Chapter 188 A Chance Encounter by the West Lake
After asking for leave, Lin Weimin went home to explain to Han Zhuangzhuang, and boarded a train heading south the next morning.
The train ticket was bought with the help of the National Theatre of China. This time, Lin Weimin was helping out out of friendship, so Yi Zhi specifically asked someone to book a soft sleeper for him. Lin Weimin also enjoyed the treatment of a department-level official. The last time he enjoyed such treatment was when he went to Harbin with Teacher Jinshan.
These days, when ordinary people travel long distances by train, they can only buy standing tickets or hard seat tickets, which is the most miserable.
With a certain rank and treatment, I could buy a hard sleeper ticket, so I didn't suffer so much and my business trip was considered normal.
Once you get the soft sleeper ticket, which is a treatment only available to deputy director-general and above, you can enjoy much more when you travel.
The train swayed on the tracks for more than a day, and when Lin Weimin got off the train, his legs felt a little weak.
After a few steps of adaptation, I prepared to leave with the main force.
The sky in Hangzhou was gloomy and it was raining. August is the rainy season and Hangzhou, a water town in the south of the Yangtze River, has a lot of rain.
Lin Weimin didn't bring an umbrella, so he was soaked by the cold from the platform to the exit.
When I arrived at the exit, I saw people from the Zhijiang Repertory Theatre holding signs in the huge crowd.
"Hello, I'm Lin Weimin."
There were two people who came to pick him up. One was a middle-aged man named Tong Tingmiao, who was the playwright of the troupe. The other was a young man named Zhang Qiang, who was the stage designer of the troupe. Both of them were staff members of the "Intouchables" crew, and Zhang Qiang was responsible for driving.
Tong Tingmiao shook hands with Lin Weimin enthusiastically. After getting to know each other, he took Lin Weimin and walked out of the train station.
"Let's go quickly. Teacher Lin's clothes are all wet. Let's go to the guesthouse and change clothes first."
Tong Tingmiao's accent has a bit of Jiangnan style, which reminds Lin Weimin of Professor Jin Jin from the Institute of Literature Research.
The car that came to pick up Lin Weimin was a Yanjing Jeep, and Zhang Qiang was responsible for driving. Lin Weimin chatted with the two people along the way. After about twenty minutes, the car arrived at the guesthouse.
Along the way, Lin Weimin felt that the hospitality of the Zhijiang Repertory Theatre was very thoughtful. He changed his clothes in the room of the guesthouse.
It was already evening, and the drama troupe prepared a welcoming banquet. The person in charge of the reception was a deputy director of the troupe. Lin Weimin also met Cheng Weijia, the director of "The Intouchables". Such a lineup fully demonstrated the importance attached to Lin Weimin's arrival.
After a night's rest, Lin Weimin came to Hushu South Road where the Zhijiang Repertory Theatre was located.
In this era, the Zhijiang Drama Troupe is considered to be a relatively strong troupe in the country. Lin Weimin met all the staff of the "Intouchables" crew in the rehearsal room, including Tong Tingmiao and Zhang Qiang who had been hosting him before.
A person's reputation is like the shadow of a tree.
Although Lin Weimin looked younger than almost everyone else in the crew, no one dared to ignore him.
Not to mention the works he created in the past two years that are well-known to literature lovers across the country, just by virtue of the fact that his scripts have been the main plays promoted by Yanjing People's Art Theatre for two consecutive years, Lin Weimin is already a figure that everyone looks up to.
As for those who say that Lin Weimin relied on his teacher Mr. Wan, some people in the Zhijiang Repertory Theatre also spread this rumor, but it was just a rumor.
They haven't seen the performance of "Farewell My Concubine", but everyone has read the script of "The Intouchables".
They rely on their real abilities.
The director of the Zhijiang Repertory Theatre's version of "The Intouchables" is Cheng Weijia, a national first-class director who graduated from the National Drama College, the predecessor of the Chinese Academy of Drama. He is a veteran of the Zhijiang Repertory Theatre and has been there since the troupe was founded. He has directed representative works of the Zhijiang Repertory Theatre, such as "Li Chuang Wang", "Red Storm" and "Red Rock".
Cheng Weijia called him "Teacher Lin" all the time. Facing such seniority, Lin Weimin was very humble.
