Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 531 530 “It is not the readers or the poets who have fallen, but the times that have changed!”

The soul of the entire Shengshi Group is not the apparent Zhao Hongjun, but Fang Minghua in Xijing.

Let's listen to his advice.

The phone on the desk suddenly rang. Shu Bin picked up the phone and heard a familiar voice coming from the other end of the receiver.

It belongs to Zhao Hongjun.

"General Shu, I am from the Red Army."

"Mr. Zhao, have you let Minghua see the poetry collection?" Shu Bin didn't bother with politeness and went straight to the point.

"After reading it, he thought it could be published, but he offered his own opinions."

It's good enough to be published.

Shu Bin finally felt relieved and asked again quickly.

"Mr. Zhao, what do you think?"

"He said that your plan to print 15 copies is a bit too few, and suggested that you print 50 copies directly for the first time to reduce the impact of piracy on our revenue."

50 copies!

Oh my goodness.

This Fang Minghua is braver than me!

Shu Bin was shocked, but he quickly made a decision: "Okay, we'll print 50 copies!"

A month later, "The Tide of Youth" was officially published.

It is already mid-September. It rained yesterday and the hot weather in Xijing finally became cooler.

Fang Minghua was in Lei Xuecheng's bookstore at this time.

Song Tangtang and several subordinates from Shengshi Film and Television have rushed to Liushudian Village in Baiyin, Gansu Province. The company, including Fang Minghua and his wife, donated more than 10 yuan in cash, including desks and chairs, textbooks, books, teaching equipment, and cash to the village primary school in the name of Project Hope to improve school conditions and subsidize some poor students.

She said she had never been to Baiyin and wanted to see the place where Fang Minghua had worked in the countryside. Her two children were in kindergarten, so Fang Minghua had a lot of free time. Sometimes she would come to the bookstore in Leixuecheng to sit down.

Chat and listen to the songs played in Leixuecheng Bookstore.

Fang Minghua discovered that Lei Xuecheng had a special liking for Luo Dayou's songs. When he passed by here, he would often listen to him playing Luo Dayou's songs, including some unpopular ones like "Impression of My Hometown" and "Song of the Wine".
But today, the bookstore is playing Zheng Zhihua's latest album "Young Times":
All the laughter and tears are spent like this

I will always remember that period of time
Maybe I have changed a lot now.
At least I never changed the me who dreams

The song is cheerful and the lyrics are catchy.

This is also one of the few songs by Zheng Zhihua that is so full of youthfulness.

Sitting on a chair in the bookstore, drinking tea, watching people coming and going on the street under the autumn sun, and listening to this song is a unique experience.

Lei Xuecheng was sitting opposite him.

Perhaps because he is about to become a father, Lei Xuecheng looks much more mature and stable than before.

My daughter-in-law Wu Meimei was sitting at the counter as the boss with her big belly.

"She's not going to work?" Fang Minghua looked at Wu Meimei and asked Lei Xuecheng.

"No, she's not going. The textile factory is not as profitable as before, and the work is tiring and hard. I've already arranged for her to take a leave of absence without pay. This bookstore can support the two of them." Lei Xuecheng said with a smile.

Lei Xuecheng's bookstore has doubled in size. In addition to the original two storefronts, the two next door rooms have also been rented. Serious literature, popular books, reading magazines are classified into different categories. A reading area is also set up in the back room, with tables, chairs, benches, and tea for readers to rest and read - of course, only those who have already purchased books can enjoy this.

For this reason, Lei Xuecheng was too busy to handle it alone, so he hired two girls to work as shop assistants.

The two sat at the table and chatted. There were three books on the table - "Skywalker", "Fragments of Civilization" and the recently published "The Tide of Youth".

Another reason why Fang Minghua likes to come here is that he wants to hear Lei Xuecheng's opinion on the newly published book, which can be regarded as a survey of salesmen and readers.

"Minghua, both of your books have sold well. You have maintained your original writing level. They are both worth reading from a literary perspective. This book, Fragments of Civilization, in particular, opened my eyes to the fact that prose can be written in this way."

Lei Xuecheng spoke crisply and clearly.

"But I never expected that this book, The Tide of Youth, would actually sell well. Just two days ago, I tried to buy 30 copies, and they were all sold out! I have to buy more."

At this point, Lei Xuecheng sighed: "Minghua, do you call this a poem?"

"Why not call it poetry?" Fang Minghua asked back.

"If this is called poetry, and I wrote like this back then, wouldn't I be a poet too?!" Lei Xuecheng said.

Lei Xuecheng was a passionate young man who loved literature and poetry. In order to see his idol Bei Dao, he even evaded the ticket and went to Beijing. It was during this time that he ran into Fang Minghua on the train and got to know each other.

But that was ten years ago.

After hearing what Lei Xuecheng said, Fang Minghua took a sip of tea and smiled slightly: "Back then, this thing would never be published. If you wrote it and wanted to publish it, people would laugh at you. But now you can!"

"So do you think it's the readers who have fallen, or the poets who have fallen?" Lei Xuecheng asked again.

"The question you asked is so complicated that it's hard to answer."

"I know!" Wu Meimei, who was sitting at the bar next to them listening to the two people chatting, suddenly spoke up.

"Meimei, what do you know?" Lei Xuecheng turned around and looked at his wife.

"It is not the readers or the poets who have degenerated, but the times have changed! Now it is not "One billion people, nine hundred million are businessmen, and one hundred million are still trying to open a business; one billion people, nine hundred million fail, and one hundred million are still looking for a job"

"Nowadays, everyone is busy making money, so who has the time to read those obscure and difficult-to-understand poems? Wang Guozhen's poems are simple, straightforward, and can give people a little comfort and touch, so of course they are popular."

Lei Xuecheng was stunned by his wife's words, and he let out a long sigh after a while.

"That makes sense."

He smiled and said to Fang Minghua, "To be honest, I didn't plan to buy this poetry collection at first, but Meimei insisted that I buy some. I didn't expect it to sell so well."

"What Meimei said makes sense. Serious literature is not as popular as it was in the past few years, especially poetry," Fang Minghua did not deny it.

"But there are still people who read excellent poems. For example, many people like Haizi's collection of poems Facing the Sea, Spring Flowers Bloom."

Last year, Haizi attempted suicide by lying on the railway tracks. After being rescued by Fang Minghua, Xichuan and others obtained the consent of Haizi's parents and sent him to the Yenching Mental Hospital for treatment. At the same time, Luo Yihe and Xichuan sorted out Haizi's poems. The first collection of short poems, "Facing the Sea with Spring Flowers Blooming", collected about 70 short poems written by Haizi over the years.

Including "Facing the Sea, Spring Flowers Blooming", "September", "Four Sisters", "Spring, Ten Haizis Are Resurrected", etc., jointly published by Shengshi Books and Hainan Publishing House.

Luo Yihe also annotated some poems and provided the authors' creative backgrounds, which were very popular among readers. Fang Minghua even bought a copy to read.

Lei Xuecheng nodded after hearing what Fang Minghua said: "Haizi is indeed a talented poet. The more I read, the more I feel his greatness. It's a pity..."

Lei Xuecheng stopped talking, and the two of them didn't bring up the topic again.

(End of this chapter)