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

Chapter 80 Everyone Has a copy of "People's Literature" (Seeking first subscriptions)
Liu Yu glanced at Zhang Pengzhi and said angrily, "If I'm lying, may my feet ooze pus. You can go and see for yourselves if you don't believe me."

Zhang Peng shrank back, ultimately still afraid of Liu Yu, the shadow brother of the Northern Army.

Liu Yu took a sip of tea, then pulled out a copy of the "Literary Gazette" from his pocket and slammed it on the table, saying, "Those things aren't important yet. Look at this article in the 'Literary Gazette'."

Seeing his excitement, Bei Dao picked up the newspaper and started reading. One article in particular caught his eye—A Study on the Literary Value of "Mr. Donkey".

After reading the headline, Bei Dao didn't continue reading. He put the newspaper on the table and said in his usual tone, "The novel 'Mr. Donkey' is indeed well-written. There are many reviews about it, but that's nothing special."

Liu Yu extended his right hand from his sleeve, pointed at the author's name with his middle finger, and said in a profound and enigmatic tone, "Look, it doesn't matter who wrote this article or whether there's a book review, but who wrote it is important. This person can write a book review, which is something many people would beg for."

Liu Yu's middle finger tapped rhythmically, which annoyed the people next to him. But when they saw the two words on it, they were all taken aback.

"Cao Yu!"

"Cao Yu!"

"It really is Cao Yu!"

The group of people sitting around were dumbfounded. They never expected that Cao Yu, the director of the Beijing People's Art Theatre, would write a book review specifically for "Mr. Donkey." They might criticize several veteran poets in the literary world, but they really wouldn't dare to do that in front of Cao Yu.

If anyone dares to say Ai Qing's poems are bad, who dares to say that "Thunderstorm" is out of touch with the times?
For a moment, the courtyard fell silent. Lu Xun, Guo Moruo, Mao Dun, Ba Jin, Lao She, and Cao Yu—six pillars of the literary and artistic world. Guo Moruo passed away in June, leaving only Mao Dun, Ba Jin, and Cao Yu still alive.

Mao Dun and Ba Jin were primarily figures in literature and criticism, pillars of the literary world. Cao Yu, on the other hand, was from the theater world. In today's literary circles, drama is at the very top of the hierarchy, and even in later generations, actors trained by the Beijing People's Art Theatre still far surpass other actors.

"Well, actually, Liu Yimin's novels are quite good! But as for poetry, I think..." Zhang Pengzhi felt his throat was a little dry as he spoke, and at the end he went to drink tea and didn't say anything more.

"Let's go see what's going on outside. Liu Yu, what you said is pretty scary!" Huang Rui said, standing up.

Led by Liu Yu, the group arrived at the nearest Xinhua Bookstore, and to their astonishment, a long queue had indeed formed. Despite the swirling yellow sand and the debris on the roadside being blown about, nothing could dampen their enthusiasm.

"Comrades, what are you buying?" Huang Rui asked.

"I bought 'Poetry Journal' and 'People's Literature'. My colleague bought them and I read them. They're so well-written. The novels are touching, and the poems are inspiring. I'll buy a copy for my second son to read. He's taking the college entrance exam next year, and I'll use Comrade Liu Yimin's poems to encourage him." The man wrapped his military overcoat tighter, then jumped around a couple of times to warm up his feet.

"Exactly, it's about desertification control. Look at the sand in our Yanjing, it should have been controlled a long time ago."

"They've been planting trees all the time in Saihanba, where yellow sand is everywhere. In winter, heavy snow blocks the doors. I read in novels that combating desertification is really difficult. It's all thanks to those comrades fighting there."

A woman was holding a magazine and talking to everyone nearby. Her gaze drifted towards Saihanba, and she felt a tremor run through her.

"This dog is amazing, it waited for Lao Xue for so long. Now when I look at my own dog, Da Huang, I wonder if it will be able to wait for me in the future. But if it does, I'm afraid it will become a stray dog ​​like Hachiko. After I bought a copy and read it, I think I should send a few copies to my friends."

The man in line covered his ears and glanced at the group: "Aren't you guys here to buy magazines?"

"We're not buying!"

"Young comrades, it's good for you to read more books at such a young age. Learn from Comrade Liu Yimin, who is still a student at Yenching University. Don't just idle around all day like a hooligan." The man curled his lip and ignored them, making Zhang Pengzhi grit his teeth in anger.

I opened my mouth so wide that I really got a good taste of the yellow sand on the tip of my tongue.

After they turned and left, the man said to the people in front of him, "If my second son were even half as good as Liu Yimin, it would be a great blessing from our ancestors!"

"Go home, sit on the edge of the well, and dream away!" "Hahaha..."

After everyone finished speaking, they stood on tiptoe and looked towards the bookstore entrance, wondering when they would be able to buy it.

A middle-aged woman in the crowd wiped away tears from the corners of her eyes. When asked what was wrong, she sobbed uncontrollably, "I'm crying for Lao Xue, I'm crying for Xiao Ba, and I'm crying for my daughter. My daughter is in Saihanba!"

Speaking of Liu Yimin's novel, the sandstorms also played a significant role. Generations of people in Yanjing had long been fed up with the yellow sand, and everyone wanted to control it.

The thought that there are people like Lao Xue fighting desertification increases my hope for desertification control.

Inside the editorial office of People's Literature, the distribution center called Zhang Guangnian, informing him that the number of orders placed within three days had increased tenfold compared to the previous month, and many bookstores were requesting to continue placing orders.

"It seems our decision to print more ahead of schedule was the right one! Keep an eye on things; we might have to print another batch this time." Zhang Guangnian breathed a sigh of relief.

"Comrade Guangnian, I've been keeping an eye on this. If you ask me, I'd be lucky if you could sell this batch at all!"

"We'll see, I have a feeling!"

He hung up the phone, looked at the literary newspaper in his hand, and carefully read Cao Yu's article: "Old Wan's article is quite interesting. No wonder he asked me about Liu Yimin last time."

"Yimin, can you please not write so touchingly?" Li Xueqin kept wiping his eyes with his hands, and cried uncontrollably after reading it. Toilet paper was precious, and he couldn't bear to use it to wipe his eyes, so he used his hands or sleeves instead.

"Here, use this toilet paper to wipe your eyes. Don't rub them with your hands and get sick!"

The three of them were crying as they read, and because their hands were wet, they wiped the magazines and handouts on their hands, leaving them covered in ink.

They are still using Soviet-style textbooks. The school teachers will give them mimeographed handouts, which easily make their hands dirty.

Once inside the classroom, Zhang Manling ran over to him with red eyes and asked, "Is Lao Xue real? Is Xiao Ba real?"

"Comrade Zhang Manling, there are many comrades like Lao Xue who participated in desertification control work after retiring from the army. Xiao Ba is an artistic creation, but I believe there are many dogs like this."

"Your poem 'Ideal' is also very well written; it's very inspiring!" Zhang Manling continued to praise.

"The professor is here!"

After class, I ran into Li Congren and Ke Lifu, and kept asking him why the Chinese Culture Research Society had never held any events, as they, the international students, were getting impatient.

"I have something to do today, so we won't be holding the club meeting!" Liu Yimin said calmly.

"Liu, I'd like to invite you to the Haidian Bathhouse, what do you think?" Klifu asked. Besides enjoying Chinese tea, he also loved going to bathhouses, and he went to the Haidian Bathhouse at least once a week.

Liu Yimin paused, grinned, and said, "Nothing to do today, so it's a good day for a bath!"

Thank you so much to s沁园春雪 for the 100 coins!

Thank you so much for the 500 coins!

(End of this chapter)