Literary Master 1978

After chatting about "Crossing the Boat" for a while, the topic at the dinner table turned to studies and work.

Zha Haisheng is the youngest among the three of them, but the first to work.

Therefore, when it came to work, Luo Yihe and Xi Chuan were careless. Only Zha Haisheng was worried, and Tao Yumo was worried about it.

One of the two is a flower in the greenhouse, and the other is too young. Zha Haisheng is only nineteen years old this year, and both are mentally immature.

"Work is for life."

"You have to balance work and life. If you can't balance work and life, you still have to focus on life."

"When you first start working, you have to calm down. It's normal to not do well at work. If you can do everything well, wouldn't you become a leader?"

…

Tao Yushu listened to Lin Chaoyang's talk and went off the rails more and more, fearing that he would lead these two good boys astray and stop him from performing.

After the meal, Lin Chaoyang paid for the meal, received thanks from Zha Haisheng and others, and then the two parties said goodbye.

Luo Yihe was out of character. Looking at the backs of Lin Chaoyang and the others, he said with envy: "If I were born into a family like Tao Yumo, I would be very happy, right?"

Listening to his words, Zha Haisheng couldn't help but feel the same way.

My family comes from a scholarly family, my father is a university professor, my brother-in-law is a well-known writer, and I am a top student at Yanda University.

It doesn’t matter that he comes from a good family, he is pretty and has a good personality.

He had been classmates with Tao Yumo for four years, and he had never seen her worry or get angry about anything. Her life seemed to always be full of sunshine.

Zha Haisheng recalled Tao Yumo's worries about work, and felt that her worries were more like unfounded worries, which were completely different from his own situation.

"The starting point for people like her may be our ending point!" Xi Chuan said with emotion.

Zha Haisheng fell silent for a moment.

That night, Lin Chaoyang finished writing the novel and Tao Yushu also finished reading the manuscript. The couple sat on the sofa in the living room and discussed the magazine articles, laughing and playing the piano and the piano, just like a couple of gods.

Tao Yumo, who had just put his nephew to sleep and came out of the bathroom after washing the diaper, could not help but grit his teeth when he saw this scene.

People who don't know the truth will always see the appearance. In the eyes of Zha Haisheng and the others, Tao Yumo is the proud woman who wins at the starting line.

But when she returned to her sister's house, she was just Dehua, and she had to face endless urinals every day.

If it weren't for the one and a half yuan salary, Tao Yumo thought sadly and angrily.

Yes, she got a salary increase recently.

On the one hand, it was because she was taking care of her eldest nephew full time, and on the other hand, it was also because she was about to start working. Fifty cents or one yuan a day could no longer scare her, so Tao Yushu gave her a higher salary.

Thinking about the salary of RMB 1.5, Tao Yumo felt better.

Just be friendly to each other, it won’t stop me from making money anyway.

Tao Yumo felt particularly dazzled when he saw the couple making love to each other, so he returned to the house after finishing his work.

In the living room, Tao Yushu pointed to the article in the magazine and showed it to Lin Chaoyang, "Hey, have you read this author's novel? The writing is quite good."

Lin Chaoyang looked at the familiar name in the magazine and fell into silence. It was not just good, it was quite good.

The magazine Tao Yushu took out was the local literary magazine "Lotus Pond". Lin Chaoyang said, "If you think it's good, just make an appointment with him for a manuscript!"

Tao Yushu rolled his eyes and said, "Read the novel first."

Lin Chaoyang looked at her expression and knew she must have something on her mind, so he said, "What do you want me to do again?"

Seeing through his thoughts, Tao Yushu said delicately: "Can you write a review for me?"

"It's okay to write a review. But why don't you write it yourself?"

Tao Yushu has been writing literary criticism since college, and has been doing so for the past few years. When it comes to writing literary criticism, Lin Chaoyang feels that he may not be able to write better than her.

"Lao Wang transferred me to People's Literature. He values ​​me so highly. I want to make some achievements as soon as possible."

When Lin Chaoyang heard this, he understood, but what does this have to do with writing comments?

