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

Chapter 172 Liu Zhenyun's Show-Off
Faced with the Shanghai Film Studio's request, Liu Yimin nodded in agreement. Seeing that the three of them were so anxious they were practically blisters on their lips, he comforted them, "Don't worry, it will definitely be released smoothly. I can tell you, there are people who want this film released even more than we are."

Huang Zumo looked at the rippling blue waves of Weiming Lake with a mournful face, his expression filled with a clear sense of despair: "Yimin, we've been in Yanjing for several days now. Although our Shanghai Film Studio is far from Yanjing, we're not treated like stepchildren. We finally managed to make a film, and some people complain without even watching it."

Seeing him like this, Xu Sangchu said angrily with his hands behind his back, "Old Huang, what are you doing? You're just saying things that have no principles. Who said we're stepchildren? If the comrades have opinions, we can just explain them clearly."

“Yes, we can’t explain it clearly, let others explain it!” Liu Yimin comforted him.

Huang Zumo's frustration, like the sweat on his back, had already soaked through his white polyester shirt.

Seeing their reaction, Liu Yimin joked again, "How about we make a bet? I bet it will definitely pass the review, what do you say?"

Zhang Mengzhao said, "Yimin, seeing how confident you are, I feel relieved. I'll bet too, I bet we'll win!"

"I'm betting I can pass!"

"See? We're all confident we can get through this, so don't worry!"

That evening, Liu Yimin followed the three people to Xia Yan's home at No. 14 Liubukou Hutong. Liubukou Hutong is located on Chang'an Avenue, right in the heart of the imperial city. You can see the Post and Telecommunications Building as soon as you enter the hutong, and the Capital Cinema is next to it.

Someone was already waiting at the entrance of the alley; it was a film projectionist, whom Xu Sangchu had borrowed specifically to show Xia Yan "Romance on Lushan Mountain".

Upon seeing them, the projectionist walked over and greeted them. He was very tall and kept bowing his head as he spoke: "Director Xu, which high-ranking leader are we showing this to?"

"Don't worry about which leader it is, just release it. Your leader already said to follow my orders!"

"Yes, I'll do whatever you say. I'll put it however you tell me to!"

"now it's right!"

Xu Sangchu gently knocked on the door of the courtyard house. A girl quickly ran over, opened the door, looked at the group, and asked with a smile, "Who are you?"

Xu Sangchu said with a smile, "Little Shen Yun, don't you recognize me?"

Xu Sangchu bent down so the girl could see him more clearly. After thinking for a moment, she said, "You are Grandpa Xu!"

"That's right, we've come to see your grandfather, as we arranged."

The girl was Xia Yan's granddaughter, Shen Yun. After the group went in, Xia Yan came over to greet them, carrying a cat, which was very different from her usual work behavior.

"Old Xu, Yimin, you're here!" Xia Yan quickly ushered everyone in.

Shen Yun stopped and looked at Liu Yimin curiously: "Yimin?"

Xia Yan laughed heartily and looked at Shen Yun, saying, "I can call him Yimin, but you can't. You have to call him brother. This is the Liu Yimin brother you like!"

"Brother Liu Yimin!" Shen Yun ran over and called out, immediately pulling Liu Yimin's hand and leading him inside.

Xia Yan smiled and said, "Yi Min, you are more popular than me in my precious granddaughter's heart."

Xu Sangchu glanced at Liu Yimin and Xia Yan and muttered, "Isn't their relationship good?"

Xia Yan's granddaughter, Shen Yun, is only eleven years old and usually reads Liu Yimin's poems. As soon as they entered the living room, Shen Yun pulled Liu Yimin to look at her small desk.

Xia Yan always held his cat; he loved cats very much, and as later generations would say, he was a "cat slave."

Xia Yan specially found a room to show a movie. Xia Yan knew it was a romance movie, so she wouldn't let Shen Yun go in to watch it, which made Shen Yun make a fuss.

"Alright, alright, see for yourself. You might not even understand it," Xia Yan said.

After the projector was turned on, the group watched attentively. Besides Shen Yun, there was Xia Yan's daughter and several family members.

Shen Yun sat between Liu Yimin and Xia Yan, occasionally whispering to Liu Yimin, asking him to give her some spoilers.

"It wouldn't look good if I said it out loud!"

"Brother Liu Yimin, please just tell me a little bit!"

"The ending is similar to that of the novel."

After looking at her for a while, Shen Yun exclaimed, "Zhou Yun is so beautiful! Brother Yimin, do you know her?"

"I know you. I'll take you to meet me sometime."

"Sure!"

Huang Zumo and Zhang Mengzhao rolled their eyes in the darkness. You two are more than just acquaintances!

