Make a Fortune and Become Well-off [90] - Chapter 179

The original screenwriter, who was overworked and couldn’t squeeze out any ideas, was relieved. He wanted to read the physical book of that work first and then see if it was suitable for adaptation.

 In fact, he had already agreed in his heart to take it.

He was not the only one found by Director Li. Their TV station had a scriptwriter who had been an educated youth sent to the mountains and countryside. Because he was a good prose writer, he was transferred back to the city. In 1992, China officially transitioned from a planned economy to a market economy, which led to the closure of many factories and a significant rise in unemployment.

At that time, many workers gathered at the entrance of a machinery factory, blocking the director and asking him, “Three generations of my family have been workers, and we are all working class. Why do you think you can fire us?”

This incident caused a huge sensation. The screenwriter at their station adapted it into a script, featuring the station’s anchor as a reporter interviewing another station’s director of a machinery factory. During the interview, the factory director explained that, given the current market environment and national policies, he had to lay off employees and implement reforms; otherwise, the entire factory would close, leading to even more unemployment.

The video interview, compiled by the station’s screenwriter, could not be broadcast without authorization due to its sensitivity to national policies. Instead, it was sent to higher authorities for personal approval. It was published in the People’s Daily and broadcast on CCTV’s 8 o’clock prime time slot that night.

This exposure catapulted the little-known screenwriter of their station to chief screenwriter. He was now directly connected with the propaganda department and senior leaders. Director Li wanted to hire him to be the screenwriter for the adaptation. However, this proved somewhat challenging.

Director Li was indeed worried about smaller screenwriters. After some consideration, he decided to approach the chief screenwriter directly.

The chief screenwriter had recently received a task from above. Since the implementation of the opening up to the outside world in early 1984, their province’s cities had become pioneers in the reform and opening-up policy. From poverty and cultural backwardness in the 1980s, they had finally embraced these policies. Seizing the opportunity of reform and opening up, every household from city to county to village set up small factories. Following these dramatic changes, the leaders had asked him to write a script based on these transformations to specifically promote the reform and achievements, thereby advancing national policies.

The top leaders had also conveyed that the task must be done well.

At that time, Director Li approached him and he politely listened to Director Li’s request. He then explained the task he had just received. Director Li knew he couldn’t ask the chief screenwriter to write any script.

However, the chief screenwriter was quite interested in the station’s self-produced drama. Especially after hearing that the original book of that work had a total sales volume of more than two million, he was eager to take a look. Unfortunately, he was currently very busy with heavy tasks, leaving him no time or energy for the drama.

Director Li had no choice but to turn to Xiao Qin, who was a dependable figure in the TV station. If Detective Bao’s original screenwriter was unwilling to take the job, Director Li decided to ask Xiao Qin to find a few classmates to learn how to write scripts from the chief screenwriter and write it herself.

The pressure was immediately transferred to Xiao Qin.

Xiao Qin couldn’t decide whether she was happy or worried.

The good news was that if she led the team of writers and planned the first self-produced drama for the station, she would essentially be in charge of subsequent dramas. She had previously lacked a specific project in the station, so this was her first concrete assignment. Successfully completing the project would greatly benefit her career in the future.

What was worrying was that the director of the station had handed her such a significant project. If she messed up their first homemade drama, she couldn’t even imagine the consequences.

But the most pressing task was to go to Shanghai and sign the contract for the Television Copyright and Adaptation Rights.

Both Director Li and Qin Shumin were action-oriented. Once the matter was settled, Qin Shumin went straight to Shanghai With the printed contract.

The provincial capital where he was located was not too far from Shanghai, and it took only four to five hours to reach Shanghai by train at that time. At the guest house near Shanghai Hospital, he met Ning Meng, the author of Catcher in the Song Dynasty.

She was an avid reader of Catcher in the Song Dynasty. Before meeting Ning Meng, she had never considered what Ning Meng might be like. There were rumors that Ning Meng was a veteran police officer in the public security system. She agreed with this, thinking it was plausible. Ning Meng could be a male police officer in his thirties or a female police officer in her thirties. However, in the lobby of the guest house where they had arranged to meet, what she saw was a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl with a youthful face and a calm demeanor.

She hesitated, and after some thought, she still found it hard to believe. So, she sat in a nearby chair, took out the contract, and began reading while waiting for Ning Meng’s arrival.

When Jiang Ning saw the contract in Qin Shumin’s hand, she realized that this was the person she had been waiting for. She couldn’t help but walk over and ask with a smile, “Is this Teacher Qin Shumin?”

Qin Shumin looked up from the contract, glanced at her, and asked in surprise, “You are?”

“I’m Ning Meng.”

Qin Shumin had been staring at the young face in front of her for a while. Every time Jiang Ning looked up from the contract, she would immediately avoid her eyes, pretending to be calmly drinking tea, lowering her head to sip her tea, and then couldn’t help but look at her again.

Jiang Ning had short, fine hair. Perhaps because she was lowering her head to read the contract, her hanging hair partially covered her drooping eyelashes. Unlike most girls with long, curly eyelashes, her eyelashes were long and straight, adding a bit of sharpness to her originally soft face.

Maybe it was due to the cold weather. She was wearing a thick down jacket, and her whole body and neck were wrapped in a scarf, leaving only a fair face exposed. Her hair was too dark, or her skin tone was too white; the contrast between black and white made her look so pale. The girl in front of her looked as cold as ice. Her nose was high, and her red lips were as sharp as lip lines.

At some point, Jiang Ning suddenly raised her head and caught her peeping eyes. Startled, Qin Shumin coughed twice to cover up the embarrassment of being caught. She tried her best to stay calm, coughing, “Teacher Ning Meng, what do you think of this contract?”