Literary Master 1978

Yanjing Literature and Art has put a lot of thought into the symposium on "Little Shoes". Those present are all people with considerable status and influence in the Yanjing literary world. Although there are conflicting opinions, the overall atmosphere of the symposium is harmonious.

At 3:30 pm, the symposium finally ended in harmony. Lin Chaoyang stood up and shook hands with everyone to express his gratitude.

Wang Zengqi smiled and said to him: "Chaoyang, what you said at the meeting was really good, and your ideas are unique."

"I just like to think randomly when I read. This is just my opinion." Lin Chaoyang said modestly.

"Before, "The First Floor in the World" was a hot topic in Yanjing City, but I never had a chance to read it. Qingquan told me this morning that the script might be published in the magazine next month. I must take a good look at it then."

"Thank you, and please give me your advice."

"I heard that the script has been given to the People's Art Theater?" Wang Zengqi asked again.

"Yes."

Wang Zengqi nodded, "Okay! At your age, it's really rare. I worked with Lao She for many years..."

He looked a little sentimental when he said this, then he immediately sorted out his emotions and said with a smile: "You write novels and scripts, and you really have his style."

Wang Zengqi was also one of the editors of "Yenching Literature and Art" in the past. He worked under Mr. Lao She and was highly valued. They also had a good personal relationship. In the 1980s, he wrote an article "August Sunshine" to express his nostalgia for Mr. Lao She.

Lin Chaoyang hurriedly said: "How can the light of a firefly from a junior student be compared with that of a senior student."

"If it was thirty or fifty years earlier, who wouldn't be a junior student?"

Wang Zengqi patted Lin Chaoyang on the shoulder, encouraged him a few words and left.

Five days after the symposium, the news about "Yenching Literature and Art" holding a symposium on "Little Shoes" appeared in "Wenyi Bao". Tao Yushu was happy for a long time when he saw the news in the publication.

For writers or authors, holding a symposium is undoubtedly the greatest recognition of their influence.

Lin Chaoyang's work successfully held a symposium, and the news was published in an authoritative media such as "Wenyi Bao", which greatly satisfied Tao Yushu's heart of hoping her husband would become successful.

After she was happy, she did not forget to buy an extra copy of "Wenyi Bao" as a New Year's gift to bring back to Northeast China.

During the Chinese New Year last year, Tao's father said that he would go to Northeast China to recognize his relatives this year. There was still more than a month before the Chinese New Year, and Tao Yushu started preparing for the New Year's gifts to bring back to Northeast China early.

Recently, most students have left Yanda to go home for the winter vacation. The campus of Yanda has become visibly deserted, and the work of the library is not so busy, and colleagues in the library have more time to slack off.

This morning, Lin Chaoyang was on duty in the library. When he had nothing to do, he turned to a copy of "The Southerner" by Jean Renoir, which was a translation in the 1960s and published by China Film Publishing House. It is not usually seen in bookstores outside.

This is also the benefit of working in the Yanda Library. You can always see books that you can't see outside.

He was reading a book seriously when Tu Mansheng sent a note downstairs saying that someone was looking for him.

Lin Chaoyang went downstairs and saw that it was Du Feng.

"Why are you looking here? Didn't you go home?"

Du Feng smiled and said, "I came to tell you about the house."

He pulled Lin Chaoyang aside and said, "There is an overseas Chinese in Huayuan Village who wants to sell an apartment."

Hearing Du Feng's words, Lin Chaoyang immediately became interested.

The apartment Du Feng mentioned is the Huayuan Village Overseas Chinese Apartment near Huayuan Bridge in the western suburbs, not far from Yanda, and was built in 1962.

In the late 1950s, an overseas Chinese apartment was built on Yuqing Road in Shanghai. It was the first commercial housing built in New China. It was nicknamed "Patriotic Apartment" at that time because these apartments were sold to overseas Chinese in order to absorb their foreign exchange.

In 1962, Yanjing copied the experience of Shanghai and built overseas Chinese apartments in Huayuan Village in the western suburbs. It is said that even the construction materials were left over from the construction of the People's Hall that year.

