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

Chapter 286 General Political Department Writers Association Military Theme Discussion Meeting

Noyce's visit to Yanjing was not solely for "Green Book." Her schedule in Yanjing was very tight.

However, in her subsequent schedule, she still made time to slowly learn about Liu Yimin's novels.

When Noyce met with Zhang Guangnian of the Writers Association and leaders of the Ministry of Culture, he inquired about Liu Yimin's novels.

When he heard that the sales figures were in the hundreds of thousands to millions of copies, Noyce was astonished and marveled at the Chinese people's love for literature.

“Ms. Noyce, I think it’s not just because of the Chinese people’s love for literature, but also because of the personal charm of Comrade Liu Yimin’s works,” Zhang Guangnian said with a smile, straightening up.

Noyce asked curiously, "What do your country's newspapers say about Liu?"

"A young man, a talented young man, a patriotic, talented, low-key, humorous, and virtuous young man!"

Zhang Guangnian's words progressed step by step, causing Noyce to nod frequently.

Noyce said, "I've learned all of your points through our meeting yesterday. However, this young man is different from you all; he's more willing to talk about money than anyone else in the Chinese literary world!"

"Talking about money?"

“Yes, talking about money, of course I’m not saying he’s greedy. A writer’s commodity is his work, he’s just fighting for his own interests. But that doesn’t align with the traditions of Chinese literati!” Noyce said.

"Hahaha!" Zhang Guangnian laughed, "The royalties are what writers deserve. Ms. Noyce, I'm sitting here, and I also want to learn from Yimin and bravely talk to you about money!"

“I think our cooperation will be very pleasant!” Noyce said.

The next time Liu Yimin saw Noyce was at Cao Yu's house. Cao Yu had specially invited Noyce to his home for dinner, and Noyce had brought Cao Yu a gift—an American play script!
"Death of a Salesman" and "Mahjong" are among them.

Li Yuru warmly invited Noyce to try Chinese food, but he didn't know how to use chopsticks, and the soup almost dripped onto his clothes several times.

After finishing their meal, Noyce said to Liu Yimin, "Liu, I've read about some of your novels. Which ones do you think would have a good literary market if published in the United States?"

“Ms. Noyce, if you ask me, I think I have everything!” Liu Yimin said with a grin.

Cao Yu said to Noyce, "My student has a bit of a thick skin!"

"I think it's very interesting! Liu, this story of the old man and the dog, this novel about your war in southern Xinjiang, and this novel about the redemption of friendship between boys, I think they are all very good."

Noyce explained the reason to them: the first book, "Hachiko," tells a touching story about an old man and his dog, and the bond that develops between a person and their pet is inherently appealing in the Western world.

The power of this emotion is universal, and the story of planting trees is more readily accepted by Americans compared to other Chinese stories.

The second book is "The Kite Runner," a story of childhood deception and redemption, which is also suitable for Western readers.

The third book is "Triumph at Midnight," written shortly after the United States withdrew from Vietnam, when the entire Western world was paying close attention to the war.

Cao Yu thought it made perfect sense: "Noyce, you have a good eye. I believe these three novels will be very popular with American readers."

Several of Yi Min's novels have been well-received in France, and France is also preparing to publish his other novels, "The Flames of War in Beiping" and "Red River Valley."

While acknowledging the suggestion, Cao Yu also took the opportunity to promote other novels by his student to Noyce.

Noyce laughed and said, "There's an old Chinese saying, 'Don't bite off more than you can chew.' Let's publish a few books first and see how it goes. We can talk about the rest later."

Li Yuru interjected, "That's a pity!"

“Master’s wife, there’s nothing to regret. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future!” Liu Yimin said.

"I feel sorry for that American; he won't get to see any other good works!" Li Yuru said with a smile.

All three of them were amused by Li Yuru. The total royalties for the books that have been published will be calculated based on a 13% royalty share.

Liu Yimin was already looking forward to the upcoming dollar royalties. Thinking about this, he couldn't help but curse the French publisher under his breath for being so slow to pay the royalties.

That evening, after seeing Noyce off, Cao Yu patted Liu Yimin on the shoulder with a smile: "Well done, you'll earn a lot of foreign exchange again. Also, how are the rehearsals for 'Triumph at Midnight' going with the Yanjing Military Region's Zhan You Drama Troupe and the General Political Department's Drama Troupe?"

"I really don't know. The Yanjing Military Region is too far from here, and I haven't paid much attention to it!" Liu Yimin said helplessly.

