Chapter 418: The Great Screenwriter Meng Dongye


    Brother Wei put the hem of his shirt down. But you can join the case now.After all, I sold theitemalready, andI know youre capable of retrieving it.You can sell it for a few hundred renminbiter. Its a win-win situation.


    I cussed, Win-win mybutt!You cheated us!


    Dont speak such words. Were in the same business. Are you confident thatall the otherworldly items youve sold are safe? Dont fool yourself and lie to others. This business is like selling drugs. We know theyre not good, butpeople still askfor them, and we deliver.Were just working to make ends meet. Dontthink toomuchabout it.


    Brother Weis code ofethicsmade me speechless.


    He collected his stuff and put themina big suitcase.He even put on a pair of sunssesand prepared to leavewith an excited face. Beforeleaving, he toldme, Boss Zhang, I owe you this time. When we have a chance, we should work together!


    After he left, I sat down helplesslyand clutchedmy head.


    Are you okay? asked Yin Xinyue.


    Im doubting the ethics of my profession.


    Sheforted me. You shouldnt think about it that way.I dont think you need to feelguilty. After all, you cant ensure everybodys happiness. And,some people arewilling to exchange their longevity andluckfor something beautiful, even if itsjust for a moment. Its their choice. It has nothing to do with you


    Yin Xinyues wordsmade me feel better. Xinyue, you should keepyourdistancefromthat screenwriter. When hehasa problem, I will help him for free.


    This wasanotherburdenonmy mind.


    WhenI got home, I started my preparations. I checked books and journalsand drewsome talismans.Yet, although it had been a few days already,Ihadnt heard anythingfrom Meng Dongye. I even followed his Weibo page, andtherewerenew updates every day. It waseither about some insights he had or updates about his goodmood and his writing, whichwas goingsmoothly.


    The magic brush seemed to work well.


    Half a monthter.


    Iwas upied with other activities,so I had almost forgotten about this case. Oneday, while I was eating with Yin Xinyue, she told me that Meng Dongye had submitted his new script to the director, which the director highly appreciated. The overall assessment of the script was extremely high;it could even reach the standard of Hollywood movie scripts!


    However, there were so many typos and sentence structure problems. Itwasnt easyto read. They needed to hireaneditor to smoothen it. However, Meng Dongye graduated with a degree in Chinesenguage and literature. His writing shouldnt have such low-level mistakes. The director guessed that he had made such mistakes because of his fast speed.


    I asked Yin Xinyue,How many words are there in a script?


    For a forty-episode script like his, it would be more than800,000words.


    Gosh!


    I had a high school ssmate who worked as a webnovuthor. His target per day was10,000words, and hismission for one thousand words was just a few cents. Every day, heworked until he exhausted himself to earn around two hundredrenminbi.


    Itlooked like he had a lot of free timeas there was no boss to watch over him or urge him to work, but it was as hard as any other job.


    Meng Dongye had written800,000wordsinhalf a month. What kind of concept was that? He musthave writtenat least more than50,000words a day to achieve that. Moreover,writing wasnteasy.He wouldneedtime to let his brain rest to think about the details and outlines. Let alone writing everything down, even if he had the draft and just needed to write from it, he would have to sit in front of hisputer for more than ten hours a day.


    Seeing how much he was working, I was worried about Meng Dongyes body condition. I suggested that we visit him in the afternoon. Yin Xinyue agreed with me.


    In the afternoon, Yin Xinyue and I drove to Meng Dongyes home.He lived inan apartment building in a luxurious neighborhood. Hewasdivorced, andhistwo kidslivedwith their mother. His job was to stay home and write scripts, and hesometimeswentout to discuss the storyline with the directors.


    We went to the building and hit the inte. It took a long time before someone picked up the call.


    We announced ourselves, andMeng Dongyereplied,soundingexhausted,Im sorry but please leave. Im writing. I dont have time to wee you.


    Didnthe finish his script? Whatcould he be working on? asked Yin Xinyue.


    Im afraid hes bewitched. I frowned.


    Should wegoin or not?


    Of course, we have to see him!


    We waited in the lobby until an auntyreturnedhome from the grocery store and opened the door. We quickly followed her into the building.


