1978: Female educated youth, don’t want an illiterate husband

Chapter 183: Another sensation, the resonance of millions of educated youth returning to the city (asking for monthly tickets)
That night!

Although the manuscript fee and his emotions were both at their peak, Cheng Xuemin finally chose to stop and endure it.

The month is really big, no joking.

The next day, Cheng Xuemin took Feng Jiayou to visit the street office where Yanda was located to complete the household registration and set up an independent household.

At the same time, last night Feng's father handed over their household registration booklet to Cheng Xuemin and his wife.

Then, with the newly obtained household registration and marriage certificate, Feng Jiayou’s household registration was also changed to Cheng Xuemin’s name.

In this way, although I haven't separated from my mother-in-law, I have also separated my household.

The current situation is!

Cheng Xuemin has a household registration in Yanjing, a house, a wife, a job, and savings. He is truly wealthy!

After settling on the household registration, Cheng Xuemin was able to focus on his work and began to write manuscripts and prepare lessons, while also catching up with his sister-in-law and older sister's review.

On this day, Cheng Xuemin’s first class at YNU was finally confirmed by Director Yang!

The first big class is scheduled for this Saturday afternoon, and it’s an elective course!
It’s not the main course!
But all the teachers and professors in the department will attend the class, so it will be an open class.

Greeting Cheng Xuemin in advance gives him enough time to prepare for the lesson.

After all, all the teachers and students in the Chinese Department will go to audit the class, and even those from other departments who hear the news will definitely come to join in the fun.

A pioneer of reform and opening up, senior brother of the Chinese Department, this influence is really amazing!
At the same time, Chen Shumin's Today magazine had also been printed and bound, with a total of one thousand copies of the first edition.

"New products are here, new products are here, the Wrangler Old Joe, the pioneer factory manager Joe has another masterpiece!"

The first edition of Today magazine has gone on sale, but because it is only a privately-sponsored publication, it cannot be put on the shelves of various newsstands.

Plus, they were a new magazine with absolutely no reputation at all, and were even inferior to the school magazine at Yanjing University.

So Cheng Xuemin and others had to deliver them one by one.

Yes, magazines.

We are not allowed to accept money, otherwise it will be considered illegal printing and you will be invited in for tea.

After all!
It is a publication initiated by a few like-minded pen pals at their own expense. It does not require approval from above and can be published for personal entertainment, but it must not be sold illegally.

What's this picture about?
In fact, Cheng Xuemin himself was not quite clear about it. He just wanted to lay the framework of Today magazine first.

Let’s see if after this year, when all newspapers and magazines across the country have transformed into public institutions and are responsible for their own profits and losses, they can apply for a formal copyright distribution number for Today.

Anyway, the path Cheng Xuemin is taking now is the same as that of the ancient Liangshan heroes or other ambitious bandits!
First expand your own plate and make it stronger, and then wait for the higher-ups to recruit you.

So we should first see if we can increase the influence of Today magazine, and then catch the eye of the cultural circles and be recruited as a regular army, which would be the best.

If this is not possible in the end, it doesn't matter to Cheng Xuemin, he can just treat it as self-entertainment.

of course!

Entertaining oneself is not really just for entertaining oneself, in fact, Cheng Xuemin has a rough outline plan in his mind!

He wanted to use "Today" as a platform to recruit a group of like-minded pen pals, classmates and teachers to form a circle!
correct!

Instead of waiting for thirty or forty years to cling to the so-called "Beijing circle", Cheng Xuemin thought it would be better for him to form a circle of his own with his own connections and influence.

By then, this circle will become bigger and stronger, and Cheng Xuemin will be the core soul figure of this circle, which will be of some benefit to his future development.

The original intention of Lao Chen and several pen pals to create the "Today" magazine was to form a prototype of a circle.

Unfortunately, the circle they formed in their previous life did not get out of the circle or go very far.

But it also had an impact for decades.

In view of this original intention, Cheng Xuemin was also very concerned about sending out the first issue and first edition of "Today" magazine.

He immediately took fifty magazines to his Chinese class and distributed the task to Huang Beijia, Cha Jianying, Liu Xuehong and others, mobilizing them to help deliver the magazines.

When we get to their girls' dormitory, no matter which department or college the girls are from, we will make sure that every girl's dormitory can receive one.

At the same time, Liu Zhenyun and Chen Jiangong are the same. They all have manuscripts published in "Today".

Therefore, they also had to do their part to promote their own articles, and also instruct the boys' dormitory to send a copy of the magazine to each room.

