Literary Master 1983

Chapter 333 Has Already Won Too Much Against Others

Based on what he had seen and heard, he wrote an article and sent it to headquarters in France.

"business card".

They also faxed a photo of a street vendor holding up a pirated copy of Yu Qie's book.

The French also value reviewing manuscripts; journalists need to explain why their news is important.

Chade wrote:

“There was an American white man named Henry on Wangfujing Street, and I was on very good terms with him.”

"He was the general manager of Coca-Cola in China, and he single-handedly sold the first bottle of Coca-Cola in China. He excitedly said that Chinese people would drink a billion bottles of Coca-Cola in the future, but of course no one believed him..."

"Then, one day, an American journalist was visiting the Badaling Great Wall when he was surprised to find a little boy buying a bottle of Coca-Cola."

"At the Badaling Great Wall, in the hands of a little Chinese boy. He's drinking Coke through a straw like a Westerner."

"That journalist realized that a huge, silent change had occurred and immediately created that photograph! And what I discovered was no less remarkable than what that journalist did."

At this moment, when the editors at headquarters looked at the photograph taken by Chade again, they immediately understood his deeper meaning.

This is a mirror image of a news moment.

The former is the world's relationship to China, while the latter is China's relationship to the world.

Paris Match magazine endorsed Chad's account. The report was subsequently published in the magazine and indeed caused a sensation. It later won a local French journalism award.

This is the most outstanding news we've uncovered in recent years.

The last time I found out that I had received such an honor in the French press was when I accompanied the president on a foreign trip.

But that wasn't enough for him. Like Liu Xiangcheng of Time magazine, he wanted to be based in China long-term to capture this series of news moments.

The newspaper was puzzled by the investigation.

"You come to China twice a year; no one in the entire newspaper comes more frequently than you. You still have to keep working so hard; you're not living like a Frenchman anymore!"

Chad recalled a news-related mistake he had made in the past:
“Journalism is all about evidence. Without evidence, there is no story. When I accompanied President Giscard d'Estaing on his visit, I had a conversation with the Chinese about the nuclear power project... I never expected to receive such a sincere response. But at that crucial moment, I didn’t bring a recording pen... In the end, I missed out on a big story, and the president was unhappy. This is a disgrace to me for the rest of my life.”

Upon seeing the information provided, the editors at the Paris headquarters had no choice but to approve his long-term stay in China.

Chad thus became the first journalist in all of France to live entirely in China.

In 1987, writers' royalties also increased significantly. The good days of collecting royalties were just around the corner.

Yu Hua and Guan Moye continued to live in their small single room, each having saved a sum of money. Yu Hua and his "female classmate" began dating, and soon they were discussing marriage.

Yu Hua was indispensable to her, and the female classmates also felt that Yu Hua was exceptionally talented.

The female classmate was a fan of Yu Qie's books, but not a fanatic. She fell in love with Yu Hua and said, "No one in the world understands Yu Qie better than you."

Yu Hua said, "I am not the one who understands Yuqie the most. The one who understands Yuqie the most is somewhere else."

"Who?"

"That's what the female classmate said."

Yu Hua said, "The person next door to me."

"Hatch!"

Guan Moye, who lived next door, yawned.

His film "Red Sorghum" caught the eye of Xi'an Film Studio, which planned to adapt it into a movie. Although the director was a newcomer, Zhang Yimou, the actors were quite famous. They invited Jiang Wen, who had acted in "Children of Heaven," to join the cast.

So how much money did Guan Moye receive?
This film had three screenwriters, who received a total of four thousand yuan. Guan Moye, as the original author, only received eight hundred yuan.

However, he was still trembling with excitement the night he heard he could receive eight hundred yuan. This was equivalent to a town worker's entire year's income.

Yu Qie's story of charging "two dollars per word" once shocked the literary world, but he has transcended the three realms and five paths, and he should not participate in the ranking of writers' royalties.

Eight hundred yuan! Guan Moye only needs to lend his name and go to the film set.

Writing novels is so lucrative!
To completely recreate the scenes of Gaomi Northeast Township in the film "Red Sorghum," the production team isn't doing anything else right now; instead, they've found a 100-acre plot of land in Shandong Province to grow sorghum. Director Zhang Yimou is spending all his time studying how to fertilize and water it, just like a farmer.

"I've discovered I have a hobby when it comes to filming: whatever I'm filming, I create it," Zhang Yimou said while reading the script.

Can a director like this ever make a good film?

