Training the Heavens

Chapter 39 Young Friends Come to Meet
"Come on, Gao Jialin, come up and read your article to everyone!" Liu Yujia waved her hand.

"Um, okay!" Gao Jialin walked up to the podium, took the newspaper and began to read aloud.

The students listened attentively. Liu Yujia also walked down from the podium, sat down in the back row, and listened with the students, nodding slightly. Gao Jialin's Mandarin was very standard, without any accent at all.

It is not easy to learn standard Mandarin these days. Most teachers in different places have accents, and tape recorders for listening to the radio are not yet popular, let alone televisions.

Many students from small places may not necessarily meet a teacher who speaks standard Mandarin from the time they enter elementary school to the time they enter university. In such an environment, how can we expect them to speak without an accent?
Gao Jialin does not have this problem. Not only does his Mandarin have no accent, but his pronunciation is also clear and rhythmic. With these characteristics, he is qualified to be an announcer at the school radio station.

The normal speaking speed of a person is between 100 and 200 words per minute. Gao Jialin read neither fast nor slow, and it took him minutes to finish reading the article of more than words.

It was time to end the get out of class, so Liu Yujia returned to the podium and said, "Okay, everyone, take a break and think carefully about the advantages of this article. We'll discuss it next class."

As soon as he left the classroom, Gao Jialin was surrounded by people. Even the girls came around and asked, "Jialin, how did you get this article published?"

"Galin, can you tell us how you came up with this article?"

Their eyes were full of envy. This was the status of writers in the 1980s. Even if they had only published one article, they could become the focus of everyone's attention.

"I was lucky!" Gao Jialin recounted the story, attributing the success to Zhang Lifeng's guidance. "Teacher Zhang asked me to write from my heart, so I did as he said. I never thought it would actually be published!"

Liu Yujia had just returned to the classroom. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but praise, "Well, Gao Jialin, you said it well! The greatest strength of your article is its sincere emotions!"

"Literary appreciation begins with the characters, plot, language, and text structure, but these are just minor details. The most crucial aspect is the emotions and thoughts contained in the article. Gao Jialin's article expresses very sincere emotions. Based on this alone, even if the article has some flaws in the plot and language, it is still a good article."

Through this article, Liu Yujia began to tell the students the key points of literary appreciation.

"Literature is the art of language, and it's a hallmark of a writer's maturity. When we get a work by a famous author, we can tell its authorship simply by its language style, without even looking at the title or the author. For example, Lu Xun's language is concise and clear, his writing sharp and penetrating, his syntax unique, and his ability to incorporate humor, anger, and insults into his writing creates the unique 'Lu Xun style.' Lao She's language is rich in Beijingese accents, and is entirely 'plain English.'"

"MAX once said that only by creating a 'typical character in a typical environment' can this character become an immortal image and be passed down through the ages."

While explaining the principles of literary appreciation, he took out Gao Jialin's articles for analysis and verification. In just one class, he gave students a preliminary impression of literary appreciation.

This class brought Gao Jialin more fame. The teachers and students of Pujiang College gradually learned that Gao Jialin was not only able to send the county magistrate to prison, but also able to write articles.

In the next few days, Gao Jialin, like other students, spent almost every day busy with studies, and only relaxed a little on the weekend.

We still have a six-day work week, with only one day off on Sunday. Early on Sunday morning, my roommates couldn't wait to get up early and squeeze onto the bus to go to the city to enjoy the prosperity of Shanghai.

After arriving in the city and strolling around for a while, everyone split up, going in groups of two or three to explore the places they were interested in. Gao Jialin wasn't particularly interested in the buildings on the Bund; he'd already seen them before, even lived in and eaten in them. He first bought a few popular magazines at a bookstore, then found a carpenter's shop and went in. "Master, can you make a small table like this?"

"Let me take a look!" The shop owner, who was in his thirties, put down the saw, took the drawing from him and started to look at it.

"This thing is not difficult. The materials are all ready-made. It can be made in no time!"

"It's good that it can be done. How much does it cost? How long will it take?"

The shop owner scratched his head and estimated the price based on the materials and labor. "Do you want to paint? Paint slowly, let it dry first, and then add fifty cents. If you don't paint, it will be done in half an hour, so take the two dollars!"

These days, a large piece of furniture would cost at least ten yuan. Gao Jialin only charged two yuan and fifty cents for this little thing, so he didn't ask for anything unreasonable.

"Let's paint it! That'll be two dollars and fifty cents? I'll just wait here!" Gao Jialin took out the magazine he had just bought and sat in the store to read it.

Fortunately, this store is run by an individual business owner. As long as it can make money, everything is fine. If it were a state-owned enterprise, how could it be so easy?

The boss took out the materials and started sawing, planing, drilling and painting. By the time Gao Jialin finished reading a magazine, the boss had finished the work.

Four legs are supported by a thin wooden board. Just reach out and grab the legs and snap them together to close the table. This is the lazy table that was popular in university dormitories in later generations. The owner also carved grooves for pens and ink on the table according to the drawings to prevent them from slipping.

"Not bad, not bad, very good! Master, if you want to make money, you can make a few more and sell them in front of the university. There will definitely be students who want them!" Seeing that he had good skills, Gao Jialin gave him an opportunity to show him around.

There are tables in university dormitories, but several people squeeze on one table to read or do homework, which is not as comfortable as lying on the bed and enjoying the small table alone.

"I knew it!" the shop owner slapped his thigh. "I was just wondering what this table was for. Turns out it's for doing homework on the bed! Hmm, a university dorm really needs this thing!"

The shop owner thanked Gao Jialin repeatedly and did not even take the money. He also patted his chest and promised Gao Jialin that if he wanted to make furniture again in the future, he could come to him and he would guarantee to make it for him for free.

Gao Jialin's idea could make him a lot of money, so he had to show his appreciation, right? And next time he came, maybe he could come up with something else to make money?

He returned to the dormitory with the small table, put it on the bed, took out the manuscript paper and pen, and wrote the title of his second submission at the top of the manuscript paper - "Young Friends Come to Meet".

　Please read it!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)