The world of film and television begins with the God of Medicine.

Chapter 1500: Writing a Book and Making a Movie

Old Moli was incredibly lively.

There were adults, even middle-aged people, and some minors, all eating meat and drinking alcohol in a lively atmosphere.

The minors are especially interesting. They all pretend to be adults with a straight face, laughing and joking with the girls. They are the most confident ones in the whole restaurant.

As a result, a significant portion of the audience watched as the young people reminisced about their youth, and Zhong Yuemin and others were no exception.

“Look at us, we used to be like this too. Now, it looks so silly.” These were Zhong Yuemin’s words, spoken with a smile, his gaze fixed on the young people, yet tinged with a hint of melancholy.

Li Kuiyong chuckled, "Well, Yuemin, I have to interrupt you. That was your past. Yan Ge and I are not like that. Old Mo has been talking about this for years, but today is the first time we've come here."

"Get the gist of it, Kuiyong, you're really ruining the atmosphere," Zheng Tong said with a laugh.

“It’s true,” Li Kuiyong said, “but I think Yuemin said something quite right: he just looks stupid no matter how you look at it.”

"Hey, you guys really do know why we miss the old days?"

Zhang Haiyang glanced around, patted the table, raised his glass and said, "I just miss the carefree happiness of the past, when I didn't think about anything, all I thought about was having fun, picking up girls, and making some money to eat well. Unlike now! Come on, let's drink!"

After everyone had a drink, they started reminiscing about life again, talking about how unpredictable life is.

Li Kuiyong said, "If we're talking about the unpredictability of life, then we have to talk about Li Yuanchao. You guys have a lot of information, do you know how those people are doing now?"

Yuan Jun frowned and thought for a moment: "I heard he's at home and doesn't come out to play anymore. At first, people would go to see him, but later his temperament changed more and more, so no one paid any attention to him anymore."

"That's pretty much the situation." Zhang Haiyang nodded. "I'm even closer to them. Li Yuanchao is practically in a mental hospital. The one who fired the shot is already there. The others are all in factories and companies in Beijing, doing easy jobs and living low-key lives."

Actually, the main culprits are those whose legs were broken. This incident has a huge impact, and Brother Yan hit them so hard that they can't be cured. They'll all be crippled for life, and they've all lost their spirit. I heard some of them have become taciturn, while others are like completely different people, speaking harshly, being petty, and having dirty minds.

Those who ran away and were left unscathed were later called back and given a dressing down; they were then sent to cut in line or join the army. Tsk tsk, they were all prominent figures in Beijing back in the day, who would have thought they'd end up like this?

"Hey, what's the point of saying all that? A bunch of bullies, what kind of people do they dare to call themselves?" Zhong Yuemin nodded at the young people over there. "Now they're the big shots."

After a moment of silence, he asked, "Brother Yan, don't you even know where Qinling went?"

"There aren't many places she can go. It's either the capital or Chang'an. She loves to sing, so maybe she works in a theater troupe or something. It's just a few places. If you're interested, you can ask around, and you'll find out soon enough," Wang Yan said casually.

Zhong Yuemin paused for a moment, then shook his head: "Forget it, I don't want to look anymore. After I went to the army, how many letters did I send her? I even had her address. She didn't reply to a single one, and later she just disappeared. I guess she didn't want to talk to me anymore, or maybe she was just complaining about me going to the army."

Zheng Tong said, "I think he's come to his senses and knows what he wants. You've been in the army for years and haven't seen anyone. What are they waiting for? Do you think it's like Brother Yan and Sister-in-law Xiaobai, who only see each other a few times a year or two? It took them eight years to reunite in Beijing."

Zhou Xiaobai smiled and said, "It's revolutionary love, so it's normal to stick to it. We've finally made it to fruition."

"That's high level of awareness." Wang Yan, the straight man, gave a thumbs up...

After the meal, everyone dispersed, not knowing when they would meet again. There was no sadness, no farewell; they simply scattered at Old Mo's door.

Life returned to normal, with me going to get off work and coming home every day, and in my spare time wandering around Beijing with my camera, taking photos.

The difference is that Zhou Xiaobai's belly is getting bigger every day.

Zhou Xiaobai certainly wanted to have a child with Wang Yan and to continue the Wang family line. It was only after Zhou Xiaobai kept urging Wang Yan that this came to fruition.

