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

Chapter 39 Is it too late to take the college entrance exam now?

On August 30th, Liu Yimin received a letter of acceptance from the poetry journal. After receiving the letter from the postman, Liu Yimin didn't make a fuss about it, letting everyone at the cultural center know. However, the invitation letter that followed made Liu Yimin fall into deep thought.

After discussing his idea with Cui Daoyi of People's Literature, Zou Huofan of Poetry Journal wrote a joint letter to Liu Yimin, asking if he had any thoughts on participating in the training courses held by the two magazines. The letter mentioned that the magazines would provide living allowances and food coupons, and that writers would gather together to exchange ideas.

If they confirm their participation, they will coordinate with their work unit to issue a transfer letter. The letter was earnest, and the two expressed their strong desire for Liu Yimin to come to Yanjing.

Literary workshops, which are non-university institutions for training writers, have existed since the founding of the People's Republic of China. The most famous of these were workshops run by the Writers Association, but they ceased operation after the dissolution of the Writers Association. They were not revived until 80 and were later renamed the Lu Xun Academy of Literature.

Secondly, there was the training institute run by Yenching University. Many writers of that era came from humble backgrounds, and very few had attended university. Through this training institute run by Yenching University, they solved their educational problems.

Yu Hua, who failed the college entrance examination, obtained a master's degree in literature by participating in a creative research class held by Lu Xun Academy of Literature and Beijing Normal University, thus solving his academic qualification problem.

Since the training institutes have not yet reopened, major magazines have started to hold various training courses in order to cultivate new talents and obtain excellent manuscripts. However, most of these training courses are mainly for exchange, and how much you can learn depends on yourself.

In the past, Liu Yimin would definitely have gone to participate, but now that his admission to the Chinese Department of Yenching University was a foregone conclusion, where could he find a better or more authoritative place than the Chinese Department of Yenching University? So many people in the Chinese literary world graduated from the Chinese Department of Yenching University. Speaking of which, Cui Daoyi of People's Literature and Art was Liu Yimin's senior.

As for university political vetting, it's simply impossible for Liu Yimin to be excluded.

Three generations of poor farmers, my father was a militia member who fought bandits, and my uncle was a martyr. Is there anyone more famous than me?
Liu Yimin thought, of course there are! It's just that there aren't many among the candidates, so his political background check is definitely not a problem.

After reading the letters, Liu Yimin wrote back to both of them, saying that he would go to Yenching University, but not now, until the university started. After writing, he affixed a stamp and dropped it into the mailbox.

Next, Liu Yimin looked at his speech. The speech was roughly divided into three parts: the first part described his miserable experience of studying, the second part described his glorious moments after success, and the third part was a bowl of chicken soup.

Drink this bowl of chicken soup, and from now on we're revolutionary comrades!

After reading it, Liu Yimin felt there were no problems. He could even recite some parts without notes. The reason was simple: he was now at ease with the material!
While sipping tea, Liu Yunsheng from the creative team slowly moved to Liu Yimin's table and began to read the speech.

"Old Liu, take it if you want to see it!" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Liu Yunsheng chuckled awkwardly and said, "Then I'll help you check it out first!"

He had barely picked up the manuscript when everyone else crowded around, eagerly peeking at the report's contents, muttering and chattering amongst themselves. Old Li was squeezed at the back of the crowd, his neck practically stretched out like a giraffe's!

Human joys and sorrows are not shared; I only find their noise annoying!

Liu Yimin got up and went to Old Zhang's vegetable garden, picked a few figs and some small white melons. The white melons, which hadn't been processed with technology, tasted refreshingly sweet, not too cloying, or rather, not too sweet, but with a very strong melon flavor.

After eating his fill, he dusted himself off, patted his belly, and headed towards the office. As soon as he entered, he saw several people with red eyes and tears in their eyes.

"What happened to you guys? Did you fight?" Liu Yimin asked, puzzled.

"Yimin, what you wrote makes us all want to take the college entrance exam! The words you wrote are so poignant for us people our age. Wasted youth, wasted youth!" Old Li exclaimed.

Liu Yunsheng joked, "Is it too late for us to take the college entrance exam now?" "Hahaha, Yimin, it's not our fault, it's just that your report is too inspiring!"

The county cinema stopped selling tickets a day early and began preparing the venue for the report. A banner with large black characters written on red paper was pasted above the cinema's entrance, reading "Experience Report Meeting of Comrade Liu Yimin, First in Liberal Arts".

There are also slogans like "Learn from Comrade Liu Yimin and contribute to the modernization of the motherland!"

Many small red flags were planted next to the movie theater. Liu Yimin's scores were posted on the wall in big characters, and below them was the specific list of candidates from Ru County who passed the cutoff score.

The size of the Ruxian Cinema differed from that of later generations; it also served as a conference room, capable of hosting county-level meetings of cadres, so one can imagine its considerable size. However, following the broadcast of Liu Yimin's report, the county learned that some candidates from neighboring counties would also be attending.

So, a loudspeaker was urgently installed outside the cinema to ensure that people who hadn't entered could hear it. Meanwhile, the report would be broadcast directly to all production brigades via the county broadcasting network.

That evening, the county specifically notified Liu Yimin that he needed to be there by 5 a.m. "Starting at 9 a.m., I have to be there at 5 a.m.?"
Just as Liu Yimin was about to ask why, the other party explained that they were afraid it would be too late to squeeze in!
The next day, Liu Yimin was woken up at 4:30 and taken to the movie theater. A few people were already sparsely seated in the audience. Liu Yimin's seat was on the stage, but since the meeting hadn't started, he sat down in the audience area.

I had just sat down when I heard people discussing what kind of person could score 451 on the college entrance exam!
"Comrade, are you from Ruxian County? I'm from next door. Do you know Liu Yimin, who scored 451 on the exam?" someone asked, patting Liu Yimin on the shoulder.

"451, it's alright, not too high," Liu Yimin replied casually.

"Wow, what a boastful tone! They're probably going to tear the movie theater down!" someone mocked from behind. The older brother who had just asked Liu Yimin a question also shrugged, turned his head away, and stopped talking to Liu Yimin.

Liu Yimin did feel that he did not do well on the test. He did not remember making any mistakes in the math section, and only scored 91 points.

As the stage was set up, Yang Yushan sat on it and looked down. He saw Liu Yimin dozing off in a corner, so he called out through a megaphone, "Comrade Liu Yimin, please come up to the stage!"

Liu Yimin glanced at his watch helplessly; it was only six o'clock!

A group of people looked around, but Liu Yimin was nowhere to be seen in the aisle on both sides and in the middle.

"Comrade, pull your legs back a bit, I'm going on stage!" Liu Yimin said softly.

Then, amidst the incredulous gazes of several people around him, and under the illumination of the lights, he slowly walked onto the stage.

Is this the man who scored 451 points? Turns out he was right next to me! The person who had just mocked him suddenly felt ashamed!

Halfway there, Liu Yimin turned around, grinned at them, and said, "I'm halfway there!"
"Yimin, are you sleepy?" Yang Yushan asked with concern.

"What do you think?"

“We old men can all endure this, you young comrade, just bear with it. Let me introduce you, this is the director of the mining bureau, Comrade Yang Chenglin!”

Upon hearing this, Liu Yimin's eyes lit up. The Mining Bureau—that was a directly subordinate unit of his elder brother's coal mine!
(End of this chapter)