Chapter 551: Cutting the Waist
Throughout August, the most watched event in the domestic literary world was the war of words between Wang Shuo and several media outlets, with both sides engaging in acrimony with each other.
It is a common thing for writers to publish their works and ask for royalties from publishers in foreign countries, and no one would be surprised.
But the problem is that the systems at home and abroad are different. If you do this in China, aren't you learning the bad habits of capitalism?
Besides, can you, a scholar, talk about money?
Not only are you vulgar, you are also mean, which has ruined your own noble image.
In the eyes of many opponents, Wang Shuo has extraordinary talent but is unfortunately a greedy coward. He is truly "China's most greedy writer" and "the most villain in the literary world." He is just short of being a rat crossing the street that everyone shouts and beats.
Lin Weimin’s voice was very timely and immediately rescued Wang Shuo from the siege, so that he no longer had to fight alone.
Especially after him, dozens of writers spoke out together, strongly supporting the legitimacy of the royalty system, which instantly reversed the original passive situation and fully affirmed the rationality of Wang Shuo's request for royalties.
Of course, as the general who led the charge in this incident, Shuozi's personal reputation is bound to be damaged.
The character of being "greedy for money" cannot be washed away, and he will definitely be dragged out and criticized from time to time by the media and colleagues who dislike him.
Shuozi is so miserable!
Teacher Lin saw it and felt heartbroken.
As I said, Shuozi shed blood for the revolution and was a meritorious official.
Teacher Lin was just thinking about how to reward Shuozi, but he didn't expect him to come to the door first. Teacher Lin instinctively felt weak in his heart and pretended to be calm.
"Haha, Weimin, you are really nice!"
Wang Shuo came up and gave Lin Weimin a big hug. After letting him go, he asked with a firm look on his face, "Those people spoke up for me. It must have been you who did it, right?"
Teacher Lin said righteously: "You are speaking for all Chinese writers. How can we let you fight alone?"
Wang Shuo was touched and patted Lin Weimin's arm, "Thanks to you!"
"It's boring to talk about this." Lin Weimin pulled him to sit down and asked, "What are you doing here today? You're not here just to say thank you to me, are you?"
Wang Shuo slapped his head and said, "I almost forgot something important. Let's have dinner at Jimen Hotel tonight. I'll treat you. This time we have a great start, and everyone will get royalties in the future. This is a great thing!"
Lin Weimin smiled and said, "It is indeed a happy event. You have set a good example for everyone!"
As soon as Lin Weimin praised him, Shuozi couldn't help but tremble again.
Although this royalty incident was caused by his efforts to gain benefits for himself, it ultimately benefited the entire writer community.
I, Wang Shuo, have done a great favor for the Chinese literary world!
Wang Shuo was just about to say something boastful when a voice even more boastful than his suddenly came from the office door.
"Teacher Lin!"
Lin Weimin and Wang Shuo looked in the direction of the voice and saw Yu Hua with a 50-50 hairstyle peeking out of the door.
When Lin Weimin saw him, he couldn't help but smile, "Why are you here? Have you finished writing the novel?"
Yu Hua moved out and walked into the office. "No, but it will be soon."
The kind smile on Teacher Lin's face disappeared, "Why are you here if you haven't finished writing yet?"
He even ignored the second half of Yu Hua's sentence.
"It's almost there. Believe me, it's just the end."
"It's just missing the ending. Why don't you finish it before writing it?" Lin Weimin was very skeptical about what he said.
“I can’t calm down!”
Yu Hua's face lit up with excitement as he spoke, and he greeted Wang Shuo, "I've been following the big things you guys have been doing these days, and my blood is boiling, so how can I have the energy to write a novel!"
Yu Hua's words touched upon Wang Shuo's pride. He patted Yu Hua on the shoulder, and said earnestly, "Your generation of writers will enjoy a good life in the future!"
Wang Shuo is two years older than Yu Hua. Yu Hua glanced at him and said, "Enough! You've been scolded so much. If it weren't for Teacher Lin leading us to speak up for you, hehe..."
Yu Hua didn't say anything else, with a look of gloating on his face.
"You're talking nonsense!" Wang Shuo was so angry that veins popped out on his forehead. "I did contribute!"
"Yes, yes, you have made contributions. You have done a good job as 'Liao Hua'!" Yu Hua said with a hint of sarcasm.
Wang Shuo glared at Yu Hua. If it weren't for Lin Weimin, he would have wanted to tear this guy apart with his bare hands. He was so shameless and had no gratitude at all.
he~tui!
"Alright, alright!" Lin Weimin stopped the quarrel between the two and said to Hua: "Since you are here, stay. It happens that there are few people upstairs recently, so it is quiet."
"I understand!" Yu Hua gave Lin Weimin a look. I understand the process.
"Go find Xiao Tong and put the things down first. We'll have dinner there tonight, so let's go together." Lin Weimin instructed.
When Yu Hua heard about the dinner party, his eyes lit up.
Why did he come all the way to Yanjing?
It’s all for the sake of having fun!
Teacher Lin really understands me. He arranged all the activities for me on my first day.
Wang Shuo pinched his nose in dissatisfaction, "I'm treating you, not you!"
"You ungrateful thing! I'm speaking for you!" Yu Hua retorted.
"Okay, let's get back to work." Lin Weimin interrupted their bickering impatiently.
After work, Yu Hua sat on the passenger seat of Lin Weimin's Mercedes-Benz. "The car I have to ride in is a Mercedes-Benz!"
"I'll buy one when I earn royalties in the future," Lin Weimin joked.
"Don't joke with me. I can't afford this car!" Yu Hua had an expression that showed he was very self-aware.
