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

Chapter 361 Let the bullets fly for a while

Liu Yimin stayed in Malan for seventeen days. The Gobi Desert was exposed to wind and sun, and his neck and face were sunburned red. His face did not peel, but it was covered with brown spots of different shapes and sizes. His lips were a little dry and peeling.

"This trip has broadened my horizons and I've gained a lot!" Liu Yimin said.

"Tell me, what did you learn?"

Liu Yimin was about to speak when Cao Yu stopped him: "Think about what you can say first. I only want to hear things related to daily life."

"Teacher, look how careful you are!"

"I'm old, the less I know, the less I worry about."

“Teacher, I remember you’ve been to Dihua (Urumqi). You’ve been to far more places than I have, passing through Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and several other places, going out of Jiayuguan to the Yumen Oilfield, and later venturing deep into Xinjiang Province. You’ve seen all the scenery in the Northwest.” Liu Yimin recalled the poems Cao Yu had written in the Yumen Oilfield that he had read before.

“That was all in the 1940s or 50s. The furthest I went after that was Inner Mongolia. Besides, the places you went to are different from the places I went to.”

So Liu Yimin talked to Cao Yu, mainly about life there and about Bosten Lake, which Cao Yu had never seen before.

"There's such a large freshwater lake in the desert! It's like a paradise in the desert!" Cao Yu exclaimed before asking Liu Yimin about his writing.

"I've already written part of it. Give me half a month, and I'll definitely finish it before August 1st!" Liu Yimin said confidently.

Cao Yu asked, "Did you make a promise to the commander?"

Seeing Liu Yimin nod, Cao Yu said, "Try your best. In the future, don't make any promises you can't keep. What if something comes up and you're late?"

"I understand, teacher."

“You’ve been inside for half a month, so you probably haven’t seen any news from outside. Take a look at these newspapers.”

Cao Yu handed the newspapers to Liu Yimin; the contents of these newspapers were similar to those that Zhu Lin had placed on his desk.

"Teacher, I actually already saw it when I came."

"what idea?"

"to be honest?"

"Of course I'll tell the truth!"

“These are all nameless people. Some of them hide away, but they are not willing to truly hide. Look at these pen names they have come up with, they are quite ingenious.” Liu Yimin finally uttered four words: “Jiangdong rats.”

After carefully considering several pen names, Liu Yimin felt that these pen names vaguely resembled the style of his old friends.

"Haha, it is indeed a bit of a cover-up, but you know, no one will voluntarily stand up and admit that they are loyal to the United States, so it's understandable." After saying that, Cao Yu seriously instructed, "We still can't be careless, especially at this sensitive time."

"Understood, I'll write a commentary tomorrow to retaliate. It's so hot, it'll be good to cool off by talking about them."

After the two finished speaking, Zhu Lin knocked on the office door. After entering, he greeted Cao Yu first, and then looked at Liu Yimin.

Standing at the door, Zhu Lin's eyes were filled with deep affection, as if she were smiling, yet also seemed to be both amused and reproachful, and filled with heartache.

"Alright, you two go outside and talk!" Cao Yu waved his hand, feigning impatience.

"Teacher, I'll go out now. I'll visit your wife in Muxidi another day when my face is better."

"Alright, go out!"

Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin walked out of Cao Yu's office, closing the door behind them.

"Teacher Liu, when did you get back? What happened to your face?" Zhu Lin asked with concern.

Liu Yimin explained, "I got home at noon, and my face is all sunburned. It's okay, it'll be fine in a few days. How have you been at home for the past two weeks?"

"Me? Of course I'm fine. It's just that you're not home, and I'm really bored. I don't want to watch TV when I get home tonight, so I just sit in the study and read books and newspapers."

The two talked as they walked downstairs. At the top of the stairs, Lan Tianye was pretending to admire the scenery when he saw Liu Yimin. He feigned surprise and asked, "Yimin, you're back from your business trip?"

"Director Lan, you're a good actor, but this performance is a bit clumsy!" Liu Yimin said as he walked over.

