1980 My Entertainment Era

Chapter 18: Teacher Jinghongke
Zhang Qilin, male, 22 years old, a native of Yanjing, just started working in his second year after graduating from university.

I took on a big job today. I had lunch early, then rode my bike to the address where the manuscripts were received.

When I got there, I saw that it was a small courtyard with its own entrance.

In the yard, Xia Tian is eating lunch under the eaves.

Because Mr. and Mrs. Xia both eat at work, you can order whatever you want.

Knock, knock, three knocks on the door.

"Who?"

"Hello, does Teacher Jinghongke live here?" Zhang Qilin asked outside the door.

It sounds like a young man's voice, and it sounds nice, Zhang Qilin thought.

He was still a little nervous, after all, this was his first time to receive a commission for an article.

"Oh, live here. Wait a moment." Xia Tian went over to open the door holding the bowl.

As soon as the door opened, Zhang Qilin saw Xia Tian holding a rice bowl.

In summer, a simple meal at noon is just a bowl of rice (rice + millet) - the dish is pickled eggplant.

"Uh..." Zhang Qilin was suddenly speechless.

What I had planned was suddenly messed up by this scene and I forgot it!
Before knocking on the door, he was still organizing his words, thinking about how to communicate with Teacher Jinghongke later.

Although you are a novice editor, don't show your shyness!

Then, after the door opened, a tall, fair-skinned young man with handsome features, wearing a hurdle vest, with solid muscles and clear lines, came in holding a bowl of rice!

The rice with eggplant sauce is quite fragrant!
Fortunately, I had just had lunch.

Wait, what was I going to say?

The main thing is that this pot of food in summer was indeed a bit shocking and taught the young editor a lesson.

Xia Tian saw him staring at his eggplant rice and asked, "Would you like some?"

"No, no, no... I've eaten, eaten, eaten." Zhang Qilin stuttered while speaking.

Seeing that he was being polite, Xia Tian didn't give in and asked, "What do you want to do with Jing Hongke?"

Zhang Qilin then remembered that he had come to talk to Teacher Jinghongke to commission an article.

"Oh, yes, I'm looking for Teacher Jing Hongke."

Xia Tian nodded: And then?

Zhang Qilin felt a little embarrassed: "Teacher Jinghongke, it's normal for you to come up with a pen name, but why don't you come up with a more normal one? I feel a little embarrassed to call you that!"
This kind of middle school pen name with a bit of martial arts style is no longer popular these days.

Xia Tian guessed that he should be from "Children's Literature". After all, only their parents knew his pen name.

It's probably not a rejection, I can just mail it back. But you never know!
Give him some time first. If he rejects the manuscript, just pretend that you are not a lucky charm.

Summer is also good~
"Ah! Is Teacher Jinghongke at home?" Zhang Qilin asked.

"Has his manuscript been approved?" Xia Tian went straight to the point.

"Oh, I passed, very well." Zhang Qilin looked towards the yard.

Xia Tian nodded, "Come in and sit down first!"

The manuscript has been approved, and Teacher Jinghongke is at home!
……

There is not much tea at home, and there is no hot water in the middle of summer.

Xia Tian poured him a glass of water and asked, "Did he pass the paper?"

"pass!"

"Is the writing okay?"

“It’s so well written…”

Xia Tian aroused Zhang Qilin's interest in talking, so he began to analyze how good Teacher Jing Hongke's article was. He said that sincerity can be seen in simplicity.

This meal deserves praise!
He also said that the editorial department is short of manuscripts, that there are very few people writing children's literature now, and that the quality of many manuscripts received is of varying degrees.

I really hope there will be more manuscripts like Mr. Jinghongke’s.

Xia Tian listened while eating, nodding in agreement from time to time.

After talking for a long time, Zhang Qilin drank the water, and Xia Tian also ate a bowl of bibimbap.

"Wait a moment..." Xia Tian put the rice bowl back into the kitchen and washed his hands.

Sitting back at the table, Xia Tian asked, "You haven't asked for my name yet?"

"Ah? Zhang Qilin, my name is Zhang Qilin. I'm the editor of Children's Literature..."

Xia Tian's sudden mature behavior caught him off guard.

He suddenly transformed from a young man into a mature, steady person with proper manners and speech.

"Hello, my name is Xia Tian, ​​and my pen name is Jing Hong Ke."

"Ah?!" Zhang Qilin was stunned. He really had no idea how to react.

"You said that Teacher Jing Hong Ke is not here?"

"I said, my pen name is Jinghongke."

"Ah?!" Ah cat expression pack.gif
Xia Tian is very satisfied with the effect of this pen name.

Until Zhang Qilin left, I still felt drunk and confused.

But in the face of all the evidence Xia Tian produced, he had to admit that it seemed that Teacher Jing Hongke was really this guy?! After all, Xia Tian was in a good mood and wrote short stories such as "The Little Horse Crossing the River" and "The Monkey Catching the Moon".

There is also the font, which is also evidence.

If you think about it, the story of "Gudong Is Coming" is simple and the writing is concise, so it's not surprising to say that it was written by a young person.

But the handwriting, coupled with the rather old-fashioned pen name, made no one in the editorial department think of it in that regard!

