1980 My literary era

Returning to Yanjing after a few months, Lin Weimin felt a long-lost sense of intimacy.

But after getting off the plane, there was an unusual smell in the air.

Customs officers inspected passengers who got off the plane extremely carefully. When Lin Weimin arrived, he received the same treatment as when he returned to China last time. He brought hundreds of books back from abroad, and the staff inspected them even more carefully than last time. .

It took a long time to get out of the airport and return home. After a day of jet lag, Lin Weimin returned to work at the Chinese Literature Society.

Early in the morning, the black Mercedes-Benz that had disappeared for several months reappeared in the Chinese Language and Literature Academy, immediately attracting the attention of colleagues who were about to go to work.

When everyone saw Lin Weimin getting out of the car, they did not gather around him as enthusiastically as before, waving or nodding to say hello. They entered the building without even saying a word.

Lin Weimin came to Cheng Wuchun's office, and he had just arrived.

Seeing Lin Weimin, Cheng Zaochun smiled all over his face, "You're back, I thought you were going to stay in the United States!"

"No way!" Lin Weimin laughed.

Cheng Wuchun's worries were not groundless. The violent storms in the past few months have made the whole country uneasy. One employee of the Chinese Literature Society chose to "visit relatives abroad."

Cheng Wuchun asked about some of Lin Weimin's experiences abroad, chatting and laughing, and the atmosphere was harmonious. But when he talked about the past few months in China, he couldn't help but sigh.

"What a troubled time!"

Lin Weimin could see that it was not easy for Lao Cheng to be the president. It had only been a few months and gray hair was sprouting out.

Cheng Wuchun suddenly stared at Lin Weimin for a long time. After seeing Lin Weimin's heart trembled, he asked: "You guys didn't expect it, so you ran away in advance, right?"

Lin Weimin laughed and said, "Leader, this is just feudal superstition. We are all cadres, how can we believe in such things?"

"I didn't say that your boy can tell fortunes, but you want to interrupt me, don't you?"

"What do you mean I'm interrupting? I'm trying to correct your wrong thinking!"

Lin Weimin was an expert in the art of crooked buildings. He took the topic off track in just a few words, and Cheng Wuchun also forgot about it.

After chatting for a long time, Lin Weimin was ready to return to the editorial office.

Cheng Wanchun said: "By the way, the article "Golden Age" that you were going to publish in April was blocked by me."

Lin Weimin looked at Cheng Wanchun. Just as he was about to speak, Cheng Wanchun blocked his words, "Don't mess around with me. I'm taking care of the overall situation."

"I want to say that you are a wise leader!"

Cheng Wuchun naturally wouldn't believe Lin Weimin's nonsense, so this kid was not sure how to scold him.

Lin Weimin didn't know Cheng Wanchun's evil heart, otherwise he would have spit a mouthful of thick phlegm into his face and scolded him for looking down on others.

Returning to the back building, as soon as he walked up to the second floor, Lin Weimin saw Tong Zhonggui looking at the entrance of the editorial department. When he saw him, Tong Zhonggui burst into a bright smile and waved to Lin Weimin, "Teacher Lin!"

Hearing his movements, his colleagues in the editorial department also popped their heads, and even people in the next office poked their heads in.

After not seeing each other for several months, it was natural to feel cordial when we met unexpectedly.

Lin Weimin opened the bag and gave everyone the small gifts he brought back from the United States. They cost ten to eight yuan, which made everyone very happy.

Lin Weimin had just returned from abroad, so naturally he was invited to chat with everyone about his experiences and knowledge abroad. Everyone could not find a better reason to fish.

The whole morning passed like this. When he was about to have lunch, Tong Zhonggui remembered and said to Lin Weimin: "Teacher Lin, Wang Xiaobo's "Golden Age" was not published."

Lin Weimin said: "The leader has told me about this. In special times, there is nothing we can do. You can call Xiaobo later and let him come over when he has time. I will talk to him about publishing the novel. "

"good!"

Tong Zhonggui made a phone call at noon. Wang Xiaobo came to the editorial office at around one o'clock in the afternoon. Today was a working day. Needless to say, he must have left early. He seemed very anxious.

Because of the ups and downs outside, the editorial department temporarily withdrew his manuscript. Wang Xiaobo was very anxious. Unfortunately, Lin Weimin went abroad again at this time. He couldn't even find a leader who he could talk to. Tong Zhonggui and other editors The editor of the department comforted him for a long time before he let go of his worries.

Several months later, Wang Xiaobo received a call from Tong Zhonggui, saying that Teacher Lin was back and wanted to talk to him about publishing the novel. Wang Xiaobo was so excited that he didn’t even attend class and ran directly to the Chinese Literature Society. .

"Have you been anxious for the past few months?" Lin Weimin poured Wang Xiaobo a cup of tea and asked with a smile.

Wang Xiaobo smiled shyly and said truthfully: "I'm a little anxious. No one expected such a change."

On the way here, Wang Xiaobo was thinking about the purpose of Lin Weimin calling him here. According to what the editorial department told him before, the content of "The Golden Age" is too big. Now that the wind is so strong outside, the Chinese Literature Society does not dare to publish it casually. At least We have to wait until the storm passes.

