1980 My Literary Era.

Chapter 661 The Last Day of 1992

"Use this novel of yours as the first book in the Buhuo series!" Lin Weimin said to Jia Pingwa.

Jia Pingwa looked at Lin Weimin with eyes full of surprise. Although he has been in retreat these days, it is not because he is ignorant of world affairs.

A group of writers and editors lived in the guest house in the back building, and he occasionally got together to chat with everyone during his breaks, sometimes talking about literature itself, and sometimes talking about literary gossip.

After it was published in Literary Stories, the call for papers for "Cloth Tiger Series Books Call for Papers with Millions of Manuscripts" has become the focus of attention of all domestic writers, and it is natural for everyone to mention this topic when chatting.

It's not that Jia Pingwa has never thought about signing a contract with Buhuo Books, it's just that he looked at the content of his book and felt a little uncertain.

"My book... can it work?" Jia Pingwa said a little unconfidently.

"Go away the '?', why not? You have been writing books for so many years, and you don't have any confidence in yourself?" Lin Weimin asked.

Jia Pingwa was silent for a moment and said, "It's my honor."

Lin Weimin said: "There is no such thing as being honored or not. The Buhuo series is to follow the path of bestsellers. There are no restrictions on the style of writing and subject matter. There is only one requirement, and that is that the works must be fascinating."

He rubbed Jia Pingwa's manuscript with his hand, and the words "Abandoned City" were extremely conspicuous on the cover.

In the 90s, is there any pure literature that "attracts" people more than this book?

After all, it sells tens of millions of copies a year. X may be a big factor, but X alone cannot explain the reason why "Abandoned City" has been selling well for 30 years.

"The selected works of the Buhuo series must be first releases. Your novel was completed at just the right time, which can be regarded as a kind of fate."

Listening to Lin Weimin's words, Jia Pingwa couldn't help showing a bit of a smile on her face, which seemed to be the case.

This year, the editors of the Guowen Society first went to Shaanxi to collect manuscripts. Seeing that the literary circles in Shaanxi are strong and strong, they intend to hold seminars to promote exchanges.

Then they Shaanxi writers came to Yanjing to participate in the seminar, and Lin Weimin extended an invitation to him before leaving.

You must know that before this, Jia Pingwa never thought of creating in Yanjing.

But by accident, he really came to Yanjing in the end.

It took less than two months to write a 40-word "Abandoned City", which happened to catch up with the call for essays in the Buhuo series.

A drink and a peck, isn't it all a fixed number?

"Without the care of the Guowen Society and you, there would be no such fate."

Jia Pingwa did the math, and if his "Abandoned Capital" was really going to be included in the Buhuhu series, 40 words would cost 6 yuan.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help breathing a little fast.

He has also been engaged in writing for 20 years, and it is the first time he has received such a large amount of manuscript fees.

In today’s Shaanxi literary circles, there are two writers who made their fortunes from manuscript fees, one is Cheng Zhongshi and the other is Lu Yao, and the trajectories of the two are surprisingly consistent. They both realized the rest of their lives with only one work dream.

Cheng Zhongshi's "White Deer Plain" was reprinted three times in a row in three months, and the sales volume exceeded 50 copies, setting a record in Shaanxi literary circles.

According to the statistics of some writers of the Association for Literature and Art, the cumulative sales volume of "White Deer Plain" has exceeded 200 million copies in the past few years. The royalty income of 80 yuan is far beyond the imagination of the faithful.

Not only that, "White Deer Plain" was also published in Xiangjiang, Wandao and other places, and the sales volume was also good. It is said that 40 million yuan was also recorded.

As a result, Cheng Zhongshi became the first writer in the Shaanxi literary world to become a millionaire by relying on his income from royalties. Everyone called him "Cheng Wanwan" in private.

In addition to Cheng Zhongshi and his "White Deer Plain", Lu Yao's "Ordinary World" also sells well. Although the novel's reputation in the critics was not good before and after publication, readers still love it!

Especially among young readers, "The Ordinary World" is extremely popular, and the reason is inseparable from the inspirational temperament of self-improvement in the work.

