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

Chapter 210 A Faint Nostalgia
Inside the Yenching University campus, Liu Yimin returned to his dormitory with a stack of letters. Apart from two letters from home, the rest were invitations to write articles from various magazines or newspapers.

Besides one letter from Liu Fuqing and his wife, sent by Lao Ma requesting photos, there was another letter from his elder brother, Liu Yiguo, in which Liu Yiguo thanked him for the television and electric fan he had given them.

For a wedding in the family, the usual wedding ceremony involves three turns and one sound (referring to a house, a house, a house, and a house). This time, they got a TV. Although Liu Yiguo felt it was unnecessary, he remembered that it was a gift from his second brother, so he kept grinning at the back of his ear while at work.

However, the letter stated that there was no need to buy such expensive items for the family anymore. The salary at the mining bureau was high, and after the wedding, the family would be dual-income households with two salaries, improving their living conditions. He didn't need to worry about them.

By the way, tell Liu Yimin that I will send him a sweater at the end of the month, which my future sister-in-law knitted for him herself.

Liu Yimin smiled and put the letter away, already looking forward to his future sister-in-law's sweater.

Liu Yimin didn't read the letters from the other magazines, but he tore open the letter from "Stars" and read it. The editor-in-chief, Bai Xing, extended warm and sincere greetings in the letter.

Since we parted ways in Sichuan, summer has passed and autumn has arrived. I hear the weather in the north is getting colder; I wonder how you are doing?

In plain terms, it means, "You've been gone for months, and it's already winter. When are you going to send the poem you promised when you left?"
Liu Yimin put the letter away. It hadn't been long, and Bai Xing had already sent several letters.

Looking at the timetable, Liu Yimin saw he had no classes in the afternoon, so he rode his bicycle to the courtyard house. He opened the cabinet in the study and took out all the photos inside.

She looked through them one by one, picked out a few pretty photos that matched the image of her daughter-in-law in the old man's mind, put them in an envelope, and prepared to mail the letter.

In the letter, he inquired about the specific date of his elder brother Liu Yiguo's wedding. The two had not yet decided on a date, and Liu Yimin felt that they should set a specific date as soon as possible.

After putting the letter into an envelope, Liu Yimin walked to the mailbox at the entrance of the alley and threw it in.

Back in the courtyard, I picked up a broom and swept the ginkgo leaves to one side. Autumn had arrived, and the ginkgo leaves had begun to fall; the beautiful ginkgo leaves had become a burden.

It needs to be swept every day. Ginkgo leaves covering the streets look beautiful if they are not swept up, but if they are not swept up at home, it looks desolate.

Sanhua kept chasing the fallen leaves, occasionally rolling around in the piles of leaves, but still couldn't catch the mouse. Liu Yimin guessed that the cat's mouse-catching skills were useless.

After cleaning the yard, Liu Yimin stayed in the study for a while, thinking that he still had to write a poem for "Stars". After all, he had promised and could not go back on his word.

After thinking for a while, Liu Yimin wrote the three characters "Congqianman" on the draft.

I remember when I was a teenager
Everyone was sincere
Say one thing and do another.

Early morning at the train station
The long street was dark and deserted.

The small shop selling soy milk was steaming.
The days used to pass slowly
Carriages, horses, and mail were all slow.
One lifetime is only enough to love one person
The old locks were beautiful too.

The key is exquisite and stylish.

Once you lock it, people will understand.

After finishing his poem for "Stars," Liu Yimin began writing other things.

Around three o'clock in the afternoon, Liu Yimin heard a knock on the door. He opened the gate of the courtyard house and saw two unexpected guests. Liu Yimin's expression changed from surprise to delight: "Rare guests! What brings you here?"

Liu Yimin quickly went out to help, while Shi Lan behind him tried her best to push the wheelchair up, but unfortunately she was too weak and her face turned red, and the wheelchair still couldn't get up.

Hearing Shi Lan's labored breathing, Shi Tiesheng looked at Liu Yimin, his face flushed red with embarrassment.

The entrance to this courtyard house is not flat; it has a slope, and there is a small set of steps at the very front.

The original owner may have designed it this way to prevent the yard from being flooded by high water levels.

After Liu Yimin helped carry it up, Shi Lan wiped her sweat and said, "Brother Yimin, you're home today? I was pushing my brother out for a walk and we just happened to get here, so I thought I'd check if you were home. I didn't expect you to be here!"

"What a coincidence! I've only been here a short while. If I had come any later, I really wouldn't have run into you," Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Shi Tiesheng looked at Liu Yimin and asked, "Comrade Liu Yimin, what are you busy doing in the courtyard?"

