1987 My Era

Chapter 40, The Great Work

The manuscript went around the small editorial department and received unanimous and sincere praise, which made Chen Xiaomi feel very comfortable and proud.

After being circulated around, the manuscript finally fell into the hands of Zhou Chunlan.

After watching "To Live", Zhou Chunlan felt angry and jealous!

But there is nothing I can do…!
She thought unwillingly: Maybe, maybe this is my fate?

She has been working in this position for 6 years, and has received countless submissions of decent quality.

But I've never encountered anything as amazing as this!
Stunning!

It is indeed amazing!
At this moment, she could very much relate to Uncle Dai's comment: it felt like a spiritual baptism when she first read Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea".

The only difference between her and Uncle Dai is that Uncle Dai is old and has already achieved success. Although he pursues fame and fortune, he is definitely not as eager for it as they are.

Originally, this manuscript was in my hands, but I didn't expect that I couldn't help but give "To Live" to Xiaomi.

Chen Xiaomi, Chen Xiaomi, didn't you ask for leave for something? Didn't you ask me to take your place?
Then why did you come today?
Why do you want to come?
Are you here to steal my luck?
Thinking of her luck, Zhou Chunlan became even more depressed. She felt as if God was deliberately playing a prank on her, holding her down and not letting her take off.

Zhou Chunlan clenched the manuscript of "To Live" and her fingernails were almost broken. Her heart was bleeding. This was a huge fortune! It was clearly in her hands, but it was gone in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, she hated God for being unfair! She hated Chen Xiaomi for having such a good life!
But she knew her place well, and she couldn't break the rules to snatch it, nor did she dare to do so, because she couldn't afford to offend Chen Xiaomi or the Chen family.

There are rumors that the editor-in-chief of People's Literature and Chen Gaoyuan were college alumni. With this relationship, even if Zhou Chunlan had a hundred guts, she would not dare to commit suicide!
Zhou Chunlan thought about the cause and effect and adjusted her attitude. The moment she raised her head, her face was filled with a blessing smile:

"Xiaomi, congratulations! This is a rare and valuable manuscript. God is blessing you."

Chen Xiaomi is not a naive person.

She had experienced all kinds of intrigue in the countryside, so Chunlan's tricks were just like playing house in front of her.

Chen Xiaomi glanced at the fingernail marks left on the manuscript and smiled, "I am just lucky. I didn't expect to get a big one today. If it works out, I'll treat everyone to a drink."

Hearing the word "wine", Uncle Dai, who loves alcohol, immediately perked up and waved his hand to urge: "Okay! How can it not be possible? Anyone who dares to let such a manuscript be covered in dust is committing a crime.

Go ahead and find the editor-in-chief. I can’t wait to see you, Xiao Chen, pay for the wine.

Let me make it clear first, you can’t buy cheap things to fool an old man like me.”

"Don't worry, I'll definitely satisfy you." Chen Xiaomi smiled, and at the urging of her colleagues, she quickly stuffed two pills into her mouth, drank a sip of tea, and then walked gracefully towards the editor-in-chief's office.

The so-called leave of absence was actually because her throat was inflamed, a little swollen and painful, and her voice was hoarse.

She had originally made an appointment with an old Chinese doctor, but the doctor suddenly had a stroke and was hospitalized. So she had to temporarily see a Western doctor and get some medicine.

Fortunately, she met a college classmate who had just returned from studying abroad in the hospital. The two had breakfast together and had a very pleasant conversation, which was also the reason why she was in a good mood in the morning.

"Dong dong dong..."

The editor-in-chief's office was in the northeast corner. After adjusting her breathing, Chen Xiaomi raised her hand and gently knocked on the door.

"Come in!" A strong voice came from inside.

Although the editor-in-chief Zhou Mingwei is only in his early fifties, most of his hair is already white. If it weren't for his strong spirit, he would look like an old man at first glance.

"Uncle Zhou."

"Xiaomi is here, sit down."

They had worked together for two years and were already quite familiar with each other. In addition, Chen Xiaomi had a relationship with the editor-in-chief of the literature club, so Zhou Mingwei had always been gentle with her. He was less serious than he was with others.

