In mid-April, spring is already blooming in Yanjing City. It is the best time of the year. The trees have sprouted green buds and everything is full of vitality.
On Sunday, Du Feng ran to Lin Chaoyang Overseas Chinese Apartment, saying he was here to play, but he hadn't been seen here in the past six months. There must be a reason why he suddenly came home today.
Sure enough, when Tao Yushu went out to buy groceries, he asked Lin Chaoyang: "Brother-in-law, I have fallen in love with a girl!"
"Hey! Is this your emotional injury healed?"
Lin Chaoyang's teasing made Du Feng feel a little shy, "Anything that hurts your feelings is a thing of the past."
"What are you doing today? Do you want me to write you a love poem?"
"This girl doesn't like literature."
"Then there's nothing I can do to help."
"Don't bother me!"
Lin Chaoyang asked: "Then what else can I do to help?"
"That girl wants to act in a movie." Du Feng said coyly.
"Then take the film school entrance examination!"
"I passed the exam, but I failed. Brother-in-law, didn't you write movie scripts for others? Last time, my eldest brother said that his student played the heroine of Director Xie, and you were the one who helped set the stage."
Lin Chaoyang shook his head, "Do you really dare to think that it's Xie Jin's movie and I can decide it with just one sentence? The director was already optimistic about that little girl, I just made a suggestion."
Seeing that Lin Chaoyang had misunderstood what he meant, Du Feng quickly said: "Brother-in-law, instead of asking him to play the heroine, just have a small role that can show his face."
"Why is it that I have to do the hard work every time you chase your girlfriend?" Lin Chaoyang said dissatisfied.
Du Feng showed a flattering smile, "Aren't you my brother-in-law? When I have difficulties, the first thing I think of is you!"
"Thank you for thinking of me!" Lin Chaoyang teased him.
"Brother-in-law, this is related to my brother's lifelong happiness, you can't ignore it!" Du Feng begged with a grimace.
As he said that, he took out two cigarettes from his arms and said, "Brother-in-law, help me!"
Lin Chaoyang was amused when he saw it, "You kid, you don't usually burn incense, so you just do it temporarily."
He asked again: "Just a supporting role, right?"
After hearing this, Du Feng immediately became happy, "It's okay to be a supporting role. Just let her experience making movies. If she really becomes a movie star, I can't control her, right?"
"My calculations are quite shrewd! I'll ask later, I don't know when I will have the opportunity."
"Okay, thank you brother-in-law!" Du Feng said happily.
The two chatted for a while. Tao Yushu came back from shopping for groceries and was about to make lunch. Lin Chaoyang said: "I will go to Mianmian Hutong this afternoon to find someone to repair the house."
"Okay." Tao Yushu responded.
Du Feng asked: "Brother-in-law, do you want to repair a house?"
"Yes, it's been almost half a year since I bought the courtyard house in Mianmian Hutong. I'll take advantage of this period of time when the weather is nice to do some repairs."
"Leave this matter to me." Du Feng said, patting his chest.
"We will not do anything to poach socialist corners."
Du Feng said quickly: "It's not poaching. The military area's logistics have to build houses every year. I have a comrade in the logistics. The people under him are good at work and work quickly. It's all a matter of support."
Du Feng had just asked Lin Chaoyang for help. For the sake of a happy life in the future, it would be no problem for him to do it himself now.
Lin Chaoyang thought for a while and said: "There are a lot of problems with the yard, and it's not just a matter of helping others. I think so, you ask your friend to come and see how much material and work is needed, and estimate the price.
, this job package is given to him."
Du Feng hesitated after hearing this: "This is inappropriate, brother-in-law..."
"There is nothing inappropriate. If you are willing to help, then do it." Lin Chaoyang insisted.
"Then... well, I'll go find him. I happen to be free today."
After Du Feng finished speaking, he left. It was not until almost dusk that he appeared in Mianmian Hutong with a square-faced man who looked to be thirty years old. Lin Chaoyang was already waiting here.
"Brother-in-law, this is my comrade Geng Chuanfeng."
"This is my brother-in-law Lin Chaoyang, a great writer."
After exchanging a few words, Geng Chuanfeng felt a little reserved when facing Lin Chaoyang, a cultural man. Lin Chaoyang took him around the courtyard.
When he talked about the house, he relaxed a lot.
"There are no major problems with the houses in your yard. The beams and door posts are just painted. I think the doors and windows need to be replaced. The tiles also need to be replaced a few times. The rest depends on what other requirements you have.
