Movies were not a rare thing in the Republic of China. At the end of the 19th century, that is, the end of the Qing Dynasty, Shanghai had already begun to show imported foreign movies. After the first Chinese domestic film "Dingjun Mountain" was produced in Beijing in 1905, Chinese movies developed rapidly from scratch. From 1922, it entered a period of rapid development. Various film companies emerged like mushrooms after rain, and domestic films also began to flourish.

However, due to the influence of technology, current movies are all black-and-white silent films. Inspired by shadow puppetry, many cinemas hire people to dub behind the scenes when showing movies. Le Jing had watched dubbed movies with Li Shuran several times before, and he had to admit that although the technical level and picture quality of Republican movies could not be compared with modern movies, it also had its own advantages.

The first is the dubbing of the dubbing actors. The old Mandarin popular during the Republic of China is very similar to the pronunciation and intonation of modern Mandarin, and modern people can easily understand it. Moreover, these movie dubbing actors are professionally trained, with clear and pleasant voices and charming intonations. Although they have a strong broadcasting accent, the emotions are still full.

Then there are the actors. The ancient costumes of the actors in the Republic of China are really better than the modern studio style. The actors in the Republic of China, regardless of gender, are elegant and dignified, and their clothing and behavior are quite sophisticated, which makes them look particularly classical. Because the movie has no sound, their performance is more delicate, and they pay more attention to the expression of their eyes. Their eyes seem to contain thousands of words. Only some old actors in modern times can speak with their eyes.

Le Jing went to the cinema to try out movies a few times, but never went to see them again. It's like a gourmet who is used to eating seafood and abalone will find it hard to eat boiled cabbage. The themes of later movies are diverse, but the themes of Republican movies are monotonous. Many of them are adapted from novels and dramas. Le Jing might as well read the original works directly. Compared with the secondary interpretation of the movie, Le Jing prefers to read the original works in their original flavor.

However, Le Jing still supports his works being adapted into movies. After all, compared to novels, movies naturally have a wider audience.

So he smiled in surprise and said, "This is really good news. Which film company is it? Who is the director?"

Yang Jinglun reported the name of a film company. Le Jing had never heard of this company. It was probably just a small and unknown company. Yang Jinglun said a little embarrassedly: "This company is a newly established company. The funds are not sufficient, so the offer is not very high, only 300 yuan, but the director of the company, Mr. Ji Qi, is very sincere. He rushed over from Shanghai and hopes to meet with you."

Three hundred dollars is indeed not high. When Le Jing serialized "Memoirs of a Famous Courtesan", he was already paid four yuan per thousand words. The full text of more than 100,000 words brought him more than four hundred dollars. Of course, three hundred dollars is not too little. After all, the top-tier stars in the Republic of China only had a monthly salary of two thousand yuan, and half of that had to be paid to the film company. The monthly salary of ordinary actors ranged from a few dozen yuan to two hundred yuan.

So when Le Jing first traveled through time and thought about his future livelihood, he chose to earn royalties by writing articles. Because in the Republic of China, professors and writers were the two most profitable professions, and many literary masters often taught and wrote at the same time.

Because the country has been poor and weak for too long, and the people have been bullied for too long, the government and the people are eager to save the country through knowledge, and they hope that scholars can use the knowledge and skills they have learned to save this country in trouble. Therefore, the government spends a lot of money to support reading and education, which is why the literati in the Republic of China can live such a comfortable life.

Of course, this does not mean that today is worse than in the past. The reason why the income of scholars in the Republic of China was high was because there were few scholars at that time. If the government of the Republic of China allocated 100,000 yuan and divided it equally among 100 people, then each person could get 1,000 yuan; if the government of the New China allocated 1 million yuan and divided it among tens of thousands of people, then each person could only get a few dozen yuan.

Le Jing was not a money-loving person, so he did not care about the copyright fee. What concerned him at this moment was the name Ji Qi. Although he still looked thoughtful, Le Jing's heart was already in turmoil, and the name Ji Qi kept flashing in his mind.

Le Jing had watched a documentary about Ji Da Lao on the movie channel before, and knew about his extraordinary life. Maybe this name is not well-known now, but it won't be long before the owner of this name will become famous and leave his name in the history of Chinese film, and make great contributions to the development and dissemination of Chinese film. Ji Da Lao was poor when he was young, and his parents were ordinary farmers, which also had a profound impact on his future film creation. His camera is always aimed at the broad masses of working people, recording the hardships of the poor, and using movies to speak for the disadvantaged groups in society. He is respected by later filmmakers as a good medicine for society and the voice of the people.

