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

Chapter 369 Invitation to Join the Editorial Board of "People's Literature and Art"
On an autumn afternoon in the courtyard, the sunlight wasn't too intense, and a gentle breeze carried a hint of heat. By around five o'clock in the evening, almost everyone who was supposed to come had arrived.

The atmosphere in the courtyard was comparable to that of Liu Yimin's wedding day, with about fifteen well-known figures from the literary world present.

Their families were cooking their signature dishes in the kitchen as usual, while a group of people were discussing current events in the literary world in the study.

Liu Yimin took out candy and melon seeds to treat the children: "Xiaoyun, you're a big kid now. You play with your younger brothers and sisters, but don't play any games that are too dangerous."

"Don't worry, Brother Yimin!" Shen Yun said, after biting into a piece of candy, as he directed seven or eight children to play a game.

Zhu Lin patted his belly, watching the children playing jump rope with anticipation. Wan Fang walked over and asked with a grin, "What? Can't wait to see the kids playing in the yard?"

Zhu Lin nudged Wan Fang: "Senior sister, please stop making fun of me."

"Senior sister, let's make braised sea cucumber with scallions together," Liu Yimin called out.

Wan Fang overheard the discussion in the study, smiled and agreed, then pulled Liu Yimin to the kitchen to cook.

"Linlin, don't bother in the kitchen. Just take care of the kids," Liu Yimin said to Zhu Lin, who was trying to come in.

Wan Fang also said, "Linlin, there are too many people inside, you should stay outside!"

So Zhu Lin took a camera and went to take pictures of everyone. In the study, Huang Yongyu didn't chat, but instead picked up a paintbrush and drew something on paper, as if he wanted to record everyone's words and actions.

"Yimin, when did you become such a good cook?" Zhang Guangnian's wife, Huang Yelu, asked.

"Haha, I recently went to Fengzeyuan for further training. Please try my braised sea cucumber with scallions in a bit. If it's not good, I'll make it again next year," Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Li Yuru said to Huang Yelu, "Yimin is just learning, please bear with him if he does not do well."

"I'll learn from this too, so I can do it for Zhongshu later." Yang Jiang really did start observing attentively from the side.

Liu Yimin and Wan Fang cooked braised sea cucumber with scallions together. They first let Li Yuru and Huang Yelu try it, and they both thought it was quite delicious. It didn't reach the level of Fengzeyuan, but it was at least comparable to other restaurants.

After finishing the braised sea cucumber with scallions, Liu Yimin walked out of the kitchen, where Zhu Lin was playing with several children in the yard.

Cao Yu smelled the aroma wafting from the kitchen while in his study, and then asked Xia Yan and Qian Zhongshu, "Do you know what dish this smells like?"

Qian Zhongshu laughed and said, "Old Wan, why do you still like to keep people in suspense?"

“Zhongshu, you’re still as straightforward as ever. This is braised sea cucumber with scallions, made by Yimin. Everyone, please have a taste. There’s another plate of braised sea cucumber with scallions; I’ll invite you to try it later.”

Xu Chi, who was standing next to him, almost blurted it out, but Cao Yu kept him in suspense again, so he had to swallow it back.

Liu Yimin walked in and, seeing everyone chatting animatedly, interjected, "What are you literary luminaries talking about?"

“If we are the senior figures in the literary world, then you are the rising star!” Zhang Guangnian joked.

Xia Yan, standing nearby, said, "These younger generations are getting stronger with each wave. Just when we think they've reached their peak, hey, they've risen several meters higher the next time. It's like the graduation song says, 'Giant waves, giant waves, ever-increasing!'"

"And it's a predictable increase!" Qian Zhongshu clapped his hands and laughed.

Huang Yongyu caught a glimpse of Qian Zhongshu's smiling face out of the corner of his eye and quickly added a few strokes to the painting.

As dusk settled outside and an autumn breeze swept in, the conversation shifted to the courtyard, where everyone discussed current events in the literary world.

When Qian Zhongshu asked Liu Yimin for his opinion, Liu Yimin replied, "If we want to develop in the future, we can't dig up the foundation!"

Some people in the crowd were thinking, some were silent, and some nodded.

"We've gathered here in this courtyard to chat, share our opinions, enjoy the breeze, and admire the moon," Xia Yan said with a smile.