At that time, the hardware conditions of the Overseas Chinese Apartments were undoubtedly the most advanced in China, and they were far away from the market and had a quiet environment.

"I heard that place was very expensive, hundreds of thousands!" Lin Chaoyang asked.

"What about those Kanye Huqins? It's all nonsense. Do you think the overseas Chinese are all suckers? At that time, hundreds of thousands of dollars could be converted into foreign currency to buy a big house in a big city in the United States."

Du Feng disdained those rumors, and Lin Chaoyang nodded. It turned out that folk rumors could not be fully believed.

However, since it was an apartment sold to overseas Chinese back then, it is not something that ordinary people can buy now, right?

He expressed his doubts, and Du Feng nodded. "At first, the apartment could only be traded between overseas Chinese, but later it was relaxed. Wu Zuoren bought the house from overseas Chinese in 1972 and has lived there ever since. Moreover, the management has not been as strict as before in the past two years. The main reason is that the old man made a special speech on the housing issue two years ago. Now everyone basically turns a blind eye."

In 1978, the old man made a speech on the housing issue. The general idea was to broaden the path of the housing issue, allowing private housing construction or private housing construction with public assistance, installment payment, mobilizing the money in the hands of individuals, and the state to solve the material problem.

Although this speech was not finally implemented as a document, it caused a little ripple among the people. The biggest change was that there were more private housing transactions among the people than before, and the management of government departments was also relaxed.

After listening to Du Feng's words, Lin Chaoyang was relieved, and then he began to care about the most important issue.

"What's going on with the house? How much does it cost now?"

"Actually, this is the biggest problem." Du Feng looked hesitant, "His house is a bit expensive."

It's definitely not cheap to make Du Feng look like this. Lin Chaoyang asked: "Just tell me how much it costs."

"Twelve thousand."

"Hiss~" Lin Chaoyang took a breath of cold air.

It shouldn’t be a big deal to buy two one-in-one courtyard houses in Dongcheng and Xicheng for 12,000 yuan now.

Based on Lin Chaoyang's salary, he would have had to go without food or drink for more than 20 years to save so much money.

Even if he was writing a novel, based on the fee of 10 yuan per thousand words, he would have to write more than 1.1 million words to earn so much money.

“Overseas Chinese Apartments were mainly sold to overseas Chinese at that time, and the country only needed foreign exchange, so it was rumored to be a miracle.

At that time, it was sold for tens of dollars per square meter, which was 1,670 yuan when converted into RMB.

This household wanted 12,000 yuan and wanted to sell it quickly. The price was 100 yuan per square meter, which was much cheaper than when they bought it. " Du Feng said.

Although the housing prices put a lot of pressure on Lin Chaoyang, he also knew that Du Feng was telling the truth.

He has been in Yanjing for more than a year and occasionally hears people mention the Huayuan Village Overseas Chinese Apartment. As the earliest commercial housing in China, the Huayuan Village Overseas Chinese Apartment's design and construction standards far exceed the average apartment buildings of this era.

There are many Kanye in Yanjing, and some good people compared the Overseas Chinese Apartment in Huayuan Village with the Ministerial Building in Muxidi and the Ministry Building in Baiwanzhuang. There is no doubt that the Overseas Chinese Apartment in Huayuan Village won.

Overseas Chinese Apartment has only two buildings, both of which are four stories high. There is a large area of ​​greening in the park. The greening area is six or seven times the building area. The environment is beautiful and quiet.

And because it was sold to overseas Chinese at that time, and the style was also learned from abroad, the community was under closed management, and it was the first community in Yanjing with properties.

The property fee is eight yuan per month, which is close to one hundred yuan a year, which is equivalent to the income of an ordinary worker for two to three months.

It can be said that in Yanjing in this era, except for some single-family villas where real high-ranking officials and old academics lived, the living conditions in the Overseas Chinese Apartments in Garden Village were basically the same as those in Yanjing.

So honestly speaking, the price of 12,000 is indeed not expensive.