On the other hand, Wang Yan's novel, *Chronicles of Linxian*, was finally completed before the end of the year. The book, totaling 560,000 words, tells the story of the people of Linxian's struggle against nature…

In short, it is a masterpiece.

He submitted the manuscript to People's Literature Publishing House after writing 100,000 words, and it was serialized in the journal. He finished the manuscript just in time for the last issue before the new year, completing the serialization of the novel in half a year, and planned to have it published as a book by People's Literature Publishing House in 1978.

Wang Yan's literary skills are certainly quite sufficient. He writes about things in Linxian County, covering everything from local customs and conditions to the local situation, from higher-level policies to local difficulties, and also includes a lot of Linxian history, making the content quite rich.

Wang Yan's previous report already covered Lin County, and this time he wrote a more detailed novel, which was already very popular and attractive. In addition, Wang Yan's writing is quite good, so it will sell even better. In the past six months, the sales of People's Literature magazine have been increasing month by month, and there is no worry about selling the physical book.

At the same time, Wang Yan also received a substantial sum of royalties.

At that time, royalties had just been reinstated, with manuscripts paying 2-7 yuan per thousand words, and anything less than a thousand words being calculated as a thousand words. There were no royalties for printed copies, which were not reinstated until the 1980s. Given Wang Yan's prestige, he was naturally given the maximum royalty of 7 yuan.

Even so, his manuscript fee for this book, "Chronicles of Lin County," was four thousand yuan, a considerable sum in those days. After making some contacts, he acquired a two-courtyard house in Houhai. This was a large house without any other residents, making things much easier.

Buying the courtyard went very smoothly, without much hassle. After all, he didn't choose to be allocated a separate house when he could have; instead, he painstakingly wrote a large book to earn royalties and solved the problem himself. No matter how you look at it, he's perfectly reasonable.

Even after buying the house, he was somewhat strapped for cash and didn't have enough money left for repairs.

After all, it's such a large yard; the bricks on the ground, the paint on the walls, the doors and windows of the houses, the internal structure, the roof tiles—all of these things need to be cleaned up. It won't be possible to actually move in without some time. At least one house needs to be found first, and then repairs can be made as needed.

However, it was the dead of winter, and it was not advisable to start construction. Wang Yan also did not have enough money, so he had to wait until after the New Year, when spring was in full bloom, before proceeding with the research.

Wang Yan plans to renovate it himself. Since he's idle anyway, he might as well do some work and gradually tidy up the courtyard, which would be a kind of enjoyment.

At the same time, with the completion of the book, he also roughly completed the script. Of course, it's impossible to cover everything; there must be highlights and omissions, still conveying the spirit, emphasizing the ideas, and praising the sentiments.

However, this wasn't finalized and adjustments would need to be made continuously during filming. That's the nature of creative work; it can't possibly proceed exactly as planned.

After completing "Chronicles of Lin County," Wang Yan wrote a martial arts novel, telling the stories of martial arts masters such as Wang Wu, Li San, Huo Yuanjia, and Huang Feihong. It not only depicts the martial arts world of that era but also the corruption of the Qing Dynasty and the revolutionary activities of these martial arts masters, making it very relevant to the theme.

Wang Yan submitted these stories to Story Club, which was a good fit for his profession. They were all long stories, ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of words, some fabricated and some compiled, creating a whole bunch of stories that were both true and false.

The circulation of Story Club was very large, with millions of copies of each issue, covering tens of millions of people. It was one of the largest circulation periodicals at that time.

Wang Yan's popular novels are not suitable for literary journals like People's Literature or Harvest; his unserious stories would be a good platform for distribution. Also, considering the need for entertainment, he would casually draw comic-style illustrations to accompany some of the battle scenes, making each move and stance very visually appealing and the fights very exciting.

The royalties offered here were, of course, capped, and Wang Yan truly earned a considerable amount of money. People greatly admired Wang Yan's prolific output, which essentially reached a rate of 10,000 words per day.

When the first batch of students enrolled after the resumption of the college entrance examination in September of 1977 or 1988, Wang Yan, who had been writing revolutionary martial arts novels for half a year, became a millionaire again.

These kinds of action-packed novels are most loved by men, especially since they also contain various emotions and profound thoughts and ideas. They are incredibly exciting to read, and when you calm down and think about them, they leave you with endless aftertaste.

