Literary Master 1983

Chapter 357 Standing in 1987, rereading the letter written to the child

The editors fell silent for a moment.

Yu Qie, drawing on the experience of those who came later, affirmed, "Haven't you summarized this before?"

Liu Baiyu smiled wryly: "Of course I've summarized it. But who dares to say that? What if it gets shorter and shorter in the future? Are we going to change it back?"

Yu Qie was speechless upon hearing this: How could a novel possibly get shorter as it's written?

You overestimate the integrity of writers!
He said, "Writing short is impossible! United Literature has started accepting novels from mainland China and pays them based on word count or even line count. The more you write, the more money you get."

"Furthermore, there has been a strong call for establishing copyright protection. Once the draft is released, royalties should be paid based on word count. People's Literature should set an example!"

In the original timeline, the poet Zha Haisheng's family rebuilt their house using royalties from his writings. After Zha Haisheng's death, his mother would always express her gratitude to the editors who visited her.

Yu Qie recounted with great familiarity: "Let's see what happens after experimental literature comes to a halt? The word count will increase, and the line between serious and popular literature will become blurred. Popular literature will naturally need to be written longer."

"With prices soaring, magazines are also raising their prices. How can we make readers accept this? We need to publish more long novels and make the magazines thicker... From all aspects, novels are bound to become longer and longer."

The editors were stunned for a moment, and someone took out a pen and wrote down Yu Qie's words on paper.

Others looked at Yu Qie with surprise.

In the past few months, many new editors have come to People's Literature. Most of them had heard rumors about Yu Qie's accurate judgment, but they didn't expect it to be true at all.

Rumor has it that the "Ice-Melting Journey" was almost entirely orchestrated by Yu Qie, and that the others, despite their age and seniority, were unable to assess the situation. Wang Meng initially thought the delegation was merely "conducting some beneficial literary discussions," but unexpectedly, after several debates, the issue of tracing one's ancestry was brought up.

The writers got excited, realizing what they were doing, and the conversation went deeper and deeper, quickly becoming a major event in the Chinese community! Writers from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong wrote articles and published articles to show their support from afar.

At this time, news came that the long-standing policy of restricting family visits on the island was showing signs of thawing. Veterans who had spoken out were no longer being obstructed, and newspapers on the island were unusually promoting the person "Yu Zecheng" again...

All of this points to the melting of decades-old ice.

Wang Mengcai suddenly realized what was happening and flew to the United States halfway there to attend this literary event.

Wang Meng is now being criticized for his "experimental literature," and if this had happened before, he probably would have resigned. It is precisely because of the halo of his "ice-breaking journey" that Wang Meng has been able to persist for a few more years.

Insight!

Liu Baiyu laughed heartily, then turned to all the editors and said, "Ever since those two articles in 'Zhongshan' and 'Beijing Literature' came out, 'Yu Studies' has become popular, and it was indeed a good thing! Insight is the key to a writer!"

"If these words are expanded upon, wouldn't it become another research paper?"

At the subsequent review meeting, "Carrying Dad to School" was approved.

Liu Baiyu asked Yu Qie why he didn't submit his work to "October" magazine.
Yu Qiedao: "Because we want more people to see it. Although 'October' is good, it can't reach every place."

Liu Baiyu immediately understood: No wonder this novel is written in such a simple and unadorned style.

The writing style of "Carrying Dad to School" is reminiscent of "The Little Shoes," like a novel written by a children's author. Elementary school students find it hopeful and encouraging, while adults, knowing the hardships involved, feel only a pang of sadness.

"Then I'll discuss it with Editor Wang and try to put this novel on the first page, and make sure to highlight it on the cover."

"Sorry to trouble you."

……

On the other side, after wandering around for several days, Jin Jiepu finally arrived at Ning County, where the Dadiwan Site is located.

This area has a typical loess plateau topography with an average altitude of over 1,000 meters. Due to the rugged terrain, the cost of both national highways and railways is much higher than in the plains.

However, in the agricultural era, this place was a land of abundant resources and a necessary passage between the northern frontier and the Central Plains.

Prince Fusu of Qin was the project manager here when he built the "Qin Straight Road". During the Tang Dynasty, Prime Minister Di Renjie served as the governor of Ningzhou here. Later, Fan Zhongyan passed through here and specially left a memorial to praise Di Renjie. There have been famous people in every dynasty, but they have fallen behind in modern times.

