1979: Literary Master, Starting from the Return of Educated Youth

Chapter 28 Lao Xu, Do You Want a Wife?
Hearing some noise in the editorial office, Wang Chaoyin looked up, found out it was Xu Yuexin, and greeted him.

"Yuexin, long time no see."

"When you came to me a while ago, I was collecting folk songs."

Wang Chaoyin put down his manuscript paper and pen and asked, "Do you have any new ideas recently?"

Wow, he asked me about coding as soon as we met.

He has a strong sense of professionalism.

"I just finished writing a manuscript and I'll show it to you."

Xu Yuexin said, walked up and put the things on the table, patting them with his hands, "Look, authentic Harbin beer, produced by the first factory."

"Made in a factory? That's great."

Wang Chaoyin smiled from ear to ear and took two beers from Xu Yuexin, "I'll take you out for a chat and talk about your latest masterpiece."

He thought Xu Yuexin came to discuss creativity, but he actually brought his work with him.

Very good, what a talented and prolific young writer.

"Okay, let me ask you to find the flaws in the book for me."

Xu Yuexin and Wang Chaoyin went downstairs together and sat down in a small restaurant outside No. 166 Chaonei.

The layout of the restaurant is very exquisite, with carved solid wood tables and chairs arranged in an orderly manner, and photos and famous quotes of famous writers from ancient times to the present hung on the white walls. In the words of later generations, it has a strong sense of design.

There is a small bookshelf at the entrance, on which are placed "People's Literature", "Yanhe", and "Shanghai Literature", which was just renamed this year.

“It has a very artistic atmosphere.”

After Xu Yuexin sat down in a seat near the inside, he placed the file bag containing the manuscript on the seat next to him and gave a brief comment.

"This is our magazine's tertiary industry, used to house our family members and children."

Wang Chaoyin explained to him, and then shouted at the counter, "Waiter, take your order."

The waiter brought the menu and they each ordered a dish.

While the dishes were being served, Wang Chaoyin asked Xu Yuexin for the manuscript and read it carefully in his hands.

"The Horse Herder..."

“He was a son abandoned by the rich… —Victor Hugo, Les Misérables.”

Wang Chaoyin muttered to himself in fascination, and was soon attracted by the vivid description at the beginning.

An abandoned child who had never received love from his parents since childhood was sent to work on a ranch on the Loess Plateau.

Here, he went from being completely hopeless at first to being comforted by a horse until he burst into tears...

Wang Chaoyin looked down quietly, his thoughts were brought to the distant yellow land by Xu Yuexin's words, and his mind was full of the young man named Xu Lingjun.

The beer, which he considered to be his favorite, was now forgotten and was quietly placed on the table with no one paying attention to it.

Beautiful words can make people drunk more than wine.

Wang Chaoyin watched in fascination, from the time Xu Lingjun finished his labor camp and became a herdsman, to the time he formed friendships with other people on the farm, to the time he was appointed a teacher and returned to the podium...

Even harvest love.

"Hey, Lao Xu, do you want a wife?"

"If you want a wife, just ask and I'll give her to you tonight."

Seeing this, Wang Chaoyin couldn't help but smile knowingly.

Wang Chaoyin has already put himself in Xu Lingjun's shoes, and now he is eager to know what kind of person Guo Jianzi will introduce to him.

Even when the braised pork with dried tofu he ordered was served, Wang Chaoyin still had no reaction and was still reading the manuscript written by Xu Yuexin carefully.

"The food is here."

Xu Yuexin reminded, "Don't eat it cold anymore."

"Oh, good."

Wang Chaoyin was completely absorbed in the subject. He casually agreed twice and reached out to touch the chopsticks, his eyes always focused on The Horse Wrangler. After finally touching the chopsticks, his eyes still did not leave Xu Yuexin's The Horse Wrangler. He pinched the table with the chopsticks twice, but only pinched air.

Xu Yuexin couldn't help laughing.

"Why don't we watch it after dinner?"

Xu Yuexin suggested.

"No, no, I'll finish watching it first. It will be over soon."

Wang Chaoyin shook his head, many things flashing through his mind.

This novel focuses on the thirty years of an intellectual's life, from his birth to his fall, and then his rise from the Loess Plateau to become a great man...

When he finished reading "The Shepherd", Wang Chaoyin carefully placed the manuscript on the table and chair. He was afraid that it would be blown away by the wind, so after thinking for a while, he took off his coat and pressed it on the manuscript, as considerately as if he were treating a newborn baby.

"Team Leader Wang, eat some food."

Xu Yuexin pushed the braised pork with dried tofu towards him.

"Hey, good."

Wang Chaoyin's thoughts were still on the novel. He had no taste for the food and kept recalling the plot of "The Shepherd" in his mind.

"Team Leader Wang, can you point out some faults for me?"

After Wang Chaoyin took a few bites of the food, Xu Yuexin said modestly.

Wang Chaoyin didn't know how to respond to his request for a moment.

Finding faults? You must be kidding.

His novel, titled "The Horse Shepherd", has reached a considerable height both in terms of literary quality and ideological content.

If we really start to pick on it, it would be like finding fault with something.

"Your book, The Horse Herder, has a very novel concept, a very moving plot, and very profound thoughts."

Wang Chaoyin used three "very" in a row to express his feelings after reading the article, "It can be published without changing a single word."

After hearing this, Xu Yuexin picked up the wrench on the table, opened the beer and poured a glass for himself and Wang Chaoyin: "Thank you for your high evaluation."

"This is a toast from me to you."

Wang Chaoyin also raised his glass, smiled and waved his hand: "I should be the one to thank you for continuously providing our magazine with excellent works."

With the sound of crisp cheers, the two men drank their beer in one gulp.

……

After three reviews and three proofreadings, the only thing left is to be reviewed by the editor-in-chief Li Ji.

After saying goodbye to each other at the restaurant, Wang Chaoyin and Xu Yuexin rushed back to the editorial office and sent a telegram to Li Ji who was attending a meeting out of town.

Editor-in-chief, if you have a good article, please reply.

In the telegraph era, people were so frugal with words that sending one more word was considered a waste.

According to the schedule Wang Chaoyin knew, Li Ji's meeting schedule had only two days left. This was the time when leaders would usually get together to relax and go around and have fun.

Xu Yuexin's "The Horse Shepherd" is worth asking the editor-in-chief to give up his vacation and return to the magazine to review the manuscript.

On the vast grassland, Li Ji was drinking milk tea made by the herdsmen, chatting with several old friends in the literary world, and discussing travel plans for the next two days.

At this time, a telegram from the magazine was delivered to him.

After reading the telegram, Li Ji smiled.

There is no need to guess, it must have been sent by Wang Chaoyin. He was the only one in the entire magazine who dared to ask himself to interrupt his trip.

After hanging up the telegram, Li Ji told his old friends that something had happened at the magazine and he needed to leave first.

That afternoon, Li Ji boarded the train and started his journey back to Beijing.

He wanted to see with his own eyes what kind of novel it was that made Wang Chaoyin call him back so eagerly.

(End of this chapter)