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

Chapter 280 Hiding One's Identity and Name

Chenzhou, training center. Yuan Weimin kept urging the women's volleyball team to train, and shouts of encouragement rose and fell throughout the training field, creating a scene of intense training.

Various slogans were posted around the venue. The slogans for preparing for the World Cup had changed to those for the World Championships and the Olympics, but the slogan for "breaking out of Asia" had not been changed yet.

Lang Ping, who was doing strength training, gritted her teeth and persevered while trying to distract herself with other things.

"Sister Cao, have you noticed that Coach Yuan has been all smiles lately? He used to have a tense face, almost as black as the bottom of a pot. What's wrong with him lately?" Lang Ping said through gritted teeth.

"Tense your muscles, don't get injured. Didn't you read the newspaper? Someone donated money to our volleyball team to repair the court, I guess Coach Yuan did it because of that."

Cao Huiying was behind Lang Ping, pressing down on Lang Ping's calves with her hands. Lang Ping placed her hands behind her head and repeatedly did reverse sit-ups to strengthen her lower back.

"Sister Cao, do you really think someone will donate a lot of money to us?" Lang Ping asked.

"It's hard to say, but I've seen a lot of news reports about it!" Cao Huiying said.

"Writers are really powerful; they're more effective than us talking. A few days ago, leaders from Chenzhou and the provincial bureau came to visit, and some of them were carrying copies of 'People's Literature'!"

"Of course, when we speak, only a few people hear us. But when Comrade Liu Yimin writes something, it sells millions of copies and is seen by millions of people. Add to that the reprints, and the impact is definitely huge!"

As the two were talking, Yuan Weimin blew his whistle and said to Cao Huiying and Lang Ping, "What are you two talking about? Focus on training, concentrate on training, and don't get injured!"

The two of them quickly shut up and focused on doing the actions.

Yuan Weimin walked over and asked, "What are you two talking about?"

"Coach Yuan, we were wrong!"

"What were you discussing just now?"

"We are discussing donating money to repair the stadium!" Lang Ping said.

"This is not something for you to discuss. Get back to training!"

Yuan Weimin walked over to the other coaches and inquired about today's training plan.

"Coach Yuan, is it possible for us to build a new stadium?" the coach next to him asked.

“When are you going to build a new stadium? You guys, just focus on training the team!” Yuan Weimin said, then added, “Even if we can’t build it, we’ll still improve the environment here!”

Thinking about this, Yuan Weimin wondered when he could send another telegram to Liu Yimin to inquire about the progress.

After receiving the telegram informing him of the donation, Yuan Weimin kept it on his mind. By the time Liu Yimin sent the telegram, the total amount of donations received had reached five thousand yuan.

Readers' letters sometimes contain one or two coins, sometimes as many as ten or twenty, and it is very rare to find letters containing forty or fifty.

After all, forty or fifty yuan is a month's salary for most people.

Yuan Weimin gazed at the venue, wondering when he could build the training base to be like the one used for the competition in Osaka. Even if he couldn't build it, replacing the floor would be fine.
Their indoor floor is so soft and comfortable!

In the examination room, Liu Yimin picked up the political test paper in his hand, glanced at the questions, and immediately found the solution.

The political questions were not difficult; they were all political knowledge that everyone had memorized or was already familiar with.

Compared to the college entrance examination questions in 78, there were many more current affairs questions about reform and opening up.

The proctor watched as the students wrote with swift, flowing strokes and nodded in satisfaction.

Those who take the postgraduate entrance examination at Yenching University are all students of Yenching University.

The afternoon session was on foreign languages, which was not difficult for Liu Yimin.

When Liu Yimin saw Li Xueqin walking out of the examination room, with a smile on his face, he knew that the guy must have answered the questions well.

"The English questions are quite basic. My English isn't very good, but I can understand most of them. Yimin, maybe you can get the highest score in English," Li Xueqin said with a smile.

"It's alright. I wouldn't dare say it's the highest, but crossing the line is definitely no problem!"

The two of them went straight to the dining hall for a meal, and once they got back to their dormitory, they began preparing for the next day's professional classes.

Liu Zhenyun sat down next to Liu Yimin and said with a smile, "Yimin, do you still need to prepare for your major courses?"

Seeing his cheeky expression, Liu Yimin asked with a smile, "Why haven't you gone to intern at the Farmers' Daily yet?"

"No rush!" Liu Zhenyun said listlessly.

"Then you must have finished writing your paper!"

Liu Zhenyun remained silent with a dark expression, sitting on the bed and beginning to ponder the matter of his thesis.

