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

Chapter 349 The Timid Father Zhu

Inside the Beijing People's Art Theatre, Liu Yimin led Xu Chi inside, while Miller, behind them, inquired about Xu Chi's background from Ying Ruocheng.

Ying Ruocheng slowly introduced Xu Chi to Miller in English, but he didn't know much about Xu Chi, only some written information he had learned from the arts and literature circles.

After the introduction, Ying Ruocheng turned and walked backstage, asking another director from the People's Art Theatre to act as his translator, while he went backstage to change his makeup.

Xu Chi glanced at the stage and said to Liu Yimin, "It's been a long time since I've come to the Beijing People's Art Theatre to watch a play. When I worked at Poetry Journal, I used to come here often."

"Comrade Xu, Miller is a bit petty and has some of the bad habits of a nomadic people, but 'Death of a Salesman' is indeed a good play. It talks about how consumer society destroys people, and it has a lot of warning significance for our future path," Liu Yimin said in a low voice.

Liu Yimin did this to give Xu Chi a heads-up.

"If that time comes, I will definitely shout it out loud with my own throat." Xu Chi looked firmly at the stage.

They arrived early and sat in their seats for more than forty minutes before the performance bell rang.

As the curtain rose, the play officially began. Xu Chi looked at the stage with great interest, wanting to see why Liu Yimin had such a high opinion of the play.

Miller, sitting next to them, turned his head to see what changes in their expressions, and more importantly, to see surprise and admiration. But his neck hurt, and their expressions remained calm.

This disappointed him a little.

The director, who was acting as the translator, was quite exasperated. How could a master hailed as an American be so naive?

"Ying Ruocheng is like a completely different person on stage. His lines are clear and his emotions are on point," Xu Chi exclaimed in admiration.

"Ms. Zhu Lin's acting was also quite good."

After watching half of it, Xu Chi sighed, "With rapid economic development and the whole society promoting the supremacy of money, ordinary people are like seaweed in countless bubbles. Even if they try their best, they can't become towering trees and can only melt into the bubbles in the end. The filial impiety of children further illustrates the extent to which money has alienated people."

"The development of a commodity society has both advantages and disadvantages. We enjoy a greater abundance of goods, but we are also pursuing goods that are further removed from our lives. Our lives are better, but we are also more exhausted," Liu Yimin commented.

"Yes, Willie keeps saying he's exhausted! But the so-called American Dream keeps pushing him forward, instilling in him a false future."

After Xu Chi finished speaking, he turned to Liu Yimin and said, "However, your 'Beloved' will receive even greater acclaim in the future. This old man messed with the wrong person."

After the play ended, Miller, with his pipe in his mouth, looked at Xu Chi and asked, "Mr. Xu, what did you think of my play?"

"Mr. Miller, your play is quite good," Xu Chi praised.

Miller's smug expression had barely surfaced when Xu Chi added, "Mr. Miller, if only you could be a little more humble and always maintain a learning attitude, I believe you could create even better scripts. What a pity, what a pity!"

Xu Chi's move was a strategic retreat, implying to Miller not to be arrogant, as he no longer had any notable works.

For a famous playwright, saying such a thing is nothing short of an insult.

Xu Chi continued, "Mr. Miller, are you angry? Humility makes one progress; this is Eastern wisdom. We have nothing to give you since you've come all this way to China, so consider this our gift to you!"

After saying that, Xu Chi turned and left, and Liu Yimin followed him with a smile.

Miller, standing behind him, was getting a little exasperated. Did he need to be humble? He was the one giving instructions!

Xu Chi whispered to Liu Yimin, "Yimin, you're right. Those Japanese just don't know how to repay kindness. If I were him, after hearing your story about the consul saving the Japanese, I would definitely go back to America immediately to check if it was true. If it were true, according to the character of our nation, we would definitely commemorate this heroic feat in a grand way."

Liu Yimin drove Xu Chi home, and on the way, Xu Chi talked about how he used plays and his observations of American society to gain insight into American society.

Xu Chi got out of the car and stood at the door, sighing, "When we went to America, we only saw skyscrapers, but we didn't really see American society. Preventing problems before they arise is something we need to seriously consider. Okay, you should go back now!"

"Old Xu, remember to come visit me at the courtyard house when you have time. I've been staying here for a while now!"

"it is good."

Liu Yimin rode his motorcycle back to the courtyard house, and Zhu Lin returned a while later. Zhu Lin smiled and said to Liu Yimin, "Teacher Liu, you have no idea, Miller was hilarious just now. He said that Comrade Xu Chi was a thug you hired, and he kept yelling at Director Ying Ruocheng!"