Seeing that he was still confused, Tao Yushu patiently explained:

"The fastest way to achieve results is to release new works by influential newcomers. I have been reading the works in various local literary magazines recently, trying to find some good ideas among them."

Lin Chaoyang looked at the magazine in his hand and understood, "This is the good seedling you have chosen!"

"That's right."

"But his works are not published in People's Literature. If you ask me to write a review to praise him, isn't that just making wedding clothes for others?"

"Who said I asked you to write it now? Besides, you are so busy writing novels now. When he comes back, his novels will be published in our "People's Literature"."

Tao Yushu finally asked Lin Chaoyang to help, so naturally he couldn't refuse.

However, he did not rush to agree, but looked at Tao Yushu with a smile.

"Comrade Yushu, your operation is a bit illegal. In principle, it is not easy to handle!"

Tao Yushu looked at him, not knowing what he was thinking. She cooperated and sat on Lin Chaoyang's lap, looking at him with a chuckle.

"In principle, if it's hard to do, then it can be done." She exhaled like a blue breath.

Lin Chaoyang's hand gently climbed up to her waist, "Well...it depends on your sincerity."

Tao Yushu took his hand and entered the room.

Tao Yumo went into the room and lay down for a while. While she was half asleep and half awake, a sad and sad sound suddenly came from her ears. She thought it was Xiao Dongzi who was sleeping next to her and woke up from hunger.

After opening her eyes, she immediately recognized the voice. When she realized that something was wrong, her cheeks flushed instantly, and she was filled with resentment.

The child sleeps with me, you have no shame!

This life is unbearable!

Time flies to the end of the month, and Lin Chaoyang received a letter from "Huacheng" to discuss the publication of "Crossing Boat Records" with him.

Lin Chaoyang thought of "Little Shoes" and "Wreaths under the Mountains" that he still had in his hands, as well as "Parents' Love" and "Lai Zi's Summer" whose contracts would expire in a few months.

He felt that this was an opportunity for negotiation, so he called Li Shifei and briefly told him about the situation.

Li Shifei really showed a strong interest and promised Lin Chaoyang that he would go to Yanjing as soon as possible to discuss the matter in detail.

Within two days after the call, Li Shifei arrived in Yanjing, and his sincerity was not lacking.

His sincerity was certainly not groundless. "Crossing Boat Records" helped "Huacheng" sell 2.08 million copies, not to mention how great the impact was.

Judging from the sales volume and the price of the magazine, the sales volume of 2.08 million copies is almost equivalent to the total sales volume of the previous three to four issues of "Huacheng". You should know that "Huacheng" is a literary bimonthly magazine. This issue of the magazine is equivalent to saving "Huacheng" half a year of effort.

Speaking of the price of the magazine, "Huacheng" is priced at 1 yuan, and 2.08 million copies is 2.08 million yuan.

Even if the order price of Xinhua Bookstore is only 70% to 80% of the list price, it is still 1.5 to 60 million yuan.

Anyone who has studied economics and finance knows that the cost of a product is related to the total production volume.

When the output of a product is higher, the unit cost required for its production will be lower, which is the so-called diminishing marginal cost.

The first issue of "Huacheng" in 1983, after deducting various cost expenditures, brought Huacheng Publishing House a net profit of at least 800,000 yuan.

Today, Lin Chaoyang is a complete money-spending boy in the eyes of Li Shifei and the people of Huacheng Publishing House, so his sincerity is not difficult to understand.

Li Shifei came with sincerity, but he still underestimated Lin Chaoyang's persistence in the royalties.

"You want royalties?"

Li Shifei looked at Lin Chaoyang with a surprised expression. He knew about the royalty payment system, which is the royalty payment system adopted by most countries in the world today.

But the fact that most countries adopt it does not mean that China must use it.

In the 1950s, when China still adopted the payment of 1,000-word royalties, writers in the literary world were criticized for their high royalties.

Now the country has adopted a system of basic royalties plus royalties based on the number of prints. The royalty standard is close to the level of the 1950s. Considering the current income level in China, the current royalty standard is not low.

Moreover, Lin Chaoyang's income is even better among contemporary writers. Li Shifei really didn't expect that he would want royalties.

"Chaoyang, to be honest, I actually had a discussion with the president before I came.

