1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 137 Special Subsidy (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

A few days later, it was the third year of junior high school.

Some of the snow has melted today; it might be gone by the fifteenth of the lunar month.

Zhou Xu hid in the room reading a foreign series of books; you could tell from reading "The Troublemakers" that he was reading foreign books.

Wang Shuo once complained that a group of young people in the 1980s were always talking about Nietzsche, Hegel, Freud, Camus... Modernism, magical realism, nihilism, and a whole bunch of other things. Did these students really understand nihilism? Did they understand anything about absurdity?

Zhou Xu didn't think they understood, and of course, Zhou Xu himself didn't understand either.

However, he mainly reads books now so that he can use them when writing novels.

Anyway, once you enter the industry, you'll find more and more of your shortcomings...

Yao Fanghua sat at the table, swinging her slender, carrot-like legs, so white and tender they looked like they could be squeezed for water... Zhou Xu coughed: "No chance today?"

"No, I'm just here with you. Otherwise, what else could I be doing!"

"Don't mimic me."

Many actors learn different regional dialects, among which Sichuanese and Northeastern dialects are relatively easy to learn, and Yao Fanghua knows these.

"Okay, I'm not teasing you anymore, I'm going to work."

She quickly changed her clothes, and those pale, bare legs disappeared. Zhou Xu's inner demons also disappeared, and he became even more focused on his reading!

Knock, knock, knock—there was a knock on the door.

Zhou Xu stood up: "Didn't you bring your keys? Fanghua?!"

Soon, a woman dressed in a simple black sweater, with a refined air, stood at the door. She had double eyelids, wore two braids, and sported a signature smile.

"Hello? Is this Comrade Zhou Xu's home?" the woman asked with a smile.

Zhou Xu nodded: "And you are?"

What's wrong? Am I still 'Duan Yu', always flirting with everyone? Another girl has come knocking on my door?

Wang Anyi extended her hand and said with a smile, "I am Wang Anyi, the editor of Shanghai Literature. You can just call me Anyi!"

Tsk?
A celebrity!

Zhou Xu looked Wang Anyi up and down. He had only seen photos of Wang Anyi when she was in her forties or fifties, because she had become famous by then, but he had never seen her when she was young.

So it seems that not all writers are good-looking; at least the woman in front of me is quite attractive.

Of course, among female writers, Lin Huiyin was the most beautiful.

Zhou Xu didn't know what Wang Anyi looked like, but this girl was a talented woman... truly a talented woman!

Her greatest achievement as a novel is "The Song of Everlasting Sorrow," which later won the Mao Dun Literature Prize. Although the Mao Dun Literature Prize later became an award for veteran writers, Wang Anyi's works are still considered among the top winners, ranking highly in the overall Mao Dun Literature Prize category.

She is also another representative writer of the Shanghai School after Eileen Chang.

Wang Anyi first handed the bag she was carrying to Zhou Xu: "Let me wish Comrade Zhou Xu a Happy New Year! This is seafood from Shanghai; I think you'll like it!"

Zhou Xu accepted the seafood.

In an era when transportation and preservation technology were underdeveloped, seafood was not only expensive but also very rare inland.

Although Nanjing is not too far from the sea, seafood is still very expensive.

Zhou Xu accepted the gift: "Thank you."

"Comrade Wang, hello, please come in?" Zhou Xu glanced at Wang Anyi again.

Wang Anyi smiled slightly; she hadn't expected Zhou Xu to be so delicate-looking.
She had always assumed the person was pregnant, after all, she and her mother had met so many writer friends, who were either as thin as monkeys or had huge beer bellies.

"Please sit down first." Zhou Xu poured her a cup of tea before sitting down himself.

"Mmm." Wang Anyi held the teacup.

She was twenty-six this year, much older than Zhou Xu, but she had never achieved much in her writing. So now, looking at Zhou Xu, she felt both envy and admiration: "Comrade Zhou Xu, there's actually a question I've been wanting to ask you!"

Of course, her first purpose in coming here after the New Year was to ask Zhou Xu for the manuscript, but the second, more important one for her, was to learn some writing skills from Zhou Xu!

She has always been anxious about writing.

Therefore, it is evident that Wang Anyi's writing is known for its "trivial" details, and she only became famous in the mid-to-late 1980s, and it wasn't until the 1990s that she wrote her first full-length novel. She is indeed a relatively late-blooming writer.

"Go ahead and ask," Zhou Xu said.

Wang Anyi leaned forward, the rim of the teacup brushing against her fingertips, her tone both urgent and apprehensive: "Comrade Zhou Xu, I always feel that my writing is just about trivial matters of daily life, endlessly revolving around firewood, rice, oil, salt, and neighborhood gossip, unlike other people's articles which have 'weight'."

