Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 180 Don’t submit! Don’t submit! Don’t submit!

Shanxi, Yangquan, Niangziguan Power Plant.

The night here is particularly pure, as dark as a young woman's undyed hair. The stars, which are rare in big cities, are cheaply scattered all over the sky here.

The surrounding environment is almost desolate, but the factory area is still a bustling place, with workers' clubs, theaters, family quarters, office buildings, health centers, and commercial streets.

But now everything has fallen silent, like old wild animals in a zoo, crawling in the shadows and not moving.

Liu Cixin, 43, sat in the duty room, staring out the window at the three cooling towers lined up in a row. Each cooling tower was over meters high, with white steam coming out of the top from time to time, like the breathing holes of some underground giant beast sticking out of the ground.

Once upon a time, this was the most glorious symbol of the entire Niangziguan Power Plant. Every cloud of white steam represented the pride of the people in the power plant.

Today, in Liu Cixin's eyes, the water vapor is the last gasp of an old man in his seventies. With the tightening of environmental protection policies and the depletion of resources, this place is inevitably heading towards extinction.

Many colleagues have left the power plant with their families. It is said that the power plant will be shut down in the next few years. The specific resettlement measures at that time are still unknown.

Thinking of this, Liu Cixin felt a little flustered. He came to Niangziguan right after graduating from university and stayed there for 22 years, growing from a young Liu to an engineer Liu. This job is to him like the speed of light in physics, and the constant salary of 1000 yuan is the basis of most of his life.

Although he was good at imagining, he had hardly imagined how he would live after leaving Niangziguan and the computer room of the power plant. From a technical point of view, the computer management system of the power plant in the 80s that he mastered was already outdated. There was no place for it to be used.

By writing? Science fiction?

Liu Cixin smiled self-deprecatingly. Although he has published two novels and even received 3000 yuan in royalties for The Wandering Earth, he still does not think that writing science fiction can support himself and his family.

For him, who had experienced the controversy in the 80s when science fiction works were characterized as "spiritual pollution", he had a huge sense of insecurity about writing science fiction.

At that time, the relevant departments issued a document requiring all publishing houses to strictly control the publication of "thriller novels". Since some science fiction novels were published under the name of "thriller science fiction novels", in order to protect themselves, the publishing houses would rather kill the wrong ones than let them go, and they all expanded the restrictions to all science fiction novels.

In addition, for a long time, a large number of science fiction novels were published by science and technology publishers. Later, the relevant departments issued regulations that professional publishers were not allowed to publish literary books, which cut off the main publishing channel for science fiction novels. This blocked both ends and eventually led to a low tide in science fiction novels in the 80s and 90s.

In theory, the ban has not been lifted and is still in effect today - although almost no one thinks about it, let alone enforces it.

If all else fails, I can open a hardware store in Yangquan, or go back to my old business of plumbing and electrical engineering...

While Liu Cixin was lost in thought, he instinctively opened a Word document titled "The Three-Body Problem" on his computer and continued to type out the fates of Ye Wenjie, Wang Miao and others:
[… "You think this model is too simple. As the external sea of ​​fire changes, the size of the outer shell of the universe will also expand or contract, which leads to changes in the size and luminosity of the sun."…]

The night outside the window is still deep and the stars are still busy. Only writing can make oneself an independent universe.

It was already 2 p.m. when Zhang Chao arrived at the Niangziguan Power Plant. Spring was particularly timid here, with everything still gray and yellow, except for the white steam on top of the cooling tower, which looked particularly vibrant.

He traveled a long way to Niangzi Pass just to intercept Liu Cixin's "The Three-Body Problem" before "Science Fiction World" did.

When he was planning "Youth·Grand View", he was always worried about how to make this "adult-oriented" literary magazine have a good start and launch a serialized work that could sustain sales.

Different from "Youth", "Youth·Grand View" is still positioned for young people, but it no longer restricts the age of authors, and it aims to accommodate richer and broader literary genres, and no longer tends to be pure literature.

Ma Boyong, Shuang Xuetao and others had communicated with him in detail about the creative direction two months ago, but even the prince is too young now, not the complete form he will be in a decade, so the works he produced still lack the momentum of "The Great Doctor" that can dominate the entire magazine.

Although I can also ask my teacher Yu Hua and others to write for me, these writers are not only older, but their works are also old-fashioned in style, which is inconsistent with the positioning of "Youth·Grand View".