Zhu Lin impersonated Miller and gave a vivid performance, making Liu Yimin laugh heartily, while Sanhua watched the two of them with curiosity.

After the two finished washing up in the yard, they went into the bedroom. Zhu Lin wiped his face with a towel and said, "Teacher Liu, let's go see Mom and Dad tomorrow. It's been a long time since we've been there, and we miss them."

"Okay, I'll go see my teacher's wife in a couple of days. It's been a while since I last visited her," Liu Yimin said with a smile.

The next day at work, Liu Yimin walked into the office, and Zhu Guangqian asked him how the translation of his novel was going.

"They're still flipping through it. Comrade Xu Chi, Professor Qian, and Ms. Yang Jiang are all working together. They're quite fast, so it shouldn't be long before they finish," Liu Yimin said to Zhu Guangqian.

Zhu Guangqian pursed his lips and said, "Professor Yang and I are the only ones in the department who have seen it. No one else has been shown it. It's best to keep this kind of manuscript a secret. When it's published, hahaha, if Wu Zuxiang and the others see it, they'll probably be furious."

Liu Yimin did not answer, but changed the subject and asked Zhu Guangqian about his views on modern German literature.

"Yimin, German modern literary thought was influenced by Marxist thought, and we need to take this into account when we sort it out. Fortunately, the textbook is relatively concise and does not require detailed explanation like a thesis or book, which reduces the difficulty of sorting it out."

“I see that the two graduate students have collected quite detailed information. Since it’s quite complex, we’ll provide supplementary materials for the German literature section,” Liu Yimin said.

"That's good too. Old Yang's Latin American literature section is probably almost finished."

As the weather warmed up, the temperature in the office became increasingly hot. Liu Yimin wanted to use the funds to buy an electric fan, but Zhu Guangqian said that this was an unnecessary expense and that the funds should be spent wisely.

Liu Yimin then thought that he might as well buy a fan himself and put it in the office for everyone to use.

While they were busy working, Wu Zuxiang, who had finished class, came to their office with his lecture notes and said to them, "What's wrong with the students from the class of '80? Every single one of you is choosing 'Dream of the Red Chamber' as your thesis topic. Do you think my lecture on 'Dream of the Red Chamber' is the only simple one?"

Liu Yimin said with a smile, "Professor Wu, your lecture on 'Dream of the Red Chamber' was the most insightful and easy to understand. The students understood it very well. I almost wrote 'Dream of the Red Chamber' myself back then."

Upon hearing Liu Yimin's words, Wu Zuxiang, who had initially been somewhat annoyed, was now completely relieved: "Yimin, don't try to fool me. Did I really speak that well?"

"Professor Wu is the only one in the world who truly understands 'Dream of the Red Chamber'!"

"That's a bit much. But as for me, I only know a little about 'Dream of the Red Chamber,' and I haven't written many novels in my entire life," Wu Zuxiang said regretfully.

Then, with envy, she asked, "I heard that 'The Acacia Tree in the Minefield' has sold over a million copies?"

"I think so. I've been focusing all my energy on the textbooks lately, so I haven't been paying attention to the novel's sales," Liu Yimin said with a faint smile.

Zhu Guangqian curled his lip. This was like burning newspapers at a grave—a complete charlatan. If he had focused all his energy on textbooks, how could he have written "Beloved"? If he had focused all his energy on novels, wouldn't he have written at least two?

If Zhu Guangqian were to speak his mind, Liu Yimin would surely ask him how he knew he had written two articles. Wu Zuxiang looked somewhat helpless, but Zhu Guangqian said without any mercy, "Old Wu, you either stay and help out, or go to your office. We textbook editors are so busy we don't even have time to rest. We have nothing to say to people like you who don't even have textbooks to write."

"Professor Zhu, can't I sit here and chat? Yimin was sitting right across from me, but now that he's gone, I have nowhere to talk to!" Wu Zuxiang said with a smile.

Zhu Guangqian was a little more senior than Wu Zuxiang, and that little bit of experience made him much more assertive.

"Professor Wu, Professor Zhu, you two chat, I have to go to class." Liu Yimin tidied up his lecture notes and left the office.

Just after school let out in the afternoon, Liu Yimin rode his motorcycle like a whirlwind to the Zhu family's house. Zhu's mother had already returned from grocery shopping and was sharpening her knife in the kitchen, ready to chop up a turtle.

"Yimin, you got off work so quickly? Your dad isn't home yet?" Zhu's mother chopped the turtle in two with one stroke.

"Mom, my motorcycle is naturally faster than a bicycle!" Liu Yimin went to help with the chores, but Zhu's mother sent him to the living room to watch TV.

