1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 270: Thousands of Troops Drink Maotai Liquor Together

After Pan Haiqing traveled north to Beijing, he asked around and found the editorial office of October.

Pan Haiqing is old and tactful in his work. He did not tell the purpose at the beginning, but simply offered the products of his own winery to the editors of October.

When they saw that it was Moutai, the comrades from October were embarrassed to accept it.

People are so simple and honest these days. A few years ago, a Singaporean writer wanted to publish his works in China. The editors put in a lot of effort for this. He sent a sum of foreign currency to the publishing house as a thank you, but the money was returned in full.

Seeing that the Moutai liquor could not be delivered, Pan Haiqing was very smart. He took out glasses and poured them for the editors, and insisted that they taste it.

Seeing this, the editors had no choice but to taste the Moutai liquor that they couldn't usually drink.

Nowadays, female comrades are quite generous and drinking some white wine is no problem for them.

Seeing that the editors had all drunk it, Pan Haiqing embarrassedly revealed the reason for his trip to Beijing.
——I would like to ask the editors of "October" to vindicate their "Moutai".

The editors of October were also at a loss whether to laugh or cry after hearing this.

I didn’t expect that the first time I drank Moutai was thanks to Jiang Xian.

"Comrade, we really want to help you," Zhang Shouren said, "but literary works are not reports, let alone criticism and praise columns. We didn't expect this to happen. You came to us, what can we do?"

"I know, I know. We at Moutai Distillery are not here to blame October Magazine. We are here to solve the problem."

Pan Haiqing said politely: "On my way here, I also thought of a way. Can we change this paragraph in "The Wreath"? I also read this novel carefully. It is very well written. However, this sentence seems to be irrelevant to the context. Deleting it will not affect the wonderfulness of the novel."

"I'm afraid that won't work." Zhang Shouren said firmly, "The article was written by the author, we can't just edit it for something like this.

And if we start this, today you Moutai are not satisfied, so we delete a sentence, tomorrow Langjiu is not satisfied, so we add another sentence, and the day after tomorrow Laobaigan has objections again, our novel is changed as you like, then in the end, is it a novel or your advertisement? How can this be justified? Is this reasonable?"

The editors of "October" are very principled. Before a novel is published, it has to go through three reviews and three proofreadings. The review process is strict. How can they change it just because you are not satisfied with it?

Pan Haiqing suffered a defeat, but he did not give up.

Faced with such a situation, there is not much to say.

A few days later, as soon as the editorial office of October opened, Pan Haiqing came in carrying a bag.

I didn't do anything, just found a corner and sat quietly, never disturbing the editors' work.

This sitting lasted for a week.

As for the editors of "October", after a burst of laughter and tears, they were also a little moved by this dedicated production chief who came to the office every day to "sit quietly at work".

"The one from Moutai." Female editor Rong Yujing greeted Pan Haiqing.

Pan Haiqing hurried over.

"Comrade."

"Why do you come to our place every day? Are you dependent on us?"

Pan Haiqing smiled awkwardly, "Comrade, I signed a military order to the factory before I left. If I don't have an explanation for this matter, I will be too embarrassed to go back."

"Hey, what's the big deal about this?"

Rong Yujing sighed, "How about this, let's call the author of the novel "The Wreath Under the Mountain" and see if he can discuss and resolve this matter with you personally."

"That couldn't be better!" Pan Haiqing said excitedly, "Comrade, thank you so much, I thank you on behalf of Moutai Distillery!"

"Don't thank me. This is not my novel. If you want to thank someone, it should be Comrade Jiang Xian."

“No conflict, no conflict.”

Pan Haiqing's face was full of flattery. "You two are both benefactors of our Moutai Distillery, great benefactors."

Rong Yujing blushed, "Oh, you are quite good at talking."

The call was made to Jiang Xian, and Rong Yujing told Jiang Xian the whole story.

After hearing this, Jiang Xian was both amused and confused, and didn't know what to say. He simply gave Rong Yujing his home address and asked Pan Haiqing to come to him to discuss a solution.

After hearing this, Pan Haiqing was overjoyed and thanked Rong Yujing profusely.

Then, accompanied by Zhang Shouren, carrying Moutai liquor from their factory, they went to the door of Jiang Xian's house at No. 15 Hufang Road.

"This is Comrade Jiang Xian, the creator of "The Garland under the Mountain", and this is Comrade Pan Haiqing, the production section chief of Maotai Distillery." Zhang Shouren gave a brief introduction to the two.

