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

Chapter 20: Who writes better, you or Yimin?

Led by Lao Sun, the staff of the cultural center quickly prepared their belongings and set off to Shiling Commune to search for a writer named "Liu Yimin".

Before they left, Old Zhang personally hung water bottles on the bottles for them and said earnestly, “We are cultured people, and also revolutionary writers. The literary world is now showing a thriving trend, and the writers of Ru County cannot sit idly by; we must participate.”

Your task is very important. Once you're down there, you must build good relationships with the people at the grassroots level. Don't always put on an air of superiority, and don't become detached from the masses. Only in this way can your research work proceed smoothly. My colleagues and I at the museum are looking forward to your good news.”

Old Sun said solemnly, "Don't worry, Old Zhang, we will definitely complete the mission. A few years ago, when I went to the countryside to participate in the 'double harvest' (harvest season), I worked in the production team in Shiling Commune. I'm quite familiar with that area. As long as they're from Shiling Commune, I'll definitely find them."

I'm afraid it's not from Shiling Commune!

Old Zhang nodded; he was also afraid of this situation, so he said, "My colleagues and I will call each of the communes below to gather information. Call us back as soon as you have any news."

After hearing this, the three pushed their bicycles and left the cultural center, heading towards Shiling Commune.

"Ouch, I'm exhausted. My back is all peeled." Li Lanyong plopped down in the shade of a tree and lay down, but because his back was peeling, he grimaced in pain from the small stones poking him.

Liu Yimin handed Li Lanyong a water bottle, but Li Lanyong waved it away, too exhausted to even drink.

Liu Yimin winked at him and said, "Really not going to drink?"

Li Lanyong sensed something was wrong, so he took the kettle, tilted his head back and drank, then looked at Liu Yimin with a look of surprise and gulped down a few mouthfuls.

"Soda? You're something else, putting soda in a water bottle. Only you could come up with that." Li Lanyong handed the water bottle to Liu Yimin, then licked his lips a few times, reluctant to leave.

"It's so hot. If this keeps up, I'm going to get heatstroke."

This year's drought is so severe that the corn leaves planted in the production team have started to curl up, and some leaves are even turning yellow. With no other option, the brigade organized its members to haul water to combat the drought.

The entire team only had a few oxen, and they were pulling water almost non-stop all day long, their hooves bleeding from the friction. The other members of the commune couldn't rest either; they had to carry water to the fields using shoulder poles.

Even so, the drought has not been alleviated. The most worrying thing is that the Kuye River is almost dry. The river's water mainly comes from the mountains, and after such a long drought, several of the mountain springs have already dried up.

Liu Fuqing has been frowning all day long, and only when he thinks of Liu Yimin does a smile appear on his face.

"Comrades of Shiling Commune, good news! We have received a notice from the higher-level meteorological department that our county will soon experience a heavy rain. As soon as the rain comes, our drought will be alleviated. However, we cannot wait. If it doesn't rain, we must find our own solutions. All production brigades must actively respond to the drought relief instructions issued by the County Revolutionary Committee."

We must see the achievements and the light at the end of the tunnel during these difficult times; we must have the courage to fight against nature. Women comrades, we must also mobilize—in short, mobilize all available resources. Commune cadres, including the commune directors, have already participated in drought relief efforts across the region.

Let us unite! These difficulties are temporary; victory will ultimately be ours. We must produce as much grain as possible to support the nation's modernization.

The brigade's loudspeaker played the commune's announcements over and over again, followed by revolutionary songs, creating a vibrant atmosphere.

Just as a ship needs a helmsman to navigate the ocean, all things grow by the sun.

"Yimin, get up! Lead the commune members to sing along with the broadcast!" Li Dashan, wearing a Zhongshan suit, stood on a small mound, directing everyone to work while shouting at Liu Yimin.

Liu Yimin chuckled and patted Li Lanyong's shoulder, making him wince in pain. "Alright, didn't you want to be Pavel Korchagin?" Over the next few days, Liu Yimin had become noticeably darker, his hands no longer showing any signs of pen use, and his palms were chafed raw. At night, lying in bed, he wouldn't move, like a dead fish on its first night.

When Yang Xiuyun called Liu Yimin to eat several times, she found that he had already fallen into a deep sleep.

When the three men from the cultural center arrived at Maiji Brigade, it was already three days later. They had been searching for several days in Shiling Commune, and had almost searched all the production brigades in Shiling Commune.

I originally planned to find the cultural officer in Shiling Commune to get a better understanding of the situation. However, I discovered that there was only one announcer and an old gatekeeper in the commune. Upon asking, I learned that everyone else had gone down to participate in drought relief efforts.

After much difficulty, I managed to contact the cultural affairs officer by phone. The officer pointed to a production team and told me to go there to find the person. When I arrived, the person there said the message came from a production brigade north of Shiling Commune, but he didn't know which one specifically.

There were thirty or forty production brigades involved, and after everyone embellished the story, it became completely unbelievable. Finally, they found someone who had seen a movie in the Maiji brigade and learned that it was Liu Yimin from the Maiji brigade.

"Hello comrade, is there a man named Liu Yimin here?" Old Sun asked excitedly when he saw a commune member, as if he had seen a relative.

After these past few days, they looked travel-worn and slept on the floor in the commune at night, looking like refugees.

"Yimin? Our team leader's child?" a member asked rhetorically.

"Children?" Old Sun exchanged a glance with Xiao Liu and Xiao Wang behind him, then tentatively asked, "Is there an older Liu Yimin?"

“You old comrade have an interesting point. Our Maiji brigade only has one Liu Yimin, who should be 22 this year. We really don’t have anyone older than him.”

"22?" Old Sun thought to himself, "Did I go to the wrong place again?"
"Is there a writer named Liu Yimin?" Little Liu behind me asked, unwilling to give up.

"A writer? Yimin is a writer? His manuscript was published in Yanjing. You know Yanjing, right? That's our capital. Isn't it strange that a golden phoenix has emerged from our remote mountain village?" the commune member said proudly.

"It really is!" Old Sun was surprised. He didn't expect Liu Yimin to be so young. He thought he would be at least thirty or forty years old, like the young Liu and Wang behind him.

"Who are you? Are you writers too?" A member of the society looked them over and asked suspiciously, then stretched out his right hand as if to smoke. Xiao Wang from the cultural center immediately offered him a cigarette.

Old Sun puffed out his chest and said with a hint of pride, "We are writers from the county cultural center."

"Oh? You've also published articles in Yanjing? Being able to publish in Yanjing, is that impressive? Between you and Yimin, who writes better?" a member asked with interest.

Old Sun's smile immediately froze, and he stammered, "It's been issued."

"So what if it's issued? It's not like it's anything shameful. Why are you feeling guilty, old comrade? Our Party Secretary said that we're not going to criticize intellectuals anymore."

Old Sun wiped the sweat from his temples, unsure whether it was from the heat or something else.

"Let's go, I'll take you to Yimin!"

(End of this chapter)