1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 23 Royalty
After two or three hours, the performance finally came to an end.

The drama troupe slowly began to disperse.

The men and women in this drama troupe are quite different from those in the grassroots military units; they are very relaxed, chatting and laughing together.

Liu Jia took Gong Xue's hand and pulled her outside.

And so they arrived in front of Zhou Xu.

"Sister Jia," Zhou Xu greeted her.

"Hey! Zhou Xu, you're here!" Liu Jia said with a smile.

Then she introduced her to Zhou Xu, saying, "This is my friend from the General Political Department Drama Troupe, Gong Xue! Isn't she beautiful? She's the most beautiful woman in our troupe!"

Zhou Xu looked at Gong Xue, naturally curious about this legendary woman.

After all, she was later praised by netizens as "Gong Xue in the South and Zhu Lin in the North." Zhu Lin may not have been truly popular in the 1980s, but Gong Xue was definitely a star!
"Under the Bridge" is probably her most popular movie, and she's also a two-time Golden Horse Award winner!
If it weren't for that incident in Shanghai, Gong Xue might have been even more famous than Liu Xiaoqing. People always talk about how Liu Xiaoqing is more senior, but actually, the woman in front of us is more popular than Liu Xiaoqing.

"Hello, Comrade Gong Xue!"

Liu Jia continued introducing Gong Xue, "This is Zhou Xu, the young prodigy and writer I told you about!"

Gong Xue looked at Zhou Xu, and her first impression was that he was somewhat delicate-looking:
"I've heard Liu Jia mention you many times. It's a pleasure to meet you, Comrade Zhou Xu!"

There's a biased view of writers in China.

Because writers are often associated with two words: rich and talented!
After all, you're just a writer who can't even make money; you have no fame! Famous writers are all rich! Respected writers are naturally famous.

Gong Xue also thinks highly of Zhou Xu.

"Mom, we young people are just chatting, why don't you stay out of it?" Liu Jia said to her mother.

Zhou Xu listened, and realized that these children from the compound all spoke so frankly and directly.

Madam Liu nodded: "Alright, alright, I won't disturb you young people's chat any longer. I'll take my leave now."

Madam Liu wisely left.

Zhou Xu asked, "Don't you drama troupe members need to gather and return to your unit?"

Liu Jia shrugged: "No need. We perform for the troops every week. After the performance, we have half a day of free time. As long as we can get back to the unit in the evening, it's fine."

The cultural troupe didn't worry about deserters.

Compared to grassroots units, performing arts troupes don't require intensive training; all you have to do is dance and sing every day, and you get a fixed salary. The key point is that they are military units... they are well-paid and prestigious, so most people like to stay there. Who would want to leave?

Zhou Xu was the only man present, and he tactfully suggested, "If you're free this afternoon, how about I treat you to lunch?"

Gong Xue tossed her hair: "I'm so embarrassed."

Liu Jia said, "Any restaurant will do. Comrade Zhou Xu originally said he would treat me to a meal!"

"Let's go?"

Zhou Xu led the way.

His two older sisters followed him.

Zhou Xu doesn't have any money to eat at Quanjude right now.

Yesterday, Wang Shuo almost spent nearly thirty yuan at Quanjude.

After all, a duck costs ten yuan in that place, and the average cost per person is ten yuan.

In a normal state-run restaurant, ten yuan can feed you until you look like a giant.

We entered the restaurant.

Zhou Xu took the menu and ordered. He naturally had a ticket, as it was provided by the magazine company.

"Braised pork, shredded pork with eggs and mushrooms, shredded potatoes, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried pork with chili peppers... that's about it."

Upon arriving at the window, Zhou Xu ordered his food, paid, and received a ticket.

Now you pay before you eat, not after.

When the food arrived, the three of them went to the window to get their own food.

Now, forget about the waiter bringing your food to the table; they're lucky if they don't beat you up, because the restaurant even has a sign that says: "Unjustified assault on customers is not allowed!"

"Yes, the 70s and 80s were a very wild era," Zhou Xu felt.
This era is so chaotic!

The dishes are served.

Zhou Xu sat to one side and glanced at the two of them. Liu Jia was an ordinary person, and the way he looked at Gong Xue was like looking at an older generation, finding everything about her strange.

Gong Xue touched her face and asked curiously, "Is there something dirty on my face?"

Zhou Xu shook his head.

Liu Jia nudged Gong Xue: "That's because you're pretty! Xiao Xu hasn't even been in a relationship yet! Of course he's stunned."

Liu Jia was poised and confident, while Gong Xue was petite and delicate. She said shyly, "Please don't say such things."

"You don't seem to have ever been in a relationship, have you?"

Indeed, apart from meeting her PhD husband abroad because of that incident, Gong Xue seems to have never had any major scandals before.

"No..."

"Then I underestimated you. Neither of you has ever dated. Why don't you give it a try?"

Zhou Xu nearly choked on his food: "Sister Jia, don't talk nonsense."

It's not 1983 now, but the times weren't as open either.

Of course, it's impossible for you to go in just as a joke; at most, very few people would refrain from saying things like "Liu family."

Gong Xue said embarrassedly, "Really, I knew I shouldn't have come out to eat with you. You're just talking nonsense."

"I'm not going to talk about it anymore, you guys chat."

