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

Chapter 45 The Literary Scene of Yenching University, Here I Come!
Maiji Brigade, a normally quiet little mountain village, has been unusually lively these past two months. When Liu Yimin rode his bicycle back to Maiji Brigade, the villagers saw him, stopped in the distance, waved to him, and shouted, "The college student from the Liu family is back!"

The news spread like wildfire throughout Maiji Brigade. The villagers weren't very literate, but they knew how impressive university students were. They might not know which universities were in the country, but they all knew how prestigious Yenching University was.

Especially after the Revolutionary Committee's propaganda in Maiji Brigade and a big show, now everyone in the surrounding villages knows that Liu's second son is about to soar to great heights.

When Liu Yimin returned home, Liu Fuqing and Yang Xiuyun were still at work. However, not long after he arrived home, Liu Fuqing and Yang Xiuyun rushed back, looking at their second son who had brought great honor to their Liu family, and showered him with concern and care.

Looking at the cotton cloth and other daily necessities loaded on Liu Yimin's bicycle, Yang Xiuyun grumbled at him for wasting money while secretly thinking about what clothes would be suitable for him. She muttered to herself, but there was no sign of complaint in her eyes.

Liu Fuqing ran to the cave dwelling behind the yard, pulled out a gray-yellow mottled wild rabbit, and called to Yang Xiuyun to cook something delicious for Liu Yimin. The Liu family's yard was a U-shaped structure, with three mud houses on the left, right, and kitchen sides, and a cave dwelling dug at the back. The yard walls were also made of rammed earth, overgrown with weeds.

“Yimin, this rabbit has quite a history. The day after the Revolutionary Committee delivered the good news, I secretly went to the ancestral graves before dawn and happened to see it. Usually, it runs so fast that it's impossible to catch, but this time I caught it after it ran only about ten meters. I think this must be your grandfather.”

As Liu Fuqing spoke, his voice grew softer and softer, as if afraid that others would hear him and accuse him of being a follower of the old ways and promoting feudal superstition.

That evening, the aroma of meat from the Liu family's house made the children of the commune members cry with envy. Every household kept their doors and windows tightly shut, afraid the smell of meat would tempt them to lose their appetite. Some people even sat in front of their doors, eating their meals while enjoying the aroma of the meat—it smelled so delicious!

At the dinner table, Liu Yimin told his parents that he would be going to Beijing at the end of the month. Yang Xiuyun, who was listening with great interest to Liu Yimin's stories about the cultural center, suddenly fell silent. Liu Fuqing picked up a piece of meat and put it in Liu Yimin's bowl, and said with a smile, "Honey, it's a good thing that the child is going to Beijing. It's our capital, it has Tiananmen Square, and the old folks are there too!"

Yang Xiuyun retorted angrily, "Of course I know it's a good thing!"

She finished her food, then quietly went back into the house, took out the cotton fabric she had bought, and prepared to make clothes for Liu Yimin. She measured Liu Yimin's height with a soft measuring tape and muttered, "Just like before, he really won't grow any taller!"

“Your mother can’t bear to part with you!” Liu Fuqing said with a smile.

"Dad, I know!"

After dinner, Liu Fuqing pulled Liu Yimin to sit under the Chinese toon tree in the courtyard and began to recount the events that had transpired in the brigade over the past few days. He couldn't stop laughing as he spoke. The county revolutionary committee director shook his hand, the commune director invited him to dinner, and the members of the Maiji brigade were all beaming with joy whenever they saw him.

Han Shaomin from the first team would always light a cigarette for him whenever he saw him, a treatment he never dared to imagine before.

"Opera singers always say that when one attains enlightenment, even one's chickens and dogs ascend to heaven, and our chickens and dogs have truly ascended to heaven. Now, when our dogs go out, they bark louder than other people's dogs! Cough cough cough." Liu Fuqing was so happy that he coughed from the smoke of his pipe.

"Dad, you should smoke less."

