1980 My literary era

Just after the Spring Festival of 1988, a piece of sensational news spread in the small county of Ruian.

Lin Weimin, a great writer who is famous all over the country and is famous all over the world, became the son-in-law of Ruian. He came to Ruian for the New Year and even the county magistrate personally visited him.

In just two days, the news spread throughout the county and quickly spread to surrounding counties and cities.

On the fifth day of the first lunar month, after receiving the news, the leaders of the WZ City Literary and Art Association traveled hundreds of kilometers and inquired all the way to Tao Huimin's house, but in vain.

After asking around, I found out that they left yesterday.

It was just one day before I met Lin Weimin, which made the leaders of the Municipal Cultural Association regretful and slapped their thighs.

Wenzhou's local cultural context is weak, and even a great writer who finally arrived has not been retained.

"Uncle, auntie!" The leader regretted for a moment and then turned his attention to Tao's father and Tao's mother.

"Your tutor has given birth to a good daughter. She is the pride of us Wenzhou people!"

Tao's father and Tao's mother were flattered. This educated man sounded nice, but the title was a bit inappropriate. We were all of the same generation.

The leader Rainbow patted her for a long time and then asked: "I wonder when Teacher Tao and Teacher Lin will come back next time?"

Tao's mother said: "They are too busy at work. It takes four or five days to go back and forth. They can only come back once during the New Year."

The leader's heart was full of regrets, as he had missed this for a year. "Then we will visit you again when we have the next opportunity! If you call later, please remember to mention it to Teacher Lin."

The leader said goodbye politely and left. Tao's father and Tao's mother looked at the gifts left behind and didn't know what to do.

At this time, another curious neighbor came to the door, "Old Tao, whose leader is this?"

"It's from the WZ City Cultural Association."

"From the Literary and Art Association? No wonder, your future son-in-law is a great writer, and he is the counterpart of the Literary and Art Association, so they have to fawn over him!"

Father Tao and Mother Tao shook their heads helplessly. In the past few days since their daughter came back with Lin Weimin, there has been no peace at home.

After chatting with the neighbors for a while, Tao's mother put away the gifts sent by the Literary and Art Association.

"You think about giving Huimin and the others a call when they get there and asking them what to do with this thing," Tao's father warned.

"knew."

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, Lin Weimin and Tao Huimin returned to Yanjing and called home to report that they were safe. They also heard that the WZ City Literary and Art Association had sent a gift, so Lin Weimin asked Tao's mother to accept it with peace of mind.

After a night's rest, Tao Huimin resumed filming. She has a lot of outdoor scenes this year and may have to run outside for most of the year.

Lin Weimin's three-month suspension and reflection time is coming soon. Teacher Lin feels extremely melancholy these days. The good times are always so short.

But before going to work, Lin Weimin got good news.

Just last month, "The Phantom of the Opera" officially landed on Broadway at the King's Theatre.

"Phantom of the Opera" premiered in London's West End in September 1986. In the past year and a half, it has received love and praise from countless musical theater audiences. To sum up the development momentum of "Phantom of the Opera" over the past year and more, I can only use one sentence Words to describe.

Encore, encore, encore!

The 1980s was the golden period of London's West End. Although it couldn't compare with the heyday of Broadway, countless audiences still flocked here.

The investment in "The Phantom of the Opera" was huge. In order to restore the setting of the Paris Opera House, the crew spent huge sums of money to create a gorgeous, exquisite and complicated stage and interior.

The more than 200 sets of clothes worn by the actors were all hand-sewn, and even the lamps used in the lighting were specially customized.

All the efforts were worth it. During the ten months of performance, "Phantom of the Opera" performed a total of 516 performances, breaking the record of the fastest performance in London's West End to exceed 500 performances.

At the same time, the performance also achieved brilliant results at the box office. The highest box office for a single performance reached 260,000 US dollars. This record is unbreakable in the West End of London, even the previous classic musicals "Evita" and "Evita", also directed by Andrew. "Cats" can't be shaken either.

Now the only advantage these two equally classic musicals have over "Phantom of the Opera" is probably their total box office records. These two movies have been in theaters for many years, and their cumulative box office has already reached hundreds of millions.

However, it is only a matter of time before the cumulative box office is exceeded. In one and a half years, the cumulative box office of "Phantom of the Opera" has successfully exceeded 100 million, which is three months faster than the original "Evita" and "Cats".

The great success of "Phantom of the Opera" in London's West End gave Andrew and Cameron confidence. Six months ago, the two decided to move "Phantom of the Opera" to the Broadway stage.

Although the stage revival of "Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway still requires a lot of investment, even more expensive than the investment in London's West End, both of them believe that it is worth it, and the profits of "Phantom of the Opera" are enough to support them ambition.

Facts have proved that the two people's decision was right. On January 26, 1988, "Phantom of the Opera" officially premiered at the King's Theater on Broadway. This theater has more than 1,600 seats and is one of the largest theaters on Broadway.

