Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 124 Sales Ranking Far Away

On May 18th, in the conference room of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, many of the most prominent figures in the domestic literary world were gathered. Among them were Zhou Yang, Xia Yan, Mao Dun, Zhang Guangnian, and Liu Ji.

Each member of the delegation shared their observations and experiences in France. Ba Jin discussed the friendship between the Chinese and French literary circles, while the others focused primarily on the current creative ideas in the French literary scene.

Xu Chi demonstrated great enthusiasm for avant-garde literature, discussing his insights into it at length. However, his insights currently only exist in his analysis of French literature and have not been applied to domestic literary creation.

Finally, it was Liu Yimin's turn to speak. Based on the opinions of Ba Jin and Cao Yu, he shared his thoughts on the literary prize.

As he spoke, several literary giants looked at Liu Yimin with kind and caring eyes, especially Zhang Guangnian, who gave him a reassuring look.

Upon hearing about the literary prize, Mao Dun immediately became interested and sat bolt upright. He took out his pen and began writing in his notebook, interrupting Liu Yimin several times to ask related questions.

Zhang Guangnian said, "Our Writers Association has also considered what Yimin mentioned. Short stories cannot represent the highest achievement of literature, and we are preparing to establish a national novella award!"

“Yi Min is right. Our country not only lacks ordinary literary awards, but also top-notch literary awards. I think we can put our work on the sidelines for a while!” Mao Dun said.

Mao Dun, a novelist, became even more determined to establish a prize for long novels after hearing Liu Yimin's words. The Mao Dun Literature Prize was established after Mao Dun's death, when he donated over 200,000 yuan of his royalties.

Liu Yimin raised this question, which touched a nerve.

Zhou Yang and Xia Yan exchanged a glance and said, "This is a question worth exploring."

Zhou Yang and Xia Yan represented the highest positions within the cultural system, serving for a long time as the heads of the Ministry of Culture and the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. The term "Lu Guo Mao Ba Lao Cao" (a group of four prominent Chinese writers) was proposed by Zhou Yang.

After finishing the discussion, Zhang Guangnian said with a smile, "Yimin, we've all heard about what happened to you in France, especially your rebuttal to the reporter from Le Monde. We all found it very satisfying. To deal with these troublesome reporters, you have to fight back."

The others nodded in agreement. A counterattack needs to be measured to a certain extent, and Liu Yimin had struck a very good balance. He expressed his stance and attitude without offending the French.

"The World newspaper calls me a hawkish writer!" Liu Yimin joked with himself.

"When it's time to be tough, you have to be tough!" Zhou Yang added.

"Furthermore, the publication of your novel in France is also a great thing for us. You haven't been idle in France, nor have you been idle in China. The sales of 'Wolf Smoke Over Beiping' and 'Romance on Lushan Mountain' have far exceeded our expectations. In April and May, only two magazines in China had outstanding sales: 'People's Literature' and 'Harvest'."

It's all because of your novels! When one door closes, another opens; for you, both the East and the West shine!

Zhang Guangnian continued to praise without reservation.

"Publishing in France is a good thing for our literary world today, an exciting and joyous event. We should publish it in the newspapers, and also appropriately reveal some of Yimin's deeds in France."

Zhou Yang had worked in the propaganda department since the revolutionary period and served as the head of the propaganda department after the founding of New China, so he naturally knew the importance of propaganda.

Liu Yimin quickly said, "That's a bit much, isn't it? I'm so young!"

"Sigh, don't mention age. Age is not the standard for judging a writer; the work is! Besides, the younger the writer, the more they can inspire everyone's creative motivation."

After Zhou Yang set the tone, the meeting officially ended.

At the meeting, Ba Jin reached a consensus on the establishment of the Chinese PEN Center. He had taken a tour of France and felt that the PEN Center would be of great benefit to literary exchanges between countries.

Under PEN International, various countries can exchange ideas through this organization. It's newly opened, and the most important aspect is communication. Ba Jin directly designated Liu Yimin as one of the first members of PEN International.

After the meeting, Mao Dun had a detailed discussion with Liu Yimin about the literary prize, indicating that he now felt a sense of urgency to establish a prize for long-form literature.

As they left the Writers' Association, Zhang Guangnian took Liu Yimin's hand and kept telling him about the reactions that "The Flames of War in Beiping" and "Romance on Mount Lu" had garnered among readers.

