Exciting 1979!

Chapter 87 is reprinted and reprinted again! (910 first order request!)

The editorial office of Contemporary magazine, which was founded in July this year, is located at No. 7 Chaonei Street.

The first issue printed 7 copies and sold out immediately. It established the basic structure of "complete literary genres and outstanding long-form documentaries" and held high the banner of realism in publishing.

The second issue printed 11 copies, which were also quickly absorbed by the market.

The third issue will be in December, and the manuscript collection work has been completed. The main products are Wang Meng’s novella "Buli" and Mo Yingfeng’s long serial "General's Chant".

There are also essays by Yao Xueying and Liu Xinwu, and two prefaces by Mao Dun and Ba Jin.

With such a strong lineup, they felt that even if they were conservative, they would have to print 13 copies.

"Dong Dong~"

"Please come in."

"Hello everyone, I'm Wei Ming, and I'm here to submit an article."

"Oh, you must be writer Wei! So young!" Editor Liu Yin was the first to notice him, but was soon snatched away by Bai Shurong.

Liu Yin: Hey, you’re still protecting your food.

"Xiao Wei, come and sit down. The manuscript is finished so soon?!" Bai Shurong was overjoyed. It was more than half a month earlier than the deadline they agreed on.

"Well, this is already considered slow." Wei Ming smiled, but the original content was also higher and it took quite some thought.

"Xiao Wei, are you in a hurry to get back to work?"

"Don't worry, I work the night shift, and I just need to be back at Peking University by six o'clock."

"Okay, then I'll take a quick look. If there's any problem, I'll circle it to save you the trouble of making another trip." Just as Bai Shurong was about to flip through the pages, several editors gathered around him.

"Look at it together."

So Bai Shurong looked at it first, and after reading a page, she passed it to another person, who then looked at the second page. In this way, four or five people could read a manuscript at the same time.

Some people read quickly, while others read slowly, so it is inevitable to rush them.

"Can you hurry up?"

"Can you please stop rushing me!"

Wei Ming's writing style is still on point, the result of decades of writing work. It is sophisticated and precise, and basically no one can find fault with it.

Moreover, the story is still very attractive. It begins with the rivalry between the poor son and his billionaire father who has returned from overseas. The father also has a young and beautiful mistress. The huge contrast makes the drama full of appeal and makes people curious about the protagonist's experience and his choices.

"Should I live abroad with my father and inherit billions of fortune?" This is the suspense throughout the entire novel.

The number of billions is so huge that it is impossible to resist seeing the ending. It is so huge that several readers at the scene had to think about it for several seconds before they had some idea of this number.

At first, several people thought that Xu Shengfang would not refuse. After all, everyone knows that living conditions in foreign countries are good, and many people are trying their best to get out, especially Xu Shengfang, who is an old rightist.

However, as Xu Shengfang interspersed his memories of life on the ranch and his wife, the ideas of several readers began to waver little by little.

But until Xu Shengfang actually rejected his father, in their hearts, the probability of agreeing was still dominant. After all, his father said that he could take his wife and children with him and did not ask him to abandon his wife and daughter and become a Chen Shimei.

But he still refused. The first reaction of several readers was regret, and then some shame.

Then they began to recall Xu Shengfang's words and deeds, as well as his conversations and confrontations with his father, and slowly began to understand his choices and admire his integrity.

Bai Shurong was the first to finish reading it. At the end, Wei Ming added a postscript: This novel is adapted from the stories of the author's parents and Yan Jitong and Wang Bailing from Ningxia.

She put down the manuscript and pulled Wei Ming aside to chat.

"Reflective literature is in vogue now, and everyone is criticizing it. But your novel seems a bit anti-traditional. Your attitude is more moderate, which doesn't seem to fit in with the current mainstream context."

Wei Ming: “Yes, I wrote another untypical story.”

"again?"

Wei Ming explained: "'The Story of Two Donkeys', oh, that's the one for 'Harvest', it's also a somewhat different piece of writing by educated youth."

"You said it was adapted from the stories of your parents and this couple. What's the story of this couple?" Bai Shurong asked.

It’s not her fault that she doesn’t understand. Yan Jitong and Wang Bailing just returned from Brazil on the eve of National Day, and there haven’t been many reports about them.

Years later, newspaper giants such as People's Daily and Guangming Daily would report their deeds one after another, and then there would be Zhang Xianliang's article "Spirit and Flesh".

"This couple is doing research on high-quality pig breeds in the northwest. I first heard of Wang Bailing's name at last year's National Science Conference. She is also an overseas Chinese..."

“In fact, they received a visa letter from Brazil last year, and the whole family of five was approved to move to Brazil.

"Because they had been separated from their parents for thirty years, they decided to go visit their relatives as a family.
"When they got there, their parents were wealthy and had arranged everything for them, including jobs, education, and housing. They didn't have to worry about anything, and they even helped them get green cards.

"They were gone for a year, and no one thought they would give up their comfortable living conditions overseas and return to their homeland to suffer, but not long ago, their family of five all returned home."

"Ah!" Bai Shurong said in surprise. Is there really someone like Xu Shengfang in reality?

Bai Shurong was going to look for relevant reports later, and then asked, "Did your parents have similar experiences to this couple?"

