My era, 1979!

Chapter 27 Black and Red

Xu Chengjun knew better than anyone why he started this column.

For him, it was not just a short-term leap in status, but the starting point for a long-term literary career.

He wanted to "use literature to convey moral principles".

However, for words to convey emotions and ideas, they ultimately need a suitable platform to carry them.

This column in the Anhui Youth Daily seems to have laid a solid foundation for him in the world of literature.

In the eyes of people in this era, this is more equivalent to a respectable livelihood.

A relatively easy yet stable income is enough to give him more confidence to make a living during turbulent and changing times.

That's an invitation I can hardly refuse!
What should I name this column?

When Editor-in-Chief Li saw that his expression softened, his eyes lit up.

“I’m thinking of calling it ‘Youth Observation,’ what do you think? Just write about what you see and hear, without putting on airs or chatting with readers.”

Zhang, the deputy editor in a blue cotton shirt, pushed up his glasses and added, "Two issues a month, around a thousand words is fine. There are no restrictions on the subject matter—new ways of life for self-employed individuals, the dreams of educated youth to study, fresh happenings in the village, you can write about anything. The payment is six yuan per thousand words, which is one yuan more than the old contributors to the newspaper."

"The royalties are very generous."

Xu Chengjun took a deep breath, his Adam's apple bobbing: "But Editor-in-Chief Li, there's something I need to make clear."

"I might be going to study in Shanghai. I've already gone halfway through the worker-peasant-soldier recommendation process at Fudan University."

The editorial office suddenly fell silent.

Qian Ming tugged at his sleeve from the side, his eyes showing a hint of anxiety.

This is an opportunity that many people would kill for.

You're causing trouble here!
Editor-in-Chief Li laughed: "This is a good thing!"

"You should definitely write about it at Fudan University! There are more self-employed individuals in Shanghai than in Hefei, so there's plenty of material to write about there too!"

"If you're willing, you can be our correspondent in Shanghai. Just send your articles to the newspaper office; Ma Shengli is a frequent postman, so they won't get lost."

ponder for a moment.

"I wrote."

He spoke suddenly, his voice not loud but very firm.
"However, a corner should be reserved in the column to publish readers' letters."

Xu Chengjun tapped his fingertips on the table. "It's not just me who needs to write; we also need to let them have a say."

After a moment of contemplation, the two editors-in-chief, one chief and one deputy, exchanged a glance.

Deputy Editor-in-Chief Zhang laughed and said, "That's a great idea! Let's add a 'reader feedback' feature. You can pick a few letters to respond to; it'll be much more lively than if you just wrote them individually!"

Editor-in-Chief Li stood up at the opportune moment, took the initiative to shake hands with Xu Chengjun, and said with a smile, "Then it's settled?"

Xu Chengjun bowed slightly and shook hands with extra force.

"It's a deal. It's my good fortune to be able to cooperate with your Youth Daily!"

After half an hour.

Editor-in-Chief Li folded the agreement into a square and stuffed it into his pocket.

Xu Chengjun subconsciously supported the other person's wrist, and only after the piece of paper fell neatly into his pocket did he smooth out his clothes.

"Submit your first article this month, whatever you want to write, just consider it a way of checking in with our Youth Daily readers."

Li Zhu paused, his eyes filled with expectation, "The editors all have high hopes for you."
-
Editorial Department of Hefei Evening News.

Chen Jianguo gripped a utility knife, looking at the mountain of envelopes piled on the table with a worried expression.

These are all letters from readers addressed to the author and editorial department of "Libra Shines in the Spring Breeze." Since its publication, we've been receiving almost half a sack of these letters every day.

"Editor Chen, the mail from this afternoon has been brought up!" Old Zhang from the mailroom called from the stairwell.

Chen Jianguo rubbed his stiff neck and stood up, his Adam's apple bobbing: "Let me take a breather first, dismantle the corner of the wall."

The Hefei Evening News is too small a place!
Chen Jianguo has been working in the supplement department since the publication resumed, and he has never seen any article attract so many letters!

He casually picked up the top envelope.

A letter from "HF Machine Tool Factory" to the editorial department, written in strong but not very beautiful penmanship.

