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

Chapter 420 Multiple Departments Join Forces to Prevent NGOs
Inside the hospital, Liu Yimin followed the nurse's directions into Zhu Guangqian's ward. Inside, Zhu Guangqian was leaning against the headboard with pillows propping up his back, while his wife, Xi Jinwu, read the newspaper to him.

There was a small table on the bed, and a foreign book on the table.

Upon seeing Liu Yimin arrive, Xi Jinwu put down the newspaper in his hand, quickly stood up to take the gift from Liu Yimin's hand, and invited him to sit down.

Zhu Guangqian asked weakly, "When did you return from America?"

"I just got back a few days ago, and Professor Yan told me you were sick. You should try to take it easy and take better care of your health," Liu Yimin said.

“I’ve never heard of anyone living a long life without working every day. While I can still work, I’ll do as much as I can. Domestic research on aesthetics is still very backward, so I want to translate more foreign aesthetic materials.” Zhu Guangqian pulled Liu Yimin’s hand with his withered hand.

Xi Jinwu said sadly, "Guang Qian has lost a lot of weight recently, and now he doesn't even weigh 35 kilograms."

Liu Yimin observed carefully and found that Zhu Guangqian had gray hair, looked like skin and bones, and had many age spots on his hands and arms. He was truly as thin as a rake.

Zhu Guangqian was not tall, but he was not so thin that he weighed less than 70 pounds.

"Let's not talk about that. Tell me about your time in America."

Liu Yimin peeled a banana for Zhu Guangqian and told him the whole story.

The two people in the room were on edge when they heard that the Democracy Foundation was looking for him and trying to extract information, but then they smiled knowingly when they heard that Liu Yimin had used environmental groups to leak information.

Finally, Zhu Guangqian patted the side of the bed and said, "Alas, the US government is truly shameless, utterly shameless. This is disrupting normal academic exchanges. I decided to stay on the mainland at that time, and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, I became a key target for reform."

The country wanted to transform me, so it sent me everywhere, letting me see the world. I witnessed the superiority of collectivism in accelerating national development, its ability to concentrate resources on major undertakings. If it were like Europe and America, where projects are approved one day and withdrawn the next, how could a backward country catch up quickly?

When we learned that the Soviet Union had rapidly risen to become a world power, we were all incredulous. In the early days of the People's Republic, all sorts of projects were underway; it was truly a vibrant and thriving place!

“Even sending him to the cowshed didn’t change his mind,” Xi Jinwu added.

After discussing this, Zhu Guangqian then talked about education: "It seems that your insistence that we should take the lead in compiling textbooks was correct. Ideological warfare is a protracted war!"

A hint of worry flashed across Zhu Guangqian's face, but Liu Yimin comforted him, saying, "Things are constantly evolving, and problems are gradually resolved. You should get some rest."

In the evening, Liu Yimin left Zhu Guangqian's ward. Xi Jinwu told Liu Yimin that he would probably be able to be discharged when school started, but teaching would be very difficult in his current condition.

After leaving the hospital, Liu Yimin checked the direction and rode his bicycle back to the courtyard house. The play "Good Luck Mansion" was still running, and Yang Xiuyun and the two little ones were still in the courtyard.

After finishing his meal and playing with them for a while, Liu Yimin went into his study to adapt the American version of "Hachiko: A Dog's Tale." The adaptation process involved making some changes to the content.

Liu Yimin decided to add some elements that Americans would like, because the more touching the story, the more tears it would evoke.

Add more of the "love, responsibility, world, warmth, and individual heroism" that Americans like, to create an image of a resilient and unyielding environmentalist elder from the East.

Fearing that the two little ones would disturb Liu Yimin, Yang Xiuyun pushed them out and went to chat in the alley.

Besides Aunt Liang, another old friend joined them. They were from similar backgrounds, also from out of town, from Anhui Province. The three of them sat under the tree, chatting about almost everything. However, Yang Xiuyun barely mentioned Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin, only talking about her hometown and her grandchildren.

After Zhu Lin got off work, he heard Yang Xiuyun's voice calling out from afar. Yang Xiuyun responded and stood up, saying, "My daughter-in-law is back. It's time to go back. Let's talk again tomorrow."

"Go back now, old lady, you're so lucky," Aunt Liang said enviously.

Yang Xiuyun chuckled a few times and pushed the two little ones home. When the children saw Zhu Lin, they started waving their arms and making all sorts of noises.

