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

Chapter 356 Refusal to be interviewed
The mysterious Lop Nur, the vast Gobi Desert, and the ancient battlefields where corpses were wrapped in horsehide.

Standing amidst the mountains, Liu Yimin felt exceptionally small. He gazed at the mountains, at the withered grass.

Amidst the sound of wind and sand, the security secretary lit a cigarette and stood next to Liu Yimin, saying, "Writer Liu, you're quite serious!"

Whether the voice was sarcastic or complimentary, Liu Yimin smiled faintly and said, "Secretary Li, have you been here before?"

"I've never been here before."

"Yes, they really forged the toughest bone for us," Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Several soldiers stood guard nearby. Staff Officer Ye kicked at some gravel by the roadside, thinking it was all quite ordinary, and wondered what the two comrades from Yanjing were looking at.

The soldiers and Staff Officer Ye had very little color in their faces, which were ashen and grayish-white, like saline-alkali land, especially their lips.

Secretary Li handed Liu Yimin a cigarette: "I'm sorry, Writer Liu, I made a hedonistic mistake."

As one of the old leader's personal secretaries, Secretary Li could have gone directly to the base. Instead, he was stuck in the Gobi Desert with Liu Yimin, enduring the wind and sand. It was inevitable that he would feel a little resentful.

Liu Yimin doesn't smoke, but he took the cigarette and put it in his mouth: "It's hard for us to see this kind of scene in Yanjing. Our country is vast, allowing us to see all kinds of landforms without leaving the country. These were all built by our ancestors."

"Comrade Liu Yimin, Comrade Li, let's set off. This godforsaken place is so bad that even stones can be blown away by the wind, not a blade of grass grows on the ground, water is more expensive than oil, and we have to wear cotton-padded coats all year round. There's nothing to see. If we don't leave now, it will be too late when we get to the base," Staff Officer Ye shouted to them.

"Okay, let's go!"

Liu Yimin and Secretary Li got back into the car and headed towards the base.

Staff Officer Ye pointed to the pale blue-purple flowers by the roadside and said, "This place is called the Malan Base because there are many Malan flowers here. In the Gobi Desert of Northwest China, even grass is scarce, let alone delicate flowers. But these Malan flowers can grow here."

“You all grew up here too,” Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Staff Officer Ye was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "Haha, soldiers are like family, wherever the organization sends us, we'll go!"

As the jeep drove along, Liu Yimin saw many signs indicating "military restricted areas." About halfway from Turpan, they encountered a convoy of ten vehicles.

"These are our transport soldiers. All the living supplies for the base are transported in by truck. The conditions at the base used to be bad, but now they are much better, almost like a small city."

Liu Yimin wrote down everything that Staff Officer Ye said.

Seeing Liu Yimin taking notes diligently, Staff Officer Ye asked curiously, "Comrade Liu Yimin, are you a reporter?"

Secretary Li, who was standing next to him, laughed and said, "Liu Yimin, Liu Yimin, think about those three words carefully. He's much more capable than any reporter."

Staff Officer Ye pondered the text several times before tentatively asking, "Author?"

"That's right, Writer Liu!"

After Secretary Li finished speaking, the car lurched violently, startling everyone. The driver quickly said, "Excuse me, esteemed leaders, I couldn't help but glance back when I heard it was Comrade Liu Yimin."

"Drive carefully!" Staff Officer Ye said sternly.

"Yes!" The driver immediately looked straight ahead, but after a while he couldn't help but look back through the rearview mirror.

"Comrade Liu Yimin, what brings you here?"

"The commander invited writer Liu to write about the story of our base. You guys will soon be known to the world."

"I really enjoyed watching your films 'Triumph at Midnight' and 'Acacia Tree in Minefield.' The division organized a screening for everyone, and all the soldiers here can sing the song 'Song of the Moon.'"

After Staff Officer Ye finished speaking, Secretary Li said to Liu Yimin, "Comrade Liu Yimin, this is what reputation is all about!"

"Thank you. I believe that people all over the country will be deeply moved after reading about your deeds."

Staff Officer Ye said, "What are we compared to them? Our situation is tough, but it's not the battlefield yet. The soldiers on the battlefield are the truly great ones. I've heard that many of the characters in the movies are real soldiers, is that right?"