It is normal that Le Jing has never heard of the name of Ji Qi's current company, because according to historical development, this company will soon go bankrupt due to poor management. Ji Da Lao went through many years of ups and downs, and it was not until ten years later that he really took off. At that time, he was already in his thirties, which is a case of ten years of hard work. And the magic of fate is that in the future, Ji Qi will also become a hit with the movie "The Long Road to Good Life" that reflects the real life of prostitutes. Not only did he become famous in the film industry, but he was also well received by the people. Now, due to a strange combination of circumstances, Ji Da Lao is going to shoot a movie about prostitutes ten years ahead of schedule. I don't know if he will become famous ten years ahead of schedule.

So Le Jing smiled and said, "In that case, please tell Mr. Ji that I will be at home at any time to welcome him over the weekend."

Yang Jinglun nodded, "I will pass on your message to Director Ji." Then he brought up the old matter again: "Sir, your new series...?"

Le·Modslu·A Happy Dove·Jing said with a straight face: "I will definitely give it to you in a few days."

Yang Jinglun stared at him and asked, "How many days?"

Le Jing: "I will definitely give you the new series next Sunday."

After receiving a positive response, Yang Jinglun left with satisfaction.

After Ji Qi communicated with Le Jing and agreed on a meeting time, he visited her early in the morning on the weekend.

Ji Qi's appearance can only be described as ordinary, and he is not tall, only about 1.6 meters tall, which makes him look particularly unattractive. Le Jing can see that he has tried his best to dress up for this meeting. He borrowed a suit on purpose. However, the suit is not well-fitting, and it is loose on him, making him look like a child who stole adult clothes, which is particularly funny.

Ji Qi is now 23 years old and has just returned from studying abroad in the United States on public funds. Although his family is poor, he has obtained an impressive academic degree through his own efforts, thus breaking out of the limitations of his original family and successfully completing a class leap.

While Le Jing was looking at Ji Qi, Ji Qi was also looking at Le Jing.

Although he had seen the photo of the night watchman in the newspaper, the difference between the photo and the real person was really huge. The boy in front of him looked young, with very white skin, a little too thin, and looked not in good health. Although he knew that the night watchman was very young, Ji Qi always thought that they were about the same age. Now that he saw the real person, he realized that the night watchman looked a few years younger than in the photo, and he might not even be twenty years old!

He wrote "Memoirs of a Famous Courtesan" at such a young age? This is beyond the realm of genius, it can be called a monster!

The young man bowed to him, his eyes were clear and penetrating, and his smile was gentle and calm, "This must be Mr. Ji, my name is Li Jingran, and Night Watchman was my former pen name."

Ji Qi's eyes lit up, and only one sentence came to his mind: The stranger is like jade. With his discerning eyes as a director, the boy in front of him had a good appearance and looks that were more than enough to act in a movie. Li Jingran's appearance was not top-notch, but what really attracted people's attention was his outstanding temperament. It was true that he was a man of great learning and elegance.

After a few pleasantries, the two of them officially got down to business.

Le Jing asked curiously, "Why did Director Ji like my novel?"

Ji Qi looked at Le Jing with a long gaze, obviously lost in memories: "The novel Memoirs of a Famous Courtesan was sent to me by a classmate of mine in Peking. He thought I would like it, and I really liked it." He looked at Le Jing sincerely, with deep appreciation in his eyes, "I read precious rebellion from your words."

"Rebellious?"

Ji Qi nodded and said, "Yes, it is rebellion. What is rebellion? In my opinion, rebellion means not accepting fate! Bai Shaoyao refused to accept her fate, so even though she didn't defeat fate in the end, in my opinion, she still won honor in defeat."

He raised his head, and at that moment, a fire that would never go out ignited in the eyes of this plain little man, "Should the poor accept the fate of suffering without resistance? Why? On what basis? From the time when the current government regressed to the time when there were emperors for thousands of years, the poor people of China have been accepting their fate, but has China become better? In the end, fate only favors meat eaters. In this case, why should the poor accept their fate? Only by not accepting fate can you have the possibility of defeating fate." Ji Qi also gave a personal example, "I am also the son of a poor man, but I did not accept my fate, so I got the opportunity to drink meat soup today."

Le Jing smiled.

