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

Chapter 53 The Script on the Train
"How long are you going?"

The National Day holiday is only one day now, unlike the seven-day holiday in later generations. So when she got home that night, Liu Xiaoli started packing Chen Fusheng's luggage for his upcoming trip.

"I'm not sure, but I'll definitely be back for the Chinese New Year."

Liu Xiaoli thought for a moment about how much time was left until the New Year, and then began to give her instructions:

“He writes to me and my daughter every week.”

"it is good."

"Don't push yourself too hard next time you act, and don't get into arguments with anyone. Always be careful."

"it is good."

"Eat on time, eat well, and don't let him come back like last time, having lost more than ten pounds."

"it is good."

"it's your turn."

"Take good care of yourself and your daughter at home."

"Ah."

"Share more about your daughter's growth in your letters. It would be best to buy her a camera and take more pictures. You can buy the camera at the Friendship Store. I still have several thousand foreign exchange certificates. But as I said before, they will expire and become worthless if you don't use them. And money will only become less and less valuable, so don't be reluctant to spend it."

"Ah."

"I won't be around, so please take good care of my parents' health for me. After all, they are getting old."

"Um, any more?"

"Also, is your extended leave about to end?"

"Ah."

"Are you still going to work? Or maybe..."

"Are you trying to persuade me to quit again?"

"You can go if you want, it's up to you." Chen Fusheng was quite busy, so he preferred his wife to focus on the family, but he also respected her decision.

"I'll think about it and tell you in my next letter."

"Okay, whatever you do, honey, I'll support you."

Chen Fusheng continued, "Now that we've finished discussing the matter, let's talk about some topics between husband and wife."

"Wait...wait a minute, your luggage isn't packed yet."

"It's the same as cleaning up tomorrow."

"Waaah... turn off the lights."

……

The following day, after bidding farewell to his family at the train station, Chen Fusheng boarded a train bound for Beijing.

From the moment he left home, he began to miss it.

To suppress this longing, he could only begin to shift his attention.

Before getting on the bus, Chen Fusheng had actually bought some books to pass the time.

Now is the perfect time to take it out and read it.

The Venice International Film Festival award-winning film "Cow" was released yesterday (National Day), and the performance of the actor playing Fu Sheng "shocked" the audience.

Why did the overseas rights to "Cow" sell for $100 million? You'll find out after watching the movie.

"Romance on Lushan Mountain" has only been released for a week, yet its popularity has already surpassed that of "Little Flower" from the first half of the year.

my country's first film with a kissing scene – *Romance on Lushan Mountain*

It turns out that Zhou Yun, the female lead in "Romance on Lushan Mountain," changed into 43 different outfits during filming.

After its release, "Romance on Lushan Mountain" was loved by many people, but it also received a lot of criticism from the LGBT community.

"..."

After reading these newspapers, to be honest, as a filmmaker, Chen Fusheng had already guessed whether "Romance on Lushan Mountain" would receive praise or criticism when he watched the movie with his wife yesterday, so he wasn't surprised at all.

His only regret was that the reading materials were too short, and his train journey would take more than thirty hours, so he couldn't relieve his boredom.

Although he had bought a sleeper berth, he wasn't sleepy at all after boarding the train.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Fusheng simply took out paper and pen and began to conceive his next film. Because he still had the information about "Romance on Lushan Mountain" in his mind, the first film that came to mind was also a very popular film in the 1980s, called "The Herdsman".

Later, after short videos came out, the line from the movie, "Old Xu, do you want a wife?" became popular for a while.

However, Chen Fusheng quickly rejected the film.

The reason for the rejection wasn't because of concerns about clashing with "The Herdsman" in terms of release date; in fact, the film hadn't even been officially greenlit yet.

Because its original novel, "Spirit and Flesh," was only published last month in the Ningxia-based literary magazine "Shuofang."

In other words, if Chen Fusheng wanted to hijack the rights, he could buy them at any time and adapt them into a movie himself.

The reason he doesn't do that is that he has now joined the film foreign exchange earning working group, and his work focuses on using films to generate foreign exchange for the country.

