Literary Master 1983

Chapter 291 He will kill us
As the head of the delegation, Yu Qie demanded that Gu Hua's actions be immediately recognized as defection.

This resolute idea sparked a debate within the group. "Gu Hua is a good person, he was just confused for a moment!" Many people shared this view, and although they didn't say it aloud, they actually supported Gu Hua through their actions.

The shock of arriving in the United States made everyone feel sympathy for Gu Hua. If Colombia could be shocking, then the prosperity of the United States at this time was even more impressive.

Just as Gu Hua said to Zhang Xianliang, this place is so wonderful, you can make so much money here, it's a true paradise on earth.

As a writer, you only need to seize the opportunities offered by others and write some commissioned articles to earn tens of thousands of US dollars, enough to buy ten courtyard houses in China.

No matter who comes here, they can't help but get lost.

Such a person should be given a chance. The delegation will stay in the United States until next month, during which time Gu Hua still has a chance to turn over a new leaf.

However, three days later, everyone saw on the news that Gu Hua had appeared at the University of Iowa, 2,000 kilometers away, to participate in an international writing exchange program organized by Nie Hualing.

The United States is a country with dense populations on both sides of the coast, while the middle is a vast plain and desert. Boston is a northeastern city, while Iowa is in the Midwest. More than 2,000 kilometers is equivalent to flying from the northeastern interior to a border province. This shows that Gu Hua's departure was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but a long-term plan, and there may even be someone to meet him.

Gu Hua's "disappearance" mobilized even international students still in the United States to search for him. A group of students from Yenching University who were studying at the University of Iowa learned through them that Gu Hua had begun writing a historical novel. Under the guidance of the foundation, he was working as a hired writer, rewriting novels that others had asked him to write.

He has reached the end that no one wanted to see, becoming a government-appointed political writer.

This kind of person is like the Fiji Cup; you know it's fake, but you still spend a lot of money to buy the thrill he creates. He has degenerated into a character worse than a prostitute.

Qian Zhongshu, who had given up the exorbitantly priced course costing $160,000 per term, angrily exclaimed, "If I had known he was like this, I would never have brought him! I wish I could kill him!"

Zhang Xianliang apologized to Yu Qie, practically kneeling down. "I've been with this person day and night, but I never realized he had such wicked intentions! I simply don't know how to face everyone! Especially the impact this has had on Commander Yu!"

Liu Shahe became concerned about whether Yu Qie's resume would be affected by Gu Hua: First of all, Gu Hua was far away from the emperor, and no one could control him.

Furthermore, if Gu Hua were to become a lecturer or professor at the University of Iowa, it would be very undignified for everyone.

So what if we get an international student to beat this person up?

That won't work either, because this is someone else's territory, and all actions must be restricted. Doing so could easily cause a diplomatic incident.

Liu Shahe felt sad: "If someone leaves without saying a word like him again, we will have almost no way to deal with them! No wonder we used to choose trustworthy people to go abroad."

That's for sure; there were even instances where an entire delegation ran away – and there was still no way to stop it.

Only Yu Qie was very confident. He said, "Gu Hua won't get anything good here. He will have to make money by writing novels at first. His audience happens to be readers who can also understand Chinese. If his novels are not popular, either Nie Hualing will support him for the rest of his life, or he will starve to death."

But this is easier said than done.

What kind of person is Gu Hua?

Before 1985, he was an excellent writer who wrote many popular novels such as "Hibiscus Town" and "The Wooden House Covered with Ivy". After that, Gu Hua's creative power declined, but he gradually participated in the creation of derivative products such as film, television and stage plays.

Gu Hua was one of the few talents of this period who could work across multiple fields; otherwise, he would not have been valued by the foundation.

Gu Hua's "departure" has caused a huge uproar in China. His novel "Hibiscus Town" was originally being filmed in mainland China, but because of this news, the film, which was halfway through production, was ordered to stop.

In fact, this movie was already in a precarious state.

Xie Jin was the director of the film, and Jiang Wen was the male lead. During the filming of this movie, Jiang Wen, who had a thing for mature women, began a relationship with actress Liu Xiaoqing, who was already married and had a husband who had been a reconnaissance soldier.

After their public relationship on set became a big scandal, Liu Xiaoqing's ex-wife came to the set with a knife, demanding that Jiang Wen be handed over, and that she would kill Jiang Wen first, and then kill herself.

Jiang Wen hid inside a house, the outer door locked. His hiding place was quickly discovered by his wife. Jiang Wen pleaded with her to let him go, but to no avail. So, Jiang Wen shouted through the door:

Do you know Yu Qie?

The original wife had worked as an editor, so of course she knew Yu Qie. "You know Teacher Yu, he's my role model, so what? Even if Teacher Yu comes to plead for you today, I'll still kill you."

Jiang Wen said, "Which do you think is more important, national affairs or personal feelings?"

“Both are important! But if you insist on choosing one… of course it’s national affairs. Do you even deserve to be involved in national affairs?” the first wife said.

