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

Chapter 354 Women's Volleyball Team Visits
The Zhu family was bustling with activity during the Dragon Boat Festival. Mother Zhu, through pulse diagnosis, once again confirmed her pregnancy. While overjoyed, Father Zhu and Mother Zhu didn't forget to give Zhu Lin some important instructions.

"You're newly pregnant now, so pay attention to nutrition. You'll have to be careful as your body gets heavier. Linlin, is there anything you particularly crave?" Zhu's mother asked with concern.

Zhu Lin shook his head and said with a smile, "Mom, I'm not that delicate. I'm just like usual, and I don't have any particular cravings. Don't worry, I'm studying medicine, so I know what I should be careful about."

Zhu's mother thought about it and agreed, but still shared her experience: "When I was pregnant with you, I really craved grapes and pork knuckles. It was the dead of winter, and your father was frantic. Pork knuckles were easy to get, but where could he get grapes?"

"The raisins I bought at the grocery store were, at least, grapes," Mr. Zhu interjected.

Zhu's mother pulled Zhu Lin aside to talk, while Zhu's father whispered to Liu Yimin, "Linlin is pregnant. She should be careful when she does chores."

“Dad, I know, I’ll do the work,” Liu Yimin nodded.

Zhu's mother looked up and asked, "Yimin, have you told your parents about this?"

"Mom, Teacher Liu has already written a letter. It should arrive in a couple of days."

"Alright, alright, stop talking and hurry up and eat. Try the zongzi your dad and I made this year."

Zhu's mother hosted everyone for dinner and peeled a zongzi (sticky rice dumpling) for Zhu Lin. Zhu's father brought out some wine from inside the house and wanted to have a drink with Liu Yimin.

Zhu's mother remembered how miserable Zhu's father looked after drinking during the last Dragon Boat Festival; he lay in bed all afternoon before waking up. She was about to speak to stop him when Zhu's father's words silenced her.

"Linlin is pregnant, this is wonderful news, I have to have a couple of drinks with Yimin," Zhu's father said with a smile.

Zhu Lin got up and walked to the things he had brought earlier, taking out two bottles of Moutai liquor from the bag: "Dad, drink this. This is the Moutai liquor that we brought on the plane last time. Please try this."

Mr. Zhu took the Moutai liquor, examined it, and put his own liquor back: "Then let's try this Moutai. I heard that drinking this stuff won't give you a headache."

Liu Yimin took the Moutai from Zhu's father and poured a glass for each of them. Zhu's mother, in high spirits, also asked Liu Yimin to pour her a glass.

"Linlin's marriage gave me a much-needed break, and now that I have a child, I feel much more at ease. Yimin, thank you for taking care of Linlin," said Zhu's mother.

Liu Yimin quickly said, "Mom, what are you saying? Linlin usually takes better care of me."

"Come, come, have a drink first," said Zhu's father, raising his glass.

Not long after drinking, Zhu's father, feeling dizzy, lay down on the sofa and fell asleep again.

Just as Liu Yimin was about to carry Zhu's father to the bedroom, Zhu's mother said helplessly, "Never mind him, let him sleep here!"

Even so, Liu Yimin still carried Zhu's father inside. After finishing their meal, the two didn't leave, but instead, at Zhu's mother's arrangement, went to Zhu Lin's former bedroom for a nap.

Zhu Lin's bedroom has been uninhabited for a long time, but Zhu's parents come in every few days to clean and tidy it up.

Liu Yimin looked with great interest at the furnishings in Zhu Lin's room, where his autograph and a photo taken at Lushan were displayed on the table.

"What's so interesting, Teacher Liu? You've seen it all before," Zhu Lin said with a smile as she lay on her side on the bed.

"I haven't looked at it this closely before." Liu Yimin sat at his desk and, after obtaining Zhu Lin's permission, opened a drawer, inside which was a stack of diaries from before their marriage.

In the diary, some days only had a few words recorded, such as "[April 2, 1974: Too tired today, nothing to record.]"

[April 3, 1974. I'm even more tired today than yesterday, and I don't want to write.]

Liu Yimin asked with a smile, "So this is the habit you always talk about—keeping a diary!"

"That's not all! Reading is all about the benefits of reading, so mine certainly counts too," Zhu Lin retorted.

"Yes, you're right."

Liu Yimin found his diary from 78, and now we can see the entries about him in the diary.

The latest issue of *People's Literature and Art* features a remarkable piece, unlike any other article; it's titled "Mr. Donkey."

[Oh dear, I've seen Liu Yimin's name in Poetry Journal again! How did this writer suddenly reappear? After the four were brought down, everything seems different; writers and poets, both familiar and unfamiliar, have all become active again.]

