Literary Master 1983

Chapter 260 The Sisters' All-Round Monitoring

"The factory said you live here, right next to me, so they sent me to express their regards on behalf of the factory."

Guzilinuerdao.

"Several other actors will also be here today."

Are there more people coming?
"Who?"

"It should be two female comrades, Gong Xue and Gong Ying! There might be others as well."

Ok!

Yu Qiegang was still wondering if it was a bit inappropriate for a man and a woman to be alone in a room when a few more women arrived.

Guzilinur was still panting; the heat was unbearable for her. Yu Qie invited her in to sit down. "I have a problem. It's so hot now that it's soaked my manuscript paper. People will think I was crying a lot while writing the novel, not that I was just hot."

Guzilinur reacted quickly; her eyes scanned the surroundings and she immediately spotted the large palm-leaf fan on Yu Qie's desk. She snatched the fan and began fanning Yu Qie.

"No, Guzilinur..."

"You can just call me Comrade Gu! Or you can call me Little Gu!"

"Comrade Gu, I can see you're getting really hot too, and you're still fanning me..."

Guzilinur wiped her sweat while forcing a smile: "It's alright. Teacher Yu, I'm from Xinjiang Province, and you know I'm particularly heat-resistant. Just imagine me as a cactus."

"Moreover, your wisdom and thoughts are invaluable and should not be affected by the weather. I have read your recently published work, 'Lurking,' which is truly well written."

Guzilinur blinked, her face displaying a very serious expression.

This is something Yu Qie was unaware of. Back when Xinjiang was liberated, underground work was of paramount importance. The 63 film "Visitors on the Ice Mountain" tells the story of how border soldiers and Platoon Leader Yang outwitted and outfought the spy fake Gulandam, ultimately achieving victory.

Guzilinur grew up reading these kinds of works; she has seen far more anti-espionage literature than readers in mainland China. She said, “Our factory’s conditions aren’t good, so we can only ask you to make do for now. You don’t need to worry about what I’m doing; just focus on your creative work. I’ll be happy to look back on it in the future.”

After saying that, she moved a stool and sat down next to Yu Qie, making sure her gaze was not on Yu Qie's manuscript so as not to see the masterpiece he was writing.

Then, Guzilinur slowly fanned herself without saying a word.

A gentle breeze blew past Yu Qie. He pressed down his manuscript paper, managing to suppress the wind, but he couldn't completely hide the fragrance emanating from Gu Zilinuer; a faint scent lingered. The actress was about Yu Qie's age, perhaps a year or two older, and was at the peak of her beauty. Since coming to Shanghai, she had adopted the inland style of dress, which further enhanced her elegance. She obediently fanned herself, completely absorbed, as if performing a sacred act.

Yu Qie suddenly remembered: There was no information about Guzilinur in the original timeline, only that she was a member of the Xinjiang class. After graduation, she returned to the Tianshan Film Studio to shoot a few movies before retiring from acting. Her most famous role was "the concubine of the Sun Khan and the Qiyan Khan", and then there was no news of her.

In the past, this actress would only be unearthed in those old posts, as one of the iconic beauties of state-owned film studios in the 1980s. Then a bunch of lurking netizens would leave comments exclaiming: "Damn, the times have buried beauty! Isn't she better than Diana or Zara?"

Now, because he has properly stayed in Shanghai, he has found a good job, second only to the Beijing Film Studio.

How much of the actress's self-comfort was genuine?

There might be some.

Yu Qie confirmed with her, "Guzilinur, you live in the staff dormitory, so you must be an actress at the Shanghai Film Studio?"

Guzilinur laughed and said, "I was a student in the class of '81. After graduating in July, I was originally going to go back to Tianshan Film Studio. But because of the movie 'Children of Heaven,' Shanghai Film Studio wanted to take me. In a few years, I will save enough money to bring my parents here as well."

This actress is quite filial.

Yu Qie didn't think about it anymore and focused his attention back on the novel.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In the evening, the two sisters, Gong Xue and Gong Ying, also came to the staff dormitory.

Looking at the Khrushchev Building, which resembled a factory, the two sisters said, "Yu Qie lives here. It's really tough on him."

Gong Ying said, "I still live here. Am I making him suffer? Although the place is a bit remote, it has everything. It's not hard for him at all."

"He's a great writer, a literary giant who shakes hands with high-ranking officials. Why would he have to worry about mundane matters?"

"I know, I know! Only you would idolize him like that!"

Following the address, the two knocked on Yuqie's door. When the door opened, it was Guzilinur; the two sisters were immediately dumbfounded!

