Literary Master 1983

Chapter 24: One Month at Yanda
"Hello, take the trust!"

"Okay, let me see, Class A, Department of Economics, Yanda University, Yu~qie? You're here to get the letters again! Oh, you have four letters!"

Yu Qi took the four envelopes, found a secluded place in the library, and opened them one by one.

It has been a month since he reported to Yanda.

Because he often received letters of remuneration and sample issues, and was invited by several literary groups at Yenching University, they blocked his dormitory door, rushed into the classroom and called people to compete...

I am simply fed up with this!
There are many literary celebrities in Yanda now, but they are mainly in the field of poetry, such as the literary group formed around Cha Haisheng, Luo Yimiao and others.

The current president and vice president of Yanda's literature society are also working on poetry research reports... Their main literary achievement is the appreciation of the poems of "Cha Haisheng" and "Luo Yimiao". Twenty years later, they all became civil servants.

Of course there are people who write novels, but they are not famous.

Liu Zhenyun, a senior from the Chinese Department who graduated last year, did not choose to work for the Farmers’ Daily, but instead chose to pursue further studies at the school. He is a famous novelist and a potential comrade-in-arms of Yu Qie, but he is still in his developmental stage.

Well, Yu Qie is here. He is the only one with works published in provincial magazines.

The first letter was written to him by Zhang Li, who is now his close pen pal and the two have always kept in touch.

Zhang Li wrote in the letter:
"Teacher Yu, I would like to share with you my experience of studying the character of Zijuan in A Dream of Red Mansions. Is Daiyu good to Zijuan? I think on the surface, it's just average, but in fact, they are very good. Their relationship is better than the attitude of the ladies towards the maids in that era, but Cao Xueqin didn't write it clearly..."

"For example, after Grandmother Jia found out that her precious grandson was sick because of Zijuan, she did not punish Zijuan severely. It was because of Lin Daiyu that she did not take it too seriously and showed some mercy..."

Zhang Li wrote a series of thoughts and experiences.

Yu Qie read on patiently and wrote back to her, "You understand very well. You have tried to analyze other characters. What do you think of 'Xue Baochai'? I would also like to know your opinion."

She also wrote in the letter, "You and Xue Baochai have similar life experiences, and I think you have similar personalities, so why don't you become an actress? I've heard that this winter, the crew of Dream of Red Mansions will come to Chengdu to select actresses. This crew is a large crew and will need more than a hundred actresses. As long as you prepare well, you will definitely have a chance to be selected."

Suddenly, Yu Qie discovered that at the end of the letter, Zhang Li asked her:
"Brother Yu, do you still keep the handkerchief I gave you? If you don't, I can send you another one."

Okay, okay, a girl’s handkerchief is something that has been wrapped around her neck.

Wait, Zhang Li no longer calls me Teacher Yu?

"Brother Yu."

Hi!
Just call me Brother Yu. Yu Ge doesn’t sound so nice.

By this time, Yu Qi had already remembered that Zhang Li should be the actress who later played "Xue Baochai". After her career failed, she retired from the screen to study, and then went to Canada, becoming a female billionaire with a net worth of over 100 million yuan - indeed surpassing Xue Baochai in the book.

Why couldn’t Yu Qie remember it before?

Because Zhang Li's Mandarin is not very good and has an obvious regional accent, and the TV series uses dubbing, which is quite different from her real voice.

Have you ever seen Sister Bao speak Sichuan dialect?
The filming of the TV series "Dream of Red Mansions" took too long, and the training took too long. When Zhang Li actually appeared on the screen, she was much older than 17 years old. After two years of closed training, her personality also changed. So much so that Yu Qi spent a few days with her and did not recognize that this was Xue Baochai.

There was also a letter, which was a sample copy and royalties for "College Entrance Examination 1977" in "Sichuan Literature". "College Entrance Examination 1977" was a short article with only about 8 to words. "Sichuan Literature" paid him yuan per thousand words, and he received less than yuan.

"College Entrance Examination 1977" is not an article with a wide influence, but it has a greater impact within the small circle of educated youth and college entrance examination candidates. Some people think that "Yu Qie" sympathizes with and supports the educated youth.

Of course, this is not possible. Yu Qie can write literature about educated youth, but he cannot be classified as supporting the educated youth. These are two different things. The last two letters came from his hometown Wanxian. Yu Qie thought that his family missed him and wrote long letters to him, because the two letters came from the same address one after the other, less than two weeks apart.

However, it was not Yu Qie’s father or Yu Qie’s sister, but Mou Qizhong.

Do you still remember this guy, the tycoon and big trader in Wanxian, the future richest man in the country?

The first letter I opened contained this sentence:

"Yu Qie, 'A pig can take off if it stands on the wind' is a good saying. I have said it everywhere. Here is fifty dollars, please take it!"

I pressed the letter paper hard, and sure enough, there were five 65-yuan -version banknotes stacked together. When I spread it out and flicked it, it made a sound.

In Yu Qie's mind, there emerged the image of the Mediterranean man who always stood with his hands on his hips trying to imitate the classic pose of the great man, with a fearless spirit.

The second letter was really unbearable. It contained two sentences:

"Master Yu, you are indeed very smart. I am already in jail!"

"I wrote the second part of the ten thousand word book "Where is China Heading" in prison. If you are interested, please leave a note to me and I will send it to you for your appreciation so that all Yan University students can admire my style... However, although I know where China is going, I don't know where I will go. Please help me point out a clear path. I am convinced."

Alas, it really came true. Mou Qizhong’s voice, appearance and smile are still in front of my eyes.

His current assets are probably not even as good as mine.

How to guide this wealthy man to make a comeback?

Mou Qizhong's life was about going to jail, coming out, going to jail, and coming out again. But before he founded the "Nande Group", made big statements to the provincial government, and took out loans like crazy, this guy didn't spend much time in jail.

He will be released as early as next fall. It could be earlier or later, he just needs to wait.

No mysterious power could help him.

Therefore, Yu Qie lied in the letter: "Mou Qizhong, I have received your letter. You just need to wait quietly for the opportunity to change. As a boss, going to jail is a blessing for you..."

"The following actions may help you. Now you need to find a bathroom, turn your back to the mirror, chant 'Fu Sheng Xuan Huang Xian Zun' and walk four steps in reverse. Do this every day to accelerate the accumulation of blessings for yourself. One day you will be miraculously released."

"We Sichuan people love playing cards, so I'll give you an easy-to-understand flower card code..."

At this time, Yu Qi suddenly realized that there was a bearded male college student sitting diagonally opposite him, crying silently. This person had been crying for a long time, but now he had entered the second stage of crying loudly.

Yu Qie quickly accepted the letter and wrote at the end, "But my letter paper is too small to fit. I'll give it to you when I think about it..."

Then he showed concern for the male college student: "Comrade, why are you crying?"

"I'm... I'm reading... a novel. It's so touching." The man wiped his tears. He didn't expect that someone cared about him. They quickly made way for Yu Qi to see the novel he had read before.

"College Entrance Examination 1977" was written by Yu Qie.

(End of this chapter)