In order to replicate the success of the show in London's West End, the crew of "Phantom of the Opera" negotiated with the King's Theater to renovate the theater. In addition to stage decoration and other expenses, the investment was even higher than when "Phantom of the Opera" was originally invested.

Of course, the results were worthy of such a huge investment. The premiere was an unprecedented success, subsequent performances were sold out, and tickets were hard to come by. The box office of a single performance broke records one after another. All of this made Andrew and Cameron ecstatic. .

Andrew specially sent Lin Weimin a lot of performance materials and reports of "Phantom of the Opera" this time to share the joy together.

In the letter, Andrew also mentioned the Tony Award. "The Phantom of the Opera" is on Broadway, and they are determined to win the Tony Award this year.

The only regret is that due to nationality, I may not be able to sweep the three drama awards.

Among the three major theater awards in the United States, only the Tony Award has no requirements for the nationality of the creator. The remaining Pulitzer and New York Drama Critics require that the creator must be of American nationality.

Lin Weimin was equally happy after reading what Andrew sent.

For more than a year, he has successively received a share of the box office of "Phantom of the Opera" in London's West End, totaling more than 18 million US dollars.

Now that "Phantom of the Opera" is being staged simultaneously in the United Kingdom and the United States, its future box office potential is limitless, and Mr. Lin is just making money.

In a good mood after the Broadway performance of "Phantom of the Opera", Lin Weimin returned to work at the Chinese Literature Society after three months of absence.

"Comrades, I miss you so much!"

Teacher Lin's enthusiasm was met with a perfunctory response. This guy has been so cool for three months, and he has been working so hard that it's strange that he has a good temper.

"Teacher Lin, you are finally back!" Tong Zhonggui looked delighted.

Lin Weimin nodded happily, still being sensible and leading him hand in hand.

After saying hello to his colleagues in the editorial department, Lin Weimin ran to the president's office to report.

Cheng Wuchun reminded: "When you come back this time, work with peace of mind and don't make trouble all day long!"

Just as Lin Weimin was about to speak, he was interrupted, "I know what you are going to say, don't make excuses, don't talk nonsense, just work honestly!"

Lin Weimin said helplessly: "Leaders, you can't block the people's way of speech!"

Cheng Wuchun asked: "Are you considered a member of the public?"

Lin Weimin opened his mouth but said no more.

After a year, the level of leadership has improved again.

Just after returning to work, Lin Weimin lazily fished for a day, a bit like an old salted fish.

When he got off work, he went to the editorial office to greet him for an evening dinner. The office suddenly burst into cheers, and Director Lin's authority returned again.

The old place, Donglaishun.

The smell of meat is overflowing and people are noisy.

The Chinese New Year has just passed, and there are not a few people going out to restaurants to party.

In the past three months, Lin Weimin has hardly appeared in the Chinese Literature Society, but the work of the "Contemporary" editorial department is proceeding in an orderly manner.

If this happened in future generations, if the boss found out that it was the same without him, he would have fired it long ago.

It's still the public rice bowl that holds the incense, Lin Weimin sighed in his heart.

At this time, I heard several colleagues talking about the recent prices, and everyone was complaining.

I had just received bonuses two years ago, and I thought I would have a good year, but just after the New Year, rumors spread all over the place, saying that prices would be completely liberalized.

Before the official refuted the rumors, the prices of many daily necessities have already skyrocketed.

Throughout the decade of the 1980s, prices have changed every year, and from time to time there will be a wave of panic buying.

In 1983, the state decided to reduce the price of chemical fiber fabrics and appropriately increase the price of cotton textiles.

On the day the notice was delivered, long lines formed in front of cotton textile counters in department stores across the country. Counters such as towels and children's clothing were also crowded with customers, who queued up late into the night to buy.

Also in this year, the Ministry of Commerce issued a notice at the end of the year, temporarily exempting cloth stamps and wadding stamps nationwide, and opening up the supply of cotton cloth and wadding. Out of concern, large-scale panic buying of textiles occurred again in the country.

In recent years, everything from daily necessities to furniture and home appliances has been snapped up.

In the final analysis, it is nothing more than the perennial shortage of supplies and the sharp rise in prices that make people feel insecure, which leads to waves of panic buying.

It’s already 1988, and the biggest wave of panic buying in the history of reform and opening up will happen this year.

Lin Weimin is well aware of the historical development trajectory, but he is helpless. This is the pain of national development.

A few days after this dinner, news came from Shanghai.

Since March 1, Shanghai has adjusted the retail prices of 280 commodities. Most of these commodities are small commodities or daily necessities, and the price increases have been between 20% and 30%.

As soon as the news came out, it aroused heated discussion among the people of Yanjing City. The skyrocketing price of goods has directly affected the living standards of ordinary people. There is no news that attracts more attention to ordinary people than this.

Shanghai is an important economic center in China and one of the vanguards of reform.

Although it does not say "price breakthrough" on the surface, it has been verified by actual actions.

This year, life has been difficult for ordinary people!