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

Chapter 229: Reportage: "The Galloping Young Writers"

"Please welcome Secretary Yang to speak as the officiant!" Li Dashan shouted from his position on the millstone. After the applause subsided, Yang Yushan stood on the millstone and recited a few words.

Comrades, I am Yang Yushan. Let us warmly congratulate Comrade Liu Yiguo and Comrade Gu Ping on their marriage. From today onwards, they will be revolutionary comrades who share weal and woe.

The Liu family is a revolutionary family. Comrade Liu Fulin sacrificed himself heroically for the cause of liberation, and Comrade Liu Fuqing made great contributions to the suppression of bandits and the vigorous cause of production and construction.

I hope you will inherit the glorious revolutionary tradition and move forward hand in hand in this new era of reform and opening up. Work hard at your workplace and contribute to the country's economic development and modernization; be filial to your parents-in-law at home; strive to be a model revolutionary couple, and I wish you a happy marriage and that you will soon have a child to nurture the next generation of revolutionaries for the country.

Liu Fulin is Liu Yimin's uncle.

Amid applause, Liu Yiguo and Gu Ping officially became husband and wife, and bowed three times to the portrait of their instructor.

"Oh, Gu Ping's boyfriend even invited the county secretary. I've met Secretary Yang before; he was a commune cadre back then, and he had a meal at our house."

"Oh no! It's a pity Gu Ping's parents won't be able to see this!"

The aroma wafted throughout the Liu family's home, growing stronger and stronger until it was finally time to begin the feast.

Li Dashan shouted at the top of his lungs, "Comrades, guests from both the groom's and bride's families, here to bring honor and congratulations! The tables are high, the benches are low, there's plenty of soup but not much food, and the dishes are thin. Everything is ready for the meal, let's begin!"

Only when Li Dashan, the head steward, roared at the top of his lungs did the banquet officially begin.

A north wind blew snowflakes, and several cold dishes were served first, followed by steaming hot dishes. We ate while enjoying the snow.

Old Zhang and Yang Yushan were originally arranged to stay inside the house with the woman, but Yang Yushan felt it was inappropriate and went to the courtyard to eat with the other villagers in the wind and snow.

"Yi Min, Old Yang from the Mining Bureau was supposed to come too, but he was pulled away to a meeting at the Prefectural Committee. Safety is of utmost importance during the Spring Festival. But I brought the gift money." Yang Yushan pulled Liu Yi Min aside to drink.

Curator Zhang asked curiously, "Yimin, I saw a letter lying next to the gift table. I asked around and it said it was a congratulatory gift from your teacher! Your teacher is Wan Jiabao?"

"Hmm?" Liu Yimin looked at the gift table in confusion, but it had already been removed. Unexpectedly, Liu Fuqing simply placed the letter next to the gift table.

"He's my teacher!"

Old Zhang lowered his voice and asked, "Who is this Wan Jiabao?"

"It's what you're thinking!"

Old Zhang hissed, downed two glasses of wine in a row, and then asked, "Is that what I'm thinking?"

"Don't think about it, Lao Zhang. You still want to see the plays at the Beijing People's Art Theatre!" Liu Yimin raised his small wine glass and clinked it against his.

"Speaking of this play, Lao Zhang kept bragging to me when he came back, saying how great it was. Yimin, you shouldn't have invited him to see it. Look how smug he got."

Yang Yushan said with dissatisfaction.

"Comrade Yang, next time you go to Yanjing, I'll invite you to see it too!" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Yang Yushan said with satisfaction, "We must watch 'The Flames of War in Beiping'."

"Okay, let's watch 'The Flames of War in Beiping'."

Yang Yushan was finally satisfied, while Old Zhang next to him was still reeling from the words "Wan Jiabao".

Nowadays, wedding banquets in rural areas are relatively simple. The Liu family prepared a lot of dishes, just in case they didn't have enough to eat.

So the food was served quickly, but they underestimated people's appetites these days. Then they brought out basket after basket of steamed buns, soaking the soup in the dishes completely.

Yang Yushan exclaimed, "When will every household in Rucheng be able to afford a wedding like this? It means that all the members of our Rucheng commune have become wealthy. The household responsibility system has really worked. Every household is producing more grain, so at least everyone can have enough to eat and there's even some left over."

"With higher enthusiasm, grain production will increase!"

"If we really want to increase yields, then we have to use chemical fertilizers!"

After the household responsibility system was implemented, everyone's enthusiasm increased, but the use of chemical fertilizers decreased because farmers themselves did not have the money to buy them.

Everyone could only use animal manure. When they encountered manure on the road, they would shovel it into their baskets and throw it into their own fields.

"Yimin, the improvement in our 'Yimin Class's' grades is obvious to everyone. This year, our county's college entrance examination results will even improve. You wouldn't believe it, but when I went to the prefectural committee meeting, a bunch of people congratulated me. Although our grades are still not as good as those of the students at the prefectural committee's high school, we've made rapid progress!"
People from several other counties want to come here to learn from our experience!

