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

Chapter 285 American Publishers

In the open space of the printing factory workshop, dozens of workers in blue overalls gathered together. Some sat on boxes, some sat on the ground, and some stood to one side.

The men in gray Zhongshan suits were factory cadres; they were just arguing, but the situation wasn't tense.

The factory cadres were all sweating profusely; some were speaking earnestly, while others were scolding them.

But the workers weren't afraid at all. This was a state-owned factory; who was afraid of whom?
The factory manager pulled the three aside and explained the situation to them: "Because everyone can't accept the ending, we don't want to print it anymore."

"What happened at the end?" Li Shu asked.

"It's too tragic, too tragic! The soldiers of the Fifth Company suffered such a tragic fate! Tong Chuan was even blinded in the end! The comrades can't accept it! They want you to change the ending!"

The three of them then realized that this was the reason!

Li Shu said, "This is Comrade Liu Yimin!"

"Comrade Liu Yimin, you've come at the perfect time! You've come at the perfect time!" the factory leader said, shaking Liu Yimin's hand tightly.

Then he called out to the workers beside him, "Comrades, this is Comrade Liu Yimin!"

As soon as he opened his mouth, a large crowd swarmed around him, with someone shouting, "Writer Liu, please revise the ending! We really can't bear to do it!"

A group of people started talking all at once, but the factory leader waved his hand to quiet everyone down and let Liu Yimin speak!

Liu Yimin walked to the middle, with Cui Daoyi and Li Shu on his left and right, respectively, to prevent a conflict from breaking out.

"Comrades, I am Liu Yimin. Seeing this scene makes me very happy, it shows that everyone deeply loves our soldiers!"

I also wanted a better ending, so that all our soldiers could return from the battlefield, reunite with their families, eat their hometown food, speak their hometown dialect, and hold their children's hands.
But comrades, war is cruel. The news of victory we see every day is bought with the lives of our soldiers. Our soldiers fight valiantly, our soldiers sacrifice their lives without hesitation.

I wonder if anyone knows any soldiers on the front lines? I do. My friend is about the same age as me. I went to university in 78, and he joined the army in 78.

He always wanted to be a hero and actively asked his superiors to let him go to the front lines. From the second half of 80, he stopped corresponding with me until he returned last summer. He stood at the gate of Yenching University, and I could hardly recognize him.

His face was lacerated by a bullet, a striking scar that changed his appearance. I wanted to pat his arm; his left sleeve was empty. He told me many stories about the battlefield.

He couldn't help but weep whenever he thought of his comrades who could not return. "Comrades, this is the battlefield!"

Liu Yimin stood in the middle of the crowd and spoke slowly. Many workers had tears in their eyes after hearing about Li Lanyong's deeds.

“It’s not that I don’t want to change, it’s just that reality is so cruel. Although Tong Chuan lost his eyesight, he eventually got together with Comrade Jiang Man. But in reality, how many of our soldiers can no longer see the people they love?”

Inside the workshop, soft sobs could be heard. Some of the female workers, their eyes red, leaned on the shoulders of the older women next to them.

"Writer Liu, we understand. We'll get to work right away and try to get this book to readers as soon as possible!"

A male worker walked up to Liu Yimin, shook Liu Yimin's hand, and ran towards the production line.

The workers wiped away their tears as they shook hands with Liu Yimin, and then ran toward the machines.

Seeing this, the factory leaders were relieved and let the workshop leaders direct everyone to print.

"Comrade Liu Yimin, Editor Li and Editor Cui, the printing work should be completed in about three days!"

"Oh, that scared me to death!" Li Shu said, still shaken, as he put his arm around the printing factory leader's shoulder.

Cui Daoyi quietly threw away the stick in his hand, realizing that he had gone a bit too far.

Liu Yimin pulled out a few ten-yuan bills from his pocket and handed them to the factory leaders, saying, "This is a small token of my appreciation. I'll treat you all to some soft drinks!"

