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

Chapter 70 I can give him the injection (Please continue reading)
Zhu Lin's bed was on the top bunk. She deliberately hid the letter in the innermost corner of the bed. After finding it and looking at the handwriting, she relaxed and reluctantly handed the letter to the seven people below who were eagerly waiting.

They were now like goldfish waiting to be fed in a lake, their eyes following the letter's every move. The level of admiration people have for writers today is similar to the idol worship of celebrities in later generations.

If a fan gets a celebrity's autograph, it will definitely be just like Zhu Lin's experience.

Chu Hong took the letter from Zhu Lin's hand, and the people below jostled each other to read it. Zhu Lin told everyone to be careful and not to snatch the letter away.

"Liu Yimin's handwriting is quite good. I've heard people say that a writer's handwriting represents the writer's mood when writing, and can even reflect the writer's character."

Zhu Lin's roommates chattered below, eventually concluding that Liu Yimin's character, like his books, was impeccable! The only downside was that he hadn't replied to their emails.

Zhu Lin, on the upper bunk, propped her pillow up against the wall and listened to the discussion below. A smile played on her lips. She didn't know if it was hard or not, but this person was definitely a very interesting person.

She had read the letter several times, and every time she saw the last sentence, "Comrade, what do you think?", she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"What kind of person is Liu Yimin? He's quite interesting!" Zhu Lin felt it was necessary to continue discussing the ending of "The College Entrance Examination 1977" with him.

This time, Zhu Lin also received a payment from People's Literature and Art magazine: two yuan per thousand words. She received four yuan for a letter of less than two thousand words.

"I heard that the May Fourth Literary Society at Yenching University often holds poetry gatherings these days. How about we go together next time? Maybe we'll even see Liu Yimin!"

After reading the letter, Chu Hong and the others reluctantly stuffed it back into the envelope, then suggested that the May Fourth Literary Society's poetry gatherings should not be limited to Yenching University; students from universities around Yenching and even poets from outside the university could participate.

"Me too! Me too!" The others all raised their hands in agreement.

“If you’re going, then I’ll go too!” Zhu Lin nodded in agreement.

The group started discussing the contents of Zhu Lin's letter again, praising Zhu Lin for giving them, the worker-peasant-soldier college students, face. They were not rats crossing the street, so why should everyone shout and beat them?

"Comrade Liu Yimin is right. Whether they are workers, peasants, soldiers, or college students who have passed the college entrance examination, they are all the backbone of the Four Modernizations!" Chu Hong held a magazine and paced around the middle of the dormitory, reading it aloud with great enthusiasm, as if she were giving a speech.

"Comrade Liu Yimin is right."

As the conversation progressed, the topic shifted to what they could do for Comrade Liu Yimin when they met him.

"I can make pastries. I'll go home and make them first. Once they're done, we'll go to Yenching University together and give them to Comrade Liu Yimin to try."

When it was Zhu Lin's turn, she sat on the bed, her hands constantly twisting together. She mumbled, "If he's sick, I can give him an injection. You know my acupuncture skills are the best in our dorm."

,.
At Yanda University, Liu Yimin had just come out of the mailroom with a letter in his hand. It was a letter from Li Lanyong. In the letter, Lanyong told him that the conscription work in Ruxian County had begun, and the number of people to be recruited this year was more than in previous years, with four slots available for the Maiji Brigade.

As the son of the Party branch secretary, he was naturally one of the quarter.

“Yimin, you have no idea how happy I was when I put on this green military uniform. My dad patted me on the shoulder and felt for the first time that I had grown up in his heart.”

The four of us from the Maiji Brigade are likely in the same unit, including our arch-enemy Han Deqiang. Don't worry, I'll write to you again when I get to my unit. Remember to write to me about things in Yanjing. I secretly slipped five yuan into this; consider it my treat for you when I'm in the army.

Go find a restaurant to eat at with your roommates. Tell them you have a friend in Maiji Brigade, Li Lanyong, who's treating them. We're receiving recruits early this year, and the leaders say the training is heavy, but I'm not afraid. Also, my dad was indeed shot in the butt; it hurts when he sits for long periods. You can't tell anyone. Anyway, we're getting off the train soon.”

After reading the letter, Liu Yimin folded it up and carefully reached under the envelope with his right hand. Sure enough, there was a five-yuan bill inside.

This guy, even after joining the army, still couldn't forget about the meal he'd been treated to. Liu Yimin returned to the dormitory and wrote back to Li Lanyong, telling him to train hard. Endure hardship in peacetime, bleed less in wartime.

In the afternoon, the Yenching University International Students Office announced that they would be holding a tea party with the university's international students and would be selecting some students from the university to attend.

The most important factor in selecting candidates is that they must be politically reliable.

Yenching University's international student population has gradually recovered since ten years ago. The largest group of international students comes from brother countries in the Third World, followed by students from Asia, Japan, and South Korea.

Now, Japan and China are gradually entering a honeymoon period, with Japan sending a lot of students to China. Some of them will be able to work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and deal with China after graduation, while others are employees of Japanese companies who come to learn Chinese in preparation for entering the Chinese market.

There are also international students from Europe and America, but this group is not that large.

"Please don't choose me!" Liu Zhenyun prayed as he sat on the edge of the bed.

Dealing with international students these days isn't a good job; close relationships can easily lead to investigations. Chinese literature majors have historically been the most popular choice, since they come to learn Chinese, not other subjects, making Chinese literature students the best option.

International students used to have Chinese students who would stay with them, but now it's all same-sex students, and whoever gets a student with that relationship is left feeling miserable.

"Don't worry, most of the students chosen are local students from Yanjing. For example, Senior Sister Cha Jianying from the Chinese Department will have to stay with her. People from Yanjing have clear accents, while we all have some accents, especially Old Chen, who speaks with a strong Jincheng accent, which even the international students can't understand."

"Don't let the international students end up being corrupted, learning a Jincheng accent and going back home." Li Xueqin deliberately imitated Chen Dazhi's Jincheng accent when he spoke.

Chen Dazhi gave the two of them a disdainful look and took out a magazine from his bag: "You guys think so much, you might as well take a look at Yimin's latest poems. We live in the same dormitory. To be honest, Yimin, every time I see you publish something, I feel ashamed of myself."

"Another one published?"

Upon hearing Liu Zhenyun's words, Chen Dazhi waved the Poetry Journal in his hand: "There's no way I could mistake the three characters 'Liu Yimin' on it!"

"Yi Min has drained all the poetic spirit from the Chinese literature department!"

"You three watch your mouths. I'm still in the dorm. What kind of poetic air is this? You're inhaling so much moisture, it'll give me rheumatism!" Liu Yimin complained from above.

"Are you in the same dorm as us? We didn't notice." Li Xueqin snorted as he looked at "Transcending Oneself" published in Poetry Journal.

"Transcending Oneself" will be published in November, while "Ideal" and "Hachiko: A Dog's Tale" will not be published until December.

Thank you everyone for your support, please vote twice!

(End of this chapter)