Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 774 The Art of Compromise

After the first jury meeting, there was no movement for more than a year, which caught the domestic literary community by surprise. Who knows how long it will drag on?
Now, after a year, the jury convened a meeting again, which naturally attracted attention from many parties.

Well, today is the weekend, and Jia Pingwa and a few others moved to Fang Minghua's house to drink tea and play cards, and talked about this matter.

"Zhong Shi is here too, so I'll just say some things to him in person." Jia Pingwa held a cigarette in his mouth, played a "Nine Cakes" card, and said slowly:

"I heard that the reason why the Writers Association postponed the jury meeting this time was mainly because the book White Deer Plain by Zhongshi caused displeasure among some leaders of the Writers Association, and they were worried that it would be suppressed after being selected."

"Why can't you say this?" His subordinate was Chen Zhongshi, who was holding his favorite Bashan cigar between his fingers. He smiled bitterly after hearing this: "This is almost an open secret. But as we old Qin people say, the damn baby ball is facing upwards. If it can't be rated, it can't be rated. What's the big deal about dragging it on?"

"Yaoji!"

"bump!"

Lu Yao took out two small chickens and said with a smile:

"Whether or not a book is selected is not decided by some leaders of the Writers Association! It is decided by the final review committee, Minghua and others! The review committee gave your book a very high rating, and the vast majority of the judges were appreciative. Which leader of the Writers Association dares to defy the will of the world and openly go against the review committee?!"

"Gojo!"

"bump!"

Jia Pingwa immediately took over the conversation.

"That's where the problem lies. The jury agreed but the leaders of the Writers Association didn't, so there was a stalemate. Now it seems that the stalemate can't be broken, right, Minghua? Santong!"

"forty thousand!"

Chen Zhongshi played a card, and Fang Minghua was about to touch the card when he heard Lu Yao say, "Pong", and immediately passed him.

shit
I haven't drawn any cards in two rounds.

Fang Minghua had no choice but to pick up the teacup, take a sip of tea, and answer Jia Pingwa: "You are right, that's it. We can't keep dragging it on, can we? How can we explain this to the world?"

"Then tell me, what should we do about this matter? How will it be handled? Will the leaders compromise? Or will the judges compromise?" After Lu Yao finished speaking, he turned his gaze to Fang Minghua.

"How should I know?" Fang Minghua looked at everyone staring at him and spread his hands: "It hasn't started yet, and I can't predict the future. But, Teacher Chen, have you thought of a possibility?"

"how is this possible?"

"Ask you to revise some chapters of the novel? Ninety thousand!"

Fang Minghua said as he played a card in his hand.

ah? this?
The other three were stunned and stopped playing cards.

"I think this possibility exists. The winner of the second Mao Dun Prize, "Heavy Wings" written by Zhang Jie, was actually the revised version," Fang Minghua explained.

This is true.
"I remember that last year, after you attended the jury, you came back and played mahjong at my house. You asked whether China Times had received any notice from the jury to revise the novel?" Jia Pingwa said.

"Yeah, other than that, I really can't think of a way to make the leaders reluctantly accept it and the judges agree. Hey, don't just stand there, keep playing." Fang Minghua urged.

"Seventy thousand!" Lu Yao took out a card and played it.

"Hu." Fang Minghua smiled.

The meeting was held at the West Lake Hotel on the edge of West Lake in Hangzhou. The 23 judges from all over the country once again held a heated discussion on the 23 books that had been initially selected, and each expressed his or her own opinions.

Regarding the book "White Deer Plain", the 78-year-old writer Chen Yong spoke out and said:

1. There is no problem politically. Regarding the attitude towards the struggle between the two parties, it is on the side of our party and is against the Kuomintang regime.

Second, it is good artistically. The structure, characters, and language are all excellent.

3. Regarding sexual descriptions, they are all related to characters and plots. One or two individual sentences can be understood from different angles.

Who is Chen Yong? He joined the revolutionary work in 1938, went to Yan'an Anti-Japanese Military and Political University in September of the same year and joined the Communist Party of China. Later, he served as secretary of the Eighth Route Army's rear guard office in Yan'an.

A true old revolutionary, a staunch Marxist, and even an "old leftist" in the eyes of some people.

But such a person fully affirmed the book "White Deer Plain", and some judges who were worried about the book's political stance immediately changed their attitudes:

Even an old Marxist like Chen Yong says there is no problem, so what is there to worry about?
So everyone agreed that this was a rare and excellent literary work this year.

Of course, the existing problems have not been solved.

After dinner in the evening, Fang Minghua strolled alone along Yanggong Dike by the West Lake.

On winter nights, the West Lake is particularly quiet with few tourists. When the cold wind blows, you can hear the sound of the Qiantang River tide not far away.

Fang Minghua suddenly remembered a song by Pu Shu that had not yet been released, "The Years of Innocence", and couldn't help but humming it softly.

The wind is blowing

We drift with the wind
The innocent face forgotten in the dust

This life is so cold

This body crosses the ocean

Lightly describe the long time and sing softly about the vague words
"Chairman Fang, are you singing?" a man's voice came from behind.

Fang Minghua turned around and saw that it was Chen Jiangong, director of the jury office.

"Director Chen, are you out for a walk too?" Fang Minghua greeted with a smile.

"Yes, I feel bored staying in the meeting room during the day, so I go out to get some fresh air at night." Chen Jiangong replied, and then said, "Chairman Fang, you are so elegant, singing softly by the West Lake."

"Haha, it's not really a soft humming. I'm afraid that my voice will get so loud that others might be scared and think it's a 'midnight singing'." Fang Minghua said with a smile.

"Minghua, let's talk about something." Chen Jiangong changed the subject and said, "How do you feel about everyone's discussion of White Deer Plain today?"

"I feel that Mr. Chen's speech is very representative. You also know that I have always supported this book."

"Everyone thinks this is a good book, but of course it has some shortcomings or parts that can easily cause misunderstandings," Chen Jiangong replied.

"Are you talking about the words said by Mr. Zhu in the novel, that is, Lu Zhaopeng and Bai Xiaowen met at Bailu Academy, and Mr. Zhu said: It seems that neither of them is a gentleman. And the saying about turning over the griddle?" Fang Minghua asked.

"Yes, that's true. I have an idea," said Chen Jiangong.

"Oh, Director Chen, what do you mean?"

"Can you ask Chen Zhongshi to modify these two? This way the work will appear more perfect. I know you and Zhongshi are friends, can you ask him what he thinks? Of course, we respect his opinion very much. If he objects, our jury will still respect his opinion and continue to complete the normal procedures."

"Okay, I'll call him and ask tomorrow." Fang Minghua agreed readily.

The next morning, before the meeting, Fang Minghua called Chen Zhongshi's office from her room to explain Chen Jiangong's intentions.

On the other end of the phone, Chen Zhongshi was silent for a moment, and finally agreed to revise these two contents in his novel.

"Okay! I'll give Director Chen a reply."

Soon, Chen Zhongshi called Chen Jiangong and verbally told him the two revision suggestions.

Later, according to rumors, a leader of the Writers Association also approved of this modification.

At this point, the judges all understood that although it had not yet reached the final voting stage, it was basically a foregone conclusion that this book would win the award.

As the meeting continued, everyone soon started a heated discussion on another book - "To Live" jointly proposed by Fang Minghua, Lei Da and Chen Jiangong.

(End of this chapter)