1979: My fiancée is a goddess

Chapter 134: That year when I was twenty, I stood on the podium like a minion!
Golden Hall of the People's Hall.

The lights flicker, warm as spring.

The loudspeakers in the hall are playing songs that have become popular in recent years. The song currently playing is "My Motherland and I": "My motherland and I cannot be separated for even a moment... No matter where I go..."

Cheng Kaiyan heard Wang Meng's voice not far away, raised her eyelids and looked. He was standing in front of the podium at the front of the hall with several writers wearing Zhongshan suits.

Behind them hung a red banner that read: 1979-1980 National Excellent Short Story Award Ceremony.

At this time, the award ceremony had not officially started yet, but the hall was crowded with people. It was estimated that there were seven or eight hundred people from all walks of life.

People gathered in groups of three or five, listening to beautiful songs and chatting.

We talked and laughed in a harmonious atmosphere.

Cheng Kaiyan retracted his gaze, finished the drink in his hand and put it aside, then walked towards Wang Meng slowly.

"Teacher Wong."

"This is Cheng Kaiyan, the new talent discovered by our People's Literature Society. I think everyone is familiar with this name, right?"

Cheng Kaiyan walked closer, and Wang Meng walked up to him, pulled him in front of the group of writers, and introduced them enthusiastically.

"Cheng Kaiyan, is she the one who wrote Fang Cao? It's a great novel."

"So it's him! I didn't expect he's a young man. The young are really to be feared."

……

"This is Jiang Zilong, Liu Xinwu..."

Through Wang Meng's introduction, Cheng Kaiyan got to know these ten people.

They are the authors who won the National Short Story Award this year, and their works were all published in People's Literature.

So they formed a small group.

Jiang Zilon, who wrote "The Record of Director Qiao's Taking Office", was wearing a gray Zhongshan suit and looked rather serious.

He is a pioneer of reform literature and the author who received the most votes this time, ranking first in this session, or the top scholar in the old days.

Liu Xinwu, who wrote "I Love Every Green Leaf", was the one who brought scar literature into the literary world.

There is also Ru Zhijuan, a female writer who wrote "The Story of the Wrongly Edited Film".

Written by Li Dong and Wang Yungao for "Return of the Colorful Clouds".

Wrote "Gonza and Harry" by Fan Tiansheng.

Zhang Xian, who wrote "Memory"...

There are ten people in total, and there are only twenty-five winning works this year, and authors from "People's Literature" account for two-fifths of them.

It can be seen that the status of "People's Literature" as a national publication is high and its influence is great, just like seeing the leopard through the tube.

"We are all authors of People's Literature, except you, Wang Meng and Cheng Kaiyan!"

Jiang Zilong joked with a smile, even though he looked serious and stern, he actually liked to joke around.

"is not that right!"

The group of people agreed with amusement, it was indeed as they said.

They are all authors of People's Literature, except Wang Meng and Cheng Kaiyan.

Wang Meng's award-winning work this year, "The Endless Love of Grass", was not published in "People's Literature" but in "Shanghai Literature and Art".

"You really should sew your mouth shut, old Chiang. Whether I am right or not is not the point for now. Our comrade Kaiyan is a member of the People's Literature with a 'red bloodline'!"

Wang Meng patted Cheng Kaiyan's shoulder and supported her.

"How can that be explained? I remember that neither Comrade Kaiyan's debut work nor Fragrant Grass was published in People's Literature, right?"

Liu Xinwu asked curiously. In fact, everyone was just joking and had no ill intentions.

"You probably don't know this. Although Comrade Kaiyan's article "Fragrant Grass" was published in Jiangcheng's Fangcao magazine, it was originally picked up by Editor-in-Chief Zhang. Unfortunately, Kaiyan had to go to Jiangcheng to meet a girl, so it fell through."

Wang Meng explained with a smile.

“I see. This is also an interesting story.”

"Hahaha, Comrade Xiao Cheng is still a passionate lover. It's hard for other people in People's Literature to get into it."

When Ru Zhijuan, the only female writer among the crowd, heard this, she looked at Cheng Kaiyan in surprise.

"Of course not. After Comrade Kaiyan returned to Beijing, Editor-in-Chief Zhang asked him to write an article. But he ended up submitting a love story to People's Literature," said Wang Meng.

"I heard about this from Lao Cui. Now the entire Renwen Press knows about it. It's a pity that Comrade Kaiyan's work was published a little late this time. Maybe he could have won a prize this time." Liu Xinwu interrupted.

"It will definitely be fine next year, but he came to this ceremony for a mission. He wants to call out Mr. Mao's name this time, but you guys just 'ostracized' us two..."

Wang Meng laughed maliciously at the end and said jokingly, "Be careful that Kaiyan mispronounces your names and makes you look ridiculous."

