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

Chapter 88 Cao Yu's judgment is truly accurate.
Liu Yimin came to the guesthouse in the evening without a letter of introduction. Zou Huofan no longer stayed at the guesthouse, so he could only squeeze into a small room next to the boiler room with Lao Ma.

Old Ma rubbed his eyes, which were still half-closed, wearing only a pair of shorts. As soon as he opened the door, snow rushed into the house, waking him up from the cold.

Putting everything else aside, Old Ma's room is really warm. Although the boiler room stops adding coal at this time of night, it is still burning, albeit in a smoldering state.

Old Ma's room was inside the boiler room, where the temperature was kept exceptionally well-maintained. Old Ma closed the door and, half-asleep, prepared to go back to sleep, without even asking Liu Yimin what had happened.

That night, the two fought over the blanket all night!

The next day at noon, Liu Yimin returned to Yenching University from the Writers' Association. He had classes in the afternoon, so he had no choice but to go back.

When he returned to the dormitory to retrieve his lecture notes, Liu Zhenyun and the other two grabbed him and asked him where he had been and why he hadn't come back all night.

"Comrades, I think we should leave some personal space. Today's topic is Professor Wang Yao's History of Chinese Literature!"

"Yes, let's go!"

A group of people walked into the classroom through the snow. Many tree branches in the Yan Garden were weighed down by the heavy snow last night, and some places were in a mess. However, the reflection of the Weiming Lake and the tower in the white snow had a unique charm.

Professor Wang Yao's experience is also quite legendary. He joined the Party at Tsinghua University in 35. In 37, when the university moved south, he was at home during the summer vacation. Amid the war, he was trapped in Pingyao and thus left the Party.

He joined the Democratic Party in 44 and has been a target of reform since 51.

Inside the classroom, a group of students were showing off their poetic talents by admiring the snowy scenery outside. Liu Yimin yawned, opened his handouts, and began to carefully preview the lesson.

The bell had rung, but Professor Wang Yao was still nowhere to be seen.

Zhang Manling said, "Could it be that the professor fell because of the heavy snow? I'll go to Yannan Garden to look for him."

Before they could even get up, several voices of greeting came from outside. Vice Principal Ji Xianlin walked in first, followed by Yang Hui, Zhu Guangqian, Wang Yao, Yan Jiayan, and others. They didn't sit in the front, but instead found a seat at the back of the classroom.

Ji Xianlin stood on the podium and said, "Students, today's class was originally supposed to be taught by Professor Wang Yao, but there has been a last-minute change. Today, instead of studying literary history, we have invited Comrade Wan Jiabao from the Beijing People's Art Theatre to give a lecture on the history of drama!"

Buzz! The entire classroom erupted like a swarm of bees, filled with the clattering of desks and chairs. Almost all the students stood up, leaning over their desks to look towards the classroom door.

"Principal Ji, has Mr. Cao Yu arrived?" A student asked loudly when he didn't see him.

Cao Yu's pen name and real name, Jia Bao Gong or Dean Wan, seem to refer to the same person, but in fact indirectly indicate the relationship with Cao Yu.

"Quiet down! The professors behind you are watching. You've never been this enthusiastic before!"

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Cao Yu, dressed in a gray trench coat and a cap, with his right hand on his chest, a scarf draped over his arm, and a beaming smile on his face behind his glasses, appeared to be a man of great interest.

The moment he entered, the classroom erupted in enthusiastic applause, and Cao Yu waved his left arm at all the students.

Liu Yimin thought to himself, "This entrance looks like it was rehearsed."

Liu Zhenyun pinched his ear and whispered, "A real man should live like this!" Cao Yu's gaze slowly swept across the large classroom with more than a hundred people, finally landing precisely on Liu Yimin. He smiled and deliberately waved his arm at him.

Seeing that Liu Yimin's expression was normal, he felt bored and slowly walked up to the podium, whispered a few words to Ji Xianlin, and began the lecture!
“Mr. Cao Yu just looked at us. Could he have overheard what we were saying?” Liu Zhenyun said with a worried expression.

“Yesterday I heard some students from Yenching University say that the play ‘Thunderstorm’ has many flaws!” Before Cao Yu could finish speaking, the audience erupted in another uproar.

Everyone looked around, and no matter how they looked at their classmates, they didn't seem like the kind of people who could say such a thing.

Zhang Manling, sitting in the front row, turned her head directly to look at Liu Yimin. This eye contact was crucial, and she immediately confirmed seven or eight points of the truth!
"He's right. The shortcomings of 'Thunderstorm' are obvious. I'm very happy that Yenching University has produced such a student. This gives me hope for the continuation of drama in the Chinese Department of Yenching University. Today, I'll give you a talk about the history of drama!"

The history of Chinese drama is more accurately described as the personal history of Cao Yu's drama. "Thunderstorm" marked the maturation of Chinese drama and was Cao Yu's first drama when he was twenty-three years old.

Cao Yu recounted how drama was introduced to China, and discussed famous Chinese plays. He briefly mentioned his own plays, focusing on the scripts created by Lao She and other playwrights.

After a long class, we had covered almost all of the decades-long history of drama.

Cao Yu picked up the roster on the table and said, "I'm old. If I were a few years younger, I would definitely come to Yenching University to teach everyone properly. Unfortunately, my energy is limited. I told your principal to select a student from our 78 Chinese Department and teach him some drama writing in my spare time."

Yang Hui, who was behind them, snorted and said, "They're clearly here to snatch students from Yanda University first thing in the morning, and they're making it sound so high-sounding!"

"I was going to focus on the key points in this lesson," Wang Yao said helplessly.

Cao Yu flipped through the roster, mischievously flipping from front to back and back to front, and finally randomly tapped a name on the roster, saying, "Then let's go with Liu Yimin!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the hundred or two people in the classroom cast envious glances at him. Liu Yimin quickly stood up and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Teacher Wan. I will definitely work hard and not let you down!"

Cao Yu tapped his fingers three times on the podium, then left the classroom with a meaningful smile.

Liu Yimin packed his things and followed Cao Yu out of the classroom, completely ignoring the shock, envy, and jealousy behind him. However, for those few dozen seconds, he felt like he was being pricked by needles, as if someone wanted to stab him.

As the group of professors left one after another, Zhang Manling came to the three people in the dormitory and said, "Mr. Cao Yu really knows how to pick people!"

Li Xueqin said helplessly, "Comrade Zhang Manling, you are still too young. Is it possible that Mr. Cao Yu came here to pick him?"

"You mean there's something inside?"

"What inside story? It's obvious! Mr. Cao Yu just published a book review of 'Mr. Don't you notice? The other professors didn't seem surprised at all; it's like they already knew!"

I made these dumplings just for this plate of vinegar!

Liu Zhenyun hung his head and said, "I've brought shame to Henan Province!"

"Come on, if this is considered shameful, then you're not the only one who's shameful. Just get used to it. As long as you keep trying, you'll catch up someday."

(End of this chapter)