Chapter 146: Not too much, not too much, just five front-page headlines (please order all)
"Old Chen, you are here!"
Early the next morning, Cheng Xuemin was pushed out of the warm quilt by the impatient woman, and went to hand in the manuscript to her and get the royalties back.
When I first arrived at the Yan University Library, I saw that Chen Shumin was indeed here and said hello!
“Xuemin, I said it’s time for you to come find me!”
When Chen Shumin saw Cheng Xuemin coming over, his face was also happy. During the previous winter vacation, Chen Shumin had greeted Cheng Xuemin. During the winter vacation, he was on duty in the library every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Today happens to be Friday. Calculating the time, Cheng Xuemin should hand in the manuscript in his hand!
Bei Dao and Mang Ke are already finalizing the draft. The only thing missing is Cheng Xuemin, who is the headliner. He has not yet submitted the draft.
It was difficult to urge him, knowing that Cheng Xuemin was in trouble during this period.
Then he also said: "I have read all the criticisms in Tianjin Daily these days. What do you think, Xuemin?"
"How come I haven't seen you speak out against them in public?"
Chen Shumin, who was extremely angry, had already written a counterattack and supported the article and submitted it to the People's Daily. He just didn't know if it would be accepted. So far, he has not received a response.
Therefore, Chen Shumin did not mention this to Cheng Xuemin. He only asked Cheng Xuemin himself why he did not speak out.
Old Chen also read and paid attention to the newspapers in Yanjing, but he did not see Cheng Xuemin himself speaking out once.
They were all written by supporters, so their influence was somewhat lacking.
"Old Chen, you are talking about Tianjin Daily! In fact, there is no need to respond so seriously. Those who are clean should clean themselves up!"
Cheng Xuemin smiled bitterly. He didn't say anything!
His mother-in-law has helped her unite several magazines and newspapers, and they have united the front and are about to work together!
Calculating the time, "Harvest" in Shanghai was published first, and the magazine may have been on the railway train to and from Yanjing.
It will be followed closely by "Yenjing Literature" and "People's Literature". The sharpest article is in the mother-in-law's "October", which will be published next week.
So next week, not to mention the entire Yanjing City, the entire country will be extremely lively. In addition, the New Year is coming next week, so it really shouldn’t be too exciting to have these articles come out together.
"By the way, I came here to deliver the manuscript today! The High School Affiliated to Yanda was delayed for two days because of the final exam!"
Immediately afterwards, Cheng Xuemin took out the first draft of "My Corps Years" from his bag and handed it to Chen Shumin.
"You! You just respect Xiao Shenwei too much, just like Lao Feng!"
Chen Shumin listened to this boy's calmness and calmness, so he could only stand aside and take the manuscript handed over by Cheng Xuemin. His hand was heavy and he asked in surprise: "So many?"
I weighed it a bit and realized that with so many and thick drafts, it would cost 50,000 to 60,000 words, right?
But didn’t we just make an appointment for a short story at that time?
But for the thickness of this manuscript, it should be a short novella, right?
Chen Shumin immediately showed a look of shock, secretly thinking that this student Cheng Xuemin was really willing to give up, and he would take out a novella of 50,000 to 60,000 words as soon as he said it!
That's it...
Let’s also see that the other two people in charge of “Today”, Mang Ke and Bei Dao, can directly serve as deputy editor-in-chief of Cheng Xuemin. What other opinions can they have!
Fifty or sixty thousand words!
Given Cheng Xuemin’s current status in major newspapers and magazines, the manuscript fee is only seven yuan per thousand words.
So the price is four to five hundred yuan.
"This is just the first draft!" Cheng Xuemin nodded and told Chen Shumin again.
"First draft?! Xuemin, what do you mean?"
What Cheng Xuemin said about the first draft once again puzzled Chen Shumin. Hearing his tone, there could be a second draft, or a third draft?
"I wrote a long article for our "Today". The length is expected to be about 350,000 words. We publish each issue at 60,000 words, and we can publish it slowly for a year!"
"By then, the influence of our "Today" should also gradually increase!"
Immediately afterwards, Cheng Xuemin calmly spoke out his thoughts, but in Chen Shumin's ears, it was really deafening and the words would not stop until he was shocked!
"What!?"
"Xuemin, you want to write a long story for our "Today", not a short story!?"
