1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 142, "Zhou Xu: On How a Soldier Becomes a Writer?"

Waiting for them to finish speaking.

Zhou Xu put down the microphone. After all, his main identity is that of a military writer, so it was not surprising that he would express his feelings about his military life.

However, there was a small murmur of amazement at the scene. Among military writers of this era, only a few have actually been on the battlefield, and Zhou Xu is one of the best among them.

They waited for Zhou Xu to come down from the stage.

Liu Baiyu walked towards Zhou Xu.

Liu Baiyu has been criticized by some people, but apart from awarding himself the Mao Dun Literature Prize, he has not actually done anything out of line.

Of course, his approach did attract a lot of criticism in those years, but as these old literary giants continued to criticize him, the Mao Dun Literature Prize actually ended up being awarded to these veteran writers.

In fact, Liu Baiyu, who pursued the path of creating works on revolutionary themes, was Zhou Xu's senior!

In 80, he became a leader in the General Political Department.

In terms of position, he was Zhou Xu's senior! Zhou Xu looked at him and saluted!

Liu Baiyu waved his hand and said with a smile, "No need, no need!"

He walked up to Zhou Xu, looked him up and down, and continued in a sincere tone, "I've come here specifically to apologize to you in person for the mistakes the Literature and Art Department made before."

Zhou Xu was taken aback upon hearing this. Having served in the military for a long time, he was always sensitive to rank. In his eyes, Liu Baiyu's rank was no different from his own political commissar—why would such a leader come specifically to apologize to him?

He composed himself and quickly replied, "I already know about the matter with the Literature and Art Department. I heard they've already taken care of it."

This incident caused quite a stir in the military, especially among several senior leaders, and naturally attracted a lot of attention.

Liu Baiyu nodded slightly and replied, "Hmm. I'm glad you don't have any issues with me. I was just worried that such an outstanding young comrade like you might have some misunderstandings about me!"

That's what they call camaraderie!
The other writers present were not from the military, so Liu Baiyu felt more comfortable with Zhou Xu, while Zhou Xu was drooling, wishing he could work his way up there.

Zhang Guangnian followed closely behind and said, "Hello."

"Hello, Teacher Zhang!"

"It's truly a case of 'when fellow villagers meet, tears well up in their eyes'!" Zhang Guangnian shook Zhou Xu's hand.

After all, they are both from Hubei, so they are naturally very close!
Zhou Xu also said with a smile, "Teacher Zhang is a representative of our Hubei literary circles, so of course I am happy."

"Of course not, your novels are what truly make you famous!!"

Ba Jin followed up by saying, "I have read many of Comrade Zhou Xu's novels. His military novels have begun to delve into human nature! Even if they were placed among some literary works, their literary quality would not be inferior."

Zhou Xu replied, "Because I often look at the works of my teachers to make up for my own shortcomings!"

Zhang Guangnian said, "A well-told story is an excellent military novel! The stories you've written are all very good and deeply moving!"

"..."

After chatting with a group of big shots, Zhou Xu quickly left with his tail between his legs.

After all, the big boss is too big.

He returned to his guesthouse.

Of course, receiving the award isn't the end of the story. After receiving the award, the National Outstanding Novella Award will hold a symposium! This symposium is one that Zhou Xu cannot refuse.

Besides the symposium, the People's Literature Publishing House will also publish all the winning works as standalone books. This is a small perk, since many writers did not publish their works as standalone books before winning the award, which means they can also receive a decent royalties.

……

During the symposium, the People's Daily published a report.

The People's Daily has always been involved in an awards ceremony to announce the winners of the national outstanding short stories, and today's front page is about Zhou Xu.

"Zhou Xu: On How a Soldier Becomes a Writer!" — "

At the end of May, at the award ceremony for the National Excellent Novella Award that we all look forward to, I saw a familiar face. He is our well-known military novelist!
Actually, he has another identity that is not widely known. Yes! He is also our first-class combat hero! A role model.

Zhou Xu's "Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain" was selected amidst cheers from the public, and as the chief winner, he delivered his acceptance speech.

Zhou Xu frankly admitted that he killed enemy soldiers and wrote reports during the Sino-Vietnamese War.
It was this passionate period that solidified his belief in creating military novels, and it was this unforgettable memory that gave birth to the classic work, "Garland at the Foot of the Mountain."

In his speech at the event, Mr. Ba Jin said, "Comrade Zhou Xu is a rising star in the literary world, a beacon of hope! Here, I look forward to and sincerely hope that Comrade Zhou Xu will achieve even greater success in the future..."

"..."

The People's Daily published a report early this morning.

At this time, in the Wuhan Military Region, nearly half a year later, although Zhou Xu had temporarily left the military region to pursue further studies, his name remained a "legendary" figure in the military.

As soon as the newly recruited youths stepped into the barracks, the veterans would repeatedly recount this incredible experience—in just two years, he was promoted from the grassroots level to deputy battalion commander, a speed of promotion that was extremely rare in the history of the military region.

