1980 My literary era

Liu Yichang was one of the literati who crossed the Xiangjiang River from the Mainland. His representative works include "The Drunkard", "Inside the Temple" and "The Pair". He is one of the most important writers in the Hong Kong literary world in recent decades and has always been close to the country.

Lin Weimin had also heard of his name before traveling through time, but not because he had read his novels, but because director Wong Kar-wai's films had repeatedly borrowed content from Liu Yichang's novels.

At the same time, Liu Yichang successively served as deputy editor and editor-in-chief of the supplement "Repulse Bay" of the "Hong Kong Times", the supplement "Happy Forest" of the "Express", and the "Sing Tao Evening News". He is a senior newspaperman in Hong Kong.

Feeling that the situation of literary journals in Hong Kong has deteriorated rapidly in recent years, domestic funds came to Liu Yichang at this time, hoping that he could come forward to host a large-scale comprehensive literary journal.

Liu Yichang thought about it and finally agreed.

Of course he knew that once he accepted this job, he would naturally face suppression from the authorities in Hong Kong, but for the future of Hong Kong literature and the close connection between Hong Kong and the motherland, he had to agree.

"'Xiangjiang Literature' was established with domestic funding, and we have three principles.

First, Xiangjiang Literature is an integral part of Chinese literature. Secondly, "Hong Kong Literature" does not represent a certain fan or party, but represents the whole of Hong Kong. Thirdly, it emphasizes that Xiangjiang Literature can play a special role in bridging China and the West and connecting Chinese literature... …”

Liu Yichang eloquently explained the founding concept of "Hong Kong Literature" to Lin Weimin, and also made Lin Weimin understand the significance of the founding of "Hong Kong Literature".

Although I was disgusted by Cheng Yiqiu's businessman's attitude of spending every penny and being arrogant but respectful, when it came to issues of principle, Teacher Lin was very clear about it.

To put it bluntly, this is another move for the motherland to achieve a great cause in the future, and Teacher Lin must support it.

He readily agreed to Liu Yichang's request.

And Liu Yichang also gave Lin Weimin enough face. The standard for the manuscript fee for the "Lover" serialization in "Sing Tao Evening News" was set at 500 Hong Kong dollars per thousand words, which converted into RMB is about 120 yuan per 1,000 words.

This standard of royalties is not inferior even when compared with "Farewell My Concubine" when it was first published by Miguo and Nihong.

What's more, "Lover" has already been published in the Mainland and Hong Kong. Forget it, "Contemporary" in the Mainland will not be released in Hong Kong.

"Eight Directions" is a real literary magazine in Hong Kong. Although the sales volume of each issue is only a few thousand copies, and there are only a few issues each year, and the release date is uncertain, it still means that "Lover" was published in Hong Kong.

To a large extent, it has reduced the sense of mystery and expectation that Xiangjiang readers have for "Lover".

Lin Weimin was naturally happy when the other party offered this royalties, but he was a little confused.

A published "Lover" has more than 200,000 words in total, and the reprint fee is as high as 120,000 Hong Kong dollars for 500 yuan for 1,000 words.

For an evening newspaper, this is definitely a huge amount of royalties. Liu Yichang is only the editor-in-chief of "Sing Tao Evening News", but he is not the boss after all. How could he pay such an incredible amount of royalties?

Lin Weimin did not hide the doubts in his heart and asked this question.

Liu Yichang laughed loudly, "I knew you would ask you this question."

He seemed to have guessed Lin Weimin's thoughts. After laughing, he said bluntly: "Why do you think Mr. Lin took the initiative to go north to find you specifically to reprint and publish your works?"

Lin Weimin pondered and said nothing.

Liu Yichang did not continue to talk about it. He paused for a moment and gave his reasons.

“I have some old friends in the Mainland, and I have long heard of Mr. Lin’s outstanding literary reputation in the Mainland literary world.

Before coming to the Mainland this time, I specially communicated with old friends and found out that Mr. Lin's novel "Farewell My Concubine" not only sold well in the Mainland, but was also published in the United States and Nihong, and the sales volume was not small.

As far as I know, in the literary circles of the Mainland, Hong Kong and the Bay Islands, there has never been a writer like Mr. Lin who can sell well in overseas markets.

After learning this news, I just need to mention it to my boss. Does he have any reason to disagree? "

After listening to Liu Yichang's generous explanation of the reasons behind it, Lin Weimin couldn't help but suddenly realized that this was the case.

I didn't expect that "Farewell My Concubine" would be such an unexpected surprise when it was published overseas.

After explaining the reason, Liu Yichang continued: "But I still have a small unkind request, and I hope Mr. Lin can agree to it."

"Please tell me."

"I promised the boss before that I would like to get your "Farewell My Concubine" as well. As a businessman, you also know that you can't afford it early if there is no profit. The manuscript fee will be doubled on the basis of 500 words per thousand words. , a thousand words, a thousand dollars!”

One thousand yuan per thousand words is definitely the top price in the Hong Kong literary world today.

There is only one evildoer like Ni Kuang in the literary world of Xiangjiang.

Liu Yichang had already said it to this extent, and Lin Weimin had both pride and face, so there was no reason not to agree.

After a hearty conversation, both parties gained satisfactory results.

Liu Yichang gained Lin Weimin's understanding during this trip and obtained the reprint rights for "Lover" and "Farewell My Concubine" for "Sing Tao Daily".

