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

Chapter 340 There are too many people outside, now I'm convinced.

On stage, Ying Ruocheng, playing the old salesman Willy, is wearing a suit and tie and acting opposite another veteran actress from the Beijing People's Art Theatre, Zhu Lin, who plays Willy's wife, Linda.

Yes, after Zhu Lin came to the Beijing People's Art Theatre, there were two people with the same name, "Zhu Lin".

The directors usually call Zhu Lin "Xiao Zhu," which is not only a term of address used by seniors and mentors, but also serves to distinguish between the two of them.

Several directors who had no plays scheduled sat in the back watching Miller rehearse. Miller, sitting in the audience, still had his pipe in his mouth, his legs crossed, looking arrogant.

He was very satisfied with the performances of the two actors.

On stage, Willie is very somber after his "American Dream" is shattered. Linda discovers the tube he is preparing to commit suicide, but she never exposes him. She wants to maintain Willie's dignity and simply takes away the suicide device silently.

As Willie poured out his misfortunes and worries, Linda comforted him, speaking words of admiration.

An ordinary man, with the best wife in the world.

Death of a Salesman is indeed an excellent play. By contrasting the somber Willie with the understanding Linda, it leaves the audience with an even heavier feeling.

This also reflects Miller's consistent style in his plays: instead of using extensive descriptions of how dire the American economy was during the Great Depression, he uses the lives of ordinary people to depict the tragic era.

Cao Yu and Liu Yimin went inside. Several directors nodded to Liu Yimin, and Lan Tianye leaned over to Liu Yimin and said, "Yimin, this American guy is really something!"

"I think it's good too!" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Cao Yu led Liu Yimin to sit next to Miller. Miller glanced at the two of them and said, "Mr. Wan, young man, what do you think?"

Cao Yu clapped his hands lightly and said, "Mr. Miller, that's really good. Several directors have praised it highly recently!"

"What a wonderful play!" Liu Yimin praised.

Upon hearing this, Miller proudly crossed his legs and began to recount the inspiration behind the play and the story that followed.

"My Marilyn is also the woman I love most!"

Liu Yimin didn't speak, but inwardly he scoffed. Miller was Marilyn Monroe's third husband—Marilyn Monroe was the dream goddess of Americans in the 1950s and 60s.

A famous scene featuring Marilyn Monroe is in a subway vent, where a sudden gust of wind blows up the hem of her white dress, and she quickly presses it down with her hand.

The combination of an innocent smile and sexy visuals instantly made her a sensation across America.

Miller rose to fame with "Death of a Salesman," which attracted this American dream girl.

Miller was lost in thought, and looking at Zhu Lin and Liu Yimin behind him, he said, "Young man, the two of us are just like you and your wife, our souls and careers are so in sync!"

“Mr. Miller, please don’t compare me to my wife!” Liu Yimin said with a hint of disgust.

"I mean, we love each other, young man, you're getting a little too excited!"

"You were in love, but not that much! I read your story in America. You know Ms. Marilyn, you know she wanted to gain American recognition through the camera. You recommended her for two films, but making those films caused her to miscarry twice, Mr. Miller."

I thought love was about helping the other person achieve their dreams, but true love is about helping them achieve their dreams even better. She suffered two miscarriages, which led to her developing mental health issues, and then you divorced her because of those issues!

Is this love? It's poison!
Liu Yimin didn't continue speaking. Miller stared blankly at Liu Yimin, his expression a mixture of pain and hatred.

After divorcing Miller, Marilyn Monroe was admitted to a mental hospital. Later, she met Kennedy and fantasized about becoming the First Lady of the United States.

She was subsequently fired by her agency and ultimately died after suffering a series of blows. It is said that before her death, she was preparing to make her relationship with Kennedy public.

Liu Yimin even suspected that Kennedy might have been behind it.

Marilyn died in August 1962, and Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963.

Cao Yu sat in the middle, somewhat helplessly. We came here to discuss the artistic value of the novel, but it turned into a gossip exposé.

The directors in the back row all strained their ears; this was more exciting than rehearsing a play!
Lan Tianye said to Ouyang Shanzun in a low voice, "I told you that following the rehearsals would broaden your knowledge!"

"We're directors, cough, we should learn about rehearsing!" Ouyang Shanzun said seriously, but his ears were sticking out even further.

