My era, 1979!

Chapter 83, "The Fitting Mirror," is published!
Early the next morning.

On her way to work, Ru Zhijuan bought a copy of "Harvest" magazine. When she arrived at the Shanghai Literature magazine office, the senior editor, Yu Bingkun, asked with a smile, "Sister Ru, you've been reading every issue of Harvest magazine without fail now!"

Ru Zhijuan glanced at him and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? I'm studying our competitors."

"Despise the enemy strategically, but take the enemy seriously tactically," as the instructor said.

Yu Bingkun laughed: "Our editorial department has such high awareness!"

As he spoke, he pointed into the room.

Ru Zhijuan took a closer look and, wow, every young editor who came in had a copy of "Harvest" magazine.

At first glance, there were at least three or four more books piled up on the table.

She flipped through "Harvest" magazine, feeling both annoyed and amused, while trying to reassure herself that she was learning through criticism!

The young female editor next to her, Qu Lianhuan, smiled and said to Ru Zhijuan, "Sister Ru, I think there's a good article in this issue called 'The Fitting Mirror.' The characters are portrayed very vividly, with a touch of Kafkaesque style."

"The author's name is Xu Chengjun. I've never heard of this name before, so I guess he's a new author."

Yu Bingkun laughed and changed the subject: "It's not new. Comrade Xu Chengjun's 'Walking Towards the Light' and essay 'Letter' published in Guangming Daily a few days ago caused quite a stir in the country. I spoke with Yu Haisheng of Guangming Daily a few days ago, and he said that they received several baskets of letters just for their newspaper!"

Ru Zhijuan frowned: "Xu Chengjun, the author of 'Walking Towards the Light'?"

"Yes, that poem is really good. He's already been dubbed China's youngest 'nature lyric poet' by those college students in Beijing. This young man is something else!"

Ru Zhijuan asked, "What does Lao Yu think of the quality of this piece, 'The Fitting Mirror'?"

Yu Bingkun pinched the bridge of his nose: "The flavor is too strong and too sharp, but the writing style is mature. I haven't seen anything like it in China yet. I personally think it has a chance to compete for this year's National Excellent Short Story Award."

Oh?
Is this young Xu really that capable?
Ru Zhijuan's mind flashed back to the breakfast she had with Xu Chengjun and other writers a week ago.

I was young and just being polite at the time, but I never expected that they actually had such solid work.

So, Ru Zhijuan did nothing else but open the magazine.

I glanced at the beginning of the article and then skipped over "Waiting for a Decision," "Strict Love," and "The Song of the Great Wind."

With her experience as a veteran editor and writer, she knew after reading it that the highlights of this issue were not these few works; they might sell well, but they wouldn't become bestsellers!

Based on his understanding of Buffett, this issue of the magazine wouldn't be that simple.

It is worth mentioning that during this period, Ba Jin was also the editor-in-chief of Shanghai Literature, but he was not in charge of specific work. The work within the magazine was mainly handled by several deputy editors-in-chief.

The full text of "The Dressing Mirror" is 8000 words long and can be read quickly, with the image of a mirror running throughout.

Ru Zhijuan closed the magazine.

“Kafka?” she suddenly spoke, her voice not loud, but it silenced the young editors who were having a lively discussion.

Qu Lianhuan paused on the notebook with her pen, her cheeks slightly flushed: "Sister Ru doesn't think so? I think the reflection in the mirror has a bit of the absurdity of 'The Metamorphosis'."

Ru Zhijuan didn't answer directly, but pushed the magazine onto the table: "Gregor turned into a beetle because fate forced him to a dead end; Chunlan's shadow rebelled because she had nowhere to put her thoughts. One is a passive predicament, the other is an active struggle, they are different."

She paused: "The ending is wild, but it's genuinely wild; it's not absurd for the sake of absurdity."

