Literary Master 1983

Chapter 410 Drunk on the Battlefield, Don't Laugh

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, early in the morning, Chen Xiaoxu's parents called.

"I'll cut it off!!!" Chen Xiaoxu was very anxious.

Yu Qie was half-asleep, wearing only his underwear, when he answered the phone.

"Professor Yu?"

"Hey! Just call me Xiao Yu, we're family, no need to be formal."

Chen Xiaoxu chuckled after hearing this.

The person on the other end of the phone coughed a few times, barely able to contain themselves: "You, Yu Qie, are a treasure to the whole nation. To be honest, it's our Xiao Xu who's been lucky to be with you... But Xiao Xu is, after all, our precious child, someone we've raised since she was little..."

However, he became serious towards the end and choked up.

The call was on speakerphone, and Chen Xiaoxu was also moved; her eyes quickly filled with tears.

All we heard was her father, Chen Qiang, saying, "Xiao Xu is beautiful and has a lively personality. She has always been well-liked, as we all know! But she has some flaws in her personality—she is too strong-willed! She has an unyielding personality. The fortune teller said that she will have many hardships in her life, and I think that has something to do with her personality."

"Professor Yu, I won't stand on ceremony. You must take good care of her from now on! She loves you and admires you. Actually, after thinking about it carefully last night, there is no one more suitable than you in the world. If you didn't already have someone, I would dream of having a son-in-law like you!"

"Well, it's not bad now either. We accept it!"

Yu Qie listened intently, never expecting that Chen Xiaoxu's father was so aware of his daughter's problems.

She even knew exactly what kind of suffering she was supposed to endure.

I vividly remember that although Chen Xiaoxu had a talent for business, she was not as good at interpersonal relationships as Zhang Li. Later, she sought Buddhist teachings and chanted scriptures, seeing through the illusions of the world, which misled many onlookers into thinking that she was a pure and unattached person, which was not the case.

Chen Xiaoxu had a stubborn temperament throughout her life. Although she was kind-hearted, she appeared unconventional to outsiders.

Problem girl!

I'm an expert at dealing with this kind of person!

Yu Qie thought to himself.

Then, Chen Xiaoxu's mother told Yu Qie, "Come visit Anshan when you have time. Your family misses you all very much." Chen Xiaoxu couldn't hold back any longer, grabbed the phone, and shouted, "Mom! Dad! I'll come visit you in a few days! I'm fine!"

Snapped!
hang up the phone.

Yu Qie groped her and put his arm around her, saying, "Now that we've been approved by our superiors, we're no longer a secret couple. I thought this was similar to the relationship between Yu Zecheng and Cuiping later on."

"Now, let us demonstrate how to use a pear wood bed to enhance our revolutionary friendship."

"Pah!" Chen Xiaoxu said, "You have no idea who Lin Daiyu is!"
-
The Spring Festival of this year passed quickly.

From the first day of the Lunar New Year to the end of the Lantern Festival, Yu Qie spent nine out of fifteen days playing cards with Nie Weiping.

The two ate at every restaurant in Beijing, often drinking until midnight. Nie Weiping's friends kept coming over, and Yu Qie treated them all. After one round, there was a second round. After they were full of food and drink, Yu Qie felt that he had been too unrestrained and dared not ask his family to pick him up. He could only take a taxi home.

But sometimes I would still receive a call from Chen Xiaoxu: "Yu Qie, where did you go?"

Yu Qie revealed his location.

Chen Xiaoxu was disappointed in him and, after giving him a good scolding, would always show up at the place Yu Qie had mentioned to pick him up.

Nie Weiping was very envious: Chen Xiaoxu was just as gentle as Lin Daiyu in the TV series.

Despite his obvious disdain, he could stare blankly at Yu Qie, lost in thought, and grin foolishly.

As for Zhang Li, needless to say, she didn't even offer any criticism. Nie Weiping described the way she looked at Yu Qie: a tender gaze that could be seen from ten meters away.

Although Nie Weiping's wife could appear virtuous on the surface, Kong Xiangming no longer admired him. Moreover, she always had a "resentful woman" feeling towards him after all her sacrifices, which Nie Weiping hated. But the more he tried to provoke Kong Xiangming, the more submissive Kong Xiangming became, and they would always have a big argument over trivial matters.

Both were once promising newcomers in the Go world, and were considered equals. They registered their marriage in 79. After hearing about it, the leader who knew them well specially instructed Kong Xiangming: Nie Weiping has a greater chance, and you should be willing to play the supporting role.

So Kong Xiangming devoted herself to being a wife and mother, and fully paved the way for Nie Weiping's career.

