Chapter 150 Screenwriter Genius
A full two hundred thousand in cash was now quietly placed on the desk in Zhang Yuan's room.

One note is worth 100 yuan, one stack is 100 yuan, there are 20 stacks in total...

He counted them carefully several times to make sure he was not mistaken.

"Two hundred thousand." Zhang Yuan put one hand on his waist and stroked his chin with the other hand, thinking quietly.

If it was any other amount, he would be confused for a while.

But the number of two hundred thousand is interesting.

"The crew paid exactly 200,000 yuan in compensation to the horse rental company."

Thinking of this, Zhang Yuan walked to the door, pulled the door handle, opened the door, and carefully checked the position of the door lock.

"There's not even a scratch, let alone any sign of picking the lock."

Gently pushing the door shut, Zhang Yuan confirmed that there were no signs of violent entry into the room.

But there were hundreds of thousands of cash in the house, so someone must have entered the house when he was away.

"I only gave the spare room card to one person, and that was Cheng Hao."

"But she has already returned to the imperial capital, so there is no reason for her to come back."

"Besides, if she pays me back, it should be 150,000. After all, I only lent her that much."

"So, there is only one possibility for this money and the person who entered the room."

Zhang Yuan closed his eyes and thought of the inconspicuous black man whom he and Zhu Yan had chased and easily subdued among the crowd of extras.

"For a famous thief like me, opening a hotel room door should be a piece of cake."

Zhang Yuan remembered that Zhu Yan once told him that after being arrested, this person, under the supervision of the police, used only a piece of wire to open a security door worth thousands of dollars and with three locks in just half a minute.

It turns out to be the true teachings of the Thief King Huang Tingli.

Give him a pack of instant noodles and he can stir up an entire neighborhood.

Pick up a small card on the ground and you can open the hotel room door.

This should be a piece of cake for him.

"It seems that your skills have not become rusty after all these years." Zhang Yuan returned to his desk with a smile.

After connecting the two, he had a general idea.

"Humph, this is for my medical expenses."

Before, Zhu Yan had a lot of hostility towards this "Grass Flying" guy. It's not her fault, it's just her criminal police instinct.

Zhang Yuan helped him out and gave him the opportunity to make a living in the crew.

For a person with a criminal record who does not have any legal professional skills, even if he wants to reform and start a new life, the difficulty will be several times greater than that of an ordinary person.

Of course, everyone must be responsible for their own actions, and there must be consequences for every cause.

The same goes for this one.

If he could make it in his hometown, he wouldn't have to travel thousands of kilometers to Dali and make a living by acting as an extra, which is tiring and unprofitable.

Zhang Yuan's words and attitude were like a blessing after a long drought to this remorseful old brother, and like meeting an old friend in a foreign land. He was deeply moved.

After that, he didn't leave and continued to hang around in the crew of "A Chinese Ghost Story".

Until that day, when he saw Zhang Yuan fall from power and the horse rental company blackmailing people, he began to think of repaying them.

"Black eats black." Zhang Yuan chuckled and said, "As expected, you should leave some room for others so that we can meet again in the future."

Those blackmailing guys would never have thought that the money they had just received, before it even warmed up, would be taken away by Cao Shangfei.

"This guy..." Zhang Yuan thought, if he wanted to go back to his old business, he could just take the money and run away. Two hundred thousand is a huge sum of money these days, enough for him to live a carefree life for several years.

But when it was placed on his desk, it was obvious that he had the intention of repaying a favor.

His idea was simple. It was originally a sum of illicit money, and Zhang Yuan was almost seriously injured, so it was just right to give it to him as compensation.

"But I can't take this money!"

Zhang Yuan held the newspaper and wrapped the money up again.

Morally speaking, if he took the money and was exposed and the blackmailer found out, he would be in trouble.

Logically, the money originally belonged to the crew, and he would be in trouble if the crew knew about it.

As long as you accept the money, you run the risk of being unpopular both inside and outside.

After making the decision, he put the rewrapped money into his backpack, put it on his back, and walked out.

beep, beep...

Not long after, he knocked on director Li Huizhu's door.

"Coming..." In less than a second, a response came from inside the house, and soon the door was opened from the inside.

"It's just right. Thirteen has just arrived. You've arrived just in time." Director Li invited him in.

After a quick glance, I found that the director's room was slightly better than my own, with a configuration similar to that of a small living room.

His house was just an ordinary one-room apartment with one bed.

That’s right, the director is very busy. Not only does he have to organize the scripts, but he also has to do reception work from time to time. There is indeed a demand for this.

"Please sit down... Why do you carry a bag?" At this time, Chen Shisan, who was already leaning on the sofa, noticed it.

Zhang Yuan didn't say anything, but opened his shoulders, put the "piece" of cash inside on the table, and then opened it layer by layer just like he did in his own room before.

"This is……"

"Two hundred thousand in cash, compensation from the crew."

