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

Chapter 606 Foreign Media: We've Overestimated Liu
After several rounds of drinks and dishes, Liu Yimin and Zheng Yuanjie decided to leave early. They said goodbye to Ximei and Liang Xiangdong, and also said goodbye to Liang Xiangdong's parents.

Liang Xiangdong's parents held Liu Yimin and Zheng Yuanjie's hands: "Professor Liu, Editor-in-Chief Zheng, thank you. Ximei and Xiangdong both work for you. You are both good people, thank you! Thank you!"

After being laid off from his state-owned enterprise job, Liang Xiangdong received no salary, but with a large family, they struggled to make ends meet. Now, Liang Xiangdong's salary at "King of Fairy Tales" has increased to over 300 yuan, making their lives much easier.

After Ximei and Liang Xiangdong got married, their combined salaries were more than enough to support their little family, and they even lived a very comfortable life.

Upon reaching the door, Liu Yimin told them to hurry back and entertain the guests. Zheng Yuanjie invited Liu Yimin to his place for a cup of tea and also invited Liu Fuqing and Yang Xiuyun to visit the editorial department of "King of Fairy Tales," which they co-founded.

Liu Fuqing and Yang Xiuyun also wanted to take a look around, so they agreed. Since Zheng Yuanjie was riding a bicycle, he was still pedaling hard on the way to the editorial office when Zhu Lin took them there.

When Zheng Yuanjie returned, covered in sweat, Liu Yimin and the others were eating watermelon in the yard.

"Yimin, where did you buy this car? I need to get one too," Zheng Yuanjie said through gritted teeth.

With 700,000 copies sold in the magazine and the comic book version combined, the profitability of "King of Fairy Tales" is now incomparable to what it used to be.

It's a bit of an exaggeration to say that you can buy a car with the money earned in the first phase, but it's not far off.

"Okay, if you know, I'll let you know. You can also ask around for help," Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Liu Yimin and Zheng Yuanjie discussed the development of "King of Fairy Tales" and how to quickly increase sales.

"We need to distribute our products widely. The more bookstores our magazine reaches, the better it will sell. In addition, we also need to appear in newspapers more often and give media interviews."

Our readers are children, but it's adults who buy the magazines for them.

Zheng Yuanjie said, "Currently, bookstores in some areas can achieve coverage of 80%, and in some higher areas, 90%."

"What about a lower one?"

"A lower percentage is forty percent, but it's hard to give exact figures. As for appearing in the newspaper, do you mean advertising?" Zheng Yuanjie asked.

"This isn't an advertisement; it's an interview. The purpose of the interview is to promote the magazine 'King of Fairy Tales,' which has many aspects worth promoting, such as its sales figures and its popularity among elementary school students. Parents who see that everyone is reading 'King of Fairy Tales' will definitely be more inclined to buy it for their children."

This is called "hitting a cow from across a mountain."

This is similar to how later children's product advertisements were made for adults, not children.

"Okay, I'll focus on these two things next."

"How about this, let's hold another children's literature competition, soliciting submissions nationwide, and setting up first and second prizes to build our reputation," Liu Yimin said again.

"Okay!"

Zheng Yuanjie felt that doing so would both increase the magazine's reputation and demonstrate its commitment to the development of children's literature. Furthermore, as an independent magazine, the call for submissions would lend it a certain degree of legitimacy.

Zheng Yuanjie acted immediately, planning to publish the competition notice in the newspaper in a few days: "We'll also make a few trophies and stuff; if we're going to do this, we'll do it properly."

"You discuss this with Xiang Dong. If you need any help from me, give me a call."

Around five o'clock, the family returned to the courtyard house.

Back home, Zhu Lin was still amazed by the sales figures of "King of Fairy Tales" magazine. A fairy tale magazine was aiming for a million copies in sales, and if it succeeded, it would be a huge shock to the entire magazine industry.

"Reaching a million copies is easy, but maintaining sales of a million copies is not so easy," Liu Yimin said.

Zhu Lin praised, "Teacher Liu, you have a great eye. This isn't just investing in a magazine; it's finding a golden goose."

"Haha, making money is so hard, we should make money generate more money."

Zhu Lin said quietly, "Teacher Liu, is it hard for you to make money? My salary is only a little over two hundred yuan now."

The thought of his salary of just over two hundred yuan instantly wiped the smile off Zhu Lin's face.

Liu Yimin comforted him, "Although your salary isn't high, you're a director. When people hear the word 'director' around, don't they give you a thumbs up?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Zhu Lin replied perfunctorily.

The next morning, Liu Yimin went to the Institute of Literature and Art. In the afternoon, he went to the Beijing People's Art Theatre to watch the rehearsal of "God's Visa". After He Fengshan's visit, Yang Lixin's rehearsals became increasingly smooth.