Nie Weiping said, "My wife is like my personal secretary. My boss told her that she must take care of my feelings during the competition! So I always seek pleasure during the competition, and she can't do anything about it! But she feels very wronged, and she remembers it all! So as soon as the competition is over, as long as she finds an excuse, she will have a big fight with me!"

I've only witnessed it once.

Nie Weiping brought a strange female journalist to his home, leaving Yu Qie speechless with shock. He immediately turned and ran away in fright. Nie Weiping's wife chased after him to speak, and Yu Qie thought she was trying to persuade him to "turn over a new leaf." However, she was actually telling Yu Qie not to tell any journalists.

In particular, do not mention Nie Weiping's womanizing in the article.

Because Nie Weiping is going to win the "Chess Saint" title next month.

If Lao Nie were to be involved in any scandalous news, it would be a blow to his career and even to the development of Go.

But Kong Xiangming's anger needed an outlet.

The next time we came, not only Yu Qie, but also a few card-playing friends we had recently met. We originally planned to have a meal at Lao Nie's house, but because Nie Weiping did not practice chess that day, Kong Xiangming suddenly erupted without warning!
She said, trembling, "Nie Weiping, I have a few things to say about you! First, you have let down the spirit of our old leader; second, you have let down everyone who helped you; third..."

He said a lot in a row.

Nie Weiping remained calm, letting his wife finish speaking, and then asked, "Have you had enough?"

Kong Xiangming is really like Xianglin's wife, still saying, "...Fifth, you are sorry for the sacrifices I made for you; Sixth..."

After everything had passed, Nie Weiping slowly said, "It's all my fault that I can't entertain guests tonight. I've shown everyone my unseemly side. Let's find another place to meet."

But with Lao Nie's house in such a state, what's the point of having a gathering? Everyone's run away.

When Yu Qie returned home, he told Zhang Li and Chen Xiaoxu about the incident, and both of them felt a pang of sympathy.

Zhang Li said, "Kong Xiangming has fallen to this state because she lost her integrity for Nie Weiping, but she hasn't completely resigned herself to her fate. Her life has become so distorted that she's become a 'bitter woman'!"

Chen Xiaoxu hoped that Yu would stop associating with Nie Weiping. "This man treats his wife badly, ruins her career, and offers no compensation. You can't even find happiness with him."

After Chen Xiaoxu said that, Zhang Li also felt that Lao Nie was a bit outrageous, and she especially disliked Nie Weiping's "cold violence" behavior. "He is not you, and other women are not us."

"If he keeps going like this, something bad is bound to happen sooner or later!"

Yu Qie wanted to persuade her good friend, but thinking of Nie Weiping's calm demeanor at the time, it seemed pointless to say anything. Nie Weiping's first marriage had already reached its end at this point. This incident solidified Yu Qie's resolve not to let Chen Xiaoxu and Zhang Li be "caged birds"; they needed to have their own careers no matter what.

At the end of the month, Yu Qie accompanied Chen Xiaoxu back to Ancheng to meet his parents-in-law.

The situation was initially rather awkward: Chen Qiang had a long beard like a Confucian scholar and looked quite charismatic. Yu Qie thought he was going to hit him, so he spoke very carefully.

On the other hand, Chen Qiang, as the head of the Anshan Peking Opera Troupe, was well aware of Yu Qie's influence in the cultural world. In fact, he regretted his "rude remarks" to Yu Qie a few days ago.

After all, he was the foremost literary figure of our time, a true literary giant.

The Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe once went to the United States to perform model operas, but the entire troupe "disappeared" after landing. Not long after, they returned in disgrace because they could not adapt to life in the United States.

The Yu Qie in front of us is the writer who bossed around American executives in the documentary "East Wind Prevails West Wind".

Those images had a profound impact on the Chinese people of that era, so much so that they could drive some people insane.

Chen Qiang once caught a glimpse of Wang Meng, a leader in the cultural field, who was attending a meeting in Beijing. However, Wang Meng and Yu Qie were close friends, and Wang Meng's proudest achievement was the "ice-breaking journey" spearheaded by Yu Qie.

With such an amazing son-in-law, how should this relationship be defined?

You call me Mount Tai, and I call you Professor?
The scene was very awkward for a moment.

It wasn't until Chen Xiaoxu pointed it out: "Dad! Even if Yu Qie has three heads and six arms, he's still your son-in-law here."

"Hey!" Yu Qie pressed on, "I've met you before. I love people like you with such a strong personality. Your beard is so beautiful, you're practically a magnificent bearded gentleman."

Only then did the two lower their guard and interact like a normal father-in-law and son-in-law. Afterwards, they opened the bottle of red wine and drank and chatted happily.

