Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 130 Are you ready to take it now?
Led by Zhang Manling, thunderous applause erupted. After the applause subsided, everyone smiled and offered their warmest congratulations to Liu Yimin.

Congratulations, Yimin!

"I told you, the biggest suspense in this voting campaign by China Youth Daily is that there's absolutely no suspense!" a student stood up and laughed loudly.

"Exactly, if it weren't for Yimin, I would have thought this voting activity was rigged."

Liu Zhenyun and the other two tactfully moved aside to stand on either side, so as not to get caught in Liu Yimin's applause.

Even so, Liu Zhenyun said in a low voice, "Just standing behind Yimin, this applause is enough for me to remember for a lifetime!"

“I’ll remember this entrance for the rest of my life!” Li Xueqin said, tilting his head to Liu Zhenyun’s side.

Chen Dazhi didn't say anything, but nodded with great enthusiasm.

Liu Yimin smiled at everyone: "Thank you for your support, everyone!"

"Yimin, say a few words!" Zhang Manling shouted while clapping, her usual Yunnan accent completely gone at this moment.

At some point, Professor Xie Mian appeared behind Liu Yimin and urged him with a smile, "Yimin, it seems you are more popular than me. Go up and say a few words, I'll sit down and listen."

Xie Mian is a professor who teaches the appreciation of modern poetry, and he often uses Liu Yimin's poems for analysis in class.

Liu Zhenyun and Li Xueqin exchanged a glance, chuckled, and together pushed Liu Yimin onto the podium.

"Get up here!"

Professor Xie Mian and several others, including Liu Zhenyun, were already seated below, waiting for Liu Yimin to begin his lecture. Xie Mian was particularly interested in seeing Liu Yimin's ability to react on the spot.

Let's see if he can handle this unexpected speech.

Liu Yimin glanced at the Chinese literature students in the large classroom, thought for a moment, and then began to speak:

"Classmates, since this happened so suddenly and we weren't prepared, then we won't prepare. As a writer, my greatest success is when my work is enjoyed by readers. I have three points to make. First, thank you for your support; I know you all voted for me."

"Haha, I submitted two!" Liu Zhenyun gestured the number "two" with his hand.

Liu Zhenyun's words elicited another burst of laughter.

"The support from students and readers is an honor for me, but also a pressure and a motivation. I'm not a fan of being a role model because it's stressful; everyone is watching and monitoring my every move."

But ever since I accidentally published my first novel and was invited by our county cultural center to give a report, and then, unexpectedly, scored over 400 points on a test, becoming the top student in the province, the pressure of being a role model has been with me constantly ever since.”

The students listened to Liu Yimin's speech in complete silence. When they heard the words "by accident" and "by carelessness," they looked at each other and exchanged glances.

Is this something a human could say?
When Professor Xie Mian heard Liu Yimin say that, the muscles in his face twitched involuntarily. This brat!

Liu Yimin then shared his writing experience with everyone, and finally said: "In fact, students, you are all the pride of heaven who were able to get into Yenching University. You are the future of our country and shoulder the hope of building the Four Modernizations. Each and every one of you is a role model."

I hope that we will live up to the trust placed in us by the nation and its people, and the hopes of our times, and shoulder the responsibilities that our generation of college students should bear.

After Liu Yimin finished speaking, he bowed deeply. Amidst thunderous applause, Xie Mian walked up and shook hands with Liu Yimin, then gestured with his palm towards the audience, and the classroom gradually quieted down.

Xie Mian said, "Students, many of you want to become writers like Yimin. I hope that you will not only become writers, but also patriotic writers."

A leaf fell into the Chinese Department of Yenching University, sending shivers down the spine and creating ripples. I hope it will next unleash a colossal wave!

Xie Mian teaches everyone to appreciate poetry, and he has a very good way of reciting poems. His recitations are often melodious and full of emotion, allowing everyone to truly experience the beauty of poetry.

The last line was recited in the form of a poetry recitation, and the emotion was suddenly brought up at the end.

The classroom was filled with a lively atmosphere, and students in other classrooms outside couldn't help but prick up their ears.

"The Chinese Literature Department is celebrating the New Year again!" Deng Guangming, the head of the History Department, said sourly from the podium.

After speaking, looking at the students below, he couldn't help but scold, "Look at those Chinese literature students!"

Xie Mian was lecturing on stage when Liu Yimin unfolded the newspaper in his hand and began to read it carefully. The votes had already been counted, and the *China Youth Daily* had even had them double-checked. After all, they were just college students doing an internship; counting the votes once was an internship, and counting the votes twice was also an internship.

