1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 47 He went to the front lines?
After Zhou Xu finished interviewing Chen Haisheng, he took out two candies from his bag and slowly placed them in Chen Haisheng's hand.

"Comrade Haisheng, this is for you."

"……This is?"

"This is the White Rabbit candy I brought when I joined the team!"

Candy is very expensive these days. You know Zhang Binggui, the guy on TV who can grab candy with ease? He sells candy for ten yuan a pound on the first floor. Workers' wages these days are probably less than thirty yuan.

White Rabbit candy in Shanghai isn't cheap either.

Chen Haisheng, holding the candy, said, "Oh! Thank you."

Eating candy will always make you feel better, no matter when.

"..."

After interviewing Chen Haisheng, Zhou Xu got up to go find the next representative figure.

They had just turned around.

Zhou Xu saw a familiar figure.

He stared in surprise at the woman in front of him, dressed in a nurse's uniform, covered in blood, with her hair tied up tightly!
"Teacher Li? What are you doing here?"

This was naturally Zhou Xu's friend from his hometown, and also a teacher who was sent to the countryside as part of the educated youth movement, Comrade Li Xiaopan.

Li Xiaopan walked over with the medicine in her hand. She stared at Zhou Xu's face and was quite surprised.

"Zhou Xu, you're here too!"

Although she was surprised, she did not change her actions and continued to place the plate in front of the bed and skillfully began to change the dressing.

"Comrade, just bear with it."

But he kept asking, "You went to the front lines?"

Zhou Xu scratched his head. Seeing an acquaintance on the front lines was truly unexpected, especially seeing Li Xiaopan:

"Let me tell you the story simply. I went to the army and was transferred to the political department of the military region because of my writing talent."

Later, when they came to the front lines to perform for the troops, they sent me because I had writing talent and the cultural troupe lacked wartime reporters.

Li Xiaopan nodded.

She had initially warned Zhou Xu, after all, it was out of our long-standing friendship, but he still came, and Li Xiaopan felt a greater sense of respect for him.

Of course, the risk of danger in a field hospital is much lower than that on the front lines.

She focused intently on changing the dressing.

After changing the dressing, she said to Zhou Xu, "I went back to the city a month after you left, and then went to the army with my dad. I've been serving with him ever since. I'm planning to take the military academy entrance exam. By the way, our area belongs to the Guangzhou Military Region."

Zhou Xu nodded.

The Guangzhou Military Region and the Wuhan Military Region cooperated to advance from Guangxi, so it's not surprising that they met.

“My dad’s unit was transferred here two months ago, and I went to work as a nurse in a field hospital on the front lines.”

Zhou Xu said, "Nurses must work very hard!"

Zhou Xu took a photo of Li Xiaopan and Chen Haisheng changing their dressings.

"It's all about making contributions, there's no such thing as hardship! I met a comrade there who was burned, he was only seventeen years old! He joined the army and went to the front line right after graduating from high school."

"Hmm...that comrade is also a typical example. Once he's more sober, I'll interview him and write a publicity report."

"Thank you on his behalf."

Zhou Xu reached out to help carry the plates: "Let me help you..."

"..."

The People's Liberation Army Literature and Art Magazine.

The final sales figures for "The Battle at Lake Changjin" were also finalized within this month or so.

There were a total of 680,000 copies. Liu Jiaju estimated it to be 700,000 copies, which was actually not much different.

The reason this book achieved such success is because it was a novel that had already withstood the test of the market; it achieved considerable success after its release. Liu Jiaju said, "This novel was able to sell a million copies during the Chinese New Year; it truly has great potential!"

Editor-in-Chief Hu Qi suddenly said, "Just one month after publication, the magazine's sales have almost run out. Let's contact the Literature and Art Publishing House to prepare for publishing a standalone book!"

Publishing novels as standalone books is a way for authors to make money.

If it sells well, you can get two or three royalties; if it doesn't sell well, you can still get one more royalty payment.

Of course, only works with good sales and awards have the opportunity to be published as standalone books. Zhou Xu's "Changjin Lake" doubled the magazine's sales after its publication, so it naturally has its potential.

Liu Jiaju smiled and said, "It's a good time to contact Comrade Zhou Xu and ask him about his ideas for the new book! He's already become a rising star writer! Our magazine must capitalize on this achievement."

Xiao Liu nodded: "We definitely need to seize this opportunity."

After saying a few words, Liu Jiaju picked up the office phone and called the Political Department of the Military Region.

This time, the political commissar answered the phone.

"Hello, is this the Victory Cultural Troupe?"

"Hello, I am Liu Jiaju, an editor at the PLA Literature and Art magazine," Liu Jiaju said.

"What's matter?"

"That's right, Comrade Zhou Xu's novel 'Changjin Lake,' which was originally published in our magazine, has achieved good results. Our magazine has decided to publish a standalone edition of the novel, and this time we contacted Comrade Zhou Xu to obtain authorization!"

Upon hearing this, the political commissar paused for a moment, then slowly said, "I'm sorry, Comrade Zhou Xu is not in the cultural troupe..."

"Did he transfer? Give me his work unit's phone number, I'll call and confirm," Liu Jiaju asked.

"He wasn't transferred, but rather temporarily transferred to the front lines. So you probably won't be able to contact Comrade Zhou Xu for the time being," the political commissar said frankly.

Those who can get through to the front lines mostly have connections, but those in administrative departments might not...

Now it was Liu Jiaju's turn to be surprised: "He went to the front lines? He went to the front lines to fight the enemy?"

"No, he was seconded to work as a reporter."

Liu Jiaju breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that something might happen to this writer he admired.

Having lived together for over a month, Liu Jiaju had developed a good impression of Zhou Xu.

"On the front lines or in a field hospital?"

The political commissar said, "I'm sorry, the specific unit is classified, and I cannot tell you."

Liu Jiaju paused for a moment, then fell silent: "Alright, if Comrade Zhou Xu returns from the front lines, please let me know as soon as possible. I will discuss the details of the novel with him."

Okay. Goodbye.

"goodbye!"

At this moment, Liu Jiaju turned around, took a deep breath, and exclaimed, "Comrade Zhou Xu is going to the front line."

"The front line?" Hu Qi was also surprised.

However, this wasn't surprising to the veteran editors present, except for Xiao Liu.

Both of them were wartime journalists and editors who had previously served as propaganda officers in the army, which was the army that fought against the Japanese invasion.

"The fighting in the south, right?! The Air Force has also mobilized and is going to perform in the south," Xiao Liu said.

The General Political Department is the most central military arts department in the country, and naturally its affiliated art troupes will also participate in the performance tours to entertain the troops.

"Yes, the front line is a sharp sword for military writers. I hope that Comrade Zhou Xu will be able to write even more excellent works after returning from the front line," Liu Jiaju said.

"I hope he returns safely."

Hu Qi, Liu Jiaju, and the other two were all surprised.

I originally thought that a writer as outstanding as Zhou Xu would not volunteer to go to the front line.

But after contacting him today and learning that he had gone to the front lines, my admiration for Zhou Xu increased even further. I couldn't help but marvel at how he truly is a rare and rising star in our General Political Department!

(End of this chapter)