisi said with a smile.

Liu Yimin picked up the script, and Zhu Shimao leaned close. Seeing that Liu Yimin was reading very attentively, Zhu Shimao said, "Why don't we perform it on the spot, and go through the eye contact, movements, and lines?"

"Old Zhu, that's a good idea, just like what I thought of," Chen Peisi said humorously, his expression as if he were already rehearsing a play, and Zhu Shimao instantly got into character as well.

The two got into position, straightened their clothes, and prepared to start the performance.

Xi Mei and Yang Xiuyun each held a little one and sat on the side as spectators. The little one held a rattle drum given to them by Zhu Shimao and Chen Peisi.

The two first briefly went over the other actors' lines, and then began their performance.

(Zhu Shimao) Director: Attention everyone, the weather is quite cold today, shooting in minus thirty degrees Celsius. Therefore, all departments need to hurry and get all preparations complete before the actors arrive. As soon as the actors arrive, we will immediately begin filming. You all get moving! Those who are cold can do some exercise. Yes, yes, costumes, open all the boxes. Yes.

Chen Xiaoer: (To the director) Director?
Director: Set up all the props.

Chen Xiaoer: Director, director.

This wasn't the first time the two had performed in this room, and they were very relaxed from the start. When the performance got exciting, Liu Yu and Liu Lin shook their rattles and laughed heartily.

The room was very warm from the heating, and after one take, both actors were drenched in sweat. Chen Peisi put in a lot of effort to portray the feeling of being cold.

After the performance, the only sounds in the room were laughter and the "dong dong dong" of rattles.

Zhu Shimao and Chen Peisi, holding the two little ones, joked, "Do you recognize us? We're the uncles who delivered the rattle drums!"

Liu Yimin laughed and said, "Don't worry, they don't remember, but they don't hold grudges either!"

After thinking for a while, Liu Yimin pointed to the script and said, "This part can actually be changed. We can incorporate the skit 'Eating Noodles' from last time. Chen Xiaoer calls out to the director, and the director feels that he looks familiar. Why does he look familiar? Because he saw him in the skit 'Eating Noodles' last time."

This retelling brought back memories of people watching "Eating Noodles" last time, making it even funnier.

Chen Peisi, holding Liu Lin, sat down next to Liu Yimin and said, "Yes, it shows that our performances are in the same vein."

“Change it!” Zhu Shimao said.

"The script should showcase Chen Xiaoer's dedication to becoming an actor, and also his efforts to please the director in order to become an actor should be portrayed vividly."

The two are still working on a draft script. At the beginning, they didn't even have a script and just performed spontaneously. They are only starting to work on it now.

The script for the Spring Festival Gala performance was already a complete one. Liu Yimin compared the two scripts and explained the differences to the two performers.

After reading the final script, Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao excitedly said, "This is what a script should be like! We started out in a thatched hut."

"A thatched hut without a roof," Zhu Shimao added.

The two men, holding the script, repeatedly thanked Liu Yimin. Chen Peisi said, "Comrade Yimin, could we owe you the script fee? We should pay you for the script, but we're only doing this for a short time."

“This is your manuscript, I just made some revisions, why would I charge you? Don't think it's just you who came; I would have said what I could to anyone else. There are many literary advisors out there, do you think I charge them all? Others have revised my novels, and I didn't pay them!” Liu Yimin said.

Chen Peisi cupped his hands and said, "Comrade Yimin, I am deeply grateful. If I become successful in the future, I will repay you handsomely."

"Are you going to put on a movie for me here?" Liu Yimin laughed.

Upon hearing Liu Yimin's words, Chen Peisi resumed his playful grin.

When Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao said goodbye, Liu Yimin said, "Let's go together. I'm going to see Director Zhai Junjie."

"Are you looking for him?"

"Let him see this notebook."

"Comrade Yimin, what did you write?" Zhu Shimao and Chen Peisi rubbed their hands together, their eyes shining.

"It's not really relevant to you. It's about the Battle of Taierzhuang," Liu Yimin said with a smile. If the two of them wanted to act, there really weren't any good roles besides minor ones.

The two were not discouraged, only saying that if the movie were to cast actors, they would definitely go to the casting call, taking it one step at a time.

Liu Yimin rode a motorcycle with Chen Peisi sitting behind him, while Zhu Shimao pedaled a bicycle behind him, occasionally flicking his hair which was blown by the wind, as if afraid of ruining his image.

Upon arriving at the August First Film Studio, Liu Yimin went directly to the Literature Department to find Zhai Junjie. When Zhai Junjie saw Liu Yimin, he paused for a moment, then put down his documents and hurriedly stretched out his hands: "Comrade Yimin, have you finished writing it?"

"Take a look and see if there's anything that needs improvement?" Liu Yimin said.

Zhai Junjie found an office for Liu Yimin to sit down in, and personally made him a cup of tea.

"Yimin, please have a seat. Let me take a good look around," Zhai Junjie said with a smile.

"Look."

"Of course, I can't be sure. This script definitely needs to be seen by Director Yang, the studio, and the film bureau."