"Your two novels, one loved by young readers and the other by older readers, have captured the entire Chinese readership in one fell swoop. If you have time, go and take a look at People's Literature and Art magazine; it's overflowing with letters from your readers."

In May, we also published a reader's letter written by a professor from Jinling University. He praised *The Flames of War in Beiping*, saying it was like a fine old wine, growing better with age, possessing a human touch that many other works lack.

As Zhang Guangnian spoke, he pulled Liu Yimin toward People's Literature and Art, insisting that he take a look at it.

When I arrived at People's Literature and Art Publishing House, sure enough, there were several bags of readers' letters lying at the door, all addressed to Liu Yimin, the author of "Beijing Under the Smoke of War".

"Yimin, it seems the editorial department will need to find a special place to store your readers' letters!" Cui Daoyi said.

"Keep this safe for me, I can't carry it all the way to Yenching University!"

"Hahaha!"

Upon arriving at the editorial office, Zhang Guangnian led Liu Yimin to the fourth floor, where the authors who edited the manuscripts lived. A group of people were playing cards. After entering, Zhang Guangnian loudly proclaimed, "Comrades, look at this! You're not spending all this precious time editing and writing manuscripts. Look at Yimin, he just returned from France. Do you know that Yimin's book is about to be published in France!"

Feng Jicai was lying in bed, pretending to be asleep with a book covering his face. Upon hearing Zhang Guangnian's words, he immediately sat up, the book falling to the ground: "Really?"

"Of course it's true!" Zhang Guangnian continued earnestly, "Comrades, Yimin once said something very good: those who chase the light will surely shine brightly. You should all learn more from Yimin. Good works are all written continuously."

After saying that, Zhang Guangnian and Cui Daoyi took Liu Yimin away from the fourth floor, leaving a group of dumbfounded writers behind.

"Comrade Zhang, so you've made me your target!" Liu Yimin sighed.

“Yimin, this isn’t a target, it’s a goal, their goal. You don’t know these people, they can revise a draft for ten days or half a month at a time, grumbling and complaining. We have to provoke them.”

He keeps saying he has no ideas, but I don't believe him!

Liu Yimin thought to himself, "These people aren't just whining; some of them are treating this like a regular job. And this is different from a normal job; the harder you work, the faster your 'job' will be gone."

The two-yuan daily allowance is much better than the salary at work, and there's no way to quantify the workload!
Cui Daoyi said from behind, "Yimin, you can write down your experiences in France and submit them as essays. Perhaps this trip to France can even be the subject of a collection of essays called 'Travels in France'."

"Senior brother, thank you so much! You're so thoughtful!"

"You're welcome. It's what I should do as a senior brother."

I spent some time at *People's Literature and Art* magazine, picking up a few reader letters and putting them in my pocket. Thinking about it carefully, what Cui Daoyi said about essays actually makes a lot of sense. Great writers usually have their own collections of essays, which, besides reflecting on their own lives, also contain their insights into life and their thoughts on humanity.

Ba Jin's trip to France will be included in his essays.

However, essays are something that need to be written slowly, like a diary, a little bit each day, and you can't rush it!
After leaving People's Literature and Art Publishing House, Liu Yimin took the opportunity to visit Lao Ma. Lao Ma's contribution to the success of "The Flames of War in Beiping" was indispensable.

"You're here? Mr. Ma just bought a roast duck. Let's sit down and have a taste!" Old Ma said with difficulty, lifting his eyelids slightly.

Zhou Xing, who was standing next to him, quickly said, "Comrade Liu Yimin, this was specially bought for you by Lao Ma. He said you would definitely come over once you returned to China."

Liu Yimin glanced at Lao Ma in surprise and asked, "Lao Ma, how did you know I would come?"

"You're not that heartless, kid! Master Ma is almost closing his eyes, every meeting is one less time to see him!" Old Ma shakily carried the roast duck to the shady corner of the wall, and then brought out a table and chairs.

"Nonsense, may you live to be a hundred!" Liu Yimin's eyes welled up with tears. If he hadn't come today, Old Ma would have said he was heartless.

"Hey! In the hundreds of years in Beiping, there have been many people who wanted to live to be a hundred, but none of them actually lived past a hundred. I've discovered that the more you want to die, the less likely you are to die. The less you want to die, the faster you die. Look at the Empress Dowager, isn't that exactly the case?"

