Chapter 48: Reader Tips (Please Keep Reading)

Jincheng, March.

It had been ten days since Li left Jincheng.

More than half a month had passed since the review, yet there was still no reply for Li Yousi. Today, Li Yousi went to ask Wang Hai about it.

"Director Wang, is there really any problem with the novel's review?"

Wang Hai said, "When you came the day before yesterday, I already asked Regiment Commander Li to check with the Propaganda Department of the Jincheng Military Region. I heard it was sent to the General Political Cultural Department!"

"Ah?" Li Yousi felt the hairs on his body stand on end.

"There shouldn't be any major issues, right? Why do I... feel a chill down my spine!"

Wang Hai smiled slightly: "Is there anything you're afraid of?"

After a few months of getting along, the two of them were quite familiar with each other.

Li Yousi spoke the truth: "The point isn't whether I'm scared or not, but having it hang in the balance like this without a resolution just makes one uneasy!"

Wang Hai comforted him: "Then don't worry. You are now a writer for Zhanqi, at least a soldier. Even if the novel fails the review, the worst you'll get is a reprimand; no major problems... The most serious consequence would be being discharged from military service."

Li Yousi instantly breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought it was some huge deal!

"That's fine, then."

"You don't think being discharged is a big deal?"

"At least once discharged, all the trouble goes away!" Li Yousi said with a smile.

"..." Wang Hai raised his hand and shook his head helplessly: "Don't you have any sense of belonging to Zhanqi?"

"I do! Absolutely do. Right now I feel like I'm a real part of Zhanqi, and I can even belt out a tune for you, Director!" Li Yousi gestured as if he were about to sing a revolutionary song: "Ah~!!"

"Alright, stop clowning around here."

Just as the two of them were discussing.

Ring-a-ling!

The telephone rang.

Wang Hai immediately ran over and picked up the receiver: "Hello."

After a few words on the other end, Wang Hai beckoned: "It's for you!"

Li Yousi wasn't sure who it was right now. Mainly because he had provoked a bit too much "controversy" lately; it could be the publishing house, or it could be the General Political Cultural Department.

He took the phone.

This time, it was the publishing house.

"Hello, Comrade Li Yousi, I am Ren Rongrong, an editor at *Children's Literature*. Your novel *Guess How Much I Love You* has passed the review, and I'm calling to notify you."

"Alright, Comrade Ren."

"Comrade Li Yousi, in the fifth paragraph of the third page, you described the little rabbit like this... The publishing house feels it might not be entirely appropriate and will make a few modifications to these parts. Do you have any opinions on this?"

"No opinion. As for the novel, the publishing house can modify it as sees fit; I have no objections at all."

Ren Rongrong was silent for a moment. She had originally intended to invite him over to revise the manuscript himself, and continued, "Then let's discuss the remuneration. Your royalties will be remitted to your account after the novel is published. The royalty statement will be mailed to you in half a month."

Generally speaking, royalties were only paid into the author's account after the novel was published. *Beiping Literature* had paid him half a month early only because of the special favor shown by veteran comrade Zhou Yanru.

Then, *Children's Literature* and Li Yousi chatted about the details of the novel.

Li Yousi hung up the phone.

"Which publishing house is it this time?"

Li Yousi replied, "*Children's Literature*, the one I mentioned to you last time."

Wang Hai nodded, increasingly satisfied with Li Yousi. No matter which publishing house he submitted to, it got accepted on the very first try?

"Not going to Beiping to revise the manuscript?"

"No need. *Children's Literature* doesn't fall into the category of serious literature; they aren't as nitpicky about wording as *People's Literature* or *October*," Li Yousi said.

Li Yousi had already written it well enough; there was almost nothing in this novel that needed modification.

Besides, this was just a short piece of a few thousand words. If he were to run back and forth to the publishing house just for this novel, it would benefit neither party, and mailing it would also waste the other side's time. Therefore, during the phone call just now, he had already discussed the manuscript matters with Ren Rongrong.

---

After discussing the novel matters with *Children's Literature*, Li Yousi returned to the literary creation room.

The crew-cut comrade knocked on the door of the literary creation room carrying three hemp sacks: "Teacher Li, I'm here to deliver mail again."

This was—by strict count—the third time he had come to deliver mail. Li Yousi constantly received letters and items from Beiping, and the crew-cut guy was already used to it, but today's items were exceptionally numerous. Three huge hemp sacks all at once.

The crew-cut guy asked breathlessly, "Teacher Li, did the comrades in Beiping send you local specialties? Why are these things so heavy?"

Li Yousi casually untied one and took a look: "They're reader letters."

He muttered that over the past few months, his novel's name could be seen in newspapers and literary magazines, so why weren't many readers writing in to tip him?

It turned out the publishing house hadn't forwarded them.

Letters accumulated over several months could fill three large sacks all at once.

...

At first, Li Yousi felt a great sense of accomplishment. As an orphan in the past, he had rarely received so much attention from so many people all at once, and now the satisfaction in his heart overflowed.

However, he quickly snapped back to reality.

With so many letters, how long would it take to read through them all?

"Thanks, Xiao Zhang, I'll treat you to a meal next time."

The crew-cut guy nodded, wiped the sweat from his brow, and left.

Li Yousi hauled the three hemp sacks inside.

"What is this again?" Chen Xiaotao asked.

"Reader letters."

"Reader letters?"

He Dehua said, "Comrade Li Yousi writes good novels, so readers are sending him letters to express their admiration."

"Then there must be at least three or four hundred letters here. Tsk tsk tsk," Chen Xiaotao exclaimed with a sigh.

It was the first time the two of them had seen so many incoming letters, so they crowded around to join in the excitement.

Li Yousi first opened the very first envelope to take a look. This letter wasn't packed in the hemp sack, but placed separately on the outside. After a quick glance at the sender, it was Comrade Zhou Yanru from *Beiping Literature*, and the content was predictably a letter urging for a manuscript.

The novel had been intercepted by the General Political Cultural Department, and as for where the manuscript was submitted, it wasn't something he could decide anymore. He drafted a few polite phrases in his mind and would reply to the elderly lady later.

Then, he opened the first hemp sack and looked at the letters inside.

This one was from a reader in Beiping: "Hello, Comrade Li Yousi. I am an educated youth from Beiping. In '67, I followed the main force to the Great Northwest to build our great motherland's magnificent rivers and mountains!"

"After reading your novel *Falling Leaves Return to Roots*, this letter is an expression of my thoughts. I feel you wrote it exceptionally well, especially that sense of yearning for one's hometown, and old Wang's obsession with helping old Zhao return his falling leaves to his roots, which made me recall the years from a few years ago."

"I cannot describe my feelings upon returning to Beiping for the first time; perhaps it was just like old Zhao at the end of the novel, though I didn't cry from overwhelming emotion! But I can always recall the feeling of that exact moment."

"Enclosed in the letter is ten yuan, which is a small token of my appreciation..."

Oh? Such a good thing happened?

Speaking of this, Li Yousi was no longer sleepy. He grabbed the ten-yuan bill and tucked it right into his inner shirt.

Right now, he felt that the emotion in this letter was far too sincere—at a glance, it was an old educated youth who deeply loved his hometown!

Li Yousi felt that as an author, he absolutely had to write a letter back to properly comfort this poor educated youth!!

"There's money in the letter?"

Li Yousi smiled slightly:

"Tipping! There's no shame in it. If you write well, the reader-patrons will naturally tip."

---

Finally finished the exams, took the bus home the next day, hahaha!!

Crazy typing ing!

Thanks to the reader-patrons for their monthly votes, today's 2018... gave me fifteen monthly votes.