"More than three hundred and fifty thousand words?!"
"Oh my God! Xuemin, are you serious?"
At this time, Chen Shumin was completely dumbfounded, shocked and bewildered. He thought that Cheng Xuemin gave them the entire novella of 50,000 to 60,000 words, which was a huge investment that made them feel ashamed.
After all, Cheng Xuemin's current status in the literary world is there, even though he is only a new author in his early twenties.
But I really don’t have too many masterpieces and influential manuscripts in my hands.
Therefore, asking Cheng Xuemin to come to their "Today" as deputy editor is really condescending.
To know!
Lao Xie even set out the conditions for the formal establishment of a librarian at Yanda University, and his attempts to recruit Cheng Xuemin were unsuccessful.
But their "Today" is so virtuous that they only gave a deputy editor in name only and then took him down!
Even better now!
The project is a long novel of 350,000 words. If he gives it to his mother-in-law's October, or Yenching Literature, how much royalties will it cost?
Seven yuan for a thousand words means two thousand three to four hundred yuan!
move!
After Chen Shumin was stunned, his heart and face were filled with emotion. He was so moved that he would die for his confidant.
At the beginning, Chen Shumin and Mang Ke had the same goals and wanted to start a magazine of their own, so they thought of asking Cheng Xuemin, the author of "Wrangler", Lao Xu, to make an appointment!
But who would have thought that now they have dug up a treasure and invited the true god!
Their "Today" has Wrangler Lao Xu personally in charge, plus he has a long novel of 350,000 words!
It’s hard for them to take off “Today” even if they don’t want to.
"The manuscript is here. Old Chen, please review it first! I have to go to my yard to take a look. I will come back at noon to listen to your opinions!"
Cheng Xuemin put down the manuscript and went directly to the new house to have a look. The masonry workers were leaving today, so he had to go and have a look.
"Okay, okay! Then let me read it first! If you want to review it, Xuemin, please don't bury me!"
"With the quality of your manuscript, even if you send it to "People's Literature", Lao Zhang will directly approve it without reading it. Do I dare to review your manuscript?"
Chen Shumin should not be too exaggerated to laugh at himself, so as to praise Cheng Xuemin's manuscript.
"Old Chen, please don't flatter me like this!"
"Okay, let's go!"
Cheng Xuemin smiled at Old Chen. Although Old Chen's compliment was indeed exaggerated, it actually seemed to be true!
Who wouldn’t want to grab Cheng Xuemin’s current manuscript?
Just wait!
After their "Today" was published years later, his second and third drafts of "My Years in the Corps" were indispensable to Yanjing Literature and his mother-in-law in October, who were scrambling to pry the manuscript away.
After all, "Today" is just a small magazine that has just been launched. Can it outshine those big publications with deep pockets?
Especially my mother-in-law!
They will definitely scold Cheng Xuemin for not doing his job properly. He refused to give them such a good long article in "October" and submitted it to some small magazine with no reputation or influence.
Especially because this is her son-in-law’s first long novel, and it was given to an outsider, it would really piss the mother-in-law off to death.
"Okay, okay, walk slowly, walk slowly, Xuemin!"
Chen Shumin held the manuscript in his hand like a treasure and waved to Cheng Xuemin without raising his head.
But suddenly he remembered something, and he called Cheng Xuemin again and said, "By the way, Xuemin, do you know a female student named Gong Yin?"
"They should be our correspondence students from Yan University!"
"Gong Yin?"
When Cheng Xuemin heard this, he actually turned around, looked at Chen Shumin with a surprised look on his face, and asked, "We know him! We have met him several times in our library before!"
He knew Gong Yin so well that he counted the time since that time when Gong Yin took the initiative to invite Cheng Xuemin to watch a movie together. After he declined, the girl ran away with a shameless face and didn't seem to see her much after that.
Cheng Xuemin was a shy girl, and they were too embarrassed to see him again, so they all avoided him.
Later, after the winter vacation, Cheng Xuemin rarely came to the library, let alone never bumped into him.
However, he did not expect that the library administrator Lao Chen would suddenly mention Gong Yin to him, which surprised Cheng Xuemin.
"That's just acquaintance!"
Chen Shumin nodded and continued: "Last Friday, when their last class of the correspondence course before the year was over, the female student came over and sat in the same seat where you usually sit. I really didn't pay much attention!"
