Exciting 1979!

Chapter 8 About Manuscript Fees
It’s just that they are all local temporary workers in Yanjing, and it was the policy that sent them to Peking University, while Wei Ming relied on connections.

The berth reserved for Wei Ming was the upper berth of Qiao Feng, which was good as it provided more privacy and he could write without being disturbed.

Wei Ming greeted the two colleagues with a smile and asked them where they had cut in line.

Zhao Debiao went to the Northeast, and Mei Wenhua was in Henan.

"Then where did you queue-cut?" Mei Wenhua asked. He could not hear any foreign accent in Wei Ming and thought it was the same as theirs.

Wei Ming replied: "I have never cut in line, I am just in the team."

Qiao Feng: "Xiao Wei is from Hebei, where white wine is produced in abundance."

Zhao Debiao's eyes lit up and he asked hurriedly, "Did you bring it?"

Wei Ming smiled and said, "I came here in a hurry. I will definitely bring it with me next time I come back from my hometown."

Zhao Debiao rubbed his hands: "That's a deal!"

Mei Wenhua thought more than Zhao Debiao. For a rural person from another place to work at Peking University, there must be someone behind him.

But he had someone behind him, so he was not afraid of him. So Mei Wenhua sat down and continued reading.

I feel like with his temperament he should live in a student dormitory.

Wei Ming took a glance and saw that it was a magazine called "Today", which seemed to be a poetry magazine created by Bei Dao and others.

Just like that, "Meanness is the passport of the mean, and nobility is the epitaph of the noble..."

When Wei Ming had made his bed and was about to write something, Qiao Feng asked eagerly, "Xiao Wei, can you tell me the story of Qiao Feng in the north and Murong in the south?"

"Oh, sure. This story is called "The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils". It takes place in the Wuliang Mountain area of Yunnan..."

Whether it is the original novel or the TV adaptation, it usually starts with the story of Duan Yu, and the same is true for Wei Ming.

Although his memory has improved, he didn't go into too much detail. If he really wanted to explain everything in detail, it would probably take several days to finish, and he doesn't have the time for that.

However, Mei Wenhua interrupted him just as he was speaking.

"Is this a martial arts novel written by a Hong Konger?"

"Yeah, you know that too?"

"Where did you buy the novel?" Mei Wenhua was very curious. He had heard a story from an older brother when he went to the countryside.

"I didn't buy the novel. I had a high school classmate who was originally from Guangdong. He had a lot of exposure to the novel, and I just listened to him." He really had such a classmate, named Liu Rulong, who also went to Yenching University.

Zhao Debiao interrupted Mei Wenhua hastily, "Why are you butting in? I'm enjoying what you're saying. Let's continue with the story about Duan Yu and the Fairy Sister!"

Unexpectedly, the one who was most fascinated among the three was Zhao Debiao. Although Qiao Feng liked it too, he was a little dissatisfied that Duan Yu overshadowed the audience. Isn't this the love story of Qiao Feng and Murong? This Duan guy is really an eyesore.

As a result, North Qiao Feng and South Murong soon appeared as the background.

"Ah, Nan Murong is a man!?" He was greatly disappointed.

"Yes, Murong Fu is also one of the most outstanding young talents in the martial arts world. Spoiler alert, the so-called Fairy Sister is also related to him."

Zhao Debiao immediately urged, he liked the Fairy Sister.

Although it was not quite the same as what Qiao Feng had expected, he was also attracted by this wonderful martial arts story. After all, it was Jin Yong's masterpiece.

Even Mei Wenhua, who had been dismissive at first, had put down the magazine in his hand and pretended to be nonchalant, but his ears were reluctant to miss a single word.

Wei Ming's night was wasted as he didn't write a single word, but he earned the nickname "Brother Ming" from Zhao Debiao.

The two were the same age. Zhao Debiao was older, but not as old as Wei Ming. He was willing to be younger, and the two quickly became familiar with each other.

Mei Wenhua is more hypocritical. He clearly envies Duan Yu's popularity with women, but he says, "They are all cancers that capitalist society uses to kill time. They are not worthy of being in a refined society."

Zhao Debiao chuckled: "Then Brother Ming will continue to talk tomorrow, will you still listen?"

Mei Wenhua curled her lips and said, "Just talk, I don't mind you interrupting my reading."

Brother Feng said, "Okay, turn off the lights and go to bed. We still have to do exercises tomorrow."

