Chapter 901 Everything is inevitably moving towards mediocrity

As usual, people pay New Year's greetings on the first day of the Lunar New Year. In recent years, fireworks and firecrackers have been banned in Yanjing, so there have been fewer accidents. When you wake up on the first morning of the Lunar New Year, you can no longer smell the smell of gunpowder in the air.

After a long time, I still miss it.

So, people are all cheap. When Yanjing banned fireworks, Lin Weimin was quite supportive. It's only been a few years, and I miss it again.

After paying New Year's greetings, we drove on Chang'an Avenue. There were hardly any cars to be seen, and a rare tranquility appeared on the main road of Yanjing.

The little kid was whining in the car and hugging Tao Huimin's arm and acting coquettishly.

Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, when "Shuke and Beta: The Best in the Year of the Rabbit" is released.

The family came to the cinema. There seemed to be more people inside than last year, all of them were parents with their children.

This year, Jackie Chan's movie was absent from the Lunar New Year's Day movie season, so during this time period, the only movie that dominated the theaters was "Shuke and Beta: The Best in the Year of the Rabbit."

With two years of continuous investment and large-scale publicity, it seems that the "Shuke and Beta" series of films has gradually become a fixture of the Lunar New Year holiday season.

The movie starts and the plot is still innovative.

This year's theme is environmental protection. The rabbits on the grassland have mutated due to environmental pollution from the factory and have become red, blue and yellow rabbits. They have bad tempers and are constantly fighting among themselves. Shuke and Beta help the rabbits find an antidote and eventually lead them to shut down the polluting factory, returning fresh air, soil and water to the grassland.

The plot may seem childish to adults, but kids still buy into it and watch it without blinking.

It was already past five in the afternoon when Lin Weimin's family came out of the screening room after watching the movie. Xiao Doubao begged him to buy her a movie-related toy, so Lin Weimin bought her one. Although it was paid for by his own company, the price still made Lin Weimin complain.

It’s so dark!

Before leaving the cinema, there were more audiences coming in than before, and much more than last year. It looks like this year's box office will not be bad.

The facts were similar to what Lin Weimin thought. After the holiday, the box office figures of "Shuke and Beta: The Best in the Year of the Rabbit" in its first week were released.

16.5 million yuan!

This number is almost twice that of the same period last year. In addition to the lack of strong competitors in the same period, the most crucial factor is of course the audience base cultivated by the series of films.

It should be said that this move was correct.

Compared to spending several years making low-quality cartoons to cultivate audiences and markets, a series of animated films requires less time and energy.

Of course, the risks and investment are also greater.

But it all seems worth it.

Judging from the box office in the first week of its release, it should not be difficult for "Shuke and Beta: The Best in the Year of the Rabbit" to break 50 million.

At the same time, peripheral products that were ignored last year seem to have had a good start at the beginning of this year.

Since last year, Wenhua Films has cooperated with toy factories to produce a batch of dolls, puzzles and other peripheral toys for sale in cinemas.

Unfortunately, the effect was not ideal, and most of these toys were still in stock when the movie was taken off the screen.

Fortunately, the profit was relatively high, and after clearing out the leftover goods, I barely broke even.

This year, Wenhua Film and Television has made a comeback. According to the sales feedback from cinemas across the country, the sales of peripheral toys reached 1.5 million yuan in the first week of the movie's release. This number may seem insignificant, but it is a result that was not achieved until the movie was taken off the screen last year.

Under the management of Wenhua Film and Television, the IP of "Shuke and Beta" is gradually regaining its charm.

At the beginning of the new year, a new department appeared in Guowen Group - the Legal Department, which immediately became the focus of attention of everyone in the group.

The reason is simply that the lineup looks too powerful.

Most of them are among the first batch of lawyers in China engaged in intellectual property cases. Not only did they all graduate from top domestic law schools such as Yan University, the Five Academies and Four Departments, but there are also many talents from legal families.

The legal department has a very strong team of lawyers, but what concerns Guowen Group employees more is their salaries.

