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

Chapter 456 Zhu Lin Receives Invitation from the "Journey to the West" Production Team

Steven Spielberg has been nominated for Best Director at the 33rd and 40th Golden Globe Awards. Although he has not yet directed blockbusters such as "Catch Me If You Can," "Saving Private Ryan," and "Jurassic Park," he is already very famous in Hollywood and has become a rising star in directing.

He secured a $3 million investment, plus $2 million from his own company, and planned to complete the production of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" with a budget of $5 million.

To demonstrate his ability to accomplish the task, Steven quickly introduced Liu Yimin to the movies he had been working on.

"Liu, I'm very familiar with adventure movies. My films, 'The Great Escape' and 'Island Raiders,' are both action movies in the adventure genre. I brought copies of the movies with me. If you have a movie playback device, I can show them to you."

Everything was kept at the Yanjing Hotel where Steven was staying. However, Liu Yimin did not have a projector at the moment. When he last met with the August First Film Studio and the Beijing Film Studio, he asked them if they had any projectors for sale. They promised to help Liu Yimin contact manufacturers, but there was still no result.

Liu Yimin hadn't seen either of the two movies, nor was he particularly curious.

"Steven, if you're going to film this, how would you like to film it?" Liu Yimin asked.

Steven took another sip of tea and quickly shared his filming ideas with Liu Yimin.

By setting the plantation in Texas and focusing the filming on the individual's perilous escape, the film aims to move the audience by depicting the hardships of their escape.

Steven was good at making low-budget, high-return films in his early years, but later, apart from science fiction, his greatest achievements were in history and war films.

The novel "Freedom of Black Slaves" has just hit his sweet spot.

"Liu, to be honest, besides 'Freedom of Black Slaves,' I also signed a filming contract for another script this year called 'The Purple,' which is also about black slaves, but the protagonists are two sisters."

Liu Yimin glanced at the time and saw that it was already noon, so he stood up and said, "Let's go eat. I'll take you to try some Chinese food."

Steven was eager to discuss cooperation, but seeing that Liu Yimin didn't budge, he got up and followed him out of the office.

In the office corridor, several professors were preparing to go home. Wu Zuxiang asked Liu Yimin who the other person was.

“An American film director wants to make a movie based on my script,” Liu Yimin said.

Wu Zuxiang nodded and asked, "Is it 'Beloved'?"

“No, it was an article I wrote at the end of last year, and I wrote it directly in English,” Liu Yimin replied.

"Great, your English has improved. What were you talking about? Let me see it another day," Wu Zuxiang asked curiously.

Wang Yao, who was standing next to him, said, "It looks pretty good. They haven't even adapted 'Beloved,' but they've adapted this one first."

"It's possible he can't make 'The Favourite'," Liu Yimin joked.

"Then this guy's skill isn't good either!"

Steven, who was standing next to them, couldn't understand Chinese and didn't know what they were saying. He only saw that they were laughing, so he joined in the laughter.

Steven was already regretting not bringing a translator with him. Liu Yimin took Steven back to the Overseas Chinese Apartment for dinner.

Steven looked at the room's layout and asked, "Liu, this house of yours is nice."

"Steven, I don't know if you've ever had Chinese food before, why don't you try some?"

When Yang Xiuyun and Ximei saw a foreigner arrive, they didn't say anything, but simply made way for him.

I stir-fried two meat dishes and one vegetable dish for lunch, and also made braised noodles with eggplant and meat sauce—simple and easy.

Steven didn't know how to use chopsticks, so Ximei found him a fork. He ate noodles with the fork just like Sun Wukong, which made Liu Yu and Liu Lin laugh out loud.

“Liu, I could starve to death in China,” Steven said helplessly.

Liu Yimin laughed and said, "Take it slow. If you use the simple methods too much, you should challenge yourself more."

Steven watched as Liu Yimin deftly picked up food with two wooden sticks, feeling as if he were performing magic.

After finishing his meal, Steven walked into Liu Yimin's office and looked at the books and various certificates of honor inside: "This is your women's volleyball team uniform."

"You watch volleyball?" Liu Yimin asked curiously.

“I don’t look at it, but I did see the photos of the champions. The American women’s volleyball team, as a Chinese person once told me, suffered a crushing defeat.”

Steven then looked at Liu Yimin's own published works, which were neatly arranged on the second shelf of the bookshelf.

"My God, I can't believe that such a young writer can have written so many books." Steven counted them one by one, and by the end, his exclamations of admiration never stopped.

Steven then pointed to the model worker award certificate inside the glass and asked, "What's this?"

"This is an award certificate, given to the person who worked the hardest and achieved the best results throughout the year—that's me!"