However, Chen Xiaomi is a person who knows when to advance and when to retreat. She never uses her family connections to put on airs. She is always humble to everyone and seems easy to get along with. Of course, this is only outside.

In the past, in the countryside, there was a person like Li Lan, who was sharp-tongued and never suffered any loss. Many men were afraid of her. She was very powerful.

In his previous life, Li Heng had suffered a lot from her cold stares and sarcasm, which made him so angry that his teeth itched. At one point, he was so angry that he couldn't eat for ten days or half a month.

"I heard you guys were busy outside just now. Did you come across some good manuscripts?" There was only a door between the offices, and Zhou Mingwei knew roughly what went on in the editorial department.

If he hadn't been on the phone just now, if his status hadn't been a concern, he would have opened the door and walked out long ago.

"There is such an article. Uncle Dai and his friends thought it was okay after reading it, so they urged me to come in and let Uncle Zhou take a look at it."

Knowing that what happened outside could not be hidden from the editor-in-chief, Chen Xiaomi simply told it out openly.

"Oh, Uncle Dai also said it's okay, then I have to take a careful look at it." Zhou Mingwei put the pen in his hand aside, took the manuscript and started reading.

To Live…

This name seems to have some meaning and should directly point out the theme.

Zhou Mingwei thought so, turned over the outer paper, and began to read without raising his head.

“When I was ten years younger than I am now, I acquired an idle occupation, going about the country collecting folk songs.

Throughout the summer of that year, I was like a flying sparrow, wandering in the countryside filled with cicadas and sunshine..."

The simple descriptions and first-person writing style in the first few paragraphs of the novel immediately attracted Zhou Mingwei's attention and made him want to continue reading.

In the story, Fugui was originally a young master from a wealthy family, but he did not know how to cherish this wealthy life and was addicted to gambling. Finally, he lost all his family property and became penniless and destitute.

His father was so angry that he died because he squandered the family fortune, and his mother became seriously ill due to poverty...

This seemed to open Pandora's box. Tragic fate befell Fugui again and again. First, his son Youqing died after blood was drawn while trying to save the county magistrate's wife. Then, his daughter Fengxia died of postpartum hemorrhage. His wife died of rickets due to years of overwork. His son-in-law Erxi was killed by a stone slab at a construction site..."

When he was reading with great interest, the manuscript suddenly stopped in the middle. Zhou Weiming felt so uncomfortable, as if thousands of ants were biting him in his bones.

Chen Xiaomi kept staring at him, silently.

She understood that whether the manuscript was good or not was determined by her immediate superior, the editor-in-chief, and her expectations and opportunities were in his hands.

"That's all?" Zhou Mingwei asked knowingly, still not recovering from reading the book.

"Well, that's all the writer sent." Chen Xiaomi's tense mind immediately relaxed upon hearing the editor-in-chief's tone.

I thought to myself, it’s done, there’s hope!
"How much more is there in the rest of the story?" Zhou Mingwei smiled bitterly and realized that he had asked another nonsense question.

Seeing that the editor-in-chief was not in good shape twice, Chen Xiaomi's eyes lit up a little, and she smiled and said, "I left a contact number in December. I'll ask him later."

Zhou Mingwei slowly closed the manuscript, stared at "December" without blinking, and pondered for a long time before commenting:
“This is a stark, gritty epic, a story of struggle and survival, with very poignant images of cruelty and kindness.

December is very good at describing characters vividly, and the struggle is vividly reflected in his writing.

Suffering-joy-suffering, this is finding joy in suffering, life in death, this realm goes beyond the norm of novels, it has writing style, thoughts and stories, the outer and inner are highly unified, if this level is maintained in the future, it will be a well-deserved masterpiece. "

At this point, editor-in-chief Zhou Mingwei raised his head and sighed, "As Uncle Dai said, this is a work that can establish its status. If it can be published, it will definitely cause a sensation."

This status means that it has a huge influence in the literary world and has risen to fame overnight, and "To Live" has become a masterpiece.

Chen Xiaomi was very excited to hear this. Having received unanimous high praise from Uncle Dai and the editor-in-chief, she seemed to have seen herself on the road to success.

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(End of this chapter)