Chapter 352: Symposium in Furong Town
As Mo Yan spoke, he took out a thick stack of manuscripts from his bag.
A smile immediately broke out on Lin Weimin’s face. Which editor would not like such an author?
“Is this finished?”
Mo Yan had a smile on his face, "I've finished writing."
This "Red Sorghum Family" is Mo Yan's first attempt at a long-length novel. He already had the idea when he entered the PLA Art Academy last year. During his time at school, apart from studying, he spent most of his spare time on writing this novel.
A full 300,000 words was a huge challenge for him, a writer who had only written novellas of tens of thousands of words at most.
In the creation of "Red Sorghum Family", Mo Yan took a clever approach and divided the entire novel into five chapters, "Red Sorghum", "Sorghum Wine", "Dog Road", "Sorghum Funeral", and "Strange Death".
Each chapter is independent, yet closely connected and has its own focus.
The first of these, "Red Sorghum," was published in the form of a novella in "Banfang" shortly after Mo Yan followed Lin Weimin on a visit to Hong Kong.
The successful publication of Red Sorghum gave Mo Yan great motivation. He returned to the Military Art Academy and continued writing. In just three or four months, he completed the entire novel.
Lin Weimin spent an entire afternoon reading only half of the novel.
While he was reading the manuscript, Mo Yan curled up on the sofa in the office. Unlike other authors who came to the editorial department, he seldom took the initiative to talk to the editors and just sat there quietly.
Seeing that it was almost time to get off work, Lin Weimin said, "It will take a while to finish reading the manuscript. I will write to you when everyone has finished reading it. Yu Hua and the others are also going to have a holiday. I will take you to Tie Sheng's house for dinner tonight."
Mo Yan nodded and followed Lin Weimin into the car.
He went to the National Academy of Arts to pick up Yu Hua, and as soon as they met, he set his eyes on Mo Yan.
"How could you go to Hong Kong last time?"
Mo Yan was confused, "Why can't I go?"
"If you can go, I can go too."
Mo Yan looked at Yu Hua speechlessly.
Lin Weimin couldn't help but criticize him: "Mo Yan studied at the Military Art Academy and finished a long novel in less than a year. How about you?"
Yu Hua's face was filled with shock. "A long story? When did it happen?"
"I just handed the manuscript to Teacher Lin." Mo Yan answered honestly.
Yu Hua couldn't help but look at Lin Weimin, unable to believe that this was true.
"We're both in school. Look at Mo Yan, and then look at yourself. Your teacher from the Faculty of Arts told me that there are so many students in the Faculty of Arts, and you're not even seen when writing. But whenever there's an activity, you're more active than anyone else, and you never miss a single one. You're nicknamed 'The King of Supporters'!"
Yu Hua pursed his lips, "I... I am also passionate about learning, these... these activities are very educational."
Lin Weimin shook his head. Even Teacher Tang Yuqiu said that he was exactly like him. How could they be alike? When I was in the Institute of Literature, I was a model student!
"Stop kidding yourself. Tiesheng has written more than you despite his poor health. It's already been more than half a year, right? Apart from the two short stories, what else have you written?"
Facts speak louder than words. Yu Hua was left speechless by Lin Weimin's rebuttal.
Now he has calmed down and no longer shouts “Why can’t I go to Hong Kong?”
When he arrived at Shi Tiesheng's house, he was very excited to hear that Mo Yan had finished writing his long novel.
"I'll have to take a good look at it once it's published!"
When the few of them visited Hong Kong, Shi Tiesheng already knew that Mo Yan was writing "Red Sorghum", but he didn't expect his efficiency to be so fast.
A novel of 300,000 words was completed in such a short time.
"Weimin, Moyan's efficiency is at least 70% of yours!" Shi Tiesheng teased.
Lin Weimin patted Mo Yan on the shoulder and said, "It's more than 70% of his ability, it's 120%. Among all the authors I'm responsible for, Mo Yan is unique in terms of writing efficiency."
Lin Weimin’s praise made Mo Yan laugh so happily that her small eyes almost became invisible.
Yu Hua on the side was full of jealousy.
After having dinner at Shi Tiesheng's house, he sent Yu Hua back to the College of Arts, and then sent Mo Yan back to Weigongcun.