In addition to Yanda, there are also Huaqing University next door, as well as Yanshi University, Renmin University, Beijing Film Academy and other major universities. Lao Chen and his colleagues are also mobilizing their connections to send gifts!
For a while, "Today", which was released to major universities for the first time, also became one of the hot topics among students of major universities.

It is mainly due to the influence of the author Lao Xu, Cheng Xuemin, who wrote the book "My Years in the Corps", which touched the hearts of countless college students.

Because the latest two classes of college students in major universities are basically from rural areas. They are either educated youth who went to the countryside to work, or children of farmers who have had common experiences with the educated youth who went to the countryside to work. They have all experienced that era!

Therefore, once "My Years in the Corps" was published, it caused quite a stir and resonance in the circles of major universities.

It caused a bigger sensation than the previous "The Shepherd", or "Director Qiao's Taking Office", or "Parents' Love" and so on.

Because the previous manuscripts were not about the years when the educated youth went to the countryside to work in the fields.

Although the story can resonate with readers, it is not as sensational as "My Years in the Corps".

Strictly speaking, "My Years in the Corps" is the first article that truly talks about the years and experiences of educated youth who went to the countryside to work in the fields since the end of that decade and the announcement of reform and opening up.

Countless college students, as well as educated youth who returned to the city from Yenching, can find their own shadows and their own years in this book "My Years in the Corps".

and so!
The magazine was only distributed for the first two days, but later it caused a sensation. Countless students and educated youth who returned to the city were looking for "My Years in the Corps" and for the magazine "Today" at major newsstands.

Unfortunately, I found that it was not available for sale in newsstands, and I couldn't find out where I could buy it no matter how hard I tried.

He also said that this "Today" is a new magazine that has just come out, and now it is only given away and not sold. It will be given away if you come across it.

“Xuemin, our magazine is an instant hit!”

Several responsible persons met at the Yenching Library. Bei Dao, who had originally been pessimistic about Cheng Xuemin, was the first to jump out and exclaimed in admiration for Cheng Xuemin.

"Yes, Xuemin, your article "My Years in the Corps" has touched the hearts of countless college students and returned educated youth. Now our magazine is hard to come by!" Chief Editor Mang Ke also exclaimed, and then looked at Chen Shumin and said, "Old Chen, our magazine is almost sold out. Do we need to print more copies quickly?"

"Additional printing!?"

"What do you want to print?"

"I have already discussed this with Xuemin, and we will not reprint this issue. Let's leave it like this for now!"

Chen Shumin was also so excited that he was jumping for feet. He had thought about it two days ago that he should print more copies of their magazine as soon as it became a hit.

But he was persuaded by Cheng Xuemin!
It's just for my own entertainment. I paid for the printing of a thousand copies out of my own pocket. That's enough. There's no need to risk all my family fortune for this.

Moreover, there are already 1,000 copies of the magazine, which are circulating in major universities and in the hands of educated youth who have returned to the city. In addition, with the hook left at the end of the first volume of Cheng Xuemin's "My Corps Years", we can just wait for the 1,000 copies to ferment slowly, and there is no need to print more copies. Even if we print more copies, how many copies can we print?

One thousand books, or ten thousand?

But the reality is that no matter it is one thousand or ten thousand books, it is just a drop in the bucket for the three or four million educated youth who returned to the city of Yanjing.

So there is absolutely no need to print more!

Because one thousand copies and ten thousand copies have almost the same meaning, unless they can directly print hundreds of thousands of copies.

But without financial support from above, who can afford to pay for it?
After being persuaded by Cheng Xuemin, Chen Shumin thought about it and it made sense. Anyway, the first issue and first edition of their "Today" was a hit and achieved unprecedented success.

So let the readers wait!
We have to wait for the second issue of Today magazine, which will take at least two or three months.

"No more printing!? Why not more printing?! Our magazine is so popular now, shouldn't we strike while the iron is hot and print more printing?"

Faced with Chen Shumin's answer, the two responsible persons, Mang Ke and Bei Dao, were a little confused.

Such a good opportunity, why not print more? Why not print more?

"More printing, what are we going to use to print more? We don't even have the funds for the next issue, what are we going to use to print more?"

"How about you two, Beidao Mangke, make some contributions?"

Ok!

After being squeezed by Chen Shumin, Bei Dao and Mang Ke were speechless.

Because what Chen Shumin said is a fact!
Although they all claim to be literati and poets, their wealth is indeed incomparable to that of the newcomer Cheng Xuemin.

Chen Shumin also has a formal job as a librarian at Yanda University and has a stable income. Bei Dao and Mang Ke are a little bit behind him, as they are freelance writers without formal jobs.

