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

Chapter 66 Your Prize!
Wang Chaoyin, who was accompanying Mao Dun, saw Xu Yuexin at the back of the crowd and waved at him: "Xiao Xu, Mr. Mao wants to talk to you."

Following the direction of Wang Chaoyin's gaze, Mao Dun also saw Xu Yuexin walking towards him with quickened pace.

"That's Xiao Xu."

"What a young and energetic guy."

Mao Dun smiled at Li Ji beside him and walked towards him.

The crowd hurriedly made way for Mao Dun.

Under the envious gazes of Chen Jiangong and others, the two clasped their hands tightly together.

"Hello, Comrade Xiao Xu."

Mao Dun looked kind and said in a gentle tone, "This is your first time attending an awards ceremony, right?"

Xu Yuexin suppressed his excitement and tried to look at the old man in front of him with a calm gaze.

"Yes, Mr. Mao, it's an honor to meet you here."

Xu Yuexin looked at Mao Dundao and felt a warm and tenacious power from the handshake with this centenarian.

"This is also my first time attending an award ceremony in more than a decade. In the past few years, all kinds of award-giving activities in the literary world have been suspended."

Mao Dun looked around and said meaningfully, then looked at Xu Yuexin again, "How many people are there in your family? Are they happy to know that you are here to attend the award ceremony?"

"There are seven people in my family, and my eldest brother has already separated from the family."

"I haven't had time to tell my parents yet, but my wife was very happy when she found out."

"You look so young, yet you're already married."

Mao Dun smiled and said, "Very good. With the responsibility of the family on my shoulders, I will be more motivated to create."

"As long as young writers like you study hard and write with concentration, our country's literary world will have successors."

At this point, Mao Dun became serious and said: "We must cherish the unprecedentedly good creative environment that the Party and the government have created for our literary community after the meeting last year."

“We will strive to produce more good works and repay the expectations of the Party and the people.”

"Thank you, Mr. Mao. I will definitely not let you down."

"Okay, the schedule is almost up, let's continue our conversation after the ceremony is over."

Mao Dun patted Xu Yuexin's arm with admiration in his eyes, and went to sit in the front row accompanied by Li Ji and others.

Behind him, many people looked at Xu Yuexin with envy. Some people also looked at him with curiosity, wondering where this young writer came from to receive such courtesy from Mr. Mao.

Under the gazes of many people, Xu Yuexin turned around and was about to return to his original position. At this time, someone patted him on the shoulder from behind.

I turned around and saw it was Wang Meng.

"Come sit here."

Wang Meng enthusiastically pulled him to the front row of the auditorium and sat next to him.

"Jiangong, Zhenyun."

After Xu Yuexin sat down, he called out to his two friends at the back.

Chen Jiangong and Liu Zhenyun were originally envious of Xu Yuexin, but when they heard him calling them, they walked up hesitantly.

"Can we sit down?"

Liu Zhenyun asked weakly.

"It's okay, sit anywhere."

Wang Meng said leniently, "There's no name written on the seat."

Only then did Chen Jiangong and Liu Zhenyun dare to sit down slowly.

They saw clearly that the front row was not for just anyone to sit in. Those who could sit here were all famous writers in the literary world.

This time I really benefited from Xu Yuexin.

On the stage in front of the auditorium, Wang Chaoyin, holding a microphone with a wire trailing it, was announcing the start of the award ceremony.

"Good morning, all the writers and guests present here!"

"Welcome to our press today to attend the first award ceremony for outstanding literary works held by our press since the reform and opening up."

"It has been frozen for more than ten years, but now it has thawed. Today's award ceremony is like a green bud poking out of the mud when the spring breeze blows." "There is a saying that one leaf can tell the coming of autumn. By the same token, one leaf can also tell the coming of spring. I believe that all the friends in the literary and art circles here are as excited as I am at this moment!"

Wang Chaoyin said in a passionate tone, "Now I declare that the award ceremony will begin, and Mr. Mao Dun will give an opening speech!"

