Exciting 1979!

Chapter 340 Wei Shenme vs. Wei Ming, Black Cat Detective vs. Calabash Brothers
"How much was the first print run?"

Lü Xiaoyan held up two fingers.

Wei Ming exclaimed in surprise, "Two hundred thousand! How dare you do that for a new publication? How could the editor-in-chief agree to it?"

"We also base our data on post office orders, and there is a relatively stable ratio between post office orders and bookstore orders. After calculation, we estimate that 20 copies should sell out."

The magazine has only been on the shelves for a short time, so it's definitely not sold out yet, but half of the stock has already been sold. Today, Lü Xiaoyan has been visiting major bookstores and newsstands in Beijing, and the market response has been quite good.

The reputations of Wei Wuxian and Black Cat Detective remain strong in the hearts of primary and secondary school students, no less so than those of Douluo Continent in later generations.

The Fairy Tale King cleverly placed "Wei Shenme" and "Black Cat Detective" on the cover. Although the cover design was not as elegant as that of Children's Literature, it was more childlike and interesting, and more attractive to young readers.

Wei Mingdao: "I'm more curious about how many copies of 'Children's Literature' will be distributed this month."

Lü Xiaoyan: "We will definitely take the initiative to reduce it. It just depends on how much we reduce it. If the reduction in circulation is less than the total circulation of 'King of Fairy Tales', then we won't have worked in vain."

Wei Ming nodded. If the combined circulation of the two publications exceeded that of the previous "Children's Literature," the publisher would earn more, it would give more children's literature writers a chance to appear on screen, and it would also create more jobs, helping the city solve several employment quotas. It would be a win-win situation.

Aunt Xiaoyan went to pick up Xizi and Lele, and Wei Ming walked with her for a while, arriving at the Peking University Affiliated Primary School. Xizi and Lele are now primary school students.

"Although the magazine's performance is impressive, there are still some dissenting voices," said Lü Xiaoyan.

"What happened? Did you get criticized?"

"It's mainly that book, 'If History Were a Group of Cats.' Some older folks felt it was too playful about history and our ancestors, and not serious enough," Lü Xiaoyan said nonchalantly. "But when I visited those bookstores today, many children picked up the book and immediately flipped through those few pages of comics, so I just let their words go in one ear and out the other."

“Younger readers will definitely look at the pictures rather than the text when reading, so my works have been made into picture books overseas. Maybe this comic series will make ‘King of Fairy Tales’ even more popular with readers.”

"Haha, I think so too. Anyway, Xizi and Lele both have a very high opinion of that comic."

Wei Ming also felt that there was no major problem and that controversy was normal. His new work, "In the Heat of the Sun," also sparked considerable controversy.

Just then, the school bell rang, and the little ones filed out one after another.

When Wei Ming saw Xizi walking out hand in hand with another little girl, he almost thought that Lele had gotten fatter in the few days he hadn't seen her. But upon closer inspection, he realized that Lele was walking alone behind her brothers.

Upon seeing his mother, Xizi said to the girl holding his hand, "Xiaomei, my mother is back. I'll tell you the story of the Calabash Brothers again tomorrow."

"Brother Xizi, can I go home with you? I want to know what happened to Sanwa later."

Wei Ming understood. So this kid was using the complete version of Calabash Brothers that he had heard to pick up girls!
As the saying goes, "You can tell what a person will be like at three years old." Wei Ming seemed to see the scene of the seven gourd brothers of Xizi's family surrounding him and calling him "Grandpa, Grandpa" in the future.

Lü Xiaoyan decisively refused, thinking to herself that it was a good thing she came to pick him up, otherwise this kid would really dare to bring his female classmate to her house. The key is that he just started school and she doesn't know him well.

A short while later, Xiaomei's grandmother came to pick her up. Sure enough, they weren't from the same neighborhood. Xizi looked at Xiaomei's back with great longing, while Xiaomei also kept turning back, her eyes full of reluctance to part with the rest of the "Calabash Brothers" story.

Xizi looked at Wei Ming: "Brother Ming, there are songs in 'Black Cat Detective,' but what about 'Calabash Brothers'?"

