Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 739 Everyone is concerned about this matter

Hasn't this book historically caused a lot of controversy during the selection process?
That's good. Fang Minghua is certainly not stupid enough to ask the author to revise the version, which would appear more politically correct.

The meeting ended on May 5. Before the meeting ended, the host specifically reminded the judges to continue to read the 23 books that were initially reviewed carefully after returning home, and wait until the second meeting to be held soon for further serious discussions.

Fang Minghua did not leave Yanjing immediately. He first went to the General Political Department compound to visit Song Tangtang's grandparents, and then went to visit several courtyard houses he had bought. This was a must every time he came to Yanjing.

Normally when he was doing business in Yanjing, he would borrow the car of Shengshi Group’s Yanjing office, which was convenient, and today was no exception.

Driving a car with a bunch of keys, he wandered around the streets and alleys of the city. He went to see five courtyard houses in total, including the one owned by the Literature Foundation. He even sat in the courtyard house in Shichahai, where Wang Zi had rented one. Unfortunately, it had been uninhabited for a long time and looked a bit desolate.

After leaving the courtyard, Fang Minghua went to the nearby Shichahai. It is early summer, which is also the most beautiful season of Shichahai.

There is a large lotus market here, which is full of lotus flowers in summer. Standing on the shore, you can still see the Drum Tower in the distance and the West Hill in the distance.

Fang Minghua was walking along the shore. There were many tourists on the road. Not far away, there were people rowing and singing in the lake, but the song "Let's Row the Boat" could no longer be heard.

Let's paddle together

The boat pushes away the waves
Fang Minghua was walking aimlessly when suddenly a middle-aged couple with a child came towards him.

"Minghua!"

The man exclaimed in surprise when he saw Fang Minghua.

Fang Minghua recognized him; it was Yu Hua.

Wearing a white shirt and jeans, with messy hair and a pair of rebellious eyes, next to him is his wife Chen Hong, holding a little boy.

"Yu Hua, Chen Hong, are you bringing your children to visit Shichahai?" Fang Minghua also greeted them with a smile.

"Yes, today is the weekend, let's go out for a walk." Yu Hua quickly said to the little boy, "Loulou, call me Uncle Fang."

The little boy looked at Fang Minghua curiously and called him uncle.

Fang Minghua agreed with a smile.

"Minghua, are you alone? Where is your sister-in-law and two children?" Chen Hong asked.

"They are all in Xijing. I came to Yanjing alone for the meeting." Fang Minghua explained.

"Meeting? Minghua, are you attending the meeting of the Mao Dun Prize Jury? I saw this news in the newspaper." Yu Hua interrupted.

"Yes, I've been driving for more than half a month. My stomach feels bloated if I don't move during the day. So I'm going to take a walk after the driving is over." Fang Minghua said with a smile.

Yu Hua said "oh" and said nothing.

"Yu Hua, why don't you ask me about the content of the meeting?" Fang Minghua asked half-jokingly and half-seriously.

"I heard that you have meeting rules and some content cannot be made public." Yu Hua replied: "Besides, my novels are not among the 20 novels announced anyway. It's just a pity that your novel "The Piano in a Factory" was not published."

"Who said yours is not on the list? Let me tell you something. Your book, To Live, has been included in the list of books that the jury members will read."

"Really?!" Yu Hua's eyes widened suddenly, and even Chen Hong, who was teasing her son next to her, found it a little unbelievable.

Being included in the reading range of the jury members means that it is on the same starting line as the other 20 shortlisted novels and has the possibility of winning the Mao Dun Prize!

"Minghua, it was you who recommended me, right? Thank you, thank you!" Yu Hua was so excited that he was incoherent.

"Don't thank me, you wrote well." Fang Minghua reminded, "But don't be too happy too soon. This is just my recommendation. Whether you can win the award in the end is not up to me."

"Haha, I'm satisfied just to be able to enter the final review stage. As for winning an award, I don't even dare to think about it." Yu Hua said.

"That's not necessarily true. Everything is possible." Fang Minghua said, and then thought of something else: "Yu Hua, I want to translate your book "To Live" into English and publish it in the United States. Do you agree?"

"I agree."

This was not the first time that Fang Minghua recommended Yu Hua's novels to be published abroad, so he readily agreed.

