Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 442 Reflect on Yourself
Over this period of time, Huacheng Publishing House has put a lot of effort into the publication of "The Truman Show".

First, a saturation wave of book and magazine advertising was carried out in major domestic literary journals, and then a new book launch conference was held. The guests included dozens of authoritative media in South China, and even two media outlets in Shanghai attended.

As Lin Chaoyang's new work after "Crossing the Guandong", the preview and reports of "The Truman Show" immediately attracted strong attention from the general readers, literary circles and even the cultural circles.

Many people have been looking forward to it since they saw the advertisements for the book. After the press conference two days ago, the news effect continued to ferment, and its influence covered half of China, with great momentum.

So when the news came out that Lin Chaoyang was going to hold a book signing event at the Xinhua Bookstore on Nanjing Road, it immediately caused an uproar among the literature lovers in Shanghai.

Countless readers were moved by the news and were eager to celebrate.

The endless line of readers on Nanjing Road is a testament to the readers' recognition of Lin Chaoyang and his influence in the contemporary literary world. It has become a scene on Nanjing Road, the most prosperous commercial street in China.

The signing session continued in the afternoon and even attracted reporters from Shanghai TV stations.

This time the reporters were not contacted by Huacheng Publishing House, but they came here spontaneously after learning about the news on Nanjing Road.

Two reporters from the TV station came, one was responsible for appearing on camera and the other was responsible for filming. They interviewed the group of readers and wanted to find Lin Chaoyang.

Unfortunately, Lin Chaoyang's pen was about to spark, so he had no time to pay attention to them!

While eating in the evening, Li Shifei discussed with Lin Chaoyang, "I'll tell them to wait until the evening to accept the interview."

"Alright."

Li Shifei added: "Chaoyang, there are too many readers coming this time, so we may not be able to finish today."

This was also the first time that Huacheng Publishing House held a book signing event. They borrowed from foreign book promotion methods and did not know how to set an entry threshold. They honestly thought that they would sign as many books as the number of readers who came.

Lin Chaoyang understood these principles, but he also knew that readers would queue up for a whole day, which showed how sincere they were. What did signing a few more names mean?

"Then why don't you coordinate with the bookstore and hold it for another day?" Lin Chaoyang said.

Li Shifei immediately responded, "It's easy for the bookstore to talk to you, as long as you agree."

Lin Chaoyang looked at Li Shifei speechlessly. So the pit has been dug, and they’re just waiting for me to jump in, right?
He was not angry. After all, a book signing event was also a form of publicity, not to mention a way to give back to readers.

Come anyway.

The book signing lasted until eight o'clock in the evening, but there were only a few readers queuing in front of the Xinhua Bookstore and on Nanjing Road.

It’s not that there are no readers, but those readers waiting in line at the back were persuaded to leave by the bookstore staff, who told them that the book signing will continue tomorrow.

But there is still a small group of readers who stayed here. While others have left, they stayed. They will be the first group to get signed books tomorrow.

When Lin Chaoyang came out of the bookstore, he saw these readers. There were not many people there, so he stopped and stood on the side of the road to sign autographs for them.

The readers who were able to stay at this time were Lin Chaoyang’s most loyal readers. They did not expect that staying would bring them such an unexpected surprise.

After receiving the signed books, everyone's face was filled with joy and excitement, and some female college students even had tears in their eyes.

They surrounded Lin Chaoyang and talked for a long time before letting him go.

On the way back to the hotel, Li Shifei recalled the readers' performance just now and said with emotion: "Your readers are really fanatical!"

"Fanatical?" Lin Chaoyang was stunned for a moment when he heard this word. It seemed that it was indeed a bit like the scene of picking up geigei at the airport in later generations.

Li Shifei said to himself again: "But this is all because of the readers' love for you! It proves that your writing is good and has been recognized by everyone."

The two returned to the hotel, where reporters from Shanghai TV had been waiting for half a day.

