A widower's entertainment

Chapter 369 [The Real Shock] (Please Subscribe)
The People's Literature magazine office in Beijing.

The editorial department of People's Literature has received the part about the blind man Abing, the Wind Listener, from the beginning of Lin Youcheng's latest novel, The Plot. This has undoubtedly caused a great deal of discussion within the editorial department. However, the editors have not yet decided to reject the manuscript, as any news of a rejection would certainly cause an uproar in the literary circles of Beijing.

After all, Lin Youcheng's manuscripts were rejected, which was quite unexpected for many people in the literary world.

Of course, rejection is not impossible. For example, Mo Yan's novel "The Republic of Wine" was rejected by "Harvest", "October", and "Contemporary" one after another. Mo Yan was very embarrassed by being rejected everywhere. When Yu Hua saw this situation, he carried the heavy manuscript of "The Republic of Wine" back to Jiangsu and Zhejiang and earnestly hoped that the editors of "Jiangnan" magazine, with whom he had a deep friendship, would accept the novel. Unfortunately, for some reason, "Jiangnan" magazine also rejected the novel. Later, "The Republic of Wine" was published by a publishing house without being published in a literary magazine.

As for whether Lin Youcheng's novel "The Plot" will actually be rejected, it is clear that no one in the editorial department has said that directly yet.

"Unlike the previous works 'The Message' and 'Lurking,' which tell the story of underground espionage during the War of Resistance Against Japan, 'The Plot' tells the story of the covert intelligence front after the founding of the country. This point still needs to be considered carefully."

Clearly, as editors of People's Literature magazine, they consider not only the story itself, but also other influences.

Zhang Wei was clearly aware of this as well. The story in "The Listener" takes place from the autumn of 1950 to the spring of 1952. Writing about this period, and especially since it involves the hidden front, the magazine really needed to be cautious. It was unclear whether the higher-ups would object to publishing this novel.

"It's not that exaggerated. These are things from almost forty years ago, and some of them have been declassified. There's nothing particularly secret in Lin Youcheng's novel. Of course, if it were truly secret, Lin Youcheng wouldn't have known."

These words resonated with the other editors, who all agreed that even Lin Youcheng couldn't write down the real secrets. The mysterious 701 remained shrouded in secrecy, still full of mystery.

"Literature is an art form. I think Lin Youcheng's creation of the character A Bing is also an art form. In my opinion, this comrade with incredible abilities is more real because of his tragic fate. His disability and death make the story more vibrant."

"That's right, I think so too. Lin Youcheng's novel is obviously about some geniuses who keep their secrets. The place 701 is full of suspenseful plots entangled with secrets, as well as unpredictable fates related to chance and the unknown. Of course, at least that's the story of Ah Bing, the Wind Listener. I wonder what will happen to the Wind Watcher and the Wind Catcher later."

"Yes, this is just the first story in 'The Plot'. I'm quite curious about how Lin Youcheng will write the rest."

Hearing his colleague's words, Zhang Wei nodded and said, "I'm also very curious about what other unknown geniuses might be in 701, especially since there will be different departments later on."

Although there was some controversy surrounding the first story of Lin Youcheng's novel "The Plot," this is typical of the editorial process, as manuscripts typically undergo three rounds of review and proofreading. Clearly, after this process, People's Literature magazine ultimately decided to publish Lin Youcheng's "The Plot." However, Zhang Wei had also communicated with Lin Youcheng, wanting to introduce the prelude to the next story after the conclusion of A Bing's tale.

This is also a consideration for editors. After all, Lin Youcheng's "Plot Against" is a novel, and its several parts are different stories. Publishing it in a magazine is equivalent to serialization, so it is necessary to have the perspective of a literary magazine editor to view Lin Youcheng's different short stories.

Just as Zhang Wei had thought, Lin Youcheng also handed over the story of Huang Yiyi, the protagonist of the second part of the Wind Watcher, to Zhang Wei after it was completed.

