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

Chapter 270: Reportage on the Women's Volleyball Team

The women's volleyball team's current training center is not in Beijing; since 79, the training has been held in Chenzhou.

In 78, the State Sports Commission proposed to make a comeback for the "three major ball sports" (volleyball, volleyball, and volleyball), and high hopes were placed on volleyball. The goal was to find professional venues outside of Beijing for focused training.

The battle to turn things around for the "three major ball sports" has been going on for decades, but apart from volleyball, the other two major ball sports are still not satisfactory.

Especially in football, when it comes to criticizing the Chinese national football team, people all over the world have no conflict.

Chenzhou took the initiative to propose establishing a volleyball training base. However, the conditions were not good; the venue was a bamboo shed that was drafty on all sides.

It was under these circumstances that the women's volleyball team participated in the World Cup, won consecutive victories, and took the championship.

When Lang Ping saw someone pointing at her, she immediately glared back, but only smiled and responded after seeing that it was Zhang Nuanxin.

Someone nearby asked who the man standing next to Zhang Nuanxin was, noting that he was dressed smartly and looked quite handsome.

"I think I've seen her in the newspaper, but I can't remember," said Chen Yaqiong, a middle blocker with a head of permed hair, to the person next to her.

With all the people from the State Sports Commission present, Yuan Weimin, the "devil coach" of the women's volleyball team, presided over the meeting and introduced each of them.

"Director Zhang Nuanxin!"

"Writer Liu Yimin!"

"A reporter for the Guangming Daily."

Several female volleyball players focused their attention on Liu Yimin: "That's Liu Yimin! I've read his novels, but I didn't recognize him earlier!"

"With such a busy training schedule, you're still reading novels!"

"But I didn't miss any training. A few days ago, he wrote an article in the China Youth Daily praising us, called 'Rainbow After the Storm, Resilient Roses,' saying that we are Chinese roses blooming in Osaka. Look how well he described us!"

As Yuan Weimin spoke on stage, the women's volleyball players began to discuss amongst themselves in hushed tones. One of the older players even coughed softly to signal them to be quiet.

The two youngest members of this women's volleyball team are Lang Ping and Liang Yan, both 20-21 years old, while the oldest is already 27 years old, with most around 24 years old.

“Liu Yimin has visited Chengdu for research!” Liang Yan, a girl from Sichuan, said with a smile.

After Yuan Weimin finished speaking, it was the turn of the sports commission leaders to speak, and they brought a congratulatory letter from higher authorities, expressing high praise for the women's volleyball team's victory.

In fact, a grand welcoming ceremony was held on the 18th of last month, the day the women's volleyball team returned to Beijing.

Coach Yuan Weimin stated on stage that he will train even harder in the future to achieve new heights.

Next was the tea party. Yuan Weimin walked up to Liu Yimin and Zhang Nuanxin and said with a smile, "Director Zhang, Writer Liu, I hope that you in the arts and culture circles can provide more support for our women's volleyball team's work in the future!"

Then he specifically said to Liu Yimin, "Comrade Liu Yimin, I have read your article and I like it very much. Thank you for your encouragement to our women's volleyball team."

“Coach Yuan, the women’s volleyball team’s victory is not just a victory for sports, it is a victory for the nation. On that day, our students at Yenching University were all chanting ‘Unite and revitalize China,’ and we hope that you can come to Yenching University sometime to do an exchange activity.” Liu Yimin took the opportunity to extend an invitation.

"Unfortunately, it will have to wait until next time. We are short on time and need to prepare for the World Championships!"

Liu Yimin said to Zhang Nuanxin, "If our women's volleyball team had participated in the last Olympics, they probably would have already fulfilled their dream of becoming world champions."

Next, several reporters who knew Liu Yimin greeted him and asked him a few questions.

I expect tomorrow's newspaper will carry the headline: "[Comrade Liu Yimin believes the women's volleyball team won the award.]"

At the tea party, several female volleyball players ran over to take photos with Liu Yimin. Liu Yimin smiled and said, "I should have asked you guys first, but I was afraid you would refuse!"

I borrowed a camera from a reporter nearby and took a few photos for them.

"Hello, Comrade Lang Ping!" Liu Yimin said with a smile, extending his hand.

"Comrade Liu Yimin, do you know me?"

"I watched the match live on TV, and those spikes were especially great!" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

"You flatter me, you flatter me!" Lang Ping said modestly, but after all, she was still a young girl, and she couldn't hide the pride in her eyes.

"I especially love your novel, 'Romance on Lushan Mountain'."

Lang Ping lowered her voice, as if afraid of being overheard by others.