When he just arrived in Shanghai yesterday, Lin Chaoyang had already been interviewed by two Shanghai reporters. However, television media has a greater publicity effect, so it is of course better to have this opportunity.

After the half-hour interview, Lin Chaoyang sent the reporters away and collapsed on the bed exhausted, falling asleep.

In the next few days, Lin Chaoyang repeated this life.

Back in Yanjing, which can be regarded as Lin Chaoyang's home court, the media are more supportive and the readers are more enthusiastic.

In addition, during the book signing events in the past few days, no matter which city they were in, many writer friends came to support Lin Chaoyang, which fully verified Lin Chaoyang's good popularity.

Unfortunately, he was busy signing books and only exchanged a few quick greetings.

Now that the signing event has finally ended, Lin Chaoyang calculated that it took a full nine days, including the time spent on the road.

He was glad that he did not listen to Huacheng Publishing House at that time. If he had to travel to more than a dozen cities, it would not have taken even a month, and he would have been seriously injured if not dead.

After finishing the book signing event, Li Shifei returned to Guangzhou, while Lin Chaoyang returned to Xiaoliubukou Hutong.

He is not Dayu, so he can't just pass by his home without going in.

In a blink of an eye, it has been more than three months since the couple passed away. Lin Erchun and Zhang Guiqin were very happy to see him back. They asked about his well-being and their attitude was much better than when Lin Chaoyang was at home. This deeply demonstrated what distance creates beauty.

While eating the meal prepared by Zhang Guiqin, Lin Erchun told Lin Chaoyang about the situation in the West Courtyard during the time he was away.

Before leaving, Lin Chaoyang handed the key to the west courtyard to Li Tuo. In the past few months, one or two writers from other places would move in every few days.

These people were quite polite when they arrived. They all came to greet the old couple Lin Erchun first, and some even brought some gifts.

Li Tuo and his friends would organize gatherings every now and then, and the West Courtyard has been very popular over the past few months.

Said Cao Cao, Cao Cao.

While the father and son were talking, Li Tuo and Chen Jiangong came to visit together.

Previously, Lin Chaoyang held a two-day autograph session in Yanjing, and Li Tuo and his group made a special trip to show their support.

After chatting for a while, Li Tuo joked: "You really are the center of attention wherever you go!"

"You mean the book signing event?"

The book signing event itself is just a niche event, but Lin Chaoyang’s current fame and influence are too great.

After several signing events with more than one or two thousand people attending, coupled with publicity from the media in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Yanjing, it actually sparked a huge wave of public opinion.

Of course, there are two other important reasons.

First, "The Truman Show" is a new book and readers are eagerly awaiting it; second, Huacheng Publishing House did a good job in pre-promotion.

"It's more than just a book signing event! Didn't you win an award in Hong Kong? Popular Cinema reported it, and The Truman Show was even made into a movie in Hong Kong."

When Li Tuo and the others went to the book signing event yesterday, Lin Chaoyang was very busy, so they only chatted for a few minutes. Now they finally have time to communicate.

“It was all a coincidence.”

Li Tuo looked like he didn't believe it, "I think you had planned this long ago, no wonder you went to Hong Kong, are you going abroad again in the future?"

After chatting for a while, Chen Jiangong asked Lin Chaoyang, "Chaoyang, are you going to leave again after you come back this time?"

"Let's go. Yushu is still in Hong Kong. We'll stay there for a month or so and then we'll be back."

After listening to his words, Chen Jiangong said, "It's good that you're back. When you're not here, our gatherings always feel a little lacking."

Lin Chaoyang laughed at himself, "I didn't expect that I would be so useful. I heard that you guys were having a good time together when I wasn't around, right?"

"It's good, but the food is not good enough. You should come back quickly." Li Tuo said.

Lin Chaoyang was speechless, "I guess they are short of a cook."

"No, we're in need of a good cook," Li Tuo corrected.

