Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 267 Sample Issues and Awards

As Chen Fan watched the postman walk into the courtyard, his first thought was, "How come the letter he sent wasn't lost?"
It's good that it wasn't lost; the important thing is that the sample copies were preserved.

The postman strode over, pulled out a large envelope, waved it in his hand, and laughed, "I've been a postman for half my life, and I've never received a sample copy of a magazine before, especially not 'Jiangnan Literature and Art.' That's the top magazine in our Jiangnan Province, it's incredible!"

Determining whether it's a sample copy is simple. Sample copies are mailed in envelopes, while newspapers and magazines sold through the post office are distributed in bulk. Postmen know exactly which newspapers and magazines are being delivered and when. It wasn't the expected time for "Jiangnan Literature" to arrive, yet a thick manila envelope arrived. A quick touch inside revealed three magazines—it would be strange if it weren't a sample copy.

It was only then that Xiao Liewen and Lin Yuanxiang realized what was happening.

Xiao Liewen, chewing on his pipe, quickly patted himself down and realized he'd forgotten to bring any cigarettes.

Lin Yuanxiang had already taken out his Pegasus cigarette from his pocket, pulled one out and handed it over, saying with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work."

The postman handed the envelope to Chen Fan, took the cigarette, and laughed heartily. "No need to thank me. Teacher Chen is from your Lujiawan, and also from our Nanhu Commune. As a Nanhu native, I am very proud of him."

Chen Fan took the envelope and chuckled, "You're too kind. I don't even know if it's a sample copy."

Xiao Liewen quickly leaned over and said, "Then open it and take a look."

Chen Fan tore open the seal and rummaged around inside. The first thing he pulled out were three copies of the "Jiangnan Literature and Art" magazine.

The white background features the four large characters "Jiangnan Literature and Art" at the top, with a dividing line below and an illustration below that. Although it looks a bit low-class from a modern perspective, it fully embodies the style of a literary and artistic magazine.

At least they have an illustration, while many other magazines just have a few big words and nothing else. That's what you call artistic flair.

Before the three magazines had even warmed up in their hands, Xiao Liewen took them away, making it a perfect set for all three of them, including the postman.

Chen Fan, his face dark, continued to rummage through the tacks; there was another small envelope inside.

He folded the large envelope and stuffed it into his pocket, then opened the small envelope. When he looked inside, Chen Fan's heart skipped a beat.

The first thing you see is a huge stack of tickets and certificates inside; you'll only know what they are when you take them out.

However, since there were outsiders present, he couldn't take it directly, so he pulled out another piece of paper.

Upon opening it, it turned out to be a "notification letter of manuscript acceptance".

(This is a manuscript acceptance notice from 79. By then, the royalty system had been reinstated, so the author received 1 yuan in royalties.)
Chen Fan carefully read the notification letter, ignoring other unimportant details. The gist of it was that his submission had been accepted, and he would be mailed three sample copies of the journal. He was also encouraged to submit more articles.

As for royalties, in accordance with the principle that "art serves the people," there is no money, but some vouchers will be given as encouragement.

Chen Fan blinked rapidly, folding the notification letter back up and stuffing it into the envelope while muttering to himself.

I received a subsidy of coupons for submitting articles to "Jiangnan Literature and Art". So why didn't I receive coupons for the articles I submitted to Yunhu Daily, and the articles published by Nanhu Commune Broadcasting Station and Gufeng County Broadcasting Station before submitting to Yunhu Daily?
……

"Articles published in the name of an organization will be recognized and encouraged by the original organization!"

After seeing the postman off, Xiao Liewen swaggered inside. Hearing Chen Fan's question, he immediately said, "Didn't the team give you any rewards for the articles you published last time?"

Chen Fan raised his head and thought for a moment, "I think so."

Xiao Liewen was unhappy. "What do you mean 'seems like'? Every reward you received came from the brigade headquarters' warehouse. Do the math yourself: enamel mugs, notebooks, pens—after all those rewards were given out, Old Yang was worried you'd be using duplicates, so he gave you work boots, waterproof boots, and a set of clothes. Isn't that right?"

Chen Fan unconsciously shrank his neck. "Yes."

Shouldn't it be a double reward? The Prefectural Committee Daily is so stingy.

Xiao Liewen: "That's it then."

As he spoke, he held up the magazine in his hand, a smile returning to his face. "Hey, let me tell you, although this novel is about the story of our team, you didn't explicitly say so, and it wasn't published under the name of Lujiawan or Nanhu Commune. Whether or not this article deserves a reward depends on whether Secretary Yang, Captain Zhang, and Captain Ye return and we discuss it before we can decide."

Chen Fan rolled his eyes slightly, reached out and took the magazine back, then reached out and took the magazine from Lin Yuanxiang's hand as well, putting it back into his cloth bag with lightning speed. He grinned and said, "Since it was published in my personal name and has nothing to do with the team, I certainly can't accept the reward. That's settled then, Captain, Uncle Lin, you two continue chatting, I'm going back to find some wood to make a saddle."

"Hey, stop right there!"

Xiao Liewen immediately shouted, grabbed Chen Fan's bag, and said with a serious face, "You are a member of our team, and a cadre of the brigade headquarters. All the veterinarians in the production team are under your jurisdiction..."