Guan Moye was very skeptical. At the end of January, as the screenwriter, he participated in the audition for actresses. He was busy with the process for a long time before finally selecting an actress named Gong Li.

The film crew naturally had to hold a get-together to get to know each other. Since the big news at the time was Yu Qie and the Nobel laureate's return to China, everyone at the gathering started talking about it.

The Nobel Prize remains distant and mysterious to the Chinese.

“Do you know what the best-selling film is right now? Mr. Yu’s documentary,” Zhang Yimou said.

"How much did you make?" Gong Li asked.

Zhang Yimou held up six fingers. Everyone assumed he was going to say 60,000 yuan.

Zhang Yimou then whispered, "Six figures, US dollars."

Now everyone's appetite for the mutton soup was gone; the air seemed to have been sucked out. For a moment, everyone was speechless, then erupted in waves of praise.

"Mr. Yu is amazing!"

"Six figures? It can't be exactly one hundred thousand US dollars, can it? Does that include the entire world? That would be tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands?"

Nobody knows. Zhang Yimou didn't know either; he'd only heard about it.

Lead actress Jiang Wen couldn't help but boast: "Mr. Yu is my brother, you know? My biological brother."

“Your surname is Jiang, and his surname is Yu… this…” Gong Li was stunned.

"You don't know this. In the grand courtyards of Beijing, the children aren't ranked according to blood relations!"

Jiang Wen had drunk some wine, and a string of words came out like a machine gun: "For example, I said there's someone..." He suddenly looked at Guan Moye and said, "For example, screenwriter Guan is my brother, and when I introduce him to people, I say, 'This is my brother Guan!' But is that actually the case? No. What I mean is, brother Guan is a respectable person, and I call him brother for now, but he's not actually my brother."

"So, what should I say about my brother Yu? He's my own brother. I'm emphasizing this to show that I have a good relationship with my brother Yu, and he's of higher status than me."

Everyone was amused by Jiang Wen's nonsensical ramblings.

Jiang Wen continued, "This is the slang used by the kids in our compound! There are a few differences when you introduce someone to outsiders, and there are many rules. After all, the differences between people are huge!"

"Who you can mess with and who you can't—this is just a simple introduction! Anyone with a discerning eye will know not to offend them once they hear it."

Everyone then remembered the "six-figure" documentary. They were definitely convinced. That evening, the name "Yu Qie" appeared frequently at gatherings of the "Red Sorghum" crew, as if it were written by Yu Qie himself.

Jiang Wen was a member of the "Yixin Society". After a hearty meal, he invited everyone to join this reading group.

He said, "As long as you read Yu Qie's books, you will understand them wholeheartedly. We don't have any formalities, and we don't know how many members we have. You could say that this is a pure book lover organization."

Others, upon hearing this, eagerly wanted to join: "No procedures are required, and we can become fans of Yu Qie's books. There's nothing wrong with that."

It's hard to imagine anyone in China who can read even one character not having read Yu Qie's books. Even if they haven't seen them with their eyes, they've certainly "seen" them with their ears.

The next day, Guan Moye woke up slowly.

The entire crew started having fun with the "Ichishinkai" (a group of friends), joking around with each other. They all became new members overnight.

Jiang Wen was like a priest, spreading the gospel to everyone. He would randomly grab someone and ask, "Have you read Yu Qie's books?"

"I've seen it." That was almost the only answer.

“Then you’ve mastered it,” Jiang Wen said happily.

“He’s right!” Zhang Yimou chimed in, joining in the discussion.

No one here noticed that Guan Moye was also a writer. The film was adapted from his work. He received eight hundred yuan.

These people shouldn't have such low emotional intelligence. They're all shrewd and calculating.

Why do people behave this way?

Because they felt this wouldn't harm Guan Moye.

It's like saying how fast an airplane flies has nothing to do with the oxcart on the ground. Does the oxcart think this is offensive?

Yu Hua's words echoed in Guan Moye's ears: "You're studying Márquez, he's trying to enlighten Márquez. They're not even from the same world."

Suddenly, the kind-hearted Jiang Wen noticed that he was ignoring Guan Moye.

Out of good intentions, Jiang Wen specifically asked, "Editor Guan, you and I certainly know that you're Yixin Hui. After all, you even took Professor Yu's class. Among all the people here, you're probably the only one who truly admires him, aren't you?"

Guan Moye was stunned for a moment. He was overwhelmed with mixed feelings.

That feeling was exactly the same as when he argued with other veteran writers over Yu Qie at the "Hangzhou Conference" back then.