"Fuck off!"

After resting for a day in Xiaoliubukou Hutong, Lin Chaoyang drove to Langrun Lake Apartment the next day.

In the past two days, Tao's father and mother have seen the news about Lin Chaoyang's book signing event. They are very happy to meet each other after a long time, and they can't help but care about their two daughters who are still far away in Hong Kong.

Especially Tao's mother. Although she always had a bad tone towards Tao Yushu and her sister when she was at home, she really felt uncomfortable with the fact that the sisters had been away for several months.

She first asked about Tao Yushu's situation, and then asked Tao Yumo.

Not sure if there was something wrong with what Lin Chaoyang conveyed, but after listening to it, Mother Tao muttered, "This damn girl is so heartless! She doesn't even miss home!"

During the meal, Tao's father said that Zhu Guangqian was sick again and his cerebral thrombosis had relapsed.

He has been staying in the hospital for the past two months. In the afternoon, Lin Chaoyang drove to the hospital to visit him.

When he arrived at the hospital, Lin Chaoyang met Zhu Guangqian. Compared with the last time he saw him during the Chinese New Year, the old comrade looked much worse.

According to my aunt Xi Jinwu, the doctor analyzed the cause of his illness as excessive work and fatigue in recent years.

Zhu Guangqian has always worked very hard, especially in the past few years after the end of Buzz Buzz Buzz.

Every time Lin Chaoyang went to his house, he could always see him sitting at the table, smoking a pipe and writing non-stop.

Especially after the buzzing ended, he, who was over 80 years old, seemed to have burst out with an amazing fighting spirit. In the past few years, he translated, wrote and proofread more than four million words of manuscripts.

Among them are classic works of Western aesthetics such as Hegel's "Aesthetics", Lessing's "Laocoon", Vico's "The New Science", as well as "The Aesthetic Gleaners" and "Letters on Beauty".

His output is so abundant that even his juniors who are thirty or forty years younger than him would be ashamed when they see it.

This is an old man who is nearly ninety years old!

But people are not made of iron after all. It is not unfair for Zhu Guangqian to be ill as he is still working at such a high intensity at such an old age.

The old comrade is not in danger of life for the time being, but his mind is sometimes clear and sometimes confused.

Lin Chaoyang sat in the ward for a while. Zhu Guangqian's mind became much clearer. When he saw him, he asked why Tao Yushu didn't come.

"Yushu is in Hong Kong and will be back next month."

"Oh, I forgot. Lao Tao also told me about this." Zhu Guangqian lamented his current memory and pulled Lin Chaoyang aside to talk about Go.

"What's going on? Is your Chess Master not working? The Chinese team has lost five games in a row!"

The old comrade was talking about the China-Japan Go competition. Since Kobayashi Koichi defeated Jiang Zhujiu in March, he has performed bravely and defeated many generals of the Chinese team.

Lin Chaoyang smiled bitterly and said, "What does winning or losing a game have to do with The Chess Master? Why are you so superstitious?"

"What do you mean by superstition? This is called luck. You should reflect on yourself and think about whether this has anything to do with your trip to Hong Kong?"

Lin Chaoyang didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he heard this. He really is becoming more and more childish as he gets older.

"Okay, okay, okay! It's all my fault, okay? Don't worry, the Chinese team will definitely win the next game!"

"Really?"

"real."

Zhu Guangqian muttered, "I think so too. If Nie Weiping fails, the Chinese team will be completely finished."

After visiting Zhu Guangqian, Lin Chaoyang boarded a plane back to Hong Kong the next morning.

After resting at home for two days, Lin Chaoyang and Tao Yushu went to the Golden Harvest Studios.

Today the crew was filming Truman's memories of how he met and fell in love with his wife. There is also a very important character in this section, Truman's first love Roland.

Xu Guanwen, Cherie Chung and Maggie Cheung are all dressed in youthful styles today, because Truman, his wife and Roland all met at school.

