Chapter 540: The Spring Wind is in High Spirit
In the first month of the lunar year, the festive atmosphere is still very strong before the 15th day.
On the fifteenth day, Lin Weimin and Tao Huimin came to Qiqizuo Hutong, planning to have a lively dinner and celebrate the Lantern Festival.
It's a holiday today, but Han Zhuangzhuang is not here.
"Benmingnian" directed by Xie Fei was shortlisted for the main competition unit of this year's Berlin International Film Festival. A few days ago, Han Zhuangzhuang flew to Berlin with director Xie Fei.
In 1987, Zhang Yimou won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival with "Red Sorghum", which injected a shot of adrenaline into the domestic film industry. It became a major happy event known throughout the country and made Zhang Yimou a famous director.
This time, Chinese films were once again shortlisted for the main competition unit, which naturally attracted the attention of many media and enthusiastic moviegoers.
The Berlin Film Festival should be considered a blessed land for Chinese films. After all, the first world-renowned award won by the Chinese film industry was won here.
Yesterday was the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, February 9th in the Gregorian calendar. The Berlin Film Festival had just closed and good news came.
Director Xie Fei won the Silver Bear Award at this year's Berlin International Film Festival for his film "Benmingnian".
The highest award of the Berlin Film Festival is the Golden Bear Award, which is equivalent to the Best Film Award at the Academy Awards, while the Silver Bear Award is the second highest award after the Golden Bear Award and represents the Best Director Award.
Although it is slightly inferior to Zhang Yimou's Golden Bear Award, it is also a rare award. At least before Zhang Yimou, no Chinese filmmaker has ever won an award of this level.
The news of the award came last night, and domestic public opinion was in an uproar early this morning, with many authoritative media reporting the news.
This time, Xie Fei has vindicated the fourth generation of directors who have wasted half their lives. You, the fifth generation, have Zhang Yimou, and we, the fourth generation, are not bad either.
"Benmingnian" won the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival, and the biggest winner was naturally the director Xie Fei.
Apart from director Xie Fei, the one who benefited the most was the male lead Han Zhuangzhuang.
In 1987, "Red Sorghum" took Berlin by storm and won the highest award, the Golden Bear. Han Zhuangzhuang and Gong Li, two newcomers to the film, appeared in front of the world media as the male and female protagonists.
After Red Sorghum, Gong Li first starred in The Last Emperor, made a name for herself at the Oscars, then starred in a Hollywood movie, and recently returned to Zhang Yimou's movie, becoming an internationally popular movie star.
As the leading actors of "Red Sorghum", Han Zhuangzhuang and Gong Li made completely different choices.
After Red Sorghum, Han Zhuangzhuang chose to focus on acting in the People's Art Theatre. During this period, many directors and scripts approached him, but Han Zhuangzhuang rejected them all. He kept in mind Lin Weimin's advice that acting is about quality rather than quantity, and he waited until Xie Fei asked him to act in Benmingnian.
This time, "Benmingnian" won the award again, and Han Zhuangzhuang was the male lead again.
After three years of silence, he once again left his mark at the Berlin Film Festival, consolidating his popularity in the world film scene, and his fame in China is at its peak.
Han Zhuangzhuang competed in the Berlin Film Festival. When the good news came, the whole family cheered and the house was filled with a joyous atmosphere.
Han Dingbang and Yin Geli prepared a table full of sumptuous dishes, and everyone sat together, eating and chatting.
As they chatted, Han Dingbang suddenly asked, "Weimin, you and Huimin have been married for almost a year, right?"
Lin Weimin suddenly had a bad premonition. This tone seemed a little familiar!
“Soon.”
"You are not young anymore. You will be thirty after this year, and thirty-one in lunar age."
When Han Dingbang said this, Lin Weimin and his wife understood, and Tao Huimin felt a little embarrassed.
"While we are still young, we should hurry up and have children."
Lin Weimin said, "Brother-in-law, now all companies allow people to have children later in life. Before Huimin and I got married, we paid a deposit for having children later in life. It was 400 yuan!"
"Stop talking nonsense to me. Huimin is not late enough to have children, but are you late enough? Besides, are you short of that 400 yuan?" Han Dingbang scolded Lin Weimin.
Seeing that he had failed to fool the person, Lin Weimin said helplessly, "I understand."
Han Dingbang picked up his big fat granddaughter again and said, "Nannan is already three years old. It's not appropriate for an elder like him to come out too late."
Tao Huimin couldn't help but burst out laughing. She naturally understood that the "elder" Han Dingbang was referring to was her and Lin Weimin's future child.
Tao Huimin was overjoyed at the thought that the newborn baby would be called "brother" or "sister" by Han Zhuangzhuang, the burly big brother.
"I know you young people want to spend a few years alone together, but you're not a child anymore. I can help you take care of the child. If you don't trust me, you're not short of money, so you can hire a nanny..."
Han Dingbang kept muttering to himself, and Lin Weimin hummed and hawed in agreement. After talking for a long time, the couple left Qiqizu Hutong.
Two days later, early in the morning, the conference room on the second floor of the front building of the Guowen Society was bustling with activity. A symposium on the work "White Deer Plain" would be held here today, and all the guests who came were important figures in the domestic literary and criticism circles.
Cheng Zhongshi, a native Shaanxi literary writer, held a seminar on his works. Today, half of the Shaanxi literary world came.
Writers of the older generation include Wang Wenshi, Du Pengcheng, and Li Ruobing, and younger forces include Lu Yao, Jia Pingwa, Wang Peng and others.
In addition to people from the Shaanxi literary world, many writers from the domestic literary world also attended, such as Wang Meng, Cheng Jiangong and others. Several senior and heavyweight editors of the Guowen Publishing House, such as Tu An, Yan Wenjing, and Qin Chaoyang, also appeared at the seminar. The rest were critics represented by Chen Yong, all of whom were well-known figures in the domestic criticism circle.
