Chapter 773 It will get better
Lin Weimin didn't know whether he should be honored or angry that a novel could be personally reviewed by leaders of multiple ministries including the Press and Publication Administration, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Works.
Anyway, after he handed in the manuscript of the novel, it was like a married woman, like spilled water, and he never saw it again.
More than ten days passed in a flash, and he complained whenever he saw Cheng Zaochun.
If it weren't for Old Cheng's meddling, his novel would have been mailed to the United States.
"Don't be ungrateful, kid. All those leaders are so busy, and they still have to take time out to review your manuscript. Do you think they are willing to do that?"
"You don't want him to return it, it's like I'm begging him!" Lin Weimin shouted.
"Okay, okay, if you have the guts, go tell the ministers what's going on. Why are you wasting your time talking to me?"
Lin Weimin muttered, "Just say it, do you think I don't dare?"
Cheng Zaochun ignored his complaints and just listened to him.
The manuscript would not be returned for the time being anyway, so Lin Weimin certainly didn't dare to go to a few ministers to ask for the manuscript. That would be like an old man hanging himself - is he tired of living?
Fortunately, he let the matter go. After all, the novel was finished, and it was none of his business if it couldn't be published.
Book lovers should curse, curse the leader!
Recently, the TV series "A Romantic Affair" has completed the mid-term shooting and is now in post-production.
Lin Weimin took some time to watch it, and found that the quality of the finished film was much higher than later versions, and it already had the flavor of a "Haiyan drama".
Hai Yan stayed in Pengcheng for more than 20 days while filming "Season of Flowers and Rain". He returned to Yanjing only after the crew got on track.
"The schedule at CCTV has been reserved. There is a free time in September."
Lin Weimin nodded. In September, a new book in the Buhuhu series was released, and the novel "A Romantic Affair" was also selected into this batch of new books.
"Book a restaurant for me tomorrow night. I'll treat Yang Tai to dinner."
"good."
Haiyan agreed, but couldn't help but be curious, "You invite me to dinner on the balcony..."
"Won't you know when you go there?"
Haiyan was a little surprised. He didn't expect that he was qualified to go.
The next evening, Lin Weimin's Mercedes-Benz parked outside the Great Wall Hotel on the East Third Ring Road. Tonight's banquet was scheduled to be held at the Great Wall Hotel.
The full name of the Great Wall Hotel is Sheraton Great Wall Hotel. It is the first Sino-American joint venture hotel in China. Because it looks like a robot, some Yanjing people call it the "Robot Building".
In the 1980s, it experienced great success. US President Reagan held a press conference here, and singer Cheng Lin held a concert here...
Entering the 1990s, the domestic hotel industry developed rapidly, but the Sheraton Great Wall Hotel is still synonymous with high-end hotels in Yanjing.
Lin Weimin specially invited Li Xin and Hai Yan to today's banquet.
A few people were standing in front of the hotel. Suddenly, they saw that the west side of the hotel was under construction. Li Xin asked casually, "Is the hotel being renovated?"
Haiyan said: "The building has been bought by someone. I heard that they spent 1.8 million dollars and plan to turn it into a nightclub."
"Oh, a nightclub!"
In recent years, there are many nightclubs in Yanjing City, nothing special.
Hearing this, Lin Weimin's eyes were on the west annex building. Heaven and earth, could they be considered witnessing history?
Chatting casually, the few of them entered the hotel.
Today, Lin Weimin invited CCTV Director Yang Weiguang to dinner, and his main purpose was to talk to him about co-producing a TV series.
Of course, ordinary TV dramas do not require cooperation between Guowen Publishing House and CCTV. What Lin Weimin wants to do is to obtain the copyright of Jin Yong's martial arts novels.
After hearing Lin Weimin's idea, Yang Weiguang couldn't help but ask, "Can you ensure that you get the copyright of Jin Yong's martial arts novels?"
"We have a good relationship with him at our Guowen Press. Besides, we have CCTV. If we cooperate, I don't think there will be any problem," said Lin Weimin.
Jin Yong is a very shrewd old man. Although he has a good relationship with Guowen Publishing House, Guowen Publishing House is, after all, just a publishing house. It has just entered the film and television industry, so he may not agree to cooperate.