"You noticed that? What good stuff did you bring back from your business trip?" Lan Tianye looked around and asked in a low voice.

"Director Lan, I went home for a while, do you believe me?"

"Don't believe me? Tell me the truth!"

"Wait until I finish writing it, it's not finished yet." After reassuring him, Liu Yimin asked curiously, "How did you know?"

"Hey, who am I? When you disappear for a while, you must be off gathering material. Judging by your writing style, you never leave empty-handed."

Lan Tianye's analysis was reasonable and well-founded, and Liu Yimin praised him, saying, "You are indeed a cut above Director Su."

"That's right, he's never surpassed me since we were in school!" Lan Tianye patted Liu Yimin's hand, reminding him not to forget him.

It was time to leave work, so Zhu Lin and Liu Yimin didn't linger at the Beijing People's Art Theatre and rode their motorcycles home.

"Teacher Liu, you haven't eaten yet, have you?" Zhu Lin only remembered that Liu Yimin might not have eaten when he got on his motorcycle.

"I'm not hungry. I ate something on the plane before I got off."

"It's already 5:30, you must be hungry. Let's go back and cook something."

"Teacher Liu, let me cut you a plate of tomatoes with sugar first. This stuff helps with sunburn." Zhu Lin cut the tomatoes, sprinkled them with sugar, and put them in the refrigerator to chill.

"Okay, I'll cook the vegetables!"

Liu Yimin walked into the kitchen but was pushed onto the sofa by Zhu Lin: "Teacher Liu, I'll cook. You've worked hard in Xinjiang Province. Leave the kitchen to me. I'll make Sichuan-style twice-cooked pork, stir-fried pork liver, and a shredded pork porridge."

"Or you could sit on the sofa and tell me about Xinjiang Province; I've never been there before."

"it is good."

While Zhu Lin cooked, Liu Yimin sat on the sofa and told her about his experiences in Xinjiang Province. Zhu Lin would occasionally chime in with a few questions.

That night, Liu Yimin lay in bed, and Zhu Lin took out clam oil and face cream and applied them all over Liu Yimin's body.

"Teacher Liu, take some clam oil and face cream with you when you go out next time." Zhu Lin gently massaged the face cream and clam oil into Liu Yimin's skin.

"Understood, Zhu Lin."

"do not move."

"You can apply it, but don't touch it everywhere!" Liu Yimin complained.

Zhu Lin chuckled: "Teacher Liu, I really didn't mean to. The mosquitoes in this desert are too fierce, this bump is almost turning into a wound."

"That's alright. The soldiers told me that when we first arrived there, we lived in dugouts. In the summer, the roofs leaked when it rained, and there were swarms of mosquitoes. The dugouts were full of cracks, so the mosquitoes could come and go as they pleased."

As they were talking, Zhu Lin patted Liu Yimin's butt, and Liu Yimin quickly rolled over to apply the ointment on the other side.

After wiping themselves clean, they turned off the lights and chatted in the dark. Having been apart for over ten days, it seemed they had endless things to say, and they talked until the early hours of the morning before finally falling asleep.

The next day, Zhu Lin brought eggs and pancakes into the study and asked, "Teacher Liu, why didn't you eat breakfast?"

"We'll have breakfast after we finish writing this article," Liu Yimin said without looking up.

Zhu Lin gently tapped the egg on the corner of the table, peeling it as he walked behind Liu Yimin to see what he had written.

"We must distinguish among the masses who are 'loyal' to the United States, and who are not, to determine whose interests are being challenged by telling the truth."

After reading Liu Yimin's writing, Zhu Lin said with a smile, "Teacher Liu, you should have written this a long time ago. Comrade Xu Chi even criticized you in the Beijing Daily the day before yesterday, but Comrade Xu Chi is probably worried about his image and lacks fighting spirit."

“Old Xu is getting on in years, it would be too much to ask him to curse,” Liu Yimin said with a smile.

"Okay, I know. Teacher Liu, I've already peeled the eggs for you. I'm going to work now."

"Drive carefully!" Liu Yimin said.

"Know it."

