Chapter 805: Getting Older and More Valuable
Before the New Year, the work of the Guowen Society was almost done, and Lin Weimin finally had a chance to take a break.
During this period of time, he received calls from several overseas publishing houses and signed publishing contracts for "God Bless America" with them.
"God Bless America" has been published in the United States for nearly five months, and its total sales have exceeded 2.7 million copies. It is the fastest of all Lin Weimin's works published in the United States to achieve sales of 2 million copies.
Today, this novel still tops the New York Times bestseller list with sales of four or five hundred thousand copies per month, and it seems to be on the verge of dominating the list.
The incredible sales volume coupled with excellent word of mouth ensures that this work will have a long-lasting impact.
At the same time, due to its popularity in the U.S. book market, the novel "God Bless America" has attracted the interest of publishers in many overseas countries.
Lin Weimin's works have been marketed overseas for many years, and he has become accustomed to it. Last month, FSG Publishing House settled the royalties for the first quarter of "God Bless America", which amounted to 2.4 million US dollars.
This figure is not much considering the overseas royalties and box office revenues that Lin Weimin has received over the years, but it set a record for the highest royalties for a single work in a single season.
After all, the sales of "God Bless America" after its release are indeed the best-selling one in recent years.
On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, Lin Weimin received another call from the United States. It was Disney who wanted to purchase the copyright of "Spirited Away". The price was not low, 10 million US dollars to buy out all copyrights including the text works.
Lin Weimin has received many calls like this in the past two years. Since the unprecedented global success of Farewell My Concubine, Hollywood was happy with the "US$5 million" figure he proposed, but unfortunately this price no longer met Lin Weimin's expectations for the copyright development income of his work.
As the tide rises, Lin Weimin demands 30% of all earnings from his work, which the Hollywood capitalists cannot accept in any way.
Lin Weimin didn't care. With the copyright in his own hands, sales would get better and better, and his influence would grow. No matter how he thought about it, he would not lose out. And he didn't just keep the copyright in his hands without developing it. He learned from his predecessor Rotten Apple and developed it slowly!
"Spirited Away" has been published in North America for three years and its sales have exceeded 5 million copies. It is one of the rare popular children's literature works in recent years. Not only in North America, this novel has also been published in various countries around the world in the past two years. It has sold well and contributed a lot of royalties to Lin Weimin.
This time, it was the third time Disney contacted Lin Weimin. Their offer increased from 5 million to 8 million and then to 10 million.
You say they are not sincere, they keep raising the price. You say they are sincere, they want to spend 18 million dollars to buy "Spirited Away", a children's literature work that was born less than five years ago and has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.
In fact, if it is just for the film and television copyright, this price is acceptable. The most important thing is that it wants all copyrights except for literary works, that is, it wants to take all possible subsequent copyrights for itself.
This is in line with Disney's usual nature, but Lin Weimin is not short of money. Judging from the sales of "Spirited Away" in recent years, it will definitely be a copyright gold mine in the future. How could he sell his work at such a price? Lin Weimin once again rejected Disney's invitation.
Faced with the unyielding Lin Weimin, Disney and other Hollywood moguls were helpless. If it were an American writer, they could still find a way to control him, but Lin Weimin was on the other side of the world and they could not reach him.
Moreover, Lin Weimin is different from ordinary best-selling authors. His fame is more concentrated in the field of traditional literature. He does not need any exposure at all. Even if you find some faults with him, readers and the literary world are very tolerant of him.
It's like a dog biting a hedgehog - it has no idea where to start!
In a blink of an eye, it is the 30th day and it is another day of family reunion.
The child is one year older, and Lin Weimin is one year older.
He didn't know why he suddenly felt sentimental, perhaps because he was already halfway through his thirties.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, he went to Mr. Wan's home to pay New Year's greetings.
Mr. Wan looked increasingly old. He was still staying in the hospital during the New Year holidays. When he saw Lin Weimin's family, he was unusually happy.
The little bean bun grew up to be more and more cute and lovely, and Mr. Wan treated him like a treasure.
He played with Xiao Doubao for a while and then became out of breath. Tao Huimin picked up Xiao Doubao and said, "Let grandpa rest for a while."
Little Doubao tilted his head and looked at Mr. Wan, wondering why the old man was in such poor health.
"When I see this child, I always feel a little dazed, as if I saw my daughters when they were little."
Mr. Wan spoke to Lin Weimin in a nostalgic tone.
Seeing that he was in a bad mood, Lin Weimin smiled and said, "What you should cherish most is what is in front of you. Tomorrow, the two senior sisters will come to reunite with you."
Mr. Wan smiled but said nothing. Lin Weimin knew that he was worried about his other two daughters who were far away abroad.
It's not that he is partial, he just cares about whichever daughter is abroad.
"I didn't do well enough." Mr. Wan murmured.
Lin Weimin noticed that something was wrong with his condition, and secretly exchanged a few words with Li Yuru. Mr. Wan had a bad sleep and had always relied on sleeping pills. In the past few months, his sleep quality was very poor, and he often woke up in his sleep.
But what tormented him even more was that his creations seemed to be stuck in quicksand. No matter how he struggled, he could not make any progress and continued to fall, step by step.
In the past two years, Mr. Wan has been trying to pick up his unfinished play "The Bridge" before liberation. He has put in a lot of effort, but there are always obstacles that he cannot figure out and hurdles that he cannot overcome, which makes him increasingly discouraged.
For Mr. Wan, who created "Thunderstorm" at the age of 23, nothing could be more painful and tormenting than this.
Especially in the past two years, his health has been poor, and the mental torture has made him suffer even more.
