Chapter 267: The Major Studios: Please, Let Us Film It!

The next day, Dai Jinhua's eyes were still red during class; she even dreamed at night of a heart-wrenching separation from her son—some boy she didn't know where he came from—so moving it felt like it could move heaven and earth.

Yet she still gave Wei Ming a low score for this new piece, finding the story too clichéd and lacking depth.

Wei Ming hadn't produced a single serious work in a year; if his much-anticipated historical epic turned out to be this shallow and frivolous, it would be a great loss to the literary world.

Many literary critics held this view, believing Wei Ming was wasting his talent on such popular scripts, and they publicly urged him in newspapers and magazines, lamenting his supposed misstep.

Yet on the market…

"Give me a copy of 'Huacheng'—the one with 'Mom, Love Me Once More'!"

"Do you still have 'Huacheng'? Save me one!"

"I want 'Huacheng'—I heard this issue has a script by Wei Ming…"

"Boss, I'll go first—I need to stop by the post office to subscribe to a magazine. Yes, 'Huacheng.'"

Outside Peking University, the newspaper stand once again formed a long line; the old man behind the counter recalled that in the past six months, only last month's finale of 'Cuo Tuo Suiyue' in 'Shouhuo' had drawn such a crowd.

The quality of this issue of 'Huacheng' was indeed unremarkable; for most literary journals, the biggest draw is the fiction.

Many readers only read the fiction—essays, critiques, and scripts were ignored—but this issue's fiction was mediocre, so the initial print run was a conservative 450, 00 copies.

Of course, 450, 00 was still better than 'Dangdai' and 'Shiyue,' though not as strong as the veteran 'Shouhuo.'

But soon, 'Huacheng''s editorial office received overwhelming responses, and sales far exceeded expectations, so they held a quick meeting and announced an additional print run!

Print another 200, 00 copies!

Thanks to the general rise in literacy, even those with no high literary aspirations still had a need to read; rumors spread through the streets that 'Mom, Love Me Once More' was heart-wrenchingly moving and utterly worth reading—anyone who read it couldn't help but cry.

So many middle-aged and elderly uncles and aunts rushed to subscribe to 'Huacheng,' hoping to prove they were different from ordinary people—and promptly fell for it.

Wei Ming's influence thus expanded into the middle-aged and elderly demographic.

Young people might have a few who could resist, but the elderly? One read, one broken—this was the cure for stubbornness.

Especially among mothers with children, after reading it, even if their child was a brat, their maternal love instantly swelled, making them willing to fulfill any demand—the effect lasting at least three days.

Thus, among children, a saying spread:

Bad grades? Don't worry—there's 'Mom, Love Me Once More!'

Got into trouble? Don't worry—there's 'Mom, Love Me Once More!'

Called in by the school? Don't worry—there's 'Mom, Love Me Once More!'

Lu Xiaoyan didn't read this story because of Xi Zi's recommendation; she only found out when she got home from work and saw her husband silently weeping, realizing Xiao Ming had published a new piece.

Wei Anping wiped away his tears sheepishly: "I was thinking of Xi Zi's grandmother."

He had been told since childhood that he was a posthumous child; though his aunt and uncle treated him well, his deepest affection was always for his own mother.

That quiet, reserved woman, whose eyes seemed filled with countless secrets, possessing a rare tenderness uncommon among rural women—every time he thought of her, Wei Anping felt the sorrow of a child who wanted to care for his parents but could no longer do so, so he understood this profound mother-child bond better than anyone.

"I declare this my favorite Xiao Ming work—I truly wish this script could be filmed," Wei Anping said.

With such high praise, Lu Xiaoyan had no choice but to read it.

That night, Wei Anping spent hours comforting Lu Xiaoyan, who was emotionally overwhelmed, telling her: No one could ever separate you from Xi Zi and Le Le.

The next day, seeing Xi Zi refuse to eat properly, playing while eating, and disturbing Le Le's meal, Lu Xiaoyan—who normally would have scolded him fiercely—instead gently urged him, even feeding him spoonfuls herself, her maternal love overflowing.