Many directors from various film studios contacted Wang Yan, expressing their desire to adapt his stories into films, but Wang Yan declined them all, as he wanted to direct them himself...

However, Wang Yan was not in a hurry to try. Facing the freshmen in the photography department, he smiled and said, "Compared to you, I'm not much better. I'm also a newbie in filmmaking. I can't just take the money, reserve a spot, and start making a film. That would be inappropriate."

So I plan to continue learning from my teachers, polish the script, select actors, and do the preparatory work before officially launching the project next year. As a member of our academy, I will definitely try my best to use people from our own academy.

You're all studying photography, so study hard and master the professional knowledge. Next year, I'll have you all work with me on film projects; we'll have hands-on teaching. Those who excel will have more opportunities, and those who don't will naturally have fewer. So, let's work hard together and improve together.

"Teacher Wang!" A person sitting below, resembling a terracotta warrior, raised his hand.

“Hey, what do you say?” Wang Yan chuckled and raised his head.

Zhang asked, "What are you planning to make for your first film? A chronicle of Linxian County?"

"The chronicles of Linxian are too vast, involving too many aspects, and I'm not yet fully prepared. Let's start by making a film about Wang Wu, the Great Swordsman, to gain some experience first. We can't waste the wonderful stories of Linxian."

“Yes, Teacher Wang has considered this carefully. The Linxian Chronicle should indeed be handled slowly and not rushed.” A student who bore a striking resemblance to Zhang Yimou chimed in, this was Gu Changwei.

The classes of 1977 and 1978 were quite remarkable. The directing department had poets like Tian Zhuangzhuang, Li Shaohong, and Hu Mei; the cinematography department had Zhang Yimou, Gu Changwei, and Zhang Li; and the acting department had Zhang Tielin, Zhang Fengyi, and Xie Yuan. These few individuals all managed to get a meal, and a very good one at that—they were all celebrities.

Wang Yan waved his hand with a smile: "Alright, let's get to class. Professional skills need to be excellent, but ideological awareness is even more important. We are artists..."

The resumption of the college entrance examination brought an increase in students, but it didn't affect Wang Yan's peaceful life. He continued to teach his students as before, only he didn't go out to take photos as often, and his writing speed also decreased significantly.

Because Zhou Xiaobai gave birth to a boy, Wang Yan has to take care of his wife and child. He has no family on his side, and Zhou Xiaobai's parents are both working, so no one has time to help them take care of the baby. They have to manage it themselves.

Of course, Zhou Xiaobai is mainly taking care of the child. She has taken unpaid leave and plans to return to work after the child is weaned. After that, Wang Yan will be in charge of looking after the child.

While he remained calm and unhurried, the students from the film academy were all very enthusiastic and anxious for Wang Yan.

After all, he was making a movie, and he was kind, famous, and not much older than them, so they all tried to get close to him and participate.

Of course, there were also some people who complained. After all, Wang Yan had never done this before and was not much better than the students, but he was able to take the lead in making movies right away, with quotas and manpower as needed.

This is normal, and Wang Yan understands perfectly. But actually, he's already been very modest; after all, when he first arrived, his superiors had already asked him to take photos. The superiors weren't just being polite; if they wanted photos taken, they really meant it.

The project's approval went smoothly. He gathered teachers and students from the school and started filming immediately. After all, it's a film academy, so everything is professional, and they could find people from all disciplines. The school also had filming quotas and funding, and with a little coordination on the location, filming could begin right away.

These things are quite interesting. It's the first time Wang Yan has done them, and he's really passionate about it.

Refining the script, designing storyboards, interviewing actors, finding locations—all these miscellaneous tasks, plus taking care of his child, make his life very fulfilling.

It wasn't until the summer of 79 that he finally began filming his first movie. The cinematographer was Zhang Yimou and other photography students, while the teachers provided guidance, checking the focus, the composition, the lighting, and so on.

Of course, Wang Yan is the one who calls the shots; whatever he says goes. No one would be so foolish as to try to take over his position or cause trouble on set.

Whether these people were actually looking forward to seeing a joke on others is unknown...

I want to express my sincere gratitude to all the kind readers who have given me generous support through tips, monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and those who have been reading quietly!