1979: The child's mother is a celestial being.

Chapter 72 A Novel Dedicated to My Daughter

Zheng Yuanjie was born in 1955 into a military officer's family in Shijiazhuang.

In 1961, he moved to Beijing with his parents. In 66, due to the special circumstances of the time, he returned to Henan with his parents to attend a "May Seventh" cadre school. However, he was expelled from school after only a short time because he wrote an article titled "The Early Bird Gets Eaten by the Bird." He graduated from elementary school at the age of four and never graduated again.

He served in the military at Xiangtang Airport in Nanchang from 1970 to 1976, mainly responsible for maintaining J-6 fighter jets. After his discharge, he was assigned to work as a worker at Dahua Radio Instrument Factory in Beijing.

He officially began creating art in 77.

In 1978, he published his first work, titled "The Gecko and the Bat," in the Henan-based publication "Sunflower."

The following year, he published his first fairy tale, "Blackie on Honesty Island," in the magazine "Children's Literature."

I haven't released any works this year, partly because I've been busy with work, and partly because I've been busy with important life events.

His current girlfriend is named Guo Weiwei. The two met by chance in a park in Beijing and are now at the point of discussing marriage.

Today is the Lantern Festival. Although the Lantern Festival is not a statutory holiday, some companies still gave their employees an early start.

Zheng Yuanjie's workplace was like that, but her boyfriend's workplace didn't let them let out early, so he could only wait for her at the entrance of her boyfriend's workplace.

Waiting for someone was boring, and there happened to be a bookstore a few hundred meters away, so Zheng Yuanjie went over to see what she could do to pass the time.

"Comrade, do you have any new popular books?" There weren't many people buying books at the moment, so he asked the bookstore employee directly.

"I recommend you buy this issue of 'Fangcao' magazine."

"I read the second issue of Fangcao magazine at the beginning of the month."

"This isn't the second episode, this is a new episode..."

"Huh? Fangcao magazine has changed to a bi-monthly publication? How come I didn't know?"

"No, this is a special edition. It mainly features a new novel by Comrade Fusheng, the author of 'Bullfighting.' However, this time Comrade Fusheng has written a children's novel. If you are interested, you can buy a copy. I think it is quite interesting."

Zheng Yuanjie's eyes lit up when she heard about the fairy tale novel, and she quickly picked up the special edition of "Fangcao" magazine and started reading.

"The Adventures of Shuke and Beta, Volume 1"

Upon seeing the book title, Lao Zheng inexplicably felt a sliver of his luck being stolen. Of course, he never imagined that this would be a work he would create two years later.

"Author's note: A story written for my daughter, Xixi! And also shared with all the children in the world!"

Zheng Yuanjie was also curious as to why a well-known author who writes serious novels would suddenly start writing fairy tales, since they were probably written for his daughter.

It's not difficult to understand.

"Although you are a well-known author, my children's novel was published last year, so let me give it a good critique."

After buying the magazine, Zheng Yuanjie glanced at the contents and muttered something to herself.

While it was just a joke, it also reflects Lao Zheng's confidence in fairy tales.

However, the more he read, the less confident he became.

"Wow, fairy tales can actually be written like this?!"

Zheng Yuanjie felt that this novel had opened the door to a new world for him, so much so that he became very excited.

"Genius! This author is simply a genius. I really want to have a face-to-face conversation with him."

……

Yu Hua, then 20, was working as a dentist at the town's health center. Upon hearing that Fu Sheng, who had written "Cow" and "Cliff Walkers" last year, had finally released a new work after a year's hiatus, he immediately rushed to the county's bookstore.

However, he was somewhat disappointed when he heard that Comrade Fusheng had actually written a fairy tale novel.

Of course, having come all this way, he still wanted to buy it and take a look.

After all, he genuinely liked "Cow".

Just because of the author's name, he has to support him.

"The Adventures of Shuke and Beta, Part 1, what a strange title."

In any case, given Yu Hua's limited knowledge, he didn't understand the title of the book.

However, the author's note made him understand Comrade Fusheng's original intention in writing this fairy tale novel.

Because he wasn't particularly looking forward to the novel, Yu Hua only started reading it after returning home.

Once you start reading, you can't get out. "Wow, can fairy tales be written this captivatingly?"

"Awesome, this author is absolutely amazing."

"Unfortunately, I can't imitate this style. I can only learn from and draw inspiration from 'Cow'."

