1978: Female educated youth, don’t want an illiterate husband

Chapter 146: Not much, not much, just five front page headlines (please subscribe to the full version)
"Old Chen, you are here!"

The next morning, Cheng Xuemin was pushed out of his warm bed by the impatient woman, and went to hand in his manuscript to her and get his payment slip.

As soon as I arrived at the Yanda Library, I saw Chen Shumin there and greeted him!
"Xuemin, I said it's time for you to come and see me!"

When Chen Shumin saw Cheng Xuemin coming over, his face lit up as well. Chen Shumin had greeted Cheng Xuemin during the winter vacation, and he would be on duty at the library every Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the winter vacation.

Today is Friday, and according to the time, Cheng Xuemin should hand in his manuscript!

Bei Dao and Mang Ke are already finalizing the draft, but the only thing missing is Cheng Xuemin's front-page headline, as he hasn't submitted his manuscript yet.

It's not easy to urge him, knowing that Cheng Xuemin has been in trouble recently.

Then he said, "I have read the criticisms in Tianjin Daily these days. What do you think, Xuemin?"

"Why haven't I seen you speak out against them in public?"

Chen Shumin, who was extremely angry, has already written a counterattack and submitted it to the People's Daily. He just doesn't know whether it will be accepted or not. So far, he has not received a reply that his manuscript will be accepted.

So Chen Shumin did not mention this to Cheng Xuemin, but just asked Cheng Xuemin himself out of concern, why didn't he speak out?

Old Chen also read and paid attention to the newspapers in Yanjing, but he never saw Cheng Xuemin himself speak out.

These articles were all written by their supporters, so their influence is somewhat less.

"Old Chen, you are talking about Tianjin Daily! There is no need to respond so seriously. Let the innocent be innocent!"

Cheng Xuemin smiled bitterly, but he didn't say anything!
His mother-in-law has helped her to unite several magazines and newspapers, and they have united the front and are about to work together!
Judging from the time, "Harvest" in Shanghai was the first to be published, and the magazine may have already been on the train to Yanjing.

Following closely are "Yenching Literature" and "People's Literature". The most incisive manuscript is in my mother-in-law's "October", which will also be published and put on the shelves next week.

So by next week, not only the whole city of Yanjing, but the whole country will be extremely lively. In addition, next week is the end of the year, and with all these articles being released together, it will be really lively.

"By the way, I came here today to deliver my manuscript! The Yanda High School was delayed for two days because of the final exams!"

Immediately afterwards, Cheng Xuemin took out the first draft of "My Years in the Corps" from his bag and handed it to Chen Shumin.

"You! You are just too cautious, just like Lao Feng!"

Chen Shumin could only stand by and worry after hearing this boy's calm and peaceful attitude. He took the manuscript from Cheng Xuemin and asked in surprise, feeling his hand sinking: "So many?"

After thinking about it, I think such a thick draft should be at least 50,000 or 60,000 words, right?

But wasn’t it just a short story at that time?

But this manuscript is so long and thick that it should be a novella, right?
Chen Shumin was immediately surprised, thinking that Cheng Xuemin was really willing to give up the novella of 50,000 to 60,000 words just like that!

That's it……

Look at the other two persons in charge of Today, Mang Ke and Bei Dao. They can even accept Cheng Xuemin as the deputy editor-in-chief. What objection do they have?

Fifty or sixty thousand words!
Considering Cheng Xuemin's current influence in major newspapers and magazines, his royalties should be capped at seven yuan per thousand words.

So when people pay, it’s usually four or five hundred yuan.

"This is just the first draft!" Cheng Xuemin nodded and talked to Chen Shumin again.

"First draft?! Xuemin, what do you mean by that?"

The first draft that Cheng Xuemin mentioned once again made Chen Shumin confused. From the tone of his voice, could there be a second or third draft?

"I have written a long article for Today. The estimated length is about 350,000 words. We will publish it at 60,000 words per issue. It will take a year to publish it!"

"By then, the influence of our Today should also gradually increase!"

Immediately afterwards, Cheng Xuemin expressed his thoughts in a calm tone, but to Chen Shumin's ears, it sounded so deafening that he would not stop until his words were shocking!

"What!?"