"Yes, I do. What do you want to do with it?"

Xizi chuckled: "Black Cat Detective let Lele sing, can I sing Calabash Brothers?"

He thought Lele was really cool in class as the singer of the theme song for "Black Cat Detective".

Upon hearing that her brother was going to cut in front of her, the gentle Lele immediately became anxious.

Wei Ming quickly reassured Lele: "Lele, don't be afraid. I originally wanted you two to sing this song together, but it's too early to talk about that now."

Afterwards, Wei Ming and Aunt Xiaoyan parted ways. Wei Ming did not go to Tuanjiehu today, but picked up Gong Xue at the gate of Beijing Film Studio. He took her to stay in a courtyard house for the night, mainly because she missed the police chief.

When they arrived at the location, the door was locked and no one was inside, so Wei Ming and his companion quickly went inside and locked the door from the inside.

First, Ginkgo the dog greeted us warmly, and then we saw Black Cat Detective battling the Calabash Brothers.

There's a gourd planted on one of the walls of this courtyard. Old Wei got it from an old friend who was much older than him. It's said to be of very good quality. Now the gourds have grown up, and they are indeed all plump and well-proportioned.

One of the gourds was shorter and almost fell to the ground. The sheriff grabbed it with his claws, and the gourd was ruined.

Wei Ming searched around the kitchen and found some chicken. He used the smell of the chicken to lower the police chief's guard and managed to have a go at it, but Gong Xue couldn't get a go at it.

Aside from Old Wei and his wife, they would reluctantly let Wei Ming touch them a couple of times; as for others, forget about it.

Afterwards, Wei Ming and Gong Xue went into the bedroom, where there were complete brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones of extremely high quality. Gong Xue could practice his skills and draw a few strokes.

Wei Ming picked up the newly released "October" magazine and started reading. After receiving the magazine, Wei Ming let Gong Xue read it first, because it was relatively difficult to buy, and Wei Ming only had this one copy.

Now, October magazine has a habit of putting the most popular works of the issue on the cover, which is a major innovation compared to the other three major magazines.

In addition to Zhang Jie's novel "Heavy Wings" and Wei Ming's novella "Sunny Days", this issue also includes Jia Pingwa's short story "Eulogy for 'Grandma Xiawu'".

When Gong Xue finished painting a large peach, Wei Ming put down his magazine and hugged her from behind: "The peaches from my hometown Hengzhou are famous. They were even a tribute to the imperial palace. The peaches are ripe right now."

Gong Xue blushed and said, "You can say whatever you want, but can't you keep your hands to yourself and stop stealing peaches?"

She glanced down at the magazine and changed the subject, saying, "I heard some colleagues from the Literature Department at the Beijing Film Studio talking about your new novel today."

"Oh, what did you say?"

Gong Xue: "They say it has great potential for adaptation, and it would be a good story to make into a movie."

Wei Ming: "But I don't think they can film it well."

"Why?"

"Because their age is not right, they are not children of those years who experienced the compound era, the feeling of the film will definitely not be right. Even if the parents of children of those years filmed it, it would not be the feeling I wanted."

“Then it will probably be a long wait before this novel can be adapted into a movie,” Gong Xue said. “After all, the oldest people of that generation are probably only thirty years old. Where can you find such young directors nowadays?”

Wei Ming said indifferently, "Then we'll wait. I don't care about the screenwriting fee. If there's no director I like, I'd rather not film it."

The script fees that Wei Ming used to value most are now something he no longer cares about.

~
In the dormitory of the 80 acting class at the Central Academy of Drama.

Jiang Wen, an 18-year-old greenhorn, had been lying in his dormitory for a day and a night, not sleeping, but reading Wei Ming's "In the Heat of the Sun" day and night, occasionally smoking a cigarette.

My roommate Liu Xiaoning is getting a little anxious.

"Old Jiang, I bought this magazine, and I haven't even read it yet. You've had it for a whole day and night and haven't returned it to me. Do you think that's fair?" Jiang Wen smiled and offered him a cigarette: "I'm in a hurry to finish reading it and return it to you as soon as possible. How about I give you some money, Brother Ning, and you can buy me another copy?"

