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

Chapter 52 Refuses to Join "Today" Magazine (Please Read On)
The corridor outside the editorial department of the Poetry Journal was already crowded, and after a few people arrived, it became completely blocked. The person in the lead was serious and looked melancholy, while the others next to him were laughing and joking, and there was another person hanging at the very back, making them seem like a group but not quite.

The man in the lead, dressed in a dark blue Zhongshan suit, with his hands in his jacket pockets, looked Liu Yimin up and down before asking with a smile, "You must be Comrade Liu Yimin, the author of 'A Generation'?"

"I am! And who are you?"

“You really are Liu Yimin, the author of ‘My Motherland, My Beloved Motherland’! You look much more energetic than Lao Zhao!” Mangke said.

After confirming that the young man in front of him was Liu Yimin, Bei Dao pointed to the people behind him and said, "Hello, hello, I am Zhao Zhenkai, this is Jiang Shiwei, Huang Rui, Liu Yu, and the last one is Guo Lusheng, also known as Shizhi."

A large crowd had gathered at the entrance of the editorial department, which naturally made the older staff inside restless. They all came out to greet the magazine's main contributors, but the editors were giving them strange looks today.

Bei Dao didn't know what was going on, but he didn't think much of it. Instead, he invited Liu Yimin to go out and explore Yanjing.

After listening to Liu Yimin's words, the editors were all wondering how much of a stir these young people would make in the poetry world.

Looking at Liu Yimin, who was fighting in a chaotic mess, he thought to himself, "We were just talking about the younger generation, but isn't Liu Yimin himself a member of the younger generation?"

"You all arrived in such an orderly fashion, did you bring your manuscripts?" Zou Huofan joked.

Mang Ke laughed and said, "Comrade Zou, don't be in such a hurry. Comrade Yimin has come to Yanjing. Do you think you'll be short of manuscripts?"

Zou Huofan remained noncommittal, then looked at Liu Yimin and said, "Yimin, come back early. I'd like to play a couple more games with you tonight."

"Old Zou, you won't run away, don't worry!"

Bei Dao, who is usually serious and always seems preoccupied, cracked a joke.

He pulled Liu Yimin out of the editorial office. The group had all arrived by bicycle. Bei Dao invited Liu Yimin to sit on the back of his bicycle, and while riding, he introduced Yanjing to them.

Just like before, Shizhi rode his bicycle behind everyone, only occasionally glancing at Liu Yimin.

"This is Nanluoguxiang, and in front is the Drum Tower. Look south, that's the old lady's hometown!"

Bei Dao led Liu Yimin to a large courtyard near the Drum Tower, where they introduced it as Zhang Pengzhi's home. Pushing open the door, they found Zhang Pengzhi setting out chairs and a table. Seeing them enter, he cheerfully asked, "This must be Comrade Liu Yimin?"

"Are you ready?"

"Everything's ready. The tea Liu Yu brought is brewed. Liu Yu, as expected of someone from the Beijing Film Studio, your dad drinks something really high-class!" Zhang Pengzhi waved his hand in front of his nose, signaling everyone to smell the aroma.

"Get lost, this isn't mine, it belongs to Tian Zhuangzhuang's dad. How could my dad be on the same level as the old factory director?" Liu Yu said with a laugh.

"Hey! The old factory manager has been seeing Marx for so many years, how come he still has so much stock at home?"

"It could also be Tian Zhuangzhuang's mother!"

"Yeah, damn it!"

"Hahaha!"

Liu Yu is a child of the Beijing Film Studio's founder, and he grew up with Director Chen and Tian Zhuangzhuang. Yes, that's the same Director Chen who made films that no one would understand for the next ten years.

Ten years have passed, and hey! Guess what?

This movie, jokingly described as a bloody incident caused by a steamed bun, still remains incomprehensible to everyone! After everyone was seated, Index Finger stood up and said, "I'm leaving!"

Bei Dao asked in confusion, "Didn't you want to see Comrade Liu Yimin? You're right here now, why are you leaving so soon!"

"I've already seen him, he looks almost exactly like me." With that, the index finger left without looking back.

Mang Ke put his arm around Liu Yimin's shoulder and said, "Guo Lusheng is very talented. He wrote 'Yanjing at 4:08,' but he belongs to... you should understand, he has been treated before."

As Munk spoke, he turned his index finger around his head a few times.

“I think when Shi Zhi wrote the line ‘My heart suddenly ached, it must have been from my own experience’ in ‘Yanjing at 4:08’,” Liu Yu said, trying to lighten the mood and avoid an awkward atmosphere.

"How to say?"

"Because after my mom finished sewing my clothes, I was wondering why something kept poking me, so I kept looking and looking, and guess what happened?"

"What's wrong?"

After taking a sip of tea, Liu Yu exclaimed loudly, "We found the needle my mom had lost for several days!"

Liu Yu's antics enlivened the atmosphere. A group of people gathered together to discuss current policies, and then began reciting poems. When it was Liu Yimin's turn, he recited his own poem, "My Motherland, My Beloved Motherland."

One by one, the reciters were filled with passion and enthusiasm. Seeing that the time was ripe, Bei Dao spoke first: "Yi Min, don't you think the poetry scene today is missing something?"

"I've just arrived in Yanjing and haven't gotten used to the surroundings yet," Liu Yimin said.

“We’re preparing to start a magazine. We’ve even thought of a name: ‘Today.’ We’re currently looking for a mimeograph machine. Mang Ke and I will be in charge of creative writing, Liu Yu and Zhang Pengzhi will be in charge of theory, and Huang Rui will be the art editor. Yimin, we are now inviting you to join ‘Today’ and contribute to the poetry scene of our country.”

After Bei Dao finished speaking, the group of people looked at Liu Yimin expectantly.

"I'm sorry to disappoint everyone, I don't know much about Yanjing, so..."

Before Liu Yimin could finish speaking, Mangke interjected, "I understand, it was our fault. Yimin just got off the train and hasn't even left the Writers' Association yet. Let's not talk about that anymore, let's talk about other things. We welcome Yimin to join us in the future."

The group chatted for a while, and suddenly the topic turned to royalties, eventually even escalating to the utilitarian aspect of writing, with some feeling that poets shouldn't write for money. The implication was that the poems published in *Today* magazine weren't paid; they were written out of love and passion.

"Yimin, what do you think?"

"Reasonable royalties are beneficial to the prosperity of literature. After all, poets and writers also need to eat. Money has never treated me like dirt, so why should I treat money like dirt? If money is a life, wouldn't it be unfair to treat it like dirt?"

"Yi Min's metaphor is witty and philosophical. I think Yi Min is a philosopher!" Bei Dao said with a smile after a moment of contemplation.

Liu Yimin did not want to join "Today". Regardless of whether he liked most of the poems in it, he was unwilling to step into this vortex for the sake of the future of the poetry scene.

I've been reborn? Do I still have to follow you guys around posting illegal drugs? And then get banned again?

As the sun set, Liu Yimin excused himself, saying that Zou Huofan was waiting for him to play chess, and returned to the guesthouse.

Please continue reading and vote for me! I'm so sleepy, I didn't sleep a wink last night. I'm going to take a nap. Will I see more votes when I wake up? Dear readers, thank you so much!
(End of this chapter)