……

Of course, it's impossible for a work to be liked by everyone.

After all, there are as many interpretations of Hamlet as there are readers.

For example, Wang Shuo, who had just been discharged from the army and was assigned to work as a salesman at a pharmaceutical company in Beijing, barely read a third of Chen Fusheng's fairy tale novel before throwing the magazine away.

"What kind of rubbish is this? Has he ever been a rat? He just writes random things, it's all based on assumptions."

……

Although Chen Fusheng's latest children's novel has also encountered some criticism, it is clear from the letters from readers that there are more positive reviews than negative ones.

However, Chen Fusheng will not see the subsequent letters from readers, as he is about to go to work.

On the night before their departure, Chen Fusheng emptied his wife's magazine, took a second shower, and then held her in his arms as they discussed their upcoming plans.

"Honey, how much money do we have in our savings account right now?"

"Adding your 900 yuan novel royalties this time, you have another 20,000 yuan."

When the topic of the novel's royalties came up, Liu Xiaoli hadn't paid much attention before, but now she realized something seemed off: "By the way, why is your novel's royalties so high this time? I counted your word count, it's 90,000 words and you're still 300 short."

“The price per unit has gone up,” Chen Fusheng explained. “The previous novel royalties were 2 to 7 yuan per thousand words. This year, no, last year, it increased to 3 to 10 yuan per thousand words. In addition, the royalties for print runs have been reinstated.”

"What is royalties based on print run?" Liu Xiaoli pressed.

"Print royalties are a percentage of the money that the magazine gives to the author based on the number of copies printed."

Seeing that his wife's eyes were still somewhat blank, Chen Fusheng further explained: "Let me give you an example. Suppose I have a book of 100,000 words now, and the magazine's basic fee standard for me is 10 yuan per thousand words, then my basic fee is 1000 yuan. If the magazine sells 100,000 copies, it seems that it is calculated in units of thousands of copies, and 0.8% of the basic fee is paid for each thousand copies. 100,000 copies is multiplied by 100, which is 0.8. Then multiply it by my basic fee of 1000 yuan, and the final print run fee is 800 yuan."

"That day I heard Lao Xiao say that there was a standard of 10,000 copies and another standard of more than 10,000 copies. I didn't quite understand, but my books have basically sold more than 10,000 copies, so that's roughly how I calculated it."

Liu Xiaoli roughly understood and asked in surprise, "So, as long as the magazine sells a lot, you'll still have money, right?"

"Yes, that's what it means."

"So writing novels can be quite lucrative."

"If it's a bestseller, then the author certainly earns a lot."

Liu Xiaoli nodded in agreement.

Then, as if remembering something, she asked warily, "Why are you asking about savings? Are you planning to spend money recklessly again?"

"Ahem, isn't money meant to be spent? And didn't the washing machine you bought last time make washing clothes much more convenient for you, especially winter clothes? The TV can also help you pass the time. These are all household necessities."

Liu Xiaoli admitted that her husband had a point, but she couldn't think of anything else the family needed, so she could only continue to ask, "So, what do you want to buy this time?"

“Honey, you know my current workplace is in Beijing. Although I may travel all over the country when filming, I spend most of my time in Beijing. So I’m thinking of buying a house in Beijing this year and bringing you and the two of you there. That way, we can avoid living apart and having to travel back and forth. It’s not easy to see each other even once a year.”

"Doesn't your company provide housing? You actually have to buy one, and housing in Beijing is definitely in high demand. How come you're able to buy one..."

Although Liu Xiaoli was somewhat tempted by Chen Fusheng's idea, she felt it would be very difficult, so she hesitated and didn't know whether she should support him.

The next day, when Chen Fusheng boarded the train to leave home, he still took the family savings book with him, which meant that he had successfully slept with... well, persuaded his wife the night before.

PS:

I'll add a postscript about the book's release, but I won't write a separate chapter for it.

The novel will be available for purchase tomorrow at 12 noon.

No updates tonight until midnight.

Thank you so much for your support over the past month!

I started writing this book because of a gimmick, so after I finished writing about Liu Xiaoli giving birth to her daughter, I lost a lot of readers.

But now that the outline is complete and the groundwork has been laid, the protagonist is about to take off, and the subsequent plot will become increasingly exciting, so...

Enough with the chit-chat, please subscribe! Please subscribe! Please subscribe!
(End of this chapter)