But I could only publish one or two articles every half a year or a year, and the royalties were just enough to make ends meet and not starve to death.

Do we really want them to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars out of their own pockets as funding to print more copies?

Totally impossible.

So what Lao Chen said is right. They don’t even have the funds for the next issue of the magazine, so how can they print more?

In an instant, the fighting spirit that had just been ignited was mostly extinguished by this cruel reality.

It was Chen Shumin who encouraged everyone and treated everyone to lunch to celebrate their victory in the first battle of Today magazine.

During this period, Cheng Xuemin did not express his opinion!
Although the cost of printing an extra copy of the magazine is only 30 cents, and 1,000 copies is only 300 yuan, Cheng Xuemin can afford this amount of money out of his own pocket.

But as he said to Chen Shumin, there was no need to print more copies.

It's just a drop in the bucket and the effect is the same. If you really want to achieve the same as Yenching Literature and People's Literature, can they afford it?

"Did you, Xuemin, write this article?"

But what Cheng Xuemin didn't expect was that the turning point came so quickly!

When I got home that night and had dinner at the table, my mother-in-law, Feng's mother, took out a copy of Today magazine and pointed to the title "My Years in the Corps" on the cover, written by Lao Xu, and asked her son-in-law Cheng Xuemin.

"Uh... I promised Lao Chen a manuscript before, and I took the time to write one for him before the New Year!"

Cheng Xuemin nodded in confusion. He didn't expect the commotion to be so big that even his mother-in-law had such a book.

"Mom, Xuemin is already a deputy editor-in-chief of Lao Chen's Today, and it was agreed that he would be given an article!" Feng Jiayou, the daughter-in-law next to him, also spoke up for her husband, fearing that her mother would use this to attack and hold her husband accountable.

"How many copies did you print and distribute?"

Feng's mother continued to ask, but there was no blame in her tone, which made Cheng Xuemin and Feng Jiayou feel relieved.

"One thousand books!" Cheng Xuemin replied again.

"Just one thousand copies, and it caused such a big stir in the city?" Feng's mother was shocked when she heard this. In fact, she heard people talking about the magazine "Today" a few days ago. It just sounded familiar but she had never seen this magazine.

So he asked Xiao Yang to go and find a copy.

Two days passed by in the process of searching. Xiao Yang spent two full days before she found a book from her cousin who was in college.

When Xiao Yang got the magazine, he was shocked to see that the headline on the front page was actually the new work of Lao Xu, that is, the new work of Teacher Gu's son-in-law Gai Kai Xianfeng.

I immediately took the magazine back to my office and gave it to Teacher Gu to read.

When Feng's mother took the magazine, she was also stunned for a moment, but she also realized at that time that no wonder the magazine "Today" sounded familiar to her. It turned out that it was a magazine that her son-in-law and Chen Shumin from Yanda University had created for their own entertainment. They had mentioned it to her before, but she hadn't taken it seriously.

Unexpectedly, it was released quietly!

Moreover, once it was released, it achieved such remarkable results that Feng's mother was really impressed.

She took the magazine directly home and asked her son-in-law about it.

“Why isn’t there any reprint?”

Seeing her son-in-law smiling shyly, Feng's mother asked again in confusion.

Only a thousand copies were released?

Why not strike while the iron is hot and print more copies to expand its influence?

"Mom, we don't have that kind of funding!"

“So even if I print a few more copies, it will only be a drop in the bucket and won’t have much effect. So I decided not to print more and wait to prepare for the second issue!”

Cheng Xuemin then smiled bitterly and cried poor!
"That's it!"

Upon hearing this, Feng's mother nodded. What her son-in-law said was indeed right. They were originally in the magazine business!

You know that when the influence is huge, the effect will be almost the same whether publishing one thousand copies, ten thousand copies, or even one hundred thousand copies!
There is absolutely no need to print more copies, after all, this is not a regular magazine.

"Then can we give October an exclusive reprint of this issue? I can also apply directly to the higher-ups for first release. After all, your Today is for entertainment purposes only and is not counted among the publications registered with the Ministry of Culture, so it can be counted as a first release!"

It turns out that my mother-in-law has been laying the groundwork for so long just to steal my manuscript. Even if "Today" has already published it, so what?

They bully you because you are not a regular soldier and are not registered in the cultural field!
The main idea is to rob and steal the manuscript, so I would like to ask my good son-in-law, would you ever do it?

……

Please give me a monthly ticket, thank you!

(End of this chapter)