Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 323 Highest Royalties for a Single Book

After the interview, Zhang Guangnian took out many photos of the United States from his document bag and handed them to the People's Daily reporters, asking them to choose the ones they could use.

It includes photos of Liu Yimin receiving an award on stage, as well as photos of Liu Yimin giving a speech at the university and greeting students.

Zhang Guangnian also shared what he knew with the reporter, making the information more detailed.

After the interview, Liu Yimin and Zhang Guangnian walked out of the Ministry of Culture together.

Zhang Guangnian laughed and said, "We came back just in time, and we can still see the great sales of 'Acacia Tree in the Minefield'."

“Comrade Zhang, you shouldn’t have only talked about me during the interview just now. It made it seem like I was the only one who did all the work of leading the delegation,” Liu Yimin said.

"We were just supporting actors in this whole thing. If it weren't for you, the Ministry of Culture wouldn't have organized this group. You did most of the work! Okay, okay, let's not talk about this anymore."

Zhang Guangnian waved his hand and changed the subject.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the Beijing People's Art Theatre, the two parted ways. Liu Yimin entered the theatre, where Cao Yu had already finished reviewing the script for "Green Book," which was now in Lan Tianye's hands.

When Su Min saw Liu Yimin, he gave him a resentful look.

Lan Tianye said with a smile, "Old Su, I've reserved a role for you in 'Green Book.' Don't be discouraged, there's always next time!"

"If I want to play the lead role, you have to play it for me too!" Su Min said sourly.

"At your age, you should find someone suitable for you."

Zhu Lin watched the two bickering, standing aside with a smile and no words, appearing completely detached.

Lan Tianye pulled Liu Yimin aside to look at the script, and marked some parts that needed to be changed. He then asked, "The part about the police station having homosexuality... should we change that?"

Lan Tianye, being in his fifties, seemed a little embarrassed to talk about it. Zhu Lin turned his head away, seemingly lost in thought.

Su Min came over with great interest, but did not offer any opinions. Instead, he listened to what Liu Yimin had to say.

"No need to cancel. When the doctor was discriminated against because of his homosexuality, his emotions completely exploded, further revealing his confusion about his own identity."

The Black protagonist in the book is arrested because of his homosexuality.

Facing the white driver, he shouted loudly in the rain: "If I'm not black enough, not white enough, and not man enough, then tell me, who am I?"

Sexual orientation is not the focus here, but rather the portrayal of homosexuality allows the audience to delve deeper into the protagonist's inner world.

"Is his peculiar hobby due to long-term discrimination, leading to this 'strange' change in him?" Su Min thought for a long time before finally using the word "strange."

"It's possible. The environment in which a person grows up has a great influence on them. Of course, it could also be something innate. It all depends on how you interpret it!" Liu Yimin explained.

Lan Tianye thought for a moment. Since Liu Yimin was adamant about not changing it, then he wouldn't change it either. However, he would have to carefully select the actors, at least one who fit the image.

Four people sat on the side, wondering whose was more "girly".

After thinking for a while, Lan Tianye looked at Su Min and said, "Old Su, didn't you want to play the lead role?"

One sentence was enough to infuriate Su Min, who wanted nothing more than to grab Lan Tianye by the collar and lift him up: "I want to play the white driver!"

"Alright, alright, if you don't want to act, then don't act. What's the rush? Let go of my hand." Lan Tianye said quickly when he saw that Su Min was getting impatient.

Su Min snorted and then let it go!

Lan Tianye approached several actors and asked if they wanted to play the lead role. After reading the script, they all remained silent.

In the past, everyone was eager to play the lead role, but now nobody wants to.

Lan Tianye initially sought out middle-aged male actors, but seeing their reluctance and the fact that none of them could actually portray the feeling, he turned his attention to younger actors.

“Has Xiao Pu never played a leading role before? I think this kid has been with the Beijing People’s Art Theatre for quite a while now, it’s time for him to take on a leading role!” Lan Tianye said, while keeping an eye on Su Min’s reaction.

Su Min wanted to argue, but remembering that his son was an actor, he suppressed his discomfort and remained silent.

"If we're choosing from young actors, I think Yang Lixin is more suitable. He's young and inexperienced, and with a little styling of his hair, he looks like an artist. The key is that, judging from his role as Fang Dasheng in 'Sunrise,' he's sure to capture that essence!"

Su Min breathed a sigh of relief and gave Liu Yimin a grateful look.

“That makes sense. So who will play the white driver?” Lan Tianye asked.