When the couple arrived, the crew was filming, and then they saw Maggie Cheung being called out again and again. Maggie Cheung debuted for two years and has filmed three movies, but even when she played the leading role, she was just a vase and had no acting skills at all.

The role requirements for "The Truman Show" are different from those of her previous commercial films. Both Ann Hui and Andrew Hui attached great importance to this film, and they had been striving for perfection during the filming for more than half a month.

Maggie Cheung also knew about this situation, and her agent, Chen Ziqiang, also helped her find an acting teacher to learn acting skills. In fact, she had made a lot of preparations before joining the group.

Today was Maggie Cheung's first time on set. I don't know if it was because she was nervous, but her performance looked very stiff. She was obviously the youngest of the three main actors, but she didn't show any youthfulness at all.

After being told to "NG" by Ann Hui more than a dozen times in a row, Maggie Cheung's expressions in front of the camera began to distort, and she didn't know what she was acting.

Seeing this, Ann Hui knew she couldn't go on and could only film Hui Kuan-man and Cherie Chung's scenes first.

Although the director didn't need to call "cut", Maggie Cheung didn't seem happy at all. The dissatisfaction of the director and rival actors, and the cold stares from the crew members made her feel very stressed.

She stood aside in a depressed mood, watching the rivalry between Xu Guanwen and Cherie Chung, with a hint of envy in her eyes.

In her opinion, Cherie Chung's acting skills were not much better than hers. She could easily perform each scene twice, and at most only shoot five or six times.

How could she be like this? The director called out to her more than ten times, as if he was deliberately making things difficult for her.

She thought this with some annoyance in her heart.

Suddenly, a gentle voice came to my ears.

"I'm not in a good mood today!"

Maggie Cheung turned her head and saw Tao Yushu looking at her softly. Her lips curled up slightly, as if she had found her backbone.

"Sister Yushu!" She wrapped her arms around Tao Yushu skillfully and started to chatter with her in whispers.

Lin Chaoyang didn't hear what was said, but after chatting with Tao Yushu for more than ten minutes, Maggie Cheung's face glowed with a different look and she looked extremely confident.

After the shots of Xu Guanwen and Cherie Chung were finished, she stood in front of the camera again, full of confidence.

Then, there were continuous NGs.

"The results of your guidance are not good. They are completely the same as before." Lin Chaoyang teased Tao Yushu.

"I was just trying to enlighten her. I can't act."

The king of big talk, right?
But Lin Chaoyang had to admit that Tao Yushu's guidance was somewhat useful. At least this time, Maggie Cheung was shouted "cut" by Ann Hui more than a dozen times, but her performance remained stable.

During the lunch break, Lin Chaoyang chatted with Ann Hui.

The shooting progress of "The Truman Show" has been slow since it started. The main reason, of course, is the pursuit of excellence. According to the current progress, it would be considered fast if the shooting is completed by the end of November.

In the afternoon, the couple left the set. Lin Chaoyang originally planned to take Tao Yushu out for a walk, but she was pregnant and felt a little tired, so they went home.

After arriving home, Tao Yumo told them a piece of news, saying that Du Feng had called in the morning and would come to Hong Kong in two days.

"Why is he coming to Hong Kong for no reason?" Tao Yushu asked.

"He said he wanted to expand his clothing business and came to Hong Kong for inspection."

Lin Chaoyang smiled and said, "It looks like this business is getting bigger and bigger."

Two days later, Du Feng arrived in Hong Kong as promised.

When they met, Lin Chaoyang asked him curiously, "Yumo said you want to expand the scale of clothing, how do you plan to expand it?"

"It's a long story..."

Last year, a supermarket opened in the Dahua Shopping Mall in Beixinqiao, Yanjing. It is not very large, with only two floors.

The first floor still has the counters of traditional department stores, and the second floor is open shelves for self-selection of goods.