Miller's carefully constructed image of a loving couple was completely exposed by Liu Yimin's few words.

Miller took a few puffs of his cigarette, the smoke from which instantly obscured his face.

Cao Yu couldn't very well take out the manuscript he was holding at this point!

"Young man, you don't understand!" Miller's calm voice, tinged with exasperation, came through the smoke.

Cao Yu tried to smooth things over, saying, "Let's watch the play instead; it's indeed a good show."

“Mr. Wan, I think many people can’t reach the artistic value of this play in their entire lives. It has been performed more than 700 times on Broadway!” Miller instantly regained his arrogant demeanor when he heard Cao Yu say this.

The defeated rooster shook its neck and perked up.

"Master Jiabao, what are you holding in your hand?" Ouyang Shanzun asked curiously from the back row.

Cao Yu curled his lips into a smile and said casually, "This is a novel that I wrote in my spare time. Mountain Master, what do you think of it?"

Before Ouyang Shanzun could take it, Miller snatched it away from him: "Let me see?"

"Can Americans even understand Chinese?" Ouyang Shanzun muttered.

Miller asked Ying Ruocheng to translate for him. It was a novel, and even Ying Ruocheng could only translate it using the most concise vocabulary, and his translation was still quite halting.

Cao Yu waved his hand and said to Miller, "Yimin, tell Mr. Miller a brief story!"

So Liu Yimin briefly explained the story's direction to Miller in English.

After listening, Miller frowned and said, "A woman who walked in the water for a day and a night? Who can walk in the water for a day and a night? The writing is absurd, very absurd, like the four years of rain in 'One Hundred Years of Solitude'."

"What does Mr. Miller think?" Cao Yu asked.

"I have to admit that this is indeed an excellent work. The meaning within it is so rich. It not only describes the tragic history of the Black race, but also what the Black community should do, which is to unite. We, the Uyghur people, should also unite!" Miller had to admit with a pinch of his nose that he was praising it, but he still had to mention the Uyghur people in the end.

Miller asked, "Young Liu, how did you come up with that?"

"Mr. Miller, you flatter me too much. This is merely a work I've been thinking about recently," Cao Yu said with a smile. Liu Yimin thought to himself, "My teacher is even better at putting on an act than I am." This revealed Cao Yu's dissatisfaction with Miller's assessment of the lack of artistic value in Liu Yimin's novel.

"A masterpiece is born of nature, a stroke of genius!" Ouyang Shanzun praised from the side.

Zhu Lin listened smugly from the side, but didn't say anything. She had already read the first half of the novel, and it gave her a headache.

Miller continued, "If this novel were published in the United States, I think it would be eagerly read by the literary world, and countless American writers would be flocking to read it. It is a great piece of writing. Its influence among Black people would certainly be comparable to Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream.'"

Liu, you've proven yourself with your work!

"Really? I don't think it's that good. Actually, I personally think that magical realism makes it more difficult for readers than realism. I've always believed that literature should be enjoyed by the general public, and that we should write works that the general public enjoys reading."

"Mr. Miller, I think you might not quite understand what the masses mean!" Liu Yimin said with a faint smile.

Lan Tianye crossed his arms and said, "Mr. Miller, it turns out that what you said before was wrong, and I think you should make a statement."

Several directors were all smiling at Miller, making him feel extremely awkward.

After Liu Yimin and Cao Yu left the rehearsal room, Miller said he had something to do and then left the rehearsal area.

Back in his office, Cao Yu laughed and said, "Weren't we too high-profile? Hahaha, but I just can't stand the arrogant faces of Americans. Back in the Han and Tang dynasties, they were still eating raw meat and drinking blood!"

“They’re still eating raw meat and drinking blood now!” Liu Yimin said.

Cao Yu felt a pang of regret; his actions seemed rather impolite to a host: "I was truly blinded by anger!"

As the two were talking, Miller knocked on the door and came in.

"Mr. Miller? What's the matter?" Cao Yu asked, puzzled.

"Professor Liu, I want to apologize to you. I take back what I said when I first arrived in China. I hope this incident won't affect our friendship. You are a young person, but you are no longer a newcomer in the literary world. I'm very sorry, Professor Liu."

Miller held his pipe in his hand and blushed as he apologized.

