1980 My Literary Era.

Chapter 145 Foreign Guests Visit
Early the next morning, Lin Weimin appeared in the Guowen Society full of energy.

Uncle Zhai in the reception room was rinsing teacups early in the morning, "Hey, Weimin hasn't watched it for a few days, what did you do?"

"Tinned a novel."

Uncle Zhai shook his teacup, "Everyone says you're a quick shooter, and you've just churned out a novel in just a few days?"

"Isn't this an inspiration? Come on, Uncle Zhai won't tell you anymore, he should be late for work."

Lin Weimin pushed the bicycle to the shed and entered the back building.

As soon as he entered the office, Liu Yin teased him: "Hey, where is this spirited guy?"

Lin Weimin knew that she was making fun of his unkempt appearance yesterday, and after a few words of joking, everyone asked concerned again: "Weimin, is it decided to adapt your novel to a TV series?"

"It's decided. I have been waiting for several days, so I'm not sure, I'm embarrassed!"

Yao Shuzhi gloated and said, "It's what you deserve! I've never seen anyone who dared to go to the director's office and blatantly want to miss work to start a side job."

Zhu Changsheng said: "Shuzhi, you deserve to be wrong. This is a good thing for the people. With the TV adaptation, his novel may have to be printed with hundreds of thousands of copies."

Yao Shuzhi thought so too. These days, there are few TV dramas filmed, and few people watch them. Almost every TV drama above the standard can be extremely popular.

Isn't that the case with "18 Years of the Enemy Camp" broadcast on CCTV at the beginning of the year?
"The Cliff" is also a novel about spy warfare, and the plot is much better than "18 Years of Enemy Camp", and it also has a lot of new ideas. It must cause a greater sensation than "18 Years of Enemy Camp".

Colleagues were chatting and working at the same time. After a while, the atmosphere in the office became quiet, and everyone entered the working state.

"For the people!" Meng Weizai's voice sounded from the door.

"Director, what's the matter?"

"Come out."

Seeing his mysterious appearance, Lin Weimin came to the door of the office, Meng Wei said: "Comrades from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs brought foreign guests to visit and inspect, and they asked to see you by name."

Foreign guests want to see me?
The first thing that came to Lin Weimin's mind was Mark Meng and those little foreigners, but it shouldn't be, these people haven't reached this level yet.

"Let me go there first."

Meng Weizai led Lin Weimin to the meeting room in the front building. Outside the meeting room, Lin Weimin first met the foreign affairs staff who accompanied the foreign guests today.

Before meeting a foreigner, Lin Weimin had to be disciplined.

Seeing the foreigner in the conference room, Lin Weimin asked in surprise, "Mr. Williams?"

Qiao Sen got up with a smile all over his face, "Lin, we meet again!"

Lin Weimin glanced at the foreign affairs staff and another foreigner accompanying him, and asked, "Are you..."

"Didn't I tell you before? Our Random House is going to introduce a batch of books about Chinese culture. This time we are here to investigate and plan to cooperate with several large publishing houses such as the Chinese Language Society and the Commercial Publishing House.

When I was chatting with President Yan just now, I mentioned that I met you that day, and your foreign affairs staff said that there happened to be an acquaintance who could accompany us. "

It turned out to be the case.

Lin Weimin glanced at the foreign affairs staff next to him and said nothing, and took Lao Tzu as his local companion?

He wasn't in a pretty mood, but since Yan Wenjing, the president, was by his side, he couldn't say anything.

Qiao Sen and the others came to the Guowen Society for a visit, more for show, and more for real cooperation on the desk.

At this time, the country had just opened up, and foreign publishers came to the door hoping to publish books on domestic culture. The government departments were of course happy, and they directly pulled out several large state-owned publishing houses and let foreigners choose. Very common in the early days.

Because of this style, our domestic units and enterprises have suffered a lot.Later, I finally learned the essence and knew how to take precautions.

During the visit, Qiao Sen chatted with Lin Weimin and said: "The other day Keith recommended to me your mystery novel published in "Ellery Quinn's Mystery Magazine", and it happened that my colleague brought a copy, and your writing is very good. It’s hard for me to imagine that a mystery novel with such a strong British style was written by a Chinese writer.”

Lin Weimin said with a smile: "Actually, that mystery novel was just a play. I was studying at the time, and the school organized us to communicate with foreign students, so I just casually told this story. Unexpectedly, Keith was particularly interested in this novel and kept urging me to read it. After writing it, he helped send it to the United States for publication. Speaking of which, if it weren’t for him, this novel might never have a chance to be published.”

Qiao Sen sighed: "This world is really wonderful!"

Immediately after Qiao Sen said: "And the "People's Literature" that Keith gave me that day, he said that your other work was also published on it, you know, I don't understand Chinese, so I asked you The staff of foreign affairs provided a simple translation for me."

Lin Weimin became interested when he heard what he said, and asked, "What do you think?"

