Chapter 554 It’s all for life
"The manuscript is in the editorial department. You can't see it now," said Lin Weimin.
Zhang Yimou nodded and didn't force it, and instead chatted with Yu Hua about "The Mistake by the River" for a while.
"Raise the Red Lantern" was not finished yet, and Zhang Yimou just had a brief chat with Yu Hua. He had no intention of making a third movie before the success or failure of the second movie was known.
Lin Weimin asked about the current production progress of "Raise the Red Lantern". This film has been in the works for a year, and due to time constraints, it has missed several major film festivals this year.
"We haven't finished post-production yet. Anyway, this year's big film festival has passed, so there's no rush. Let's wait until next year!"
When Zhang Yimou heard that Jiang Wen was going to make a movie and had asked Lin Weimin to be the producer, he was very curious. Why didn't he think of this idea of letting Teacher Lin be the producer?
"I would like you to be the producer of my next film as well!" said Zhang Yimou.
Lin Weimin waved his hands quickly, "Please spare me. This time the situation is special. Mike can't stay in China permanently, so he wants to find an acquaintance to help. It just so happens that I helped him invest in Jiangwen, so I agreed to this matter."
After hearing what he said, Zhang Yimou felt a little regretful.
Before leaving, he thought of the topic they had just discussed and asked about Yu Hua's new novel. "If you have time, come to our editorial office to read it. If you don't have time, wait until January. The novel has been confirmed to be published in January."
"Then I'll take a look after it's published."
After Zhang Yimou left, Lin Weimin looked at Yu Hua and asked, "When are you leaving?"
Yu Hua said reluctantly: "Teacher Lin, why do I feel like you're always trying to chase me away?"
"Your feeling is not wrong."
Yu Hua looked hurt, and sighed again, "I'm leaving tomorrow. Sigh, time flies by so fast."
For him who loves to play, the days in Yanjing are always short.
"Teacher Lin, I'm leaving!" Yu Hua said with some regret.
Lin Weimin stood up and said, "Let me see you off."
Today is the weekend, National Day is coming soon, and Yanjing has entered early autumn.
There is a constant flow of traffic on Xi'anmen Street. In recent years, there are more and more private cars on the street, and there are also many more taxis and buses than before.
Walking on the road, Yu Hua's attention was focused on the sky. Today's sky was as blue as the clear sea, and the occasional white clouds were like sails on the sea.
"We don't seem to have this kind of weather in Haiyan." Yu Hua said, looking at the sky.
Lin Weimin could tell that Yu Hua was nostalgic for Beijing. Before he could say anything, Yu Hua continued, "Teacher Lin, do you know what it would feel like to walk on the streets of Beijing in the autumn?" When I was a child, I read this sentence: In the autumn, I strolled on the streets of Beijing. This sentence has stayed with me for a long time, even until now. Because I don't know what it would feel like to stroll on the streets of Beijing in the autumn."
After saying these words, Yu Hua withdrew his gaze from the horizon and turned to Lin Weimin.
"Teacher Lin, what do you think of me coming to Yanjing?"
"Transferred to Yanjing?"
Yu Hua shook his head. "I don't have that kind of relationship yet. I want to resign."
"Are you asking for my opinion or telling me your decision?" Lin Weimin asked.
"Of course I want to ask for your opinion. This idea came to me since I finished writing 'To Live'," said Yu Hua.
Lin Weimin was strolling under the shade of the trees on the street, and Yu Hua followed closely beside him.
After a brief pause, Lin Weimin spoke up, "I'm only talking about objective conditions. To Live is already your second novel. In my opinion, you already have what it takes to be a full-time writer.
"I don't mean getting a position in the Literary Association or signing an employment contract with a local literary academy. I mean if you can make a living with your writing and have great potential, then it's no problem for you to move to Yenching."
Yu Hua was somewhat encouraged when he heard this, but then he heard Lin Weimin say, "If you really want to come to Yanjing, it's best to wait until To Live is published before making a decision."
Yu Hua nodded, "I understand what you mean, I will definitely consider it carefully before making a decision."
Lin Weimin nodded and said, "That's good."
He walked to the bus stop with Yu Hua and watched him get on the bus while Lin Weimin stood there.
Yu Hua is only thirty years old this year, but he has already written two novels and is already a very famous young writer in the domestic literary world. For someone like him, Yenching is full of infinite imagination and motivation, so Lin Weimin's thoughts about him are not surprising.
After the National Day, Wang Shuo's "Wang Shuo Collected Works" that attracted the attention of hundreds of millions of people was finally published and placed in the most prominent position in major bookstores in Yenching. This collection of works also enjoyed the same treatment in bookstores in other cities in China.
Some time ago, Wang Shuo asked the publishing house for royalties for the publication of his collection of essays, which became the most watched event in the domestic literary world at that time. Now that the collection of essays is on the market, many literary colleagues and people in the publishing industry are very interested in the sales of this collection.
Wang Shuo became the first person in China to receive royalties, and Huayi also became the first publishing house in China to pay royalties to writers. Everyone wanted to see what the final effect would be.
In addition to discussing the sales of "Wang Shuo's Collected Works", another hot topic in the editorial department recently is the third Yanbing Literature Award.
