Selling Cold Noodles

Myths and legends alone are not enough to prove anything; we must also use science to verify them.

—Zheng Guangwen, "The Origin and Development of Chinese Astronomy", 1979

……

When Long Zhenghui first saw the book title, he was actually not very satisfied.

Firstly, because Huang Feihong was extremely famous in the Guangdong province area, and his story had been passed down by word of mouth for many years.

Secondly, Huang Feihong's disciples and descendants have been writing novels about him since the Republican era, so there are hardly any stories left to tell.

Thirdly, Hong Kong has been making movies about Wong Fei-hung since 1949, and they kept making them until last year. He felt that the audience was already tired of them, and who would want to read novels about Wong Fei-hung?

This editor-in-chief, Long, clearly didn't have a deep understanding of trends, and his views were exactly the opposite of those of Huang Wenbin, the soul of a later generation.

When he saw the author's pen name again, he found it completely unfamiliar and utterly lacking in style.

What kind of kid is Ah Bin? He's obviously a loser, and his college entrance exam results are definitely not very good.

When he saw the opening scene, his eyes lit up; it was quite unique.

He was quickly drawn into the story.

To make the novel even more engaging, Huang Wenbin even employed some techniques from later online "feel-good" novels, creating a story full of climaxes that kept readers hooked.

The turbulent times of the late Qing Dynasty, the chaotic world of martial arts, the struggling warriors... all unfolded before his eyes like a scroll.

The image of Wong Fei-hung, a grandmaster, was also imprinted in his heart.

In the past, most of the novels and movies about Wong Fei-hung focused on the image of a martial arts master, who did nothing more than brave and fierce things, or at best, chivalrous deeds.

However, in this novel, Wong Fei-hung is portrayed as a true hero who is concerned about the country and its people and is always thinking about speaking up for them.

No wonder they say the benevolent are invincible!

The story ends abruptly when Po Chi Lam is set on fire by the villains.

Long Zhenghui suddenly flipped backward, only to find it was gone. He hurriedly asked, "What happened next?"

"The rest hasn't been written yet." Wang Ying quickly explained, "I met this author by chance on the train, and he wrote these 20,000-plus words on the train."

"Really?" Xiao Wang's face showed utter disbelief. "This train journey is only about thirty hours, and he can write over 20,000 words? Is he a god?"

Long Zhenghui also had some doubts: "Could it be an old manuscript by some old gentleman?"

"Impossible." Wang Ying shook her head decisively. "If this novel had existed long ago, it would have been snapped up by all the major newspapers and magazines. Besides, I watched him write it word by word. You can't possibly say he memorized someone else's entire novel of tens of thousands of words!"

"That's true." Long Zhenghui nodded, then asked, "What's the background of this young man, Abin?"

Wang Ying's face showed admiration: "The author is a 19-year-old young man, a top student in the directing department of Yenching Film Academy, and also a screenwriter at Beijing Film Studio. He came to Guangdong Province to make a movie."

"Now that you mention it, I remember." Little Wang next to me widened his eyes. "My hometown is Jiangmen. Ten days ago, I heard that a film crew was coming to Beijing. They said there were more than two hundred people. The city emptied two guesthouses and even asked several communes to cooperate."

"Yes, that's a film by the great director Chen Huaikai." Wang Ying nodded and said solemnly, "This young man has an absolutely limitless future. He's also a writer who has published articles in People's Literature and Yenching Literature."

Long Zhenghui was somewhat puzzled: "Then why would someone like that agree to contribute articles to our magazine?"

"Yeah, why?" Xiao Wang couldn't help but ask.

Wang Ying didn't mince words and directly stated Huang Wenbin's conditions.

"Print run royalties? Aren't those for published books?" Xiao Wang was stunned. "We're just a magazine, a newspaper-style magazine at that."

Long Zhenghui also frowned. It wasn't that he couldn't afford to offer this condition, but rather that there was absolutely no precedent for it.

"Old Zheng, our magazine is at a critical juncture of life and death. There's no time to hesitate." Wang Ying was quite decisive and persuaded, "If this novel can revive our magazine, then asking for any amount of funding from above is reasonable, and they're willing to provide it. Print run and royalties won't be a problem."

"If this book doesn't boost our magazine's sales, we'll only need to pay ten yuan per thousand words."

"We don't lose much, but we gain an opportunity to make a leap forward."

Hearing Wang Ying's words, Long Zhenghui's gaze grew increasingly resolute, and finally he gritted his teeth and said, "Let's do it!"

