Chapter 180: Warm Response
The thunderous applause in the Capital Theatre finally died down, but the audience could not calm down completely so quickly. Everyone spontaneously discussed the plot of the drama with familiar or unfamiliar audiences around them, and even forgot to leave.
The lights in the theater were on for a long time before the first audience member began to leave.
Gradually, the audience left the theater one by one.
Sitting in the front row, Lin Weimin had to greet some leaders, reporters and critics under the introduction of the leaders of the People's Art Theatre. After dealing with them for more than ten minutes, he finally found time to greet Mr. Wan.
"Teacher, this play is well-rehearsed, right?" Lin Weimin asked with some pride.
Mr. Wan looked at him and, for once, did not get discouraged. Instead, he nodded and said, "It is indeed good. Shan Zun has put in a lot of effort."
Ouyang Shanzun, who was standing by, said modestly, not forgetting to bring Lin Weimin along, "It's all because of Mr. Lin's good script writing."
"Teacher Ouyang, you are too polite."
Mr. Wan smiled and said, "Okay, you two stop flattering each other. You both did a great job, okay?"
Several people looked at each other and smiled.
"Farewell My Concubine" is a big drama, which lasts for three hours. It starts at 7:30 at the Capital Theatre, and a lot of time is wasted after the curtain call. It is already 11 o'clock.
Lin Weimin was worried that Mr. Wan was tired, "Teacher, how about I take you back first?"
Mr. Wan said, "You don't have to send me off. It's too late today. I asked for a car when I came out. I can go out by myself."
People at Mr. Wan's level are equipped with a private car, but the old man rarely uses it. Today, in order to show his support for Lin Weimin, he enjoyed the privilege.
Lin Weimin insisted on sending Mr. Wan out of the theater and watched him get into the car before returning to the Capital Theater.
At this time, the audience in the Capital Theatre had already left, and only the theatre staff were still cleaning. It was too late today, and the staff were also very busy.
When Lin Weimin came backstage, he found that the actors were still as excited as ever. Some of them didn't even take off their makeup and were still talking about the grand performance that had just taken place.
When they saw Lin Weimin, everyone greeted him warmly: "Teacher Lin!"
"Everyone has worked hard and performed well. Thank you all for your efforts!" Lin Weimin encouraged.
"Thank you, Mr. Lin."
"Your notebook is the best!"
Many actors responded to Lin Weimin's encouragement.
Lin Weimin patted Yang Lixin on the shoulder and sighed, "Lixin is going to be famous!"
Yang Lixin modestly said: "Teacher Lin, please don't say that."
Before Lin Weimin could speak, other colleagues around him echoed, "We just said that. Li Xin really brought Cheng Dieyi to life this time. I heard the audience crying backstage just now. It's amazing. I have been at the People's Art Theater for so many years and this is the first time I have encountered such a situation."
Lin Weimin said with a smile: "Everyone acted very well. Li Xin had a heavy role, so the audience naturally left a deep impression on him."
He touched the head of the actor who played Xiao Douzi again and said, "You acted the best. The scream when you chopped off your finger was so heartfelt."
Everyone around burst into laughter. In the play, Cheng Dieyi had six fingers when he was a child. In order to allow him to join the opera troupe, his mother cut off one of his fingers.
After chatting and laughing with the actors backstage for a long time, Lin Weimin got up and said goodbye when he saw it was too late.
It was already past midnight when I got home. In the 1980s, when nightlife was monotonous, it was rare to go home at this time.
The next day at work, Lin Weimin became the focus of everyone's attention again.
Yanjing is the capital. Even in the 1980s when information was not well developed, there were more than dozens of print media here, including national, municipal, and government agencies...
In Yanjing City alone, there are a lot of newspapers including Yanjing Morning News, Yanjing Evening News, Yanjing Youth Daily, Legal Evening News, etc.
Guowen Press is a publishing organization, and subscriptions to newspapers and magazines are inevitable. Not only does it subscribe to Yenching newspapers, it also subscribes to a lot of newspapers across the country.
Early this morning, several newspapers including the Yenching Morning Post, the Yenching Youth Daily and the Beijing News reported on the grand premiere of "Farewell My Concubine" at the Capital Theatre last night. The reports were not long and were full of praise. Colleagues teased Lin Weimin a lot while holding the newspapers.