"Ouch! Comrade Kaiyan called out the names? That really offended an important figure..."

Jiang Zilong hurriedly grabbed Cheng Kaiyan's hand and apologized repeatedly.

"Hahaha! Arrogant at first but respectful later, it makes me laugh just thinking about it!"

This look made everyone burst into laughter.

Writers, editors and leaders who came to watch the ceremony nearby also looked over in the direction of the sound and saw a group of great writers of People's Literature surrounding a young man.

They couldn't help but wonder: "Who is that young man standing with great writers like Wang Meng, Liu Xinwu, and Jiang Zilong?"

"I don't know. It seems that he came in with Mr. Ye Shengtao."

.........

Time flies and it's already half past eight.

The singing in the loudspeaker stopped and the host's voice sounded.

"Dear guests, dear comrades, the second National Excellent Short Story Award is about to begin."

The hall quickly became quiet, and people who came to attend the ceremony looked for seats.

After all the guests were seated, everyone looked quietly at the podium, waiting for the leaders to arrive.

Soon, from both sides of the podium, members of this year's selection committee, such as Mao Dun, Sha Ting, Yan Wenjing, Zhang Guangnian and others, as well as leaders of the Writers Association and the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, came up to the stage and took their seats.

Under the expectant gaze of the public, Mr. Mao Dun, as the current leader of the China Writers Association, was the first to deliver a speech.

"Comrades, I declare! The Second National Short Story Award Ceremony has officially begun!"

The voice just fell.

There was thunderous applause from the audience, like a tide flooding the hall.

"Crack, click, click!"

At the same time, reporters from various news newspapers and magazines raised their cameras and took pictures of the stage, with white light flashing continuously.

Among them are reporter Yang Zhenwu from People's Daily, China Youth Daily, Yanjing Daily, Guangming Daily and so on.

“Dear guests, dear writer friends, dear comrades!
Hello everyone! I am Shen Yanbing, the director of this year’s selection committee.

On this spring day when everything grows, we gather together to witness the award ceremony of the National Excellent Short Story Award.

Since 1978, a new era of literature has begun.

This year is a year of great significance in the history of literature. In this year, a large number of works emerged in the literary world that reflected social reality and revealed the depth of human nature.

The most representative works include Liu Xinwu's "Class Teacher", Lu Xinhua's "Scars" and Zhang Jie's "Children from the Forest".

With their true emotions and profound social insights, these works broke the shackles of literature in the Buzz Period and opened a new chapter in literary creation.

People use "scar literature" to summarize this year...

1979 was a key year for the further development of Chinese literature and is considered to be a deepening and expansion of the "New Era Literature".

This year, literary creation became more diverse, with richer themes, and many excellent works emerged, such as Jiang Zilong's "The Record of Director Qiao's Taking Office", Chen Shixu's "The General in a Small Town" and Wang Meng's "The Heart of a Grass".

These works not only continue the reflective spirit of "scar literature", but also begin to explore the relationship between social reform and personal destiny.

People summarize it as "reflective literature."

Today is March 26th.

We are awarding the National Excellent Short Story Award here, which is not only a recognition of the winning writers, but also a tribute to the development of Chinese literature.

I also hope that all the writer friends present here can continue to work hard to create more excellent works that reflect the spirit of the times and have profound ideological connotations, and contribute their own strength to the prosperity and development of Chinese literature..." On the stage, under the gaze of tens of thousands of people, Mr. Mao Dun gave a speech. His voice was old, not loud, and even a little weak, but it did not hinder his status in the hearts of a group of literary and art workers.

After he finished his speech, Sha Ting, Zhang Guangnian and others spoke next, mainly giving a general summary of the literary world in the past two years.

The speech was quite long.

Cheng Kaiyan listened with great interest at the beginning, but became bored towards the end.

He yawned and was seen by Wang Meng beside him.

"Kaiyan, Editor-in-Chief Zhang is calling you. Go get ready. The awards will be presented soon."

Wang Meng patted him on the shoulder and pointed to the passage on the right leading to the backstage.

"Well, I see."

Cheng Kaiyan looked over quickly and saw Zhang Guangnian standing there looking at him and waving at him.

To be honest, no one asked him to get ready for a long time, and he thought he was not allowed to come when the roll call was held.

So, among the crowd who were quietly listening to the speech, Cheng Kaiyan stood up, slightly bent his waist and walked to the right.

It attracted the attention of many people, but they just glanced at it and continued to listen to the speech above.

"Please make way, thank you."

When passing by the area where the cultural tribe was located, Cheng Kaiyan was blocked by a beautiful woman with a plump figure, noble and elegant temperament, and wearing a women's suit.

Tang Minghua, who was sitting in her seat, writing something on her notebook, heard the voice beside her ear. She subconsciously smoothed her hair beside her ear and looked up.

