Reborn in 1977

Chapter 558 Stirring the Waters

"We want to buy books! We want to buy books!…"

The people in line behind, hearing that the books were sold out, didn't need anyone to tell them what to do. They all waved their fists and shouted, "We want to buy books! We want to buy books!…"

Chen Fan squeezed his way to the front, and He Qingsheng followed behind. Before long, they were out of the crowd. Chen Fan looked back, his eyes full of surprise. "Wow, they're all still in line, not a bit of chaos?"

Shouldn't they be rushing forward all at once?

He Qingsheng, acting like someone who had been through it all, took out a cigarette, offered one to Chen Fan, and said, "It's obvious you've never stood in line to buy a new book before. It's common to line up to buy books whenever a new one comes out, and there are always people who can't get one. So, for people who buy books often, they're used to this kind of thing.

Look at them, the line is orderly, the slogans are loud. They're all waiting for the bookstore staff to handle it. You can't cause trouble at a time like this. If anyone dares to make a scene, the police station is right next door. One phone call, and the police will be there in minutes, making sure the troublemakers regret it."

He lit the cigarette with a match, exhaled a puff of smoke, his face radiant and full of vigor.

This was just one bookstore, and there were over eighty Xinhua bookstores in the entire province. From this small sample, one could see the whole picture. "Yunhu Love" was definitely a bestseller.

This time, the publishing house would make a net profit of 40,000 to 50,000 yuan. They could reprint it and print another 300,000 copies, which would be like the correspondence center recruiting over 10,000 more students. It was a windfall!

The key was that the cycle was shorter and the cost was lower.

Compared to the "old guys" who could only sell tens of thousands or even thousands of copies, this kid was indeed a lucky star of the Jiangnan cultural scene!

With so much money, how many things could they do?!

Chen Fan didn't care about He Qingsheng's pride and complacency. He just listened with curiosity, "How does the bookstore usually handle it?"

He Qingsheng shrugged. "If they have stock, they transfer it. If they don't, they place a new order. They try to persuade those in line if they can. If there are few people, they don't bother. If there are many people, they issue a stamped number slip, so they can have priority when the new books arrive."

Chen Fan grinned. "That's pretty humane."

He Qingsheng took two quick puffs, threw the half-smoked cigarette on the ground and stomped it out, patted Chen Fan's arm, and said, "Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and go to the publishing house to reprint."

Chen Fan was pushed into the car by him, started the engine, and drove away, still wondering, "Why do I have to go? Can't you arrange the reprint?"

He Qingsheng sat comfortably in the passenger seat. "You have a car. Give me a ride."

Chen Fan, "...? Hey, I'm saying, is the Writers Association so rich that you can buy two cars?"

He Qingsheng, "Who doesn't want to buy a car? The problem is that it's hard to get approval. Factories come first, public institutions second. Our kind of unit looks like it has good benefits, but actually, we're at the bottom of the list, with no status."

Chen Fan, "That's so miserable? But it's okay, you don't need approval to buy a car from me. Sedans, vans, we have them all. Just say if you want one or not."

He Qingsheng, "You're that good? Then we can try to get two. But how much does it cost? We can't afford it if it's too expensive."

Chen Fan, "You're joking, Uncle He. We just got over two hundred thousand yuan, how can we not afford it? Don't worry, you'll definitely get a discount as one of us."

… …

Shanghai, a Xinhua bookstore near Jiaotong University.

An Quan received a piece of paper from the staff and squeezed out of the crowd, handing it to Yu Keying, "Here, this is all there is."

Yu Keying turned around and handed it to Jiang Lili without hesitation, smiling, "There's nothing we can do. Blame your man for being so capable. Hearing that his new book was released, hundreds of people from our school rushed over to line up, but we didn't expect this store to only have 300 copies. They were all snatched up as soon as it opened."

She handed the number slip forward. "Take it. When the next batch of books arrives, at least you'll be guaranteed priority."

Jiang Lili wasn't shy and took it with both hands. "Thank you, Sister Ying."

Yu Keying put her arm around her shoulder and said with a chuckle, "What are you thanking me for? It's just a small matter. Xiao Fan has helped us so much. We don't keep saying thank you."

An Quan nodded. "That's right."

Then he smacked his lips and said, "If you ask me, you didn't need to come here to buy it yourself. Just mention it to him when you write a letter, and he can't not send you a sample copy, right?"

