Chapter 155: Second Courtyard Next to the Forbidden City
Colleagues gathered to discuss Lu Yao and "Life".
Lu Yao can be said to be a writer cultivated by Contemporary magazine. His works are currently showing a trend of becoming very popular. Everyone is happy for him, and even happier that Contemporary magazine can cultivate such a writer.
Rong Shihui sighed, "It's worth it for Weimin to come all the way to Shaanxi. Lu Yao really did a good job this time."
Everyone looked at Lin Weimin with some envy. When the writers under him achieved success, the editor-in-charge also felt proud!
Lin Weimin was chatting with everyone with a smile, and Xie Mingqing walked into the office.
"The Sound of Wind" has been confirmed to be published in the November issue of "People's Literature", and he came to give Lin Weimin the manuscript fee invoice.
The Sound of Wind is a long novel with a total of 203,000 words. The standard fee paid by People's Literature is still the highest rate of 12 yuan per thousand words. This time, Lin Weimin got more than 2,000 yuan, which made his colleagues tease and envy him.
After Xie Mingqing left, everyone got back to work.
Lin Weimin continued to review the manuscripts piled on his desk. Yu Huaxin sent him two manuscripts, both short stories.
After reading carefully for a long time, I found that this guy has made a lot of progress, but these two works still feel a little lacking.
Lin Weimin wrote down his review comments in detail and then wrote a letter to Yu Hua.
Nowadays, there are many literature lovers, and the editorial department receives a huge amount of submissions every day. If the editors have to reply to each submission or give detailed comments, they will be exhausted.
Therefore, most editorial departments will attach a pre-printed, unified format rejection letter. Yu Hua's treatment is obviously much higher than those who submit manuscripts via letters.
After a busy day, Lin Weimin left work early. He went to the post office to collect his royalties and then deposited the money.
Before I knew it, my savings have exceeded 20,000 yuan. I’m going to look at houses tomorrow!
Previously, Lin Weimin told his colleagues and friends about his plan to buy a house, and everyone paid attention to him.
However, Lin Weimin's requirements are not low. Although there are many houses sold in Yanjing City in the past two years, there are not many courtyard houses without disputes, with independent entrances and courtyards and superior geographical locations. After all, Yanjing is the capital, and really good houses will not have trouble selling.
After everyone asked around, it was Li Guangfu, an old man from Yanjing, who found him a courtyard with similar conditions.
The next day after get off work, Li Guangfu rode his bicycle to the entrance of the National Literature Society, met Lin Weimin, and led him to ride towards the Forbidden City.
When they arrived near the Forbidden City, they turned and rode onto Beichizi Street. Less than a minute later, they entered the alley.
The alley is very short and forms a T-shape at the end, with the courtyard right at the beginning of the alley.
Li Guangfu and Lin Weimin came to the gate of the courtyard. Li Guangfu introduced: "This courtyard is next to the Forbidden City. Look at the courtyard across the street. That is Chen Zhongfu's former residence. Now it is the editorial office of the New Youth magazine. There is another courtyard further up the street. Have you heard of Yuan Lizhun? The inscription on the Xinhua Gate was written by him. His courtyard is just in front..."
Before entering the yard, Li Guangfu gave Lin Weimin a detailed introduction to the surrounding environment, mainly highlighting the former residence of a celebrity.
When introducing a courtyard to a great writer like Mr. Lin, it would be vulgar to mention the location and supporting facilities. It requires some culture.
After introducing the surrounding environment, Li Guangfu knocked on the door of the Xun Gate of the courtyard.
"Hello, Teacher Zong!" The person who opened the door was an old man who looked to be over 60 years old.
Li Guangfu just introduced that this person, Zong, is a teacher at Yenching Institute of Technology.
I nodded and said hello. Teacher Zong seemed a little dull and seemed not to be good at talking.
After entering the house, Lin Weimin and his companion discovered that there were many people living in his house.
The courtyard has two entrances. Compared with the small courtyard with one entrance at home, this courtyard with two entrances is much more exquisite.
By analogy, the two-entry courtyard house is basically formed by expanding vertically on the basis of the one-entry courtyard house.
Usually, a barrier wall is added between the south gables of the east and west wing rooms to separate the inside and outside of the courtyard, and the back house is separated from the outer courtyard, thus forming a second courtyard. A second gate is opened in the middle of the partition wall, and the second gate is a wall gate.
The courtyard of Mr. Zong's family built a hanging flower gate along with the wall gate. Old BJ people like to call the house with a hanging flower gate the "house gate". In the traditional society of the past, the area behind the second gate was the so-called "inner house" where no one could enter without permission.
