Chapter 445 The Prodigal Son
"Well, you two are cheating!"
Liu Haiyan, who had been busy in the kitchen for half a day, just came out to take a break when she saw Lin Weimin and Shi Tiesheng stealing mutton's head. She shouted in indignation.
Others heard it, stuck their heads out and saw the scene, and began to condemn it.
"Come on, come on, let's eat together!" Lin Weimin quickly stuffed the remaining mutton into his mouth, shouting while waving the empty paper bag.
Everyone looked at the empty paper bag that he threw around with a rustling sound, and said with disgust, "You are so shameless!"
After joking for a while, Liu Haiyan said, "Weimin, think about picking up Shi Lan."
Lin Weimin nodded. No wonder he felt like something was missing.
He drove out and picked up Shi Lan in less than twenty minutes.
At this time, the meal was almost ready.
Everyone moved the tables and chairs to the tree in the yard and brought out the dishes one by one.
The housewarming banquet was naturally sumptuous. Looking at the delicious dishes, Shi Tiesheng felt a little regretful. He should have eaten less mutton head meat just now.
In May, the weather was warm and the breeze was gentle. Everyone gathered together, eating and chatting, enjoying endless happiness.
The person everyone was most concerned about when chatting was naturally Cheng Ximi. Hearing that Cheng Ximi's job transfer had been settled and she would be able to come to Yanjing in a month or so, everyone congratulated Shi Tiesheng.
"With a wife, children and a warm bed, Tiesheng has everything he needs now!" Qu Xiaowei joked.
Shi Tiesheng smiled brightly, with a bit of naivety in his expression.
In front of everyone, he couldn't say that it was Zheng Guo who helped him. After all, this matter was a bit taboo.
They could only express their gratitude with their eyes, and the two smiled, understanding each other tacitly.
After finishing the meal, everyone cleaned up the mess and gathered together to chat as usual. The courtyard was turned into a mess of smoke and fire, and several female comrades were very dissatisfied.
Shi Tiesheng used to love smoking, but today he was particularly restrained. He lit a cigarette, took a few puffs and then put it out.
"Has he changed his nature?" everyone asked Shi Tiesheng puzzledly.
He showed a somewhat embarrassed expression on his face, "Ximi doesn't like the smell of cigarettes!"
Everyone felt like they were being fed a mouthful of dog food.
"Love makes people blind!" Lin Weimin sighed.
Everybody burst into laughter.
Wherever Shi Tiesheng was, his friends were never willing to leave so early, and they all stayed in the Shichahai courtyard until evening.
As it got dark, Shi Lan turned on the color TV in the living room. She had been coveting this TV for a long time.
At eight o'clock, Yao Shuzhi interrupted the men's chat and shouted, "Read Dream of the Red Chamber! Read Dream of the Red Chamber!"
In recent days, CCTV invested six million yuan and prepared to shoot "Dream of Red Mansions" for several years, and finally it was released after much anticipation.
The crowd lowered their voices and a few people turned their eyes to the TV.
While watching the TV series, everyone chatted from time to time.
Everyone has read the original novel of "Dream of Red Mansions", and everyone has different feelings about the TV version of "Dream of Red Mansions".
They all knew that Lin Weimin was one of the consultants for the TV series Dream of Red Mansions, and they also knew that he had made many suggestions on the script, so they asked him about his opinion on the TV series during their casual chat.
In this version of "Dream of the Red Chamber", Zhou Ling and several other screenwriters adopted Lin Weimin's opinions.
The illusory world of Taixu is shown at the beginning of the TV series.
However, in the original TV series, the setting of the illusory world in the original novel was removed.
Removing the Realm of Illusion would definitely be a huge failure, for a very simple reason: A Dream of Red Mansions itself is a book that uses the experiences of many love ghosts in the Realm of Illusion to write a biography of women in the boudoir. To do so would be tantamount to losing the foundation.
As for the other changes proposed by Lin Weimin, it seems that some were used selectively and many were discarded.
The suggestions made by Lin Weimin were not considered major contributions, but at least they made this version of "Dream of Red Mansions" have fewer shortcomings.