Jiang Lili grinned. "It's different. This is his first novel published on its own. I want to buy a copy for my collection."

An Quan shuddered upon hearing this. "Ew, so cheesy."

Yu Keying slapped him on the back. "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

Then she put her arm around Jiang Lili and said softly, "I support you. It's his intention to send it, and it's your support to buy it. How can they be the same?"

Seeing Sister Ying supporting her, Jiang Lili grinned happily.

As the crowd dispersed, the three of them waved goodbye.

They all had a rare day off today and were going home to clean and tidy up.

Jiang Lili rode her bike back to the small courtyard on Panyu Road, took out her key to open the door, and pushed her bike into the courtyard. Half a Catty, who had been sitting on the back seat, had already darted into the courtyard, sniffed Two Taels, and turned around, hopping and skipping out of sight.

She didn't mind, but as soon as she turned her head, she saw a bicycle parked against the wall. Her eyes lit up, and she quickened her pace to enter the door. After locking the gate, she pushed her bike and walked quickly over. "Sister, is that you?"

Saying that, she parked her bike and pushed the door open to enter the house.

Inside the house, Jiang Tiantian was wearing work clothes, with sleeves on her arms, and a piece of blue cotton cloth wrapped around her head full of beautiful hair. She was holding a mop and mopping the floor vigorously.

Seeing her sister come in, she propped herself up with the mop, took a few breaths, and said with a smile, "I came back early in the morning and didn't see you. Did you go line up to buy a book?"

Jiang Lili changed into slippers, pouted, and walked over. "I didn't get it."

Before she finished speaking, she smiled again. "Sister, you didn't see it. Xiao Fan's book is so popular. So many people were lining up at the bookstore, and it sold out in less than ten minutes!"

Jiang Tiantian glared at her with a smile. "Yes, your Xiao Fan is the best. Look at how capable you are."

Jiang Lili wrinkled her nose embarrassedly, then pouted again. "I don't know what the bookstore was thinking. Which of Xiao Fan's works isn't popular? But they only got 300 copies, of course, it wasn't enough to sell."

Jiang Tiantian raised her hand to wipe her sweat and said with a smile, "You can't blame the bookstore for this. The main thing is that no one thought this book would be so popular."

After a pause, she explained, "Normally, when a writer publishes a new book, the first printing is usually around 5,000 copies, or even only 3,000 for some. Even well-known writers only print around 50,000 copies. Only great writers like Mr. Mao Dun and Mr. Ba Jin would print 100,000 or 200,000 copies. But do you know how many copies Xiao Fan's new book printed this time?"

Jiang Lili blinked and took her sister's arm. "How many?"

Jiang Tiantian held out two fingers. "200,000 copies!"

Jiang Lili's eyes widened at first, then after two seconds, her eyes turned into crescent moons again. "The publishing house really has an eye for talent!"

Jiang Tiantian looked at her helplessly and poked her forehead. "You're so thick-skinned."

Jiang Lili chuckled dryly, then her mind turned. "That's not right. Since they printed so many, how come the bookstore only has 300 copies?"

Jiang Tiantian smiled. "Think about it, how many bookstores are there in the country? And 200,000 copies, half of them will be sold in Jiangnan Province alone. I heard from the teachers in the editorial department that the distribution manager of Shanghai Xinhua Bookstore ordered 10,000 copies, but only 8,000 copies were sent. That's because the leaders of Wenhui Daily greeted their Chairman He, otherwise, there would only be 5,000 copies at most. So, the store you went to having 300 copies is already a lot."

Jiang Lili sighed quietly. "But I still couldn't buy it."

Jiang Tiantian looked at her and couldn't help but smile.

Jiang Lili looked at her. "What are you laughing at? Gloating?"

"Am I that bad?"

Jiang Tiantian glared at her and pointed to the tea cabinet not far away. "There, the book you wanted, I bought it for you. It's over there."

As soon as Jiang Lili heard this, she quickly turned around and ran over. Sure enough, there were two brand new books on the tea cabinet, which were the upper and lower volumes of "Yunhu Love."

She held the books and smiled from ear to ear, looking at them again and again. After a while, she finally came back to her senses, turned around, ran to her sister's side, and kissed her. "Sister, you're so good to me."

Jiang Tiantian shook her head and smiled. "Oh, now I'm so good. Just now, you were sulking and saying I was gloating."