In short, Zhang Qilin completed his mission this time and successfully arranged for a manuscript.

Zhang Qilin: This mission should be completed, right?
This is exactly the effect we want. If you were asked to guess that the author is a young person, would you be so concerned about it?

This is Xia Tian, ​​who looks about 13 or years old. If you knew that he is actually only years old, you would be so shocked!
I talked a lot with Zhang Qilin in the summer, such as manuscript approval and royalties.

"Gudong is Coming" gave Xia Tian a royalty of three yuan and forty cents.

The watercolor illustration was also accepted and he was given 6 cents to make it an even number.

Four dollars is just pocket money.

You can’t make money by writing novels these days, it’s more about the literary dream.

But now Xia needs to vent some of the psychological depression through writing. It doesn’t matter whether there is money or not...how much money can you give?
Zhang Qilin also asked Xia Tian for articles. For a new editor, it is very important to have contact with a group of reliable authors.

Look, Xia Tian has become his first author.
Zhang Qilin said that Children's Literature is now planning to "fix the publishing cycle and distribute it nationwide." A stable supply of manuscripts is very important.

He was drooling over the manuscripts in Xia Tian's desk drawer.

Xia Tian has already promised him that she will submit the manuscript to him next month.

After Zhang Qilin left, Xia Tian began to sort out the apocalyptic information in his mind.

About Children's Literature, and about what happened decades later.

Children's Literature became extremely popular in the 50s, with the highest monthly sales exceeding copies.

But in the 1990s, when everything became about money, pure literature completely collapsed.

In 96, the editorial department of Children's Literature conducted a survey and found that pure literature publications in various provinces were almost gone - they were all popular in the 80s, but now they all disappeared overnight.

Various children's magazines ceased publication one after another, and Children's Literature itself was in danger, with a circulation of only 6 copies at one point.

In the end, they chose not only to continue to engage in literature, but also to engage in the purest pure literature. They did not engage in popular literature or "stories", but to bring the highest artistic quality works in the country into "Children's Literature".

This has created the "Children's Literature" that people often talk about as "completely not for children".

What kind of works did Children's Literature publish at that time?

"Youth Meteor" tells the story of a high school girl who was highly expected by her parents and teachers. Due to excessive pressure, she cheated in the Mathematical Olympiad and was caught. In the end, the girl chose to commit suicide.

There is also Rao Xueman's "Who Can Give Happiness to Whom", in which a 16-year-old girl reunites with her childhood friend after being robbed, and thus develops a complicated relationship. It shocked many readers who had no idea what "youth scar literature" was at the time.

"Children's Literature" once had a science fiction column.

Liu Cixin published an article titled "Round Soap Bubbles" on it. The main story is about using countless large soap bubbles to bring moist air into the inland, thereby regulating the climate.

After 05, when video games were still stigmatized as "electronic heroin," Children's Literature published more than one online game novel, most of which were about players breaking the fourth wall.

There is "Chronicles of the Dead Knight", which tells the story of a group of players who collectively become a boss. At the end there is a sentence like "Do people who have never played online games know that there is such a world?"

There is also "Legend of the Sacred Domain", which is about a player who leads NPCs in the game to exploit a bug to destroy the game, and finally finds out that the real world he lives in is also a game designed by others.

The former is based on "World of Warcraft" and the latter is based on "Ragnarok Online".

Many short stories published in "Children's Literature" were later adapted into novels.

For example, the above-mentioned "Who Can Give Happiness to Whom" was adapted into the long youth novel "I Want Us to Be Together"; "Legend of the Sanctuary" was adapted into the "campus fantasy work" "Legend of the Sanctuary".

"Interesting!" Xia Tian praised.

To be honest, this kind of sudden information about something many years later gives summer a different feeling.

This seems to be a considerable advantage!
……

September arrived, and summer received a sample issue of Children's Literature mailed to me.

The cover of this issue of "Children's Literature" is the watercolor painting "Gudong is Coming" that I painted in the summer.

It also says on it: Author: Jinghongke, cover: Jinghongke.

I flipped through it in the summer and it was pretty good.

It was exciting to see my writing published, not to mention the four dollars in royalties!

Mother Xia: Son, please leave your royalties with me and I will save them for you!

Huh? Is that the only excuse these days?

Xia Tian: No need, Mom, I don’t plan to save it!

Mother Xia: You have no conscience!

After receiving his royalties, Xia Tian treated his three friends, Dachun, Xiaodong and Yanjing, to a big meal, which cost more than one yuan.

It’s good to have enough money!

Hurry up and send "Little Pony Crossing the River" to Zhang Qilin.

Postscript - I asked Dachun: What did you learn? Dachun: You need to take a boat to cross the river!

(The Little Pony Crossing the River is a fairy tale written by the writer Peng Wenxi, published in the New Youth Daily on February 1956, 2, and originally named The Little Pony Crossing the Stream. There is no need to pursue parallel worlds)
On September 9, the Teachers Memorial Hall was officially completed and opened. It is located to the south of the Heroes Monument in Min'anmen Square.

An inauguration ceremony was held and the museum was opened to the public.

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(End of this chapter)