My era, 1979!

Chapter 26: Give Me a Column?

The typewriters in the editorial department suddenly stopped.

The typist girl by the window stopped using the tweezers, turned her head to look this way, and her braids swayed gently with the movement.

The old editor at the opposite table pushed up his reading glasses, his red pencil paused on the manuscript paper, and his Adam's apple bobbed as if he wanted to say something.

Even the correspondent who was passing by the door with a newspaper slowed down and leaned closer to listen.

When Xu Chengjun said, "If you make a living by physical labor, what difference does it make what ideology?", the newspaper in his hand almost slipped to the ground.

Editor-in-Chief Li slammed down his teacup, the bottom of the enamel cup hitting the table, startling the cactus on the windowsill, which shook off the dust.

He took off his glasses and wiped them on his shirt, his eyes behind the lenses gleaming: "Xiao Xu's words hit the nail on the head!"

He grabbed the newspaper clippings from the table and waved them around a few times. "Just for those few sentences you said, I'll personally review this interview! It'll be on the front page, with an editor's note!"

Editor-in-Chief Li added some water to his cup, her eyes filled with approval.

"How do you think young people should view self-employment?" Ma Shengli continued, his voice a little softer than before.

"I'm reminded of Qian Ming."

Xu Chengjun turned to look at the boy sitting next to him, who was writing on the back of the interview outline with a pen.

“When he was taking the college entrance exam, some people said, ‘It’s useless for educated youth to study so much,’ but he still studied until midnight every day. It’s the same with self-employment. What you should be afraid of is not what others say, but whether you can do your job well.”

"When Qian Ming was studying English vocabulary, some people said, 'The educated youth are just wasting their time and not earning work points'; when the melon seed vendor set up a street stall, some people said, 'He's not doing his proper job.' But things in this world are never determined by what others say."

He picked up a sample copy of the Anhui Youth Daily from the table and pointed to the headline, "Young People in Xiaogang Village Strive to Become Leaders in Contracting Projects."

“Look at these young people, they dare to divide the land among households, not because they are not afraid of being scolded, but because they know that living a stable life is more important than anything else.”

"Self-employment is not about 'taking a shortcut,' but about 'exploring a new path.' Young people should dare to explore, but they shouldn't explore blindly. They should not only live up to their own efforts but also make the most of the leeway provided by the policies."

The tape recorder in Ma Shengli's hand was still spinning when he suddenly slapped his thigh and threw the outline on the table: "I knew I had found the right person! Last time I interviewed a self-employed individual, that young man cried to me, saying that when he was setting up his stall, he always felt like someone was talking behind his back."

"If it's in the newspaper tomorrow, I'll have him take the newspaper to a street stall!"

Qian Ming suddenly blushed and tried to stuff the paper covered in writing into his pocket, but Ma Shengli snatched it away. "Hey, what's written here?"

He read aloud, “‘Individuals are stars, the collective is the moon; when there are many stars, the night sky is bright!’”

"That's a very vivid metaphor!"

Everyone laughed, their laughter drowning out the sound of the wind outside the window.
-
As the interview drew to a close, dusk slowly crept into the editorial office.

The cactus on the windowsill cast a long shadow, which landed right on the clippings that Editor-in-Chief Li was pushing over.

The red pencil circled the phrases "Scales are dead, but people's hearts are alive" and "If policies are relaxed by an inch, life will be easier by a foot," the ink still bearing fresh marks.

"These words are intended to be included in the interview title, Xiao Xu, do you think it's appropriate?"

Xu Chengjun smiled and pushed the clipping toward him: "You've been writing for decades, you're better at predicting policy trends than anyone else. Your decisions are never wrong."

"Then let's use the 'Labor Theory' from the planet Libra!"

Editor-in-Chief Li slammed his hand on the table. His fingertips tapped loudly on the line about "loosening the policy even an inch." "Add a subtitle: 'Young Xu Chengjun and His Observations on the Times.' Publish it next Monday, print 10,000 copies! Every county's educated youth settlement and commune youth center must get one!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly grabbed Xu Chengjun's shoulder.