"Until she suddenly asked me about you last Friday, I knew that the female student must have been waiting for you!"
"It's a pity that your kid hasn't been here much since your wife went on winter vacation!" Chen Shumin finished speaking in one breath, then ran back to his work station, took out an envelope and handed it over, saying: "Well, that one is called Gong Ying didn’t wait for you, so he left you a letter!”
"Xuemin, are you okay with me?"
At the end of the day, Chen Shumin didn't forget to eat something. Could it be that this guy Cheng Xuemin stole the heart of a female student?
This is very dangerous, so when Chen Shumin mentioned that Cheng Xuemin and his wife were on winter vacation, he was particularly serious.
"What can I have to do with her?!" Cheng Xuemin's mouth twitched twice, and he pretended not to care and said, "Isn't it just like you, Lao Chen? My loess Gaopo vest was torn by her. !”
"It's okay! Loess Gaopo's vest? What kind of vest?" Chen Shumin asked in confusion.
"That's what the pen name means. I happened to receive a sample magazine from Yanhe Literature that day, and she discovered it!"
"Later, word spread all over the campus that Loess Gaopo was also written by a student at Yan'an University, and she was the one who spread the word!"
"So, consider me the first reader of "Loess Plateau"!"
Cheng Xuemin pinched the envelope he received, unable to guess whether Nan Gongyong would leave him a letter or what he wrote.
“That means we won’t get to know each other if we don’t fight!”
Chen Shumin squinted his eyes and reminded Cheng Xuemin, "Xuemin, you are now considered a famous figure in the Yan Dynasty. There must be many female readers who are following you around. Take it easy!"
The only thing that's missing is Cheng Xuemin, but don't let any news about his lifestyle issues come up, otherwise you'll be shot if you accuse him of bleeding. It's really not a joke!
"We just don't know each other. I haven't settled the accounts with her yet. How dare she keep waiting for me in the library?"
"Okay, Lao Chen, let's talk about it later!"
Of course Cheng Xuemin heard what Lao Chen said to him, but he was really wronged.
Isn’t my daughter-in-law more fragrant than her? My own ones are not very developed, so I don’t have the time to watch what’s in the bowl, so just stare at what’s in the pot, okay?
After leaving the library, Cheng Xuemin looked at the envelope in his hand. It was sealed and there was no sign of it being opened.
Dang even tore it open roughly and took out the letter inside.
It shouldn’t be considered a love letter, right?
Gong Yin said in the letter that he had not seen Cheng Xuemin and missed him very much;
She also said that the correspondence course at Yanda was over, and she had to go back to her hometown in Jiangsu to celebrate the New Year. She hoped to see him in the library as soon as the semester started after the new year.
Finally, in the last line of the letter, I left a phone number for Cheng Xuemin!
This...
Cheng Xuemin really couldn't decide whether this was a love letter or not!
However, this letter should not be seen by the Feng family. Cheng Xuemin knew this very well and did not dare to do so.
The most sensible thing for Cheng Xuemin to do now is to tear it up and throw it away, pretending that such a letter does not exist.
But somehow he stuffed the letter back into the envelope, put it in his pocket, and went to the yard to have a look first.
Although Cheng Xuemin didn't come over to supervise the work in the past two days, he would come over every afternoon to take a look.
Knowing that this place is officially closed today, it can be moved in after some cleaning.
good!
Although the bathroom is not as luxurious as the one in the Qianmen Hotel, nor as exquisite as the one in the Overseas Chinese Apartment, it is fortunately simple and practical.
Cheng Xuemin also tried the flush toilet, which was similar to the one used in later generations and was very smooth.
I just don’t know if the septic tank will leak water. I’m not a professional. I can only wait and see after using it for a while.
But it’s not a big problem!
Even if it is easy to rebel, you can just clean the septic tank several times. Anyway, Yelang here in Yanjing City still remains the same as before, every day.
There is no need to talk about the bathtub. Simply install it and fix the water outlet pipe. When I think about taking a shower, I just boil water and pour it in.
It’s a pity that there is one missing bathroom artifact in this era, the bathroom heater!
It won't be cold when you take a bath, but it will inevitably be cold when you get in and take off your clothes.
But it’s not a big problem either!
