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

Chapter 190: Coveting My Overseas Chinese Remittance Certificates?

Seeing Liu Yimin about to leave, the secretary quickly grabbed him, preventing him from going. It turned out that Xia Yan had said that if Liu Yimin returned to the Ministry of Culture from Sichuan Province, he would definitely invite him to meet.

Seeing this, Liu Yimin prepared to wait in the waiting room.

"I'll go check when the previous person finished. I'll call you when they're done!"

Liu Yimin joked, "I don't think this counts as cutting in line or using connections!"

"No, no, Comrade Xia Yan is having a headache right now. Everyone's talking about funding or approvals. He was cornered in the office as soon as he got to work, and we've been talking about it all day yesterday. Chatting with you is a good way to relax."

"Oh?"

The secretary patted Liu Yimin's arm affectionately: "You're not asking for funding, so of course you're more relaxed when we talk."

After a while, the secretary returned and led Liu Yimin into Xia Yan's office. As soon as they entered, they saw Xia Yan sitting relaxed on the sofa instead of behind his desk, with a teacup on the table, looking quite leisurely.

Seeing Liu Yimin come in, he sat up slightly, reached out to invite Liu Yimin to sit opposite him, and said with a smile that Liu Yimin had worked hard.

"It's quite lively here!"

"There's no way around it, there's a lot of work involved in film. And now China Film Group and its various film studios are causing trouble, so naturally there's a lot more to do," Xia Yan said, leaning back on the sofa and waving his hand.

"I've heard about the profit distribution issue."

The relationship between China Film Group and various film studios is one of centralized purchasing and distribution. The film studios feel they are receiving too little money, that China Film Group is taking all their profits, and that the films they painstakingly produce are becoming a blood bag for China Film Group.

As a result, film studios could barely survive on government funding, so it was no wonder they were resentful!
"Yes, this is a problem that every industry is facing. It's all about reform, like crossing a river by feeling for stones. Let's not talk about this anymore, it's making my head buzz. How are things in Sichuan? Don't feel pressured, it's okay even if you really can't write anything!"

Finally, they got to the main topic. Liu Yimin knew that Xia Yan had sought him out for this reason. After all, the Ministry of Culture had funded the project, so it was essential to monitor its progress closely!

It's not a big deal if you can't write, but if you really can't write, gossip will definitely follow.

"Having spent so much time in Aba, I've come to understand the lives of the Tibetan people in the past, and I'm deeply moved by it. I have two ideas that I plan to write into a two-part play, and I'll tell you about them!"

Liu Yimin briefly explained the main plot to Xia Yan, who listened attentively and occasionally took notes in her notebook, pondering the matter carefully.

After Liu Yimin finished speaking, Xia Yan said with a smile, "You've exceeded expectations. I think the five hundred yuan was well spent; it had the effect of a thousand yuan. The overall storytelling is good, and it's all very touching."

I also know about the Tibetan people of Wasi Temple in Jinchuan supporting Zhejiang Province in its fight against the British. Let me tell you the details I know.

After finishing his speech, Xia Yan brought up the matter of "Romance on Lushan Mountain" again: "The huge response caused by 'Romance on Lushan Mountain' shows that our literary and artistic policies are on the right track. I hope you will continue your efforts!"

As if he had thought of something, Xia Yan pulled Liu Yimin to the waiting room and said with a smile to the people inside, "You all, all the major film studios, should learn more from Yimin and create scripts that the people love."

A few more people entered the waiting room and looked at Liu Yimin, saying, "Comrade Liu Yimin, we're so glad to finally meet you. We're also very interested in your other novels and hope to have the opportunity to collaborate."

People from various film studios were present, and the other party did not specify which novel it was, demonstrating a strong sense of confidentiality.

Xia Yan smiled and waved to Liu Yimin, but after seeing him walk down the stairs, her face immediately turned serious. Looking at the group of people surrounding her, she said, "Don't make noise, it's giving me a headache!"

"You should all learn from Yimin, he can accomplish great things with little money!"

Liu Yimin didn't go to the United Front Work Department, since they were the client who hadn't paid any money. However, people from the United Front Work Department proactively contacted Liu Yimin, not mentioning the creative work, but expressing their gratitude to him.

These inexplicable words left Liu Yimin completely baffled.

Upon further inquiry, it was learned that a letter of commendation had been issued from Aba, praising Liu Yimin for his bravery in rescuing herdsmen and Sozerang on the Aba grasslands. Knowing this, they naturally wanted to express their gratitude to Liu Yimin.

