Literary Master 1978

The first issue of Huacheng magazine in 1983 has been published for a week. The outside world's response and the sales of this issue of the magazine have not yet been reflected, but Li Shifei has his own way.

Today is the Lantern Festival, which is also Sunday. Early in the morning, he came out of the narrow and dark room upstairs of the Taipingguan Western Restaurant on Yanjing Road. This is his home.

When he went out, Yanjing Road was bustling with people. A touch of red not far away was particularly dazzling in the morning sun.

The Xinhua Bookstore on Yanjing Road is the earliest Xinhua Bookstore established in Guangzhou. Located in a busy city, it has always been the most popular bookstore in Guangzhou.

The winter vacation has not yet ended, and parents brought their children to the bookstore early in the morning.

The Xinhua Bookstore on Yanjing Road has been implementing open-shelf sales for almost two years. They don't necessarily come to buy books. Many parents bring their children to kill time and cultivate their children's interest in reading.

Many children hold a book in their hands, often hiding in a corner where no one pays attention, and read for a long time.

Li Shifei is an editor and publisher, and he likes this kind of atmosphere.

After entering the store, he first walked around, and then chatted with the salesperson Xiao Chen.

"How is the sales of our "Huacheng" these days?"

"It's almost out of stock, and the manager said he wants to order more."

Hearing this, Li Shifei was a little surprised. "Huacheng" is one of the most well-known literary magazines in China, and its sales have always been good.

In the past year or so, the sales have basically fluctuated between 600,000 and 700,000 copies.

This issue published Lin Chaoyang's "Crossing the Boat". Out of trust in Lin Chaoyang's appeal among the reader group, the first print run was 700,000 copies.

As the base camp of "Huacheng", Guangzhou has always had a share of orders second only to Yanjing and Shanghai.

The Xinhua Bookstore on Yanjing Road has always been the most popular bookstore in Guangzhou. The order for each issue of the magazine starts at at least 1,500 copies. This issue has only been on the market for a week, and 1,500 copies have been sold out?

Li Shifei confirmed with the salesperson again. When he heard that there were only more than 30 copies left in stock, he felt completely relieved.

While chatting with Xiao Chen, Li Shifei suddenly heard a scolding, followed by the crying of a child.

He followed the salesperson's footsteps to check and found that a female comrade wearing a Zhongshan suit and with a gentle face was scolding the child. At this time, the child was crying and looked a little pitiful.

At first, Li Shifei thought that the child was naughty and broke the book. After listening for a while, he realized that the parents were because the child was reading a novel.

"Is this something you should read at your age?"

The parent waved the book in his hand and roared at the child angrily.

"Comrade, comrade..." The salesperson was helplessly comforting, but it didn't seem to have much effect.

Li Shifei's eyes were fixed on the shaking book. He felt vaguely familiar. Isn't this "Huacheng"?

Seeing that the parents were getting more and more noisy, several salespeople in the bookstore came over and suppressed the parents' anger.

After a while of fussing, the parent angrily led the crying child out of the door, threatening the child as he walked.

"If you read these books again, I will never bring you to the bookstore again, do you hear me?"

The child, who looked like he was already in junior high school, was afraid of being scolded and agreed timidly.

Li Shifei stepped forward and stopped the mother and son. The female comrade looked at him with a vigilant face, "What's the matter?"

"Comrade, I am a staff member of "Huacheng". I saw you holding "Huacheng" in your hand just now, saying that our magazine is not suitable for children like them to read.

I just want to ask you, what aspects of our magazine do you think are not good enough.

We publish magazines for the people, and we really hope to get real feedback from you readers, so that we can improve in the future."

Li Shifei had a kind smile on his face and was very polite in his words, and the female comrade's face softened.

"Your "Huacheng" is well run. My wife and I often read it, but the "Crossing the Boat" you published this time is really a bit unacceptable..."

When the female comrade said this, there was a bit of complaint in her tone.

Li Shifei asked in surprise: "What do you think is wrong with the novel "The Story of the Crossing Boat"?"

"This novel talks about cannibalism, and it talks about children eating their mothers. Don't you know that?"

Hearing this, Li Shifei was stunned for a moment, and immediately understood what the female comrade meant.

