Chapter 143 Chen Xiaoer and Han Zhuangzhuang
Two days later, Lin Weimin walked into the National Theatre of China with Chen Xiaoer on his left hand and Han Zhuangzhuang on his right hand. Just based on the appearance of these left and right arms, people believed that they were the ones who came to smash, loot and rob.
Ouyang Shanzun felt that both of them were a bit ugly, so he decided to try out a play first.
Ouyang Shanzun called an actor and asked him to act with Chen Xiaoer in a scene from Farewell My Concubine.
Chen Xiaoer was in high spirits. He had been waiting for this day for several months. He had almost read the novel of Farewell My Concubine to pieces, and he could recite the first draft of the script given by Lin Weimin almost by heart.
On the stage, Chen Xiaoer performed extremely hard, and it seemed as if his eyes were about to pop out of his head.
Lin Weimin smiled awkwardly at Ouyang Shanzun, "He is a little excited."
He shouted to Chen Xiaoer on the stage, "Pace, hold back. You're overacting."
Chen Xiaoer also realized his problem. He shook his body on the stage to relax himself and started again.
This time, his performance was much better. Ouyang Shanzun nodded, "Not bad."
But as he watched, he frowned again. There was nothing wrong with the actor's acting skills, so why did he look more and more vulgar the more he watched?
He stared for a long time before realizing that Chen Xiaoer's shoulders were always drooping, which made his overall temperament so "outstanding".
“That actor…”
Ouyang Shanzun shouted, and Chen Xiaoer on the stage was frightened. He stopped performing and looked at Ouyang Shanzun at a loss.
"Stand up your shoulders. You're acting like a thief. Isn't it shameful to act on stage?"
Lin Weimin couldn't help but cover his mouth. He wanted to laugh but felt embarrassed.
After Chen Xiaoer had finally finished his audition, Ouyang Shanzun said to Lin Weimin, "It's no problem to play the role of Fourth Master Yuan, but you need to work harder on your body shape."
Chen Xiaoer nodded hurriedly, hunched over and said, "Teacher Ouyang, you are right. This is a problem I have acquired from acting. In the past two years, I have only played the roles of street urchins."
Ouyang Shanzun frowned and reminded: "Stand up straight!"
Chen Xiaoer subconsciously straightened his back and stood at attention with a snap. Ouyang Shanzun nodded with satisfaction, "Yes, there is still hope!"
Lin Weimin smiled again.
After watching Chen Xiaoer's performance, it was Han Zhuangzhuang's turn.
He was a greenhorn, and seeing Ouyang Shanzun’s full aura, his tongue got tangled with nervousness, “Ou… Hello, Teacher Ouyang!”
Ouyang Shanzun smiled with a kind look, completely different from when he was talking to Chen Xiaoer just now.
"Don't be nervous!" He looked Han Zhuangzhuang up and down, "You look pretty good!"
Han Zhuangzhuang said: "Our teacher said that my appearance would limit my acting career."
Ouyang Shanzun smiled and said, "What your teacher said is not wrong, but he was referring to the screen. When an actor is placed in the small frame of a TV, or on a movie screen, the advantages of their body shape and face shape will be reduced, and the disadvantages will be magnified. But on the stage of a drama, this limitation can be almost ignored, unless you conflict with the character itself."
He looked at Chen Xiaoer again, and said with a smile, "You two are quite humorous!"
After he was reminded of this, Lin Weimin found that it seemed to be true. He looked at his eldest nephew and Chen Xiaoer standing together in surprise, and actually saw an inexplicable sense of harmony between them.
Wait, you two are a couple, what about Lao Mao?
The image of Lao Mao fainting in the toilet emerged in Lin Weimin’s mind.
That's not true. Before Lao Mao collaborated with Chen Xiaoer, he was a serious movie star, the kind that was famous all over the country.
But after working with Chen Xiaoer, what has become of Lao Mao?
A famous comedian.
It's really pitiful to talk about it. When he debuted, he was an idol movie star known by thousands of households, the idol and dream lover in the hearts of countless girls, but as time went by, he became a professional in the Spring Festival Gala.
It’s all Chen Xiaoer’s fault. He dragged all of Lao Mao’s leg hair off.
Thinking about it this way, it seems like it wouldn't be a bad idea if the eldest nephew could be paired up with Chen Xiaoer.
A hint of smile appeared on Lin Weimin's lips.
Ouyang Shanzun looked at Han Zhuangzhuang and liked him more and more.
"Teacher Lin!" He called Lin Weimin.
"What's wrong?"
Ouyang Shanzun said, "What do you think of Xiao Han playing the role of Overlord?"
Play a Overlord?