At the same time, the topic of tickets for "Farewell My Concubine" was brought up again, and everyone unanimously asked Lin Weimin to help them get a few tickets for "Farewell My Concubine".
Tickets for performances at the National Theatre of China are sold in advance, but Farewell My Concubine was so popular and everyone was busy with work, so tickets were simply not available.
Colleagues did not ask Lin Weimin for help in vain. They let him choose two restaurants in Yanjing City, and regarded it as the ticket money given to Lin Weimin by everyone.
This request was very sincere, and Lin Weimin readily agreed.
He thought that this situation was probably caused by the scalpers who appeared at the Capital Theatre.
I can’t believe there are scalpers these days.
His vision is so sharp that he actually chose his own play.
Yao Shuzhi was sitting on the Diaoyutai today and did not look for Lin Weimin. He guessed that Zheng Guo must have helped her solve the problem.
After get off work in the evening, Lin Weimin went to the guesthouse to see Jiang Zilong.
Jiang Zilong came to Yanjing this time to watch a drama, but he did not leave after the drama. He has many friends in Yanjing and plans to stay for a few more days. Lin Weimin didn't have time to communicate much with him last night, so he made an appointment to have a drink together today.
The two bought some snacks from a restaurant outside and brought them back, then started drinking in the room of the guesthouse.
In addition to the currently being performed drama Farewell My Concubine, it is natural to mention the novel Farewell My Concubine that will be published in the United States.
"I say you are really good. You have made several times the royalties for one work through magazine publishing, radio broadcasting, TV dramas, and plays. Now you are publishing them in the United States!" Jiang Zilong exclaimed.
Lin Weimin smiled and said, "It was all coincidence."
Jiang Zilong shook his head. "How can there be so many coincidences? You don't know how famous you are now. Whenever I meet someone in Tianjin, I can't help but talk about you."
"Is it that exaggerated?"
"It's just that exaggerated." Jiang Zilong poured a glass of wine for Lin Weimin. "You, I underestimate your influence in the literary circle. Let alone your anecdotes, there are countless people who never tire of spreading them."
"My anecdote? What anecdote do I have?"
Jiang Zilong looked at Lin Weimin with a teasing smile on his face, "Do I need to count them one by one for you?"
He really counted on his fingers and said, "Going to the Institute of Literature to study and recognizing Mr. Wan as a teacher, does this count as one thing?"
Lin Weimin thought for a moment and said, "I think... I guess so."
"Writing a script for a theater at the age of 20, does that count?"
Lin Weimin hesitated, "Forget it?"
"I wrote for Zhongshan, from short stories to novels, and the layout of the magazine was moved several times. Does that count?"
"Calculate?"
"Does it count if I go to Yanda University and confess my love to a female overseas student?"
Lin Weimin looked embarrassed and said, "I've already said this is a misunderstanding."
"Okay, okay, let's not talk about that. The novel of Farewell My Concubine has sold over a million copies so far, right? If we include that issue of People's Literature, it should be three million copies, right?"
"almost."
"Although there is a big age gap between us, we are both writers of the same generation. Have you seen any writer of our generation whose published novels sold as many copies as yours?"
Lin Weimin was a little embarrassed to answer, "...I haven't seen it."
"Now, Farewell My Concubine is going to be published in the United States. Do you know what those people say about you?" Jiang Zilong had a provocative expression on his face.
"What did you say?"
Jiang Zilong said vividly, "Are you talking about Lin Weimin? He really relied on Mr. Wan's help. His writing skills haven't improved much, but his fame is growing."
"I heard that his novels have been published in the United States?"
"What's wrong with publishing abroad? Mr. Zhou, Mr. Shu, Mr. Lin, which one of you hasn't had your work published abroad? Once you become famous, publishers will naturally come to you, but how many of you are popular abroad?"
Jiang Zilong couldn't help but let out a mischievous smile when he said this. "Listen, listen. I don't know whether they are praising you or criticizing you. You can now be compared with seniors of this level."
Lin Weimin was also amused by his words and laughed, "If they say so, I would love it."