Liu Yimin took out a small banner from his bag that read "Unite and revitalize China." It was made by students from Yenching University, and Liu Yimin invited the women's volleyball team members to sign it.

None of the team members refused; one by one, they took a pen and signed their names. Lang Ping then invited Liu Yimin to sign his notebook, saying that her parents at home enjoyed reading his novels.

Liang Yan and the others also took out their notebooks, but unfortunately, none of them knew that Liu Yimin was coming, so none of them had a copy of the book. Otherwise, they could have signed their names directly in the book.

After they signed, Liu Yimin smiled and told them that he would give each of them a sample copy of the "Homeland Trilogy" in a few days, with his name and seal on it.

"That's great, Writer Liu, thank you in advance!"

"You're welcome, just call me Liu Yimin!" Liu Yimin said happily.

"Could you write the eight characters 'Through wind and rain, rainbow; resilient roses'? I like those eight characters!" Lang Ping said.

"it is good!"

"Then write 'Women's Volleyball Spirit, Revitalize China' on it!"

"I want the words 'Chinese roses bloom in Osaka'!"

The women's volleyball team members all started to receive customized messages, and Liu Yimin happily wrote them down one by one. After returning home, he would write them down and send sample copies to each of them.

Liang Yan was interested in literature and enrolled in the journalism department of Renmin University after retiring from the military in 86.

After the tea party, Liu Yimin had an idea and approached Yuan Weiping, proposing to write a reportage based on the women's volleyball team.

Yuan Weiping looked at Liu Yimin with a smile, a smug look on his face.

"Comrade Liu Yimin, how do you want to write this? Let's see how we can cooperate!" Yuan Weiping said with a smile.

"How long can the women's volleyball team stay in Yanjing?" Liu Yimin asked.

"We will be going to Chenzhou for training at the end of January, and will be in Beijing during the rest of the year!"

"How about I eat and live with you all during this time, without disturbing your training?" Liu Yimin asked.

Yuan Weimin said, "Okay!"

Comrade Xu Chi taught Liu Yimin many methods of writing reportage, and he finally had the opportunity to practice them.

After everyone left, Yuan Weimin gathered the girls together and told them that Liu Yimin would be living and eating with them and training alongside them for the next period of time in Yanjing.

Everyone applauded and cheered, and asked Liu Yimin what he was going to write. Liu Yimin said it was a documentary reportage.

The following day, Liu Yimin arrived at Shichahai Sports School. The women's volleyball team members lived at Shichahai Sports School and usually used the school's facilities for training.

Most of the national team athletes live in the training bureau's dormitory building, but there are too many people there and not enough rooms. The women's and men's volleyball teams live at the Shichahai Sports School, which also doesn't have its own training facilities. Liu Yimin shares a dormitory with Yuan Weimin, and he first had a detailed talk with Yuan Weimin.

When Yuan Weimin talked about being tied by the Japanese on the field, he told Liu Yimin that he lost his temper at the time. He loudly told the team that if they lost to Japan, even if they won the championship, it wouldn't be a true championship.

"In the final game, Japan reached match point first, and if it weren't for Chen Yaqiong's crucial save, we might have lost!"

In the morning, Liu Yimin came to the indoor training ground with everyone. Because of their victory, the women's volleyball team was especially popular at the sports school.

Yuan Weimin first led everyone in warm-up exercises: "Yimin, would you like to try it out?"

"How about I take a few sets?" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Lang Ping, who is very tall, stood to the side and shouted at Liu Yimin, "That won't do. He has to train with us until the very end."

"Hahaha!"

The temperature inside the gymnasium was very low in winter, but the intensity of the warm-up was high. After a few laps, Liu Yimin started to sweat.

Before long, Liu Yimin couldn't keep up, and a group of people ran past him, laughing and joking.

Yuan Weimin said, "Keep running, and don't laugh!"

After doing a few more sets of exercises, Liu Yimin waved his hand and said to Yuan Weimin, "I'm not practicing anymore, or I'll have to run away!"

"Haha, the pen can't run away."

While everyone was training, Liu Yimin took photos of them. During breaks in training, Liu Yimin sat down next to them and chatted with each of them.

Yuan Weimin found Chen Yaqiong and whispered, "When you're chatting with Writer Liu later, remember to mention the training ground in Chenzhou, like how the wooden floor has splinters, and how your hands get pricked by them when you're trying to get the ball."

"Why? Shouldn't we talk more about not being afraid of hardship or fatigue?" Chen Yaqiong asked, puzzled.

"Tsk, the squeaky wheel gets the grease! The training grounds are terrible, don't you want the higher-ups to approve more funding to repair them?" Yuan Weimin said with exasperation.

"Understood!"