Although the film's picture quality wasn't great, Zhu Lin's face possessed a hazy, ethereal beauty. Leaping and bounding amidst the landscape of Lushan, her youthful energy seemed to leap off the screen.

When the movie showed Zhou Yun kissing Geng Hua, Liu Yimin casually covered Shen Yun's eyes. Shen Yun looked at Liu Yimin with dissatisfaction, pouting and asking, "What just happened? Why won't you let me see?"

"I covered the wrong eyes. I meant to cover my own eyes. Sorry, sorry," Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Shen Yun snorted in dissatisfaction, which made everyone laugh, and the atmosphere in the room became even more lively.

When the screening ended and the lights came on, Shen Yun exclaimed, "How does Zhou Jun have so many clothes to wear?"

Liu Yimin laughed and said, "You'll have lots of nice clothes in the future too."

"Yimin, what do you think?" Xia Yan asked.

"I think this is a very good patriotic and scenic film that effectively promotes the scenery of Lushan. In addition, the patriotic enthusiasm and construction spirit in it are very relevant to our times."

Xia Yan didn't dwell on the so-called "patriotic scenic and lyrical film," but instead said with a smile, "This movie is pretty good. It's not as serious as those comrades are saying. Some comrades are just paranoid and see threats everywhere. Don't worry, I'll speak up for you when the film is reviewed."

Xia Yan's words finally put Xu Sangchu and the other two at ease, and Huang Zumo was so moved that he almost shed tears.

Liu Yimin didn't say anything more. He went into the yard and started playing a game of clapping with Shen Yun.

Xia Yan is currently in charge of the film and has a lot to say to Xu Sangchu. After another hour, a group of people came out of Xia Yan's house. Shen Yun said goodbye to Liu Yimin reluctantly and told him to remember to come and visit next time.

Reaching the entrance of the alley, Xu Sangchu said with a sigh of relief, "All the hard work from the start of filming until now has paid off!"

The projectionist said goodbye to Xu Sangchu: "Director Xu, if you need a screening next time, just let me know. My name is Xu Damao, but I'm not the same Xu as you. I'm Yanwu Xu. Just let me know if you need anything."

Xu Sangchu thanked him profusely before seeing the projectionist, Xu Damao, off.

"Yimin, we've lost!"

"What did you lose?" "You lost the bet."

"No, no, we're all betting on a win!"

Huang Zumo said, "It's different. We're just numbing ourselves, thinking like we're borrowing arrows with straw boats—we've been beating drums all night."

Xu Sangchu waved his hand and said, "I'll send you some local specialties when we get back to Shanghai." He then added, "Zhu Lin is a good actor. I wonder if he could be transferred to the Shanghai Film Studio. Yimin, you're familiar with the Beijing People's Art Theatre, what do you think?"

Liu Yimin gave Xu Sangchu a resentful look. How was his action any different from killing the donkey after it had served its purpose?
"You can't be transferred!"

"Hey, how will we know if we don't try? We can afford the relocation fee."

"If you're transferred, we'll be in trouble," Liu Yimin said with a grin.

Zhang Mengzhao smiled and explained a few things, and Xu Sangchu finally understood: "Oh, never mind, how about this, you two both come to the Shanghai Film Studio?"

Liu Yimin politely declined with a smile. Xu Sangchu was not joking. If Liu Yimin agreed now, he would dare to find someone to handle the formalities tomorrow.

"Yimin, I hope we'll have the opportunity to cooperate again in the future. Goodbye. When I get to Shanghai, I'll send you some local specialties."

Liu Yimin waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to take it to heart.

After they parted, Zhang Mengzhao asked what he wanted as a gift, and Xu Sangchu chuckled and said, "That ginseng and cinnamon health-preserving wine from Shanghai is pretty good."

Huang Zumo chuckled upon hearing this, but said, "Yimin, is that really necessary?"

"What are you thinking, Old Huang? If Yimin isn't useful, you can just give him away!"

At Yenching University, Liu Zhenyun rushed into the dormitory like a madman, holding a magazine in his hand, and shouted loudly, "Look, my novel has been published!"

They wished they could give Liu Yimin and the others a copy each, so Li Xueqin and Chen Dazhi simultaneously raised their newspapers in protest.

"Comrades, this is a major event in my life, Liu Zhenyun. It fills the void of my lack of published works. From today onwards, I am a writer with published works."

When Liu Zhenyun spoke, he deliberately stood very close to the door so that people in other dormitories could hear him. Liu Zhenyun then walked over to Li Xueqin with the magazine and said, "You know, this...tsk."

Li Xueqin said impatiently, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Oh dear, what I was trying to say was, how did it end up being published in 'Yanjing Literature' by accident? At first, I just thought it would be fine if it could be published in 'Weiming Lake,' who knew? Who could have known?"

