Literary Master 1983

Chapter 346 contains some research on Yuqie.
Over the past 85 years, not only has the literary world changed, but prices have also changed.

Liu Zhenyun, the senior student of the Chinese Department, has graduated. He is the leader of the "Yuqie Yanxuan" New Reality Society and the top liberal arts student in Henan Province.

This person has now been transferred to "October" as an editor. Before leaving the school, he published a memoir in the school magazine.

Lu Buxuan now remembered that the article was written like this:
"The dishes in our school cafeteria are divided into four tiers. There are five-cent dishes, such as stir-fried bean curd strips and stir-fried cabbage; ten-cent dishes, such as scrambled eggs with tomatoes and pan-fried tofu; and ten-fifty-cent dishes and above include meat, such as shredded pork with garlic sauce and Kung Pao chicken..."

"Anything over two cents was considered real meat: twice-cooked pork, braised pork, four-happiness meatballs... Unfortunately, I've never paid for any of them myself. I'm a country kid; I've never even seen a dish that costs more than 15 cents!"

"The greatest surprise in life is being the last one to buy the braised tofu. This has entered the realm of sociology and psychology. I got it while others didn't, and I was both gloating and getting hungry. All the soup and broth in the bowl was mine to eat with rice. Life is nothing more than this, what more could one ask for?"

So, how difficult is it to get a good meal?
As Lu Buxuan ate, he thought to himself: "Even the top provincial scholar has never eaten a four-cent serving of ribs. Senior Brother Liu is 1.81 meters tall, but he only weighs 120 pounds."

It is said that Yenching University once did not have vegetables for 40 cents because very few people bought them. Before 1985, the largest vegetable coupon was 10 cents (some say 15 cents). Just a few years later, vegetables were available for 40 cents.

Yu Qie made a great contribution.

Because he never neglects his stomach.

In Liu Zhenyun's memoir, he said, "Ever since the four-cent window opened, Yu Qie always ate at the four-cent window whenever he was at Yenching University. I once suspected that he was supporting the window all by himself."

“He not only ordered one serving, but also a second one, and ate to his heart’s content… If you saw Yu Qie eating stir-fried cabbage, it was definitely not because he liked it, but because he wanted to achieve a ‘balanced diet’.”

"But Yu Qie was also very generous. The few times I ate big meals were with Yu Qie. Whenever he saw me, he would invite me over. At that time, I often had to recruit new students, and there were several or even a dozen people following me. But no matter how many people there were, Yu Qie would treat them. He never refused anyone. If we ran out of tickets in the cafeteria, we would go outside."

"After one meal, everyone had to become a member of the new club. But we were all too shy to keep going to Yu Qie's restaurants for free. Sometimes when we saw him, we would deliberately avoid him because he was so enthusiastic!"

Lu Buxuan thought that a significant portion of Liu Zhenyun's articles were recollections of the editor-in-chief, Yu Qie.

It's not that I'm supporting Yu Qie because of his power and influence, but because I truly can't forget him.

Aren't I one of them?

Lu Buxuan felt that he was born a little too late. He thought it would be so much fun to be classmates with Yu Qie and play ping-pong with him.

That evening, Lu Buxuan found Yu Qie's novel to read.

He had no money to buy books, so he could only borrow them. Chu Fujun had a more complete collection, so Lu Buxuan approached him: "Can you recommend a few of Yu Qie's books to me?"

"Is there anyone in China who hasn't read Yu Qie's books?" Chu Fujun was surprised.

“I’ve read them! But I haven’t read them systematically. I always just glance at this and that. In the library, Yu Qie’s books are very popular, and I can never borrow them. I’ve only read some short stories and excerpts.”

"That's great, that's wonderful!" Chu Fujun said. "Do you know what I envy about you? I really wish I could erase my memories and see everything again!"

Chu Fujun showed Lu Buxuan the book "Together with You".

This is the final installment of the "New Reality Trilogy." The first two parts have already been borrowed.

Of the three books in the trilogy, the first book, "Da Sa Ba," is undoubtedly a literary classic, and the second book, "We Two," is also a first-rate work. However, the third book is somewhat controversial because it tells the story of a rural boy who goes to Beijing to learn to play the violin.

Some people really like it, while others think Yu Qie's writing is too "fairytale-like".

The truth is, without enough water, they won't sprout.

Lu Buxuan knew about this very well.

