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

Chapter 22 Excessive Enthusiasm

Around 3 PM, Liu Yimin followed Lao Sun and the other two towards the county. Before leaving, Lao Sun and the others specifically left money for the meal on the table. Liu Fuqing refused, but Lao Sun said it was customary, and besides, the cultural center provided them with subsidies, so they didn't need to pay.

Liu Fuqing didn't refuse anymore. Commune cadres who went to the countryside to support production or conduct investigations would often eat meals at Liu's house. Eating meals meant that these cadres would eat at the homes of ordinary commune members, and they would eat whatever the commune members ate.

They were required to eat, live, and work together, but were not allowed to prepare elaborate meals or drink alcohol, and had to pay for their own meals. Later, the regulations became even stricter, prohibiting them from eating at the homes of brigade cadres and rich peasants, and the Liu family never again provided meals for others.

Cadres who are given meals must adhere to five prohibitions: no smoking, no drinking alcohol, no eating fish, no eating meat, and no eating for free.

Liu Fuqing felt that this was no different from having a meal together, the only difference being that this time he came to see Liu Yimin separately.

Along the way, Lao Sun talked non-stop to Liu Yimin about the cultural center, including how many people worked there, as well as the salaries and other benefits such as housing.

Seeing that Liu Yimin was listening attentively, he was even happier and pulled him aside to talk about literary creation.

The reason Lao Sun said all this was because he knew that Director Zhang was not simply asking Liu Yimin to give a report, but rather transferring him directly to the cultural center.

This report was actually an assessment, to see what kind of person Liu Yimin was.

After chatting with Liu Yimin at noon, Lao Sun's impression of the young man completely changed. He spoke confidently and generously, without feeling the slightest inferiority because of his status. He spoke as if he were well-educated and had a thorough understanding of literature.

Hearing that Liu Yimin had been a teacher in the junior high school class run by the team, he was greatly shocked. He was capable of teaching and writing, as well as carrying water in the fields. His physique was much better than that of young people in the city.

I saw it with my own eyes; the sweat-soaked vest revealed taut muscles underneath.

“Yimin, you and my granddaughter seem to be in the same grade? My granddaughter’s name is Sun Yihong, do you know her?” Old Sun said, turning his head to Liu Yimin, who was sitting on the back seat, as he rode his bicycle.

“I don’t know him. We were in several different classes back then. Comrade Sun, let me ride. I’m young and strong.”

"No need, this is downhill, it's not difficult!"

Liu Yimin's face was full of bitterness as he kept adjusting his seat. The front seat was leather, which provided better shock absorption. But in his back seat, it was like having a steel rod underneath his flesh; the shock absorption depended entirely on how thick his buttocks were.

His own body was so thin, his buttocks were all bones, and he felt like his tailbone was about to crack from the effort. And to make matters worse, he had to chat with Old Sun while grimacing in pain.

"Yimin, why aren't you saying anything? What do you think of the novel 'The Class Teacher'?"

"I...I'll look with my butt...no, my butt hurts a little."

Now I finally understand how my older brother, Liu Yiguo, felt. No wonder he kept wanting to ride it himself that day. To truly understand someone's feelings, you really have to experience it yourself.

It was almost time to leave work, but in reality, the cultural center doesn't have a closing time; people are free to come and go as they please.

If you ask what I did when I was late for work?
Answer: "I went out to gather inspiration!"

Why leave work so early?
Answer: "Off to gather inspiration!"

But today, no one left. Everyone sat together, and the chess pieces on the board remained in the same unfinished state as in the morning. In the afternoon, no one was in the mood to continue playing.

Because the mysterious writer from Ru County has been found, and according to what Lao Sun said on the phone, he is only 22 years old, and when he was found, the mud on his body was still wet.

This made it impossible for any of them to calm down. Looking at their own ages in the mirror, they all felt like they were living a life of misery.

Old Zhang ordered everyone to stay put and wait until Liu Yimin arrived for a meeting before they could go home. Normally, this would have been met with complaints, but today not a single person uttered a word. Even if Old Zhang hadn't said anything, no one would have left.

Old Li, who was always complaining, stopped complaining and didn't say a word all afternoon. He almost wore out the pages of "Donkey Water" published in People's Literature magazine.

He drank cup after cup of tea, trying to maintain his usual aloof and nonchalant demeanor, but he couldn't quite manage it, his eyes constantly glancing towards the door.

"Old Zhang, go take the letter of introduction from the cultural center and arrange a room for Comrade Liu Yimin at the Revolutionary Committee's guesthouse," Old Zhang said urgently, standing in the middle of the office doorway.

After several hours of bumpy travel, Liu Yimin finally arrived in Ru County. He passed a mottled earthen city wall with various revolutionary slogans painted on both sides.

On the left is a propaganda poster that reads, "From now on, we must be prepared, for the vast land of our motherland is full of graves of invaders!" It also features soldiers and militiamen in green uniforms with red collar tabs, wearing military caps and straw hats.

The text on the right reads, "Deepen the criticism of L and K, vigorously promote the development of light industry, and actively contribute coal and grain to the country!" It is accompanied by images of coal miners digging coal and production teams producing coal.

The words "Wangsong" are written on the city gate tower, which is the north gate of Ru County.

After walking a little further, the buildings became much more imposing. The People's Cinema of Ru County, as well as the County Revolutionary Committee, guesthouse, and trade union building, are all located here.

“That’s our cultural center, the most beautiful place in Ruxian County,” Old Sun said proudly.

The main gate of the cultural center consists of a central gate and two side gates. The main gate is inscribed with "Ruxian People's Cultural Center", while the two side gates are inscribed with "Let a hundred flowers bloom" and "Let a hundred schools of thought contend" respectively.

The entire gate is very grand in design, with square pillars at the main entrance and patterns carved on the base.

Inside the gate, the courtyard is filled with all sorts of flowers and plants, like a small garden.

“Yimin, now you know why I say our cultural center is the most beautiful in Ruxian County, right? Our curator loves flowers and plants, and he planted everything in the courtyard. Over the past ten years, this courtyard has also made a great contribution, as the curator buried many cultural relics underneath it,” Old Sun introduced one by one.

Before he could finish speaking, several people rushed out of the room in the middle, their eyes fixed on Liu Yimin. Old Li, however, was different; he simply stood inside the door, quietly observing everything that was happening in the courtyard.

"You must be Comrade Liu Yimin. Welcome, welcome! I'm Zhang Jiuyi, the curator. You can just call me Lao Zhang. We've all read your article; it's excellent. On the phone, Lao Sun praised your youth, saying you're indeed a talented young man!"

"Yes, heroes emerge from among the young, which makes us old folks ashamed!"

"Hello, Director!"

"Call me Lao Zhang. From now on, we're family. Let me show you around the cultural center and introduce you to the comrades. Your accommodation has been arranged at the Revolutionary Committee's guesthouse. As for the allowance, it'll be one yuan and two mao per day."

Liu Yimin was a little puzzled. How did they suddenly become family? Weren't these people from the cultural center being a bit too enthusiastic?

　Dear readers, I'm very sad. New books are supposed to be featured prominently when they're added to the library, but for some reason, they suddenly disappeared and I can't find my book anymore.

　　Tomorrow is the next round of recommendation data comparison, so please keep reading and try to get a recommendation.

　　Thank you all!
　　Sigh, without the traffic from new book releases, I don't know if I can even pass the competition.

(End of this chapter)