Wang Ying's Courage

"Ugh, the guy next door is farting. I've never fucking heard a fart like that before."

—Norman Mailer, 1979, *The Executioner's Song*

……

Those around him hadn't heard enough and kept urging Huang Wenbin to tell a few more stories.

Huang Wenbin had just written over 5,000 words and told a story for over half an hour. He wasn't particularly tired, but he had attracted too many people, blocking the entire carriage. The train attendant had to come over and warn him several times.

Of course, the reason he was able to write so much was because he didn't need to devise a plot; he only needed to integrate the ideas and change any wording that didn't fit the current era.

This was his first time telling a story, but he got more and more into it. Although he couldn't compare to professional storytellers, he put in a lot of effort.

Seeing that Huang Wenbin had no intention of continuing, the onlookers gradually dispersed.

At this moment, Wang Ying approached Huang Wenbin and said, "Hello, my name is Wang Ying. Can we have a chat?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Gang immediately stood up and made room for Wang Ying.

Huang Wenbin looked at him with some surprise and asked, "Oh, of course. What would you like to talk about?"

"Yes, I just heard your story and I was very moved."

Wang Ying cut to the chase, asking directly, "I didn't know your story had already been published?"

"Of course not," Wang Gang chimed in again. "We were just looking at what he wrote."

Wang Ying's face lit up with joy, and she said directly, "Then can you give me this novel?"

"Give it to you?" Zhang Yimou felt a little presumptuous and asked, "Old man, who are you?"

"Excuse me, let me introduce myself again," Wang Ying said very formally to Huang Wenbin and the others. "I'm the editor-in-chief of *Foshan Literature*. I'm actually here in Yanjing to collect manuscripts. I thought your story was excellent. Would you be interested in collaborating with our magazine?"

"Foshan Literature and Art? Never heard of it!" Zhang Lai blurted out.

An embarrassed expression immediately appeared on Wang Ying's face.

Zhang Yimou glared at Zhang Lai, then pulled him up and led him to the restroom.

"I know Foshan Literature and Art Magazine," Huang Wenbin nodded. "It's a rare magazine in China that serializes popular fiction, and the short stories in it have a feel of 'Story Collection'."

Huang Wenbin did have some impression of Foshan Literature and Art Magazine, because he had stayed in Guangdong Province for a few years before he traveled through time and bought the magazine. At that time, the martial arts novel "Legend of the Goddess" was being serialized in it.

Immediately afterward, he remembered Wu Ji, the author of "The Legend of the Goddess," who had an alias that seemed to be Wang Ying. His real name was actually Liu Zuhan, and he was born in 1924 in Ji'an, Jiangxi Province.

At the age of 20, he abandoned his studies to join the Guangdong Central Column, changing his name to Wang Ying. After the end of the ten-year turmoil, he was promoted to deputy director of the Foshan Literary and Artistic Creation Research Office and deputy editor-in-chief of "Foshan Literature and Art".

According to the original timeline, Foshan Literature and Art magazine barely managed to survive until 1985 before it finally became unsustainable.

Wang Ying, who was over 60 years old, decided to take a gamble and wrote a book called "Legend of the Martial Arts World" which was serialized in a magazine.

Unexpectedly, this book truly revived Foshan Literature and Art, increasing its circulation from over a thousand to one hundred thousand, and later even to six hundred thousand, making it a phenomenal publication.

At his peak, he contributed to four magazines, producing 100,000 words a month, supporting half of the literary and artistic circles in Lingnan.

Huang Wenbin's words made Wang Ying feel ashamed, because it was precisely because Foshan Literature and Art magazine could not find manuscripts for serious literature that it had to publish some popular novels.

However, those popular novels were poorly written and lacked sophistication, which is why their magazine's sales kept declining.

"Let's talk about your novel." Wang Ying adjusted her mindset and said with a serious expression, "I heard it's about Huang Feihong, a boxer from Foshan. That would be perfect for our Foshan Literature and Art magazine."

Huang Wenbin originally intended to use this novel to try and open the door to the literary and artistic circles in Hong Kong, but he has not yet found a suitable channel.

If Wang Ying can offer a suitable price, it wouldn't be a bad idea to offer it to "Foshan Literature and Art" first.

He can just replace the bricks he's working on with a better one.

"Giving it to you isn't out of the question, but how much money are you willing to offer?"

Before Huang Wenbin could speak, Wang Gang picked up the conversation, smiling and saying, "Don't let Huang's youth fool you, he's incredibly talented. He's published works in 'People's Literature' and 'Yanjing Literature,' and his script has passed the Beijing Film Studio's review. We're currently heading to Guangdong Province to film a movie. Even a company in Hong Kong bought one of his scripts for a high price."

Wang Gang has been asking a lot about Huang Wenbin these past few days; he's practically become his spokesperson.

Upon hearing Wang Gang's words, Wang Ying realized that she had underestimated the young man in front of her.

Wang Ying had no choice but to say, "Then our magazine is willing to accept your novel at the top rate of ten yuan per thousand words."

"I charge the same price in other magazines as well," Huang Wenbin said, shaking his head slightly and giving a polite smile.

