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

Chapter 188 The Commercial Press's stakeout in Yanjing

"Writer Liu is on the bus. Which organization are you from?"

"Left? Which train did you take?"

"How would we know! Writer Liu and I are good friends, but he wouldn't tell me something so trivial!"

Inside the guesthouse, the receptionist slammed down the phone after speaking, angrily cursing, "Damn it, I'm already in a bad mood, and this bastard is making a huge fuss. How am I supposed to know who you are?!"

After saying that, he picked up "Romance on Lushan Mountain" and started reading it. It even had Liu Yimin's signature on it!

Upon seeing this, he angrily added, "You should let Writer Liu take a gun and shoot you like a wolf!"

After a while, the phone rang again, followed by a "click" sound of the phone being hung up.

It was a long time before the performers of the Zhanqi Song and Dance Troupe who participated in the performance of "Grassland Women Militia" learned that Comrade Liu Yimin from Yanjing had seen their performance and was standing in the front row.

The news came from the leaders of the cultural troupe. They told everyone that Comrade Liu Yimin had praised their dance performance highly.

The actors who had been on stage tried desperately to recall what they had seen, but couldn't. While they performed, they would look at the audience, but their attention was mostly on the stage, and they didn't pay much attention to the audience.

They wouldn't pay extra attention unless they knew it in advance.

So they called the guesthouse one by one, including some calls from people who weren't from the dance troupe.

Zhang Li (Xue Baochai) hung up the phone and said with a hint of anger, "Our troupe leaders are really something. They didn't know to tell us sooner. I think there was something wrong with one of my actions at the time."

"Yes, if you had told us sooner, we would have noticed!"

"I also want a group photo!"

While the guesthouse staff and the performers from the Zhanqi Song and Dance Troupe were sulking, Liu Yimin had already boarded the green train bound for Yanjing. After another day or two of bumpy travel, he would finally be able to lie down in the courtyard house he had been longing for.

When I get back, I have to go to Muxidi first and have a good taste of my senior sister Wanfang's braised beef. I haven't had it in a long time and I really miss it.

Speaking of beef, Liu Yimin took out a piece of dried yak from his bag and slowly chewed it.

Seeing the dried yak in Liu Yimin's hand, someone asked curiously, "Comrade, judging from your appearance, are you from Aba?"

Skin color and dried yak meat—typical Aba people!

"No, no, but Aba is my third hometown!"

"A third hometown?" the other person muttered and then fell silent, thinking to himself that this guy was so young, yet he had quite a few hometowns.

Liu Yimin handed him a piece of dried yak meat and said with a smile, "Maybe this will be my fourth or fifth hometown in the future."

On the way back, the liveliness of the journey was gone. Walking through the carriages, there were no more stories being told. Liu Yimin began to miss the descendant of the Sichuan Army who had accompanied him on the way.

When I was bored, I opened the last letter from Zhu Lin in my hand. His reply was that he was going back to Yanjing and that the next letter he would send would be to the courtyard house.

He also carefully instructed the guesthouse staff that if there were any more letters, they should not be received, but simply forwarded back.

Zhu Lin included a photo in the letter. In the photo, taken at the foot of a building in Hong Kong, she is wearing a white dress and canvas shoes, and the silver watch on her wrist reflects the sunlight, making her look like a youthful college student.

The style of this long dress looks like it was bought in Hong Kong. In the letter, Zhu Lin told Liu Yimin that some clothes in Hong Kong were very beautiful, even more beautiful than Zhou Yun's in "Romance on Lushan Mountain".

"When we get back to Yanjing, I'll show you my other clothes. Teacher Liu, I didn't just buy clothes for myself. I also bought you quite a few; I'm sure you'll like them."

We're heading back soon, and we have some good news to share with you then.

Zhu Lin

Liu Yimin opened the window, and the letter paper fluttered in the wind.
Liu Yimin put the letter in his pocket and went to eat in the dining car. In the summer, almost no one could sleep in the green train carriage. With the windows open, the wind howled, and the sun was blinding, making it difficult to fall asleep.

There were all sorts of smells, the most common being the stench of sweat, smelly shoes, and tobacco, but thankfully the wind was strong enough.

Stepping into the dining car felt like entering a different world. Inside, Liu Yimin savored the hot food, which tasted much better than the later meals served in the dining car.

It's also possible that later generations ate too well, and the comparison led to the shift in perception between what tasted bad and what tasted good.

After finishing our meal, on our way back, we encountered a train police officer catching a thief. The victim was completely unaware of the theft. When the officer told everyone to check their wallets to retrieve them, an elderly woman nervously touched the pocket sewn inside her clothes, jumped up, and broke out in a cold sweat.

"Comrade, I lost the money wrapped in my handkerchief. It was my family's life-saving money!"

Many people in the carriage started cursing the thief. The train police officer smiled and said, "Grandma, come with me to pick him up. Don't worry, we will definitely punish the thief severely. After you get off the train, we will send him to prison. He will have to go to a labor camp for at least two years!"

Petty theft has increased in the past two years, with cases of theft occurring in various places. Since last year, efforts to combat crime have been intensified.

Many representatives suggested that these people should be made to taste the power of political maneuvering!

Stealing a few dollars could result in a sentence of two years or more in re-education through labor, but in the end, it was just a matter of being arrested and released intermittently.

Once inside the private room, Liu Yimin checked his luggage and the contents of his bag, only feeling relieved to find nothing missing.

"Don't worry, comrade, thieves rarely come to the soft sleeper section. They're afraid to steal anything unsuitable, and they'll suffer even more if they get caught! Not to mention, there might be people in the compartments, but they're more likely to steal from the hard seats."

Upon hearing the announcement, "We've arrived in the great capital, Yanjing," Liu Yimin eagerly stood up. He rubbed his aching legs and quickly joined the queue to disembark.

Stepping out of the bustling Yanjing Station, Liu Yimin first bought a state-run red bean popsicle before finally squeezing onto the bus, completely ignoring the groans of the older passengers, carving out a space for himself.

The bus was even more crowded, and every now and then a sudden stop would result in a close encounter with the male and female passengers next to you.

After finally arriving at the courtyard house, Liu Yimin had just reached the entrance when a figure darted out from the side, startling him so much that he jumped right next to the stone drum.

"Comrade Liu Yimin, you're back?"

"you are?"

"I'm an editor from The Commercial Press, here to discuss the publication of your standalone book!"

"Comrade, how did you know I was coming back today?"

"I've contacted the Sichuan province authorities and they know I'll be arriving in Yanjing today!"

"Hey, it's not like it's a secret operation. Why do we have to do all this reconnaissance? It's not too late to come back after we confirm!" It seems that all the tricks of fighting behind enemy lines have been used on him, and he's surrounded by sieves!
P.S.: I spent too much time gossiping about Qidian authors today, and it almost interfered with my writing! Please vote for me!

It's better for everyone to read books, instead of always tipping female live streamers, comrades, this behavior is very bad!
Bald man: I don't understand!
(End of this chapter)