Already."
Lin Chaoyang asked: "Can you do carpentry, bricklaying, and oil work?"
Geng Chuanfeng smiled and replied: "Du Feng told me when I came here that you wanted to give the brothers a chance to make extra money. We are in charge of infrastructure, and we can do anything related to building houses."
"Can you get a heater?"
Nowadays, ordinary people in Yanjing burn coal stoves with chimneys for heating, which rely entirely on the coal stove itself and the indoor chimney to dissipate heat. The effect is far inferior to that of earth-heated heaters. In addition, the doors and windows are poorly sealed and the walls are not warm, so it is difficult to sleep at night in winter.
When I wake up in the morning, my face is stiff.
Earth heating is a cast iron radiator with a matching earth boiler. The reason why the word "earth" is added is because it is different from central heating. This thing was created by ordinary people using their ingenuity.
In today's Yanjing, earth heating is still rare, mainly because of the high requirements for materials and technology. The earth boiler needs to be welded with rolled steel plates, which ordinary people cannot weld, but this thing is not difficult for the troops.
"This... may cost some money." Geng Chuanfeng hesitated.
"Money is not an issue."
"That's easy to handle. Where do you want to put this boiler? This thing can only be used for three or four rooms at most. It only needs to have enough radiators and it can burn well."
"Let's put it in the main room. Just get a coal stove in the east and west wings."
"I see that the coal shed in your yard is in disrepair and needs to be rebuilt."
"OK."
…
Lin Chaoyang and Geng Chuanfeng discussed all the repairs to be done in the courtyard until it was almost dark. Geng Chuanfeng and the others were engaged in infrastructure construction. They could handle the materials themselves and Lin Chaoyang could just pay for them.
After a final calculation, it would cost more than 600 yuan just to repair such a yard. If furniture is needed for several houses in the future, it would cost several hundred yuan.
Two days later, Liu Xinwu suddenly found the library when Lin Chaoyang was at work. He hadn't seen him for a long time. Lin Chaoyang was a little happy to see Liu Xinwu.
"Why are you here?"
"Look at you, what have you been writing recently?"
"Writing a novella."
Liu Xinwu's eyes lit up when he heard this, "Do you have a master?"
"I promised Zhang Dening that I would give it to Yanjing Literature."
Liu Xinwu suddenly showed a regretful expression, "I didn't come at the right time."
Lin Chaoyang joked: "It's not easy for a busy person like you to think of coming to compile a manuscript with me."
Liu Xinwu is really busy. He is now a popular writer in China and the editor of the famous literary magazine "October". He is very busy writing, reviewing manuscripts, and participating in activities.
Liu Xinwu waved his hand, "It's all a fool's errand. It's better for you to hide in the small building and become one, and don't care about spring, summer, autumn and winter."
After chatting for a while, he asked: "Next month our Yanjing Cultural Association will organize a trip to Shenzhen to collect folk music. Will you go?"
"I'm not from your literary association, why should I go?"
Liu Xinwu blinked at him, "Isn't it just a matter of going?"
Lin Chaoyang laughed and asked, "Is this why you came here today?"
"Mainly for compiling manuscripts." Seeing that he didn't want to mention the literary association, Liu Xinwu stopped talking about it and said, "I heard that you had a heavy hemorrhage some time ago and invited dozens of award-winning writers to dinner."
"Who did you listen to?"
"Li Tuo!"
"He is a man who talks a lot about falsehoods. Can you believe what he says?"
"You don't have a treat?"
"I'm not treating you. It's because everyone contributes money for me to cook and have a taste of my craftsmanship."
Liu Xinwu nodded, "Li Tuo said that everyone had a great meal that day, and now your cooking skills have completely spread. Lu Wenfu wrote me a letter that day, specifically mentioning your food. He said that everything was good that day.
It's just that Li Tuo and the others are too trouble-making and have lost their elegance."
He and Lu Wenfu met in 1979, when they attended the award ceremony of the first National Outstanding Short Story Award together.
Lin Chaoyang was not familiar with Lu Wenfu, but he could also tell that he had a calm temperament, which was completely opposite to Li Tuo's personality who liked to make friends.
Lin Chaoyang smiled and said: "Then let him do it by himself next time, and I will cook a meal for him alone."
"Okay, I told him in the letter, but you have to take me with you this time."
"I am a guest from afar..."
