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

Chapter 56: The History of a Small Man in Beiping (Please continue reading)

With nothing to do in the evening, I went to the public bathhouse for a soak.
Zou Huofan told Liu Yimin that Zhou Yanru of Yanjing Literature and Art was actually quite good, but the current head of Yanjing Literature and Art was too conservative, which made the editors feel constrained in their work.

Lao She was the first editor-in-chief of Yenching Literature. After Lao She, the editor-in-chief was no longer appointed, and the title of "main person in charge" was used instead.

"Old Zhou is also an old comrade who came from the Northwest, and he still has revolutionary consciousness."

Liu Yimin knew Zhou Yanru; as a renowned editor, she was an indispensable figure in the history of modern literature. Many modern writers had collaborated with her.

For example, Zhou Yanru and Yu Hua. Yu Hua's initial success was inseparable from Zhou Yanru's help, who personally made a long-distance call to invite Yu Hua to come north to revise his manuscript. At that time, Yu Hua did not know that revising manuscripts would reimburse travel expenses and accommodation costs, and that he would also receive a daily allowance.

When Zhou Yanru told him that he would receive a subsidy of 2 yuan per day for revising the manuscript, Yu Hua was so excited that he couldn't wait to go to Beijing, because at that time his monthly salary was only 16 yuan.

"Comrade Zou, are you chatting?"

A slightly aged voice rang out in the bathhouse. Liu Yimin looked in the direction of the voice and saw an old man wearing shorts walking in with a hunched back. His skin was as dry as black tree bark, but it had become much more moisturized under the steam of the bathhouse.

His old feet were like eagle claws, with a strong grip on the ground.

"Old Ma, are you done with work?"

"I'm done with the work. I added the last bit of coal, and the stove is burning brightly. I'll come in and soak for a bit. And who is this young comrade?" Old Ma, the boiler operator, lay in the pool, humming softly with obvious enjoyment.

"Liu Yimin, the poet we invited to our magazine, will be going to Yenching University in a few days. Yimin, this is Old Ma from the guesthouse, he's been here since the 1960s, hasn't he?"

Old Ma tilted his head back and did some calculations, then sighed, "My health deteriorated in 65, so I was assigned to work as a boiler operator at the guesthouse. I've been operating the boiler here for thirteen years!"

“Yimin, Lao Ma was born in this area, back when it was called Beiping. If you want to know the stories of old Beiping, you can’t go wrong listening to him,” Zou Huofan said with a smile.

Liu Yimin looked at the old man in front of him. He should have been mature and steady, but he looked a bit cynical, and the veins on his face looked like they were about to burst out of his skin.

"Comrade Zou, don't try to fool me. Before Liberation, I was just a lowly rickshaw puller. I was born in Beiping, but I don't even know who my mother or father is. My earliest memory is fighting with the stray dogs under the city gate for moldy sorghum cakes!"

Old Ma was probably getting old. Seeing that Liu Yimin was listening attentively, he shook his head and began to speak: "Back in Beiping, everyone above me was a master, and below me were just stray cats and dogs. What were we? To put it bluntly, we were just lowly scum who got slapped by those stinky feet every day. They would even complain about the pain in their hands when they slapped us."

Hey, they're all big shots, I can't afford to mess with them. But I've thought about it, I guess I have to be a big shot too. Who am I supposed to be a big shot for? Others won't take it, so I'll be a big shot for myself. You hit me, your hand hurts, you bastard, it hurts so much you're going to die! Aren't you shameless? You're just asking for trouble!"

Zou Huofan said with a smile, "Old Ma has the spirit of Ah Q!"

"Who is Ah Q? Is he also from old Beiping?" Old Ma asked doubtfully.

Zou Huofan chuckled and said seriously, "Haha, if you think about it carefully, Ah Q should be from Shaoxing."

"Hey! That's way from here! Later, when I started driving rickshaws, life got better. Students took to the streets chanting slogans, but those 'FD' faction wouldn't stand for it and sent the police to beat people up. One student got on my rickshaw, and I ran like a madman. In the end, even the bastards couldn't catch up. The student told me, 'This counts as revolution.' I don't understand revolution; I just know he didn't pay me!"

Later, when Xiao Ri Zi (a nickname for a person) finally arrived in Beiping (Beijing), life was tough for everyone. Especially later, the Chinese could only eat mixed noodles, and eating that stuff made their feces bloody. Xiao Ri Zi's horses ate soybeans, so I secretly ran to the livestock shed to steal some, and almost got shot in the process.

I collapsed to the ground, my heart pounding. I clutched my chest, and after what seemed like an eternity, I realized I wasn't dead. I quickly ran home alone. Later, I learned my lesson and followed the horses, picking up their manure. What the horses couldn't digest, I digested myself.

"

"The KMT left, and the People's Liberation Army came. I went to the city gate to watch the excitement. No matter what army it was, we still had to live our lives. I was looking for work on the street when I met a PLA soldier who greeted me as 'comrade.' I didn't know that at the time. I thought we rickshaw pullers had a new name. Later, after some explanation, I realized that 'comrade' was an affectionate term that meant 'like-minded'."

Old Ma got a little tired from talking, so he shifted to a more comfortable position and lay down on the edge of the bathtub, laughing as he said, "You're saying that a stinking rickshaw puller like me has become comrades with someone like Editor Zou!"

“We share the same goal, so we are comrades. In revolution, there are only different roles, not different levels of status or wealth,” Zou Huofan said with a smile.

“Yes, yes, yes, I’m doing the revolution now by working as a boiler operator. This young comrade is also doing the revolution at such a young age. If I had understood this when I was young, I would have gone all out to do the revolution too.”

Stepping out of the bathhouse, Zou Huofan said, "Old Ma alone represents decades of history in Beiping!"

"History is viewed from different perspectives, and each person offers a unique perspective."

Liu Yimin nodded. Old Ma's situation was similar to that of Master Wen in "Wolf Smoke Over Beiping". Wen San's experience in "Wolf Smoke Over Beiping" was very tragic, but he always managed to find joy in hardship.

Boasting and getting slapped are Wenye's daily routine, but he can always make sense of it.

"The Flames of War in Beiping" is somewhat similar to "To Live," but it has more humor and historical weight than "To Live." Compared to "Teahouse," Liu Yimin feels that it is written with more delicacy, and the two have different focuses.

"The Flames of War in Beiping" focuses on the choices ordinary people make in the face of history and the awakening of national consciousness.

"Teahouse" focuses on the collective fate under the changing times, carrying a sense of reflection and criticism.

The key point is that writing "The Flames of War in Beiping" at this time was not sensitive, and the main focus was on the period before liberation, exposing the wickedness and cannibalistic nature of the old society.

However, the priority is to complete the adaptation of "Hachiko" as soon as possible. He has written more than two thousand words. The protagonist, Lao Xue, and Hachiko have already met at the train station. The next part is the story of Lao Xue returning to his hometown to meet his wife.

Liu Yimin didn't plan to go out for the remaining days at the guesthouse. He would stay there and write, aiming to finish and submit the novel within a month. He needed to earn foreign exchange by adapting foreign works, but he also needed to build up his reputation domestically first.

Once these two novels are published, his status in the literary world will likely be much more secure, and no one will treat Liu Yimin as a newcomer to the literary scene anymore.

On the morning of October 5th, Liu Yimin packed his things and prepared to go to Yenching University. It was quite far from Yenching University, and the area around Yenching University was rather desolate. Zou Huofan and Ge Luo rode their bicycles to take Liu Yimin and his luggage to Yanjing Station, where they planned to board the train to Yenching University.

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(End of this chapter)