    Meng Dongye livedon thefifth floor. Before my hand could reach his door, Meng Dongye screamed from the inside,Get lost! Go away! Dont disturb me!


    He''s getting more and more cocky! I knocked on the door. However, Meng Dongye ignored me.


    He doesnt want to open the door. We shouldebacter, suggestedYin Xinyue.


    No! Hes not in good condition. Ifthists longer,thingswill turn worse. We need to see him today. I contemtedthen said,If we cant do it the soft way, well get someone to pick his lock!


    If we want to pickalock, wellneed tocontactthe police first. Yin Xinyue looked worried.


    Theres no need. Ill just call Li Mazi!


    I immediately called him. Hey Li Mazi,e with your lock-picking tools. Ivegot a top prioritymission for you!


    Li Mazicame shortly after.


    Li Mazi, I guess your lock-picking skillshaveimproved. Im giving you a chance to show your talent!


    You want me to open this lock? Li Mazi rolled his eyes.


    Yeah.


    Im not bragging, but I just need two toothpicks to unlock this ordinary anti-theft door. Li Maziughed.


    Then, he took out his toolsand startedto work on the lock.He didnt forget to tter himself. Now,count down from twenty. If it takes more than twenty seconds, then my skills arent good enough.


    When I finished the countdown, he screamed Open! and used his hand to pull the door. However, the door didnt move.


    Your trick failed?You really lost face this time! Iughed.


    No,there is something wrong here! Li Mazi stooped and studied the lock. This door is locked from the inside. Someones in the apartment!


    Yeah,thatscorrect.


    Why didnt you tell me earlier? You just need to knock on the door! Did you haveso muchfreetimethat you wanted to check my skills? Were you that bored?


    You can try knocking onthedoor.


    Li Mazi hit the door several times. Thest few knocks were louder than the first.Meng Dongye suddenly thundered,Go! Go away! Dont disturb me!


    Who is that? Hes so angry!Did he swallow a lot of pepper? asked Li Mazi.


    I told himaboutthe situation. You must figure outaway to open this door today. Otherwise, Meng Dongye will possibly die in his apartment.


    As soon as Li Mazi knew thatthe maninside was a client, he became high-spirited. Why didnt you tell me earlier?


    Im somewhat responsible forwhat happened to him, so Im doing this for free.


    For free?! Li Mazi fumed.


    Well, Im notforcingyou. If you open the lock for me, Ill pay you a few hundred renminbi. Isthatokay? I said.


    Am Ijust ajerkthat only works for money in your eyes? Dont talk nonsense. Im going to open this door for you! screamed Li Mazi.


    Then, he took out a hand drind askedus to watch over the scene for him.


    Li Mazi used his hand drill to slowly bore the door. It was a boring process, so while drilling, he asked me, LittleBrother Zhang, how muchisthat magic brushworth?


    You cant hide your nature after just three sentences. I had a wry smile.


    Itwas just a casual question. Li Mazi pouted.


    After drilling through the lock, Li Mazi inserted two tiny hooks,gently turningthemand opening the door.


    At least,Li Mazi had a specialty we could count on.


    As soon as we entered the living room, Ismelled a terrible stench.Empty wine bottles, leftovers in takeaway boxes, and cigarette ashes were scattered around the floor. Dirty clothes were on the sofa, and the curtains hung loose. I wondered how long this room had beenconcealedfrom the sunlight. The entire house wasaboutto grow mold.


    Oh gosh! Doall famous authors live like this?Do they hatethe sunlight? Li Mazi pinched his nose.


    It depends, I guess, I answered casually. Anyway, I didnt know much about their lifestyle.


    We heardMeng Dongyeyellfrom his bedroom. Go away! Get lost! All of you! Youthugs!


    The three of us exchanged looks.Whatwas going on? Why did he scold us? Wehadntdone anything!


    Well, wedidpickhis lock.


    Eventually, I decided to go to his bedroom to see. He was just a screenwriter that didnt even have the strength to truss a chicken. What could he do to us?


    As soon as we entered the room, we felt a gloomyatmosphere.


    When I sawthe interior, I was dumbstruck. There wasntjustone person intheroom! There were five of them!