"Remove the two previously selected novels and publish the full text of 'The Invincible Wong Fei-hung'."

Long Zhenghui then instructed the other editors: "Get moving, check the manuscripts thoroughly, and send them to the printing press. Whether this works or not depends entirely on this."

Then he said, "Old Wang, you've worked hard. Go back and rest now."

Wang Ying said, "It was quite tough before, but seeing hope for the magazine has given me a lot of energy again. I definitely won't be able to sleep if I go back now."

"Alright then, whatever you say." Long Zhenghui didn't try to persuade him any further, and then pointed at Xiao Wang and said, "Since you're from Jiangmen, then you go and visit this author, and bring him this issue's payment while you're at it."

"So fast?" Xiao Wang was a little surprised. Normally, the payment for the article should be made after the magazine is published and the finance department has verified it.

Long Zhenghui solemnly stated, "These are extraordinary times for our magazine. We must demonstrate exceptional sincerity in order to retain high-quality authors!"

"Okay, I'll go back today!" Xiao Wang nodded.

Long Zhenghui returned to his desk and wrote a note: "Take this and go get the money."

With the note in hand, Editor Xiao Wang left the magazine office.

……

Jiangmen has cold noodles.

Opposite the guesthouse is a small arcade building with many stalls set up underneath, including vendors selling cold noodles.

Huang Wenbin was tired from writing, so he pulled Zhang Guoli out the door, where they ran into Wang Gang and Li Xuejian.

So the four of them found a small stall and sat down.

"Boss, four bowls of cold noodles," Huang Wenbin called out to the boss with a smile.

The vendor smiled and nodded: "Okay, wait a minute."

"What kind of architectural style is this? It's quite unique." Wang Gang looked up at the houses by the roadside and realized that he had never seen anything like it in Yanjing.

Huang Wenbin replied casually, "This is a covered walkway, which is said to have originated in India, but the British built it first. It has an upper floor and a lower corridor, with shops in the front and warehouses in the back, combining residential and commercial use. It is a style brought back by overseas Chinese who went to Southeast Asia, and it is also called a five-foot way."

"You really are very knowledgeable," Wang Gang praised Huang Wenbin, seeing the opportunity. "You even know this."

Huang Wenbin laughed and said, "I just read it in a book, it might not be accurate."

"That's still amazing!" Li Xuejian chimed in. "We had no idea. It seems we need to read more books and broaden our horizons, otherwise we'll remain frogs in a well for the rest of our lives."

"It's good to see more of the world."

Zhang Guoli chimed in, "Our motherland has such beautiful landscapes, we haven't seen much of it yet. If we have the chance in the future, we should go abroad to see more."

"The development abroad is indeed very fast." Wang Gang nodded. He is an announcer for China National Radio and often has access to information from high-level officials. "Several of my colleagues have gone abroad and describe it as a paradise."

"Is it possible to go abroad now?" Li Xuejian asked with some doubt.

Wang Gang laughed and countered, "Why not? The higher-ups have already loosened the restrictions. In my estimation, there will definitely be a surge in people going abroad in a few years."

Huang Wenbin discovered that Wang Gang had a very keen sense of judgment. Indeed, there was a wave of enthusiasm for going abroad in the 1980s, which later gave rise to a TV series called "A Native of Beijing in New York".

"Why go abroad? Why don't you go to Hong Kong?"

At this moment, the man selling cold noodles suddenly interjected, "That's where land is incredibly valuable, and it's right here. People smuggle themselves across every day; the whole village next door has gone there."

Upon hearing this, Huang Wenbin recalled some information he had seen about people who had fled to Hong Kong.

Starting around the 50s, there were people smuggling themselves to Hong Kong through Guangdong Province, reaching its peak in 1979.

These days, there are three ways to escape to Hong Kong: one is to walk, taking advantage of the border guards' shift change to rush through the checkpoint; the second is to swim across the sea, which is extremely dangerous; and the third is to hop on a train across the border.

……

Subsequently, the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone was established in 1980. With the comprehensive reform and opening up of the mainland and the gradual improvement of the economic situation, the problem of fleeing to Hong Kong was finally resolved, and there were even people fleeing to Hong Kong in the opposite direction.

After finishing his cold noodles, Huang Wenbin planned to wander around and invited three other people over.

Zhang Guoli didn't have the energy, so he went back to catch up on his sleep.

Wang Gang, however, became interested and decided to accompany Huang Wenbin for a walk, hoping to broaden his horizons.

Li Xuejian wanted to continue exploring the character, so he had to politely decline Huang Wenbin's invitation.