The script will be released in mid-August.

On July 15th, Liu Yimin drove his family to Beidaihe, where they rented a courtyard house again.

The two little ones had a great time at the beach, and Liu Fuqing, Yang Xiuyun, and Zhu's father stayed by their side to watch over them, afraid that something might go wrong.

Occasionally, Liu Yimin and Zhu's father would take the two little ones to learn to swim. But what they called learning to swim was really just playing around in the nearshore waters with swimming rings attached.

Liu Fuqing and Yang Xiuyun couldn't swim, so they sat on the shore and waited.

"Dad, you're a great swimmer!" Liu Yimin said to Zhu's father, who was swimming back from a distance.

"Of course, I liked swimming when I was young. But I don't swim much anymore after I started working. It's not elegant to jump into the lake in public." Mr. Zhu wiped the water off his face.

"Dad, you watch the two little ones, I'll give it a try." Liu Yimin swam for a while, but Zhu Lin wasn't there, so he was really bored.

The two carried Liu Yu and Liu Lin back to the beach, where Liu Fuqing and Yang Xiuyun handed them milk and snacks.

"Dad, there are so many people!" Liu Yu said, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons as she took the milk.

"Are you happy?" Liu Yimin wiped Liu Yu's eyes with his hand.

"I'm so happy, I want to go swimming again."

Liu Lin refused to go back into the water and instead bent over to dig sandcastles on the beach.

Mr. Zhu lay leisurely in his chair and said, “In this moment, I can’t help but want to compose a poem.”

"It's my in-laws who are more cultured; they can recite a poem every now and then," Liu Fuqing said with a smile.

Liu Yimin laughed when he heard Liu Fuqing's words, and turned his face to smile at the others.

During their time in Beidaihe, colleagues from the nearby Creative Home would occasionally come over and invite them to have dinner there.

The dilapidated Japanese-style building of the Creative Home has now been demolished, and Tang Dacheng, the secretary of the Writers Association, secured funding to renovate the Creative Home.

Liu Yimin met Zhang Guangnian, who was on vacation, here. Zhang Guangnian was writing a memoir, mainly about his experiences during the national salvation era.

After learning that Liu Yimin was also in Beidaihe, he would occasionally go to the courtyard to talk to him.

"Yimin, how do you think I should write my memoir?" Zhang Guangnian asked, frowning. "A memoir should be based on the facts."

Zhang Guangnian said self-deprecatingly, "That's true, but most people can't do it. They always want to embellish themselves."

"Haha, Lao Zhang, the fact that you thought of this shows that you're already being realistic," Liu Yimin laughed.

Zhang Guangnian shook his head: "It's difficult. Even writers can't escape the mundane. They can criticize themselves in their hearts, but their pens are very honest."

"Old Zhang, you don't need to rush to write your memoirs. You're in great health."

Zhang Guangnian is now over seventy years old and underwent cancer surgery a few years ago. Since stepping down as secretary of the Writers' Association, his mental state is much better than before.

"What are you writing?" Zhang Guangnian asked curiously.

"Write a novel, and while you're at it, write about my last trip to North America and Latin America."

Seeing that Liu Yimin hadn't finished yet, Zhang Guangnian suppressed his curiosity and said, "I'll read it after you finish. I feel empty after reading only half of it. Also, I expect a lot of writers will be coming to the Writers' House soon. If you're interested, you can go and chat with them."

If you're not interested, that's fine. I know you don't always like joining in the fun.

"It's not that I don't like joining in the fun, it's just that sitting together and praising each other is pointless," Liu Yimin chuckled.

"Haha, you're quite straightforward."

When Zhang Guangnian saw Liu Yu and Liu Lin swaying in, he quickly opened his arms and said, "Come here, let me hug you. Yimin, shouldn't these two be in kindergarten by now?"

"It's time for her to go to kindergarten. She'll start classes at Yenching University in September." Liu Yimin picked Liu Yu up and placed her on his lap.

"They're both guaranteed to do well in their studies. You and Comrade Zhu Lin are both smart. Like father, like son."

Liu Yu and Liu Lin wanted to go out, so Zhang Guangnian and Liu Yimin each carried one of them and walked outside. They didn't return until the sun went down.

"Comrade Zhang, I'm going back to Beijing tomorrow. Is there anything you need me to bring back?"

What are you doing back in Beijing?

“I have a small matter to attend to at the Institute of Literature. The list of candidates for the third training course for literature teachers has been finalized, and I need to get the Institute to issue a notice as soon as possible. On the other hand, I need to grade and mark the papers of this year’s students.”