Yu Bingkun nodded in agreement: "Sister Ru is right. Xu Chengjun's description of the counter, the fabric, and the sound of Director Wang's leather shoes is indeed true."

He suddenly remembered something, and pulled out a copy of the Guangming Daily from the drawer. "Look at his poem 'Walking Towards the Light,' Xu, this educated youth, still has his roots in the soil."

Ru Zhijuan took the newspaper, her gaze slowly moving across the lines of poetry.

She recalled the breakfast meeting a week ago, where Xu Chengjun sat in the corner, not saying much, just listening quietly, but his eyes were very bright, like a sea hidden in the sky.

"This mirror is used brilliantly."

She suddenly laughed: "It's not just a reflection of a person, it's a reflection of a person's heart. The floral shirts that Chunlan dared not wear, the eye rolls she dared not make, all of them are revealed in the mirror. These days, how many people don't have such a mirror in their hearts?" She looked at Qu Lianhuan, "You young people think it's Kafka because you share the same thoughts as Chunlan, right? The hope in those eyes is more real than the shadows in the novel."

"We don't have any!" The editorial department erupted in chaos.

Qu Lianhuan nodded as if she understood: "Then would this be considered reform literature? It's about the conflict between the individual and the collective."

"It is, and it isn't." Ru Zhijuan stood up and walked to the window.

The aroma of fried dough sticks wafted from the breakfast stalls downstairs, mingling with the scent of locust blossoms carried on the wind, reminding her of the days when she ran a newspaper in the revolutionary base area when she was young.

"Reform literature often focuses on how policies change, but he writes about how people change accordingly. Chunlan didn't shout slogans or talk about ideologies; she just wanted to wear a floral shirt. That's the most practical reform."

He added, "It starts with the thoughts in your heart."

Yu Bingkun slapped his thigh: "No wonder Harvest published this article!"

He flipped to the magazine's copyright page: "Xiaolin has a sharp eye. If this article were here, we'd probably be arguing about it for three days straight."

Ru Zhijuan glanced at it but didn't reply. She simply reopened "The Fitting Mirror".

My gaze fell on the line, "All the flowers slowly bloomed at night."

In fact, when she was writing "Lilies", she always liked to hide some subtle thoughts between the lines.

The torn blankets, the scattered wildflowers, and the unspoken words often...
"Is Editor Huang here?"

"You're here, Sister Ru!"

"I'm going to go talk to him about this!"

Huang Yuan was the deputy editor-in-chief of Shanghai Literature at that time, and also the main person in charge of the overall work.

As soon as Ru Zhijuan left, the entire editorial office suddenly became lively. The young editors started talking all at once about "The Fitting Mirror," a gossip unique to editors.

Qu Lianhuan's eyes lit up: "Sister Ru, are you trying to poach someone?"

Meanwhile, Xu Chengjun had been queuing at Shanghai Railway Station all night to buy tickets.

Last night, after chatting with Wang Zengqi at 9:30, I turned off the lights and went to sleep. But with extraordinary willpower, I resolutely got up at 12:30 and arrived at Shanghai Station on time at 1 o'clock.

However, Shanghai Station was already packed with people and completely blocked.

Fortunately, Xu Chengjun has always been lucky, and he finally managed to buy a train ticket to Hefei for three days later.

Yes, still a hard seat!

Not bad! Many people still have standing tickets.

At 8:30 a.m., Xu Chengjun had just come out of the station when he remembered that his article "The Fitting Mirror" had been published in Harvest magazine that day, so he ran to the newsstand near the station.

"Sir, would you like a copy of today's issue of 'Harvest'?"

"The fourth batch?" the old man asked with a smile.

"Yup!"

"Sell it off!"

Does that mean they're sold out? Sometimes he doesn't quite understand Shanghainese either.

"Because one of the articles in it was well-written?"

"Of course it is! Harvest magazine has always sold very well!"

Xu Chengjun: LOL!
(End of this chapter)