Chapter 00062: Do You Want to Join the Beijing Film Studio
# Do You Want to Join the Beijing Film Studio?
Chapter 62
Novel: 1979 Golden Age
Chapter 62: Do You Want to Join the Beijing Film Studio?
The inspiration for Invincible Mandarin Duck Legs came from a folk legend in the Chaoshan region called The Iron Mandarin Duck Shoes.
These "shoes" were actually a type of pointed high-heeled footwear worn by women with bound feet during the Qing dynasty.
The "iron" version referred to a pair made of metal, and the female protagonist of the story was skilled in leg-based martial arts.
In the 1980s, someone adapted this legend into a literary script, and in 1988, it was made into a movie.
However, aside from the leg-based martial arts concept, the film had little in common with the original story.
The fight scenes in the movie were quite old-fashioned, and while it was popular on the mainland, it had already fallen out of fashion in Hong Kong.
To boost ticket sales, the Hong Kong producers made the bizarre decision to bring in Charlie Cho—yes, the Charlie Cho you all know—and added some risqué scenes, turning it into a Category III film to attract audiences...
Chen Qi submitted his story to Story Magazine purely to earn some extra cash.
He didn’t want to give away his truly good stories, preferring to save them for when he started his own magazine.
After spending the entire afternoon writing, he had only managed to produce about two thousand words.
Rubbing his sore wrist, he muttered, "Damn it! I need to find an assistant. Even after time-traveling, I’m still stuck working like a wage slave?!"
It was dinner time, so he threw on his coat and headed straight for the cafeteria.
There, he found Liang Xiaosheng and got straight to the point: "I’m writing a story for Story Magazine, but I’ve got other things to take care of and might not have enough time. If you don’t mind, could you help me out?"
"How can I help?" Liang Xiaosheng asked.
"It’s about fifty thousand words, split into two parts. I can handle the first half, but I won’t have time for the second half. You can take over and write it based on my outline and character settings. We’ll consider it a collaboration, and we’ll split the payment—assuming it gets published, of course."
Liang Xiaosheng hesitated.
"I usually write realistic fiction. I’ve never written martial arts stories before."
"That’s fine," Chen Qi reassured him.
"You can start with a few thousand words, and we’ll work on it together. You’ll get the hang of it as you go."
"Alright, I’ll give it a try."
"Absolutely, give it a shot!"
"Sure, just let me know when you need me!"
Liang Xiaosheng nodded firmly.
He wasn’t particularly interested in writing martial arts stories, but he was very interested in the payment.
He had a family to support.
This year, he had officially started writing, mostly short stories.
But as everyone knew, short stories didn’t pay much.
Even after racking his brains, he could only earn a hundred or two hundred yuan a year, and that was if he managed to write one story.
Working with Chen Qi was different—he didn’t need to stress over inspiration or rack his brain.
Liang Xiaosheng wouldn’t gain fame until 1982, when his short story This is a Magical Land won a national award, and his works were recognized as part of the "Educated Youth Literature" genre.
Educated Youth Literature was different from Scar Literature! Scar Literature completely rejected the past, emphasizing suffering.
They saw their time in the countryside as a hardship, but there were others who genuinely poured their passion and sincerity into that land.
For them, completely rejecting the past was like rejecting their own youth.
Liang Xiaosheng’s writing focused on battling the elements—fighting wolves in the Great Northern Wilderness, struggling against snowstorms, and conquering swamps to finally cultivate fertile, black soil...
While there were moments of confusion and pain, overall, he affirmed his experiences.
Because of this, Chen Qi believed Liang Xiaosheng could write good popular fiction.
If possible, he even wanted to tell him about Ghost Blows Out the Light—after all, Liang Xiaosheng had been part of the Heilongjiang Production and Construction Corps, where he had literally dug up a "big sticky rice dumpling" (a term for a mummy in the story).
Combining materialism with exorcism—it made perfect sense!
…………
At Qianmen, near the Archery Tower, the area had undergone a significant transformation.
Along the eastern side of the tower, a row of simple sheds made of wood and tarpaulin had sprung up.
Signs hung outside, advertising "Big Bowl Tea," "General Goods," and "Wontons."
Since the leaders had inspected the area, the tea stall had grown rapidly.
Not only had they absorbed twenty additional workers from the neighboring area, but they had also expanded their supply channels, bringing in a lot of overstocked goods.
