Chapter 137: The arrogant Shanghai "Harvest", all 100,000 copies are invalid!
“Huh?!”
When Liu Xinwu heard what Teacher Gu said, he was stunned on the spot! Didn't he expect to choose one of the two again?
Moreover, Teacher Gu took the initiative to give the novella that was scheduled in advance this time to "People's Literature" to build momentum together.
"Old Liu, this novella is over there with me. I've almost finished reading it! Bring it over later and you can review it first!"
After Teacher Feng's mother Gu finished speaking, her eyes fell on the landline phone on Liu Xinwu's desk!
"This relationship is great!" Liu Xinwu nodded repeatedly. Since both manuscripts were given to them in October, it was of course the best.
Seeing that Teacher Gu's eyes were always on the phone, he asked, "Teacher Gu, do you want to call?"
"Then let me go out for a while?"
Knowing that Teacher Gu was going to make a call, and not knowing who to call out of anger, Liu Xinwu decided to avoid it first.
"No need for Lao Liu, I'll just call Li Xiaolin over there in Shanghai!"
Feng's mother, Teacher Gu, shook her head. This call was not private, and there was no need for Liu Xinwu to avoid it.
"Call Li Xiaolin in Shanghai!?"
"Teacher Gu, is she Ba Lao's beloved daughter, right? She should be working in the arts in Shanghai now, right?"
Liu Xinwu's thoughts changed, and he quickly remembered the identity information of Li Xiaolin mentioned by Teacher Gu, and asked.
"Yes! Xiaolin has now been transferred to Balao's "Harvest" as the chief editor!"
Feng's mother, Teacher Gu, nodded, replied to Liu Xinwu, and then dialed a series of phone numbers. When the call was connected, the other party shouted: "Hey, where do you want it?"
"Hello, please help me connect with Harvest magazine in Shanghai!"
For work needs, they installed a landline phone in October, which can make long-distance calls!
However, the landline telephones of this era were still the type that had to be manually switched and plugged in. Long-distance calls had to be connected layer by layer to the switchboard of the post and telecommunications office in Yanjing.
After getting through to the switchboard in Shanghai, I had to go through many more connections until I was connected to the "Harvest" landline in Shanghai before I could talk.
Therefore, it is impossible to achieve real-time synchronization for this long-distance call, and you have to wait for a while.
If the line there is busy, the long-distance call may take a whole day.
Before the 1980s, telephone switches had not yet been upgraded. It was common to spend a whole day on long-distance calls just to say one sentence!
"Li Xiaolin transferred Balao's "Harvest"?!" Liu Xinwu knew that the long-distance call would have to wait, so he curiously asked why Teacher Gu made this call today.
"Not long after I was transferred, what happened at the beginning of last month was that Xiaolin was indeed assigned to "Shanghai Literature and Art"!"
Feng's mother, Teacher Gu, was waiting for the connection over there, nodded to Liu Xinwu, and replied.
"That's no wonder!" Liu Xinwu nodded when he heard this. What he first heard was that Li Xiaolin was assigned to Shanghai Literature and Art. Why did she suddenly go to "Harvest"? She was transferred recently!
"Teacher Gu, you really care about Li Xiaolin! Are you making this call because you want to help the "Harvest" in Shanghai to support the students?"
At this time, apart from asking for help, Liu Xinwu couldn't figure out the purpose of Teacher Gu's long-distance call!
"That's right! At the end of last month, Xiaolin accompanied Mr. Ba to the door in person and made an appointment with Xuemin for a manuscript. This issue should be published soon!"
Feng's mother, Gu Xueqing, nodded. She was indeed looking for Li Xiaolin to express her support. There happened to be a scholar over there who had a manuscript waiting to be published. It was probably just a matter of saying hello.
"What!?"
"At the end of last month, Mr. Ba personally came to visit Xuemin and made an appointment for a manuscript?! I, I, I... how come we didn't know?"
Liu Xinwu originally nodded, but then he looked at Feng's mother in disbelief and asked in surprise.
What a joke! ?
Ba Laodu came to visit in person and asked Cheng Xuemin, a junior, to write a manuscript?
Come to the door in person!
Why haven’t you heard this from Teacher Gu? How come the newspapers, magazines and media here in Yanjing haven’t heard anything about it?
"Shortly after that meeting, Xiaolin and Balao came to ask for a manuscript!"
Mother Feng nodded and mentioned it casually! Before Liu Xinwu could continue to ask questions, the long-distance connection was very smooth this time. This was also related to the fact that both of their units were at relatively high levels, and the two levels above were in the bus room.
