Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 214: Full of bad intentions
In the office, Liu Yimin brought thirty books, which Cao Yu and he both thought would be more than enough. However, when the directors from the Beijing People's Art Theatre and some veteran actors like Yu Shizhi arrived, they found that the books were almost finished.

Liu Yimin signed his name and affixed his seal. Ouyang Shanzun also had Cao Yu sign his name, and the two of them appeared completely on the title page.

So Zhi picked up the book and laughed, "Now there'll be another book on the bookshelf!"

"Teacher Yu, you can't sigh when we talk about royalties anymore!" Liu Yimin handed the sample book to Yu Shizhi and said with a smile, shaking her hand.

Ouyang Shanzun said, "When I went to him to ask for funding, he was the same way. It's his old problem. Yimin, do you think you can cure him with just one book? I think it's difficult!"

So he sighed, and instantly the whole room burst into laughter.

"You don't know the cost of living until you're in charge. The Beijing People's Art Theatre is so big, and the expenses are huge every day. If I don't sigh, everyone will be starving when payday comes!"

Lan Tianye, who was standing next to him, was laughing, so Yu Zhi gently tapped him with her book.

"Yimin, your book is really well printed. The cover design is very sophisticated, combining the charm of landscape painting with the characteristics of Western painting. It's a perfect blend of Chinese and Western styles, just like the building of the Beijing People's Art Theatre."

Su Min held up the book in his hand and pointed out the features of the cover to everyone.

"Of course, the paintings by members of the China Artists Association are beautiful. But what I like the most are actually Comrade Shen Yanbing's manuscripts. I wish I had a few of the originals! The poem 'Seven-Character Quatrain: To Shaoshan' hanging in Yimin's study is really well written, with both distinctiveness and beauty!"

Ouyang Shanzun's gaze remained fixed on the photograph of the preface written by Mao Dun. He also had the calligraphy that Mr. Mao Dun had given to Liu Yimin framed in Liulichang.

"When Comrade Mao Dun writes, you can recognize him at a glance; he has his own unique style," Cao Yu commented.

"People will buy it just because of these two photos. Let's wait and see how well Yimin's first novel sells!"

After Lan Tianye finished speaking, the office became lively for a while before the crowd dispersed.

Cao Yu pointed to the few sample books left: "I thought we had enough. Now, send over some more later!"

Liu Yimin said helplessly, "I'll come back and deliver some more later!" After saying that, he took two more sample books, had Cao Yu sign and stamp them, and then prepared to leave the office.

"Where are you going to take these two books?" Cao Yu asked.

"Teacher, it's useful. I'll give it to Comrade Zhu Lin!"

"Oh! Okay, I have to deliver it!"

After Zhu Lin finished rehearsing, Liu Yimin handed her two books: "One for you, one for Uncle, how about that? Is that enough?"

Zhu Lin took the book and walked to the window to read it carefully. After finishing the preface, he closed the book and said, "That's enough, thank you, Teacher Liu. It's kind of you that so many people still remember me!"

I may forget anyone else, but I can never forget you!

Liu Yimin returned to the courtyard house and delivered another batch to Cao Yu. Fortunately, the distance was short; otherwise, he really wouldn't have been able to handle the hassle of making several trips.

With only about twenty copies left, Liu Yimin received a call from Huang Chunyu in his study, asking if he had enough sample copies to give away.

Liu Yimin looked at it: "Isn't that a bit too much?"

"Not many left?" Huang Chunyu was a little surprised. Actually, he only made the call to ask, and didn't really think Liu Yimin would finish delivering them all.

When she heard that it wasn't many, she couldn't suppress her surprise: "Yimin, how many people did you send?"

Liu Yimin counted in a low voice, but before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Huang Chunyu's regretful voice: "Why didn't you invite me when you delivered the books to Mr. Mao Dun and Mr. Xia Yan? I could have been your porter!"

If I go with them, I'll broaden my horizons considerably.

After feeling frustrated, Huang Chunyu decided to send Liu Yimin another hundred copies and tell him to wait at home while she went over immediately.

Liu Yimin said, "Consider these one hundred books as a purchase by me!"

"No need, it'll be covered by our publishing house's budget!" Huang Chunyu said generously.

Huang Chunyu carried the books into the study and handed the royalties to Liu Yimin: "The first print run was 200,000 copies. The royalties for the books plus the print run royalties total 5,460 yuan. Taxes have already been paid, so the after-tax amount is 4,528 yuan!"

Liu Yimin opened the bulging envelope, inside which was a royalty certificate issued by the Commercial Press, bearing the signature of the finance department.