Hearing this, Chen Fan was a little confused. When did I become the chief veterinarian? There's a big difference between the chief veterinarian and the chief veterinarian, okay? Xiao Liewen kept talking, "In short, your success is inseparable from the training of the brigade headquarters. Your achievements are also a source of pride for the brigade headquarters. With such great achievements, the brigade headquarters must reward you!"

Lin Yuanxiang nearly chewed up his cigarette butt while standing to the side, thinking to himself, "Sure enough, environment shapes people. Xiao Manzi, who dared to go in and out of the gunfire three times back then, is actually spouting this kind of nonsense?!"
Chen Fan, however, didn't think it was nonsense, and his eyes immediately lit up. "What reward?"

Xiao Liewen coughed lightly, blinked, and said, "We'll have to wait for Secretary Yang and Captain Zhang to return before we discuss this together."

Chen Fan's smile vanished. "I suddenly remembered that I still need to go to the fields to gather inspiration. Right now, the villagers are planting rice seedlings, which should be the best time for sketching. I promise the leaders that I will definitely paint the working spirit of our Lujiawan commune members, promote the collective labor spirit of Lujiawan to the whole Yunhu area, and showcase the fruitful results of Lujiawan's agricultural learning from Dazhai."

Xiao Liewen clicked his tongue twice, looking conflicted, still holding onto the end of his pipe and the cloth bag he was clutching, and asked directly, "Just tell me, how can I keep one at the brigade headquarters?"

Just kidding! An article written by someone from Lujiawan Brigade was published in "Jiangnan Literature," the best literary magazine in Jiangnan Province (I heard it from the postman). If their brigade headquarters didn't even have a sample copy, wouldn't they be laughed at to death?!

Sample copies are not comparable to books bought in bookstores; they have very different meanings. Everyone can buy books in bookstores, but can everyone have sample copies?

Lujiawan can't afford to lose face like that!
Hearing Xiao Liewen's words, Chen Fan hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and whispered, "Any other reward is fine, I just want a cowhide."

Xiao Liewen was immediately startled, and the pipe fell directly from his mouth.

Chen Fan reacted quickly, grabbing the pipe and returning it with both hands, saying, "Captain, here's your pipe."

Xiao Liewen grabbed it and glared at him angrily, "A cowhide? You really dare to dream! Do you know how much a cowhide costs? 4 yuan per kilogram. A large water buffalo hide can weigh up to 50 kilograms, which is 220 yuan. Writing an article costs more than 4 yuan. Are you crazy for money?"

Chen Fan's eyes widened. "Is this much of a boast?"

Xiao Liewen snorted, "What do you think?"

He paused for a moment, then immediately shook his head. “No, the production team doesn’t have any cowhides. Not to mention Lujiawan, even Nanhu Commune doesn’t have any. Last year, the national cowhide purchase target was not met, and this year the situation is not good either. The higher authorities have repeatedly demanded that we strengthen the supervision of cowhide purchases and resolutely eliminate the private trading of cowhides. If it were a few years ago, we might be able to find you a cowhide, but now, there really isn’t any.”

Chen Fan looked at him and felt that he didn't seem to be lying, so he hesitated for two seconds and then said with a resolute look, "If you don't have cowhide, horsehide will do."

Xiao Liewen felt his anger flare up even more. "No cowhide, no horsehide."

Lin Yuanxiang, unable to bear it any longer, suppressed a laugh and asked, "Little Chen, what do you need so many hides for?"

Chen Fan turned around, his face contorted with pain, and said, "Look at this cloth bag of mine, the captain has almost torn it to shreds..."

Xiao Liewen glanced at him sideways, as if to say, "You little brat, trying to scam me?"
Chen Fan, oblivious to his expression, continued speaking to Lin Yuanxiang, "I just want to make a leather bag myself, and also a couple of pairs of leather shoes, leather gloves, and if I could make a couple more belts, that would be even better."

Xiao Liewen was immediately speechless with anger, "Didn't I give you a pair of big leather shoes?"

Chen Fan said innocently, "But those are made of wool, only suitable for freezing weather. How can you wear woolen leather boots like this?"

Xiao Liewen was about to speak when Lin Yuanxiang waved his hand to stop him, grinning and saying, "You should think about whether you have any other kind of cover, otherwise, even if you can snatch this sample copy, he can still steal it from you."

Hearing this, Xiao Liewen was at a loss.

Judging from Chen Fan's expression, it seemed quite possible!
After a two-second pause, Xiao Liewen suggested, "How about I give you ten yellow weasels?"

Chen Fan said with a long face, "Captain, aren't you afraid that stinky bastard will make me dizzy and unable to write anymore?"

Weasel skin? How could he even think of that?

It's not that weasel fur is bad; weasel fur is no worse than sheepskin. But how should I put it? When you feel disgusted by weasels, wouldn't it be even more disgusting to carry a bag made of weasel fur every day?
Seeing that Chen Fan disagreed, Xiao Liewen could only sigh, "Two sheepskins, agree if you want, otherwise forget it."

Chen Fan didn't believe he would back down, and immediately asked for an exorbitant price without hesitation: "Five."

Xiao Liewen immediately flew into a rage, "At most 3 cards."

Chen Fan looked aggrieved. "At least four."

Lin Yuanxiang, holding two dogs, chuckled and said, "How about three sheepskins, and some other things?"

Chen Fan and Xiao Liewen exchanged a glance, and the next second they said in unison, "Deal."

(End of this chapter)