"Liu, you really deserve this award."

Steven sat down and talked to Liu Yimin about the script fee he could pay: "A script fee of thirty thousand US dollars, or ten thousand US dollars plus two percent of the revenue."

"Steven, use that $30,000 to buy a plane ticket back home. $30,000? You have the nerve to take that out?" Liu Yimin sneered.

Even if Liu Yimin's works have no precedent for being adapted into films in the United States, he shouldn't only have 30,000 views; he has a literary award background and countless readers' support.

Arthur Miller's script fee is over $100,000, but he only gave Liu Yimin $30,000. He really treats Liu Yimin like a beggar.

Steven quickly said, "Liu, we can discuss this!"

"You people always try to make huge profits by exploiting information asymmetry, Steven. Besides, it's the investors' money, not yours. Do you think the money you take from me will become yours?" Liu Yimin asked with a half-smile.

Steven argued that this was a low-budget production with very little money to begin with, and that if the script fee were too high, filming might not be possible.

"Steven, Chinese people take a nap at noon. You should do as the locals do and go back to the Yanjing Hotel to rest for a while!"

After dropping Steven off at the Yanjing Hotel, Liu Yimin said to Steven, "Steven, I hope we can be more honest with each other. Yanjing is beautiful in early summer. You can enjoy the wonderful Chinese scenery here."

Liu Yimin revved his motorcycle and drove off. He first went to the courtyard house, where he was going to pick up the order from the old leader of the Ji'an Police Station that afternoon.

Zhu Lin was taking a nap in the courtyard when he heard the door open and thought a thief had broken in.

"Teacher Liu, what brings you here?"

"I missed you!" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Zhu Lin glanced at his watch and said with a smile, "I'm going to work now."

Liu Yimin hugged Zhu Lin and lay down on the bed, saying, "Zhu Lin, are you really willing to leave me here alone?"

"Teacher Liu, I really have to go now, it'll be late." After saying that, Zhu Lin said with a struggle in his eyes, "Then, I'll be half an hour late. There was no rehearsal this afternoon, so no one should notice."

"Half an hour? Half an hour isn't enough. If the institute asks you what you were doing, just say you went to talk about the script." Liu Yimin chuckled.

"Teacher Liu, you're lying, haha! There's no script here!" "Okamoto is a script too!"

It wasn't until 3 PM that Zhu Lin tidied up, had Liu Yimin check that his clothes were correct and that there was nothing wrong before running towards the Beijing People's Art Theatre.

"Director Zhu, are you on a field trip?"

"Okay!" Zhu Lin nodded and quickly walked into his office.

At four o'clock, Liu Yimin arrived at Ji'an Police Station. The trees on both sides of the alley blocked the sunlight, making it very pleasant.

Liu Yimin greeted his secretary and was then led to the study.

"Old Commander!"

"Come on, let's play a game. It's been a long time since we played together." The old commander pointed to the chess pieces that had already been set up.

Liu Yimin sat down and quickly jumped into a "horse" position.

"Why are you so listless, kid? What? Did you go till the land at noon?"

"I've tidied up the courtyard house, but it's still fine for playing chess," Liu Yimin said.

The two played two rounds, with one win and one loss. The old commander handed the manuscript that was on the table to Liu Yimin, who then took out two trophies.

The two admired each other's belongings. In the preface, the old leader elaborated on the policies for treating prisoners of war at the time and the debates at the central level. Finally, he wrote at the end: "From the current point of view, the policies we implemented in the past were correct. These people have been reformed and have become new people of the new China. They have indeed abandoned evil and turned to good."

How did I write?

"The whole story is written clearly, so readers will understand the cause and effect much better after reading it," Liu Yimin said.

"Haha, my writing skills are definitely no match for yours, but within D, my writing ability can be considered quite good."

"If your writing isn't good enough, you can't be a political instructor at Whampoa Military Academy!"

"Haha, seeing this group of former officers who came from Gongdelin, I was also deeply moved. Some of them have called me teacher in person."

The preface also reveals the old leader's experience of dealing with these people at Whampoa Military Academy, and his regret over their stubbornness after graduating from Whampoa.

The former leader was actually an advisor to the Whampoa Military Academy Alumni Association, but he did not attend the Whampoa Military Academy Alumni Association meeting at Zheng Dongguo's residence. When they held formal meetings with this group, it was usually at officially designated locations.

"All Huangpu graduates are one family. Whether now or in the future, whether on the mainland or across the strait, reunification is the duty of Huangpu graduates, and the duty of us Party members." The old leader said with his hands behind his back, looking out at the trees in the courtyard.

"It will definitely happen. I think the two sides will gradually resume communication."