Teacher Zong's house seems to have a large population, and due to years of living there, there are many minor flaws in the details, but overall it is maintained in good condition.
After looking at the house, Teacher Zong invited Lin Weimin and Li Guangfu into the main room for tea.
Several people were sitting in the room, and the children in Teacher Zong's family were even lying on the window glass looking into the room.
Teacher Zong stood up and chased the children away, then turned to Lin Weimin and apologized, "Children are ignorant."
When we were looking at the house just now, Mr. Zong introduced that this house is not just his, but also his three brothers. He is over 60 years old this year, and is the eldest in the family. His two brothers are not much younger than him, and they all have grandchildren. Mr. Zong’s eldest grandson is now at the stage of marriage.
The reason why I want to sell the house this time is because there are too many people in the family. When I was young, there were few people in the family and the relationship between brothers was quite harmonious. There was nothing wrong with living in the same yard.
But now, with the increasing number of people in the family, housing conditions have become tight. It is inevitable that there will be conflicts when so many people live together. The conflicts have accumulated over time and have reached a point where they are difficult to reconcile.
Teacher Zong is an old-fashioned person and doesn't want to divide the family business from the bottom of his heart. But now his children and grandchildren are making a lot of noise, and even his two brothers are dissatisfied, and he can't stand it anymore.
Today, Lin Weimin came to see the house, and everyone in his family was quite excited. Many of them even skipped work.
On the one hand, it was because I heard that the person who came to see the house was a famous writer, and on the other hand, I was also hoping that the house could be sold quickly.
The younger generations are counting on the money from the sale of the house to buy an apartment. That house would be much more comfortable and prestigious than this old and dilapidated courtyard house.
Teacher Zong was a conservative and dull person. Even with Li Guangfu as the middleman, he insisted on a price of 12,000 yuan and refused to give in no matter how much Li Guangfu persuaded him.
Li Guangfu was also anxious. "Oh, my Master Zong, no one does business like you. You ask for a high price and then pay it back. Why don't you give in at all?"
Teacher Zong said confidently, "I'm not asking for an exorbitant price. I've made inquiries. The price is a bit high. But our yard is neat and the main beams are all made of nanmu. You won't lose out if you buy it."
Lin Weimin smiled and said, "Teacher Zong, that's not what you said. I'm here to buy a house, not wood."
"That's right, Mr. Zong, please at least show your sincerity and give me some space."
Li Guangfu also echoed, and the two talked back and forth for a few words, and Teacher Zong finally changed his mind.
"Can you really buy it?"
Li Guangfu looked at Lin Weimin, who nodded, "As long as the price is right, we can make a deal today."
"Then I'll discuss it."
Teacher Zong walked out of the main room and called the family together to discuss the matter.
Li Guangfu whispered to Lin Weimin, "I think Mr. Zong insisted that the price was probably calculated based on the number of heads of their family members."
"Is there still such a calculation?"
When Li Guangfu introduced a house to Lin Weimin, he must have known the seller's situation in advance. "Who would have thought he was a rigid person? But he is a decent person. The price is a little high. We can bargain for him."
The two waited in the room for almost half an hour before Teacher Zong came back and gave a quote of 11,000 yuan.
Lin Weimin was a little surprised. He looked at Li Guangfu and saw him nod. He knew that the price should be about the same.
"Teacher Zong is so straightforward!" Lin Weimin stood up and shook hands with Teacher Zong, and the matter was settled.
Witnessed by Li Guangfu, Lin Weimin first paid a deposit of 500 yuan to Teacher Zong's family, received the receipt, and agreed to go and complete the formalities in two days.
Before leaving, Lin Weimin saw Li Guangfu chatting with Teacher Zong for a while. After the two of them left the yard, Li Guangfu told Lin Weimin the reason.
The reason why Teacher Zong was away for so long was to unify the opinions of his family.
But as the number of people in the family increases, people's minds become divided and everyone has their own ideas. Some agree to lower the price a bit and sell it at a lower price, while others are greedy and don't want to lower the price. At worst, the worst that can happen is to wait.
Finally, it was Teacher Zong who discussed with the two brothers and decided to lower the price. The three older generations would suffer a little loss and absorb this part of the price reduction themselves.
Li Guangfu shook his head and sighed, "I used to think that Mr. Zong's family was honest and harmonious. But now I see that the more people there are, the more complicated things become, and there are too many things to worry about."
"Every family has its own problems!"
"yes!"
After a few days, the house procedures were completed, and Lin Weimin's wallet was instantly emptied.
Lin Weimin gave Teacher Zong's family a few more days. As their family had a large population, it would take several days to move.
After finally moving out of their house, Lin Weimin brought Han Zhuangzhuang over to clean up the house and yard.
