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

Chapter 307 Have you ever been to America? You're going to write that?

On the day "People's Literature and Art" was released, many reporters waited outside the bookstore to interview readers who bought the magazine.

The very first question in the interview was: Which book are you most looking forward to?
Without exception, the answer was always "Green Book".

Liu Yimin had already experienced firsthand how winning literary awards could boost sales of his works. This was also true when he won the Mao Dun Literature Prize.

Inside People's Literature and Art, Zhang Guangnian and Cui Daoyi were so excited that they didn't do anything else all day. Cui Daoyi even went to a Xinhua Bookstore and squatted outside for a whole morning. Only after seeing that everyone was buying People's Literature and Art did he happily run back to the editorial department to report the good news.

“Old Cui, we can’t get too excited. We still need to pick up the rest of the work. I’ve already notified the distribution office to report the distribution data to us every week!” Zhang Guangnian said to Cui Daoyi.

Cui Daoyi nodded, suppressing his excitement, and returned to his workstation.

In recent years, Flower City magazine has published quite a few foreign novels, but People's Literature and Art magazine, which focuses on politics and content, has not published many; almost all of them are domestic novels.

"Green Book" was written by a domestic author, but it is indeed foreign literature. The entire magazine attached great importance to this novel.

Liu Yimin sat in his study, not paying much attention to the publication of the Green Book.

Holding the letter Yu Hua had sent him, which contained a manuscript, Liu Yimin wrote his suggestion after reading it: "I suggest submitting it to a local county or city-level publication."

In addition, there was a telegram from Niki. In the telegram, she stated that the translation of "Triumph at Midnight" had been completed and that it was originally intended to be published after completion, but this was postponed due to the awards ceremony in December.

They hoped that Liu Yimin would attend the book launch after the awards ceremony to boost sales.

He also told Liu Yimin the English title of "Triumph at Midnight," which was translated as "China's Vietnam War." After reading it, Liu Yimin immediately picked up his pen, and thankfully they did not print or publish it.

Liu Yimin wrote a letter to Niki, which he planned to forward to the China Book and Periodical Publishing House via the post office shortly.

In the telegram, Liu Yimin told Niki that China's war was fundamentally different from the US Vietnam War; it was a self-defense counterattack against Vietnam.

Liu Yimin himself translated the novel's title, providing several options for them to choose from. These included "Victory" and "Triumph at Midnight."

In addition, he personally wrote a preface. In the preface, Liu Yimin detailed the background and reasons for writing the article, as well as what he saw and heard on the front lines.

After carefully proofreading the article to ensure there were no problems, I rode my motorcycle to the post office that offered international telegram services and sent the telegram.

"Comrade, so many words?" The post office staff were astonished when they saw the number of words on the document. This must cost a lot of money!
"Yes, there's no need to simplify!"

After sending the telegram, Liu Yimin mailed the preface to the United States. He didn't know how long it would take for the letter to arrive, but he hoped it wouldn't delay the printing work of the China Publishing House.

In the envelope, Liu Yimin promised Niki that he would attend the book launch, and that the specific details would be discussed when he arrived in the United States.

The post office that handled international telegraph services was not far from the Beijing People's Art Theatre. After finishing his business, Liu Yimin stopped by the theatre.

After returning from the front lines, Zhu Lin did not participate in rehearsals as an assistant director. Currently, the Beijing People's Art Theatre has almost no new plays to stage, and she is currently playing the understudy for Jiang Man in the play "Triumph at Midnight."

The A and B roles take turns performing, which makes things much easier. I can often leave work on time and don't have to perform late into the night before heading home.

When they arrived at the rehearsal space, the actors were rehearsing on stage, while the director sat below with his head drooping, looking somewhat listless.

Zhu Lin spotted Liu Yimin first, and upon seeing him, asked with a smile, "Teacher Liu, what brings you here today?"

Upon hearing this, Lan Tianye immediately raised his head, grinning before he even turned his head.

"Oh, Yimin, it's been so long! It feels like ages since we last met!" Lan Tianye stood up and opened his arms to give Liu Yimin a hug.

"Teacher Lan, your enthusiasm is a bit excessive!"

"Haha, I've always been very enthusiastic towards you, kid. Back in the day, when the cold wind was biting, I rode my bicycle all the way to Yenching University to find you."

Alright, they're starting to build rapport!
"Teacher Lan, I have a headache. I need to talk to Comrade Zhu Lin for a bit to calm down!" Liu Yimin said with a smile, rubbing his head.