It was only after Zhang Chao met Keigo Higashino that he suddenly remembered Liu Cixin and his "The Three-Body Problem" and "The Wandering Earth". After a quick search, he found out that "The Wandering Earth" had been published in "Science Fiction World" a few years ago, while "The Three-Body Problem" had not yet appeared in any publications. Although Zhang Chao did not know when the first part of "The Three-Body Problem" was published or serialized, he clearly remembered that in his previous life, he had finished the trilogy around 2012 at the latest.

That is to say, even if Liu had not yet started writing The Three-Body Problem in 2006, the time was very close. That is why he flew from Yanjing to Taiyuan in a hurry, and then drove for more than 2 hours to get here.

The power plant in front of him was already very desolate, with red brick and cement industrial-style buildings everywhere. However, it was already in a dilapidated and miserable state, and there was only one car parked at the door.

Zhang Chao turned off the engine and got out of the car. He walked to the gatehouse next to the big iron gate of the power plant, lowered his head and leaned in front of the small window, and asked with a smile: "Good afternoon, uncle. I want to go into the factory to find someone. Do you know Liu Cixin?"

The doorman put the big teapot in his hand on the table and said slowly, "Do you have a letter of introduction?"

Zhang Chao was stunned. He was born in 85, and he had never seen such a thing before. He quickly said, "No... can't I enter the factory without a letter of introduction?"

The old man took a sip of tea, spat out the tea foam, and continued slowly: "This is the country's war-ready power plant. Do you know what a war-ready power plant is? You wouldn't know even if I told you. Anyway, it is very important. If we let anyone in casually, who can take the responsibility if enemy spies sabotage it?"

Zhang Chao thought that it was not impossible for him to go to Taiyuan to ask the Writers Association or the Federation of Literary and Art Circles for a letter of introduction, but firstly, he would have to ask for help from all kinds of connections, and secondly, it would take at least one or two days to go back and forth. If he was late for these two days, "The Three-Body Problem" might be submitted to "Science Fiction World".

It is the most basic ethics in the publishing industry that authors should not submit the same manuscript twice, and editors should not cut off the manuscript that has been submitted. So if Liu Cixin had already submitted the manuscript, Zhang Chao would not offer a high price to Liu Cixin to withdraw the manuscript - at most he would negotiate with him about serializing other new works.

Seeing that the old man was unmoved, Zhang Chao had no choice but to get back in the car and drove around the neighborhood. He finally found a small supermarket that was not inside the factory. He bought a pack of Huazi and a bottle of Fenjiu before returning to the gate of the power plant.

When the cigarettes and alcohol were passed in through the small window, the doorman muttered, "This cigarette tastes spicy..." But his hand honestly reached for the microphone on the table. Soon, an old voice spread throughout the factory through the old-fashioned loudspeaker -

"Liu Cixin, Liu Cixin, someone is looking for you, someone is looking for you, please come to the gate as soon as possible, please come to the gate as soon as possible..."

It was broadcast three times in a row.

After more than ten minutes, Zhang Chao saw a middle-aged man with a crew cut, black-framed glasses, and a simple gray jacket, coming to the gate in a dusty and dusty manner.

The doorman opened the small iron door next to the big iron door and pointed at Zhang Chao: "He is the one looking for you."

Liu Cixin obviously didn't care much about the changes in the "mainstream literary world". He looked at the young Zhang Chao with a blank face, as if he felt that he looked familiar, but couldn't remember his name.

Zhang Chao immediately extended his hand and shook hands with Liu Cixin, introducing himself: "Zhang Chao, also known as Zhang the Archer, and Tidal Tide. I also write novels."

Liu Cixin finally realized what was happening. After all, they were all in the domestic literary circle, and even if they were on the fringe, they had heard of Zhang Chao. But he still didn't quite understand why this hot young writer came to him, so he said hesitantly, "I've heard of your name for a long time, I've heard of your name for a long time... May I ask who you are looking for..."

Zhang Chao sincerely said to Liu Cixin: "I am here on behalf of our new issue of Youth Magazine. I hope to invite you to write an article. It would be best if you can start serializing your new work in our magazine. A long novel would be best, but a novella or a short story would also be fine."

Liu Cixin suddenly realized: "You are the one who sent the email - 'Don't submit! Don't submit! Don't submit!' - that's you, right?"

Zhang Chao nodded and said, "That's right, I'm worried, too, because I'm afraid your novel has been submitted to somewhere else. It hasn't been submitted yet, right?"

Liu Cixin asked in confusion: "How do you know I wrote a new novel? - But I haven't submitted it yet. I think it's a little too difficult to understand. Readers may not accept it."

Zhang Chao's eyes lit up and he said, "How much have you written? Where is the manuscript? Can you show it to me? I am your loyal reader, and I think I can be a reference for you!"

(End of this chapter)