Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 456: The script was written, but people didn’t want it anymore.

Fang Minghua understood this very well.

Because I’m poor.

Fang Minghua agreed.

After seeing Wu Tianmin and the other man off, Fang Minghua drank tea and considered agreeing to what Liu Changzheng said.

In fact, he had already decided which script to write.

In the 1990s, if we were to ask which TV series was the most popular in China, it would be Desire.
It is said that once the show was aired on Yanjing TV, it became extremely popular and ranked second in TV ratings at that time.

Who is the first place?
News Feeds.

After other TV stations followed suit and broadcast the drama, the national crime rate dropped by 30% because even thieves were busy going home to watch TV. Later, the Yanjing Public Security Bureau presented the crew with a banner and won them the "Maintaining Public Security Award"!
"The whole country mourns Liu Huifang, the whole country scolds Wang Husheng, and everyone sighs for Song Dacheng" became a unique landscape of that year.

I heard that this first-generation big shot in the Beijing circle, Zheng Xiaolong from Yenching Television, organized a dinner party and invited his colleagues Li Xiaoming, Wang Shuo, Zheng Wanlong and several other writers in the BJ literary circle at the time to go to the Jimen Hotel, a foreign-related restaurant at the time, to eat mutton hotpot and talk about scripts.

Of course Fang Minghua also knew that it was just an Internet legend and could not be verified.

But now, I don't need to bother those guys, I'll write it.
Before Fang Minghua came to this era, he watched this TV series online out of curiosity.

The storyline is not complicated.

Liu Huifang, a young and beautiful female worker, hesitates between two suitors: Song Dacheng, deputy director of the workshop, and Wang Husheng, a university graduate who comes to work in the factory.

She longed for love, but was torn between the fact that the former had done her a favor and the latter was in trouble and needed help.

The play groundbreakingly confronts that era of social turmoil and reversal of right and wrong from a realistic perspective, tells the complicated love experiences of several young people, and reveals people's desire for love, family affection, friendship and a better life.

It abandoned the "empty and false" nature of previous TV dramas and focused the camera on the grassroots people, recording their joys, sorrows, and anger. For the first time, it showed the power of "truth" to Chinese audiences and was regarded as a historic turning point in the development of Chinese TV dramas.

Just write it.

It doesn't have to be the same as the original script, as long as the personalities of the main characters in the play are captured and are down-to-earth.

This is not a difficult task for Fang Minghua.

Also, the story's background had to be moved from Yanjing to Xijing, which would be closer to life. Moreover, the drama had the flavor of an indoor sitcom, required less investment, and met Liu Changcheng's requirements.

I have nothing to do recently, so I'm busy with this.

Time passed day by day, and in the blink of an eye it was the end of October, and Fang Minghua was nearing completion of the script.

After dinner this afternoon, Fang Minghua and his wife played with their son at their parents’ home for a while before returning to Xingfu Community.

"Tangtang, take a look at the last few episodes I wrote." Fang Minghua said to Song Tangtang who was learning English by following TV programs in the living room.

"Is it over? Let me take a look." Song Tangtang said as he walked into the study.

Fang Minghua wrote the scripts for several episodes and showed them to Song Tangtang to ask for her opinion.

After a while, Song Tangtang came out of the study with a rather unhappy look on her face.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Fang Minghua asked with concern.

"Liu Huifang is such a good woman, why do you have to let her become paralyzed in the end? And Wang Husheng is so bad! Song Dacheng is so pitiful." Song Tangtang asked with a questioning tone.

Fang Minghua laughed out loud: "The fact that Comrade Song Tangtang, who is always aloof, can feel this way shows that I wrote this script well!"

"What do you mean? Minghua, are you laughing at me for not having rich emotions?" Song Tangtang was so angry that he immediately punched Fang Minghua on the back.

"It's just a joke." Fang Minghua quickly grabbed his wife's fists.

"I admit that I'm not as sentimental as some women, and I don't like to cry all the time, but your script really touched me, and I even shed tears just now," said Song Tangtang.

"So the description is well written?"

"Yes!" "Okay, I'll make some more revisions and then call Liu Changzheng to pick it up!"

A week later, Liu Changzheng received a call from Fang Minghua and came to his office excitedly. Fang Minghua handed him a thick stack of scripts.

"so much?"

“Fifty episodes.”

Fifty episodes?!

Liu Changzheng was shocked when he heard this. Qin Provincial TV Station had never produced such a long TV series since its establishment.

How much would it cost to make?

Liu Changzheng muttered to himself.

But he didn't say this out loud and decided to read the script first.

Liu Changzheng sat in Fang Minghua's office, looking eagerly.

After a long while, Liu Changzheng raised his head and said, "It's very well written and very touching. I'll take it home and give it to the director for review. How about we sign the contract after he agrees?"

"Okay, you take it."

"Thank you very much, I will let you know soon."

Liu Changzheng left in a hurry.

Fang Minghua drank a sip of tea and finally had a break.

Liu Changzheng responded very quickly. Not long after Fang Minghua started work that afternoon, she heard someone knocking on the door. When she opened the door, she saw it was Liu Changzheng.

"Director Liu, it would be enough to just make a phone call. Why would you bother to come here in person?" Fang Minghua invited him in: "Sit down, I'll pour you some tea."

"No, no." Liu Changzheng said politely, and suddenly sighed and said, "Editor-in-Chief Fang, I'm sorry, our station leaders did not approve your script after studying it."

"did not pass?!"

Fang Minghua was pouring water from a thermos into a teacup. Hearing this, he was a little surprised and stopped what he was doing.

"The script is not good?"

"No, no, the script is very well written." Liu Changzheng said hurriedly, "The main reason is that your script is quite long, 50 episodes, and our station director said that the station's budget is too tight and does not support the production of such a long TV series."

That's it!

"I'm so sorry, Editor-in-Chief Fang." Liu Changzheng said as he took out a thick stack of manuscripts from his briefcase. It was the script "Desire" written by Fang Minghua.

"It doesn't matter." Fang Minghua said with a smile.

Liu Changzheng chatted for a few words and then left. Fang Minghua looked at the script in the drawer and couldn't help shaking her head.

Don’t want it?

Let’s put it aside for now, Fang Minghua stuffed the script into the drawer.

When Fang Minghua returned home in the evening, he told Song Tangtang about this, and Song Tangtang was also surprised.

"Such a good script is not filmed? Their director is so short-sighted!"

"You can't say that. Everyone has their own opinions, but it doesn't matter."

"Or, let's see if other TV stations have filmed it. It would be a shame to just leave it like this." Song Tangtang said again.

"Put it aside for now. I don't have time recently. Mingli's marriage is a big deal." Fang Minghua said.

(End of this chapter)