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

Chapter 452 Standing before you is a third-level professor from Yan University

"Mom, look, this is the People's Daily, the largest newspaper in our country. It says, 'Chinese young writer Comrade Liu Yimin returns home with honors, landing at Beijing Capital International Airport at 10:00 AM on April 17.'"

Major state media outlets such as People's Daily, Guangming Daily, and China Youth Daily all published articles, each accompanied by one or two news commentaries in addition to the front-page headlines.

The Ministry of Forestry published an article written by Yang Zhong himself in the People's Daily entitled "The Heartfelt Words of Forest Farm Workers - Thanks to Comrade Liu Yimin".

The article provides a detailed account of Liu Yimin's fundraising efforts in Europe and America. It mentions that when Liu Yimin auctioned off his trophy to raise more funds, the writing was so poignant that it brought tears to the eyes of those who heard it.

Everyone seemed to see Liu Yimin's struggle, helplessness, and determination as he took out the trophy for auction.

At the end of the article, Yang Zhong wrote: "He went alone, but returned with 1.6 million yuan! But this 1.6 million yuan was not for his personal use; it was for the public good, for the construction of the Three-North Shelterbelt Project!"

He wrote this partly to thank Liu Yimin, and partly to prevent other departments from eyeing the money.

The State Administration of Cultural Heritage also published an article recounting the return of national treasures to China, marking another significant step forward in China's efforts to reclaim cultural relics from Europe.

Such intensive reporting did not annoy readers; on the contrary, everyone held several newspapers in their hands, reading each word very carefully.

Every newspaper has its own perspective, and every newspaper's reports are written with great care. Crucially, most of the reports are so engaging that readers can't put them down, and after finishing, they feel unsatisfied, secretly cursing the newspaper reporters for being lazy and writing too little!

"Mr. Ba Jin was right. He truly is the foremost young writer and a mainstay of the national literary scene," a reader exclaimed.

"We've been number one for a long time, not just now!"

The reader looked at the person next to him and said, "I don't understand. Mr. Ba Jin represents the national literary world. This is a national certification, which makes him more authoritative and beyond question!"

"That's true!"

Zhu Lin patiently read the entire contents of the newspaper to Yang Xiuyun, who listened with great interest.

"Alright, stop reading, it's making me feel really embarrassed," Liu Yimin said with a laugh, leaning against the wall.

“Professor Liu, I think it’s very well written!” Xi Mei said to Liu Yimin.

Liu Yimin sat down on the sofa, picked up the newspaper, and glanced at it: "Actually, things aren't that difficult!"

“But it’s not that simple,” Zhu Lin added.

"Has 'The Battle of Taierzhuang' premiered yet?" Liu Yimin asked.

Zhu Lin said to Liu Yimin, "The premiere was just a few days ago. I was hoping to wait for you, but the audience's enthusiasm was just too great. Ever since the novel was published in Harvest in mid-March, audience members have been calling the People's Art Theatre every day, asking when the performance will be held."

Besides phone calls, people also came to the rehearsal space; the area below the rehearsal hall was often filled with audience members eager for the premiere.

"The Battle of Taierzhuang" sold 1.4 million copies in one month in Harvest magazine, naturally generating a huge impact among readers.

"How was the response?"

"After the performance, there was a chorus of sobs. The audience lingered, reluctant to leave. In recent days, ticket prices have been inflated to more than ten times the original price. The Beijing People's Art Theatre has tried every means to increase the number of performances and has stipulated that each person can only see the show once."

Unfortunately, this was not very useful. Unlike later generations where you could directly check purchase information online, if someone actually came, you had no way of knowing how many times they had looked at the product. In the end, it could only remain at the level of a suggestion.

When the Guangxi Film Studio heard about the success of the Beijing People's Art Theatre, it placed even greater emphasis on the film version of "The Battle of Taierzhuang".

When the film studio went to the cultural department of Guangxi Province to request special funding, they were even more assertive.

"I'll go take a look in a few days too." Liu Yimin rubbed his slightly sore thigh.

As they were chatting, Mr. and Mrs. Zheng Yuanjie arrived, carrying their child. The child had previously been with their grandparents, but now that they had a bigger place to live, they brought the child over.

Zheng Yuanjie showed Liu Yimin the latest issue of children's magazine. Liu Yimin pointed to "King of Fairy Tales" on the table and said, "Ximei bought it as soon as it went on sale."

Zheng Yuanjie exclaimed "Oh dear!" and quickly apologized: "I'll send you a few sample copies after they're printed."

"Comrade Zheng, there's no need to be so polite."

Zheng Yuanjie looked at Ximei and asked with a smile, "Comrade Ximei, what do you think of the story I wrote?"