For example, there is a new Taixu environment, the original Lin Daiyu's petty and mean character has been corrected, and some plots have been cut off...
Lin Weimin felt very relieved to see that his suggestions were adopted.
To be honest, the 1987 version of Dream of Red Mansions is not without flaws, but its advantages outweigh its flaws. Now with his contribution, this TV series has fewer flaws than the original version.
This can be seen from the feedback after the recent TV series was broadcast.
When the 1987 version of "Dream of Red Mansions" was broadcast, the reviews from the cultural community and the audience were mixed.
Now that the TV series has been aired for more than half, the outside reviews are more positive than negative.
For an adaptation of a classic masterpiece of the level of "Dream of Red Mansions", this result is already a very satisfactory one.
The good reputation of the 1987 version of "Dream of Red Mansions" after it was broadcast put all the pressure on director Xie Tieli.
The Shichahai courtyard was arranged for Shi Tiesheng. At the beginning of the year, Lin Weimin moved directly from the Tuanjiehu Apartment to the Shizhu courtyard on Xi'anmen Street.
Compared with the scenic Shichahai, the Shizhu Courtyard located on Xi'anmen Street has nothing noteworthy about its scenery.
But there is also an advantage, because it was renovated at great expense, so from the perspective of living experience alone, it is more comfortable than the Shichahai courtyard.
As June approaches, the weather in Yanjing gradually becomes warmer.
At this time, the advantages of the courtyard house are highlighted. At night, you can move a lounge chair under the tree and it will be extremely cool.
Li Guangfu used his connections to invite Professor Guo Daiheng from Shuimu University, and today he brought her to Lin Weimin to talk about the reconstruction of Prince Yongqi's mansion.
The Prince Yongji's Mansion covers an area of about five to six thousand square meters. Apart from a few of the top princes' mansions, there are only a few mansions of this size in the entire Yanjing City.
Li Guangfu did not dare to be careless and used several connections to invite Professor Guo Daiheng.
Guo Daiheng studied under Mr. Liang Sicheng and has been engaged in academic research on ancient architectural history since the 1960s. She is now a well-known ancient architecture expert in China. Her most famous achievements are presiding over the reconstruction of Leifeng Pagoda and participating in the renovation of Prince Gong's Mansion.
According to Guo Daiheng's identity and status, even if Li Guangfu went to invite her as a contractor, he would not be able to do so.
But as soon as Li Guangfu mentioned Prince Yongqi's Mansion, Guo Daiheng became interested.
There are not many mansions of this size and level in Yanjing City nowadays. Most of them have become national cultural relics protection sites and are repaired regularly every year, so it is not easy to get involved.
During the previous renovation of Prince Gong's Mansion, Guo Daiheng was only a participant, not the one who presided over the renovation work.
This time when Li Guangfu invited her, she had only one request, which was that the repair work must be presided over by her.
"Professor Guo, Professor Guo, Teacher Lin's idea is to renovate the house because they want to live there."
After entering the door, without the need for Lin Weimin to guide them, after a few greetings, Guo Daiheng began to talk incessantly about her ideas for renovating Prince Yongji's mansion. Li Guangfu could only interrupt her helplessly.
"Of course I know this. But Mr. Weimin, forgive me for being frank, but if you want to renovate Prince Yongji's mansion and live there yourself, it is not a good choice.
This kind of mansion was where nobles lived in the past. The reason why it was built so large was entirely to satisfy the nobles' status.
There may be dozens or even hundreds of servants in the mansion. No matter how many houses there are or how big the yard is, it will never be empty. But now it is different from before..."
Guo Daiheng advised patiently.
Lin Weimin smiled and said, "You are right. A house of the size of Yongji Prince's Mansion is indeed not suitable for living now."
Li Guangfu's face showed some surprise: "Teacher Lin, don't you live here?"
"Such a big house, five or six thousand square meters, with hundreds of rooms. Am I not afraid of being haunted if I live in it?" Lin Weimin asked back.
Li Guangfu was speechless for a long time: "Then...then why did you buy this house?"
