Mixed in 1980

Chapter 5: Talking about money is not shameful
People’s literature is still very poor these days. How poor is it?

They don’t even have their own office building, but are renting out the office building of the Dramatists Association.

The place we borrowed was not big, with only five offices, two large and three small. The novel group and the administrative group occupied the two large rooms, the poetry, prose and criticism group occupied the two small rooms, and the other one was for the leader.

"Editor-in-Chief Wang, are you busy?"

The security guard accepted the bribe and was very dedicated. Knowing that Chen Fan was writing a novel, he came directly to find the person in charge of the novel group, Wang Wei.

"Uncle Zhao, what can I do for you?"

"It's not that I have something to do. There was a guy outside who said he had written a novel and wanted to submit it to us. I thought he was a good person, so I asked for him."

"He's here to submit an article. That's great. Please let him in and come to me directly."

The security guard is here, so we have to give him some face.

Wang Wei knew that the security guard was a relative of a big shot in the Drama Association. Now that he was borrowing someone else's office building, it would be difficult to offend him.

Besides, if someone comes to submit a manuscript, regardless of the quality of the manuscript, Wang Wei will not turn them away. They are running a magazine, not a pretentious place.

After a while, a young man came.

He has handsome features, is tall, and always has a confident smile on his face, which makes Wang Wei like him a lot. His only shortcoming is that he is too young.

Being young often means lack of experience, and the writing skills may lack some maturity.

"Hello, Editor-in-Chief Wang, I am Chen Fan." The security guard has already introduced me.

"Hello, Comrade Chen Fan. Come and sit here."

Wang Wei led the man to the northeast corner of the office and poured him a glass of water. "Comrade Chen Fan, let's get straight to the point. Can I take a look at the manuscript first?"

Chen Fan took the manuscript out of the file bag and said, "Editor-in-Chief Wang, please take a look first."

"Then wait a moment, um, the handwriting is good."

Wang Wei took the manuscript paper and felt comfortable at first glance. The running script written in pen had neat handwriting and clear strokes, which was very good. He was most afraid of cursive script.

“The most beautiful youth!”

There is a line of small print below the title:
This book would like to pay tribute to the Saihanba spirit and to those who go against the tide of the times!
Wang Wei was stunned. He didn’t understand what the “Saihanba Spirit” was, and he didn’t understand the meaning of the three words “counter-current”.

However, Wang Wei did not ask, but turned to the main text. If it was a good article, the book would definitely give the answer.

The beginning of the book is interesting.

The story tells about the protagonist Feng Cheng's infinite reverie about his hometown Saihanba and the beautiful high mountains, as well as his sense of loss when he actually returns to Saihanba and faces "no trees for birds to perch on, and yellow sand covering the sky."

It just so happened that my uncle Li Tieniu was getting married, and there were incidents such as temporarily increasing the bride price and escaping from the marriage, which immediately brought the dramatic effect to the maximum.

Wang Wei was immersed in the plot unconsciously, especially the arrival of the advance team, Feng Cheng, Qin Xuemei, Yu Zhenglai, Wu Yansheng, Zhao Tianshan, Meng Yue, Ji Xiurong...

The curtain of the story has been completely opened, and the excitement continues.

More than an hour passed.

Chen Fan went out twice and smoked two cigarettes before Wang Wei finished reading the manuscript. Then he looked at Chen Fan expectantly: "How come it's gone? Where's the rest of the manuscript?"

“I haven’t finished writing it yet.”

Chen Fan smiled awkwardly. This book was adapted from the hit TV series "The Most Beautiful Youth" in later generations, and the plot development was also based on the TV series.

Thirty-six episodes, Chen Fan plans to write thirty-six chapters.

Each chapter is controlled at around 10,000 words.

This week, Chen Fan wrote as hard as he could, and his wrist was almost broken, but he only wrote seven chapters.

Also, the later stories in the book need to be adapted. It is only 1980 now, and the greening project of Saihanba is still ongoing.

However, the only chapter that really needs to be revised is the last one, which is not a big problem.

"How does the story develop next?" Wang Wei asked impatiently.

"Do you want this book?"

"Yes, we must!" Wang Wei made the decision directly.

What is popular nowadays are scar literature and reflective literature. Immersing oneself in the pain of the past is not what literature should be.

"The Most Beautiful Youth" is different, the book has its own spirit.

It is the Saihanba spirit written on the cover.

Even if he hasn't read the entire book, with Wang Wei's experience, he can still appreciate the Saihanba spirit and the meaning of those who go against the flow as shown in the book.

The Saihanba spirit has been passed down from generation to generation by Saihanba people, who have used their youth, sweat and even their flesh and blood to build a "green Great Wall" to block sand and contain water for the capital.

As for the three words "reversers", they are easy to understand. The people in the book, at an age when they could have enjoyed reading and studying, went against the flow and came to Saihanba, a place with lonely smoke in the desert and no grass growing.

Those who go against the flow do not only face danger.

Those who face difficulties head-on when there are better options are also retrogrades.

Now is the early stage of reform and opening up, and people need this kind of spirit, rather than the scar literature that is immersed in the pain of the past and unable to extricate itself from the groaning.

It’s conceivable that this book will be a hit!
"What about the royalties? How is it calculated?"