Jiang Lili chuckled dryly, hugged the books in her arms, looked at her and asked, "Sister, did you go out early in the morning just to buy books?"

Jiang Tiantian smiled. "I went to buy books, but not at the Xinhua Bookstore. If you want to buy books in a bookstore, you have to line up in the middle of the night, otherwise, don't even think about getting in the front row."

It was naturally impossible to line up in the middle of the night. Before Chen Fan left, he repeatedly told them to pay extra attention to safety and absolutely not to go out at night. Even during the day when going to the streets, they should only walk on the main roads and not take remote paths, and try to go with someone else.

Although there aren't any serious public security problems yet, there are more and more "avant-garde" young people, and a visible "restlessness" is gradually emerging in society.

People have a kind of inertial thinking; those who conform are considered "good," while those who dress strangely and "don't follow the rules" are rejected and even feared.

For these two sisters, they belonged to the group that was feared.

Stemming from their experiences in those three or four years, they were both trying to act like quails and had developed a cautious personality. Even if Chen Fan hadn't told them to, they would never dare to go out at night in this unfamiliar city.

Even so, even when they went out during the day, they were used to bringing Tanuki with them to feel a little safer.

Jiang Tiantian continued, "I thought of this, so I asked the teachers in the editorial department for help, and they found acquaintances at the Xinhua Bookstore to buy them, and that's how I got two sets.

I didn't tell you in advance because the editor didn't give me a definite answer, so I simply waited until I bought the books and came back to tell you."

Under Mr. Ba Jin's arrangement, as long as she didn't have any classes, she would go to the editorial departments of Shanghai Literature and Wenhui Daily to study. Sometimes she would also participate on Sundays. Almost everyone in the editorial department was her teacher, so she would say 'editor teacher'.

After listening to her sister's explanation, Jiang Lili hugged her tightly, "Sister, I love you."

Jiang Tiantian poked her again, "You. You didn't learn anything else from Chen Fan, but you learned to be mushy."

Jiang Lili hugged her sister and giggled foolishly.

She wouldn't have dared to say such things before, not even to her family. Recently, hasn't she been writing letters to Chen Fan every week? She doesn't know why, but she dares to write anything in the letters that she wouldn't dare to say normally. She doesn't even think it's mushy.

It's just a pity that Chen Fan is too busy. Besides making a few phone calls and sending a few telegrams, he hasn't written her a letter yet. But it doesn't matter, as long as she keeps writing, he will eventually write a letter.

If it's not a handwritten letter, how can it be called a 'love letter'?!

She just doesn't know it herself. It's just that the transportation is too slow now. It takes at least a week to send something from Jiangnan. Otherwise, she should be able to receive someone's first love letter at this time, to see who is more mushy.

But it will be soon, just in the next few days.

Jiang Tiantian looked at her silly sister, shook her head with a smile, and suddenly thought of something, asking, "By the way, did you transcribe 'Yunhu Love'?"

Jiang Lili immediately shook her head, "No."

Then she explained, "'Yunhu Love' was written after he went to the provincial capital. At that time, we were both working in the prefectural committee and were busy reviewing, so we didn't have time to help him transcribe it. It seems that Xiaoju, Xiaoying, and Xiaodan transcribed this book together, and not even all of it, only the first half. Later, they went to school and couldn't finish copying it."

"Oh."

Jiang Tiantian nodded in realization, with a hint of regret in her eyes, "This is Chen Fan's first love novel, what a pity."

Jiang Lili smiled, "No, Chen Fan told me that the first love novel was 'Ferryman', and I transcribed that one."

Jiang Tiantian blinked, "'Ferryman'? Hmm, isn't that a sent-down youth novel?"

Before Jiang Lili could speak, she finally realized, "That's right, although the protagonists of the story are sent-down youths, and there aren't many direct descriptions of love in it, the core is about the protagonists meeting, knowing, and loving each other. It's indeed right to say it's a love novel."

She turned her face and smiled, "Then did Chen Fan tell you the story of Yunhu Love?"

Jiang Lili shook her head regretfully, "No. I never actively disturbed him when he was creating."

Then she looked at her sister curiously, "Haven't you read it yet?"

Jiang Tiantian raised the mop in her hand and said unhappily, "The book was just bought back, do you think I've read it?"

Jiang Lili immediately put down the book, ran back, picked up the mop in her sister's hand, "Let's do it together."