When Liu Yimin and Chen Yaqiong were chatting, they indeed talked about the training grounds, and Liu Yimin took notes carefully.

On the training field, after a player falls, he immediately gets up to catch the ball. The sound of his body hitting the ground makes Liu Yimin feel pain.

The white knee braces on my knees have all turned black.

Besides sparring, there was also individual practice, and the sound of volleyballs hitting each other could be heard everywhere in the stadium, along with shouts of "Cheers!" from the players.

"Yimin, how are you feeling?"

“It’s so bitter!”

"Yes, athletes are like roses, just as you said. They accumulate energy off the field, just to bloom on the field! No pain, no gain!"
Which player here hasn't cried after being hit by the ball! After training, when they go back and take off their clothes, they're soaked with sweat!

After training, Lang Ping walked up to Liu Yimin and asked with a smile, "Writer Liu, can I see how you wrote about me?"

"It's not written yet, but your nickname 'Iron Hammer' will definitely be included," Liu Yimin said with a smile.

During training just now, Lang Ping lay on two benches with the middle suspended in the air, training with a weight plate strapped to her waist, which really opened Liu Yimin's eyes.

"Didn't you ever think about giving up when you were gritting your teeth?" Liu Yimin asked.

"Of course I wanted to. Time seemed to pass so slowly back then. I kept thinking about things that would make me happy. I kept thinking and thinking until I ran out of ideas, so I told myself, 'Just hang in there, just hang in there!'"

Liu Yimin raised his thumb and smiled as he recited a line from the Henan Opera "Hua Mulan": "Who says women are inferior to men!"

"That's how all of us athletes are!" Lang Ping patted the dust off her clothes.

Have you thought about what you'll do after you retire?

"I never thought I'd be able to play for several more years at only 21!"

The competitive cycle of athletes is extremely short. Lang Ping, who was 21, will retire in 85. The youngest, Liang Yan, was only one year younger than her. It is said that she was unable to engage in strenuous exercise after that due to injuries.

"If you leave the women's volleyball team one day, and the team needs you 10 or 20 years later, will you come back?" Liu Yimin asked casually.

"You need me? To be a coach like Seagull?"

"What if that's the case!"

"I will definitely return to the team. I started playing volleyball in 73 when I was only 13 years old. I estimate that there will be nothing in my life that I can do longer than volleyball," Lang Ping said with a smile.

When Zhu Lin learned that Liu Yimin was living and eating with the women's volleyball team at the Shichahai Sports School, she really wanted to find an opportunity to come and visit.

She would excitedly tell Liu Yimin that Shichahai Sports School was where she used to practice gymnastics.

"That's amateurish!"

“Teacher Liu, amateur gymnastics is still gymnastics!” Zhu Lin said proudly.

Time quickly passed to late December. On a Sunday, Zhu Lin found time to visit Liu Yimin at Shichahai Sports School.

Zhu Lin happily shook hands with each athlete. Zhu Lin's height is not considered short among girls, but she doesn't look tall enough standing next to the women's volleyball players.

Lang Ping whispered to Liang Yan, "Writer Liu's partner is really good-looking!"

"Right? I heard she used to practice gymnastics, swimming, basketball, and dance. She acted in your favorite movie, 'Romance on Lushan Mountain'."

"No wonder it looked so familiar. It's just that he's shorter than me and I couldn't see him clearly because he was standing high up. Otherwise, I would have recognized him immediately!"

Lang Ping then shook hands with Zhu Lin, who happily posed for a photo with the women's volleyball team.

With Yuan Weimin's consent, Zhu Lin gave each member of the women's volleyball team a ticket to the play "The Button" and asked them to go see it.

“We’ll definitely all go see it then. We can’t even get tickets to the Beijing People’s Art Theatre’s plays!” Chen Yaqiong said with a smile.

"This is my first time directing a play, so it might not be very good!" Zhu Lin said modestly.

"We'll definitely all be there to support you!"

Having spent more than twenty days at the Shichahai Sports School, Liu Yimin left with Zhu Lin.

On the way, Liu Yimin joked with Zhu Lin: "If you keep sending people off like this, the Beijing People's Art Theatre will run out of tickets. When you look at the audience after the performance, hey, they're all familiar faces!"

"Haha, that's great! It'll save us from embarrassment if no one comes to watch. Coach Wan agreed to send it. We'll even put up a banner to welcome the women's volleyball team to come!" Zhu Lin said with a smile.

Zhu Lin followed Liu Yimin to the courtyard house. The Shichahai Sports School was a few minutes' bike ride from the courtyard house.

Once inside the courtyard, Liu Yimin closed the door, carried Zhu Lin to the bedroom, and poured out his longing for her over the past twenty-odd days!

(End of this chapter)