Just then, Li Dashan and Li Lanyong ran over and asked Liu Yimin to tell him about what had happened in the county.

“Yimin, you were really energetic when you spoke on the loudspeaker the other day. My dad was so envious. Back then, he never had a county-wide broadcast when he gave a report,” Li Lanyong said, squatting in the yard with great enthusiasm.

Li Dashan glared at Li Lanyong, almost unable to resist stabbing his third son, then turned to Liu Yimin and said, "Are there many people going? When I gave my report back then, the movie theater was completely full!"

After the two entered, scattered members of the commune began to gather at Liu's house. Soon, the courtyard was packed with people, almost impossible to move. They asked all sorts of questions, their eyes wide with excitement, and when they heard something interesting, they would nod and discuss it for days. Liu Yimin was now almost like a storyteller.

As night deepened, Liu Yimin yawned. Seeing this, Li Dashan got up and nudged the commune member next to him, saying, "Let's go, it's time to go. Yimin is tired from riding his bicycle back and wants to hear about it tomorrow. Everyone here is as lazy as a donkey on a millstone, they won't budge even when you beat them. We should really have Yimin write about these 'lazy donkeys' in our brigade."

Li Dashan gets up before dawn every day and rings the iron bell at the village entrance several times before the members of each production team gather for work. There is no set time for starting work in the brigade; they get up and ring the bell as soon as it's light.

Over the next few days, Liu Yimin would sometimes go to work to spend time with his parents, and he would always hear the villagers calling him either "Writer Yimin" or "College Student Yimin."

Yang Xiuyun sometimes asks, "Is it my college student and writer Yimin who's here?"

Yang Xiuyun wasn't one to show off, but Liu Yimin hadn't found a good job after graduating high school, then became a brigade teacher and eventually lost his job. She felt very depressed during that time, always feeling that everyone around her was talking about the Liu family. This was a good opportunity to vent her frustrations.

After mentioning it a few times, she found it boring and stopped bringing it up!
While working, she also prepared Liu Yimin's school supplies. In those days, everyone had to bring their own school supplies, and it was difficult to buy them in Yanjing without ration coupons. She tied bedding and clothes with hemp rope, and prepared all the daily necessities such as toothpaste and washbasins. In the end, she realized that she would have to carry them on a shoulder pole.

In those days, it wasn't shameful to carry things on a shoulder pole when going out; many people carried a lot of things. Liu Yimin thought it was too troublesome, so he simplified things and ended up carrying bedding on his back and a net bag in both hands, filled with some daily necessities.

Once I'm in Yanjing and familiar with the editorial department, getting other tickets shouldn't be too difficult.

Before leaving, Yang Xiuyun remembered that Liu Yimin sometimes had an upset stomach, indigestion, and bloating, so she quickly wrapped some stir-fried beef jerky in paper and put it in her pocket, telling him to remember to eat it when his stomach felt uncomfortable.

These are morning glory seeds; they are effective in treating bloating.

"Father and Mother, don't worry, I've seen Yimin off!" Liu Yiguo rode his bicycle with luggage on it; he had come back specifically to see Liu Yimin off.

Knowing that Liu Yimin was leaving, Li Lanyong insisted on seeing him off on his bicycle: "Yes, Uncle and Aunt, Yimin will be on vacation in Yanjing in a few months, so don't worry."

Throughout the journey, Liu Yiguo repeatedly reminded Liu Yimin to be careful while traveling. When it came time to write a letter to let him know he was safe, he paused and said, "Let's send a telegram instead. Sending a telegram is faster, and a few words in a telegram won't cost much!"

Upon arriving at the train station, Li Lanyong handed his photo to Liu Yimin, insisting that he take a picture of himself at Tiananmen Square and send it to Liu.

"Brother, Lan Yong, you should go back!"

Liu Yimin sat on the train, watching the small coal city recede further and further away from him.

"Yanjing, the university, the literary world, here I come!"

(End of this chapter)