It is said that these lawyers all receive annual salaries, with the minimum annual salary alone being 50,000 yuan, and the year-end bonus is said to be no lower than the salary.

The most important thing is that these people will get a commission if they win the lawsuit. The losses recovered from all the lawsuits they win are divided into three parts: one part for Guowen Group, one part for the author, and one part for the Legal Department.

These treatments are enviable just by hearing about them, but all employees of Guowen Group know that the money they get is not for nothing.

As a group company whose main business is cultural industry, with the current weak copyright awareness in China, the group suffers losses of almost billions of dollars every year due to various types of piracy.

Compared with the income earned by the lawyers in the Legal Department, the losses that they help the group avoid and recover are the real core interests of Guowen Group.

Of course, this is based on the premise that the Ministry of Law can perform its duties in an ideal manner.

This newly established legal department still needs time to prove the value and significance of its existence.

Before the Lantern Festival, Qu Xiaowei organized a party.

When people reach middle age, they have more and more mundane things to do, but they have less and less time to see friends, and getting together becomes increasingly difficult.

February 28th is the last day of February and also the last weekend of February, and there are still two days until the Lantern Festival.

Everyone gathered on the second floor of Qu Xiaowei's Internet cafe again. Yu Hua said with emotion: "I now feel more and more that Xiaowei's place is a paradise."

"Your emotion comes out of nowhere. You have a virtuous wife and filial children, and your career is going smoothly. What do you have to be emotional about?" Mo Yan teased.

Yu Hua sighed, "My son ranked second to last in the exam last semester. Cheng Hong always said that he inherited my genes."

"Isn't that nonsense? If it doesn't belong to you, then what can it be inherited from others?" Mo Yan said.

Everyone burst into laughter, and Yu Hua glared at him fiercely.

“Second to last is indeed a bit low, but there is still a lot of room for improvement!”

Teacher Lin's angle of comforting people is rather peculiar, and there is a hint of complacency in his expression. Last year, Xiao Doubao got third place in the grade.

When this group of people got together, they talked about literature, philosophy and history.

Now it has become a gathering of middle-aged people, and the topic has changed quietly without people noticing.

The oldest child in this group is Qu Xiaowei, whose son Qu Xiangnan will be going to high school next year.

"I plan to send him to study abroad in two years," said Qu Xiaowei.

Since the 1980s, the trend of studying abroad has gradually emerged in China. The earliest ones were government-sponsored, and later people went abroad at their own expense.

Nowadays, many people are rich and are thinking about sending their children abroad to gain some experience in education. It is not surprising that Qu Xiaowei has such an idea.

"But I'm afraid this kid will never come back once he goes out." He said worriedly again.

"If you're afraid of staying abroad, don't send me." Zheng Guo put the white ball into the hole, feeling embarrassed, and put down the club. "Studying abroad is like throwing meat buns at a dog. You go and you can't come back."

"That can't be said. Didn't some people come back?"

Zheng Guo said bluntly: "Don't be offended by what I say. How many people are truly willing to serve their country? Aren't the vast majority of those who come back because they can't make it abroad? Even if they can't make it abroad, there are very few who come back."

"The glamorous world of capitalism is so fascinating!" Qu Xiaowei exclaimed.

Tong Zhonggui said lightly: "As the country develops better and better in the future, more and more people will definitely return to China."

Everyone was chatting away, while Lin Weimin and Shi Tiesheng hid in a corner.

"The things we talk about when we meet are becoming less and less interesting," said Lin Weimin.

Shi Tiesheng took two puffs of his cigarette, pressed the half-burned cigarette against the wheelchair column, and clamped it against his ear. "When people reach middle age, everything inevitably moves towards mediocrity."

He asked, "Your novel will be published in two days, right?"

Lin Weimin nodded and said, "Yes, it will be on the market in two days."

"Another long novel! I really envy your efficiency." Shi Tiesheng said enviously.

His health is not as good as before. In order to take care of his body, he spends much less time writing every day than before. His efficiency was not high to begin with, and now his output is even lower.

