1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 38 Training
Early February.

Zhou Zhigang and several other leaders have reviewed and approved "The Song of Strengthening the Army," granting permission for the cultural troupe to practice the new song within the next two weeks.

As for the matter of the entire army studying it, no instructions have been given yet, since the leaders do not know how the song is performed.

morning.

Zhou Xu started getting dressed, stuffing in a thermal undershirt he'd bought a few days ago. He thought, "I'm a guy with a few hundred yuan in savings now, I have to wear a thermal undershirt! This is a state gift!"

Pooh.

Hubei was truly cold in the 1970s. It was normal for ice to be a centimeter thick in winter, and icicles would hang incredibly long from the eaves of rural houses! Now, Hubei rarely even gets snow. And all that talk about the ozone layer and rising carbon dioxide...

Anyway, there's a whole bunch of stuff.

Zhou Xu went out wearing a thick military cap, a cotton-padded military coat, and a felt hat.

It must be said that the military does treat creative personnel or people with special skills very well.

We entered the rehearsal hall.

Lei Yuansheng walked over and asked with a grin, "Yesterday, the commander gave an order that we must learn this song quickly within the next two weeks."

"Oh! That's a good thing!"

Lei Yuansheng waved, and a singer from the song and dance troupe ran over. She looked to be in her forties: "Let me introduce you. This is Huang Xiaorui, our soprano, and also the troupe's squad leader!"

Huang Xiaorui was indeed the star performer of the Victory Art Troupe. In the autumn of 51, he went to Korea to participate in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. He returned to China in 1953 and was awarded a third-class merit on the Korean battlefield.

"Comrade Zhou, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've read your 'Changjin Lake,' and it's very well written!" Huang Xiaorui smiled slightly at Zhou Xu.

Zhou Xu smiled and said, "Thank you."

"Did you read the song I gave you yesterday?" Lei Yuansheng asked.

"I've taken a look, and it's surprisingly well-written. Who wrote it?"

Lei Yuansheng explained, "Look, you didn't know that, did you? Comrade Zhou Xu wrote it. The commander gave an order that we all have to learn it within half a month!"

"Oh! It's you. I didn't know you could write songs."

"I learned from a few teachers in the song and dance troupe," Zhou Xu said modestly.

"Are you three still chatting? The comrades over there are getting impatient!" Gao Ruxing coughed.

Old Gao was the one who had served the longest among the group, second only to Bai Hua. The group stopped to discuss the matter.

Lei Yuansheng was holding a manuscript, and Huang Xiaorui was also holding a manuscript.

"Let's practice individually first, and then practice together again in a few days!" Lei Yuansheng said, carrying the sheet music.

"it is good."

The song and dance troupe has many subgroups. The Western-style band is led and conducted by Lei Yuansheng; Huang Xiaorui conducts the song and dance troupe she represents.

The two of them divided it all up.

Zhou Xu followed Huang Xiaorui over.

The rehearsal hall has wooden planks underneath. Anyone who has studied dance knows that floors are mostly made of wood because it doesn't hurt if you fall and it's easy to clean.

The whole house was lush and green.

There is a blackboard on the left side of the door, which is usually used by the performing arts troupe for studying.

Huang Xiaorui copied the sheet music onto a blackboard: "Today, the composer wrote a new song and asked our dance troupe to learn it as soon as possible. We will then have a large chorus performance. Everyone, write down the lyrics and melody now! I will conduct training later."

A group of comrades from the song and dance troupe stood together, all staring at the blackboard in front of them.

"This song seems pretty good!" Mai Sui said, looking at the lyrics.

He Jing, who is standing next to her, is the dance leader of the performing arts troupe, while Mai Sui is the singing leader of the younger generation.

"I think the lyrics are good; I heard they were written by Comrade Zhou Xu."

Wow! That's amazing.

Soon, Huang Xiaorui's loud voice rang out:

"Listen! The bugle call of the new journey has sounded! The goal of building a strong military beckons us forward!"
"If the nation is to become strong, we must shoulder our responsibilities..."

A group of people followed suit, saying, "Listen..."

“You sang too high! You just sang too high! The beginning was supposed to be ‘Listen,’ right?” Huang Xiaorui tapped the blackboard with a whip.

"..."

Wow!
Zhou Xu didn't have formal vocal training, but he could definitely understand simple sheet music, otherwise he would have been able to write it down.

"This group of people really has a lot of presence when they sing."

After the group learned it once, Huang Xiaorui turned around and asked, "Comrade Zhou Xu, don't just watch. As the composer and lyricist, what's your opinion?"

Zhou Xu smiled broadly: "I think it's great!"

"Huh? Teacher, I've already told you, it's actually enough..."

Huang Xiaorui coughed: "Enough, enough? The cultural troupe demands more than just enough; we want to leave our best performance for the soldiers!"

"..."

As time passed day by day, the performing arts troupe continued to practice the new song written by Zhou Xu.

The political commissar passed by several times, listening to the sounds inside. Each time, he would stroke his chin in thought and sigh along with Bai Hua, saying, "This song is really well written. It's really impressive when a group of people sing it. The cultural troupe has really picked up a talent."

……

number five.

Zhou Xu followed Huang Xiaorui all the way to the song and dance troupe.

The postman called out, "Comrade Zhou Xu, your mail!"

The military has dedicated mail carriers within its ranks.

Zhou Xu's letter came from the magazine, namely "PLA Literature and Art", so there was no major problem with it entering the military region.

Zhou Xu said to Huang Xiaorui, "I'm going out to get the letter. Comrade Huang, you can continue your training."

Go to the door.

Then I saw the postman get off the truck carrying a large bag of things, sighing and saying, "What is this? It's so heavy!"

Zhou Xu also found it strange.
I walked over and randomly picked up an article.

"Oh!" He realized then that it was a letter from a reader.

He had never received a letter from a reader before!

Looking at it this way, does it seem that my novel still has a decent influence in society?
After all, he was inside the military, so he couldn't see or feel the reactions from society.

However, through readers' letters, Zhou Xu was able to learn about some readers' attitudes toward his novels.

He took the letter and went straight back to his dormitory instead of returning to the rehearsal hall.

The stove was lit, and with a whoosh, the room slowly began to warm up... The coal was provided by the military.

Upon opening the first letter: "My father was also a volunteer soldier! My father and I have both read your work, and we are truly moved!"

The second letter reads: "Wow! I first learned about the story of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army through your novel, and now I understand the hardships of that war."

"..."

Zhou Xu touched a hard piece of letter, opened it, and asked, "What? What's this? You sent me a bullet casing?"

"I feel this bullet has special significance, so I'm sending it to you. In the future, I also want to join the army and serve my country!"

"Um……"

Zhou Xu touched the bullet. There are still many militia teams in the area that are issued bullets, so it's not surprising that there are bullets. It won't be until the early 21st century that guns are completely banned and there's no trace of them left.

He selected a few letters and prepared to write a reply.

(End of this chapter)