Now that we have reformed and opened up, things are different from the past. Even the peasants no longer eat from the same pot. It is not okay for our literary world to follow the old standards.

Your works are popular and recognized by readers, which has created benefits for our publishing house.

We talked for a long time at that time, and we all thought that it was reasonable for you to get more royalties.

But..."

Li Shifei stopped talking here, and his face was full of embarrassment.

"But the royalties are not in line with the consistent tradition of our country. Look, why don't we pay based on the basic royalties plus the royalties for the number of copies printed? I will try my best to give you a satisfactory price."

Li Shifei's tone was sincere and his attitude was very humble.

Originally, he had obtained the authorization of the president before he came, and he thought he had obtained a price that would satisfy Lin Chaoyang, but now he has no confidence.

After all, royalties are directly linked to the code price, and the royalties that the publishing house wants to transfer to the author are all real profits.

But Lin Chaoyang also has his own opinion. Literature is a content industry after all, and naturally content is king. If even the creators cannot get the corresponding considerable income, what development prospects does this industry have?

His remarks are very much in the style of today's liberals. Li Shifei, who is in Guangdong, agrees with this argument from the bottom of his heart.

But he also knows that this mouth cannot be opened easily. The two argued for a long time, and Li Shifei's attitude was always gentle, but firm.

The manuscript fee is easy to negotiate, but the royalties are not.

After Lin Chaoyang stopped talking, the atmosphere fell into a deadlock.

When Li Shifei was nervous, Lin Chaoyang was silent for a long time.

Lin Chaoyang knew very well how difficult it was to get royalties with the current domestic atmosphere and policies.

But everything is difficult at the beginning. If everyone retreats because of fear of difficulty, who will change this situation?

In fact, he didn't expect to get royalties all at once. Today's argument with Li Shifei was more of a prelude to let them have a process of acceptance.

"Okay!" Lin Chaoyang felt that the time was almost up, and he sighed helplessly.

Li Shifei was delighted.

"This time, I will still pay you with the basic remuneration plus the remuneration for the number of copies printed, but next time..."

When Lin Chaoyang said this, his eyes were full of determination, and he said to Li Shifei in a resounding voice: "The next novel must be paid with royalties. If you don't agree, I can only change to another unit to cooperate."

Li Shifei was very happy when he heard Lin Chaoyang compromise, but when Lin Chaoyang expressed his attitude, he became melancholy again.

Why can't we get over the royalties issue?

"Chaoyang, what if you change the publishing house? There is no precedent for this in China. Not only our publishing house, but other publishing houses will not agree to it."

There was something hidden in Li Shifei's words, and Lin Chaoyang looked at him sharply.

"Lao Li, you are right and wrong when you say that royalties are not the norm in our country.

Just because we did it this way in the past doesn’t mean we will do it this way in the future. We Chinese always like to talk about the laws established by our ancestors. Let me ask you, if we still follow Confucius’s method of respecting Zhou rites, would there be a new China now? "

Lin Chaoyang's tone was not very polite and his expression was serious. Li Shifei didn't want to argue with him and avoided his eyes.

Seeing that he was silent, Lin Chaoyang said again:

"Routines are meant to be broken. Of course, this kind of breaking must require results that exceed the routine.

Let's be honest. You should know better than I do how much benefit "The Crossing" has created for your publishing house. "

In terms of appeal among readers, Lin Chaoyang can be said to be the most popular writer in China today. Judging from the sales of the first issue of "Flower City" this year, the most important factor in achieving such brilliant results is naturally because of "Flower City" "The Boat Ferry".

Li Shifei tried to find some words to refute Lin Chaoyang, but Lin Chaoyang didn't give him this chance at all.

"Old Li, without your Huacheng Publishing House, readers would still recognize my works, Lin Chaoyang. But without my works, would your Huacheng Publishing House still have such high sales?"

Lin Chaoyang always behaved like a good gentleman, but today he occasionally showed his dignity, and his words and expressions were full of self-confidence.

If an ordinary writer had said this, Li Shifei would probably refute it on the spot, but now it was Lin Chaoyang sitting in front of him.

For a moment, he was speechless.