When they arrived at the rehearsal room, Cheng Weijia naturally wanted all the actors to show up in front of Lin Weimin, the original screenwriter.
The actors of this era have very solid basic skills. At least Lin Weimin doesn't think these actors are much worse than those of Yenching People's Art Theatre.
As for whether the image conforms to the imagination of him as the original screenwriter, it is not important. Now the Zhijiang Repertory Theatre is rehearsing "The Intouchables" and this is their home court.
After watching for a long time, the whole rehearsal room was full of harmony.
The next thing is to discuss the script, which is not something the actors are involved in.
Cheng Weijia called over several main creators of the crew and asked everyone to listen to Lin Weimin share his original intentions and feelings when creating "The Intouchables" as well as the experience of Yanjing People's Art Theatre in rehearsing this play. This will be of great benefit to everyone's understanding of the script and subsequent creation.
Lin Weimin did not shy away from the fact that the Zhijiang Repertory Theatre paid him 300 yuan for the use of the script of "The Intouchables". The treatment he received on business trips here was the same as that provided by the Yanjing People's Art Theatre, a daily allowance of 5 yuan. Adding up the two, he made 10 yuan a day, which is 300 yuan a month, which was definitely a high salary in that era.
Of course, the travel allowance is much higher than the salary. What's more, Lin Weimin came to Zhijiang on behalf of both parties and received double allowance. He was not short of this little money. What he wanted was respect.
Not to mention that if "The Intouchables" is performed in the future, the Zhijiang Repertory Theatre will still have to give Lin Weimin a share of the profits from each performance.
Therefore, Lin Weimin must do his best in re-creating and rehearsing other people's scripts.
After spending a week, he finally explained all the problems with the script to the crew, and Lin Weimin's work was mostly completed.
The next step is the rough rehearsal by the actors in the crew, and then screenwriter Tong Tingmiao will lead everyone to revise the script until a final draft is produced.
Lin Weimin would definitely not be able to see the finalized script before he left. Cheng Weijia discussed with him that since the actors were rehearsing for the next few days and Lin Weimin had nothing to do, he asked Zhang Qiang from the crew to be his tour guide and take him around the various scenic spots in Hangzhou. This is an indispensable procedure for business trips these days.
There is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below.
Since ancient times, Hangzhou has been a world-famous city with innumerable beautiful scenery. The West Lake alone has attracted countless masterpieces by writers and poets.
Zhang Qiang specially borrowed a camera from the troupe, "Teacher Lin, we can take pictures casually today, don't worry about the film, I will report it to the troupe."
Lin Weimin refused again and again, "No need, I just want to walk around and take a look, no need to take pictures."
He didn't know if other men were like this, but he didn't like having his photo taken.
The West Lake in the early 1980s was far from the crowded scene of later generations.
The day Lin Weimin came was a weekday, and it was a rare sunny day in Hangzhou.
The weather is very hot, so even fewer people come out to play.
Lin Weimin stood by the West Lake, where there were only two scattered small boats sailing.
Looking at the breathtaking scenery before him, he couldn't help but feel a little romantic.
"The lake is always filled with spring breeze, and every golden and jade building is the same.
White birds are accustomed to following the boat up and down, and the painted bridge divides the water from west to east.
A hundred years of happiness is beyond the clouds, while a period of sadness is in the setting sun.
"I have grown old and am no longer concerned about where I am, how red are the lotus flowers now?"
Zhang Qiang, with a camera hanging around his neck, exclaimed in admiration, "Great poem! Teacher Lin, you are so talented!"
Lin Weimin felt a little embarrassed by the boy's flattery and looked around. Fortunately, there were not many people around.
He waved his hand at Zhang Qiang and said, "This is "Boating on West Lake" written by Zhou Deng of the Song Dynasty. It's not me who has talent, it's others who have talent!"
Zhang Qiang couldn't even be considered literate, and he didn't know who Zhou Deng was, but he truly admired the fact that Teacher Lin could speak eloquently just by looking at the scenery.
No wonder he is a great writer!
The two of them walked and laughed along the bank of the West Lake. Seeing that Lin Weimin didn't need him to take pictures, Zhang Qiang took it himself. From time to time, he raised his camera to capture the beautiful scenery that he liked.
