Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 106: People's Daily reprints praise

Inside the dormitory, Liu Yimin began brainstorming ideas for his manuscript. Besides him, the other three were also brainstorming. Inspired by Liu Yimin, the three of them were now working at an almost frenzied pace.

Liu Zhenyun, who was usually extremely miserly, made an exception and offered everyone chewing gum. As a result, the entire dormitory, like the oxen in a production team, would ruminate from time to time.

"Once my manuscript is published, I'll spend all the money on chewing gum!" Liu Zhenyun said bitterly.

"Weren't you going to treat me to dinner?"

"You can get full just by chewing gum!" Liu Zhenyun seemed to have already seen the day when he would be successful and wouldn't have to worry about chewing gum anymore.

For Liu Zhenyun, chewing gum is not just candy, but also a symbol of the happy life he has pursued through hard work.

Seeing him like this, Liu Yimin couldn't help but glance at him sideways, wondering if his casual remark had caused Liu Zhenyun to develop prematurely! Liu Zhenyun truly knocked on the door of becoming a writer when he wrote about his experience of being discharged from the army and taking the college entrance examination, resulting in a novel called "Tapu," which was published in "People's Literature."

In this novel, the protagonist, who is much the same as before joining the army, returns to the rural area four years later, where little has changed. A group of people gather together for the same goal: the college entrance examination. Everyone has different purposes for taking the exam, but their paths are the same.

The students gathered here each have their own stories and their own misfortunes. Many of them failed to take the college entrance examination. For the protagonist, the story of female student Li Ailian is even more heartbreaking. They developed a vague feeling for each other during the preparation for the exam, but Li Ailian was unable to take the exam because her seriously ill father prevented her from doing so, and she ended up getting married hastily.

Of this group, only the protagonist, Liu Zhenyun, was fortunate enough to be admitted to university and achieve great success.

A protagonist who delivers a satisfying and fulfilling story!

Liu Zhenyun's writing was extremely difficult at this time. He didn't feel bad about the discarded manuscripts, but he felt bad about the paper he bought. In the end, he had to think it over and over again before he could put pen to paper. The more he thought about it, the more mistakes he made.

Liu Zhenyun said wildly, "My brain is worthless, but these papers cost me a fortune!"

After a period of agitation, seeing Liu Yimin also tear off a piece of paper, crumple it into a ball, and throw it on the ground made him feel much better.

Liu Yimin began to formulate his ideas on the manuscript paper, with the words "We are young people, we are not outsiders" written at the top.

Once you've decided on the topic, organizing the logical flow of the writing becomes much easier.

Let's start by discussing the necessity of this war. First, it was necessary to protect the territory and people from the invasion of the border by South Korea. Second, it was necessary for reform and opening up to create a stable external environment.

What does it mean to unify thinking? It means to clarify goals. Next, what should young people do? Young people in different positions, doing their jobs well is the greatest contribution they can make.

Those who travel a long way should not let the roadside weeds trip them up. If the weeds are not cleared, they will remain there. Only with a sickle in hand can the weeds not hinder one's progress.

[As the sun rises, its light shines brightly; born at the right time, we grow alongside our nation. Young people of this new era, in this vibrant new age, even if they are but a drop of water, they should strive to be the most fervent!]

Liu Yimin revised and edited the five thousand words repeatedly, finally finishing them after two days, and personally handed them to Yu Jiajia.

After reading the contents, Yu Jiajia tossed the manuscript lightly in her hand: "A few simple words, yet the power leaps off the page. I'm going back now. You can wait and see tomorrow's China Youth Daily!"

When Liu Yimin returned to the dormitory, the other three looked up at him. Li Xueqin asked, "Did you get the manuscript approved?"

"pass!"

How many words did you write?

"It should be over five thousand!"

Liu Zhenyun looked up at the nonchalant Liu Yimin, and subtly covered his manuscript with his hand. His throat felt like it had been through a sandstorm; he opened his mouth but couldn't say a word.

Looking down at the few crooked words on the manuscript paper, his face flushed with embarrassment.

The sign read: "Two years ago, I was discharged from the army and returned home. My dad said I had wasted my life."

I counted my words and realized I'd only written 24. It took me a whole week to squeeze out 24 words. Then I thought of Liu Yimin, who had written 5000 words in just three days and still managed to get his article published.

Liu Zhenyun felt a little dizzy, so he staggered to his feet, picked up his things, and silently walked out of the dormitory. Chen Dazhi saw this and quickly asked him where he was going.

"I'm probably sick, I'm a little dizzy, I'm going out for some fresh air!" Liu Zhenyun said without turning his head.

In the dormitory, Chen Dazhi and Li Xueqin exchanged a glance, then stood up and said, "Yimin, let's go out for some fresh air. You don't need to come with us!"