Soon the call was connected again, and Li Xiaolin's voice came from the other side: "Hello, are you Teacher Gu?"
"Yes, Xiaolin, hello, I'm Gu Xueqing!"
Feng's mother, Gu Xueqing, nodded to Liu Xinwu, then greeted Li Xiaolin on the phone.
"Hello, Teacher Gu! I should have guessed why you made this call!"
"I have read both the Jinmen Daily yesterday and your Yanjing newspaper today!"
"I didn't expect that something like this would happen at yesterday's symposium! Originally, I planned to go and attend in person! But my dad has been unwell recently, so it was delayed!"
When Li Xiaolin heard the call from Yanjing's "October", she guessed that it must be Teacher Gu.
As she said on the phone, she had been paying attention to the newspapers in the past two days.
"It's okay, it's okay! Xiaolin, Balao's body and bones are the most important thing now. As children, we really need to pay more attention and take care of him!"
"Ba Lao's health is okay, right?"
Hearing Li Xiaolin say on the phone that Mr. Ba was unwell, Mother Feng here quickly asked with concern.
"It's nothing serious, it's just that I'm infected with the cold and I'm old!" Li Xiaolin continued on the phone, "By the way, my dad also read the newspaper today and angrily accused them of trying to cause trouble!"
"Teacher Gu, don't worry, we will publish Xuemin's article as scheduled, and my dad even promised to give Xuemin a front-page headline!"
"Okay, okay, thank you Xiaolin, thank you Balao! Xiaolin, please help tell Balao that our whole family is grateful to him!"
Feng's mother, Teacher Gu, couldn't help but choked up after hearing this.
Front page headlines!
Harvest, the most influential newspaper in Shanghai, directly supported her son-in-law. Not only did her son-in-law's article appear as scheduled, it even temporarily changed it to the front page.
It can be seen that Balao in Shanghai is indeed optimistic about his son-in-law and is indeed supporting his son-in-law.
Front page headline? !
Liu Xinwu, whose ears were pricked up next to him, faintly heard some front-page headlines from the phone, which was designated by Balao, and his face was horrified on the spot.
The front page headline of "Harvest"!
How strong is this support? Is the relationship between Teacher Gu and Mr. Ba and his daughter so strong?
Despite Balao’s identity, it is absolutely impossible to make the front page headline of "Harvest" unless the manuscript is particularly well-written and weighty.
Could it be another "Director Qiao's Taking Up the Job"?
Thinking that Balao's "Harvest" will be followed by "The Taking of Factory Director Qiao", then what burden does Liu Xinwu have to bear that he dare not start this manuscript?
When the time comes, there will be a response from the north and the south, direct support to the larger ones, and make the momentum as big as possible.
Not to mention supporting Cheng Xuemin, the influence of their "October" is bound to increase steadily.
"What you want, what you want, there is a lot of commotion in Jinmen this time. Xiaolin, you can know the situation in Yanjing by reading the newspapers!"
"The reason I'm calling you Xiaolin is that I hope that this issue's manuscripts will be signed under the pen name of Xuemin 'Lao Qiao'. Is that okay, Xiaolin?"
What Feng's mother really wanted in making this call was the echo between the north and the south, so she made this call specifically and asked Li Xiaolin to directly give Cheng Xuemin the pen name of Lao Qiao in "The Taking of Factory Director Qiao"!
Otherwise, who would use the pen names of "Kuang Yalan" and "Lao Tian"? Who knows it was written by her son-in-law? Who knew it was Lao Qiao’s new work from "Director Qiao’s Take-Off"?
Kuang Yalan is the pen name used by Xuemin in the article "Female College Students Dormitory" published in "Shanghai Literature and Art", and Lao Tian is the pen name used by "The Traitor" published in Li Xiaolin's "Harvest" shortly after the beginning of the month.
The male protagonist in "The Traitor" is named Tian, and his pen name inherits Cheng Xuemin's consistent style.
According to the sample magazine sent by Li Xiaolin before, we know that "Chen Huansheng Enters the City" still uses the pen name of "The Traitor", Lao Tian. Feng's mother does not know whether Li Xiaolin has started official publication.
That's why I made a long distance phone call instead of sending a letter which was too slow.
"Ah!? Teacher Gu, you mentioned this, we really didn't consider it!" Li Xiaolin over there was stunned when she heard this, and then replied stupidly.
