A widower's entertainment

Chapter 374 [The Last Year of 1991] (Please Subscribe)
As many literary critics have discussed, Lin Youcheng's "The Plot" is still a remarkable literary work even without the unknown Wind Catcher.

The lack of the story of the Wind Catcher made the discussion of "The Plot" even more intense and in-depth, with discussions ranging from the novel's plot itself to whether Lin Youcheng's "The Plot" was actually banned by the secretive 701 department.

Of course, such a popular literary work and the discussions surrounding it will naturally necessitate a seminar on the novel "The Plot".

As the director of the novel group of the Beijing Writers Association, Lin Youcheng may not participate in seminars on other literary works, but he will naturally still need to participate in seminars on his own works.

At the seminar, many literary workers naturally shared their views on the novel "The Plot" with Lin Youcheng, and some of these views also touched on the novel's political correctness.

As the director of the fiction section of People's Literature magazine and the editor in charge of the novel The Plot, Zhang Wei naturally had to express his views. Holding up a long manuscript he had written, he said, "Lin Youcheng's The Plot is not slandering the organization. On the contrary, it is speaking out for the organization."

"Often, lamentations about the loss of traditional morality revolve around the issue of organizations. Lin Youcheng's novel 'The Plot' also touches on this point. I believe that characters like A Bing and Huang Yiyi embody natural morality and deserve praise. However, we must also praise those who have faith in the organization, like An Zaitian. As a secret organization with aspirations, and as its members, the most prominent characteristic is that they do not act according to natural emotions. This can be seen as cold-blooded and inhumane, or it can be seen as having lofty beliefs. It is two sides of the same coin."

"In the past, we have criticized organizers for their inhumanity in some works, but we have lacked the perspective of evaluating them from the standpoint of having lofty beliefs. Comrade An in 'The Plot' is almost a standard organizer. His behavior is not based on his natural feelings, but on the needs of the organization. He is willing to sacrifice everything to achieve the organization's goals. How do we evaluate such a person? Is he an inhuman alienator? Or a person with a lofty sense of mission and faith?"

Undoubtedly, Zhang Wei's point of view has also been raised by other literary critics, which can be seen as speaking up for Lin Youcheng's "The Plot".

This novel is not, as some veteran cultural workers believe, a smear and slander of comrades on the hidden front, but rather a true reflection of the unknown sacrifices made by those comrades.

Everyone else at the seminar listened attentively to Zhang Wei's words, and some even took notes with pens, recording some of his insightful points and words.

Zhang Wei continued, "We all know the first part of 'The Plot,' 'Listening to the Wind.' The mysterious character, A Bing, is a natural person. He only knows that his mother is good to him and Comrade An Zaitian is good to him. He cannot understand the concept of an organization and its mission. His actions are based on repaying kindness. Therefore, although he has made significant contributions to the organization, he is not a member of the organization but merely a tool of it. Comrade An is a member of the organization. He manipulates A Bing, making A Bing work for the organization under the concept of repaying kindness."

In the second part of *The Plot*, titled *Chasing the Wind*, Huang Yiyi is a brilliant mathematician. The decryption work relies heavily on people like her, but she is merely a natural person with natural emotions, so she doesn't understand the nature of the organization. She participates in the decryption work only to win her love. Comrade An Zaitian, on the other hand, is an organizer. His actions are not based on his natural emotions; on the contrary, they often violate them. For the sake of the organization, he can personally kill his own wife, and for the sake of the organization, he can suppress his natural feelings for Huang Yiyi. Huang Yiyi is smarter than A Bing in that she finally begins to understand what it means to be an organizer and consciously transforms herself into one. Thus, she stays, but no longer develops feelings for Comrade An Zaitian. While literary works generally praise people with natural emotions, and A Bing and Huang Yiyi, representatives of natural morality in *The Plot*, are portrayed as endearing, *The Plot* also creates the image of Comrade An Zaitian as an organizer.

