Chapter 834 Readers' Recognition
The night was dark and there seemed to be a faint light on the horizon.
Last night, Lin Weimin went to celebrate for Shi Tiesheng. He had a great time chatting with his friends, drank a lot of wine, and fell into a deep sleep. The shrill ringing of the phone did not wake him up immediately, but instead woke up Tao Huimin who was standing next to him.
She got up sleepily and answered the phone. She only said "Hello" and paused for a few seconds. After listening to the words on the other end of the phone, she anxiously pushed Lin Weimin who was sleeping.
"Weimin, wake up!"
The violent shaking woke Lin Weimin up. He asked in a half-awake state, "What's the matter?"
"My uncle is gone. Tiesheng's father is gone."
When people reach middle age, they are very sensitive to certain words. If there is a call late at night, the so-called "leaving" certainly does not mean visiting relatives.
Lin Weimin's sleepiness disappeared completely in an instant. He stood up and took the phone from Tao Huimin. Shi Tiesheng's hoarse voice came from the other end of the phone.
It was still dark outside, but a glimmer of light could be seen; it was already dawn.
Cheng Ximi was used to getting up to prepare breakfast for the whole family. Usually, Shi's father would have gotten up by this time. He was old and had a short and shallow sleep. He usually got up before dawn and would often be busy before Cheng Ximi got up.
But this morning, Cheng Ximi did not see Shi's father. She did not care at first, thinking that the old man had slept in for a rare time.
After she cooked the porridge, she wanted to ask Shi's father whether he wanted eggs or fried dough sticks in the morning. If he wanted fried dough sticks, she had to go buy them early.
Cheng Ximi knocked on Shi's father's door several times, but found no response, so she realized something was wrong. She pushed the door open and went into the room, only to see that Shi's father had passed away in his sleep, with a trace of body warmth still remaining.
The conversation on the phone was very brief. It was only after Lin Weimin arrived at Shi Tiesheng's home that he learned the details of Shi's father's death.
He came by car, and except for the neighbors, he was the fastest.
"Should I take him to the hospital? Or should I call an ambulance?"
Lin Weimin arrived in such a hurry that he didn't even wash his face, and he didn't care about his sadness as he asked Shi Tiesheng for his opinion.
"I called an ambulance and told them there was no rush. The person was almost dead when they found him. They sent him there to diagnose the cause of death and issue a certificate." Shi Tiesheng had a sad face and a low voice.
Lin Weimin said nothing more.
Father Shi died in his sleep, and his death was quite peaceful. The only thing that is puzzling now is the cause of his death, which is probably due to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
Father Shi was lying on his bed with a peaceful look on his face. If it weren't for the fact that his chest had stopped rising and falling and his pale face revealed a sense of death, anyone would have thought he was asleep.
Looking at the body gradually growing colder on the bed, and thinking of the laughter and joy when he went to Baiwang Mountain a few days ago, Lin Weimin felt gradually overwhelmed with sadness and shed tears silently.
After a few minutes, Shi Lan and his wife arrived with their child, followed by many relatives and friends, and bursts of sobbing were heard in the house.
More than half an hour later, it was already bright outside and an ambulance from the hospital came to take Shi's father away.
Lin Weimin drove Shi Tiesheng and his wife to the hospital. After examination, the cause of death was found to be myocardial infarction. The disease suddenly occurred while he was sleeping and no one noticed it.
After learning the cause of his father's death, Shi Tiesheng let go of some of his sadness and comforted Cheng Ximi, "At least we know the cause of death, and Dad didn't suffer much."
Without personal connections, even if a person dies of natural causes, he or she still has to go to the hospital, otherwise a death certificate cannot be issued.
After the examination, a death certificate was issued.
The next thing to do was to contact the funeral home to arrange Shi's father's appearance and burial clothes.
After finishing all these things, the morning was almost over.
According to the opinions of Shi Tiesheng and his sister, Shi's father's body was not kept at home but was taken directly to the funeral home.
They notified relatives and friends that anyone who wanted to see him for the last time could come to the funeral home. The funeral process was simplified, and on the morning of the third day after Shi's father's death, he was pushed into the crematorium of the funeral home.
