Chapter 174 The price is a bit low
On an evening in May, Lin Weimin rode his motorcycle and stopped at the gate of Wanxingju.
Wanxingju is one of the eight major residences in old Yanjing. Old Yanjing has eight halls, eight buildings and eight major residences. Ju is the smallest restaurant.
Later, because they made great buns, Wanxingju simply changed its business and started selling buns. It became a national chain and became well-known throughout the country.
Lin Weimin came here today as scheduled, and the person who invited him was Ren Hao.
He is still in Yanjing, focusing on the post-production of the TV series "The Cliff". Since he has some free time today, he invited a few acquaintances in Yanjing to catch up.
"Teacher Jin!"
"Teacher Deng!"
"Director Ren!"
After meeting, Lin Weimin greeted several people who had arrived, namely Ren Hao, Jin Shan and Deng Zaijun.
"Weimin, you are late." Deng Zaijun said with a hearty laugh.
Lin Weimin looked at the table and said, "That's because there's no wine. Otherwise, I'll have to drink three glasses of wine as punishment."
Ren Hao immediately said: "Then I'll get you two bottles!"
Jinshan said: "Okay, stop joking."
Lin Weimin sat down with a smile and asked, "Teachers, you came early, why did you want to come here to eat buns?"
"Director Ren chose it. He wanted to try the flavor of Badaju," Jinshan explained.
After ordering the food, Ren Hao talked about the post-production of "The Cliff", which would be completed in half a month, which was much faster than expected.
"Will it be broadcast on Qindao TV after it's finished?" Lin Weimin asked.
Ren Hao glanced at Jin Shan and said, "We will definitely broadcast it on Qindao. Teacher Jin is contacting CCTV now. If all goes well, the two channels should broadcast it at the same time."
"That's great!" Lin Weimin said happily.
"We have to wait until the production is completed and people have watched the film," said Jinshan.
He was being a little modest. He was the director of the Television Art Committee under the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, and was a real ace in the domestic television circle. It was not difficult for him to get his TV series broadcast on CCTV.
Moreover, the number of TV dramas produced in China each year these days is pitifully small, and most TV stations are worried about having no dramas to broadcast. As long as "The Cliff" is of good quality, it will not be a problem for it to be broadcast on CCTV.
"With Teacher Jin here, this is not a problem." Lin Weimin complimented.
The people present today are not drinking buddies, otherwise the gathering place would not have been chosen at the Wanxingju bun shop.
After tasting the buns from Wanxingju, Ren Hao was very satisfied. Everyone chatted for a while and then ended the party.
After Ren Hao and Deng Zaijun left Wanxingju, Teacher Jinshan suddenly asked Lin Weimin, "Teacher Lin doesn't have a girlfriend yet, right?"
"Ah, no." Lin Weimin was a little surprised.
"Our teacher Deng's daughter seems to be about your age. Did you two meet last time?"
Lin Weimin understood what Jinshan meant and said, "Yes, we have met before."
"What do you think of Xiao Zhou? You young people should have something in common, right?"
Lin Weimin was thinking about how to respond to this, and while he was hesitating, he heard Jinshan say, "Don't feel burdened. Teacher Deng is really optimistic about you and wants me to help you and Zhou Meng get together."
Seeing Jin Shan made his point clear, Lin Weimin said, "Teacher Jin, I haven't thought about this yet."
Teacher Jin looked at him with a deep look in his eyes, "Don't be so quick to refuse. Do you know who Teacher Deng's husband is?"
Lin Weimin shook his head and thought, what does it have to do with me who her husband is?
Jinshan was a little surprised, "You haven't heard of it?"
Lin Weimin said: "Why would I ask about this?"
Teacher Jinshan laughed and said, "That's even better. He is not the kind of person who likes to curry favor with others."
"Teacher Deng's husband now works at the National Defense University as a director."
"oh."
Lin Weimin responded, feeling that it was nothing unusual, Director? At most, he was equivalent to a minister, was he worthy of such attention from Teacher Jin?
Teacher Jin continued with a smile: "Let me remind you again, Zhou Meng's last name is Zhou."
"What's wrong with the surname Zhou? The surname Zhou..."
Lin Weimin paused there. He stared at Teacher Jin and stammered, "Teacher Jin... Teacher Jin, the Zhou you are talking about is not the Zhou I am thinking of, right?"
Teacher Jin still had a smile on his face and stopped talking.
Lin Weimin asked curiously: "So, Zhou Meng is considered an old man..."
"Grandniece."
Lin Weimin nodded, and then said: "So, she is a lady from a famous family!"
"Let's not talk about that now. I told you this because I'm afraid you don't know the other person's background. It will be too late to regret it when you find out later."
"Teacher Jin, what do you think I am?" Lin Weimin said dissatisfiedly.
"Aren't you a little tempted?" Jinshan asked.
Lin Weimin chuckled twice. Zhou Meng's family background was indeed very good. When thinking about her pretty looks, it was hard not to be moved.
But Lin Weimin thought that if he found a wife like this, it would not be easy for him to have fun in the future.
That's really like hanging yourself on a crooked tree.
"Teacher Jin, with such a good family background, how can you worry about not finding a partner?"
"So, you didn't watch last week's cute?"
