Literary Master 1983

Chapter 242 The Shock of Two Endings

What makes the novel "Returning to One's Roots" so good?
Zhang Shouren was a traditional editor, and his views leaned towards literary techniques. He felt that this article had reached the level of profound simplicity, like "Children of Heaven," which is the realm that writers only realize in their forties or fifties.

And it happened to a person in their early twenties.

How could Yu Qie be so arrogant? Maybe it's because he's from Wanxian.

Wang Meng, however, thought differently. He wasn't a traditional editor; he was the editor-in-chief of a mainstream national literary journal and a leader in the cultural sector. In his view, the greatest value of this novel lay in its prophetic revelation of the future.

Since the reform and opening up, despite numerous economic fluctuations, the trend of urbanization is evident. Countless first-generation people are moving from rural areas to cities, and the shackles between towns and villages are beginning to break down. However, they sometimes feel out of place, and in their frustration, they yearn for their hometowns and romanticize rural life.

There's smoke rising from chimneys and loved ones there; it's a paradise where there's no heavy labor and crops are easy to grow... Of course, that's not the case.

"Root-Seeking Literature" is a product born under this social trend, and Yu Qie has grasped the essence of the matter and raised the question: Please think about what our home is.

Is it that piece of land, or the place where my children and my family are...?

Overwhelmed with emotion, Wang Meng wiped away her tears as she thought: Why did Yu Qie set up an open ending? Why didn't he answer this question?

Because Yu Qie is not qualified to answer, no one can answer, only this era itself can answer.

On stage, Yu Qie was fabricating another ending for the printing factory workers. He imagined the world twenty years later, after the millennium: "Let's think about it, by then the dam will have been built, and the dead Lao Liu and the still working Lao Zhao will have moved to a different place."

“There is a saying in history that ‘Huguang filled Sichuan Province’. In fact, if we trace back to the source, Lao Liu and Lao Zhao may not be from Sichuan Province. Their family moved to Sichuan Province hundreds of years ago and settled upstream of the giant dam. Then they moved back to the middle and lower reaches. Could this be considered a kind of homecoming—a homecoming from hundreds of years ago?”

The printing factory workers burst into laughter, and then, in unison, they uttered the word "Go home."

Yu Qie added, "Let's think about what will happen to their children? Old Liu's family lost their able-bodied members and received government assistance, but later became an extremely impoverished family. His children grew up, were admitted to military academies, and entered the system..."

The workers grinned and said, "Not good enough, not good enough. He needs a city residency permit, he needs a city wife..."

"No problem!" Yu Qie promised everything like a fortune teller. "Old Liu's son became a state-owned enterprise worker after retiring from his professional training, or maybe he's known as Uncle Hat. Of course he has a wife; he's a government employee!"

"Good, good!" The workers clapped excitedly.

Yu Qie then spoke of Old Zhao's child: "In the novel, Old Zhao is a bachelor. He meets a widow with a daughter who is studying finance. I think Old Zhao should be able to start a family with her... Then, his daughter changes her mind and acknowledges Old Zhao as her father..."

"well!"

The workers applauded even more enthusiastically.

Yu Qie said, "Old Zhao's daughter later became an accountant, worked for a large company in Hong Kong, and then for a foreign company. She got a Shanghai hukou (household registration). Twenty years later, she brought Old Zhao and her mother to Shanghai... Old Zhao became a Shanghai resident. He planned to become a 'bangbang' (porter) in Shanghai, which is what we call a laborer in our area... But Old Zhao was too old to do it anymore. However, twenty years ago, the government allocated Old Zhao's family a resettlement house in the suburbs of Shanghai. That house later became worth a fortune, and he became a millionaire, even richer than his college-educated daughter!"

Wang Meng and Zhang Shouren burst into laughter upon hearing this, exchanging glances: Yu Qie really talks a lot of nonsense! He's said all sorts of things!
Who knows if what Yu Qie said was true?

If in this day and age there really was someone who traveled all over China, brought his fellow worker's ashes back to his hometown, and attracted nationwide attention... wouldn't he still be able to get a Shanghai household registration and resettlement housing on Chongming Island?
At that time, Chongming Island was full of snakes, and many people refused the opportunity when the household registration was first allocated.

Yu Qie stood here, making a wish for the printing factory workers below.

Someone asked, "Old Zhao was so hungry on the way that he almost fainted. You have to make sure he has vegetables and meat to eat his fill from now on!"

"He will definitely be able to eat his fill, and hunger will no longer be a problem for workers and farmers."

"Where is Old Zhao's new house?"

"It must have home appliances, hot water, and a transparent window that allows you to see outside!"

"The three essential items? A sewing machine, a bicycle, and a radio... oh no! A television!"

