Back to 80: My Literary Life

"I'm in a bad mood. Come and sit here."

For Fang Minghua, Lu Yao didn't have to pretend to speak, he just spoke his heart directly.

Fang Minghua let him in, poured him another cup of steaming tea, and asked tentatively: "What about your novel?"

"Yes! Look, am I really bad at writing?!" After speaking, Lu Yao took out a large pile of manuscripts from his briefcase.

Fang Minghua didn't answer immediately, so he took it and took a look.

Hey, why isn't it "The Ordinary World"? Why is it called "The Path of Ordinary People"?

But when he opened the first page, a familiar line of text caught Fang Minghua’s eyes:

In February or March of 1975, on an ordinary day, the fine rain mixed with a few snowflakes was falling to the earth.

There is no doubt that it is "The Ordinary World", but it's not called that yet.

"Minghua, I'll put the manuscript here for you first. You can read it slowly and give me some suggestions! Maybe I really don't know the true face of Mount Lu, just because I'm in this mountain. I'll pick it up in two days!"

After speaking, Lu Yao took another sip of hot tea and said, "I'm leaving first to buy some things. I still have to spend this year."

After sending Lu Yao off, Fang Minghua was not in a hurry to go home. Instead, he sat in the office and looked carefully.

He had read the novel "The Ordinary World" several times before he came to this era, and also watched the TV series, but now that he saw this familiar text, he was still a little moved in his heart.

But it is undeniable that even though Lu Yao later won the Mao Dun Award for this book, the book was not highly regarded in the history of literature. The literary world and the majority of readers treated this book with a mixture of ice and fire.

The original Fang Minghua never quite understood this problem. After coming to this era and personally experiencing many things in the literary world of this era, he slowly understood it.

In terms of literature and writing skills alone, "The Ordinary World" is not outstanding, but its social significance is very profound and has influenced several generations.

So it's a good work.

Fang Minghua was not in a hurry to go to Lu Yao's house. Two days later, it was already the 20th of the twelfth lunar month. After dinner in the evening, Fang Minghua rode his bicycle in the cold wind and rushed to Lu Yao's house.

In addition to bringing back the manuscript of Lu Yao's novel, Fang Minghua also bought a bag of fruit candies, a box of biscuits and a bucket of malted milk.

The Chinese New Year is coming soon, so of course you can’t go in empty-handed and wish you a happy New Year.

Lu Yao's home was not far from the Writers' Association. He lived in a building above his family members. Fang Minghua knocked on the door and went in. All three of his family were there.

"Minghua? Come in and warm yourself by the fire. It's cold outside." Linda greeted warmly, and then shouted to the back room: "Lu Yao, Minghua is here."

Within two minutes, Lu Yao was seen coming out of the back room holding a cigarette.

"Where is Xiaoyuan?" Fang Minghua asked.

"Do your winter vacation homework inside. If you don't finish it before the New Year, you won't have time during the New Year."

Fang Minghua put the gifts on the table and chatted with Lu Yao around the stove.

"Minghua, have you read my book? Please give me your opinion." Lu Yao knew that Fang Minghua must be here for this.

"I've read it." Fang Minghua handed the manuscript to the other party.

"Brother Lu, let me be blunt. First, the title of your book is not good. It is not very attractive. How about changing it to "The Ordinary World"?"

""The Ordinary World"?" Lu Yao thought about it over and over before saying, "Okay! This name is good, let's change it to this name!"

"Also, as far as the writing technique of your novel is concerned, it is indeed not the avant-garde writing technique that is popular in the literary world now."

Lu Yao smiled bitterly after hearing this and said, "So, it seems outdated?"

Fang Minghua did not answer directly, but said: "Remember last year, when I lectured on "Contemporary Avant-garde Literary Thoughts and Future Prospects" at Xijing Literary College, did you come to talk to me later? At that time, I was confused."

"Yes, I said that the purpose of my writing is not to show off my skills, but to write some works that ordinary readers will like." Lu Yao replied: "But now, if I can't publish it, what else can I talk about to make readers like it?! "

Immediately afterwards, Lu Yao told Fang Minghua about his contacts with various magazines and publishing houses in the past month.

"I originally planned to write the second part after the Chinese New Year, but the first part is so cowardly. How dare I write the second part?" Lu Yao was very distressed.

According to Lu Yao's plan, there are three novels in total, with a length of more than one million words.

Fang Minghua listened, thought for a moment, and said, "Brother Lu, I can contact a publishing house to publish it!"

"Which one?" Lu Yao perked up after hearing this.

"This is our Shengshi Book Publishing Company in Xijing. You also know the manager is my best friend Zhao Hongjun."

"His?"

Lu Yao didn't answer immediately.

Of course he knew about Shengshi Books. He heard that they bought the ISBNs of some publishers to publish martial arts novels.

To put it bluntly, he is not at all popular in the publishing world.

Lu Yao felt that the price of his own writing was somewhat reduced when it was handed over to such a publishing house.

Seeing Lu Yao's behavior, Fang Minghua continued: "Brother Lu, you probably know that Shengshi Books mainly buys the publisher's ISBN, so ordinary readers only see the words XXX Publishing House on the book. What's going on inside? ?I can ask him to find some more famous publishing houses."

"In addition, and more importantly, what Shengshi Books gives you is not royalties in the traditional sense, but royalties, just like foreign countries! How about 10%?"

Royalties? !

Lu Yao was immediately attracted by these two words.

He knew that Fang Minghua had made a lot of money from writing in recent years, while the incomes of Jia Pingwa, Chen Zhongshi and himself could not compare with others. One fundamental reason was:

Many of Fang Minghua's works were published in Hong Kong or abroad, and he earned royalties!

Therefore, when I heard Fang Minghua say that Shengshi Books could suddenly give him royalties, I immediately felt a little excited.

Linda, who was sitting nearby and listening to the conversation between the two of them, suddenly said: "Minghua, let me interrupt, the royalties you mentioned are indeed very attractive, but the problem is that if Lu Yao's book is published, no one will What should I do if I buy it? No one is watching or buying, so how can I get any royalties?!"

His wife's words suddenly calmed down Lu Yao's mind.

Yeah, what if no one is watching?

In the past, he didn't believe that no one read what he wrote, but after this time, so many people rejected it, and he thought of this harsh result.

Fang Minghua calmly said: "Sister-in-law, I think everyone will rush to read Brother Lu's book in the future! But it will take time. Let's do this, Brother Lu, I will give you royalties. At the same time, I will settle the payment with royalties first, and then follow the Your usual 20 per thousand words. If the royalties are higher than the manuscript fee after publication in the future, then the manuscript fee will be deducted according to the royalty settlement."

"If by any chance the publishing situation is not optimistic, how about calculating it based on the royalties?"

Isn't this a good harvest due to drought or flood?

Lu Yao and his wife looked at each other.

But Lu Yao soon discovered this problem: "Minghua, your method is good, but will your friends agree?"

Fang Minghua smiled slightly after hearing this: "Don't worry, Zhao Hongjun is not only my best friend, this company is also a joint venture between us."