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

Chapter 284 Printing Workers Refusal to Print
In a classroom at Yenching University, Liu Yimin sat in a sophomore classroom, next to a sophomore student who was the current president of the May Fourth Literary Society.

Sitting next to Liu Yimin, Yan Zhen felt like she was sitting on a nail, excitedly whispering her experiences to Liu Yimin.

Born into an intellectual family, he worked odd jobs for three years in 73 before finally getting a job at a tractor factory.

He published his first novel in 79, and even showed his novel to Liu Yimin.

Despite his young age, Liu Yimin has a wealth of experience. From his writing, one can sense that the protagonist of his novel "The Waters of Canglang" reflects aspects of his own life.

"Senior, is it really that good abroad? Senior Sister Cha Jianying from the class of '77 went to study at a university in the United States!" Yan Zhen asked.

"There's no place like home. As college students selected by the country, we should go out and see the world, but we must not forget to give back to our motherland. In a foreign land, you will always be a marginal person, detached from mainstream society. No matter how hard you try to integrate, your skin color and your culture will always tell you that you are Chinese, and you are different from them!"

Because some people remain detached from mainstream society after going abroad, "conversion fanaticism" can occur.

Yan Zhen's enthusiasm for going abroad grew stronger day by day, and she eventually went abroad herself. After graduating from Yenching University, she was admitted to a graduate program in Hunan Province, and later studied in Canada, doing many jobs to earn tuition fees.

I've worked as a cook, a cleaner, and a flyer distributor.

After graduation, just as I was about to receive my green card, I chose to return to China.

As the two chatted, Liu Yimin sensed something was wrong. Why hadn't Yan Jiayan arrived yet?
Yan Jiayan asked Liu Yimin to accompany him to class, and Liu Yimin came directly to the classroom, but now ten minutes into class, Yan Jiayan still hasn't arrived.

Liu Yimin glanced at his watch and looked out the window with suspicion.

Yan Zhen slapped his forehead and quickly said, "Senior, Professor Yan told me before class that he had something to do and asked you to cover his class!"

"Huh?" Liu Yimin looked at Yan Zhen and said subconsciously, "I don't know what this class is about!"

"The lecture is about 'Water Margin,' specifically the story of capturing Lu Junyi! This is Professor Yan Jiayan's lecture notes and lesson plan!"

When Yan Zhen took out all the items and handed them to him, Liu Yimin finally realized that he had been tricked by Yan Jiayan!
Yan Zhen took the lead and said, "Today, Professor Yan's class will be taught by our senior brother Liu Yimin. Let's give him a round of applause!"

Amidst the enthusiastic gazes of everyone, Liu Yimin pursed his lips, put on a smile, and walked onto the podium.

Amidst everyone's expectant gazes, Liu Yimin smiled and said, "I believe that classrooms in the new era should have new teaching methods. Today, I won't lecture; instead, everyone will stand up and share their thoughts, and I will provide feedback. Yan Zhen, you can start!"

Liu Yimin sat on the podium, crossed his legs, and pointed at Yan Zhen, who was grinning from ear to ear.

Still laughing? You've been called out!
Yan Zhen's face darkened, and he hurriedly opened his lecture notes, stood up, and began to speak with a stiff upper lip.

"I think Wu Yong is really quite vicious!" Yan Zhen stammered.

In one long class, Liu Yimin finished drawing half of the students' names from the first student, leaving half of the students untouched for his lecture.

“If you haven’t covered something, you’ll have to cover it next time. Don’t try to fool me. I know perfectly well who hasn’t covered something!”

Liu Yimin took his lecture notes and left the classroom, walking briskly to the Chinese Department office. He knocked on Yan Jiayan's office door and saw him leisurely sipping tea.

"Yimin, you've finished speaking. Come and try some of our local tea!" Yan Jiayan raised his teacup to him, his face beaming with a warm smile.

"Professor Yan, weren't you supposed to be skipping class? Why are you drinking tea here?" Liu Yimin asked.

"The matter just ended. How was your presentation? You didn't make things up, did you? You can't fool the students!"

Liu Yimin slammed the lesson plan on the table and said nonchalantly, "It's already a shoddy job!"

"How did you manage to fool them?" Yan Jiayan quickly put down his teacup and asked anxiously.

Liu Yimin sipped his tea and slowly began to recount what had happened. Yan Jiayan, upon hearing this, said, "That's a good idea. You can continue in the next class!"

"Professor, this is your class!"

