Chapter 74: Beijing University Cinema
After guiding Zou Shifang in writing, Liu Hongmin gradually found his passion for writing. While giving guidance, he also slowly began to write The Ming Dynasty 1566.
Because he had a lot of historical materials about the Ming Dynasty, Liu Hongmin knew more about that period of history than Liu Heping, the author of The Great Ming Dynasty 1566. In dealing with Hai Rui's situation, Liu Hongmin was more extreme.
In Liu Heping's writing, Hai Rui was still appreciated by some people. But in Liu Hongmin's writing, Hai Rui became a character that everyone hated.
In 1566, the Ming Dynasty had reached its late stage, and the promotion path was solidified. To reach a certain rank, one must be a Jinshi. Jinshi of the same period all called each other classmates, and all respected the chief examiner as a mentor and considered themselves a student. Thus, a huge network of relationships was established, forming a huge literary management group.
Hai Rui was born as a juren, like a monkey in a crowd, and his colleagues looked down on him. In addition, he was born in Hainan, and was also excluded by other wealthy regions. In this way, Hai Rui became a clean official and could only follow Emperor Jiajing.
He was also different from the Yan Party. The Yan Party used the name of Jiajing to make money for themselves, while Hai Rui was an honest official and only wanted to be a good official.
As a result, Hai Rui became an outlier among officials. If it weren't for his high standards for himself, the civil service group would have wanted to classify him as a member of the eunuch party. Because in the eyes of the civil service, Hai Rui did the same things as the eunuchs, except that he did not have any contact with the eunuchs. He was just a knife in the hands of Emperor Jiajing.
In Liu Hongmin's writing, Hai Rui became the most special person in the book.
After three revisions, "The Case of the Chopping of the Beauty" finally got Liu Hongmin's approval. However, Zou Shifang still had a long way to go. It took him more than half a month to revise "The Case of the Chopping of the Beauty", which was a bit slow.
Fortunately, with the experience of revising "The Case of the Chopping of the Beauty", the next manuscript revision was much smoother. And with the continuous revision of the manuscript, Zou Shifang also slowly straightened out Liu Hongmin's writing skills. By mid-April, he had finished revising his previous manuscript and started to create the remaining three cases.
That afternoon, Liu Hongmin, Ge Chaoguang and others returned to the courtyard. Ma Weidu was already waiting at home, and Liu Hongmin asked him to help maintain the calligraphy and paintings.
As soon as I opened the basement, the phone in the living room rang.
"Hello? I'm Liu Hongmin."
Lin Yong's voice came from the other end of the phone, "Hongmin, you finally answered the phone."
Liu Hongmin reminded: "Brother Lin, I have classes today and I just got back."
Lin Yong then said in annoyance: "I forgot about this. I was wondering why no one answered the phone when I called your house!"
"Hongmin, the post-production of Tang Dynasty has been completed. Today, China Film Group watched the sample film and decided to purchase it on the spot. The studio made hundreds of thousands of dollars this time, and everyone said it was all thanks to you."
When Liu Hongmin heard this, he immediately became happy, "Really? Doesn't that mean it will be released in a few days?"
"That's right!"
"That would be great!"
Liu Hongmin suddenly remembered something, "Brother Lin, when China Film sells copies, please buy me a set. I plan to keep it as a souvenir."
"Videotapes are very expensive, 10,000 yuan a set!"
"It doesn't matter, just keep one set for me when the time comes."
"Okay! I'll let you know when China Film buys the copy!"
"Thank you, Brother Lin." Lin Yong hung up the phone and couldn't help shaking his head. He didn't understand Liu Hongmin's train of thought at all. There was no movie projector at home, so why did he buy videotapes? Ten thousand yuan was enough for his salary and allowance for ten years.
Rich people just think differently.
Lin Yong couldn't comment on Liu Hongmin's hobby. He had contacted China Film Group Corporation about the copying issue, but they only wanted to sell the copies and didn't care whether they were for screening or not.
A few days later, Liu Hongmin spent 10,000 yuan to buy a copy. The copy was placed in an iron box and kept in the basement.
Zou Shifang urged, "Hongmin, why don't you just buy a projector? It doesn't cost much."
Liu Hongmin looked at him as if he were a fool. "Are you stupid? We have a projector in our school."
Zou Shifang smiled and said, "I just forgot!"
Peking University has its own cinema, but the films it plays are all from a few years ago. The school is short of funds and is reluctant to spend money on new copies, so it only buys second-hand copies from the cinema. It has been played countless times, and there are either white stripes or white spots on the screen, which is similar to the open-air movies that Liu Hongmin watched in his hometown in the countryside.
The next day, Liu Hongmin took the copy to the school. He applied to the school for the use of the theater, which was quickly approved. So in the afternoon, Liu Hongmin gathered his friends and watched Datang in the theater.
The students of Beijing University got the news very quickly and rushed to the theater. However, the theater could not accommodate so many people, so many people were blocked outside. They were not dissatisfied because Liu Hongmin promised them that he would keep the copy in the school for a few days to satisfy everyone's desire to watch the movie.
Soon, the movie started.
Although it was Liu Hongmin's first time watching the film, he was very familiar with the plot, as the Beijing Film Studio had rehearsed it countless times. However, he was still deeply attracted by the performances of the two veteran actors and stared at the screen intently.
The students were also attracted by the plot of the movie, and the theater was completely silent. After Guo Yuanzheng was killed, only Lu Shisi was left, and many girls sobbed quietly.
The boys were also in a bad mood, but they didn't say anything. Even if they shed tears, they wiped them away silently for fear of being discovered by others.
Lu Shisi dragged the silver and walked hard in the desert. After an unknown amount of time, he finally saw an earth wall.
The city of Kucha is right in front of us!
Lu Shisi shouted excitedly. He finally completed the mission assigned to him by Guo Yuanzheng.
The classmates also shouted, they felt the same way at this moment. However, before their cheers died down, Lu Shisi fell to the ground.
The camera follows Lu Shisi's perspective, and in the flickering light and darkness, a team of Tang soldiers is seen rushing over.
The screen went dark, and Lu Shisi's voiceover sounded: "Fortunately... I have fulfilled my mission!"
The students were unable to come out of the movie for a long time, but at this time the credits began to roll at the end of the film, bringing everyone back to their senses.
Liu Hongmin frowned slightly, feeling that the atmosphere was ruined. If the darkness could last a little longer, it would have the effect of leaving people wanting more.
However, a dozen seconds of darkness was enough. The students in the theater had not yet come out of the movie and were reluctant to leave their seats. It was not until someone opened the door and the light shone into the theater that the students woke up from their dream.
(End of this chapter)