Yang Yushan picked up a piece of cold dish and swallowed it, still covered in ice crystals.

They were the slowest eaters at their table. There were still many dishes left on the table, and the children next to them were drooling, but unfortunately no one dared to come over and take any, as their parents were watching them closely.

"Congratulations in advance on this year!"

"Congratulations! We are proud that so many talented people are leaving Ru County."

Old Zhang said, "Yimin, you don't know yet, do you? Old Yang's second daughter also got into university this year!"

"What university? It's a junior college, a junior college!" Yang Yushan waved his hand modestly, but his face was full of pride.

Liu Yimin put down his wine glass: "Congratulations!"

"What's there to congratulate? A vocational college degree is nowhere near as good as Yimin University!"

"Hahaha, Yimin, look how smug Old Yang is," Old Zhang laughed.

"But it's not easy for her to get into a vocational college. She's stubborn and not very bright. She got into university entirely because of her stubbornness. I wanted to bring her here. She said she was embarrassed to see you, her teacher. She's taken the exam for several years and only scored a little over 200 points. She's really ashamed!"

Liu Yiguo and his sister-in-law Gu Ping walked out of the bridal chamber with wine glasses in hand and began to toast everyone. With so many people present, Liu Yiguo's face started to turn red as he drank.

When they arrived, Yang Yushan and Lao Zhang patted Liu Yiguo on the shoulder and said, "Good boy, live a good life!"

Liu Yimin helped out at several tables of drinking before the event ended. Yang Yushan looked at Liu Yimin and said, "I didn't expect you to be such a good drinker!"

"I don't know either. It wasn't okay before, but now I drink more and more!"

"Hahaha!"

After seeing Lao Zhang and Yang Yushan off, Liu Yimin started helping to tidy up the tables, chairs, and benches. The group worked until evening before the house was completely tidied up.

The people who were making a ruckus in the bridal chamber that night left after a while.

Liu Yimin was so tired that he lay down on the bed and slept until dawn. The sound of sweeping came from the yard. He looked out the window and saw his sister-in-law, Gu Ping, wearing a scarf and holding a broom, sweeping the ground.

A moment later, Yang Xiuyun's voice came in: "Pingping, put the broom there and let Yiguo or his father sweep it. You're Liu's biological daughter now that you've married into the family. It's cold, go back and rest for a while!"

"It's okay, Mom, I'm not tired. I'll cook for you!" she said, and started to go into the kitchen.

Liu Yiguo got up, picked up a broom, and started sweeping.

Liu Yimin remembered, but after walking for nearly five or six hours, his legs were very sore, so he simply lay down on the bed and went back to sleep.

During the meal, the four of them sat inside the house. The eldest sister-in-law, Gu Ping, wanted to call Liu Yimin to eat, but Yang Xiuyun pulled her back and said, "Don't worry about Yimin. He can eat whenever he wakes up. It's cold in winter, and he often doesn't get up."

“We walked for several hours yesterday, and Yimin even helped entertain Secretary Yang. He must be exhausted,” Liu Yiguo said.

“It’s understandable that he’s tired, since he’s your second brother. Pingping, don’t just stand there, eat quickly, it’ll get cold!” Liu Fuqing said cheerfully, his smile never stopping since he woke up in the morning.

It wasn't until noon that Liu Yimin got out of bed, rubbing his sore legs.

While eating inside, Liu Yiguo found Liu Yimin alone, took out an envelope from his pocket and said, "Yimin, this is the money you sent home. How can I use your money for my wedding? I have enough money to live on myself. Besides, a lot of the money that my parents gave me was what you usually kept at home."

You need to save your money. I saw your boyfriend's photo; he seems like a nice person. He's from Beijing, and since you're also in Beijing, you'll definitely have many more places to spend your money!

Liu Yimin pushed the envelope back and looked at his elder brother, saying, "Oh, brother, when did you become so fussy? Just take it. According to your calculations, I used to spend your money on my school fees. Let's do the math, we're family."

Liu Yimin stuffed the money into Liu Yiguo's pocket, then pushed him out of his room and began eating brunch.

When the food was delivered to the kitchen, Gu Ping, the eldest sister-in-law, was chatting warmly with Yang Xiuyun. It seemed that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law got along very well on the first day.

"Mother, sister-in-law!"

Yang Xiuyun and Gu Ping both responded. Yang Xiuyun asked, "Yimin, does your leg still hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore, it doesn't hurt anymore!"

"That's good. Go back to your room and rest more. Don't keep thinking about writing, or your hands will get frostbite!"

"Okay!" Liu Yimin prepared to return to his room.

Sister-in-law Gu Ping came out and said, "Yimin, thank you, and please thank your partner for me. I really like the scarf, sheets and duvet cover she gave me, and also your teacher and his wife!"

"Don't worry, sister-in-law, I'll pass on the message to them when I get to Yanjing," Liu Yimin said with a smile.