"In the intense conflict between natural persons and organizational persons, we seem to have come to understand the behavioral logic of organizational persons. Comrade An Zaitian is not one to act on emotion, nor is he driven by feelings. He truly prioritizes the overall situation, and all his actions are aimed at achieving the organization's goals. The most important foundation for organizational persons is faith. Without faith, people will follow their natural emotions. Only on the basis of lofty faith can people suppress their emotions, become cogs in a machine, and be willing to sacrifice their lives. A cause without organizational persons has almost no hope of success. Therefore, in a sense, natural persons are like naive children who act on emotion, while only organizational persons are adults who can restrain themselves to achieve their mission. Comrade An Zaitian is an organizational person who never acts on emotion."

"As for the third part, 'Wind Catchers,' which Lin Youcheng didn't write, he actually did say that Wind Catchers are underground workers, which is the behavior of organizers. Gu Xiaomeng in 'The Message' and Yu Zecheng in 'Lurking' are both doing the work of Wind Catchers. Without a large number of organizers who put their beliefs above their lives, it would be impossible to succeed. In this sense, organizers are far more self-aware and perfect than natural people."

"Because of this, 'The Plot' reveals my pure side. In the fierce conflict between natural persons and organizational persons, we see the logic of the song title, the logic of the organizational persons, and the faith and spirit of sacrifice of the organizational persons, which makes us have to rethink the spiritual pursuit of the person who wrote the song title. 'The Plot' is not a simple praise of spy war songs, nor is it a traditional educational work. But in fact, it provides the most powerful defense for those righteous people who sacrificed their lives for the birth of Guo Jia. The idealistic behavior of a generation of organizational persons cannot be described by simple words, especially since history is very complex and ideologies are also very complex."

"Comrade An Zaitian, as depicted by Lin Youcheng, is our true idealist predecessor..."

……

Clearly, Zhang Wei's remarks are quite reasonable, and naturally, people have begun to think about and discuss them.

In fact, these are things that literary critics have mentioned. The greatest strength of Lin Youcheng's novel "The Plot" lies in its historical breakthrough in the technique or method of praising revolutionary historical heroes. Neither the protagonist of "The Listener of the Wind" (A Bing) nor the protagonist of "The Watcher of the Wind" (Huang Yiyi) are members of the Communist Party, which highlights the important role of the masses in the history of revolutionary history.

"Comrade Zhang Wei is right, and I completely agree. In fact, I believe the greatest strength of this work is its authenticity; after all, authenticity is what gives it its immense power to move people."

"The novel *Plot Against* is a work that praises our new traditions. Its strength lies in its subtle influence, particularly in its ideological language, especially in the characters' dialogue. It even deliberately breaks away from stereotypical stereotypes, with many characters having neutral facial features, making it difficult to discern whether they are good or bad. Coupled with the espionage plot, it is naturally well-written. Furthermore, I strongly agree with what Comrade Zhang Wei said: Lin Youcheng had already written the story of the Wind Catchers. Gu Xiaomeng and Yu Zecheng were both Wind Catchers; they were truly comrades with faith. This is actually a distinction between the minority and the majority. The minority has beliefs, while the majority has something to rely on... It is not only impossible for the majority to have beliefs, but it is probably also unnecessary. However, if the minority in a society lacks beliefs, the entire society will become anemic, drifting aimlessly like a ship without a helmsman, sometimes blown east by the west wind, sometimes blown west by the east wind..."

Clearly, this literary critic's comments are somewhat sensitive, but also the truth. It's like how some people went abroad before, swept up in the Western winds and flocked to imitate the moon in foreign countries, but most people don't really know what the moon in foreign countries is actually like.

The same applies to literary seminars, where there is an exchange and clash of ideas. In the 1990s, the clash of viewpoints was quite intense.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many literary critics questioning and attacking certain literary works, or even boycotting them.

Of course, most people still praise and admire Lin Youcheng's "The Plot".