After Zhu Lin left, Liu Yimin focused on writing in his room. Around nine o'clock, he finished a very powerful article.

To refute slanderous statements, to distinguish between groups that criticize, to unite the majority, and to criticize the minority.

Liu Yimin didn't hold back when it came to those who "wanted" to the United States, launching into a tirade of criticism.

Have you ever been to America? You're already against me? Shut up, you ungrateful bastard!

After finishing this article, Liu Yimin began writing "The Emergence of a Giant." The manuscript was originally about 15,000 words long, and by around 11 o'clock, it had almost reached 20,000 words.

Liu Yimin shook his slightly sore hand and walked out of the Overseas Chinese Apartment. He rode his motorcycle to the China Youth Daily and handed his article to Yu Jiajia.

Looking at Liu Yimin, Yu Jiajia couldn't help but ask him where he had gone.

"You didn't go to the desert, did you? You're just like the comrades in Saihanba."

Liu Yimin smiled, which was taken as an admission.

Yu Jiajia added, "This is good. Before, you had too much of a scholarly air about you, but now you have a more heroic air about you."

"As you said, I need to sunbathe it some more."

"No need for that. If you get any sun, no one will recognize you. They'll think you're some African guy."

After making her joke, Yu Jiajia started reading Liu Yimin's article. After finishing, she said, "I reckon after you publish this article, there will be virtually no more dissenting voices." "Why?"

Yu Jiajia glanced around and whispered, "Newspapers and magazines are currently censoring literary works that touch on capitalism. Anyone who senses this will definitely not show their face again."

Liu Yimin didn't speak, but gave Yu Jiajia a knowing look.

"So, are you still going to publish this article or not?"

"Post it! Of course we should post it after all the effort it took to write it. Just because no one says anything doesn't mean we haven't hit anyone. Let the bullets fly for a while!"

"Alright, Comrade Liu Yimin, welcome back to Yanjing. I'll try my best to publish it tomorrow. Our China Youth Daily has a new editor-in-chief, and I'm not very familiar with him yet."

"Okay, I'll go to the courtyard house first. Call me when you have the results."

Yu Jiajia took the manuscript to the editor-in-chief's office first. The new editor-in-chief was named She Shiguang, who had always worked in publicity. He had been the deputy editor-in-chief of the China Youth Daily since 56, but was transferred after the China Youth Daily ceased publication, and went to work for the Sports Daily.

Yu Jiajia was transferred from the China Youth Daily after its resumption, so she was naturally not familiar with him.

In the office, She Shiguang looked at Yu Jiajia with the manuscript in his hand: "It can be published. If our China Youth Daily doesn't publish Comrade Liu Yimin's article, other places will. Although the language is a bit strong, it is in line with the spirit of the Central Committee."

"Comrade Liu Yimin prefers to get things done quickly and doesn't like to drag things out, so his words were a bit harsh."

“I like it. Introduce me to him next time. I heard you two are very close? Jiajia, you need to work hard and write more excellent reports. Although you haven’t been with our China Youth Daily for long, I think you’ll be able to stand on your own in no time.”

After She Shiguang finished speaking slowly, Yu Jiajia quickly said that she would definitely try her best.

She Shiguang grunted in agreement, clearly very satisfied with Jiajia's reaction; he needed this kind of young iron lady under his command.

At noon, Liu Yimin had lunch with Zhu Lin in the courtyard.

The following day, the China Youth Daily published Liu Yimin's article. Most people read it with great interest, and some even exclaimed "It's so satisfying!" after finishing it.

A few people, upon reading the article, felt as if they had swallowed a fly, and angrily cursed, "This is labeling! This is labeling! What era are we living in? They're still playing these tricks!"

The words above gradually magnified in my mind, and finally, as the words changed, they came to represent the two characters "traitor".

"Look at what he wrote: the biggest problem for modern young people is that their bodies are too far from America, but their hearts are too close to America."

"No, don't drag me into this. I don't see anything wrong with it. It says 'some young people'—what? Did you forget those two words? I'm so confused. Did Comrade Liu Yimin step on your tail?"

