Literary Master 1978

In the gallery where famous paintings gather, each work carries the accumulation of history and the artist's unique emotions, and is priceless.

There was an endless stream of visitors coming to the exhibition. They stopped to admire the paintings and immersed themselves in the ocean of art.

However, at this moment, a group of thugs suddenly broke out of the gallery, holding banners with slogans such as "Because of your actions, the world becomes greener" and "A drop of water is also life, and a share of green is hope." , shouting high slogans and looking fanatical.

The quiet and beautiful afternoon was interrupted by this sudden noise. The audience watching the exhibition were driven aside by the thugs. The exhibition security came to maintain order, but was stopped by the thugs.

They poured buckets of unknown liquid on the famous paintings, muttering something to each other, and the onlookers screamed. Those world-famous and priceless paintings were destroyed in one fell swoop.

But the crowd's exclamations were just the beginning. Someone among the thugs lit a lighter, and everyone looked in disbelief.

This group of thugs actually wanted to set a fire!

At that moment, time seemed to freeze, and the air was filled with tension and uneasiness.

"No!"

A thin and handsome young man rushed out of the crowd. He tried to stop the mob, but was unable to do anything.

He watched helplessly as the lighter fell on the liquid, and the flames instantly burst into flames. In a few seconds, it turned into a raging fire.

There were loud screams in the gallery, and everyone was panicking. They could no longer care about the famous paintings that were caught in the fire. They ran away like frightened beasts.

The thugs who set fire looked at the people hiding and running away in fear, with happy smiles on their faces.

A group of hypocrites who pretend to love art but are actually sanctimonious!

The fire in the gallery was fierce, and while the audience was fleeing, the thugs accomplished their goal and walked out of the gallery calmly.

In the huge gallery, only the famous paintings that were about to be melted into flames were left.

No, there is another figure.

The thin figure stood stubbornly in the gallery, and the hot air made it difficult for him to breathe.

"Starry Night", "Sunflower", "Iris"...

He was heartbroken as he watched those hand-me-down works being burned in the flames.

At this moment, his eyes suddenly discovered a touch of color, and he stared at a corner of the gallery.

There, there is also a complete painting.

While all the paintings were in flames, only that one survived because it was in a corner.

But the sea of ​​fire lay in front of him, like an abyss.

The only painting left is "The Church of Auvers"!

The thin young man looked back and saw crowds of people swarming on the street outside the gallery. They were crying and screaming, showing their heartache.

A sarcastic smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he turned his head to face the all-devouring flames again, his eyes pious and firm.

If I am destined not to be a genius like Van Gogh, then I will use fire to perfect my art.

In everyone's astonished eyes, the thin figure rushed towards the sea of ​​fire desperately.

Fire, fire everywhere.

The hot air made it impossible for him to breathe. He endured the burning of the flaming knife, his steps were messy, and he finally fell in front of the "Auvers Church".

Red, the world turns red.

Is this the world as seen by Van Gogh?

The last thought flashed through the skinny young man's mind.

With a "click", the picture in Zhu Changsheng's mind was cut off and turned into nothingness. He pulled away from his fantasy and focused his eyes on Tan Chaoyang.

The lamp on the desk had been turned off, and Zhu Changsheng asked expectantly: "Have you finished reading? How did it go?"

Tan Chaoyang smiled and said: "How can I finish it in such a short time? I just read two chapters."

Zhu Changsheng recalled the plot of the novel and understood clearly, "How about that?"

"Have ideas! Have ability! Interesting!"

You can tell the whole story at a glance. Although he only read two chapters, he said "yes" three times in a row. Even if there is no explicit praise, it has fully revealed Qin Chaoyang's enthusiasm for the novel "The Death of Van Gogh". recognized.

"Having ideas" is an affirmation of Lin Chaoyang's creativity and thinking; "being capable" is an affirmation of Lin Chaoyang's creative level; "interesting" is a rare thing that Qin Chaoyang can give to a novel that he has not finished yet. Top rating.

"Then why didn't you continue reading?" Zhu Changsheng said anxiously.

He also wanted Tan Chaoyang to review the manuscript quickly to determine whether the novel could be published in the first issue of "Contemporary" after its revision.

"How many hours do you expect me to review such a long novel?" Tan Chaoyang pointed out the window, "It's getting late, it's so windy outside, go back early."

Only then did Zhu Changsheng notice that it was almost half past eight, and the cold wind howling outside was much louder than when he arrived just now.

"Ouch!" He stood up and picked up his bag.

Then he turned to Qin Chaoyang and told him: "Old Qin, hurry up and review the manuscript. Let me tell you, Chaoyang's novel is definitely a rare masterpiece.

We need to give him extraordinary treatment, which is not only good for him, but also good for our magazine.

Publishing this novel in the first revised issue will definitely bring unexpected effects. "

Before Lin Chaoyang finished writing the novel, Zhu Changsheng was asking Tan Chaoyang about the salary for publishing one issue.

Tan Chaoyang never responded, after all, he hadn't read the manuscript yet.

Today, Zhu Changsheng finally brought the manuscript. After reading one-sixth of the novel, Qin Chaoyang had a good overall impression of the novel.

But it was too early for him to agree to Zhu Changsheng's request.

He was the editor-in-chief of the magazine, and he was considering the overall work of the magazine. It was impossible for him to make such a decision so easily.

"I will read the manuscript as soon as possible, and I will give you an answer on Monday whether it is OK or not."

Qin Chaoyang sent Zhu Changsheng out and said finally.