"Editor-in-Chief Zheng, I think it's good. Liu Yu and Liu Lin listened very attentively when I read it!" Xi Mei said.

"If there's anything wrong, you must tell me as soon as possible." After Zheng Yuanjie finished speaking, he reported to Liu Yimin the final sales of the previous issue, the printing quantity of this issue, and the current sales.

"Last time, we printed 100,000 copies, but only a little over 3,000 copies didn't sell. This time, we printed 150,000 copies, and I think we can sell at least 130,000 copies," Zheng Yuanjie said confidently.

"Comrade Zheng, I believe in you. 150,000 is a very safe bet."

Zheng Yuanjie glanced at the study, and Liu Yimin understood his meaning, so he immediately led him inside.

Zheng Yuanjie explained the financial situation to Liu Yimin. After deducting all income and expenses, the previous period's profit was about seven thousand yuan. Zheng Yuanjie had originally calculated that he could earn around ten thousand yuan, but after actually calculating, he realized that he couldn't earn that much at all.

"Very good, a great start, but Lao Zheng, you should also take care of your health,"

Zheng Yuanjie patted his chest to indicate that he was in good health, then asked somewhat embarrassedly, "Comrade Yimin, shall we split the money this time?"

The previous period's profit was 7,000, and a considerable portion of that money was invested in the purchase of materials and printing for this period.

Zheng Yuanjie wanted to use the money to improve his living conditions, and Liu Yimin agreed to his request.

"Comrade Yimin, I usually have to write, and keeping track of money is too tiring and a waste of time. Why don't you find an accountant? That way, the accounts can be kept clear."

Liu Yimin is a shareholder and the main investor, so he should theoretically appoint an accountant to supervise the finances.

When Zheng Yuanjie brought it up, Liu Yimin agreed.

Zheng Yuanjie and his wife Guo Weiwei left in a hurry without eating, saying they needed to prepare for the next episode.

Liu Yimin walked into the living room and asked Ximei, "Ximei, has your factory's former accountant found a job?"

"An accountant? Professor Liu, are you looking for someone to do the bookkeeping?"

Liu Yimin nodded, and Ximei said happily, "Our factory has a young accountant named Liang Xiangdong. He takes odd jobs on the street!"

"How are people?"

Xi Mei quickly replied, "He's a very nice person. He often helped me when I first arrived at the factory."

"Okay, bring it to me another day so I can take a look."

After Liu Yimin finished speaking, he went to answer the phone that rang in his study.

"Yimin, shouldn't you be at school by now?" Yan Jiayan asked happily. "Director Yan..."

Before Liu Yimin could speak, Yan Jiayan said directly, "Hurry up and come to school, Principal Ding is preparing to hold a celebration ceremony for you."

"Okay, you wait here."

Liu Yimin said goodbye to Zhu Lin and the others, changed his clothes, and left home.

The large characters on the banner at the entrance of Yenching University haven't faded after a month; they look brand new.

The security guard smiled and said, "Professor Liu, this is the newly posted one!"

"Okay, I'll go in first."

“Please slow down. Once you’re inside, the students will definitely flock around you. You don’t know, when the students saw the awards ceremony on TV in the cafeteria, they were so excited that they ran around the playground several times.”

Liu Yimin smiled and waved to the gatekeeper. Once inside the campus, just as the gatekeeper had predicted, the students ran towards Liu Yimin's motorcycle as soon as they saw him.

Many students were waiting for Liu Yimin, knowing he would definitely return to school in the next few days.

"Professor Liu, Professor Liu!" the student waved loudly.

Seeing that the road ahead was blocked, Liu Yimin could only stop and greet the students.

Yan Jiayan and the others waited and waited, until they received news that Liu Yimin was surrounded.

Yan Jiayan waved his hand and led several young lecturers and counselors to rescue Liu Yimin. When they arrived at the scene, they saw Liu Yimin standing on a rock and talking.

"Classmates, it's just a literary award, nothing to worry about."

Yan Jiayan's vision blurred upon hearing this: "What kind of talk is this? Isn't this just adding fuel to the fire for the students!"

"Director Yan, one literary award is nothing special, but Professor Liu won two!"

"You're so clever, how could I forget?" Yan Jiayan laughed as he pushed his way into the crowd, shouting loudly, "Classmates, make way, go back, calm down."

"Professor Liu, you were really amazing when you stood on the award stage, chatting and laughing with so many foreigners."

"It's not just about being witty and easygoing, it's about handling things with complete ease!"

"What do you mean 'effortless'? You even brought back one million six hundred thousand dollars!"