… …

He Qingsheng arranged for additional printing and drove Chen Fan back to the Writers Association. The first thing he said was, "Yunhu Love, have you done the homework I asked you to do?"

Chen Fan sat on the sofa, took the cigarette he threw over, and said seriously, "It's a matter of principle, of course I've done it."

It has to be said that none of the men in the Writers Association don't smoke, especially during creative meetings. The smoke is so thick that it can marinate people.

The women?

More than half of the women also smoke!

Now Chen Fan doesn't like going to work. Although he doesn't reject smoking, he can't stand smoking two or three packs a day like those old writers.

But when he has to come, he can only "do as the Romans do."

Rather than smoking second-hand smoke, it's better to smoke first-hand.

Chen Fan lit a cigarette and exhaled a puff of smoke, continuing, "The core of this novel is based on the main ideas of the CPPCC meeting at the end of last year, so from beginning to end, it is a process of moving from division to integration. … …"

The "Yunhu Love" he wrote largely "borrowed" from the movie "Lushan Love", but there are also big differences.

First of all, "Lushan Love" is a movie and has never been adapted into a novel, and the movie is famous for its "beautiful scenery, beautiful people, and beautiful love."

"Beautiful love" is fine, but how to express the other two with words?

Illustrations in the book?

Huh?

Why didn't I think of that before?

Chen Fan scratched his head and continued, "Integration cannot be done casually, it must be reasonable and based on evidence. There must be human factors, but also historical and cultural origins.

Therefore, I used a lot of space in the article to describe the characters' background characteristics, psychological changes, and the collision of emotions and concepts, that is, to write more about 'love', so as to reflect the difficulty of moving from division to integration. In this process, there are also our own reflections and the other side's reflections, and finally we come together. This is the significance of the united front.

The choice of Yunhu as the place is also based on this core point.

Yunhu has been a strategic location for military strategists since ancient times. No matter which dynasty or generation, if you want to compete for the world, you cannot ignore Yunhu. Therefore, the Red and Blue teams also fought here, fighting fiercely.

On the other hand, the Red and Blue teams have also cooperated here to jointly resist foreign enemies. The captains of both sides have also been to Yunhu. The grievances and entanglements here are exactly the same as the background of the two families in the article. … …"

The decision to write this story was made during the Jiangnan Writers Association Reconstruction Conference.

At the meeting, many writers' representatives in the province raised questions about some of the settings of this novel, but given Chen Fan's confidence and He Qingsheng's support, they changed their attitude and no longer opposed it.

Therefore, Chen Fan was prepared from the beginning to deal with the doubts after the novel was published.

The homework He Qingsheng asked him to do was precisely in this regard.

After Chen Fan finished speaking, He Qingsheng flicked the ashes of his cigarette, raised his head and said seriously, "As the saying goes, don't fight unprepared battles. The literary world hasn't produced a love novel for many years, let alone a love novel with such a complex background setting. Controversy from all sides is destined to be inevitable."

Chen Fan nodded and smiled, "I'm ready to be scolded. In addition, 'Shanghai Spy Shadow' is also part of the preparation work."

He Qingsheng was slightly taken aback, "I didn't think of this."

After a two-second pause, he suddenly reacted, looking at Chen Fan with a strange expression, "You wouldn't be trying to be the vanguard of literary innovation, would you?"

Chen Fan waved his hands repeatedly, "I don't mean that, it's purely the result of the situation."

He looked at He Qingsheng and smiled, "Whether it's 'Yunhu Love' or 'Shanghai Spy Shadow', they are different from traditional serious literary novels. They will be scolded when they are published.

If I were like the authors of 'Storytelling', writing popular literature from the beginning, it would be fine. Anyway, it's all a 'joke', and no one takes us seriously.

But I started with serious literature, and suddenly transformed to write 'love' and write 'spy warfare'. In the eyes of some people, that is 'rebellious'. Anyway, I'm going to be scolded, so I might as well make it bigger and directly reverse their impression of me."

He Qingsheng looked at him, and after several seconds, he suddenly smiled and said, "But you have to transform. The original too many rules and regulations will eventually be broken by people. Whoever can break him is the 'leader' of 'new literature'. If you don't come, then the position of representative of the younger generation of writers, you will have to give it to others.

It's better to break it earlier, and it's also a prepared action. This time, use your two works to stir up the literary world that has been silent for more than ten years!"

Chen Fan blinked, what? Is there such a statement?