Liu Xiaoning took the expensive cigarettes: "Buy a copy? You can't buy any. Everyone knows that Wei Ming's new work is in this issue of 'October,' who wouldn't want to read it? It'll be sold out in no time."

Jiang Wen wiggled his hips and turned his back to Liu Xiaoning, saying, "If you ask me, you don't need to watch. You won't understand it anyway."

Liu Xiaoning was furious. She took a big swig of her Zhonghua cigarette and said, "I also got into this university through my own hard work after graduating from high school. Don't think I'm illiterate just because I'm from a remote area!"

Jiang Wen turned around: "You misunderstood. That's not what I meant. I meant that this novel is about the stories of us kids from the Yanjing compound. You might not understand. Hey, it's written like someone is filming a documentary about us teenagers."

After reading it, Jiang Wen was filled with admiration for Wei Ming. He had always thought Wei Ming was amazing, but today he realized just how amazing he was, especially considering that Wei Ming wasn't even from a privileged family.

Some of the descriptions of the male protagonist, Mei Xiaojun, and those around him made Jiang Wen feel like he was running naked, as if he had no secrets at all in this writer's hands. Who didn't have a Mi Lan during their adolescence?

Moreover, the writing is wonderful. Apart from Lao She's novels with a Beijing flavor, this is the first time Jiang Wen has experienced the charm of Yanjing dialect in a novel.

Liu Xiaoning was somewhat unconvinced, feeling that these children of the Beijing compound were too arrogant: "I can even understand 'How the Steel Was Tempered,' so how could I not understand the stories of the children of the compound? I'm just wondering what's so great about you that you deserve to have Teacher Wei write a book to praise you."

Jiang Wen, who had almost finished reading, laughed and said, "This is not praise; Writer Wei is practically pointing his finger at us and cursing: 'You bunch of idiots!'"

Liu Xiaoning was even more surprised. How could someone be so happy after being scolded?

Just then, someone knocked on the door. Liu Xiaoning asked in surprise, "Who is it?"

Knocking on the door? Who would be so polite? Could it be a girl? Immediately, images of Cong Shan, Yue Hong, Lü Liping, and other girls from his class popped into his mind.

Then, as the door opened, I saw a chubby face with squinting eyes and glasses.

"Hey, Yingza!" Jiang Wen recognized his high school classmate. "You sit down for a bit, I'll talk to you after I've finished reading."

Yingda introduced herself to Jiang Wen's classmate, and Liu Xiaoning became even more polite upon learning that the other party was from Peking University.

When Yingda saw Jiang Wen reading "October," his lips twitched slightly.

When Jiang Wen finished reading "In the Heat of the Sun" in one go, he closed the magazine and was reluctant to return the book to Liu Xiaoning. He even picked up a towel to wipe the sweat from his forehead. It was so satisfying, so damn satisfying, it felt even more exhilarating than masturbating!
What the hell is this called youth? This is youth!

Yingda beckoned him, and Jiang Wen followed him downstairs to stroll around the school.

Yingda walked ahead with her hands behind her back: "I came to your school for a drama conference and just wanted to drop by to see you. Our drama club is having a show soon, so remember to come and watch!"

"Let's get this straight, you're not going to act, right?"

"I am the director."

Jiang Wen chuckled: "Then I'll go. Your acting skills are nowhere near as good as your old man's."

Although they were three years apart, they were indeed classmates, which was not unusual in those days. Moreover, Jiang Wen lived in the General Political Department compound, while Ying Da lived in the No. 1 compound on the Internal Affairs Street, so they were neighbors. Jiang Wen often went to Ying Da's house to play, and the old man of the Ying family also liked him very much.

"You were watching 'In the Heat of the Sun' just now, weren't you?" Yingda asked.

"Yes, this masterpiece by your Peking University prodigy is absolutely brilliant. I would call it an epic of a boy's youth," Jiang Wen commented.

He immediately saw through Wei Ming's creative intention: this was a youth literature story. The story took place in a buzzing world, but it neither reflected on the past nor left any scars. It was simply the story of an unreliable boy, and it also captured the essence of youth: impulsiveness, exaggeration, and self-glorification.