The words he wanted to say were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back, his Adam's apple bobbing as he said, "Xiao Xu, please wait a moment."

Ignoring the pen on the table rolling half a foot away, and disregarding the surprised looks from the editors around him who had stopped writing, he called out loudly, "Old Zhang, Little Wang, come to the small conference room!"

After saying that, he grabbed Deputy Editor Zhang and the others, lifted the curtain, and went into the inner room. The door clicked shut and locked.
-
Ma Shengli scratched the back of his head, winked at Xu Chengjun, and spread his hands: "I don't know what he's up to either."

Xu Chengjun was amused by him. Just as he was about to speak, the female clerk at the next table came over with an ink bottle, blushing as she handed him a notebook: "Comrade Xu, could you sign this for me? Your 'pumpkin pulp sticking to the signboard' is so realistic."

“Ma Shengli read that song, ‘Time,’ to us, and I really liked it.”

Xu Chengjun was taken aback.

Is this considered a fan of his from 79?

It's no wonder that later generations of writers loved to hold book signings.

A group of beautiful young girls surrounded you, asking for your autograph.

Who wouldn't be happy?

Since I was free anyway, I signed my name.

The two talked about their manuscripts under the lamplight, from the red rope at the melon seed stall to the rice stacks in Xiaogang Village.

In the corner, Qian Ming suddenly shrugged like Ma Shengli, but a smile secretly crept onto his lips.

"Cheng Jun is dishonest!"
-
After a while, Editor-in-Chief Li led the editors out in single file and smiled at Xu Chengjun.

"Xiao Xu, how about we give you a column in the Youth Daily after this interview? Just write down everything you've seen and thought. Young people need your voice."

As soon as Editor-in-Chief Li finished speaking, the noise in the editorial department stopped.

In the early stages of reform and opening up, newspapers were the core carriers of information dissemination and ideological exchange, especially local party newspapers or youth newspapers, which served both policy propaganda and social mobilization functions.

Columnists are not ordinary writers; to a certain extent, they represent the media's endorsement of their professionalism and credibility.

For the Anhui Youth Daily, such columns serve as a platform for young people to express their thoughts.

Consequently, the author may become a representative voice in local youth culture or social trends.

Xu Chengjun was appointed as a columnist for the Anqing Daily.

Its weight is undeniably significant.

Their sincerity cannot be denied.

If you really want to say it, Xu Chengjun said it was damn sincere!

For Xu Chengjun,

This column.

He and his contemporaries
There's a completely different way to play!

This is his chance.

This is also an opportunity for the Anqing Daily!
-
Xu Chengjun's hand, which was holding the pen, froze in mid-air.

"Start a column?"

He repeated it, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

Editor-in-Chief Li added hot water to the enamel mug, the steam blurring his glasses: "Xiao Xu, don't be in such a hurry to refuse."

He pulled out a bound volume of the Anhui Youth Daily from his drawer, pointed to one of the pages, and said, “Look at this ‘Youth Mailbox.’ It receives hundreds of letters every day. Half of them ask, ‘Does setting up a street stall count as taking the capitalist road?’ The other half say, ‘I want to study but I’m afraid people will laugh at me.’ What these kids lack is not courage, but a mirror to see themselves.”

He pushed the bound volume in front of Xu Chengjun and tapped on the report about "Xiaogang Village Youth": "Your article 'The Scale Star' became popular because you didn't write slogans, but the reality of 'using pumpkin pulp to stick a signboard.' The story of Old Zhou changing scales three times is more effective than ten of our fabricated principles."

Ma Shengli suddenly interjected: "Editor-in-Chief Li was telling us yesterday that he wanted to find an author who could 'speak to young people.' Your work, 'The Granary,' contains the sparks of reform, and your work, 'The Scales,' reflects the warmth of everyday life. Aren't you the most suitable candidate?"

(End of this chapter)