Lin Weimin immediately understood that Ouyang Shanzun was referring to Duan Xiaolou.
"Is this...appropriate?" Lin Weimin said hypocritically.
Ouyang Shanzun's eyes were meaningful. Don't think I don't know what you are thinking.
Lin Weimin looked away guiltily.
"Of course it's a little early to say that. Let's wait until Xiao Han enters our academy." He said this as if Han Zhuangzhuang's admission to the People's Art Theatre was a foregone conclusion.
Then, Ouyang Shanzun asked Han Zhuangzhuang to come on stage to check his voice and appearance. He said to Lin Weimin, "Not bad, your nephew has a pretty good foundation."
Lin Weimin said: "I'll have to trouble you to help me train him more."
Ouyang Shanzun suggested: "How about letting Xiao Han stay with me in the rehearsal room during this period of time?"
Lin Weimin wanted to say something hypocritically polite, but under Ouyang Shanzun's gaze, he finally didn't say it.
He couldn't help but smile, "Thank you for your help."
"You're welcome. Xiao Han is one of us too."
Han Zhuangzhuang was filled with excitement as he watched his uncle and the director chat and laugh in a few words and decide that he could study at the People's Art Theatre.
My uncle is so awesome!
After meeting with Ouyang Shanzun, Lin Weimin took Chen Xiaoer to meet Yi Shizhi. It was a troublesome thing for Chen Xiaoer to come to the People's Art Theatre to make a guest appearance, and there were a lot of formalities to deal with.
After finishing the work, Lin Weimin brought the two people out of the People's Art Theatre.
Chen Xiaoer sighed and patted Han Zhuangzhuang on the shoulder, "Zhuangzhuang, you really have a good uncle!"
After a tour around the National Theatre of China, even if Chen Xiaoer was a fool, he understood clearly that based on the attitudes of the dean Shi Yizhi and the meritorious director Ouyang Shanzun, he was 100% sure that Han Zhuangzhuang would definitely enter the National Theatre of China.
Han Zhuangzhuang grinned. He was simple but not stupid, so he could naturally see everyone's kindness towards him. All this could only be attributed to his uncle.
"Thank you, uncle."
Lin Weimin naturally sat on the back of the bicycle and said, "Stop talking nonsense, let's find a place to eat."
When it comes to eating, Han Zhuangzhuang doesn't care about anything else and just gets on his bike and pedals hard.
Chen Xiaoer was panting as he was chasing after him. "Can you slow down, kid?"
Lin Weimin joked: "Pace, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but how can you be so weak at such a young age?"
Chen Xiaoer panted and said, "Don't gloat over my misfortune. If you have the guts, get off and ride me."
"No need. I'm sitting comfortably here, just take your time."
After saying that, he patted Han Zhuangzhuang on the shoulder and said, "Zhuangzhuang, hurry up!"
"Okay, uncle!"
The bicycle sped past, and Chen Xiaoer was in tears, "What a beast!"
In mid-July, the 1980s amateur acting class of Yanying is about to graduate.
On this day, everyone took graduation photos. After taking a group photo with the teachers, it was time for the students to take group photos.
Li Qinqin insisted on pulling Han Zhuangzhuang to take a photo with her. After taking several photos, Han Zhuangzhuang finally couldn't bear it anymore and broke free from her arms.
After Han Zhuangzhuang took another group photo with his classmates, Li Qinqin, who was waiting nearby, asked, "Zhuangzhuang, when are you going back to Shanghai?"
Han Zhuangzhuang shook his head and said, "I'm not going back to Shanghai. My uncle asked me to go to the People's Art Theatre."
Go to the People's Art Theatre?
Li Qinqin's eyes lit up and she said excitedly, "That's great!"
Han Zhuangzhuang thought again of what Lin Weimin had said to him and felt that he should explain things clearly to Li Qinqin.
"Qinqin, I don't like you!" Han Zhuangzhuang said bluntly.
Li Qinqin's face turned pale when she heard this, and she forced herself to remain calm and said, "Why are you telling me this? I didn't say I like you."
Han Zhuangzhuang breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good. My uncle said you like me, and I said no!"
Li Qinqin's tears welled up in her eyes. "Your uncle is really good at talking nonsense."
"That's right, that's right!" Han Zhuangzhuang said with a silly smile.
"I won't talk to you anymore. I'm going to take a photo with someone else."
"good."
Han Zhuangzhuang looked at Li Qinqin's back, his face full of melancholy.
He knew that Li Qinqin was pretending, so why wasn't he pretending too?
We are all adults now, so we should give each other some respect.
Han Zhuangzhuang felt a little proud.
I have matured!