Liu Yimin nodded and sat on the sofa, sipping tea and reading a book.

Before they could finish their tea, they heard a loud knocking on Zhai Junjie's door. Startled, they opened the door and Zhai Junjie nearly cursed at them.

"Wang Yan, what is your Beijing Film Studio trying to do? Are you trying to tear down our August First Film Studio?"

Wang Yan said nonchalantly, "Old Zhai, how old are you? Why are you making such a fuss? I came to find Yimin, so you can look after me."

"Well, you've come to our August First Film Studio to steal our talent. Your Beijing Film Studio is truly lawless." Zhai Junjie was amused by Wang Yan's words. He picked up the enamel mug on the table, intending to smash it as a signal, but quickly caught it in mid-air and gently stroked the four red characters "Advanced Individual" on it.

"Want to use smashing a cup as a signal? Old Zhai, I know you want 'The Battle of Taierzhuang,' but I don't. I want 'The Most Beautiful Youth,' which has nothing to do with you!" Wang Yan said quickly.

Zhai Junjie shook his head helplessly at Wang Yan. The two were old friends. Seeing that many people were looking in their direction, he gestured for Wang Yan to come in and talk.

"You, Wang Yan, came all by yourself."

"What? Even if this is Tiger Mountain, I'm still Yang Zirong. I'm like Xiao He chasing Han Xin under the moon!" Wang Yan said smugly.

"You don't want to take 'The Battle of Taierzhuang'? You can't take it away!" Zhai Junjie said sarcastically and then ignored Wang Yan.

Wang Yan, ever the friendly type, poured himself a cup of tea, took a big gulp, and then smiled at Liu Yimin.

Wang Yan had just arrived at the Overseas Chinese Apartment when he heard that Liu Yimin had come to the August First Film Studio. He came over immediately, fearing that the August First Film Studio might take advantage of him.

"It will take a while before this script is properly adapted."

Wang Yan asked, "Have you been very busy lately?" "Yes, it's almost the end of the year, and I have a lot of things to do."

The Institute of Literature is compiling its year-end summary, and Liu Yimin still has a commissioned article for *The Paris Review* to complete. It was originally scheduled for submission in November or December, but with *The Most Beautiful Youth* and *The Battle of Taierzhuang* interspersed in between, *The Paris Review* will have to put up with that again.

“Okay, no problem. Anyway, it’s winter in Saihanba, so we can’t film continuously. We can start filming next year, but we want to film a TV series.”

"TV drama?"

Zhai Junjie, who was reading the script, scoffed, "So you see our August First Film Studio is making money from making TV dramas, huh?"

These words were even more offensive than stepping on Wang Yan's tail, yet he had nothing to say. The Beijing Film Studio really thought that making TV dramas would both respond to the higher authorities' call to enrich the television programming and generate revenue, which is why they wanted to do it.

The August First Film Studio's several productions were making a fortune, which naturally made them envious.

Wang Yanping took a deep breath and said, "It would be great if we could start filming after the New Year. We can finish filming the snow scenes in March or April, or even next month, and then start filming the rest of the scenes as soon as spring arrives, all in one go."

“Okay, I’ll try my best to get the script out around the Spring Festival. You can start setting up your teams first,” Liu Yimin said.

Wang Yan patted Liu Yimin's hand excitedly: "Then it's settled. Today's trip wasn't in vain, we were so close!"

Zhai Junjie glanced at him and knew what Wang Yan meant by "almost".

But after rolling his eyes, he smiled warmly: "Old Wang, you've directed quite a few war dramas. What do you think of Yimin's script? Do you have any suggestions? We can offer our advice."

Wang Yan wanted to tease Zhai Junjie a bit, but he also really wanted to see the script, and since he was under someone else's roof, he swallowed his dissatisfaction and took the script to read it curiously.

During the script reading, Zhang Jinghua, the director of the August First Film Studio, Liu Peiran, the deputy director, and Li Jun, the director, also came in.

Seeing Wang Yan there was not surprising to them; the three of them had only come because they had heard about him.

Zhai Junjie exchanged a few words with Li Jun, their eyes conveying the general idea that their home had been burgled and Wang Yan had succeeded.

Li Jun looked at Wang Yan helplessly, pursed his lips, and said nothing more.

The script was passed around among everyone, but due to time constraints, most people only read a few key points and the plot outline.

“Comrade Junjie, make a few more copies of the script later so everyone can read them at their leisure. But for me, after reading it, I only have one word to say: ‘True!’” Liu Peiran said, raising his right index finger.

Wang Yan said, "The word 'realism' is very rare in war dramas, especially works about the main battlefield like Taierzhuang."

"What I demand from war scripts is realism, because I participated in the Black Mountain blocking battle, and I know what a brutal battlefield is like," Liu Peiran said again.

The Battle of Heishan was an important part of the Liaoshen Campaign, and many people consider its importance to be on par with the Battle of Tashan and the Battle of Xudong in the Huaihai Campaign.

