Literary Master 1983

Chapter 108 Only Him, Only Him

After comprehensive consideration, I think it is still possible to bring the cotangent.

Zhang Shouren and Wang Shimin played a key role. They traveled to Shanghai and raised almost all the votes they could, and then found the boss of the Writers Association, Ba Lao himself.

No. 113 Wukang Road, Shanghai, is a holy place in the hearts of many young literary people and the place where Ba Lao lived the longest in his entire life.

They informed each other of their visit in advance, then pushed open the green iron gate and entered this independent garden house with an elegant environment.

"Ba Lao, we are here to canvass for votes."

All they saw was Ba Lao sitting on a chair, smiling at them.

Zhang Shouren's heart suddenly started pounding: because Ba Lao suffered from Parkinson's disease and broke a leg this year, he had been bedridden at home for a long time, seldom received guests, and when he went out, he was pushed in a wheelchair by his daughter.

The simple action of moving from a wheelchair to a chair showed how much Ba Lao valued their visit. And they actually came to lobby for something that was "not very decent".

Sorry, maybe I came at the wrong time?
Zhang Shouren and Wang Shimin looked at each other. Both of them were already old, but they were stunned for a moment. They felt dizzy and their faces were burning with shame.

"Why don't you talk?" Ba Lao thought they came at the right time and asked his daughter Li Xiaolin to bring them some fruit.

"Tell me, who are you campaigning for..."

Zhang Shouren said with a stiff upper lip, "For Yu Qie to go to Tokyo, Ba Lao...if there is only one, and only one, that person is him."

Wang Shimin followed up by saying, "When Qiao Gong visited Japan in 78, he was sitting on the Shinkansen and said, '(This train) feels fast, as if it's urging people to run...' Our literary train has also started to move, with a new locomotive."

Ba Lao smiled and nodded, motioning them to continue.

Zhang Shouren may have rarely faced such great pressure. He felt that every word he said was very difficult. "Fundamentally, I do not support the author of the scar article to represent our young generation to visit abroad..."

Before he finished speaking, Zhang Shouren shut up and watched Ba Lao's reaction quietly.

Wang Shimin was shocked because Ba Lao had expressed his support for Scar Literature. He had many old friends who had died in the past, and it was not easy for him either.

Zhang Shouren is just talking about things that are not related to the topic.

Ba Lao comforted them: "If you want to talk, don't split it up into several parts. I'm listening here. Maybe I will agree with you!"

Zhang Shouren finally felt better. He said frankly, "We really shouldn't forget the wounds - but we are going to Japan and taking the Shinkansen. I don't want to tell people those old stories. On the contrary, I hope to let the Japanese see the vigor and vitality of the Chinese people. This is my greater selfish desire!"

"The Chinese can do it. The Chinese have become stronger."

Zhang Shouren became more and more excited as he spoke, and his voice began to tremble.

"Well, go on." Ba Lao nodded.

Wang Shimin was responsible for explaining from another perspective why Yu Qie was asked to go. More than 30 years before the war with the southern neighbor, Ba Lao, as a representative of the consolation group, went to the front line of the Korean War to create.

At that time, Ba Lao called every young soldier "comrade", and the comrades called him "Lao Ba".

Wang Shimin said: "I heard that the army offered you a spacious residence, but you refused it and bravely went to the trenches, braving the bomber fire, and wrote battlefield diaries and essays on cans - this is very similar to Yu Qie's refusal to go home and go deeper into the cat ear cave."

This flattery is just right.

The two of them had rehearsed the dialogue, and now they were speaking it out in a very nervous situation. They actually felt that their emotions were sincere and they thought as they spoke: Yes! This Yu Qie is so fucking similar!

If Yu Qie doesn't go, who will go?
The person who is closest to Yu Qie's status is Liu Xinwu, but Liu Xinwu is sensitive, fragile, and generally kind, and he writes articles like that. If a Japanese reporter came to ask him, how would he describe what he was creating?
Suffering, chaos, poverty... they have indeed existed, but enough is enough, really enough.

Yu Qie was handsome, tall, and talented. When they put him there, the Japanese said, "Ah! The young Chinese are here."

Zhang Shouren was already imagining the scene: Yu Qie pushed Ba Lao in a wheelchair off the plane and onto the red carpet. Reporters were snapping photos. The one in the wheelchair represented the past, and the one standing upright represented the future. At this moment, Ba Lao suddenly laughed. After a while, he said, "Even if you don't come, I agree that he has a place."

Zhang Shouren and Wang Shimin were both confused: Why?

Ba Lao asked the two to read the interview in Ta Kung Pao. It said very clearly, "Only when the new comes, do we know that the old has gone."

This interview is about Yu Tangent.

It turns out that Ba Lao himself also tends to include the remainder.

——It’s all a waste of effort!
Zhang Shouren and Wang Shimin had a meal at Balao's and took the train back. They were in a noble sleeper berth with a tea tray under the berth. After the train started, the conductor poured hot water for the passengers at each table. In addition, there were newspapers, magazines, and comic books... for free.

The reason why Zhang Shouren ran around for Yu Qie's affairs was not just because he wanted Yu Qi to make progress.

He also knew that Yu Qie was going to renovate the courtyard house and would need to raise a large sum of money in the short term. Zhang Shouren was an editor who was like a nanny, and he took care of every aspect of the author.

He said: "If Yu Qie can write an article and publish it in Japan, he will have money to renovate his courtyard house."

Wang Shimin laughed: "Yu Qie can get the money from the Japanese, so of course he has a place to stay."

"——Comrade!" The conductor came to pour hot water for the two of them.

Wang Shimin took the opportunity to ask the conductor for a book to read.

The conductor said, "All the books have been checked out."

"Where's the magazine?"

“The magazine is gone too.”

"newspaper?"

"There is one." He brought over the newspaper, which was the first issue of Southern Weekend.

This is a newspaper published in Guangdong Province. It was first published this year. In the newspaper, there is a message from the editor-in-chief: "There are truths that can be kept secret, but never tell a lie."

It turned out to be true, because the first issue contained some difficult news: "Chen Chong's Letter from the United States."

Chen Chong is a famous actress in mainland China. She made her debut in Xie Jin's film "Little Flower" and collaborated with Liu Xiaoqing. They were equally matched. Then she starred in the film "Awakening". She won the Hundred Flowers Award at the age of 18.

Wang Shimin pointed at the newspaper and showed it to Zhang Shouren: "Is Chen Chong the woman on the calendar?"

"It's her, that's right." Zhang Shouren recognized her.

They both became interested and read "Chen Chong's Letter from the United States" together.

Then he couldn't hold it in any longer. In the letter, Chen Chong said: "After I came to the United States, I worked as a waiter in a restaurant, washed dishes in the kitchen, and worked hard as an extra... I miss my motherland and my relatives far away in my hometown so much..."

Then why did you go there?

Zhang Shouren scratched his head and suddenly said, "Yu Qie's "Big Scatter" is correct. Such a great man went to the United States and still washed dishes. What do you think ordinary people would be able to succeed if they went there?"

"All the overseas student literature that is popular in China is fake! It's a lie! It's hurting a lot of people!"

Wang Shimin also thought of the day he talked with Yu Qie about "Big Scatter" last year. At this time, he once again confirmed that it was right for him to come to canvass for votes.

"If Yu Qie goes to Japan, something different will definitely come out. Only he can do it, and only he will go."

(End of this chapter)