Exciting 1979!

Chapter 251: Elegant, too elegant!
"Where? Where?"

Wei Ming only flashed past Qiao Cui.

"He was just here a moment ago, it must have been him, he's so tall." Qiao Cui: And so handsome too.

President Hong: "My brother did say he would come to the book fair, but he didn't say when. Everyone, please look for it."

Wei Ming ran into acquaintances again and was pulled into a corner by two men from Guangdong.

Wei Ming recognized one of them as Chen Wenbin, an editor at Flower City magazine. He also formally introduced the other to him: "Teacher Wei, this is our editor-in-chief, Su Chen, who is also the vice president of Guangdong People's Publishing House."

"Oh, President Su, it's an honor to meet you."

Deputy Director Su was very approachable and chatted warmly with Wei Ming, and then they talked about commissioning articles.

When Wei Ming was creating "The Right Path of the World is Full of Vicissitudes", he went to Guangzhou to gather inspiration and received some help from "Flower City" magazine.

Moreover, among the major literary journals, "Huacheng" is second only to "People's Literature" and "Harvest," demonstrating its strong capabilities.

Wei Ming has not published any major works in "Huacheng" and he always felt that it was not perfect. However, this novel in his hand can only be published after "Harvest" rejects it, after all, there is a first-come, first-served principle.

However, seeing the eager looks in their eyes, Wei Ming thought for a moment and said, "I may have an original film script by the end of the year, and I can consider 'Flower City' first."

Hearing this, the two exchanged a glance, revealing a sense of satisfaction. Meeting Wei Ming here was originally an accident, but now to receive such a promise from Wei Ming was an unexpected delight.

However, readers are more eagerly anticipating Wei Ming's long novel, which he has been working on for a year.

After parting ways with the two, Wei Ming went to the People's Literature Publishing House to see if they had any new good books.

Then someone shouted, "Elder Ye and Elder Zang are here!"

Mr. Ye was naturally Mr. Ye Shengtao. Next to him was a thin old man who was a little younger than him, Mr. Zang, Zang Kejia.

Some people are alive but already dead; some are dead but still alive. Some ride on the backs of the people, saying, "Ah, how great I am!" Others bow down and serve the people like oxen and horses...

"Some People" is the representative work of the poet Zang Kejia. Wei Ming was deeply impressed by it because his high school Chinese teacher was also surnamed Zang.

The two were escorted by the manager of Yanjing Xinhua Bookstore to the People's Literature Publishing House booth, which had the most diverse selection of books on site, including reprints of their past works.

Just as Wei Ming approached, Bai Shurong, the editor of "Contemporary," spotted him. In front of her was Wei Ming's "Ferocious Animals," which was already in its second reprint since its publication.

Over the past year, Wei Ming's prestige in the novel world has mainly relied on this collection of classic stories.

Wei Ming greeted Editor Bai with a smile, and then she pulled him over and introduced him to the two elders.

"Old Ye, Old Zang, this is Wei Ming, the author of 'The Horse Herder'," Editor Bai said.

Wei Ming hurriedly greeted the two of them. It's true that having many friends is a good thing. He had just been thinking about how to get closer to them.

"Oh, Xiao Wei, I know you." Old Ye's smile had two meanings. He not only knew that Wei Ming was Wei Ming, but also knew what Wei Ming was, after all, they were both involved in children's literature.

As the first editor-in-chief of the Poetry Journal, Mr. Zang didn't know much about the magazine. He only knew that Wei Ming, this amateur poet, could generate considerable discussion in the poetry world and be widely sung every time he published a poem.

“I know you too, but you haven’t written enough poems to publish a collection.”

Wei Ming said with a smile, "My goal is to have my own independent collection of poems when I get old, and that would be enough for me."

However, he left behind few classic modern poems.

Wei Ming and the two elders chatted and laughed, and a group of readers around them also wanted to hear what the three well-known writers had to say, but a parent with a child seemed a bit odd.

This young man was just over there called Wei something, how come he's Wei Ming here?

Is he a scammer?
After Wei Ming chatted with the two elders about novels and poetry, the manager of Xinhua Bookstore, the event organizer, invited the three writers to share their feelings about today's book fair.

Both Mr. Ye and Mr. Zang highly praised the book fair for enriching people's spiritual and cultural needs.

Wei Ming said, "I am very satisfied with the book fair. May I make a suggestion to Xinhua Bookstore?"

The manager's expression turned serious for a moment, but he still smiled and said, "Please go ahead, Professor Wei."

Wei Ming said, “I’ve only been here for an hour today, but I’ve already flipped through more than a dozen books and bought three. I think this kind of direct contact with books provides a great buying experience. Why can’t our stores do the same?”