But this terrified Xi Zi.

"Mom, don't do this—I'm scared!" Xi Zi warned, wide-eyed: Whoever you are, get out of my mom's body!

Lu Xiaoyan snapped: "Eat it or don't!"

Xi Zi sighed in relief: That's more like it!

He didn't want his mom to love him once more—he'd rather she beat him once more. That was reassuring.

After dropping Xi Le off at kindergarten, Lu Xiaoyan had another thought: If this script were adapted, wouldn't Xi Zi have another role to shoot?

…

Many discerning people could see that 'Mom, Love Me Once More' as a literary work was average, but as a film, its potential was limitless.

Because film was a more down-to-earth art form than literature; a novel with a million readers was already a huge success, but in China at this time, a single film could easily reach hundreds of millions of viewers—they didn't need profound philosophy, just stories they loved.

Maternal love was undoubtedly the most universally touching theme.

In the first week after this issue of 'Huacheng' was published, Pearl River Film Studio approached the editorial office.

At the time, there were seventeen film studios in the country capable of producing narrative features, not documentaries or newsreels.

Last year, these seventeen studios produced sixty-five feature films—an average of over three per studio.

Of course, studios weren't equal; Beijing Film Studio and Shanghai Film Studio naturally received more quotas.

Guangdong's studios, based along the Pearl River, were among the stronger second-tier studios, having produced five feature films last year.

But sadly, none had achieved major influence.

After reading the script 'Mom, Love Me Once More,' Pearl River Film Studio's director Wang Weiyi recognized its potential and immediately traveled to Guangzhou to personally ask Su Chen for adaptation rights—and insisted on directing it himself.

Wang Weiyi was a renowned director; his works included 'A Man's World,' starring Hou Yaowen, and the absurd 'Three Daughters Divorcing Their Husband,' which he also wrote—both were staples on the film channel.

Su Chen spread his hands: "This is a work by the famous writer Wei Ming—we have no authority to decide who gets to film it."

Wang Weiyi said: "Then where is he now? I'll write him a letter."

Pearl River Film Studio sent a letter; the Emei Studio in Sichuan was even more determined—they dispatched their director Han Sanping to Beijing to negotiate directly with Wei Ming.

After all, Han Sanping had personal connections with Wei Ming, and the story's prototype was set in Sichuan; the studio promised that if Han secured the project, he would be named director—he had never directed a feature before, and this instantly excited Han Sanping, who bought a hard-seat ticket and headed straight for Beijing.

But he didn't know Wei Ming was currently in Shanghai, frantically revising his manuscript.

In Shanghai, Shanghai Film Studio naturally had the advantage of proximity.

Before quitting time, Deputy Director Shi Fangyu stopped the literary department's editor Zhu Hongsheng: "Little Zhu, isn't that Peking University writer Wei Ming in Shanghai?"

Zhu Hongsheng's father-in-law was Li Yaotang; his wife was Li Xiaolin, Wei Ming's editor at 'Shouhuo'—he'd mentioned to colleagues before that Wei Ming was revising a manuscript for 'Shouhuo.'

"Yes, he's still at the Writers' Association guesthouse."

Shi Fangyu was thrilled: "Go to the guesthouse right away and discuss filming this script with him—we want it!"

He handed Zhu Hongsheng the issue of 'Huacheng,' telling him to glance at 'Mom, Love Me Once More.'

Zhu Hongsheng immediately agreed—but when he arrived at the guesthouse, staff said Wei Ming had gone out—with Shanghai Film Studio's actress Gong Yu.

"She's not one of our actresses yet," Zhu Hongsheng corrected, then reluctantly headed to the 'Shouhuo' editorial office, making Editor Li ecstatic: "You old devil—you actually came to pick me up!"

"It wasn't Teyi to pick you up," Zhu Hongsheng admitted honestly. "I'm here for Wei Ming—I want to discuss adapting 'Mom, Love Me Once More' into a film. You know this work, right?"

"Of course I know!" Li Xiaolin bristled. "He wrote this during his revision work for us—and then submitted it to 'Huacheng'!"