Just like in the novel: memories are altered by emotions, and the truth is impossible to verify.

In the end, he wanted to retract those words he didn't understand to Liu Xiaoning: youth is universal. Perhaps the youth in remote areas is not exactly the same as that of the children of the Yanjing compound, but the essence of youth is the same.

Now Jiang Wen even thinks that foreigners can understand it.

Yingda has already read it. Objectively speaking, the writing style is very good and the story is very attractive. Seeing that Jiang Wen praised Wei Ming's novel so much, he asked in confusion, "This novel has quite a few criticisms of our compound kids."

Jiang Wen said matter-of-factly, "I think we were really stupid back then, and what they wrote was quite objective."

Even to other readers unfamiliar with the children of high-ranking officials, this novel, through its depiction of their daily lives in Moscow—such as eating, chatting with women, and watching internal reference films—instills envy in outsiders.

Seeing how much Jiang Wen admired Wei Ming, and that Wei Ming was now a fundraising hero and a role model for the country, even though Yingda didn't get along with him, she didn't dare to say anything bad about him and could only wave her hand and leave.

Jiang Wen really likes stories like "In the Heat of the Sun" that blur the political background and focus on individual psychological experiences, because he feels that such stories are more enduring and will not feel outdated even decades later.

When the political winds change, many currently popular works will be ignored or even criticized in the future, but as long as the young people still have troubles, "In the Heat of the Sun" will always be meaningful.

At this time, some critics emerged in the literary world, criticizing Wei Ming and "In the Heat of the Sun," mainly targeting the aspects that Jiang Wen liked.

Some people feel that Wei Ming has lost the grandeur of "The Right Path of the World is Full of Vicissitudes" and the profundity of "The Shepherd's Class in Spring". Compared with the above works, "In the Heat of the Sun" is too petty.

Is a boy's teenage story really worth an 80,000-word essay by a national treasure-level young writer?
"It's such a waste of ink. If it were in English lyrics, it could probably bring the country hundreds of millions of foreign exchange." This is a comment from a literary critic in the Wenyi Bao (Literary Gazette).

His comments perfectly reflect the significance and value of "In the Heat of the Sun." This era is full of grand narratives and stories about serving the country and the people, but it lacks something about "for oneself."

It is precisely this special significance of "giving voice to individuals" that has made "In the Heat of the Sun" so popular among young people, especially college students who regard it as a classic, to the point that it is hard to find a copy.

I thought 50 copies of "October" was already a reasonable estimate, but it turned out to be far from enough. We received several calls urging us to reprint the book after only two days on the shelves.

Finally, the editor-in-chief waved his hand and said, "Print another 30 copies!"

Thus, Wei Ming and Wei Shenme joined forces to achieve a circulation of 1 million copies in September, and sparked huge discussions among their respective audiences.

Many of the witty and roguish lines from this novel have begun to circulate among young people.

After reading Wei Ming's novel in "October," Jia Pingwa from Shaanxi remarked to Lu Yao beside him, "I feel that from now on, a new kind of novel with Beijing dialect as its main feature will emerge."

Lu Yao put down his coffee cup and took another puff of his cigarette: "He writes about his Beijing hooligans, I write about my Qin land. Now show me how well I've written this piece, 'Life'."

~
Wang Shuo, who had already retired from the army and was selling sugar-salt water and glucose at the Yanjing Pharmaceutical Company's wholesale pharmacy, was not content with just doing that. He also persisted in creating art.

Having just finished writing a novel, I immediately sought out my good friend Zheng Xiaolong, a talented student from the Chinese Department of Peking University, to give him his opinion.

Zheng Xiaolong, also a child of a high-ranking official, laughed and said, "I'm just from a branch school, don't flatter me."

Wang Shuo casually picked up a magazine from Zheng Xiaolong's desk: "Hurry up and let me see it, don't be ungrateful."

Zheng Xiaolong chuckled: "I think you could learn a thing or two from Wei Ming. Take that magazine you're holding, turn to page 101."

~
(End of this chapter)