Du Feng also went to see what was new at that time. His focus was on the second floor. It is said that this model was introduced from abroad.

As a result, after Du Feng went there, he found that the business on the second floor of Dahua was not as good as that on the first floor. This was the case several times he went there.

"My analysis is that one reason is that people's habits have not changed yet. Many people don't know what to do on the second floor and feel a little embarrassed.

Another thing is that things are always lost from their second floor. In order to reduce the losses, several people often stand at the entrance of the supermarket to keep a close watch.

My goodness, going to buy something and being looked at like a thief, who can feel good about it? "

Du Feng originally thought that Dahua's supermarket was a very novel model, but he was disappointed after going to check it out in person.

Then, during the few months that Tao Yumo came to Hong Kong this year, she would occasionally write letters to her family.

The letter inevitably mentioned her life in Hong Kong. Although she was in her twenties, her personality was no different from when she was in school. The things she mentioned most in the letter were food, clothing, and entertainment in Hong Kong.

Du Feng was curious about why Tao Yumo mentioned in the letter that the stores in Hong Kong were packed with people, but not in China?
That's why he came to Hong Kong with questions in mind, wanting to investigate.

"So you want to open a store that specializes in selling clothes? Why not a clothing store?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

Du Feng said: "A clothing store is not a good idea. I have calculated that if I really open a clothing store, it would be better for me to set up a few stalls in Xiushui. Can the customer flow of a single clothing store be compared with that of Xiushui? It is definitely not comparable.

The clothing store I'm going to open can of course be considered a clothing store, but I want to make it big enough to attract people who want to buy clothes, and the first thing they think of is my clothing store.

This will not only bring in customers, but also increase the unit price.”

After doing business for several years, Du Feng became more and more sophisticated in business and his answers were flawless.

Lin Chaoyang asked again: "So, are all your clothing stores self-operated?"

Du Feng nodded, "Yes, it's all self-operated. I won't accept the fact that you want me to just collect rent after organizing such a big event."

"This will increase the risk," Lin Chaoyang warned.

"When doing business, how can you not take risks?" Du Feng's tone was relaxed and revealed his confidence.

Lin Chaoyang joked: "Boss Du is bold and capable!"

Du Feng's expression changed, and he said with a smile: "Oh! I don't have any ability. This is just to make more money."

In the past two years, he made 300,000 to 400,000 yuan by dealing in electronic watches and clothing. He spent tens of thousands of yuan to buy a Toyota Crown, and a considerable portion of the money was invested in video halls.

Over a period of more than a year, Du Feng and his partners opened 24 video halls in Yanjing, and these halls performed quite well.

Most of the time, the cost can be recovered in about half a year, and each store can provide a profit of a thousand yuan per month thereafter. Du Feng can earn 20,000 yuan a month without doing anything.

But while making money, Du Feng also discovered problems.

The first problem is the competition issue that Lin Chaoyang mentioned before, and the second problem is that the video hall business has great geographical limitations.

The twenty-four stores opened in Yanjing are currently the limit of what Du Feng can control.

He tried to open a video hall in Tianjin this year, but a business like a video hall inevitably requires dealing with all kinds of people in society. Once he left the territory of Yanjing, many things would not be so easy for him to handle.

This doesn't mean that he can't open a business in other places, but he has to go to places where he can reach out. In this way, the limitations will naturally be greater, and the imagination space for the future of this business will be smaller.

“I have to continue running the video hall. It provides a stable cash flow. I will just develop it slowly in the future and see how far I can go.

I think the potential of the clothing business is far greater than that of video halls.

Of the necessities of life, clothing comes first, and I want to go big this time."

At this point, Du Feng looked at Lin Chaoyang with a slightly flattering smile on his face, "Brother-in-law, my idea this time is a bit grand, why don't you also invest in supporting me!"