The manager was taken aback. This is how it is in Xinhua Bookstore nowadays: before you go to buy a book, you first decide what you want to buy, and then tell the salesperson behind the counter so that they can get it for you from the shelf.

Wei Ming continued, "Just like the recently popular Oriental Plaza, remove the barrier between customers and products, trust the quality of customers, and give them more choices. Wouldn't that be better?"

"Okay, well said!"

Having finally found her brother, Wei Hong pretended to be a passerby and cheered from below.

However, because she was alone, it was a little awkward. But Wei Ming's words touched the hearts of the readers, and soon the people around her began to cheer and respond.

The bookstore counter used to be like a place to guard against thieves. I didn't think much of it before, but ever since Oriental Plaza opened, the respectful and casual shopping experience has been so good that the previous model seems inadequate.

Not only did the readers below think so, but even the highly respected Elder Ye echoed, "The voice of the masses needs to be taken seriously. Xiao Sun, I think you can consider whether Xiao Wei's suggestion is feasible."

Manager Sun nodded: "We will hold a meeting to discuss this seriously when we get back. Thank you for your suggestion, Professor Wei."

Next came the group photo session that Wei Ming was looking forward to. A reporter from some unknown media outlet wanted to take pictures of the writers.

The only unpleasant thing is that Manager Sun is also mixed in; it's a group photo of four people.

It was getting late. If they went to check on the courtyard house again, it would be time for dinner. Wei Ming counted the heads; there were quite a few people to invite today.

Wei Ming, Xiao Hong, and several of her female classmates went outside; the male classmates had already bought books and returned to school.

However, the female students wanted to visit Wei Ming's home.

Wei Ming generously welcomed him.

"Then let's go."

"hold on."

After waiting for a while, Li Xiaolin and He Chengwei came out, and Wei Ming introduced them to each other.

He Chengwei was carrying some things in his hand: local specialties from Shanghai, a bag of White Rabbit candies, and two bottles of Shengui Yangrong wine. He originally planned to go directly to the Overseas Chinese Apartment to find someone after work.

Seeing this wine, Wei Ming felt a sense of time passing. Around this time last year, he went to Shanghai and met Sister Xue.

"Then let's thank Editor-in-Chief He." Wei Ming tore open the packaging and handed out candies to the girls. Only then did He Chengwei notice that the Peking University girl who had just bought a book from him was actually Wei Ming's sister's roommate.

The girls from Peking University were more concerned about whether the serialized novel "Wasted Years" in Harvest magazine would end in the next issue, and they all asked Editor Li. It seems that this representative work of educated youth literature is indeed very popular, as several girls have read it. Li Xiaolin said that the September issue of Harvest magazine has already been reprinted once, with a circulation of 65 copies.

Seeing that Wei Ming was having some difficulty pushing the motorcycle, Li Xiaolin suggested that he ride it first.

"We can just follow your sister there."

"Alright then." Wei Ming took He Chengwei's gift and left first, also checking if there was anything in the house that he couldn't let others see.

When Wei Ming got back, he knew his mother had come, because the leaves had been cleaned up.

There's nothing wrong with the study. Playboy magazine has been hidden away. All that's left is a piece of calligraphy by Qi Gong and a relatively inexpensive painting by Qi Baishi. The more valuable paintings are all kept in the Overseas Chinese Apartments.

"Oh, right."

He quickly boiled a kettle of water, took out the tea leaves and tea set, and placed them on the stone table in the courtyard, ready to entertain his guests.

The door was open, and Wei Ming was making tea when he heard the noise outside.

"So elegant, so elegant!" He Chengwei exclaimed as soon as he entered and saw Wei Ming brewing tea at the stone table under the tree. He was also a little envious, thinking how comfortable it must be to live in such a courtyard.

Wei Ming laughed and said, "Please have a seat, everyone. If there aren't enough seats, Xiao Hong will go inside and get some more."

Qiao Cui said, "No need, Teacher Wei, we can just stand."

"Yeah."

The girls looked around at the great writer's courtyard. It was huge and very clean, much better than it had initially appeared.

Although they were all city dwellers, none of them were extremely wealthy, and their living conditions were simply too comfortable.

Li Xiaolin laughed and said, "Now we don't have to worry about where to put readers' letters."

Wei Hong asked her brother, "Brother, can we take a look at the study?"

"can."

Once inside, the girls chattered excitedly, marveling that Teacher Wei could also do calligraphy.

Wei Ming had just arranged his writing brushes and inkstones out. He usually prefers to practice calligraphy in the courtyard, so the Four Treasures of the Study are mainly kept here.