"There must be one, there must be one! Old Zhao's family even has a tricycle and a big color TV, so a sewing machine is naturally not a problem!"

The workers couldn't help but dream: Old Zhao's life is so good! What kind of life is this! Moreover, a surge of enthusiasm welled up in their hearts, feeling that "this is all thanks to me," and "I made sure Old Zhao got such a good life from under Yu Qie's nose!"

Although this wasn't written down, Yu Qie's words were enough to satisfy them.

Old Zhao is going to be so happy in the future!

"Are you satisfied with this ending?" Yu Qie asked.

"Satisfied! Extremely satisfied!" the printing factory workers replied.

"Are you really satisfied?"

"I couldn't be more satisfied!"

Someone shouted, "Old Zhao, Old Liu's life has been so worthwhile! They have food to eat and clothes to wear, and their children are even happier than us!"

As one can imagine, Yu Qie also showed a complicated smile when he heard these words.

He eventually calmed the printing factory workers' strike down. The workers even volunteered to work overtime for this outcome, since Yu Qie had written one for them for free, without asking for a single penny.

That night, the Yanjing Xinhua Printing Factory echoed with the workers' songs, and everyone was full of energy.

Some people recited the poem Old Zhao had once read: "If my hometown were a main road, I would be a car..."

"I run and run, how happy I am!"

……

Factory Director Gao approached Yu Qiedao and said, “Our workers are of very high quality, and it’s extremely rare for them to get upset, but every time it happens, it’s a real problem… They have the ability to buy novels to read, and they also have the ability to damage the printing of novels. Sometimes it’s really a headache! Teacher Yu, you write so well, and you edit so well!”

"When your novel is published as a standalone book in the future, please be sure to entrust this task to our printing plant. We will definitely use the best paper to print it!"

“Of course it should be published as a standalone book!” Wang Meng replied. “Only by publishing a standalone book can more people see this kind of novel.”

Zhang Shouren was about to say: "Are you ever going to stop? You're arguing over magazine first releases, and you're arguing over standalone books! What right do you have to say that?"

Wang Meng seemed to have known Zhang Shouren's intentions all along, and turned to him, saying, "I have decided to publish the ending that Yu Qiexin has written. Our People's Literature is geared towards the masses. Although we aim to be at the forefront of literature and art, we are always a more mainstream and popular publication. We have many rural intellectual readers."

"Yu Qieyuan's original ending was certainly good, but this one is more in line with the tone of People's Literature."

Zhang Shouren was also quite satisfied; he genuinely felt the original ending was better. Yu Qie's current narrative has become an adult fairy tale, while the original retained more of its literary quality. *October* is a purely literary magazine, requiring no compromise. Are the "avant-garde" and "stream of consciousness" works produced by a bunch of writers from advanced training programs truly intended for a general audience?

"October" has always had a certain threshold.

He said, "I don't need to argue with you. Let's both post them and see whose rating is higher!"

On the 10th, "Fallen Leaves Return to Their Roots" was published in both *People's Literature* and *October* magazines. This was unprecedented; at that time, there had never been a case of simultaneous publication in two magazines, or a first publication in two magazines. This was because pulp and page space were extremely precious.

That's exactly what Yu Qie did with his novel!

"A new novel! Yu Qie's new novel is out!" At Yanda University, the novel spread throughout the entire campus as soon as it was released.

Literature enthusiasts forgot about reviewing their studies; they had to finish reading the article first. Liu Zhenyun, a second-year graduate student and the current head of the "New Reality" club, was among the first to see the novel.

Do you still remember Liu Zhenyun's "Tapu"?

He always felt that his novel was an imitation of "College Entrance Examination 1977," and that he lived in Yu Qie's shadow.

Liu Zhenyun's novel style is most like a movie script. He also feels most influenced by Yu Qie. Like Cha Liangyong's martial arts dramas, Yu Qie's novels often have very obvious spatial and chronological relationships, which provides his novels with unparalleled popularity.

To put it simply, it's about creating a vivid image.

Among the many students in the training course, Liu Zhenyun wasn't as conspicuous as Yu Hua or Su Tong, but he was a big fan of Yu Qie's novels. This quiet and reserved writer was engrossed in reading Yu Qie's work.

Of course he was reading People's Literature!
When Liu Zhenyun saw that Lao Zhao and Lao Liu both had a good life in the end, he couldn't help but smile and shake his head.

In his opinion, Yu Qie was still a bit "overwritten," but the story was still a good one. In particular, the interplay of humor and detachment was something he couldn't write yet.

Suddenly, a freshman girl ran over breathlessly and said, "President Liu, you wrote another ending, in 'October'!"