“A white driver is both a driver and a bodyguard; it would be best to find a strong, middle-aged man!” Liu Yimin said.

Lan Tianye said, "Then I have someone in mind. Comrade Wu Guiling, Comrade Lü Zhong's husband, is quite good."

After a while, Yang Lixin was called over. He was first asked to make a few orchid finger gestures. Yang Lixin, bewildered, reluctantly did a few.

Su Min and Lan Tianye clapped their hands and said, "Great, great, you're the one!"

"Director Lan, Director Su, Director Zhu, Comrade Yimin, which role are they?" Yang Lixin asked in confusion.

Lan Tianye handed the script to Yang Lixin and explained the play to him. After reading it, Yang Lixin said with difficulty, "Director, I'm not married yet. If I play this role and some gossip spreads, how am I supposed to find a partner?"

There are many examples of actors whose performances are so good that audiences take them seriously.

Yang Lixin almost cried when she thought about how everyone was saying she liked men because she acted so well.

She mumbled a repeated sentence: "I don't have a boyfriend yet!"

"Hey, Lixin, you're an actor. An actor is someone who takes whatever role is given to them and doesn't haggle. This novel won a prestigious American literary award, which is very significant. The script is attracting attention both domestically and internationally. The theater entrusted this role to you because they trust you."

"Our director and Comrade Liu Yimin both believe that you can overcome the difficulties and complete this task!" Lan Tianye said earnestly, his expression filled with appreciation and encouragement.

Liu Yimin also said, "Comrade Lixin, I hope you will not let this trust down. We have surveyed all the male actors in the theater, and we think you are the most suitable. You are versatile and can play different roles. In the future, you will be the backbone of the Beijing People's Art Theatre."

If you can't even take this first step, how can the Beijing People's Art Theatre expect you to shoulder important responsibilities in the future!

Liu Yimin and Lan Tianye were the main perpetrators of the psychological manipulation, with Zhu Lin and Su Min assisting. Yang Lixin's eyes gradually changed from bitterness, confusion, and clarity to determination.

After taking a deep breath, he immediately declared, "Director Lan, Director Su, Director Zhu, Comrade Liu Yimin, rest assured, I will definitely overcome the difficulties and play this role well, so as not to bring shame to the Beijing People's Art Theatre or to you." A fire seemed to be bursting forth in his chest. The theatre trusted him so much; how could he betray that trust? The future pillars of the theatre still awaited his shoulders!

The group exchanged smiles, and Zhu Lin, unable to contain himself any longer, secretly turned his head away.

With the lead actor chosen, selecting the rest of the roles became much easier, and Zhu Lin and Lan Tianye got busy with casting.

Liu Yimin corrected the problems pointed out by Lan Tianye; they were all minor issues.

So Zhi sent the script fee to Liu Yimin, feeling very regretful that he wasn't in the role this time.

"A thousand yuan? How can you be so generous?" Liu Yimin asked subconsciously.

So she pouted, implying that she used to be stingy.

“Yimin, this is mainly a foreign play. The Beijing People’s Art Theatre can import a foreign script that is much more expensive than this, so I’ll give you a thousand yuan!” Yu Shizhi sighed and said.

Liu Yimin quickly said, "Okay, I understand, please don't sigh, hahaha!"

“As actors and screenwriters, we have to think about the theater. Yimin, when you went to America, did you see any plays performed by Americans?” Yu Shizhi asked curiously.

"Time is tight, we don't have time for that. Do you want to see a play performed by foreigners?"

"I want to see how our American counterparts perform; foreign plays are only authentic when performed by foreigners!"

"Next year, the American screenwriter will personally direct 'Death of a Salesman,' and you can ask him about it then."

The following day, Li Shu, an editor from People's Literature Publishing House, and Cui Daoyi went to the Overseas Chinese Apartment and found Liu Yimin. Li Shu's file bag contained remittance slips.

Liu Yimin poured tea, and Li Shu handed the file bag to Liu Yimin: "This is the royalties for the reprint of 'Triumphant at Midnight' and the previously published single volumes, mainly for 'Triumphant at Midnight'."

Because our publishing house collects joint publishing fees from several other publishing houses, they also sent your print run royalties to our publishing house for our financial verification purposes.

"Okay, how many copies of the single volume have been sold so far?" Liu Yimin asked.

"There are already more than 6.2 million copies, and the growth rate has slowed down, which is a normal trend!" Li Shu chuckled.