The last time a scholar left his mark here was during the Ming Dynasty.

Jin Jiepu harbored lofty ambitions. He thought to himself: History is everywhere in China, even in such a small place. I want to write Mr. Yu's name here.

A well-dressed foreign professor has come to our Ning County!
Jin Jiepu received a warm welcome as soon as he got off the car. The locals thought he had come to invest and all came to discuss things with him. They were a little disappointed because Jin Jiepu had come to see a country boy. Considering Jin Jiepu's safety, they arranged for a driver to take him there.

Kim Geup refused again.

Some people considered Kim Jye-po to be an internationalist fighter and sincerely told him, "The child you are looking for is still in a small mountain village below Ning County. It will take you a day and a night to get there."

"People in the mountains have never seen white people before, so you might get surrounded and treated like a monkey. There's a rule in the 'Primary School Student Code of Conduct' that says—don't follow or stare at foreigners."

"Why is there such a rule? Because reality is the opposite."

Someone else warned him: "Professor Jin, it's good that you're being watched. What if you're mistaken for prey and killed? The people in the mountains have guns."

Kim Gei-po was a tough guy; he refused all special arrangements.

You say this place is dangerous, but is it more dangerous than the villages in western Hunan?
When Jin Jiepu finally arrived in Phoenix City after a long journey, it was like an explorer stumbling upon Shangri-La, a paradise rarely seen on earth. As long as I don't deliberately provoke others and am polite to everyone, how could I be troubled?
A day and a night later, Jin Jiepu finally met Li Yong and saw him take the five hundred yuan.

This is a sincere and simple little boy. He is only seven years old and has not yet learned to lie. All the teachers in the rural school are excited about "Yu Qie" and Jin Jiepu, but Li Yong does not know who the writer Yu Qie is, nor do the people in his class.

He was so short that he looked younger than his peers.

For cochet, students only know that it is a trigonometric function.

Ba Jin and Ma Shitu didn't know.

They didn't even know about Di Renjie, Fan Zhongyan, Prince Fusu... those famous Chinese figures.

Fearing that Jin Jiepu would be embarrassed, the school teachers explained to him, "Most of the texts in Yuqie's textbooks are from high school. Although there is a 'Little Shoes' in the elementary school textbook, it is from the 86 edition. We are still using the old version here. They happen to be a generation that doesn't know about it."

“Don’t be disappointed. Li Yong will be very happy if he finds out that it was Yu Qie who wrote the letter and donated the money.” Jin Jiepu wouldn’t be angry with a child. He just sighed, “The difference here is huge. A primary school student in Qianqiao could write a letter to Ba Jin in Shanghai, which inspired Yu Qie to write ‘Lurking.’ But people here don’t even know who Ba Jin is. The difference will be even greater in the future!”

The teachers were stunned and could only say, "We were born in this kind of place, and there's nothing we can do about it."

Yes, what else can we do besides studying hard?

Even the American Schultz who recently visited China, didn't he escape the fate of being a farmer only by studying? Is it really true that farmers in America have a higher status than professors?

That's all nonsense!
Those with high status were large farm owners with countless fertile fields; how could those farmers struggling to make a living, who didn't even own a tractor, possibly have a higher status than professors?

Kim Gee-po wasn't too disappointed. He went to Li Yong's house that day, accompanied by a teacher from the school. This time, Kim Gee-po didn't refuse.

Li Yong's family was practically destitute. To entertain them, they killed a hen.

Because the village officials had notified them in advance before their arrival: This is a letter from a professor at a top American university, sent on behalf of the Chinese writer Yu Qie! You're going to be on the news, so don't embarrass yourselves.

They were American professors, famous writers, and might even be in the newspapers… Li Yong’s family was so overwhelmed by these titles that they could only offer them the best of everything.

Kim Jiepu was moved to tears. He knew how precious a chicken was.

When he was conducting research in western Hunan, a writer found a way to lend him a car. At the time, Jin Jiepu didn't think the car was anything special. But after seeing more of it and understanding its value, he became too embarrassed to borrow other people's cars again.

The two slept there for one night. Kim Gee-po had a lot to say, like "As parents, you must let Lee Young go to university," but he ended up saying nothing.