This was the solution he thought of, and the best solution was to hand it over to Li Huizhu.

If the sky falls, there are taller people to support it. If there are any problems with the money later, the two directors will also bear the consequences. He doesn't want to get into trouble for this "little money".

Besides, he came here today just to earn legal income.

The two directors looked at each other, both of them were filled with disbelief.

"How did this money come into your hands?"

"Things in the underworld are the affairs of the underworld. Please don't ask too much." Zhang Yuan said vaguely and of course could not elaborate.

"Oh, I understand, I understand..." Chen Shisan pushed Li Huizhu and gave a look that was both surprised and excited.

What was surprising, of course, was that Zhang Yuan actually got the money back.

The excitement came from the fact that before Zhang Yuan arrived, the two were discussing how to deal with this unexpected loss.

Let them pay for it themselves?
That's impossible. They only earn tens of millions a year. It's impossible for them to pay this amount of money.

So money had to be taken from the crew to settle the account, but that involved the issue of reporting expenses to Yang Dengkui.

Lao Deng knew that they were greedy and caused trouble, so scolding them was the least of their trouble.

The other party is a big gangster, and these two directors have always been timid in front of him.

But now, the money is back and their worries have disappeared.

[Received thanks from Li Huizhu, directing basics +1, script understanding +1! ]

[Received thanks from Chen Shisan, reverse thinking +1, logical thinking +1! ]

Zhang Yuan took a look at the attributes given by Chen Shisan. He was indeed a genius screenwriter, completely different from ordinary people.

"Okay, put this money aside for now. Zhang Yuan, remember..."

"It's a secret, I understand."

Before he could finish, Zhang Yuan came back with a smile, thinking at the same time.

I have so many secrets to keep.

"Okay, okay, then let's discuss the script." Chen Shisan's eyes were conflicted.

He understood that Zhang Yuan had helped the crew a lot by changing the script and adding more scenes for him, so this reward was not only not excessive, but he even felt it was too little.

But at the same time, as a screenwriter, he instinctively dislikes others changing his own creations.

"In this way, I think there is still room for improvement in the emotional drama of the character of Qiye Mojun."

"How do you feel about me helping you add some plot to your interaction with Xiaoqian?"

This is the most convenient method for Chen Shisan, and he doesn't need to change the outline.

But Zhang Yuan shook his head.

"Adding emotional scenes is too superficial. I think if we need to change it, we should make the script more exciting!"

Chen Shisan felt something was wrong.

"He said this, I'm afraid he wants to make a big move!"

Now, the story of "A Chinese Ghost Story" is actually not complicated.

The core of the story is love. Extending from love are the two main storylines of seven lives of resentment and seven lives of love.

Ning Caichen and Xiaoqian are a couple of enemies, while Zhuge Liuyun and Hongye are lovers.

Two by two, facing each other.

Qiye and Jin Guang are the villains beside the two teams of protagonists, and they correspond to each other exactly.

This is the strength of Chen Shisan. The characters in the play are closely connected and interrelated.

"I think the script of our play is certainly good, but it has a big flaw," Zhang Yuan mentioned tactfully.

"What do you mean?" Chen Shisan looked unfriendly.

“That’s the novelty!”

"The audience doesn't need to watch the specific content, just look at the title, "A Chinese Ghost Story", and they can guess the general plot."

"It's clear at first glance that Ning Caichen and Xiaoqian are a perfect match."

"You can see the ending at a glance. Is there anything new in the story?" Zhang Yuan asked back.

Chen Shisan remained silent. Although he was a little unhappy about being criticized like this, he did not deny that what Zhang Yuan said made some sense.

"How about this, tell me what you think." Li Huizhu came out to smooth things over.

"I think that since everyone thinks Ning Caichen and Xiaoqian are a perfect match as soon as they see A Chinese Ghost Story, why don't we deliberately do the opposite!"

"At the beginning, the film still follows the audience's train of thought, but in the second half, there is a big reversal, telling the audience that the real partner of the seven lives who teamed up with Xiaoqian is actually someone else."

"You mean..." Chen Shisan came to his senses: "Let Qiye and Xiaoqian be a couple?"

"Exactly."

"No way!" Chen Shisan sternly refused: "This destroys my original design. The resentful couple and the lovers are two against two. This change will become three against two, and the characters will lose balance."

"If we add a character on the couple's side, it will be balanced." Zhang Yuan spread his hands and said calmly.

"This way, there are twists and turns on both sides, and the audience can't guess, which gives them motivation to keep watching."

“This, this, this…” Chen Shisan was speechless for a moment: “That won’t work either. It would be very abrupt if you suddenly reversed and forced Xiaoqian and Qiye to pair up.”

"What if we add a setting for Qiye, for example, he and Ning Caichen are actually brothers who have been separated for many years?"

Zhang Yuan expressed his thoughts calmly, and Li Huizhu and Chen Shisan on the opposite side were both shocked by his words.

Brothers fighting!