How can he write so well? "The College Entrance Examination 1977" is so realistic, it's as if he personally participated in the exam. I wonder if I could have gotten into university if I had taken the exam?

I wonder what Comrade Liu Yimin looks like? Is he a young man or an old writer?

[I never expected that Comrade Liu Yimin would reply to my letter, especially since he's a student in the Chinese Department at Yenching University. My roommate and I are planning to attend a poetry gathering at Yenching University; I've heard that many literature enthusiasts there participate. I wonder if we'll be able to meet him?]

[He's back from the poetry gathering. I didn't see him today, but I did see his roommate. His roommate said he doesn't like crowds and prefers to be alone.]

I finally met Comrade Liu Yimin today. He gave a speech in front of a group of people, and it was excellent. Everyone applauded him. He's a young man, a very talented young man. When he's not giving a speech, he's very low-key and reserved, unlike the young writers and poets at our school.

The word "very" was added before the three words "different" using an insertion mark – very different.

Liu Yimin waved the notebook in front of Zhu Lin: "Well, you've been planning this for a long time!"

"Teacher Liu, give it to me, you can't look at this!" Zhu Lin blushed and came over to snatch it. The two were playing so loudly that Zhu's mother next door opened the door and came into the living room and coughed. The two quickly shut up.

Because the room was too hot, and they were used to the air conditioning, it took them a long time to fall asleep. They were woken up by the heat at one o'clock.

Whether it was from happiness or the heat, Zhu's mother couldn't fall asleep. Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin got up and chatted with Zhu's mother for about two hours before leaving the Zhu family home.

At this time, Zhu's father was still drunk and was fast asleep in bed.

As the end of the semester approached, Liu Yimin's workload increased again. Because he was teaching third-year students again, Liu Yimin had to prepare another set of exam papers.

Liu Yimin's graduation from Yenching University is around July 10th, and he will be going to Malan at the end of June. In order to free up his time, Liu Yimin approached Yan Jiayan, hoping that the department would schedule the "Western Modern Literary Thought" course for June 20th when arranging the exams, so that he would have enough time.

"Yimin, is something the matter?" Yan Jiayan asked.

Liu Yimin said, "Professor Yan, there's something I need to do; I'm going on a field trip!"

"Going on a field trip? Where to?" Yan Jiayan asked with great interest.

"Professor Yan, I can't tell you that yet, but I think you'll be able to guess it once the novel is published," Liu Yimin said with a smile as he poured Yan Jiayan a glass of water.

"Still keeping me in suspense? You don't need me to write a letter of introduction when you go out to collect folk songs?" Yan Jiayan snorted, as if he had grasped Liu Yimin's Achilles' heel.

Liu Yimin chuckled: "This time, you really don't need to drive."

Yan Jiayan may want to open it, but he also needs to be able to open it!
"Okay, I still need to approve the leave!"

"After June 30th, I won't have any classes." Yan Jiayan sighed helplessly, "You've got the timing all figured out, you're as slippery as an eel, you can't catch anything. Fine, I'll reschedule the second and third year exams to the 20th, I'll fully support you!"

Liu Yimin left Yan Jiayan's office and returned to his own office to make arrangements.

First, I distributed the June subsidies to the graduate students and Zhu Guangqian in advance, then I asked, "Are you staying on campus to work during the summer vacation?"

"Professor Liu, we'll stay." Everyone said happily, holding the money.

"Professor Liu, I want to go home for half a month!"

"Okay, all graduate students in the group will have a two-week vacation. During the vacation, there will be no graduate student stipend, but the group's stipend will be increased to sixty yuan. Everyone will help Professor Zhu compile textbooks here."

"Thank you, Professor Liu!"

"You're welcome."

Liu Yimin told Zhu Guangqian that he had something to do and would be leaving Yanjing at the end of June. Zhu Guangqian did not ask what it was about, but simply told Liu Yimin not to worry, that he would take care of the teaching materials.

With everything arranged, Liu Yimin took the engraved printing plate to the mimeograph room to mimeograph the exam papers. Wang Yao was the one who was mimeographing in front of him.

Wang Yao said, "Yimin, the exam paper you set last year was very difficult. How about this year's?"

"Professor Wang, the difficulty level is about the same. It may be difficult, but my failure rate is very low. As long as the answer is reasonable, I will give points. Even if students criticize me, I will still give points as long as their criticism is reasonable." Liu Yimin smiled and handed the paper to Wang Yao.

Wang Yao read it once and said, "Sure, I'll try it next time to train the students' thinking skills."