Yu Qie returned from Anshan in early March and began preparing for his trip to Laoshan.

After 84, due to the need for his protection, he had not appeared on the front lines for many years. During the wave of performances to comfort and support people from 85 to 87, a television station invited Yu Qie to perform, but it was rejected: Yu Qie should not be invited to the front lines.

Holding a performance to show appreciation to the troops serves two purposes: to reward them and to demonstrate our confidence. Given the relative stability of the border region, the performance also carries an additional message of unity and cessation of hostilities.

According to Liu Jiaju of Military Literature, some positions have already started sharing sweets and playing music. Years of confrontation have fostered a sense of mutual respect between the Vietnamese and Chinese sides, and due to the prevailing theme of "peace," the Chinese side is happy to cooperate.

However, the Vietnamese people hate Yu Xie to the core. If a "lone wolf" sniper were to shoot Professor Yu and kill him, it would be a major event that shakes people's morale.

No one can bear such a responsibility, not even Yu Qie himself.

When Yu Qie returned to play cards, he ran into Qiao Gong, who questioned him directly.

"Yu Qie, there are many suggestions regarding your participation in the performance. I think we should mainly consider your personal opinion. Do you think it's appropriate?"

“If there’s anything inappropriate, no matter where I am, as long as the soldiers on the front lines are willing to call me and give me a pistol, I can go up anytime.”

"You're going up there? What can you possibly do up there!"

"I write novels at night and guard the front lines during the day. How did Ba Jin do it back then? He wrote war correspondence under the bombing of bombers. Am I any less capable than him?"

What will you do if war breaks out?

“I’m not going anywhere, I’m just staying here.”

Qiao Gong laughed heartily. "You're working too hard. You didn't need to take such a big risk!"

After a while, the card game was switched players. A leader asked Yu Qie how his writing of "The Bloody Battle of Laoshan" was progressing.

"I finished writing it a long time ago, but it wasn't published, and I didn't have time to revise it."

"Revision? You mean to issue a separate booklet directly?"

“Yes and no,” Yu Qie said. “I published it in literary magazines and also through the publisher of October.”

"The front lines want to reprint your novel; could you print it as a booklet?"

"Sure, use it as long as it's useful. I've already announced that I'll donate all my royalties from domestic publications to a charity foundation. I'm no longer writing novels for the sake of royalties."

These words startled everyone. Qiao Gong then revealed the same complex expression he had when he heard that Yu Qie had donated money: he stood up and walked around the room, saying after a while, "I always feel that it is inappropriate to ask people to donate money like this. I have always advocated that money should be earned through legal labor. I know all too well how you obtained your money."

Then he asked again, "Are you really going to donate all of these royalties?"

"It's domestic, it's domestic." Yu Qie was afraid he had made a mistake.

He laughed and said, "Of course I know you're talking about domestic royalties, which is a lot of money! Have you thought it through?"

“I’ve thought it through. I won’t withdraw this money for ten or twenty years. I’ll use it to run a charitable foundation—which would be a breakthrough in the economic field. I think I can use it to write my economics paper.”

"My standing in the economics field may depend on these topics that others can't write about. It seems that my purpose is not so pure."

Everyone found Yu Qie's words interesting, and even Nie Weiping couldn't help but burst into laughter.

After finishing bridge.

Yu Qie and Nie Weiping went out for drinks and passed by a soldier on guard duty. To Nie Weiping's surprise, the soldier saluted Yu Qie, and Yu Qie returned the salute.

"Yu Qie, do you know him?"

"do not know."

"Then why would he salute you? Is it because 'Why bother with past acquaintances when we've met before?'"

"You misspoke. That describes a down-on-his-luck scholar and a pipa player. I'm saying 'Don't laugh at me, drunk and lying on the battlefield!'"
-
After being affiliated with the Children and Teenagers' Foundation for about half a year, the "Yuqie Foundation" finally became independent and a true foundation organization.

This year was a groundbreaking year for the field of economics. When Yu Qie was teaching at Yenching University, he joked, "Ten years from now, textbooks will have to mention the grant milestone in a small line of text—that's why I'm adding my name to it."

"I'm afraid people won't recognize me!"

"If I unfortunately pass away in the future, as long as you receive the foundation's money, you'll know that I, Yu Qie, am a decent person. Look at Nobel; when he was alive, he was only considered a second-rate scientist, but now everyone in the world knows him."

Writers around the world celebrated the establishment of the foundation, declaring it a great innovation.

When the news spread overseas, even those abroad were shocked that Yu Qieken had donated a portion of his royalties, and their evaluation of him was even higher.

(End of this chapter)