Instead of just making a movie like "Romance on Lushan Mountain," which is a huge hit in China and can only be a hit in China.

Yes, at least that's how it is for now.

After all, their working groups have only just been established, so of course they need to produce results.

Perhaps because both "Romance on Lushan Mountain" and "The Herdsman" are youth romance films, Chen Fusheng was then reminded of Zhang Yimou's "Under the Hawthorn Tree".

"Under the Hawthorn Tree" tells a story from this period, and Chen Fusheng could even use it directly.

However, these kinds of films still have the same problem: they can't go global and it's difficult for them to win awards internationally; they can only achieve good results domestically.

Therefore, Chen Fusheng passed.

"Sigh, 1980 was still too conservative. Many movies couldn't be made. I heard that movies became much more daring in the late 1980s..."

As Chen Fusheng pondered, his mind began to wander.

But there's a saying: "You may plant flowers with care, but they may not bloom; you may plant willows without intention, and they may thrive."

Just as he was daydreaming, a sudden inspiration struck him, and he had an idea.

"It seems like 'The Tuner' is a good option."

There are two versions of *The Tuner*. The first is a 14-minute short film directed by Olivier Trenet in France, which tells the story of Adrian, a gifted pianist who fails in the Bernstein Competition and subsequently pretends to be a blind piano tuner to gain more sympathy and attention, as well as satisfy his voyeuristic desires. One day, while tuning a piano at someone's house, he witnesses a murder and is forced to struggle between continuing his pretense of blindness and revealing his true identity.

The second version is the Indian director Sriram Raghavan's remake of the feature film of the same name. Because it is a feature film, the Indian version of "Andhadhun" is much more refined in terms of details.

Chen Fusheng wanted to adapt this movie primarily because its story appeals to both Eastern and Western audiences; in short, it's something that everyone can understand and enjoy.

Having met this basic requirement, the film itself is a masterpiece that combines art and commercial elements, which means that if Chen Fusheng remakes it, it can be submitted for awards and also be a box office draw.

It's like having double insurance.

The last reason was personal: Chen Fusheng felt he could take on the role of the male lead.

Based on these three points, Chen Fusheng did not hesitate any longer and formally picked up his pen, writing "The Tuner" in his notebook.

However, after writing these three words, Chen Fusheng started biting the pen cap:
How should this movie be adapted?

After thinking for a while, Chen Fusheng's eyes lit up:
"There is."

"This story would definitely not work in today's context, but if I put it in the Republic of China era, it seems to fit perfectly."

After thinking for about ten more minutes, Chen Fusheng conceived the historical context and began writing again:

— Shanghai in the late 1930s was an era that appeared prosperous and extravagant on the surface, but was actually turbulent undercurrents, with various forces vying for power, sharp social contradictions, and human life being treated like dirt.

Character settings:

Male protagonist: Chen Mo: 27 years old, once a brilliant music academy student. After witnessing his mentor being suppressed during the Cultural Revolution and his close friend being killed in the flames of revolution, the naturally timid Chen Mo was deeply traumatized and utterly disillusioned with reality. He then chose to feign blindness. On one hand, he believed that feigning blindness could help him escape the shadows of the past and potential persecution; on the other hand, he believed that 'blindness' would allow him to focus more intently on music and gain a purer artistic experience and inspiration.

After a while, Chen Mo discovered that feigning blindness could bring him some unexpected benefits, such as lowering others' guard, gaining sympathy, and discovering others' secrets...

……

Because Chen Fusheng was adapting an adaptation, it was like having an outline right in front of him, so his inspiration flowed endlessly.

And so he once again entered a state of 'selflessness'.

Just as he finished working on the Republican-era version of the script for "The Tuner," he heard the announcement that the train was about to arrive at the next station.

"Dear passengers, we are about to arrive at Yanjing Station. Passengers who wish to disembark, please gather your luggage and prepare to disembark..."

When Chen Fusheng heard the broadcast for the first time, he thought he had misheard. It wasn't until he heard it a second time that he was sure he was about to arrive.

"Damn, does time fly by so fast?"

"Ouch, my back hurts so much!"

(End of this chapter)