Jiang Wen immediately chimed in: "Our screenwriter, Gu Hua, went to the United States for a visit. It's said that while in Columbia, he reported Yu Qie, almost getting Yu Qie imprisoned! Luckily, Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez protected him! It's said that Márquez fired three shots to save him!"

"Huh? What?" The original wife was also dumbfounded.

Jiang Wen spoke very quickly at this moment, not daring to be distracted for a moment: "Gu Hua committed such a serious crime, but in the end he wrote an apology letter to Teacher Yu by hand, and Teacher Yu accepted it. Since you regard Teacher Yu as a role model, shouldn't you learn from his magnanimity?"

Jiang Wen said, "Although I'm dating Liu Xiaoqing, I haven't hurt you. This isn't some international incident! I'll write you an apology letter, put my bloody handprint on it, swear I'll never do it again, and I'll kowtow to you three times. Can you please let me go?"

The wife sighed and didn't say anything. Jiang Wen then quickly wrote an apology letter. When he slipped the letter under the door and showed it to the wife, she actually forgave him.

"I spared your life entirely because of Yu Qie, Teacher Yu!" the original wife said.

Thus, the filming of "Hibiscus Town" was always filled with this atmosphere of impending explosion. Liu Xiaoqing's wife would come to the set every day to keep an eye on Jiang Wen and Liu Xiaoqing... The atmosphere during filming was extremely oppressive.

Then new news came from the United States: the original author had defected.

The film must be stopped immediately! Filming can no longer continue.

Months of hard work went down the drain, and everyone broke down in tears, even Liu Xiaoqing's first wife couldn't hold back her sobs. Everyone was outraged by Gu Hua's selfishness, and the entire crew severed ties with him overnight, also sending a message to Yu Qie through a third party:

"I fucking hate that Gu Hua so much! He deserves to die! What he did was even worse than what I did!"

Yu Qie immediately understood that it must have been written by his younger brother, Jiang Wen.

Don't worry, I'll take care of it!
First of all, this cannot be done in the name of the state or a collective; this is not how things are done abroad. Assassinating this person is also not an option, at least not now. Because the stain would fall on Yu Qie's head.

Yu Qie, acting as an independent writer, lodged a protest with the University of Iowa, where Nie Hualing was enrolled, and with the international writing exchange program. Because of his immense fame in the Chinese-speaking world, Nie Hualing quickly became the target of criticism from Chinese students.

With the thawing of relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait imminent, many veterans are preparing to return to the mainland to visit their relatives, and many Taiwanese businessmen are eagerly looking forward to opening up markets. At this time, you are allowing people to defect and causing unexpected setbacks. Are you out of your mind?
The writers' group on the other side of the strait was also dissatisfied with Nie Hualing's promiscuity. After meeting with Yu Qie, Yu Guangzhong said, "We have no connection with this matter, and we don't know where she comes from or who she represents." Li Ao bluntly said, "She wants to be the American's dog. She married a white professor and is dreaming of becoming a world-class writer. In reality, she's just taking the bones that the Americans give her to eat... I despise this kind of person the most!"

Li Ao is a madman; to some extent, he is a Greater China nationalist. Who should represent the intellectuals of Greater China? That's still open to discussion, but he certainly hopes it will be him.

However, if anyone tries to sabotage us, that's absolutely intolerable.

Everyone was stunned when Li Ao said this. But they quickly realized that Li Ao's words were quite appropriate.

Isn't that all there is to it?
Why be so eager to act like a dog?

Together, they wrote a note and published it in the newspaper, declaring that the matter had nothing to do with either party and condemning Nie Hualing's despicable behavior.

Newspapers in the Chinese-speaking world quickly reprinted the news. Even the American Chinatown Daily believed that "Nie Hualing did the wrong thing at the wrong time."

Mainland newspapers are still hesitant about whether to report on it, while Hong Kong's Ta Kung Pao and Sing Tao Daily, as well as Taiwan's United Daily News and China Times, have already vividly recounted the story, even publishing a group photo of writers from both sides of the strait, titled "I Have Been Waiting for You for a Long Time."
In the video, Yu Qie is laughing and hugging Yu Guangzhong, while writers such as Qian Zhongshu, Li Ao, and Lin Qingxuan are smiling sideways, and the others are applauding thunderously!

Unaffected by this event, they successfully reunited.

At that time, there were only two privately owned media outlets in Taiwan: the United Daily News and the China Times. The United Literature magazine under the United Daily News was the sponsor of Yu Guangzhong and his group's trip.

Taiwan has strict control over newspapers, and most of the non-privately owned major newspapers on the market are mouthpieces of the authorities. Under these circumstances, after the United Daily News and the China Times, other newspapers also published this news, making it a hot topic in the Chinese-speaking world for a time.

Clearly, even the local mouthpiece couldn't help but criticize: This is a "troublemaker" behavior that is neither conducive to national unity nor to the development of writers. It is a complete attempt to use international events to embellish her own image, and it is the most treacherous and evil act!