"Today, thanks to you, Teacher Lin, I am able to come to West Lake for a tour." Zhang Qiang said excitedly.
"I am the one who borrowed your light. With you by my side, I am not completely in the dark!"
Zhang Qiang was happy in his heart, thinking that the cultured people spoke more pleasantly.
The two walked to the pier and happened to see tourists getting off the boat after boating. Zhang Qiang was surprised and said, "They are foreigners!"
Foreigners were not common at that time, so Zhang Qiang's curiosity was understandable.
Lin Weimin didn't care and was about to walk past when a young man with a strange face came towards him. He looked about fifteen or sixteen years old. He grinned and smiled extremely brightly.
"David, Susan, how is it? I didn't lie to you, boating on the West Lake is the best way to experience it." The boy spoke in authentic English.
The people the young man was talking to were a young man and woman who had just got off the boat.
"Yun, you are absolutely right! It is a great experience to travel around West Lake on a boat." The blond boy said loudly excitedly.
While the two were talking, Lin Weimin stopped.
Zhang Qiang asked: "Teacher Lin, what's wrong?"
Lin Weimin looked at the strange boy, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Nothing, that little guy looks very special."
Zhang Qiang had just noticed the boy's peculiar appearance, but he didn't pay any attention to it at the moment and said naturally, "He's ugly enough!"
Lin Weimin looked at Zhang Qiang helplessly and said, "Brother, don't misinterpret what I mean!"
Besides, can we not be so loud when we speak ill of others?
"You can't say that. We can't decide how we look. And beauty and ugliness are relative. There is no absolute beauty or absolute ugliness. People just look special, but that doesn't mean they are ugly."
Zhang Qiang didn't expect that a casual remark of his would lead to criticism from Teacher Lin. He felt a little indignant because he thought the boy was really ugly.
But at the same time, he felt that Teacher Lin was really amazing and what he said made a lot of sense. He said a little embarrassedly: "I'm sorry, Teacher Lin, I didn't speak well."
Lin Weimin smiled and said, "You shouldn't say sorry to me..."
As he said this, he looked at the little guy they had been discussing just now.
There was some anger in the little guy's eyes, obviously he had heard Zhang Qiang's reckless remarks just now.
"Yun, what's wrong? Are they talking about you?" The blond boy next to the little guy obviously noticed his mood changes. Seeing that his eyes were always fixed on Lin Weimin and the other man, he couldn't help but ask.
The little guy spoke a few words in English to the blond boy, and the blond boy looked at Lin Weimin and the other man with a bit of anger in his eyes.
It's embarrassing to be caught saying bad things.
Lin Weimin smiled kindly and said, "Comrade, I'm really sorry. We both spoke out of turn."
Being called comrade by Lin Weimin, the anger on the little guy's face subsided a little. He has always looked younger than his peers, but in fact he is already eighteen years old this year and has just taken the college entrance examination.
"This matter has nothing to do with you. I heard everything." The little guy said while looking at Zhang Qiang standing beside him.
Zhang Qiang could only bite the bullet and walk out, "Comrade...Comrade, I'm really sorry for what happened just now. I just have a bad mouth. Please forgive my rashness."
The little guy has been called ugly many times since he was a child, and he doesn't really care about it. But what Zhang Qiang said just now was too unscrupulous, and he thought to himself that he had foreign friends around him, so it shouldn't be difficult to get the person who said bad things about him to apologize to him.
Zhang Qiang's apology was quite sincere, so the little guy took advantage of the situation and pretended to be magnanimous, "Since you've already apologized, forget it. Be more careful next time, not everyone is as easy to talk to as me."
Zhang Qiang nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, I'm really sorry."
Zhang Qiang's attitude made the little guy feel proud. He felt that he should show his gentlemanly manners in front of foreign friends, so he extended his hand to Zhang Qiang.
"Forget it. We are acquainted after fighting. Let me introduce myself. My name is Ma Yun."
Zhang Qiang stretched out his hand. "My name is Zhang Qiang, and I'm an employee of the Zhijiang Drama Troupe."
He then introduced Lin Weimin, "This is Mr. Lin Weimin, a writer. Do you know him?"
Ma Yun's eyes suddenly lit up. Lin Weimin? A great writer?
"Hello, Teacher Lin!" Ma Yun extended his hand to Lin Weimin.
(End of this chapter)
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