Fortunately, Guzilinur explained first: "I just arrived in Shanghai and happen to be staying here. The factory manager asked me to come and take a look first. Since you're here, I'll go out and buy some food for Teacher Yu. He had duck blood vermicelli soup for lunch, but hasn't eaten anything for dinner yet."

That would be great!
Gong Ying was already somewhat dissatisfied with Yu Qie, and wanted to bring her sister and Yu Qie together, so her eyes lit up when she heard this: "I'll go with you."

"Where's your sister?"

"Let her and Yu Qie stay."

Guzilinuer turned to Gong Xue and said, "Teacher Yu's current difficulty is mainly due to the hot weather. We must help him overcome this problem."

Gong Xue immediately grabbed a fan and started fanning herself... Seeing this scene of a talented man and a beautiful woman, Gong Ying could only roll her eyes and pulled Gu Zilinuer away.

"boom!"

After closing the door and walking a short distance, Gong Ying asked Gu Zilinuer, "Ever since my sister started that reading group, she's made a big fuss about Yu Qie, and the whole factory knows about it. So why are you serving Yu Qie now?"

Guzilinur noticed Gong Ying's disrespect first, and her face turned pale: "How could you address Teacher Yu by his name?"

"That's what we should call him! He's not older than me."

Guzilinuer said, "I didn't serve Teacher Yu. It was the factory that gave me instructions to come and visit him."

However, Guzilinur said something that made Gong Ying angry: "Even if the factory doesn't say anything, if I find out that Teacher Yu has been staying here recently, I will find a way to take care of him."

"What are you after? Are you some kind of artsy youth?"

Guzilinur shook her head: "I do like reading novels, but not because of this."

"Then why?"

"You're a local from Shanghai, right?"

"So what if it is?"

“These days, we only hear about people from the inland supporting the border regions, rarely about those from the border regions being transferred back to the inland, let alone directly to Shanghai. I’m from the border region, and I only came to the capital to go to university. My parents used all their connections to send me there, and then they knew they would have to go back someday, which worried them terribly. The capital is truly wonderful, incredibly wonderful, and so is Shanghai. If you didn’t live in Shanghai, if you were like me… you’d know that Teacher Yu is a lifelong benefactor.” To be fair, Gong Ying wasn’t one to argue unnecessarily. After listening, she sighed and said, “You did stay because of him, but that doesn’t mean you have to serve him. Didn’t luck play a part in his choice of you? It must have been a mutual arrangement.”

Guzilinur said, "I didn't see luck. What I saw was that whoever Teacher Yu wanted to stay in the crew could stay. Whoever he didn't like had to leave."

These words silenced Gong Ying.

Yes, now the factory is sending people to visit and comfort Yuqie, isn't it?

It's called a gesture of condolence, but how can it not be considered ingratiating?
The film industry is facing such difficulties that even a powerful studio like the Shanghai Film Studio is in crisis. Prices rose throughout last year, but the studio's allowances did not increase accordingly. The studio gave actors a meal allowance of ten yuan a month, which works out to 33 cents a day. In 1981, that could buy a bowl of beef noodles with a tea egg, but now a bowl of noodles is not enough; you have to pay an extra five cents, and there is less meat than before.

If this continues, in five or ten years, Sanmao San might only be able to buy one pancake.

Those who write novels can earn at least two yuan a day just for "editing the manuscript," with food and drink included, not to mention other royalties. It's simply outrageous; actors have absolutely no chance of standing up to novelists.

The neighboring Shanghai Fine Arts Factory used hundreds of people and spent hundreds of thousands of yuan to make "The Legend of the Heavenly Book," almost bankrupting the factory. Yet Yu Qie has almost donated hundreds of thousands of yuan. This is a donation!
When will these unfair times finally end?

Guzilinuer said, "In short, I am especially grateful to Teacher Yu. It would be difficult to repay him no matter what I do. I sincerely hope that he will get better."

As she said this, even though it was night, Gong Ying felt that Guzilinuer's eyes were shining, full of longing.

Are novelists really that charismatic?

Not wanting to make a fool of herself, Gong Ying and Gu Zilinuer found some late-night snacks and brought them back for Yu Qie. Her sister was diligently fanning Yu Qie, just like a virtuous wife and loving mother.

Seeing the two return, Gong Xue began to tidy up the table and set out the food for "Teacher Yu" to sit down.

In reality, her older sister Gong Xue was very pampered at home. She never lifted a finger and couldn't even cook. Gong Ying did all the cooking, let alone serving others. When an actor named Zhang Tielin pursued her, Gong Xue used the excuse that "I can't cook" to politely reject him.