After spending the afternoon with Lao Ma, Liu Yimin returned to the Yanjing Hotel, greeted Li Xiaolin, and then took the bus back to Yanda University with his belongings.

After half a month, Yanda University has completely turned green. Some of the paths have been completely covered by the canopy of trees on both sides.

The wind swept across the treetops and across Weiming Lake, ruffling the reflection of the pagoda in the lake.

Carrying two large suitcases, and wearing a long-sleeved shirt, sweat soon began to drip from his forehead.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Manling hurriedly came over to help Liu Yimin carry a suitcase and helped him take him to his dormitory.

"Yimin, how's France?"

"That's how it is, we're all on Earth, what else can happen!" Liu Yimin joked.

Zhang Manling glanced around their dormitory: "The sugar-coated bullets of capitalism haven't corrupted you, have they?"

"They had no chance to corrupt me. Of course, I displayed a high revolutionary spirit and cut them down one by one."

"I'm glad you're okay, I'll be going now!" As a girl, it wasn't appropriate for Zhang Manling to stay in the boys' dormitory for too long, so she put down her things and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute, since you're so loyal to us, I'll give you a notebook." Liu Yimin took the notebook out of the box and handed it to Zhang Manling.

Zhang Manling didn't stand on ceremony and simply put it away: "Thanks!"

After leaving the dormitory, he immediately turned back, looked Liu Yimin up and down, and said disdainfully, "With your stamina, you're still holding a hoe handle!"

"Comrade revolutionary, that's not fair! I held a hoe handle first, then a pen!"

Zhang Manling glanced at it, gave a soft "hmm" and left the dormitory building.

Liu Zhenyun and the others went to the library. It wasn't until they ran into Zhang Manling at lunchtime that they learned Liu Yimin had returned. The three of them grabbed their lunchboxes and ran back to the dormitory, where they saw Liu Yimin lying on his bed, legs crossed, swinging his toes as he read the newspaper.

When Liu Yimin returned, there were many newspapers on his bed, all about his novels. Every time Liu Zhenyun and the others finished reading a newspaper, they would pull out the parts about Liu Yimin's novels and put them on his bed.

When he returned, the bed was already covered with a thick layer of bedding.

Seeing the three of them shouting, Liu Yimin said without turning his head, "The notebooks I brought for you are on your respective beds. You're welcome. There are chocolates on the table; help yourselves."

Liu Zhenyun picked up the notebook and gently stroked its cover, as if he were caressing a rare treasure.

The notebook has a black leather cover with a French quote printed on it: "The secret to success is to never change your intended purpose."

After stroking the notebook, he picked up the chocolate, looked at the dark-colored thing, and frowned: "Is this dark stuff Chinese medicine?"

Liu Yimin didn't move his head: "That's candy!"

"Sugar?" Liu Zhenyun put the chocolate in his mouth with some skepticism. "It really is sugar, but it's a bit bitter. You know, capitalism is really strange. Making sugar black, aren't they deliberately trying to mislead us?"

Chen Dazhi and Li Xueqin also tried it and both found it a bit bitter, but the more they ate, the better it tasted.

"Yi Min has quite the presence!" Liu Zhenyun said enviously, leaning against the iron frame of the bed and looking at Liu Yi Min, who was staring intently at the newspaper.

I wonder when I'll ever have that kind of style!

"Yimin, tell us about France!" Li Xueqin gripped the iron frame of the upper bunk with both hands, chocolate stains still lingering at the corners of his mouth. The next second, he gently rolled his tongue and put the chocolate in his mouth.

Seeing his expression, Liu Yimin instantly lost the will to continue, and said, "Wait until you read my collection of essays later!"

"Yimin, you're going to publish a collection of essays?" Chen Dazhi patted his chest, trying to make his breathing easier.

"Waiting to go!"

The April issues of *People's Literature and Art* and *Harvest* both achieved record sales. Furthermore, the standalone edition of *Hachiko: A Dog's Tale* also sold exceptionally well; the first batch of 30,000 copies printed by the publisher sold out in less than a month, except for the two hundred sample copies given to Liu Yimin.

The first batch of additional print runs has not yet been printed, and there is currently a severe shortage in the market; it is no longer available for purchase.

The publishers were kicking themselves. They thought they had gone too far, but it turned out they were too conservative and printed too few copies.

Right now, the printing presses are running at full speed at the publishing house's printing plant, and the second batch of books will be on the market soon.

(End of this chapter)