After the vote count was released, in accordance with the agreement with the Writers' Association, the results were reviewed by the Writers' Association before being officially published in the newspaper.

Upon seeing this, Li Ji, the second-in-command of the Writers' Association, laughed loudly and said, "Publish it immediately! Publish it right now! My fellow townsman, oh my, my fellow townsman!"

Liu Yimin opened the newspaper and began to read. The China Youth Daily had received a total of 93,000 votes, of which Liu Yimin received 51,000 votes, Zhang Kangkang came in second with 8,000 votes, Shu Ting came in third, followed by Bei Dao, Shi Zhi, Feng Jicai, and so on.

He received 54 percent of the total votes, which is close to 55 percent.

Liu Yimin sighed and folded the newspaper.

"Why are you sighing? You're in first place, with 50,000 votes. What? Aren't you satisfied?" Zhang Manling glanced at Liu Yimin, secretly turned her body to the side, and couldn't help but ask.

"The thought that half of my readers don't like me... do you understand that feeling, Zhang Manling?" Liu Yimin said, bowing his head.

Zhang Manling rolled her eyes at Liu Yimin, turned her head away, and stopped talking. She gripped the pen tightly in her right hand, scribbling incessantly on the paper.

The force was so strong that it almost broke the pen nib off.

The public had been anticipating this ranking for a long time. Everyone pointed and commented on the ranking. There was no objection to the first place, but everyone started to clamor about the authors ranked after the first place, feeling that their favorite authors should be moved up a bit.

Or perhaps it's because someone shouldn't be in the front, etc.

In the editorial office of "Today," a group of people under an old tree in the courtyard were reading newspapers in unusual silence. Liu Yu blew on the tea in his cup, took a careful sip, looked at the silent crowd, and sighed.

Internal conflicts within the editorial department of "Today" magazine are gradually emerging, and some people have already left. There are many conflicts, but the main one is a clash of positions.

This group of people gathered together with so-called literary ideals, initially believing they shared the same thoughts and were like-minded. Later, disagreements gradually emerged, followed by heated arguments.

After taking another sip of tea, Liu Yu said with a smile, "Everyone should take this ranking in the right way. Comrade Liu Yimin is excellent in himself. His poems and works have all had a huge impact on readers."

Is it so hard to acknowledge someone's excellence?

"Liu Yu, what do you mean?"

“It’s meaningless. Starting today, I won’t be coming to ‘Today’ anymore. I used to want to run a literary magazine, but now it’s gone awry.” Liu Yu finished speaking, got up to leave, glanced at the tea leaves on the table, put them in her bag, and swaggered away.

As he reached the door, he added, "Munk, as a friend, I have a piece of advice for you: don't always take girls out drinking."

Munk was the playboy among this group. Ever since he founded "Today," he had been using literature as an excuse to frequently take a group of girls out drinking.

Upon hearing this, Munk was furious, but Liu Yu had already slipped away.

Bei Dao glanced at Zhang Pengzhi, who said, "Liu Yu is right, Mang Ke, you can't always be out with girls chasing after romance."

"I mean, who's going to post at Yenching University in this issue of 'Today' magazine?"

Zhang Peng shrank back, remembering that he had run into Liu Yimin last time. It would be awkward to run into him again this time. Seeing everyone staring at him, he said helplessly, "I'll go instead!"

Bei Dao then announced another rule for the editorial department: no one was allowed to bring girls out, to avoid being seen as a pervert.

The group divided the work, separating the stacks of mimeographed magazines on the ground into several portions. Most of them would be mailed to readers, while a small portion would be posted online to expand their reach.

In addition, some copies are sent to various schools. Many schools have agents for "Today" magazine. Our director, Mr. Chen, is the agent for "Today" magazine at the Beijing Film Academy.

Zhang Pengzhi rode his bicycle, carrying newspapers, to Yenching University, silently praying that he would not run into Liu Yimin.

Just as he was getting into the swing of pasting, he turned around and saw Liu Yimin standing in the middle of the group of students, staring at the mimeographed magazine. Zhang Pengzhi forced himself to greet Liu Yimin.

Do you need me to help you put it on?

"No need, no need, we don't actually need to put up many, just two will do!" Zhang Pengzhi quickly waved his hand.