"Oh, my father doesn't have a rich biological father, but his uncle is on the other side. However, since most of the villagers are kind, he didn't suffer much. The love story of Xu Shengfang and Wei Fenfang in the novel is mainly based on my parents. My mother is a girl who fled from Sichuan and Chongqing. She was taken in by my grandmother and married to my father. She hasn't found her family there yet..."

After explaining the background of the story, Wei Ming asked, "Editor Bai, do you want me to take it back and revise it?"

Several editors who were circulating the manuscript murmured, "Why do we need to revise this? Just post it!" Bai Shurong smiled and said, "I have no problem with this. The theme is very good. This is the voice that the times need. Please reply first. I will give it to the person in charge for review later."

Although Yan Wenjing is now actually exercising the duties of editor-in-chief, he has not been given this position and is referred to externally as the "person in charge."

Wei Ming nodded and said goodbye to the editors. Bai Shurong found Yan Wenjing, and the other editors were still discussing the story.

“This story is going to be a hit!”

“I think it will be even more popular than “Er Niu”!”

"Of course, after all, the subject matter of The Horse Herder is so advantageous!"

"Erniu" can even be classified as an anti-Japanese novel, but this genre is now out of fashion.

The reason why it has caused such a sensation is due to Wei Ming's novel writing style and bold and sophisticated literary style, as well as the support of many critics, including no less than ten review articles published by Peking University.

This is also one of the benefits of having Peking University as a backing.

After Yan Wenjing read the full text, he suddenly felt that his previous estimate of the first print run of 13 copies for the third issue was a bit conservative.

Or just go for 15!

At that time, the first print run of "Yenching Literature and Art" was not so large. He wanted to surpass "Yenching Literature and Art" in one fell swoop!

Bai Shurong asked with a smile: "Editor-in-chief, what about the standard of manuscript fee..."

……

After returning to Peking University, Wei Ming went straight to work. However, when he and Mei Wenhua visited Shaoyuan, he asked Xiaomei to wait for him outside.

"Master, I'm going in to find someone."

Mei Wenhua looked at Wei Ming with envy as he easily sneaked in, and then ran to the downstairs of the girls' dormitory.

Mei Wenhua: Damn, they are not really lovers, right? We are just talking!
He stretched his neck to look, and fortunately, Wei Ming was stopped downstairs. The dormitory manager was still reasonable.

But soon, the red-haired beauty in pajamas came downstairs and forcibly dragged Wei Ming into the dormitory building.

Mei Wenhua was so depressed that he wanted to bang his head against the wall. No, he was serious! This was more painful than eating shit!

~
This was Wei Ming’s second visit to Merida’s dormitory. Also, Cha Jianying, a student from the Chinese Department of 77, was there too. She was wearing clothes.

"Xiao Wei, you and Merida? You..." Cha Jianying looked at the first male visitor in the dormitory in disbelief.

Merida: "Don't get me wrong, Leonardo is my client. Tell me whose music you want."

"Let's find some country folk songs, the most classic ones." Wei Ming said, and then Merida started to work.

Xiaocha was full of questions: "Leonardo?"

Wei Ming: "That's me. They gave me this English name. I like Leonardo da Vinci."

"Then why not just call me Da Vinci?"

Wei Ming shook his head: "Don't you think Leonardo looks more handsome?"

Wei Ming was worried that Mei Wenhua would die if she waited too long, so he said, "Take your time recording, I'll come and get it tomorrow. How much is it?"

"We are all friends, we'll talk about it when the time comes." Merida said generously.

"Thank you, Merida. I'll change a few more magazines. I've finished reading the previous ones."

"Get it yourself."

When Wei Ming came across Playboy, Xiao Cha's eyes immediately widened. She didn't dare to get close to the box after seeing the cover. The woman on the cover was wearing too little, which was immoral. How could she get married in the future?
However, she thought that men would definitely like to watch these, but unfortunately she was disappointed. Wei Ming had seen more explicit and soft-colored Playboy magazines, but they were not very attractive.

This time, Wei Ming stayed for almost ten minutes before leaving. The dormitory manager did not count the time. There were students accompanying him this time, so nothing could happen to him.

"Let's go, Xiaomei." Wei Ming pulled up the distraught Mei Wenhua and continued patrolling.

"Brother Ming, how about we talk in English?" Mei Wenhua realized that it is better to learn English well than to learn math, physics and chemistry well!

Wei Ming said a very simple sentence in English. Seeing Xiaomei's confused expression, he patted her on the shoulder and said, "It's hard for us to communicate now. You should practice more."

"So what did you just say?"

Wei Ming: "A classic line from the Hollywood movie Star Wars."

~
Early the next morning, Mei Wenhua began to practice English: "Ebantang, Ebantang, a, b, a, n..."

As he was reciting, Wei Ming heard another voice.

"Xiao Wei, do you want to go to the Literature Congress?"

Wei Ming opened his eyes drowsily, and saw Chen Jiangong standing on tiptoe looking at him.

"Old Chen, what do you mean?"

Chen Jiangong took out a work card and said, "You have been named. Now I formally invite you to attend the Writers' Congress!"

(End of this chapter)