"I'll make a call tomorrow and ask. The directors at the theater still think we should rehearse!" Cao Yu said.

Liu Yimin chatted with Cao Yu for a few minutes, then rode away on his bicycle.

After returning home, I wrote a letter to my family, asking Liu Fuqing and Yang Xiuyun to come as soon as possible, preferably in late April or early May, since I wouldn't be in Yanjing after the wheat harvest.

That will cause further delays.

After finishing the letter, Liu Yimin finally lay down on the bed and fell asleep peacefully.

The following day, Cao Yu told Liu Yimin that the Zhan You Drama Troupe had finalized the version of "Triumph at Midnight" and they expected to premiere it in May.

"So fast?" Liu Yimin asked in surprise. A script only needs to be rehearsed for more than a month. This is faster than the script rehearsal progress of the Beijing People's Art Theatre!

"The military drama troupe rehearses quickly; they're efficient and have strong execution capabilities!" Cao Yu said. Then, turning to Liu Yimin, he asked, "Are you free today?"

"It's no big deal!"

Cao Yu saw through Liu Yimin's little scheme at a glance and said with a smile, "Don't try to fool me. Nothing's wrong, nothing's a big deal! You and Shanzun go to the military compound, we'll line up too!"

"okay!"

"Let's take a car!"

Liu Yimin and Ouyang Shanzun rode in Cao Yu's car, heading towards the Yanjing Military Region. Liu Yimin exclaimed, "Four wheels are definitely less strenuous than two!"

"How could I not know!" Ouyang Shanzun said irritably, then asked, "What? You want to buy a car to ride in?"

Liu Yimin chuckled: "Perhaps we can give it a try in the future!"

Liu Yimin has money in his pocket, but compared to the price of a car, he becomes poor again. Besides, private individuals are not allowed to buy cars now.

Ouyang Shanzun was full of anticipation for this trip to the military region. While sitting in the car, he kept discussing the script with Liu Yimin, from foreign scripts to "Triumph at Midnight".

As they were chatting, the car came to a smooth stop at the entrance of the military compound. The sentry, seeing it was a sedan, walked over and saluted.

"Comrade, who are you looking for? Please show your identification!"

Ouyang Shanzun, Liu Yimin, and the driver all showed their identification to the sentry. "Are you going to the Zhan You Drama Troupe?" the sentry asked.

"Correct!"

"Who are you looking for?"

"Comrade-in-Arms Drama Troupe Leader Wei!"

"Wait a minute, pull over to the side, I need to make a phone call!"

After a while, the sentry came out and said, "You can go now. Commander Wei is waiting for you at the entrance of the drama troupe!"

The three of them arrived at the Zhan You Drama Troupe by car, where Commander Wei was already waiting. Ouyang Shanzun walked over with a smile and greeted him; the two seemed to have a very close relationship.

"Old Wei, you guys got a great deal with 'Triumph at Midnight,' we'll have to come here to learn from you during our rehearsals!"

"Mountain Lord, if you say that, I won't give you the script!" Commander Wei joked, then burst into hearty laughter when he saw Liu Yimin: "Yimin, come in and see how our rehearsal is going!"

The group walked in with smiles. Commander Wei introduced the actors' names to everyone, then clapped his hands, and the actors immediately began their performance.

"Lord Mountain, our casting is pretty good, isn't it?" Commander Wei asked smugly.

"It's nothing special!" Ouyang Shanzun snorted, which was taken as an admission.

Commander Wei laughed and said, "You're so clever! We have plenty of good young men and women in our unit. Look at the female soldiers in our cultural troupe, they're all beautiful."

At this point, Commander Wei seemed to remember something, and looked at Liu Yimin: "Comrade Yimin, do you have a girlfriend? Do you need me to introduce you to someone?"

Ouyang Shanzun patted Commander Wei's arm and said, "Everyone says that Commander Wei of the Zhan You Drama Troupe used to be a matchmaker and likes to help people find partners. It's really true."

"Don't worry about Jiabao Gong's disciple. No matter how pretty the girls in the performing arts troupe are, none of them are as pretty as Yimin's boyfriend."

"I don't believe it!" Commander Wei scoffed.
"Yi Min's object of affection is my student, Comrade Zhu Lin! Yes, that's the Comrade Zhu Lin who won the Hundred Flowers Award and the Golden Rooster Award!"

After thinking about it, Commander Wei realized that there really wasn't one.