Meanwhile, the meals prepared by each family were gradually finished and brought out. The children, smelling the delicious food, kept wiping their drool and peering at the dishes on the plates.

"Everyone, get ready to eat!" Liu Yimin said, standing up.

Cao Yu immediately stood up and said, "Alright, let's eat! Eating is one of life's greatest pleasures. The courtyard is filled with dishes from all over the country; please enjoy them to your heart's content."

At the dinner table, everyone tasted Liu Yimin's braised sea cucumber with scallions and gave it a thumbs up in praise.

Huang Yongyu, while tasting the food, observed the words and actions of everyone.

“Yongyu, I have read your letter carefully, and I will definitely keep your advice in mind from now on,” Cao Yu said to Huang Yongyu.

Huang Yongyu quickly said, "Mr. Cao, I especially like your plays and hope that you will create more classic stage plays. However, as Yimin said, creation is a matter of inspiration, so please don't worry."

Cao Yu glanced at Liu Yimin beside him and nodded to Huang Yongyu.

"Old Wan, you were better than me when you were young, and you're still better than me now that you're old. You've taken on such an outstanding student," Qian Zhongshu said with a toast.

Xia Yan said to Qian Zhongshu, "Comrade Zhongshu, I don't know how many times I've said I'm envious. Before, Lao Wan would pretend to be serious and say that this is the student of our entire literary circle. But as soon as Comrade Yan Bing left, he denied it and insisted on keeping this student in his arms."

When Mr. Mao Dun was mentioned, everyone fell silent.

Liu Yimin said, "Let's raise a glass to Mr. Mao Dun!"

"Great! Let's all raise our glasses! Maybe Old Shen is drinking with Marx right now, and he's introducing us to the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival!"

Liu Yimin had originally invited Mao Dun's son, Wei Tao, but he declined because he felt his father had passed away.

"The moon is almost full!" Shen Yun shouted, and everyone began to walk into the three-courtyard house to admire the moon.

While admiring the moon, Xu Chi suggested that everyone sing a song, "The Song of the Moon," which Liu Yimin wrote at the front lines.

“Why don’t we finish singing ‘Song of the Moon’ and then sing ‘Our Motherland Will Not Forget’ as well?” Zhang Guangnian suggested.

"Okay!"

Seeing that everyone was in high spirits, Liu Yimin took out the tape recorder and started playing songs for everyone.

With the addition of people in the family compound, the noise carried far. Even those admiring the moon in the alley heard it.

"Aunt Liang, is this place hosting a dance party? Are they trying to promote capitalism?" a young man shouted at Aunt Liang.

"Don't talk nonsense. Will these two songs be sung at the dance?" Aunt Liang originally wanted to curse, but considering her status, she swallowed her words.

"Aunt Liang, what does this family do?"

“Don’t worry about what he does, he’s on the right path. You people should learn from him and stop loitering around on the streets all day. Let me tell you, our neighborhood committee has issued a directive to crack down on crime with an iron fist. Don’t go looking for trouble. We’ve already arrested quite a few. If you leave now, you’ll be all relaxed, but your parents will be crying their eyes out.”

Aunt Liang said this, but she was wondering who was having a gathering in the courtyard today.

It wasn't just Aunt Liang who was curious in the alley; the others, though tired, also sat at the entrance of the alley and didn't leave until the wooden door of the courtyard creaked open.

People of all ages filed out, saying goodbye to each other.

Huang Yongyu stayed in Liu Yimin's study for twenty minutes longer, and finished his painting.

The painting depicts the banquet from a perspective: women are busy in the kitchen, writers are chatting in the study, children are playing in the courtyard, and finally, everyone in the three courtyards is admiring the moon.

"Professor Huang, this is quite different from your previous style. It emphasizes realism over impressionism!" Liu Yimin commented.

What I'm trying to say is that it's not as abstract as it seems!
Huang Yongyu, with a pipe in his mouth, said, "You figured it out? What do you think? Isn't that expression and movement realistic?"

"It's so realistic, it's like a modern version of 'The Night Banquet of Han Xizai'."

"Like it?"

"like!"

"Here you go, as a wedding gift for you and Comrade Zhu Lin." Huang Yongyu quickly wrote the date and address on the painting.