"Yimin, how are you and Linlin doing lately?"

“Okay,” Liu Yimin said, puzzled.

Mother Zhu tidied the cutting board: "That's good. You two are both busy, but don't forget your personal matters while you're busy with work. You two need to understand each other when you're living together."

"Mom, I see."

After a while, Zhu's father returned and saw Liu Yimin on the sofa. He said helplessly, "You should ride your motorcycle slower in the future. Why are you going so fast? Goodness, I called you several times from the roadside and you didn't stop."

Liu Yimin started his bike ride south from Yenching University and happened to pass by Beijing Institute of Technology, so it was normal for the two of them to run into each other.

"Dad, I saw a female colleague standing next to you, so what's the point of me stopping?" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

"What female colleague? There's no female colleague here!" Mr. Zhu said in a low voice, his eyes wide, then glanced at the kitchen: "You saw her?"

"No, I didn't see anything!" Liu Yimin quickly shook his head.

"We're just ordinary colleagues!"

"Oh--"

"We just happened to run into each other!"

"Hey—"

"Nothing's wrong!"

"Uu——"

"What do you mean, kid?"

"It doesn't mean anything, Dad. Instead of explaining it to me, go explain it to my mother-in-law!"

"You lied about military intelligence, you little rascal?"

Liu Yimin said with a smile, "Dad, I didn't say anything. You've been doing all the talking."

"you"

Zhu Lin opened the door, and Liu Yimin got up to help her pick up her bag and hang it behind the door, asking with concern, "How was work today?"

"Today I helped Teacher Su rehearse 'The Acacia Tree in the Minefield,' and there's not much else to do. Recently, the Beijing People's Art Theatre doesn't have any scripts to rehearse, so the directors are all quite free." Zhu Lin washed her face and hands, tied up her hair, and prepared to go to the kitchen to help.

Seeing that Zhu's father looked off, he asked, "Dad, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, it's just a bit hot. I'll be fine after a rest," Mr. Zhu quickly said.

Zhu Lin, unsuspecting, went to help in the kitchen. Liu Yimin said to his father-in-law, "Dad, if you haven't done anything wrong, you haven't done anything wrong. You're not afraid of ghosts knocking on your door, right?"

“I didn’t do it, but I’m also afraid of ghosts knocking on my door. Never mind, you’re different from me. You don’t understand my unspeakable difficulties. Remember, keep your mouth shut,” Zhu’s father said, half-threateningly, but the threat sounded weak and powerless.

Once the food was ready, Zhu Lin served Liu Yimin a bowl of soup in a porcelain bowl, then playfully kicked him, her eyes holding a knowing look.

“If you two don’t feel like cooking, just come here to eat. Yimin, it’s on your way back from work too. Your dad and I cook, and if we cook too little, it won’t be enough, and if we cook too much, we can’t finish it. There are four of us, so we cook a big pot of food. What if there are five or six of us in the future?”

Zhu's father glanced at Liu Yimin, coughed, and said, "Zhenzhen, let's eat."

After saying that, he glanced at Liu Yimin again, his eyes telling Liu Yimin that he had to repay the life-saving grace!

Liu Yimin gave him a reassuring look and then used his chopsticks to seal his mouth.

After dinner, I watched TV with Mr. and Mrs. Zhu before returning to the courtyard house.

After everything was over that evening, Zhu Lin lay in bed still wondering about her father's unusual behavior. Liu Yimin chuckled and explained the whole story to her.

Zhu Lin pinched Liu Yimin's waist and twisted it hard: "Teacher Liu, don't scare Dad. He's timid in front of Mom. Mom doesn't believe this, but that doesn't stop her from finding a reason to argue!"

"Okay, okay, I was wrong, hahaha!" Liu Yimin couldn't help but laugh out loud when he talked about it.

"Look at you, so smug. I wonder if my dad will even be able to sleep tonight!"

"why?"

"Teacher Liu, I'm not talking to you." Zhu Lin stretched and pulled the light cord to turn off the light and go to sleep.

The next day, Liu Yimin rode his motorcycle to work. When he was almost at Beijing Institute of Technology, he ran into Zhu's father again. He leaned over and whispered a greeting to Zhu's father.

Sure enough, he had large dark circles under his eyes. Liu Yimin said apologetically, "Dad, did you not sleep well last night?"

"How did you know?" Mr. Zhu asked, stopping his bicycle.

Liu Yimin was speechless. "Who can't see those dark circles under your eyes?"

"Professor Zhu, who are you talking to?" a voice asked from the side.

"Teacher Wang Li, this is my son-in-law, Yimin, who works in the Chinese Department of Yenching University."

(End of this chapter)