Literary Master 1983

Chapter 443 Singing Praises
Yu Qie didn't answer him, but continued, "Don't interrupt, I haven't finished speaking yet."

"Fine!" Liu Daoyu remained silent.

"Second, you must report before you do anything, and everything must be approved by the board of directors."

Liu Daoyu's face turned pale.

"Third, they should not be considered for university funding programs for at least five years! Especially those that cost a lot of money!"

Five years? !
These past five years have been a period of vigorous development for higher education institutions!

Liu Daoyu finally couldn't hold back any longer, "If Chinese education doesn't rely on universities, what does it rely on? Do you know why we can't win Nobel Prizes? It's because the smartest people haven't received enough resources. They've suffered so much injustice that they've gone abroad."

He said with considerable frustration, “Let’s take you as an example. If the country fully cooperated with you and helped you win the award, organized a diplomatic delegation to Stockholm for a roadshow, and the government made a state visit and presented your novel as a national gift… I don’t believe you couldn’t win it! The Chinese people need your Nobel Prize! It doesn’t just belong to you, Yu Qie, but to the Chinese people!”

“You’re right, but I won’t listen,” Yu said. “The foundation’s mission for the first five years is exactly the opposite. We will work with the Agricultural Development Institute to provide financial aid to students in remote rural areas across the country. I call it Project Hope.”

"As for the Nobel Prize?" Yu Qie asked loudly, answering himself. "I have my own ways."

Liu Daoyu remained silent for a moment. Yu Qie sighed in disappointment and was about to see him off when Liu Daoyu grabbed him and said, "I'll do it! But I have one request: I want to invest the money in the schools where those bright children are."

“Sure!” Yu Qie smiled. “You won’t regret it. I’ll compromise too; after all, you’re a university president and should enjoy the salary and benefits of a university teacher.”

Liu Dao was overjoyed!
Beijing is a region with six salary categories, and university teachers are at the highest level, receiving various basic allowances of about one hundred yuan per month.

Of course, this was still far from his previous treatment; at Jiang University, he could only receive a maximum stipend of about 1,200 to 1,300 yuan. However, the newspaper industry was thriving in Beijing, and Liu Daoyu had a good relationship with the media, so he could supplement his family's income by writing articles and publishing books.

In short, this is already a relatively good ending for him.

Many schools in the south did invite him to take up positions, but they only saw him as a high-earning employee. If any trouble were to arise, Liu Daoyu's removal from office would be inevitable. While he still has a good reputation, he might as well do more charity work.

Now that they were on his side, Liu Daoyu adopted a more serious attitude and asked, "What do I need to do now? What instructions do you have for me?"

Yu Qie smiled.

"Have you read 'Ordinary World'? In some parts of Northwest China, the poverty is even worse than in the border regions. Please go to Northwest China to investigate and bring me a report. I will use your report as a reference to provide financial assistance to some students."

Liu Daoyu felt a chill run down his spine whenever he heard the word "Northwest".

“Teacher Yu, this is no small amount of money. If each person spends 100 yuan a year, we would have to sponsor them until they graduate from primary school. For a thousand people, that would be 100,000 yuan… But a thousand primary school students are just primary school students. There are too many people in China. No matter how much we invest, even if we divide it by a billion, we still can't accomplish anything!”

As he spoke, he began to peddle his theory: "Education in the world is education in higher education; it will become more professional and elite. Why not use this 100,000 to support the smartest person? I think..."

“Stop saying those things!” Yu Qie told him to shut up. Then, Yu Qie emphasized, “Don’t ask why now. Just do it.”

"Alright!" Liu Daoyu had no choice but to agree.

Soon after, he packed his bags and settled his whole family in the capital. Then he went alone to the Northwest, to Wangjiabao Village in Qingjian, which is the prototype of "Shuangshui Village" in "Ordinary World".

Yes, it was Lu Yao who received Liu Daoyu.

This is where Lu Yao was born. Later, due to family difficulties, Lu Yao was adopted by the neighboring Guojiagou Village. Despite this, Lu Yao still has a deep affection for Wangjiabao Village.

Lu Yao is now hospitalized in a coal mine hospital in Yanchuan. After finishing his novel, he developed severe ascites; his abdomen is distended, and he has noticeable edema all over his body. At this point, seeing Lu Yao's appearance, no one would think he has anything to do with the word "longevity."

Lu Yao was lying in his hospital bed when he met Liu Daoyu, who had come from afar.

He said, “Principal Liu, Teacher Yu contacted me beforehand and asked me to host you. But look at me... I can’t help you. I’ve asked my fourth brother to be your tour guide. You can ask him anything.”

Liu Daoyu looked at Lu Yao in front of him with a complicated expression.