Liu Yimin saw Yan Jiayan and the others sweating profusely as they squeezed their way in from the crowd. Liu Yimin quickly said, "Classmates, let's disperse. My throat is sore. I'll talk to you all again when my throat is better."

When the students saw that Liu Yimin's throat was indeed uncomfortable, they all told Professor Liu to take care of his health and left.

However, there were just too many students coming, and more were still arriving. The security personnel had to come over and shout loudly to the students to control the influx of people.

As Yan Jiayan approached, panting, he waved to the teachers behind him and said, "Take Professor Liu away, quickly!"

"Professor Yan, I can walk by myself."

There were too many people, so the motorcycles couldn't be ridden and were left on the roadside. To prevent people from lying in wait in their cars, the security department had someone sit there to shoo people away.

Back in the Chinese Department, the professors applauded and welcomed him. President Ding Shisun stood at the front of the crowd and said, "Professor Liu, did the students frighten you?"

"Principal Ding, students aren't tigers, they can't eat me," Liu Yimin said cheerfully.

Wu Zuxiang said, "It's not the students' fault; Yimin is just too popular."

Zhu Guangqian, leaning on his cane, came to greet them. Liu Yimin quickly stepped forward, took his arm, and led him inside.

In the conference room of the Chinese Department of Yenching University, professors from almost every department related to literature and language came over, and Liu Yimin shared a few words with everyone.

Ding Shisun said, "Comrades, let's congratulate the Chinese Department."

After Ding Shisun finished speaking, he looked at Yan Jiayan and asked, "Director Yan, shall we announce this or will you do it?"

Yan Jiayan smiled and said, "I'll do it!"

Liu Yimin watched as Yan Jiayan opened the folder in his hand and read aloud: "In accordance with the regulations on the appointment and removal of teachers in higher education institutions and the review methods for professor titles issued by the Ministry of Education, and the regulations on the promotion of professors within Yenching University, the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of Yenching University hereby appoints Associate Professor Liu Yimin as a full professor of Yenching University, with the title of Level 3 Professor."

This application for promotion was submitted by Yenching University and reviewed and approved by the Ministry of Education.

After the reform and opening up, a large number of teachers were promoted to professors during the ten years that followed. The Ministry of Education felt that there was a bit of an overabundance of professors, so it became more stringent in its review of professors' titles.

Yenching University was inspected in 82, but the result was not that there was a problem; rather, it was found that a large number of good teachers were not promoted to professor.

National professors are divided into associate professors and full professors. Full professors are further divided into four levels. Liu Yimin skipped the fourth level and became a third-level professor.

First-level professors include academicians and academicians such as Wu Zuxiang and Zhu Guangqian.

This year, graduate students are expected to be promoted to professors, and the arrival of the literary prize has accelerated this process. As it stands, Liu Yimin is still two months away from graduating with his master's degree, and he has already become a level three professor!
Everyone knew that Liu Yimin would definitely be promoted to professor, but no one expected him to be promoted to a third-level professor. After a brief moment of surprise, applause rang out, led by the senior professors of the Chinese Department.

Zhu Guangqian laughed and said, "That's more like it!"

Liu Yimin accepted the letter of appointment and said, "Thank you for the school's trust. I will definitely continue to work hard."

Then he addressed the teachers below and gave a brief speech.

"Professors, teachers, and comrades, in the upcoming teaching work, I will do my best to work with you to build the Chinese Department and Yenching University into a better place."

After the meeting ended, Liu Yimin's appointment notice was posted, and the students gathered around the notice board to discuss it with great interest.

The person pictured above is Professor Liu Yimin, currently the youngest Level 3 Professor in China, the First Deputy Director of the Institute of Literature, a renowned writer, playwright, winner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize, a multiple winner of the Lu Xun Literature Prize, winner of the Italian Nonino International Literature Prize, and winner of the US National Book Award!
In the office, Yan Jiayan said with a smile, "Don't be surprised. Actually, you can also compete for the second-level professorship, but since you haven't graduated with your master's degree yet, your chances aren't very high, so we applied for the third-level professorship."

"Professor Yan, I am already very satisfied," Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Ding Shisun said, "Yimin, keep up the good work, you are an honor to our school."

"Haha, we saw your speech! It was inspiring, neither arrogant nor humble!" Wu Zuxiang interjected.

“Don’t rush back to work. Your throat isn’t feeling well either. The department will give you a week off. Come back to work when your throat is better,” Yan Jiayan said.

"This is the most practical option right now."

Laughter filled Yan Jiayan's office. After everyone left, Yan Jiayan nudged Liu Yimin on the shoulder and asked gossipily, "How did you manage to get the Americans to willingly hand over $1.6 million with just one sentence?"

(End of this chapter)