Liu Yimin was both amused and exasperated. He quickly said to them, "Comrade Suo Zelang is the hero who saved the people's and collective's property. I only fired a few shots!"

"Comrade Yimin, those shots were no small feat; they saved two people. In principle, you deserve a commendation and an award. However, since you're not from the ministry, we're giving you this letter of commendation to recognize your heroic act in Aba. Furthermore, we plan to publish this story in the newspaper as a good deed. What do you think?"

"I don't think it's necessary," Liu Yimin said tentatively.

"Why wouldn't it be necessary? We think it's very necessary, and it should be promoted properly. Besides, you get along very well with the herdsmen; this is a typical example of friendly exchanges between the two ethnic groups!"

It seems they're already preparing for it to be published. The "what do you think?" part is just a formality. Liu Yimin shrugged and said, "We'll see how it goes in the department, but it must be factual and not exaggerated."

“We certainly understand that. Publicity is also news, and authenticity is paramount. Tell us, what were you thinking at the time?”

"I didn't have time to think at the time, I just wanted to drive the wolves away!" Liu Yimin said.

"This is fearlessness and selflessness in the face of danger!"

"I didn't know it was the wolf king. My marksmanship isn't very good, and I was afraid of hitting people, so I shot at the wolves that were far away from people. Later I found out it was the wolf king!"

"This is a quick and clever idea; to catch the thief, first catch the king!"

"After rescuing Comrade Sozerang, I saw that he was bleeding a lot, so I gave him a simple bandage!"

"That's called being extremely meticulous!"

"When I realized that Comrade Zhuoma didn't have a gun, I rushed over immediately."

"He's practically Zhao Zilong, charging in and out seven times—he's got guts like a prodigy!"

"."

Liu Yimin looked at the phrases they were writing down in their notebooks, such as "turning the tide and having the people in their hearts," and tentatively asked, "How about we don't post it? I think it's just an ordinary thing."

He scribbled a few notes in his notebook: "Comrade Liu Yimin remained silent about the rescue. He simply felt that he had done what he should do, and that this was the only way he could be worthy of being a people's writer. When our reporter asked him, he repeatedly said that it was a small matter and even asked us not to publish it."

His silence is like that of Comrade Lei F, doing good deeds anonymously. His words are simple and unpretentious, yet like the grasslands of Aba, beneath which lies a vibrant power—this is precisely what literary and artistic workers of the new era need, and it is what moves people most about him.

Liu Yimin didn't want to speak anymore, afraid that his next words would trigger endless imagination in the young comrade next to him.

As they were being seen off, Liu Yimin couldn't help but say, "Comrade, let's not issue it anymore. I think there's some exaggeration involved. The other herdsmen comrades, as well as Comrade Zhuoma and Comrade Sozerang, are all very brave!"

The young comrade writing the news looked at the older comrade from the United Front Work Department next to him. The older comrade thought for a moment and said, "Then let's also include Comrade Liu Yimin's words in the article."

After they had walked a distance away, Liu Yimin slammed the door shut. The two walked through the alley, and the older comrade looked at the younger one and asked, "Have you decided how to write it?"

"Comrade Liu Yimin repeatedly affirmed the power of the people, dared not be arrogant or complacent, and expressed his gratitude to Comrade Zhuoma and Comrade Suozhelang."

In the courtyard, Liu Yimin took out a withdrawal slip from the bottom of a box. After being stored away for a while, the paper on the withdrawal slip had turned a little yellow and gave off a faint smell of old paper.

He turned the box over and over, and thankfully it was quite sturdy and hadn't been chewed by rats. Thinking about it, Liu Yimin was genuinely a little scared. Putting everything else aside, there were a lot of rats in the yard, and he could hear squeaking and squeaking every now and then at night.

If a mouse bites the withdrawal slip, he'll be devastated and have nowhere to turn for justice.

Looks like I'll have to go to Xia Yan's place another day to see if he can catch a kitten to help catch mice.

Liu Yimin hopped on his bicycle, put the withdrawal slip into his shoulder bag, and rode towards the nearest bank. Not all banks accept withdrawals.

When they arrived at the bank, there was a long queue inside, and several bank tellers were working quickly behind the counter. Liu Yimin waited in line for quite a while before it was finally his turn.

"Comrade, I need to withdraw some money!"

The teller inside smiled at Liu Yimin, then took the withdrawal slip and looked at it several times before finally asking, "Comrade, did your relative send this?"

"No, the sender is listed on the form; it's the publishing house!"

"Publishing house?"