At the same time, he also understood that this female comrade was probably the kind of reader who read novels by hearsay.

Li Shifei patiently explained: "The author wrote the novel "The Story of the Crossing Boat" to express the different results brought about by different choices made by people in desperate situations. The novel only lists this possibility, and it does not necessarily happen in reality. Moreover, there are many such things that happened in history."

The female comrade's understanding of "The Story of the Crossing Boat" was indeed obtained through the oral narration of others, so when Li Shifei patiently explained, she could not think of specific words to refute.

She could only say: "These things are fine for us adults to read, but it is not appropriate for children to see them."

Li Shifei said humbly: "You are right, this is indeed a problem."

Seeing that he had a good attitude, the female comrade did not say anything else and turned away with the child.

After the two left, Li Shifei shook his head helplessly, not knowing who to blame for this.

Then he thought of the news that the salesperson had just said, and he felt happy again. It seemed that the sales volume of this issue of "Flower City" was going to break a record. It would not be in vain for him to travel thousands of miles away and spend a lot of money to ask Lin Chaoyang for a manuscript.

He couldn't help but think of the discussion in the editorial department before the publication of "Crossing the Boat". Some people said that as long as Lin Chaoyang's novel was published, no matter which magazine it was, the sales volume of the current issue would not be less than 1 million copies.

Li Shifei didn't take it seriously at the time, but now it seems that this rumor is not groundless.

The Lantern Festival is over, and it’s also the day when universities, middle schools and primary schools across the country start school. Tao Yumo, a new recruit, and his happy winter vacation work are also over.

Throughout the winter vacation, she earned nearly 50 yuan from her nephew, one set of winter clothes, 4 pairs of socks, 8 books and newspapers, and a Hero brand pen.

The more she calculated, the more she couldn't bear to part with her nephew. This was not a fat baby, he was clearly her aunt's money-spinning boy.

So she discussed with her sister and said that if she took care of her nephew at night, her salary could be cut in half.

Tao Yushu agreed without hesitation. Anyway, Lin Chaoyang was planning to go out and it was not impossible for Tao Yumo to take this position.

She looked at her sister's tender face. She was so young, it would be a pity not to stay up late.

Another day passed, Tao Yushu prepared luggage for Lin Chaoyang, and he planned to leave for his hometown the day after tomorrow.

On the one hand, it was a request from the hometown government, and on the other hand, it was also because I needed to prepare some materials for my new work.

"Can you come back in the middle of the month? What about the library?" Tao Yushu asked him.

Lin Chaoyang pondered and said: "I think it will only take two or three days to deal with it when I go back to the government. But I can't say for sure about the materials. I guess it will take a few months at least. If it doesn't work, I will go to the library to find the director tomorrow and then ask for it." A holiday."

Tao Yushu hesitated and said, "Why don't you just resign?"

Lin Chaoyang looked surprised when he heard this, "Why do you suddenly have such an idea?"

Tao Yushu pulled him to sit on the sofa, "Actually, I have been thinking about this issue since New Year's Day."

"When my dad asked you to go to the library, he was afraid that you wouldn't have a job after you went to the city. It was actually quite good.

But even I didn't expect you to have such great talent and potential in literature. With your current reputation in the country, you don't need this job to rely on. On the contrary, work will distract your energy.

So it’s better to put down work, put all your energy into creation, and become a full-time writer. "

If you ask Lin Chaoyang whether working in the library has affected his creation, the answer is yes. No matter how idle the job is, it will have an impact, but to say how big the impact is, it is not necessarily true.

Now he is not only more famous, but his income from royalties is also much higher than before. Last year, including royalties from publishing, reprinting and publishing many works, his income was more than 45,000 yuan, enough for an ordinary worker to live without food. Drink and earn a hundred and eighty years.

Considering the current income level in this era, Lin Chaoyang has no problem being a full-time writer.

But people in this era are generally conservative in their ideas. For most people, a serious job not only means an income, but also represents a kind of social recognition.

Lin Chaoyang never expected that Tao Yushu would persuade him to resign.

"It actually doesn't matter whether you resign or not..."

