Chapter 318 Looking Up and Seeing the Big Dipper
The Military Art Institute, located in Weigong Village on Zhongguancun South Street, is in the northwest corner of Yanjing City, close to the Third Ring Road in later generations and more than ten kilometers away from Chaonei Street.
If Mo Yan were to take the bus by himself, it would take at least an hour and he would definitely be late for registration.
That's why Lin Weimin drove him here personally.
It was the end of August and the PLA Academy of Arts was about to start its new semester. Under the big poplar tree on the right side of the main entrance to the Academy, a few tables were temporarily set up and several staff members from the department were busy preparing things.
When they saw the Crown car stop, several people were surprised. Then they saw Mo Yan getting out of the car and secretly guessed the identity of this person.
Mo Yan took out his ID and admission letter, filled out various forms, and was given a dormitory key by the staff.
Lin Weimin asked the staff to help open the door and pulled Mo Yan into the school.
At this time, many students have returned to school, and some are new students who have come to report.
The majestic Crown was driving on campus, attracting the attention of many students.
Seeing a Crown on campus in the 1980s was rarer than seeing a Maybach on campus in later generations.
Feeling the attention of the students along the way, including the reactions of the staff when he entered the door, Mo Yan felt very subtle.
The Crown stopped downstairs of the school dormitory. He and Lin Weimin moved their luggage down and found their own dormitory.
There are four iron beds, four brand new apricot-yellow desks, and four chairs with red electroplated plastic seats in the dormitory.
Mo Yan felt a little excited. Compared with the living environment he had in the army, this dormitory was luxurious.
When Mo Yan was packing up, someone walked into the dormitory with a washbasin. Lin Weimin laughed when he saw it.
"Li Cunbao?"
Li Cunbao looked at Lin Weimin with some surprise, and the two shook hands.
Li Cunbao is the author of the novel "The Garland under the Mountain". Two years ago, he and Lin Weimin both won the National Excellent Novella Award and they had met once.
Lin Weimin introduced Mo Yan to Li Cunbao, "Mo Yan is the author I am responsible for."
Then he added: "You are really a class full of hidden talents!"
"It's better to meet by chance than to invite each other. Let's have dinner together tonight!" Lin Weimin made an invitation.
As soon as he finished speaking, the other two people in the dormitory came out together as if they had heard what he said.
One is Qian Gang, who won the National Reportage Award, and the other is Song Xuewu, a military writer from Lin Weimin’s hometown.
"That's great, let's go together."
Lin Weimin invited warmly.
It can be said that the four people in Moyan’s dormitory have all achieved remarkable results in writing. After successfully being admitted to the Department of Literature of the PLA Art Academy, their future is even more limitless.
This is another crop of excellent leeks. It would be a waste if we don’t harvest them.
Li Cunbao and his companions could not refuse Lin Weimin's enthusiastic invitation.
What's more, given Lin Weimin's status and position, several people also wanted to make friends with him.
The area of Weigongcun was a bit deserted. Li Cunbao and his companions were still thinking about where to go out for dinner when they saw Lin Weimin opening the door of the Crown car.
…
Several students, including Mo Yan, looked at each other and got on the bus silently.
It took more than two hours to have the meal. It was already past nine o'clock when Lin Weimin sent Mo Yan and four others back to the dormitory. It was completely dark. Fortunately, Lin Weimin drove.
After Lin Weimin left, Li Cunbao couldn't help but ask, "Moyan, Teacher Lin... is so good to you!"
He originally didn't want to call Lin Weimin "Teacher Lin", but when he thought that Mo Yan called him that, he might feel uncomfortable if he called Lin Weimin by his name.
Mo Yan is usually a man of few words, but when it comes to topics related to Lin Weimin, he is particularly eager to participate.
"Teacher Lin is kind to everyone. He is not only kind to me, but also my benefactor!"
"benefactor?"
The other people looked at him in surprise, not knowing what he was saying.
During the meal just now, neither Lin Weimin nor Mo Yan talked much about their acquaintance. Everyone only knew that Lin Weimin had specifically brought Mo Yan to sign up this time.
Mo Yan said, "You all know my books Folk Tales and Transparent Carrots, right?"
Several people nodded.
Mo Yan recounted the story of how he and Lin Weimin met. After listening to it, several people were moved. Qian Gang said, "This is really a favor of knowing someone!"
Li Cunbao and Song Xuewu nodded and agreed with him.
"No, no, Teacher Lin's kindness to me is more than just this..." Mo Yan went on to talk about the twists and turns he encountered when enrolling in the Literature Department of the PLA Art Academy.
When everyone heard that Lin Weimin had found the leader of the Literary Association who was in charge of daily work in order to help Mo Yan sign up, they were filled with envy.
At the same time, they also felt more deeply the gap between them and Lin Weimin. It seemed that it was not just that they were in the same car, but even the level of their communication was different.
