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

Chapter 13, Section 13: A Writer Emerges from a Small Mountain Village
In the quiet little mountain village, a storm was brewing, though it hadn't yet begun. Neither the postman nor Li Lanyong knew what this letter truly meant for Liu Yimin.

Li Lanyong didn't believe it either. He knew Liu Yimin used to enjoy reading magazines and occasionally wrote something. But to say it would be published in a magazine still seemed a bit unbelievable to him. However, if it were true, he would certainly be happy for Liu Yimin.

The postman checked the time and, seeing that he wouldn't get the letter any longer, handed it to Li Lanyong, solemnly warning him, "Lanyong, this letter is very important. You must open it yourself. Yimin is back; you must deliver it to him personally."

Li Lanyong readily agreed, stroking the envelope with both hands. The red stamp on it told him it was genuine, truly a letter from the editorial department of *People's Literature and Art*. He hadn't gone to work today because he'd gone to the commune to hire a film projection team.

In those days, watching a movie in rural areas was extremely difficult, with only two opportunities generally available: during the slack season after the summer and autumn harvests, when watching a movie wouldn't interfere with production work.

After the wheat harvest, each production brigade would send people to the commune to invite film projection teams. The projection teams would then arrange a schedule for each brigade. Maiji Brigade was late in arranging its schedule this year, as most of the surrounding brigades had already already screened their films.

It cost 10 yuan to show a movie, and each production team took turns collecting the money.

The film projection team, led by him, had already rested at the brigade headquarters. Around five or six o'clock, he led the team to find an open space in the threshing ground to help hang up the screen. The filming would begin promptly at eight o'clock in the evening.

He stared at the letter in his hand, pacing anxiously around Liu Yimin's front door like an ant on a hot pan. He kept scratching his head, really wanting to open the letter and see what was inside.

After squatting at the door for a while, he realized that waiting indefinitely wasn't going to work. So he took the letter and ran towards the work area of ​​the third team, intending to deliver it to Liu Yimin's father, Liu Fuqing.

Maiji Brigade is located in the mountains. The brigade is divided into two parts by a river called Kuye River. It gets its name from the fact that when the river flows down from the mountain, the weeds and various leaves on both sides of the mountain float on the surface of the water.

Teams Two and Three were located on either side, and they not only lived there, but also owned land on both sides. Continuing upstream along the river, you would discover that the Kuye River was actually formed by the confluence of two rivers, flowing down from the mountain ridge in a "Y" shape. The land at the top of the "Y" belonged to Team One, meaning the Kuye River effectively divided the entire brigade into three parts.

Li Lanyong's family lived in the second production team, which was predominantly composed of people with the surname Li. His father, Li Dashan, was the brigade's Party Secretary and also a team leader. The Liu family was a prominent surname in the third production team, and the Han family was a prominent surname in the first production team. Despite the small size of the production brigade, it was rife with various power struggles.

Ordinary people with minor surnames have no chance of becoming members of the brigade's two committees. The Liu and Li families have a good relationship, which extends to the relationships between the people in both teams. One team wants to become the Party Secretary, but is firmly suppressed by the Liu and Li families.

Another aspect is that the Han family's background is not very good. The old man of the Han family used to be a well-known landlord in the area, owning land not only in Maiji Brigade, but also in several neighboring production teams.

The older generation always says that people here have to ask Mr. Han's permission before they can even fart.

This joke, after liberation, became like a mountain, pressing down on the Han family.

Today, all three teams were weeding the cornfields behind the hillside. Liu Fuqing, as the team leader, took the lead, working diligently in the cornfield. The corn isn't very tall yet, so weeding is a little easier. Once the corn grows taller, it will be so dense in the cornfield that the leaves will prick your skin, leaving stinging marks.

Liu Fuqing gripped the hoe handle, which was soaked. Sweat dripped from his forehead and neck onto the hoe, instantly mixing with the soil before vaporizing and disappearing into the air.

The production team's workday was like a massive meeting; it was unbearably hot, but the members still chatted incessantly. Liu Fuqing straightened up, laboriously put his arms behind his back, and vigorously pounded his aching back, feeling a surge of relief. Looking up, he found no one in front of him; turning around, he saw that the nearest person was at least five meters away.

"You bunch of good-for-nothings! You're starving after work and you don't work at all. At this rate, it's no wonder there's no food! If you keep this up, we won't get any relief food, and you'll all be going out begging!"

"Captain, don't be angry. We get 10 points whether we do it or not. We won't get enough to eat if we do it or not," someone said weakly from behind.

“I know what you’re thinking. It’s not your own land anyway. If you don’t have enough to eat, there’s relief grain. The higher-ups can’t just watch us starve to death, right? Look at you, you think it’s an honor to eat relief grain? Where’s your sense of responsibility? Let me tell you, anyone who doesn’t work hard will have their work points deducted at the New Year. Do you think I dare to do that?”

Liu Fuqing stared wide-eyed angrily.

Seeing that Liu Fuqing was angry, the production team members quickly sped up, but soon slowed down again.

Because the work site was on this side of the hill, Li Lanyong was already panting heavily when he ran over. Waving the letter in his hand, he ran towards the third team, shouting, "Uncle Fuqing, something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"

His shout drew the attention of the entire production team.

"Lan Yong, what's happened? Has the commune issued new instructions?" Liu Fuqing shouted at the top of his lungs.

"No, it's Yimin!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Xiuyun's legs went weak and she almost fell to the ground. She quickly threw down her hoe and ran to Liu Fuqing's side, anxiously saying, "Dad, Dad, did Lan Yong say that Yimin had an accident? Did I hear wrong?"

Without saying a word, Liu Fuqing threw down his hoe and ran towards Li Lanyong, asking, "What happened to Yimin?"

"Uncle, Yimin."

"Oh dear, you've worried me to death! What happened to Yimin?!"

"Yimin... Yimin seems to be going to be a writer!" Li Lanyong finally finished speaking and slapped the letter into Liu Fuqing's hand. He clutched his stomach, his mouth dry, and kept swallowing.

"What writer?" Liu Fuqing asked loudly. His hands were covered in sweat, instantly staining the envelope with a large sweaty welt.

Li Lanyong swallowed again, his face slightly pained, and said, "I can't explain it either. Look, this is a letter from the editorial department of *People's Literature* magazine in Yanjing. The postman just delivered it. Yimin must have submitted an article to the magazine, and they replied!"

(End of this chapter)