"He just gave me a general idea, which I found very interesting, and reminded me of John Luther Long's short story "Madama Butterfly."

"Madame Butterfly?"

Lin Weimin remembered seeing this movie, and he also read relevant materials, knowing that this movie was first a novel, then an opera, and finally a movie, and more than one version of the movie was made.

Briefly described, the story is set against the background of Mud Boom. It tells the story of the heroine Qiao Qiaosang and the US Navy officer Pinkerton who married and stayed in the boudoir empty, but she was betrayed, and finally ended with Qiao Qiaosan committing suicide.

In Lin Weimin's view, this work is not friendly to Asians.

He showed displeasure, shook his head and said, "With all due respect, you shouldn't compare Farewell My Concubine with Madame Butterfly."

Qiao Sen saw Lin Weimin's dissatisfaction, "Why?"

"It's nothing, I just don't like Madame Butterfly."

Lin Weimin didn't say much, the other party was a foreign guest after all, and he was accompanied by foreign affairs personnel.

Qiao Sen asked, "Lin, did I offend you?"

Seeing that he insisted on asking, Lin Weimin said, "Qiao Sen, in my opinion, "Madama Butterfly" is written from the perspective of a Westerner, but in my Eastern opinion, it is full of arrogance, prejudice and obscenity. But "Farewell My Concubine" is different, it is rooted in Chinese culture and the history of recent decades, it is an epic of suffering."

Lin Weimin's words sounded a bit boastful, but he knew that with Lao Mi and his gang, he wouldn't understand you if you talked to him in a roundabout way, and would instead stick his nose in the face.

He showed his displeasure so bluntly that Qiao Sen didn't dare to make a mistake.

The Lin Weimin he met before was always a polite, humorous and good man. It was the first time he saw Lin Weimin pull his face down today, and he saw the temper of this popular writer in China.

"Sorry, Lin, I just gave an example, and I didn't offend your thoughts." Qiao Sen said.

Lin Weimin nodded slightly, "Forget it. We can't afford to be entangled in this kind of thing, let's let it go."

But Qiao Sen seemed to be more interested. He asked, "Lin, after hearing what you said, I'm more interested in "Farewell My Concubine"."

He suddenly moved closer to Lin Weimin's ear, and whispered, "Is it because they didn't translate accurately enough for me?"

Lin Weimin heard the subtext behind Jordan's "precision", and he glanced at the foreign affairs personnel next to him.

I was very sure in my heart that when they translated for Qiao Sen, they must have deleted the content, which is the case these days.

Lin Weimin said: "If you are really interested in "Farewell My Concubine", I suggest you find a serious translator to translate it."

"Lin, can you translate? Your English is so good. If this novel is really as good as you said, I can recommend it to you. Maybe it can be published in the United States."

Lin Weimin complained in his heart, Lao Mi's kung fu of pushing his nose and face is really an ancestral handicraft.

Why don't you play empty-handed white wolf with me here?

"I'm not free. If you want to see it, you should find someone to translate it yourself." Lin Weimin said impatiently.

He figured it out, this Qiao Sen was a typical old Mi, and the kindness he showed that day at the Yanjing Hotel was probably more due to Lao Ma.

Seeing his displeasure again, Qiao Sen felt a little uneasy.He could clearly feel that Lin Weimin was different from the government workers he came into contact with, and he was not used to his temper at all.

The happy relationship between the two at the Yanjing Hotel that day should be entirely due to Keith.

However, the more Lin Weimin showed such arrogance, the more interested he was in Lin Weimin.

He has already read "Knives Out", and his inner evaluation is an above-average mystery novel.

However, Lin Weimin said that this novel was just a play for the time being. Judging by the importance he attached to "Farewell My Concubine", he must have spent far more thought and talent on this novel than "Knives Out of the Sheath". It's a little itchy.

The foreign affairs personnel in charge of the reception watched for a long time, and finally couldn't bear it anymore.

Pulling Lin Weimin aside, "Comrade Lin, you should be more polite to foreign guests."

"I'm not polite enough? Did you hear what he said just now? Let me translate "Farewell My Concubine" for him. If this is a Chinese, I would have to scold it on the spot. It is to take care of the diplomatic relations between the two countries. I'm so angry..."

Lin Weimin pretended to be unscrupulous. The foreign affairs staff never expected that this well-known writer would have such a temper. They didn't dare to tease Lin Weimin anymore. Instead, they went to find Yan Wenjing and had a private conversation with him.

Lin Weimin watched from the sidelines and shook his head, these foreigners are all accustomed to being officials!

Yan Wenjing came over and said a few words to Lin Weimin out of face, Lin Weimin nodded and did not speak again.

Qiao Sen and his team didn't take a long time to visit, it was just a symbolic visit, and they would go to several other publishing institutions in Beijing next.

After seeing Qiao Sen off, Yan Wenjing said, "Don't take what happened just now to your heart."

"President, I'm not stupid, I know you did it for others to see." Lin Weimin didn't care.

(End of this chapter)