Seeing that Commander Wei remained silent, Ouyang Shanzun chuckled and began to focus on enjoying the theatrical performance.

After watching, Ouyang Shanzun clapped enthusiastically and said with a smile, "Old Wei, you did a really good job. Come see how I arranged mine in a while!"

Commander Wei did not collect copyright fees from the Beijing People's Art Theatre. Before leaving, Ouyang Shanzun made a request to Commander Wei: that the actors from the Beijing People's Art Theatre come to the army for training.

Commander Wei smiled and said, "I'll arrange that! I know all the guards well, you actors can just train with them."

Liu Yimin and Ouyang Shanzun got into the car and left the Yanjing Military Region. Ouyang Shanzun said with a smile, "This old Wei is not bad. He's a very nice person and has strong professional skills!"

On April 19th, a military-themed writing conference jointly organized by the General Political Department and the Writers Association officially began. More than one hundred writers from the military and civilian sectors entered the General Political Department's conference room, creating a spectacular scene.

The military green uniforms and Zhongshan suits came together to form a beautiful sight.

On the opening day, leaders from the Writers' Association and the General Political Department sat on the stage in the conference room. Wei Wei and Zhang Guangnian were both seated there.

Wei Wei, dressed in military uniform, scanned the dark mass of people below, and when his gaze swept over Liu Yimin, he gave him a slight nod.

Meetings are bound to be a bit boring.

The leader on the stage spoke eloquently, while Liu Yimin kept taking notes. The people next to him felt that Liu Yimin was taking notes very seriously, so they secretly glanced at him.

That one glance was all it took; when I saw the words on it, I almost burst out laughing.

There were little figures drawn on it, and next to each figure was written "Good".

Words like "um" and "okay".

"Comrades, especially those in the military, you come from cultural troupes and theatrical groups across the country. You must thoroughly understand the spirit of the instructions from higher authorities and create even better works for the military. Serve the army and serve the people!"

Most people have probably already read "Triumph at Midnight," and I doubt anyone hasn't. The influence of this work within the military and among the general public is undeniable. The nearly 1 million copies sold in the January issue of "Harvest" speak for themselves.

Therefore, we should not only read this book, but also study it carefully. Our military's literary and artistic workers should learn from Comrade Liu Yimin.

We also hope that more literary and artistic workers like Comrade Liu Yimin will make their due contributions to the development of the military's literary and artistic undertakings.

The meeting lasted a long time, with almost every leader speaking and conveying their expectations for the development of military arts and culture.

The following meetings consisted of various learning sessions. A field trip was organized in the middle, taking the writers to Gaobeidian to watch target practice.

"Comrades, we won't talk this afternoon. Who will talk? Comrade Liu Yimin will talk about his creative experience. Everyone should pay close attention and learn from him. We also hope that there will be more and more excellent military works in the future."

After the morning meeting concluded, the leaders of the Writers' Association left the venue. Wei Wei, along with a deputy director from the General Political Department's Cultural Department, served as the organizers for the following meetings.

The General Political Department provided everyone with comfortable living conditions, and the meals were of the same standard as those in the military region's canteen.

After the meeting, many people came up to greet Liu Yimin. Most of them were from the military, all wearing uniforms, and he was unlikely to remember them afterwards.

Besides writers, editors were naturally indispensable. With so many authors, the editors wouldn't miss this grand event. Editors from magazines such as *People's Literature*, *Yanjing Literature*, and *October* began to reach out to writers and send out invitations to contribute.

Cui Daoyi was busy greeting everyone, clearly having forgotten about his junior brother.

Upon arriving at the canteen, Wei Wei sat down next to Liu Yimin and said with a smile, "I heard you went to the military region recently, why didn't you come to see me?"

"You're busy with work, so I went with my colleagues from the Beijing People's Art Theatre to observe the Zhan You Drama Troupe. I didn't want to bother you!"

"Hey, what's there to be busy about? No matter how busy I am, I won't neglect you, my fellow villager!" Wei Wei said with a smile.

Wei Wei sat here, but fewer people came to shake his hand.

Wei Wei asked, "I heard there was some trouble during the printing of 'Triumph at Midnight'?"

"Hey, it's nothing serious, it's just that the comrades don't quite understand. I'll explain it to them and it'll be fine!"

As the two were chatting, Cui Daoyi sat down next to him. Liu Yimin smiled and said, "Editor Cui, why did you suddenly think of your junior brother?"

(End of this chapter)