Gong Xue ate her food.

Both of them paused for a moment, and finally Gong Xue started the conversation: "Comrade Zhou Xu, have you written any works before?"

"Not yet, because my work is still being revised, and it's uncertain whether it will be published!"

Liu Jia shook her head: "It's not that it's impossible, it's just that my dad is afraid you'll get arrogant. He said that once your work is finished, it will be published in January. He has very high expectations for you!"

Zhou Xu paused for a moment. Indeed, Liu Jiaju hadn't said these things to him. He'd mostly just been urging him to finish the manuscript and hand it in as soon as possible. "Wow! That's amazing! What's your name? I'll buy a copy when it's published in a month!"

Zhou Xu said, "Let's call it 'Changjin Lake'!"

What's your pen name?

"pen name?"

Liu Jia asked doubtfully, "You didn't even think about that, did you?"

Zhou Xu shook his head: "Because I submitted my work under my real name, the editor might have used my real name instead of my pen name."

"...You really don't care!" Liu Jia sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Pen name doesn't matter, the quality of the work is the most important!"

"Sigh! Your answer is as boring as my dad's. Don't become an old academic like him who only knows how to do academic research. It's too boring!" Liu Jia sighed, looking helpless.

Zhou Xu said, "I think Professor Liu is a very nice person, and he's also very knowledgeable!"

"...It's over, it's over, you're beyond saving."

Zhou Xu finished his meal with the two men.

They chatted for a while, exchanged contact information, and then parted ways.

On the way back to the drama troupe, Liu Jia asked Gong Xue, "I told you I introduced you to someone, right? What did you think?"

"What else could it be? He's a very talented young comrade!"

"Don't you have any ideas?"

"Didn't you say last time that you're seven years older than him and you still couldn't bring yourself to do it? How could I... how could I possibly do it!" Gong Xue blurted out, her face flushed.

The two strolled back to the cultural troupe at a leisurely pace.

……

Zhou Xu revised the manuscript while playing.

Finally, at the end of December, he finished revising the manuscript.

He still has a few days left and can make it back to celebrate New Year's Day.

Revise the draft.

Zhou Xu packed up and went to the magazine office.

"Teacher Liu, this is the revised manuscript. What do you think?" Zhou Xu handed the manuscript to Liu Jiaju.

Liu Jiaju took the manuscript.

He remembered all his own annotations, so every time he turned the page, it was the part he had corrected for Zhou Xu.

Reviewing a draft is naturally different from revising it; the process is three to four times faster.

Zhou Xu sat to one side drinking tea, while Liu Jiaju read the manuscript.

The manuscript of 140,000 words was not deliberately delayed by Zhou Xu; even if he revised it carefully, it would still take him a week.

After Liu Jiaju finished sweeping everything.

I thought to myself, this draft is truly excellent; at least it resonates with me deeply.

He smiled and said, "You've revised the manuscript quite well!"

"Thank you, teacher... So, once the manuscript is revised, it's considered approved and ready for publication?"

Liu Jiaju said, "I'm saying that I've passed my test and your revisions have passed, but there are second and third reviews, and a final review after the draft is finalized. It's not up to me to decide."

Editor Xiao Liu added from the side, "Okay, stop scaring him. This revision is already considered acceptable. There shouldn't be any problems in the second and third reviews. He's just trying to scare you!"

Liu Jiaju's serious demeanor was broken. He coughed and said, "What Editor Liu just said is correct. There's actually no problem with your manuscript."

"As for the publication issue, it was actually discussed with the editor-in-chief a long time ago. It will be published next month. Don't worry, just go back and wait for the results!" Xiao Liu played the good cop.

The two were still talking.

Liu Jiaju stood up: "Alright, the manuscript is finished. Let me give you the payment first."

Xiao Liu asked, "But isn't the payment only given after the article is published?"

Liu Jiaju said, "What else could it be? Wasn't it confirmed to be published next month? So we're giving him the payment in advance! Otherwise, we'd just be waiting around!"

"..."

Liu Jiaju led Zhou Xu to the finance department.

He pulled a letter from his pocket, which indicated the payment for the article and had the editor's signature.

Without the editor-in-chief's signature, it's impossible to receive royalties.

"Here is Zhou Xu's royalty statement, take a look!"

Currently, the payment for original articles is approximately two to seven yuan per thousand words!
Zhou Xu is a newcomer.

Generally, it's in the range of two to five.

Six or seven pieces is obviously impossible.

Moreover, the amounts from two to five are determined by the magazine, and an unknown writer like him has no say in how much he gets.

Zhou Xu looked at the editor-in-chief's signature; he had been paid five yuan per thousand words.
Wow! It warmed his heart!
"Here's the payment for the manuscript, 725 yuan! And there's a 40 yuan subsidy for the remaining twenty days."

What was handed over was an envelope.

Since Zhou Xu received his royalties in person, rather than by mail, it was naturally an envelope containing a huge amount of cash... Wow!

Looking at the bulging envelope, he wondered for the first time if letters could be so moving.

Liu Jiaju said, "What are you standing there for? Come on."

Zhou Xu immediately reached out his hand, then opened the envelope and began counting... seventy-six ten-yuan bills, and one five-yuan note...

Tsk!
I feel so much more at ease now.

(End of this chapter)