“Count them, Yimin, don’t be shy, count them in front of me!” Huang Chunyu said again.

Liu Yimin counted the money quickly, and one after another, brand-new bills with the scent of ink flashed before Huang Chunyu's eyes, making his throat dry.

Later on, he simply started drinking tea and stopped looking at money.

Liu Yimin quickly counted the money, his hand aching from counting. After finishing, he put the money into the envelope and shook his arm.

Huang Chunyu joked, "Oh ho, your hands hurt from counting money. I really hope you'll have that kind of luck someday!"

"Next time you pay me, just use a bank transfer slip. That way you'll save yourself the trouble of counting it!"

"I wish I had that problem, but unfortunately I don't have the chance! Okay, I'll have the finance department send it to you directly from now on."

The Commercial Press is very close to Liu Yimin's place, and sending it through the post office would undoubtedly cause them some financial trouble.

However, Liu Yimin saved himself a lot of trouble.

Before "The Kite Runner" was even released for sale, some people in the literary world who were close to Liu Yimin received sample copies.

Inside the People's Literature Publishing House, the publisher, Wei Junyi, took a copy of "The Kite Runner" from who-knows-where and threw it onto Li Shu's desk.

"Come on, Comrade Li Shu, let's appreciate the printing skills of our colleagues at the Commercial Press!"

Seeing Wei Junyi's furious expression, Li Shu quickly stood up and said with a forced smile, "Sister Wei, this was an accident! Alas, it's not our fault for not working hard enough, it's all the fault of the cunning people at the Commercial Press!"

You wouldn't believe it, they sent people to find out Comrade Yimin's return time and route to Beijing, and then they were practically waiting outside his house! Comrade Yimin is a kind person, he must have agreed because he couldn't refuse.

Wei Junyi laughed and scolded, "Old Li, the important thing is the result, not the process. 'The Kite Runner' is a novel that has received an extremely enthusiastic response from readers. If it hadn't received such a strong response, so many magazines wouldn't have reprinted it. Even our 'Contemporary' magazine was originally planning to reprint it, but we gave up because we thought the novel would take up too much space!"

This novel's publishing rights have been lost. And to make matters worse, it's the Commercial Press! You guys ripped them off last time, and now they've come for revenge.

Chen Yuan usually seems quiet and unassuming, but when he gets down to business, he's a man of few words!

Wei Junyi wore a light blue cotton coat and a gray woolen scarf. Her black and white hair was neatly combed back. She was a little plump, wore glasses, and spoke in a booming voice. The other editors nearby, upon hearing this, were all busy with their work and dared not look up. No matter what they were busy with, they had to be busy now, otherwise, the criticism might very well fall on them.

Li Shuxin groaned inwardly, "Wasn't this extortion also done under your instructions?"

Wei Junyi and Chen Yuan are both veterans in the publishing industry, having worked in it since the 1950s. They are old friends, and old friends inevitably compete with each other and secretly rival each other.

Wei Junyi continued, "We need to try to get the publishing rights for good novels into the book. Not just Li Shu, everyone else listen up. With the reform and opening up, all industries need to compete and dare to be at the forefront. What is the forefront of the publishing industry? It is publishing good works. Li Shu, you need to establish good cooperative relationships with the authors from now on."

I heard Comrade Yimin is writing a new novel soon, so you should visit him more often!

After Wei Junyi left, Li Shu looked at the sample copy of "The Kite Runner" and muttered that the printing was indeed quite good.

Upon opening the cover, he saw the words "Respectfully presented by friend Chen Yuan." Seeing these five words, Li Shu realized why Wei Junyi had thrown such a tantrum.

If it were me, I would definitely get angry too.

He shook his head helplessly: "What's this Manager Chen from the Commercial Press up to?"

"Hey, isn't this just showing off?" one editor said.

“They’re both over sixty years old, yet they still have such childish tempers! They’re the ones making a fuss, but I’m the one suffering!” Li Shu kept flipping through “The Kite Runner”.

"You? Old Li, you're not one of us. We are! When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat are caught in the crossfire. We're so scared we don't dare to breathe. Just seeing our eldest sister standing here makes my scalp tingle!"

After chatting with them for a few more minutes, Li Shu packed his things and headed towards *People's Literature and Art* magazine. Seeing that Cui Daoyi also had *The Kite Runner* on his desk, he simply covered it up, out of sight, out of mind.

"Old Li, what's wrong?" Cui Daoyi asked, puzzled.