On the third day after his wedding, Liu Yiguo rushed back to work at the mine. Safety was strictly enforced during the Spring Festival, and the mine was already being very generous by giving him a week off.

Gu Ping also returned to her school dormitory. There was no one at the school now; she had only gone there to keep Liu Yiguo company.

Watching the couple walk away, Liu Fuqing smiled and said, "Next up is the second child!"

"We don't need to worry about the second son's affairs!" Yang Xiuyun said with a smile.

"Don't worry about it, but we still have to keep moving forward!"

This year's winter vacation was the longest Liu Yimin ever spent at home. Apart from listening to the radio, he mostly wrote a few words.

But it was too cold, and I couldn't write much. So I simply put down my pen and went to the commune to visit Tian Qingping, and also to thank him again.

Liu Yimin set off with his belongings. When he arrived at the commune, Tian Qingping was sitting in his office having a meeting. While the other offices were probably busy, he, as the military specialist, didn't actually have much to do.

The latest batch of soldiers has been sent off, and the next round of recruitment will begin next year!
Tian Qingping walked out of the office, looked at Liu Yimin, and said, "Yimin, what brings you here to see me?"

"I'll wait for you to get off work so we can chat!"

"Come on, let's talk in my office!"

"Yimin, you and Qingping are really close!" the commune director said to him.

"Of course, I got into university thanks to Qingping's help!"

At noon, Liu Yimin took Tian Qingping to lunch: "I originally promised to treat you to lunch at Dongfanghong Restaurant in the county after I got into university, but unfortunately I was called to the cultural center and you didn't have time to come to the county. Today I'll keep that promise!"

"Two large bowls of noodles, extra meat, please. We'll charge extra!" Liu Yimin said arrogantly.

The two chatted for a long time. Tian Qingping kept asking him about the reforms, and Liu Yimin answered all his questions without reservation.

From several circles along the southeast coast to the household responsibility system implemented across the country, they talked about it with great enthusiasm, completely ignoring the strange looks from those around them.

"Two more bowls of he luo noodles, one less bowl, not too much. Qingping, what about you?"

"I'll take less too!"

Liu Yimin recounted with a smile the story of how he first submitted his manuscript and met Tian Qingping at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative. He later ate he luo noodles with Tian Qingping, but he wasn't full after one bowl and didn't want to spend money on a second one.

"You think you're the only one? I live in the next commune, and I drool over the aroma every day, but I don't dare come over to eat here often—I can't afford it!"

Tian Qingping remarked with emotion.

"You even gave me a coupon for alkali back then!"

After finishing our meal, we went to the office and chatted for a while.

"Do you have any news about Lan Yong?" Liu Yimin asked.

"I don't know what's wrong with this guy, he hasn't replied to my messages in a long time. I checked with my connections, and it seems his unit hasn't gone to the front lines."

Liu Yimin didn't know what connections Tian Qingping had made, nor did he ask.

"Sigh, it's been so long since I've spoken to this guy, I really miss him!"

"That's right, back in the day, the three of us were always together in school, then you and that... "

"I'll drink your water, hahaha!"

In February, Liu Yimin received a copy of "People's Literature and Art". The title on the cover made him utter a "hmm?".

The cover says this:

"A Young Writer's Home is Everywhere" — Xu Chi

"Red River Valley" is a work by Xu Chi, a young writer who conducted field research in Aba.

Liu Yimin quickly opened Xu Chi's article, which was a reportage work by him, with Liu Yimin as the protagonist.

Taking "Meeting in Chengdu during a field trip to Aba" as a starting point, the book details Liu Yimin's writing journey. The main thread is his trip to the grasslands, and the dialogue between the two during the trip leads to an explanation of Liu Yimin's literary ideas, which are further elaborated through his previous novels.

Xu Chi's most famous work, "Göchbad's Conjecture," is 18,000 words long, while this piece, "A Galloping Young Writer, Everywhere is His Home," is nearly 30,000 words long.

"This old Xu comrade really writes so well!" Liu Yimin smiled as he read. The writing was simple and lively, making the reader feel as if they were on the vast grassland, in the midst of the conversation between the two.

【Zhuoma, a warm and hospitable grassland girl, often says that her heart is as big as an iron bird in the sky】

The text concludes by stating that Liu Yimin is not a typical writer of rural literature, but rather a writer who grew up nurtured by rural literature and realism. Like a dandelion seed, wherever the wind carries him, he takes root and sprouts, becoming one with the local people, their friend, and producing excellent literary works.

I spent thirty-five days with Comrade Liu Yimin on the grasslands, and I witnessed firsthand how much he loved his readers and the friendly Tibetan and Han people. He could become an inseparable friend with someone after just three sentences.

He's always smiling, and when we ask him what's so funny, he always says...

Comrade Lao Xu, you've gone a bit too far with your praise!

But keep praising it, don't stop! How come it's only 30,000 words?

(End of this chapter)