There was warm applause.

Wang Chaoyin's opening remarks touched the hearts of many people present.

Just as he said, with the spring breeze blowing, authors can finally pick up their pens and write again, and live by words!

The subject matter and scale of creation have finally been relaxed!
Amid the applause, Mao Dun stood up from his seat and walked towards the stage alone without any help.

On the stage, Liu Jianqing came out from backstage and carefully untied the microphone wire to prevent Mao Dun from tripping when he went on stage.

In those days, material conditions were limited and there was only one microphone in the whole venue. After Mao Dun came on stage, Wang Chaoyin came forward and handed the microphone to him.

"Hello everyone, it is a pleasure to see you all here today."

"As Comrade Wang Chaoyin said, today's award ceremony symbolizes the return of spring from winter to spring in our literary world."

"And what I want to say is that the arrival of spring not only means the melting of ice and snow, but also means the sprouting of new branches."

Mao Dun held the microphone and spoke slowly. The writers and guests present listened to her speech attentively. "Just like today's list of winners. The list is still confidential, but I can reveal to you that there are not only old friends we are familiar with, but also many new faces."

"New faces are good. With new faces, our literary world can thrive."

"After going through the special period of the past few years, there are still so many outstanding new writers and new works emerging in the country. This is enough to show that our country's cultural context has not been broken and cannot be broken!"

"I believe that under the care and protection of the Party and the country, our literary undertakings will continue to move forward and produce new and excellent works."

At the end, Mao Dun's tone became more and more determined.

And from the audience, thunderous applause rang out again.

Amidst the applause, Mao Dun handed the microphone to Wang Chaoyin, who continued the award ceremony.

"Thank you Mr. Mao for giving us a speech just now. It is a speech that gives us confidence and strength!"

Wang Chaoyin said in a sonorous voice, "It's just like the work we are about to present to you today and receive the award."

"Next, let's start the award ceremony."

"First Prize for Reportage: "Goldbach's Conjecture", Winning Writer: Comrade Xu Chi!"

After Wang Chaoyin finished speaking, a tall, white-haired old man stood up from the front row, walked to the front amid applause, and stepped onto the stage step by step.

Mao Dun took the golden award certificate and the red satin award certificate from the staff, and handed them to Xu Chi along with a bouquet of flowers, and encouraged him.

"Thank you, Mr. Mao."

Xu Chi said with tears in his eyes and bowed slightly.

"Congratulations, Comrade Xu Chi."

Wang Chaoyin held the microphone and congratulated him, "Your article "Goldbach's Conjecture" has become popular all over the country. With outstanding literary talent and emotional writing, it has established a lofty image of scientific researchers in the hearts of the general public."

"Therefore, we at People's Literature have decided to award you and your work the first prize in reportage. What are your feelings at this moment?"

Xu Chi took the microphone, wiped away the tears from his eyes, and then told the audience about his own journey: "Thank you People's Literature, and thank you to all the readers who are willing to take the time to read my works."

"I created this work after hearing about the great mathematician Chen Jingrun's deeds."

……

When Xu Chi finished his speech and left the stage amid warm applause, Wang Chaoyin gave a brief summary and announced the award ceremony for the second and third prizes in reportage.

Next, there was the award ceremony for the first, second and third prizes for novels, and Mao Dun was in charge of presenting the awards.

Reporters from major newspapers and magazines such as People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency, and Guangming Daily were constantly filming and capturing footage below, and crisp clicking sounds could be heard from time to time at the scene.

After the third prize for novels was awarded, the novellas began their turn.

"The flames of war in southern Xinjiang have not yet been extinguished, and the soldiers are wielding their weapons to protect the people."

Wang Chaoyin held the microphone and said in an extremely emotional voice, "Among our winning works today, there is such a film. It uses emotional strokes to outline the majestic image of the soldiers on the front line."

"First Prize for Novella: "The Wreath under the Mountain", Winning Writer: Comrade Xu Yuexin!"

(End of this chapter)