"Oh, I don't really need to bring anything. I'm old now, and even if I hide here for a year or two, no one will remember this old man," Zhang Guangnian said helplessly.

"Comrade Zhang, the Writers Association still needs your guidance on many tasks. You're not someone who can sit idle. Besides, it's fine to steal a half-day of leisure and let others have a headache over the Writers Association's troublesome matters."

The next morning, Liu Yimin drove back to Yanjing. He handed the list to Yan Zhen and asked her to send out the training notices as soon as possible. The papers of the trainees were basically completed, and Liu Yimin was the mentor for five of them.

The paper was written in a fairly standard manner, and Liu Yimin didn't find it difficult to review.

"Teacher Liu, how's Beidaihe?" a student couldn't help but ask.

"What? You want to go to Beidaihe?" Liu Yimin asked in return.

The trainees chuckled. The name Beidaihe was familiar to them, but none of them had ever been there.

Liu Yimin put the paper away, thought for a moment, and said, "How about this, last year we organized a dinner party at home before the end of the session, so this year we won't hold it at my house. The institute will invite everyone to Beidaihe for three days."

"Really, Teacher Liu?"

“It’s the real deal. If Poetry Journal can organize trips to Beidaihe, we can too. Yan Zhen, make preparations these next couple of days, arrange transportation and accommodation, safety first.” Liu Yimin repeatedly emphasized the importance of safety.

I received news in the last two days that the Shanxi Provincial Writers Association organized an event and took a busload of writers, editors and critics to Wutai Mountain, but they were involved in a car accident on the way back.

Among them were Liu Yimin's old acquaintances, Jiang Zilong, and Shi Tiesheng. Some were injured, but no one died.

In a letter to Liu Yimin, Jiang Zilong wrote that after entering Wutai Mountain, many writers behaved improperly and blasphemed Buddhism, and many people speculated that this was why they were punished.

Liu Yimin comforted him, telling him to focus on recovering and not to overthink things. He couldn't help but criticize the writers who behaved inappropriately, saying that intellectuals talked about culture all the time, but when it came to actually experiencing it, they showed no respect.

"Teacher Liu, we will definitely be careful," Yan Zhen said with a smile. He had never been to Beidaihe either.

Liu Yimin took the submitted paper and left the Institute of Literature to meet up with Zhu Lin and her mother. Tomorrow was the weekend, and they could go to Beidaihe to rest.

"Teacher Liu, these are the materials Teacher Wan asked me to give you." Zhu Lin handed a folder to Liu Yimin.

Liu Yimin didn't pay any attention, put the folder on the passenger seat, and drove with Zhu Lin in the two cars towards Beidaihe.

When Liu Yu and Liu Lin saw Zhu Lin, they excitedly surrounded him, shouting and cheering.

"Mom, Dad taught us how to swim. Can you swim?" Liu Lin asked excitedly.

“Me? I taught your father to swim.” Zhu Lin smiled and looked at Liu Yimin.

Liu Yu asked in a childish voice, "When?"

"That was many years ago. Come on, don't ask anymore, let's go back and eat."

Zhu Lin promised to take Liu Yu and Liu Lin swimming the next day. Zhu's mother felt the coolness of the seaside and couldn't help but sigh that being a teacher is so comfortable with holidays.

After finishing his meal, Liu Yimin opened the file folder, which contained several foreign newspapers.

After arriving in Austria, He Fengshan went on to give speeches in Germany and other European countries, which had a great impact.

Newspapers in major countries are following up on the story, and most of the reviews are positive.

Among the stack of newspapers, one particular newspaper placed separately caught Liu Yimin's attention.

This is The Telegraph, a right-wing British newspaper, which published an article titled "China is turning heroic events into a global narrative."

The article claims that China connects its own historical events with the world, transforming Chinese heroes into world heroes by influencing the world and spreading its influence globally.

China seems to understand that in addition to economic and military strength, culture is also an important part of expanding its global influence.

Perhaps unintentionally, but we've seen that she is indeed doing so. Films like *Hachiko: A Dog's Tale*, *The Nanyang Volunteers*, and *God's Visa* are all pushing Chinese stories towards a globally influential narrative system.
These influential events clearly demonstrate the important role played by Chinese writer Yi Min Liu.

We thought too highly of Liu, believing him to be a pure writer, when in reality he was a propagandist!

"The Telecommunications Newspaper, interesting." A slight smile involuntarily crept across Liu Yimin's lips. The Telecommunications Newspaper wasn't very well-known, but he had read it quite clearly.

However, Liu Yimin believes that the Telecom News's starting point was not that it was knowledgeable, but rather that it wanted to stand out from the overwhelming reports, attract attention, and boost sales.

(End of this chapter)