Zhu Lin held and fed them for a while, and the two of them fell asleep as soon as they were full.

"Mom, why don't we put the baby in our room so he won't disturb your sleep at night?" Zhu Lin asked.

Yang Xiuyun quickly said, "My two grandsons and granddaughters are so well-behaved. You should leave them in my room. I'm old and a light sleeper, so I wake up quickly if anything happens. You two are tired, and if you don't wake up, Liu Lin and Liu Yu will suffer!"

Liu Yimin, who was in his study, couldn't help but laugh out loud when he heard their conversation. He checked the time, reached out and turned off the air conditioner, preparing to rest.

How was the performance today?

"Excellent, it's packed with people again," Zhu Lin said excitedly.

"There's one more thing. How's the rehearsal for 'The Stage' going? I didn't see any rehearsals when I went to the Beijing People's Art Theatre a few days ago."

Zhu Lin paused for a moment and said, "There are several scripts, including 'Beloved' and 'Lucky Mansion,' that are being rehearsed together. We don't have enough space or manpower, so we haven't started production yet after the actors were selected."

"I see. It seems the Beijing People's Art Theatre doesn't lack scripts now!"

"Teacher Liu, are you doing this on purpose? Can every script be the same? Three mediocre scripts can't compare to one good script." Zhu Lin said with a smile, pulling Liu Yimin into the room.

After changing clothes and taking a shower, Zhu Lin nudged Liu Yimin: "Teacher Liu, what does the Forestry Department want with you?"

Liu Yimin stood up, thinking that Zhu Lin meant something else.

“I ran into some trouble in the United States and made some money for the Ministry of Forestry, so they naturally want to thank me properly.”

"Made some money? How much?"

"Not much, just half a million dollars."

"Fifty...no, five hundred thousand? In US dollars?" Zhu Lin felt his mind go numb. Isn't five hundred thousand US dollars a lot? The family's savings are only four hundred thousand, and that's in RMB.

"Ouch! Don't pull me!" Liu Yimin quickly removed Zhu Lin's hand from his stomach.

"Ah, it was just my gut feeling." Zhu Lin rubbed Liu Yimin's stomach and asked, "What happened? Did you earn half a million dollars?"

"I sold myself and got 500,000 yuan!" Liu Yimin said helplessly.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Lin immediately became alert and raised her voice ten decibels: "You're going to teach in America?"

"No, it's just a minor issue." Liu Yimin put his arm around Zhu Lin's shoulder, his hand stroking rhythmically. After explaining the whole story, Zhu Lin looked worried.

“We’re not going to America anymore. What a piece of trash! Ugh, despicable!” Zhu Lin cursed.

Liu Yimin put his arm around Zhu Lin's shoulder, patted her chest, and promised, "I'll try not to go again!"

Zhu Lin glanced at Liu Yimin, then looked at the small movements in his hands, and nudged his head closer to Liu Yimin's neck.

After talking for about an hour, Zhu Lin, noticing Liu Yimin's movements, asked, "Teacher Liu, would you like some medicinal wine?"

"Hey, who are you insulting? Men from Henan Province are tough as nails!"

After venting their energy, the two were about to go to sleep when the phone rang, interrupting their slumber.

"Hello, who are you?"

"It's me, Xia Yan. I knew you weren't asleep yet," Xia Yan said on the other end of the phone.

"What do you need me for so late?"

"The Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education will hold a joint meeting tomorrow afternoon to discuss what happened to you in the United States. We invite you to attend and give your opinion. Education is of great importance, and we must take preventative measures!" Xia Yan said.

Liu Yimin smiled and said, "Okay, what time this afternoon?"

"Three o'clock!"

"Okay, you should get some rest."

"You too, you're so young, you need to take care of your health."

Liu Yimin rolled his eyes. "You're the one who disturbed my sleep, and now you're lecturing me."

After hanging up the phone, Zhu Lin asked, "Teacher Liu, do you want to prepare some materials?"

"No need to prepare, just go to sleep!" Liu Yimin put his thigh on Zhu Lin's leg, but she kicked it off and then put her leg on Liu Yimin's body.

In the morning, Zhu Lin kicked Liu Yimin's leg away, stretched, washed his face, and went to the kitchen to cook.

"Mom, I'll cook, you take a break!" After the two of them finished cooking together, Liu Yimin got out of bed.