Pan Haiqing was stunned for a moment, then immediately shook hands with Jiang Xian respectfully.

"Hello, Comrade Jiang Xian."

"Hello, please come in." Jiang Xian smiled calmly and made way for him.

Pan Haiqing was surprised as he walked in.

He had made sufficient preparations when he came and had read many introductions of Jiang Xian, but when he actually met him in person, he still couldn't help but be surprised.

"So young?"

Not just young.

The key point is that she looks very different from what Pan Haiqing imagined.

In his imagination, the author who could write a novel like "The Garland under the Mountain" should be a man with a weathered and vicissitudes face.

But in Pan Haiqing's eyes, Jiang Xian looked a bit pure, with a baby face, a bit like a girl, but with a smile that could bring out some bad intentions.

"Please sit down." Jiang Xian poured a cup of tea for Pan Haiqing. "Comrade Haiqing, you have been in Beijing for a while, right? Accommodation in Beijing is not easy. Where have you been staying these days?"

"Living in a bomb shelter."

"Oh, those conditions are tough."

"Well, people of our age have experienced everything. We can just sleep on a bed," said Pan Haiqing.

After a few pleasantries and a little familiarity, Pan Haiqing began to play the victim.

"All the workers in our factory like the character of Comrade Jin Kailai very much, but why does he have to pick a fight with our Moutai liquor?
His phrase "Maotai is so mad at me" didn't matter to Xishui Daqu, they even sold 12 tons more. No! The problem was not the sales volume, the problem was that everyone knew there was a wine called "Maotai is so mad at me".

A few days ago in the air raid shelter, I heard several comrades say that they were going to drink a bottle of "Maotai" tonight. Comrade Jiang Xian, our Moutai is famous all over the world and is renowned all over the world. It was originally a great pride of China, but now it is like this, this. "

Pan Haiqing's face was filled with sorrow, and she looked just like a young wife who had been upset.

Xijiu and Moutai both originated in Guizhou and were established at about the same time.

Xijiu is in Xijiu Town, and Moutai is in Moutai Town.

Maotai Town already existed before the establishment of Maotai Distillery, but Xijiu Town was originally just a district in Xishui County. It was separated out and named Xijiu Town because of the existence of Xijiu Factory.

This honor of "naming a place after a liquor" is "unique" in the country. By the 80s, Moutai was of course much more famous than Xijiu, but both were soy sauce liquors, and Xijiu was cheaper and loved by the common people, so the sales of Xijiu were not much worse than Moutai, and the annual output of Xijiu's base liquor far exceeded that of Moutai, making it the largest soy sauce liquor manufacturer in the country.

The two companies compete against each other in the field of Maotai-flavor liquor and are true rivals.

"Comrade Jiang Xian, all the workers in our factory only ask you to delete the words that are not favorable to our Moutai liquor. We will definitely call on all employees in the factory to read the novel "The Garland under the Mountain" carefully." Pan Haiqing said sincerely.

Jiang Xian smiled and said, "But the 81th issue of October 4 has already been published. There is no way to recall it. What's the point of changing it?"

"." Pan Haiqing was stunned.

"Well, let me suggest an idea."

Jiang Xian took a puff of his cigarette. "Since the publication has already been published and cannot be recalled, I will not deal with the previous one. In the subsequent single volume of "The Wreath Under the Mountain" and the reprint of "October", I will delete the sentence that is unfavorable to your Moutai Distillery. Do you think this is okay?"

Pan Haiqing nodded immediately upon hearing this. This was the only and best solution he could think of at the moment.

He stood up and bowed, "Writer Jiang, I thank you on behalf of all the workers at the Moutai Distillery!"

"Hey, hey? Please stand up, please stand up." Jiang Xian hurriedly helped Pan Haiqing up, "Old Zhang, I'm making the decision on my own. Can October accept it?"

Zhang Shouren smiled and said, "You are the author, so of course we will listen to you. We can't control the previous ones. When we reprint the 4th issue of October, we will pay attention to this issue."

"That's great." Pan Haiqing smiled happily, took a deep puff of cigarette, and then slowly exhaled the smoke.

As relieved.

After being in the capital for so many days, he can finally put this worry aside.

"Chief Pan, I'm not good at speaking, and I have something unpleasant to say." Jiang Xian smiled, with a hint of malice in his smile.

Pan Haiqing, who had just put his mind at ease, hadn't reacted yet. He nodded and said, "Go ahead."

Jiang Xian twisted off his cigarette butt and said sternly, "I agree to delete this sentence for you, but I still have a condition for your Moutai Distillery."