At that time, Yu Qie had not yet fully established his position, and some people would still try to find angles to criticize him. Guan Moye was still a third- or fourth-rate writer then, more like a literature enthusiast.

He was a huge fan of Yu Qie, and when he met the veteran writer, he spoke frankly, "To be honest, although Yu Qie is young, you are really far inferior to him in literature..."

"Go back twenty or thirty years, and you still can't outwrite him. It's not a problem of the times; you're just not as good as him."

He saw the bewildered and frustrated expressions on the faces of the older writers and almost cried.

At that time, Guan Moye wondered why these people were so unreasonable. Why wouldn't they admit it? In terms of honors, sales, influence... they were far inferior in every aspect. What was so hard about admitting that?

You're criticizing Yu Qie now?
That's ridiculous.

Are you qualified?

Now it was his turn. When Guan Moye truly became an accomplished writer, he discovered that Yu Qie was like an academic tyrant; his immense charisma created a vacuum, and whenever others tried to reach him, the air wall formed by the opinions of others kept them out.

People like Yu Hua choose to speak frankly: I'm really not as good as him, don't compare me to him.

People like Su Tong can switch tracks: I'll write what Yu Qie doesn't write.

Only Guan Moye would sometimes put in some effort, but this effort only hurt him.

"Editor-in-Chief? Why aren't you saying anything?" Jiang Wen was sweating profusely, thinking she had offended Guan Moye somehow.

Jiang Wen added, "We were just joking with Teacher Yu. Are you upset? It's my fault. I'll go and apologize to him later. Literature is, after all, a very solemn subject."

What are you apologizing for now? Just shut up!
After thinking it over, Guan Moye sighed and said, "I'm convinced, I'm really convinced. I also read his books, and I'm a member too."

……

It's snowing heavily in Beijing, making it unsuitable for cycling or walking.

Yu Qie was astonished to learn that both the Yanjing Metro Line 1 and the Loop Line were open. He bought a ticket to go from home to Yanjing University, which involved walking a considerable distance.

Safer than riding a bike!
Tickets cost two cents each.

The capital's subway system began construction a long time ago, but it has never been open to the general public—you need a ticket to ride it. This ticket is not your average ticket; it's something called a "subway visitor ticket." People from other places see it as a novelty, having never seen an underground train before, and tickets are extremely hard to come by.

In 71, the subway was opened to the public, but taking the subway in the city still required a certificate and a letter of introduction, which was practically equivalent to not being open to the public.

In 81, there was only one line. A ticket cost one cent.

Since neither "October" nor Yenching University is on Line 1, Yu Qie has almost never taken it.

This time, I experienced a subway from the 1980s. The subway cars were boxy and didn't go very fast. Many suburban residents and children were frightened by the depth of the subway. The subway traveled through tunnels, and it was pitch black outside with no advertisements. The whooshing sound was like the shouts of monsters.

After taking the subway, many people looked shaken even in the dead of winter.

Yenching University has already finished its final exams, and there aren't many people on campus. As Yu Qie walked along, few recognized him, even though the school had photos of him as an outstanding alumnus.

"Yantai University has changed. The literary atmosphere doesn't seem as strong as before?"

Yu Qie thought to himself.

Historically, the pinnacle of pure literature began its slow decline from this year. On the one hand, readers grew tired of pure literature; on the other hand, the impending royalty system forced traditional novelists to rack their brains to write stories, otherwise they wouldn't earn much money.

Yu Qie went directly to Hu Daiguang.

Yu Qie is not the same as before. Hu Daiguang specially waited for him on the first floor. Upon meeting him, he first congratulated him on winning the literary award, and then went to the office to talk about Yu Qie's absence from class for more than half a year.

“After careful consideration, I have decided not to impose any punishment on you,” Hu Daiguang said. “Many people have missed classes, and after the past few decades, I’m not surprised by anything unusual anymore. But you need to produce tangible results, which also relates to your master’s degree.”

"What should I do?" Yu Qie asked.

Lin Yifu graduated with a master's degree in one year, while Yu Qie at least studied for two years, which is not considered shocking.

Hu Daiguang didn't try to play hard to Yu Qie and said directly, "At least don't be worse than your last paper. You have Lin Yifu and Schultz to guide you, how could you possibly regress?"

This is the truth.

Schultz was the founder of the Chicago School, while Lin Yifu became the second-in-command of the institute after returning to China.

These two individuals possess rare data, much like the cryo-electron microscope (worth tens of millions) that the biological studio acquired; just by bringing it out, they have already gained a significant advantage over others.

(End of this chapter)