Now he can even serve people.

Gong Ying felt that the world was going crazy.

By the time Yu Qie finished eating, it was already quite late. None of the three women felt comfortable staying any longer, so Gong Xue led the way in saying goodbye to Yu Qie. Then she watched Gu Zilinuer leave, and then watched Gong Ying leave.

—No, you're even guarding against me?
My younger sister, Gong Ying, is a little vulnerable.

Late at night, the two sisters slept together. It was so hot that night that Gong Xue tossed and turned and couldn't sleep, and Gong Ying also started to feel a bit neurasthenic.

No wonder Yu Qie couldn't stand it; it was indeed too hot.

Suddenly, Gong Xue said, "I'm going to the restroom."

Their dormitory didn't have a bathroom, only a large toilet at the end of a dozen or so rooms down the corridor. The lights were off the whole way, and the clothes that other employees were hanging out to dry cast ghostly shadows in the moonlight. Gong Xue was terrified of these things.

"Sister, shall I go with you?" Gong Ying said.

Gong Xue said, "I can go by myself. You can stay here and lie down."

Gong Xue seemed to disappear without a trace, returning only twenty minutes later.

"Where did you go? To take a dump?" Gong Ying asked.

"I'm just browsing around." Gong Xue blushed.

After a while, Gong Ying was finally about to fall asleep when her sister got up again and said, "I need to go to the bathroom."

"You're up again? I haven't seen you drink much water today."

Why do you care about these things?

Then, another twenty minutes passed, and Gong Ying finally fell asleep before Gong Xue returned.

That was bad enough, but a little while later, Gong Xue actually wanted to get up.

Gong Ying finally couldn't take it anymore:

"—What exactly did you go about? Sister, tell me the truth."

"Shall I go check if Yu Qie is asleep?"

"It takes that long?"

"Also, check on that actress from Xinjiang. See if she secretly went to talk to Yu Qie—I was really shocked when she was with Yu Qie during the day."

Gong Ying was speechless: "They're just grateful, not in love. Don't overthink it. Besides, what's your role in this?"

Gong Xue ignored the second half of her sister's sentence and only answered the first half: "There is a very famous writer in 'October' named Zhang Xian. I heard that he is a bad guy who harasses the actresses in our Shanghai area and doesn't even spare the female directors. He is very generous and always throws gold chains and gold bracelets at people... Yu Qie is a hundred times better than Zhang Xian. After spending a lot of time with him, even those who didn't have any ideas will start to have them."

Gong Ying thought carefully about how Gulizinuer was during the day, and realized that she was indeed prone to making mistakes.

She said that Yu Qie was a great benefactor and she had no way to repay him. If she had the chance to spend every day with him, how would she repay him in the end?
Gong Ying was startled: "You're right, we have to be wary of her."

Her sister's situation is already very bad; she can't afford any more competitors.

Subsequently, the two sisters began their underground struggle, like secret agents lying in wait in their dormitory, carrying out a top-secret mission known only to themselves. Their first mission was to disrupt Yu Qie's connections with other actresses in Shanghai; their second mission was to secure a long-term victory.

The sisters adopted Xie Jin's "relentless pursuit" tactic, and after settling in, they made sure to find an excuse to meet with Yu Qie at least once or twice a day. They kept a constant, multi-dimensional watch on Guzilinur.

Of the three actresses, Gong Xue's fame goes without saying, as she frequently attends various events; Gu Zilinuer is also quite famous because of "Children of Heaven" and is often called upon to do other things; only Gong Ying has the most free time.

In the end, it was actually this younger sister who spent the most time with Yu Qie.

To have something to talk about with Yu Qie, Gong Ying read some of his novels. She used to read them because of her sister, but now she was actively seeking them out. Unlike her sister, Gong Ying preferred martial arts novels to traditional literature, so she wasn't initially very interested in Yu Qie.

However, Yu Qie had written some highly narrative novels that still seem relevant today, and Gong Ying soon understood why the factory valued Yu Qie so much.

Compared to other playwrights of the same era, Yu Qie's novels were much more suitable for adaptation, no wonder Xie Jin had been asking him for so long.

Yu Qie is indeed talented.

The more she thought about it, the more dangerous her sister's situation became.

Meanwhile, Yu Qie also showed the second part to the editorial department of *Harvest* magazine, which happened to include several appearances of Yu Zecheng's opponent, Li Ya. Compared to his previous articles, this was another breakthrough.

(End of this chapter)