Chapter 243: Impartial Teacher Lin
Lin Weimin felt that this day was particularly long. All kinds of information came one after another, making him a little tired.
After work, he returned to the Shichahai courtyard and lay on the bed, unable to help recalling every detail of his time at the Institute of Literature. He got up and went to the study, scribbling and rewriting a condolence letter.
After putting the letter into the envelope, he sat in the study and thought for a while.
In the afternoon, he made several phone calls and finally contacted Lao Guo's wife.
On the phone, Lin Weimin learned that Lao Guo had returned to Xining for half a year. Although he had given up the treatment in Yanjing, his family could not just leave Lao Guo alone. Half a year of treatment in the local area could be regarded as buying Lao Guo a few more months.
When Lin Weimin asked about the family's current financial situation, Lao Guo's wife hesitated.
Lin Weimin immediately realized that such a long period of treatment had probably drained all the family savings.
Lin Weimin remembered that when Lao Guo was in Yanjing last year, he chatted with him and said that his son was planning to get married this year.
He asked about Lao Guo's son's marriage again, and Lao Guo's wife's tone was sad but also relieved.
He said that his daughter-in-law was a sensible person. She got married to his son before Mr. Guo passed away and did not cause any trouble to the family.
Lin Weimin understood that this "difficulty" must be referring to economic matters.
The next day, Lin Weimin came to the post office and said, "Comrade, please send money."
The staff member threw a form over and asked, "Fill it out."
Thanks to the fact that money can be remitted with just a name and address these days, Lin Weimin filled out the form and handed the money to the staff.
A small stack of big unity banknotes was placed on the counter. The staff looked at Lin Weimin in surprise, then glanced at the bill and confirmed, "Five hundred?"
"five hundred."
"good."
"Please send me this letter as well." Lin Weimin took out the condolence letter he had written last night and mailed it out together.
After finishing these things, Lin Weimin walked out of the post office, feeling a lot more relaxed.
A few days later, Guo's wife, who was far away in Xining, received Lin Weimin's letter and remittance and burst into tears.
She handed the money to her son and daughter-in-law, "This is the wedding gift from your dad's classmates at the Institute of Literature."
The son asked, "My dad's classmate at the Institute of Literature? Is it Uncle Lin from Yanjing?"
Old Guo went to Yanjing for medical treatment, thanks to Lin Weimin's help.
After returning to Xining, he would mention Lin Weimin's name from time to time, so when Lao Guo's wife mentioned "classmates from the Institute of Literature", the first person his son thought of was Lin Weimin.
Lao Guo’s wife nodded.
The son and daughter-in-law looked at the banknotes in their hands with a somewhat stunned expression, "Mom, this is too much, right?"
Lao Guo's wife hesitated and said, "It's a little too much. We shouldn't have asked for this money. We should have returned it. Your uncle Lin has helped our family a lot. But I also thought that after you two got married, the family didn't even buy you a decent thing. I'm really sorry for your wife."
So you guys should take this money first, and think of it as something we borrowed from your Uncle Lin. When you have money in the future, you must return it to them. You should also remember this friendship, and never forget it!"
The son and daughter-in-law felt the money was heavy in their hands. Lao Guo's wife sighed and said, "Take it!"
The two men then accepted the money, their hearts filled with gratitude towards Lin Weimin who was thousands of miles away.
By mid-May, spring had already arrived in Yanjing.
Lin Weimin is talking on the phone with Tao Huimin.
Ever since they gained popularity after performing on the Spring Festival Gala, the Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe has been on the road performing and has hardly had a single day of rest from the Spring Festival to now.
A few days ago, they finally finished their three-month performance and returned to Hangzhou City, Zhijiang for a short rest, and then immediately set off for Changchun.
After the Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe finished its performance in Yanjing after the New Year, its first stop was Changchun, where the troupe was warmly welcomed by opera lovers. Even the Changchun Film Studio invited the troupe to shoot a Yue Opera film based on "Five Daughters Paying Homage to Their Parents", to be used as a tribute to the 35th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China next year.
Lin Weimin mentioned on the phone that he had taken on the job of consultant for the crew of "Dream of Red Mansions".
"I think your image has a very classical temperament. If there is a chance, you can try to get a role." Lin Weimin said sweetly.
Tao Huimin's voice on the phone was filled with a hint of smugness, "Me? Who can I play?"
"Lin Daiyu!"
"You are talking nonsense. How can I play Lin Daiyu?"
"Trust me, you'll be fine."
Teacher Lin vowed solemnly.
He was not talking nonsense. Tao Huimin had indeed played Lin Daiyu and received high praise. It was just that it was not the 1987 TV series version, but the 1989 movie version of Lin Daiyu.
Anyway, it doesn't matter who plays the role of Lin Daiyu. It's not excessive for him to praise his own girlfriend, right?
But Lin Weimin is not a director, so this is definitely not 100% likely to succeed, but what does it matter?
Even if I can't play Lin Daiyu, it shouldn't be a problem to get a role. That way I'll have plenty of time to spend with friends, so why not?
Teacher Lin’s abacus makes a clacking sound!
Tao Huimin was really persuaded by Lin Weimin.
CCTV and "Dream of Red Mansions", these two words combined together have an irresistible magic.
