1980 My literary era

Han Zhuangzhuang's call lasted only half an hour before Zhang Yimou got off his yellow hair and entered Han Zhuangzhuang's house.

"Teacher Lin, you are finally back!"

Zhang Yimou was delighted to see Lin Weimin.

The two exchanged pleasantries for a few words, and then Lin Weimin asked, "I heard that Zhuang Zhuang said that you have something to do with me."

Zhang Yimou nodded, "It's something."

Last year, under the guidance of Lin Weimin, Zhang Yimou fell in love with Tong Zhonggui's novel "Wives and Concubines" and planned to adapt the novel into his second directorial film.

He has been preparing for this for more than half a year.

Since winning the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival, Zhang Yimou has become a well-known director in China. He plays an important role in the domestic film industry. Countless people pay attention to his every move. There is no lack of investment in his new movies.

But at this time, investors from Wandao approached Zhang Yimou and expressed their hope to invest in his film.

Zhang Yimou was caught in a dilemma for a while, so he planned to ask Lin Weimin for advice.

Since the ice-breaking of cross-Strait relations in 1987, the two sides have begun to have continuous contact and exchanges in the fields of politics, economy, culture and other fields in the past two years, and exchanges in the film industry have also begun.

The investor who wants to invest in Zhang Yimou's new film is Qiu Fusheng. He founded Era Film and Television in 1982. Over the years, he made a fortune by renting out video tapes, and then got involved in film and television production. Last year, he invested in the production of "City of Sadness" directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien.

"Teacher Lin, do you think I should accept their investment?" Zhang Yimou asked with a frown on his face.

Lin Weimin smiled and asked: "Isn't it a good thing that someone is begging to invest in your movie? What's there to worry about?"

"I'm not short of investment!" Zhang Yimou said.

Lin Weimin's smile faded and he looked at Zhang Yimou, "This sentence is to the point. Remember, you are now a great director who has won the Golden Bear Award, so you have to show off the momentum of a great director!"

"Momentum? What momentum?" Zhang Yimou was puzzled.

"It's your honor to make a movie with your money. Once you invest the money, just watch me make the movie and don't point fingers!"

Lin Weimin looked serious and said in a pretentious manner. After finishing speaking, the smile appeared on his face again, "This is the momentum."

Zhang Yimou was introverted and couldn't say what Lin Weimin had just said. He understood what Lin Weimin meant and asked: "So, do you agree that I want their investment?"

Lin Weimin said: "You are the director, you can make your own decision on this matter. I will only give you one sentence: Don't let investors lead you by the nose at any time. Remember, it is you who lead them to make money, It’s not them taking you to make money!”

Feeling the wanton domineering and confidence in Lin Weimin's words, Zhang Yimou felt unprecedentedly stable.

He could decide whether to invest or not, but he couldn't help but want to hear Lin Weimin's opinion.

What Lin Weimin said flashed through Zhang Yimou's mind. With his current status, he has no shortage of investors. Whoever invests is to give face to whom.

In fact, Zhang Yimou was inclined to invest in Qiu Fusheng.

The reason is also very simple. While Qiu Fusheng invested, he could also help him solve the problem of film shooting equipment.

For example, the old-fashioned cameras used by domestic studios are very noisy and cannot meet the needs of on-site simultaneous sound recording.

The silent Arriflex BL4s camera is now available abroad. If this camera is used, his new movie will be able to achieve simultaneous sound recording. When the movie is completed, it will be quite shocking.

This is good for making movies.

With an idea in his mind, Zhang Yimou no longer hesitated.

He also chatted with Lin Weimin about the preparations for the movie, and specifically said to Lin Weimin: "There is no particularly suitable role for Zhuang Zhuang in this movie..."

Lin Weimin waved his hand, "I recommended the novels to you, so don't mention these words again. One of you is a director and the other is an actor. Cooperation is your own business, so you don't need to tell me."

Zhang Yimou nodded and did not explain any more.

After sitting together and chatting for a while, Zhang Yimou said goodbye and left, and Lin Weimin also took Tao Huimin back home.

Another day passed, and on the weekend, Lin Weimin and his wife went to Mr. Wan's house and delivered gifts bought from the United States.

In the afternoon, Lin Weimin came to Shichahai Courtyard.

When he entered the hospital, Shi's father and Shi Tiesheng were sitting under the tree to enjoy the shade.

"You're finally back!" Shi Tiesheng saw a bright smile on Lin Weimin's face.

Lin Weimin sat casually under the tree, and Shi Tiesheng started chatting.

He had been in the United States for more than three months, and there seemed to be endless topics to talk about when we met him back.

Lin Weimin told Shi Tiesheng about his experiences and knowledge in the United States, and Shi Tiesheng listened with interest.

"It seems that your reputation in the United States is really great!" Shi Tiesheng sighed.

"That's it!" Lin Weimin said casually.

After chatting for a long time, without seeing Shi Lan, Lin Weimin asked: "Where is that girl Shi Lan?"

"Going out on a date with Qin Gang."

"Didn't you say you'd get married this year? Why hasn't there been any news yet?"

Shi Tiesheng said: "I was just going to tell you! It's almost time. We plan to do it on November 1."

As the topic continued, Lin Weimin took out a few books from his bag and said, "Let me show you some of the books I brought back from the United States this time."

Shi Tiesheng took the book, and Lin Weimin reminded: "The gift was just given, this is not for you!"

"After a trip to the United States, why are you getting more and more stingy?" Shi Tiesheng joked.

"You may not be able to buy these books of mine even if you go to a New York bookstore and rummage through them."