Lin Weimin looked at him deeply.
Young man, you still underestimate your potential. You are a man who lives on "To Live". Don't underestimate yourself!
The car drove for a while and stopped at the gate of the Shichahai courtyard. Yu Hua rushed into the courtyard before Lin Weimin.
"Haha, Tiesheng!"
Shi Tiesheng was a little surprised to see Yu Hua, "When did you come here?"
"Just arrived today, here to deliver the manuscript."
Shi Tiesheng said happily: "I heard that you are going to write a long novel this time?"
Yu Hua was a little proud of what he said, "Long-length novels make a lot of money, and now I can even get royalties."
The two chatted for a while, and Lin Weimin said to Shi Tiesheng: "Let's go."
The main purpose of Wang Shuo's dinner party this time is to celebrate his victory in the war of words with the media, and also to celebrate the royalties he will receive. Shi Tiesheng also joined in the fun, and he will definitely be indispensable today.
The car was driving on the road and several people continued to chat.
Yu Hua mentioned that he was planning to buy a computer. "I heard that writing on a computer is very convenient. Just type on the keyboard with your fingers. Once you are proficient in typing, you can type one or two thousand words in a short time. It is much faster than writing on a laptop every day."
Shi Tiesheng had experienced the Toshiba T1000 that Lin Weimin brought back from the United States in 1986, and later also experienced it at other friends' places. He had thought about buying a computer.
In recent years, computers have been a real luxury. An IBM computer with mainstream configuration costs at least 15,000 yuan, which is equivalent to the average person's income for ten to eight years.
Although Shi Tiesheng is now a well-known writer, his family does not have much savings. When he heard the price of the computer, he gave up the idea.
Today, Yu Hua brought up the matter again, and Shi Tiesheng asked, "Do you have money?"
"It's almost done." Yu Hua looked at Lin Weimin, "Teacher Lin, I've finished writing this novel, can you give me some royalties?"
Lin Weimin was speechless, "You are planning to spend money before it's due!"
"I do this for better writing. You see, I concentrate all day, and my back aches from exhaustion, but I can only write 3,000 to 4,000 words at most.
But if I had a computer, I think writing 10,000 words a day would be a bit exaggerated, but 7,000 or 8,000 words would be no problem. Wouldn’t my writing efficiency go up immediately? "
Lin Weimin had to admit that the pie that Yu Hua had painted for him was a bit tempting.
Seven or eight thousand words a day, aren't you a coder at Qidian?
"Stop bragging. Wait until you get familiar with typing on the keyboard first. Seven or eight thousand words a day? It would be good enough if you can catch up with your original efficiency." Lin Weimin said in criticism.
"Practice makes perfect. It will be slow at first, but you will get faster little by little. Teacher Lin, please believe me!"
"It's up to you. Buy it if you want. Just submit the manuscript on time."
Yu Hua said excitedly: "Then I can just carry the computer back this time."
Lin Weimin asked: "Tie Sheng, Yu Hua just wants to buy a computer. Haven't you always wanted to buy one? Let's buy it together!"
Shi Tiesheng shook his hand. "Forget it. It's too expensive. Let's talk about it later."
"It's okay. I happen to know a top student who just returned from studying abroad and knows computer programming. I'll ask him to help you two assemble a computer. It's cheap!"
Yu Hua corrected him: "Teacher Lin, programming is software, and assembly belongs to the field of hardware."
Lin Weimin gave him a disdainful look and asked, "Did you notice me?"
Yu Hua just shut up.
But I am proud in my heart. Even though you are a teacher, you are not good when it comes to computers.
Lin Weimin coughed lightly, "Well, he not only knows how to program, but he can also assemble computers by himself. The computer he is using now was assembled by himself."
After listening to Lin Weimin's words, Shi Tiesheng's heart was pounding.
Yu Hua then asked, "How cheap can it be?"
Lin Weimin hesitated for a moment, he was not very familiar with this thing.
A few years ago, he bought that Toshiba T1000 for more than two thousand dollars, but that was in the United States.
I usually hear people discussing it and it seems that the price of a computer is about 10,000 to 20,000 yuan. Last year, the company purchased two computers, which cost nearly 40,000 yuan. Including the Chinese card and floppy disk, it seems to be close to 50,000 yuan.
Even if it is cheap in the past two years, it shouldn’t be much cheaper.
"How much money did you find out?" Lin Weimin asked Yu Hua cleverly.
"My friend said that if you know someone, you can get it for just over 10,000 yuan," said Yu Hua.
Lin Weimin nodded, "It's cheaper to find someone to assemble it yourself, and it can be done for five or six thousand yuan."
Computers are also making huge profits these days, so there’s nothing wrong with cutting the price in half.
Before Shi Tiesheng could say anything, Yu Hua looked surprised and said, "Teacher Lin, is this true? If it's five or six thousand yuan, I can buy it now!"
"Of course it's true. If you spend a few days in Zhongguancun, you'll know that the computer industry is making huge profits now!"
Yu Hua said happily: "That's great!"
He looked at Shi Tiesheng again, "Tiesheng, why don't you buy one too? It's so cheap!"
Shi Tiesheng groaned and said, "I have to go back and discuss this with Ximi."
Lin Weimin smiled and said, "Okay, let me know when you've discussed it and I'll find someone for you."
Yu Hua asked anxiously, "Teacher Lin, how about you study my machine first?"
"What a rush! Do you think they are here to work for you? They are waiting for Tiesheng to come together."
Yu Hua had no idea that he had gotten a great bargain by following Shi Tiesheng.
While they were talking, the car stopped in front of Jimen Hotel.
(End of this chapter)
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