During this time, Shi Tiesheng had already selected the urn, coffin and cemetery for his father.
Shifu was buried in the morning. The sky in Yanjing in November was always foggy. After the burial, snowflakes fell from the sky. It was not beautiful, but the kind of annoying broken snow.
Lin Weimin took Shi Tiesheng and his family back to Jintai Road without saying a word in the car along the way.
After going upstairs, Cheng Ximi poured Lin Weimin a cup of tea, and Lin Weimin said, "Ximi, stop busying yourself."
Steam rose from the teacup. At this time of year, Yanjing had already turned on the heating system and the temperature in the house was very high, but people couldn't feel warm.
After all the relatives and friends left, Lin Weimin sat on the sofa with Shi Tiesheng and his wife, and did not speak for a long time.
"For the people..." Shi Tiesheng suddenly spoke.
Lin Weimin looked at him.
"I have some regrets." Shi Tiesheng's voice was hoarse, "I wrote a lot of articles in memory of my mother, but I never wrote a word for my father."
Whether it is "Autumn Memories" or "I and the Altar of Earth", the mother always plays the most important role in Shi Tiesheng's essays.
That selfless and selfless glorious image always makes the silent father look a little dim. In the eyes of readers, Shi Tiesheng has a great mother, but few people know about that silent father.
"When my mother passed away, I was in a wheelchair and hadn't found a way to make a living. My sister was only thirteen years old, and my father was the sole caretaker of the family.
Twenty years. During these twenty years, my mother in heaven must have seen everything.
Twenty years later everything was fine, and then overnight, my father left us.
He seemed to have finally completed his mother's entrustment, and finally endured the pain, hard work and loneliness that he could no longer endure, and he was anxious to find his mother..."
After his father passed away, Shi Tiesheng behaved sadly in the past two days, but he never cried loudly.
But at this moment, he was narrating calmly, but tears were streaming down his face, unable to control himself.
Lin Weimin has known Shi Tiesheng for sixteen years, and has also known Shi's father for sixteen years. He has witnessed their family's struggle through hard times, and has also witnessed Shi's father's dedication to the family.
As Shi Tiesheng was calmly stating his story, Lin Weimin's mind flashed through every detail of his time with Shi's father over the years.
In this house, he seems to have no voice, but his shadow is always everywhere, and he is always busy.
Lin Weimin missed the times when his son called him "Uncle". That man who was always taciturn and used to answering everything with a smile finally fulfilled his wife's entrustment. He accompanied his poor son until Shi Tiesheng found a way to survive and started a new life.
Shi Tiesheng said in "Albizia Julibrissin" that his mother "was in great pain. God saw that she couldn't bear it anymore, so he called her back."
But how could it be easy for that taciturn father?
He endured the days that his wife had endured, and also endured the days that his wife had not endured.
Now, he is gone, after silently taking care of Shi Tiesheng for twenty years.
"Tiesheng, in fact, uncle is happier than aunt. He watched over you until the flowers bloomed, saw them blossom, and smelled their fragrance. He left with peace of mind."
Shi Tiesheng held his face with both hands and buried his no longer young face in his hands.
"I know."
After saying this, he could no longer control his emotions and burst into tears.
Of course he knew that his father had accompanied him through the most difficult days and had seen him gradually gain a bright future.
But the more he knew, the deeper his self-blame and guilt became.
The only sound in the room was Shi Tiesheng's unbridled crying.
Lin Weimin came out of Shi's house and Tao Huimin was waiting downstairs holding Xiaodoubao.
He hugged his wife and daughter, and his heavy heart suddenly relaxed.
"Let's go." Lin Weimin said.
People are gone, but life must go on.
Lin Weimin took three days off for Shi's father's funeral.
After the funeral, the first thing he did was to arrange a full physical examination for his brother-in-law Han Dingbang and Tao's father and mother.
"Why spend that money to go to the hospital if there's nothing wrong?"
On this weekend morning, the couple took Tao's father and mother to the hospital for a physical examination. Tao's mother couldn't help but complain.
Tao Huimin threatened, "Mom, do you know how Tiesheng's father left?"
Tao's mother was so frightened that she muttered to herself in the back row.