Zhou Xuxian used his knowledge of biology to tell Wang Anyi, "Actually, you can use some things to concentrate, such as drinking more tea or coffee to refresh yourself! I often make tea! As for why those male writers smoke? Because smoking also refreshes them!"

Wang Anyi thought he was going to share some valuable insights.
Although this seems to be useful information: "Oh! Then I'll have tea?"

She took a sip of tea.

"Hmm, what else? Set a goal! When Comrade Wang Zengqi was writing, he always set a specific time, like 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.! You can't think about how much you can finish today, but you must devote yourself wholeheartedly to writing a novel..."

“Oh…” Wang Anyi nodded suddenly.

The two chatted for quite a while.

Yao Fanghua returned with lunch...

You think the sky will fall and your house will be robbed the moment she walks inside? Pshaw.

"Hello... this is?" Wang Anyi and Yao Fanghua looked at each other.

Xiao Wang was having a good chat with Zhou Xu when Zhou Xu's girlfriend came back, giving him the feeling of catching him cheating.

"I am a friend of Comrade Zhou Xu!"

"Oh! I'm Wang Anyi, an editor at Shanghai Literature!"

The two shook hands, and Zhou Xu watched from the side. He was surprised that they introduced themselves without him having to explain.

But that’s fine!

Yao Fanghua sat down: "I just went out and got some food from the restaurant to go. Come and eat with me!"

Zhou Xu followed and poured the food onto the table.

Wang Anyi continued to seek advice from Zhou Xu.

Young writers are naturally eager to acquire knowledge; they are afraid of missing even the smallest detail and missing the opportunity to achieve something great in their writing! It's unbelievable that Yu Hua claimed he was lazy and unproductive in his youth!

He was a prolific writer before "To Live," but it wasn't until "To Live" sold millions of copies that Yu Hua truly started writing less and becoming lazy! Wang Anyi is currently at an age of confusion and frantically absorbing knowledge.

Yao Fanghua listened while propping up her chopsticks, but these things were unfamiliar to her, and she listened to the two chatting as if they were bosom friends.

She began to doubt herself again. Would things be perfect if she were with Zhou Xu?
Compared to others, she is clearly not the most suitable, right?
Ah Qiu!

Wang Anyi sneezed, and blood immediately started flowing from her nose: "Hey? Why are you bleeding from your nose?"

Yao Fanghua went out, brought back a handkerchief, and handed it to her, saying, "Stand still, stand still!"

Zhou Xu was also curious: "Why did you suddenly have a nosebleed?"

Could it be because I fed her too much information, causing her to have a sudden enlightenment that exceeded my brain's capacity?
"That's possible," Zhou Xu nodded slowly.
"Why don't you take a rest?"

"I'm sorry, I've really troubled you all." Wang Anyi lowered her head and sighed deeply.

"fine!"

After resting for a while, Wang Anyi stopped talking about her work and changed her approach: "Comrade Zhou Xu, do you have any new works recently? Our magazine, *Shanghai Literature*, would like to accept your latest novel!"

"Novel? I've been resting and celebrating the Chinese New Year lately! I haven't been thinking about writing!" Zhou Xu said honestly.

"Can I, on behalf of *Shanghai Literature*, solicit your manuscript in advance? We at *Shanghai Literature* will accept any work, no matter what it is!" Wang Anyi coughed and continued, "And..."

dong dong dong.

There was still a knock at the door. Zhou Xu reached out and said, "Comrade Wang, don't rush. I'll go open the door. You can continue talking later!"

Zhou Xu walked outside.

All I saw was a dark-skinned man standing at the door.

"You must be Comrade Zhou Xu? Hello, my name is Xu Zhaohuai, and I am an editor at Zhongshan Magazine!" Xu Zhaohuai extended his hand to shake hands with Zhou Xu.

Zhou Xu responded to his hand; "Hello."

After graduating, Xu Zhaohuai was assigned to Zhongshan magazine, where he was one of the early staff members. Later, he edited and published many famous works by renowned authors.

He handed the gift he was carrying to Zhou Xu: "This is a New Year's gift from our magazine to our new writers!"

"Huh? I've never published any work in your magazine, so it's not appropriate for me to accept your gift, is it?"

“What’s wrong with that?!” Xu Zhaohuai said, “This is to encourage new writers, not necessarily those who have collaborated with our magazine before.”

Zhou Xu led the people into the house first.