After finishing her own mimeographing, Wang Yao volunteered to help Liu Yimin print exam papers in the mimeograph room. The temperature was even higher in the cramped room during the high temperatures of June.

Liu Yimin wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Professor Wang, you should go out. I can do it myself."

Wang Yao is getting old, and Liu Yimin is really worried that he will get heatstroke if he stays here for too long.

"It's alright, it's alright. I've been smelling this ink for decades, and I actually quite like it."

Seeing that Wang Yao was determined to do so, Liu Yimin could only speed up his work, print it as quickly as possible, and leave as soon as possible.

After printing, Liu Yimin sealed the papers and said, "Professor Wang, thank you."

"You're welcome, you're welcome, it's nothing!"

Wang Yao left the mimeograph room with a smile, carrying the file. Liu Yimin helped her take it to the office where the exam papers were kept and locked it in a cabinet.

On June 20th, after the exams for sophomores and juniors were over, Liu Yimin sat in his study grading papers.

After the third year, students majoring in Chinese Literature, Classical Literature, and Journalism no longer take classes together. Without the journalism students, the number of exam papers to grade has decreased by one-third.

With students from both grades combined, there were nearly 250 exam papers. Liu Yimin spent an afternoon and an evening just grading them.

After grading the papers, Liu Yimin calculated the scores with Zhu Lin as usual. Seeing that it was almost eleven o'clock, Liu Yimin said, "Linlin, go and rest. I'll calculate for a while longer."

"Teacher Liu, it's alright, I'll help you speed things up. You're only newly pregnant, you're not that delicate." Zhu Lin picked up another test paper, looked at the numbers on it, and quickly started working on the abacus.

Liu Yimin thought for a moment and decided he should buy two calculators when he had the chance. Zhu Lin knew how to use an abacus, but he himself was really bad at it.

By midnight, there was still a lot to calculate. The two stretched their sore arms and necks and prepared to go to sleep.

The phone on the desk rang. As soon as I picked up the receiver, a familiar voice came from the other end: "Yimin, do you recognize me?"

"Coach Yuan? It's you!" Liu Yimin didn't expect Yuan Weimin to call him so late.

“We haven’t properly thanked you for helping our volleyball team raise funds last time! Our volleyball team is in Yanjing now, and we’re planning to go and thank you properly, and treat you to a meal,” Yuan Weimin said with a smile.

"Invite me to dinner? I'll treat everyone. Let's have a meal and barbecue together in the yard. I have all the necessary equipment."

Yuan Weimin quickly said, "We'll buy the ingredients. Just tell me the address of your yard, and we'll go over tomorrow afternoon!"

Liu Yimin gave him the address, and Yuan Weimin told Liu Yimin to see him tomorrow before hanging up the phone.

"Women's volleyball team?" Zhu Lin looked at Liu Yimin.

"Yes, the women's volleyball team. I guess the team just returned to Yanjing."

The next morning at 10 a.m., Liu Yimin finished grading the papers and delivered them to Yenching University, then rushed to the courtyard house without stopping.

While waiting for them to arrive, Liu Yimin cleaned the yard, then carried two large cabbages to Aunt Liang's house and borrowed some tables and chairs from her.

"Are there guests at home again?" Aunt Liang asked with a smile.

Liu Yimin said with a smile, "We have a few friends coming over, and we're a little short on tables and chairs."

Aunt Liang shouted in the yard and brought out her own stool.

"Do you have guests at home?" Liu Yimin asked, pointing to the main room.

Aunt Liang waved her hand and said, "It's alright, it's just my son's auntie who came, one stool is enough."

"Okay, thank you!"

"Don't mention it, we're neighbors. Besides, it won't break."

In the afternoon, the women's volleyball team, led by Yuan Weimin, came to the courtyard, carrying meat, fruit, and vegetables.

Compared to the women's volleyball team that won the championship in 81, the current women's volleyball team, apart from Liang Yan, Lang Ping, and Zhang Rongfang, consists of a new generation of main players.

"Coach Yuan, you're too kind to bring so much stuff," Liu Yimin said with a smile, shaking Yuan Weimin's hand.

"You've brought us a training building and a dormitory building. What are these things compared to that? Without you, we'd still be training in a bamboo shed!"

"It's mainly because our women's volleyball team performed well. If it were another team, people might not be willing to donate so generously."

“That’s true!” Yuan Weimin said smugly.

After their victory in 81, they achieved another victory at last year's World Women's Volleyball Championship. The nation cherishes the women's volleyball team members like precious treasures.

(End of this chapter)