"Xuemin, you are going to write a long article for our Today, not a short one!?"

"More than 350,000 words?!"

"Oh my god! Xuemin, are you serious?"

At this, Chen Shumin was completely dumbfounded and shocked. He thought that Cheng Xuemin giving them a novella of 50,000 to 60,000 words was already a huge investment that made them feel ashamed.

After all, Cheng Xuemin's current status in the literary world is obvious, even though he is only a newcomer and author in his early twenties.

But you really shouldn't have too many representative works or influential manuscripts.

Therefore, inviting Cheng Xuemin to be the deputy editor-in-chief of Today is really a waste of his talent.

To know!
Mr. Xie even offered to recruit Cheng Xuemin to be a formal librarian at Yanda University, but he failed.

But what virtue did Today have that they could have taken down this person just by giving him a deputy editor-in-chief with a nominal title!

Now it’s better!

He has published a novel of 350,000 words. If he were to publish it in his mother-in-law's October Publishing House or Yenching Literature Publishing House, how much royalties would he get?
Seven yuan for a thousand words, that’s two thousand three or two hundred yuan!

Moving!

After being stunned for a while, Chen Shumin's heart and face were filled with emotion, and he was touched by the idea that a gentleman will die for his friend.

Originally, at the beginning, Chen Shumin and Mang Ke shared the same ideals and wanted to publish their own magazine, so they thought of asking Cheng Xuemin, the author of "The Shepherd", to write for them!

But who would have known that they would have found a treasure and summoned the true God!

Their "Today" has the personal presence of the horse shepherd Lao Xu, plus his lengthy novel of 350,000 words!

It would be hard for them not to take off today.

"The manuscript is right here. Old Chen, please review it first! I have to go to my yard to take a look. I'll come back to get your opinion at noon!"

Cheng Xuemin put the manuscript down and went straight to the new house to take a look. Today the bricklayers were finishing up and leaving, so he had to go over and take a look.

"Okay, okay! Then I'll read it first! If I review it, please don't criticize me, Xuemin!"

"Given the quality of your manuscript, even if you send it to People's Literature, Lao Zhang will approve it without even reading it. How dare I review your manuscript?"

Chen Shumin should stop being too self-deprecating and try to praise Cheng Xuemin's manuscript.

"Old Chen, please don't flatter me like that!"

"Okay, let's go!"

Cheng Xuemin smiled at Old Chen. Although Old Chen's compliments were indeed exaggerated, they actually seemed to be true!
With Cheng Xuemin's current manuscript, who wouldn't want to grab it?
Wait!
After their "Today" was published a year later, the second and third drafts of his "My Years in the Corps" would inevitably be sought after by Yenching Literature and Mother-in-Law's October.

After all, "Today" is just a small magazine that has just been established. How can it compete with those big magazines with deep pockets?
Especially my mother-in-law!
People will definitely scold Cheng Xuemin for not doing his job properly. He didn't give such a good long novel to their magazine "October", but submitted it to a small magazine that has no reputation or influence at all. Isn't this insulting?
Especially since this was her son-in-law's first long article, and he gave it to an outsider, it would really make the mother-in-law angry to death.

"Okay, okay, walk slowly, Ha Xuemin!"

Chen Shumin held the manuscript in his hand as if it were a treasure, and waved to Cheng Xuemin without even raising his head.

But suddenly he remembered something and called Cheng Xuemin again and said, "By the way, Xuemin, do you know a female student named Gong Yu?"

"He should be a correspondence student from Yanda University!"

"Gong Xi?"

Cheng Xuemin turned around when he heard this, looked at Chen Shumin in surprise, and asked, "You know me! I've seen him a few times in our library before!"

He knew Gong Xi very well. It had been since that time when Gong Xi took the initiative to invite Cheng Xuemin to watch a movie together. After he politely declined, the girl was too shy to ask her out and ran away. It seemed that he had hardly seen her since then.

Cheng Xuemin was a girl who was too shy to see him again, so she avoided him.

After the winter vacation, Cheng Xuemin rarely came to the library, so there was no way we would meet again.

However, he did not expect that the library administrator, Old Chen, would suddenly mention Gong Yu to him, which surprised Cheng Xuemin.

"That means we know each other!"

