Parting Ways

"Comrade Chen Qi!" "Comrade Zhanying!" "Oh my, Auntie Wang! What brings you out on an imperial campaign in person?" Inside Room 302, Chen Qi was astonished to see Auntie Wang. This was her very first time visiting Beijing Film Studio. The moment she walked through the door, she grabbed him, looking over his arms and legs. "You all right, brat? I heard they locked you up. You must have suffered such an injustice! Tell Auntie everything. Auntie will stand up for you! If I can't handle it, there's the district; if the district can't, there's the municipal government..." "Hold on, hold on, stop! It was just a contradiction among the people—how much bad blood could there really be? It's already settled. Anyway, what brings you here?" "You kicked up such a massive fuss, how could I not come?!" Auntie Wang plopped down onto the huanghuali round-backed folding chair and said, "Don't go blaming me for being worldly. Ever since you joined the cooperative, you sold large-bowl tea for exactly one day before running off to hole up at Beijing Film Studio. I haven't even known what to say to you. I'm here today on behalf of the Party and the masses. First, to invite you to give a presentation to the young people across the entire city. Second, the government wants to arrange interviews and draft profile materials. I even heard they want to put you up for some commendation." "Uh..." Seeing his expression, Auntie Wang asked, "Brat, you're not reluctant, are you? This is a great thing!" "It is a great thing! When the tea stall was just starting out, leaders at every level took great care of us, so of course I'm willing." Chen Qi smiled. There was no need to hide anything at this point, so he said, "I'm just worried that once I agree, an endless string of follow-up obligations will drag on. You know my heart isn't there. I've been stationed at Beijing Film Studio for a long time, but my official employment file has remained with the cooperative without being transferred. I'm afraid that can't continue anymore." "Are you sure you want to go to Beijing Film Studio?" "Not certain, but I definitely have to leave." "Sigh..." Auntie Wang let out a sigh. A cooperative wasn't a formal state enterprise. Only Huang Zhanying had performed so outstandingly that he secured the title of director, with hopes of eventually transferring into a government bureau. A golden phoenix flying out of a mountain ravine was something they could hardly believe themselves. Above the cooperative was the subdistrict, above the subdistrict was the district, and above the district was the city. Word had come down from all of them wanting to retain such a talent. Yet Chen Qi was free to come and go, completely unrestrained. "I know we can't keep you," Auntie Wang said pragmatically. "At least deliver the report and cooperate with the relevant events, all right? Otherwise, none of us will have any face left." "Since you stepped in personally, of course I have to agree." "That settles it, then. No matter where you end up, brat, remember that Dashilar will always be your home." *Of course it will! Your cooperative is part of my plans too.* With those matters settled, Chen Qi stood up and shook hands with his dear friend Huang Zhanying, saying earnestly, "Comrade Zhanying, you and I grew up together, fought side by side, shared a single pair of pants, and played with the same grasshopper. But rain will fall and mothers will remarry—everyone must walk their own path eventually. You need to keep striving to advance, too. I wouldn't want it so that the next time we meet, I call you Runtu and you call me Master..." "Never forget our revolutionary friendship! In this boundless land, who decides the ebb and flow? A bright future awaits us both!" "'Given two hundred years to live, I would strike the waters and stir waves three thousand li!' Let us encourage each other with this!" Huang Zhanying gripped his hand tightly. *** "This is Deputy Director Wang Lingu from Shanghai Film Studio." "Hello, hello!" Still in Room 302, Chen Qi met He Chengwei and Wang Lingu. After a few polite pleasantries, He Chengwei could hardly wait to speak first. "We saw the news about *Tai Chi* in the newspapers. The entire magazine staff is thrilled for you—you've brought such immense glory to our country! The director sent me right away, mainly to ask whether you could adapt *Tai Chi* into a novel and publish it in *Story Session*? To show our sincerity, we're willing to offer ten yuan per thousand words, along with print-run royalties. Furthermore, all your subsequent works will be