Xu Zhaohuai sat down and glanced around the room.
Xu Zhaohuai took a deep breath. "No wonder Zhou Xu is so good, juggling two girls all by himself! Still at someone else's house on the third day of the Lunar New Year! Do you think I'd believe you if you said it was a commissioned article?"
Xu Zhaohuai didn't have any writing-related questions he wanted to discuss with Zhou Xu; he was simply there to solicit an article from him: "Comrade Zhou Xu, I've come on behalf of 'Zhongshan' magazine to solicit an article from you!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Anyi felt a little flustered: "Huh? I'm here to solicit articles too?"

Xu Zhaohuai turned around and said with a smile, "Little girl, you must be joking!"

Wang Anyi immediately took out the letter of introduction from *Shanghai Literature* magazine from her bag and said:
"Senior Xu, I'm here representing *Shanghai Literature*, and I was the one who first came to solicit manuscripts!"

Xu Zhaohuai was stunned. This silly girl, is there a rule about first come, first served when it comes to commissioning articles? It's always the highest bidder who gets it!

He looked into her sincere eyes, eyes that seemed to say, "I came first, so my manuscript is mine."

Finally, he said, "Comrade Zhou Xu's manuscript hasn't been approved for anyone yet, has it?"

Zhou Xu smiled slightly: "I haven't said anything yet?"

“This…” Wang Anyi paused but did not speak.

Xu Zhaohuai continued, "Zhongshan is here with sincerity. Comrade Zhou Xu, if your new work is published in Zhongshan, we will give you the highest payment, which is ten yuan per thousand words. In addition, the front page of Zhongshan will also be yours!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Anyi immediately shouted, "Me too!!"

"Hiss!" Xu Zhaohuai was a veteran in the literary world. He knew that Wang Anyi was Ru Zhijuan's daughter as soon as he heard her name.

Although Ru Zhijuan was a female writer, she held a high position in the literary world. While she couldn't compare to figures like Ba Jin, she was still a respected elder.

"When Zhongshan collaborates with writers, it's always been about genuine support—no matter what subject you write next, we'll read it carefully, analyze it thoroughly, and offer reliable suggestions for improvement. Over the years, we've also nurtured many talented new writers, such as Liu Shaotang's 'Partridge Sky' and Zhao Benfu's 'Selling Donkey,' both classics that originated from our work. I believe that by working together, we can definitely make our works even more outstanding!"

Xu Zhaohuai began to make empty promises to Zhou Xu.

“My mother also said that she can talk to you about her experiences with military-themed works,” Wang Anyi continued.

Ru Zhijuan's main works are realistic short stories, many of which are on revolutionary historical themes, such as the classic "Lily" from textbooks! She is indeed a predecessor of Zhou Xu.

Xu Zhaohuai glanced at Wang Anyi and said, "Young comrade, you keep repeating what I'm saying. Isn't that a bit unfair of you?"

Wang Anyi replied, "I arrived first? Shouldn't I have finished commissioning the manuscript first?"

Yao Fanghua was stunned. Why were they talking about "Zhongshan" and "Shanghai Literature" again?

She used to read those two magazines quite a lot; it seems she underestimated Zhou Xu's influence.

After saying that, she looked at Zhou Xu, wondering who he would choose.
He said, "I appreciate your kindness, but I don't have any new works right now! So I can't give them to you!"

"It's alright, Comrade Zhou Xu. We'll accept whatever your next work is, no matter what it is!"

"How about this, Comrade Zhou Xu? On top of the original ten yuan per thousand words, our *Shanghai Literature* will give you an extra fifty yuan!" Wang Anyi replied.

"Subsidies?" Xu Zhaohuai looked at Wang Anyi.

Some people have done this before, but the highest fee a magazine pays an author is already ten yuan per thousand words. If they subsidize it further, the magazine might not even make ends meet.

Wang Anyi nodded.

Hearing this, Zhou Xu felt that if they didn't decide on a magazine today, the two of them would make a huge fuss: "Alright, since Shanghai Literature came to my house first, and they've shown such sincerity, then I'll collaborate with Comrade Wang from Shanghai Literature on my next novel?"

Xu Zhaohuai didn't dare to provide subsidies without the editor-in-chief's permission, otherwise he would be using his own salary to cover the costs, so he didn't say much.

After exchanging a few words, the Zhongshan magazine left first.

Zhou Xu asked, "Are your subsidies legal? Don't you think they're illegal or against regulations?"

Zhou Xu's identity is quite sensitive!
Wang Anyi immediately nodded: "It's not embezzlement. Our magazine, *Shanghai Literature*, has an annual award for outstanding novels, and the prize money is fifty yuan!"

"You mean this subsidy will only be available after I win the award?"

“Of course not! We awarded your work ‘Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain’ an Excellence Award last year. It’s not like only novels published in our magazine can win awards!” Wang Anyi immediately retorted.

(End of this chapter)