This is a warrior who is determined to fight against fate. Anything that cannot knock him down will make him stronger. Even if Le Jing did not have later history as a reference, he could be sure that Ji Qi would become a great man in the future.

Sure enough, no one's success is accidental.

"You've passed the test." Le Jing said with a smile, "If it were you, you would definitely be able to adapt my novel into an excellent movie."

Ji Qi was stunned. To be honest, he had prepared a lot for this meeting. He knew that his offer was not high and he had no advantage, so he could only show Le Jing his sincerity through other means. So this time, he not only brought the script of "Memoirs of a Famous Courtesan" that he adapted, but also brought several large volumes of his reading notes on "Memoirs of a Famous Courtesan", hoping that these things would let the Night Watchman see his intentions and allow him to make the novel into a movie.

He hasn't even finished his homework yet, but the Night Watch has already readily decided to appoint him as the director. Isn't this a bit too smooth a development? Even if the Night Watch doesn't care about the price, it should listen to his interpretation of the novel and his ideas for adapting the script, right?

Ji Qi's brain suddenly jumped and he actually asked the question in his mind directly.

The young man's eyes sparkled and he smiled brilliantly, like a star shining on the sea. "Because you refuse to accept your fate. I have always admired this quality. I also believe that only people who refuse to accept their fate can make the movie I want."

A gentleman is like jade. Ji Qi can only use these four words to describe Li Jingran. What is a gentleman?

Confucius said: "A gentleman has nine thoughts: looking to see clearly, listening to hear clearly, looking warm, looking respectful, speaking loyally, doing things respectfully, asking questions when in doubt, thinking of difficulties when angry, and thinking of righteousness when seeing gains."

The Book of Changes says: "Heaven's movement is vigorous, and the gentleman should constantly strive to strengthen himself."

Because Li Jingran is a gentleman, he would not hesitate to believe a stranger based on just a few words. Because he is a gentleman, he agrees with his "refusal to accept fate."

If Le Jing knew what Ji Qi was thinking at this moment, he would definitely be amused. Le Jing considered himself to be a mean person who would do anything to achieve his goals, but he did not have the decency and courtesy of a gentleman. It can only be said that this was a wonderful misunderstanding.

Ji Qi took out a thick sheet of manuscript paper from his briefcase and put it on the table. He said quickly, "This is the script I adapted before and some of my thoughts and experiences on Memoirs of a Famous Courtesan. Please correct me, sir."

Le Jing took the manuscript, but did not read it first. Instead, he asked, "My Memoirs of a Famous Courtesan was adapted into a play a few days ago. The actors in it are all real prostitutes. I wonder if Director Ji has seen it?"

Ji Qi knew about this, of course. He was eager to go and see it when he first arrived in Beijing, but...

He smiled bitterly, shook his head, and sighed, "I have heard of this play for a long time and have always wanted to watch it, but unfortunately the play is so popular that I have never been able to buy a ticket."

Le Jing smiled and said, "I am familiar with the drama actors. If Director Ji is free tomorrow, I can take you in for free." Tomorrow is Monday, and it seems that he will have to take sick leave again.

Ji Qi smiled in surprise and said, "That's great. I wrote about you here."

Le Jing smiled and said, "Don't thank me, I have selfish motives as well." He put away his smile and said solemnly, "I have an unreasonable request."

Ji Qi seemed to have guessed something. "Sir, just tell me what you want to say. I will definitely agree to anything I can agree to."

"I hope that the actors in the film Memoirs of a Famous Prostitute can be selected from the actors in the drama as much as possible." Facing Ji Qi's understanding eyes, Le Jing added calmly: "I want prostitutes to play prostitutes."

He could imagine how much of a commotion this would cause. Readers who first heard the name "Memoirs of a Famous Courtesan" would inevitably have erotic associations. If prostitutes were chosen as actors, then the film would really become an erotic film in the eyes of many people. This would add a lot of unnecessary scandals and trouble to the film.

But there is no better way to promote and voice their opinions than through movies. If prostitutes want to defeat their horrible fate, it is essential to make movies that speak for them.

Ji Qi smiled and said, "Sir, you really gave me a difficult problem."

Le Jing raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why, can't you do it?"

Ji Qi laughed heartily, his laughter was carefree and carefree, "Sir, your writing is just like my taste, it is true that your writing is like your personality!" He waved his hand heroically and said loudly: "When you have a bosom friend in life, you should be very happy."

In response, Le Jing pointed at himself with a smile and said, "Sorry, I am underage and weak, so I am not allowed to drink."