The mainland writers visiting group will depart on April 27th and will gather at the Xinqiao Hotel on April 26th.
The day before departure, Tao Yucheng suddenly ran over to find Lin Chaoyang, secretly gave him three great unity cards, and asked Lin Chaoyang to help him bring back a set of Jin Yong's "Dragon and the Eight Parts".
Since the 1970s, Xiangjiang’s martial arts novels have been gradually introduced to the mainland.
At first, manuscripts were popular, and some were secretly smuggled in. By the end of the 1970s, local small publishing houses began to try to publish Xiangjiang martial arts novels.
Of course, this kind of publication is officially pirated.
These official pirated martial arts novels usually have a small printing volume, but are extremely expensive. When pure literary works are priced at RMB 80 per copy, they are priced at RMB 3 or 4, which is a way for local publishing houses to generate revenue.
These official pirated martial arts novels cultivated the earliest fans of martial arts novels in China, and Tao Yucheng was one of them.
Lin Chaoyang held the money and felt a little embarrassed.
The uncle finally managed to reply, and Lin Chaoyang didn't feel bad even if a whole set of Jin Yong's novels were brought back to him. But the problem is that there are regulations on entry now, and it is difficult to bring back publications.
Of course, the fact that it's difficult to bring doesn't mean that he can't bring it with him, but he hasn't been there before, so he doesn't know if the inspection will be strict when he comes back, and he's afraid that he won't be able to bring it back after buying it.
Lin Chaoyang explained the situation to Tao Yucheng. He was a little disappointed, "What about this? Forget it."
Lin Chaoyang said: "It's not certain that I can't bring it back. I'll try later."
"No, if you really can't bring it back, won't the money be wasted?"
Tao Yucheng was afraid that the money would be wasted and would cause trouble to Lin Chaoyang. After thinking about it, he simply gave up the idea and carefully hid the thirty yuan in the sole of his shoe.
When he got up, he saw Lin Chaoyang looking at him in surprise and smiled sheepishly.
"Xiwen, Xiwu has grown up, and there are too many things to spend money on at home. It is not as easy as before for me to ask for money from your sister-in-law. I have saved this money with great difficulty."
Lin Chaoyang nodded to express his understanding. After all, he had done this before.
Men, who can’t live without a little treasury?
It's just that he remembered his uncle's cool and unrestrained attitude when he first married Tao Yushu. Looking at his uncle now, he couldn't help but feel a little sad.
When people reach middle age, they can’t help themselves!
After Tao Yucheng left, Tao Yushu asked Lin Chaoyang, "What are you doing here, brother?"
"Ask me when "Chess Master" will be filmed. I would like to recommend a student from their school."
Lin Chaoyang lied casually. His uncle's family status was not as good as before and it was not easy to save some pocket money. He was afraid that if he told the truth, Tao Yushu would accidentally reveal it to his sister-in-law Zhao Li.
After listening to his words, Tao Yushu did not become suspicious and continued to concentrate on packing his luggage.
"Okay, just bring a few less clothes. We're only going there for a week, not a few months."
Early the next morning, Lin Chaoyang carried his luggage to the Xinqiao Hotel to gather.
The group of fifteen writers who visited Xiangjiang this time was headed by the veteran writer Xiao Jun, and was accompanied by a staff member from the Literary and Art Association and two WS staff.
Lin Chaoyang is a native of Yanjing, so he arrived relatively late. Many foreign writers arrived a day or two in advance.
There were few acquaintances in the delegation, and the most familiar one was Deng Youmei. Because of Wang Zengqi and Lin Jinlan, they had a cordial chat when they met.
Then there are Cong Weixi, Li Guowen and others who have met each other at the awards ceremony of the National Outstanding Short Story Award, Mao Dun Literary Award and other awards.
"Hello Comrade Chaoyang, do you still remember me?" Jin Ying has a cheerful personality. She shook hands with Lin Chaoyang first when they met and asked with a hearty smile.
"You have an impression, you have an impression, right Jin Ying?"
In 1980, when Lin Chaoyang went to the Central Literature Institute to give lectures to the fifth batch of students, she was one of the students.
Jin Ying smiled and nodded, "I went to your house for dinner last month. I regretted not meeting you. I didn't expect to meet you so soon."
In the past March, Jin Ying won the National Outstanding Short Story Award for her work "Oh, Fragrant Snow". Naturally, she also participated in the cultural salon after the award ceremony.