Today is Saturday, and tomorrow is Sunday. It will take more than a day to give the review opinion of a novel of more than 200,000 words, which means that Qin Chaoyang must stay up late.

"Old Qin, you have worked hard."

"You are the one who has worked hard. You have spent so much effort to bring the manuscript, and I am just reviewing the manuscript." Qin Chaoyang said with a smile.

After the two waved goodbye, Qin Chaoyang returned to the house.

The fire in the coal stove was still burning brightly. He made himself a cup of tea, sat back at the desk, and turned on the desk lamp.

That night, the desk lamp in Qin Chaoyang's house was on until late at night.

The next day was the weekend. Lin Chaoyang got up early and went to the street to find someone to exchange industrial coupons and coal coupons for some grain coupons and meat coupons.

The issuance of coupons is a concrete manifestation of the planned economy. It is not only based on coupons and vouchers, but more importantly, the quantity.

Money comes first, then coupons, and then your purchase qualification must be within the quantity range.

In the past, there were only two people in the couple, and the coupons were enough.

Recently, Lin Erchun and his wife came to Yanjing, and the couple's grain coupons were obviously not enough.

Buying grain coupons is of course a way, but nowadays, compared to having no money, having no coupons is the dilemma that most people have to face in their lives, so there are not many people who buy and sell grain coupons.

Moreover, grain coupons are different from other things. If you are caught, it is not only speculation, but also reselling grain. This is a serious crime, and ordinary ticket dealers dare not do it at all.

So at this stage, whether it is buying or exchanging grain coupons, most of the time it depends on luck.

After exchanging food coupons and meat coupons, it was already noon when Lin Chaoyang returned home. He prepared a braised pork.

As soon as the dish was ready, Tao Yumo came over after smelling the smell.

After Lin Erchun and his wife came to Yanjing, she basically did not live in the Overseas Chinese Apartment, but only came here regularly every week to take a hot bath.

Although Yanda also has a bathhouse, Tao Yumo has been accustomed to the separate bathroom in her sister's house, vividly interpreting what it means to go from frugality to luxury, but from luxury to frugality.

After having lunch and taking a bath, Tao Yumo rode a bicycle and left the Overseas Chinese Apartment in a chic manner.

On Monday at work, Lin Chaoyang received a manuscript fee bill from the Warrior Publishing House.

It has been nearly 10 months since the publication of "The Wreath under the Mountain", and this is the third time that the publishing house has settled his manuscript fee.

At the end of August, the total print run of this novel had reached 2.6 million copies. This time, the Warrior Publishing House settled Lin Chaoyang's manuscript fee for the number of copies at 1,210 yuan, which is exactly 100% of the basic manuscript fee.

That is to say, in the past three months, the print run of "The Wreath Under the Mountain" has increased by another 500,000 copies, officially breaking the 3 million copy mark.

Less than a year after publication, it has sold over 3 million copies.

"The Wreath Under the Mountain" not only set a sales record for Chinese military literature, but also broke the sales record of all kinds of literary works known in the domestic publishing industry.

Liang Junshu of the Warrior Publishing House also wrote a passionate letter to Lin Chaoyang this time, most of which was full of praise related to the sales of "The Wreath Under the Mountain".

After receiving this manuscript fee bill, Lin Chaoyang roughly calculated in his mind that if the reprints of "The Wreath Under the Mountain" in newspapers and magazines in various places in the past six months were counted, this novel has created more than 13,000 yuan of income for him.

If calculated by purchasing power, it can buy two sets of two-entry courtyard houses in the inner city, which will be several hundred million in the future.

In the afternoon, when Lin Chaoyang was at work, A Mao suddenly ran to find him.

"Lin, are you interested in attending a Christmas dinner?"

"Christmas dinner? Organized by you international students?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

A Mao shook his head, "No, it's held by the American Embassy."

Lin Chaoyang was puzzled, "Why would a Chinese like me go to a Christmas dinner held by the American Embassy?"

A Mao looked a little embarrassed and said, "You know, I've been working for the Embassy, ​​right? Once a week, three hours each time..."

Lin Chaoyang certainly knew about A Mao's part-time job. The hourly wage of seven US dollars made all the Chinese students at Yanda University cry.

Three hours a week is equivalent to a month's salary for an ordinary worker.

"Yesterday I went to the embassy to work again. They are going to hold a Christmas dinner at the Yanjing Hotel on Christmas Day and invite us overseas students to attend.

I heard from the ambassador's wife that they also want to invite some Chinese celebrities, and I thought of you.

You are a great writer!

The ambassador's wife knows your name and heard that you and I are friends, so she asked me to invite you to the dinner."

After Ah Mao finished explaining the situation, he took out an invitation letter from his pocket and said with a show-off look: "Look, I have brought the invitation letter."

After listening to Ah Mao's introduction, Lin Chaoyang was puzzled. Are the Americans going to fight him?

Seeing Lin Chaoyang's hesitation, Ah Mao asked: "Lin, don't you want to go?"

These days, Sino-US diplomacy is in the honeymoon period, and Chinese people are flocking to everything in the United States, so Ah Mao does not understand Lin Chaoyang's hesitation.

Lin Chaoyang has no filter for the United States, but since A Mao has mentioned him to the hostess's wife and even brought an invitation letter, A Mao will be in trouble if he doesn't go.

"If I don't go, will you lose your job?" Lin Chaoyang teased.

Listening to Lin Chaoyang's words, A Mao looked embarrassed, "Lin, please go."

Lin Chaoyang nodded, "Okay. You can go to the Christmas dinner, this time you owe me a favor."

"No problem, I owe you." A Mao said happily.