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

Chapter 519 Joins the National Textbook Review Committee

Liu Yimin was both amused and exasperated by the content above, but he felt it was good to be able to challenge this so-called 'tornado'.

Lung Ying-tai prides herself on being clear-headed and realistic, but in reality, she is nothing more than an opportunist who tries to please everyone.

Upon hearing this, Yan Jiayan smiled and said, "That's right. It seems your book can find a following no matter where it goes. I saw in the Shanghai newspapers that your book has recently received widespread acclaim worldwide?"

“Professor Yan, the world has different cultures and languages, but feelings are universal!” Liu Yimin said.

"He's truly brought honor to mainland literature," Yan Jiayan praised.

Yan Jiayan then chatted with Liu Yimin about this year's Chinese Department admissions and the training of Chinese Department students.

The two chatted casually. Yan Jiayan had been the head of the Chinese Department for more than two years. Each term lasts five years, so this meant that half of his term had passed. Judging from his tone, he did not want to be re-elected.

"Professor Yan, I think you've done a good job managing the Chinese Department. Our department's achievements are undeniable," Liu Yimin praised. Each department is like a small society; they all seem to focus on academic research, but balancing the interests of all parties is quite difficult.

Yan Jiayan said bitterly, "Ten years later, even though I am not the department head, I will still be responsible for managing the department affairs. By 89, this responsibility should be handed over to someone else. The position of department head sounds glamorous, but my ambition lies elsewhere. I would like to do more academic work."

Liu Yimin didn't respond, but poured Yan Jiayan a cup of tea. Seeing that Liu Yimin didn't speak, Yan Jiayan asked who he thought could take on the important task next.

"Anyway, it wasn't me, Professor Yan, so please stop trying to subtly imply things to me," Liu Yimin said with a grin.

"Not you? You'd be better if you were older, you're too young!" Yan Jiayan said, holding his teacup and looking out the window.

Seeing that Liu Yimin kept his mouth shut, Yan Jiayan didn't stay any longer and went back to busy himself with the enrollment of new students and the return of old students.

There are still two and a half years left, enough time to elect the next department head. The competition for administrative leadership between departments is relatively good now, especially in the Chinese Literature department, which is used to a more modest lifestyle compared to the science and engineering departments.

The more a university develops, the more crucial the competition for leadership among its departments becomes, as this involves the allocation of the university's financial resources.

Powerful department leaders sometimes also hold positions as university leaders, while weak departments are virtually invisible within the university and are always at risk of being merged with other departments.

Liu Yimin finished his tea in one gulp, placed the evaluation form on Yan Zhen's table, and waited for him to return so he could distribute it to Dai Jianye and the others.

Back at the courtyard house, Liu Fuqing and Yang Xiuyun found Liu Yimin. With summer vacation almost over, they had been in Beijing for two months, and who knew what kind of wasteland their land would become.

“When your older brother rests, he goes back to do some farm work, but how much can he do? The grass is probably taller than the corn by now.” Liu Fuqing took a sharp puff of his pipe.

Liu Yimin smiled. No wonder Liu Fuqing had been so restless lately; he was worried about the crops at home.

“Dad, don’t just think about weeding by hand. Use some pesticides too. It’s not like we can’t afford them. Pesticides were invented for crops. Only when the weeds and pests are gone can crops increase. Corn has a lot of pests, so we can’t just remove them by hand.”

Currently, pesticide registration in China has begun to be standardized. In 82, a large number of highly toxic pesticides were banned. Of course, compared with pesticides of later generations, the current ones are still highly toxic.

However, fertilizers and pesticides are key to increasing agricultural production, and we cannot do without them.

Yang Xiuyun also said, "We should use it. The neighboring brigade uses pesticides, and the weeds die off very cleanly, much faster than if we were to hoe the land by hand."

"But we also need to pay attention to pesticide safety," Liu Yimin instructed.

Liu Fuqing said, "After paying the grain tax and the three levies and five unified taxes, there's not much money left after selling the grain. Fertilizer is indispensable, so we should save on pesticides as much as possible."

“Our family doesn’t lack that kind of money,” Liu Yimin couldn’t help but say.

Liu Fuqing stubbornly said, "I'm not old, and I can't just stay at home doing nothing all the time."

Liu Yimin knew he was worried about the money, so he prepared to write a letter to his older brother, asking him to buy some pesticides to spray the plants when he had time to go back.

Liu Fuqing planned to go back first, but Yang Xiuyun couldn't bear to part with the two little ones and wanted to wait until it was time to pick corn and harvest peanuts before going home to help.

However, it wasn't long before the peanuts and corn were ready for harvest in mid-September.

Liu Yimin bought a sleeper berth for Liu Fuqing at the train station. The train would depart the day after tomorrow morning and go directly to Ruxian.

