Literary Master 1983

Chapter 261 Letter from Xisha
Reading a manuscript of over 100,000 words is no easy task, especially for Li Xiaolin who had to read it carefully. She spent two days reading this part and then passed it on to other members of the editorial department, who jointly produced a review report.

What are their opinions?

As Yu Qie predicted, he really enjoyed the story development of "Lurking," but questioned the necessity of the character "Li Ya's" existence.

The character "Li Ya" is brave, resourceful, and even has a belief—the belief of the Kuomintang. Such a character appearing in the 1980s would probably be much more troublesome than Yu Zecheng, a male character who came from the Kuomintang.

That's incredibly audacious!
Upon learning that Yu Qie was writing in the staff dormitory of the Shanghai Film Studio, Li Xiaolin led a group of people to bring over an electric fan and several kilograms of chilled watermelon. At that time, getting from downtown Shanghai to Pudong required a ferry ride, and because there were so many of them, it caused quite a commotion. *Harvest* magazine was the headquarters of Shanghai's literary magazines, attracting some beautiful female university students to work as editors. These girls were youthful and attractive, and their attire exuded a scholarly air.

As soon as I arrived at the door, I was greeted by the sounds of women, and the whole house smelled wonderful.

Yu Qie has become numb from seeing so many women lately. These days, magazine editors are increasingly inclined to hire female editors.

Gong Xue's younger sister, Gong Ying, who was keeping watch for her sister, immediately widened her eyes. No, one Guzilinur wasn't enough; how many female college students were there now?

What's the situation?
Gong Ying carried a box of fruit and braced herself as she made her way into Yu Qie's dormitory: "Bang bang!"

"Please come in."

Upon entering, Gong Ying quickly surveyed the female editors inside—ah! They're all so beautiful, local female college students raised in affluence. They're almost as good-looking as movie stars.

Li Xiaolin asked curiously, "Who is this comrade?"

“Gong Ying,” Yu Qie said, “the younger sister of film actress Gong Xue. They are both actresses at the Shanghai Film Studio, and there’s also an actress from Xinjiang Province… They all live in this staff dormitory and are my neighbors.”

Gong Ying nodded vigorously. "Our factory is also a collaborator of Mr. Yu... Mr. Yu. His novel was adapted into a film by our factory."

There were too many people in the room and not enough chairs, so Gong Ying borrowed some from everyone and also got a handful of melon seeds to share. The newly moved electric fan was placed on the coffee table, plugged in, and blasting cool air throughout the room.

Li Xiaolin chatted with Yu Qiedong for a while longer, and when he felt it was about time, he asked, "Teacher Yu, why are we writing about the character Li Ya?"

Yu Qie countered, "Why can't I write it?"

Li Xiaolin said, "We were already quite bold to set Yu Zecheng's background as an intelligence agent of the Military Intelligence Bureau. Fortunately, the plot was arranged very cleverly, and Yu Zecheng did not do anything bad. He quickly entered the organization's embrace, so after the novel was published, the public did not criticize it. In fact, we were once very nervous, fearing that someone would take it too seriously."

"But Li Ya is a different character. Before this, we had never written about enemy spies in a positive light. After the release, it will probably be met with some criticism."

Yu Qie said, "That's because you haven't seen the ending yet. Everyone has their own duties and their own masters. Li Ya is a tragic figure. In a way, he is Yu Zecheng who never met Zuo Lan. He could have made some beneficial contributions to this nation and country. However, an orange grown south of the Huai River is an orange, but grown north of the Huai River it becomes a trifoliate orange."

"His tragedy shouldn't be blamed solely on him. I hope that through this novel, the public can see the complexity of espionage. If, historically, the opposing side were all composed of incompetent fools, that would undoubtedly be inconsistent with the facts and undermine the seriousness of espionage. Our victory was not due to the incompetence of others, but because we were more capable."

Li Xiaolin pondered these words for a moment.

In the 1980s, many wealthy businessmen from overseas came to invest in the mainland, and many of them were the very "enemies" who had fled there. Society needed to eliminate this long-term hostile propaganda, and literary and artistic works also began to "break the ice" at this time.

"The Battle of Taierzhuang" is such a work. It is the first film to depict the positive achievements of the National Revolutionary Army in the War of Resistance against Japan from the perspective of the National Revolutionary Army.