Perhaps there's one more thing left unsaid—how is this any different from what Hu Shih did back then?
You've built up a huge reputation, but what's the price?
What about everyone else?
In 1938, Hu Shih visited the United States as a diplomat, aiming to secure as much American aid as possible. At that time, he already knew about the devastating breach of the Yellow River dike. However, after several months of hard work (he spent six months in New York, only seeing one play and one movie, and he couldn't even take care of old friends who visited New York), he quickly became complacent.

By 41, when Hu Shih stepped down from his post, "he had received twenty-seven honorary doctorates, a dazzling and unprecedented honor," and "he went on to give lectures and receive degrees at prestigious universities in the United States and Canada like a whirlwind"...

Ultimately, the results were meager. In fact, he hardly achieved anything significant, and most of the aid came 40 years later, making it difficult to say whether it had any direct connection to Hu Shih's speech.

On the contrary, the person who succeeded him later took the upper line of Congress directly, using naked incentives and being well-versed in the diplomacy of weak countries, and surprisingly reaped considerable benefits.

After stepping down, Hu Shih felt he had been greatly wronged, saying, "I have done my best and have no regrets."

This statement disgusted many people.

It is evident that intellectuals do not necessarily harm the country, but some intellectuals have indeed played a counterproductive role at critical moments in history, without even realizing it.
-
Nie Hualing, Gu Hua, and others were in a teaching building at the University of Iowa.

They were very anxious, not expecting Yu Qie to stir up such a huge storm, and what they least expected was that even Taiwan was disgusted. This matter had completely turned against the people, and they were branded as traitors to the nation.

If I had known it would turn out like this, why did I come here?

What am I doing here?!
Gu Hua was bewildered.

Damn it, where are my donuts?
The University of Iowa is located in Iowa, a major agricultural state in the United States, which is the number one pig-producing state in the country, with a pig population seven times that of humans, and vast corn and wheat fields.

Gu Hua casually flipped open a newspaper, which had an advertisement for selling live piglets. Although he didn't understand English, he could read the pictures. He thought to himself, "It's not easy for me to write a novel right now, but I won't starve to death."

"There are pigs everywhere, and grain everywhere, more than we can eat! Americans are living a good life!"

He opened another newspaper, one he could understand because it was the *Chinatown Daily*. This was a small newspaper specifically for Chinese Americans.

Yu Qie, Yu Guangzhong, Qian Zhongshu... Gu Hua's fingers moved over these names, feeling deeply saddened: they were all about to become national heroes, while he had become a clown.

In his dazed state, he suddenly saw a person in the picture, which startled him. He asked, "Who is this person?"

Nie Hualing glanced at it and said, "Lin Qingxuan."

Nie Hualing was also in a bad mood.

"I thought Lin Qingxuan was a handsome man, but I didn't expect him to look like Lu Zhishen."

To be honest, Gu Hua was terrified by Lin Qingxuan's ugliness.

Lin Qingxuan has already made a name for himself in Taiwan because of his fresh writing style, which is free of political views and leans towards cross-strait exchanges. As a result, his novels have also circulated in mainland China.

He thought he was a refined and elegant gentleman, but he looked like a butcher... This made Gu Hua's heart pound. How could a person be so different from his appearance! He felt that everyone wanted to harm him.

How contradictory can a person be?
Gu Hua couldn't help but think of the exceptionally handsome man in the group photo—Yu. This man looked like a university professor, and seemed to be about to graduate and become a university professor. However, he was carrying a gun and had thick arms that could easily snap a living person's neck.

Nie Hualing said to himself, "We can't stay passive like this. We have to issue something, at least to defend ourselves."

Gu Hua did not speak.

Nie Hualing couldn't help but ask, "What are you looking at? Yu Qie?"

"Um……"

Nie Hualing glanced at the group photo and sighed, "Yu Qie does look like a great writer, the kind of person who washes his hands and takes a bath before playing chess or drinking tea. I originally wanted to invite him, but I didn't expect it to turn out like this... There's no turning back now, we can't keep taking the beating."

"You said Yu Qie is like a gentleman?" Gu Hua suddenly asked.

Nie Hualing was getting impatient: "Doesn't it look like it?"

Suddenly, another piece of news arrived: writers from both sides of the Taiwan Strait had prepared several topics for debate and invited a television station to record a program. They also planned to write articles to proclaim to the world their vision for a new era of Chinese literature... Reporters were drawn to the scene, and countless media outlets watched the debate live.

Despite trying to find a way out, Gu Hua felt like he had no way out.

Gu Hua was overwhelmed by extreme panic; his stomach churned, and he felt a violent urge to vomit. At that moment, Nie Hualing asked again, "Doesn't it look like it?"

“No, not at all!” Gu Hua said, and as soon as he finished speaking, he couldn’t help but tremble. “He would kill us.”

(End of this chapter)