Chapter 537: Hot New Year Goods
Speaking of which, Rong Shihui helped Lin Weimin a lot when he joined Contemporary China after completing his studies at the Institute of Literature Research.
After joining Contemporary Magazine as an editor, Rong Shihui became his mentor.
Later, Rong Shihui went to the Writers Publishing House, and we had less contact, but the feelings were always there.
Lao Rong has been an editor all his life. He has worked diligently and has handled many famous works. His editing style is different from that of many of his peers.
Generally, when an editor reviews a manuscript, they will first find problems. If they think it is inappropriate, they will directly send it back to the author for revisions, or simply reject it.
He likes to be a talent scout, relying on his keen eyes to find out the problems in the manuscript and then help the author sort out the manuscript.
"Lin Hai Xue Yuan" and "Song of Youth" were created in his hands, and his revisions to these two classics made an indelible contribution.
But precisely because of his style, he often offends authors.
It’s not bad for young people who are just starting out. They won’t feel any burden when their manuscripts are revised by editors. Instead, they will feel happy.
When encountering those famous authors, most of them are arrogant and pedantic, and they will be unhappy. In the end, Rong Shihui ended up being unpopular with both sides.
Not to mention the past few years at the Writers Publishing House, Lao Rong's contributions during his time as an editor at the Guowen Publishing House are obvious to all.
Many times, when a manuscript enters the editorial department, there are many people involved in the editing process, including the first instance, the second instance, and the final instance, which is similar to a court convicting a criminal. There may be more than one person involved in each trial.
When his works were published and he became famous, there was a long line of people vying for credit. But in fact, everyone knew the truth in their minds, and he rarely competed for credit.
Old Mrs. Wei said that Rong Shihui was an excellent editor, but he could not be an excellent leader.
She was wrong. After going to the writers' editorial department, Lao Rong became the deputy editor-in-chief before his retirement.
Two days after returning from visiting Rong Shihui at his home, Lin Weimin was feeling a little depressed.
Before New Year's Day, Lin Weimin called several retired old men to Donglaishun under the pretext of the year-end.
"Laorong has been in poor health recently, so let's skip the cigarettes and alcohol today and eat more meat!" said Lin Weimin.
Qin Chaoyang sighed, "I'm getting older, so I can only eat mutton for better digestion!"
Lin Weimin glanced at him. The old man was setting an ambush for him.
"If you can eat a bushel of rice and ten pounds of meat, I will make you a general!"
Meng Weizai joined in the fun and said, "Old Tan, this kid looks down on you, teach him a lesson!"
Niu Han cursed: "Old Meng, you are the worst among us!"
Since retiring, Comrade Lao Niu has completely let himself go.
What kind of leaders? They are all retired cadres. When they meet, they compare who has the most agile legs and feet and who doesn't need to be fed.
Rong Shihui coughed twice, and looked at his old friends gathered together and bickering, and a happy smile appeared on his face.
Yan Wenjing asked, "Shihui, what did the doctor say about your illness?"
"It's nothing, just a chronic disease. I have to take medicine every day and go to the hospital for checkups every now and then."
A few people were chatting casually, the soup in the copper hot pot was boiling, and the mutton was put into the pot and cooked in a moment.
These old guys usually have to wait for others to give up their seats when they get on the bus, and they eat their chopsticks faster than anyone else.
After eating several plates of meat, Yan Wenjing put down his chopsticks first.
"I am old after all. I am full after eating a little. I dare not eat more. You guys eat."
Niu Han kept using his chopsticks, looking disdainful.
This body can’t do it!
Several people ate and chatted. In addition to their life after retirement, the common topics they got together naturally included the Chinese Literature Society and "Contemporary".
According to ancient sayings, an organization like the Guowen Society is basically equivalent to resting together with the country. Now many of the backbones and main force of the society are "second-generation publishers". Over the past few decades, the relationships have become increasingly complicated, and the old comrades chat with each other like old rural ladies discussing family matters.
"That so-and-so and that little so-and-so..."
As we chatted, everyone mentioned "Dust Settles" published in "Contemporary" in August. After a few months, this novel has become very popular.
Several old comrades were deeply gratified to see that Contemporary Magazine had launched another work with wide influence and was thriving under the leadership of Editor-in-Chief Lin.
"This kid boasted to me a few days ago that he would release a masterpiece in two days!" said Rong Shihui.
When the other old comrades heard this, they became interested and asked what was going on.
When they heard that this was a work that Cheng Zhongshi had spent six years polishing, everyone became even more interested.
"Shaanxi's literary world is full of talent! Lu Yao's Ordinary World is well written. If Cheng Zhongshi's novel can stand out, it will be another highlight of Shaanxi's literary world."
“The cultural context continues!”
After everyone sighed, Meng Weizai asked, "Weimin, Qizhi told me that the sales of the publication have declined this year?"
"Yes, it's a small decline. The situation in the second half of the year is still okay. The total sales volume is 300,000 copies less than last year." Lin Weimin said.
"What's going on?" others asked.
Lin Weimin told everyone about the sales of major publications this year. The sales of Contemporary Magazine are relatively good.
"From what I can see now, it should be caused by the overall environment. We will know next year. If it is really as I guessed, then this year's decline is just the beginning, and the good days of the domestic publishing industry are over!"