“Mr. Miller, there is nothing shameful about apologizing!” Cao Yu said.

Liu Yimin said, "Old Mi, don't worry, you're already in your forties, I won't hold it against you!"

Miller is just playing the "there are more people outside" trick on himself!

“Mr. Wan, I am very sincere, but I will also let the script speak for me. Besides, I love Marilyn Monroe very much; she is my beloved wife!” Miller said, then turned and left.

Cao Yu slammed the manuscript on the table: "These Americans are really stubborn as mules! Hurry up and write the second half. Who are we going to get translated this time?"

"Let's go with Xu Chi. Comrade Xu is a very good translator. We're close comrades-in-arms!" Liu Yimin said.

"Haha, good, I hope Xu Chi can translate it as soon as possible. I want to see the Americans' reaction. Just thinking about it makes this old man a little impatient."

On March 20th, the standalone edition of "The Acacia Tree in the Minefield" was jointly published and sold by People's Literature Publishing House and Commercial Press.

The two companies printed a total of three million copies, and officially put them on the shelves for sale when they felt the print run was about right.

Both companies felt that even if it didn't sell as many copies as "Triumph at Midnight," they could easily reach three million copies.

The two companies paid Liu Yimin a total of 15,000 yuan in royalties. Liu Yimin placed the remittance slip on his desk, and Zhu Lin, who was next to him, took it and, with a greedy look on his face, shook the abacus next to him and began to calculate.

After fiddling with it for a while, Zhu Lin smiled and leaned over to ask, "Teacher Liu, guess how much savings we have?"

"How many?"

"We have 72,000 yuan now! 70,000! That's a lot of money!" Zhu Lin exclaimed.

Liu Yimin put down his pen: "Really? Actually, it's not that much! Think about how fast prices are rising. A two-courtyard house is almost 20,000 yuan now. It looks like money is increasing, but in reality, it's shrinking!"

"So, we still need to buy a courtyard house!" Zhu Lin nodded and said. Zhu Lin counted on his fingers, wow, including the one he bought recently, he now has four courtyard houses.

Liu Yimin said, "Look, you understand economics now!"

The minority language versions of the several individual volumes were not printed in large quantities and did not sell many copies; otherwise, the royalties would have been even higher.

After the comic book "Triumphant at Midnight" was published, he received a sum of money as royalties, and before he could even enjoy it, he bought a house.

The comic books sold well, but not as well as the standalone books, but Liu Yimin was already satisfied.

The artists from the China Artists Association created very beautiful and realistic comic strips. If this were in later generations, and parents complained, the books would probably be banned as soon as they were sold.

"Teacher Liu, how's your writing going?" Zhu Lin shook the abacus, restored the beads, and put it back on the shelf.

Liu Yimin said, "There's still a long way to go!"

"Teacher Liu, please slow down. I get a headache just reading this kind of content, let alone writing it. Take your time. I think you're right. Who says that literary novels necessarily have to have high artistic value? Good works are those that the people like."

The current hype surrounding magical realism in China is excessive. Many people are reading it and then praising it, but I think many may not actually understand it.

"There must be some charlatans pretending to be experts!"

“I was chatting with Chu Hong the other day, and she said she had read ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ several times, but she still couldn’t understand it. She had to read it with commentary to make sense of it.”

“Yes, I’ll be watching for a long time too. The Zhan You Drama Troupe’s production of ‘The Acacia Tree in the Minefield’ is ready. Do you want to go see it? If so, I’ll have them reserve two tickets for you!” Liu Yimin asked.

"Of course I'll go! I want to see how the comrades-in-arms drama troupe is doing, and maybe I'll even get to see the commander!" Zhu Lin chuckled.

"Okay, I'll talk to Commander Wei!"

Liu Yimin wrote until eleven o'clock, then got up and did gymnastics under Zhu Lin's guidance to prevent his lumbar muscle strain from getting too severe.

Back in the bedroom, Zhu Lin mimicked Linda's voice from "Death of a Salesman" and said, "Teacher Liu, you are the most handsome man in the world!"

"Zhu Lin, you are also the most beautiful woman in the world!" Liu Yimin lifted Zhu Lin's chin with his hand and carefully looked at Zhu Lin's peaceful and serene face under the light.

(End of this chapter)