"What do you mean 'mine' and 'your'? It's all yours!" Yan Jiayan said with a smile. Seeing Liu Yimin's reluctant look, he put on a stern face and said, "You don't have to talk about it. But when you become an associate professor, the department won't pay you for teaching hours!"

"Sigh, that saying really holds true."

"What?"

“Being Professor Yan’s student is a blessing, but being his subordinate is a bitter pill to swallow!” Liu Yimin said aggrievedly.

"Don't complain, I'm doing this to give you some experience. Go to the archives department in a bit to complete the formalities. The department is reviewing your file, so go pick up your assignment notice!"

Liu Yimin nodded, went to the archives department to get his job assignment notice, and handed it to the department.

This notification should have been issued to me by the department, but perhaps because I stayed on campus, everything became much more casual.

Liu Yimin glanced at Yan Jiayan's upcoming class schedule. Fortunately, there weren't many classes; he only taught one class a week, and sometimes there were no classes at all. He would only be able to teach a few classes before the holiday started.

While the stage play "Triumph at Midnight" was undergoing intensive rehearsals, filming for the movie was also in full swing.

Under strong pressure from higher authorities, Beijing Film Studio and August First Film Studio joined forces and began casting actors in both studios and various drama troupes in Beijing.

Both military and civilian drama troupes provided maximum support.

Li Jun and Wang Yan from the Beijing People's Art Theatre walked in together. Upon seeing Zhu Lin, they immediately rushed over with smiles: "Comrade Zhu Lin, we would like to invite you to play the female lead, Comrade Jiang Man, in 'Triumph at Midnight.' What do you think?"

"Me?" Zhu Lin looked at Lan Tianye beside him.

Lan Tianye asked, "When do you plan to start filming?"

"We plan to start filming in May, or at the latest June," Wang Yan said with a smile.

Lan Tianye thought for a moment and said, "Xiao Zhu, I think you can try out for the role. We'll finish rehearsing 'The Visit' next month, and acting in 'Triumph at Midnight' won't interfere with your work at the theater."

"Okay!" Zhu Lin nodded.

"Besides being an actor, we also want you to be an assistant director. You have experience in rehearsing plays, so we can work together to make Comrade Liu Yimin's 'Triumph at Midnight' a great film!" Li Jun said.

Lan Tianye narrowed his eyes slightly. These two guys.

"Directors, I have no experience directing films, so I won't be an assistant director!" Zhu Lin politely declined.

She felt that the two of them hired her as an assistant director because of Teacher Liu.

Li Jun and Wang Yan exchanged a glance and said with a smile, "Alright then, but we welcome your guidance when the time comes!"

"Director Li, Director Wang, I haven't auditioned yet!" Zhu Lin said with a smile.

"Oh!" Wang Yan suddenly remembered, "Then let's have the audition now. Here's the script. It's too much trouble to make you go all the way to the film studio again!"

Zhu Lin's acting skills have improved tremendously. After one take, Li Jun clapped and said, "Comrade Zhu Lin, you are not just acting as Jiang Man, you *are* Jiang Man!"

Wang Yan said, "It seems we didn't choose the wrong person!" After confirming their choice, the two happily left the Beijing People's Art Theatre. The two, who had almost become sworn enemies after a fight over the movie, were now so close they were practically inseparable again because of it.

After they left, Lan Tianye said to Zhu Lin, "Perform well when the time comes. In our theater world, a good director also needs to be a good actor!"

"Okay, I will do my best, Teacher Lan!"

Zhu Lin secretly resolved to act well and strive to do even better than in "Romance on Lushan Mountain".

When Zhu Lin was leaving get off work, she specifically sought out Liu Yimin without first telling him that she had been selected.

Instead, he subtly hinted, "I met with two directors today!"

"Who?"

"From Shanghai Film Studio!"

"What do they want with you?"

Seeing that Liu Yimin really didn't know what was going on, he felt relieved, as long as it wasn't Teacher Liu helping him get in through connections!
"Actually, it was directors Wang Yan and Li Jun from Beijing Film Studio and August First Film Studio who wanted me to play Jiang Man in 'Triumph at Midnight'!"

Zhu Lin said with a smile.

"Fine, you lied to me just now!" Liu Yimin turned around and reached out to grab it.

"Hahaha," Zhu Lin laughed, dodging the questions left and right, "I'm not afraid I got it through connections!"

After a while, Liu Yimin sat on the stone bench in the courtyard, and Zhu Lin sat on Liu Yimin's lap, whispering:
"Oh dear, Teacher Liu, you don't know, I'm actually under a lot of pressure. I'm always afraid that people will say I'm just riding on your coattails! So I've been thinking that I must become a good director and a good actor, and I want to prove myself!"