Late at night, Li Yong's mother cried out in pain due to her illness. Li Yong turned her over. A little while later, his father also felt pain, so Li Yong went to burn medicine for his father. Jin Jiepu heard this and wanted to help, but he did more harm than good. He frantically fanned the fire, burning the medicine and using up a lot of firewood.

Li Yong then boiled another pot himself, without blaming Jin Jiepu.

Kim Gei-p felt quite guilty.

The next day, Jin Jiepu got up early in the morning and went to the village school with Li Yong and others to teach a class. He was very enthusiastic and taught an English class as a volunteer English teacher.

The students naturally couldn't understand. He couldn't explain anything meaningful in a whole class, and finally, with Li Yong's permission, he read aloud the letter Yu Qie had written to Li Yong.

“Brother Li Yong, I was deeply moved and admire you after hearing your story. I want to do something for you and for everyone.”

"You may not know me, but I am a writer. I have gained some fame through writing. I write not because I am talented, but because writing chose me. I feel more joy in writing. I have always believed that it is no different from when I was a child, pulling weeds on the hillside and picking up rice grains in the rice fields in autumn."

"We are all great, and we all have our own things to do. Others don't know why we are the way we are, only we ourselves know..."

So this is the letter Yu Qie wrote.

Reading this, Jin Jiepu's eyes reddened. His unexpected choice to study vernacular Chinese had been a difficult journey, and few understood him.

Inside the classroom, the students listened intently. The previous laughter and chatter had vanished, and Yu Qie's words were simple and easy for everyone to understand.

Then Jin Jiepu's voice continued:

"Moreover, everyone will encounter difficulties. The help of others is certainly important, but the most reliable thing is still yourself. In any case, we need to maintain our curiosity and enthusiasm for the world, which will be especially meaningful in the future."

"Reading is a place to broaden one's horizons. Think about it, the enormous difficulties we face right now are often experienced by people in books. It is a river with no end in sight, full of treasures left by our predecessors. I am just one of the travelers in it. One day when you look back like I did, I'm sure you will be filled with emotion."

By this point, the elementary school classroom was packed with people. Outside, teachers and villagers had come to watch the spectacle, some with tears in their eyes, leaning forward.

Kim Gee-po didn't know if it was because the letter was so well-written, or because they had thought of something painful. But Kim Gee-po himself shed tears.

In the letter, Yu Qie once again emphasized the importance of reading.

He believes that the value of reading lies not in its direct rewards, but in the fact that it prevents one from feeling alone when facing difficulties. Knowledge is a mirror reflecting one's own strength, and reading is relatively fair; anyone can access it.

"I sincerely wish you well! People say to learn from Yu Qie, and I should learn from you! There are many heroes on this land."

By this time, Kim Gei-p had been completely moved.

Although Yu Qie is very domineering, if you think about it carefully, he never intentionally bullies others.

Aside from his writing, he is a universally recognized good person. During his speech in Chicago, researchers who previously had reservations about Yu Qie were moved and tried to get to know him at subsequent gatherings.

He never considered himself a great person, which made him domineering but never arrogant.

As Buffett wrote in his letter: I am not an outstanding person, I am just an ordinary person.

Those who boast of Yuqie's greatness are the believers and priests under the idol, but he himself clearly knows the difference between them.

Before leaving, Jin Jiepu asked someone to send two more chickens to Li Yong.

Why are there two?
One was for Kim Gee-po, and the other was sent on behalf of Yu Che. "If Yu Che were here, he would definitely do this," Kim Gee-po said.

Some people from Ning County saw off the foreign professor. In front of the bus station, Jin Jiepu also received a special gift—a sketch drawn by his teacher, recording the scene of Jin Jiepu taking an English class and giving a speech.

Yu Qie was certainly not on the podium, but if you look closely, he was in the textbooks of the students below.

This is a good arrangement.

Kim Jiepu said excitedly, "This is the most precious gift I have received since I came to China."

While writing letters to Yu Qie to report, he also dealt with the swarms of media reporters. This was especially true in the big cities. When Jin Jiepu came to the capital, he had already caused a sensation—a foreigner could do this much. Although it was initially because of Yu Qie, he must have had his own genuine feelings.

"This old Jin is a foreigner who has transcended vulgar tastes," people say.

As for Yu Qie, he naturally received even more praise.

(End of this chapter)