Before coming, Liu Daoyu had a general understanding of Lu Yao's life: a child who almost starved to death and had no pants to wear. Because he received some meager resources, he clung to them tightly and eventually became one of the most famous writers in the country. His personality was generally kind, but he had a radical and rebellious side!
He disliked material possessions, yet had a morbid love for smoking good cigarettes and drinking coffee. However, a cigarette would often burn out completely without Lu Yao taking a single puff. Others laughed at Lu Yao for being ignorant and wasting money, but Lu Yao considered it "the style of a literary man!"

This is a mental illness.

Having worked in higher education for many years, Liu Daoyu had seen many highly intelligent students from impoverished areas, and he knew best the fragile self-esteem of these students. Lu Yao's mental illness was greater than his liver disease.

If he had received slightly more resources in his youth, perhaps after "Ordinary World," China would have welcomed a great realist! Instead of the person before us, someone who has lost his vitality, whose smile even seems pale.

“Brother Lu Yao, please stop calling me Principal!” Liu Daoyu said. “I’m here to inspect the local basic education system and see if I can provide some financial assistance to the students.”

"Great! Great!" Lu Yao exclaimed excitedly. "The children here aren't stupid, they just lack opportunities! Do you know what kind of opportunities they are? They are opportunities to learn to read and write, and to have enough to eat and wear!"

"You'll understand once you come and see for yourself!"
-
Yu Qie also set off. In November, Ma Shitu wrote a letter to Yu Qie. When Yu Qie opened it, it said, "Please come home and relax."

Yes!

Since coming to the capital, Yu Qie has rarely gone home.

Turning to the other page of the letter, one sees several large characters written by Ma Shitu: "A generous gift is presented."

This old man still knows how to pull off some tricks.

I guess he was scared by the news reports in society, afraid that he would become complacent and lose his edge.

Since the teacher had invited him, Yu Qie naturally dared not delay. He set aside a week to finish the classes. Yu Qie taught two courses: "Western Economics" and "History of Modern Chinese Literature." The students in the Yenching University classroom had changed again, and Yu Qie didn't recognize any of them.

But every student recognized him.

What about Lu Buxuan, the butcher at the time, and Cheng Guoping, the scholar of Yu studies?
Oh! They're all almost graduating! I wonder where they've flown off to!
The new students were very understanding of Yu Qie, and they all said:

"Teacher Yu, are you going home to seclude yourself? What kind of earth-shattering masterpiece are you planning to write?"

Someone else said, "Teacher Yu, I'm also from Sichuan and Chongqing. I love your 'Fallen Leaves Return to Their Roots' the most! When you go back this time, you must write another amazing article!"

After calming the students down, Yu Qie flew to Chengdu.

Ma Shitu was waiting for him at home. When he saw Yu Qie arrive alone, he asked, "Where's Zhang Li?" "Zhang Li has to study, so she can't take leave or switch classes like I do."

"Where's the other one?"

Yu Qie was startled and looked at Ma Shitu, only to see Ma Shitu looking completely confident. He had no choice but to admit, "There's also Chen Xiaoxu. She's in charge of the foundation's projects and now she's thinking of going into business."

At this point, Yu Qie couldn't help but say, "Actually, there's one more..."

This time, Ma Shitu couldn't hold back anymore.

"You used to be a good kid, how come you've changed so much after going to the capital for a few years?"

Yu Qie recounted his and Gong Xue's story in detail. Ma Shitu also felt very troubled: "She has already made up her mind about you, and your experiences are unique. What can she do if you break up? The key is that you have already admitted it."

"Does the teacher have any experience they can share with me?"

“I have no experience! I’m a very honest person!” Ma Shitu said.

Yu Qie gave an awkward smile.

However, Ma Shitu was a seasoned veteran. He had been writing his "memoirs" for a long time and had seen many such cases. Although he was dissatisfied that Yu Qie could not remain faithful to one person, he was also glad that at least Yu Qie had a sense of responsibility.

During the era of the "sent-down youth" movement, many impoverished second and third-generation Beijing youths went to work in remote areas of the south and northwest. Many of them developed feelings for local girls and thought they could live like that forever... but unexpectedly, they were able to return to Beijing one day.

Ultimately, most of these relationships ended in regret.

Ma Shitu then instructed him to tell Zhang Li the truth as soon as he got back, and to do so immediately.

This is just a small episode.

What Ma Shitu truly wanted to give Yu Qie was a book, *Red Crag*. This was a special book, based on the original manuscript by author Luo Guangbin.

A generous gift!
Historically, this original manuscript was treasured by Lao Ma for many years. It was originally intended to be donated to the National Museum of Literature. Moreover, it was designated as a first-class cultural relic as soon as it entered the museum. It is no less valuable than the bamboo curtain that Yu Qie carried down from Laoshan Mountain. On these manuscripts are the memories forged with the blood of a group of people.