Another person flashed in through the door. It was Ouyang Shanzun. Ouyang Shanzun said to Lan Tianye, "Don't make Yimin afraid to come to the Beijing People's Art Theatre in the future!"

Lan Tianye and Ouyang Shanzun exchanged a smile, while Liu Yimin sat to the side and chatted with a few people for a few minutes.

After getting off work, I followed Zhu Lin to the courtyard house.

In the courtyard, ginkgo leaves were scattered all over the ground.

Zhu Lin stepped on the leaves and said with a smile, "Teacher Liu, you haven't been to this courtyard for so long, it's almost deserted!"

"Aren't you here?" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

"I won't be home tonight!"

Zhu Lin went to cook, while Liu Yimin swept the courtyard with a broom.

It's late autumn, and winter is just around the corner. The leaves of the beans and other vegetables in the garden have long since withered, leaving only bare stalks.

After tidying up the yard, I also tidied up the vegetable garden and took the withered bean stalks into the kitchen so they could be used as firewood.

The remaining items include radishes, cabbages, and scallions. If the Overseas Chinese Apartment needs any, Zhu Lin will bring a few with her when she goes home, saving her the trouble of buying them.

"Teacher Liu, lunch is ready. I plan to plant some more coriander in this vegetable patch later. Coriander is quite expensive in winter now. My parents like to eat it, so I'll send some to them. Also, after we've pulled up the green beans, we'll plant some bok choy."

Zhu Lin took out a handkerchief to wipe Liu Yimin's sweat, and stood next to the vegetable garden to talk about the next steps.

Coriander is also known as cilantro, and in many parts of northern China, cilantro is called coriander.

"Eating noodles under this ginkgo tree is a completely different experience!" Liu Yimin joked with a smile.

“Be careful the leaves don’t fall into the bowl. Teacher Liu, many comrades at the Beijing People’s Art Theatre have been watching ‘Green Book’ these past few days. Teacher Lan and Teacher Su Min want to stage this play, but Teacher Ouyang Shanzun hasn’t said much!” Zhu Lin said slowly.

Liu Yimin said with a smile, "Teacher Shanzun is good at directing big-scale scenes!"

In the afternoon, Liu Yimin went to People's Literature and Art magazine and found Zhang Guangnian. He asked the Writers Association to issue a certificate to help him apply for a visa to the United States.

When the editors in the editorial department saw Liu Yimin, they all smiled and said, "The winner of the foreign literature prize has arrived!"

"Haha, editors, please stop teasing me. No matter how many literary awards I win, this novel still needs to be published through you!"

“Yimin, I’m sure Editor Cui will love to hear what you’ve said!” Xu Yi interjected from the side.

Cui Daoyi listened with great interest, and enthusiastically took Liu Yimin's hand, asking him what was wrong.

After explaining the situation, Cui Daoyi took Liu Yimin to Zhang Guangnian's office. Without saying a word, Zhang Guangnian immediately wrote a certificate and took Liu Yimin to the Writers' Association to have it stamped with the association's official seal.

Zhang Guangnian did not carry the official seal of the Writers' Association with him.

When Liu Yimin came out of the Writers Association, the people from Poetry Journal somehow spotted him and notified Zou Huofan, who stopped Liu Yimin when he was about to leave.

"Comrade Zou, what's wrong with letting me come and go quietly?"

Zou Huofan chuckled and said, "I, Old Zou, am the kind of person who takes a feather from every passing goose. Since you're here, don't even think about leaving without leaving something behind."

Zhang Guangnian, who was standing next to him, coughed and said, "Old Zou, we still have things to do at the ministry!"

Zou Huofan squinted at Zhang Guangnian: "Leader, your People's Literature and Art magazine is well-fed and watered, but we Poetry Journal are still starving. Yimin, have you been out of time writing poetry lately?"

Liu Yimin assured Zou Huofan that he would write a poem for him within a month, and only then did he smile and wave goodbye to the two of them.

Liu Yimin greeted Master Ma at the entrance of the guesthouse and then left the Writers Association.

After dropping Zhang Guangnian off at People's Literature and Art magazine on his motorcycle, he headed to the U.S. Embassy on Xiushui North Street.

This area is the famous embassy district of Yenching, where mainly socialist countries gathered and maintained close relations.

The reason the US embassy is located here is because it was originally the US representative office in China, and it was upgraded to an embassy after the establishment of diplomatic relations.

