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

Chapter 51 People’s Literature Awards!

Then, Chen Qiaoqiao couldn't help but cry loudly...

……

After a long time, Xu Yuexin let go of Chen Qiaoqiao, whose cheeks were flushed, and looked up at the sun outside the window.

It’s almost noon, let’s go eat.

Xu Yuexin put on his clothes and went to the bathroom to wash up. After Chen Qiaoqiao recovered for a while, he brought her clothes and watched her get dressed.

At this moment, Xu Yuexin was still thinking about how she looked in cheongsam last night.

One day I will buy her a few pairs of flesh-colored or black stockings and match them with cheongsams. It will be even more wonderful then.

Of course, this has to take into account Chen Qiaoqiao's level of acceptance, and the key is to take it step by step.

Only if she is willing can you make continuous progress in the future.

Xu Yuexin planned.

The two did not eat at home at noon today, and Xu Yuexin chose to take Chen Qiaoqiao out to eat.

After returning home, Xu Yuexin began to take stock of the family assets with Chen Qiaoqiao.

"This is our current savings, a total of more than 2900 yuan."

Xu Yuexin sat at the desk, opened the drawer and took out stacks of big unity banknotes and various dimes and coins on the table, introducing them to Chen Qiaoqiao, "Most of them are earned from writing novels, and the other 300 is given by my mother."

"By the way, the money I got for writing the lyrics for your sister last time is also in there, 80 yuan."

Chen Qiaoqiao’s eyes widened as she watched.

So much money...

Chen Qiaoqiao clearly remembers that when Xu Yuexin just returned to the city, the savings he had were almost zero.

It has only been a few months since he started writing the novel, but he has earned so much. Moreover, his daily spending standards are very high, and he spends a lot of money outside on himself and him.

"You get a lot of royalties."

Chen Qiaoqiao sighed, "Are there any major spending plans at the moment?"

"When I save enough, I will buy a house. Then we can move out together, okay?"

"Oh, of course. I also want to buy a big house for you to live in."

“I’ll try to save money later.”

After hearing Xu Yuexin’s plan, Chen Qiaoqiao was immediately filled with anticipation and felt very happy and secure.

Being with such a husband who is very good at planning and execution makes her feel at ease.

"You don't need to save money. The key is me. I have to produce more."

Xu Yuexin patted the manuscript on the table and said, "Look, these are what I wrote after the exam."

Chen Qiaoqiao shifted her gaze to the manuscript paper, roughly estimated the number of words, and felt very impressed.

“I’ve written so much…”

"Will it be tiring?"

Chen Qiaoqiao was amazed but also showed concern.

"That won't happen. You are the one who has the final say on how strong my physical strength and energy are."

Xu Yuexin pinched Chen Qiaoqiao's waist and smiled.

Chen Qiaoqiao blushed when she understood and gently pushed him: "I really care about you."

"Don't talk about those, those..." "Those what?"

"Oh, anyway, you are not allowed to talk nonsense."

Chen Qiaoqiao pretended to be unhappy and turned her face away to hide her embarrassment.

"Let's go out for dinner."

Xu Yuexin took the money on the table and stood up from his chair.

The two of them had a meal at a time-honored Qingshui hotpot restaurant at noon and went home without going out for a walk.

Chen Qiaoqiao is on summer vacation and doesn't have to go to school. She stays at home with Xu Yuexin to write a novel.

Xu Yuexin was writing at the desk, and Chen Qiaoqiao was reading a professional book on the table. The couple lived in harmony.

Xu Yuexin is still one short story away from the number of words he has planned for publication. He plans to increase his writing intensity and try to finish the task within the next two days and submit it to People's Literature.

He sat at the table and wrote for the entire afternoon, and he didn't stop until his hands were sore.

Occasionally, Xu Yuexin would glance at the empty space under the desk.

If there was someone squatting down here, he would definitely be more motivated to write...

But... just think about it. My wife was still a virgin before she got married. She will definitely not be able to accept it if we ask her to do so now.

+1 to the goal of slow planning!

……

While Xu Yuexin was working hard on his manuscript, Wang Chaoyin was calling together editors in the group to select a list of outstanding novels from 1977 to the present.

There are five award winners for novels, one first prize, two second prizes and two third prizes. The same number of winners is set for novellas and short stories.

There are three award winners for reportage, with one first, one second, and one third prize.

In the conference room, editors sat around a long conference table with paper and pens in front of them.

At one end of the conference table, Wang Chaoyin, in contrast to his usual casual attitude, held the manuscript in his hand and read it carefully to the editors: "Comrades, according to the instructions of editor-in-chief Comrade Li Ji, today we are here to select the outstanding literary works from 1977 to 1979."

"The selection criteria and the number of places have been distributed to everyone along with the meeting notice. I will only emphasize two points now."

"First of all, this selection is a serious activity, and it is the highest recognition of the level of writers in the publishing house. At the same time, if there are national novel awards in the future, in principle we will select from the list of winners this time and recommend them to the Writers Association, Federation of Literary and Art Circles and other higher-level authorities. Please take it seriously."

"Secondly, before the official list is announced, everyone must keep the selection process and results strictly confidential to completely eliminate the unhealthy trends of favoritism and connections. If anyone leaks the information, the agency will deal with it seriously in accordance with party and government discipline."

"Okay, everyone, write down your recommendations on paper. Don't whisper to each other while you're at it. Once you're done, hand them over to me and we'll discuss it."

Wang Chaoyin finished his speech with a serious tone, because this was a very important literary selection, and he could not stand the taint of the sacred literary temple in his mind.

The editors all lowered their heads and thought seriously. After a while, some of them picked up pens and started writing on paper.

Wang Chaoyin also wrote down on paper what he considered to be excellent works. At this moment, he considered more than ordinary editors.

I hope everyone can reach a consensus and nominate the three works "The Garland under the Mountain", "Goldbach's Conjecture" and "Class Teacher".

Because these three works have all been highly praised by Li Ji, if they could be selected at the beginning, there would be no need to bother Li Ji to make changes later.

Oh, and there’s also The Horse Wrangler.

When Li Ji told himself that he had to select the novel, "The Shepherd" had not yet been officially published.

Now that The Horse Herder has been published for more than a month, the response is on par with The Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain. If I ask Li Ji again, he will definitely decide to include The Horse Herder.

Time passed by minute by minute. After a while, Wang Chaoyin saw that the editors had stopped writing, so he ordered everyone to hand in the nomination lists in their hands.

(End of this chapter)