To put it bluntly, this novel "The Ordinary World" is the "chicken soup for the soul" of the 90s, which is not derogatory.

Just to give an example, many business leaders in later generations have mentioned in interviews the impact of "Ordinary World" on them when their lives were at a low point.

However, because "The Ordinary World" was published earlier, the royalty system had not been implemented at that time, and the sales volume was indeed lower than that of "White Deer Plain", so "The Ordinary World" brought Lu Yao less royalties than Cheng Zhongshi.

But there are still hundreds of thousands. In the past few years, Lu Yao has been recuperating due to cirrhosis of the liver. He has very little time to start writing, but the manuscript fees continue to flow. On the contrary, the standard of living is higher than before recuperating.

Jia Pingwa did not dare to dream of the achievements of Cheng Zhongshi and Lu Yao, and the 6 yuan remuneration was enough to make him happy.

If the sales of novels in the future can really exceed 15 copies, which can be converted into a 10% royalty share, that would be icing on the cake.

After all, the policy of the Guowen Society is to let writers keep their income in drought and flood. As a writer, they will not suffer no matter whether they get remuneration or royalties.

"The novel is also finished. Don't worry if you submit the manuscript to the agency. But now you can only wait until the next year for review, and the agency will notify you when the publication date is confirmed. Today is the 29th of the twelfth lunar month. You have to go home to Shaanxi It’s time to hurry up.”

When talking about going home, Jia Pingwa thought of her parents and children in her hometown, and she couldn't help feeling a little homesick.

On the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, train tickets are hard to buy.

Lin Weimin seemed to see through Jia Pingwa's mind, and said, "At this juncture, train tickets are hard to buy, so let me ask someone to get you a train ticket."

"That's really a big thank you."

"It's nothing, you were invited by me."

As he spoke, Lin Weimin arranged for someone to find a way to get a train ticket for Jia Pingwa. Before leaving get off work, a colleague delivered a hard sleeper ticket to Lin Weimin's office.

"The ticket is at 9:[-] p.m. and then go to the station after dinner." Lin Weimin said to Jia Pingwa.

He dragged Jia Pingwa to find a restaurant, ordered a few dishes, and said, "I'm in a hurry, so I'll just have a quick bite this time, and I'll celebrate your success when "Abandoned City" is published next time."

Jia Pingwa was full of gratitude for Lin Weimin's courtesy.

After eating, Lin Weimin sent Jia Pingwa to the station again.

Parting, Jia Pingwa held Lin Weimin's hand, "Mr. Lin, this trip to Yanjing is thanks to your care. Thank you, thank you."

"If you are being polite, don't say it. If you have a new work in the future, just think about our Guowen Society." Lin Weimin joked.

Jia Pingwa looked serious, "Definitely!"

Jia Pingwa was sent away, and New Year's Eve in 1993 also came.

After a busy year, today's Guowen Club is peaceful and peaceful.

Everyone is fishing, even Lin Weimin is no exception.

At noon, a group of people turned into birds and beasts and dispersed.

Back home, the popularity is booming.

The crew of "Farewell My Concubine" had a two-day vacation. Now that the filming of the crew is coming to an end, Cheng Kaige originally didn't plan to have a vacation. "Farewell My Concubine" has already confirmed that it will participate in the Cannes Film Festival in May.

There are still more than three months before the opening of the film festival, and the shooting and post-production are very tight.

However, at the suggestion of the producer Xu Feng, the crew still took two days off, because it was Chinese New Year after all.

The entire crew has been busy for four months without stopping, and finally it's the Chinese New Year, so everyone has to take a breather and rest for two days, which is also good for the next year.

During the Chinese New Year this year, Han Zhuangzhuang's family of four still came to the Shizhu Courtyard.

In addition to the Han family, Father Tao and Mother Tao also stayed in Yanjing to celebrate the New Year this year, and the old couple was reluctant to part with the little bean buns.

Sister Qin, the nanny, also stayed at home. During the Chinese New Year, Lin Weimin not only gave her and Sister Sun a bunch of New Year’s goods, but also a bonus of 300 yuan, which is equivalent to an extra month and a half of each person’s salary.