"Nothing much, just sweeping the yard and playing with the cats! Now that you're here, it's a good opportunity to have a good chat with me." Liu Yimin and Shi Lan pushed the wheelchair into the yard together.

Standing under the ginkgo tree, Shi Lan exclaimed, "Brother Yimin, your yard is so big!"

"It must have cost a lot of money to buy this courtyard, right?" Shi Tiesheng asked.

"It did cost a bit of money, Tiesheng, Shilan, what kind of tea do you like? Of course, I only have black tea here!"

Shi Lan laughed and said, "Brother Yimin, then why did you ask us what we want to drink?"

Shi Tiesheng quickly stopped Shi Lan, and Liu Yimin turned around and said, "Haha, Tiesheng, you don't need to be so reserved, this is your own home! Oh, I forgot, Director Zhu of the Beijing Film Studio gave me a can of coffee, would you like some?"

"I drink coffee, I watch foreign films, foreigners all drink coffee."

Shi Tiesheng said shyly, "A glass of plain water will do for me!"

Liu Yimin went inside to get coffee, brewed three cups of coffee, placed them on a plate, and brought them to the stone table in the courtyard.

"Here, Tiesheng, have a taste. Actually, I don't like the taste. This is rock sugar. If you find it bitter, add a few pieces!"

Shi Lan took a sip, but it was too hot to taste anything. When it cooled down a bit, it really did taste bitter, but she still drank it with a frown.

"These foreigners, they drink this stuff?" Shi Lan looked at the dark liquid in the glass and tasted the bitterness on her tongue, and couldn't understand the foreigners' preference.

Shi Tiesheng said, "Foreigners drink our tea the same way!"

After chatting in the courtyard for a while, Shi Tiesheng asked, "Comrade Liu Yimin, are you very familiar with Lu Yao?"

Liu Yimin didn't know why Shi Tiesheng brought up Lu Yao, so he pointed to the guest room next door: "Lu Yao stayed here for a few days in the spring. Did you see the bamboo in front of the screen wall? We planted it together. What? You two are quite familiar with each other?"

Shi Tiesheng smiled bitterly: "How could that be? Although I was sent to the countryside in northern Shaanxi for several years, I never had the chance to meet him, but I often heard of Lu Yao's great name! Back then, he was a well-known young talent, and many educated youth would go out for a whole day just to see him!"

"Really? I'm not familiar with his previous works."

"Comrade Lu Yao's works in his youth were rather rough, but in that impoverished era, even some naive and rough short essays could arouse people's thoughts and surprises."

Of course, I'm not saying that Comrade Lu Yao's earlier novels were immature or crude, but compared to his current works, they were still less mature.

Shi Tiesheng carefully analyzed all of Lu Yao's articles that he had read, including those he had seen during his time as a sent-down youth.

Liu Yimin said, "For writers, their writing style always progresses from immature to mature."

“You’re different. Your first article was very mature and exceptionally well-written. But had you written anything before that?” Shi Tiesheng asked curiously.

“If we’re talking about high school essays, then I definitely wrote some before!” Liu Yimin’s words made Shi Tiesheng and Shi Lan laugh. After laughing, Shi Tiesheng said seriously and sincerely, “See? That’s what makes you better than the rest of us! Your writing style has always been mature and is constantly improving.”

"Brother Yimin, have you read my brother's articles?" Shi Lan interjected.

“I’ve read it. Your brother writes very well too. ‘Half an Hour for Lunch’ has his own unique style.”

After Liu Yimin finished praising him, Shi Lan hugged Shi Tiesheng's arm and said, "Right? My brother is amazing!"

After hearing the praise, Shi Tiesheng looked a little embarrassed, but his eyes couldn't help but show some pride: "Compared to your brother Yimin, I'm still far behind!"

"When Lu Yao comes to Yanjing, I'll go with him to find you and let him meet his readers who have always liked him. He's currently writing a novel, and the editor asked him to come and revise the manuscript, but he's stubbornly refusing to come!"

Shi Tiesheng said, "When I read his novels, I always think of Yanchuan, and I always think of those barren loess plateaus. You haven't been there, so you don't know how desolate it is. Bare, with gullies and ridges, it's hard to even see a single tree."

It's easy to talk to someone, but difficult to actually meet them!

Liu Yimin knew that Shi Tiesheng had always had a special feeling for the Loess Plateau, after all, his life was completely changed there.

Shi Tiesheng, feeling embarrassed, asked to see Liu Yimin's study. Liu Yimin and Shi Lan pushed him inside.

Shi Tiesheng said enviously, "Having such a large study is every writer's dream!"

“Great works can be created even with a small desk!” Liu Yimin said.

Shi Lan saw the poem that had just been written on the table, and after obtaining Liu Yimin's permission, she picked it up and read it aloud.