Li Chengru bumped Han Zhuangzhuang's shoulder and said, "You are really unromantic!"
Han Zhuangzhuang frowned, "Unromantic? I am responsible."
"Okay, okay, let's not talk about this anymore." Li Chengru asked, "What's the matter? I just heard you tell Qinqin that you want to join the People's Art Theater?"
"Well, my uncle asked me to go."
Li Chengru said enviously: "It's great to have an uncle who is a great writer. He can enter the National Theatre of China just by asking him to."
"How can you get in just like that? You have to take an exam."
Li Chengru gave Han Zhuangzhuang a look that said "you take me for a fool", and Han Zhuangzhuang stopped talking.
After a while, the news that Han Zhuangzhuang was going to the People's Art Theatre spread among his classmates. Everyone came to ask him whether it was true or not. Han Zhuangzhuang was so angry that he wanted to give Li Chengru, the big mouth, a few slaps in the face.
Even the photography student who came to act as a guest photographer for their class today asked Han Zhuangzhuang curiously: "Zhuangzhuang, are you really joining the People's Art Theater?"
Han Zhuangzhuang had met the big brother from the photography department several times in school, but he was not familiar with him. It was said that the big brother was almost thirty years old when he entered the school, and with his weathered face, people would believe he was forty.
"Don't listen to their nonsense. I'm preparing to take the entrance exam for the National Theatre of China."
Big Brother nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
"Yimou, Yimou!"
Cui Xiaoqin called out from a distance, ran over and said, "You haven't finished taking the graduation photos yet? Zhuangzhuang is waiting for you to attend the meeting!"
She saw Han Zhuangzhuang again, "What a coincidence. Zhuangzhuang is here too. Let's get ready and go together."
"good."
After finishing the graduation photo shoot, Han Zhuangzhuang followed the photography department's big brother to a meeting. On the way, he asked, "Brother, I don't know your last name yet?"
"My last name is Zhang."
"Oh, Zhang Yimou!"
Han Zhuangzhuang thought, with this appearance, people would believe me if I said I was his father.
The classroom was filled with students from Class 1978, who were also the behind-the-scenes production team of "The Courtyard". The only actor who came was Han Zhuangzhuang.
Tian Zhuangzhuang stated the purpose of today's meeting. Their graduation work "The Courtyard" will start filming tomorrow, and everyone was excited to hear the news.
Tian Zhuangzhuang said to Han Zhuangzhuang: "Zhuangzhuang, please tell Teacher Lin later and ask him to come over and give us some guidance when he has time."
"Okay, Brother Tian."
After the meeting, Han Zhuangzhuang came out of the classroom. His classmates from Class 80 were all packing their luggage in the dormitory, and many of them were still crying.
After a farewell dinner in the evening, Han Zhuangzhuang carried his luggage and moved into the Shichahai courtyard.
In the evening, when Lin Weimin came back from get off work, Han Zhuangzhuang mentioned that the filming of "The Courtyard" was about to start. When Tian Zhuangzhuang asked him to come over for guidance when he was free, Lin Weimin said, "I know. I'll wait until I'm free."
The next day, at the editorial office of Contemporary.
Lu Yao came to Lin Weimin to say goodbye in great spirits. "Life" had passed the third review by the editorial department and had also passed the meeting. It was confirmed that it would be published in the new issue in September.
The most important thing is that the editorial department took advantage of the fact that Lu Yao was here and gave him the royalties directly.
For the 140,000-word "Life", Lu Yao received more than 1,300 yuan in royalties, plus the allowance for revising the manuscript, it was exactly 1,400 yuan. This money made him, who was short of money, suddenly generous. When he arrived at the office, he threw a message to Lin Weimin to wish him a happy new year.
"What do you want to give it to me? I don't smoke." Lin Weimin said with a smile.
"I'm giving it back to you."
Lin Weimin smiled and said, "Okay, I'll take it."
"Let's have dinner together tonight."
"Don't go out to eat, come to my house and I'll call a friend."
Lin Weimin simply didn't want Lu Yao to spend more money. He even suspected that the royalties might not be enough for Lu Yao to last for half a year.
After get off work, Lin Weimin took Lu Yao to the vegetable market to buy vegetables, and then went to find Qu Xiaowei.
Lin Weimin knew a lot of people in Yanjing, but there were only a few he could invite out for a drink.
Shi Tiesheng is not in good health, so if you want to get together with him, you can only go to his house. Zheng Guo is busy dating now. When Lin Weimin got off work, he saw Yao Shuzhi drawing eyebrows and painting phoenixes. The two must have a date.
There is only one Qu Xiaowei, who is idle and ready to come whenever called.