It was also with the idea that when Sister Xue came here in the future, the two of them could be more refined, for example, she could grind ink in front while he ground the ink in the back.

Li Xiaolin didn't forget why she was there, and asked Wei Ming, "Is your manuscript here?"

Wei Ming: "The backup copy is here."

When writing this long novel, he usually makes copies after writing a few pages. The copies are kept here, while the original manuscript is kept at the Overseas Chinese Apartment. If this manuscript of hundreds of thousands of words were lost, it would take more time to rewrite it than to write it in the first place.

To take a recent example, the book "War and Man" was completed by author Wang Huo in the 60s. This super-long masterpiece of 120 million words was completed by Wang Huo.

This novel is similar to "The Right Path of the World is Full of Vicissitudes" and also involves a lot of descriptions of high-ranking Kuomintang officials. As a result, the author and the work suffered during the special period, and the unpublished manuscript was burned.

Not long ago, China Youth Publishing House invited Wang Huo to rewrite this work. He spent ten years writing the first draft, but fourteen years rewriting it. Then, it won the Mao Dun Literature Prize in the same issue as "White Deer Plain".

Wei Ming handed the backup copy to Li Xiaolin, but advised her not to rush to read it.

"Let's go eat first. You can take it back to the guesthouse to see, and just return it when you're done."

Li Xiaolin, holding a thick stack of manuscripts, exclaimed excitedly, "I don't even want to eat anymore!"

Several girls came out and saw the manuscript. Except for Ning Xin, they all felt that if they could see it, they really wouldn't want to eat dinner that night!

Wei Ming: What if we eat Quanjude for dinner?

In the end, Wei Ming treated them all to a good meal at Quanjude. He mainly invited the two editors, since it was a rare occasion for them to come to Yanjing, and he could be their host. The young girls were lucky to have such a free meal.

Wei Hong felt a little sorry for him. She knew she should have refused more firmly. With a few more mouths to feed, her brother would have to spend at least ten yuan more.

However, Wei Ming didn't care about the small amount of money at all. Ten yuan was enough to solidify Xiao Hong's leadership position in the dormitory.

Moreover, Wei Ming received another 20,000 yuan from the New World bonus at the beginning of the month, so he now has more than 30,000 yuan in cash.

However, dividends will be reduced once the personal income tax is officially implemented next year.

During the conversation, Wei Hong also introduced her Peking University Rubik's Cube Club to the two senior editors. Wei Hong even managed to compress the time to less than half a minute, surpassing the entire mathematics department.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring a Rubik's Cube, so I couldn't let the two of them know what a Rubik's Cube is.

Their club only has one Rubik's Cube, and they treasure it dearly.

Wei Ming said, "I'll take some time to go to the Friendship Store and see if they have any. If they do, I can sponsor a few for your organization. If not, I'll ask my friends in Hong Kong to buy a few more."

It's ridiculous for a club to only have one Rubik's Cube.

After dinner, Xiaohong decided to go home with her brother to stay overnight and then go to school the next morning.

However, as expected, when Wei Ming returned home, his mother asked him about the courtyard house.

"Oh, those furniture pieces? They've been sold."

"sold?"

"Well, a friend of mine liked it and offered a pretty high price, so I bought it. After all, I don't need it right away. I'll buy a few more to make up the difference when I have time."

Xu Shufen: "How much money can a few pieces of old furniture sell for? Your friend is really something. It would be much better to go to the store and buy some new furniture."

Wei Ming laughed and said, "Mom, these old furniture pieces aren't cheap. I made over a thousand yuan from them. Some people really like these."

"Huh?" Xu Shufen found it unbelievable. Is it really that easy to make money in a big city? No wonder everyone is happy to come to the big city.

~
Back at the Writers' Association's guesthouse, Li Xiaolin eagerly opened the novel "The Right Path of the World is Full of Vicissitudes" and began reading it immediately.

Wei Ming's writing skills are beyond question. The opening is captivating, starting with the appearance of Jiang Chixia, the first generation of the Jiang family, which has a strong sense of martial arts novels. However, when combined with the background of the late Qing Dynasty, the Six Gentlemen of the Hundred Days' Reform, the Xiaozhan military training, and Western missionaries, the historical atmosphere is overwhelming.

The first chapter ends when Jiang Chixia enters the Baoding Military Academy, and Li Xiaolin is still savoring the memory of this distinctive and passionate young man. By the second chapter, he is already a father of two sons and a daughter, as well as a renowned military instructor in the Zhili region.

The story's main perspective shifts to his two sons, Jiang Lizhong and Jiang Limin.

……

(I'm determined not to make it shorter tomorrow.)
(End of this chapter)