After decades of working here, the office building was moved to No. 55 Anjialou, Chaoyang District.

When Liu Yimin arrived, there was a long line outside the embassy, ​​filled with people applying for US visas. Those who received visas were overjoyed, while those who were rejected came out dejected.

People in line chatted to pass the time and ease their tension.

“America isn’t all that great, honey. Look, the report says that racial discrimination is particularly severe in America. We Chinese people can only do hard labor there. Americans look down on us!”

A woman dressed simply but impeccably, with a scarf tied around her neck, stood beside a slightly overweight man who spoke with heavy breathing and hopeful eyes, wishing his wife would stay.

"What kind of nonsense is this? Has he even been to America? How can he write this? It's ridiculous! This is false advertising. Once I get to America, I'll find a job, earn money, and send it back to you. I'll also find a chance to bring you and our son there, and our family will be reunited in [Emerician]!"

The woman adjusted her backpack. Her voice had been sharp at first, but it had softened later, perhaps to comfort the man.

The family had been preparing for this trip for a long time, spending all their money on it. Once the woman received her visa, she would take the family's entire fortune to her dream destination, America.

A man behind him said, "He's alright when it comes to writing about China, but when it comes to writing about foreign countries, he's just spouting nonsense. He's never even been there, how would he know that racial discrimination is so serious in America? That Black people can't eat in the same restaurant as white people! Comrade, which city in America are you planning to go to? I'm going to New York, so we can look out for each other when we get there!"

The woman's husband immediately panicked upon hearing this. They hadn't even gone abroad yet, and someone was already trying to take care of his wife. What would happen once they were abroad?

"Comrade, I'm going to Los Angeles; my younger siblings are there!"

"It's not far, we can chat when we have some free time!"

Liu Yimin, standing behind him, almost burst out laughing. The man glared at Liu Yimin fiercely and asked, "Comrade, what are you laughing at? Where are you going?"

"I'll go to San Francisco first, then New York!"

Liu Yimin went to San Francisco first, not because the current flight route goes to San Francisco first and then to New York.

It was because the China Book and Periodical Publishing House was located in San Francisco, so he wanted to meet with the editorial staff of the China Book and Periodical Publishing House first before going to New York to receive the award.

"You act like you're guaranteed to go!" the man muttered.

"Comrade, now that we're in New York, we'll have to help each other out. As the saying goes, at home you rely on family, but when you're out in the world you rely on friends!" The woman greeted Liu Yimin with a smile.

Then she switched places with the man in front of her and stood in front of Liu Yimin.

"no need!"

"Huh? Why?"

"Because you might not be able to go!"

"You think I'll definitely get accepted this time? You're acting like you're guaranteed to go." The woman gave Liu Yimin a cold look before returning to her original position.

"Young man, too young!" the man in front sneered, then went back to chatting with the others.

Many people are discussing the novel "Green Book" and criticizing Liu Yimin for writing it incorrectly and arguing that it's a nonsensical work.

Liu Yimin couldn't help but say, "How can someone win an award for writing nonsense?"

A bystander laughed and said, "Young man, this shows how inclusive America is!"

"So why can writing nonsense win an award? If it's fake, I don't think Americans would just accept it without question!"

"Because...because why should I tell you? It's fake, it's fake. Winning the award was just a fluke!"

After stammering out his answer, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and found a reason: "If America is so bad, why are you still begging to go there?"

"They invited me!"

As soon as Liu Yimin finished speaking, a chorus of mocking voices immediately rose from the surrounding crowd, who thought Liu Yimin was having a fit of hysteria.

Because Liu Yimin had an invitation letter from the United States, a letter of introduction from Yenching University, and a certificate from the Writers' Association, he only needed to submit some materials to get a visa after entering the university.

When Liu Yimin came out, his visa had already been processed.

The man and woman ahead of them in line stood dejectedly at the door. When they saw Liu Yimin, they were about to curse him, believing that Liu Yimin's bad luck had caused them to be denied visas.

The woman's husband was grinning from ear to ear, but he still pretended to be heartbroken and cursed America for being blind.

Liu Yimin held up his passport and said, "Next month, I'll go and show you the real America."

He was about to leave when he stopped and said to the woman's husband, "Buddy, you can't force a relationship. If you really can't keep her, let her go. But you still have to live your life. Don't end up losing both her and your money."

After saying that, he rode off on his motorcycle, leaving the two men looking on with anger and astonishment. The woman's husband's eyes kept darting around, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

(End of this chapter)