Back to 80: My Literary Life

"Minghua, you really don't want to accept the award?"

In the small courtyard of Fang Minghua's house, Lu Yao and Fang Minghua drank tea and chatted.

The weather is nice today, and it is very pleasant to sit in the small courtyard chatting and drinking tea. Ever since Fang Minghua moved to his own courtyard inside Chaoyang Gate, Lu Yao has been the most frequent visitor.

As the vice chairman of the Writers' Association, he didn't have to work. He often drove his Santana to Fang Minghua to have tea and chat. He also said that if he had the opportunity, he would build a small yard of his own, raise some flowers and plants, and find peace in the midst of the noise.

But today I have something serious to do with Fang Minghua, which is to attend the Mao Dun Award Ceremony to be held in Yanjing at the end of the month.

According to regulations, if an award-winning novel has two authors, both can go on stage to receive the award and receive a Mao Dun Award certificate. For example, the authors of another award-winning novel "Urban Romance" this time, Sun Li and Yu Xiaohui, were interviewed by reporters. He said that he was very excited and would go to Yanjing to receive the award in the future.

By the way: Sun Li and Yu Xiaohui are husband and wife.

But Fang Minghua made it clear that he would not go.

Now seeing Lu Yao come to ask about this matter in person, Fang Minghua said with a smile: "Brother Lu, you wrote most of this novel. You can definitely represent this work. Anyway, I have already received it once. Besides, I still I have to catch up on the script.”

Seeing Fang Minghua's firm attitude, Lu Yao could only shake his head and said nothing.

Fang Minghua's attitude is very clear.

As a writer, it’s better to leave all such highlight moments to Lu Yao.

He had been waiting for this day for a long time.

Three days later, Lu Yao carried his travel bag and boarded the train heading north. This time, he was no longer as poor as in history and had no money to pay for travel and needed to borrow money to receive the award.

He was wearing a brand new suit and tie and was smiling.

At noon on March 29, in the Great Hall of the People, amid warm applause, the winning writers of the third Mao Dun Literature Award all took the stage, received certificates, accepted everyone’s congratulations, and each delivered an acceptance speech.

CCTV broadcast the entire awards ceremony live.

Fang Minghua was also watching in the living room at home.

At the award ceremony, Lu Yao delivered his acceptance speech:

I feel grateful that the judges awarded this Mao Dun Literature Prize to me and my friend Ming Hua, as well as several other respected colleagues. Personally, I am not calm about receiving this award. There are undoubtedly many friends who should be deserving of this honor.

Winning an award does not mean that the work is completely successful. For writers, the fruits of their labor must not only be evaluated from a contemporary perspective, but also be examined from a historical perspective.

As the son of a farmer, I am particularly concerned about the situation in China and the fate of farmers. Needless to say, this is a highly emotional concern. "Why do I always have tears in my eyes? Because I love the land deeply..." (Ai Qing)

Yes, these hundreds of millions of ordinary and great people living on the earth have created our history and, to a large extent, determine our real life and future direction. The kind of gaze that looks for scabs on their bodies is a shallow gaze.

Whether we are politicians or artists, only by not losing the feeling of ordinary workers can we grasp the mainstream of the historical process of social life and make the work we do have real value.

The writing is indeed quite wonderful, and Fang Minghua admires it very much.

The third Mao Dun Literary Award ceremony concluded successfully, but its impact on the literary world was not over.

Qin Province, located in the northwest, has received awards for two consecutive years, which makes people marvel at the profound literary heritage of this cultural province.

Two of the four leading figures in the literary world of Qin Province have already won awards. According to rumors, two others are thanking guests behind closed doors and concentrating on their creations. Will they be present at the next Mao Dun Literary Award Ceremony?

Everyone will wait and see.

Lu Yao's return after winning the Mao Dun Literature Award was naturally welcomed by everyone in Qin Province, with congratulations from provincial leaders to friends and colleagues.

Of course, a treat is inevitable.

Lu Yao has now given up drinking due to his physical condition, but there is still one person who cannot escape - Fang Minghua.

You are also one of the authors of "The Ordinary World" and the winner of this Mao Dun Award. Not only do you want to drink, but you also have to replace Lu Yao's wine!

It was also during this period that Fang Minghua lived in a state of drunkenness.

And with this shareholder style, the 1 million copies of "The Ordinary World" printed for the third time by Shengshi Book Publishing Company were quickly sold out, forcing Shu Bin to quickly organize manpower and contact the printing factory to work overtime to print another 500,000 copies!

Not only are readers strongly demanding it, but they are also competing against piracy!

"I still underestimated the magic of this Mao Dun Award." Shu Bin sighed in his heart, he would have listened to Fang Minghua and printed more.

The ratings of "The Ordinary World" broadcast by CCTV in prime time have also soared. In addition to the Yanjing area, Yanjing Channel's "Editor's Story" can compete with it, including the popular "Editorial Story" in the Northeast region. "Women and Wells" and "Foreign Girl" broadcast in Guangdong Province are also unable to resist the aggressive attack of this TV series.

Relevant personnel from TV stations such as Qin Province, Gan Province, and Sichuan Province have already contacted Shengshi Film and Television Company to purchase the second round of broadcast rights.

Employees of Shengshi Film and Television Company have been very busy recently, including General Manager Song Tangtang.

Song Tangtang was first busy preparing to film the TV series "Yanjing Man in New York". Since director Wu Tianmin was still in the United States and could not come back, Song Tangtang, as a producer, had more worries. Fortunately, Zhang Yimou and deputy director Yang Fengliang assisted in the preparations. Photography team.

The other thing is the selection of the main actors. For the male lead, Wang Qiming, Fang Minghua recommended Jiang Wen to the three of them.

Jiang Wen had played the male lead in "Red Sorghum" directed by Zhang Yimou, so he was familiar with Zhang Yimou. After contacting him, he heard that it was directed by Wu Tianmin again, and he was very happy to play in this TV series.

For the female lead, Wu Tianmin, who was far away in the United States, chose the Chinese actress Wu Junmei who immigrated to Los Angeles.

Wu Junmei played the imperial concubine "Erdet Wenxiu" in the Oscar-winning film "The Last Emperor" by Italian director Bertolucci, and was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress at the 32nd Italian David Award, and became the first Asian face to be nominated for the Best Supporting Actress at the Italian David Donatello Award (Italian Oscar Award).

At that time, she happened to be studying in the Film Department of the University of California, Los Angeles, and knew Wu Tianmin.

After getting the crew, she was also busy with the issue of applying for overseas visas for the crew members. She took a few people to Yanjing all the time, and was very busy.

I have not forgotten the cooperation with China Film Co-production Company to invest in Zhang Yimou's new film "Raise the Red Lantern".

Finally, the two sides finally reached an agreement. The film budget is 5.6 million, all invested by Shengshi Film and Television, and the film co-production company will get 10% of the overseas distribution income of this film!

Hurry up!

Just because you can get a dragon mark, you have to take so much for nothing!

After Fang Minghua received this call from Song Tangtang, he couldn't help but cursed a few words.

But there is no way, this is reality.

Just bear with it for another two years and wait for the reform of the national film distribution system.

The wife is busy at work, and Fang Minghua's life is leisurely. Spring is here. On weekends, she takes the two children to drive for a spring outing, tidy up the small yard to plant flowers and plants, and go to her parents or father-in-law's house to sit.

Today is Saturday, and Fang Minghua's house is very lively at night. Song Tangtang came back from Yanjing and brought the two children home from her parents. The whole family spent the weekend, and a few people came to play mahjong.