Reborn in 1977

Chapter 614 Adaptation

Shanghai Writers Association, Ba Lao's office.

Chen Fan placed several sheets of manuscript paper in front of Ba Lao and said, "Last time my uncle came over, he found out I was a writer. Coincidentally, his family business has a publishing house, and he wanted me to submit manuscripts to the publishing house.

This is the synopsis and outline of the novel I wrote. Please take a look and see if it's suitable for submission."

Ba Lao frowned, silently took out a cigarette and lit it, then looked at Chen Fan and said, "Foreign publishing houses directly solicit manuscripts from writers. There is no precedent for this in China."

Chen Fan shrugged, "That's why I came to you for advice. If it doesn't work, then I won't write it."

Not writing is impossible. I've already finished the first book. It's just waiting to be printed and distributed in the United States. I can't give up halfway.

Even if the higher-ups refuse on the grounds that there is no precedent, I can just be a ghostwriter and have Zhou Yali take it back and publish it under her name.

Anyway, we are already partners, and she is managing my overseas assets on my behalf. This is just another part of it.

Ba Lao took a puff of his cigarette, didn't speak, picked up the manuscript paper on the table and looked at it, "'The Legend of the Dragon Knight'?"

(It's not the 'Legend of the Dragon Knight' that the book friends mentioned. If I hadn't seen the comments, I would have forgotten that the name is exactly the same. That water is too deep, I can't handle it)

He glanced at Chen Fan, "It shouldn't be a popular novel like 'The Swordsman of Mount Shu,' right?"

The 'Swordsman of Mount Shu' pioneered the Xianxia and New School Wuxia novels, especially the concept of 'true qi,' which concretized the myths and legends that have been circulating for thousands of years, extending into settings such as inner strength, true essence, immortal energy, and divine power, with lasting influence.

Ba Lao had naturally read this work, so when he saw the title, he thought of that classic masterpiece.

Chen Fan nodded lightly, "Almost, but it's a completely fictional novel set against the background of Western history."

Ba Lao didn't ask further questions, and continued to read the manuscript paper, "Hmm. The protagonist is a child from a serf family at the bottom of society, who has to bear heavy labor at a young age. He is persecuted for accidentally offending the son of the manor lord, and escapes under the cover of his parents at the cost of their lives… Black Dragon?"

He looked up at Chen Fan, hissed softly, "Are you going to write a Western version of Xianxia novel?"

Chen Fan coughed dryly, "Almost, the main thing is to highlight the proletariat's resistance to the oppression of the feudal lords, and also to the old system…"

Ba Lao raised his hand and waved, "Since you know the key points, then don't write it like this. The focus should be on oppression and resistance. Try not to mention things like black dragons and griffins. Anyway, this is just an outline, so it doesn't matter if it's rough."

Chen Fan nodded pretentiously, "Understood, I'll revise it now."

As he spoke, he tore off a stack of manuscript paper from the corner of the table and revised it on the spot.

Ba Lao scratched his hair, his face a little tangled, "The manuscript paper here all has the letterhead of the Shanghai Writers Association. You are not a member of our unit. I suggest, it's best to go back to your Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture to apply, which is more reasonable and procedural."

Chen Fan didn't even lift his head, continuing to write quickly, "It's okay, I'll write it like this first, and revise it when I get back."

Ba Lao felt a headache, "I said, you are quite capable yourself. Lao He sent the recommendation form for you to join the National Association to the General Association a few days ago. They will give him this face, right? Don't use my name as a cover, okay?"

Chen Fan looked up, his eyes full of ignorance, "I didn't."

The veins on Ba Lao's forehead jumped, "You take a manuscript paper with the letterhead of the Shanghai Writers Association, isn't that using my name as a cover?"

Chen Fan decisively tore off the unfinished page, along with the several sheets of manuscript paper underneath, folded them up and stuffed them into his pocket, and said sternly, "Don't worry, I will definitely rewrite it when I get back, and I won't involve you!"

Ba Lao put out the cigarette butt in the ashtray, rubbed his head, "Forget it, forget it, let's not talk about this."

He looked up at Chen Fan and said sternly, "Lao Xia told me a few days ago that the script of 'The Ferryman' has been handed over to the Shanghai Film Studio, and they have also started preparing. If it's fast, it can be finished by the end of this year."

Chen Fan nodded indifferently, "Okay, I know."

Under normal circumstances, an original script is 3,000 yuan, an adapted script is 2,000, and the original author gets 1,000. He can earn at most 1,000 yuan. Compared with the 'Legend of the Dragon Knight,' which has just been completed and is about to be published, the basic manuscript fee is 400,000 US dollars, plus 20% royalties. What can he say about this gap?