"This is really a great favor!" Several classmates exclaimed in unison.
Mo Yan didn't say anything, but nodded seriously.
The four classmates who were originally strangers gradually became familiar with each other because of a meal. In addition, with the common topic of "Lin Weimin", they chatted enthusiastically in the dormitory.
When Lin Weimin's car entered the Military Art Museum, he greeted the staff. When he left at night, they had already gone off work and there were only guards at the door.
This is the difference between the Military Art Academy and ordinary universities. There are guards standing guard at the door.
Lin Weimin got out of the car, said hello, and the guard let him go after verifying his registration information.
Just as he was about to get on the bus, he heard a drake's voice full of surprise.
"Teacher Lin?"
Lin Weimin turned his head and the first thing he saw was a pair of buck teeth in the dark. Looking closer, he saw that it was a tall and thin young man.
With the help of the light from the entrance of the PLA Academy of Arts, Lin Weimin felt that the young man looked familiar.
"Hey! Teacher Lin, it's really you! This is like looking up and seeing the Big Dipper!"
When Lin Weimin heard this, he stopped thinking. Among the people he knew, there was no one else who could flatter someone so refreshingly and unconventionally.
Little Steel Cannon, Feng Pants.
"You are..."
Lin Weimin pretended not to know. The pants at that time were indeed not very famous.
"My name is Feng Xiaogang, I..."
"Comrade, please move your car and don't affect normal traffic."
Feng Xiaogang's words were interrupted by the guards. Lin Weimin apologized and quickly moved his car away. While he was moving his car, Feng Xiaogang followed his car closely with eager light in his eyes.
Lin Weimin drove the car to a place outside the school gate where it was out of the way. Seeing Feng Xiaogang still standing outside the car waiting for him, he rolled down the window and said, "It's just a coincidence today. It's so late. Where are you going? I'll give you a ride!"
"Oh, thank you, thank you!"
Feng Xiaogang is a man who likes to take advantage of others. He thanked the driver and got on the car. After getting on the car, he looked left and right and said, "Your car is really nice!"
It was dark in the carriage at night and you couldn't see anything.
You are such a young man and you never tell the truth. No wonder you have made it so far.
Lin Weimin was driving and chatting with Feng Xiaogang at the same time. He seemed particularly approachable, which made Feng Xiaogang a little excited.
As they chatted along the way, Feng Xiaogang told Lin Weimin everything he knew, including his background.
He just came back from the army at the beginning of this year and was assigned to the Propaganda Department of the Xizhimen Grain Warehouse. You can tell how bad this place is just by looking at its name.
Comrade Gain Pants flirted with the daughter of an old comrade when he was in the army, but it turned out that the daughter didn't really like him at all and was just using him as a shield.
The final result was that Comrade Pants gained nothing and suffered a lot from the old comrades' anger. All other comrades were assigned to the public security, procuratorial and judicial fronts, but he was the only one who became the "Western Grain Governor."
Pants was also very tough and directly chose to reject the job. After returning, he asked people to find a job everywhere, and when he had nothing to do every day, he would hang out with his childhood friends and comrades.
Just like that, time just passed by.
Comrade Pants' mood gradually became uneasy. He didn't know how long this kind of life would last.
Today he was invited by his comrades to attend a party at someone's home. Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the door, he saw a few beautiful female soldiers. After introducing them, they turned out to be from the Military Art Academy.
Only then did he realize that today was a cheek-to-cheek dance party.
Comrade Pants was also assigned a female soldier. After the dance, he volunteered to send the female soldier back to school.
"It's fate. If I hadn't gone to my comrade's dance party today and sent that female soldier back to the military art academy, I would have run into you, the Big Dipper!"
Lin Weimin asked with a smile: "The limelight has just passed, and you dare to hold a dance party?"
"Hey, I didn't know that until I went there. If you had told me in advance, I definitely wouldn't have dared to go."
When the car reached Huayuan Bridge, Feng Xiaogang said, "Teacher Lin, just drop me off at the Sanlihe Road intersection. I live in Sanlihe District 3."
"It's not far. It's just a matter of stepping on the gas. It saves you the trouble of making a trip."
Feng Xiaogang smiled with his big teeth showing, "Thank you so much!"
As the car turned onto Sanlihe Road, Feng Xiaogang made small talk: "It's such a coincidence that our home is only a few steps away from Mr. Wan's."
Everyone in Yanjing City knew that Lin Weimin was Mr. Wan's disciple.
The high-rise building in Muxidi where he lived was separated from Sanlihe District 3 by Fuxingmenwai Street.
"Haha, it's quite fate."
The car soon stopped in front of the Academy of Sciences, and behind the Academy of Sciences was Sanlihe District 3.
Feng Xiaogang got out of the car, crouched down and said to Lin Weimin through the car window: "Teacher Lin, it is my honor to meet you today. Thank you for sending me back."