Liu Yimin waved his hand, looking at the three people, and couldn't help but recall the things Liu Fuqing often said to him and his older brother Liu Yiguo when they were young.

Every day is just a constant struggle with my balls and testicles!
Standing downstairs at the dormitory building, Liu Zhenyun saw Li Xueqin and Chen Dazhi coming out with them and asked in confusion, "Why are you guys out here too?"

"Then I'd like to ask you why you came out in the first place?"

Liu Zhenyun coughed lightly, then said with feigned seriousness, "Perhaps the dormitory is not suitable for my writing!"

"That's what we both think too!"

The next day, Liu Yimin found his letter at the mailroom and bought a copy of today's China Youth Daily on his way back. The China Youth Daily placed Liu Yimin's article in the prominent "Commentary" section.

[As the sun rises, its light shines brightly; born at the right time, we grow alongside our nation. Young people of the new era, in this vibrant new age, even if they are just a drop of water, they should strive to be the most fervent one!] This sentence was specially highlighted in red by the China Youth Daily.

Another newspaper article caught Liu Yimin's attention; it reported that educated youth in Yunnan Province were protesting their return to the cities. Liu Yimin sighed, "A large-scale return of educated youth to the cities is about to begin."

Recently, every time Liu Yimin goes to the mailroom, he receives stacks of letters of all kinds. Some readers don't send their letters to the newspaper office, but send them directly to Liu Yimin.

Because Liu Yimin frequently went to the mailroom to collect his mail, the mailroom staff became familiar with him and would always put a special stack of his letters in one place so he could just pick them up when he arrived.

Back in his dorm, Liu Yimin opened stacks of letters and even scratched out lottery tickets from them; one reader had sent him five yuan.

Liu Yimin's eyes were immediately drawn to the reader's manuscript. The reader was talking about how he was getting more and more nervous about the upcoming college entrance examination and was afraid that he would fail. So he hoped that Liu Yimin could encourage him.

Fearing that Liu Yimin wouldn't reply, he secretly slipped five yuan into the letter, claiming it was for postage.

He wouldn't reply to anything else, but he couldn't ignore this letter from his benefactor. Liu Yimin offered a few words of encouragement and wrote down his thoughts on the exam. These were phrases that teachers often used during college entrance exams in later generations.

"Start with the easy questions first, then move on to the difficult ones; know when to prioritize and focus on the fundamentals."

After finishing writing, Liu Yimin put it in an envelope and casually slipped the five yuan back in. To bow down for such a tiny fraction of a penny is utterly ridiculous!

Unexpectedly, Liu Yimin found Li Lanyong's letter. He quickly opened it, eager to know Li Lanyong's situation.

Li Lanyong told him that their unit hadn't gone to the front lines, but the neighboring artillery regiment had, and had even taken some of their regiment's artillery with them, making him incredibly envious. He kept writing application letters, wanting to go to the front lines.

"The thought that my cannon was already up there, but I didn't get to it, makes me feel so humiliated!"

Liu Yimin wrote him a reply. Seeing Li Lanyong's condition, he figured the guy would have to go up there again if he had the chance. Liu Yimin bought him some things and sent them back with him.

He was reminded again to practice his military skills diligently, but once the war began, the troops must have been training hard.

Inside the Beijing People's Art Theatre, Lan Tianye walked up to Cao Yu with the China Youth Daily in his hand and said with a smile, "Jiabao Gong, come and take a look at today's China Youth Daily!"

"What's going on? You used to read the People's Daily, didn't you?" Cao Yu asked.

"Today is different, the newspapers are different, and the author in the newspapers is different!"

Lan Tianye handed the newspaper to Cao Yu. After seeing the name on it, Cao Yu said to Lan Tianye, "No wonder you specially bought a copy of China Youth Daily. Let me see what this kid is saying this time."

"Yi Min's article is powerful, with a high starting point and a lofty theme. It is already very rare for this kind of article to be lofty without being empty or meaningless."

"So young, yet you already know how to talk about the international environment, good lad!" After saying that, Cao Yu looked at Lan Tianye and asked, "How long has it been since Yimin came to the Beijing People's Art Theatre?"

"It's only been a short time since school started! It's been less than ten days!" Lan Tianye said, counting the days.

"Less than ten days? Old Lan, that won't do. You've forgotten about your teacher as soon as you got back to school. Tell me, is it appropriate for you not to come see me for so long?" Cao Yu took off his glasses and rubbed his temples helplessly.

Lan Tianye said, "Master Jiabao, I think you miss him too much!"

"Having a young person around makes me feel much better. Okay, let's not talk about him anymore. How's the rehearsal for 'Mr. Donkey' going?"

