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

Chapter 521: Main Theme Film Celebrating the 40th Anniversary
The South American publishing team stayed in China for half a month before leaving, and the Writers Association gave them a grand reception.

As Márquez said, there has been little literary exchange between China and South America, and this is a great opportunity.

The South American publisher took over the sales rights to more than ten books in South America, excluding Liu Yimin's books, and signed a royalty agreement for only thirteen percent.

The Writers' Association negotiated with them, but they were very firm and wouldn't discuss anything more than a point.

When Tang Dacheng, the secretary of the Writers' Association, called Liu Yimin, he gave the group of Colombians a severe dressing-down.

"So tough?" Liu Yimin was quite surprised by Thiago's performance.

Tang Dacheng described it over the phone, which made Liu Yimin laugh out loud.

After venting his frustrations, Tang Dacheng said with a smile, "These are all minor matters. The most important thing is the issue of literary exchange. The publishing house representative mentioned that Márquez invited us to visit, and the Writers' Association has also discussed it internally. We're preparing to go to South America for exchanges when a suitable opportunity arises. What do you think?"

“Me? I’ll follow the instructions of my superiors, but this year is almost over. If we’re going to do the exchange, how about we wait until next year?” Liu Yimin suggested.

"Yes, we will seriously consider your suggestion."

Tang Dacheng understood that Márquez mainly wanted to invite Liu Yimin over, so Liu Yimin's opinion was naturally of utmost importance.

Before returning home, Thiago and the others visited Liu Yimin's courtyard house one last time. Liu Yimin handed them a letter, which was his reply to Márquez.

“Professor Liu, we’re leaving now. I hope we can meet again in South America someday. If you have any new works, please be sure to send us a copy for publication in South America,” Thiago said sincerely.

"it is good."

After Thiago and the others left, Liu Yimin returned to his room and called Huang Zumo, who was far away in Saihanba. Unfortunately, the call couldn't go directly to the film crew; instead, it was answered by the forest farm.

The forestry farm director told Liu Yimin that Huang Zumo and his team had not encountered any difficulties, but were simply reshooting scenes.

Hearing this, Liu Yimin felt relieved. However, as September approached its end, his worries grew daily; if he didn't return to Saihanba soon, winter would arrive.

"Okay, that puts my mind at ease." Liu Yimin hung up the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Liu Yimin was about to leave when he ran into Liu Peiran, who had come from the August First Film Studio.

"Director Liu, how did you know I was home? I asked about the Saihanba film crew; they're doing reshoots, and there haven't been any problems." Liu Yimin assumed Liu Peiran had come for Huang Zumo and the others.

Liu Peiran took Liu Yimin's hand and said, "Yimin, there's something big, something good. The General Political Department is holding a meeting the day after tomorrow, and they specifically asked you to attend."

"Let me go?"

“Yes, I had the news a while ago. This year is 1986, and it will be over soon. After 1987 and 1988, it will be 1989. 1989 will be the 40th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Five and ten years are both memorable periods in China. To commemorate the 40th anniversary, the arts and culture sector will definitely need to contribute. That’s why I went there,” Liu Peiran said happily.

"Writing a script!"

"That's right!" Liu Peiran slapped her thigh happily.

Liu Yimin said in confusion, "The General Political Department is holding a meeting to do this? Shouldn't it be the Ministry of Culture and the Film Bureau?"

"Joint meeting, joint meeting, cooperation between the two sides to produce a magnificent masterpiece," Liu Peiran explained.

Liu Yimin calculated the time: "You guys timed it really well. The day after tomorrow is the 21st. If it's the 22nd, I won't have time."

"What are you doing on the 22nd?" Liu Peiran asked worriedly, fearing that such a meeting wouldn't be able to reach a decision within a day.

Liu Yimin said, "The Ministry of Education has established a committee for the evaluation of primary and secondary school textbooks, and the committee will officially meet on the 22nd to discuss the textbook outline."

"Wow, this is a big deal." Liu Peiran scratched his head.

However, he quickly felt relieved. Liu Peiran pulled Liu Yimin aside and asked him if he had any ideas about writing a script to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
"Old Liu, this is quite sudden. How am I supposed to explain this to you?"

