Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 14 Getting better
In the following days, Dou Wei first pestered Zhang Yan to tell him stories about time travel and copying poems, and later began to discuss with him how time travelers should communicate with Li Bai and Du Fu, and whether there was anything in common between ancient poetry and rock music.

No matter how much excitement he sought, Dou Wei couldn't dream of a similar scene. In the end, he could only try to rewrite a song based on his increasingly hazy memories.

On the contrary, Zhang Yan had another dream about the future on May 30th. This time, the middle-aged author in the dream seemed to have chosen a subject, and it seemed that he wanted to write a story about the end of the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, and was frequently searching for relevant information.

This dream lasted for several hours before ending, so it seems that the first long dream was an exception.

Compared to the second dream, there was even less useful information this time. Although it wasn't as convenient to look up information in 1990, relevant information about the Ming Dynasty could still be found if one wanted to.

The only good thing is that it's confirmed this dream of the future will continue, which means Zhang Yan will still have the opportunity to obtain more information about the future.

After June, Dou Wei's phone calls gradually decreased, while Wang Zhongqi's phone calls gradually increased.

In fact, Wang Zhongqi's anxiety was no less than Zhang Yan's. This was not only because "The Great Detective of the Red Chamber" was the first full-length novel he had reviewed and approved since he became an editor, but also because he hoped to get rid of the predicament of being a "supervisory eunuch" with this book.

So in June, Wang Zhongqi would immediately share any news or developments with Zhang Yan, and they would talk for half a day, which made the convenience store downstairs complain.

So Zhang Yan discussed it with his parents and gritted his teeth, paying out of his own pocket to install a landline at home.

While landline telephones were becoming increasingly common in the 90s, the initial installation fees and call charges in the first few years were still beyond the reach of ordinary families.

The installation fee in Hengjiang City is relatively low, but even with connections, it still costs 2,300 yuan, plus you have to prepare a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes for the installer.

Zhang Yan's advance payment of 150,000 words of manuscript fee was only 2,700 yuan. After buying gifts and other expenses in Tianjin, he only had 1,400 yuan left. Fortunately, he had saved some money by selling ghost money before, otherwise it wouldn't have been enough to cover the computer installation fee.

After paying the installation fee, Zhang Yan felt the pinch for a long time.

He finally understood why online novels had to be so long—it all cost money!
Fortunately, after the phone was installed, all the good news I received was good news.

Starting from June 5th, the editorial department of Popular Fiction Newspaper received feedback from readers all over North China, the vast majority of which discussed "The Famous Detective of the Dream of the Red Chamber".

Some were interested in the modern detective solving cases in ancient times, some praised the novel's writing style, and others were curious about which beauty the protagonist would eventually marry...

Of course, the most enthusiastic response came from the idea of ​​traveling through time to copy poems.

After all, the first issue only covered up to the second case, and the most exciting part was the part where the protagonist, Lin Daiyu, and Jia Lian took a boat back to the capital.

As the saying goes, "If you can read three hundred Tang poems by heart, you can copy them even if you can't compose poetry." Even if modern people haven't read three hundred Tang poems by heart, they can still read a dozen or so. So almost every reader who sees this scene will unconsciously put themselves in the shoes of the poet.

This is also why in the early days of online novels, historical novels frequently featured scenes of plagiarizing poems to show off – before readers got tired of them, this was one of the most relatable storylines for ordinary readers.

So by mid-June, the Popular Fiction Newspaper had received several submissions, all of which involved traveling through time to copy poems from the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties.

Most of them were just chronological accounts, except for one short story about traveling through the early Tang Dynasty, which was quite well written.

After discussion, the editorial department published this short story in the second issue of the revamped magazine, which was in July, right after "Detective of the Red Chamber".

So by July, there were even more submissions of poems from the "Transcending Poetry" style—which confirmed the editor's note's claim that it "pioneered a new style."

Thanks to the success of the first two issues of "Detective of the Red Chamber", the revised and supplemented "Popular Fiction Newspaper" not only saw a continuous increase in sales, but also a significant improvement in reputation. Previously, the lack of sensationalism, pornography, and fresh stories naturally left readers dissatisfied.

However, the real outbreak occurred in August.

This issue of the magazine contains the full contents of the "Heart-Eating Heavenly Dog Case," and the unprecedentedly ingenious crime method, the shocking behind-the-scenes truth, and Xue Pan's seizing the opportunity to intervene by chance have all aroused strong reactions from readers.

The subsequent scene where Xue Pan invites the protagonist to Pear Fragrance Courtyard, and Xue Baochai prepares to eavesdrop behind a screen, has left readers eagerly anticipating what's to come.

Throughout August, the number of letters and submissions received by Popular Fiction Newspaper far exceeded previous records, and sales soared from 48 copies last month to 60 copies!

While this is far from the monthly sales of 150 million copies of Hubei's "Legend of Today and Yesterday," it is even less significant compared to the monthly sales of 400 million copies of Shanghai's "Story Club."

However, it already held a dominant position in the popular fiction magazine industry in the north—of course, after last year's major crackdown on vulgarity, obscenity, and vulgarity, there are actually not many popular fiction magazines left in the north.

So at the end of August, Zhang Shaomei, the editor-in-chief and president of Tianjin Literature Magazine, the superior department of Popular Fiction Newspaper, specially sent a car to invite Zhang Yan to Tianjin.

This is mainly about renewing the contract and issuing a special edition.

In July, the government introduced new regulations that raised royalties from 6-20 yuan per thousand words to 10-30 yuan per thousand words.

Therefore, the magazine is preparing to raise the payment for "Detective of the Red Chamber" from 18 yuan per thousand words to the maximum of 30 yuan. They have also made a special exception by retroactively paying the previous word counts at 30 yuan each.