"Old Wang from our workshop, after reading the newspaper, had his wife set up a shoe repair stall at the factory gate, and now they can earn 50 cents a day! This article of yours is more effective than ten meetings held by the factory director!"

Just as Chen Jianguo was about to flip through the pages, he suddenly felt his hand pricked by a manila envelope.

The letter was unsigned, only stamped with a blurry seal.

"Another tough customer?" Zhai Ying, another editor from the newspaper's relaunch department, walked in carrying a bound volume of the Hefei Evening News.

"Take a look at this."

He pointed to the bolded paragraph in the article, "The author is Professor Li from the Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, who was the most active critic of 'The Class Teacher' back then."

Chen Jianguo grabbed the cigarette pack, shook out the last cigarette, and struck the match three times before lighting it: "Yesterday, the Jianghuai Forum published Liu Zuci's article, saying that this novel is the most vivid interpretation of 'labor is the most glorious.'"

"It's so contradictory!"

Zhai Ying laughed, "Contradictions are good! Contradictions drive sales!"

Just as Deputy Editor-in-Chief Zhang was about to frown, Old Zhang from the mailroom came in carrying a half-sack of letters. "Editor Chen, the post office called and said they'll be sending two more deliverymen starting tomorrow! We really can't carry any more mail today!"

Chen Jianguo held the cigarette but didn't smoke it, glancing at the subscription statistics table on the wall.

Since its resumption of publication, the Hefei Evening News has maintained a stable print run of 8,000 copies. Yesterday, it was increased to 12,000 copies. Just now, the printing plant called again, saying that newspaper vendors at retail outlets have already booked all of tomorrow's quota and are urging them to print another 3,000 copies.

"Editor-in-Chief Zhang! Editor-in-Chief Chen! The news is going viral on the streets!"

Zhai Ying was flipping through the readers' letters when she suddenly burst out laughing.

"The newspaper stand at the entrance of the department store had a queue starting at six o'clock this morning. What used to sell for three days is now sold out in just one morning."

Deputy Editor-in-Chief Zhang tapped his finger on the commentary section of the provincial newspaper's theory page, but his tone softened: "The provincial supply and marketing cooperative just called, saying they want to subscribe to the newspaper for the entire system so that employees can 'study and discuss' it. They subscribed to two thousand copies, taking up half of tomorrow's reprint quota."

"But most importantly~"

Zhai Ying pulled out a copy of "Anhui Literature" from the drawer and pointed to the "foreword" of the 8th issue of 1979.

"Even Zhou Mingzhou, the editor-in-chief of Anhui Literature, stood up for him."

When Xu Chengjun's "The Scales of Spring Breeze" sparked a heated discussion in the Hefei Evening News, I reread the original manuscript three times. This short essay of less than three thousand words is like a precise jujube wood scale, carrying the faint light of individual business on one end and the weight of the era's transformation on the other. On the literary landscape of 1979, it weighed the most authentic weight of the word "reform".

The brilliance of "Libra" lies in its avoidance of the grand narratives common in reform-themed works, instead making every detail a footnote to the era. This "seeing the big picture in the small" approach is precisely the kind of clarity that contemporary literature needs most.

How can literature forge a path through the forbidden zones of its time? "The Scales" provides an answer: it doesn't shy away from contradictions, but softens their sharp edges with the warmth of life. When Old Zhou spreads out the blue cloth bearing the words "Serve the People" beside the scales, the glimmer of individualism and the underlying tone of collectivism achieve a wondrous reconciliation. This is precisely the most authentic spiritual landscape of China in 1979: a yearning to break free from constraints, yet also a deep attachment to a stable foundation.

While many works were still lingering in the wounds of their past, *Libra*, carrying the fragrance of the earth, had already marked a new coordinate for reform literature.

This commentary was published.

From then on, "The Stars" secured its place in the reform literature.

After reading it, Chen Jianguo and Zhang Qiming remained silent for a long time before Chen Jianguo spoke first.

"The wind in Hefei has finally stopped!"

"I'll personally deliver the reader's letter to Xu Chengjun tomorrow!"

(End of this chapter)