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

Chapter 36, "A Generation," has been approved. I'm inviting him to Yanjing!
Zou Huofan got up, took the manuscript, and paced back and forth in the middle of the office, reading aloud as he went. Each time he read, he used a different tone of voice, as if he were trying to carefully ponder the meaning of the poem through different expressive methods.

The other editors stood to one side, hands on their chests, one hand supporting their chin, their buttocks resting on the edge of the table, their not-so-full hips divided into four parts, silently reciting the two lines of poetry in their hearts.

"Have you all noticed that these two sentences become more and more meaningful and resonant the more you read them? The night gave me black eyes, but I use them to seek the light. Night and light, two contradictory things, living in darkness, yet yearning for the light. It doesn't say what darkness is, nor does it say what light is, giving us endless space for reflection."

Zou Huofan paused, then immediately turned around and excitedly addressed his colleagues.

“Yes, darkness, light! Yes, after going through so much, we are about to see the light,” said Deputy Editor-in-Chief Ge Luo.

Yan Chen glanced at the editors around him, thinking that he should say a few words as well. He coughed and said, "It's all connected, everything is linked together. The poem is called 'A Generation.' Isn't it obvious what it refers to?"

The poem "My Motherland, My Beloved Motherland" contains the line, "You nourished me—the bewildered me, the thoughtful me, the passionate me—with your scarred breasts." The bewildered me was me in the darkness, the thoughtful me was me pursuing the light, and the passionate me was me after I had achieved the light.

After achieving enlightenment, the author was filled with fervor and hope! His two poems, one after the other, are logically connected; Comrade Liu Yimin is truly remarkable!

After Yan Chen finished speaking, the other editors thought to themselves, "Isn't that exactly right?" The editor-in-chief is still the editor-in-chief; his analysis was more in-depth than everyone else's.

"Yes, Comrade Liu Yimin is a remarkable poet!"

"What an outstanding Comrade Liu Yimin!"

"The black 'eyes' are also well-written, implying that when we pursue the truth, we must use our eyes to see, to believe with our own eyes, and not to rely on hearsay. This poem is not only applicable now, but also in the past when we traveled from the White Area to the Northwest, and it will be applicable in the future as well."

"People must constantly pursue light and truth!" Zou Huofan said loudly.

"Black Eyes, this poem is obviously written by a Chinese person, and those foreigners with foreign noses wouldn't understand what it means, since they don't have black eyes."

Ge Luo's teasing startled everyone, but then they burst into cheerful laughter.

Taking advantage of everyone's high spirits, Zou Huofan asked, "Old Yan, what about the royalties?"

Seven pieces!

Yan Chen didn't mince words. The deputy editor-in-chief beside him, Shao Yan, opened his mouth but remained silent. He had already witnessed the fighting prowess of Ge Luo and Lao Zou, and decided not to provoke them. If he uttered another word of complaint, there would likely be more than just those two today.

After Yan Chen finished speaking, he looked at Ge Luo next to him and said, "Old Ge, have you ever heard of Liu Yimin before? He's your fellow townsman!"

"I've never heard of him before. I guess he's a young man who's just starting out. He might also be one of the educated youth sent to the countryside over there," Ge Luo said uncertainly.

"Old Zou, when you reply to Comrade Liu Yimin, ask him if he would like to come to Yanjing. Our Poetry Journal is planning to hold a writing training course to cultivate some young poets. In addition, we can invite Cui Daoyi from People's Literature and Art together. He can attend the training courses of both magazines. I believe Old Cui will be very happy to do so."

“Okay, I’ll write it right away. I also want to meet Comrade Liu Yimin, who writes well and quickly!” Zou Huofan said happily.

Yan Chen returned to his office, thought for a long time, and then went back to the editorial department: "Put these two lines of poetry directly on the cover, not in the main issue. The main issue will publish 'Motherland, My Dear Motherland'! Can readers who don't subscribe to the magazine resist subscribing after seeing these two lines of poetry on the cover?" Yan Chen chuckled, his face now displaying the shrewdness of a cunning businessman despite his literary background.

By the end of August, news of the results was flying everywhere, and the Revolutionary Committee's gate was crowded with people every day, all wanting to know the exact details. The Revolutionary Committee staff always replied that it would be in a day or two.

Old Zhang told Liu Yimin that this year's college entrance examination scores would be released, something they had never done before and lacked experience with. The regional admissions department would send the score reports to the county education bureau, current students would collect their score reports from their schools, and non-current students would collect their score reports from the Revolutionary Committee's education bureau.

"Originally, the report cards were supposed to be distributed to each commune, but the Revolutionary Committee was afraid that something might go wrong, so our county had the Revolutionary Committee distribute them uniformly." Old Zhang was afraid that Liu Yimin would be anxious, so he personally went to ask the comrades in the education department.

"Okay!" Liu Yimin nodded.

Old Zhang was about to leave, but couldn't help turning back and saying, "Yimin, are you really not worried?"

"What's there to worry about?"

"You, you..." Old Zhang, seeing Liu Yimin's confident demeanor, picked up his teacup with a toothache and gulped down several mouthfuls of plain water. After finishing, he looked at Old Sun again, thinking that tea made from reed roots still tasted better.

I really miss Yihong since she hasn't come!
On August 28, the Revolutionary Committee broadcast the news that the college entrance examination results would be announced the next day to all communes. The communes then connected to the broadcasts of the production brigades below them, and everyone knew that the college entrance examination results were about to be announced.

Early in the morning of August 29th, the entrance to the Revolutionary Committee was crowded with people. When the Revolutionary Committee members arrived at work, they had to climb over the wall to get in.

"Good heavens, has the prefectural committee and administrative office sent the results yet?" Revolutionary Committee Director Yang Yushan asked the Education Bureau Director, who was wiping his sweat.

"They said they would arrive at 9 o'clock, and the prefectural committee even sent police and militiamen to escort them."

"Go down quickly, get the candidates lined up, and find the guesthouse to send a few buckets of water and send some people over. It's so hot, and everyone's crammed together. Don't let anyone get thirsty!" Yang Yushan said hurriedly.

"Okay, I'll do it right away!"

Liu Yimin hadn't originally planned to come; he intended to come back in the afternoon. However, Old Zhang insisted on dragging Liu Yimin to the entrance of the Revolutionary Committee early in the morning. They found a cool spot to sit and rest. Even other members of the cultural center's creative team were sitting on the roof of the cultural center, observing the situation at the Revolutionary Committee. Liu Yimin could also be seen there.

Old Zhang wasn't inspired by Liu Yimin's confidence, but rather afraid that Liu wouldn't be able to accept his own achievements.

After seeing Lao Zhang, Yang Yushan looked at the young man beside him and recognized him as Liu Yimin, so he went up to greet him.

"You must be one of our young writers from Ru County! Hello, you're quite handsome. Old Zhang, the cultural center should really give more attention to talented young people." Yang Yushan shook hands with Liu Yimin and patted him on the shoulder in a friendly gesture.
Liu Yimin greeted them, and Yang Yushan then asked, "Are you adjusting well at the cultural center? There's a movie theater right next to it. Luckily, I have a few tickets left. Young people like watching movies, so take them."

"Director Yang, forget about the movie tickets, but do you have any monthly passes? Could you give me some monthly passes?"

(End of this chapter)