As they drank and talked, Jiang Zilong drank nearly a pound of liquor but behaved as if nothing had happened. However, Lin Weimin was not so well. In the end, his speech was a little distorted and he had to spend the night in Jiang Zilong's room.
The performance of "Farewell My Concubine" was still going on at the Capital Theatre when Lin Weimin and Jiang Zilong were drinking.
Zhang Jianjun, who is going to take the college entrance examination next month, got off the bus and ran excitedly towards the Capital Theatre.
When entering the theater, he was in such a hurry that he almost bumped into two female students who were about to enter.
"Why doesn't this person look at the road when walking? Shuhua, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, let's go in quickly, the show is about to start."
Yao Shuhua said this and took her classmate's hand and walked into the theater.
The Capital Theatre is very large and can accommodate thousands of spectators to watch performances.
Yao Shuhua never watches plays. This time she came to see "Farewell My Concubine" purely out of her love for the original novel and the author Lin Weimin.
She begged her sister Yao Shuzhi and future brother-in-law to get the tickets. Her brother-in-law got three tickets, two of which were for the same show, which they kept, and the remaining ticket for today's show was given to her.
Coincidentally, one of Yao Shuhua's classmates also had a ticket for today, so the two of them went together to watch "Farewell My Concubine".
Not long after she and her classmates took their seats, the lights in the theater dimmed, followed by the announcement, and then the curtain opened, and the performance officially began.
This was Yao Shuhua's first time watching a drama. She was deeply attracted by the performance on stage. She stared at the actors' performance intently, not wanting to miss any details.
Before we knew it, the play was coming to an end.
On the stage, Cheng Dieyi made a gorgeous turn, slashed his throat with his sword, and Duan Xiaolou's heart-wrenching "Dieyi" rang out.
Yao Shuhua couldn't help crying, her tears falling like raindrops. She was so emotional that she tightly held the hands of the female classmate next to her.
At this moment, a shocking cry suddenly came from not far away.
“Ahhhhh, Dieyi…”
Not only Yao Shuhua and her female classmates, but also the entire audience were frightened by the crying, and the originally sad mood instantly ruined the show.
Even Yang Lixin, who had already "passed away" on the stage, almost "resurrected" when he heard the cry of Ao Liao.
Everyone around looked with disgust at the source of the crying. It was a young man sitting on the left side of the row in front of Yao Shuhua and the others.
The young man cried uncontrollably, not caring at all about the eyes of the people around him.
Everyone's eyes were filled with disgust, but it was difficult to say anything, thanks to the fact that the show was over.
Otherwise, if he suddenly shouted like that, he would ruin everyone's mood and would definitely be beaten up by the people of Yanjing.
"This guy is so annoying!" The female classmate next to Yao Shuhua said unhappily.
Yao Shuhua said: "He probably likes Cheng Dieyi too much, right? He cried so pitifully!"
The female classmate was just about to tease her when thunderous applause broke out, drowning out the heart-wrenching cries from not far away.
Yao Shuhua and her female classmates' hands turned red from clapping, and their faces turned red due to excitement.
"Shuhua, this play is so great. I want to watch it again."
"Me too, both of us."
Yao Shuhua clapped her hands while speaking.
The actors took their bows, the curtain closed on the stage, and the performance ended.
Yao Shuhua and her friend left the theater with a look of reluctance.
After leaving the theater, she saw a boy with red eyes from crying. Although she couldn't see clearly in the dark, Yao Shuhua was sure that this boy must be the one who cried so hard at the end.
Yao Shuhua secretly whispered in the ears of her female classmates and occasionally let out silvery bell-like laughter in the direction of the boys.
Zhang Jianjun came out of the theater with tears on his face, standing among the crowd feeling lost. A burst of laughter brought him out of his emotion.
He glanced in the direction of Yao Shuhua. The two girls seemed to be discussing him.
Zhang Jianjun didn't care. He thought that the actor who played Cheng Dieyi performed really well.
He touched his pocket and decided that he would come to see the play again next time. Not only that, he also wanted to give a gift to the actor who played "Cheng Dieyi".
The acting is so good, this is the Cheng Dieyi in my mind!
Comrades, I am back again.
(End of this chapter)
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