"condition?"

"I visited southern Xinjiang with my Writers Association colleagues before, and I still remember a story a leader told me.

That was before the battle started. The leader heard a young soldier say that he had never tasted Moutai in his life, and asked if he could have a sip of Moutai before leaving.
The leader was stunned and immediately asked the locals to help buy Moutai to distribute to the soldiers. Although each person only had a small cup, the soldiers drank it happily and felt very satisfied after finishing it.

Later, some of these people never returned after they set out, and stayed in the red soil of southern Xinjiang.
He told me that on the day before the battle, he toasted the soldiers one by one, and a young soldier smiled and said to him, "Commander, this is the first time I drink Moutai, and I didn't expect it to be a farewell drink."

Jiang Xian spoke quietly, lit a cigarette for himself, took a puff, and then said slowly:

"You just said that my phrase 'Maotai is so mad' helped Xishui Distillery sell 12 more tons.

Now if you want me to change this sentence, yes, I can agree to it, but I want Moutai Distillery to also promise me one thing.

12 tons of Moutai liquor were sent to the south.

Please give the soldiers a glass of Moutai."

After Jiang Xian finished speaking, the room became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Zhang Shouren's body tensed up and he looked at Jiang Xian in disbelief.

He didn't know what words to use to describe his mood at the moment, and he didn't know how to describe Jiang Xian.

The only word that came to my mind at that moment was "righteousness".

Pan Haiqing was also moved by Jiang Xian's words, but when he heard Jiang Xian's request, he became embarrassed again.

"Comrade Jiang Xian, this, this is something that our Moutai Distillery must also follow the planned allocation. How can we make the decision on our own?"

"I just have one request. If Moutai Distillery can't do it, then please go back."

Jiang Xian, who had a pure face just now, became rude in this second.

Seeing the situation taking a turn for the worse, Pan Haiqing said quickly, "Don't worry. 12 tons of wine is a big deal. I'm just a production section chief. I can't make the decision on such a big matter. I have to discuss it with the factory leaders first."

Hearing this, Jiang Xian stopped being aggressive and his expression softened a little.

"We should discuss it, but please give me a reply as soon as possible. I heard that the hundreds of thousands of copies of the 81 October issue 4 are almost sold out, right, Lao Zhang?"

"Hmm? Yes." Zhang Shouren nodded.

After what happened today, his opinion of Jiang Xian changed again.

He had previously tried to trick Feng Mu into writing a review, so he gave Jiang Xian a dirty trick, but Jiang Xian refused.

He thought the child was sincere.

Today I saw this.
My goodness, how can he be honest?

12 tons of Moutai liquor was exchanged for the four words "Maotai is so mad at me".

If we assume that one bottle of Moutai weighs one jin, 1 tons would be more than 1 bottles of Moutai, which would add up to about 12 yuan.

This is more than just a word worth a thousand gold? !

After Pan Haiqing returned, he immediately called the factory leaders and told them about Jiang Xian's request.

The leaders of the Maotai Distillery were all angry and some even slammed the table.

12 tons of Moutai in exchange for your four words?

But after Pan Haiqing finished speaking about Jiang Xian's entire speech, the factory leaders immediately changed their minds.

It seems that it is not impossible to produce these 12 tons.
Xishui Daqu is becoming more and more famous because of the saying "it makes Moutai mad".

Their Moutai factory was slapped in the face by this "Moutai is so angry that it's killing me" comment.

Some leaders were far-sighted and felt that if the misunderstanding between Comrade Jiang Xian and their Moutai factory could be made public, it would be a good story and positive publicity.

The factory immediately wrote a note to report the matter to their superiors, who quickly approved it.

12 tons of Moutai liquor, packed in green military kettles with the words "War-Readiness Moutai" written on them, were ready to be sent to the southern front.

Pan Haiqing gave Jiang Xian a reply, and Jiang Xian and October both kept their promise.

In the third edition of the 81th issue of "October" in 4, Jiang Xian revised this passage, making Jin Kailai in the novel more "conscious" and avoiding Maotai and Xishui.

In the manuscript of the single-volume book "The Wreath under the Mountain" that "October" was preparing for Jiang Xian to publish, Jiang Xian also changed this passage in the novel, and the four words "Maotai is so angry that it dies" no longer appeared.

The storm seemed to be calming down, but what made Jiang Xian laugh and cry was that a letter of protest flew across thousands of mountains and rivers and landed on his desk.

(End of this chapter)