Mr. Wan rarely showed this attitude in front of Lin Weimin. Lin Weimin felt sad for Mr. Wan, but didn't know how to persuade him, because he knew that Mr. Wan must have advised him countless times in his heart with everything he could think of.
Lin Weimin picked up the book that Mr. Wan had placed on the bedside table. It was the book of Master Hongyi. The page he was turning to read: "The moon on the water is not real, it is only a shadow. People are the same, and no one can understand them."
Lin Weimin looked at it and then read it out.
His voice was the only one in the silent ward. Mr. Wan, who was anxious and depressed, raised his head and looked at Lin Weimin after hearing these words.
His mood seemed to improve a little. He calmed down and said, "This world is different from Marx's world, and it is also different from the capitalist world. What do you think?"
Lin Weimin knew that he was talking about the world in the book.
Lin Weimin pondered, "Religious beliefs attribute all metaphysical human thoughts and behaviors to God. I am not sure whether there is a God, but I always think that even if there is a God, God will not be so shallow as to discuss with people and solve their problems."
His metaphor is like a person squatting down and saying to the ant on the ground, "Ant, ant, what are you worried about?"
Mr. Wan smiled when he heard this. It was not because Lin Weimin's enlightenment made him suddenly realize something, but because he remembered that he had once been in such a prime of his life.
"I have been confined to the sickbed for the past few years, and I have become a lot more hypocritical."
Lin Weimin smiled and said a few words to Mr. Wan. The sky outside the window cleared up and the sun was shining brightly.
After leaving the gate of Yanjing Hospital, Lin Weimin was in a bad mood, and Tao Huimin observed his expression.
"The old man is old, his health is not good, and his emotions are greatly affected. You should not take it too seriously."
Lin Weimin nodded, "I understand."
On the second day of the Chinese New Year, Lin Weimin and his family came to the second courtyard next to the Forbidden City. Although everyone spent the first day of the Chinese New Year together, they still had to visit their parents.
After lunch, he went to Lao Tan’s courtyard.
It was a small courtyard with two entrances and the gate was ajar, and it looked like there were guests at home today.
It snowed in Yanjing a few years ago, and the snow in the courtyard has been cleared away.
A pile of coal was lying in the corner of the yard, which was a standard practice for families in Yanjing every winter. The pile of coal was covered with a thin layer of snow.
Before entering the inner courtyard, he heard laughter coming from inside. Lin Weimin came to the center of the courtyard. Someone in the house noticed that a guest had arrived, went out and recognized Lin Weimin.
"Dad, Editor-in-Chief Lin is here!"
Today is the second day of the Chinese New Year, the day when daughters return home. Qin Chaoyang's two daughters brought their families to the courtyard where their father lives.
"What a rare guest! How come you have time to come to my place?" Qin Chaoyang asked with a smile.
Lin Weimin sat down unceremoniously. "You sound sour. I treat all of you retired cadres equally in my love and care. Who told you not to move to the staff quarters? I even treated you to a meal before the New Year, but you didn't even make it."
Qin Chaoyang nodded, "I heard that after two bottles of wine, the old Meng couple were so tired that their legs cramped in the middle of the night!"
"It's a rumor. It must have been said by Lao Niu."
"It doesn't matter who said it. The key is that you are so evil-minded. If I moved there, I don't know how you would torture me. It's good to stay here."
The two of them joked around for a while, and the atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant.
Today, all of Qin Chaoyang's children and grandchildren are here. Although they are called children and grandchildren, the eldest grandson is as old as Lin Weimin, and he also has great-grandchildren.
"Old Tan, your family is flourishing!"
Lin Weimin's words made Qin Chaoyang smile. When people reach this age, seeing their children and grandchildren and enjoying the happiness of family is the greatest happiness.
"Come on, come on, everyone who is unmarried has a share." Lin Weimin took out a few Mao Zedong notes from his pocket.
The younger generations in the family felt a little embarrassed and no one stepped forward.
Qin Chaoyang said with a smile: "Take them all. He is younger than me and the most important thing is that he has money. If you miss this opportunity, you will never get it again."
The younger generations then came forward to receive their New Year's money, and did not forget to bow and greet Lin Weimin.
Everyone was very happy to get the New Year's money. 100 yuan still has a strong purchasing power nowadays, even for adults.
Seeing that Qin Chaoyang's family still used a coal stove for heating, with a heat pipe running straight out of the window and emitting warm air through the house, Lin Weimin asked, "Why don't we move to the staff building in the winter? There's central heating, which can save a lot of trouble!"
"I'm used to living here, and I'm too lazy to move." Qin Chaoyang waved his hand and said, "Besides, I'm older now, and I'm more afraid of the cold than the heat. I'm used to the cold, but I can't stand the heat. It makes me very dry."
"You really become more valuable as you get older," Lin Weimin joked.
Qin Chaoyang stood up and picked up the kettle to refill Lin Weimin's cup with water. "At this age, I don't ask for anything. I just want to be healthy and not add burden to my family."
After chatting for about half an hour, Lin Weimin stood up to say goodbye, and Qin Chaoyang left his seat to see him off.
"Don't send it off."
Lin Weimin returned to his father-in-law and mother-in-law and saw Xiao Doubao running wildly in the yard. Because he was running too fast, his body was always swaying from side to side, giving people a feeling that he was going to fall down in the next second, but he was able to stay steady.
"Why are you running around?" Lin Weimin picked up his daughter.
The little bean bun was not happy when he picked her up. He twisted his body and tried to get down, "Dad, Dad, put me down."
Lin Weimin was helpless. The older he got, the less fit this little cotton jacket became.
(End of this chapter)
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