Han Zhuangzhuang looked at the huge courtyard, and shock was written all over his stupid and young face.
"Uncle, did you buy this house?"
"Um."
Lin Weimin was very satisfied when he saw his nephew's expression. The young man was very supportive!
Han Zhuangzhuang stood there in shock for a long time. After Lin Weimin walked into the house, he followed him and said, "Uncle, you are really rich!"
"When you become famous, this won't be a big deal."
Han Zhuangzhuang felt very unsure and muttered, "Wait until I become famous? Then I might as well wait to take care of you in your old age!"
After he said that, he glanced at him guiltily, luckily his uncle didn't hear it.
“Bang!”
The broom, dustpan and rag were thrown at Han Zhuangzhuang's feet, "Get to work!"
It's not that Lin Weimin didn't hear it, he just simply felt that mental attacks would no longer have any effect on Han Zhuangzhuang, a tough guy, so he still had to inflict some physical damage on him.
Sure enough, within half an hour, Han Zhuangzhuang began to cry out in fatigue.
"No, uncle, I can't do it anymore."
"All you do is eat all day long. You dawdle when I ask you to do some work. How long have you only been working for?"
"When will we have a woman in our family?" Han Zhuangzhuang sighed. He glanced at Lin Weimin and said, "Uncle, please find me an aunt as soon as possible."
Lin Weimin glanced at Han Zhuangzhuang and said, "Why don't you find me a wife for your nephew?"
"If I can find it, do I need you to tell me?" Han Zhuangzhuang muttered.
The uncle and nephew quarreled while working, and after more than half a day's work, they had only completed half of the cleaning of the yard.
Lin Weimin began to feel a little regretful. This house was a little too big!
"Uncle, why don't we do it tomorrow?" Han Zhuangzhuang suggested in a low voice.
Lin Weimin nodded. This was a good idea. "Okay, come over tomorrow and continue working on it."
"What about you?"
"I'm so busy every day, how can I have time to accompany you to do these things?"
Han Zhuangzhuang looked at Lin Weimin's elegant back, his face full of grief and indignation, "Is this your house or mine?"
The next day at work, Lin Weimin felt sore all over and sighed.
Yao Shuzhi asked him, "What's wrong with you?"
"Don't mention it. I'm tired from cleaning the house."
"Can cleaning the house make you so tired? You are too fragile."
Liu Yin smiled and said, "Xiao Yao, you don't know, right? The house they cleaned up is not the same as yours. It has a large courtyard with two entrances!"
She said to Lin Weimin: "Weimin, you are showing off nakedly!"
Yao Shuzhi glared at Lin Weimin, "Show off!"
Lin Weimin cried out: "You are wrongly accusing me. Wasn't it you who asked the question?"
While joking with his colleagues, Meng Weizai walked in, "Weimin, come here."
Lin Weimin got up and left the office, and saw Teacher Jinshan standing in the corridor.
"Hello, Teacher Jin!" Lin Weimin greeted Jin Shan.
Jin Shan responded with a kind face. After entering Meng Weizai's office, he said, "I went to Qindao a few days ago and have already agreed with the TV station that the TV series "Cliff" will be jointly produced by our Radio, Film and Television Art Committee and Qindao TV Station."
"That's great!" Lin Weimin said happily.
Jinshan continued: "I came here to bring you something."
As he spoke, he took out a bill for the manuscript from his bag. "Qindao TV has received your script. They are very satisfied with it. I also read the manuscript. It is indeed well written and hardly needs any changes. This is the manuscript fee."
This era is different from later generations. The remuneration for film and television adaptations of novels is generally not high, and is paid in the name of royalties.
This time "The Cliff" was adapted into a TV series. Firstly, it used Lin Weimin's original novel, and secondly, the adaptation was also done by him personally, so the royalties given by Qindao TV Station were quite considerable, a total of 2,200 yuan.
It seems that there is still a future in writing novels these days!
Thinking so, Lin Weimin accepted the manuscript fee receipt.
He also talked with Jinshan about the progress of "The Cliff".
Qindao TV is currently preparing to form a crew for the drama. Ren Hao has already gone to Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang Province, to scout locations. That is where the story of "The Cliff" takes place.
"It's September now, and the crew will need at least a month to prepare, just for the actors. The story of The Cliff takes place in winter, so when we arrived in Harbin, the timing was just right."
Lin Weimin asked in surprise: "Teacher Jin, are you going there too?"
Jinshan said with a smile: "Just go and have a look at the early stage. Teacher Lin, if you have time, you can also go and have a look!"
"I will definitely go if I have the chance." Lin Weimin agreed with a smile.
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(End of this chapter)
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