"During the Mid-Autumn Festival in 1983, while admiring the moon in Nanluoguxiang, Huang Yongyu presented this to the host, Liu Yimin." Huang Yongyu's paintings later fetched around three million yuan at auction, and these two, in terms of their significance, should be worth even more. So, after meeting twice, Huang Yongyu gifted him nearly ten million yuan.

Professor Huang, you can pay!
After observing and painting for a while, people who didn't know him might have thought he was a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

Qian Zhongshu said, "Yongyu, let's go back!"

Several people from the high-level intellectuals building were waiting for Huang Yongyu to leave together. Huang Yongyu glanced at them a few times and then left the study.

The scholars at Kochi-ro are mostly from families that don't quite qualify as Muxidi, but are still quite famous. Besides Qian Zhongshu and Huang Yongyu, there are two other people who come here.

After seeing them off, Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin didn't stay in the courtyard house. Instead, they rode their motorcycle back to the Overseas Chinese Apartment, took a shower, and then lay down to sleep in their bedroom, exhausted.

While "The Birth of a Nation" continued to be a hit, the crew of "The Acacia Tree in the Minefield" finally completed all filming and returned to Yanjing.

Upon returning to the film studio, Wei Lian and Li Jun immediately sought out Liu Yimin to congratulate him on his renewed success.

"The soldiers on the front lines are also watching 'The Birth of a Warrior' and singing 'The Motherland Will Not Forget', but overall, more people on the front lines are singing 'Song of the Moon'."

The soldiers would shed tears whenever they sang this song, longing for home and loved ones. During our recent trip to the front lines, we met with soldiers from the withdrawn border defense regiment; many familiar comrades were now lying in the martyrs' cemetery.

Li Jun sighed deeply when talking about this matter.

"Hey, how's the filming going? Is it going smoothly?" Liu Yimin asked.

Li Jun sighed, and Wei Lian said angrily, "When we were filming in June, the treacherous agents saw that our defenses were very tight and thought it was some important unit. They launched an attack, which broke two cameras and killed one cameraman. Later, we borrowed equipment and personnel from our brother unit, the Guangxi Film Studio, to complete the filming."

"Damn it, the gun was a little off, otherwise you might not be seeing me now," Li Jun said.

Liu Yimin was startled and quickly asked, "Have the funeral arrangements for the fallen comrades been made?"

"It's all arranged. Before we came, we visited the family. The wife and daughter cried and asked me how a movie could kill someone. I was speechless. The factory is treating the family of a martyr as a special case, but the person is gone, and it's too late to say anything."

Li Jun and Wei Lian both had slightly red eyes. Wei Lian had taken a trip to the front lines and looked much more mature than before.

Li Jun rubbed his eyes and took a letter out of his pocket: "Yimin, do you still remember Xizi? Chen Qiuxi, this is a letter he wrote to you!"

"Of course I remember. How is Xizi now?" Liu Yimin asked with a smile.

"See for yourself!"

Li Jun's words made Liu Yimin's heart sink. He quickly tore open the letter and began to read. Halfway through, he looked up at Li Jun: "You've already been promoted?"

"He fought bravely and was even wounded. He was awarded a first-class merit, joined the Party on the front lines, and was promoted to officer on the battlefield! He originally wanted to send the letter to you himself, but our crew was coming back, so we brought it back for him."

He also asked me to thank you for the candy, saying it was very sweet!

"Where are you injured?" Liu Yimin asked after reading the letter, noting that it didn't mention it.

"He was injured in the back; shrapnel left a large gash that almost damaged his spine."

Li Jun gestured on Wei Lian's back, almost down the spine from the left shoulder.

If the bullet hits the spine, it could very likely cause upper body paralysis.

"They should have switched positions by now, right?"

"They've been rotated out of their posts. Someone like Xizi should be able to become a company commander, it's just that his academic knowledge is a bit lacking. If he can keep up, he might be able to get promoted."

Liu Yimin nodded happily; he was genuinely happy for Chen Qiuxi.

Xizi only briefly mentioned his promotion in the letter, but you could tell how happy he was.

Li Jun actually wanted to film "The Birth of a Warrior," but the cost would be too high. Furthermore, the Film Bureau has blocked the filming of "The Birth of a Warrior," seemingly unwilling to let major film studios make the movie.

Otherwise, if the book becomes popular, the major film studios will fight tooth and nail for the filming rights.

"Director Li, you've already filmed two movies non-stop. I think you should take a good rest. You're not getting any younger, so spend some time with your family," Liu Yimin comforted him.