Lin Weimin waved his hand and said, "Teacher Jin, please don't say that. I am too high for you."
Jinshan looked at Lin Weimin and smiled meaningfully, "Young man, don't regret it later if you are undecided."
Lin Weimin felt a lot of pressure from Jin Shan, "Teacher Jin, you are joking."
A few days later, Lin Weimin was riding his motorcycle to work but was stopped at the gate of Guowen Society.
"Zhou Meng?"
"Teacher Lin!"
When Zhou Meng saw Lin Weimin, her face blushed a little.
"Are you here to see me?"
"Um."
Zhou Meng looked into Lin Weimin's eyes and asked with courage, "Did you meet my mother the other day?"
Lin Weimin wanted to play dumb, but looking at Zhou Meng's watery almond eyes, he didn't say anything.
This girl has an excellent family background and is not bad looking, so it is normal for her to be proud and arrogant. If she learns from her mother that she has been rejected, she will definitely not be able to accept it.
Seeing that Lin Weimin did not respond to her, Zhou Meng pouted and took out a letter from her bag.
"Don't get me wrong, I came here today to become pen pals with you." She handed the letter to Lin Weimin.
"Remember to write me back!"
Zhou Meng gave Lin Weimin some instructions and ran away without waiting for Lin Weimin to reply.
Lin Weimin stared at the letter in his hand. What does this girl mean?
Are you planning to play Plato with me?
After putting the letter in his bag, Lin Weimin went to the office to work.
In the morning, Meng Weizai called him out of the office.
"Leader, what's the matter?"
Meng Weizai had a somewhat happy look on his face, and said, "The Random House that came to inspect our company last time contacted us and said they want to publish your Farewell My Concubine!"
Random House?
The first person that came to Lin Weimin’s mind was Qiao Sen.
"When did it happen?"
"yesterday."
Lin Weimin muttered, "It's been more than half a year, and the efficiency is really slow."
Meng Weizai asked: "Did you know this news before?"
Lin Weimin explained: "The foreigner who came to our company to inspect was the uncle of a friend of mine. He told me that his uncle had someone translate the manuscript of Farewell My Concubine after returning to the United States, probably to see the quality of the novel. It's been half a year, and I thought he had given up long ago."
"So that's what's going on." Meng Weizai suddenly realized, "Old Yan and I were wondering why Random House specifically chose your book."
Meng Weizai then took Lin Weimin to Yan Wenjing's office.
At that time, the country's doors had just opened, and anything involving foreign affairs was a big deal, not to mention that Random House was one of the major publishing houses in the United States.
Actively seeking to publish works for publication by Guowen Publishing House is not only a major event but also a happy event for Guowen Publishing House.
Yan Wenjing asked Lin Weimin to come mainly because he wanted to learn from him about the origin of Random House's publication of "Farewell My Concubine", which was an indispensable process in that era.
Lin Weimin did not hide anything and told the other party how he met Qiao Sen, Lao Ma and other foreign student friends.
Yan Wenjing felt relieved after hearing this, but Lin Weimin asked, "Leader, how much does Random House plan to pay for the manuscript? How many copies will be printed in the first print run?"
Yan Wenjing glared at him and said, "Look at how money-hungry you are. If anyone knows about this, it will bring shame to our Chinese Literature Society!"
Lin Weimin said aggrievedly: "I make a living by writing. Is it shameful for me to care about the royalties? You are a little out of touch with the real world."
"Do you think I don't know how much you earn in royalties a year?"
Lin Weimin whispered: "Whatever I charge is earned through hard work."
Yan Wenjing snorted, "They offered 5,000 US dollars. The print run has not yet been determined, but it is estimated that it will not be too many. After all, your novel is a foreign work."
"Then I disagree."
5000 USD?
I published a novella in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and it was nearly 2,500 meters. 5,000 meters? How about beggars?
Lin Weimin had a deep suspicion that either there was a traitor somewhere in the country who wanted to use him to sell good things to foreigners and deliberately lowered the price, or that old bastard Qiao Sen thought that the Chinese had never seen the market and planned to get a low investment and high return.
When Yan Wenjing heard his words, surprise was written all over his face.
"You don't agree?"
Lin Weimin said as if it was a matter of course, "Of course. 5,000-meter sword, how can you say that your fighting style is like that of a beggar? I published a short novella in a magazine and it was over 2,000 meters of sword!"
Yan Wenjing was shocked again. "You got over $2,000 for publishing a novella in a magazine? When did that happen? Was it in the United States?"
Lin Weimin had not told his leaders and colleagues in the publishing house about publishing his novel in a foreign magazine. Now that it had slipped out, he could only explain what had happened.
Yan Wenjing and Meng Weizai were both a little confused after hearing this. Publishing a novel in the largest mystery magazine in the United States and getting more than 2,000 US dollars in royalties? It was incredible just to think about it, as if it was a fairy tale.
But what Lin Weimin said was well-reasoned and did not sound made up.
"Weimin, is this true?" Meng Weizai confirmed with Lin Weimin again.
"Why would you lie? I still have the international wire transfer slip. How about I show it to you?"
Seeing Lin Weimin so confident, Yan Wenjing and Meng Weizai looked at each other and knew that this was definitely true.
It seems that the price given by Random House is indeed very low!
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(End of this chapter)
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