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

Chapter 329 Yang Lixin's 'Feminization'
Inside the rehearsal hall, the actors were resting on the stage after finishing their rehearsal. Zhu Lin and Lan Tianye were chatting and laughing while explaining the play to everyone.

After Liu Yimin walked over, everyone's attention was on him, while he turned his attention to Yang Lixin.

Yang Lixin's hair was slicked back with "Standcone" hair oil, shimmering under the lights. His custom-made suit was well-fitting and exquisite, his leather shoes were shiny, and his face was covered in makeup, resembling Deng Chao's black makeup.

Yang Lixin noticed that Liu Yimin's gaze was lingering on him, and a sense of mission welled up in his heart. He gently pinched the buttons of his suit jacket with his thumbs and middle fingers and adjusted his suit jacket.

Seeing this scene, Liu Yimin felt a chill run down his spine for some reason.

"Yimin, what do you think of Lixin's outfit?" Lan Tianye pointed at Yang Lixin's attire.

"Great! The artist's aura comes through right away!" Liu Yimin said approvingly.

Lan Tianye asked Yang Lixin to stand up and turn around. Yang Lixin said a few lines and then gave a graceful sway. Liu Yimin knew that his judgment was correct.

"Comrade Yimin, don't worry, I'll definitely do a great job!" Yang Lixin spoke normally, but as he spoke, his hand tugged at Liu Yimin like a madam soliciting customers.

Liu Yimin subtly took a few steps back and said to Lan Tianye, "Director Lan, you guys talk, I'll just sit down and watch for a while!"

"Alright, go ahead!" Lan Tianye said with a smile.

Lan Tianye then discussed the play with the actors and went offstage to watch the performance. For "Green Book," once the two main characters are fully immersed in the story, the play becomes much easier to rehearse.

The stage curtain rises, and Wu Guiling, playing a white driver, appears in the bar, competing to eat hot dogs. She finishes eating 26 and wins a cash prize.
The performance of "Green Book" lasted about two hours, and Liu Yimin watched it quietly.

During the performance, Wu Guiling, playing the white driver, looked at the cello and said, "Is this a Christina brand cello? Our doctor only uses Christina brand ones."

“Sir, this cello is more than enough for that Black man!” said the concert’s butler.

Seeing this, Liu Yimin said in a low voice, "I think the rehearsal is almost done. We can premiere right after the New Year!"

"That's what we're thinking too, to reduce rehearsal time and increase the variety of performances," Lan Tianye replied.

At noon, Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin did not return to the courtyard house; in the dead of winter, they ate directly in the dining room.

Yang Lixin sat down in front of Liu Yimin, and the way she picked up food with her delicate fingers made Liu Yimin lose his appetite.

"Lixin, just eat normally. I think your performance was already very successful," Liu Yimin said helplessly.

“Comrade Yimin, that won’t do. You said you have to imitate it all the time!” Yang Lixin said stubbornly.

Pu Cunxi, sitting at the next table, thought to himself, "It's just making a delicate pinky gesture, right? I could do that too!"

Pu Cunxi hasn't played a leading role in so long, while Yang Lixin has already played three or four leading roles. How could he not feel frustrated?

While eating, I unconsciously tried making a delicate pinky gesture.

In the afternoon, Liu Yimin was dozing off in the rehearsal room, watching the performance on stage. Su Min approached Liu Yimin and asked about the script for "The Acacia Tree in the Minefield".

Lan Tianye watched from the sidelines without arguing. Su Min had been idle for too long, and Lan Tianye couldn't bear to see him like this.

"I know it's going to the military drama troupe. It'll be introduced to our Beijing People's Art Theatre like 'Triumph at Midnight.' When will it be finished?" Su Min muttered, glancing warily at Lan Tianye.

"It will be at least until mid-February!" Liu Yimin said.

"Okay, I'll wait. I'll go find Master Jiabao right now!" Su Min got up and quickly left the rehearsal hall, preparing to strike first.

After he left, Lan Tianye walked over and said, "That old Su is really adorable!"

"Ok?"

"Hahaha, Yimin, I didn't even intend to compete with him. You're acting like a petty person!"

After rehearsals in the afternoon, Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin went to the Zhu family home, where Zhu's parents had already prepared a meal and were waiting for them. On the solid wood dining table, the hot food was steaming, with a fish placed in the center.

"Yimin, hurry up and get a seat. You two, be careful when you ride your motorcycles. The sky is gloomy, it looks like it's about to snow. Riding my bike home from work, the wind feels like knives!"

Zhu's mother pulled the two of them down to sit and began to chatter on and on.