But if it had the endorsement of CCTV, it would be different.
Later, CCTV TV Drama Production Center wanted to shoot a Jin Yong martial arts drama, and Jin Yong gave the copyright of "Swordsman" to CCTV for only one dollar.
This certainly cannot prove how much Jin Yong despises money, but it at least proves that the CCTV brand is very useful.
Lin Weimin's idea is for Wencheng Film and Television to obtain the TV drama copyright of Jin Yong's novels, and then for Wencheng Film and Television to cooperate with CCTV to invest in the filming of the TV drama. The two parties already have a cooperative relationship, and deepening the cooperation will benefit both parties.
After thinking for a moment, Yang Weiguang agreed to Lin Weimin's request.
Jin Yong's martial arts novels have been quietly circulating in China since the 1970s. After the opening up in the 1980s, Jin Yong's martial arts novels and TV series have been loved by countless Chinese people. If CCTV can really obtain the copyright of Jin Yong's martial arts novels, it will be a good thing.
With Yang Weiguang's approval, Wencheng Film and Television's chances of acquiring the copyright of Jin Yong's martial arts novels increased greatly, and Lin Weimin was very happy.
When the banquet was almost over, Yang Weiguang suddenly asked Lin Weimin, "I heard that you wrote a novel recently?"
"How do you know?"
"How could I not know? It has spread among several ministries. You are really amazing. A novel has alarmed three ministries." Yang Weiguang exclaimed.
"Don't mention it. I'm already upset. It's been more than half a month since the manuscript was taken away from me, and no one has returned it." Lin Weimin said depressedly.
Yang Weiguang chuckled and said, "It can't be sent back."
Lin Weimin's heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean?"
"You don't know?"
"I haven't cared lately."
Yang Weiguang whispered in Lin Weimin's ear: "It was sent to the sea. I heard that several leaders were afraid to make a decision. They had to get the approval of the senior leader."
Lin Weimin's heart sank, "Not really, right?"
"How could it be so? I heard that your novel almost portrays the United States as a country full of evil. You have such a great influence in both China and the United States that the leaders above are afraid that it will affect the two countries' culture!"
"Nonsense, I'm just being truthful!" Lin Weimin flatly denied Yang Weiguang's accusations against him.
Yang Weiguang had a look of seeing through everything on his face, "It's you again, making money from the Americans while cursing their mothers."
Lin Weimin really wanted to say that what he wrote was all fact, but after thinking about it he decided not to.
After all, there are some fake parts in it and it’s not completely based on reality, otherwise you would be scared to death.
The manuscript has been stuck in the sea and it is impossible to get it out in a short time. The leader is very busy and it may take a month to finish a novel. Lin Weimin is not in a hurry at all this time.
At the beginning of the month, he took Li Xin and Hai Yan to Hong Kong and visited Jin Yong in person.
Jin Yong was very happy to see Lin Weimin.
A few years ago, Jin Yong handed over the mainland publishing rights of his martial arts novels to Guowen Publishing House and reaped the rewards.
To date, Jin Yong's collection of works has achieved sales of nearly 2.8 million copies in China, with sales reaching a staggering 168 million yuan.
Guowen Publishing House treated Jin Yong very well, with a rare 13% royalty share, and Jin Yong received more than 21.8 million RMB in royalties.
Even though Jin Yong is now a billionaire, this 20 million yuan in royalties is still a very considerable sum for him.
So when he looked at Lin Weimin, he felt like he was looking at a boy who was giving away money.
More importantly, Lin Weimin, like him, is not just a writer. He is not only the editor-in-chief of Guowen Publishing House, but also has a considerable fortune.
Xu Feng has extensive connections in Hong Kong. When she occasionally attended banquets in Hong Kong in the past two years, people would always mention "Farewell My Concubine".
This movie has now become the proudest work of Xu Feng's investment career. Whenever it is mentioned, she always smiles from ear to ear and talks endlessly.
The Hong Kong film industry has long known that Xu Feng earned tens of millions of dollars from "Farewell My Concubine", and the number is still slowly increasing. Jin Yong has heard his friends discuss this matter more than once.