"Hmm!" Liu Yimin stood to the side with his arms crossed, intently looking at the magazine.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhang Pengzhi packed up his tools, left Yenching University, and returned to the editorial department of "Today." After putting down what he was holding, he said, "I think Liu Yu is right today!"

Munk frowned and said, "Didn't I already say that I wouldn't go out and talk about literature with them anymore?"

"This is the second half of Liu Yu's sentence. The first half is about literary stance, which I feel is different from my own literary stance, so I won't come here anymore."

After Zhang Peng finished speaking, he clapped his hands and left the editorial department of "Today".

Bei Dao, Mang Ke, and Huang Rui exchanged glances. With Zhang Pengzhi and Liu Yu gone, it was as if all the people they had recruited later had left, leaving only the three founding members.

"It's alright, didn't we receive a letter from a reader? Let's find another group of people by following the addresses on the letter."

Time flew by and it was already the end of June. "Mr. Donkey" had been running for a month, and its popularity showed no signs of waning. But Cao Yu felt that the actors couldn't be put through any more hardship and needed a rest.

So at the end of the month, the number of performances was reduced, and they began to coordinate with other performances.

When Liu Yimin walked into the Beijing People's Art Theatre, Zhu Lin saw him and ran over, saying excitedly, "Comrade Liu Yimin, thank you, thank you!"

The repeated "thank you"s left Liu Yimin somewhat bewildered.

Seeing that he didn't understand, Zhu Lin quickly said, "I'm being transferred to the Beijing People's Art Theatre. They've already transferred my file. After a few more procedures, I'll be an actor at the Beijing People's Art Theatre."

Zhu Lin graduated around this time, and if she hadn't been transferred to the Beijing People's Art Theatre, she would definitely have been assigned to a medical institution. Now, it's like she's seamlessly transitioned from school to the Beijing People's Art Theatre, how could she not be excited?

"Congratulations!" Liu Yimin extended his hand, offering a comradely congratulation.

"If it weren't for you, I definitely wouldn't have been able to transfer. My roommates are all very envious of me. One of them even asked me to tell you that she really likes your novel 'Romance on Lushan Mountain,' which reminds her of a male educated youth she met when she was sent to the countryside."

When they were sent to the countryside, she initially struggled to adapt, but the other male educated youth helped her a lot, and gradually, they developed feelings for each other. Unfortunately, unlike Zhou Yun and Geng Hua, they didn't end up together.

Zhu Lin sat next to Liu Yimin, telling stories while observing Liu Yimin's changing expressions.

“Not all love from our youth has a happy ending; most of it ends without a trace,” Liu Yimin said calmly.

Zhu Lin countered, "Then wouldn't it be more realistic for the two of them not to be together?"

"Yes!" Liu Yimin did not deny it.

"Then why don't you write something more realistic?" Zhu Lin quite enjoyed discussing literary creation with Liu Yimin. She believed that talking about literature would give them more to talk about.

"Because I love beauty!"

Liu Yimin stared at Zhu Lin and grinned, a smile that sent a shiver down Zhu Lin's spine, causing her to blink nervously.

"Comrade Yimin, Comrade Zhu Lin, you two are here!"

The arrival of Yang Lixin and Pu Cunxi interrupted their conversation, and Zhu Lin glared angrily at the smiling Yang Lixin.

He thought to himself, "What are you laughing at? Those two teeth look so much better than everyone else's."

"Did you need something?"

"Old Pu has been transferred to the Beijing People's Art Theatre. He wants to treat you to a meal to thank you properly. If it weren't for this script, he might not have been able to come for a long time!" Yang Lixin nudged Pu Cunxi's back, signaling him to speak.

Pu Cunxi quickly said, "Comrade Yimin, I would like to invite you to dinner to thank you!"

At home, he often heard his father, Su Min, praising Liu Yimin. He also instructed Pu Cunxi to cultivate a good relationship with Liu Yimin. Pu Cunxi mentioned that he wanted to invite Liu Yimin to dinner, and Su Min immediately took out the meal tickets from under his pillow and told him to invite Liu Yimin to have a good meal.

Liu Yimin glanced at Zhu Lin beside him, and Yang Lixin quickly said, "Comrade Zhu Lin, come along too!"

"Alright, wait for me a moment!"

Liu Yimin went to Cao Yu's office; his teacher wanted to see him about something.

"We'll wait!" Pu Cunxi quickly declared.

After Liu Yimin left, Pu Cunxi smiled at Yang Lixin, his eyes filled with gratitude.

(End of this chapter)