Chen Dazhi couldn't hold back any longer and said sarcastically, "Who knows? Give me a break! We've known for months, and we've been waiting for the publication date for months. Ask Yimin, does he have to wait for the publication date when he publishes a novel? He always publishes whichever issue comes up, without ever waiting a month."

Liu Zhenyun completely disregarded Chen Dazhi's words. After showing off, Liu Zhenyun chuckled and said to Liu Yimin, "Yimin, let's go. The three of us have decided to treat you to dinner together as a thank you!"

"What a rare thing!" Liu Yimin jumped off the bed quickly, without the slightest hesitation.

The four of them headed toward the Long March Hotel, with the three of them holding their heads high, as if they had won a great victory.

Looking at the dishes on the table, Liu Yimin joked, "Judging from how you guys were just now, I thought this was a novel where you just throw money on the table and shout, 'Waiter, bring whatever you want!'"

Li Xueqin said with a smile, "When we publish our next article, we'll definitely treat you to something good, something a whole class better than what you have now."

Chen Dazhi and Liu Zhenyun nodded in agreement and quickly picked up their chopsticks to start eating.

The three men discussed their ideas for their next novel, and Liu Yimin offered them some suggestions. After speaking, he encouraged them, saying, "Write more, the most important thing is to write more."

After finishing his meal, Liu Zhenyun, with his mouth greasy, seemed to want to stick his mouth out in front of everyone he met.

"What did you eat? Your mouths are all greasy!"

"I didn't eat much. I just published a short story, so I'm going out to celebrate. It's a short story, so it doesn't make much money. It's nothing compared to Yimin's."

A group of people went to a gathering of young literary enthusiasts and listened to their conversation for a while. Liu Zhenyun said dejectedly, "Why is no one discussing my novel? Everyone's talking about 'Receiving the Precepts.' Is it really that good?"

"Well, Zhenyun, Old Wang is quite capable. But you're younger than him, and you have a long way to go in your future."

“I like hearing that. By the way, do you know Comrade Lao Wang?” Liu Zhenyun asked subconsciously.

"know."

"When did we meet?"

“At the symposium on the work, he is a Peking Opera master who knows everything about Beijing and has a strong Beijing flavor. So, we naturally had to invite him to participate in the symposium on ‘Wolf Smoke in Beiping’.”

"Hey, you know a lot of people now. Aren't you going back for summer vacation?" Liu Zhenyun asked casually.

"I'm not replying anymore, I won't bother you anymore!"

Liu Zhenyun blushed and said, "That's not what I meant. We're just normal classmates interacting. Guo Jianmei is our good junior sister."

"I didn't say no, you look so nervous."

Liu Yimin patted his clothes, got up, and walked towards the dormitory.

The following days were uneventful. Occasionally, when he looked towards the Summer Palace, he would think of the "swimming promise." After Zhu Lin arrived in Hong Kong, he immediately wrote back, almost every two days a short letter and every three days a long letter.

Every time he returned from the mailroom, he would have a large bundle of letters in his hands. Liu Yimin sat on the bed, put aside the letters from readers sent to Yenching University, and tore open Zhu Lin's letter.

In the letter, Zhu Lin lamented the differences between Hong Kong and the mainland, noting that everyone there dressed like "Zhou Yun," looking glamorous and sophisticated. She also mentioned that people there were very curious about the mainland, and that some people treated them well.

The letter reveals that all of this had a significant impact on Zhu Lin. At the end of the letter, she mentioned that young people here express love in a different way than we do.
Sometimes the writing is completely disorganized, as if it's just writing down whatever comes to mind.

In his earlier letters, he viewed the people of Hong Kong with compassion, believing that they should not be governed by the colonizers and should return to their motherland as soon as possible.

"The people here value money more than anything else."

After reading Zhu Lin's letter, Liu Yimin wrote a reply, telling her to travel more and see more, and teasing her, "Look around and come back to copy what you've learned and build the motherland."

After writing the letter, I tore open the letter from home. Nothing was wrong. My older brother reported that everything was fine and I shouldn't worry about home.

In his letter, Li Lanyong told Liu Yimin that things had become stricter recently, and he might not write to Liu Yimin for a while, and also asked him not to reply.

"Yimin, I've been in the army lately and read a few of your novels. I told my comrades I was your brother, but they didn't believe me. I showed them your letter, and they all believed me. I really miss you. It's been over a year. Don't miss me; it's enough if one of us misses you."

I wonder when I'll appear in your novel, and whether you'll portray me as a hero. Anyway, time to assemble, the crops next to the camp need some manure.”

(End of this chapter)