1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 30 Writer Comrade
January 15th.

This year's Lunar New Year falls on the 18th, three days before Lunar New Year's Eve.

Zhou Xu groggily got out of bed and found it particularly noisy outside.

He got up and looked outside. Crowds were surging everywhere, and a political commissar was directing the rehearsal.

We walked out of the house and came to the rehearsal hall of the cultural troupe.

Suddenly, the political commissar on the platform shouted:
"Everyone assemble! Training is suspended."

Everyone in the cultural troupe stopped in their tracks and turned their gazes toward the political commissar.

The political commissar sighed slightly and continued:

"Starting today, the entire army is declared to be on high alert. Long-term leave is prohibited for the next few months. Everyone must continue rehearsals and training, and the frequency of performances will increase. Furthermore, you are required to be on call at any time! Does everyone understand?!"

After saying this, the political commissar left.

The group roughly understood what the political commissar meant: war was about to break out!
Zhou Xu understood the political commissar's words even better.

Although Zhou Xu can't say it out loud right now, the counterattack will begin in a month.

Among them, the 58th Division of the 20th Army, the 43rd Army, and the 54th Army of the Wuhan Military Region participated in ground operations.

The 19th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division of the Wuhan Military Region Air Force, the 2nd Surface-to-Air Missile Regiment of the Air Force, the 11th Engineering Regiment, the 55th Motor Transport Regiment, the 131st Field Hospital, the 767th Field Hospital, and the Field Oil Pipeline Team also participated in the Sino-Vietnamese War, undertaking tasks such as air defense, engineering support, transportation support, and medical support.

The Wuhan Military Region consists of three armies. Except for a few divisions in the 20th Army that were not mobilized, almost all of the troops were activated.

And what do cultural troupes do? They perform for the troops! They encourage soldiers before battle! They are soldiers themselves! They all have to go to the front lines.

Almost all the soldiers in their military region have left. Even the cultural troupe might have to stay there for ten days to two weeks…

Zhou Xu shook his head, trying not to think about these things. After all, he had already left his original grassroots unit and no longer needed to go to the front lines, so he didn't need to worry too much.

Furthermore, he was more confident than the other group because they didn't have time to counterattack. In just two months, they had already taken the high ground and were heading straight for the enemy's head.

"..."

The political commissar concluded by saying, "Alright, I've finished speaking. You can continue your training!"

The political commissar, who had just come out of the rehearsal hall, saw Zhou Xu: "Comrade Zhou!"

"Political Commissar!" Zhou Xu saluted.

The political commissar had a very good first impression of Zhou Xu. He was talented, polite, and had a good image and temperament: "Hey! Hello, hello. There's no need to be so respectful to me. Just greet me with a simple call."

Zhou Xu lowered his salute: "Political Commissar, is there something you need?"

"It's nothing, it's just that you wanted to take leave during the Chinese New Year last time, right? You heard what happened just now, didn't you?"

"I know, I'm no exception when I'm on alert!"

"That's right, things will be fine for the troupe this year too. There will be performances within the troupe, but you'll still get three days off during the Spring Festival." The political commissar patted Zhou Xu on the shoulder, a hint of appreciation in his smile.

The Victory Art Troupe really struck gold. When Zhou Xu first arrived, the political commissar already knew that he had published a novel in "PLA Literature and Art".

However, the novel had not yet been published at that time, and the political commissar did not pay much attention to Zhou Xu.

Now that the novel has been published, its influence within the military alone is considerable. The key is that Zhou Xu is very young and has a bright future. For the political commissar, it's like finding a treasure.

"Your novel is well-written. If you need anything for your future writing, please let me know and I'll try my best to help!"

"Thank you, commissar."

The political commissar nodded and left.

...The political commissar and Zhou Xu were talking, and the group of soldiers from the cultural troupe could see it all clearly.

"Who exactly is that person?"

Zhou Xu has only been here for less than half a month, and he has spent most of his time writing reports. He hasn't had much contact with the actors rehearsing in the rehearsal hall, so it's normal that no one recognizes him.

“It’s normal that you haven’t met the writer who was transferred from the cultural troupe last time,” said a comrade who used to share a dormitory with Zhou Xu.

Several women looked over curiously, thinking Zhou Xu was very handsome. He Jing said, "What's his name again, Zhou...?"

"Zhou Xu!"

"Huh? That's the name. It sounds familiar! Was this the comrade who published the article 'Changjin Lake' in the magazine?" He Jing asked curiously.

The other male members of the dance troupe were also surprised.

"Is it really Zhou Xu?"

“Apart from Zhou Xu, which other young comrade could get such a good attitude from the political commissar?” another person chimed in.

The male members of the dance team were immediately taken aback.

He Jing scoffed, "Didn't someone say last time that this guy was some incompetent fool who was transferred here?"

"..." A male blushed.

The rumor that Zhou Zhigang's relative was Zhou Xu originated from the male dormitory of the performing arts troupe.

The idea that boys are innocent is completely untrue; there are bad guys among both men and women. Everyone has moments of jealousy and resentment towards others' success.

"Oh! It's you, Longping!"

"Tsk! Longping was just saying in the dorm last time! Getting transferred to the creative studio at such a young age obviously means he comes from a powerful family. Now look what's happened, right? He's a writer!"

Long Ping blushed furiously.

He was very frustrated. Although he was the one who led the criticism of Zhou Xu, he wasn't the only one who thought Zhou Xu was a crony!

Most of the people who criticized Zhou Xu along with him are now the only ones getting scolded, while the rest of the group has been completely absolved of any blame.

What frustrated him even more was that he had encountered such a low-probability event. Usually, most special investigations are done by people with connections, and only a few are truly capable!

Who knew that not only did a truly talented writer arrive, but one with genuine potential?

"I can tell at a glance that he's just jealous of someone who's talented and handsome!"

"Longping, you can't have such thoughts! This is capitalist liberalization ideology! We must be tolerant of our comrades!"

A group of people criticized Long Ping, and he was too embarrassed to stay any longer, so he turned around and ran away.

"Huh? He's gone?" He Jing turned around and saw that he was indeed gone. Then she looked at Zhou Xu, who was still talking to the political commissar.

The political commissar will be leaving soon.

He Jing said, "Let's go over and say hello to this new writer!"

Several girls from the performing arts troupe nodded in agreement, and a group of them ran over to surround Zhou Xu.

Although he may not be the most popular writer in the performing arts troupe now, this novel has certainly brought him considerable fame.

Especially among young people these days, nine out of ten are literary youths, and the other one is a poet.

"Hello, Writer!"

(End of this chapter)