“Yes, like the scene where they filmed the mobilization for battle. The soldiers in the front row were the suicide squad. After filming, they went to the battlefield, and some of them sacrificed their lives the next day.” Liu Yimin asked Secretary Li for a cigarette.

Staff Officer Ye took a deep drag on his cigarette: "They're all good comrades, good comrades! You're from Henan Province, right?" "Yes!"

“We have many soldiers from Henan Province here,” Staff Officer Ye said.

After Staff Officer Ye learned that Liu Yimin was the writer Liu Yimin, he became much more enthusiastic about the conversation than before, when there was still a sense of distance between them because Liu Yimin was from Beijing.

The sunrise and sunset times are different in Xinjiang Province and Beijing. It gets dark in WLMQ around 10 p.m. They set off from WLMQ at midnight, and by 10 p.m., they still had about an hour of night travel ahead.

As evening approached, Staff Officer Ye said, "Besides the large number of people in Malan, there's also Tala on this road. Tala is a common route between Korla and Kashgar, and it's a bit more bustling there."

After the highway was built, Tara fell into disrepair and became dilapidated.

In the evening, we first arrived at Malan Township, and then drove a long distance before finally reaching the actual Malan base.

The base is located in a secret valley on the southern slope of the Tianshan Mountains. Looking ahead through the car headlights, all that can be seen are the black outlines of high mountains.

Nestled amidst dark, steep mountains, the base is brightly lit. The mountains resemble a monstrous, gluttonous beast, and the people at the base live on the beast's gullible tongue.

The vehicle underwent numerous checks before finally arriving at the base entrance. After having its documents checked and the information provided inside the base verified, the vehicle was also searched before being allowed to enter.

“This is the living area. There’s a movie theater here, and that’s Yonghong Kindergarten. The children of the base attend kindergarten there.”

The houses inside are all red brick houses. Due to the soil conditions, the red bricks here appear white. The buildings are mostly two to three stories high.

Staff Officer Ye led them to the Third Guesthouse. After they settled in, a phone call came in, asking them to go to the canteen for dinner as soon as possible.

When they arrived at the canteen, the base staff were waiting for them.

"The leaders have already rested. Comrade Liu Yimin, Secretary Li, you should also rest as soon as possible after you have eaten. It gets light a little late here, so please adjust your sleep schedule."

After a simple meal of noodles in the canteen, the group went back to rest, and the soldiers who escorted them all asked Liu Yimin to sign autographs for them.

Liu Yimin carefully signed everyone's names in his diary and wrote words like "Hero of the Motherland".

The guesthouse was very simple, with just a bed, a desk, and a washbasin; that was all.

After a long day, I was too tired to even feel excited. After washing up, I went straight to bed and fell asleep. It's quite cold here at night, so I need to cover myself with a quilt.

The next day, Liu Yimin opened his eyes around eight o'clock and carefully observed the camp area by parting the curtains on the window.

The entire camp, from the people to the buildings to the trees, is decorated in a gray, white, and yellow color scheme. Huge slogans such as "Unite and strive for greater victories" and "We must make greater contributions to all mankind" are painted on the buildings.

Further on, there are hillsides and a clear blue sky. There should be air-raid shelters and sentries on the hills.

I had just finished getting dressed when someone knocked on the door. When I opened it, it was Staff Officer Ye.

"Comrade Liu Yimin, my soldiers and I are about to go back. We came to say goodbye before we left. We hope to see your work someday. We also really like your song 'Song of the Moon' and hope you can write a song for us someday."

After finishing his speech, Staff Officer Ye saluted Liu Yimin and left the guesthouse.

The base staff took them to the canteen for a meal, and after the meal, they took them to the three-story red-roofed building, which was the command center.

Here Liu Yimin met Comrade Zhang and the old leader. The old leader asked with concern, "Did you sleep well last night? It's a bit chilly here at night now."

"Commander, the comrades here are very friendly, and the blankets here are very warm."

"Haha, with you saying that, we can rest assured."

The old leader said with a smile, "We originally wanted you to meet our great scientists, but they are all busy and unwilling to see you. Whether you can meet them while you're here depends on your own abilities."

"Understood, Chief."

"Okay, this is a comrade from the base. He'll show you around. I live in Building 22. We'll come together and go back together. You can contact me anytime if you need anything."

(End of this chapter)