Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 110 The more I think about it, the more uncomfortable I feel (6000 monthly tickets plus more)

"What's the coincidence?"

Chen Jiangong asked subconsciously, and then his expression gradually became serious, "Your play..."

Lin Chaoyang nodded. "He just told me yesterday that he was going to participate in some kind of art performance. I guess it's the event you mentioned."

Chen Jiangong showed concern, "You haven't rehearsed that play for a few days, right? If you rush it out, even if the effect is not good, then it's a waste of your script!"

"That can't be helped! Normal University doesn't have many good shows to show off. The school leaders strongly support our drama and gave us 2,000 yuan in funding. We were originally planning to give a performance report to all the students at the end of the semester, but now we can only do it for now."

Lin Chaoyang did not lie. Huang Huilin had previously asked the leaders of Yanshi University for funding. Although the school supported it, they could not just throw the money down the drain. They really wanted to give a performance of "The World's Number One Restaurant" at the end of the semester.

Lin Chaoyang spoke in a calm and unperturbed tone, but in Chen Jiangong's eyes, there were only three words to describe him: a snob.

The two of them now have a very close relationship and are as familiar as can be.

Chen Jiangong was originally very confident about "Conscience". He polished the script carefully and also asked Lin Chaoyang, Lan Tianye and Lan Yinhai for help.

After its premiere at Yan University a few days ago, it received rave reviews. After that, it was performed several more times, and almost every show was sold out. Both in terms of reputation and popularity among students, it was even better than "Beautiful Love" which was popular on the Yan University campus more than a month ago.

He is usually keen on participating in various organizations and activities. He is a visitor to Yenching universities and has a basic understanding of the situation in each school.

He is familiar with almost all the programs that each university can offer, and he boasts that the quality of "Conscience" is definitely the best among them.

But now there is the variable of Lin Chaoyang...

Chen Jiangong thought about it and felt that he was overthinking.

It is true that Lin Chaoyang is better at writing novels than him, but he has never touched a drama. The two of them had stumbled when they were polishing "Conscience". How could the script he wrote be better than his?

Besides, even if the script is better than mine, they have less time for rehearsal, so the effect will definitely not be as good as "Conscience".

After comforting himself, Chen Jiangong showed a confident smile on his face again.

"That's great, we can compete on the same stage then."

Lin Chaoyang nodded, "Okay."

December had just passed, and the trees outside the window looked like the few remaining hairs on a bald chicken's butt, standing bare in the gray sky.

It was still dark and Lin Chaoyang was running around the library.

A few months ago, he was once despised by Tao Yushu. When he saw Old Zhu jogging for exercise, he suddenly felt inspired and followed him for two days. Unexpectedly, he persisted in doing so.

Of course, Lin Chaoyang’s persistence is also inseparable from the malicious ridicule of Old Zhu.

Old Zhu doesn't talk when he runs, but as soon as he stops, it's as if he wants to blurt out the words he has been holding back while running, especially when Lin Chaoyang takes the initiative to set him up as a target and keeps hanging around in front of him every day.

The two of them get up early every day to run together, and after running they have to tease each other. After a while, they are used to this rhythm. If one day there is no quarreling, they will feel a little uncomfortable.

Look, Old Zhu didn’t come out today. He must have gone to sleep in.

After all, the weather has been getting colder these days, and Lin Chaoyang wouldn't want to go out so early unless he had to go to work.

He finished running, wiped off the sweat, and arrived at the door of the library.

In winter, there are fewer people queuing at the library entrance than at other times, but there are still many people waiting for it to open with hot breakfast.

He had just been fishing for half an hour at the library when Du Rong brought him a note saying that someone downstairs was looking for him.

After going downstairs, he saw Zhang Dening standing in the Sunshine Hall with a resentful look on her face. As soon as Lin Chaoyang approached, he heard her say, "You didn't even bother to come see me for such a long time. Do you have to make me come to you on my own initiative?"

Lin Chaoyang almost went up and covered her mouth with his hands. What kind of vicious words are you talking about?
"Can we talk nicely?"

Zhang Dening looked pleased, "It was just a joke."

"It's been a while since I last came to talk to you. I came to see you."

"It sounds like a sentence."

It was too cold outside and the library was not suitable for conversation, so Lin Chaoyang took Zhang Dening to a secluded place at the corner of the stairs.

"'The Garland under the Mountain' is very popular recently!" Zhang Dening's expression was complicated and his tone was even more complicated.

"Yeah, I didn't expect that either."

"I heard that issue of People's Literature sold 150 million copies. Didn't Renwen Publishing House think of publishing a separate volume for you?"

The more Zhang Dening spoke, the more upset he felt, as if his own cow had been borrowed to plow his neighbor's field, and when the harvest came, the neighbor's produce was more than his own.

"We'll have to wait for the single volume. The army may have some ideas."

“I heard that the sales of ‘Little Shoes’ are also good.”

Lin Chaoyang looked at Zhang Dening in surprise. The single volume of "Little Shoes" was also published by Renwen Press. Before the publication, Li Shuguang told Lin Chaoyang that the novel had been subscribed to more than 30,000 copies, which was a very impressive result.

However, during this period of time, Lin Chaoyang has not cared about the sales of single-volume books. Now the publishing house neither pays royalties nor remuneration for the number of copies printed, and publishing is a one-time deal, so he is too lazy to care.

"You know this as well?"

"It's not a secret. You'll find out if you ask around."

"How much did you sell?"