"Comrade Liu Yimin, this isn't quite right!"

"Take it, comrades, you've all worked hard!" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

After Liu Yimin left, the factory leaders gathered a few people and rode tricycles to the nearby shopping mall, where they filled the tricycles with soft drinks.

Upon arriving at the workshop, he placed the soft drinks there and said, "Comrades, you've worked hard. These soft drinks were bought for everyone out of Liu's own pocket. He asked me to tell you all, thank you, comrades!"

The workers wiped the sweat from their foreheads with towels wrapped around their necks, then rushed over to grab a bottle of soda, boldly biting it open with their teeth and gulping it down: "The soda that Writer Liu treated us to tastes so sweet, doesn't it, comrades!"

"Yes!"

"Since Writer Liu has done this, we must step up our efforts and get 'Triumphant at Midnight' printed as soon as possible!"

"it is good!"

"Come and get more if you're thirsty! But each person can only take two more bottles, no more!"

"Comrade Liu Yimin is truly magnanimous, just like any other man from Yanjing!"

Li Shu took Liu Yimin and Cui Daoyi out for a meal before going back. Li Shu said with a smile, "Thanks to Yimin today!"

"The fact that the workers requested a change to the ending also demonstrates the immense influence of this novel!" Cui Daoyi ate his food with relish, taking bites of food and sips of soda.

"Oh, no, it's not that. I'll just explain it to everyone. They all mean well!"

Liu Yimin said.

After the three finished their meal, they went their separate ways. Liu Yimin didn't go back to Yenching University. When Cui Daoyi and Li Shu dragged him out of the university, he was in class!

He left the students with the words "study on your own" and then left.

Cui Daoyi sighed, thinking how comfortable it must be to be a university professor. He wondered why no professor had tried to persuade him to stay on back then; they didn't have to be so forceful, they just asked and he'd stay.

In Muxidi, Liu Yimin learned from Cao Yu that people from the China Book and Periodical Publishing House had contacted him.

He wanted to contact Liu Yimin through Cao Yu in order to obtain the opportunity to publish "The Green Book".

Why did they decide to publish it now?

"Of course they think it's good! Henry from China Publishing House has made a huge contribution to our country's publishing industry in the United States. With the reform and opening up, the United States has relaxed its censorship of our books, and the royalties are no longer frozen."

Their business has grown tremendously in the last two years, developing very rapidly. Last time I went to the United States, I even met Hunter. He told me in a letter that the novel *Green Book* is extremely popular in America!

This Chinese publishing house was later jointly acquired by the China Foreign Languages ​​Publishing Administration and a Hong Kong publishing company. Cao Yu handed the telegram to Liu Yimin.

Liu Yimin read the telegram from beginning to end: "Mr. Hunter didn't mention any specific details!"

"Hunter's daughter, Niki Noyce, is in Hong Kong. If you agree, she can come to Beijing to talk to you right away!"

"Of course I agree! I won't miss any opportunity to earn foreign exchange!"

Li Yuru said with a smile, "Yimin's book is about to take over America!"

The three of them laughed heartily, and Li Yuru took out some pastries she had made for Liu Yimin to taste.

“Yimin, try this. I learned it from someone else!” Li Yuru said.

Liu Yimin took a bite and said, "It's very soft, quite sweet, and has an egg flavor."

"This is my improved version of steamed rice cake. I used a full third more eggs than others!" Li Yuru said proudly.

"Your teacher's wife now enjoys researching food, and what she makes is all delicious!"

"Teacher, if you want to praise your wife, just say so!"

Li Yuru rolled her eyes at Liu Yimin: "You kid!" But she was secretly delighted.

Before Liu Yimin left, Li Yuru asked him to take some things with him.

Niki Noyce acted quickly, arriving in Beijing from Hong Kong two days later. Several publishing houses that cooperated with China Publishing House, and even some business departments, sent people to pick her up and arrange for her to stay at the Beijing Hotel.

