Literary Master 1983

Chapter 303 In China, in America (Part Two)
Meanwhile, at Shanghai's Hongqiao Airport, a flight bound for the United States was one passenger short. The terminal repeatedly asked a passenger named "Gong Xue," but she didn't move because she had seen a news article in the newspaper that morning titled "Writer Yu Qie Travels to Colombia to Investigate the Holocaust Case."

In the scene, Yu Qie's famous "Columbian Gun" is visible at his waist, and Márquez is talking to him in a restaurant.

Yu Qie is no longer in the United States. What was she doing in the United States?

Colombia?

That's a place that's not worth going to. What if she, a woman, gets harmed there?
Gong Xue pondered the matter, torn between two conflicting thoughts: to go or not to go?
This was one of the most significant decisions she had ever made in her life. Four months earlier, Gong Xue had been implicated in the "high-ranking official's son hooligan case," and although she had no connection to the people involved, she was identified as a victim.

This news caused her great distress, and she wanted to abandon everything and leave. Just then, she discovered that Yu Qie was in the United States, and an American relative contacted Gong Xue again. Gong Xue then decided to lay low in the United States for a while.

You might even see Yuqie!
Gong Xue actually misses the days in Laoshan: back then, you didn't have to think about anything, you just had to complete the task.

But Yu Qie is no longer in the United States.

Gong Xue had no choice but to write a letter to Yu Qie explaining her current situation. She was also waiting for a turning point in her life in the United States.

Gong Xue recalled her younger sister Gong Ying's words: "If you ever encounter big trouble in the future, go to him. You are comrades-in-arms, and Yu Qie will not abandon you."

Yes, the whole country trusts Yu Qie. If he were to say something, everyone would definitely believe him.

He was willing to carry a bamboo curtain across the front lines for a soldier's word, and donated millions for a friend's request! Even if he couldn't help me, at least he wouldn't speak ill of me.

In the letter, Gong Xue explained her current predicament. She then chose to mail the letter from Shanghai and boarded a plane.

……

Two months had passed by the time Yu Qie received the letter; it was now August.

Colombia is located in the tropics and has no distinct seasons, only varying degrees of rainfall. The rainy seasons are April/May and September/November, during which heavy rains can easily cause dozens of people to drown in a single day.

After a heavy rain, bodies and debris often appear on the ground from nowhere, which is often attributed to the rainy season.

Because of the incompetent government in this ditch, death is considered normal in this place, unless hundreds or thousands of people die.

No, you can't say that.

Betancourt is a good comrade; he's a fan of my books. He seems to be working for the country.

Moreover, as a former translator and poet, Bertancourt translated Yuche's novel "Getting Home," adding some suggestive elements, which unexpectedly made the novel a bestseller in Colombia, and both of them received substantial royalties.

Last month, a typhoon struck the eastern Pacific, bringing heavy rainfall that killed 23 people. Reports indicate that due to a lack of infrastructure, Colombia has suffered an additional 5,000 deaths since then – the source of this figure is unclear, but it has appeared in the national news.

When interviewed by the local newspaper The Observer, Yu Che said, “This is not a number, five thousand; it is the fact that death has occurred five thousand times.”

This statement earned Yu Qie great favor from the Colombians, and he is now temporarily enjoying the same treatment as Márquez in Colombia: he doesn't need to pay for taxis, haircuts, or meals.

Yu Che emerged from a hotel in Bogotá, where two security guards stood nearby.

"Mr. Yu!"

The two burly men greeted him.

"Hola!"

Look, if you only listen to his voice, Yu Qie already sounds like a local.

After he walked out the door, the two men followed behind him, looking around warily.

These two people were bodyguards arranged by the Colombian government for Yuqie.

After the restaurant massacre, the government decided to pin the incident on drug kingpin Pablo, because the veteran had indeed gone berserk and killed innocent people indiscriminately after taking drugs sold by Pablo's men.

The government seized Pablo's properties, causing him significant financial losses. Yu Che's novel, *2666*, further boasted of the "restaurant massacre," leading to Yu Che being placed on a bounty list.

