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

Chapter 25: Is this really how you protect yourself from homosexuals? (Please read on!)

Inside the curator's office, Old Zhang was drinking tea non-stop when he suddenly poured it out a few times and realized it was empty. So he angrily put the teacup on the table.

After a while, he looked up and said, "Yimin, do you know how good a job is at our cultural center? So many people want to come but can't. A while ago, many people tried to get me to come, but I turned them all down."

"Writers here are professionalized. Once you're here, you can settle down and focus on writing. If you want to do field research, that's fine too, I approve. You don't have to come to the office; you can stay in your production team. You'll still get your salary, plus a research allowance!"

Old Zhang looked at Liu Yimin with anticipation, unable to understand why this young man standing in front of him was unwilling to work at the cultural center. This was the first time he had been rejected since becoming the director.

He felt a little disappointed, thinking that Liu Yimin was taking the opportunity to make demands on him.

"Old Zhang, don't get agitated!" Liu Yimin quickly said.

"How could I not be excited?" Old Zhang's hands were trembling.

"I took the college entrance examination, and the results will be released soon. If I pass, I will have to go to university," Liu Yimin explained quickly.

"You took the college entrance exam? That makes sense. You're only 22 years old and have just graduated from high school, so you should take the exam! It's okay, go for the exam. The results haven't come out yet, but we can go to the cultural center first, and the household registration transfer will be quick."

Yimin, the college entrance exam isn't as easy as you think. Last year, none of our county's students passed. Of course, I still really hope you get in. University is certainly more promising than a cultural center, but you also have to prepare for the worst, right?

Old Zhang's brows finally relaxed, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up, but he held back. He didn't know how well Liu Yimin did in high school, but deep down he felt that Ru County wouldn't produce any college students this year.

According to the principal of the county middle school, last year's exam was very easy, and not a single person from the entire Ru County passed. The Revolutionary Committee director was furious. Ru County's education was considered good within the entire prefectural committee, and the entire Revolutionary Committee was full of confidence, but the result was a complete failure.

"Old Zhang, I think this is too much trouble. The results will be out soon, there's no rush. I think my chances are very good," Liu Yimin said helplessly.

"You're still young! But since you've put it that way, I agree. You can come to the cultural center anytime you want. Also, don't go back for a while. Just work as a temporary writer at the cultural center. I'll have the logistics department find you a room in the back dormitory. You'll get a two-yuan allowance every day, which is more than the salary of a regular employee. How about that?"

Old Zhang had already planned everything out; he was just waiting for the results to come out so he could successfully recruit Liu Yimin into the cultural center. Young people don't understand the benefits of the cultural center; once they do, they'll be eager to get in.

"Old Zhang, one yuan is fine as a subsidy, but do you have any bicycle vouchers? I see that almost everyone in our cultural center has a bicycle, and I'd like to buy one too."

"I'll figure out the bicycle ticket within two days. Also, the two yuan subsidy remains unchanged."

Liu Yimin said happily, "That's great! No wonder our colleagues at the cultural center are so cheerful every day. It's true that a train's speed depends entirely on its locomotive."

"Hurry up and try to write another one, even a poem will do," Old Zhang said impatiently.

He wanted Liu Yimin to publish an article with the cultural center as the author's affiliation, so that the entire cultural center would gain prestige. For some reason, his eyelids started twitching, and he had a feeling that this young man wouldn't stay here for long.

This feeling made him very uncomfortable. After finding Liu Yimin a workspace, he picked up a hoe and went to repair the garden. There had been a heavy rain earlier, and many areas had been washed away.

"Flowers and grass are so much easier for me. Oh dear, how did they get washed away? This rain is too heavy." Old Zhang was about to complain about the heavy rain when he remembered Liu Yimin's words about the drought. He couldn't help but wonder if he was too distant from the people.
The downpour came quickly and subsided just as fast. Only a few scattered raindrops remained, but it looked like it would rain again soon, as the dark clouds hadn't dispersed yet.

Sure enough, light to moderate rain fell for two days, alleviating the drought in Ru County without triggering flash floods.

On August 10th, with the continued sales of the 8th issue of "People's Literature and Art," the novel "Mr. Donkey" became increasingly well-known to more readers. Newspaper reviews of "Mr. Donkey" gradually increased, analyzing the story from various perspectives.

This novel is different from typical popular novels; many people cannot fully understand it on their first read. However, after reading Cui Daoyi's commentary, they immediately had a sudden realization: it can be analyzed from this perspective.

But when I looked at the newspaper, I was surprised to find that this aspect could also be analyzed?

Thus, a threshold slowly began to form in the minds of readers: whether or not they could understand the novel "Mr. Donkey." Those who could understand it could talk endlessly about their insights from reading the novel.

Those who didn't understand the book, to avoid being seen as incompetent, engaged in herd behavior and lied, claiming they could understand it. In fact, those who didn't understand it often recommended the novel even more enthusiastically.

This phenomenon is not limited to "Mr. Donkey"; it also appears in many critical novels and can be reflected to some extent in other aspects and phenomena of society.

Unlike other novels, "Mr. Donkey" also incorporates comedic writing techniques, which has attracted a large number of readers of this genre.

The editorial department of *People's Literature* began receiving letters from readers, but few were particularly insightful. Cui Daoyi had initially planned to publish a few good letters, but after reviewing them, he decided against it.

Or perhaps we can only wait and see if there are any more in-depth reader letters later.

"Old Cui, this article 'Mr. Donkey' has made a huge contribution to the sales of this issue of our magazine. Many colleagues have called me to ask who this author is and to congratulate us on getting such a good manuscript."

You should immediately send a letter to Comrade Liu Yimin inviting him to contribute, saying that the entire publishing house looks forward to his next work. You can also tell him that if he's interested, he can participate in the writer training program offered by *People's Literature* magazine.

Zhang Guangnian said excitedly.

“Okay, I’ll write him a letter right away.” Cui Daoyi nodded. Even if Zhang Guangnian hadn’t said anything, he was already preparing to write a letter.

The editorial office of *Yanjing Literature and Art* magazine also tried to find out about Liu Yimin through various channels. They also wanted to send him a letter of invitation, but unfortunately they didn't know his address. Editor Zhou Yanru even went to *People's Literature and Art* magazine several times to inquire, but she couldn't get any information out of him.

“The editorial staff of People’s Literature and Art are all from the Bureau of Secrecy, right? They’re all so good at keeping secrets!” Zhou Yanru said angrily.

“Old Zhou, calm down. You can’t say that. Old Zhang and the others are all veteran revolutionaries,” said Zhang Dening, an editor at the Yanjing Literature and Art Editorial Department.

Zhou Yanru took the teacup handed to her by Zhang Dening: "I, Zhou Yanru, am also an old revolutionary. I've been in the border region for just as long as they have. Is this how you treat comrades?"

(End of this chapter)