Although he was admitted to the Chinese Literature Department, he had no literary background and was unfamiliar with those dashing masters of the Republic of China era. Before going to university, he had never even heard of Ba Jin.

A country boy like him, who doesn't even own a harmonica, probably hasn't even seen a violin. Let alone becoming a violin prodigy and defeating top international players. In his small town, there probably isn't even a single "talent scout" who can recognize his talent!

How many Chinese literature majors who can immediately write novels don't have a family background?

Liu Zhenyun also met his good senior sister Cha Jianying who helped him, and was also favored by Yu Qie. Otherwise, how could he have gotten into the "October" magazine?

However, although that's what Lu Buxuan thought, after reading the story, his perspective changed completely.

His heart was with that "genius boy." When that boy suffered setbacks, he suffered setbacks too. When that boy came to the capital and shone brightly, he applauded and cheered... What's particularly exciting about the novel is that at the end of the story, after winning the international championship, the boy returned and played the violin at the train station for his farmer father.

He has not forgotten where he came from.

Farmers can also appreciate his violin playing, listening to that difficult-to-pronounce Tchaikovsky piece in D major.

When he saw the "Dongfanghong" locomotives meet there and sound their whistles, Lu Buxuan felt his vision blur. Tears welled up in his eyes. He too was a top student, a genius, but after coming to Peking University, he became just another ordinary person.

This is not a fairy tale; it is simply Yu Qie writing about himself. He lent his dream to someone else for one night, and upon waking, he felt a profound sense of loss.

Lu Buxuan began frantically searching for Yu Qie's books to read.

For a time, he couldn't even think about "business." He'd borrow any of Yu Qie's books from the library, the school newsstand, his dorm mates... Even if someone had already read it, it didn't matter; Lu Buxuan could read it again.

Yu Qie's books are full of metaphors, and you often make new discoveries when you read them again.

There, a child with the same surname as them, but of the same generation, smiled and watched their arrival.

[“You’ve come?” The children and peers clapped and said, “Brother, you’ve finally returned.”] “This is the ending of Yu Qie’s ‘The Way Out’,” said Cheng Guoping, who was borrowing the book. “I told you about it last time. If the ‘New Reality Series’ was the work that established Yu Qie’s position in the literary world, then ‘The Way Out’ is the beginning of his journey to becoming a master. He began to completely surpass this generation.”

"He used a child to describe the mainland, which is rare; we always use the image of a mother with abundant milk or a wise man who has experienced thousands of years of vicissitudes to refer to this land. Yu Qie used a child as a metaphor, which brought tears to people's eyes, and made them wish that this child would grow up quickly, stand up and run!"

"It is said that after reading this novel, Mr. Qiao did not sleep for half the night. Afterwards, he made sure that every member of the negotiation team took a copy and gave it to the British."

“This is only the first layer!” Chu Fujun interjected. “The second layer is that this child is your own maternal memory. He is the sum of everything you are familiar with about your hometown, your childhood playmates, the pillow you slept on, the cooking fire you saw when you came home... From the moment you were born, no matter where you are, you can always vaguely remember these things. So, it is a dialogue between you and yourself across time and space.”

It turns out that those literary analyses written by writers weren't just nonsense to scam money.

Lu Buxuan said, "Is this what your research article is supposed to be about?"

Cheng Guoping nodded. "Yu Qie's works are always fresh and new. What's strange is that after a few years, they can be interpreted in new ways. It's really amazing."

"No one can defeat my faith! I can die, but I will never betray my warriors!"

In full view of everyone, Manager Qiu bit off his own tongue. The stationmaster stood up and buttoned his shirt, and Lu Qiaoshan turned his head away. Only Yu Zecheng stood there, stunned—he couldn't believe that Manager Qiu was dead!

"Lurking is Yu Qie's representative work. I personally believe that even his top three works, no matter what great works Yu Qie writes in the future, will not change that... This is determined by that period."

"Because even a forty-year-old Yu Qie cannot defeat a twenty-something-year-old Yu Qie. That's what I'm saying."

Cheng Guoping invited Lu Buxuan to come and conduct research.

In that article, Cheng Guoping highly praised this novel. "First of all, Yu Qie wrote an article for another writer, Ma Shitu! Ma Shitu believed that his first wife, the martyr Liu Huixin, would one day be forgotten, and Ma Shitu was very distressed... This involves a teacher-student relationship."