When he returned to work on Monday, Lin Weimin gradually came out of his depressed mood.
After waiting for more than two months, "Fairy Tale King" finally changed its ownership and became a publication under Guowen Publishing House.
It is easier to change the owner of this publication than the discontinued "Picture Book King", because it has been managed by Zheng Yuanjie from the beginning to the end. When it is transferred to Guowen Publishing House for management, there is almost no need to make any changes. Guowen Publishing House only needs to send a few people to cooperate with Zheng Yuanjie's work. He is the soul of "Fairy Tale King".
The sales of the first issue of "Fairy Tale King" after changing its ownership were still good, and with the help of Guowen Publishing House's huge and sound distribution system, the sales even increased to a certain extent.
During this period of time, Guowen Publishing House has also helped Zheng Yuanjie complete a large amount of trademark registration work. These tasks are time-consuming, labor-intensive and costly, but for Zheng Yuanjie, this IP gold mine, all the efforts are worth it.
In late November, the latest issue of "The King of Painting" was officially released.
As a bimonthly comics magazine, the sales volume of each issue of "Hua Wang" has now been fixed at around 4 million copies. Except for "Hongdou Comics" which is also owned by Guowen Publishing House, its sales volume and influence are already the best in the domestic comics industry.
The days when two new issues of magazines come out every month are the time when countless little kids hold their pocket money and wait for bookstores and newsstands to open.
In the 22nd issue of "Hua Wang" in 1996, "The Adventures of Shuke and Beta", a fairy tale that had been around for ten years, received its comic adaptation.
Since its publication in 1986, the cumulative sales of "The Adventures of Shuke and Beta" have exceeded 3 million copies. In 1989, the Shanghai Children's Film Studio also adapted part of this fairy tale into the cartoon "Shuke and Beta", which was broadcast on CCTV in October and won the love of countless children.
However, this cartoon took three years to produce and only 13 episodes were produced before it came to an abrupt end, and the style of painting also seemed a bit rough and childish.
The comic version of "The Adventures of Shuke and Beta" fully absorbed the lessons learned from the animated version. The style of painting is much more refined and full of childlike fun, making many little kids fall in love with this comic adapted from a fairy tale after just one look.
Since the serialization of the comic book "Flower Season and Rainy Season" ended, the sales of "Painting King" have been slowly declining and then stabilized.
Before the 22nd issue was released in 1997, the sales of "The King of Painting" had been stable at 4 million copies for nearly half a year.
The serialization of the comic book "The Adventures of Shuke and Beta" has once again boosted the sales of "The King of Painting".
The 22nd issue achieved sales of 3.5 million copies in 10 days after its release. According to this trend, 4 million copies will not be a problem. It all depends on where the end point will be.
The editorial office of "Fairy Tale King" is located in the editorial office of "Painting King", and Zheng Yuanjie has an office to himself.
Wang Yongsheng told Zheng Yuanjie the news that the 22nd issue was being reprinted. Zheng Yuanjie was somewhat proud that his fairy tale adaptation comic helped "The King of Painting" break the long-dormant sales.
The two chatted for a few words, and then a young man brought another package to Zheng Yuanjie's office.
Wang Yongsheng introduced with a smile: "These are the letters from readers of Fairy Tale King and Painting King that have been received these days. You can keep them."
Zheng Yuanjie said: "That's quite a lot. It's only been a few days?"
"This really shows the enthusiasm of the readers! The sales of the next few issues of "Painting King" will probably have a leap, and I'm afraid we will receive even more letters in the future."
"I never thought there would be so many comic book readers now," Zheng Yuanjie sighed. He mentioned the package of letters from readers and said, "I don't have room to store these letters at home now, so I bought a few houses specifically to store the letters."
Wang Yongsheng was a little surprised when he heard this.
"Buy a house to give credit? Your operation is comparable to that of President Lin."
Zheng Yuanjie waved his hand, "I can't compare with him. The houses he has put up for credit are all several hundred square meters, but the four or five houses I have put up for credit are not as much as his one."
“Readers’ enthusiastic feedback is the greatest recognition for creators.”
“Yes, yes, this is all recognition from readers.”
(End of this chapter)
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