A tall and slender young man with a handsome face, wearing a navy blue Zhongshan suit and holding a fountain pen on his chest, was bending over to let others pass.

This face made Tang Minghua's eyes flash. Is it him?

"Please make way, ma'am."

The young man's eyebrows were slightly wrinkled, and his amber, crystal clear eyes were very beautiful.

"Excuse me, young comrade, you've been invited."

Tang Minghua quickly stood up and made way. She looked at the receding figure and said to herself, "Isn't this Cheng Kaiyan? Why is he here?"

……

After arriving at the backstage, Zhang Guangnian handed Cheng Kaiyan a speech paper, on which was the list of winning works and writers.

"Just follow the instructions above and don't say anything else, understand?"

Zhang Guangnian reminded. He knew Cheng Kaiyan was not such a rash person, but he still couldn't help but remind her.

After all, with so many leaders watching, there could be no room for error, and it was he who arranged for Cheng Kaiyan to call out Mr. Mao's name.

"rest assured."

At this time, the speech outside came to an end, and Zhang Guangnian pulled him outside.

Cheng Kaiyan walked behind Zhang Guangnian and went onto the stage.

At this time, Mr. Maodun was already standing in front of the podium.

"Go quickly, don't be nervous."

Zhang Guangnian whispered.

Cheng Kaiyan took a deep breath, held his head high and walked slowly to Mr. Mao's side, glancing around the audience.

Suddenly being stared at by so many people, many of whom were leaders, his heartbeat gradually accelerated.

However, Cheng Kaiyan tried hard to associate the open classes of the previous few days with the present, and quickly adjusted herself.

A strange young man came on the stage, and the audience below looked at him curiously.

Especially Tang Minghua.

"Why is he on the stage? Looks like he's going to help Mr. Mao roll out his names?"

Tang Minghua frowned and murmured.

I didn’t expect that the young man introduced by Ating had this ability.

……

Soon, the award ceremony began.

Cheng Kaiyan looked at the manuscript in her hand, and announced loudly into the microphone: "The first prize winner of this National Excellent Short Story Award is Jiang Zilong's "The Record of Director Qiao's Taking Office"!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was thunderous applause from the audience.

Under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of people, Jiang Zilon stepped onto the podium from the crowd, and was personally awarded a certificate, a 100-yuan bonus, a certificate, and more by Mr. Mao.

"First Prize: Wang Meng's "The Grass Heart"..."

One after another, the winning writers came up to the stage to receive their awards after being called out by Cheng Kaiyan.

As Cheng Kaiyan called out the names of the award-winning writers, she felt a sense of pride rising in her heart as she looked at the shining stars in the spotlight of tens of thousands of people and under the blinding lights of the cameras of the reporters.

I was twenty that year, standing on the podium like a minion.

He can be replaced!

……

"Kaiyan! Come over here and take a picture."

"Got it, Editor-in-Chief Zhang!"

The award ceremony ended quickly. Because Cheng Kaiyan helped to call out the names of the winners, she also had the opportunity to take a group photo with the award-winning writers and judges.

"Everyone looking at the camera, please don't blink."

Yang Zhenwu, a reporter from People's Daily, was holding a large camera and observing the lens carefully.

Suddenly he spotted a familiar figure in the right corner of the second row.

It's him!
Yang Zhenwu thought to himself, and then shouted loudly: "Three! Two! One!"

With a click, the flash light came on.

The picture is permanently frozen on March 26, 1980.

……

After the award ceremony, it was already half past eleven.

Since the afternoon was occupied by the Children's Literature Award, the meal originally scheduled for the evening was arranged for noon.

The lunch gathering will be held in the banquet hall of the People's Hall.

Cheng Kaiyan, Ye Shengtao, Mao Dun, Zhang Guangnian, Ms. Xie, and Wang Meng sat together as a group of literary masters.

In the morning, Ye Shengtao, Bing Xin and others went to prepare for the Children's Literature Award in the afternoon, so they were not present.

He didn't come until lunchtime.

"This abalone is delicious! The prawns are good too."

This time, Cheng Kaiyan had the opportunity to attend the state banquet and enjoyed the meal very much.

"It's fine as long as you are used to it. You can pack up the leftovers and take them home."

Mr. Maodun, who was not far away, saw Cheng Kaiyan wolfing down the food and laughed heartily.

After the introduction, Mr. Mao Dun realized that the young man who had just called out his name was actually a student of his old friend.

"It's worthy of being a state banquet! Mr. Ye, please eat more of this cabbage, it's easier to digest. Let me help you with the fish and meat."

Cheng Kaiyan joked.

Ye Shengtao was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, "You little bastard! I'm not too old to eat meat!"

"Hahaha!"

Everyone at the table burst into laughter.

Thanks to Bin, who is both literary and martial, for the 5100-point reward.

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(End of this chapter)