"It all started with the copyright issue. My older sister gave me a good scolding." Li Shu told Cui Daoyi the whole story, and Cui Daoyi listened with great amusement.

Li Shu was fuming: "I asked you for help, and you've come here just to laugh at me!"

"What do you need my help with? Let me see if there are any suitable works for publication in People's Literature and Art magazine that I can recommend to you!" Cui Daoyi pretended to look for them.

"Come on, you can look for it later. I heard from Sister Wei that Comrade Yimin recently published a novel? Is that true?" Li Shu asked, squinting.

"This!" Cui Daoyi separated his right index and middle fingers, and Li Shu immediately took out a cigarette and handed it to him, lighting it as he did so.

Taking a puff, Cui Daoyi said casually, "Yes, there is such a thing, but Lao Li, don't be in such a hurry. Look, even though Yimin's article was published in Harvest, I'm not worried at all!"

"You know that being anxious won't help. Mr. Ba wrote in Harvest magazine that Comrade Li Xiaolin has a good relationship with Comrade Yimin!"

"Hey, how can you talk like that, Lao Li? I don't like hearing you say that. Do you think I don't have a good relationship with Yimin? We're fellow disciples, close fellow disciples!"

"Alright, alright, you two are on good terms. It's no use if you're anxious, but I can't help it if I'm not anxious either. Comrade Chen Yuan's actions have really angered Sister Wei!"

Cui Daoyi patted Li Shu on the shoulder: "Keep a calm mind! This kind of thing happens all the time. I had my eye on an author for half a year, and he was still snatched away by 'October' magazine. Zhang Shouren of 'October' magazine is really quick."

I painstakingly scraped together the dowry, hired an opera troupe to carry the bridal sedan chair, and just when I was about to consummate the marriage, someone told me, "Get out of here, you don't need to worry about the rest!" Do you think that makes sense?

After Cui Daoyi's encouragement, Li Shu felt much better.

Li Shu dragged Cui Daoyi to find Liu Yimin, and Cui Daoyi said, "You're still thinking about it! The publishing rights might have already been negotiated by the Commercial Press!"

"It hasn't even been published yet, and they've already moved so fast?" Li Shu exclaimed in disbelief!
Cui Daoyi snorted: "You can tell how fast the comrades at the Commercial Press are just from 'The Kite Runner'. If you want it, others want it too. If you wait until it's published before competing for it, the competition will be even fiercer!"

"You dare to publish it without even knowing how good it is?"

"Which of Yimin's novels is of poor quality? There's no risk in not reading the manuscripts, and even if there is, the potential gains far outweigh the risks. Old Li, you're still too conservative. With reform and opening up, you need to reform too!"

Cui Daoyi's analysis made Li Shu's heart sink to the bottom. Li Shu said helplessly, "According to you, I'll get scolded again next time!"

"Treat me to a meal, and I'll give you some advice!"

"You speak first!"

"You go first!"

"Alright, alright, it's my treat, you go ahead!"

"First, you need to get the publishing rights to Yimin's essays!"

"I've only published seven essays so far, which is far from meeting the standards for publication!"

“I told you you weren’t very bright. Yimin went to Aba, and I gave him a few suggestions. There will be a few more articles. If all else fails, add poetry. Publish a collection of essays and poems. What do you think of my suggestion? Is it worth a meal?” Cui Daoyi said smugly.

After he finished speaking, several editors from nearby magazines also came over and said it was a good idea.

Li Shu's eyes lit up: "It has to be you again, Lao Cui. You've been full of bad intentions ever since I met you!"

"."

Cui Daoyi made a phone call to Liu Yimin, and after confirming that he was at home, the two of them rode their bicycles over.

After greeting Cui Daoyi, Liu Yimin shook hands with Li Shu.

Upon entering the study, Li Shu couldn't wait to ask.

Liu Yimin honestly stated, "The next two novels are basically confirmed to be published by The Commercial Press."

Li Shu glanced at Cui Daoyi and thought to himself that Cui Daoyi's jinx had indeed come true.

"Yimin, I'd like to talk to you about how your essays and poems are being published?" Li Shu asked.

Cui Daoyi stood beside him, engrossed in reading his book, without interrupting.

After listening to Li Shu's words, Liu Yimin looked at Cui Daoyi and said, "Senior brother, you came up with this dirty trick, didn't you!"

Cui Daoyi chuckled awkwardly, not denying it: "Yimin, you don't know, Comrade Li Shu was so anxious he was practically climbing a tree. I was just worried he'd get too worked up, so I gave him an idea!"

(End of this chapter)