Under this situation, Wang Xiaobo had to wonder why Lin Weimin called him here.

"I'm afraid your novel won't be published in a short time!"

Lin Weimin's words made Wang Xiaobo's heart skip a beat. Was he calling himself here just to tell him the bad news?

"Teacher Lin, do you have a specific time?"

Lin Weimin thought for a while and said: "It will definitely not work this year. Let's see next year!"

Hearing this, Wang Xiaobo couldn't help but show disappointment on his face. There is no chance this year. It depends on the situation next year. I really don't know when we will have to wait.

Hearing that there was no hope that the work would be published in a short period of time, Wang Xiaobo was in a daze and did not even hear what Lin Weimin said.

"What did you say?" Wang Xiaobo heard Lin Weimin say something in a trance, and he couldn't help but ask again.

"I said, I plan to help you contact a publication in Xiangjiang to publish it first."

Wang Xiaobo's face was full of surprise and he didn't react for a while. After a while, he asked: "Go to Xiangjiang to publish?"

Lin Weimin nodded, "That's right. Your novel is very good, and we don't know when it will be published. I have some friendship with Mr. Liu Yichang of "Xiangjiang Literature", and we have recommended some of our novels in recent years. The works on the other side go to him.”

Wang Xiaobo's face finally showed joy, "Thank you so much, Teacher Lin!"

"It's just a recommendation, the manuscript may not be usable."

Lin Weimin said so, but ever since he recommended Mo Yan's "The Red Sorghum Family" to Liu Yichang, the works he recommended have never been rejected by "Xiangjiang Literature" in the past few years.

"Thank you no matter what, just give me a chance to publish." Wang Xiaobo said gratefully.

Due to circumstances, his novel could not be published, and it had nothing to do with the editorial department.

Teacher Lin offered to recommend his novel to be published in Xiangjiang, which was a huge favor to him.

After talking about the publication of "Golden Age", Wang Xiaobo left the editorial office with gratitude and happiness. Lin Weimin took the time to call Liu Yichang and explained to him the situation of "Golden Age".

In the past few years, "Hong Kong Literature" has published many works by mainland writers, many of which were introduced by Lin Weimin. Liu Yichang trusted Lin Weimin's recommendation very much.

After the two communicated, Lin Weimin sent a copy of the manuscript of "The Golden Age" to Xiangjiang the next day.

The work content of the editorial department is relatively fixed. Although Lin Weimin has been away for such a long time, everyone's work has been carried out in an orderly manner. It is just that the decision-maker has changed.

Lin Weimin spent two days looking through the publications of the last few months. The works in the publications in April and May were basically the ones he was responsible for the final review of, and they looked familiar.

However, in June and July, there were some parts that Lin Weimin had not seen.

Taken together, the quality of the manuscripts produced in the past few months remains as good as ever.

There is just one problem. "Contemporary" has not published any heavyweight works for several months. The works published in recent months have not aroused any strong response so far.

After looking at the quality of the manuscripts in recent months, Lin Weimin looked through the existing manuscripts in the editorial department, and then held a meeting with his colleagues.

The purpose of the meeting is only one, which is to compile a manuscript.

"Contemporary" now has a stable sales volume of more than 1.5 million copies per issue. It is the well-deserved "big brother" in the field of domestic pure literature. Even "Harvest" cannot come close to it.

The editorial department receives hundreds of submission letters from all over the country every day, plus so many writers who have published their works in "Contemporary", as well as writers who have been discovered and cultivated by "Contemporary", "Contemporary" I have never worried about the source of my manuscript.

But just because you don’t have to worry about manuscripts doesn’t mean that editors don’t have to compile manuscripts.

Although the quality of the journal has not dropped significantly in recent issues, the lack of influential works is an indisputable fact. At this time, everyone needs to show their subjective initiative and see if they can assemble some high-quality manuscripts to boost the journal. Recent impacts.

Lin Weimin's face was calm and his tone was calm and composed. After telling everyone his thoughts, everyone spoke one after another about the recent creations of the authors they were responsible for.

When it was Tong Zhonggui's turn, he mentioned Alai.

"Teacher Lin, Alai told me a while ago that he was almost finished writing his novel, and I asked him to mail the manuscript over. He was worried and said that he wanted to send it to Yanjing himself. He estimated that he would be able to reach Yanjing in the next few days. .”

Lin Weimin's expression was a little excited, "Have you finished Alai's novel? His efficiency is quite high!"

When Teacher Lin praises others for their high efficiency, everyone just listens. No matter how fast they are, they are still not as fast as Teacher Lin.

The day after Tong Zhonggui mentioned Alai, Alai came to the editorial office carrying a luggage bag.

"I really mean Cao Cao. Cao Cao is here. Xiao Tong just mentioned you yesterday and you came!" Lin Weimin was very happy to see Alai.

Alai arrived at Yanjing after a long journey. As soon as he sat down and drank some water, he hurriedly took out the manuscript. He came to Yanjing this time to deliver the manuscript.