"No, no, actually I think it's written quite well, I was just a little out of it."

As it turned out, Yu Jiajia's judgment was somewhat flawed, as some sarcastic articles were still published in the newspapers the next day.

There will always be some people who can't see the situation clearly, some people who are biased towards the United States, and some newspaper editors who have turned their backs on the US.

However, the volume was much lower, and the speech was not as blatant. Moreover, the subject matter was written in the form of prose, mostly about his initial impressions of setting foot on American soil, mentioning that the number of skyscrapers in the United States is five or six times that of China, that you can buy any kind of food in American restaurants, and that American waiters treat every customer seriously, bowing at a 45-degree angle when they see them.

A 45-degree bow? A Japanese-American scumbag?

When the plane first landed in Los Angeles, I stepped off the plane and smelled the moist Pacific monsoon breeze carried on the sea air.

"Flights only go to San Francisco, there's no way to go to Los Angeles. This is just another fantasy novel with a longing for America," Liu Yimin said with a smile to Zhu Lin beside him.

"Haha, you didn't study geography well!"

Zhu Lin sat on the sofa next to him, happily eating watermelon.

Liu Yimin picked up his pen and wrote a line of words: "Frenzied Western Fantasy".

This time, Liu Yimin didn't write a very long piece, about 1,500 words, pointing out the flaws in several articles and specifically naming and criticizing the editorial departments of several newspapers.

How could such a flawed piece of work pass the review?

This time, after seeing the article in Yu Jiajia's hand, She Shiguang's evaluation of Liu Yimin was: "Arrogant! This young man is too arrogant. He even scolded several local newspapers. I read that most of them were newspapers from the southern coastal areas. Isn't this like stirring up a hornet's nest?"

"Editor-in-chief, what kind of hornet's nest is this? Publishing such an article, shouldn't they be ashamed to death?" Yu Jiajia crossed her arms, speaking as if she were trying to stir up trouble.

"Hey, good luck, this time our brother unit will have to suffer!"

As soon as the article was published, several newspapers became the object of ridicule by readers, as if they were clowns.

After being thoroughly ridiculed, the newspapers became much more subdued. However, the newspapers' greatest strength was their thick skin; they simply shut their heads and pretended nothing had happened, then transformed themselves into champions of justice once the matter was over.

After everything fell silent, Xu Chi called Liu Yimin: "Yimin, that was brilliant, brilliant! You young man are really strong. I've watched a good show these past two days. Where have you been for the past two weeks? I thought you had given up. I called you but no one answered."

"Hey, Comrade Xu, let's talk about this another time. I didn't expect it to be so fragile, of course there were some 'force majeure' reasons involved!" Liu Yimin said.

“My brother-in-law even praised you, saying it’s a pity you’re not a diplomat with such a silver tongue. Let me give you an update on the translation work; it should be finished by the end of August. I learned a lot from Ms. Yang Jiang and Comrade Qian Zhongshu this time. I wanted to visit you, but I can’t get away these next few days. I’ll treat you to drinks after I finish the translation.”

Xu Chi was using his brother-in-law's phone. Before he could finish speaking, his brother-in-law's voice came from the other end of the line.

"Comrade Liu Yimin, it's been a bit unfortunate that you've come to my house twice. Please come visit when you have time. I've heard you're an excellent chess player; even the old commander praised you."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, he hung up the phone and said to Xu Chi, "This young comrade is really interesting. He speaks politely and doesn't seem like a fierce person. He's gentle yet firm."

"A balance of strength and gentleness!"

On July 29th, Liu Yimin officially finished writing "The Birth of a Nation". After finishing it, he went to the Beijing People's Art Theatre to show it to Cao Yu.

Cao Yu burst into tears when he saw that scientists and soldiers were not getting enough to eat. He counted on his fingers the time period: "At that time, the country was going through a difficult period, and we didn't even know that there was such a group of people starving."

“Life in the countryside was tough back then. I don’t have a deep memory of those years, but my parents still feel sad when they think about it. Now that our family is better off, they still can’t bear to waste even a steamed bun; if it falls on the ground, they’ll pick it up and eat it.”