"You're welcome. You said it yourself. Meeting is fate!"
"Yes, yes, I'm so glad to meet you today. It's like looking up and seeing the Big Dipper!"
Feng Xiaogang repeated what he had just said, just for the sake of making conversation.
"That's it, see you someday."
Lin Weimin waved at Feng Xiaogang, and the crown flew away.
Feng Xiaogang was left standing there, staring at the taillights of the Crown in a daze.
"Great writers are different!" Feng Xiaogang murmured to himself.
What Feng Xiaogang said was not false. For him, who was unemployed at home, Lin Weimin was just like the Big Dipper in the sky, a person he could only see but could not reach.
He kept talking in the car just to build a relationship with others. It was a pity that although Mr. Lin was kind, he probably didn't think highly of him.
When he was standing under the car just now, Feng Xiaogang had an urge to ask Teacher Lin if he could help him find a job.
But his reason and self-respect made him restrain this impulse. They had just known each other for less than half an hour and they were not related at all, but Feng Xiaogang himself felt it was both ridiculous and ridiculous for him to ask for help in finding a job, not to mention Teacher Lin.
He looked up at the sky. The Big Dipper was still hanging there, within his sight but not within his reach.
August passed in a flash, and A Cheng’s “Tree King” was published in the September issue of “Contemporary”.
First there was "The King of Chess" and then there was "The King of Trees", both of which had the same mature style and comparable quality, making Acheng loved by countless readers.
Influenced by "The King of Trees", this issue of "Contemporary" has been selling extremely fast since its launch.
With two consecutive short stories, Ah Cheng became famous in the literary world.
At the same time, "Contemporary" was praised by readers for its "unique vision" for publishing Ah Cheng's works in two consecutive issues, and was praised by readers for being able to discover and promote Ah Cheng, a literary genius, among the vast number of submissions.
Comrade Lao Meng looked at the letter from the reader, and the corners of his mouth twitched wildly. Lin Weimin said helplessly: "If you can't bear it, don't bear it. It's very tiring!"
Meng Weizai glared at Lin Weimin, but finally burst into laughter.
"Great! Great! Weimin, you have trained another outstanding writer for our Contemporary magazine."
Lin Weimin said: "I didn't train him. He is a very talented person!"
"Oh? I've never heard you speak so highly of anyone."
"Just be honest. You'll know when you meet him next time."
"Hearing you say that, I'm really looking forward to it."
Meng Weizai put a few letters from readers back on the table and said to Lin Weimin, "Go to the front building when you have time. I want to talk to you about the publication of "The Story of Stealing Officials."
Half a year has passed since the publication of "The Story of Stealing an Official", and the publishing house finally remembered to publish it.
Lin Weimin went to the front building, but there was actually not much to talk about. His novels have never had trouble selling, the only difference is whether the first print run quantity has to be more conservative.
Among all his published novels, the best-selling one is Farewell My Concubine, with total sales exceeding 3.5 million. The royalties from the additional print runs alone can bring Lin Weimin nearly 10,000 yuan each year.
In the past two years, Guowen Publishing House has paid Lin Weimin tens of thousands of yuan in royalties for reprinting and republishing each of his novels.
This figure is of course a drop in the bucket compared to the overseas royalties for Lin Weimin's novels, but in today's domestic literary world, Lin Weimin's royalties are unique, far surpassing all his peers.
Speaking of royalties, with prices fluctuating now, the standards for royalties are also showing signs of loosening. The highest standard for royalties in many publications is 20 yuan per thousand words, so Lin Weimin has to fight for his rights.
According to the subscription volume reported by bookstores and post offices across the country, the publishing house decided to print 500,000 copies of "The Story of Stealing Officials", a number that is a ceiling in the current domestic publishing industry.
It’s not that Lin Weimin’s novels couldn’t possibly sell more than 500,000 copies, but there would be no need to sell more than that.
Book sales have a cycle. Even if you sell 500,000 copies as quickly as possible, it will take at least three months.
If the first print run is too large, it will not only take up too much capital, but also prevent the risk of unsalable products.
After being scolded by Mrs. Wei, Lin Weimin raised the basic publishing fee to 25 yuan per thousand words, and the fee for this printing volume reached 75 yuan per thousand words, totaling 100 yuan per thousand words.
In 1984, this figure was considered a astronomical price for the domestic publishing industry.
But in fact, if we calculate based on the price of one yuan per book, 500,000 books means a sales volume of 500,000 yuan. The total number of words in "The Story of Stealing an Official" is just over 200,000, and the standard fee is 100 yuan per thousand words, so the total fee is only 20,000 yuan.
If calculated using the royalty method, the compensation Guowen Publishing House paid to Lin Weimin was actually only equivalent to 4% of the royalties.
Lin Weimin left the editor-in-chief's office and sighed slightly.
If we writers want to achieve financial freedom through writing, we have a long way to go!
(End of this chapter)
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