After washing and wiping it, he went straight under the quilt. Cheng Xuemin made it into a suite anyway, so it shouldn't be too comfortable.
I also tried the shower. Because the tap water pressure was not enough and it was not a pressurized shower, the water sprayed out was a bit unsatisfactory and the shower would not spray at all.
When we wait for summer, we might as well remove the shower nozzle and use it as a faucet to spray water. The water will be strong and it will feel good!
Then there are the cobblestones on the ground, which I didn’t even notice when they were not paved at first.
Such a shop now!
Moreover, the master mason is obviously very skilled, and he even laid out several patterns with him. Not to mention stepping on it, it looks like the same thing, and it will not be worse than the effect of floor tiles.
Therefore, the modern bathroom that Cheng Xuemin wanted to improve was barely satisfactory.
After settling the wages with the three master masons and removing their tool trucks, the yard had to be cleaned.
The whole family has a rest on Sunday, and everyone comes over to clean it. We can move in almost next week and celebrate the New Year.
When Cheng Xuemin locked the door and returned to the Yanda Library, Chen Shumin's eyes became hot when he saw that, and he asked anxiously: "Xuemin, where is the back?! Where is the manuscript behind?"
"Don't say that you didn't write a single word later. Please read everything you have written to me!"
Okay, this is another offline and face-to-face reminder, right? ?
“I really don’t have a word for this. I just finished writing it and handed it over to you. I actually haven’t thought about the rest of the plot!”
Still the same sentence!
Similar to the writing of online novels in later generations, it is useless for readers to prompt for updates. The author himself knows what exactly this chapter is going to be about at most an hour before the readers.
As for what Chen Shumin wants to do now? Sorry, there really isn't a word.
"Xuemin, you are a liar! You broke the chapter so harshly, obviously it was intentional. There must be a manuscript later!"
Chen Shumin was fascinated, and it was also Cheng Xuemin's fault. In order to hook the readers, he did break the 60,000-word chapter at key points.
I'm sure whoever reads it will know. After all, their "Today" is probably a quarterly magazine. If they don't break chapters more severely, how can they retain readers?
If you wait until the next issue, readers will have completely forgotten the previous content, so who will buy from you?
"No, no! Lao Chen, there really isn't a word!" Cheng Xuemin waved his hands repeatedly and asked, "So, Lao Chen, I should have passed this manuscript, right?"
"Okay, okay, Xuemin, you are such a ruthless person!" Chen Shumin knew that there would be a follow-up, but this kid even kept his appetite in check, so he just didn't take it out. There was nothing he could do!
I could only point at this kid and sigh.
However, he quickly calmed down and said sternly, "The manuscript is so well written, so sending us "Today" is really a waste of talent!"
"Why don't you, Xuemin, stick to your original plan and give us a short story?"
"This "My Corps Years", you should send it to "People's Literature", it will definitely become a hit!"
"At the same time, we can also give Tianjin Daily a hard counterattack. What do you think, Xuemin?"
Chen Shumin is indeed not pretentious. He feels that giving them this long novel "Today" is indeed a waste!
You can’t be too selfish as a person!
This is a critical moment for Cheng Xuemin to compete with Tianjin Daily. If this long piece can be published in the influential "People's Literature", it will definitely become an instant hit and give him a fierce counterattack.
So it really shouldn’t be too wasteful to publish it in their little unknown magazine.
"Old Chen, in fact, this issue of "People's Literature" is going to feature a novella of mine, so you don't have to worry about me, I have my own plans!"
Cheng Xuemin was very moved after hearing what Lao Chen said. They are all good teachers who treat him sincerely and think about him!
"What?! You have another novella for People's Literature?! Xuemin, how many more manuscripts have you written during this time?!"
Chen Shumin was once again shocked and speechless.
"No more, no more. There is a medium in this issue of People's Literature, there is also a medium in Yanjing Literature, my mother-in-law has a short story in October, plus the short story of Balao's "Harvest", there are four. Manuscript!"
"Oh, by the way, if our "Today" and "My Corps Years" also count, no more, no more, just these five manuscripts!"
Cheng Xuemin was unfazed and scolded the manuscript he was about to publish in an understatement.
But when he heard that, Chen Shumin... was immediately shaken by the wind!
……
Dear adoptive fathers, please give me a monthly ticket, thank you!
(End of chapter)