"Xiaolin, have you officially published it?" Teacher Gu, Feng's mother here, felt her heart beat violently, but she finished her sentence. But I can’t blame him. After all, what happened at yesterday’s symposium happened unexpectedly!
Who could have predicted this?
Originally, Ba Lao and his daughter came to the door to make an appointment for a manuscript, and they were going to Lao Tian, the author of "The Traitor". Therefore, the pen name of "Lao Tian" on the new work was staggered with Lao Qiao of "People's Literature". In fact, there was a bit of confusion. Competition for sales volume.
So I never expected that such a thing would happen, nor did I expect that Feng’s mother, Teacher Gu, would be willing to change her vest temporarily.
"Two hundred thousand copies have been printed!" Li Xiaolin over there reported a number.
Sure enough, it had been published, and the volume was 200,000 copies. Mother Feng's face turned red immediately after hearing it.
She knew that she made this request too late, and now she was too embarrassed to make it difficult for others!
But soon, Li Xiaolin over there said again: "But it doesn't matter, Teacher Gu, we will change it now!"
"Immediately change the pen name to 'Old Qiao', and hurry up and print 100,000 copies first!"
Feng's mother was moved again after hearing this, and said with choked sobs: "Let's forget it! Otherwise, Xiaolin, the 200,000 copies in front of you will become useless publications?"
"No! Teacher Gu, do you completely look down on the sales of our "Harvest"?"
Li Xiaolin over there said nonchalantly, "With the sales volume of our "Harvest" and the influence of your son-in-law, this issue will definitely explode, and there will definitely be more copies in the future!"
"What I mean is, use the pen name of 'Old Qiao' to lead the charge, and when it's time to print more copies, use the previous 200,000 copies to top it off!"
"Of course, when the two pen names are different, it will be exposed that Xuemin has two pen names. I hope Teacher Gu and Xuemin don't pay too much attention to it!"
"Yes, yes! It was my estimate that the influence and sales of our "Harvest" were missing!" Teacher Gu here was immediately overjoyed when he heard this, nodded repeatedly and said with sobs, "Then Xiaolin, just say this Now it’s a trivial matter whether you have a pen name or not!”
After listening to what Li Xiaolin said, Feng's mother indeed underestimated the influence and sales of "Harvest".
They are all top magazines that can compete with "People's Literature". Sales volume of 200,000 copies is definitely a guaranteed sales volume for them.
It's not comparable to their "October"!
So just as Li Xiaolin said, they will definitely print more copies in the future, and the sales volume will not be much worse than that of "People's Literature".
This was also the reason why Feng’s mother, Teacher Gu, made this long-distance call to ask for help for her son-in-law’s future.
What I am optimistic about is the influence of "Harvest" in the country.
As for pen names or not?
It’s not that important anymore.
"Teacher Gu, has Xuemin published a manuscript in "Harvest"?"
Liu Xinwu pricked up his ears and finally understood. Teacher Gu made a long-distance call to Li Xiaolin from Shanghai's "Harvest" specifically to ask Li Xiaolin over there to help her son-in-law change her pen name!
Changed to "Director Qiao's appointment" is the pen name of Lao Qiao, who competes with Tianjin and those tabloids in Yanjing!
Since she changed her pen name, it means that her son-in-law Cheng Xuemin must have had a pen name in "Harvest" before!
Since he has a pen name, he must have published articles.
This made Liu Xinwu feel itchy. Why did her son-in-law secretly submit another article?
But as the ‘mother-in-law’ in their film ‘October’, they have not used ‘good son-in-law’ in a true sense so far!
"It is true that an article was just published, that one..."
Feng's mother, Teacher Gu, nodded, and when she was about to say the name of the manuscript, Liu Xinwu waved her hand to stop it and said, "Teacher Gu, please don't say it yet, let me guess, let me guess!"
"This is the issue of "Harvest", right! Then, that...is that the "Traitor" article, right?"
"The author's name is 'Lao Tian', and he was named after the scholar. It is the article "The Traitor", right?"
This is a good guess!
After all, the manuscripts in this issue of "Harvest" have indeed harvested another wave of readers.
As one of the leading magazines in the country, Liu Xinwu must have read the good articles in every issue!
With the pen name ‘Lao Tian’, a new author suddenly appeared.
If it hadn't been for the large number of newcomers and new authors who have followed the trend of "old" pseudonyms, Liu Xinwu would have guessed that it was her son-in-law Cheng Xuemin when he read the manuscript.