"I don't want to eat your food in vain. Now I'll go back to Shenzhen and bring you a gift, okay?"
Lin Chaoyang nodded, "What a coincidence, our family happens to be short of a color TV."
Liu Xinwu:......
After the joke was over, Liu Xinwu mentioned the main purpose of coming back to Lin Chaoyang.
"Our publishing house wants you to write a preface."
"Want me to write a preface? Who should I write it to?"
Listening to Liu Xinwu's words, Lin Chaoyang felt a little surprised.
"Your book "The Death of Van Gogh" has been popular for several months and has a huge influence. It can be said to have made Van Gogh, a Western painter, a household name in China.
Our publishing house plans to take this opportunity to introduce Irving Stone's biography "Longing for Life".
Lao Wang knows that I have a good relationship with you, so he asked me to make an appointment with you.
The author of "The Death of Van Gogh" wrote a preface to "Longing for Life", and it became a good story when it was spread."
Lin Chaoyang said with a smile: "Your publishing house really follows the trend."
"Who made your novel popular? By the way, will your novel be published? If "Longing for Life" can be published together with "The Death of Van Gogh"..."
Lin Chaoyang interrupted him, "Don't think about good things. "The Death of Van Gogh" was published under a special title. It has only been published for more than three months. It is published early. Besides, there is a humanities society."
Hearing what Lin Chaoyang said, Liu Xinwu was not disappointed. He originally said it casually. After chatting for a few words, he left.
A few days later, it was the weekend, and Lin Chaoyang and Tao Yushu went to Mianmian Hutong to see the progress of the repairs.
Geng Chuanfeng and his group all had jobs, so they had to take time off to earn extra money, but they were very efficient. After a week, they came to the courtyard again, and there were already quite a few changes in the courtyard.
This efficiency is much better than that of later decoration companies.
"They did it pretty fast!" Tao Yushu said.
"As a soldier, you can still work quickly. The key is to be organized and not to fool around."
Most of the courtyard houses have brick floors, and the green bricks are laid flat in the room, just like building walls. Before laying the floor, the bricks must be painted with raw tung oil and then waxed.
The floor tiles in the main house were already pitted due to disrepair. The damaged bricks had long been taken out and piled in the courtyard. At this moment, a young man was meticulously re-laying the bricks.
"Little brother, do people in your army still do this kind of work?" Lin Chaoyang asked curiously.
In his impression, the army's infrastructure is mainly practical and not very capable of such delicate work.
The young man raised his head and said with a smile: "Writer Lin, don't underestimate us. Not to mention your courtyard house, the buildings in ZNH are not a problem for us."
"You're not too shy, have you ever repaired a house in ZNH?"
"No. But my master repaired it. Back then he built a house for Mao Zedong and his old man."
"Then your master is extraordinary."
"Well, he is now the chief engineer of Yanjing No. 1 Construction Company."
Lin Chaoyang watched for a while and saw that the young man was meticulous in his work. He was glad that it was a wise choice to find these soldiers to repair the yard.
At noon, he specially invited the two young men who were working in the yard to have a meal, and they worked even harder in the afternoon.
In the afternoon, the couple returned to the Overseas Chinese Apartment from Mianmian Alley. They were stopped by the guard as they passed by the guard room, and a familiar face came out of the guard room.
"Comrade Chaoyang!"
"Lao Teng? Hello, hello."
The visitor was Teng Hongsheng from China Film Co-Production Company. The two shook hands, and Lin Chaoyang asked: "Why are you here..."
"Director Li has come to Yanjing, and the investment has been confirmed. Mr. He from Haojiang will invest. After negotiation with our company, Director Li's film will be co-produced by our China Film Co-production Company and New Kunlun Pictures Co., Ltd.
.
Director Li is currently preparing a movie and would like to chat with you, the screenwriter, when will you be free?"
Lin Chaoyang glanced at his watch, "It's too late today. I'll take a day off tomorrow and go see him the day after tomorrow."
"Okay, then I'll leave first."
Lin Chaoyang took leave from work on Monday, and rode his bicycle to the Yanjing Hotel early on Tuesday morning.
He knocked on the door, waited for a while, and the door opened.
When Li Hanxiang saw it was him, he let out a rough laugh.
"Chaoyang, the investment is done and the movie can be shot!"
Lin Chaoyang smiled and said, "This is really a good thing. Do I have to pay my royalties as well?"
Hearing this, the smile on Li Hanxiang's face froze.
Chapter completed!