After Zhang Yuan proposed this setting, Chen Shisan's brain suddenly started working.

Brothers kill each other for a woman.

Two brothers' emotional entanglement with the same woman.

How will the two brothers react after learning about their life stories?

How should Xiaoqian choose between the brothers...

There are so many stories to tell and film here!

Bang!
80! 80! 80! …

Zhang Yuan's words were like a sledgehammer, knocking a crack in his solidified thinking.

"Then what about the couple Zhuge Liuyun and Hongye..."

"We also added a brother character to form a counterpart."

"Yes!" Chen Shisan immediately confirmed it by slapping the table.

"Then why doesn't Qiye know his own identity?"

"We can link this incident to the fact that Queen Mother Yin Yue was possessed by the Moon Demon, and regard it as a conspiracy by the Moon Demon to rule the world."

"Okay!" Chen Shisan's eyes rolled around, and all kinds of strange ideas kept popping up in his mind.

"And the story of Zhuge Liuyun and Hongye can be connected to another great god in the Demon Palace, the Blue Demon."

"After all, the setting of the Blue Devil was originally given, but she has always only existed in the background, which is a bit of a waste."

"Great!" Chen Shisan was excited: "This is a great idea!"

"This way, there will be more stories to tell. I will write a poignant background for the Blue Demon."

“You can also connect Blue Demon’s love story with the upright Xuanxin Sect, so that the good and evil sides are contrasted and yet intertwined invisibly, which can better show a sense of fate.”

"The word 'fatalistic' is a good one." Chen Shisan's body was swaying back and forth, fidgeting, as if he was a teenager with ADHD.

This is a sign of excitement.

Master Chen Shisan is a genius. What is a genius?

Most geniuses have a bad taste, one of which is to play tricks on the audience by misleading them and using the plot to trick the audience.

Originally, he just wanted to slightly increase Zhang Yuan's role based on the existing script.

Unexpectedly, the other party's opinions directly changed the direction of the whole story!
The previous script was like a pizza, you could tell at a glance what ingredients were put in.

Now it has become a thousand-layer pancake, with one layer stacked on top of another. Unless you eat the last bite, you will have no idea how many new things are waiting for you.

"Then how should the Blue Demon be designed?"

"It would be better to let her be cursed and lose her human form."

"Okay, the two couples have become three-person configurations. How should their backgrounds be designed?"

"Why not combine the origins of the two schools of good and evil and design an ancient god..."

Zhang Yuan and Chen Shisan started brainstorming and became more and more excited as they talked.

Li Huizhu on the side didn't even have the chance to interrupt.

"It's been a while since I've seen Thirteen so excited." She pushed her glasses and sighed.

Chen Shisan is a genius. Not only is his thinking unique, but so is his personality.

He usually has a cold face, but if he can be talked into something, he won't be arrogant at all.

Today, Chen Shisan no longer has the reluctance he had at the beginning, and has completely entered into the creative state.

"This Zhang Yuan is really amazing. There aren't many people who can mobilize Thirteen and make him excited."

Geniuses are very conceited. Let alone changing their scripts, they might even get retorted if they give a few suggestions.

But now, not only is he not angry, he also actively asks for the other party's opinion, which is really rare.

The two chatted for five or six hours. When Li Huizhu woke up from her second nap, she found that Zhang Yuan had left.

His old friend Chen Shisan was writing and drawing on a pile of manuscript paper, with no desire to sleep at all.

For him, creative inspiration is the best refreshing medicine.

"How was the chat?"

"It has changed, everything has changed!" Chen Shisan grinned and said, "Based on the original foundation, it has been sublimated."

"Doesn't that mean we have to reshoot everything?"

“Hehe…” Chen Shisan threw down the dried pen in his hand and said, “This is the magical part. All the revision suggestions he proposed are based on the content that has already been filmed.”

“It only needs to be added, no modification is needed. With editing, it should be able to seamlessly connect with the footage shot in these days.”

"So amazing!" Li Huizhu sat up straight.

"Yes, I am also surprised. It seems that this guy has been preparing to change the play for a long time. I am afraid that he has been planning it since he got the script."

"But he only brought it up now?" Director Li's heart trembled.

"He obviously chose the right time to speak." Chen Shisan took the script fragments he had sorted out.

"I'll give you a brief account of this new content, and you'll understand how big his appetite is."

Chen Shisan used concise language to explain the revisions they had summarized.

Li Huizhu nodded as she listened, expressing her agreement from time to time.

"Indeed, it is more exciting than before, and the relationships between the characters are more complicated, but..."

"You found it too."

Chen Shisan circled the two words "Seven Nights" heavily on the manuscript paper.

"If it's changed like this, the role of the Seven Nights Demon Lord will probably be more than that of Ning Caichen!"

"So, his purpose is not to add drama to himself."

"What he wants is very simple, just two words."

Chen Shisan stretched out two fingers.

"main character!"

(End of this chapter)