A similar phenomenon occurred in the literary world. Shen Congwen and Zhang Ailing, a female writer who went into exile overseas, were initially overlooked by the mainland literary scene because their works did not strongly reflect class consciousness or political stance, and some even held opposing views. However, the literary world gradually began to pay attention to the artistic value of their works, and ultimately, decades later, a complete reversal occurred. These two became among the most outstanding writers of the Republic of China era.

Qian Zhongshu himself particularly admired Hu Shi, but was not fond of Lu Xun (rumored to be because he thought Lu Xun treated his first wife badly). After the reform and opening up, Hu Shi's collection of essays was published in mainland China after a long absence. In a conversation with a friend, Qian Zhongshu did not shy away from saying, "Hu Shi's reputation has finally been restored."

However, even with this trend, daring to write in this way carries risks.

Li Xiaolin said, "I hope you can write a piece on your creative insights and explain your ideas. We can publish it together in Harvest."

"Does Harvest magazine have that many pages? Are they going to release another extra-thick special issue?"

Li Xiaolin said, "Do you know how many copies of the last issue of Harvest magazine sold?"

Before Yu Qie could answer, Li Xiaolin said, "A million copies! Since its inception, Harvest magazine has never achieved such a result. Even now, Xinhua bookstores and post offices across the country are still urging us to print more. This book is now extremely difficult to find."

Yu Qie then agreed to the matter.

Now, in addition to writing novels, he also needs to write a self-analysis.

As mentioned earlier, getting into the city from Pudong required taking a ferry, which was quite time-consuming. Therefore, Gong Ying temporarily became Yu Qie's assistant, and whenever Yu Qie needed any documents, he would ask Gong Ying to fetch them for him.

For the next week, Gong Ying visited libraries of all sizes in Shanghai and met with many famous people who collected books.

This period was like discovering a new world for Gong Ying. She was a second or third-tier actress, far less famous than her older sister. From childhood, because her sister was prettier and more successful, even her parents valued her more, so she was very aware of the fickleness of human relationships.

Gong Ying visited Li Ziyun, the editor of "Shanghai Literature and Art," at his home. Upon learning that she represented Yu Qie, Li Ziyun was very polite to her: "You can take whatever you want from our magazine office, and you don't have to return it to us. By the way, where do you work?"

Gong Ying said, "I am an actress from the Shanghai Film Studio. I have acted in 'The Bao Family'."

Li Ziyun laughed and said, "The Bao Family is a good movie, and Zhang Tianyi (the original author) is also a good author, but to be honest, neither of them is as good as Teacher Yu. As an actor, you should talk to him more; it will definitely help you."

She went to Ba Jin's house again, and Ba Jin looked at her with new respect: "Oh, you were sent by Yu Qie? Help me pass on a message to Yu Qie, and tell him to hurry up and finish writing the rest of 'Lurking'."

Ba Jin's reputation was legendary, and Gong Ying dared not say much in his presence. She could only think to herself: Yu Qie is such a heartthrob, even more charming than my sister; everyone likes him. I hate people like that the most. She couldn't dislike her sister, of course, but she felt a strong aversion to Yu Qie, this enhanced version of a heartthrob.

Gong Ying also visited the editorial office of the magazine *Harvest*. The entire staff warmly welcomed her: "Are you Professor Yu's secretary?"

“I’m not Yu Qie’s secretary, I have nothing to do with him, I just run errands for him.”

"You're too kind. We have many letters addressed to Professor Yu. We've been sifting through them, but there are still many that require his assistance. We'd appreciate it if you could take them to him."

Gong Ying dared not open the letters. However, she could tell where they came from.

From Thailand, Japan, and even Colombia—heaven knows how they got here. To help Yu Qie with errands, Gong Ying bought a large map of Shanghai, listing all the city's landmarks.

This map, when flipped over, becomes a map of China.

Gong Ying used the addresses on the letters sent to Yu Qie to deduce which places across the country had Yu Qie's readers. She made a bet with her sister: "Sister, no matter how amazing Yu Qie is, this map will never be filled."

Her sister, Gong Xue, said, "You keep a close eye on it; there won't be a single one left."

The two sisters bought a box of toothpicks and stuck them onto a map whenever they got a new mailing address. The map quickly became covered in toothpicks, like a hedgehog, with no space left even in the most remote corners.

No, it seems there are some.

The mainland of our motherland is vast, surely there are readers who don't know Yu Qie? Gong Ying thought to herself, but for a moment she couldn't find where this place was.