Cui Daoyi calculated the royalties and said, "No matter how much this royalty is, it won't reach the $150,000 that Harvard University offered!"

Upon hearing that it was $150,000, Li Shu immediately perked up and spread out today's People's Daily on the table: "Yimin, you're really generous. This is $150,000, not just $15. Everyone was talking about it like crazy on the way here."

On the street, people were yelling and screaming, as if they'd been through something traumatic. Yeah, I was shocked too when I heard about $150,000. Damn it, that's enough for our family of five to live on for a lifetime!

Liu Yimin picked up today's People's Daily; the news was on the front page. The headline used a compound headline format:
[“Comrade Liu Yimin received an award in the United States, and Harvard University offered him a $150,000 scholarship”]

I am Chinese, and I want to go back to China.

The news photo on the side of the page included a picture of the award ceremony and another of students displaying their enthusiasm. In the center of the picture, an American girl gently kissed Liu Yimin's cheek.

The caption below the picture reads: "Comrade Liu Yimin received a warm welcome from American students at Columbia University."

"Why did you choose this photo?" Liu Yimin said speechlessly.

“None of that matters. What matters is the $150,000! On the way here, some people were shouting that it must be fake, that it must be propaganda. But everyone knows that even if it were true, the People’s Daily wouldn’t publish fake news.” Cui Daoyi slapped his thigh several times.

Li Shu said, "I am Chinese, so naturally I should return to China. That sounds really exciting. Do you have any inside information to share with us?"

"There's not much inside information, that's basically it, but the plot isn't that sensational!" Liu Yimin placed the newspaper behind his desk.

"There's also a commentary article attached; don't you want to take a look?" Cui Daoyi said with a smile.

"Really? Who wrote it?"

Li Shu said, "The central leaders used pseudonyms in the special commentary in the People's Daily."

When Liu Yimin opened the commentary, he saw the title, "The future of reform and opening up belongs to young people, and young people should strive to build the motherland." The title was plain and straightforward, clearly indicating that it was written by an old cadre.

The comments section called on young people to learn from Liu Yimin and scientists like Qian Xuesen who resolutely returned to China to participate in socialist construction.

The article concludes by quoting Liang Qichao's saying, "When the youth are strong, the nation is strong," and indirectly criticizes the rising "looking-forward" mentality and bourgeois liberalization ideas in society.

"The slogan of lofty ideals has been chanted for decades, but it has gradually changed in just a few years. Now, the discussion in society is not about joining the Party or building the country, but about making money and going abroad."

Before leaving, Cui Daoyi said these words, his tone filled with endless confusion.

The rapid rise of "money worship" caught the whole society off guard. A primary school student wrote to Ba Jin, telling him that his parents had started to prioritize money. In his reply, Ba Jin called the speed at which this trend spread "the golden plague."

It actually spreads faster than a plague...

After they left, Liu Yimin opened the folder. There were more than a dozen remittance slips in total, indicating that various publishing houses were continuously reprinting the books, and the remittance slips also showed which batch of reprint fees were being paid.

Adding it all up, it totaled 40,000 yuan. Roughly estimated, it should be the royalties for seven or eight million copies.

In other words, more than six million copies were sold, and major publishers still have more than one million copies in stock.

Forty thousand yuan—this is the highest royalties Liu Yimin has received for a single book so far, for three sets of two-courtyard houses!
Before he could even feel happy, Yan Jiayan called and asked him to come to the school.

Liu Yimin rode his motorcycle to school, and the students he met all greeted him. Some even covered their faces with newspapers and laughed at Liu Yimin, while blushing and whispering to the people next to them.

Upon arriving at the office, after greeting a few professors, Yan Jiayan rushed out of the office: "Good lad, you withstood the sugar-coated bullets of capitalism!"

"Hahaha, the sugar-coated bullets of capitalism will not corrupt the patriotic hearts of our young people!" Wu Zuxiang also held a newspaper, but he specifically pointed to the photo of Liu Yimin being kissed on the cheek.

When Yan Jiayan saw the newspaper, he felt relieved but also a little scared. If they had really been poached, the Chinese Department would have suffered a great loss.

"Professor Yan, is this why you called me here?"

"Isn't this a big deal? Looks like we can't let you go abroad so easily in the future. You're a hot commodity, everyone's eyeing you!" Yan Jiayan said with a smile.

Several professors surrounded Liu Yimin, and some young lecturers and teaching assistants also rushed over. The office was packed with people listening to Liu Yimin talk about contemporary American literature.

(End of this chapter)