Mixed in 1980

Chapter 97: Harder than expected

Chen Fan went to People's Literature Magazine first. When Wang Wei saw him, he was relieved: "You are finally on time for once. Are the two manuscripts missing?"

"There was something wrong before, please don't mention it again. Look, I didn't miss a word."

Chen Fan opened the file bag and took out two column manuscripts: "I'm going to the People's Literature Publishing House later to discuss publishing with Sister Jingyi. Do you want to come with me?"

"I'll go with you later and show her these two manuscripts."

Wang Wei nodded, opened the manuscript and started reading. He only read the beginning of both articles and felt relieved when he was sure that they were still in the original style.

With these two manuscripts, he would be safe for the next two months. He had had enough of the days of living in fear at the beginning of the month.

After closing the manuscript, Wang Wei took out a cigarette and handed it over: "Your file bag is full. What's in it? Are there any other contents to be published?"

"A novel."

"Let me see."

"What's so good about it that you magazine can give me space again?"

"'The Most Beautiful Youth' will only be serialized for a few more issues, so the new book can be continued."

Wang Wei lit up a cigarette and suddenly realized something was wrong. He slapped his forehead and said, "You are holding a manuscript. Are you going to submit it to your sister Jingyi? Contemporary magazine?"

"Comrade Chen Fan, don't forget that this is your mother's home. Don't be so rude. Hurry and show it to me."

Chen Fan thought for a moment and took out the manuscript: "Go ahead and read it if you want. Give me some advice. To be honest, I'm a little worried that this book won't pass the review."

Wang Wei was surprised. Is this kid afraid of not passing the trial?

The editorials he wrote were like knives, guns and cannons, and I never saw him worry about them.

After taking the manuscript and reading a few thousand words, Wang Wei frowned. He skipped the content at the back and turned to the second and third chapters, but only read the first one or two thousand words.

Putting out the cigarette irritably, Wang Wei continued flipping through the pages, only reading one or two thousand words in each chapter, his brows soon furrowed into the shape of the Chinese character "川".

"It's really hard to describe your book!"

"The content is actually fine, but the characters and events involved are too..."

Wang Wei didn't know what words to use to describe it for a moment: "I can't say for sure about this matter. Let's go to your sister Jingyi and discuss it together."

"Then let's walk!"

Chen Fan put the manuscript away and put it back into the file bag. Then the two of them went out and headed straight for the People's Literature Publishing House, which was just across Chaoyangmennei Street.

There are several alleys on both sides of the street, with many large courtyard houses preserved in them. Famous people such as Liang Shiqiu and Zhang Shizhao once lived here.

People's Literature Publishing House, in Lishi Hutong.

In fact, this place was originally called "Lushi Hutong", which was a livestock market where donkeys and horses were bought and sold. The livestock market was not closed until the Xuantong period.

Later, this place was rebuilt and rich people moved in. It was no longer appropriate to call it "Lushi Hutong", so they used a pun and changed it to Lishi Hutong.

Many scenes of the classic drama "The Mansion Gate" were shot here. It is famous for its many mansions. Chen Fan was jealous as he walked here, thinking about getting another big one when he had the chance.

Wang Wei was very familiar with this place. He found Wang Jingyi's office easily and knocked on the door and went in: "Jingyi, long time no see."

"Brother Wang, Xiaofan, why are you two here together? Come and sit over here, I'll make you some tea." Wang Jingyi enthusiastically led the two to the coffee table next to them.

Chen Fan looked around carefully. The office of more than 20 square meters was divided into an office area and a rest area, and the decoration was also quite good.

Thinking of this, Chen Fan couldn't help but complain: "Brother Wang, take a look at Sister Jingyi's office. She is also the editor-in-chief, don't you have any ideas in your mind?"

"..."

Wang Wei felt like he was stabbed in the back. This guy was really mean. He shouldn't have accompanied him here.

In fact, it’s not that the magazine is poor. The sales of each issue of People’s Literature Magazine exceed one million. It is a giant in the magazine and periodical industry and has no shortage of money.

The problem is, there's nowhere to go!

People's Literature Magazine is affiliated with the Writers Association. It is not a powerful organization and it cannot be allocated an office building these days. Even if it has money, it is useless.

Unlike the People's Literature Publishing House, which is supervised by the Ministry of Culture and was directly approved an office building. The conditions there are much better than those of a magazine.

"If you keep joking, your brother Wang will be very upset."

Wang Jing smiled and quickly made some tea: "Are you here today to discuss publishing? Have you finished the manuscript?"

Wang Wei took out two column manuscripts and said, "The column articles have been published. There are two in total. You can choose one and publish it in September and include it in the book."

Wang Jing took the manuscript and only glanced at the title before picking out one of the articles: "Let's take this one. It's aimed at big countries and should be put in the first book. It's important enough."

This article is about the Soviet Union!
"I think so too. There are only two superpowers at present, one is the United States and the other is the Soviet Union. The first publication must target such a significant country." Wang Wei agreed.

"The content has been finalized. Next, let's talk about the print run. The publisher has already discussed this. The first print run is 20 copies, and it will be released on October st."