Just looking at the lineup, it is already the most luxurious one among the work seminars in recent years.
At the seminar, most people spoke highly of "White Deer Plain" and their comments were full of praise.
But there are also a few people who have raised some academic debates on "White Deer Plain", and the focus of the debate is on two points.
One is whether the large amount of ** descriptions in the novel are necessary, and the other is the "historical tendency issues" involved in the novel.
The minority and the majority had a heated discussion around these two issues.
At the seminar, everyone came and went and expressed their opinions. Lin Weimin and Cheng Zhongshi, the two protagonists of the seminar, took a break from their busy schedule and ran to the corridor to smoke.
Cheng Zhongshi looked out the window with a trace of sadness in his eyes. In the smoke, the wrinkles on his face became deeper.
"What are you thinking about?" Lin Weimin asked.
Cheng Zhongshi looked hesitant.
Even if he didn't say it, Lin Weimin could probably guess it.
The issue of the "historical tendency" of "White Deer Plain" that was being discussed in the room was a big topic, and Cheng Zhongshi was naturally worried about it.
"Don't worry, you've heard everyone's praise. If someone has some opinions, they're just discussing the matter at hand. There are a few old comrades in the club, so they can't cause any trouble."
Cheng Zhongshi nodded upon hearing this.
Lin Weimin talked to him about the publication of "White Deer Plain" again. "For the publication of "White Deer Plain" this time, I have strived to get a basic remuneration of 40 yuan per thousand words. The remuneration for the number of copies printed has not changed, still 5% per 10,000 copies. The publishing house plans to print 100,000 copies for the first time, which is another 10,000 yuan. After calculation, it is about 60 yuan per thousand words, which is a little less..."
Cheng Zhongshi said quickly, "It's a lot, a lot, thirty thousand yuan! This is the first time in my life that I have touched so much money, it's more than I have earned in my entire life, I am satisfied!"
"Listen to me." Lin Weimin waved his hand. "These two years are different from the past. Our publishing market is increasingly affected by the market economy. A sharp increase in royalties is inevitable. The higher authorities should issue a document this year to adjust the royalty standards again. Your royalty is set by the publishing house based on the standards. A few days ago, Wang Shuo told me that Huayi was going to publish his collection of novels, and the standard remuneration was 100 yuan per thousand words."
At this point, Lin Weimin patted Cheng Zhongshi on the shoulder and said, "So, your royalties are really not much."
"That's not the case. My work can't be as popular as Wang Shuo's."
Lin Weimin said with a smile: "Old Cheng, don't underestimate yourself on this point. We dare to set a first print run of 100,000 copies. Do you think it is to lose money?"
Cheng Zhongshi hesitated when he heard this, as what Lin Weimin said made sense.
However, he was really scared by the few publishing experiences he had in recent years. After finally publishing a book, he couldn't sell many copies, and he had never received any royalties for the number of copies he had printed.
Before the publication of "White Deer Plain", the standard fee paid to him by "Contemporary" was 35 yuan per thousand words, so the total fee was exactly 10,500 yuan. After paying back the 5,000 yuan owed to Lin Weimin, he had more than 5,000 yuan left. Looking at the money, Cheng Zhongshi and his wife were happy for several days. The family had not been so wealthy in these years.
Now that he was about to receive another 30,000 yuan in publishing fees, the wrinkles on Cheng Zhongshi's face deepened. He couldn't help laughing, and felt happier than ever.
"Okay, let's go back." Lin Weimin said after finishing his cigarette.
The debate at the seminar was heated, but it remained within the academic scope and did not cause any waves.
That evening, the editorial department of Contemporary Magazine hosted a banquet for the friends who came to attend the conference at Taifeng Building. The banquet was full of delicious food, exquisite dishes, and good wine, which made the atmosphere very lively.
Cheng Zhongshi was in high spirits today. After three rounds of drinks, he was no longer as reserved as usual. He was in high spirits and his face was flushed as he talked and laughed.
At the climax of the banquet, Cheng Zhongshi stood up and said, "Let me sing a piece of Qinqiang for my friends," and everyone applauded to welcome him.
"Seeing my mother kneel down, her soul flew away, and I was so frightened that I knelt on the ground in fear..."
The simple and desolate Qinqiang was sung with a bit of joy by Cheng Zhongshi, who was in high spirits today.
Cheng Zhongshi sang the part of Yang Yanzhao in "The Execution of the Son at the Gate", and everyone present listened with great interest.
After the opera, Cheng Zhongshi sat down. He was a reserved person who had never been in the limelight in the past, but today he got drunk and acted crazy, his hands were shaking with excitement.
Lin Weimin poured him a glass of wine and said, "Slowly!"
After the banquet, Cheng Zhongshi was drunk and held Lin Weimin's hand tightly when he left.
"Weimin, Weimin!" Cheng Zhongshi called out Lin Weimin's name, "Brother, I have never been so famous in my life!"
Cheng Zhongshi's mouth was full of alcohol and his eyes were blurry, but the words he spoke were full of sincerity and gratitude.
Cheng Zhongshi's wife supported him, looking apologetic, "I'm sorry, he drank too much."
Lin Weimin smiled and said, "It's okay. Today is a good day. I'm happy."
Cheng Zhongshi, still drunk, shouted, "Yes, I'm happy!"
The wife didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Let's go, don't embarrass yourself here!"
Cheng Zhongshi left with the support of his wife. Even as the couple walked away, the high-pitched and passionate Qinqiang opera could still be heard.
"Seeing my mother kneel down, her soul flew away, and I was so frightened that I knelt on the ground in fear..."
I have something to do these two days, so I will update twice today and tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
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