paid at this standard. What do you think?" The state had recently issued new regulations: base remuneration for published works was raised to three to ten yuan per thousand words, and print-run royalties were reinstated, calculated per ten thousand copies. This royalty cut was exceptionally meager. For a print run of five hundred thousand copies, one only received fifty percent of the base payment. For instance, if Chen Qi's base fee was 350 yuan, a print run of five hundred thousand copies would only add fifty percent of that 350 yuan. *Story Session*'s offer was fair in principle; within the regulatory framework, they were already offering the absolute maximum. After finishing his pitch, He Chengwei looked at Chen Qi with uneasy anticipation. Chen Qi felt an odd sensation—it was as though he were suddenly parting ways with everything, shedding his past commitments to travel light. "How many pieces have I published in *Story Session* altogether?" he asked. "Starting from September '79, publishing half a story every two months, by January of this year we've published *The Cotton Kasaya*, *Invincible Dual Kicks*, *Wudang*, *Great Shanghai 1937*, and the first half of *Blood on the Black Box*." "Two whole years before I even noticed. Time really flies!" Chen Qi sighed with nostalgia. Back then, he had still been teaching Sister Xue how to act on Mount Lu. He said, "We're friends, so I won't lead you on. I have a lot of things to handle going forward, and I won't have time for *Story Session*. Our collaboration ends here." "This... this..." "I have one last piece for you called *Kyoto Ball Heroes*, which can serve as my farewell work. If there's an opportunity in the future, I can still write a short story for *Story Session*. Our friendship will endure, and I'm grateful to you all for giving me a platform to display my work." "..." He Chengwei had plenty he wanted to say, but in the end, he merely gave a soft sigh. "All right. I'll pass that along to the editor-in-chief. We're all quite sorry that you never got to visit *Story Session* in person. I won't take up any more of your time." He departed dejectedly. Wang Lingu also sighed. "*Story Session* was right under Shanghai Film Studio's nose, but we had no plans to produce martial arts films back then. We were sitting on a treasure chest without even knowing it. I only hope you won't hold it against us for arriving late." "Oh? You're here for the adaptation rights?" "Precisely!" "Which story caught your eye?" "Everything except *The Cotton Kasaya*—including that *Kyoto Ball Heroes* you just mentioned. Five stories in total. Shanghai Film Studio wants them all!" Huh? Chen Qi was somewhat surprised. With *Tai Chi*'s breakthrough, he knew a martial arts film craze was right around the corner. He had anticipated selling off scripts from *Story Session* in batches, but he hadn't expected Shanghai Film Studio to be bold enough to sweep up the entire lot. "You're generous, and I won't beat around the bush either. What I published in *Story Session* was originally written in the style of literary screenplays, just phrased more colloquially. Adapting them will be practically effortless. That means I won't sell them at adaptation rates—I'm selling them at original screenplay prices. Can you accept that?" "Name your price!" "Two thousand yuan each! Selling all of them to you wouldn't be ideal, so I'll keep one and you can take four." When he wrote *Romance on Mount Lu*, he had been a newcomer and sold it for eight hundred yuan. Now that his fame had skyrocketed, raising his rate was only natural, though he kept it within reason. He knew he would soon move beyond making money purely by selling scripts anyway... "Agreed!" Wang Lingu accepted without hesitation. Little did he realize what an enormous bargain Shanghai Film Studio was getting; every single one of those titles was a blockbuster hit of the 1980s. Chen Qi had good relations with Beijing Film Studio, but he had no reason to deliberately avoid other studios. Shanghai Film Studio had deep pockets, rich history, and expansive resources; making connections with them could never hurt. Having struck a deal, Wang Lingu selected *Invincible Dual Kicks*, *Wudang*, *Great Shanghai 1937*, and *Blood on the Black Box*, leaving behind the unfinished *Kyoto Ball Heroes*. Then he glanced around cautiously, lowering his voice as he asked, "Comrade Chen Qi, besides discussing screenplays, I have one more matter on this trip. Director Xu Sangchu personally entrusted me to extend a sincere invitation for you to join Shanghai Film Studio!"