"You know what it means to be happy when you see a prey? You won't get it again if you miss it, don't you?"
Li Guangfu looked at Lin Weimin, his lips trembling, not knowing what to say.
I spent two hundred thousand dollars to buy a great prey, but I don’t know how much it will cost to clean it up.
Prodigal son!
As the two talked, Guo Daiheng's eyes became brighter and brighter.
"You said you don't plan to live here, so what do you plan to use this Prince's Mansion for after it's completed?" Guo Daiheng asked.
Lin Weimin said: "I don't have any other hobbies, I just like collecting antiques, calligraphy and paintings. This house is big enough, I can put my collection there in the future."
Are you treating this as a warehouse?
Li Guangfu complained helplessly in his heart.
He had never seen anyone more spendthrift than Teacher Lin in his life.
Guo Daiheng's eyes became more and more excited. "I understand what you mean. Are you planning to transform this place into a private museum that has both historical style and modern living concepts?"
Lin Weimin nodded. "Almost, but it's not open to the public."
"I understand, I understand!"
Guo Daiheng said excitedly: "Then you should leave this matter to me!"
Lin Weimin smiled faintly and said, "Guangfu invited you to come here to help take over this work. I just don't know the cost..."
Guo Daiheng didn't care at all, "Just give it as you see fit!"
Yoho!
Li Guangfu was very surprised. Teacher Lin was generous and Professor Guo was not bad either!
Lin Weimin glanced at Li Guangfu and said, "Well, let's do this. Don't tell us how much. Just charge according to the project cost. You can take whatever is the international practice!"
Now it was Guo Daiheng's turn to be surprised. Currently, there is no such thing as charging according to the project cost for domestic construction projects.
Considering the scale of Prince Yongji's Mansion and the requirements for repair and reconstruction, throwing one or two million into it would be like playing. If she were charged according to the ratio of the total construction cost, she could easily earn tens or even hundreds of thousands of yuan after completing this work.
"Teacher Weimin, you may not be aware of the charging standards abroad..."
Guo Daiheng wanted to explain, but was interrupted by Lin Weimin, "Professor Guo, as long as the renovation and reconstruction of the courtyard house can be done well, money is not a problem."
In one sentence, Guo Daiheng understood that the other party was not short of money.
Come to think of it, the person in front of him is "Lin Qianwan"!
Guo Daiheng nodded, "Okay, I'll listen to you then."
Li Guangfu looked at Lin Weimin with envy in his heart.
That's a really cool thing to say!
The next day, Lin Weimin drove to work.
The sixth issue of "Contemporary" this year has just been published. The workload is not so heavy and the atmosphere in the office is also very relaxed.
When Lin Weimin was reviewing the manuscript in the morning, Wang Shuo came and brought his new novel "Animals Are Dangerous".
Many people in later generations have seen the movie "Sunny Days" directed by Jiang Wen, which was adapted from the novella "Animals Are Dangerous".
The novel roughly tells the story of the rebellious youth of a group of children from an administrative compound. The writing, which is based on Wang Shuo's real experience, is full of tension and wildness.
Wang Shuo was quite proud of the work he wrote. He crossed his legs, cigarette in his mouth, and discussed the issue of royalties with Lin Weimin.
"I won't do it if it's less than 20 yuan per thousand words!"
Lin Weimin asked: "What's the matter? Are you short of money?"
"Nonsense! In this whole Yanjing City, besides you, who doesn't lack money?"
"Didn't you just write two scripts, Desire and The Troublemakers? Didn't you get paid for them?"
Wang Shuo said: "Earning a lot is not enough to spend slowly. I still have to support my wife and daughter!"
Just this year, Chen Xujia gave birth to a daughter for him, which is why Wang Shuo's writing efficiency is so high this year.
"Not bad, not bad, mature!"
The two chatted for a while, and then Wang Shuo said goodbye and left.
After get off work in the evening, Lin Weimin came to Qiqizuo Hutong.
Calvin, and I have to go out of town tomorrow, so I can only update twice in the next two days. I will try to resume updating three times on Friday.
(End of this chapter)
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