Compared to the Battle of Tashan, where the goal was "no casualties at Tashan," one can imagine how brutal the Battle of Heishan was.

Factory director Zhang Jinghua said, "Comrade Yimin, you've found a lot of information, haven't you?"

“I met Zheng Dongguo, Zheng Tingji, Cheng Siyuan, Qin Yizhi and other people who personally experienced this war. Director Chen Bo also sent me a documentary about the battlefield and consulted Li Zongren’s memoirs.”

“There’s so much content; it would take an ordinary person a long time just to organize it. Comrade Yimin, you are truly a blessing to the literary, theatrical, and film industries,” Zhang Jinghua exclaimed.

Liu Yimin waved his hand and said modestly, "It's just that I work a little harder usually, nothing special."

The group exchanged smiles. Was this something that could be achieved with just a little more effort? If it were that easy, would he even need to put in the effort?
“We’ll take a close look at this script, and if it’s suitable, we’ll submit it to the Film Bureau for review. Yimin, the script fee will be paid by the Guangxi Film Studio.”

Liu Yimin nodded to Liu Peiran and said, "Okay."

Zhang Jinghua clicked his tongue in regret for a while: "Such a good script, which our August First Film Studio also wanted to film, wouldn't it seem too generous of us to transfer it to the Guangxi Film Studio?"

"Old Zhang, you might as well say that we're being taken advantage of," Liu Peiran said.

A group of people walked out of Zhai Junjie's office amidst Liu Peiran's jokes. Before leaving, Liu Yimin once again told Liu Peiran about the year-end meeting of the Institute of Literature.

"I'll be there on time."

After Liu Yimin left, Liu Peiran clapped his hands while holding the script: "Why did I say that so quickly? I just agreed to Guiying Studio like that!"

"Oh well, forget it. But if we let Lao Zhai go in as a director, it'll count as our August First Film Studio participating," Zhang Jinghua said.

"Let's do it this way. Also, from now on, tell the security guards not to let people from other film studios in casually. Make them call first before they come in." Liu Peiran's new rule was clearly aimed at the Beijing Film Studio.

On December 10th, amidst the howling cold wind, the Institute of Literature and Art held its first annual academic conference. Yan Zhen was in charge of the conference affairs before and after the conference, and was extremely busy.

Xia Yan attended the meeting, but this time he only listened in. Everyone from the three groups was present, and Dai Tielang, who lived in Shanghai, came by train to attend the meeting.

Liu Yimin began by giving an opening speech, mentioning the care and support from higher authorities, and expressing his gratitude to the Ministry of Culture and the Chinese Department of Yenching University.

"Although our institute has only been established for six months, the results have been remarkable. The application for World Heritage status is proceeding in an orderly manner. Thanks to our list and the collected data, we have saved the relevant departments of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage a lot of work. The two sides will continue to carry out in-depth cooperation."

The main work of the Western Culture Transnational Communication Research Group is currently studying communication pathways and compiling textbooks on journalism. The next step in the research will not only be to study the transmission of Western culture into China, but also to study its transmission abroad, so that our media can have a huge influence overseas.

The Cultural Industries Research Group studied the development of the film and animation industries, and its recommendations are highly beneficial to the current development of the cultural industries.

Liu Yimin first gave a brief speech, and then the three groups reported on their work and discussed the next steps.

The meeting lasted two days, during which each group gave a thorough presentation. Most importantly, the meeting focused on requesting budgets for these projects from higher management.

After the first day of the meeting, Liu Yimin and Xia Yan had a private conversation. Xia Yan spoke first, saying, "That visiting teacher, Wang Liqun, is really good. He seems calm and composed, and has the potential to study traditional culture."

“Every penny we spend will be well spent,” Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Xia Yan asked, "Will 200,000 be enough for you next year?"

"Could you add another 50,000 in foreign exchange?"

"Fifty thousand? Where am I supposed to get fifty thousand for you?"

Liu Yimin snorted, "I earn more than 50,000 in foreign exchange every year. Sigh, money is easy to come in but hard to get out. Besides, it's not even for my own use."

"Don't give me that kind of talk," Xia Yan said with a laugh.

"We can only give you 30,000 at most. Our ministry uses foreign exchange a lot. For a newly established institution, 30,000 is already a lot."

"Thirty thousand it is!"

Xia Yan squinted and asked, "Your bottom line isn't 30,000, is it?"

“I’m an honest man, and my bottom line is actually 50,000,” Liu Yimin said seriously.

"I don't care about all that. The amount of money you get determines the responsibility you bear. The results this year are pretty good. At least we've started researching this area, and we've produced several papers," Xia Yan said cheerfully. Then he asked Liu Yimin what he thought of the animation and what they should do.
"I've discussed this with them, and we believe we should allocate more funds to support it. In fact, good animation can generate just as much revenue as movies. Furthermore, we should prohibit the dumping of foreign animated films at low prices. We should talk to them; if Japanese animation wants to enter the market, our animation can also go to theirs. We can't allow only one side to open up the market," Liu Yimin said.

(End of this chapter)