Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

Chapter 150 Amazing

"An article?" Xu Bei guessed almost immediately. "Is it an article for newspapers or magazines?"

Zhou Qingwan nodded gently, "Yes."

She didn't understand why she was so honest with Xu Bei, but she just didn't want to lie.

Xu Bei increasingly felt that Zhou Qingwan was a treasure girl, worthy of his deeper understanding and exploration, and perhaps there would be even greater surprises and discoveries.

"I only knew you were good at studying, but I never knew you were so talented! You are truly outstanding."

Zhou Qingwan's face turned even redder, as if she had applied blush. "Brother Xu, I'm embarrassed by your praise. I guess I'm just lucky. After being rejected several times, I finally met an editor who appreciates me."

"But I was just telling the truth, and I didn't exaggerate." Xu Bei suddenly remembered a chance encounter from before and laughed with sudden realization, "That time I saw you at the post office withdrawing money with a remittance slip, and there were even small change in it. Was that a remittance for your royalties?"

Zhou Qingwan naturally remembered that encounter. Later, Xu Bei kindly rode his bike to take her home because he was worried that she might encounter robbers after withdrawing the money.

"That was indeed the case. A short story was successfully published, and I received a royalty of over twenty-three yuan, which was the highest royalty I ever received."

Upon hearing this, Xu Bei gave an even more heartfelt thumbs up, "That's amazing! How old are you? You're already earning royalties, and quite a lot at that, almost half a month's wages for a worker. Your future is limitless."

Even he, a complete novice in writing, had heard that getting published was not an easy task.

It is said that before becoming famous, the renowned writer Yu Hua experienced a "dark" period that lasted for several years and was frequently rejected.

This shows just how outstanding Zhou Qingwan, this eighteen-year-old girl, is.

After getting on the bus, the two sat together and chatted mostly about literature.

Xu Bei also gained a new understanding of the manuscript fee standards in the 1980s, as well as the ranking of the popularity of various magazines.

For example, People's Literature and Harvest are among the top-tier magazines.

The lesser-known ones are "BJ Literature" and "Shanghai Literature".

Next are provincial or even regional magazines.

According to regulations, the standard for original manuscript fees after the adjustment in 1980 was 3 to 10 yuan per thousand words.

For example, publishing a short article of a few hundred words or a black and white photograph in a newspaper can usually earn you a fee of about 1 to 2 yuan.

An essay or short story of two or three thousand words can earn a fee of about ten to twenty yuan.

Keep in mind that in the 1980s, a worker's monthly salary was only a few dozen yuan.

Although getting published is not easy, the payment for the manuscript is extremely attractive to ordinary people.

It's no wonder that many people grit their teeth and keep submitting their manuscripts even after receiving multiple rejection letters that they think the manuscripts won't be published.

After an hour's drive, the Sengoku Railway slowly pulled into the city's train station.

Xu Bei and Zhou Qingwan chatted all the way, finding themselves getting along better and better, and both felt they hadn't had enough.

Xu Bei had always wanted to pursue the girl, so he naturally wanted to seize the opportunity. Therefore, he offered to help take her to a school that wasn't far from the train station.

Zhou Qingwan declined, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

However, he still couldn't persuade Xu Bei, who was very persistent.

However, Xu Bei wasn't a complete naive young man in his early twenties. After all, he was a high school student, and there were so many eyes watching him, including teachers, school leaders, and classmates. If they saw him, a grown man, being sent to school, it would inevitably cause some gossip or rumors.

So he dropped the person off at an alley near the high school and then stopped there.

"Little Zhou. Um, I shouldn't call you that anymore, it feels too formal and polite. Since we're friends, how about I call you Qingwan from now on, okay?"

Zhou Qingwan had been called that before, but when Xu Bei said the name Qingwan, especially in his magnetic voice, her ears involuntarily warmed up. Fortunately, she was wearing a hat and the other person couldn't see it.

"Sure, Brother Xu."

Xu Bei gazed at Zhou Qingwan's shyly lowered eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering like small fans, which was quite beautiful.

He thought to himself, "No wonder there's a saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Now, no matter how he looks at her, he thinks the girl is exceptionally beautiful, and every smile and frown touches his heartstrings.

But when you think about it, the pressure of repeating a year of high school to take the college entrance exam in this era is no ordinary thing.

Furthermore, knowing that the girl is studying hard and preparing for the preliminary exam in early May, and also earning money by writing articles in her spare time, it feels a bit unfair to bring up the topic of pursuing her.

Therefore, he swallowed back some of the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

"Qingwan, since you call me brother, I'll be a little bold and give you a few words of advice. Repeating a year of high school is so tough, don't just focus on studying and writing; you also need to balance work and rest. Otherwise, you'll ruin your health, and without the foundation for everything else, what else can you talk about?"

Zhou Qingwan raised her eyes and gave Xu Bei a deep look. She had a strange feeling that this wasn't what he wanted to say before, but it was impossible to find out now.

"I know, Brother Xu. That's why I finished the manuscript before the class started."

"That's good." Xu Bei glanced towards the campus. "Then you should go to school now. I'm leaving too. Let's hang out together sometime."

Zhou Qingwan blinked. "Okay, Brother Xu. Thank you for bringing me here."

Xu Bei said with a smile, "No need to be polite with me. Alright, I'm leaving."

Then he waved his hand and turned away with a flourish.

Zhou Qingwan stood there with her handbag, watching Xu Bei walk a distance before turning around and heading towards the school.

As a student repeating a year, the school also provided dormitory accommodation, but the environment and conditions were not very good.

The small girls' dormitory has four bunk beds and houses eight people.

Because Zhou Qingwan and Song Guomei had a good relationship, they shared an upper and lower bunk room closer to the inside.

However, when Zhou Qingwan entered the dormitory with her bag today, she found that Song Guomei, who seemed to have arrived early, was sitting on the lower bunk staring straight at her without saying a word.

"Gome, Happy Chinese New Year!"

Song Guomei twitched the corner of her mouth slightly. "I didn't have a good New Year at all."

Although Zhou Qingwan already had a premonition and some answers in her heart, she still asked, "Why?"

"What else could it be? Zhou Qingwan, you should know better than anyone else!"

Song Guomei stood up agitatedly, pointed at Zhou Qingwan, and said coldly, "I've always considered you my best friend, but you know I like Brother Xiaobei, yet you don't keep your distance from him. You secretly tutor Xu Juan, and you two even watched the movie 'Romance on Lushan Mountain' together on the first day of the Lunar New Year!"

Zhou Qingwan knew that there are no secrets in this world.

Especially since Song Guomei's brother is a good friend of Xu Bei, it's not surprising that he would hear about these things.

"I tutored Brother Xu's sister out of gratitude for his and Aunt's help. I went to the movies with my cousin on my first day of high school, and unexpectedly ran into them. So what do you want me to do to satisfy you? Does liking someone mean others can't even have normal interactions with them?"