Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 33 It’s done
On the campus of Yenching Normal University, the morning class had just ended, and Tao Yushu and his classmates came out of the classroom and walked towards the cafeteria.

"What were you looking at during class? And you even came to watch Teacher Han's class?" Tao Yushu asked Wu Yingfang, a female classmate next to him.

The morning class was taught by Professor Han Zhaoqi on "Records of the Grand Historian", which was very popular among students of the Chinese Department of Yenching Normal University.

Wu Yingfang took out the magazine tucked into the textbook and said mysteriously, "The newly published novels are The Horse Herder and Scars!"

The words "Yenching Literature and Art" were clearly visible on the cover of the magazine. Tao Yushu asked, "The Shepherd?"

"Well, I think it's better than Scars." Wu Yingfang couldn't help but reveal a bit of longing in her eyes. "I wish I could know Xu Lingjun in the novel, tall, handsome, and gentle. The author's pen name is Xu Lingjun. Do you think he wrote Xu Lingjun based on his own appearance?"

Tao Yushu had never read the novel, so she joked, "You're being obsessed with it again!"

"What kind of nymphomaniac! You'll know once you see it."

"Okay, let's go eat quickly."

"Yenching Literature and Art" is a relatively old literary magazine in China. Because its editors-in-chief at that time were great figures such as Lao She and Zhao Shuli, it is quite famous across the country.

In the past two years, domestic literature has started again, but it is not an easy task to overcome the many obstacles set up by cold dogmas in the face of long-established ideological and artistic precepts.

Also, because the styles of the two consecutive directors in the past two years were relatively conservative, "Yenching Literature and Art" did not publish many influential works after its resumption of publication.

In the opinion of Zhou Yanru, a senior editor, "The Shepherd" written by Lin Chaoyang is exactly the same as "The Class Teacher" published in "People's Daily" at the beginning of the year and "Scars" published in "Wenhui Daily" in the middle of the year.

They all carry a strong accusation of the past, revealing the scars that era has caused to people and accurately presenting the tragedy of the times in words.

But what makes "The Horse Wrangler" better than the other two is that it is not just an accusation. The reflection and warmth in it are more moving, and its intention is one level higher than the other two.

Especially in the creation of the character of the father, it is very symbolic, and the handling of the relationship between the father and the son is also very wise. While responding to the inner feelings of the readers, it is rational and restrained, and successfully created the image of Xu Lingjun, an intellectual who has experienced hardships but remains true to his original aspirations.

With all these factors coming together, Zhou Yanru simply believes that even if "The Shepherd" cannot create as strong an influence as "Scars", it should still be a temporary choice, enough to make Lin Chaoyang famous in the literary world.

Obviously, her idea makes sense.

On the day when the eleventh issue of Yenching Literature and Art was published, she had already heard discussions about The Horse Herder while walking in the building of the Yenching Federation of Literary and Art Circles. The next day, someone had already come to the editorial office to ask the editors about the author of The Horse Herder and the inside story of his creation.

Although reader feedback has not yet arrived, Zhou Yanru can easily judge from her many years of experience in the industry that

"The Horse Wrangler" is going to be a hit!

A week later, Zhou Yanru had just started work when she received a message from Li Qingquan, the new director of the publication.

The publishing house called and said that the eleventh issue of "Yenching Literature and Art" was selling too quickly and there was little stock left, so they needed to print more.

"Additional printing? It's only been a week!"

Zhou Yanru's tone was a little surprised. The sales of "Yanjing Literature and Art" have been very stable in the past two years, and reprints are rarely needed.

“Is it The Wrangler?”

Li Qingquan showed a look of delight and nodded. He and Zhou Yanru were both optimistic about The Horse Shepherd, so much so that the two of them had colluded in secret before he took up the post.

Now it seems that this work has lived up to their high expectations. "Let's print 50,000 more copies first."

Li Qingquan was delighted. He had just reported to the editorial department on the 23rd of last month, and hadn't even gotten his business done yet, but he already had a good start.

Zhou Yanru wanted to say "it's too conservative". There's no need to say more. Even if "The Horse Shepherd" created one-tenth of the public opinion wave of "Scars", the sales of this issue of "Yanjing Literature and Art" might double. Previously, the sales of "Yanjing Literature and Art" had been stable between 200,000 and 300,000 copies.

However, printing more copies is not a one-time deal. If the sales are good, you can continue to print more copies, so Zhou Yanru did not say anything.

"Old Zhou!"

As the two were talking, Zhang Dening called Zhou Yanru with a happy face, holding up a newspaper in his hand, "Look at this!"

"what?"

Zhou Yanru took the newspaper, which was today's "Yanjing Daily". Zhang Dening pointed to one of the sections in the newspaper and said, "Look!"

"The Horse Shepherd: Suffering is a Mirror" - Hu Depei.

"There's a review article so soon? And it was written by Hu Depei?" Zhou Yanru was surprised and happy.

Hu Depei is a senior editor at the People's Literature Publishing House and is currently the deputy editor-in-chief of the New Literature Materials magazine. He is also a literary critic. His book "On the Art of Li Zicheng" is quite influential in the literary world's research on Li Zicheng.

"It seems that "The Shepherd" is going to be really popular!" Zhang Dening said happily.

"It's too early to tell now."

Although Zhou Yanru felt the same way in her heart, she was very conservative in what she said.

"What about adding this?" Zhang Dening took a few more letters from the table.

"Is this... a letter from a reader?"

Zhang Dening nodded and said, "Just arrived this morning."

Within a week, the publication was reprinted, review articles were published, and reader feedback began to arrive. All signs showed that "The Horse Wrangler" was gaining considerable influence.

Zhou Yanru casually opened a letter. The letter was from a worker named Zhu Hong from the No. 7 Factory in Yanjing City. She was also an educated youth who returned to Yanjing in 76 after working in the countryside for years.

"…The sufferings that Xu Lingjun endured are a concentrated reflection of the experiences of our generation. The protagonist Xu Lingjun endured all these hardships: sent to the countryside for reeducation through labor, harsh environment, and political turmoil.

But it was precisely these hardships that gradually cultivated his love for the land under his feet. He still has a heart that loves life. This kind of character of his is worthy of our respect and praise.

When I read "Scars", I would burst into tears, because that work vented my dissatisfaction and resentment towards the past years.

But reading The Shepherd, in addition to the empathy, made me feel more of the human nature in the face of hardships. I not only saw the accusation of the past, but also saw reflection, warmth and beauty.

I think this is the reason why The Horse Herder is so successful.”

Feeling the spiritual strength that the letter writer gained from the novel The Shepherd, Zhou Yanru said to Zhang Dening: "The Shepherd, it's done!"

(End of this chapter)