The real purpose is revealed. It is true that Du Feng came to Hong Kong for inspection, but his more important purpose is probably to get Lin Chaoyang to support his plan.

Before Lin Chaoyang could speak, Tao Yushu spoke first.

"So this is why you came to Hong Kong?"

Du Feng explained: "Sister, I really came here for inspection. However, it would be better if you and my brother-in-law could support me."

"You don't have enough money?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

"Not enough. Right now I am just estimating. I plan to rent a shop of at least 2000 square meters in Xidan. The initial investment will be at least 50 yuan, including rent, payment for goods, and labor costs.

I have already thought of a name for the store, it will be called Yanjing Garment City!"

The name Du Feng came up with for the clothing store is very bold, and his move is even more bold.

"50?" Tao Yushu looked at him in shock. "Do you know what 50 means?"

"Sister, can you please stop treating me like a kid? Don't I know what 50 yuan means?"

"Knowing this, you still dare to boast like this? Can you give me half of it?"

Tao Yushu's words hit Du Feng's sore spot. He really couldn't take out the money now. All the money he had was only 20 yuan. A considerable part of his funds was pledged in the video hall and clothing payments.

Lin Chaoyang said at this time: "The key issue now is not the money, but whether the identity of a private company can accomplish this. Du Feng, you are not trying to take advantage of your sister's identity, are you?"

Du Feng smiled embarrassedly after Lin Chaoyang guessed his thoughts. "Brother-in-law, you really have foresight!"

Tao Yushu realized something and asked, "You want me to form a joint venture with you? Now that I am a Hong Kong citizen, can your clothing city become a joint venture?"

Du Feng nodded, "That's right. Sister, you and my brother-in-law will invest 20 yuan, and we will each own % of the shares. How about that? You will be the chairman and I will be the general manager."

"Why should I be the chairman?" Tao Yushu did not expect Du Feng to say such a thing. She looked at Lin Chaoyang, asking for his opinion with her eyes.

Lin Chaoyang smiled and said, "Your sister's Hong Kong identity is not yet useful, so let you keep an eye on her first."

"Brother-in-law, I have no choice. You know, business is not good now. State-owned enterprises are the big brothers, and township enterprises are supported by stepmothers. We self-employed people are not even illegitimate children..."

"Alright, alright, stop crying poor and behaving miserably in front of me." Lin Chaoyang interrupted Du Feng, his face gloomy.

What Du Feng said is correct. At the current stage in the country, not to mention individual businesses, even state-owned enterprises are looking for foreign joint venture partners.

The reason is simple. Everyone wants to use foreign capital and technology to help companies achieve modernization. Another very important reason is that joint ventures do have some policy bias.

With ready-made high-quality resources like Tao Yushu, it is understandable that Du Feng wants to take advantage of the opportunity.

While waiting for Lin Chaoyang's answer, Du Feng had been observing his expression, but Lin Chaoyang's face remained calm, which made Du Feng feel a little uneasy.

"Okay. Let your sister invest 25 yuan in you, and the shares will be 50% to 50% as you said.

However, the 50% that your sister holds will be withdrawn every three years, and will be fully withdrawn in three installments over nine years. You can redeem it at the market price or transfer it to other potential investors.

In the ninth year, all the shares will be sold out and the company will be yours.”

Lin Chaoyang's words made Du Feng's face full of surprise, "Brother-in-law, what do you mean?"

Du Feng's words were not a question. He certainly understood how beneficial Lin Chaoyang's plan was to him. It was equivalent to Tao Yushu using his money and status to help him get through the difficult early stages of starting up the clothing city.

Lin Chaoyang waved his hand and said, "I have no objection to you and my brother opening a video parlor, because it is at most a small business worth tens of thousands of dollars.

The clothing city is different. If it develops well, it is possible to make millions or even tens of millions.

As the saying goes, money can move people’s hearts, the closer we are, the more we need to settle the accounts clearly.”

(End of this chapter)