That evening, Liu Fuqing held Liu Yu in his arms while eating, and also hugged Liu Lin, patiently feeding them both.

After clearing away the dishes, Zhu Lin went into the study and asked, "Is Dad leaving?"

"How did you know?" Liu Yimin asked curiously.

Zhu Lin placed her hands on the table and said, "Didn't you see the reluctance in Dad's eyes? I knew he was leaving as soon as I saw it."

"The train is on the train the day after tomorrow. It's time to harvest the crops back home," Liu Yimin said.

Zhu Lin remarked with emotion: "Chinese people cannot live without the land, and farmers cannot live without crops."

“If everyone leaves the fields, the city people will starve to death,” Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Zhu Lin gently patted Liu Yimin on the shoulder: "That's right, the cleanest crops have grown from the soil."

After 10 o'clock, Liu Fuqing tried to coax Liu Yu and Liu Lin to sleep with him, but the two little ones were very determined and shook their heads and refused no matter how tempting the offer was.

“Dad, we can come back after we go back for the New Year, or after we harvest the corn and plant the wheat,” Liu Yimin said.

Liu Fuqing didn't say anything, and only gave up after trying to coax him for a while and realizing it was really no use.

On August 29th, Liu Yimin saw Liu Fuqing off on the train, waving goodbye to Liu Yu and Liu Lin through the train window.

"Let's go back, Grandpa has already left the station." Yang Xiuyun pulled Liu Yu and Liu Lin's little hands, preparing to walk back.

On the train, Liu Fuqing could see few people, but he still leaned out.

"Brother, I can't see it anymore."

Only after being reminded by others did Liu Fuqing reluctantly close the window and sit on the bed.

"Brother, are those your grandson or granddaughter?"

"Yes, they're two and a half years old, and very clever," Liu Fuqing said happily, then glanced at the window and said, "Hey! These two heartless little ones, Grandpa's going home, and they don't even cry a little."

"Haha, bro, you'll feel bad if the kid cries!"

"That's right, after all, he's a member of the Liu family."

"Grandparents and grandchildren are so close, even if they're separated by a generation!" Liu Fuqing took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to the passenger who was speaking: "When the two little ones were born, I was in my hometown, and their grandma took care of them. They're very close to their grandma."

Liu Yimin slipped this pack of cigarettes into his pocket when he got on the bus.

On his way back, Liu Yimin passed by the post office and went there to wire some money to the curator, Lao Zhang. He had asked Lao Zhang to help him find a motorcycle last time, and yesterday he received a telegram saying that it was in stock.

This motorcycle was given to him by Liu Yimin as a gift to his elder brother Liu Yiguo. With this motorcycle, it will be much more convenient for his elder brother to go back to his hometown.

Liu Yimin knew that if he sent the money directly to his elder brother, his brother would definitely not accept it. So, by acting first and informing him later, he had no way to refuse.

As they left the post office, Yang Xiuyun asked Liu Yimin what he wanted the money for. Liu Yimin tugged at his coat and said, "To buy my brother a motorcycle. It's inconvenient for him to ride a bicycle home. This way, he can come home to visit you more often."

“Why buy a motorcycle? You have money, it’s yours. You don’t need to keep helping your older brother,” Yang Xiuyun said.

Zhu Lin put his arm around Yang Xiuyun's and said, "Mom, it won't cost much. Teacher Liu has money. Money is becoming less and less valuable these days, so it's better to use it to buy things. Everyone in the alley is busy exchanging their money for firewood, rice, oil, salt, and appliances. Prices have gone up too much."

"If we could buy a car, buying one for my older brother wouldn't be a problem!"

Seeing that Zhu Lin had no objections, Yang Xiuyun was relieved, as she was worried that her two daughters-in-law would have a conflict.

“Okay, your older brother is a cadre, so it’s convenient for him to have a motorcycle. Forget about the car; if anyone’s going to ride, it should be the two of you. It’s too ostentatious for someone of your rank to drive one. People who don’t know better might think he embezzled his money,” Yang Xiuyun said.

Liu Yimin looked at the leaves that were showing signs of turning yellow. Winter was coming soon. If he had a car, his happiness index would really skyrocket.

Yes, it should be taken seriously!
Zhu Lin did not return to the courtyard house, but instead went back to the Beijing People's Art Theatre to prepare for rehearsals.

At noon, Li Shu from People's Literature Publishing House and Huang Chunyu from Commercial Press came over and delivered about fifty sample copies of "Deng Jiaxian".

Deng Xiaoping's photo was printed on the cover, followed by a table of contents containing stories written by scientists, each with about two hundred words, spanning five pages, all in remembrance of Deng Xiaoping.

