1985, the year of the great writer, began with Infernal Affairs!

It's the last room on the third floor of the Faculty of Arts. It used to be used to store miscellaneous items, but now it's been cleared out and is being used as his writing studio.

Xie Lu was stunned for a moment, not expecting Zhou Shaoyuan to act so quickly.

"Dean Zhou, is this appropriate?" Xie Lu was somewhat shocked by the efficiency of the process.

Zhou Shaoyuan waved his hand: "What's inappropriate about it? It's just sitting empty anyway. You need quiet to write, and the dormitory is always busy with people coming and going, so it's inconvenient. That room may not be big, but it's quiet."

He paused, then said, "But there's one condition."

Xie Lu looked at him.

Zhou Shaoyuan said, "You have to win a prize in this essay contest. It doesn't have to be first prize; third prize will do."

That way, I can explain it to others. Look, this child has brought honor to the community. Giving him a separate room to write in is a good deal.

Xie Lu nodded: "Okay."

Zhou Shaoyuan smiled and said, "Then it's settled. You can pick up the key later."

Xie Lu walked along the corridor, went up to the third floor, and walked to the very end.

The door was closed; it was made of wood, painted a dark brown, and looked a bit old. He took out his key and opened the door.

As the door opened, a faint smell of dust wafted out.

The room wasn't big, probably only about ten square meters.

It used to be used to store miscellaneous items, and there are still some marks left on the walls from the old cabinets. Now everything has been cleared out, leaving only a desk against the wall and a chair next to it.

The desk was an old-fashioned wooden table with some scratches on the surface, but it was fairly clean. On the desk was an old-fashioned table lamp with a green tin lampshade and a pull cord switch. Next to it were a stack of manuscript paper, a bottle of ink, and two fountain pens.

Xie Lu went in and sat down in a chair. The chair was a bit hard, but it was alright.

He looked around. The window faced north, and the curtains were drawn. They were thick, dark blue curtains that blocked out the sunlight completely, making the room very dark, with only a little light coming through the crack in the door.

He stood up, walked over, and tugged on the curtain cord.

The curtains were pulled open a crack, letting in light that shone on the desk.

But the window overlooks the wall of another building, very close by, so not much light gets in.

He thought for a moment and then drew the curtains again.

Then I went to the door, found the light switch on the wall, and pressed it.

A light shone overhead, just a regular incandescent bulb, suspended by a single wire, without a lampshade. The light was dim and yellowish, but at least you could see things clearly.

Xie Lu closed the door and walked back to his desk to sit down.

The room was very quiet, so quiet that you could hear your own breathing. Occasionally someone would walk by in the corridor, their footsteps muffled and indistinct through the door.

Xie Lu sat there, looking at the blank manuscript paper on the table.

This place is better than he imagined.

Quiet, undisturbed, I can write for as long as I want.

Draw the curtains, turn on a light, and it'll be just like nighttime; you don't have to worry about changes in lighting.

Xie Lu sat in that small room for a long time.

The overhead light bulb emitted a dim, yellowish glow, making the whole room feel warm and cozy.

The curtains were drawn, making it impossible to tell whether it was day or night outside; only a sliver of light from the corridor shone through the crack in the door.

He leaned back in his chair, staring at a lamp, his mind racing with thoughts.

Ordinary World.

If the goal is to write about rural changes and the spirit of farmers, then nothing is more suitable than this.

He had read this work no less than three times in his previous life.

He first read it when he had just graduated. He borrowed the book from a classmate and read it under the covers with a flashlight. He felt heartbroken for Sun Shao-ping and cried for Tian Xiao-xia. Later, after he started working, he read it again, and each time he felt something different.

Xie Lu is now sitting in this dimly lit little room, and the characters and stories in this work are playing through his mind like a movie, scene by scene.

Northern Shaanxi, the Loess Plateau.

Shuangshui Village.

This is where the story begins.

Sun Shaoan, the eldest son of the Sun family.

He started working at the age of six, dropped out of school at thirteen, and became the production team leader at eighteen.

He never left this land in his life, yet he took better care of it than anyone else.

Back when the responsibility system was in place, he was the first person in the village to dare to step forward and take on a contracted role.

Later, they opened a brick kiln, and life gradually improved.

But he always had a knot in his heart: Runye.

He was not good enough for the girl he had grown up with since childhood, who was the daughter-in-law of a county leader.

Sun Shao-ping, the second son of the Sun family, was different from his brother. He always had a thought in his mind: he wanted to go out and see the world.

After graduating from high school, he returned to his village and worked as a teacher for a few years before finally leaving.

They went to Huangyuan to find work, carrying stones, hauling cement, and doing all sorts of hard and tiring jobs.

Later, he went to a coal mine and worked underground. There he met Tian Xiaoxia, the daughter of a local official. She was cheerful, generous, and knowledgeable.

They fell in love, like people from two different worlds falling in love.

The moment Xie Lu heard the name Tian Xiaoxia, his heart skipped a beat.

What kind of girl is she?

Born into a cadre family, she never experienced hardship growing up, but she was not spoiled at all.

She loves reading, loves thinking, and loves the ordinary people in this ordinary world.

She fell in love with Sun Shao-ping not because he was a coal miner, but because of his inherent resilience and self-respect.

She said to Shao Ping, "Shaoping, you are an ordinary person, but you don't have to be mediocre."

She died later.

While covering the flood relief efforts, he was swept away by the floodwaters while trying to save a child who had fallen into the water.

Xie Lu remembers being completely stunned when he first saw this scene.

He went back and looked at it several times, unable to believe it was real.

After confirming it, I closed the book and stared blankly for a long time.

There's also Tian Runye, this gentle yet stubborn girl. She loves Shao'an, but Shao'an doesn't dare to marry her.

She married Li Xiangqian, but she didn't love him. She treated him coldly, tormenting him and herself.

Later, Li Xiangqian was in a car accident and lost a leg. Only then did she suddenly realize that this person had been waiting for her all along.

She started taking care of him, staying by his side, and eventually truly fell in love with him.

He Xiulian, Shao'an's wife, came from Shanxi. She didn't ask for a dowry, she just wanted Shao'an. She followed Shao'an through thick and thin, helped him build up the brick kiln, gave birth to a son and a daughter, and kept the house tidy. But later she got lung cancer.

There's also Jinbo, Shaoping's best friend.

Hao Hongmei, Shaoping's first love.

Tian Fujun, Tian Xiaoxia's father, was a cadre who wholeheartedly served the people.

Sun Yuhou, Shao'an and Shaoping's father, was an honest and simple farmer all his life.

He Fengying, Xiulian's younger sister, later married Jinbo.

Names and faces swirled in Xie Lu's mind.

He recalled those memorable scenes.

On the day of Shao'an's wedding, he borrowed money to hold the banquet, and the whole village came.

Xiulian, wearing a red jacket, sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) with her head down.

Shao'an drank too much and was helped into the bridal chamber. When he saw Xiulian, he was stunned for a long time before suddenly bursting into tears.

When Shao Ping first went to Huangyuan to look for work, he stood at the bridgehead waiting for jobs. The contractors drove over in tractors, and a group of people rushed to grab them. He couldn't squeeze in and stood there for a long time, but no one wanted him. Later, an old man took pity on him and took him to the construction site to carry stones for 1.5 yuan a day.