"Okay, then you write a power of attorney, sign it, and send it to Xijing for me. You don't have to worry about anything else." Fang Minghua said.

Yu Hua thanked him repeatedly, and Chen Hong invited him to their home again. "No need, it's a hard weekend, you should have fun with your children, I will come to your home next time I come to Yanjing." Fang Minghua said with a smile.

After bidding farewell to Yu Hua and his wife, Fang Minghua continued to wander around Shichahai.

Now, Yu Hua is at the peak of his creative career, and it would be difficult to miss this period.

Fang Minghua came back from Shichahai and went to Shi Tiesheng's house the next day. Since he was in Beijing, he wanted to visit everyone he had a good relationship with.

There is also Haizi's home.

Fang Minghua met Haizi in a courtyard near Shichahai.

After not seeing each other for several years, Haizi had gained a lot of weight. He also saw his wife who had just come home from get off work. She was a girl with a round face. Although she was not pretty, she looked like a very virtuous wife.

Haizi's father-in-law and mother-in-law welcomed him warmly, and Fang Minghua even had a meal at their home before leaving.

All the matters in Yanjing were concluded, and it was already the end of May when Fang Minghua returned to Xijing by train.

Song Tangtang was of course very happy when her husband came back from a business trip. After their passionate sex in the evening, the couple talked about the meeting again.

"Wow, if both "White Deer Plain" and "To Live" can win awards, not only Chen Zhongshi and Yu Hua will be happy, but Shu Bin will probably be very happy as well. These two books will be popular for a while, and Shengshi Books will make a lot of money again." Song Tangtang said.

"Of course, this is the benefit of having the copyright in hand." Fang Minghua smiled, and suddenly he thought of something: "Tangtang, please take some time to contact Er Yuehe, the author of "Emperor Yongzheng", and buy the TV adaptation rights for this book."

"Another costume drama? They just filmed "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo" and are now filming "Kangxi's Secret Visits". Will they film "Emperor Yongzheng" in the future?"

"Haha. Buy it first. This book is well written. It's about emperors, generals, talented men and beautiful women. Audiences like to read about this."

"Okay then, I'll arrange for someone to contact the author."

Fang Minghua's life became easier again.

That afternoon, Fang Minghua was typing in his study when he suddenly received a call from Jia Pingwa.

"Minghua, are you free tonight? Come to my house and play mahjong."

"Playing mahjong? Today is not the weekend." Fang Minghua was a little surprised.

"Who said we can only play mahjong on weekends? Come on, I haven't played cards for a long time."

"Okay, I'll come after dinner."

After dinner, Fang Minghua said goodbye to Song Tangtang and drove straight to Jia Pingwa's house.

Jia Pingwa lives in Yahe Garden Community near Taibai Interchange. He moved there after he got married. The three-bedroom, two-living-room house is quite grand.

Fang Minghua drove into the community, parked the car on the side of the road, went up to the third floor of a building on the east side, knocked on the door, and it was Jia Pingwa's newlywed wife Guo Mei who opened the door.

Seeing that it was Fang Minghua, Guo Mei immediately smiled and called out, "Brother Fang, come in quickly, they are all here."

Fang Minghua walked into the living room and saw Jia Pingwa and two other people drinking tea and chatting.

Lu Yao and Chen Zhongshi.

"Oh, Teacher Chen, is it you today? I thought it was Bai Miao." Fang Minghua said.

Ever since Chen Zhongshi became the chairman of the Writers Association, he has been busy with work and family matters, so he rarely plays mahjong. It is usually Bai Miao who comes to play mahjong with them.

"Bai Miao is busy with the Chinese Literature Award and doesn't have time in the evening, so I asked China Times to come over." Jia Pingwa explained.

When everyone was present, Jia Pingwa immediately spread a blanket on the dining table, took out the mahjong box, and everyone started playing mahjong.

For them, playing mahjong is not about winning or losing, it is purely a form of entertainment and a good opportunity to communicate with each other.

That's it for today.

Before the round of mahjong was over, Jia Pingwa, holding a cigarette in his mouth, asked Fang Minghua, who was sitting opposite him: "Minghua, you came back from the meeting in Yanjing. How did your evaluation go?"

(End of this chapter)