1979: The child's mother is a celestial being.

Chapter 14 Novel
"I am Chen Fusheng."

"Great, Comrade Fusheng, we've finally made contact with you."

Han Sanping introduced himself on the phone and then asked, "I suppose Fangcao magazine has already spoken to you, Comrade Fusheng? Our Emei Film Studio wants to adapt your novel 'Fighting Bull' into a movie."

"Yes, Editor Xiao and I talked about it on the phone. He also said that you want me to participate in the adaptation of the novel, right?"

"Yes, Comrade Fusheng, you don't need to worry about not being able to write a script, because we will arrange for a professional screenwriter to adapt it with you."

I'm a professional!

Chen Fusheng thought to himself.

However, he didn't rush to explain, but skipped the topic and asked some questions that he was curious about.

For example, who is the director? Once the script is ready, when will the film be approved? And what is the budget for filming? How much is the script fee?

Han Sanping, on the other side, became increasingly shocked by his answer.

Because the questions Chen Fusheng asked sounded like those asked by a professional filmmaker.

This made Han Sanping wonder.

He asked directly over the phone, "Comrade Fusheng, I heard you're a teacher at Jiangcheng University. Does your school also offer art-related courses?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I felt that the questions you just asked me were very professional. If I didn't know you were a university professor, I would have thought you were a colleague," Han Sanping explained frankly.

"Alright, since Director Han figured it out, I'll be honest. Actually, I'm a movie enthusiast." Chen Fusheng said earnestly, trying to deceive... well, strictly speaking, it wasn't exactly deceiving, because—although he did need this persona, he wasn't a fake.

"...A film enthusiast, no wonder your novel 'Cowfighting' is so vivid, Comrade Fusheng, I see!" Han Sanping had no doubts whatsoever, and on the contrary, he was even more eager to invite Chen Fusheng to join the film crew.

Seeing that Han Sanping had accepted the persona he had created for himself, Chen Fusheng stopped beating around the bush and stated directly:

"Actually, I had the script for 'Cow' when I was writing the novel. If you need it, Director Han, I can mail it to you."

"Really?" Han Sanping felt that something was wrong, but it also seemed very reasonable.

"Yes."

"Alright, alright, then I'd like to trouble you, Comrade Fusheng, to mail the script to Emei Film Studio. If the script is approved, we will pay you the royalties later, so I'd also appreciate it if you could provide an account number."

"No problem, I'll mail the account information along with the script."

After finishing their business, the two exchanged a few polite words and ended the call.

The moment he hung up the phone, his brother-in-law couldn't help but ask:

"Brother-in-law, you even brought the script for 'Cow'?"

Chen Fusheng nodded mysteriously.

"Where are you? I haven't heard you say so."

“Here it is.” Chen Fusheng pointed to his head.

"..." After a couple of seconds of stunned silence, the brother-in-law finally came to his senses.

"So you were just lying to them on the phone?"

"How is that a hoax? The script is really in my head, and I can 'take' it out immediately."

The brother-in-law initially wanted to say, "You're just bragging." But then he remembered that his brother-in-law had written a 40,000-word novel, "Bullfighting," in just one night.

It seems that spending another all-nighter to write a script is not impossible.

It's only because Chen Fusheng can't read minds that he would have told his brother-in-law that he could write a script in less than a whole night.

Because the script was his area of ​​expertise, and the story was already in his mind, if he could maintain the same level of performance as that night, half the time would be enough.

After returning home, he first answered some of his family's questions, and then, under their urging, Chen Fusheng threw himself into the 'creation' of the script.

Although he couldn't find the same feeling as that night, he still managed to write the script in one day, which was about 20,000 words!
The next day, Chen Fusheng sent out the script.

To avoid Han Sanping complaining, "Why hasn't it been sent yet?"

A week later, Chen Fusheng's parents and sister went back first.

As for Chen Fusheng and his wife, they will return to Harbin after the Spring Festival.

Having finished visiting his wife's relatives, Chen Fusheng finally had the leisure to think about the article that Northern Literature had commissioned from him.

He sat at his desk, his mind flashing back to the cobblestone streets of Central Street in Harbin, the dome of St. Sophia Cathedral, the luxury of the Madier Hotel, the Russian-style atmosphere of the old train station, and the snow-covered landscape from beginning to end...

Suddenly, Chen Fusheng had a flash of inspiration and remembered the spy thriller "Cliff Walkers" that Zhang Yimou released in 2021.

This film tells the story of four Chinese agents trained in the Soviet Union who infiltrate Harbin, which is under Japanese control, during the Manchukuo period in the 1930s. They carry out a secret operation codenamed "Utra," which translates to "Dawn." However, they are betrayed by a traitor and find themselves in dire straits. The four then outwit and outmaneuver the enemy in their elaborate web of intrigue, sacrificing themselves to complete their mission.

The film also featured many scenes that Chen Fusheng had seen in Harbin during his recent trip, which is why he made the connection to the film.

However, the main storyline of this story is not as simple and straightforward as that of "Cow," making it a bit difficult to write.

Spy movies, in particular, emphasize a tense and suspenseful atmosphere, which adds considerable difficulty to adapting them into novels.

Chen Fusheng found himself unable to pick up a pen and write.

This time he needs to first create an outline...

As he began writing his second novel at his mother-in-law's house, the script he had sent out a week earlier finally reached Han Sanping's hands.

The story is still the same story.

However, the biggest difference between a screenplay and a novel is that a screenplay is scene-based. It makes the story, which is usually told in a straightforward manner in a novel, more three-dimensional and more vivid through a series of scenes.

Most importantly, Han Sanping didn't expect the script to be so professional and complete, much better than he had anticipated.

Now, he was even more curious about Chen Fusheng.

"After Comrade Fusheng returns from Harbin, I must visit him in Jiangcheng."

Han Sanping had a feeling that such a talented filmmaker shouldn't be an ordinary university teacher, but should shine brightly in the film industry.

……

Ahhh~
Chen Fusheng spent two days finally outlining the main text of "Cliff Walkers," but just as he was about to start writing the main text, he suddenly sneezed.

"Have I caught a cold? Or is someone thinking of me?"

"I wonder if my parents have made it home safely..."

(End of this chapter)