Now that Teacher Gu has said it so clearly, Liu Xinwu must have made it clear and guessed it!
“Yes, Old Liu, that’s the article “The Traitor”!
Mother Feng smiled and nodded. After hanging up the phone on Li Xiaolin, she dialed another number: "Hey, pick up "Yenjing Literature" for me!"
After making an appointment with "Harvest" in Shanghai, the next step was "Yenjing Literature"!
Over there, Li Qingquan also grabbed a large novella from her son-in-law, which was also recently finalized and will be published soon!
So Feng's mother had to call and ask Li Qingquan of Yanjing Literature to change his pen name.
Don't use Lao Xu from "Wrangler", go directly to Lao Qiao from "Director Qiao's Ascension to the Job".
"Teacher Gu, is this the novella in Lao Li's hand?"
Seeing Teacher Gu directly shouting about Yenching Literature, Liu Xinwu quickly knew what Teacher Gu was going to say to Li Qingquan of Yenching Literature!
Because they were in the same area of the city, the phone connection was very fast this time. After a while, Li Qingquan's voice came over there: "Hey, is it Old Liu? What? Do you want to treat me to dinner?"
"Old Li, it's me, Gu Xueqing!" Feng's mother said hello straight to the point.
"Ah! It's you, Teacher Gu!" Li Qingquan over there was surprised when he heard that it was Mother Feng, but he quickly came to his senses and said with relief, "Teacher Gu, they are really bad this time! I originally planned to visit Xuemin in person in the next two days! "
"Tell me! Teacher Gu, if you have any instructions, just follow them! As long as I, Li Qingquan, can do it, I will fight them to the end with all my strength, from the mountains of swords to the seas of fire!"
"Old Li, you haven't finalized Xuemin's novella yet, right?" Feng's mother nodded secretly. She believed what Lao Li said and asked.
But he almost frightened Li Qingquan on the other end of the phone. He quickly emphasized on the phone: "It's decided! Teacher Gu, our sample magazine is out and we are working overtime to print it!"
"It's already being printed?!" Feng's mother here also looked disappointed. Everyone knew that this week was basically the day when magazines were finalizing their drafts, so this greeting was still late!
"What's wrong, Teacher Gu!?"
Li Qingquan over there asked in a panic.
"Nothing, nothing!" Mother Feng said one after another, and then tried to ask, "Old Li, can you change Xuemin's pen name?"
"Ah?!" Li Qingquan over there was obviously taken aback. He must not have realized what Feng's mother meant!
“It’s the novella by Xue Min. If possible, I could change the pen name to ‘Lao Qiao’ instead of Lao Xu from ‘The Wrangler’. Do you think it’s possible, Lao Li?”
Let’s not talk about the issues that are already being published. It is embarrassing to have Li Qingquan of Yanjing Literature give up his main pen name of "Wrangler", Lao Xu.
After all, "Wrangler" Lao Xu is now the signature product of "Yenjing Literature", and sales are guaranteed.
Although Lao Qiao in "Director Qiao Takes the Job" is also very sensational and has a greater response.
But that was Lao Qiao from "People's Literature", not the Lao Qiao from "Yenjing Literature".
"Hey, Teacher Gu just changed his pen name?! You scared me. I thought it was Teacher Gu who suddenly changed his mind and wanted to pry off your son-in-law's manuscript?!"
"Scared me!"
Soon, Li Qingquan's false alarm came over.
Then he said again and again: "No problem, no problem, just change the pen name of 'Old Qiao', right? There is no problem at all!"
"Teacher Gu, please don't tell me. This time we really should change to the pen name of 'Old Qiao'. We have to unite the front!"
When Feng's mother heard Li Qingquan readily agreed, she couldn't help but nodded and said in a hoarse tone: "Thank you, thank you! Lao Li, thank you!"
"Hey, Teacher Gu, please don't say that! We at Yanjing Literature are the scholar's 'maternal family'. If we, the godmothers, don't support him, who will support him?"
"It's a pity that Xuemin has been too distracted recently and hasn't written a few articles. Otherwise, if Lao Zhang is involved, the effect will be even better!"
"Or... if it doesn't work out, I'll give this novella to Lao Zhang's "People's Literature"? Lao Zhang has great influence, and Mr. Wu named him!"
As he talked, Li Qingquan on the other end was so generous that he generously handed over the finalized manuscript!
"No, no! Thank you, Lao Li, thank you, Lao Li, your words are enough!"
…
(End of chapter)