Liu Yimin suddenly remembered his last meeting with the old leader, whose words had clearly implied something when he left. Liu Peiran rubbed his hands together, realizing he had been too hasty: "That's true. It would be strange if you already had an idea in mind. Don't rush, think about it slowly."

"Director Liu, judging by your enthusiasm, has the General Political Department decided to hand it over to you for filming?"

"No, but when the General Political Department holds a meeting, our August First Film Studio has a higher chance of getting the filming rights."

Liu Yimin said, "The August First Film Studio has been busy lately, so there probably aren't many directors left to film, right?"

“You could say that, but you have to think of it this way: there’s still a long time until 89, so there’s no rush,” Liu Peiran said.

After Liu Peiran left, Liu Yimin closed the door to his study and rode his motorcycle toward Yenching University.

On September 21st, before Liu Yimin even set off, Liu Peiran parked his jeep in front of the courtyard house. Dressed in military uniform, Liu Peiran happily jumped out of the jeep and invited Liu Yimin to come inside.

"Director Liu, you don't need to go to such trouble," Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Liu Peiran said dismissively, "Yimin, I'm not here for the script. I'm here to pick you up. The General Political Department is quite a distance from here."

Liu Yimin didn't expose him. The courtyard was only a short distance from the General Political Department, which Liu Yimin could walk to.

Just as Liu Yimin left in Liu Peiran's car, Wang Yang's car stopped at the entrance of the courtyard. Upon learning that Liu Yimin had been picked up by Liu Peiran, Wang Yang got into the car, cursing as he went.

As soon as they entered the General Political Department compound, Wang Yang caught up with them, glared at Liu Peiran, and grinned at Liu Yimin: "Yimin, do you have any concrete ideas?"

"Old Wang, let's talk in the conference room!"

Several well-known screenwriters also attended the meeting. As soon as they sat down, Xu Huaizhong, a leader from the General Political Department's Cultural Department, and the director of the Film Bureau walked in.

"Comrades, please sit down. Welcome to the General Political Department compound," Xu Huaizhong said with a smile.

Once everyone was seated, Xu Huaizhong immediately got straight to the point, explaining why he had invited them there: to write a script, a patriotic script to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

"Forty years have passed in the blink of an eye, and the world has changed dramatically. It is precisely at times like these that we should celebrate, remember the past, and never forget our revolutionary path. This film was spearheaded by the General Political Department and the Film Bureau, with direct funding from the cultural departments. Everyone is welcome to share their opinions, and we would like to hear the opinions of the screenwriters."

Liu Yimin drew a few lines on his notebook with a pen, listening attentively to the opinions of others.

"I believe that to portray our great victory, we should choose one of the victories or the experience of the War of Liberation to film, so that the audience can feel the arduous journey and that the great victory was built on the blood and sweat of our predecessors," said a screenwriter from Beijing Film Studio.

A screenwriter from the August First Film Studio said, "I think that to fully showcase the spirit of our War of Liberation, we should start filming from the Double Tenth Agreement and present a panoramic view."

Several other military cultural cadres also expressed their thoughts, and their opinions were basically the same.

Xu Huaizhong nodded: "Comrade Yimin, what about you? What do you want to say? My colleagues from the Film Bureau and I would like to hear your opinion."

Liu Yimin straightened up and said, "What you comrades said makes sense, but the most important thing is how to combine the macro and micro perspectives and use micro-level descriptions to reflect the macro-level victory."

Films are not chronological narratives; they cannot present every single detail, otherwise the film would be too long.

"Oh? Go on, we're listening." Xu Huaizhong was quite interested in Liu Yimin's views.

Liu Yimin continued, "I think that since it is the 40th anniversary celebration, we don't need to stretch the timeline too far. We can start with the victory of the three major battles, tell the major events that happened during this period, and show the macro-historical changes through the changes in key historical figures."

"What time period do the three major campaigns take place?"

"The period from the three major battles to the founding of the nation!"

"Comrade Yimin, could you tell us more about it?"

(End of this chapter)