The old commander laughed and said, "I hope to see it. Make a good film of 'The Battle of Taierzhuang,' and when it's published, I'll be waiting for you to ask me to write the preface. It's a pity you don't think much of my writing skills."

"You've really wronged me!" Liu Yimin cried out, protesting his innocence.

After leaving Ji'an Institute, Liu Yimin casually delivered the preface to People's Literature Publishing House. After reading the entire text, Li Shu happily said, "Everything is ready, we're just waiting for the preface. The old leader wrote it so well, with a broad perspective and a deep teacher-student affection."

“Comrade Li Shu, we should bring you to the old commander to reminisce,” Liu Yimin said.

"Haha, do you think I don't want to go? I just can't see them!" Li Shu shook his head.

By mid-May, Steven was still staying at the Yanjing Hotel, doing nothing. He didn't come to see Liu Yimin, and Liu Yimin didn't have time to pay attention to him either.

The graduate students' theses have already been submitted to the department, and there's also the matter of the senior students graduating.

Liu Yimin was relieved to hear that several of his students had passed their thesis defenses. Starting next year, Liu Yimin will no longer supervise undergraduate theses.

He's a level three professor; isn't it a waste of his time to work on undergraduate theses?
Liu Yimin handed Wu Zuxiang a copy of The Paris Review and asked him to read The Redemption of Black Slave.

Wu Zuxiang read the synopsis: "A black slave's escape journey, how does a slave become a free 'tough guy'? Resistance is the only way to gain freedom."

"Let me take a look." Wang Yao also came over.

Liu Yimin smiled and said, "Professors, please continue reading. I'm going home now."

That evening, Zhu Lin returned from the Beijing People's Art Theatre and told Liu Yimin something.

"An audition?" Liu Yimin asked rhetorically.

"Yes, but it was the 'Journey to the West' crew. The director sent me a telegram asking if I could come over."

Liu Yimin deliberately asked, "Who are you playing?"

"The Queen of the Women's Kingdom," Zhu Lin said happily. This is one of the Four Great Classical Novels, and currently one of the most anticipated TV series by domestic audiences.

"Look at Zhu Lin, she's got the Queen of the Women's Kingdom even without dressing up," Liu Yimin said with a smile.

"Teacher Liu, you're talking nonsense. The director hasn't been decided yet. But the good thing is that they'll be filming this scene for a long time. In a few months, the two little ones will be even bigger. If they start filming now, I really can't go," Zhu Lin said.

"As long as the director isn't blind, he'll definitely choose you."

Upon being praised by Liu Yimin, Zhu Lin couldn't help but smirk and become smug.

Xi Mei asked with a smile, "I've read 'Journey to the West,' and I really want to see how the TV series adaptation turns out!"

Seeing that Liu Yimin supported his decision to film in another location, Zhu Lin prepared to call the director back. According to the historical filming schedule of *Journey to the West*, the part about the Queen of the Women's Kingdom was filmed in the southern gardens between October and November.

"How long will this take to film?" Yang Xiuyun asked with concern.

"It will probably take half a month to a month," Zhu Lin said.

Seeing that Yang Xiuyun was a little worried, Liu Yimin quickly said, "Mom, I'm still at home. The two little ones are grown up now, they're fine."

After finishing his meal and returning to his study, Zhu Lin took out "Journey to the West" and started reading the chapter about the Queen of the Women's Kingdom, wanting to think in advance about how to act it out.

In the United States and Europe, the novel *The Redemption of a Slave* is showing a subtle upward trend. Reports by various literary critics and journalists on the metaphors within *The Redemption of a Slave* are attracting increasing interest from readers.

Newspapers in the US and Europe were all talking about "hypocritical politicians, biting satire, individual freedom and revolution," and amidst the overwhelming praise, the readership grew like a snowball.

Unlike "Beloved," which has a higher reading threshold due to its magical realism writing style, "Black Slave Redemption" has an even lower threshold. With its elements of adventure, rebellion, and tough guys, it has attracted a large number of readers who are not concerned about the fate of black people.

The sales of The Paris Review skyrocketed, with an initial print run of 40 copies followed by a reprint of another 40 copies.

The upward trend of the curve delighted editor-in-chief George, who repeatedly referred to Liu Yimin as "the savior of American pure literature" in the editorial department.

American literary critics were astonished by Liu Yimin's exquisite grasp of the psychology of American and European readers. What does it mean that a Chinese writer is increasingly understanding American and European readers? It means that his works will have a huge influence in the Western world.

Publishers who had partnered with Liu Yimin began discussing publishing with e-commerce companies, and Steven, who was traveling and enjoying himself in China, received a telegram from investors urging him to hurry up.

(End of this chapter)