Lin Weimin returned home and saw Tao Huimin sitting on the sofa studying the script.
Under the light, her skin is as white as ice and her figure is as beautiful as a stunning beauty.
Teacher Lin was very happy to see that his girlfriend loved learning so much.
However, studying alone is still a bit lonely. With Teacher Lin here, how can Tao Huimin be allowed to study alone?
We should learn from each other and teach each other.
Teacher Lin likes to teach by example, especially for good students like Tao Huimin who have a very serious attitude towards learning.
That night, Teacher Lin not only taught Tao Huimin the length and thickness of the golden cudgel in "Journey to the West", but also explained to him the correct way to use the golden cudgel.
For example, when asked how many times Monkey King used the golden cudgel to kill the White Bone Demon, Teacher Lin explained it very vividly, even experimenting on himself, so that Tao Huimin could quickly master the correct use of the golden cudgel.
In her hand, the golden cudgel can be big or small, soft or hard, with endless possibilities.
The next morning, Tao Huimin was still a little unwell when she got up. She had studied so hard the night before that she had neglected her health.
She still had to go to film today, so she had to struggle to get out of bed, eat, and let Lin Weimin drive her to the crew.
After seeing Tao Huimin off, Lin Weimin came to work at the Guowen Publishing House.
Seeing Lu Yao coming back from outside with his arms swinging, Lin Weimin asked, "Did you go out to eat breakfast again?"
Lu Yao quickly explained: "I ate tofu pudding and fried dough sticks."
"Why are you so nervous? I didn't say anything else to you."
Lu Yao breathed a sigh of relief.
"How's the manuscript revision going?"
“Almost there, almost there!”
When Lin Weimin heard this, he knew that he definitely hadn't believed it yet. He knew Lu Yao's temper very well, and he also knew that it was useless to urge him.
Although Lu Yao is usually unreliable, he is very self-disciplined when it comes to writing.
In the afternoon, Gu Hua, Lin Weimin’s classmate at the Institute of Literature, came to the editorial office of Contemporary Magazine.
"Why are you here?"
Lin Weimin was very surprised as he hadn't seen Gu Hua for a long time.
Gu Hua was covered in dust and said, "Director Xie Jin wants to adapt my "Furong Town" and will hold a symposium tomorrow."
Lin Weimin said happily: "I've heard about this a long time ago. This is great news!"
Gu Hua nodded, his face full of joy, and he said, "Can you go over and help me stand at the symposium?"
"I go? Isn't that inappropriate?"
"What's inappropriate? You are the editor-in-chief of Contemporary. You don't know that the forum is of a very high standard. The official representatives include Mr. Chen and Xu Sangchu, director of Shanghai Film Studio.
Representatives from the literary and artistic circles include film critics Zhong Dian-fei and Li Tuo, Hong Kong director Ann Hui, and general manager of Hong Kong Southern Film Company Xu Dun-le..."
Lin Weimin was delighted when he heard this, as these were quite a few familiar faces.
Gu Hua requested again and again, and Lin Weimin finally said, "Okay, I'll go there tomorrow. Where's the address?"
"Jingxi Hotel."
The next day, after Lin Weimin sent Tao Huimin to the crew, he drove to the Jingxi Hotel.
As soon as I entered the hotel yard, I saw Ah Cheng helping an old man up the stairs.
"Acheng!" Lin Weimin shouted.
"Teacher Lin!"
Ah Cheng was pleasantly surprised and introduced him, "This is my father, Zhong Dianyu. This is Lin Weimin, the editor-in-chief of Contemporary Magazine. My novels were all published by him."
"Thank you, Editor-in-Chief Lin!" Zhong Dianyu said kindly.
"Uncle Zhong, you're welcome. Ah Cheng's work is excellent, and it's our honor to have it published in our publication."
Father Zhong was very happy to hear others praising his son, and they chatted as they walked into the conference room where the symposium was held.
The conference room on the third floor of Jingxi Hotel is very large, about 100 square meters. There is a banner on the wall that reads "Symposium on the Film Adaptation of "Furong Town"". A long conference table in the middle of the conference room separates twenty or thirty chairs.
At this time, there were already several people sitting in the conference room, led by a very capable-looking man. Director Xie Jin stood up and introduced them.