He not only won the special attention of leaders at all levels with his outstanding abilities, but also made his deeds a popular story in the military camp with his solid achievements and sense of responsibility. He became a legendary benchmark that all soldiers could only aspire to but also strive to emulate.

Pooh!
It seems like this has been taken too far in the mythology.

In the morning, Lei Yuansheng took a newspaper, the People's Daily, from the newspaper and magazine and started reading.

"Tsk? Comrade Zhou Xu is in the newspaper again?" Lei Yuansheng looked at the article and realized that Zhou Xu had won an award!
After all, news and information spread slowly in the South, so when Lei Yuansheng saw this report, he took a deep breath.

That's a national award for outstanding novella!
He used to think that such an award was far away from him, but now he realizes that people around him have already won this big prize!

During lunch, Lei Yuansheng handed a newspaper to Political Commissar Huang.

The political commissar clicked his tongue in amazement as he read the report, and finally added, "Not bad, not bad at all. Xiao Zhou's achievements are getting better and better. Once he returns to our military region after further studies, I feel I can step down and hand over my position to a more capable person!"

Bai Hua was still staring at the political commissar's position when he said, "Isn't this a bit too much of a leap?"

Political Commissar Huang rolled his eyes at them: "You guys are joking, can't you tell? It'll be several more years before he reaches my rank!"

……

The Wuhan Opera House at this time.

Several women were chattering amongst themselves: "Hey? The winner of this year's National Excellent Novella Award is actually a young person?"

"Who is it? Who is it?!" the woman asked with a chuckle.

"Of course it's Comrade Zhou Xu! I can't believe he won an award at the age of twenty, and he's still a first-class combat hero! I wonder who's so lucky to marry him!" Another person stared blankly at Zhou Xu's photo, lost in thought!
In this day and age, there are no extravagant or unspoken rules.

However, since ancient times, beautiful women have been paired with heroes, and of course, they also want to be paired with officials. This is a common perception among many men and women.

Therefore, girls born into performing arts troupes and opera houses all more or less think about marrying well, or they become the pipa players who marry merchants.

"What? What are you talking about?!" Liu Xiaoli walked over quickly upon hearing the noise, her tone full of curiosity.

Two women smiled and handed her the newspaper, which she immediately began to examine. After reading only a few lines of the People's Daily report, Liu Xiaoli couldn't help but gasp, her eyes flashing with undisguised surprise—he was so amazing!

When she saw the line "killed twenty-five enemies," her heart skipped a beat, and the image of Zhou Xu's wisdom and prowess became even clearer in her mind.

People tend to idealize their ideal man in this way, but Liu Xiaoli felt that Zhou Xu was even more handsome than her idealized version!

"Look, another one's having a crush on someone!" The two exchanged a glance and teased each other with a smile.

Liu Xiaoli tossed her chin, a hint of arrogance in her voice, and retorted, "What do you mean by being infatuated? I'm not like you guys, always having unrequited love~"

"What do you mean by that?" The two of them noticed the hint of boasting in her tone and were somewhat surprised.

They immediately crowded around, their eyes eager: "You really know Comrade Zhou Xu? Quick, can you get us an autograph?"

Liu Xiaoli nodded, her tone light: "I've run into you a few times by chance before!"

"Really?" the woman asked curiously. "Did anything happen between you and him?"

Hearing this, Liu Xiaoli coughed and began to boast: "I ran into him last time and even got him to sign my notebook, and I also got his contact information..."

"You...you've got it done, haven't you?" The woman's eyes sparkled.

In this day and age, exchanging contact information and having a meal together is just dating, right? Doesn't that mean the two people like each other?

Liu Xiaoli felt that Zhou Xu's attitude towards her was neither fair nor indifferent, unlike the way she used to manipulate men, and she couldn't understand what Zhou Xu's feelings were.

She does indeed have a desire to take things further. But it's very difficult.

Moreover, Liu Xiaoli has recently been facing a serious problem: she has been unable to reach Zhou Xu despite writing to him several times.

Liu Xiaoli had visited the military region once before and met some friends. They said that Zhou Xu had gone for further studies. But Liu Xiaoli's womanly intuition told her: If Zhou Xu met a beautiful girl from Jiangnan who could dance while he was studying, would he forget about her?

Liu Xiaoli chuckled: "How could that be? My relationship with Teacher Zhou Xu is merely acquaintance!"

“But Xiaoli,” one of the girls suddenly remembered something and asked curiously, “I always see a guy coming to support your performances, and he even tries to chat with you! He clearly likes you so much!”

Liu Xiaoli replied casually, "We actors are here to be liked and watched, right? What does it have to do with me if others like me or enjoy my performances? I just need to do my job well!"

Liu Xiaoli has always been a woman who does things her own way and is somewhat assertive and independent.

Of course, this legendary man who loves watching Liu Xiaoli's dramas is none other than...

(End of this chapter)