"Professor Yang Zhenning also wrote it?" Liu Yimin saw the last name.

Not only Professor Yang, but also Professor Li Zhengdao, I heard they had a conflict and separated.

The conflict between Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao has a long history, stemming from their collaboration. Both sides have their own arguments, and the dispute mainly revolves around who first proposed the idea in their Nobel Prize-winning collaborative paper.

The academic debate is so fierce!
The two men had almost no contact for the rest of their lives, and their dispute involved the Chinese academic community, even evolving into a division between two academic factions. They came to China, repeatedly rejecting each other's scientific suggestions, and no amount of mediation could bring them together.

Yang Zhenning's evaluation of Deng Xiaoping focused on his character, and he even wrote a story about jokingly asking, "How much bonus will the country give you for the successful development of the two bombs?"

“You printed it very well. I’ll send a copy to Professor Xu later,” Liu Yimin said.

The two then reported to Liu Yimin on the sales figures of "The Pilgrimage of One" in China, noting that the domestic edition had already sold 1.5 million copies.

“The situation is very good both domestically and internationally right now, Yimin, congratulations,” Li Shu said.

Huang Chunyu said, "This is another world-class masterpiece by Yimin. Our Commercial Press pays close attention to the overseas publishing market and has recently seen a lot of news about this book."

After the two left, Liu Yimin went to Deng Lao's house first and gave the book to Professor Xu.

"Professor Xu, how have you been lately?" Liu Yimin asked with concern.

Professor Xu stroked the book cover and said, "Thankfully, school hasn't started yet. I'm preparing teaching materials. We have a lot to do at the medical school, and I also have graduate students to supervise."

Professor Xu stared blankly at the densely packed memorial essays in front of him. When he saw Yang Zhenning's words, he said, "Professor Yang was planning to return to China in October to mourn Deng Xiaoping. I told him not to, but he insisted on coming back. Although they made different choices, they were lifelong friends."

After a while, Deng Lao's son, Deng Zhiping, returned. The two chatted for more than ten minutes before Liu Yimin got up and left.

Then he gave a sample copy of the book to the old leader, Professor Wang Ganchang, Qian Xuesen, and other scientists.

As he was leaving, the old leader suddenly asked, "Yimin, have you been busy lately?"

"It's not too busy, maybe a bit busy at the start of the semester," Liu Yimin said, puzzled.

The old leader didn't continue, saying, "Okay, I understand. You can go back now."

"What's wrong? What can I do for you?"

"It's nothing. It'll be the 40th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in '89. Okay, I understand. You can go now. I'll contact you if I need anything."

"Okay." Seeing that the old commander didn't continue, Liu Yimin didn't press the matter further.

As September arrives, Yenching University's campus becomes bustling with activity, with new students enrolling and teachers returning to work.

Before Liu Yimin could even head to the school, the Ministry of Education called the courtyard house, asking him to come over.

Therefore, Liu Yimin had no choice but to go there first. Upon arriving at the Ministry of Education, he was received by He Dongchang, the leader of the ministry.

"Comrade Yimin, I hope I didn't disturb your work?" He Dongchang said with a smile, and had someone pour Liu Yimin a cup of tea.

"No, why did you call me here?"

"It's nothing much. When Lao Zhu attended the Yenching University Yimin Academic Scholarship Donation Meeting last time, he mentioned to you that Ye Shengtao recommended you to serve as a textbook editor at the People's Education Press. We discussed it and took into account Ye Shengtao's opinion."

We are just about to establish a textbook review committee for primary and secondary schools. Preparations are complete, and it is scheduled to be established by mid-September. We would like to invite you to join the committee, primarily responsible for Chinese language textbooks.

Liu Yimin suddenly realized what it was all about.

“Okay, if the department needs me, I will do my duty.”

He Dongchang laughed and said, "You don't need to feel burdened. Many professors at Yenching University also hold positions in the ministry. For example, Professor Yan Jiayan is a member of the Academic Degrees Committee. You are a famous writer in our country with first-class writing skills. Textbook review is not a problem for you."

He Dongchang explained the specific responsibilities to Liu Yimin, including compiling teaching syllabi, reviewing national curriculum textbooks and cross-provincial textbook reviews, and reviewing textbooks for ethnic minorities. However, there was a focus on specific areas, as textbooks for ethnic minorities had a dedicated review committee.

"I believe that with your joining us, our country's Chinese language textbooks will become more standardized and more suitable for students of different ages. Also, the Ministry is planning to establish an educational television station. Your research institute must have some experience in educational publicity; could you offer some suggestions?"

"I'll go back and think about it. If I have any ideas, I'll bring them up directly with the relevant person in charge."

"Okay, if they don't listen, then come to me."

(End of this chapter)