"This is Director Xu Sangchu of Shanghai Film Studio!"
When introducing Lin Weimin, Xu Sangchu greeted him, "Writer Lin is one of our own from the Shanghai Film Studio!"
"Oh? Where did Director Xu get this from?" Xie Jin asked.
Xu Sangchu said: "Writer Lin's brother-in-law Han Dingbang is an old director of our factory."
Xie Jin smiled and said, "I didn't expect you two would have such a fate."
A few people chatted and laughed, and introduced the other people in the conference room.
Li Tuo's main job is a writer, but in recent years he has done everything except his main job.
Screenwriter, editor, literary critic, film critic, he should be considered a generalist now, and is very influential in the literary circle of Yenching.
The middle-aged man sitting next to Li Tuo looked familiar to Lin Weimin. Xie Jin introduced him as Huang Jianzhong. Lin Weimin immediately remembered that this was a good partner for "Zuoshan Diao"!
There is also the American essayist Dong Dingshan, who is known as the "Literary Ambassador of China and the United States."
After a group of people exchanged greetings, Lin Weimin found a corner and sat down.
A few minutes later, Ann Hui walked into the conference room. She was a little surprised to see Lin Weimin, so she took the initiative to sit next to Lin Weimin.
"Mr. Lin, why are you here?" asked Ann Hui.
"I should be the one asking you this. Aren't you preparing for 'Lover'?"
"The preparation of "The Lover" relied on the efforts of Shanghai Film Studio. I happened to be in Shanghai, and Director Xu asked me to come and show my support," explained Ann Hui.
Lin Weimin smiled and said, "I'm about the same. Gu Hua and I are classmates in the Institute of Literature and Arts, so he came over to help hold the stage."
The two of them whispered a few words, and then someone else pushed the door open.
Everyone in the conference room stood up and said, "Mr. Chen," "Hello, Mr. Chen!"
As there were too many people, Mr. Chen did not greet everyone one by one. He just smiled and waved at everyone, then sat down in the seat prepared for him in advance.
After sitting down and talking to Xu Sangchu, he saw Lin Weimin huddled in a corner. A smile appeared on his face, and he waved at Lin Weimin and said, "Xiao Lin, sit forward! Don't act like a punching bag. This is not like your character!"
When Lin Weimin heard his call, he stood up and moved forward a few seats, saying with a smile: "Today is the home game for Director Xu, Director Xie, and Gu Hua, I just came here to show my support."
"Then please step back a little!" Mr. Chen joked.
"Look at what you said. We have called them here, so there is no reason to chase them away."
Lin Weimin joked with Mr. Chen unscrupulously, and everyone laughed, and the atmosphere in the meeting room became cheerful.
The younger generation standing by looked on with envy.
After a while, the symposium officially began.
Mr. Chen first set the tone for this symposium: to make a film that deeply reflects the past era and has both historical facts and artistic qualities.
"Furong Town" was invested and filmed by Shanghai Film Studio. Xu Sangchu, as the host, opened the show first, and then the author of the novel, Gu Hua, gave a talk on the background of the creation.
In the second half of Gu Hua's conversation, he mentioned his experience in revising the manuscript for Contemporary, and he suggested that Lin Weimin talk about it.
Everyone applauded, and Lin Weimin could only speak: "Then I will briefly talk about it."
"What Gu Hua just said is correct. When we were both studying at the Institute of Literature, he came to Contemporary to revise his manuscript. Not only me but also Lu Yao came with us. We all got together to discuss literature...
Sorry, that's a bit off topic.
Back to the novel I just mentioned. At the end of the novel, Gu Hua's energy is clearly not exhausted.
He also has to complete the personality of the male protagonist Qin Shutian, and he must be reinstated. I think this is unnecessary.
At the end of the movie, Qin Shutian did not need to be reinstated. He helped the heroine Hu Yuyin sell rice tofu in accordance with the morality they had destroyed, rather than destroying it and then entering another moral order...
These two points are just my personal opinions, and I welcome your criticism and suggestions. "
Lin Weimin came just to join in the fun, and after a few brief remarks, he mentioned Ah Cheng.
"Ah Cheng, please tell me."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