While the two were chatting, Qu Xiaowei came over.

"Weimin, a few days ago I met a friend, the owner of Jiulong Garden, and I bought two large villas from him for more than 3 million. Do you think the price will increase in the future?"

Lin Weimin looked at him with disdain. You bought a villa by investing in real estate speculation, so you deserve to lose money.

Well, with the rising housing prices in Yanjing, it is impossible to lose money, the profit will just be less.

"have no idea."

Qu Xiaowei showed a look of disappointment on his face, and said to himself: "I think it will definitely increase a lot. Their house is well designed, with a colorful facade, a European three-section main body, viewing windows, plastic steel windows..."

He talked a lot, all of which were brainwashing words from the developers.

In the past two years, workplaces have stopped distributing housing, and people's attention has begun to shift from the workplace's housing management offices to real estate developers.

Since last year, sales offices of real estate projects under development in various parts of Yanjing have begun to accept visitors one after another.

With the opening of one artery after another in Yanjing, including the East Fourth Ring Road, South Fourth Ring Road, West Fourth Ring Road, Baiyi Road, Metro Line 5, Fuba Line, urban light rail... people's footsteps in choosing houses are being pushed further and further away.

The city is getting bigger and bigger, but the places that are familiar to everyone are becoming fewer and fewer.

Qu Xiaowei's interruption changed the topic to the Guowen Group. Guowen Society became Guowen Group. Although the place is still the same place and the people are still the same people, for the writers who were once familiar with Guowen Society, they still feel a little unfamiliar whenever it is mentioned.

When Shi Tiesheng talked about this incident, there was a hint of regret in his tone.

“This is a necessary change. The survival of traditional publishing houses in China is becoming increasingly difficult. I don’t want to see that in another 20 years, the people of Guowen Publishing House are still huddled in that old office building, the books they publish gradually become unpopular, and the glory of the past is gone with the wind.

Although the current changes may make everyone feel unfamiliar and feel that they lack the flavor of the past, it is still better than being eliminated by the times.

You just said that 'everything is moving towards mediocrity'. In fact, this is exactly what we should be wary of.

The education our generation received actually has great deficiencies, not only in education but also in aesthetics. We cannot narrowly control the right to speak.

Those things that once made us proud may remain or decay. Let the young people make their own choices. They are the future."

Lin Weimin's tone was a little heavy. After he finished speaking, Shi Tiesheng chuckled and asked, "Why do you suddenly feel this way today? This is not in line with your style?"

Lin Weimin smiled self-deprecatingly, "I just wrote this out of inspiration. Maybe it's because I'm getting older, and I suddenly feel some emotion."

Shi Tiesheng said: "You are right. People are narrow-minded. We cannot use the ideas of our predecessors to restrict the later generations. This is the most common mistake we Chinese make."

Time passed as we chatted and the atmosphere was lively during lunch.

Qu Xiaowei suddenly became interested and wanted to recite a poem to everyone.

"In those green days you held your head high

Pick the days and taste the bitterness

As if the leaves are still cold

..."

Qu Xiaowei's voice was full and excited, and his recitation sounded quite realistic.

When he finished reciting, everyone cheered.

Yu Hua asked, "Whose poem is this? It's really well written!"

Qu Xiaowei looked proud, "You're a writer, but you don't even know this?"

"I write novels, not poems."

This reason was not sufficient, and he was still despised by Qu Xiaowei, who rarely found an opportunity to show off in front of a group of writers.

"This is Philip Larkin's 'In Those Green Days You Held Your Head High.'" Mo Yan explained.

Qu Xiaowei immediately said: "Look at him, they are both writers, but this is the difference!"

Yu Hua was very dissatisfied with Mo Yan's talkativeness. If everyone kept silent, it would be you who was noticed?

"Are you still reading poetry collections?" Yu Hua asked tentatively.

"I just happened to have seen this one." Mo Yan said with a smile.

Yu Hua was a little depressed.

Damn it, he got it right!

(End of this chapter)