Seeing that she was hesitant to speak, Lin Weimin knew that she must be hesitating in her heart. He said, "There is no rush for this matter. Just concentrate on filming in Changchun. I will inform you when the crew selects actors. During this period of time, you can buy a copy of "Dream of Red Mansions" and study it more."
"Okay, I'll listen to you!" Tao Huimin said obediently on the other end of the phone.
After hanging up the phone, Lin Weimin left the newsstand under the aunt's strange gaze.
Today is the weekend and it's another sunny day. Lin Weimin had planned to relax by the Shichahai Lake, but Han Zhuangzhuang came to find him last night and said that the People's Art Theatre invited him to come over and see the rehearsal results of "The Horse Catcher".
Lin Weimin had no choice but to give up his weekend rest and prepare to go to the People's Art Theatre to watch a play.
When passing by a newsstand, Lin Weimin thought of his girlfriend Tao Huimin, so he tried to call her. Unexpectedly, she had already returned to Changchun, and they got in touch by chance.
I rode a motorcycle all the way to the People's Art Theatre and entered the rehearsal room. I felt a long-lost sense of familiarity. Lin Weimin hadn't been here for a long time.
"Teacher Lin!"
"Teacher Lin!"
All along the way, he received greetings. Although Lin Weimin was not an employee of the People's Art Theatre, he had written several good plays for the theatre in recent years. He was also a student of Mr. Wan, and his status in the theatre was close to those of senior directors and screenwriters.
"Teacher Ouyang, Teacher Lan!" Lin Weimin greeted Ouyang Shanzun and Lan Yinhai.
The two of them saw Lin Weimin with a smile on his face. Ouyang Shanzun said with a smile: "Finally, we've been waiting for you to come. Why are you so busy?"
"Hey, I can't help it. I really don't have the time."
Today's rehearsal was specially prepared for Lin Weimin. In order to accommodate his schedule, everyone had to sacrifice their weekend rest time.
Who made Teacher Lin busy?
The curtain opens and the show begins.
When Lin Weimin and Lan Yinhai were discussing the dramatic structure of "The Horse Tamer", they adopted the "three unities" structure, dividing the script into two parts, which just corresponded to the time before and after the breakup of the two protagonists Bayin and Bater, with a total of eight acts.
Lin Weimin looked at the familiar figure on the stage, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter.
He finally waited until the end of the performance before asking, "Why did Zhuangzhuang play Bater?"
Ouyang Shanzun and Lan Yinhai looked at each other, with a smile on their faces, and said, "I thought you could keep it to yourself and not ask."
Lan Yinhai asked: "Didn't Zhuangzhuang tell you?"
"No." Lin Weimin shook his head.
Unlike "The Intouchables" and "Farewell My Concubine", two plays he personally directed, Lin Weimin had little involvement in the arrangement of "The Horse Catcher" except for providing the original novel.
"This kid is really tight-lipped." Lan Yinhai said with a smile.
Seeing Lin Weimin's puzzled expression, Ouyang Shanzun explained, "Zhuangzhuang is the Bater we carefully selected."
"Really picked?"
Facing Lin Weimin's doubts, Ouyang Shanzun said helplessly: "You don't know how old Bater is, do you? The age alone has blocked many actors in the academy. Zhuangzhuang is sturdy and rugged, which fits the image of Bater, a young man from the grassland. Moreover, Zhuangzhuang has been training for more than a year and has appeared on the Spring Festival Gala. His acting skills have made great progress."
Lan Yinhai also said: "Weimin, I understand your desire to avoid suspicion, but Zhuangzhuang is indeed very suitable for this role."
Lin Weimin thought to himself, I'm not trying to avoid suspicion at all.
When he was rehearsing "Farewell My Concubine" before, he felt that Han Zhuangzhuang was very suitable for the role of "Duan Xiaolou", but he also understood that Han Zhuangzhuang at that time was just a greenhorn who knew nothing about acting. If he rashly played a role with such an important part, there would only be one result, and that was to make a fool of himself by going around in circles.
This has been proven by the numerous second-generation stars who were promoted but eventually failed.
Lin Weimin knew that Han Zhuangzhuang must have his own reasons for taking on the role of Bater, but at least on the surface, this matter seemed reasonable.
After watching the results of the rehearsal, I think Han Zhuangzhuang’s acting skills can definitely support the role of Bater.
What puzzled him was that Han Zhuangzhuang played such an important role as Bater, but he only found out about it at the last.
It seems that I have neglected to care for my nephew recently!
Just as Lin Weimin was chatting with Ouyang Shanzun and Lan Yinhai, Han Zhuangzhuang, who had taken off his makeup, came running over with a look of excitement on his face.
"Uncle, how was my performance? Did I embarrass you?"
Lin Weimin's face was serious. "My performance was not very good. It was barely passable."
Han Zhuangzhuang's expression instantly fell, and he muttered, "I think the performance was pretty good."
Lin Weimin said: "You are the leading actor now, after all. Is this all you ask of yourself?"
Han Zhuangzhuang said helplessly: "I know, I'll act well."
Only then did Lin Weimin nod with satisfaction.
Look, in front of so many people, doesn’t Teacher Lin’s image of being impartial and just stand up all of a sudden?
I had something urgent to do at noon, so the third update will be later.
(End of this chapter)
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