The two exchanged pleasantries for a few words, and Lin Chaoyang said hello to the others. He basically didn't know the rest of the people, but after chatting for a while, they could always talk about acquaintances. After all, the literary world is so big.
By the afternoon, all members of the delegation had arrived.
The two WS staff members called everyone together, announced some WS disciplines for going out, and then briefly introduced the general arrangements for the trip.
During the period, we mentioned the foreign exchange subsidy for going out. The standard is 10 Hong Kong dollars per person per day. This trip lasts for 8 days, which is 80 Hong Kong dollars.
Based on the current income level in the Mainland, this subsidy standard is not low, but we are going to Xiangjiang. If we want to use this money to buy things back home, we really can't buy much.
The next morning, everyone came to the Capital Airport with the group and boarded a plane flying to Xiangjiang.
After several hours of flight, the plane arrived at Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong. Everyone got off the plane with the team. After exiting the passage, they found that a group of Hong Kong media had been waiting here. As soon as they saw the delegation, they enthusiastically came forward to surround them.
attracted everyone.
Several young people in the regiment were a little confused at first when they saw this formation. They didn't understand until the old comrade next to them whispered a few words.
It turns out that these reporters are all from ZY media in Xiangjiang, including many well-known newspapers such as Ta Kung Pao, Wen Wei Po, and Xiangjiang Commercial Daily.
The delegation of mainland writers visited Xiangjiang at the warm invitation of two patriotic entrepreneurs, Mr. Huo from Xiangjiang and Mr. Ma from Haojiang. Therefore, these reporters blocked the delegation not only because of their own positions, but also because of these two entrepreneurs.
The face is there.
Speaking of which, there are fifteen writers in the delegation, and the one who is truly famous in Xiangjiang is Xiao Jun.
The old comrade became famous in the 1930s, and his relationship history with the female writer Xiao Hong was also recited for a while.
Xiao Hong was well-known in Xiangjiang. She died of illness shortly after she left Xiangjiang.
So the media in Xiangjiang are naturally also very interested in Xiao Jun.
Therefore, the first person the reporters caught during the interview was Xiao Jun, and then they were very professional and interviewed people one by one using the list they had obtained in advance.
Lin Chaoyang hid in the crowd and was caught by a reporter from Ta Kung Pao and asked a few questions.
"Sir, may I ask who you are..."
"Xu Lingjun." Lin Chaoyang reported his pen name.
The reporter's eyes lit up when he heard this, "Is it Xu Lingjun who wrote "The Death of Van Gogh"?"
Lin Chaoyang nodded in surprise and asked with a smile: "Have you read my book?"
The reporter smiled back at Lin Chaoyang, "Your novels are quite popular in the cultural world, but the number of them available for public sale is too small, so it's not easy to see them."
The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press is a non-profit publishing house. Because they publish mostly academic works, they have never put much thought into book distribution.
After the introduction of "The Death of Van Gogh", only 10,000 copies were printed. The main theme is that the aroma of wine is not afraid of the depth of the alley.
Lin Chaoyang chatted with a reporter from "Ta Kung Pao" for a while, and then he learned that "The Death of Van Gogh" has gained a good reputation after it was released in Hong Kong. Many people in the cultural circle have praised this novel.
However, due to its small circulation, this impact is limited to the cultural world.
The reporters' interview lasted for more than ten minutes, and everyone boarded the bus and checked in at the hotel.
The hotel had a double room, and Lin Chaoyang was assigned to live in the same room as Li Guowen.
When we first arrived at the hotel, it was difficult for everyone to go out because of the WS discipline. Several young people in the delegation were very excited and went from room to room.
In the evening, the delegation members were taken by bus to the Country Club in Clear Water Bay.
Tonight in Hong Kong, "Ta Kung Pao" and "New Evening News" hosted a banquet for a delegation of mainland writers.
The country club is named "Village", but it is actually a resort. The club covers an area of ​​more than 130 hectares. In a place like Xiangjiang where land is at a premium, such a huge area is enough to illustrate the gold content of this resort.
There are not only golf courses, tennis courts, gyms, squash courts, basketball courts and many other activities and entertainment facilities, but also hotels and restaurants. It has always been an important place for entertainment and socializing among celebrities in Hong Kong.
When everyone arrived at the country club, it felt like Grandma Liu had entered the Grand View Garden, and everything she looked at was novel.