"If they knew that if each person in our literary and artistic circles saved a bite of food, it would be enough for them to eat."

"However, the food shortage at the base is mainly due to transportation difficulties and the weather."

After reading it, Cao Yu immediately asked Liu Yimin to take the manuscript to the old leader.

"Yimin, come find me at the Ji'an Police Station, I happen to be home!"

It took Liu Yimin more than ten minutes to arrive at the Ji'an office. Secretary Li greeted Liu Yimin warmly and gave him a thumbs up: "You scolded him very well. The leader is waiting for you in the study."

Liu Yimin entered the study, where the old leader was reviewing some documents. Upon seeing him, the leader put the documents in the cabinet.

"You were quite vocal in your criticism in the newspaper a few days ago. This shows that there are indeed people in our country who are drawn to the West and would rather recognize a thief as their father."

The old leader couldn't understand why anyone would willingly raise their hands above their head.

"We've tried so many methods before, but we never considered surrendering. These days, I don't know what people are thinking."

"It's normal; there will always be such a group of people. Of course, we should also be cautious, as it may be a deliberate propaganda tactic by the West within the country."

The old leader frowned upon hearing Liu Yimin's words and said, "Our media are all our own. The West wouldn't borrow our media, would they?"

"Old Chief, the trend of prioritizing money is getting stronger and stronger. Even if you don't move your body, you can still shift your position and lean to one side."

Liu Yimin sat in the chair and gave a demonstration as he spoke.

"Ugh, those people are despicable! We can't just tear up the foundation to build a second floor; we need to take action. Your novel is one of our actions!"

After the old leader finished speaking, he pointed to the tea that his secretary had brought over and invited Liu Yimin to drink some tea, while he read his novel first.

The novel "Born Out of Nowhere" by Liu Yimin is about 90,000 words long. It would take at least two hours to read all 90,000 words.

Seeing that Liu Yimin was bored, the old leader said to the outside, "Xiao Li, take Comrade Yimin to watch TV, or you two find something to do."

"Go ahead, I'll call you when I'm done watching!"

Liu Yimin sat alone in front of the television, watching a seven-episode biographical film titled "The Youth of Karl Marx," produced in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.

The film's release in China was also a sign of the easing of Sino-Soviet relations.

With the death of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev last year, Sino-Soviet relations began to show signs of improvement.

This film can fill in some gaps in our historical knowledge about Marx and Engels. Because it is quite well-researched, it is also an important reference for later generations studying Marxism.

When they saw Marx in exile, the old leader walked in.

"It's very well written. I think you're making Old Zhang very proud. He sees himself in Feng Shi, which is a huge advantage for him. Scientist Lu Guangda and Feng Shi are the most charismatic characters in the novel, especially that line 'NO, go to hell,' it's so catchy."

Which magazine are you planning to publish in?

"According to my usual practice, it should be in Harvest!"

"Habit?"

Liu Yimin told the old leader the story of "Harvest" and "People's Literature". After hearing it, the old leader laughed and said, "You young comrade, you also know how to distribute your manuscripts evenly."

"We can't favor one senior brother and one senior sister!"

"Harvest magazine is fine too; it has a large readership. I'll immediately contact the airport and ask the crew to take the manuscript to Shanghai and personally deliver it to Comrade Li Xiaolin. We'll try to get this issue published by mid-August!"

After finishing his sentence, the old leader instructed Secretary Li to call the airport. Once the call connected, he informed the airport of the situation, and they said that a flight bound for Shanghai would be taking off in half an hour.

"Secretary Li, you and the driver, drive to the airport now. You must deliver the goods without delaying the flight!"

"Yes, sir!" Secretary Li's expression immediately turned serious upon hearing this. He put the manuscript into a file bag, sealed it, and ran to get into the car parked at the door.

"Yimin, August 1st is a special day. We can't make it in time, but we can try our best to publish it within August. Let everyone know that we are no longer a band of straw sandals, and we'll give some people a good beating."

(End of this chapter)