Although Ba Lao doesn't know the exact amount of the manuscript fee that Chen Fan's uncle gave him, he obviously knows that it won't be low, so he skipped this topic and directly threw an envelope to him, as well as a receipt, "This is from Lao Xia to you, sign it."

Chen Fan wrote his name without saying a word. After he finished writing his name, he realized the amount and couldn't help but look up, "Why is it 3,000?"

Ba Lao took out another cigarette, threw it to Chen Fan first, then lit one himself, exhaled a puff of smoke, and smiled at Chen Fan, "This is the fee for three scripts, 'Yunhu Love' and 'Shanghai Spy Shadow,' he also took a fancy to them. I told you last time."

Chen Fan thought about it, there was indeed such a thing. Last time when he came to Shanghai with his uncle, Ba Lao mentioned it.

It's just…

His face was a little hesitant, "'Shanghai Spy Shadow' is no problem, I never thought of letting others film it. But 'Yunhu Love,' the Jiangnan Film Studio and the Yunhu Prefectural Committee have both expressed their intention to make a movie."

After all, it is a story that "happened" locally, how can it be cheaper for outsiders?

When Ba Lao heard this, he couldn't help but sneer, "It's not me saying, what regular movies have your Jiangnan Film Studio made besides a few stage plays?"

Chen Fan shrugged helplessly, "Officials at higher levels can crush people to death, not to mention that the Jiangnan Cultural Department has always taken good care of me. They are leading this matter, how can I refuse?"

Ba Lao thought about it, that's true.

He pondered for two seconds, looked up and said, "Like this, you don't have to worry about this matter, whether it succeeds or not, you can keep the copyright fee, at most it will be 1,500 per movie. As for the matter of adapting 'Yunhu Love' into a movie, I will arrange for Lao Xia to send someone to talk to Jiangying Factory and your Cultural Department directly."

Chen Fan naturally had no objection to being able to get away with it, and immediately agreed.

Speaking of which, I also have several novels such as "Reed Marsh," "The Sea," etc., which are also more suitable for adaptation. Aren't they tempted?

…

Back home, Jiang Tiantian and the other three had already packed their luggage and were ready to leave at any time.

It's summer now, and they only need to bring a few changes of clothes, so they each only carried a backpack.

Seeing Chen Fan coming back, Jiang Lili picked up his bag and said, "The luggage is packed, just waiting for you to come back."

Jiang Tiantian was more concerned about work matters, "Did Ba Lao agree?"

Chen Fan took the backpack from Jiang Lili, put it on his back, and said to Jiang Tiantian, "According to his meaning, there shouldn't be any problems. When I get back to Jiangnan, I'll just go through the process with the Cultural Department."

Ba Lao really didn't guess wrong, he just wanted to take the manuscript paper with the letterhead of the Shanghai Writers Association and send it to the Jiangnan Cultural Department for review.

After all, there was no precedent for this kind of thing. Even Chen Fan couldn't say for sure that the Cultural Affairs Bureau would approve it.

But it would be different with Old Ba. Although he didn't hold a high position, his reputation and qualifications were there. He didn't even need to express his opinion. Just submitting a manuscript with his unit's letterhead would make the relevant leaders understand the meaning.

Chen Fan alone might not be enough, but with Old Ba, it would definitely work.

In principle, Chen Fan still hoped to make money legitimately. Moreover, if this novel could become a bestseller in Western countries, it would definitely raise his industry status. No matter how you looked at it, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.

As long as his works and fame could spread abroad, who would care about the trivial matter of writing popular fiction?!

Seeing Chen Fan say this, Jiang Tiantian and Jiang Lili both breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhou Yali was even more delighted. "Then should I mail the floppy disk back on the way later?"

Chen Fan waved his hand. "No, wait until you go back to take it with you. A few days won't make a difference."

If it were mailed back, there was no need to even think about it. It would definitely be intercepted and inspected. His procedures hadn't been completed yet.

On the other hand, the inspection of entry and exit was not so strict now. The focus was mainly on the entry of overseas publications. This kind of thing would be investigated and dealt with whenever it was discovered, without any leniency.

As for the rest, it wasn't too strict, especially for foreign guests leaving the country. Some wouldn't even have their luggage opened. Zhou Yali could easily board the plane with the floppy disk.

Moreover, by then the procedures would be completed, so there would be no fear of being checked.

After a brief chat, the four of them prepared to set off.

At this time, Jiang Lili picked up Ban Jin and Ba Liang from the ground, walked over, and said, "What about them?"

Chen Fan turned around and glared at the civet cats.

You two have no sense of presence at all, and you're causing trouble at a critical moment. Should I just give you away?

But seeing the two sisters each holding one in their arms, he could only purse his lips and smile. "Find a canvas bag to pack them in and take them on the plane."

