096 Is this a script? Then what is the director for? (Please vote)

“Director Xie, how about I take you to the guesthouse tomorrow instead?”
“If you keep riding like this, I’m afraid you’ll end up hurt!”

Under Xie Jin’s brisk urging, Cheng Xuemin and his brother-in-law Feng Jiazhao were pushed to head to their house to fetch the script for The Horseherder.

But the blizzard was so fierce that Cheng Xuemin, carrying Xie Jin on the bicycle, was truly wobbling dangerously on the road!

After nearly falling into the snowbank countless times, Cheng Xuemin smiled bitterly and said to Xie Jin,
“Yeah, Old Xie, why don’t I take you back to the guesthouse? Tomorrow, Xuemin and I will bring the script to you.”

His brother-in-law Feng Jiazhao, also on a bicycle and having already tumbled two or three times, nodded in agreement, exhaling white breaths.

They were both uneasy about the quality of Xuemin’s script. His brother-in-law was great in many ways but too patient; the script had been finished for some time, yet it hadn’t even been reviewed or polished by Feng Jiazhao, the professional writer, who was supposed to help refine it.

They had agreed that once the script was done, it would first be shown to Feng Jiazhao for polishing before submitting it for official review.

But now, Feng Jiazhao hadn’t even glanced at it, and Director Xie was already impatient to come see the script in person, leaving no time for them to make adjustments.

So, amid the harsh snowstorm, Feng Jiazhao suggested that Xie Jin head back to the guesthouse to stay warm, and he and Xuemin would stay up all night polishing the script before delivering it themselves.

“What are you talking about!? We’re already out, so I’ll just take Xuemin and you!”

Xie Jin, robust despite his age, blamed Cheng Xuemin’s poor cycling skills for the near falls and tried to grab the bicycle to ride it himself.

“This isn’t about who rides whom.”

Cheng Xuemin tossed the bike to him and even blamed Xie Jin’s skills.

“Wait and see, I’ll show you a big drift, Old Xie!”

“No, no, Director Xie, you should get used to it first... steady the handlebar!”

Xie Jin took the bike, motioning for Cheng Xuemin to hop on, but Cheng kept waving him off, telling him to get used to it first.

Before he could finish speaking, Xie Jin stepped on the pedal but hadn’t fully mounted when the bike slipped away.

Xie Jin fell awkwardly into the snowbank.

“Director Xie, Director Xie, are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?”

“Old Xie, slow down, the road is slippery!”

Cheng Xuemin and Feng Jiazhao quickly helped pull him out of the snow and asked with concern.

“Damn, is the snow here in Yanjing always this heavy and slippery?”

Wiping snow off his face, Xie Jin couldn’t help but curse.

“Let’s just walk back!”

Facing Xie Jin’s stubbornness, who insisted on getting the script today, Cheng Xuemin could only suggest walking.

“Then you walk slowly, Xuemin, I’ll ride the bike—I’m not giving up!”

Xie Jin’s stubbornness flared; he refused to admit defeat and wanted to try riding again, though he dared not say anything about taking Cheng Xuemin along.

In the end, the two of them wobbled ahead on their bikes, while Cheng Xuemin walked behind, barely falling behind.

They arrived home just before dark.

They were still the earliest to return; Feng’s parents, elder sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, and younger sister-in-law hadn’t come back yet.

As for Feng Jiuyou, she was staying overnight elsewhere and would only return once the snow melted.

Even Qian Lao, who had left earlier and taken the bus, hadn’t been seen at home—most likely stuck on the blocked roads due to the snowstorm.

Once inside the yard, Cheng Xuemin invited Xie Jin into his modest east wing room and said, “The room’s a bit cramped and simple, Director Xie, please don’t mind.”

“No, no, a humble room is fragrant with virtue; I think it’s wonderful!”

“Look at all these books—no wonder you, Xuemin, could write such a fine script for The Horseherder!”

Xie Jin was truly impressed by the books filling the room when he first entered.

To write a good piece, one must first quietly immerse oneself in study—Cheng Xuemin was the perfect example of this.

“Old Xie, please forgive us. The house is rented from Qian Lao in the front yard. Our family’s housing is tight, so Xuemin has to make do.”

Feng Jiazhao, the elder brother-in-law, said a little sheepishly.

“No, not at all!”

“Wait, Jiazhao, you said this yard belongs to Qian Lao? Which Qian Lao?”

Xie Jin asked curiously upon hearing the name.

“Who else but the Qian Lao from today’s seminar!” Feng Jiazhao smiled and explained.

“Ah, Qian Lao!”

Xie Jin slapped his thigh, surprised they lived so close to Qian Lao’s front and back yards.

“Director Xie, the script might not be perfect. Have a look first.”

“If it’s not good, then I’ll let my brother take over the rewrite.”

Cheng Xuemin took the draft of The Horseherder script from the drawer and handed it to Xie Jin.

“You won’t know if it’s good until you read it!”

“And although Xuemin is modest, he’s confident deep down; it shouldn’t be too bad!”

“Besides, you have your brother-in-law here, a professional scriptwriter, to help polish it, right?”

At first, Xie Jin wasn’t very optimistic about Cheng Xuemin, the original author, rewriting the script himself.