Zhu Hongsheng laughed: "Our Director Shi is interested, and public response has been excellent—we want to adapt it into a film."

Li Xiaolin sighed: "Little Wei's become a hot commodity again. I won't interfere in your business—but before he finishes revising 'The Right Path of Humanity' Part One, he can't go anywhere or do anything else!"

At this moment, Wei Ming and Gong Yu were dining at De Xing Guan, a century-old Shanghai cuisine restaurant.

Since returning from Beijing, the two had been visiting Shanghai's famous restaurants, gathering rich material for Wei Ming's essays.

Over dinner, Wei Ming mentioned the film adaptation of 'Mom, Love Me Once More.'

"Why hasn't Shanghai Film Studio reacted yet? Today, Beijing Film Studio even called me long-distance to ask about filming."

Beijing Film Studio had first called the Overseas Chinese Apartment; Xu Shufen told them Wei Ming was in Shanghai revising his manuscript. Jiang Huaiyan, worried Shanghai Film Studio would move too fast, quickly had Liang Xiaosheng place a long-distance call to the guesthouse, expressing Beijing Film Studio's sincere desire to collaborate with Wei Ming again.

Wei Ming evaded the question—he wanted to save it for Shanghai Film Studio, hoping to use it to demand a formal position for Xue Jie.

But Gong Yu was surprised: "You mean you want Shanghai Film Studio to film it?"

"Yes—I'll say I chose them because of you. Maybe your position issue can be resolved too."

Gong Yu looked embarrassed: "Then… could you, for my sake, choose Beijing Film Studio?"

"Huh?"

Gong Yu had never told Wei Ming she wanted to stay at Beijing Film Studio—because it wasn't finalized; Director Wang Yang said they still needed to hold another meeting.

But now she had to speak up: "Our unit is restructuring—I've asked my superiors to focus on film, so after the wedding, I went to Beijing Film Studio and asked if they'd take me."

Wei Ming's heart jolted—Lin Jie also wanted to stay at Beijing Film Studio, and given her outstanding performance in 'Shang Shi,' she'd likely succeed.

"Didn't Director Wang agree?" he asked.

Gong Yu nodded: "Said they'd discuss it further."

Gong Yu was truly excellent—'Good Things Take Time' received good reviews—but Beijing Film Studio already had three golden girls, and they also wanted to keep Zhu Lin and Fang Shu, yet only had so many film quotas each year.

Suddenly adding so many beautiful, high-caliber actresses meant too few roles and too few housing units—likely sparking resentment among veteran staff like Liu Xiaoqing.

But Zhu Lin and Gong Yu both had one advantage: they didn't need to use the unit's housing quota.

Fine—let her stay at Beijing Film Studio. He couldn't leave Xue Jie alone in Shanghai, and in two years, Shanghai would be chaotic too.

Wei Ming sighed: "Alright, give it to Beijing Film Studio. With this collaboration, keeping you there will be reasonable—but…"

"But what?"

Wei Ming gently took her hand: "But you'll be separated from your family. It'll be hard on you."

Gong Yu's nose tingled with tears: "Then you'd better treat me better from now on."

If it weren't a public place, Wei Ming would have pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

But after dinner, there'd be plenty of chances.

The renovation of the old villa on Huating Road was over 50% complete—the interior was nearly done, and now they were reworking the courtyard.

Gong Yu had heard from her father that they planned to buy two cherry trees to transplant.

So they could eat cherries and admire cherry blossoms.

Later, Wei Ming first dropped Gong Yu off at Shanghai Film Studio, then returned to the guesthouse, where the receptionist told him an editor from Shanghai Film Studio had come looking for him.

The next day, Gong Yu returned to Shanghai Film Studio and was called in by Deputy Director Shi.

"Little Gong, I hear you're close to the writer Wei Ming. Our studio has his new script, 'Mom, Love Me Once More'—could you get him to come out and meet us for a chat?" Shi Fangyu said.

Shi Fangyu thought this would be effortless—but the problem lay with Gong Yu.