But the reality is that this price is still too high for Lin Chaoyang and his wife.

Not counting the 500 yuan given by Lin Erchun and his wife, Tao Yushu only had 2,500 yuan in hand.

Then there is his small treasury. The previous royalties for "Qiu Ju's Lawsuit" have been spent this year. The other novella is said to be published in January.

The royalties should arrive in the next few days, which will only be a little over a thousand yuan.

This is less than 4,000 yuan, which is still a long way from 12,000 yuan.

It's a pity that there is no royalties for printing the single volume of "Little Shoes". Otherwise, with the sales of 200,000 copies of "Little Shoes" in two months, I can earn at least eighteen thousand yuan a year.

Lin Chaoyang further thought that fortunately, "Garland Under the Mountain" must implement the policy of "basic royalties + royalties for print runs", so the royalties would definitely be more than those of "Little Shoes".

But after thinking about it, he realized that the money he could earn was far from the number "twelve thousand".

But Lin Chaoyang doesn't really care. If he really likes a house and wants to buy it, he might as well write more novels.

Du Feng said: "I also know that it is very expensive based on everyone's current income, but this house has an advantage."

"What's the benefit?"

"Didn't I tell you just now that the owner of this house wants to sell it as soon as possible. What do you think he wants to do after selling it?"

"What does he want to do?"

"Now that the country has become more open, there are more private housing transactions than before. He wants to use the money from selling the house to exchange for a courtyard house."

Lin Chaoyang's eyes flashed, what a talent!

It would be difficult for such a person not to make a fortune if he targeted the domestic real estate market in the late 1970s, when national policies had just opened up, and combined his own vision with the dividends of the times.

"He is certain that housing prices in Yanjing will rise in the future." Lin Chaoyang said.

"Who knows? They say that with the reform and opening up, the economy is getting better, but I think it's just like that." Du Feng said indifferently.

Boy, it’s nephritis!

Du Feng is in the army and in the north. This feeling is indeed not obvious. If others were in Guangdong, they might not think so.

"The landlord is a young overseas Chinese, and the house was given to him by his family. He probably doesn't feel bad about selling his land." Du Feng added.

Lin Chaoyang shook his head.

Those who are half a step ahead of their time are geniuses, and those who are one step ahead of their time are madmen.

Replacing the top mansions in Yanjing City with shabby courtyard houses in this era, what Du Feng said the small overseas Chinese did is incomprehensible to many people today.

Du Feng continued: "Not many people in Yanjing City can afford a house that costs more than 10,000 yuan. Those who can afford it may not need it. He also knows this situation, so the price is high It’s not expensive. And it’s said that the house payment can be paid off in one year.”

As Du Feng said, it is a bit embarrassing for overseas Chinese apartment houses to be sold at this stage.

At this time, the gap between the rich and the poor in society was not large. Those who could spend so much money to buy a house were all prominent figures in society, but the living conditions of such figures would certainly not be too bad. This is a paradox.

Lin Chaoyang's brows moved, and he could see that this landlord was not simple. Even installment payments have been made, really following the spirit of the old man’s words!

"The house is definitely expensive, but this landlord is quite interesting. There are not many houses that meet the requirements of you and my sister now. I'm just saying this. If you want to see it, I'll take you to see it. If you don't want to go, forget it."

Du Feng also knew that no matter whether the landlord lowered the house price or paid in installments, the house in Huayuan Village Overseas Chinese Apartment was still too expensive for the general public at this stage.

Although my brother-in-law earns a lot of money from writing now, he can't just buy it. He may have to spend the income of the next few years or even more than ten years.

But then again, you may only buy this house once in your life. Who doesn't buy a house like this?

Although Huayuan Village Overseas Chinese Apartment has been built for more than ten years, it can still be regarded as one of the best residential buildings in Yanjing so far. There are few houses for sale. This opportunity is really rare.

After listening to Du Feng's words, Lin Chaoyang looked thoughtful and finally said, "I know about this. I will discuss it with your sister when I get home. If you want to go and see it, I will contact you again."

"Buying a house is a big deal. You two really need to discuss it carefully. Then I will wait for your news."