Now, the people who want to kill him stretch from Vietnam to Colombia. An iron curtain has already crossed the Pacific Ocean, standing in front of all Yu Qie's fans.

Last month, he received the annual literary award from Argentina, causing a huge stir in China. While the award may seem relatively unknown to later generations, it is actually quite prestigious. Few Chinese writers have achieved international recognition, thus this award is considered one of Yu Qie's major achievements.

After the novel collection "2666" was published, it climbed to the top of the US bestseller list, ranking fifteenth—a remarkable achievement for a literary work.

It's all thanks to these Latin American writers who brag about themselves every day.

These people are really capable when it comes to trouble!

Yuche's extended stay in Colombia for two months is also at the behest of Márquez. This is the last chance to bring the truth about that massacre to light. The investigation is currently being led by Betancur, and this is his last year as president. Next year, a new president will take office, and the investigation will cease.

Yuche and Márquez were responsible for announcing the votes for Bertancourt, leveraging their influence as literary figures.

Writers are very influential in Latin America, mainly due to the active political participation of the earlier generation of literary giants, who are part of the local political revolving door: for example, Allende, the "down-on-her-luck" female writer under Carmen's tutelage, was actually the niece of former Chilean President Salvador Allende.

After her uncle was shot, Allende went into exile, making a name for himself by writing novels and actively participating in politics.

Vargas Llosa, the victim of Márquez's NTR, later attempted to run for president of Chile and switched from a left-wing to a right-wing stance.

Latin American writers are deeply involved in politics.

Similarly, presidents also endorse authors. After the release of Márquez's new book, a total of four presidents from small countries mentioned, "I am reading Márquez's book."

Now it has become "I am reading Yu Qie's book".

Yu Che has been giving speeches in Colombia recently and accompanying Márquez to banquets. Whenever the topic of the massacre comes up, Yu Che speaks emphatically in support of Márquez, which is essentially supporting Betancur.

Seize the opportunity!
The reason why Gabriel García Márquez is far more well-known to the public than another Latin American literary giant, Jorge Luis Borges, is not because he is ten times more talented, but because Márquez is better at self-promotion and has more stories to tell.

This made Márquez a lone hero like Zorro, and his admirers, both in the United States and Paris, would mention the 1928 banana massacre. The United Fruit Company, which perpetrated the massacre, was an American company, and according to Márquez's recollections, both later US Presidents Clinton and Obama privately expressed their regret to him.

Now that Yu Qie can also participate in this matter, he certainly won't give up.

In the afternoon, Yu Qie saw Gong Xue's letter from two months ago.

I opened it and saw: my old comrade-in-arms is already in America. Damn! I'd forgotten about that!

Gong Xue was one of the most popular actresses in the 1980s, a double Best Actress winner, but many people didn't know her afterward. This was because Gong Xue was embroiled in a "hooliganism" scandal. Due to her strong personality, Gong Xue simply left for another place and didn't return to film television dramas until the 1990s. By then, it was no longer her time, so she had no choice but to retire.

Comrade, you shouldn't have come to America!
The story goes something like this: A group of thugs were caught, and in their statements, they mentioned that a well-known Shanghai actress surnamed Gong was also assaulted by them and later became their accomplice.

Since the actress with the surname Gong in Shanghai was the easiest to contact at that time, this matter fell on her shoulders.

However, this is almost certainly just empty talk.

At that time, Gong Xue was filming the TV series "Unknown Name" in Japan. She stayed in a hotel in Tokyo, Japan, for the entire period.

Gong Xue thought so too, and like Liu Yifei, a female star in later generations who was considered a "transgender person", she made the same carefree move: Let them talk, do you think anyone would believe such a bizarre thing?

As it turned out, many people actually believed it, and the story became increasingly exaggerated. Gong Xue was terrified at this point. She returned to China and placed an advertisement explaining her timeline in detail, clarifying that she could not possibly have been involved in such a matter.

But it was all for naught; public opinion could be devastating. Gong Xue's phone became a hotline, with people frequently calling to berate her for being "shameless," and others asking sarcastically, "How much?"