The following day, in the professional course exam room, Liu Yimin was momentarily distracted when he saw the first term explanation question, which was "reform literature".

I appeared on the postgraduate entrance exam paper!

After thinking for a moment, Liu Yimin quickly wrote on the paper: "Reform literature is a literary school that emerged during the reform and opening-up period, taking the reform and opening-up background as its theme, and reacting to and criticizing the phenomena that have emerged in various industries."

The term was first coined by Liu Yimin, a winner of the Lu Xun Literary Prize, at the 1980 award ceremony. "The Appointment of Factory Director Qiao" is my country's first work of reform literature.

It sounds rather boastful, but that's how you have to answer a term definition.

Besides a definition question, the easy questions also included the poem "Ideal," asking participants to write a poem review of about 1,000 words using this poem as an example.

The professors at Yenching University really gave us face by setting the questions.

After the professional exam, Li Xueqin put his arm around Liu Yimin's shoulder and said, "Hey, Yimin, do you want to know how I answered those two questions?"

"I don't really want to know!"

“So you want to know!” Li Xueqin said, “In my explanation of terms, half of the text is about the significance of your proposal of ‘reforming literature’!”

Comrade Liu Yimin's proposal of reform literature marked a shift in the focus of my country's literary endeavors towards reform as the country reformed and opened up. The influence of "scar literature" gradually declined. Through a series of literary theories, he greatly promoted the development of reform literature in my country, resulting in outstanding literary works such as "Life" and "The Button."

How did I write?

"If I were the teacher grading the paper, I would definitely give you full marks!" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Back in the dormitory, Liu Zhenyun, Chen Dazhi, and Li Lanyong applauded to welcome them back, with Liu Zhenyun even reciting a catchy rhyme.

"You're spouting rhymes like a baby! Anyone who didn't know better would think you were taking the postgraduate entrance exam!" Li Xueqin lightly punched Liu Zhenyun in the chest. Li Lanyong asked, "Yimin, how did your exam go?"

"How about that? You guys don't know, the exam included Yimin's poems and the definition of 'reform literature'. If I were Yimin, I would have been so happy in the exam room that I would have shouted!"

"Comrades, I'm treating you all to dinner at the Long March Hotel today, don't worry about saving me any money!" Chen Dazhi said excitedly, patting his chest.

Liu Zhenyun turned around and asked with a grin, "Why did you, this stingy old man from Jincheng, suddenly decide to treat everyone to dinner?"

"Big brother, don't make fun of second brother. Zhenyun, you're not much better than me. So, tell me if you're going or not!"

"Go! Go! Go!"

The people inside the dormitory walked out. Chen Dazhi remembered that Zhang Manling often treated him to meals, so he turned around and ran to the nearby girls' dormitory building and called Zhang Manling out as well.

When they arrived at the Changzheng Hotel, Chen Dazhi finally explained the reason: "I'm leaving Yanjing after graduation, and I'll miss everyone, but there's nothing I can do. So I'm treating everyone to a meal. You'll all be in Yanjing from now on, and Manling is not far away in Tianjin. If you have any gatherings in the future, please mention me, as if I were here too."

"Dazhi, look how sad you are. Generals don't dismount, everyone goes their own way, and where there is separation, there will be reunion!" Li Xueqin smiled and raised his teacup.

At graduation time, besides them, there were many other students from the Class of '77 at the Long March Hotel. They had packed their things and were making grand farewell speeches at the Long March Hotel.

"Comrades, today we leave the campus and go to all parts of our motherland; tomorrow we will build a better motherland!"

Listening to the enthusiastic pronouncements around them, Chen Dazhi, his blood boiling, also said that he would definitely work hard when he got back.

"Comrades, I hope we can meet again in a few years, and that you will all be as good as ever!" Liu Yimin said with a smile, raising his glass.

"Come on. Still as radiant as ever!"

As Chen Dazhi was about to leave Yanjing, he looked at all the familiar faces and suddenly felt a sense of emptiness in his heart.

On the way back, the group of people were all fantasizing about what life would be like from now on!

"Manling, has your novel been published yet?" Liu Yimin asked.

"Publish? It's probably not going to get published. The novel hasn't been very well received!" Zhang Manling said helplessly.

"Don't be discouraged! I believe your novel will definitely be published, and it might even be made into a movie!"

"Really?" Zhang Manling excitedly punched Liu Yimin on the shoulder. "If it can be published and adapted, I'll treat you to dinner!"

"And I!"

"And us!"