"Lin Youcheng's *The Conspiracy* may have started with the concepts of listening to and observing the wind, while catching the wind represents the mysterious unknown. I believe the classic status of the 'Windwatch' chapter in *The Conspiracy* far surpasses that of another chapter, making it a unique masterpiece in the history of spy literature. By 'unique,' it means indispensable and rare. Even if this chapter were extracted from the entire novel and stood alone as a work, it would still stand tall as a classic." "Because Lin Youcheng's *Windwatch* contains a solvable mathematical code and an unsolvable love code. In fact, the entire narrative is also a code, containing both explicit and implicit codes, existing between the solvable and the unsolvable. Personally, I believe that 'Windwatch' is a symphonic poem with a sonata structure; its rich musicality may be the key to decoding this classic..."

"I completely agree. Furthermore, I think 'The Plot' also explores the idea that living in this world inevitably involves following the rules of society and being influenced by established beliefs. Love is no exception, let alone marriage. 701 is a concentrated embodiment of various survival rules and philosophies, all deeply ingrained in people's minds. An Zaitian and Huang Yiyi are also forced to follow these rules, yet they are both undeniably different at heart. Huang Yiyi is openly different, while An Zaitian is openly different. They share a code that only they can decipher. Even after years of being immersed in the concepts of national responsibility and faith, even after he resolutely confines himself to his deceased wife's spirit, in a true moment of crisis, a life-or-death situation, he will still make a choice without hesitation or ambiguity, and tell those worldly views: I don't care about these things. Who in this world can or dares to appreciate Huang Yiyi and An Zaitian? Who in this world can truly decipher An Zaitian's inner code? Only Huang Yiyi."

……

These viewpoints and opinions are very insightful, and it is clear that such a seminar on works will lead to more in-depth discussions.

Of course, besides that, the most important question will still arise—

"Youcheng, I really want to know if the original 'Plot Against' had any parts related to the Wind Chaser. If it hadn't been banned, would it have?"

Clearly, this was the question asked Lin Youcheng most often at the seminar.

Although readers and critics may have different opinions, now that the author himself is at the seminar, how could he not ask Lin Youcheng what he really thinks?

However, just like the artistic technique of leaving blanks in literary creation, Lin Youcheng did not give a direct answer.

Just like at the end of "Border Town," whether that person will come back is an answer only the reader can decide.

Lin Youcheng did not provide an answer either.

In Beijing, while literary circles were still discussing Lin Youcheng's mysterious and unknowable spy novel "Plot Against," winter quietly arrived.

This moment of blank space left the entire capital city shrouded in white.

Winter was like any other, but it seemed even colder, with the biting chill spreading like a knife along with the fierce wind.

Just like the mysterious and astonishing spy novel "The Plot," the situation is unpredictable and turbulent, and the entire world situation becomes turbulent as the northern country suddenly collapses.

On that day in early December 1991, many things were different, but it happened as if from another time and space. It was clear that even if a tiny butterfly flapped its wings, it could not possibly have any effect on that behemoth.

"I really have no idea, that big brother from the North actually became—"

Zhang Wei sat in Lin Youcheng's main room, drinking hot tea, and couldn't help but chat with Lin Youcheng about things that had happened further north.

It's safe to say that anyone who reads a newspaper now knows about the Big Brother in the North. Of course, such a shocking event to the world naturally sparks countless discussions.

Because this event has been so impactful to the entire world!

Upon hearing Zhang Wei's words, Lin Youcheng glanced again at the vast expanse of white snow in the courtyard, still feeling the chill, and nodded, saying, "Yes, who could have imagined it?"

That being said, it was obvious that Lin Youcheng knew, but he would never casually reveal such a thing.

He knew the answer, but that was all.

The snow outside was falling even heavier. No matter how tense the outside world was or how biting the wind was, the courtyard was still peaceful and serene.

1991 is about to end!
(End of this chapter)