Several veteran comrades sighed after hearing Lin Weimin's analysis. "It was fine two years ago, but it's only been a few years!"
“It’s just a trend. Even if there is a big drop, it can last for a few years.”
"That's right, maybe the situation will get better in a few years!"
Lin Weimin shook his head inwardly, thinking that the old comrades were still too optimistic.
Two days later, the New Year's Day holiday came, and according to the Western calendar, we officially entered the year 1990.
Just after New Year’s Day, CCTV broadcast a new TV series “The Story of the Editorial Department”. Tao Huimin laughed so hard while watching TV every day that her cheeks ached.
After a short vacation, the first issue of Contemporary in 1990 appeared in bookstores, post offices and backpack stalls across the country.
The full text of "White Deer Plain" is nearly 500,000 words, and the decision to publish it in one issue was extremely bold. Looking at the magazine that was much thicker than previous issues, many old readers saw the unusualness of this issue at a glance and were eager to try it out.
The world view and historical background of "White Deer Plain" are extremely grand, describing the changes in the Wei River Plain in Shaanxi over half a century.
Writing from the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China to the complete liberation of China in 1949, Cheng Zhongshi skillfully condensed the life of this era of great turbulence and change into the conflicts, entanglements and grievances between two generations of descendants of two families in the village of Bailuyuan on the Weihe Plain.
The feng shui site is taken by trickery, the beauty trap is used maliciously, the filial son becomes a bandit, the father-in-law kills the daughter-in-law, brothers fight each other, lovers turn against each other, bloody storms, swords are drawn, the situation changes, and the king's flag changes...
Family feuds and national hatreds are intertwined, the ancient land trembles in the pain of rebirth, and on the historical stage carefully constructed by Cheng Zhongshi, a series of thrilling and deafening human dramas are performed.
It makes people tremble all over and cannot calm down for a long time.
Contemporary has many loyal readers, and quite a few of them rushed to get a glimpse of the first issue of this year as soon as it was released.
Many readers fell into a state of speechlessness after reading this novel. They were shocked by the magnificent epic created by the novel and also shocked by Cheng Zhongshi's earth-shattering achievement.
Not only the readers who love Contemporary Magazine, but also many critics in the commentary circle were deeply shocked.
"I'm afraid Cheng Zhongshi will go down in history!"
At the beginning of 1990, within just half a month, this news spread widely in the Chinese literary world and became known to everyone.
In an era when there was no Internet and television was not well developed, and information could only be transmitted through radio and print media, "Contemporary", a literary magazine with millions of readers in China, was the best promotional platform for a novel.
"White Deer Plain" caused a sensation in the Chinese literary world within half a month of its publication.
The three words "Cheng Zhongshi" have also become the most famous name in Chinese literary circles.
He was a rustic writer who had been deeply involved in the Shaanxi literary world and had never written a novel in his thirty-year writing career. However, he created such a profound and tragic national epic as "White Deer Plain" in his first attempt, which amazed countless readers and literary colleagues.
Under such circumstances, the first issue of Contemporary Magazine in 1990 that published White Deer Plain became the hottest "New Year's goodies" before the Spring Festival in 1990.
The first print run of 1.5 million copies was sold out by crazy readers in just half a month. Subscription information from bookstores and post offices all over the country poured in like snowflakes, even more crazy than when "Dust Settles" was published in "Contemporary" in August. It was in great demand.
Faced with the wave of public opinion and the rush to buy that formed in a short period of time, the editorial department of "Contemporary" was excited.
When reading "White Deer Plain", everyone thought it was a rare good work. Not only colleagues in the editorial department of "Contemporary", but also colleagues in the Contemporary Literature Editorial Department 1 who were responsible for the publication of "White Deer Plain" thought so.
But even though everyone unanimously recognized the literary achievements and artistic value of "White Deer Plain", they could not have imagined that this seemingly tacky and even somewhat unfashionable work could have such a sensational effect across the country in such a short period of time.
Since the revival of the domestic literary scene after the end of the Buzz Buzz, there have been many writers and works that have made a big splash. On the contrary, there are many such examples.
"Farewell My Concubine" and "Life" in 1982, "Rising Star" in 1983, "Ancient Ship" in 1986, "Dust Settles" in 1989...
But "White Deer Plain" is very different from these works in several aspects.
First, it is long enough. There is a very stubborn idea in the domestic literary world that large works seem to be more substantial than those shorter works. There is a reason for this idea. The writing of a novel is relatively difficult, let alone a long novel with a length of 500,000 words.
Secondly, Cheng Zhongshi, the author of "White Deer Plain", has been in the Shaanxi literary world for decades and has published many works, all of which are short and medium-length stories, but he has not published a novel, and his works are not well-known to domestic readers.
Yet, it is such a writer who is nearly fifty years old and has never written a novel, who has written such a work in his forties that has won cheers from critics, astonishment from the press, and great scramble by readers to buy it.
How could this not amaze literary colleagues and readers?
It is the beginning of the Gregorian calendar year 1990 and the end of the Chinese year 1989.
Cheng Zhongshi has left a mark of his own in Chinese literary circles and the history of contemporary literature with his work "White Deer Plain"!
(End of this chapter)
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