Although he usually doesn't care about it, since it's his own work published, Lin Chaoyang is naturally a little curious now that it's been mentioned. "I don't know the exact sales volume, I only know that 15 copies have been printed so far." Zhang Dening said this with a somewhat disappointed tone.

In this era, there is basically no concept of book sales statistics. Everyone estimates sales based on the publisher's print volume.

Although the data has some errors, it is generally within an acceptable range. After all, no publishing house would be stupid enough to print a bunch of unsold books and let them gather dust in the warehouse.

Lin Chaoyang calculated in his mind that it had been less than a month and a half since the publication of the single volume of "Little Shoes", and 15 copies had been printed in such a short period of time. If it took a year, at least hundreds of thousands of copies would have been printed.

Alas! In the era of royalties, this single volume alone would be enough to make him a lot of money.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt disadvantaged, and the more uncomfortable he felt.

Damn! Why is it so difficult for working people to make some money at any time?

Not only was he upset, the editors of Yenching Literature and Art, including Zhang Dening, felt even worse than him.

"Little Shoes" was very popular before, and everyone missed "The Garland under the Mountain". Although it was a pity, it was acceptable.

Because "The Garland under the Mountain" itself is a military-themed novel, not only does it have a relatively narrow audience, it also has natural shortcomings in the evaluation system of the literary world.

But who could have imagined that "The Garland under the Mountain" would be so popular for three months, and the sales of the eighth issue of "People's Literature" directly exceeded 1.5 million copies. This not only set a sales record for "People's Literature", but also broke the sales ceiling of domestic literary journals.

Needless to say, the novel is very influential, and has tens of millions of readers.

In later generations, there were shared bicycles and shared power banks, but in this era, everyone shares books.

The readers of a magazine include not only the owner himself, but also his relatives, classmates, friends, colleagues... It can be said that behind every copy of the magazine sold is a reading network of contemporary literature lovers.

Zhao Mengsheng, Liang Sanxi, Jin Kailai... The vivid characters in the novel have become hot topics among readers and have become idols of many passionate young people.

Especially in the army, the influence of this novel is even stronger. You should know that the army had previously purchased 50,000 copies of "People's Literature". In just a few months, these magazines were widely circulated among the companies and platoons in the army.

Because the novel is about the deeds and characters of grassroots troops, grassroots officers and soldiers feel more immersive when reading it. Coupled with the novel's passionate war, sacrifice and overflowing heroism, the novel has won the love and recognition of countless grassroots officers and soldiers in a short period of time.

Especially those officers and soldiers who have participated in the war, because of their unique personal experience, they can empathize with the content of the novel and have a strong resonance.

During this period of time, among the thousands of letters from readers, a considerable number were sent from the military.

It is a pity that Lin Chaoyang is too busy to respond to the enthusiasm of these readers one by one. He can only select a few of them to write back to express his gratitude.

"The Garland at the Foot of the Mountain" was published for several months and its popularity was unique in 1979.

Even "Little Shoes", which attracted great attention and discussion in the literary world and readers a few months ago, cannot compare to it.

Military-themed novels have their natural shortcomings and drawbacks, but they also have their strengths, in that their popularity often represents mainstream public opinion.

Once this type of novel becomes popular, it cannot be compared with ordinary literary works, because its audience has surpassed the original readership of literary works and become a wider range of people.

The only thing that makes people like Zhang Dening happy is that in the literary world, the reputation of "Little Shoes" is still higher than that of "The Garland under the Mountain".

The evaluation system for military themes in the domestic literary world has always been based on the official system, and the impetus from within the literary community is not strong. Although "The Garland under the Mountain" has a good reputation, it still has not escaped this barrier.

In October, Feng Mu published a weighty review in the Literary Gazette. After that, several critics with official identities published review articles, all of which gave high praise. However, considering the popularity of "The Garland under the Mountain", the reaction of the literary community can only be regarded as lukewarm.

However, if we consider that the single volume of "Little Shoes" was also published by Renwen Press, the editors of "Yenching Literature and Art" will feel even more uncomfortable. They are simply making wedding dresses for others.

"That's quite a lot." After adjusting his mindset, Lin Chaoyang said with a sigh.

Zhang Dening felt upset as he spoke, so he decided to change the subject, "Do you have any ideas recently?"

"No." Lin Chaoyang said simply.

"No? You submitted the manuscript of "The Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain" four or five months ago, right?"

Zhang Dening's face was full of surprise, and his eyes were full of suspicion.

With the experience of "The Garland under the Mountain", she has now become a frightened bird.

"Really not. I've been working on a drama lately and haven't had any time." Lin Chaoyang explained.

"Why are you tinkering with the play?"

"Help my wife."

Lin Chaoyang's words made Zhang Dening fall into silence. The look he gave Lin Chaoyang was a mixture of admiration and contempt. He admired that he actually had the talent to write a drama, and he contemptuous that he, a novelist, actually took up writing a script instead of doing his job properly.

"Novels are the foundation of your life." Zhang Dening seemed to be afraid that Lin Chaoyang would get too excited in the drama circle and forget his roots.

"Just put on a student play."

Zhang Dening nodded, "Okay, I'll come back later."

"it is good."

"By the way, what was the name of the drama you arranged for your wives and others?" Zhang Dening asked before leaving.

“The best building in the world!”

"The No. 1 Restaurant in the World? It's a student play with a pretty domineering name." Zhang Dening muttered.

(End of this chapter)