The story of Huang Yiyi, the watcher brought by Lin Youcheng, was beyond the imagination of the entire editorial department of People's Literature magazine. They did not expect it to be so shocking.

Yes, it was absolutely stunning!
The entire editorial team was completely stunned by Lin Youcheng's second story.

I never expected Lin Youcheng to bring such a thrilling, even unbelievable, story; it's simply too incredible.

You could even say that the story of the Wind Watchers is more impactful!
It's just more impactful!
Zhang Wei sat in his chair, looking at that passage on the manuscript, feeling a deep sadness in his heart—

"...Later, I returned to 701, and one late night, I quietly crept into the woods and buried Xiaoyu's urn next to Huang Yiyi's grave. I don't know why I did it; I just felt that the two of them should be together. They were sisters on the same front, so there was nothing inappropriate about it. Besides, they were both lonely souls, and having each other in the underworld might make them less lonely."

Frankly speaking, for the rest of my life, I lived only for my profession. I lost all emotion and soul. My emotions and soul died completely that spring.

......"

Zhang Wei never expected that Lin Youcheng would write about such an amazing genius after Blind Abing from The Wind Listener.

Indeed, she was a prodigy. In Zhang Wei's eyes, Huang Yiyi was an unconventional, unorthodox female genius, free-spirited and alluring—absolutely an anomaly at the time. Yet this brilliant MIT mathematics PhD, after returning to China, repeatedly deciphered complex enemy codes, ultimately acquiring the king of cryptography, "Optical Cryptography." But as a woman, her life, though dazzlingly brilliant, seemed chillingly cold. This aristocratic genius, despite all her efforts, could not find a foothold in her tragic fate.

Even though she brilliantly broke the "secret of light" in one fell swoop, she died from "homicide." She was hit on the head by Zhang Guoqing's wife with a spring door, and her head hit the protruding water pipe joint. Just like that, a genius disappeared in an instant. Huang Yiyi's death was different from Abing's adherence to tradition. It was precisely because of her behavior that was incompatible with tradition.

It's fair to say that when Lin Youcheng's later part about the "Wind Listener" appeared, the editors were completely stunned. None of them had expected that after Abing, Lin Youcheng would create such a unique character—

In that era of black, white, and gray, Huang Yiyi wore a long dress, a trench coat, and a bright red scarf, with a silk ribbon casually tied in her hair, and her eyes sparkled when she spoke to people.

"Director Zhang, Lin Youcheng's portrayal of Huang Yiyi is absolutely brilliant!"

"That's right, it was absolutely amazing. The scene when Huang Yiyi and An Zaitian first met was incredibly exciting."

Clearly, this is also what other people think.

The editors started exchanging and discussing the scene where Huang Yiyi first met An Zaitian, the vice dean of 701. This prodigy, all smiles, went to An Zaitian asking him to recruit her, raising her chin and saying, "Let me introduce myself. I'm a mathematics professor who returned from America, a patriotic intellectual, and I've been received by higher-ups. Come on, take me to your room."

An Zaitian's expression was one of utter astonishment. Then, Huang Yiyi asked, "Why are you hiring?" An Zaitian replied, "It's something a mathematician and a citizen should both do." Huang Yiyi suddenly burst out laughing, saying, "Can you stop being so sarcastic?" The next second, when she saw the exam paper that An Zaitian had casually placed, or perhaps deliberately placed there, Huang Yiyi almost instantly entered a state of blissful oblivion.

The entire plot is incredibly vibrant, especially Huang Yiyi, who is genuinely playful when she's carefree, and meticulously crafted when she's focused, leaving no room for error.

Whether in the 1950s or now in the 1990s, who else can match Huang Yiyi, whose every vivid and captivating scene is truly exceptional?

"Yes, that meeting was so well written. What impressed me most was Lin Youcheng's description of Huang Yiyi visiting Unit 701. To kill time, she went to play chess with the guards. She pulled out a stack of rare cloth coupons and boldly declared that whoever beat her would get them all. Everyone was eager to try, and then she added with even more enthusiasm, 'Whoever loses has to go up the hillside and pick a flower for me to wear in my hair.' Of course, in the end, Huang happily went to the canteen with her head full of flowers. I think that scene was also wonderfully written!"