During this period, the jury has received hundreds of novels recommended by publishing houses from all over the country.
In addition, because this year's awards had been postponed for more than two years, the Literary Association extended the selection range to 1999, which increased the workload of the jury.
Everyone is speculating that with the expansion of the selection scope, in addition to the increased workload of the jury, the number of award winners will probably also increase.
In addition to these, what everyone is most concerned about is, of course, what results the works published and published by Guowen Publishing House will gain in this year's Yanbing Literature Award.
If we count the works published by Guowen Publishing House in recent years, there are simply too many that are worthy of winning awards.
Lin Weimin has written many novels in recent years. According to the award rules of this year's Yanbing Literature Award, the two works eligible for the award should be "Burning" and "The Ming Dynasty 1566".
These two novels were both critically acclaimed and commercially successful after their publication, not only achieving brilliant sales results, but also receiving rave reviews from critics.
Since both novels are exclusively published by Guowen Publishing House, everyone is very clear about the sales of these two novels.
Since its publication, "Burning" has sold a total of 1.8 million copies. When the novel was published in the United States, it won the National Book Critics Circle Award.
The sales volume of The Ming Dynasty 1566 is even more exaggerated, having already exceeded 3 million copies. This latecomer has surpassed the total sales volume of some of Lin Weimin's works in earlier years.
What is a pity is that the novel "Hunting" is not eligible for the award because it has not been published. Otherwise, it would definitely be a strong contender for this year's Yanbing Literature Award.
In addition to Lin Weimin's works, everyone thinks that the most promising work is Lu Yao's "Ordinary World".
Although this novel was not well received by critics in the first two years after its publication, now four or five years have passed, "A World of Ordinary People" has sold nearly one million copies since its publication. It has also been broadcast as a novel and adapted into a TV series, and its influence is incomparable to that of the past. Therefore, its reputation in the critics' circle has gradually shown signs of turning around in the past two years, and it is increasingly praised by some critics.
Speaking of Lu Yao's "Ordinary World", Cheng Zhongshi, another Shaanxi writer, is not included in this year's award for his "White Deer Plain" which was just published this year. But there is no doubt that this novel has secured a place for Guowen Publishing House in the next Yanbing Literature Award.
While everyone was chatting, Liu Yin came back from outside with a gossipy look on her face.
"Hey, have you heard? Xiao Guo from the Foreign Language Department is gone!"
The people who were discussing with great interest immediately changed the topic, "Go? Where to?"
"They said a publishing house outside is trying to poach you. The salary will be doubled and the bonus will be equivalent to several months' salary," said Liu Yin.
Everyone couldn't help but sigh when they heard this.
In recent years, the tide of market economy has gradually penetrated into the publishing field. Many publishing houses keep pace with the times and, for the sake of their own development, have begun to poach employees from large publishing houses.
As one of the leaders in the domestic publishing industry, Guowen Publishing House is naturally not immune to such a fate.
Many senior editors in the company have received invitations from outside publishing houses. However, at this time, people’s awareness of making money is generally not strong, and few people will take the initiative to change jobs in order to increase their salary.
Guo Xugang from the Foreign Literature Editorial Department is the second editor to leave Guowen Publishing House in recent years. He was in his early thirties, had outstanding professional skills, and was in the prime of life. It is a pity for everyone to hear about his passing.
Liu Yin was not satisfied with just gossiping, so she went to the Foreign Language Department and asked for Wang Ruiqin, an editor with whom she had a good relationship.
"Ruiqin, what's going on with Xiao Guo? I heard from people in the front building that he's gone?" Liu Yin asked.
Wang Ruiqin sighed, "He's leaving. The salary and benefits outside are much higher than those in the commune. His family situation is not very good..."
Guo Xugang's hometown is out of town. His family of three and his parents live in two houses of more than 20 square meters. His qualifications are too low, so it is not his turn to move to a new house.
Everyone sighed after hearing Wang Ruiqin's words. Every family has its own problems.
"That publishing house contacted me a while ago. The conditions were really tempting. If I didn't want to go through so much trouble, I would really..."
When Wang Ruiqin said this, she happened to see Lin Weimin's editorial department and decisively chose to shut up.
Lin Weimin is the leader of the community, and discussing leaving and job-changing in front of him could easily lead to bad consequences.
Lin Weimin put down the manuscript and asked with a smile, "What are you talking about?"
Wang Ruiqin pretended not to hear. Liu Yin told everyone what they had just talked about without any scruples. Wang Ruiqin looked at her with dissatisfaction and decided not to involve Liu Yin in gossip in the future.
"Xiao Guo!" A face flashed through Lin Weimin's mind. He remembered that when he wrote a letter to Alain Resnais two years ago, he asked him to be his translator. His professionalism was quite good.
"It's a bit of a pity!" said Lin Weimin.
Seeing that Lin Weimin was not angry, Wang Ruiqin said, "Xiao Guo was a key member of the editorial office. It's a pity that he left. Nowadays, the salaries offered to poach people from outside are very high, and sometimes people don't want to leave."
"Understand, it's all for the sake of life!" Lin Weimin sighed.
(End of this chapter)
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