Chapter 12: Gold and Red Mansions

After putting down his phone, Zhang Yuan hailed a taxi and hurried toward the hotel where the meeting was scheduled.

Facing such a monumental opportunity, he didn't dare to delay for even a second.

In the early 2000s, countless hit dramas were competing fiercely, each trying to outshine the other. Yet, even in such brutal competition, *The Noble Family* (Jin Fen Shi Jia) still became an incredibly significant milestone in the history of mainland Chinese television.

Moreover, unlike "small workshops" such as *Conquer*, *The Noble Family* was a major production with a star-studded cast.

A single show launched the careers of two leading actresses and provided a "retirement insurance" for Sha Baoliang, who sang the theme song.

Arriving at the hotel’s private room, he knocked and entered.

"Zhang Yuan, you're here. Let me introduce you." Gao Qunshu stood up with a smile to welcome him.

"This is Director Li Dawei."

"This is Director Yang Tao."

"This is Director Zhou Xiaowen."

"And this is..."

Everyone present was either a director or a member of the production crew—all industry insiders. They all looked at this young man who had just arrived with curiosity.

However, when Li Dawei—the one Director Gao had mentioned over the phone—saw Zhang Yuan, a flash of disappointment crossed his eyes.

*Old Gao bragged for so long, I thought he was some hidden master, but it turns out he’s just a green kid...* Li Dawei muttered to himself.

He couldn't be blamed; who would believe that a young man not even 20 years old could rewrite a script?

After exchanging greetings one by one, Zhang Yuan took the initiative to sit in the least prominent seat at the table.

Although he had earned a spot next to the director on the set of *Conquer*, when out in public among strangers, it was better to be low-key and humble.

"Old Gao, is this the genius you were talking about? You aren't just blowing smoke, are you?" Zhou Xiaowen had a blunt temper and spoke just as bluntly.

It was as if he had spoken on Li Dawei's behalf.

"You must have had too much to drink, playing jokes on us."

Gao Qunshu wore a mischievous smile and gave Zhang Yuan a look, as if to say

*Xiao Yuan, show them what you've got!*

Seeing Li Dawei at the head of the table remaining silent, Zhang Yuan spoke up.

"Director Li, I heard from Director Gao that you are planning to adapt and film *The Noble Family* recently, right?"

"I happen to have read that novel."

Li Dawei was stunned. This was a novel from the Republican era; he hadn't expected this kid to have actually read it.

He asked himself: if he weren't planning to film a TV series, he wouldn't have touched the original work either.

*This kid isn't trying to scam us, is he?*

"Fine, you say you've read it, so tell me your thoughts on the novel." Li Dawei’s suspicion grew, and he began to feel that Gao Qunshu was unreliable.

The others felt the same; they wanted to see what kind of talent this person, whom Gao Qunshu had been praising for so long, actually possessed.

As for this book, Zhang Yuan had indeed read it in his past life.

It wasn't because he was a literary youth, but because in college, there was a "literary" girl he wanted to woo who loved Republican-era novels. He had stayed up all night reading it just to create some common ground.

Of course, in the end, this so-called literary girl was actually just a superficial fan of good looks, so Zhang Yuan’s reading had been in vain.

He hadn't expected it to come in handy after being reborn.

Zhang Yuan remained calm and composed, holding up three fingers: "Actually, if you really want to boil it down, the story of *The Noble Family* can be summed up in three words."

"*Dream of the Red Chamber*!"

"This..." Li Dawei raised an eyebrow and looked at the others.

"How so?" Seeing that the others were as confused as he was, he continued to ask.

Zhang Yuan adopted the posture of a storyteller and began to explain eloquently.

"Everyone knows that *Dream of the Red Chamber* uses a mythological background to tell a story about human relationships."

"In fact, three of the Four Great Classical Novels share this structure: starting with myths and spirits to tell human stories."

"And all three start with a stone: the immortal stone in *Journey to the West*, the demon-suppressing stone in *Water Margin*, and the stone left over from mending the heavens in *Dream of the Red Chamber*."

"Actually, if you really want to push it, *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* also revolves around the Imperial Jade Seal, a stone representing power."

"It seems to be writing about the trivialities of the Jia household, but it is actually using these characters to depict how a noble family—or even an entire dynasty—represented by the Jia family, falls into decline."

"Although the final dozens of chapters of *Dream of the Red Chamber* are lost, the content must certainly be about the collapse of the Jia household, the scattering of the family, and the ensuing desolation."

"Watching them build their mansions, watching them feast their guests, watching their buildings collapse."

"And if you were to outline the novel *The Noble Family*, at least seventy percent of it is similar to *Dream of the Red Chamber*!"