Wang Wei was moved by the characters and spirit in the book. When he heard this, he felt as uncomfortable as if he had eaten shit. Why did they suddenly talk about money when they were talking about their works? Chen Fan didn't care whether it was vulgar or not. He had changed his mind. Talking about money was not shameful.

Why would he write books if he doesn't make money?

Seeing Chen Fan's serious expression, Wang Wei stopped worrying about it. Writers are also human beings, they also need food, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea. In fact, many writers have a hard life.

After a moment's silence, Wang Wei said, "There are standards for manuscript fees, 3-10 yuan per thousand words. New writers generally receive 3-7 yuan per thousand words. I can give you the highest standard for new writers, 7 yuan per thousand words. What do you think?"

"Are you ready?"

It's really not that good. Seven bucks. Who am I embarrassing?

But with the market conditions these days, those top celebrities only get ten yuan, so it's considered good that Chen Fan can get seven yuan per thousand words.

"Of course, you need money?"

"It's been more than a month since I came back from the countryside, and I can't find a job. I can't make ends meet!" Chen Fan took the opportunity to cry poor.

"I'll ask the finance department to settle the bill for you later. Let's discuss the follow-up of the book first."

After chatting with Wang Wei for half a day, explaining his creative ideas and story lines, leaving contact information and agreeing on a submission date, Chen Fan left with the royalties.

490 words, yuan!
Chen Fan felt relieved. When he passed by the supply and marketing cooperative, he went in and bought two cans of food and a bag of candy. He asked his mother for the ticket before he left the house in the morning.

My eldest sister Chen Min lives nearby.

Chen Min is twenty-three years old this year, five years older than Chen Fan. She was the one who took care of Chen Fan when he was a child.

Chen Min went to the countryside in 1973.

The place she went to was far away, to the Great Northern Wilderness where people could catch roe deer with sticks and fish with ladles. A few years ago, she married Zhang Yunze, who was also an educated youth from Beijing, and only returned to the city at the end of last year.

Zhang Yunze's family conditions are relatively good. His father is a small leader and he owns a small courtyard house with its own entrance on Dongsi 6th Street.

But Zhang Yunze's conditions are not good.

He is the second child in the family and is not loved by his grandmother or uncle. His family has arranged jobs for his eldest brother and youngest brother, but has ignored him. He is now doing odd jobs everywhere.

Following the address left by his eldest sister, Chen Fan quickly found the Zhang family.

As soon as he entered the door, Chen Fan was stunned. At that moment, his eldest sister was holding a mop with a bucket beside her, and his three-year-old niece was sitting on the ground, and no one was paying attention to her.

That's nothing.

The problem was that there was an old lady sitting in the yard, holding a baby boy of five or six years old, and feeding the boy bite by bite with an apple in her hand.

But his eldest niece would take a peek from time to time and swallow her saliva.

"Isn't this too much of a preference for boys over girls?"

Chen Fan frowned secretly, feeling sorry for his eldest niece. In his previous life, when he was lying on the hospital bed, it was his youngest sister and this girl who took care of his excrement and urine.

"Xiaofan, why are you here?"

Hearing the footsteps, Chen Min looked over and a look of surprise suddenly appeared on his face.

Chen Fan originally wanted to say, "I missed you guys, I came over to meet you," but when he saw his eldest niece like this, he changed his words: "Something happened at home, I'll tell you later."

At this moment, the old lady who had been coaxing the boy spoke up: "It's Xiaofan, you came just as you said, what else do you want to bring?"

Chen Fan turned around and saw a proud smile on the old lady's face. She also glanced at the gift in Chen Fan's hand.

Obviously, if she hadn't seen that he was holding something, she probably wouldn't have said anything.

"Aunt, I came here in a hurry today and didn't bring anything with me, just a few gifts. I hope you don't mind." Chen Fan also had a smile on his face. When visiting someone's house, even if he was unhappy, he couldn't show it directly.

The old lady was not polite and took it directly, but she said nicely: "Don't do this next time, it's good enough as long as the person is here."

Chen Fan didn't take it seriously. He just listened to it.

Turning around, Chen Fan picked up his niece and said, "Nannan, do you still remember your uncle?"

"Yes, Nannan remembers."

The first time the little girl met her uncle was when Chen Fan had just returned to the city. At that time, Chen Fan stuffed a bag of candy into her pocket, and the little girl has always remembered it.

"So good!"

Chen Fan kissed his niece lovingly, took out a piece of milk candy from his pocket and fed it to the little girl, then looked at his eldest sister: "Where is my brother-in-law? Why can't I see him?"

"Working outside." Chen Min smiled bitterly.

My husband doesn't have a proper job, so he can only look for work everywhere. He is looked down upon at home. Sometimes I think it would be better to be in the Great Northern Wilderness. "What are you doing here today?"

"Mom has twisted her waist and will probably have to lie down for a few days. Dad has to go to work during the day, so it's not convenient for me to take care of her. So I thought of asking you to go back and help for a few days."

"You damn boy, why didn't you say so earlier?"

Chen Min got anxious when she heard this. She dropped the mop and went into the house to pack her clothes. Chen Fan quickly added, "Take Nannan's clothes with you as well."

"I want you to tell me!"

Chen Min yelled, and soon she had packed up, came out with a bag, greeted the old lady, and without waiting for her response, she pulled her brother out the door.

"How did our mom sprain her ankle? Is it serious? Should she be taken to the hospital?"

(End of this chapter)