The other party looked at it carefully. He thought it was a simple withdrawal, but when he saw that it was more than seven thousand francs, he couldn't help but have some doubts.

"Comrade, wait a moment! This amount is too large, I need to ask for instructions. With so much money, we need to prepare the funds properly." The teller asked Liu Yimin to sit down and wait while she went to find the manager.

Not long after, the manager rushed over. The manager didn't look like a finance professional from later times; instead, he looked very down-to-earth, more like a junior manager.

Upon seeing Liu Yimin, he extended his hand and asked, "Comrade, which unit are you from?"

"I'm from Peking University!"

"Oh? Which department's professor is it?"

"No, no, no, I'm a student!"

"student?"

"Excuse me, we need to verify your identity."

Liu Yimin nodded and took out two letters of introduction from his bag. One was a letter of introduction for his identity and household registration at Yenching University, and the other was a letter of introduction from the United Front Work Department, which was also a work coordination letter.

"Liu Yimin?" the manager asked.

"Correct!"

The manager held two letters of introduction. The ones from the United Front Work Department were of little use; Liu Yimin only took them out to prove his identity.

After pondering for several seconds, he tentatively asked, "The author of 'The Smoke of War in Beiping'?"

"Yes, it's me."

The manager's serious expression immediately vanished, replaced by a smile as he shook hands with Liu Yimin again.
"No wonder, Writer Liu, you're so young, seven thousand francs has startled me. But it wouldn't be surprising if it were you. I've read your essays, and your book has been published in France. This must be the royalties!"

"Yes, it was sent a long time ago, but I haven't had time to pick it up!"

"Even so, I still need to make a call to verify. See who you think is the best person to call."

Liu Yimin thought for a moment. Yenching University was on holiday, and the United Front Work Department would definitely be difficult to deal with, since he wasn't familiar with them. Cao Yu from Beijing People's Art Theatre and several directors were not there; all the important figures had left.

"Ministry of Culture, Xia Yan!"

"Mr. Xia, alright, I'll make a call. Writer Liu, please don't mind, it's the procedure. The main thing is that this amount of money is too large, so it's better to be cautious. If it weren't for you, I would have thought it was some foreign organization giving funds to spies."

The manager made a joke, then turned around and went to his office to call Xia Yan to verify Liu Yimin's identity.

When they came out again, the manager's smile was even more friendly: "Comrade Liu Yimin, with so much money, we need to make some preparations!"

One franc is approximately equal to 1.2 yuan. If you exchange all of them, you'll have 9,000 yuan. That's 900 ten-yuan notes!
Liu Yimin said with a smile, "Okay, I'll withdraw all of it, and keep some in the bank. I'll only take two thousand yuan!"

"Great!" the manager said happily.

A wad of cash was put into Liu Yimin's handbag, along with a passbook. The remaining seven thousand yuan in the passbook was handwritten, and the staff would write down the interest amount in cents when he came to withdraw the money next time.

Seeing that Liu Yimin hadn't moved, the manager asked him to sign the book. Liu Yimin replied with a forced smile, "Manager, don't you have any remittance certificates?"

"Remittance certificates?"

"Yes, we work hard to earn foreign exchange for the country. We don't even dare to hope for foreign exchange certificates, so why don't we have overseas remittance certificates?"

The manager apologized and quickly called the person over, asking where the remittance certificates had gone. The teller stammered and ran back to get them.

After receiving the remittance certificates, Liu Yimin looked at them and saw that they contained various rare certificates such as industrial certificates. He then smiled and said, "Comrade Manager, the policy to protect remittances was issued in 55. You can't let us, who work so hard to earn foreign exchange, feel disheartened!"

The manager beckoned over a few more industrial tickets and replaced the others: "I'm sorry, Comrade Liu Yimin, I'll go back and criticize them. They were too careless in their work; they must have forgotten."

The manager had lost all interest in getting Liu Yimin's autograph and bowed respectfully as he saw Liu Yimin off.

"Don't forget next time, being careless is a crime!" Liu Yimin said sarcastically.

As Liu Yimin walked out of the bank, he snorted coldly. "What do you mean 'forgot'? Is that how you forget something? They think they can take advantage of my ignorance and try to steal the remittance certificates? No way! I came here today specifically for those remittance certificates."

Turning around, the manager scolded the person who had just handled the matter, saying that they had set their sights on this guy because his pen was so heavy that it could crush us with just one word!
Looking at the colorful remittance certificates in his hand, Liu Yimin found his direction and rode towards the store that specialized in accepting remittance certificates.

(End of this chapter)