This demonstrates the novel's immense popularity and the magazine's high regard for Zhang Yan.

As for the additional special edition, it was mainly due to the strong demand from readers who wanted to increase the number of updates for "The Detective of the Red Chamber". There were more than a thousand letters related to this in August alone.

It's almost impossible to directly increase the number of updates in a monthly magazine. Originally, each issue only publishes three or four novels. If "The Detective of the Red Chamber" has more words, what will happen to the other novels?
However, publishing a special issue on its own is still possible.

Because it was a buyout system and a lot of manuscripts had already been submitted in advance, the publication of this special issue actually had little to do with Zhang Yan. The reason he was invited to participate in the discussion was simply to further express the importance attached to him.

The issue of printing a special edition was quickly agreed upon at the meeting, but how to print it proved to be a problem. Some people thought that the first 120,000 words and the following 100,000 words should be published together in the special edition so that new readers wouldn't be confused.

However, opponents argue that doing so would inevitably lead to a price increase, which would be unfair to long-time readers who have already read the first four issues.

In order to maintain its core readership, the editorial department adopted a compromise: the special issue would only publish the remaining 100,000 words of plot, but would include a 500-word preface before the main text.

As for the release date of the special issue, it is set for September 15th—so what was mentioned earlier is the fourth issue, not the third.

After these two matters were settled, Zhang Yan received an invitation to a family dinner from Zhang Shaomei, the editor-in-chief of the magazine—it was only then that Zhang Yan learned that she was also from Hengjiang.

After chatting with the president about their shared hometown,

Zhang Yan was originally planning to return home, but after contacting his family, his parents advised him not to rush back and to stay in Tianjin to avoid trouble.

In recent months, due to the magazine's hot sales, Zhang Yan's fame in his hometown has grown, causing unrest at home. A few days ago, when he was picked up by the magazine's Santana, it caused a sensation in half of the city.

After all, Hengjiang is a poor place, and bureau leaders usually travel by Jeep or GAZ-69.

Not to mention, this car was sent directly from Tianjin.

After Zhang Yan left, the threshold of his house was worn out by footsteps, and even the Education Bureau sent people to investigate. Relatives from the countryside also came in droves.

"Anyway, you should stay outside for now. Your second aunt has taken over your wire bed, so I have to sleep at the newspaper office desk at night."

"What is my second aunt doing here?"

"She wants you, a great writer, to help her find a proper job in the city for your cousin."

"No, my cousin didn't even graduate from junior high school..."

"I'll stop here for now, another phone call is coming in, I wonder what kind of monster it is."

Hanging up the phone, recalling his father's helpless and irritable tone, Zhang Yan also felt somewhat agitated. Fame was indeed a double-edged sword; if you enjoyed the benefits of success, you had to face the troubles that followed.

Perhaps he should save up to buy a house first; a new home would be much quieter—he originally sold ghost money to buy a bigger house, so this can be seen as staying true to his original intention.

When Zhang Yan told his editor, Wang Zhongqi, about his plan to stay in Tianjin temporarily, Wang Zhongqi was naturally very supportive and immediately submitted an application for accommodation and meal subsidies to the magazine, allowing Zhang Yan to focus on his creative work in Tianjin.

A few days passed like this, and on the evening of August 31st, Zhang Yan suddenly received another call from his father.

Zhang Xingguo said on the phone that a businessman from Beijing came to his door in the afternoon, saying he wanted to discuss with Zhang Yan the matter of publishing "The Great Detective of the Red Chamber" separately.

The other party claimed to be a bookseller. Although not a government employee, he had relevant resources and guaranteed to sell the books. He also said that the royalties he offered would definitely be more generous than those offered by state-owned publishing houses.

Previously, state-owned publishing houses were responsible for publishing books, but suddenly a private individual has appeared...

Zhang Xingguo felt it was unreliable, so he used the excuse that his son was in Tianjin and only asked the other party to leave a contact number.

"Bookseller?"

Zhang Yan had never heard of such a profession before. He was interested in asking the editorial department, but then he remembered that Tianjin Literature also had a publishing house, so it seemed inappropriate for him to go and ask some individual bookseller.

So he changed his mind and said, "Then please give me your contact number, and I'll have my friend in Beijing ask around for you."

The so-called friend in Beijing naturally refers to Dou Wei. Although Guo Chuanlin was quite enthusiastic in person, he didn't contact him much afterward. On the other hand, Dou Wei would call every few days to discuss turning their dream into a song with Zhang Yan.

The last time the two contacted each other was before Zhang Yan came to Tianjin. At that time, Dou Wei excitedly said that his new song, which was based on his dream, was almost finished and he was going to give the band members a surprise in the next few days.

It's been six or seven days since we last contacted each other, and I wonder how his new song is going.

Zhang Yan first dialed Dou Wei's home landline, but no one answered after a long time. So he tried Dou Wei's pager, and this time someone called back quickly.

However, it wasn't Dou Wei who made the call, but rather his girlfriend, Jiang Xin.

"Dou Wei is currently hospitalized with a fractured left leg and it's inconvenient for him to come out and make phone calls."

"what?!"

Zhang Yan asked in surprise, "How did he get injured? He was perfectly fine just a few days ago!"

"They got someone to beat them up!"

Jiang Xin said angrily, "Ding Wu, the lead singer of the Tang Dynasty band, insisted that Dou Wei's new song 'Dreaming Back to the Tang Dynasty' stole his idea, and the argument escalated into a physical fight!"

[PS: Dou Wei publicly criticized Ding Wu, although this happened in 2006, I feel that the two must have had some grudges beforehand—if not, then let's just consider it a change caused by a butterfly effect.]

(End of this chapter)