1980 My literary era

The "Selected Series of Contemporary Novels" was launched in mid-January, with an initial print run of 100,000 copies, which is an extremely exaggerated figure for other publishing houses.

But under the appeal of the two golden brands of Chinese Literature Society and "Contemporary", it is reasonable to buy 100,000 copies.

Within a week of its launch, the bookstores and post offices received good feedback. Although there were no specific figures yet, Lin Weimin took a leisurely trip to Wangfujing Bookstore and China Bookstore.

Nowadays, bookstores are selling open shelves, and the series of books are placed in the most conspicuous place in the bookstore, and readers can buy them at will.

Lin Weimin stood aside and observed it for half an hour. There were many readers who bought it, and he nodded with relief.

For editors, seeing the results of their hard work recognized by readers is a sense of accomplishment no less than that felt by writers.

At work on Saturday, Lin Weimin received a letter.

It was from the writer Cheng Jiangong. Lin Weimin and Cheng Jiangong were strangers and had never exchanged letters. He didn't know why he was writing to him. With some doubts, he opened the letter.

Cheng Jiangong explained the reason for his letter in the letter.

This year Cheng Jiangong was invited to visit the United States. He took advantage of the opportunity of transit and stayed in Xiangjiang for a few days, where he met Pan Yaoming, the person in charge of Sanlian Bookstore.

During a tea chat, Pan Yaoming asked him if he could contact several mainland writers on his behalf after returning to the mainland.

Pan Yaoming hopes to compile a collection of works by several writers and introduce them to Bay Island for publication.

Cheng Jiangong readily agreed, and several of the writers Pan Yaoming asked him to contact were acquaintances of Lin Weimin. Huang Anyi, Liu Xinwu, Mo Yan, Shi Tiesheng... a total of ten writers were all emerging young and middle-aged writers who had emerged in recent years.

After reading the letter, Lin Weimin pondered for a moment, and then prepared to call Cheng Jiangong. He made two calls and waited for half an hour before receiving a call back from Cheng Jiangong.

"Yes. The so-called 'JY' has not yet been lifted by the Bay Island. Works introduced to the mainland have certain risks for the publishing house. I was worried at the beginning.

However, Brother Yao Ming and I talked about the current situation in the cultural circles of Hong Kong and Bay Island. With the opening up of the country, there is now a "mainland fever" in both Hong Kong and Bay Island. Publishing the works of our new mainland writers just meets the expectations of Bay Island readers.

Brother Weimin, I stayed in Xiangjiang for a few days and met several friends from the cultural circles in Xiangjiang. Everyone mentioned you to me many times and spoke very highly of your works.

"Sing Tao Evening News" serialized "Lover" and "Farewell My Concubine", which brought you quite a lot of readers. This time, "Xiangjiang Literature" published "You have something to say", and I bought an issue before I left.

…”

Cheng Jiangong explained the ins and outs of the whole thing to Lin Weimin on the phone, and he was so complimentary that Lin Weimin was too embarrassed to refuse.

Besides, publishing your work is always a good thing, as long as you pay the royalties.

"It's just that most of my works are long-form..."

"You don't need to worry about this. The person behind this issue is Lindbergh Publishing House. They plan to complete the publication in ten volumes."

After some discussions, Lin Weimin verbally agreed to the matter, but because Cheng Jiangong was just a middleman, continued communication was inevitable.

It is not easy for mainland writers to publish their works on the Bay Island these days.

After communicating the matter, Lin Weimin hung up the phone.

In the afternoon, Haiyan went to the office and asked for advice on script creation. Lin Weimin talked with him for more than two hours until get off work.

After get off work, Lin Weimin got in his car and went straight to Muxidi.

Arriving downstairs at Mr. Wan's house, Lin Weimin got out of the car and was about to go upstairs when he heard a male duck's voice.

"Ouch, Teacher Lin!"

Lin Weimin turned around and saw Feng Xiaogang, whom he had met a few months ago.

The two shook hands, and Lin Weimin couldn't help but ask, "Why are you here?"

"I'm here to give you something."

Lin Weimin glanced at Muxidi Building 1 and Building 2. Can you deliver something here?

Feng Xiaogang's ears were red from the cold and his nose was running, and he looked at Lin Weimin eagerly.

"It's such a cold day. Go back as soon as you're done. Don't catch a cold." Lin Weimin said.

"It's okay, I'm a thick-skinned person." Feng Xiaogang said nonchalantly. He hesitated and said: "What a coincidence, I can meet you here. It's better to meet by chance than to invite me. How about I treat you to a meal?" Let’s have a meal.”

Lin Weimin laughed. How could he not understand Feng Xiaogang's little thoughts?

"You don't have to eat."

He raised his hand and looked at his watch and said, "Well, I have something to do at the moment. You can come to my work to find me tomorrow morning. If you have anything, we'll talk about it then."

Feng Xiaogang was overjoyed when he heard this and hurriedly agreed: "Hey, okay, okay, no problem, then I will go find you early tomorrow morning!"

"Okay, let's do this first."

After Lin Weimin finished speaking, he waved to him and entered Building 1 of Muxidi.