"Your publishing house is so stingy!"

Wang Wei took out a cigarette, handed one to Chen Fan, and lit one for himself: "The sales of Chen Fan's Editorial Collection are heading towards 60 copies, and we will have to reprint it sooner or later."

"We are not worried about sales, but the problem is that we have to print so many copies at once. Can you share the pressure of inventory and distribution with us?" Wang Jing rolled her eyes at him and looked at Chen Fan: "The royalties for the number of copies of The Most Beautiful Youth are 4000 yuan, and the basic royalties and royalties for the number of copies of Chen Fan's World will be settled together later. This is what we agreed on before."

"Thank you, Sister Jingyi!"

Chen Fan calculated that this money would be almost enough to pay for tomorrow's house payment.

"When you mention money, your eyes light up. I just don't understand, you have received a lot of royalties, why do you still look like you are short of money?" Wang Wei scolded with a smile.

"Buy a house!"

"Does your house lack a house?" Wang Wei has been there before. His house has four rooms.

“Is this a matter of lack of housing?”

"if not?"

"Brother Wang, you've heard about the buildings over at Tuanjie Lake, right? Thirty thousand per unit, and how much is a courtyard house? From a little over a thousand to two thousand, do you know the difference?"

"What's the difference?" Wang Wei was confused.

"What is the future of urban construction? Look at Europe, America, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong. High-rise buildings are the standard. What will happen to these old houses in the future?"

Wang Wei and Wang Jing looked at each other.

Now they understood. What else could they do? The old house could only be demolished and rebuilt. Chen Fan bought the old house with the intention of moving to a building in the future.

“I’ll buy it later!”

Wang Wei immediately made up his mind. As the editor-in-chief of the magazine, he knew more information than many people. What Chen Fan said would definitely come true.

It’s just that I never thought about these things before.

Wang Jing smiled and agreed, "I'll ask my mother-in-law to ask around. She lives in the alley and is well-informed."

"When you have to pay for compensation, don't come to me." Chen Fan lit a cigarette and joked.

"If not you, who else should I look for? We have already drunk our tea, so let's get down to business. Let me make it clear first, if this book is approved, it must be left to our magazine." Wang Wei repeated.

"Do you have a layout?" Chen Fan complained.

Wang Wei laughed and said teasingly, "Don't argue with me. I know more than you do. It will take at least several months for this book to pass the review. By then, The Most Beautiful Youth will have already been completed."

"What kind of book is this? Is the content so sensitive?"

Wang Jingyi was curious. These days, the censorship is still very relaxed. As long as you don’t touch on some forbidden areas or write too darkly, there won’t be any big problems.

You can even write a dark process with a bright ending.

Yu Hua had such an experience in later life. It happened in 1983. Capital Literature asked him to revise his manuscript. They disliked the ending being too dark, so they just wanted to change it to a brighter one.

Others go to revise manuscripts for half a month or a month. They are treated to good food and drink at the guesthouse, and are given a daily subsidy that is higher than their salary. These are all benefits for the authors.

Yu Hua is an honest man. He finished the revisions in just one day, and even the editor was confused.

The editor had no choice but to say that it was not easy for Yu Hua to come to Beijing and he should take a good look around. Then Yu Hua spent a month touring the city and made a lot of money when he returned.

"See for yourself."

Chen Fan took out the manuscript, and there were only a few words on the first page: Awakening Age!
As soon as Wang Jing saw the name, she felt that there was something interesting. She opened it and was immediately attracted by the content, but as she read on, she frowned.

He also glanced at Chen Fan.

This guy writes really well and is really brave!

This is no longer an ordinary literary work. The characters and events in it are too...

For a moment, Wang Jingyi didn't know how to describe it. Anyway, such an article could not be published directly. It had to be discussed above before it had a chance.

No wonder Wang Wei said it would take several months.

"You can serialize it, but I will publish it."

Wang Jing looked at Wang Wei and saw him nod. Then he said, "Don't think of just taking advantage without doing anything. Together, our two families will push this matter to the higher authorities."

"I thought so too." Wang Wei said.

"Very good, then we have reached a consensus."

Wang Jing quickly brewed another pot of tea and said, "Xiao Fan, to be honest, this book is very good, but it will be very difficult to review. Are you sure you want to continue writing?"

Chen Fan took a sip and put down his teacup: "Isn't this because of your help? The book has been conceived and will be about 430,000 words."

"No, you don't understand me."

Wang Jing refilled the tea and explained, "It's not that we can make this happen just by pushing it. For works like this, the higher-ups will definitely hold seminars. As the author, you need to attend some of these meetings to explain your work."

Wang Wei took over the conversation and added: "It is almost certain that you will attend such seminars many times. If you are lucky, you may be asked to revise your manuscript. If you are unlucky, your manuscript will still be rejected after several revisions, and all your work will be in vain."

Wang Jing nodded and continued, "So we have to confirm one thing. In this case, are you willing to do it? Are you willing to continue writing? Only if you nod, we will have a chance to get this done."

PS: The third update is here. Thank you for your subscription support~
(End of this chapter)