Shi Tiesheng's English was average and he had no obsession with collecting original English books. He took a few glances and returned the book to Lin Weimin.

“Some writers have never heard of it.”

"Normally, how many works of foreign writers have we imported into the country? Especially the writers who have emerged in recent years. There are too few imported into the country. Only those few magazines that specialize in introducing foreign literature can we see some of this aspect. s things."

Shi Tiesheng said with some regret: "It would be great if my English was as good as yours. I could read all the latest foreign literary works."

"Now that you understand English, do you want to know some French? Do you want to learn some Spanish? It would be exhausting to rely on our own ability to go through these works, but we still have to rely on translation and introduction."

"This depends on your publishing house!" Shi Tiesheng joked.

Lin Weimin said seriously: "Don't tell me, I really have this plan."

As he spoke, he held up a book and said: "This time when I went to New York, I found a few more books by Richard Yates. After reading them carefully, I found that they are really good. His style is realistic, cold, and very unpopular. Given the reception from American readers, I think we can try to introduce it to China."

The idea of ​​introducing Richard Yates has been in Lin Weimin's mind for a while. He didn't mention it to anyone until he met Shi Tiesheng today.

Shi Tiesheng clapped his hands and said: "This is a good thing. If you can accomplish this, it will be a great merit. Have you told your club?"

"No, didn't you just come back? Wait until you start work on Monday. I'll mention it to the boss."

Lin Weimin was happy to receive Shi Tiesheng's approval.

The next day at work, Lin Weimin ran to Cheng Wuchun's office and expressed his idea of ​​introducing the works of Richard Yates.

The way Cheng Wuchun looked at him can be roughly described in eight words - a dog stalks a mouse, meddling in other people's own business.

Lin Weimin is in charge of "Contemporary". Except for "Contemporary" publications and occasional book series, he has no involvement in other publishing businesses of the company.

"You are really lenient now!"

"I'm doing this for the sake of the club!" Lin Weimin said with a pure face, pushing the books by Richard Yates in front of Cheng Wuchun, "First let the people in the club look through them to see if they are good. If you don’t think it’s okay, just pretend I didn’t say it.”

Cheng Wuchun took a look at the books on the table. They were all original English books. Lin Weimin said specifically: "I bought these with great difficulty."

Lin Weimin then talked about Richard Yates's situation in the United States. After listening to what he said, Cheng Wanchun couldn't help but sigh.

After all, he is a writer who has been famous for decades and has been recognized by the mainstream American literary circles, but his later life is so bleak.

"So, capitalism is a bad thing!" Cheng Wuchun sighed.

Lin Weimin also sighed, how could you be a leader? Look at this realization!

Of course he understands Cheng Wuchun's thinking. We oppose what the enemy supports, and we support what the enemy opposes. This is probably the ideological thought.

Cheng Wuchun patted the book on the table, "Okay, I'll let the foreign language editing office take a look later."

"Okay, thank you, leader."

Lin Weimin left Cheng Wuchun's office and just returned to the editorial office in the back building when he got good news from Tong Zhonggui. Alai had finished revising the manuscript of "The Dust Has Settled".

The content of "The Dust Has Settled" is extremely mature, and there are very few parts that need to be changed. With the guidance of Lin Weimin and Tong Zhonggui, it was possible to complete the revision work in such a short period of time.

"Okay, hurry up and proofread and type it, and try to send it out early next month."

Lin Weimin said that Tong Zhonggui stayed up for several days and finally finished the manuscript of "The Dust Has Settled" before printing at the end of the month.

On the last day of the month, Lin Weimin received a call from Liu Yichang.

Wang Xiaobo's "The Golden Age" was sent to Xiangjiang some time ago. Liu Yichang just received the manuscript two days ago. After reading it through, he made a special phone call to Lin Weimin.

There is no doubt about the quality of the novel, but there is one problem. Liu Yichang would like to discuss it with Lin Weimin, which is the description of sex in the novel.

Too much!

"This writer's style is so strange!"

Liu Yichang's words were very subtle, and Lin Weimin laughed, teasing him for not having seen the world.

Liu Yichang smiled bitterly, "It seems that I am really behind the times. I didn't expect that your mainland creative styles are now so blooming."

Lin Weimin then said seriously: "That's not true. The style of the writer I introduced to you is indeed unique."

Lin Weimin briefly introduced Wang Xiaobo to Liu Yichang on the phone, and then said: "How about I give you his contact information, and you can communicate in detail. This is worse than me passing the message in the middle."

"That's fine, I'm curious about him."

"He's really an interesting guy."

Two days after finishing the phone call with Liu Yichang, Wang Xiaobo excitedly found Lin Weimin.

In recent years, as the Yanjing Telecommunications Department has made great efforts to build communication facilities, making long-distance calls and international long-distance calls has become much more convenient than before.

Wang Xiaobo received a call from Liu Yichang yesterday, communicated with him for a long time, and finally confirmed that the novel could be published.

As for the issue of sexual description that Liu Yichang mentioned before, after some discussions with Wang Xiaobo, Liu Yichang did not have too much entanglement.

"Teacher Lin, thank you so much!" Wang Xiaobo said with gratitude.

This time the novel was published in "Hong Kong Literature", which not only solved the publishing problem, Wang Xiaobo also received 41,000 Hong Kong dollars in royalties, which greatly solved Wang Xiaobo's financial difficulties and made him more confident about his writing career. confidence.

"Since I promised you to publish it before, I will definitely publish it. It's just a few months late, so don't mind!" Lin Weimin said to Wang Xiaobo with a smile.

Wang Xiaobo looked at Lin Weimin and sighed in his heart, Teacher Lin is such a trustworthy gentleman!