Chapter 10 How can I sell the affairs of a scholar?
The fifth opening tea party of the Institute of Literature in 1980 was a tea party of unity and victory. The leaders attending the tea party spoke highly of it.
Of course, even the most harmonious conference is bound to have some discordant voices.
For example, Comrade Lin Weimin, who shamelessly asked teachers for autographs at the tea party, was later criticized by Director Xu Gang and the teacher in charge Tang Yuqiu.
Comrade Lin Weimin became famous in the Institute of Literature Research, and even the comrades from the D School of the Chaoyang District Committee next door knew his name.
But these things did not affect Lin Weimin at all. It was just a request for an autograph.
If I force myself to take a photo with my teachers, and then say that I am their last disciple, I can at least have some food and drink for a year or two.
Lin Weimin smacked his lips, but it was a pity that he had no money to buy a camera.
Let’s not talk about the things that made him famous later.
Just as the tea party was over, Lin Weimin was blocked by someone again.
Just now, Lin Weimin took the opportunity of pouring tea to ask several veteran writers for their autographs. The students of the Institute of Literature and Art all saw it.
"I didn't see you for half a day last night. Did you go out to get some books?" Huang Zonghan was the first to attack.
Lin Weimin confessed very frankly, "That's right. It took me almost three hours to walk back and forth. It wasn't easy!"
"Who cares whether it's easy for you or not, you are such a shameless boy."
Qu Xiaowei looked down on him and said that he was ashamed to be associated with people like Lin Weimin.
Lin Weimin curled his lips at him, then said loudly to the many students surrounding him: "The freshly-published autographed works of Wan Jiabao and Wang Meng are on first come, first served basis. Don't miss it if you pass by!"
Everyone roared and the atmosphere was in an uproar.
My goodness, this guy is so shameless that he dares to hawk his goods in public. We must put down his arrogance.
Jiang Zilong said righteously, "Weimin, this is the name signed by a senior literary figure. How can you sell it? It's simply throwing a pearl away in the dark!"
Then, he said bitterly, "No, I can't let you make this mistake. Bring me the book, I'll keep it for you."
"You wish!"
Lin Weimin instinctively felt that Jiang Zilong would most likely be his biggest enemy in the class, not because of anything else, but simply because of his shameless spirit.
Gu Hua pushed Jiang Zilong aside and said, "Let me see what the old senior's signature looks like."
Two books were placed in front of Gu Hua, but he was not allowed to touch them. "Just take a look at them, don't touch them! These are collector's editions. If you break them, don't blame me for paying for them!"
Everyone despised Lin Weimin, the villain who had succeeded.
Tang Kangmei felt the need to teach this kid a lesson, and said, "I say, Weimin, your autographed book is not a rare thing. In the future, teachers will inevitably give us lessons, and there will be plenty of opportunities to ask them for autographs. Your thing is not rare!"
After she said that, everyone came back to their senses immediately. That's right, this is not the only chance to meet the teachers, isn't it easy to ask for a signed book? I was almost fooled by Lin Weimin.
"Kang Mei is right! It's just a signed book. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. You actually want to make money from this thing. You are really crazy." The person who said this was Huang Zonghan.
Lin Weimin glared at him fiercely. How dare you, a bastard with thick eyebrows and big eyes, betray the revolution? We were comrades in the same dormitory.
"You know nothing!" Lin Weimin could not allow this kind of thinking to spread among the students and had to correct it.
He pointed at Huang Zonghan's nose and lectured him: "Do you know what an important occasion is? Do you know what commemorative significance is? Our Institute of Literature and Art was established after the founding of New China. It was suspended in 1957, and it has been 23 years until this year, which is longer than I have lived. Now we have finally overcome all difficulties and resumed operations. Is it easy?"
Huang Zonghan opened his mouth and wanted to refute him, but he thought that everything the boy said made sense, so he could only ask dryly, "But what does this have to do with your book sales?"
"What does it matter? It matters a lot!"
Lin Weimin shook the signed book in his hand, "Is this a book in my hand? Is this a book? This is the testimony of the history of our Institute of Literature! It is the result of the hard work of countless predecessors! This is the only chance for the Institute of Literature to resume its establishment and run a school, and even this opening tea party is the only one. Isn't such an opportunity precious?"
Lin Weimin's passionate speech really moved several students, and they nodded, as if that was the case.
Tang Kangmei instinctively felt that something was wrong and asked, "According to what you said, this book is so precious, how can you still sell it?"
Lin Weimin frowned, "Vulgar! Too vulgar! How can you say that a scholar's business is selling? We call this resource exchange. Do you know how hard it was for me to get this book? It was dark last night, and there were no buses on bus 18. I walked for two hours to knock on bookstores everywhere in the city, and finally bought a few books. I returned to the dormitory in the middle of the night."
"I'm not saying this to gain sympathy. Rather, I want to say that these books were hard to come by, so they are all the more precious. But just now when I was holding these books, I was thinking, is it a good thing to have these books here?
As everyone has just said, we are all in the Institute of Literature and Art, and we will have many opportunities to interact with teachers in the future. Why should we be afraid of not having the opportunity to ask for autographs? So I thought, this book should be of greater use.
The restoration of the Institute of Literature and Art and the holding of a tea party to mark the opening of the school year are major events for the domestic literary community and we should let more people share this joy.
These signed books in my hands are the testimony of this literary event, so I must give these books to everyone, to the literature lovers around you, so that more people can enjoy this glory!
In this regard, I feel that I have an unshirkable responsibility and obligation! ”
After speaking these impassioned words, Lin Weimin frowned and looked straight ahead, his eyes full of justice and sincerity. No one dared to doubt the legitimacy of his purpose.
The students were half-believing and half-doubting, and for a moment they couldn't tell whether it was true or false, so it can be said that most people's IQ is always online.
But there will always be someone who breaks the lower limit!
"Weimin, based on what you said, this book is indeed rare!" Qu Xiaowei stroked his chin, his eyes fixed on the covers of the two books.
Lin Weimin was overjoyed when he heard this. Although he looked sincere when he spoke just now, he was still guilty. Qu Xiaowei's unexpected flattery sounded like heavenly music to him.
"Well, Xiaowei is still knowledgeable."
Qu Xiaowei laughed, "Hey, it's all for literature!"
"That's right! For literature!" Lin Weimin echoed.
The two became closer as they talked, and simply got together.
The people around felt that something was wrong. Could it be that Qu Xiaowei was hired by Lin Weimin as a spy?
Yeah, the more I look at it, the more they look alike.
(End of this chapter)
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