In February, People's Literature and Art magazine sold 1.1 million copies, and Harvest magazine sold 1.4 million copies. Including the 300,000 copies ordered by the military, the total sales reached 1.7 million copies.

However, there are still two weeks before the next issue of Harvest is published. It will be difficult to reach two million copies in two weeks, but the entire editorial department of Harvest is full of confidence in reaching 1.8 million copies.

Liu Yimin received more than two thousand yuan in royalties from reprinting "Triumphant Return at Midnight"!

The Zhan You Drama Troupe and the General Political Department Drama Troupe kept urging the script to be completed, as if they couldn't wait until the end of March to finish rehearsals.

Liu Yimin worked at full speed at the Overseas Chinese Apartment, quickly rewriting the script.

The phone rang, and Cui Daoyi's voice came from the other end.

"Yimin, the donations to the volleyball team have reached 30,000 yuan. This is just the amount received by our People's Literature and Art magazine. It is said that the Sports Commission has also received about 20,000 yuan in donations. Moreover, the letters from readers are still coming in continuously. The comrades from the Sports Commission would like to find you in person to thank you!"

Cui Daoyi happily reported the success to Liu Yimin, but Liu Yimin calculated that the total amount was only 50,000 yuan, which was far from enough.

"Where shall we meet?" Liu Yimin asked.

"It must be the editorial office of *People's Literature and Art*. Old Zhang is there too!"

Liu Yimin rode his bicycle to the editorial office of "People's Literature and Art". Inside Zhang Guangnian's office, people from the Sports Commission were chatting with Zhang Guangnian.

The two sides exchanged pleasantries, both waiting for Liu Yimin's arrival.

"Yimin, come in quickly. This is Director Li from the Sports Commission, Old Li, and this is Comrade Liu Yimin!"

Sixty-year-old Director Li looked very robust, dressed in a simple Zhongshan suit. Upon seeing Liu Yimin, he proactively extended his hand and said:
"Hello, Comrade Liu Yimin! Thank you for your support of our country's sports work!"

"Director Li, you're too kind. What brings you here today?"

Director Li helped Liu Yimin sit down by supporting his arm, and then sat down next to Liu Yimin herself.

Zhang Guangnian coughed and said, "The comrades from the Sports Commission want to discuss how to increase the amount of donations. This amount is not enough to renovate the training hall!"

"Yi Min, this is why we've brought you here. First, to thank you, and second, we've heard you have a lot of clever ideas, so we old folks want to hear what the young man has to say!" Director Li of the Sports Commission smiled as he looked at Liu Yi Min, wanting to know if this young man had any brilliant ideas.

Liu Yimin took a sip of tea, thought for a moment, and said, "If we want more people to participate, we need to ensure that everyone continuously hears about, thinks about, and sees this matter. I have three suggestions."

"Tell me, and I'll write it down!" Director Li said.

"First, let the newspapers keep promoting it! Second, I suggest that we publish a message that the women's volleyball team will randomly select donors to give them a gift in return, which will be a 'plum blossom' sports uniform signed by all the team members, in order to thank everyone for their support."

The free gifts don't need to be many, just enough to convey the meaning!
The third option is to find well-known people to donate and publish their donations!

Zhang Guangnian fell into deep thought. After thinking for a while, Director Li said, "The first two points are easy to handle, but the third point is that donations are entirely voluntary, so it's not easy to make it mandatory!"

"It's just about finding a few role models. If all else fails, we can just say we'll use one of their names and we won't charge you."

However, Liu Yimin believed that no one would take advantage of this, after all, everyone has a sense of shame! He would no longer engage in the old system of splitting the common people's money 30/70 while returning the gentry's money in full.

Seeing that Director Li was still hesitating, Zhang Guangnian said with a smile, "I think this is a good idea. I'll donate three hundred yuan first!"

"I donated all the royalties from reprinting 'Triumph at Midnight,' it wasn't much, just over two thousand yuan in total!"

"More than two thousand?" Director Li gasped, surprised by Liu Yimin's generosity!
“This kid is rich, I can’t compare!” Zhang Guangnian laughed.

"But when the time comes, you don't need to write 'more than two thousand' in the publicity; just write 'five hundred'. It's not good to compete in donations!"

Director Li glanced at Zhang Guangnian with a complicated expression, then at Liu Yimin. This was truly a case of leaving without a trace after accomplishing one's task, concealing one's identity and reputation!
Director Li has made up his mind; he'll accept 500 yuan for the publicity. But once things have calmed down, he'll still reveal the truth!

(End of this chapter)