While the two were talking, Lin Erchun suddenly walked in with his luggage.

Lin Chaoyang asked: "Dad, what are you..."

"Aren't you going back to your hometown the day after tomorrow? I'll go back and have a look too!" Lin Erchun replied.

"I won't stay in my hometown when I go back."

"You are busy with your business. I just haven't been back for a long time. It's strange that you should go back this time."

Lin Erchun seemed to have made up his mind to return to his hometown, and did not give Lin Chaoyang a chance to interrupt.

At this time, Zhang Guiqin came out of the bedroom with Xiao Dongdong in her arms and looked at Lin Erchun's duffel bag, with a look of envy flashing in her eyes.

If she wasn't tied up by the little guy in her arms, how she wished she could take this opportunity to return to her hometown!

As the old saying goes: Wealth that does not return home is like walking in brocade at night.

Her son, Zhang Guiqin, has become a great writer and is now a famous writer all over the country. This time, he was invited back by his hometown government.

Zhang Guiqin couldn't imagine how many New Year greetings Lin Erchun would hear if he returned to his hometown.

Just thinking about it made her feel so happy that she was about to fly.

When she came back to her senses, she couldn't help but feel disappointed when she thought that she was not involved in such a moment of sanctification in front of others.

The next day, Lin Chaoyang came to the library and explained the situation to the director Xie Daoyuan, saying that he wanted to take a longer leave.

He has not yet discussed the resignation with Tao Yushu. Tao's father owed him a favor for his job. No matter what happened, he should discuss it with Tao's father first.

Anyway, there is no rush. We will talk about it later when we have time.

After hearing Lin Chaoyang's request, Xie Daoyuan hesitated for a few seconds and then agreed.

Another day later, Lin Chaoyang and Lin Erchun boarded the train back to their hometown together.

In the northern land in early March, the spring cold was very cold. The green train was driving slowly on the railway track. It did not have the speedy momentum of later high-speed trains, which made people feel drowsy.

It was already noon when the train passed through Tangshan. After lunch, Lin Erchun planned to go to the toilet and told Lin Chaoyang: "Watch and order some bags."

"Got it." Lin Chaoyang replied without raising his head, holding a copy of Jack London's "South of the Fault" in his hand.

Not long after Lin Erchun went out, a high-pitched voice rang in the distance.

"Catch the thief!"

"Catch the thief!"

Lin Chaoyang and his son were riding in the hard-sleeper carriage. There was a sudden movement in the carriage, and everyone poked their heads out of the sleepers.

After waiting for a while, the sound rang a few times and then stopped. It was not known whether the thief had been caught, so everyone could not help but be a little more vigilant.

Public security is not good these days, and it is even more unsafe to go out, let alone take the train. From time to time, you will encounter some thefts and robberies.

At this time, Lin Erchun came back from outside and talked about what happened just now.

"It took a long time for the bag to be opened before the old comrade realized that the thief had already gotten out of the car."

"These petty thieves are getting more and more aggressive now!"

The father and son were talking, which attracted the approval of a young man on the lower bunk opposite.

"Isn't that right? During the winter vacation, there was a female student in our house who went out to play during the Chinese New Year. When she came back at night, she was raped by others, and no one was spared."

Lin Erchun and the young man matched up the frequency, and the two became more and more enthusiastic as they chatted. They exchanged various public security and criminal cases they had heard about, attracting the attention of people around them.

Lin Chaoyang's eyes were focused on a magazine that the young man placed at hand. The cover of the magazine was simple and had the word "Qigong" written on it.

If he remembered correctly, this magazine should have been launched the year before last.

Qigong!

Lin Chaoyang shook his head helplessly. He seemed to have become more and more popular in the past two years.

I'm afraid it will become more and more popular in the next few years, with countless practitioners ranging from officials and dignitaries to ordinary people.

This thing attracted the attention of the government in the 1950s. It was first used to strengthen the body. Later, the effects became more and more exaggerated and the power became more and more powerful. By the mid-to-late 1980s, it had completely entered the stage of morbid superstition.

In the past, Lin Chaoyang didn't feel much when he was nestled in Yanjing City.

This time I went out and finally felt the restless pulse of this era.