Mr. Zhu said with a smile, "I think it's not far from snowing. It only snowed once before New Year's Day this year, and the snow didn't last. School's out for the holidays, so I don't have to brave the wind to go to school every day!"

“You and Yimin work at the university, you have winter and summer vacations, it’s more comfortable for you than for Linlin and me,” Zhu’s mother sighed, then said to Zhu’s father, “From now on, you’ll get up and cook breakfast every morning! Yimin is busy writing every day, but you don’t have anything to do during your vacations!”

“I’ll write too!” Zhu’s father insisted.

"Oh my god, you can write that rubbish. Give me a piece of paper and I can write it too!"

"That's so insulting!" Seeing the situation, Zhu Lin quickly interjected, "When I become a big director, maybe the film academy will invite me to be a teacher!"

Mr. Zhu opened the lid of the porcelain basin in the middle of the dining table, and the aroma of fresh soup immediately filled the air: "Eat first, eat first!"

During the meal, Zhu Lin brought up the joyous news of a batch of cultural relics being returned, which made the atmosphere at the table lively.

Zhu's mother ladled a bowl of soup for Liu Yimin: "Yimin, how are you going to go back to Henan Province with Linlin this year?"

A three-day holiday, and then non-stop train travel, it would take three days to go round trip!

"Mom, I forgot to tell you, Teacher Wan said today that she will grant Linlin four days of leave, plus three days of unused wedding leave, for a total of seven days. Including the Spring Festival holiday, it will be a total of ten days!"

Zhu Lin had just heard it from Liu Yimin and asked with a smile, "Really?"

"real!"

Mr. and Mrs. Zhu smiled with satisfaction: "It's just too much trouble for you two. You won't be able to stay in Henan Province for more than a few days."

"I plan to fly to Zhengzhou with Linlin, and then take the train directly to Rucheng. This way, we can save a lot of time going back and forth."

Zhengzhou has an airport not far from the train station. It was originally for military use, but now it is used for both military and civilian purposes.

"An airplane? I've never been on one before!" Zhu Lin said with a smile, taking a sip of soup.

"Okay!" Zhu's father and mother were finally relieved.

Liu Yimin is currently an associate professor, and Yenching University is a vice-ministerial level institution. The Chinese Department is the largest department at Yenching University, and its level is also appropriate. With a letter of introduction from the department, there shouldn't be any problem with him flying.

Back home, Zhu Lin couldn't contain her excitement at the thought of her first time flying.

So, Liu Yimin got excited too!
The next day, Liu Yimin went to Yenching University, found Yan Jiayan, and obtained two letters of introduction, which were then exchanged between them.

The letter of introduction listed the information of Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin. After Yan Jiayan stamped it with the department's seal, he said, "Just to be on the safe side, you should also get the school seal from the university office. Some people are a bit rigid and only recognize the school seal!" "Okay, thank you, Professor Yan!" Liu Yimin put the letter in his pocket.

Yan Jiayan capped his pen: "It's nothing. If you have a request, the department will naturally grant it. You're more precious to me than anyone else in the department. Next year, the department plans to give you more responsibilities. We'll also be offering a course on Western Modern Literary Thought in your third year, and you'll be the instructor!"

"Offered in the second semester of the junior year? Isn't that a bit...?"

"A little what? A little tired, huh?"

"Professor Yan, that's not what I meant!"

"I think that's what you mean. Don't worry, there will be fewer classes in the third year than in the second year. The main reason is that they are going to be seniors, and the graduation thesis is a hurdle. Letting them learn more knowledge will be beneficial for their thesis writing."

"You're the only one in the department who teaches Western modern literary thought. Once you get your master's degree, you'll lead the effort to find a few lecturers to establish a research group on Western modern literary thought."

Yan Jiayan explained to Liu Yimin the reason for starting the third-year courses and the future plans of the Chinese Department.

"A master's degree isn't enough, you need a doctorate!"

“If I say you’re qualified, then you’re qualified. I’m not a PhD either!” Yan Jiayan said.

"You are a PhD, but you were not able to get your PhD because the Chinese department needed you to teach.

Yan Jiayan snorted: "Are you making fun of me? Aren't associate PhDs and you, with your master's degree, the same thing?"

Previously, my country adopted the Soviet system of associate doctoral and doctoral degrees, with associate doctorates being equivalent to master's degrees in the West.

"At least it has the title of 'Doctor'!" Liu Yimin laughed.

"Work hard. The department is still dominated by young people like you. It's good enough that we didn't ask you to take on an administrative role. When I retire, I'll definitely ask you to take over."

After leaving the Chinese Department, Liu Yimin went to the school office and got the official seal affixed. Administrative staff usually dawdled, but today the stamping process went surprisingly smoothly.