"The rehearsals went very smoothly. Zhu Lin and the young men from our People's Art Theatre performed exceptionally well. Pu Cunxi from the Su family portrayed the young coppersmith in the later stages of the story so vividly; he's a promising talent, and he's also a member of our People's Art Theatre family, I think."

Before Lan Tianye finished speaking, Cao Yu understood what he meant—it was simply a request to be transferred to the Beijing People's Art Theatre. Su Min didn't seek Lan Tianye's help; Lan Tianye, however, was moved by the prospect of talent.

"How is Zhu Lin?" Cao Yu didn't answer the question, but instead asked about Zhu Lin.

"Now it's basically so good that you can't see any major flaws. It used to be a weakness of 'Mr. Donkey,' but this girl is hardworking. She said she couldn't let Liu Yimin down, so she often secretly practiced extra for herself offstage. Now it's no longer a weakness of the play!"

"That's good. It seems my student has a good eye for talent. As for the issue you mentioned about Pu Cunxi, let's see how it goes after the premiere. If it's good, we can transfer both Zhu Lin and Pu Cunxi to the Beijing People's Art Theatre."

"it is good!"

No sooner had Lan Tianye left than the phone on Cao Yu's desk rang. It was a call from a leader from the Ministry of Culture, praising Cao Yu for having a good student with a strong sense of the big picture.

It successfully explained to the young comrades why this battle was necessary, and played a role in uniting their hearts and minds.

After hanging up the phone, Cao Yu hummed a few lines of opera lyrics and continued with his work.

Two days after the article was published in China Youth Daily, both People's Daily and Guangming Daily reprinted Liu Yimin's article. The editor's note in People's Daily stated: "Nothing can stop our pace of reform and opening up. History has proven that a peaceful environment for development is not something we ask for, but something we fight for."

Young comrades, we must firmly remember the goals of the Four Modernizations, keep pace with the opening up, and contribute to the Four Modernizations. Comrade Liu Yimin, in his simple words, tells us that we must promptly remove the weeds that are hindering our progress. This applies not only to the nation but also to individuals: concentrate our efforts, eliminate distractions, and travel light, without burdens!

The channels of the People's Daily were far superior to those of the China Youth Daily. Almost simultaneously, Liu Fuqing and Yang Xiuyun, a couple from Maiji Brigade, heard from Li Dashan that Liu Yimin's name had appeared in the People's Daily.

The commune members were also very surprised to see someone they knew appear in the newspaper for the first time. The words they couldn't understand before suddenly became kind and approachable.

"Old Li, how many newspapers does the brigade have left? I need to put this issue on our wall, no, I need to cover it completely!" Liu Fuqing took out the Peony cigarettes he usually used to display his storefront from his pocket.

Liu Fuqing himself didn't like smoking, but he couldn't help it; he was a celebrity now. People greeted him wherever he went. When he arrived at the commune, the commune director warmly put his arm around his shoulder, like a long-lost brother.

He felt that smoking dry tobacco was inappropriate back then, and that he had to smoke rolled cigarettes!
The moment a peony cigarette is pulled out of a pocket, it can immediately intimidate a group of people.

"Take it all, if it's not enough I'll ask the commune for more, if the commune can't do it I'll go to the county! When you're working in the fields later, listen carefully, the commune's broadcast is going to read this article!"

Li Dashan kicked a commune member who was dawdling and refusing to work, and said to Liu Fuqing.

"Hey, Lao Li, what do you take me for? Do you think I'm that clueless? I won't do anything to take advantage of public funds, otherwise it'll embarrass Yimin if word gets out. One share is enough!"

Liu Fuqing took the newspaper, then remembered that Li Dashan's two sons were serving in the army, so he pulled him to squat down by the earthen mound and started smoking a peony cigarette.

"Old Li, don't worry, nothing will happen. We've been through gunfire and bullets back then too!" Liu Fuqing reassured him.

"How can that be the same? We're militia, following behind Company Commander Liu, of course we're safe. Lan Yong and Lan Wei are regular People's Liberation Army soldiers!" Li Dashan shouted.

"Militiamen? I killed bandits too, and I even carried you down the mountain!"

"Don't you fucking mention this. If you hadn't been hiding it from me, how could that bullet have hit my butt? I was just lying there, clutching my arm, doing just fine."

Li Dashan felt aggrieved whenever he talked about it. Luckily, the bullet didn't hit any vital organs, otherwise Li Lanyong would have been out of the picture!
"You even made a mistake in trying to save him; you should have let him stay with the dead ball!"

After saying this, Liu Fuqing left angrily, intending to go home and stick the newspaper on his bedside.

Li Dashan watched Liu Fuqing's retreating figure, smiled, and then got up and followed him.

(End of this chapter)