After Du Feng left, Lin Chaoyang returned to the library. Not long after, someone downstairs said that someone was looking for him.

He went downstairs and saw a strange middle-aged man. The middle-aged man introduced himself as Liang Junshu, an editor of the Warrior Publishing House. This time he came on behalf of the publishing house to talk to Lin Chaoyang about the publication of the single volume of "The Wreath Under the Mountain".

"Hello, Editor Liang!" Lin Chaoyang shook hands with Liang Junshu enthusiastically.

"Hello, Comrade Chaoyang!"

Before, Renwen Publishing House wanted to publish the single volume of "The Wreath Under the Mountain". Lin Chaoyang called Du Ruolin, but he asked Lin Chaoyang to wait, but he was vague. Now it seems that it was the Warrior Publishing House that was responsible.

No wonder the uncle told him not to worry.

The Warrior Publishing House is under the leadership of the General Staff. It mainly publishes military textbooks. In 1966, it officially became a comprehensive publishing house. Its full name is the Chinese People's Liberation Army Warrior Publishing House, abbreviated as "Warrior Publishing House".

"The Wreath Under the Mountain" itself is a military-themed novel. It has caused such a great response among domestic readers before. There is nothing wrong with handing it over to the Warrior Publishing House for publication.

The only thing that bothered Lin Chaoyang was the issue of royalties. Du Feng just brought news about the Overseas Chinese Apartment.

If they really buy a house like the Overseas Chinese Apartment, they still have a lot of money left in their savings.

"How much royalties does the publishing house plan to give?" After the two chatted for a while, Lin Chaoyang asked bluntly.

Liang Junshu's expression was slightly surprised, and then he said: "For such an influential work as "The Wreath Under the Mountain", the royalties we give are naturally the highest. Our publishing house just received a notice from above a few days ago. Now the royalties are adjusted. The standard royalties for "The Wreath Under the Mountain" are ten yuan per thousand words."

"Is there a royalty fee for the number of copies printed?" Lin Chaoyang asked again.

Liang Junshu nodded, "We will follow the new rules completely, and the print-run fee is 2% (basic fee) for every 10,000 copies. Given the popularity of "The Wreath Under the Mountain", this print-run fee should be quite considerable."

Lin Chaoyang calculated in his mind that the full text of "The Wreath Under the Mountain" is 72,000 words, and 10 yuan per thousand words, which is 720 yuan.

Given the popularity of "The Wreath Under the Mountain", it should not be a problem to get 100% of the print-run fee, which is 1,440 yuan.

Including the fee that will be received from "Harvest", he and Tao Yushu will have 5,000 yuan.

But even so, there is still a big gap from the price of the house in the Overseas Chinese Apartment.

After Lin Chaoyang calculated the account, his brows were furrowed, and it seemed that he had to write more.

Liang Junshu looked at his expression and wondered, are you not satisfied with such a high fee?

"Okay. Editor Liang, then "The Wreath Under the Mountain" will be handed over to you. I hope to see the single volume published as soon as possible." Lin Chaoyang said to Liang Junshu after coming out of his depressed mood.

"You are too polite. It is also a good thing for our publishing house to be able to publish "The Wreath Under the Mountain."

The two chatted for a few more words, and Liang Junshu said goodbye and left.

In the evening, Lin Chaoyang returned home and told Tao Yushu the news brought by Du Feng.

Last time, Du Feng helped them find a big courtyard in Weigong Village, but Lin Chaoyang didn't even mention it to Tao Yushu.

Langrun Lake Apartment is nothing in the future, but in this era it has surpassed the living standards of ordinary people in Yanjing City. His wife has lived in such an environment since she was a child. He doesn't want his wife to live in a big courtyard after marrying him.

After listening to Lin Chaoyang's introduction of the Huayuan Village Overseas Chinese Apartment, Tao Yushu's expression was serious and his brows were slightly frowned.

"The house is indeed good, and it is also close to Yan University and Yan Normal University, but the price is too expensive. I'm afraid our current money is not enough?"