"People can say whatever they want! They might even say a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung!"

"I'm not cow dung!"

"Hahaha!" Liu Yimin said with a laugh, "Get up quickly, your legs are getting sore!"

"I'll sit for a little longer!"

"it is good!"

Chen Bo from the Film Bureau approached Liu Yimin, hoping he could accompany the crew of "Triumph at Midnight" to the film set.

“This drama is very important, and we think it will be much better with you as the screenwriter,” Chen Bo said.

"Must go?"

"We hope you'll go, and the General Political Department feels the same way. Of course, we respect your opinion. We heard that the lead actress, Comrade Zhu Lin, is your girlfriend?"

"Alright, I don't have anything to do in Yanjing anyway, so I'll go! But for the temporary transfer at the start of the next semester, the Film Bureau will send a letter to Yanjing University!"

"We'll take care of this. It shouldn't take long. The main time will be during the summer vacation. Comrade Yimin, just think of it as a trip!"

Inside the People's Literature Publishing House, Li Shuzheng was drinking tea and boasting about how he had obtained the publishing rights to the novel "Triumph at Midnight".

Every now and then, a tea recycling technique comes along. Compared to literary editors, the work of publishing editors is not as busy.

Just as he was playing, Wei Junyi, the president of the publishing house, walked up to him and shouted sharply, startling him so much that he almost dropped the teacup in his hand.

"You're still smug here? Do you even know what happened at the printing factory?" Wei Junyi said loudly.

"What happened?" Li Shu quickly stood up straight and asked.

"The novel 'Triumph at Midnight' is almost finished, but the workers refuse to print it. They are demanding that Liu Yimin change the ending, or they will refuse to print it!"

After hearing Wei Junyi's words, Li Shu was stunned and dizzy. What on earth was going on? This was too outrageous!
"What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and go to Yanda University to find Yimin. You two go to the printing factory to handle this matter!" Wei Junyi shouted, and Li Shu immediately ran out of the editorial department.

When he ran downstairs, he ran into Cui Daoyi, who was returning from visiting the author elsewhere. Seeing his hurried appearance, Cui Daoyi grabbed him and asked, "Old Li, what are you doing? There's a fire!"

"It's worse than a fire! The printing factory refused to print Yimin's 'Triumphant at Midnight,' and Sister Wei told me to go to Yenching University to find Yimin!"

Li Shu tried to run away again, but Cui Daoyi pulled him back: "Why!"

"How would I know why!" After saying that, she shook off Cui Daoyi's hand and ran forward, only to be pulled back.

"What are you doing now, Lao Cui? I'm not kidding you, don't make me angry!"

"You're going to go find Yimin without even finding out where he is?"

Li Shu calmed down. It was true, Yi Min had three hideouts!

The two went to the editorial department and made phone calls one by one. Finally, they confirmed that Liu Yimin was at Yenching University. They ran to Yenching University, grabbed Liu Yimin, and ran towards the printing plant.

"This is insane! This is the first time I've ever encountered something like this. I wonder if the workers have been instigated by someone!"

Li Shu said, his face flushed red.

"We'll talk about it when we get there!" Cui Daoyi said, then found a stick by the roadside and placed it on the back of his bicycle.

When the three arrived at the printing factory, the gatekeeper looked like he was facing a formidable enemy. Li Shu and Cui Daoyi were frequent visitors, so the three of them were allowed to enter without any hindrance.

Upon arriving at the workshop, there was no sound of machines, only the shouts of a leader announcing that work should begin.

"Comrades, printing is our task, but writing books is the writer's job!"

"We're not satisfied. We want to know why it has to be written this way. If no one comes, we won't work. If they don't agree to change it, we absolutely won't turn on the machine!"

The three of them exchanged anxious glances, their hearts pounding as they listened to the commotion.

Cui Daoyi gripped the stick in his hand and pulled Liu Yimin, saying, "If things get bad later, Yimin, you run first!"

"Old Cui, you wouldn't...you wouldn't do it, would you?" Li Shu wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Who knows? If things don't go well, we'll just run!"

Liu Yimin said in a low voice, "It shouldn't be that bad. There's probably some misunderstanding. As long as it's cleared up, it'll be fine!"

The three of them ran quickly toward the source of the noise, the commotion growing louder and louder, their heartbeats pounding faster and faster.

Because of the noise, the workers didn't see the three people running towards them.

When the three men appeared, the printing factory leader quickly said to Li Shu, "Comrade Li Shu, you've finally arrived!"

P.S.: Based on true events
(End of this chapter)