These days, it is almost unimaginable that a novel written by a Chinese writer can be a hit in the United States and at the same time as Ni Bang.

Don't think that only mainland Chinese have the mentality to win glory for their country. In fact, in this era, the entire world is in a state of admiration for Western developed capitalist countries.

Not to mention that the tiny place of Xiangjiang has been under the rule of the British for decades, and the admiration for foreigners has long been planted.

Nowadays, the competition in the Hong Kong newspaper industry is fierce. If the gimmick of Lin Weimin's novel "selling out in the United States and being bombarded" is used well, it will definitely gain a large number of readers for "Sing Tao Evening News". The manuscript fee is only hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong dollars, and it can get Compared with the stable readers and users, it is not worth mentioning.

When doing business like Sing Tao Newspaper, what we pursue is a winner-takes-all situation, and it is by no means a gain or loss for one city or one place.

In addition to completing the boss's task, Liu Yichang also obtained the reprint rights of Lin Weimin's three works: "Speak Well", "Horse Trapper", and "Chasing the Murderer". In the near future, after the launch of "Xiangjiang Literature" These novels will be published one after another.

The royalties would definitely not be as exaggerated as those of Xingdao Newspaper, but after all, it was related to the great cause of the motherland. Lao Tan winked at Lin Weimin crazily, and Lin Weimin agreed without hesitation.

As for Lin Weimin, his two novels "Lover" and "Farewell My Concubine" received about 400,000 Hong Kong dollars in royalties.

The royalties for the other three novels "Have Something to Say", "Horse Trapper", and "Chasing the Murderer" are definitely not so exaggerated, but at least they are much higher than those published in China.

The most important thing is that these novels have been published, which is equivalent to earning royalties again.

These novels have been published in Xiangjiang one after another, and it is not impossible to publish them in the future. Firstly, they will gain fame, and secondly, they will make money. No matter how you think about it, they will make a lot of money.

Lin Weimin thought about it and suddenly realized that Liu Yichang seemed to have taken the money from the boss of Xingdao Newspaper to do something for him this time!

Looking at it this way, ginger is still hotter than ever!

It took a little effort to finalize the novel completely, and both parties got along very happily.

Seeing that it was almost noon, Lin Weimin offered to let Tan Chaoyang and Liu Yichang stay for dinner, but they declined.

Tan Chaoyang said a few words in Lin Weimin's ear, and Lin Weimin suddenly showed surprise on his face, and did not force the two of them to stay.

After sending the two people downstairs, Lin Weimin saw the comrades from the "relevant departments" mentioned by Tan Chaoyang and a car.

In this era, it is impossible for a Hong Kong newspaperman and writer to come to the mainland alone and directly seek help from an organization like the Chinese Literature Society.

This can only be done with the help of relevant departments.

Lin Weimin watched Liu Yichang get into the car and waved goodbye.

However, Tan Chaoyang did not get into the car with him.

"Why didn't you come along?" Lin Weimin asked.

"My mission has been completed. Besides..." Tan Chaoyang turned his head, "I finally got to your house, why don't you let me have a meal?"

Lin Weimin laughed and said, "Please come over here!"

Back upstairs, Tao Huimin was already cooking. After Lin Weimin told her to cook two more dishes, he sat in the living room with Tan Chaoyang.

Tan Chaoyang brought Liu Yichang directly to him without greeting him. Now that everyone was gone, the two of them had a lot to say.

Lin Weimin asked about the reason why Liu Yichang came to the country.

"According to his own statement, he saw "Lover" on "Bafang" and specifically asked "Bafang" to find out that Cheng Yiqiu had already talked to you, but the talk fell apart.

Later, he found friends from the mainland to learn about your situation, and after reading several of your novels, he made up his mind to come here. "

Qin Chaoyang added some content to Lin Weimin that he had not mentioned just now, making the whole process gradually clearer.

"'Xiangjiang Literature' is indeed funded by us, but it must be dominated by Xiangjiang literati. This is a concession from the country to them, which means that works of any kind may be published in the future. This is for the overall benefit.

But we still have to defend our own position. In this case, the works of mainland writers, including Hong Kong ZY writers, must occupy a place in publications, so it is understandable that they can find you.

In any case, in our country, there is no one better than you in your generation! "

Tan Chaoyang praised Lin Weimin and made him very proud.

After finishing speaking, Qin Chaoyang sighed: "It's just that I really didn't expect that the ups and downs outside would be broken from such an angle."

Lin Weimin was shocked and asked: "What do you mean..."

Qin Chaoyang shook his head, "It's just a guess on my part. You also saw the one just now. This time you have made your own contribution to the great cause of the motherland. There is no reason for the superiors to see you suffer such treatment. . If this kind of thing really spreads to Xiangjiang, it will be detrimental to the domestic image."

Lin Weimin followed Lao Tan's train of thought and thought for a moment, it seemed that this was really the case!

Damn, is this a blessing in disguise?

While the two were chatting, Tao Huimin brought dishes to the table one by one and invited them to eat.

After Tan Chaoyang had a good meal and drank enough, Lin Weimin sent him downstairs again.

"This time, just stay at home with peace of mind. You don't have to worry about anything anymore. I'll let someone notify you when you can go back to work." Tan Chaoyang warned.

"knew."

After talking about the business, Tan Chaoyang suddenly blinked at him.

"You kid, take it easy and look at your face!"

You are a disrespectful old man!

Lin Weimin straightened his back and said, "There is no way! Young people are very powerful!"