Li Dawei’s eyes flickered as he listened. He had read the novel several times over the past few days and knew the content by heart; he had always felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

After Zhang Yuan’s explanation, he suddenly felt enlightened!

Zhang Yuan smiled inwardly. The original author of *The Noble Family*, Zhang Henshui, was known as the "male Eileen Chang." Aside from some short stories satirizing the social politics of the time, his major works were almost all themed around romance.

Moreover, this man was a "tentacle monster" who once wrote seven full-length novels simultaneously, each over a million words!

In the Republican era, there were no computers or keyboards; he wrote every single word with a fountain pen and ink. One can imagine how terrifying his writing speed was—he could be called the "Kato... Eagle" of the Republican era.

"You can't really say that. Too many novels are like *Dream of the Red Chamber*. After all, it is the pinnacle of Chinese literature; you can't say they are the same just because the background is similar."

Zhou Xiaowen, sitting next to Li Dawei, raised a challenge. Li Dawei didn't speak, but he looked at Zhang Yuan, instinctively wanting to hear what this young man had to say.

"Actually, it’s not just the background; many characters and plot points correspond one-to-one with *Red Chamber*," Zhang Yuan replied, holding his head high, unfazed by the challenge.

"The protagonist of *The Noble Family*, the Jin family—the eldest son is a womanizer. Not only does he keep a mistress outside, but he also sets his sights on his wife's maid, Xiao Lian."

"This is almost exactly the same as the story in *Red Chamber* where Jia Lian covets Wang Xifeng's maid, Ping'er. Furthermore, the eldest daughter-in-law's child is a girl, and Wang Xifeng's child, Jia Qiaojie, is also a girl."

Zhou Xiaowen, who had raised the objection, lowered his head to ponder for a moment. It was indeed a one-to-one correspondence.

"Not only that, but the third son of the Jin family has an affair with a male actor. How similar is that to Xue Pan in *Red Chamber* setting his sights on the actor Liu Xianglian?"

"And going back to the protagonist, Jin Yanxi, the main plot is his entanglement with two women, which corresponds perfectly to Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, and Xue Baochai. Even their character traits match up!"

Li Dawei looked at Zhang Yuan with curiosity. What this kid said was indeed reasonable.

He had been too close to the forest to see the trees; he hadn't felt it while reading, but now that he was looking at it from the outside, it was indeed true.

"This... there are many books with similar plots. A few similar characters don't prove anything," Zhou Xiaowen was still being stubborn.

"Then, how do you explain the fact that both the heroine Leng Qingqiu and Lin Daiyu have their birthdays on the Flower Festival?" Zhang Yuan dropped the "nuke."

Zhou Xiaowen went completely silent.

Similar character designs could be explained away, but having the same birthday? You couldn't say there was no connection there.

"Director Li, I think *The Noble Family* is, to a large extent, a tribute to *Red Chamber*, just like Jin Yong's *A Deadly Secret* is a tribute to Alexandre Dumas's *The Count of Monte Cristo*."

"Good! 'Tribute'—that's a great word!" Li Dawei raised his glass and toasted Zhang Yuan.

He then looked at Gao Qunshu beside him.

"Old Gao, you had such a talent and didn't share him sooner, keeping him hidden? That’s not very friendly of you!"

*You guys didn't believe me earlier and thought I was bragging...* Gao Qunshu rolled his eyes at him.

With solid arguments that couldn't be refuted, all the industry insiders present were convinced and began to warm up to Zhang Yuan.

The film and television industry was like any other circle: you either rely on connections or you rely on strength. You have to have something to show for yourself.

Clearly, Zhang Yuan had gained the approval of these people with his small display of skill.

After a round of drinks and the addition of a few hot dishes, the atmosphere became increasingly harmonious.

Zhang Yuan also brought out his significantly improved alcohol tolerance and hit it off with the directors.

"Great tolerance!" The blunt-tempered Zhou Xiaowen, who had been rendered speechless by Zhang Yuan earlier, had been holding a grudge.

But people with blunt tempers were actually easy to appease. After a few shots of baijiu, he was already draping his arm over Zhang Yuan's shoulder.

Zhang Yuan was also intentionally trying to get close to him; he knew that this Zhou Xiaowen had a very good relationship with "Big Beardy" Zhang, and would likely replace Ju Jueliang to direct *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils* before long!

"In that case, it’ll be simple for me to film this. I’ll just follow the style of the '87 *Red Chamber* and move the novel's content onto the screen exactly as it is!" Li Dawei was in high spirits, feeling the relief of someone who had finally passed a three-week bout of constipation.

"No!" But to his surprise, Zhang Yuan suddenly spoke up: "You can't follow the novel completely."

Li Dawei's smile froze, and everyone else turned to look at him...