"That's right, this is almost Huang Yiyi at her most beautiful. She has love in her heart, but hasn't expressed it yet. She's already stealing the spotlight, simply because she met someone with whom she could communicate on a spiritual level, and she wants him to see it."

"I think what An Zaitian said to Huang Yiyi before: 'I want to bury my wife before I start dating you, and the condition for burying my wife is that you help me crack the code,' was essentially An Zaitian giving the mathematician Huang Yiyi an equation: 'I want to bury my wife before I start dating you, and the condition for burying my wife is that you help me crack the code.' He was using love as a condition to blackmail Huang Yiyi. A normal person would calmly consider this statement, but unfortunately, Huang Yiyi became even more impatient and eager to force the issue. This is indeed a character flaw of Huang Yiyi—impulsiveness and lack of composure." Blinded by love. And so it was—a complete and utter deception, a scheme using emotions as a hunting spear. There was no tenderness in it. Exploiting Huang Yiyi's guilt towards Wang Lin, An Zaitian coerced her into quickly cracking the code. When he discovered Huang Yiyi visiting Wang Lin on Sundays, he severed all contact between them, continuing his emotional blackmail to lure her into breaking the code. In 701, Huang Yiyi wasn't a woman of flesh and blood, but a cog in a massive machine. For this cog, all humanity's goodness was disregarded, crushed and destroyed.

"Try this, and I think Huang Yiyi has already realized it. Otherwise, she wouldn't have said that what she wants to do most now is to break the Guangmi and leave this damned place. It can be said that An Zaitian is the one who created this tragedy. Finally, the Guangmi was broken, the state apparatus achieved a great victory, national interests were protected, and he was rewarded for his merits. Victory covered everything up, covering up the cruelty and truth under the guise of victory."

"Actually, I think An Zaitian must have loved Huang Yiyi, even if he didn't know it himself, and even if he did, he wouldn't admit it. An Zaitian's indifference towards Huang Yiyi wasn't out of human nature, but out of other attributes. This attribute is higher than others, because he is made of special material, impenetrable and inexhaustible. When he went to see Huang Yiyi, he was completing a righteous mission. In his eyes, Guangmi was Guo Jia's mission, representing Guo Jia's interests, and Huang Yiyi was just a special tool to complete this mission."

"I tried that, but I think it might be because Huang Yiyi's love was too intense and crazy. She needed too much. A normal man would easily admire her, but he could never fall in love with her in the end."

Listening to the heated discussion among his colleagues, Zhang Wei couldn't help but say, "An Zaitian isn't an ordinary person, but he's an ordinary man. So, he can appreciate her in terms of intellectual breadth and depth, and support her despite opposition, but he can't reciprocate her emotionally. That's why he would say to Xiao Cha: 'If Researcher Huang really liked me, why would she sleep with other people?'"

"Lin Youcheng's novel, 'The Watcher,' is profoundly meaningful. In my view, it is a bitter fruit wrapped in the sugar of love. It reveals the intense contradictions and conflicts between the nation and the individual, integrity and love, and individuality and the collective. Under extreme conflict, it presents a complete tragedy."

"Now I understand why Lin Youcheng's novel is called 'The Plot'."

……

Undoubtedly, the entire editorial department of People's Literature was impacted by these two stories written by Lin Youcheng.

Especially the one behind, Huang Yiyi, who is even more impactful!

The unconventional genius Huang Yiyi is truly a rare example of a rebellious female character in Chinese literature, especially in the 1990s. She left many editors speechless. Of course, Huang Yiyi's ending was also quite impactful.

However, what no one could have imagined was the uproar that would ensue when Lin Youcheng's novel "Plot Against" was published at this time.

The key is that this amazing storm may even have completely unexpected results.

(End of this chapter)