"Professor Liu, take care. If you need anything in the future, just give the school office a call!" The teacher from the school office warmly escorted Liu Yimin to the door.

In early February, Cui Daoyi of People's Literature told Liu Yimin the final sales figures for the January issue of the magazine, which had exceeded two million copies.

Besides the novel itself, the media promotion also played a role. In early January, the overwhelming media coverage of role models boosted sales by at least 30%.

“We’ve done a special count, and according to incomplete statistics, ‘The Acacia Tree in the Minefield’ has been reprinted in twenty newspapers and magazines, not including the small newspapers at the prefectural and county levels. Of course, I think you’ll have a hard time getting back the reprint fees!” Cui Daoyi handed Liu Yimin the list of well-known newspapers and magazines he had compiled.

The February issue of "Yanjing Literature and Art" magazine had just been published when Cui Daoyi compiled this list.

It includes publications such as "Yanjing Literature and Art", "Zhongshan", "Huacheng", and "Jinling Literature and Art".

After rattling off a long list of numbers, Cui Daoyi's throat was parched. He picked up the teacup on the table to moisten his throat and said, "However, although the magazine sales of 'Acacia Tree in the Minefield' are good, I feel that the sales of the standalone edition will probably not be as good as 'Triumph at Midnight'."

After all, military-themed novels are now flourishing. When "Triumph at Midnight" came out, it wasn't just invincible; it was unrivaled!

Liu Yimin agreed with Cui Daoyi's assessment: "I already had this in mind. How could every single one of them sell tens of millions of copies!"

Liu Yimin did not let the Commercial Press and People's Literature Publishing House compete for the rights to publish the standalone edition of "The Acacia Tree in the Minefield," but instead directly granted the rights to both.

No one takes a commission from anyone else, eliminating the middleman.

When the two publishers release the individual volumes, they should be able to meet market demand.

"What's written on your desk?" Cui Daoyi tried to lean closer, but Liu Yimin pulled him back.

"This is the script!"

"It doesn't look like it to me!"

"Senior brother, even if it's a novel, I won't be able to give you the next one. Senior sister Xiaolin from Harvest has already written to me, and People's Literature has already published several articles this time!"

Li Xiaolin inquired in a very tactful way in her letter, and Liu Yimin replied with great confidence that his next article would definitely be submitted to "Harvest" magazine, and wished Li Xiaolin and Ba Jin a happy new year.

Upon hearing this, Cui Daoyi grinned and said, "Alright, I won't think about it anymore!"

The sales figures achieved by the publication of "Green Book" and "Acacia Tree in Minefield" were enough to satisfy him.

"I heard a batch of cultural relics is coming back?" Cui Daoyi asked casually.

"Do you know everything?"

"Comrade Zhang is the secretary of the Writers Association. How could he be kept in the dark about things in the ministry? Besides, it's said that the ministry is planning to promote this before the Spring Festival, to give the people of the whole country some good news for the New Year!"

"Senior brother, you have more information than I do!"

Liu Yimin picked up his teacup, clinked it against Cui Daoyi's, and teased him.

"To be an editor, you have to be observant, attentive, and skilled in all the diagnostic methods!"

With the New Year approaching, Cui Daoyi had lost much of his motivation and was comfortably drinking tea in Liu Yimin's study.

Before returning to his hometown, Liu Yimin visited his old friends and seniors in turn.

Li Ji's widow, Mao Dun's son Wei Tao, Zou Huofan of "Poetry Journal", and Master Ma of the Writers' Association Guesthouse were all mentioned.

However, when it came to the Poetry Journal, Zou Huofan insisted on asking Liu Yimin for poems, and the manuscript that he had promised to give to the Poetry Journal last time still hadn't been given.

Liu Yimin had almost forgotten about this matter.

Seeing Zou Huofan's sullen expression, Liu Yimin quickly said, "Old Zou, you didn't forget, you just forgot to bring it!"

"Forgot to bring it? You have a good memory, write it down now!" Zou Huofan said with a smile.

"Comrade Zou, you're already the leading figure in the national poetry scene, you should be more composed!" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Starting this year, Zou Huofan officially became the editor-in-chief of Poetry Journal, taking charge of China's poetry scene.

"What should an editor-in-chief be like? Without good articles, our Poetry Journal can't maintain its position as the leading figure in the poetry world. Tell me, am I not anxious?"

When Liu Yimin brought up the matter of the editor-in-chief, it reminded Zou Huofan of something else.

"I have an idea: to establish a Youth Poetry Academy. How about inviting you to give a lecture?"

(End of this chapter)