Gu Fuqiao gently shook her head and said, "No, I have confidence in my Old Yan!" After speaking, she looked at Chen Bajin and asked, "By the way, did you take the dicine you got from the traditional doctor back ho?"
Upon hearing about the dicine, Chen Bajin pursed her lips and said, "That dicine is awful, I’ve never tasted anything so bad... It just makes want to throw up."
"Good dicine tastes bitter!" Gu Fuqiao smiled and said. She was all too familiar with the bitter taste of traditional dicine. When she was young and not in good health, her grandmother, who used to be the barefoot doctor in their village, would concoct traditional dicine for her. Now, whenever Gu Fuqiao thought of that taste, she still felt a bit nauseous.
Chen Bajin sighed softly and said, "I know, that’s why I’ve obediently taken it. Initially, Brother Jian Country saw how miserable I was while taking the dicine and told not to, but I felt I had to. How else would I get better? I want to give the Chen Family a chubby baby boy!"
Gu Fuqiao nodded approvingly and said, "That’s the way to think. Take your dicine on ti, and it will cure your cold uterus." She was about to head ho when Chen Bajin asked about submissions.
Chen Bajin said, "I got another reply, but it’s another rejection letter."
Actually, Chen Bajin’s writing had improved significantly. Gu Fuqiao thought that after a couple more tries, Chen Bajin would definitely have her work published.
Indeed, Chen Bajin continued, "But this ti, there were more reasons given for the rejection, like the editor was more attentive. The editor even signed the rejection letter, saying I could submit directly to him next ti. His na is Mu Feng, and he encouraged to write more. He said I’d definitely get published next ti!"
"That’s right! Keep writing, and you’ll always gain sothing. Next ti just submit directly to him; after a couple more tries, you’ll make it." After saying that, Gu Fuqiao suddenly rembered her own submission. Speaking of which, she had submitted her work to an editor nad Brother Mo several days ago but wasn’t sure about its status yet.
She was pretty confident, thinking there shouldn’t be any major issues.
Seeing Gu Fuqiao silent, Chen Bajin assud she was still brooding over her last rejection and moved closer to her, suggesting, "Ah Jiao, why don’t you submit to Editor Mu Feng with this ti? He seems like a nice person. I’ve seen his writing in magazines before; he’s also an author, and his writing is quite good."
Being both an editor and an author... that ans he’s quite talented! "What kind of stuff does he write?"
Chen Bajin said, "He writes essays and the like. The imagery feels really good. His writing style is sothing I can only aspire to, no wonder he’s both an author and an editor! Also, one of the reasons I keep submitting to this magazine is because they pay incredibly high royalties!"
Gu Fuqiao was always interested in the word royalties. The magazines she’d submitted to before also offered high fees, so she asked, "How are the royalties at that magazine?"
Chen Bajin leaned over to Gu Fuqiao’s ear with a bit of delight, saying, "Ten yuan per thousand characters."
Ten yuan per thousand characters was quite high, similar to the magazine ’Southwest Chronicles’ where Brother Mo worked. Gu Fuqiao nodded and said, "I can give it a try later, but for now, I’ll wait a few more days for the response to my current submission."
"Sure." Chen Bajin nodded, dreaming, "Once I get published, Jian Country is bound to think I’m amazing. These royalties are much higher than their allowances!"
"Indeed." Gu Fuqiao nodded in agreent.
The 1980s were a flourishing period for literature. Television hadn’t beco widespread, and in the days just after the Cultural Revolution, people had an intense thirst for literature.
Thus, royalties were relatively high during this era. Writers were respected, and the royalties were substantial, so much so that writing a couple of articles could cover the expenses for a whole family.
Gu Fuqiao also believed that although Yan Zhen Guo didn’t say anything, he would surely be very happy if she could actually bring ho so royalties!
And indeed, Brother Mo had a keen eye for talent. The very next day, Gu Fuqiao received a response letter, the results had naturally been accepted! The letter also contained royalties for her submission; she had submitted a short story and two poems for a total of 1,530 words, and enclosed in the envelope were fifteen yuan and three cents, plus a sample copy of the publication.
Normally, this magazine issued once a month, and Gu Fuqiao’s submission had coincidentally made it by the deadline. So upon deciding to accept it, the editorial departnt sent the print version and the royalties directly to her.
Gu Fuqiao was in good spirits all day. While in later years, getting published was a regular occurrence for a professional writer like her, devoid of the initial excitent, here it was her first ti getting published. Moreover, the royalties from this era couldn’t compare at all to those from later years!
In later years, submitting to a magazine might get you sixty yuan per thousand words, or at most a hundred yuan. The earnings from one article wouldn’t be enough to last ten days or half a month. But the royalties in the 1980s were different.
Holding the royalties, Gu Fuqiao was about to head out with Chen Bajin to buy groceries when Chen Bajin suddenly said to her, "Ah Jiao, could you co with to see the doctor first?"
Seeing the doctor ant going to the hospital, and the only nearby hospital was the one where Ouyang Xuan worked.
"Are you sick?" Gu Fuqiao frowned and looked at Chen Bajin in confusion.
Chen Bajin shook her head and said, "No, it’s not that I’m sick, it’s just... just..."
Chen Bajin hesitated. The way she stamred reminded Gu Fuqiao of sothing else: "Are you pregnant?"
"Of course I want to be." Chen Bajin’s bright eyes looked at Gu Fuqiao and said, "But there’s no news yet... I’ve been taking dicine for so long. I want to go to the hospital and ask the doctor to check my pulse and see if my body has gotten rid of the cold."
After all, saying these things out loud was a bit embarrassing, so when Chen Bajin said this, her voice was as low as it could be.
Upon hearing this, Gu Fuqiao thought it made sense. After all, she’d been on dication for a while, so checking it out was appropriate. Even though she was a bit worried about running into Ouyang Xuan again, the hospital was big enough that such a coincidence seed unlikely.
So Gu Fuqiao nodded and said, "Alright, let’s hurry to the hospital, and then we’ll go to the market afterward."
"Okay!" Chen Bajin nodded enthusiastically, pulling Gu Fuqiao along with her to the hospital.
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