Literary Master 1983

Chapter 145 Sensation
After the release of the single volume of "Da Saba", it gradually caused a nationwide sensation.

People remembered the name "Gu Yan" and were shocked by his story and that of a generation of overseas students. Many were moved to tears.

This novel also triggered thoughts on the craze of studying abroad, and students who are preparing to study abroad and those who are already abroad have expressed their opinions on this. What is surprising is not the "crush of studying abroad" itself, but the feedback from many students that their lives are indeed not as smooth as they imagined, and are very different from the paradise on earth described in the "student literature" they had read before.

There is no flowery welcome, only systematic exclusion. Once international students show that they want to stay in the United States permanently and compete for job opportunities, they will be met with hostility from local workers.

Chen Chong, a famous actress who published an article in Southern Weekend titled "Chen Chong's Letter from America," expressed her opinion over a long-distance phone call after watching "Big Scatter":
"The United States is not a paradise. It is indeed highly developed, but it is particularly cruel to outsiders and it is difficult to gain a foothold there."

"I am now caught in a dilemma. My motherland has been very good to me, but it is still a fledgling. The United States has a sound security system. A blue-collar worker can work eight hours a day and support a family of four and a dog in the suburbs, and own a suburban villa - but such a life is not yet for foreigners."

"How can I become an American? I'm afraid I'll have to endure several generations of suffering."

The Southern Weekend reporter who was on the phone with Chen Chong asked her, "Do you still want to stay in the United States?"

Chen Chong said firmly: "I haven't realized my dream yet, I must stay in the United States!"

Look! This is the truth behind the craze for going abroad. People go there knowing that there are tigers everywhere.

Even after forty years, it will not have changed. Writing a novel cannot really change it.

Within two weeks after the single volume was published, more than 40 newspapers and magazines across the country excerpted the novel "Da Saba", and more than a dozen theater troupes wanted to adapt the novel into plays. Yu Qie received letters requesting adaptations every day. Since the novel was published in "October" last year, the number of review articles about the novel has reached nearly one million words, which is even seven or eight times the number of words in the novel itself.

The sales of the periodical serializing "Da Saba" increased dramatically. Post offices and bookstores in various places called the Beijing Publishing House and asked it to reprint the "October" issue in January this year.

Wang Shimin was so amused when he saw these requests: "How can you reprint an old journal?"

After hearing about this, Yu Qie felt that the editorial department was making a fuss: Isn't it common to reprint classics? Readers want it, so do they think it's too easy to make money?
Wang Shimin explained: "Our paper pulp is already in short supply. It's fine to use it to print single volumes and the new issue of October, but using it to reprint previously printed materials will be criticized by others! It's a waste of national resources!"

After the second print run of 300,000 copies was quickly sold out, based on feedback from various places, Beijing Publishing House urgently formulated a plan to print another 500,000 copies, and handed them over to the best printing house at the time, Xinhua Printing House, located a little south of Xizhimen.

As the name suggests, Xinhua Printing Factory is the factory of Xinhua Bookstore. It is responsible for printing a series of newspapers, literary classics and professional books. Its maximum daily printing volume reaches one million copies.

Because of the hot sales of the single volume of "Da Saba", Xinhua Printing Factory has stopped the original schedule of some foreign masterpieces in the past week. The machines are running day and night, and the workers are divided into three shifts. The printed pages are so hot that they are scorching.

If this is still not enough, there won’t be enough printing in the entire Yanjing, and printing houses in other places will have to join in.

Yu Qie followed the editor-in-chief of October, Wang Shimin, to the Yenching Publishing House for a meeting in order to get pulp. When there was not enough pulp, he went to other publishing houses to ask for some of its share to be "equalized."

These things were considered "business trips", paying three dollars a day, and Wang Shimin would also pay for food and drinks.

Yu Qie has become a star and has become famous in the literary circle of Yenching.

No matter where he went, people would bring books to him for autographs. Especially since he had his photo printed on the books, and he looked very recognizable, so that people who didn't know him before could now recognize him from a distance: "Yu Qie? Yu Qie! You, you are Teacher Yu Qie!"

No. 51 Dongxing Street, Chongwenmenwai, October Magazine.

Zhang Shouren gave Yu Qie a batch of newly arrived letters from readers. There were hundreds of letters and they were too many for Zhang Shouren to carry, so he asked Yu Qi to drive back by himself.

The editorial department of October is extremely busy. Zhang Shouren said, "Dozens of editors share one phone. We are all crowded together. There are six or seven editors in one room. I only have one desk. There is no place to put all the letters."

That was indeed the case. Zhang Shouren had no place to put his feet, as letters piled up under his desk.

Zhang Shouren said, "Because we are short of paper pulp, now even the letters from authors and readers are thrown away. The manuscripts of Zhang Xianliang, Wang Meng, Qu Tianing... have all been thrown away and used to make paper pulp. It's a pity. I'll keep yours because you asked me to keep your own manuscripts."

People these days have not really realized the value of manuscripts. In the future, a manuscript of a famous writer's masterpiece could be worth thousands of yuan per sheet, much more than the author's earnings at the time.

Of course, if typing computers came out, Yu Qie would definitely do the same as Ma Shi Tu and use typing instead of writing. That would be six or seven years later, and I'm afraid he wouldn't care much about money anymore.

Yu Qie asked Zhang Shouren: "The pulp of Beijing Publishing House has reached its limit. If these 500,000 copies are not enough, what will happen next?"

"——Then we can only invite other publishers. However, unless it is absolutely necessary, I still hope to handle it myself. Your single volume is expensive and has relatively few pages. Although it is hardcover, the printing factory can make some money... Therefore, many publishers have come to us to request printing."

Zhang Shouren was beaming with joy when he said this: "Pure literature is a waste of money and thankless task, but you have turned it into a profitable one. It's all thanks to you that our magazine has you."

Readers vote with their feet. Many masterpieces by famous authors have poor sales due to poor storytelling. Ba Lao's "Family Spring and Autumn" sold more than 4 million copies last year, making it the best-selling domestic novel of the year.

Yu Qie asked Zhang Shouren: "I published my novel in a journal before, why didn't it receive such a big response as this time?"

Zhang Shouren found a Hero pen and drew two circles on the paper, one big and one small. "The small one is the real readers of our literary journals. In the golden age of literature, there may be tens of millions, 200 million or 300 million readers who read literature. This is amazing."

"But everyone needs to read books. Pang Zhonghua's calligraphy books sold 78 million copies a year, and more than a dozen printing houses helped him print them. Is he better than all the writers in China combined? Not necessarily."

"Sales volume is a trend, and it cannot fully represent a person's talent. But after you publish a single volume, you broaden your audience. If you continue to sell well in the future, you can be like Ba Lao... When your novel is still being written, you have already booked where to publish it."

After Zhang Shouren said this, Yu Qi already felt that the time he was talking about was not far away.

"Boom!"

"Zhang Li, Chen Xiaoxu, get in the car. As usual, one helmet per person."

In the evening, he went to the crew of "Dream of Red Mansions" again to pick up Zhang Li and Chen Xiaoxu and take them back to the courtyard.

(End of this chapter)