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

Chapter 17 Even Writers Slack Off at Work

The mountains were shrouded in darkness under the night sky, with only their outlines and the canopies of a few tall trees familiar to the locals visible in the distance. Fireflies flitted among the mountain grasses, their lights reflecting off the countless stars scattered across the sky.

From an aerial view, only the drying ground of Maiji Brigade can be seen with lights; the rest of the area shows no trace of modernization.

Apart from the Shiling Brigade, which was the seat of the Shiling Commune, the other twenty or thirty production brigades did not have electricity and were still using old-fashioned kerosene lamps.

After the movie ended, the commune members on the threshing ground walked home, still wanting more, and occasionally talking loudly about what they had just seen.

Soon after, the sounds of rustling branches and bushes, along with laughter and curses, echoed from the surrounding hillsides. It was the other teams taking shortcuts home.

"Yimin, your influence is more effective than steamed meat. The film projection team showed us an extra movie. If I join the army in the future, I will definitely be like Battalion Commander Gao." Li Lanyong put his arm around Liu Yimin's shoulder and said happily.

Liu Yimin asked, "What if a war really breaks out?"

“Then I’ll be the first one to go. My older brother said that being a soldier means not being afraid to die. If you’re afraid to die, then don’t be a soldier. What do the Party and the people support soldiers for? Isn’t it so that one day we can go to the battlefield? If I get injured, I’ll pull the pin on a grenade and die with the enemy.”

When Li Lanyong spoke, there was no hesitation in his words, and a fearless spirit was fully demonstrated in his speech.

"But if I were to sacrifice myself, my father, my mother, my eldest brother, and my second sister would definitely be heartbroken."

"Don't even think about glorious things. You're not qualified to be a martyr like my uncle. On the battlefield, bullets will dodge you."

Liu Yimin calculated that if Li Lanyong could join the army this year, he would definitely enlist in December. The battle to teach that ingrate a lesson was in February 1979; if Li Lanyong went to the battlefield, he would be a complete new recruit.

When the war broke out, most of the divisions used were Class B divisions. Class B divisions were simplified divisions that usually took on a lot of non-combat tasks such as production. Their size was only half that of Class A divisions, and they were supplemented with a large number of new recruits before going to the battlefield.

If highly trained and fully-equipped Class A divisions had been deployed, casualties would have been significantly reduced. Unfortunately, the pressure on the north was too great at the time, and most Class A divisions were deployed there.

Liu Yimin shook his head. It's still uncertain whether Li Lanyong will be able to join the army this year!

The two parted ways by the river after chatting for a short while. After walking a few steps, a wave of drowsiness washed over them. They yawned and dragged their heavy steps toward home.

I'm so tired after riding my bicycle for so long.

Back home, just as he was about to go to sleep, Yang Xiuyun knocked on the door and handed him the remittance slip: "Yimin, keep the remittance slip safe, don't lose it."

"Mom, I'll go to the commune to withdraw the money in a few days and keep some for the family." Liu Yimin carefully considered his options. He knew he needed to buy a bicycle first after withdrawing the money, as it would be very inconvenient without one.

Even after she goes to school, she can still let Liu Fuqing ride it.

A brand new Forever or Phoenix motorcycle should cost around 160, leaving you with 200 yuan to spare. School doesn't cost much, the government even provides subsidies, and besides, he'll continue submitting articles, so money won't be an issue.

They needed to leave some money for their family. Liu Fuqing and Yang Xiuyun had lived a frugal life, and they deserved to enjoy themselves.

Everything required coupons. Bicycle coupons were extremely difficult to obtain in rural areas, and other coupons were also scarce. There weren't many places to spend money. "You keep the money you earn yourself. It's okay for a young person not to carry any money on them. Your father and I have money, and your older brother often brings money home. You don't need to worry about it."

Yang Xiuyun looked at Liu Yimin with a relieved expression, finally no longer having to worry about her second son's job.

“My older brother gives money to the family, so I have to give money too. My older brother works so hard to earn money.”

Liu Yimin had visited Liu Yiguo's coal mine once. When he met Liu Yiguo, he had just come down from the mine, covered in coal. Conditions underground in coal mines are poor now, and accidents are common.

Finding this kind of job wasn't easy. For rural people without urban residency, getting a job offer was incredibly difficult. Because his uncle was a martyr and had no descendants, the organization took special care of them and gave their family a job quota.

When Yang Xiuyun first looked at the job posting, she felt both happy and worried. In other words, she was only happy when she received the job posting.

When Liu Yiguo was working at the mine, he sent most of his money back home and lived a very frugal life himself.

What worries Yang Xiuyun and Liu Fuqing most is that it's extremely difficult to find wives in the mines. Many girls from well-off families are unwilling to marry coal miners. People jokingly say that miners eat the food of the living but do the work of the dead.

After seeing Yang Xiuyun off, Liu Yimin collapsed onto the bed and fell fast asleep. Usually, because of the heat, he had to fight off mosquitoes and it would take him a long time to fall asleep, but today he had no such worries.

When he woke up the next day, his thighs were slightly sore. He opened the door and looked at the sun; it was already high in the sky. Liu Fuqing had already gone to work and hadn't called him to work with him that day.

School was out for break, and the junior high class was disbanded. Liu Yimin sat on the doorstep for a long time, wondering what to do and when the scores would be released.

After sitting on the threshold for a while, Liu Yimin got up and went to the kitchen to start cooking, so that Yang Xiuyun and Liu Fuqing could eat right away after work.

The kitchen was a small mud hut supported by wooden poles, covered with a layer of mud made of wheat straw and yellow clay. It was very cramped inside; it was difficult for two people to even turn around. The walls were blackened and shiny from the firewood smoke.

In the days that followed, Liu Yimin waited for his results while working alongside Liu Fuqing. The other villagers often stared at Liu Yimin, and afterwards, they would huddle together to discuss him.

These writers work just like everyone else, and they even slack off more.

On August 1st, Liu Yimin had just gotten up when he saw Liu Yiguo standing in the yard. Liu Yiguo was about the same height as Liu Yimin, but because of years of hard work, he looked much stronger.

Liu Yiguo was wearing a white vest with the words "Mining Coal for the Motherland" printed on it in large red characters. When he saw Liu Yimin come out, he immediately turned around and looked him up and down with a smile.

“Yimin, well done. Dad called me about your situation. It’s amazing. I sometimes read the coal mine’s newspaper when I was working at the mine, and I was wondering if you, who likes to write, would ever have an article published in the newspaper. And it really happened.”

I asked the clerk at the coal mine, and he said that being able to publish in *People's Literature* was a huge achievement; it broke the record for writers in our county.

Then Liu Yiguo happily took a box out of his pants pocket and handed it to Liu Yimin.

(End of this chapter)