The mailroom at the Shanghai Film Studio was filled with letters of complaint from Gong Xue, some containing razor blades. Paint had been splashed on her doorstep, she had been replaced in the film "Qiu Jin" after already signing a contract, advertising endorsements were being cancelled, and department stores had removed her promotional posters.

Gong Xue went to the Film Bureau to appeal, but was pointed at and gossiped about, which broke her down. She didn't tell anyone, not even her sister, and ran away to America.

……

Yu Qie stroked his chin and immediately gave Gong Xue some advice: You shouldn't have come to America, and you shouldn't have returned to Shanghai. You should go to the front line in Laoshan and show your character with your fearless determination.

But now that you're in the US, things aren't so good.

Where do you live? If you don't have a place to stay, you can contact the Chinese student organization at Boston University. They all know me, and I'll send you some money so you can stay there temporarily!

Have you read the novel *Ruan Lingyu*? You should read it now, write down your thoughts and feelings, and send it back to China. Because Ruan Lingyu, like you, was an unfortunate victim framed—she later committed suicide, leaving behind the words, "Gossip is a fearful thing!"

Write several reviews of "Ruan Lingyu," and publish each one in China; that will be enough to express your aspirations.

If your case is overturned in the future, people will sympathize with you.

Yu Qie wrote a letter, and when Márquez came to visit Yu Qie, he saw Yu Qie writing something.

He thought he was writing a novel.

"Yu, have you finished your nuclear literature? That book, 'The Subway'? I must say, you're incredibly diligent!"

“I’ve run into some trouble,” Yu Qie said. “To be precise, a female friend of mine has run into trouble…”

“Oh? A female friend!” Márquez gave a look that said, “You’ve finally gotten the hang of it.”

He said, "If you can write Latin American novels, you're not a real Latin American writer, but now... I bet you are a real Latin American writer now."

Stop bullshitting!

Yu Qie shook his head: "She's a female soldier who was falsely accused of being involved in a hooligan case. Her way of dealing with it is to bury her head in the sand like an ostrich. Do you think that's a good idea?"

“Oh, of course not.” Márquez became serious, referring to his good friend Neruda, who was killed in history. “You must always be present and act before things get out of control.”

"I don't quite understand what happened to Neruda in his last few days. Could you tell me?"

"After the coup in Chile," Márquez said sadly, "many people told him he had to leave Chile as soon as possible, that he should express his views in another country, but he insisted on finishing a manuscript and taking care of his work before leaving..."

"and then?"

"The day before he left, he suddenly experienced severe abdominal pain and was taken to the hospital. A few hours later, he died. The cause of death was cancer," Márquez said.

Then he added, "Isn't it ridiculous that the official Chilean report at the time said that Neruda died of grief?"

Yuche said, "I think Neruda was clearly poisoned."

“You’re right, but that’s the problem. We have no evidence, so we have to accept this ridiculous result.”

"Can't we exhume the body for an autopsy?"

Márquez suddenly took a deep breath and sighed, "We've considered it, but it's not feasible."

"why?"

"If the probability that he was poisoned is 50%, then the other 50% is that Neruda actually died of illness. If it's the latter, how do we face Neruda's family, how do we face him?"

That makes sense.

You can't just extract a body to test for the amount of poison because you have a suspicion. Even if this is later proven true, it's not feasible at present.

Moreover, the current Chilean government is still the one that came to power after the coup; they control public opinion, and all newspapers in the country obey their commands. Neruda is a saint-like figure among the people, and the public will not allow his coffin to be opened easily.

No wonder this matter has dragged on for decades.

When Neruda was proven to have been poisoned, all those people involved in the coup were dead, and nothing happened to them.

Gong Xue, Neruda, clues to the 1928 massacre, drug lord Pablo... ah, and is Gu Hua from that ditch still alive?

Yu Qie's thoughts were in complete disarray, and he didn't know which thing to deal with first.

Writing novels is certainly Yu Qie's top priority, but in reality, writing novels alone is not enough to solve these problems.

Forget it, let's play a couple of hands of cards instead.

Márquez led the group to a place where the writers often gathered, where they played international bridge.

(End of this chapter)