Around ten o'clock, the old leader knocked on the gate of the courtyard. When Yang Xiuyun opened the door and saw that it was the old leader, she hurriedly called out to Liu Yimin, who was busy in the study.

The old commander smiled and picked up Liu Yu, saying, "It's alright, I'll still have to walk over to him when he comes out."

Liu Yimin heard the noise and went out the door; the others had already come over.

"Commander, please." Liu Yimin stepped aside to make way for him.

Entering the study, the old leader saw Liu Yimin revising the script. After glancing at it a few times, he said, "The changes are quite significant compared to the original!"

"It's not a big change, it just incorporates more styles that American audiences can accept, making the heartwarming moments even more heartwarming."

"What are you doing?"

“An environmental group in San Francisco asked me to adapt it. They wanted to rehearse this play and tour the United States to raise funds.”

"Fundraising? For us?"

"Yes, increase funding for the Three-North Shelterbelt Project."

The old leader said with great interest, "These are internationalist fighters on the tree-planting front! They have no connection with any foundation, do they?"

"No, they are a non-governmental organization. They only provide funding for peace of mind regarding environmental protection; they don't have any other requirements. Are you here this time also for the Democracy Foundation?"

"Yes! I shouldn't be asking about this, but education is a matter of national importance, just like you said, it cannot be ignored. I want to ask you, what are your thoughts?"

Liu Yimin said, "I'm having my American friends compile a list of American foundations. The education and culture departments are scheduled to meet with me this afternoon, and I've given it a quick thought. We need to maintain a relaxed exterior but a tight interior; communication can't stop, but we also need to conduct due diligence, reviewing the background of each project. When we receive foreign funding, we can't treat it like a windfall; there aren't that many good things in the world!"

"Currently, there is a lot of international cooperation in the education and cultural sectors, but apart from receiving funding for the construction of universities in brother countries in the 1950s, it is rare for the US-based Western Foundation to provide funding. This is the first time I have heard of your case."

"The United States has actually done this before in many countries. Some foundations may have had good intentions and had unofficial backgrounds. Unfortunately, as time went on, the US government and the CIA quietly got involved, turning them into fronts for the CIA and the US government."

In this situation, it's impossible to defend against!

"is it a lot?"

“We may not understand foundations, but don’t we understand Americans? Times have changed, methods have changed, but Americans haven’t changed,” Liu Yimin said with a smile.

"It seems we need to investigate more thoroughly."

Liu Yimin said, "As far as I know, the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Carnegie Foundation have already been bought off. The rest still need to be investigated."

"The Americans have updated their methods too!"

In the afternoon, Liu Yimin arrived at the Ministry of Culture and waited in Xia Yan's office first. When it was almost time, the two went in together.

There weren't many people inside, but they were all from key departments. In addition to the Ministry of Culture, representatives from its subordinate Writers Association and Federation of Literary and Art Circles were also present, while the education department sat in a separate row.

Tang Mu, the editor of the Literary Gazette, presided over the meeting. After everyone had arrived, he said, "Comrades, this is a confidential meeting. The contents of the meeting must not be disclosed to others. I believe everyone knows what the meeting is about. Now, Comrade Zhang Guangnian, the secretary of the Writers' Association, will give an introduction."

Zhang Guangnian summarized the information he had compiled and the situation reported by Liu Yimin, and then turned his attention to Xia Yan.

"Comrades, everyone knows the situation. I won't say the situation is dire, but we must nip it in the bud. Adversity breeds strength, comfort breeds weakness. We've been exchanging ideas with the US and the West for several years now, and many comrades have lowered their guard, calling each other 'good friends.' Those involved in culture must have political awareness, and those involved in education must have it even more."

If Comrade Liu Yimin hadn't spoken up, we wouldn't have known. Besides him, did anyone else come into contact with him? Perhaps, but why didn't anyone report it? Maybe they thought it wasn't a big deal. A small leak can sink a great ship; the warnings of the ancients are always forgotten.

After Xia Yan finished speaking, people from various departments began to express their opinions, while many others refrained from readily offering their views.

About half an hour later, the atmosphere in the conference room became heated, with many sharp exchanges taking place.

One solution after another certainly cannot satisfy everyone.

When someone suggested restricting communication, others immediately replied that it was turning back the clock.