Gong Yu felt deeply ashamed—Shanghai Film Studio had treated her well, giving her so many roles—but now, for her lover, she was abandoning them, and handing the script over to Beijing Film Studio.

"Sorry, Factory Director Shi, but I've heard of this script from Wei Ming—he's already been contacted by Beijing Film Studio; they've basically reached an agreement."

Yesterday they already confirmed their lines, claiming Beijing Film Studio arrived first and that priority goes to the first to arrive."

Gong Ying thought: when I become famous one day, if Shanghai Film Studio ever asks for anything, I'll definitely say yes.

Shi Fangyu muttered, "Beijing Film Studio is so far away, yet they moved fast."

Still unwilling to give up, he hoped Gong Ying could arrange a meeting between him and Wei Ming; Gong Ying could only agree.

Wei Ming had already sent a telegram to Beijing Film Studio—not saying he'd accept their offer, only that he'd return to Beijing next week to discuss it further.

But Beijing Film Studio insisted they must secure Wei Ming's approval immediately to claim moral high ground.

Because they could already sense competition: today, a colleague from Emei Film Studio, Han Sanping, arrived at Beijing Film Studio's guesthouse, saying he'd come to Beijing to find Wei Ming and seek help from a sister unit.

Twenty-seven-year-old Han Sanping had never been to Beijing Film Studio before.

But Beijing Film Studio was unscrupulous—they didn't tell him Wei Ming was in the Magic City, yet secretly bought Liang Xiaosheng a ticket there.

Jiang Huaiyan ordered him: if Wei Ming agrees to cooperate, the studio will send the script royalty to Wei Ming and have Liang Xiaosheng immediately begin editing and revising the script in the Magic City—they must secure moral high ground.

Beijing Film Studio was in such a hurry because they'd been criticized.

The cause was months ago, when both August 1st Film Studio and Beijing Film Studio set their sights on Zhou Keqin's novel *Xu Mao and His Daughters* and both launched adaptation work—but August 1st Film Studio had partnered directly with the original author.

Not long ago, the Film Bureau of the Ministry of Culture held a coordination meeting, but the two studios, once like brothers, refused to yield.

August 1st Film Studio claimed they'd negotiated with the author first and deserved the rights; Beijing Film Studio argued August 1st should stick to war films—they weren't skilled in rural themes.

But since the original author favored August 1st, Beijing Film Studio had no moral ground and was criticized; yet to ensure all three golden flowers had films to shoot, they ultimately decided to forcibly launch the project.

Such situations were rare domestically, since film production was planned—two studios making the same story was pure waste of national resources.

Beijing Film Studio, having done this once before, could not do it again—so their determination to secure Wei Ming was absolute.

Since Beijing Film Studio offered no help, Han Sanping went to Zhao Debiao—he'd kept Zhao's home address from their previous shoot.

He found the courtyard where Zhao's mother lived.

"Biaozi? That kid's made it big—he's a big boss now, hasn't lived here for ages. If you want him, go to his workplace."

Then, guided by envious neighbors, he found Dongfang Xintiandi in Xidan, where he not only located Biaozi and Yanzi, but also happened upon Wei Jiefang delivering meals.

After seeing off his uncle and the others, Old Wei and his mother had begun supplying work meals to Xintiandi—cooking extra portions daily: buns, noodles, fried pancakes, simple home-style dishes, with Grandma helping out, very easy.

Xintiandi paid market price; the couple earned at least a hundred yuan profit monthly, enough to support themselves.

Old Wei handled procurement and meal delivery—two meals a day, then he could wander the streets, playing with cats and dogs, thoroughly content.

When Han Sanping asked about Wei Ming, Biaozi said, "He's not in Yanjing—he's back in the Magic City."

"Back to the Magic City?"

"Yeah, he's revising the script for *Shouhuo*. Director Han, what do you want him for?" Huang Jiaoyan asked.

Han Sanping sighed, "I'm here representing Emei Film Studio to request the script—it's his new one, *Mom, Love Me Once More*."

Old Wei, dividing meals among staff, chimed in: "Why are you only showing up now? Beijing Film Studio came to him just days ago—I told them he was in the Magic City, and they immediately sent a telegram."