According to Xu Feng, Lin Weimin, the author of Farewell My Concubine, earned 30% of the film's total revenue without spending a penny, which is only slightly less than Xu Feng's earnings.
This is just the income from a single copyright adaptation of Lin Weimin's work. If one really wants to calculate his wealth, Jin Yong believes that Lin Weimin will definitely not be inferior to himself.
When Lin Weimin and his two companions arrived in Hong Kong, Jin Yong warmly entertained them. Upon hearing that Lin Weimin came for the TV adaptation rights of his novel, Jin Yong curiously asked, "Isn't your company a publishing house? Why are you making TV series?"
Lin Weimin then gave a detailed introduction to the full copyright operation plan of Guowen Press. After listening to it, Jin Yong pondered for a moment and said, "Your idea is very interesting. With such integration of resources, I'm afraid you will transform into a media group in the future?"
Lin Weimin smiled and said, "It's too early to talk about this now."
Jin Yong nodded slightly, and after some thought, he said, "You want to buy the rights to adapt the novels as a package, but I'm afraid I can't agree to that. How about this, I'll give you the rights to adapt one work for one dollar, how about that?"
Lin Weimin knows Jin Yong very well. He is not only a writer, but also a businessman who will not take action until he has seen the rabbit.
If he really were to hand over all the copyrights of his TV series to Guowen Publishing House at once, it would be fine if the film was good, but if it was not, wouldn't that damage his reputation?
Moreover, such a one-time deal is not in his interest. For Jin Yong, the best thing is to take it slow and steady and wait for the tide to rise.
"Haha! Mr. Cha is so generous and thoughtful. Okay, let's do as you say and get the copyright of "Swordsman" first. This dollar we spent is totally worth it!" Lin Weimin laughed.
Selling the copyright of "Swordsman" for one dollar is very consistent with Jin Yong's style.
It is understandable that people want to wait for a good price to sell their works. After all, with Jin Yong's current fame and status, he can do so.
When Lin Weimin first said he wanted to package the copyright of his novel, he was just asking for an exorbitant price.
Now that he has obtained the adaptation rights of "Swordsman" for just one dollar, Jin Yong has already sold his face big enough.
However, when signing the contract, Lin Weimin still put a priority clause in it. Jin Yong had no objection to this, and the two parties successfully completed the cooperation.
After three days in Hong Kong, the copyright of "Swordsman" was negotiated, and Lin Weimin and his team's mission was completed.
He gave Haiyan and Li Xin a holiday. Since they had finally come to Hong Kong, they would definitely go shopping and do some shopping.
Lin Weimin got in the car arranged by Jin Yong to meet his old friend.
Liu Yichang is 77 years old this year, and he still clocks in at the editorial office of Hong Kong Literature on time every day.
Last year, he accepted the Hong Kong City Council's writer-in-residence program and became its first writer. This year, he also participated in essay competitions in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur as a judge. He is busier than many young people and has more energy.
Liu Yichang was very happy to see Lin Weimin, and he was even happier when he heard that Lin Weimin was here to negotiate the TV drama copyright of Jin Yong's martial arts novels.
"The sets of those martial arts TV dramas on TVB are too fake. If you want to shoot, you have to shoot the beautiful mountains and rivers in the mainland. That will make it more impressive. You must shoot it well!"
"Don't worry, we will never let you down!" Lin Weimin promised him.
The two chatted for the entire afternoon, and in the evening Liu Yichang organized a gathering of some Hong Kong L-school writers to welcome Lin Weimin.
There are not many writers coming, and compared with previous years, the lineup of Hong Kong L-school writers seems to have declined a lot.
When Lin Weimin and Liu Yichang talked about this topic, Liu Yichang couldn't help but look a little melancholy, "Our generation of writers are getting old, dying, emigrating, or stopping writing. There really aren't many of us left in Hong Kong in recent years."
He then added: "But it will be soon. Hong Kong will soon return to the embrace of the motherland. We will definitely get better and better in the future!"
When he said this, his tone was excited and his eyes were shining.
(End of this chapter)
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