After the reform and opening up, many inspection teams stopped at the China Book and Periodical Publishing House as their first stop to understand the United States.

Therefore, they are very familiar with many departments in China.

Liu Yimin met Niki Noyce at the Yanjing Hotel. She was wearing a burgundy business suit, looked to be around forty years old, and had a very kind smile.

"I didn't expect you to be so young, Liu," Noyce said with a smile.

Liu Yimin said, "Ms. Noyce, you are very beautiful too!"

"Haha, thank you for the compliment. 'Green Book' is very popular among various groups in the United States, which is why we wanted to publish it. Our main business is publishing periodicals and books in China, but I think 'Green Book' can make an exception for us!"

"I believe 'Green Book' will not disappoint your company!"

"I heard that many of your books have been published in France?"

"Yes, if your company needs it, you can take a look!"

“I will look into it. Let’s talk about Green Book first. How about a 10% royalty on a base fee of $1,500?” Noyce asked.

“Ms. Noyce, I’d like a 13% royalty rate, which, as far as I know, isn’t high in the United States!”

“It’s not high, but… well, I agree, you greedy little fellow. The rest of our Chinese counterparts aren’t like you!” Noyce swirled the red wine in his glass and said with a smile.

Liu Yimin laughed and said, "Ms. Noyce, I'm not greedy. Thirteen percent is what I won. Secondly, our country needs a lot of foreign exchange!"

“Regardless, thirteen percent is yours. Of course, it’s not free!” Noyce smiled at Liu Yimin and took a sip of red wine.

How can I help you?

"Take me to see Yenching, my parents miss China very much."

Noyce and Liu Yimin walked out of the Yanjing Hotel. Liu Yimin took her around Yanjing City, and Noyce introduced her parents to Liu Yimin.

Her father, Hunter, was born in China; her grandfather was a missionary who came to China. Her mother, Goth, also loved Chinese culture and, although British, frequently volunteered in the Chinese community.

"Liu, are you pouting?"

"Have it?"

“Yes, you seemed a little unhappy when I mentioned missionaries!” Noyce asked curiously.

Liu Yimin said frankly, “Ms. Neues, I personally and the Chinese people are very grateful for everything your family has done for Sino-US friendship. However, it is undeniable that the history of missionaries coming to China was not a pleasant one, and missionaries were not simply motivated by missionary work.”

The so-called 'missionary work' carries connotations of cultural manipulation. Some missionaries not only colluded with politicians but also committed many things that angered the Chinese people; they committed heinous crimes!

“Liu, I admit it! You’re a remarkable young man. I think someone else would have stopped bringing this up with me,” Noyce agreed.

"If you feel uncomfortable, I'm sorry!"

"No, we should all face history squarely! But it is also because of this history that our family has forged an indissoluble bond with China!"

"That's the amazing thing about history!"

Liu Yimin took Noyce on a tour of the hutongs and the Forbidden City, and they went to Yenching University to see the ruins of the Old Summer Palace behind the university.

Looking at the overgrown ruins of the Old Summer Palace, Noyce looked regretful.

"When I was a child, I read Mr. Hugo's letters criticizing England and France, who not only plundered civilization but also burned this beautiful place to the ground!"

"Mr. Hugo transcended nationalist stances, and the Chinese people all respect him!"

Noyce smiled and looked at Liu Yimin: "I hope one day you can win the Hugo Award. I think Mr. Hugo would be happy to see an Asian face!"

After Noyce finished speaking, he realized it was inappropriate, because the Hugo Award is a science fiction award!
After touring the garden, Noyce was already very tired, so he did not continue to visit other places, but returned to Yenching University.

He was eating with the students in the cafeteria, and everyone thought he was a new foreign teacher.

"Liu, thank you. I had a great time in Yanjing today!" Noyce said with a smile.

"Me too!"

"I hope that one day we can meet in the United States, and I will show you around America!"

P.S. Thank you to the generous donor, Qi Wuyi, for the 200 coins!
(End of this chapter)