The chef for dinner is Han Zhuangzhuang. He has graduated now and has nothing to do except studying at the People's Art Theatre during the day.
Lin Weimin said that the Lin family doesn't keep idle people, so he has to get moving.
The dining table was set up under the jujube tree in the yard. Qu Xiaowei tasted a bite of the dish and praised, "My nephew's cooking skills are pretty good."
Han Zhuangzhuang chuckled twice and filled everyone's glasses.
He was the youngest among the people present, so he had to serve in the bureau.
After drinking some wine, the topic became open.
When Qu Xiaowei heard that Lu Yao had written a novel of more than 100,000 words that would soon be published in "Contemporary", he couldn't help but sigh.
He has basically given up on writing, but there are still many friends around him who are persisting. Every time he sees everyone achieving success, he always feels a little uncomfortable.
Seeing that he was depressed, Lin Weimin changed the subject and talked about Liu Haiyan's work.
This made Qu Xiaowei even more depressed, "No movement yet!"
Lin Weimin consoled him, "Don't worry. Transferring a job is not as simple as just talking about it. I have already found a receiving unit and it took me a month to find one."
"I know that." Qu Xiaowei took a sip of wine, "It's just that the people waiting are getting anxious."
Lu Yao asked Lin Weimin if he had written any new works recently. Lin Weimin shook his head and said, "No."
For others, it is not surprising not to write anything new for a year or two.
But this is not normal for Lin Weimin. As everyone knows, he is a famous quick shooter.
"You've been a bit slack lately. Don't learn from Xiaowei."
Qu Xiaowei was lying down with the gunshot wound, yelling a few words.
Everyone was a little drunk.
Lin Weimin told Lu Yao: "Spend your royalties sparingly."
Lu Yao, with a cigarette in his mouth and a flushed face, said to Lin Weimin: "Weimin, you don't understand. For people like us, the biggest enemy is our own contempt for ourselves. So, I need a special kind of publicity to offset the special inferiority complex."
Lin Weimin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This guy was full of fallacies and heresies.
Lu Yao drank too much and stayed overnight at Lin Weimin's house.
The next morning, he boarded the train back to Shaanxi.
After seeing Lu Yao off, Lin Weimin went to work.
When he returned to the office, he took out the happy new year message that Lu Yao had given him and distributed it to his colleagues in the editorial department.
Several old smokers were smiling happily, but the two female comrades, Liu Yin and Yao Shuzhi, frowned and were full of dissatisfaction with Lin Weimin.
"All you do is smoke all day long!" Liu Yin opened the window as wide as possible.
A few people didn't care. They gathered together to smoke free cigarettes and chatted about Lu Yao's "Life".
The editorial department implements a three-review system, but many times everyone is eager to see good works.
Just like Lu Yao's "Life", colleagues in the editorial department have read it and gave it very high praise.
Rong Shihui said with the professionalism of a veteran editor: "Lu Yao is probably going to become famous this time!"
Everyone is happy to see this happen. If Lu Yao really becomes famous because of "Life", it will also be a good thing for "Contemporary".
The influence of a publication, in addition to its sales volume, is more importantly determined by how many famous writers it has produced.
The more writers we cultivate, the higher the popularity and influence of the publication will naturally be.
Seriously speaking, before Lu Yao published "A Thrilling Scene" in "Contemporary", he had also published works in other publications, but the influence was relatively small. It was not until he published "Shock" that he entered the national stage.
What's more, Lu Yao submitted the work "Shock" to several publications at that time, but was ruthlessly rejected by all of them. Only "Contemporary" accepted Lu Yao.
Not only that, Qin Zhaoyang, the editor-in-chief of "Contemporary", also publicly published an article in the media to encourage Lu Yao.
Rong Shihui sighed, "I still remember the conversation between Lao Tan and Lu Yao. Lu Yao said that if the death penalty is upheld here, he would burn the manuscript. When he said this, he sounded desperate, and the underlying meaning was that he would probably never do any literary creation again."
Everyone was deeply moved after listening to this. If it weren't for Qin Chaoyang's decisiveness and appreciation for talent at that time, Lu Yao wouldn't be where he is today.
It was Contemporary and Qin Zhaoyang who saved Lu Yao's creative career.
A few people were chatting about Qin Chaoyang when he knocked on the office door and everyone stopped chatting.
"Editor-in-chief!"
Qin Chaoyang waved to everyone and said, "Weimin, there's a phone call for you."
"Looking for me? What's the matter?" Lin Weimin stood up and asked as he walked past.
"I don't know how Lu Dong called me and said he was from the TV station." Qin Chaoyang said.
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(End of this chapter)
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