Feng Xiaogang looked at Lin Weimin's back as he entered the building, and looked upstairs unconsciously, feeling an indescribable emotion spreading in his heart.

This is the "Shangshu Building". When you go in and out, it's just like your own home.

It was still summer when Feng Xiaogang and Lin Weimin first met, and soon after that, he was assigned to the urban construction company.

Yanjing Urban Construction is a good unit no matter whether it is now or in future generations.

But it was not a good place for Feng Xiaogang. He joined the company and was assigned to work as a labor union worker. He had no education, no major, and no background. He felt that his future was bleak.

After living like this for more than two months, Feng Xiaogang couldn't bear it any longer. He didn't want to be just a handyman for the rest of his life.

When he thought about the people around him, the first person that came to mind was Lin Weimin.

When Feng Xiaogang was in the army, he was an art soldier and worked in art design. If you want to change careers, you must do something involving literature and art.

He thought about Lin Weimin, the teacher he met in the summer, who was a number one figure in the literary and art circles.

A close disciple of Mr. Wan, he is a screenwriter for Renyi and the deputy editor-in-chief of "Contemporary". The TV series adapted from his works have become popular all over the country. He also wrote sketch scripts for the Spring Festival Gala.

As long as I can establish a relationship with Teacher Lin and arrange a literary and art-related job for myself, isn't it a piece of cake?

After targeting Lin Weimin, Feng Xiaogang thought about how to build this relationship.

He knew that Lin Weimin worked at "Contemporary", and the easiest way was to come directly to him, but that was too blunt. Feng Xiaogang had a delicate heart and never wanted to do such a thing.

His family lives in Sanlihe District 3, across the road from Muxidi Building 1, which is known as the "Shangshu Building" among the people of Yanjing.

Feng Xiaogang knew that Mr. Wan lived in Shangshu Building, so he decided to go there.

Teacher Lin is a student of Mr. Wan, so he has to visit him at home.

So during these days, as soon as Feng Xiaogang got off work, he would run to the east gate of Muxidi and find a building to hide in, rain or shine.

He had seen Teacher Lin's car before. There weren't many running around in Yanjing City, so he just kept an eye on the car.

He didn't wait much every day, just two hours after get off work. He figured that Teacher Lin would only come to visit Mr. Wan at this time.

Feng Xiaogang also knew that his strategy of sitting back and waiting was actually not much better than going to the door directly to find someone, but it was better to have the right time and place.

His home is close to Shangshu Tower, which is a good location. It's the twelfth lunar month of winter and it's freezing cold. He's waiting here like this. If he really waits, even if Teacher Lin guesses his purpose, at least he won't feel any ill feelings because of his sincerity, and he's very likely to win. A sympathy point.

As long as we can talk to each other, everything will be easy.

Poor God, after waiting for half a month, he was really asked to wait for Teacher Lin.

Feng Xiaogang's heart dropped when he heard Teacher Lin say "There's no need to eat" during the conversation just now. Fortunately, Teacher Lin gave him face.

Feng Xiaogang was full of gratitude to Teacher Lin at that time. After refusing to eat, he said that they would meet the next day, which proved that Teacher Lin must have seen his thoughts at a glance, but he was still willing to give him a chance.

Feng Xiaogang looked away from the lights upstairs, his heart was filled with excitement, and he was looking forward to the meeting tomorrow.

Lin Weimin hadn't been to Mr. Wan's house for a long time. After dinner, he and Mr. Wan sat on the sofa and chatted.

Lin Weimin took the initiative to talk to Mr. Wan about the novel he was writing. Hearing that his novel had a historical theme, Mr. Wan was a little surprised.

"Why do you think of writing this kind of novel? This is not your area of ​​expertise, is it?"

"Just give it a try. If it's not good, it won't be published."

Mr. Wan sighed: "You are right to think so. While you are young, you should broaden your ideas and limits. You cannot always stick to the rules and only write about what you are good at."

While chatting, Mr. Wan took the initiative to mention the performance of "The Intouchables" in the United States. Lin Weimin had previously talked about the performance when he came, and Mr. Wan was concerned about the follow-up.

"There hasn't been any movement yet, so I don't bother to ask. I'll let you know when I get the news."

Mr. Wan nodded and said: "It's rare for a work to be well received in the United States. If you have a chance, it would be good for you to go out for a walk."

"Let's see what kind of invitation it is. If it's an invitation from a publishing house or operating company, of course you can go. But if it's like those invitations now..."

Lin Weimin frowned when he spoke.

In the 1980s, Chinese writers went global. For example, Cheng Jiangong, who had corresponded with him before, was invited to visit the United States.

Have any readers in the United States read their works? You have never been published or published before. Why are you invited? Don’t you have any idea?

It's just official exchanges. Many of the invitations this year are from non-profit institutions and organizations, which is a big statement.

He would not be harsh on those colleagues who were gladly invited to go. After all, it had just opened up, and the general direction of the publicity was still very friendly to Western countries. Who wouldn't want to go out and see the colorful world outside!

If they miss this opportunity, many people may never get out.