Hearing about his wife and children, Li Jun smiled slightly: "You're right, I don't spend enough time with my wife and children!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than there was another knock at the door. Liu Yimin opened the door to find Cui Daoyi and Wang Meng standing there.

"Comrade Wang Meng, Senior Brother, what brings you here?" Liu Yimin asked.

Cui Daoyi smiled and said, "As one of the most important writers in our People's Literature and Art magazine, Comrade Wang Meng and I have come to pay you a visit."

"Do you have guests?" Wang Meng asked.

"Two directors from the August First Film Studio, Director Li Jun and Director Wei Lian, had just finished filming 'The Acacia Tree in the Minefield' and returned to Yanjing."

Li Jun and Wei Lian came out of the study and greeted Wang Meng and Cui Daoyi.

"What a coincidence!" Wang Meng shook hands with the two of them.

When Li Jun and Wei Lian saw Wang Meng and Cui Daoyi arrive, they wanted to leave, but Wang Meng stopped them: "Let's chat together. Film and literature are interconnected!"

The five of them sat in the study. Wang Meng spoke first: "In the past, People's Literature was a national publication, a major publication. It was an honor to publish your work in People's Literature. If you published your article elsewhere, people might not necessarily think of you as a writer. But if you published in People's Literature, then you were a writer."

Wang Meng discussed the current decline of "People's Literature and Art" and inquired about Li Jun and Wei Lian's views on the current works in "People's Literature and Art".

Li Jun said, "I read every issue of People's Literature and Art magazine without fail. The overall problem is obvious: it lacks vitality compared to other magazines, and some articles are really hard to read. I think, just like Yimin advocates, we should adhere to the realist tone."

Wang Meng agreed with Li Jun's words: "People's Literature and Art needs to bring in something new."

After Wang Meng finished speaking, she looked at Liu Yimin and said, "Yimin, the period of change is also the most turbulent time for a publication. I hope you can give more support to the work of People's Literature and Art."

"Comrade Wang Meng, that's for sure."

Wei Lian interjected, "As everyone knows, Comrade Liu Yimin's novels have only been published in two journals: one is Harvest, and the other is People's Literature!"

Wang Meng and Cui Daoyi exchanged a knowing smile. Fearing that the reforms would cause a significant drop in magazine publications, they sought Liu Yimin's support in providing works to help them stabilize sales.

Liu Yimin stood up and said, "Perfect timing. I just finished writing a novel. Comrade Wang Meng, take a look and see if it can be included in 'People's Literature and Art'."

“I don’t even need to look at it!” Wang Meng stood up and took the manuscript from Liu Yimin with both hands, then began to read it carefully.

Cui Daoyi and Li Jun stood on either side of Wang Meng. Wei Lian also wanted to watch, but he wasn't qualified enough. He sat half-sitting and wanted to join them, but then thought it wouldn't be appropriate.

Liu Yimin handed Wei Lian a cup of tea and said, "Let's have some tea, Director Wei. Do you know how to play chess? Let's have a game!"

"Then come on!"

The two played two rounds of games before the three of them finished reading the novel. Li Jun and Cui Daoyi propped themselves up with their hands, which made their necks and arms ache.

"Yimin, I heard from Lao Zhang that you've learned how to make braised sea cucumber with scallions. This is the main dish for braised sea cucumber with scallions, isn't it? It combines food culture with the historical heritage of old Beiping. Along with 'The Flames of War in Beiping,' this is the second story with the flavor of old Beiping. After I finish reading Yimin's novel, guess what?"

"What's wrong?"

“I think this is a very authentic term, even more authentic than my own as an old Beijinger. AUV, it’s more like someone who grew up right under the noses of the capital.” Wang Meng spoke in authentic Beijing dialect, using the muscles in her throat and cheeks.

In fact, Wang Meng was not a true native of old Beiping. Her ancestral home was Cangzhou, which is located 14th Ring Road in Beijing. She was just born and raised in the city.

Li Jun wanted to talk to Liu Yimin as if he needed to urinate urgently, but Wang Meng's words blocked his throat, leaving him no choice but to listen to Wang Meng speak.

"Yimin, actually we have another idea. We'd like to invite you to join the editorial board of *People's Literature*. We're planning to let a group of veteran writers leave the editorial board and bring in a group of new writers!"

(End of this chapter)