1980 My literary era

Chapter 45 "Ellery Quinn Mystery Magazine"

Lin Weimin came to Mark Meng today with the intention of getting some foreign exchange coupons from him to buy a bicycle. He has been in Yanjing for several months. He has to either take the bus or rely on two legs when going out. It is really inconvenient. If he has a bicycle That would be much more convenient.

It happened that the two of them talked about the bicycle issue in just a few words, and Lin Weimin didn't bother to speak.

Inviting a few foreign friends to Baodu Feng to eat Baodu is really a cost-effective thing.

Coming out of Baodufeng, several people got on the bike.

A few foreigners went out to visit on the weekend. In fact, they had no particular place to go. They were simply curious about the ancient capital of Yanjing, so they traveled through the city and glanced at the plants and trees here.

When passing a newsstand, Mark Meng stopped his bicycle. Seeing him stop, several other people stopped one after another.

"Old Ma, what's wrong?"

"Lin, are there any newspapers and periodicals here that publish your works?"

Originally curious about his own works, Lin Weimin glanced at the newsstand and said, "There should be some."

He parked his bicycle, approached the newsstand, and turned to "Contemporary" after a few searches.

"Here's a copy."

Lin Weimin handed the book "Contemporary" to Mark Meng, and several others immediately came over curiously.

While several people were watching, Lin Weimin picked out the last issue of "Zhongshan" from a pile of magazines, "There is also a novel published in this magazine."

Several foreigners present studied history and language at Yanda, and they probably knew the Chinese characters in magazines, but it was beyond their ability to fully understand their meanings.

They flipped through the two magazines and soon found the three words "Lin Weimin". Looking at the printed magazines, several people immediately raised their respect for Lin Weimin.

"Lin Jun, you are so amazing!" Xiao Hei Yoko said with admiration.

Lin Weimin smiled and said, "You didn't even look at it. Just saying that seems a bit like blind worship!"

"No no!" Xiao Hei Yoko shook his head, "I know these two magazines. I have seen many classmates around me reading these two magazines. They are very famous magazines in China. It is amazing that you can publish an article in such a magazine. Achievements, and you’re still so young!”

Xiaohei Yoko's words made Lin Weimin feel a little proud. Not only was this girl cute, she also spoke so nicely and she had a bright future!

A few people talked for a while in front of the newsstand. Lin Weimin paid for a few copies of "Contemporary" and "Zhongshan", bought them, and distributed them to several people with a smile.

"This is my gift to everyone."

Everyone was very happy when they received Lin Weimin's magazine. It's not the price, but who sent it and its value.

Meeting a young writer in a foreign country and receiving his works is a very special experience for several foreign friends.

After riding bicycles until evening, a few people returned to Yanda.

Mark Meng and the others invited Lin Weimin to eat in the Shaoyuan canteen. The international student canteen in Shaoyuan was much better than the ordinary student canteen. The differential treatment of international students in China began in the 1980s.

As they were about to leave, Mark Meng asked Lin Weimin again: "Lin, have you written the last novel?"

"Sorry, Lao Ma, I haven't had time to write yet."

Mark Meng obviously couldn't forget the mystery piece, "I think you should really write it out."

"Of course it would be best if it could be written, but the prerequisite is that there must be a channel for publication."

Lin Weimin is talking about that commonplace issue again. Compared with most writers of this era, his utilitarianism is very pure.

But for Mark Meng, a veteran, there is nothing wrong with Lin Weimin's attitude.

"Lin, I really think you could consider writing it and publishing it in a magazine in our country."

"That's not an easy thing to do."

Mark Meng nodded, "Of course it's not easy, but you can definitely give it a try. You know, I'm learning Chinese right now, and I can also help you translate the manuscript."

"That's a good idea. Lao Ma, how much will the fee be for publishing a manuscript in a magazine in your country?"

"That's not necessarily true. Do you know about Ellery Queen's Journal of Mysteries?"

"have no idea."

"The Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine is one of the longest-established and most widely circulated mystery magazines in the United States. I once saw their call for submissions, a short story of 5,000 words, and the fee is It’s between 500 and 800 yuan.”

Compared with the current domestic manuscript fee standards, this manuscript fee is still very high, especially because of the exchange rate factor. 5,000 words is almost less than 10,000 words. Today, the official exchange rate of RMB to rice dollar is about 1.5:1.

In other words, for a short mystery novel of about 10,000 words, Lin Weimin can get 750 to 1,200 yuan, which is more than he paid for the 80,000-word novella "Latent".

If you go to the black market to exchange, the number can be even higher. However, overseas remittances have to go through the Administration of Foreign Exchange and can only be directly converted into RMB, leaving no room for manipulation.

Lin Weimin was a little moved.

"Okay, I'll write out the last manuscript later."

"Great!" Mark Meng clapped his hands, "Leave the translation and mailing to me!"

"I can do the translation myself, and you can help me polish it."

"Oh, oh, oh, ok, it's settled."

Mark Meng finally asked Lin Weimin to let him write the mystery story. He felt an inexplicable sense of accomplishment in his heart and was extremely happy.

After bidding farewell to several foreign friends, Lin Weimin returned to the Institute of Literature. It was already past seven o'clock in the evening.

There are teachers and staff on duty at the Literary Research Institute during the holidays. The person on duty today is Xiao Jing, who is the administrator of the institute's library.

The library here is very small, with only one room.

After the holiday, the place was deserted. Xiaojing was bored on duty tonight. When he saw Lin Weimin coming back, he started chatting with him.

After chatting for a while, Xiaojing went to the water room to wash up, and Lin Weimin returned to the dormitory and spread out the manuscript paper on the desk.

He was tickled by the royalties mentioned by Mark Meng. He had nothing to do, so he would write it out first.

The story is in his mind. The key lies in switching languages. With Mark Meng helping to polish it, Lin Weimin doesn't have to worry about the writing, but at least the translator, Mark Meng, can understand it.

Lin Weimin spent four days in his dormitory writing the story of "Knives Out", and then came to Yanda again to find Mark Meng.

"Oh, brother, your efficiency is so high." Mark Meng said in surprise when he got Lin Weimin's manuscript.

"This is my usual style. The first draft is here, and the rest is left to you to polish."

"No problem." Mark Meng agreed.

"By the way, there's one more thing."

"What's up?"

"About the translation fee."

"Lin, I did this purely because I hope to see your story published so that more people can see it."

"No, no, no. There is an old saying in China, brothers will settle accounts."

"Okay, what do you think?" Mark Meng said helplessly to Lin Weimin.

"You will polish the translation of the article, add your name to the author's signature, and give you one-third of the manuscript fee. How about that?"

Mark Meng nodded: "Very fair!"

"Then it's settled."

“Happy to work with!”

The two held hands tightly together, with smiles on their faces.