Sister Sun went back to her hometown to celebrate the New Year with New Year’s goods and bonuses. This year her second son Zhou Jun graduated and was assigned to be a reporter for the Yanjing Evening News.

It's a pity that my son is going to be promising, and it's a pity to go back home without clothes.

Sister Qin did not have the good fortune of Sister Sun. She stayed in Yanjing during the Chinese New Year. Lin Weimin paid three times the salary, which was equivalent to half a month's salary for only a few days. Sister Qin was reluctant to part with the triple salary and decided resolutely Stay in Shizhu courtyard.

Calculated in this way, there are actually ten people in Lin Weimin's family for Chinese New Year this year, which is the busiest year since he came to Yanjing.

In the afternoon, there was a northerly wind outside the house, the clouds were oppressive, and the weather forecast said there would be snow today.

In the house, a group of people gathered together to make dumplings and cook dishes, and a few lesbians gathered to chat about homework. The little girl ran outside the house to play for a while, and then came back to tease Xiaodoubao.

"I feel that Director Cheng is a little too impatient, thanks to the old man who often comes to remind us." Han Zhuangzhuang was making dumplings and said in his mouth.

"With an investment of 800 million yuan, it's understandable for so many celebrities." Lin Weimin said.

"Hey, you just said the same thing, the adaptation is "Farewell My Concubine"." Han Zhuangzhuang showed a teasing smile on his face, "You don't know yet, do you? Director Cheng has received more than a batch of readers forwarded by others in the past few months. There are letters from both home and abroad. I feel that he is almost overwhelmed and a little nervous, and even the slightest disturbance on the set can make him fly into a rage."

Lin Weimin shook his head when he heard the words. It is said that Cheng Kaige's temper on the set is actually not bad. Being able to push him to this extent shows the great pressure in his heart.

There is a rumor in the domestic entertainment industry in later generations that many celebrities have to "repeat disasters" before they become popular.

The so-called "calamity", in addition to the endless pressure at work, there are also all kinds of criticism from public opinion, many celebrities have survived this "catastrophe", and they only become popular in an instant.

On the contrary, if you don't carry it over, you will naturally lose sight of everyone.

Lin Weimin naturally doesn't believe in this kind of feudal superstition in the entertainment industry, but Cheng Kaige's current state is indeed a bit like "although it's hard work, you can blow all the sand until you get gold".

As long as he withstood this wave of pressure, he would be promoted to the altar, and the book of "Farewell My Concubine" alone would be enough for him to eat for a lifetime.

Chatting casually, at night, the New Year's Eve dinner is almost ready.

After waiting for an hour on purpose, the delicious food was served near eight o'clock.

Among the ten people, except for Xiaodoubao who had just learned to sit and could only be held in Tao Huimin's arms, even the little girl took up a seat.

Familiar pictures appeared on the TV screen again, and it was another Spring Festival Gala.

Mother Tao looked at Zhao Zhongxiang in a suit on TV and sighed, "Zhao Zhongxiang is old too!"

Zhao Zhongxiang was the first announcer of "News Network". As a "national face", ordinary people are no strangers to his face, but what really made him famous was hosting the Spring Festival Gala.

Zhao Zhongxiang's appearance has thick eyebrows and big eyes in the traditional sense, and his appearance is dignified, so he naturally became the ideal object in the minds of countless women in that era.

It's a pity that time is not forgiving. Zhao Zhongxiang, who was born in 1942, is now 50 years old.

Since ancient times, heroes are like beauties, and the world is not allowed to see gray hair.

Tao's father listened to Tao's mother's words, and seemingly unintentionally said, "Ni Ping is still young and beautiful!"

The faces of the people around couldn't help revealing some teasing smiles. When everyone was joking, Han Dingbang asked his son: "Zhuang Zhuang, did you say before that Ni Ping is dating Cheng Kaige?"

"Yes, we all live together."

"Oh!"

Father Tao couldn't help but let out an exclamation of disappointment when he heard the words, causing Mother Tao to roll her eyes, and everyone around laughed.

(End of this chapter)