After listening, Shi Tiesheng rubbed his sore eyes and said with a smile, "In the past, people didn't lock their doors when they went out, but now they have to!"

"Brother, I was still lost in the world of poetry. Your words have completely ruined the atmosphere. Yimin, you'd better lock your door properly. There are a lot of bad people around these days, and things can easily get stolen!" Shi Lan said.

“Yes, the older women in the alley are all talking about it. They used to not have to lock their doors when they went out, but now they’re worried even though they lock them!” Liu Yimin said.

"Now that there are fewer rules and regulations, people's hearts are more open. Some people think positively, while others have their crooked thoughts."

"Brother Yimin, your poem is really good. It sounds similar to 'Just Right'. Hmm, I forgot how to say it. My brother taught me before. Yes, I remember it was delicate. The emotional expression was very delicate, with a touch of sadness."

The way Shi Lan tilted her head and thought of words amused the two of them.

"Comrade Liu Yimin, are you in love?" Shi Tiesheng asked with a smile.

Shi Lan: "Is it the pretty lady I met at that poetry gathering?"

Liu Yimin laughed and said, "That's right!"

"Immersed in love, your poetry style has changed. You write more poems about love, and your emotions are more delicate," Shi Tiesheng joked, a hint of melancholy flashing in his eyes.

"Believe me, you will all encounter it."

Then I noticed the letter on Liu Yimin's desk: "Is this a letter from home?"

My older brother is getting married!

"No wonder there's a touch of homesickness in your poems; are you missing home?"

Liu Yimin said with a smile, "Actually, when I think about it, I have many friends in Yanjing, but I'm still far away from my parents. Let's not talk about home anymore, because talking about it makes me miss them."

"Let's talk about love. If Lu Yao were to write about love, it definitely wouldn't be like this. People from northern Shaanxi are very bold in expressing love. In the folk songs, come on, let me sing you a few lines!"

Shi Tiesheng got into the mood and started singing a folk song inside the room.

After singing, Shi Tiesheng said, "I used to try to write poems using the melody of folk songs, but unfortunately, the things I wrote were unreadable!"

"The love stories in Xintianyou are passionate, but they are also mixed with reality, and some even contain philosophical ideas, expressing the helplessness of love and reality intertwined."

As evening approached, Shi Tiesheng and Shi Lan were preparing to leave when Liu Yimin pulled them aside and said, "Let's have dinner together tonight. Zhu Lin wanted to invite you last time, but it was too far from home, so you had to leave early. Now that it's not far, there's no rush to leave!"

Shi Lan looked at Shi Tiesheng, and Shi Tiesheng caught the meaning in her eyes. He looked at Shi Lan with affection and said, "Then we'll bother your brother Yimin and sister Zhulin tonight!"

Seeing that it was almost time, Liu Yimin and Shi Lan pushed Shi Tiesheng to the Beijing People's Art Theatre and found Zhu Lin, who was about to come out of the rehearsal room.

Zhu Lin looked at Shi Tiesheng and Shi Lan with delight: "It's you two! Long time no see. Comrade Shi Tiesheng, I read your novel a while ago, it's very well written."

Zhu Lin's enthusiasm left Shi Tiesheng momentarily speechless: "Well... that's actually far from Yimin's!"

“You’re all better than me!” Zhu Lin said.

After greeting Liu Yimin, Ouyang Shanzun, Lan Tianye, and Su Min walked past him.

When they reached the door, Ouyang Shanzun came over again: "Yimin, don't slack off in a few days. Make sure to check on the rehearsal results."

"Dean Shanzun, I've never been lazy before!"

"Whether I slacked off or not, I don't know. If it weren't for Xiao Zhu being here today, would you have come?" Ouyang Shanzun said, then left with his hands behind his back.

Shi Tiesheng said, "This is Director Ouyang Shanzun!"

The four of them went to a state-run restaurant outside. Zhu Lin enthusiastically ordered several dishes and thoughtfully asked Shi Lan what she wanted to eat.

After everyone had arrived, Shi Lan looked at Zhu Lin and teased her with a smile, "Sister Zhu Lin, what's it like dating my brother Yimin?"

Such blunt words caused Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin to make a big fuss. Shi Tiesheng told Shi Lan to stop fooling around and just eat properly.

Shi Lan said with a smile, "Brother Yimin wrote another poem today. As he read it, I don't know why, but I felt like crying!"

Shi Tiesheng laughed and said, "Why are you crying? How old are you?"

"What did you write? Read it to me!" Zhu Lin asked curiously.

Shi Lan swallowed the last bite of food in her mouth and began to read it with utmost seriousness. This gesture amused Liu Yimin and Shi Tiesheng.

"I remember when I was a teenager"
Everyone was sincere
"

(End of this chapter)