But on the way here, he realized that Xuemin had a professional writer brother-in-law right beside him.

If these two worked together, how could the script be bad?

Feng Jiazhao didn’t deny he hadn’t seen the script himself.

It wasn’t that he was afraid the script was bad and would embarrass him, but he emphasized not having seen or refined it to avoid seeming like he was shirking responsibility.

If the script wasn’t good, they could revise it further; if it was good, no harm in explaining later.

Cheng Xuemin smiled and nodded; he didn’t stress that he hadn’t shown the script to his brother-in-law.

He was confident in the script and saw no need to exclude his brother-in-law forcibly.

Then, Xie Jin began seriously flipping through the draft script.

At first, his expression was calm, but as he read on, it grew increasingly astonished.

Feng Jiazhao, watching alongside, also showed a shocked expression.

Having just finished reading, Feng Jiazhao couldn’t help but ask, “Xuemin, did you do this all by yourself?”

“Yeah! I just finished it last night and didn’t even have time to proofread for typos!”

Cheng Xuemin nodded, wondering if his brother-in-law’s reaction was a bit over the top—couldn’t they show some humility with Old Xie around?

“Wait, you wrote the script alone? Jiazhao, you didn’t help rewrite or polish it?”

If Feng Jiazhao hadn’t reacted so strongly and knowing his character, Xie Jin might have suspected that to support his brother-in-law, Feng Jiazhao had rewritten the script himself but let Xuemin take credit.

But this script, from its structure to each scene’s coordination, was perfectly crafted.

What stunned Xie Jin even more was that the draft included storyboard sketches for every scene!

Damn!

Xie Jin mentally swore multiple times. Shouldn’t the storyboard be his job as the director?

It seemed Cheng Xuemin, the original author adapting the script, had even done the director’s job for him.

“I didn’t do that!” Feng Jiazhao shook his head. “When Xuemin told me The Horseherder might be adapted into a movie, he wanted to try writing the script himself.”

“Fine, I thought I’d let him try first. If he got stuck or finished, I’d take over.”

“So I just handed him some sample scripts to show him the format and told him to give it a shot, and then I left it alone.”

“But I really didn’t know he had finished it all by himself!”

Feng Jiazhao was ready to step in if the script wasn’t good.

But who would have guessed his brother-in-law was such a prodigy, self-taught and all?!

The script for The Horseherder was so well written that he even drew all the storyboard sketches himself!

His sketching skills were good enough to be hired as an art scriptwriter at the Yanying Film Studio!

“Old Xie, what do you think?!”

Feng Jiazhao asked, grinning with pride.

“What do I think?!”

“Jiazhao, you’re the professional scriptwriter. Do you really need to ask me?!”

“Damn, Xuemin, you’re incredible! Not only is the script great, but you even did the storyboards I was supposed to do!”

“Then tell me, what’s the point of me coming all the way north?! Just send me the script, and I’ll start filming!”

Xie Jin felt these two were playing him.

The script was so good, the storyboards so perfect, fully capturing his vision—and yet they still asked if it was good?!

Damn!

Before coming to Yanjing, Xie Jin was sure they had done their homework.

He had thought through and discarded many storyboards for The Horseherder himself, but the final one matched Cheng Xuemin’s sketches exactly.

This creative synergy was unbelievable!

“So, Old Xie, you really think Xuemin’s script works?!”

Feng Jiazhao asked again.

“Yes, it’s very good! I bet even if Lao Teng from Yanying Film Studio rewrote it, it wouldn’t be better.”

“This is it!”

Xie Jin pulled out a pack of Da Qian Men cigarettes and handed one to Cheng Xuemin.

Cheng Xuemin refused it—he didn’t smoke!

He passed it to Feng Jiazhao, who gratefully accepted and said, “Okay, tomorrow I’ll take the script to the studio for Lao Teng and the others to review.”

Since the production was hosted by Yanying Film Studio, the final review and adaptation fee would come from them.

If all went well, they would receive two thousand yuan for the script adaptation.

“I think that works!” Xie Jin lit a cigarette and added, “But I still need to discuss the storyboards with Xuemin.”

No director would let the scriptwriter dictate the final shooting plan. As the film’s soul, the director must have his own vision and communicate it thoroughly with the original author and scriptwriter.

“Sounds good! You guys talk, I’ll go buy some vegetables and wine. We’ll have a simple meal at home tonight, okay?”

Feng Jiazhao suggested.

“Fine, no need to make a fuss. Let’s just eat something simple,” Xie Jin agreed politely.

So, when Feng Jiazhao left to buy groceries, he noticed his parents still hadn’t returned and quietly slipped out without saying a word, afraid to ride a bike in the snow.

Inside, Xie Jin was quite the chatterbox and chain-smoked one cigarette after another.

Thankfully, Feng Jiuyou wasn’t coming home tonight, or Cheng Xuemin might have kicked him outside to smoke.

The whole room was thick with secondhand smoke.

When Feng’s parents finally returned, they saw black smoke billowing from the east wing where the sons-in-law and daughters lived.

Feng’s mother’s face turned pale as she shouted, “Water! Water! Put out the fire!”

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