The implication is clear: since it's the same pay of ten yuan per thousand words, why would I submit my work to a local magazine?

"I'll give you fifteen for every thousand words!" Wang Ying considered for a moment, then offered an exceptionally low price.

It has to be said that this price is indeed astonishing.

Because there are official regulations regarding payment for articles, newspapers and magazines of all levels generally pay 2 to 7 yuan per thousand words, with slightly better ones reaching 10 yuan per thousand words. Offering 15 yuan per thousand words is indeed a significant investment.

However, Huang Wenbin had no interest in this and shook his head.

"Hey, Comrade Xiao Huang, name your price!" Wang Ying was determined to get this novel today. "As long as it's not too outrageous, Foshan Literature and Art Publishing House will take it."

It wasn't that Wang Ying was being extravagant; he simply felt that Foshan Literature and Art Publishing House couldn't wait any longer.

Huang Wenbin considered for a moment, then suddenly asked a completely unrelated question: "Can Foshan's literary and artistic works be sold to Hong Kong?"

Wang Ying paused for a moment, her expression becoming somewhat cautious: "I can only say that merchants from that area occasionally buy our newspapers."

That's already a very tactful way of putting it.

Huang Wenbin quickly came up with an idea and said directly, "How about this, you can give me a basic fee of ten yuan per thousand words, but I want to add a print run fee."

The print run royalty system is a method of calculating royalties that my country learned from the Soviet Union, and it is actually somewhat similar to royalties.

This method of paying royalties was popular in the 1960s, but it stopped after a decade of turmoil.

In 1977, the State Administration of Publication reinstated this method of calculating royalties, which is generally used for publications.

大概的计算方式是500册以内每千册5％；5001～30000册，每千册3％；30000册以上，每千册1％。

Then in 1990, the higher authorities adjusted this calculation method again.

It wasn't until 1992, when Wang Shuo first proposed asking for royalties instead of manuscript fees, that the era of royalties officially began, and many popular writers instantly became millionaires.

Wang Ying was somewhat shocked when she heard Huang Wenbin's condition, but after careful consideration, she still felt it was feasible!

The sales of Foshan Literature and Art Magazine are currently barely hanging on. If Huang Wenbin's novel can revive the magazine and even cause its sales to explode, then why is it impossible to pay him more royalties?

Before he left, the leaders in charge of culture in Foshan promised him that as long as he could make "Foshan Literature and Art" thrive, they would let him go all out and do it boldly!

"Can I take a look at the manuscript first?" Wang Ying said softly.

"Of course." Huang Wenbin naturally handed the draft he had just written to Wang Ying.

Wang Ying took the manuscript with both hands, smoothed out the rolled-up pages, and then began to read it carefully.

The story's backdrop is laid out right from the start: the late Qing Dynasty, a time of decay and incompetence, where Western powers nibbled away at Chinese territory and oppressed the people. Ambitious individuals were filled with anger, yet they knew not where to turn for a better future.

What followed was a truly eye-catching scene: on the high seas, on a Black Flag Army warship, soldiers were playing a lion dance, when a foreign warship nearby opened fire, injuring several lion dancers. Wong Fei-hung leaped up, took the lion's head, and, braving the foreigners' gunfire, completed the "picking the green" ceremony.

This leads to a dialogue between Wong Fei-hung and Liu Yongfu, the leader of the Black Flag Army, which fully demonstrates their patriotism and stirs the emotions of the audience.

After reading this part, Wang Ying felt her blood surging, as if she were on fire. She wished she could enter the book and teach those foreigners a profound and unforgettable lesson.

The original film, after this scene, introduces Leung Foon's role and even adds a scene depicting an ambiguous relationship between Leung Foon and Aunt Thirteen.

Huang Wenbin disliked it very much, so he deleted this part.

When Tsui Hark made this movie, he intended for Yuen Biao's character Leung Foon to rival Jet Li's character Wong Fei-hung, so he added a lot of scenes for Leung Foon, almost making the character of Aunt Thirteen completely different, so much so that he didn't seem like a supporting character at all.

Huang Wenbin is now writing a novel, so he doesn't have that kind of idea at all. He directly reduced Liang Kuan's role and kept the focus on Huang Feihong.

The storyline of him seeking justice for merchants wounded by musketeers from an British and American caravan leads to a group of characters including disbanded naval officers and soldiers, the local gangster Shahe Gang, the down-on-his-luck martial arts master Yan Zhendong, and a naval admiral who favors foreigners.

Each character is vividly portrayed with just a few casual strokes, making them seem as if they are right in front of you.

Then came a minor climax, describing a chaotic fight in a Western restaurant.

Here, Huang Wenbin fully demonstrated his initiative, vividly depicting this chaos. He also added some character development to the leader of the Shahe Gang, having him fight against Huang Feihong.

The martial arts techniques of the two were described in great detail, such as Tiger and Crane Double Form, Dragon Emerging from the Sea, Eighteen Snake-Slaying Sticks, and Great Wilderness Imprisoning Heaven Finger. Ah, this is not it.

Wang Ying watched with great enjoyment and couldn't help but slap her thigh.

"Well written!"

"This is so well written!"