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

Chapter 84 The Invitation from Saihanba (Seeking Votes)

The group of people from Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press came to China at different times. Some had studied Chinese at Beijing Language and Culture University for a year before transferring to Yenching University, while others came directly to Yenching University, so their backgrounds were different.

During Li Congren's presentation, Liu Yimin would interrupt him if he said anything incorrect. The presentation mainly focused on Chinese people's lifestyles and basic necessities like clothing, food, housing, and transportation; as for cultural aspects, he hadn't yet mastered them.

Li Congren spoke for half an hour, then took a sip of tea to moisten his throat. He glanced at Liu Yimin, wondering who the international student was and who the Chinese student was. Who was lecturing whom?

After he finished speaking, Li Congren turned his gaze to Liu Yimin, as if to say, "Isn't it your turn to speak now?"

Liu Yimin straightened up and said solemnly, "One by one, each of you will introduce yourselves and your country's history in Chinese within ten minutes. This is to help you practice your Chinese skills. Otherwise, when you go out and find someone to tell you the history of old Beijing, you won't understand."

And so, the first Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press activity ended with everyone's self-introductions, but a little unpleasant happened at the end, and Li Congren was almost beaten up by the other international students from the Third World.

Just as Mula Tu from Ethiopia was about to make a move, he was stopped by Liu Yimin, who was furious because Li Congren had mentioned the inequalities faced by Ethiopians in the United States!
"Hey, hey. You guys, I'm your brother, and I'm anti-racist too." Li Congren jumped to the corner in fright, covered his head with his hands, and kept explaining.

"As I just said, we are all comrades. Our leader taught us to unite with all those who can be united. Comrade Li Congren is the one you should unite with. Go down and read the instructor's articles carefully."

"Yimin, we would like to invite you to publish an article on the current literary and artistic thought in poetry in Weiminghu. We thought your last talk was very good, as it was both meaningful and emotional, so we would like to ask you to expand on it."

Inside the library, Liu Yimin was writing when Chen Jiangong "coincidentally" appeared in front of him.

He currently has two manuscripts to write: one is "The Flames of War in Beiping" and the other is the stage play script for "Mr. Donkey". Logically speaking, adapting "Mr. Donkey" should be a smooth process since there is an original novel, but actually adapting it is a real struggle, and he scratches his head as soon as he starts writing.

Because I frequently watched TV dramas and listened to Lao Ma tell many stories, writing "The Flames of War in Beiping" went very smoothly.

"Jiangong, look at my head, is there anything different?" Liu Yimin asked, resting his chin on his hands.

"Nothing's different?" Chen Jiangong said, puzzled.

Liu Yimin smiled and said, "Didn't you notice my head has gotten bigger?"

Chen Jiangong then realized that Liu Yimin meant he was currently very busy. However, Liu Yimin did not disappoint him, pulling a page from his notebook and handing it to him.

"Our 'Weiming Lake' is read by many students from various universities. This poem is sure to appeal to young people, and I believe it will help boost the sales of 'Weiming Lake'."

Chen Jiangong looked at the short poem on the paper and read it aloud: "Far and Near"

【you
Watch me for a while
Watching the clouds for a while
I think

You are far away when you look at me
When you look at the clouds, they seem very close.

Chen Jiangong read it aloud several times, then looked up and smiled at Liu Yimin: "Young people understand young people. Which young student doesn't yearn for love? It's concise and poetic. Yimin, thank you. The next issue of 'Weiming Lake' will finally have a high-quality poem."

After saying that, he glanced at the manuscript that Liu Yimin was working on on his desk and said, "Yimin, I'm leaving now. I won't bother you anymore. Keep it up, I'll be waiting to see your play at the Beijing People's Art Theatre." Not long after he finished writing, a young reporter from China Youth Daily found Liu Yimin again, carrying a newspaper and a letter.

"Comrade Yu Jiajia, if you keep writing about me like this, it'll easily arouse jealousy!" Liu Yimin said jokingly, pointing to the article in the newspaper.

"Comrade Liu Yimin, I must thank you. If it weren't for your poem 'Ideal,' I would have had a hard time getting an article published in the newspaper."

Yu Jiajia wrote a commentary based on Liu Yimin's "Ideal"—"The ideal of young people is the ideal of the nation"—which was successfully selected by the editor and published in the newspaper.

"You're welcome. This is the result of your own hard work."

"I know my own limitations. There are plenty of veteran reporters and editors in the newspaper. In fact, I owe my success to your poem."

"Not everyone can borrow this wind."

The novel "Ideal" was widely circulated among readers, and using it as a title naturally increased the chances of it being accepted for publication. Therefore, Yu Jiajia called it "borrowing the wind".

After Yu Jiajia finished speaking, she took out a letter from her bag and told him that it was written to her by the workers of Saihanba Forest Farm.

“If we followed the normal reader mailing process, you wouldn’t know when you’d see it, so they sent it to me to pass on to you. If you have anything to say, you can write it down, and I’ll be taking the train to Saihanba for an interview tomorrow!”

As Liu Yimin opened the letter, he asked in surprise, "You're going to Saihanba? It's freezing cold there right now!"

"Not only that, the blizzard hasn't stopped for days. Even if I get there, I'll have to wait for the weather to clear before I can go up the mountain. As a journalist, I have to report on their deeds so that everyone knows about their efforts. It's not that no one has reported on them before, but it's just simple reporting that hasn't generated much discussion."

Things are different now. With your novel, reporting on it will definitely cause a sensation. Speaking of which, I'm once again benefiting from your influence.

After Yu Jiajia finished speaking, she hesitated for a moment and then said frankly, "There are many reporters like us, especially since I am young. I can hardly get any important news. If I want to make a difference, I have to go to places that older reporters can't go. Not many people are willing to go to places that are freezing cold."

Compared to them planting trees, I had selfish motives. The thought of it makes me feel like I've done something wrong to them, like I'm trading their suffering for my own reputation.

Yu Jiajia felt a little guilty at the end, and Liu Yimin understood her feelings and comforted her, saying, "A gentleman judges by actions, not intentions. No one is perfect. You've already done a great job. Writing a good report is the best way to repay them."

In the letter, the Saihanba workers thanked Liu Yimin for his novel, which showed everyone how hard they worked to control desertification. They also told him that they kept a dog on the mountain. Most of them had lived in the forest farm for two generations of forestry workers, with the youngest only going up there in 77.

He told him that they had achieved remarkable results in combating desertification and invited him to visit Saihanba when spring arrives.

"I wanted to bring them a few autographed copies of your magazine, but I can't bring more than that. I also wanted to bring a letter from you. What do you think, Comrade Liu Yimin?"

(End of this chapter)