"What?" Liu Zhenyun was taken aback.

Can you still play like this?
He then picked up a copy of "October," flipped to the last page, and sure enough, the story ended with Old Zhao setting off on his new journey—perfect timing. All the problems Liu Zhenyun had worried about had already been considered by Yu Qie.

But at this moment, he couldn't help but read the People's Literature edition again, and this time he suddenly felt a sense of satisfaction. This satisfaction was not from literary analysis, but purely from the satisfaction of being a reader.

Liu Zhenyun sighed, "What kind of ending do you like?"

Without hesitation, the freshman replied, "Of course, it's a happy ending!"

"Wait a minute, 'October' doesn't have a bad ending. It just leaves a question for people to discuss. This is actually the core of the whole novel. Without this ending, there would be no novel."

The freshman said, "I know, I know! I'm a literature major too! But I just love happy endings. I have to see them all reunited before I'm satisfied! Yu Qie satisfied me!"

……

The movie "Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots" has two endings?

The news spread quickly, naturally sparking comparisons among readers. *People's Literature* and *October* were being fought over, much to the delight of the class. They read the novel once, then again, and couldn't help but share their opinions:

"The People's Literature edition is great; everyone is happy and content. I even slept well after reading it!"

"Bullshit! Of course 'October' is better. Yu Qie is from Wanxian! The dam hasn't been built yet, and he made those dumplings just for that bowl of vinegar!"

Zhang Shouren, the deputy editor-in-chief of "October," and Wang Meng both have something to say.

They published their views in the "Literary Gazette" one after another, as literary critics.

Zhang Shouren wrote: "The novel's subject matter is very innovative. Upon first reading, it reminds me of the French novel 'Boule de Suif', or even the Greek novel 'The Odyssey,' where heroes encounter extraordinary things on their conquests... But in this novel, it is ordinary people who encounter ordinary things. There may have been novels like this before, but none are as mature as Yu Qie's."

"The humorous plot intertwines with the stark reality, and Yu Qie depicts the myriad aspects of life of migrant workers in Southwest China. Perhaps these are stories he encountered or heard on his journeys home? Like Ma Shitu, he incorporated these elements into his novels... In short, humor makes the novel accessible to a wider audience, while serious discussions provide the story's literary value."

"As a continuation of 'The Way Out' and 'Reunion,' this novel, written in a small county town and about migrant workers, is a perfect ending. People are often good at growing from small to large, but it is much more difficult to grow from large to small."

Wang Meng emphasized the "prophecy": "There are a few things that have nothing to do with literature, but you will think about them after reading the novel."

"First, should we repair the dam? I said, yes."

"Secondly, what is our hometown? I would say, our hometown is where our family is."

"Thirdly, am I also an 'immigrant'?"

Wang Meng then replied, “The dam is a tangible thing, but what will drive us to leave in the future is something intangible. Aren’t you and I really immigrants? One day we will all be immigrants.”

The novel has become a hot topic of public discussion, bringing the question of whether or not to repair the dam back into the mainstream spotlight.

The Academy of Sciences has even gotten involved in Yu Qie's novel.

On the banks of the Jinling River, Lin Bingnan, then head of the expert group for the dam's sediment assessment and later Academician Lin, was urged to read Yu Qie's novel while inspecting the sediment accumulation downstream.

His colleague told him, "Team Leader Lin, Yu Qie wrote a novel that is actually related to the dam. That's how I found out he's from Wanxian. His place will be the main relocation site in the future."

"Because Wanxian is the gateway to the upstream area, if it's going to be flooded, the only place that can be flooded first is his hometown."

Lin Bingnan, of course, knew Yu Qie, and he immediately said, "Is Yu Qie going to write a novel to criticize us?"

"No, no, he wrote a very touching novel. It's well written."

Lin Bingnan shook his head again: "I'm busy writing a special research report for the higher authorities, and I'm afraid I won't have time to read Yu Qie's novel. We still don't know if we can completely solve the problem of siltation downstream... We've mobilized hundreds of experts from all over the country to work together on this issue, and the burden is too heavy. I really don't have the mood to read novels!"

But his colleagues insisted that he read it. Lin Bingnan had no choice but to read it intermittently in his spare time. Once he started, he couldn't put it down, and two or three days later he finally finished the novel. Walking along the riverbank in Jinling, he was overjoyed:

"Personally, I don't think the siltation is a problem; we have the ability to solve it. What I'm really worried about is the cultural barrier, which is impossible to quantify. Yu Qie's novel actually helped me out!"

Lin Bingnan sent an express mail to comrades in expert groups across the country to read the novel, and also introduced the novel to the central government members who were reading the report.

(End of this chapter)