Chen Shumin nodded and continued, "Last Friday, they finished their last correspondence course before the New Year, and that girl came over and sat in the seat you usually sit in. I didn't really care!"

"It wasn't until last Friday when she suddenly asked me about you that I knew the female student must have been waiting for you!"

"It's a pity that you haven't been here much since your wife went on winter vacation!" Chen Shumin said in one breath, then ran back to his workstation, took out an envelope and handed it over, saying, "Here, the guy named Gong Yu didn't wait for you, so he left a letter for you!"

"Xuemin, are you and him okay?"

At the end, Chen Shumin didn't forget to eat some melons. Could it be that Cheng Xuemin had stolen the heart of that female student?

That would be very dangerous, so just now Chen Shumin mentioned that Cheng Xuemin's wife bit him particularly hard during the winter vacation.

"What can I have to do with her?!" Cheng Xuemin's mouth twitched fiercely twice, and then pretended not to care and said, "It's just like you, Old Chen. My vest of Huangtu Gaopo was exposed by her!"

"I'm glad you're okay! Vest from the Loess Plateau? What vest?" Chen Shumin asked in confusion.

"It's a pen name. That day I just happened to receive a sample issue of Yanhe Literature and she found out!"

"Later, the whole school heard that Yellow Earth Plateau was also written by a YNU student. It was she who spread the word!"

"So, you can consider me the first reader of Loess Plateau!"

Cheng Xuemin pinched the envelope he took, unable to guess what Nan Gongqi would write for him.
"That means we don't know each other without fighting!"

Chen Shumin smiled and reminded Cheng Xuemin, "Xuemin, you are now a well-known figure in Yan University. You must have many female readers who admire you. Take it easy!"

The only thing I am about to do is to expose Cheng Xuemin, but I must not let any news about his lifestyle problems spread, otherwise I will be shot if I accuse him of Liu Mang, and I am not kidding!
"It's like fighting makes us strangers. I haven't even settled the score with her yet, but she still dares to wait for me in this library?"

"Okay, Lao Chen, let's talk about this later!"

Of course Cheng Xuemin understood what Lao Chen said, but he was really wronged.

Isn't my wife more beautiful than the other girls? My wife hasn't been developed much, and I don't have the energy to keep an eye on what's in the bowl and what's in the pot, okay?

After leaving the library, Cheng Xuemin looked at the envelope in his hand. It was sealed and showed no signs of having been opened.

He immediately tore it open roughly and took out the letter inside.

It shouldn't be considered a love letter, right?

In his letter, Gong Xi mentioned that he had not seen Cheng Xuemin for a long time and missed him very much;

She also said that she had finished the correspondence course at Yanda University and had to return to her hometown in Jiangsu to celebrate the New Year. She hoped to be able to see him at the library as soon as possible when school starts after the New Year.

Finally, in the last line of the letter, he left a phone number for Cheng Xuemin!
This……

Cheng Xuemin really couldn't tell whether this could be considered a love letter!

However, this letter must not be seen by Feng Jiayou. Cheng Xuemin is very clear about this and dares not let him see it.

The most sensible thing for Cheng Xuemin to do now is to tear up the letter and throw it away, as if the letter never existed.

But somehow he stuffed the letter back into the envelope, put it in his pocket, and went to check in the yard first.

Although Cheng Xuemin did not come to supervise and provide guidance these two days, he would come to check every afternoon.

I know that the work here will be officially completed today. I just need to clean up and move in.

Okay!

Although the bathroom is not as luxurious as the one in Qianmen Hotel, nor as exquisite as the one in Overseas Chinese Apartment, it is simple and practical.

Cheng Xuemin also tried the flush toilet, which was similar to the ones used in later generations and very smooth.

I just don’t know whether the septic tank will backflow. I’m not a professional, so 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 backfire, you can just clean the septic tank more often. Anyway, Yelang in Yanjing City is still the same as the previous dynasty, with cleanups every day.

The bathtub is easy to install and the water pipe is fixed. When you want to take a bath, you just need to boil water and pour it in.

It’s a pity that this era lacks a bathroom artifact, the bathroom heater!

It’s not cold when you’re taking a bath, but it’s inevitable that you’ll feel cold when you’re getting in and out and taking off and putting on clothes.