"Later, Yu Qie met Ba Jin in Shanghai, the uncrowned king of contemporary Chinese literature, who was racking his brains over why society always looks to money when he couldn't answer the question 'Why does society always look to money' from Qianqiao Elementary School..."

"Li Xiaolin of Harvest magazine recorded this incident. In order to reply to the elementary school students' letters, Ba Jin spent three whole weeks writing a long letter of more than 3,000 words entitled 'My Reply,' with his trembling hands, but he still felt it was not enough. Ba Jin was already ill, and he could no longer write letters. At his sickbed, he asked Yu Qie how to reply?"

Lu Buxuan was already captivated by those off-field stories.

How should Yu Qie respond?
He used to look down on writers themselves, let alone "stories outside the stories," but now his heart seemed to fly to the ship crossing the Three Gorges, to Wukang Road, where he stood and saw Yu Qie's resolute face.

That burden was so heavy it was almost crushing. Yu Qie also unusually devoted a long time to writing only one novel, shutting himself away from visitors.

The results were remarkable. After "Lurking" was written, readers all over China suddenly started reading it. Everyone read it, just as everyone had read a single word of it. It directly reversed people's impression of "heroes." From then on, Gao Daquan was a hero, and "undercover agents" were also heroes.

Its immense influence even forced the other side to acknowledge it as a true hero, fantasizing about using such a person for their own purposes. And it became the catalyst for the "meltdown."

“I also read ‘Lurking’ in installments, reading it in several installments published in ‘Fiction Monthly’,” Lu Buxuan recalled.

Chu Fujun immediately said, "Look, you've read this book too. That's the power of Yu Zecheng's appeal."

"I didn't know at the time that there were so many stories behind this." Lu Buxuan began to feel a little regretful because he had missed an inside story that is now widely known.

No wonder it's a masterpiece.

Whether on or off the stage, it is truly a "novel within a novel".

Cheng Guoping replied, "It's not common knowledge. Ma Shitu wrote an article, Li Xiaolin wrote an article for his father, and Ba Jin's latest 'Random Thoughts' reveals some more details. No one knows the whole story except themselves."

"They disdain to recount their experiences, but as researchers, our job is to restore historical materials to the reader as accurately as possible."

Cheng Guoping then said, "This book was originally printed by the Shanghai Printing Factory, and for a time, paper in Shanghai became expensive. I didn't have much money at the time, so I exchanged my food coupons with others and went hungry for countless meals before I could buy this book."

“But it did me justice, because ‘Yu Zecheng is still in hiding.’ I know I didn’t suffer those hungers in vain.”

Lu Buxuan was admitted to the Chinese Department of Yenching University in 85. By the time he was admitted, Yu Qie had already stopped coming to school. Although the New Reality Society was doing very well, the legendary anecdotes about Yu Qie's "one lecture a week" and "Yu Qie giving money away while playing bridge" that circulated on the Yenching University campus had become a thing of the past.

He used to dismiss these claims, thinking they were exaggerating.

As a farmer's son, he could never possibly go hungry to buy books; it was something he couldn't even imagine.

In his memoir published in the school magazine, Liu Zhenyun also wrote about how he went hungry to buy books. He was so hungry he was delirious, but he still wanted to buy books. Moreover, Liu Zhenyun could borrow books, but there were some books that he particularly liked, and he would rather go hungry for several meals than miss buying those books.

Isn't eating meat more important than eating ink?
The book *2666* is even more interesting; it's a completely foreign Spanish-language book, which Yu Qie has never had time to translate into Chinese. After *October*'s own publishing house acquired the rights, printed and sold it, some readers actually started learning Spanish in order to understand the book.

Why are they so crazy?

Lu Buxuan's thoughts changed at that moment; he understood why he needed to buy the book.

People will overcome their physiological instincts for the sake of their passion, but that's what makes us human. At this moment, Liu Zhenyun's memoir, "We were all very shy and embarrassed to always go to Yu Qie's place for meals," takes on an even deeper meaning in Lu Buxuan's mind.

He writes such excellent articles and always treats you with great hospitality. How can you repeatedly take advantage of him for free?

Moreover, he always calls you a friend.

"I should also buy Yu Qie's book," Lu Buxuan said to himself.

Cheng Guoping and Chu Fujun both heard this. They looked at each other and were overjoyed. "You've been in the Chinese Department for two years now. You've finally become a member of the Chinese Department."

(End of this chapter)