~
At around six o'clock the next day, except for the security guards who needed to stand guard, everyone else was dragged by Qiao Feng to the May Fourth Sports Stadium to run laps.

Wei Ming really wants to exercise. Although he is 1.83 meters tall and handsome, he is too thin, like a bean sprout.

Not to mention comparing with strong men like Qiao Feng and Zhao Debiao, I feel that Mei Wenhua, a four-eyed guy, is stronger than him. It is mainly caused by lack of food and drink for many years.

So when having breakfast, Wei Ming bought two boiled eggs in addition to three fried dough cakes, but unfortunately there was no milk.

Fried pancakes cost three cents each, mainly because eggs are expensive, at 18 cents each. Although eating like this may not be enough for him to make 5 yuan a month, he believes that the royalties will come sooner or later.

As expected~
After a morning of political and ideological training, Wei Ming, Zhao Debiao and Mei Wenhua went to the faculty and staff cafeteria to eat together.

Then I saw Qiao Feng and Lu Xiaoyan standing at the door from a distance.

"Sister-in-law, people are coming." Qiao Feng pointed.

"Auntie!" Wei Ming hurried over.

Lu Xiaoyan couldn't hide her admiration in her eyes: "Xiao Ming, let's chat."

"Okay." Wei Ming handed the cutlery to Brother Feng and asked him to take his place.

Qiao Feng made a pot of fried tofu and steamed buns for Wei Ming. A lunch was equivalent to an egg. Eggs were too expensive at that time, and farmers who raised chickens were reluctant to eat them themselves.

"Captain, here!" Zhao Debiao shouted.

After Qiao Feng sat down, Mei Wenhua asked hurriedly, "Captain, who is that female comrade? What does she want from Wei Ming?"

Zhao Debiao: "Didn't you hear that Brother Ming called her aunt, so they are relatives."

Mei Wenhua: "But I heard the captain call her sister-in-law. Could it be that Wei Ming is also a relative of the captain?"

Qiao Feng said to Mei Wenhua: "Stop asking questions and just eat your food."

But he was also curious because Sister Xiaoyan said she had business to discuss with Wei Ming.

Business?

~
At this moment, the two were strolling outside. Lu Xiaoyan had already told him the news that the manuscript had been accepted, and Wei was obviously very calm, with the demeanor of a great general.

"Did you really finish writing it in one night?" Lu Xiaoyan asked again.

"Of course, or I can write you another one in one night."

"Okay, for fairy tales of the level of "The Toothless Tiger", our publishing house will accept as many as you have!" Lu Xiaoyan said generously.

"Thank you, Auntie!" Wei Ming finally found a long-term meal ticket, and then he asked shyly, "When can I get the royalties?"

"Are you in urgent need of money? How about I ..."

"No, no, no, I'm not really short of money. I just want to use my royalties to support my family and make my parents proud of me."

Lu Xiaoyan had never experienced the hardships of farmers, but she had heard her husband talk about the difficult times he had as a child, and it must have been difficult for Wei Ming's family in the village.

She said, "Don't worry, I've added a plug-in for you and arranged for it to be published this month. You can get the payment slip on the day it's published, which will be about two weeks later."

Half a month is considered fast for submitting articles to magazines. Sometimes it is not uncommon for the article to be delayed from today to next year.

"Then how much can I get for my royalties?" Wei Ming was not ashamed to talk about money.

Lu Xiaoyan explained to him the current rules for royalties.

"Since 77, the government has restored the system of manuscript fees. Original works are paid a lump sum of 2 to 7 yuan per thousand words, depending on the quality of the work. Your manuscript is 5000 words, so you should get at least yuan."

Also, the author will not receive any royalties for the printed book at this time, and the royalties for the number of copies will not be added until the royalties are adjusted next year.

"Is it just quality that is considered?" Wei Ming asked again.

Lv Xiaoyan smiled: "Of course, the magazine's own financial resources and the author's fame will also have a certain impact, but don't worry, with auntie here, she will definitely not let you take the lowest remuneration."

The minimum of 10 yuan became a minimum of 15 yuan. Wei Ming thanked again and said, "I will come up with a new work as soon as possible."

"Well, but the new work will be published next month at the earliest. We usually don't publish two works by the same author in the same issue."

Wei Ming certainly understood the considerations involved, but this speed of making money was too slow.

He began to consider whether he should submit some longer stories to other publications while satisfying the requirement of publishing one article per month in Children's Literature.
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(End of this chapter)