“How could I be worthy of this gift? This manuscript is either for you to keep, or for the whole country to keep if you don’t want it. Other individuals are probably not qualified to possess it.”

Yu Qie had his reasons for saying that.

The reason why "Red Crag" was written was thanks to the fact that, 48 years later, Ma Shitu learned of Luo Guangbin's arrest and sent a letter through someone encouraging him to write his memoirs about his prison experiences. Ma Shitu had not only taught Luo Guangbin, but he was also a classmate and friend of Luo's father. It was because of this relationship that he readily accepted the letter.

How can the remaining pieces be properly collected?
Ma Shitu believes, "I encouraged Xiao Luo before, and I'm encouraging you now. Darkness is temporary; once you get through it, the road ahead will be wide and open. In our past, too many people fell just before dawn."

It seems that Ma Shitu also believes that Yu Qie's failure to win the Nobel Prize was due to unfair treatment. Moreover, Chinese people of this era still have a biased view of foreigners, and even Ma Shitu is like that. He feels that Yu Qie winning the Nobel Prize is a long way off, and that this year's events will repeat themselves again and again.

On the one hand, Yu Qie may not be able to write more representative works.

On the other hand, the West is becoming increasingly distant from the East. This is something that anyone who has frequently come into contact with Western academia in recent years can sense. From professors at Yenching University to scholars like Ma Shitu who have studied abroad, they have all subtly noticed it.

The seemingly intimate and beautiful relationship was an illusion. Both sides gradually realized that they were too different in terms of fundamental interests, culture, and consciousness.

Lin Yifu of the Agricultural Development Institute believes that Yu Qie is the person in China who is closest to winning the Nobel Prize. But even under these circumstances, Yu Qie has to wait. If the circumstances change, will anyone from China still be able to win the Nobel Prize?

Yu Qie couldn't explain the Nobel Prize selection mechanism, but his hopes for next year were far greater than this year. He simply said, "Your words, teacher, are enough for me."

Ma Shitu insisted on sending the original manuscript to Yu Qie. After repeated refusals, Yu Qie had no choice but to accept it. He said, "When I retire from writing, I will donate all these things with commemorative value. However, I don't believe in museums. I will donate money myself to build one and open it to the public free of charge."

Upon hearing this, Ma Shitu felt that Yu Qie was even more disheartened and that he would probably have to make a decision sooner or later.

Yu Qie's decision came in 1983 when he decided to devote himself to a literary career, just after he was admitted to Yenching University.

Yuche's second decision occurred in 1988, the year he lost the Nobel Prize.

Most people believe that his second decision was to retire while he was still at the peak of his career, or at least take a break.

Yu Qie, however, did the exact opposite.

Actually, he already had a new draft in mind when he returned home this time. He was just about to write it down to express his determination.

After saying goodbye to Ma Shitu, Yu Qie returned home after a long absence. Wanxian was now very different from when he left. A train station had been built in the county to transport materials for the construction of the Three Gorges Dam.

Yu Yuejin is still working as a rural teacher. Of course, he's doing very well now; he's been recognized as an expert in the province, and his salary has increased significantly.

“I donated all that money,” Yu Yuejin said.

Yu Qie believed that his father donated money to protect his son's reputation, but Yu Yuejin did not do so; he donated money simply because the Yu family had more money than they could spend.

Yu Yuejin said, "If you fall down one day, nothing we do will be of any use! Conversely, if you always exist, even if we do something outrageous, no one will hold it against us."

"Ultimately, society today is all about personal connections. If you were to win the Nobel Prize, we'd be honored and treated like royalty!"

One somewhat abstract issue is that there is discussion in the local area about the resettlement of people from the Three Gorges Reservoir area. The original location of Yuqie will be submerged, and hundreds of thousands of people will have to move into a newly built city.

One of the biggest challenges facing the government now is: what to do with Yuqie's old residence?
If Yu Qie ultimately wins the Nobel Prize, and soon after, while his former residence is submerged underwater, not only will his fans disagree, but even those comrades far away in the central government will disagree.

During the week Yu Qie spent at home, he received many local celebrities. Some asked him for donations, some asked him to write inscriptions, and some asked him for advice on local affairs... Yu Qie hardly responded to any of them.

He realized that he was just like Ba Jin, whose every time he returned to his hometown after becoming famous, it would be recorded in books as "Yu Qie's xxth Homecoming Record", forming a bunch of literary anecdotes. The recorders would write vividly, as if they were lying under Yu Qie's bed at the time.

Doesn't it evoke a sense of awe and wonder from ordinary people?

A week later, Yu Qie saw Qian Zhongshu's latest research findings in the Wenyi Bao (Literary Gazette). In it, Qian Zhongshu discussed "Yu Qie's literary achievements."

He actually sang praises to Yu Qie.

(End of this chapter)