Anyway, there was no boarding inspection. As long as they weren't blatant, they could bring them along.

Besides, there were no regulations at this time saying that animals were not allowed on planes.

This regulation prohibiting animals on planes would not be implemented until January 1, 2017, which was still nearly 40 years away.

Hearing Chen Fan say this, Jiang Lili quickly found a canvas bag, opened the lid, let the two cats jump in, and then closed the lid. As long as the two cats didn't stick their heads out from the gaps on the side, they wouldn't be discovered.

Seeing that the two cats were so well-behaved, Zhou Yali couldn't help but feel a little envious. She ran over and grabbed Chen Fan's sleeve. "Little brother, these two kittens are so well-behaved. Can you get me one too?"

She had asked Jiang Lili earlier and knew that the two cats were trained by Chen Fan, so she was immediately tempted.

Chen Fan naturally took it upon himself. "No problem. When you come next time, I'll give you a pair."

One cat is a bit lonely, two cats are the best.

Zhou Yali immediately beamed with joy. "Thank you, little brother. Don't worry, I will definitely take care of things in the United States for you."

These days, she had made two phone calls to her family. One was to tell her father about Chen Fan's needs, which was to buy the mouse patent and inquire about Dr. Engelbart's work, and let her father run errands. The other was naturally her father's reply.

After contacting him, Zhou Zhengdong found that Engelbart's current work was not going well. As before, many researchers in the company did not agree with his ideas and felt that the path of personal computers was not feasible.

In fact, this was the mainstream thinking of current computer practitioners, who felt that computers were used for scientific research. Personal business computers might have a certain market, but it would not be too big.

That kind of specific document processing machine could meet customer needs, and the end point of personal computers was only there.

It was not until the mid-1980s, when the sales of personal computers increased year by year, and the function of games was added in addition to work, and even giants like Apple were born, that computer researchers all over the world began to change their thinking and recognize the importance of personal computers, thereby making many companies pay attention to the development of personal computers and related peripheral applications.

However, by that time, Engelbart had passed the golden age of research. Even if he began to receive attention at this time, he was unable to lead the technological research and development of personal computers.

Most importantly, Cisco had already appeared and was rapidly expanding. In terms of business, Engelbart never had the opportunity to enter the hall again.

Because it was a phone call, Chen Fan directly told Zhou Zhengdong his thoughts.

First buy the mouse patent, and then talk to Engelbart to see if he is interested in researching multi-protocol router technology.

A few days later, he received feedback that Zhou Zhengdong had successfully poached him to Hanka Company to serve as the chief scientist.

Although Hanka Company was only a small company that had just been established, the Zhou family was rich and generous, and directly invested 500,000 US dollars, which was enough to support Engelbart's early research.

On one side was a work environment that was being squeezed out, and on the other side was a company that waved checks to invite him and had a clear research direction. Engelbart hardly needed to consider it and jumped ship.

Moreover, Engelbart said that with a clear direction, it would not take too long for this technology to be launched. When new equipment is used to connect different local area networks, and the world sees the effect, this company will definitely not be the scale it is now.

After getting this done, Chen Fan felt even more relaxed.

Compared to Hanka, multi-protocol routers faced a market worth hundreds of billions of dollars, and the prospects of this company were visible to the naked eye.

And what he paid was just two phone calls.

In the future, just wait to count the money.

Chen Fan drove the car and took the three women to the airport. He left the van directly at the airport, boarded the plane, took a taxi after arriving, and arrived at the home of the three masters in Dashilan before dinner.

It was still the small courtyard, the courtyard door was open, Chen Fan led them through the gate and turned to the right, and saw several old people playing chess in the small courtyard, all three masters were there.

Seeing Chen Fan, Lin Yuanxiang immediately stood up, walking and laughing, "Why didn't you tell me in advance that you were coming?"

Then his eyes fell on the faces of Jiang Tiantian and Jiang Lili, glanced at them, and then turned to Chen Fan, the meaning of inquiry in his eyes was self-evident.

Chen Fan chuckled dryly, "Hello, Master Zhang."

At this time, the other old people stood up, greeted each other and walked out, "Guests are here, let's stop here today, you guys take care of them, speak up if you need anything."

Chen Fan waved to them one by one to say hello and watched them leave.

Zhang Xuansong also walked over, and when everyone was out, he closed the courtyard door.

Then he turned to look at Chen Fan, wondering how he would explain.

He had seen Zhou Yali before, and the focus was on those two girls.

Chen Fan coughed dryly and smiled, "You've all met my cousin."

Then he pointed to the two sisters, "This is Jiang Lili, I've already met her parents, my fiancée. This is her sister, Jiang Tiantian."