Xia Yan didn't let Liu Yimin speak first, but listened first. The staff poured pot after pot of tea, and Liu Yimin went to the restroom twice in between.

Xia Yan, Zhang Guangnian, and others were old, but they insisted on sitting in their seats to keep everyone company.

Seeing that everyone had finished their discussion, Xia Yan then asked Liu Yimin to speak.

"Comrades, it is indeed impossible to do without cultural and educational exchanges, especially in education. If we want to learn advanced knowledge from the West, we must send students and professors abroad for exchanges."

Some of the students we train who go abroad return, while others do not. We cannot assume that they will not return and restrict exchanges accordingly.

We maintain a relaxed exterior but a tight internal system. Internally, we are conducting thorough investigations into international projects and reviewing collaborations with universities. It won't be long before various foundations, under the guise of academic research, begin collaborating with universities. We must scrutinize their backgrounds; no matter the amount, we cannot accept any funding with ulterior motives.

The funding for each university varies, making it difficult to strictly enforce regulations. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a sound system to prevent arbitrary allocation or misappropriation of funds.

The humanities are particularly important to pay attention to. A country won't give you money to develop science and technology for no reason, but it will give you money to change your thinking. Some foundations in the US and the West, under the guise of democracy and freedom, are actually changing people's minds.

It's not just foundations from the US and the West; we need to guard against all kinds of foundations, research institutes, and institutions, preventing them from entering through third countries. Once a connection is confirmed, immediately add them to the blacklist.

After Liu Yimin finished speaking, Xia Yan said, "Let's discuss what Comrade Liu Yimin said again."

After some discussion, opinions began to converge, but significant differences remained in some areas.

Xia Yan was quite satisfied with the result. At least after the departments returned, they would begin to formulate relevant policies based on the content of the meeting under the leadership of their superiors.

Back in Xia Yan's office, Xia Yan said wearily, "The results were not bad. Now it's up to each department to take action. The higher-ups are taking it very seriously, and some comrades who didn't care before have realized the seriousness of the matter."

"The policy has been issued, and it must be strictly implemented!" Liu Yimin said.

Strict enforcement will make NGOs encounter obstacles everywhere in China, preventing them from colluding with external parties. At the very least, we should strive to gain the freedom to "scratch an itch".

"The content of the meeting is kept strictly confidential in order not to disrupt the exchange, and also to avoid alerting the enemy." After Xia Yan finished speaking, he thought of the Iowa International Writing Program and asked Liu Yimin what he thought about it.

"It's hard to say right now. I've already asked a friend to investigate who their backers are. After the incident, Ms. Nie Hualing specifically called to say that they hadn't received any funding from the CIA," Liu Yimin said meaningfully.

"Remember to meet with me when you get the results," Xia Yan said slowly. This international writing program is very popular in China; some writers would get furious if they were invited but refused.

"it is good."

Seeing Liu Yimin get up and then sit down again, Xia Yan couldn't help but ask, "Is there anything else?"

"Regarding foreign exchange, the Institute of Literature and Art needs to purchase a batch of materials, but we don't have any foreign exchange!"

"How much?"

"Give me ten thousand dollars first, we'll talk about it next year."

Xia Yan paused for a moment and then said, "No problem, I'll get it for you from the Film Bureau. You can do some serious research."

"it is good!"

"Furthermore, we plan to publish the things you encountered in the United States in the newspapers. This will serve as a warning to those going abroad and will deter those with ulterior motives from showing their faces."

Liu Yimin smiled knowingly. Once it's written down, if some people write or talk nonsense in the future, readers will use this incident as a comparison, which will put enormous pressure on people's minds. They will also weigh the pros and cons before speaking, unless they give too much.

As September arrived, Liu Yimin, having revised his "The Old Man and the Dog," boarded a flight to the United States. Next, he would be busy with the Ministry of Forestry's commission and the Paris Review's request for an article.

Since the CIA and the National Endowment for Democracy, which Bond represents, don't want him to write about American affairs, he insists on writing more about them anyway.

Liu Yimin plans to finish writing his novel about Saihanba first. The Paris Review is a quarterly journal, and the publication cycle is too long. He will mail it to the journal before autumn or winter.

Liu Yimin quickly wrote five words on the manuscript paper: "The Most Beautiful Youth".

PS: Thanks to self-troublemaker1666 for the reward, please give me a minimum monthly vote.

(End of this chapter)