These items, which were considered unsellable in department stores, became hot sellers here because they didn’t require ration coupons.
The change in circumstances was driven by a certain contradiction.
The government was deeply concerned about the growing number of unemployed youth and had opened the floodgates, providing substantial resources to support them.
This led to the rapid development of various cooperatives in Beijing.
Huang Zhanying was now the deputy director! She had become increasingly adept at managing the stall.
At the moment, she was holding a stack of socks and shouting, "Take a look, take a look! Freshly arrived thick socks! The weather’s turning cold, and we don’t have many in stock. First come, first served!"
Qianmen’s Big Bowl Tea was famous throughout the city, and the stall was always crowded with customers.
As soon as she started shouting, people quickly gathered around.
While Huang Zhanying was busy selling, a voice suddenly called out, "Warm up a bowl of wine and bring a plate of fennel beans!"
"Do you know how many ways there are to write the character for 'fennel'?"
"Ah, we’ve got a code phrase!"
"Hahaha, Comrade Chen Qi!"
Huang Zhanying handed her tasks to someone else and turned around.
Sure enough, there stood that heartless pretty boy, with two women trailing behind him.
"Comrade Zhanying!"
Chen Qi shook her hand firmly and introduced the two women.
"These are two actresses from the film crew, Gong Xue and Zhang Jinling. We’re out for a stroll today and thought we’d stop by for a bite."
"Hello! Hello!"
"Come, sit over here. It’s chilly today—have some hot soup and try our wontons!"
Huang Zhanying led them inside the shed, which was quite spacious, with tables and chairs set up.
She hurried to a small side room and soon returned with three steaming bowls of wontons.
They looked quite well-made.
Chen Qi took a sip and said, "The higher-ups are really supporting you guys. There’s even some dried shrimp in here."
"We’re a famous stall now. Guess how much we make in a month?"
"Five thousand?"
"At least that much. We’ve got over thirty people relying on this stall for their livelihood. Oh, and from now on, you should call me Deputy Director Huang. I’ve been promoted!"
"Who’s the main director?"
"Auntie Wang, of course!"
Chen Qi nearly choked.
"Auntie Wang is the director?"
"She’s a neighborhood cadre. It’s just a title—I’m the one really running things."
Huang Zhanying sat down with her legs spread wide, exuding confidence.
"I’ve applied to the district for a proper storefront. There are some available, but they’re a bit far from here. I think our roots are at Qianmen, so we shouldn’t move. The district helped us set up this shed for now, and we’ll see about a proper building later."
"What about winter?"
"We’ll hang up some thick curtains and set up a stove inside. We’ll manage. I’ve told the kids from the opera school not to come anymore—it’s too cold for them. That little girl Liu Bei still talks about you, though."
Huang Zhanying rattled on, finally pausing to look at Zhang Jinling and then at Gong Xue.
"You’re from the south, aren’t you?"
"Yes, I’m from Shanghai."
"I could tell. Even eating wontons, you’re so delicate. Look at how you’re sitting—I wouldn’t even know how to sit like that. How do you even position your legs like that...?"
Gong Xue looked a bit embarrassed, and Chen Qi quickly interjected, "Alright, alright, go back to work!"
"I need to take care of you all!"
"Don’t worry about it. We’ll leave after we finish eating!"
Chen Qi shooed her away, and Zhang Jinling laughed.
"So this is the Comrade Zhanying you told us about. She’s exactly as you described—such a lively personality."
"It’s my first time meeting such a straightforward girl," Gong Xue added.
"She’s alright—a bit rough around the edges. When we were kids, she used to beat me up, and I couldn’t even fight back."
"So your work connection has always been with the tea stall?"
"Yeah, I tell people I sell Big Bowl Tea, but no one believes me."
"You’re really wasting your talent!"
Zhang Jinling swallowed a wonton whole and said sincerely, "Have you ever thought about joining the Beijing Film Studio? I’ve talked to Director Wang about it, and she said she’d like to have you there."
"I’ll follow the organization’s arrangements," Chen Qi said with a straight face.
"Stop pretending. Everyone knows Director Wang thinks highly of you. Once Romance on Lushan Mountain is released, he’ll definitely bring you in."
Zhang Jinling then turned to Gong Xue.
"Xiao Gong, have you ever thought about joining the Beijing Film Studio?"
(End of Chapter)