Unexpectedly, a letter arrived from XSQD. It was signed by a soldier stationed on the island. In the 1970s, a conflict broke out between the mainland and Vietnam, which occupied the area. The mainland recovered the three islands and has been stationed there ever since. Life on the island is extremely harsh. Fresh water and food have to be transported from the nearby mainland. Sometimes the tide rises so high that half of the soldiers' ankles are submerged in the sea.

The long-term deployment, lacking fruits and vegetables to supplement vitamins, caused some to develop night blindness and their lips to fall off. Even so, they tried their best to listen to the radio and talk about novels coming from the inland areas hundreds of kilometers away.

Yu Qie valued this letter highly, setting aside an entire evening to reply, and even opened it in front of several female comrades. Gong Ying, with her sharp eyes, stood on tiptoe to look, but Yu Qie noticed and said, "Are you trying to see what's written on this?"

Gong Ying nodded honestly: "I want to see."

Yu Qie said, "After I reply, you can take a look."

Unexpectedly, Yu Qie took so long to reply. Gong Ying waited there for several hours before finally receiving the letter and Yu Qie's reply. She returned to her dormitory, turned on the light, and shared the letter with her sister, Gong Xue.

Gong Xue exclaimed happily, "I've won this time! Even XSQD has a dedicated readership. Our current map only goes as far south as Hainan Island, but XSQD is located even further south than the map! He's already surpassed the map, little sister, you've completely lost!"

"Yu Qie is indeed formidable," Gong Ying sighed.

The letter from XSQD reads:

“Teacher Yu, there’s a prevailing trend in society where everything is about money, which sometimes makes us forget the importance of faith. We are a few ordinary soldiers stationed in XSQD. Besides studying documents and spiritual matters, our biggest hobby is reading novels… We have always been your loyal readers.”

"Your novel 'Lurking' has already reached us. Yu Zecheng's unwavering faith has greatly inspired us. Steel is not forged from the start, and warriors are not made overnight. Yu Zecheng was a small man, an ordinary intellectual, yet he was willing to risk his life for his beliefs and gradually became a reliable underground agent."

"We are writing this letter specifically to thank you for writing such a wonderful novel. Respectfully yours."

Enclosed in the letter were several red fingerprints of soldiers. Yu Qie had encountered similar bloody fingerprints before when he visited Laoshan to offer his condolences.

In the military, it was common to use "blood oath" to express one's determination, signifying that one was not afraid of sacrifice or bloodshed.

What did Yu Qie reply with?
He first introduced Ma Shitu, the real-life inspiration for Yu Zecheng, then talked about Ma Shitu's first wife, Liu Yiqing, stating that "historical figures are even more legendary than those in novels." Finally, he left his fingerprint and wrote: "One day, you will also become characters in someone else's book, but I hope you will return safely."

That's how he motivates others.

Gong Xue, being a member of the arts troupe, was practically a soldier herself. After reading Yu Qie's reply, she couldn't help but press the letter to her chest and say, "I really like what Yu Qie said. He's a noble person. Xu Chi's report said that Yu Qie's standard of living is close to that of a wealthy man in Hong Kong, yet he can still get along well with his comrades at any time. To be honest, I really like him! And I admire him!"

Gong Xue said with lingering interest, "Ever since I spent time with Yu Qie, I've found it hard to be attracted to other men. They can't compare to Yu Qie in any way."

Gong Ying fell silent.

Does that mean Yuqie is just so-so?
Others might think that a madman is talking.

Moreover, Gong Ying herself gradually changed her opinion of Yu Qie.

The novel "Lurking" is sparking a "question of faith." The various revolutionary fighters and even villains portrayed in the novel are vividly depicted. Their sacrifices are sudden and swift, leaving a deep impression on readers.

Shopkeeper Qiu, Station Master Wu, Wanqiu, Xie Ruolin… Readers enthusiastically discussed these characters, giving rise to numerous factions. For a time, the public studied this novel almost like they were studying "Dream of the Red Chamber."

The dialogue in the novel is also quite outrageous, seemingly constantly interrogating the reader:
You have two gold bars in front of you. Look at them and tell me which one is hypocritical and which one is noble.
In mid-September, the military newspaper published a letter between XSQD soldiers and Yu Qie. It quoted the saying, "Death is inevitable for everyone, but its weight can be heavier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather."

And commented: "Your name is unknown, but your deeds will live on forever."

Subsequently, the Guangming Daily in the south once again reported on Liu Yiqing, the teacher's wife of Yu Qie, and at the same time, it also mentioned Ma Shitu, an old man who now only knows how to play bridge and write memoirs.

(End of this chapter)