But it’s not a big problem!

After washing and wiping myself clean, I crawled directly into the nearest bed. Anyway, Cheng Xuemin had made it into a suite, so it was too comfortable.

I also tried the shower head, but because the tap water pressure was not enough and it was not a pressurized shower head, the water sprayed out was a bit disappointing and the shower head didn't spray at all.

When summer comes, I will just remove the shower head and use it directly as a faucet. The water will be strong and comfortable!
Then there are the pebbles on the ground, which you didn’t notice when they were first laid.

Now this is the shop!
Moreover, the bricklayer is obviously a very skilled person. He even laid the tile into several patterns. When you step on it, it looks quite real and the effect is no worse than that of floor tiles.

Therefore, the modern bathroom that Cheng Xuemin had been thinking about improving was only barely satisfactory.

After paying the three bricklayers their tool carts were removed from the site, it was time to start cleaning the yard.

The whole family will have a rest on Sunday and we will come together to clean the house. We will be able to move in next week and celebrate the Little New Year.

When Cheng Xuemin locked the door and returned to the Yanda Library, Chen Shumin saw his fiery eyes and asked anxiously, "Xuemin, what's next? Where is the manuscript?"

"Don't tell me you didn't write a single word at the end. Hurry up and read me everything you wrote!"

OK, this is offline direct face-to-face urging, right? ?
"I really haven't written a word for this. I just finished writing it and gave it to you first. I haven't actually thought about the rest of the plot yet!"

Again!
Just like writing online novels in later generations, it is useless for readers to urge for updates, and the author himself knows what to write in this chapter at most an hour earlier than the readers.

As for what Chen Shumin wants next? Sorry, there is really not a single word.

"Xuemin, you are kidding me! You cut off the chapter so drastically, it's obviously intentional, there must be more manuscripts to come!"

Chen Shumin was fascinated, and it was also Cheng Xuemin's own fault. In order to hook the readers, he indeed broke the 60,000-word chapter at the key place.

Anyone who reads it will know for sure. After all, "Today" may be a quarterly magazine. How can they retain readers without making some harsh excerpts?

By the time you continue with the next issue, readers will have already forgotten the previous content. Who will buy your product?
"No, no! Old Chen, there really isn't a single word!" Cheng Xuemin waved his hands repeatedly and asked, "So, Old Chen, my manuscript should have been approved, right?"

"Okay, okay, Xuemin, you are such a ruthless person!" Chen Shumin knew that there would definitely be a follow-up, but this kid was keeping him on suspense and just wouldn't take it out. There was nothing he could do!

I could only point at this boy and sigh.

But he quickly calmed down and said seriously, "The manuscript is so well written, it's really a waste of talent to publish it in Today!"

"Why don't you just stick to your original plan and give us a short story!"

"You should send this "My Years in the Corps" to People's Literature. It will definitely be a big hit!"

"At the same time, we can also strike back at Tianjin Daily. What do you think, Xuemin?"

Chen Shumin is indeed not being pretentious. He feels that it is a waste to give this long novel to "Today"!

Don’t be too selfish!

Cheng Xuemin is now at a critical moment in his competition with the Tianjin Daily. If this long novel can be published in the influential "People's Literature", it will surely become another hit and strike back fiercely.

So it would be such a waste to publish it in an obscure little magazine.

"Old Chen, actually, I'm going to publish a novella of mine in this issue of People's Literature, so you don't have to worry about me. I have my own plans!"

Cheng Xuemin was also quite moved after hearing what Lao Chen said. These are all good teachers who truly treat him and care about him!
"What?! You still have a novella in People's Literature?! Xuemin, how many manuscripts have you written in this period of time?!"

This time Chen Shumin was shocked again.

"Not many, not many. There is a novella in this issue of People's Literature, there is also a novella in Yanjing Literature, and there is a short story in October's issue of my mother-in-law. Together with the short story "Harvest" by Ba Lao, there are four manuscripts in total!"

"Oh, by the way, if we count our "Today" and "My Corps Years", there are only five manuscripts!"

Cheng Xuemin was not surprised by the praise or criticism. He simply criticized the manuscript he was about to publish.

But I heard Chen Shumin...he was immediately confused!
……

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(End of this chapter)