The banquet was of a very high standard and was attended by well-known figures from the cultural, journalistic and business circles in Hong Kong. The representative figure from the business world was Mr. Huo, who was also the promoter of this delegation of mainland writers’ visit to Hong Kong.
Representative figures in the press are naturally the reporters of Ta Kung Pao and New Evening News, and then there is Comrade Zhang, the president of Xinhua News Agency’s Xiangjiang Branch.
Another person who surprised Lin Chaoyang was Jin Yong, who attended on behalf of "Ming Pao".
Others include people from the cultural circles such as Xu Simin, Hu Juren, Zhao Lingyang, An Zijie, Han Suyin and others.
Today's occasion can be said to be a gathering of bigwigs, and their attendance has already demonstrated the stance of these people, and many of them have interactions with members of the delegation.
For example, Li Zongying, deputy editor-in-chief of Ta Kung Pao, has an old relationship with Ye Junjian, one of the members of the delegation. Ye Junjian was also a classmate of Yenching University with the overseas-renowned female writer Han Suyin.
"In 1933, we were both studying at Yanda, and we even discussed becoming doctors together at that time. Who would have thought that in the end we didn't become doctors, and we all embarked on the path of writing."
Han Suyin's father is China's first generation of Geng Grant students studying abroad, and her mother is Belgian, so she is of mixed race, with three-dimensional and exquisite facial features.
Although she is now over sixty years old, her beauty when she was young can still be clearly seen.
She recounted the past with a somewhat nostalgic look on her face, and her words were full of lamentation.
She and Ye Junjian reminisced about the past for a while, and couldn't help but ask about the current situation of Yenching University. Ye Junjian smiled and said, "I have been away from Yenching University for many years, how did you know!"
As he spoke, he turned his attention to Lin Chaoyang, "You'd better ask the young people, Comrade Chaoyang happens to work at Yanda."
Han Suyin looked at Lin Chaoyang curiously. There were nearly thirty guests present today. Except for the introduction at the beginning, most of the time no one could even match their names.
The two nodded to each other and exchanged pleasantries. Han Suyin asked: "What does Mr. Lin teach at Yan University?"
"I am not qualified to teach at Yanda, I am the librarian of Yanda." Lin Chaoyang said with a smile.
After hearing Lin Chaoyang's self-introduction, Han Suyin asked about the current situation of the library. After Lin Chaoyang gave a brief introduction, Han Suyin sighed, "The conditions are much better than ours back then."
She asked again: "I remember that there was an administrator in the library named Jin Kepu at that time. He studied very hard on his own!"
Lin Chaoyang responded: "Uncle Jin is now a professor in the Department of Eastern Languages ​​and is extremely knowledgeable."
Han Suyin nodded, "He was very smart back then."
With a familiar figure in common, Han Suyin's conversational nature was drawn out by Lin Chaoyang, and he asked him several questions one after another.
Ye Junjian on the side reminded her: "Chaoyang has some connection with us."
"What origin?"
"His father-in-law is Tao Jingfa."
"Tao Jingfa?"
Han Suyin recalled for a moment, frowned, and thought hard, "Tao Jingfa seems to be a history major, right?"
"Yes, he is a few years younger than us."
Han Suyin laughed and said, "It turns out he is the son-in-law of an old classmate. I really didn't expect to meet him here."
She asked Lin Chaoyang again, "I think you are not very old..."
After graduating from Yan University in the 1930s, Han Suyin first went to Belgium to study and gradually became interested in literature. After the July 7th Incident, she returned to China and married Tang Baohuang, an officer of the Kuomintang Party. In 1941, she began to publish novels.
Later, Tang Baohuang went to Britain to work as a diplomat. She went to Britain with her husband. In 1945, the civil war broke out. Tang Baohuang returned to China to join the war, but she stayed in the UK to study for a doctorate in medicine.
After Tang Baohuang died in the war in 1948, she returned to Hong Kong to practice medicine, met journalist Elio Mark, and wrote this emotional experience into the work "Treasure". After being published in the United States, this novel caused a lot of repercussions.
The success also established Han Suyin's position in the European and American literary circles.
Later, the novel was adapted into the movie "Life and Death" by Hollywood, which won three awards at the 1956 Academy Awards.
After that, she had two more marriages. Her current husband is Indian Lu Wenxing. In the past few years, she has done a lot of work to repair Sino-Indian relations.
She now lives in India all year round and is technically an international friend, so she has never heard of Lin Chaoyang's name and doesn't know much about his deeds.
Chapter completed!