"Ah, Beijing Film Studio?"

At last Han Sanping understood: Beijing Film Studio was their competitor—they knew Wei Ming was in the Magic City but didn't tell him.

Hmph, Beijing Film Studio, huh? Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—don't underestimate the young!

Han Sanping knew Emei Film Studio had no advantage over Beijing Film Studio, and Wei Ming had moved the story's setting from Sichuan-Chongqing to the Yangtze Delta—Emei's only local edge was gone.

Whatever, this trip is just a free business trip.

Old Wei smiled: "Don't lose heart, young man. Haven't eaten yet? We've got two extra buns—have some to tide you over."

"Thanks, Uncle Wei," Han Sanping said warmly—his mother was also from Hebei.

Biaozi put an arm around his shoulder: "Tonight I'll call Wu Jing over—we'll get the crew together, let me show you some local hospitality."

Hearing Biaozi's generous tone, Han Sanping finally had the chance to look around the fashion-forward clothing and accessory shop, especially the business license on the wall.

"Biaozi, I remember seeing you in the People's Daily—I never thought you were this capable!"

"Me? What ability do I have? I just got lucky—I met the right person."

In fact, besides Emei Film Studio, Xi Film Studio had also taken interest in *Mom, Love Me Once More*.

At that moment, several senior leaders at Xi Film Studio raised objections to the *Ancient War: Terracotta Warriors* project and advised Wu Tianming: "That project requires too much investment and unprecedented shooting difficulty—why not consider *Mom, Love Me Once More* instead? You know Wei Ming anyway."

Wu Tianming had already received Wei Ming's reply: "The investment is high, but not insurmountable—we're promoting Xi'an and the Terracotta Warriors, so cultural preservation departments should help reduce costs. Also, we can partner with Hong Kong film companies, like Beijing Film Studio did with *Heroes Born from Youth*."

The studio head pondered: "But we have no experience with co-productions."

"True. Why not first see how *Heroes Born from Youth* is received? I heard Emei's *Mysterious Great Buddha* was banned for being too entertaining," added another deputy studio head.

Wu Tianming shook his head—older generations were still too conservative. He decided to go to Yanjing after finishing post-production on *The Ox and Niu Er*—to continue negotiating adaptations with Wei Ming and to contact China Film Corporation about Hong Kong co-productions. He didn't believe Hong Kongers wouldn't be curious about the Terracotta Warriors.

That evening, Wei Ming met with Factory Director Shi Fangyu, along with editor Zhu Hongsheng.

Today Wei Ming had delivered tens of thousands of words of revisions to Editor Li—he now knew Zhu Hongsheng's identity and affectionately called him "brother-in-law," which made Factory Director Shi feel even more secure.

The last to arrive was the popular young actor Guo Kaimin.

Factory Director Shi directly proposed: "Teacher Wei, what do you think? Xiao Guo is one of today's most popular male actors—I'll cast him as the male lead and Xiao Gong as the female lead. *Mom, Love Me Once More* is definitely doable, right?"

To snatch this project from Beijing Film Studio, Shi Fangyu brought his strongest lineup: although Gong Ying wasn't as popular as Zhang Yu, given Wei Ming's relationship with Gong Ying, assigning the female lead to her was far more reliable.

But when the confused Guo Kaimin realized they were discussing *Mom, Love Me Once More*, he immediately asked: "Are you asking me to play Gong Ying's son? That's inappropriate."

Gong Ying's face darkened—play mother and son? Am I that old?!

Factory Director Shi sternly said: "Xiao Guo, what nonsense are you talking? You're playing Hu Zhi-liang, the father of Xiao Hululu."

"Ah, even worse—I can't play that. My mother and my girlfriend both hated that character after reading the script—I can't do it." Guo Kaimin now had some idol image to protect—playing such a villain would draw heavy criticism.

Then Wei Ming spoke: "Since Comrade Guo Kaimin says so clearly, let's not pressure him. Factory Director Shi, Sister-in-law Zhu, this meal's on me—you've come for nothing."

(End of Chapter)