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

Chapter 97 Shao Yan Apologizes (One more chapter to come)
Zou Huofan inside remained silent, so Yan Chen had no choice but to start shoving the editors gathered outside, making them return to their places one by one. Liu Yimin quietly walked to the side and opened the wooden glass window. The moment it opened, a rush of cold air poured in, and the temperature in the editorial department seemed to drop several degrees immediately.

The unburned gas inside, mixed with the smell of smoke and other unidentified odors, was driven out by the cold air. Liu Yimin felt that if this continued, the editorial department of "Poetry Journal" would definitely suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning.

After Yan Chen pushed everyone aside, Zou Huofan took the manuscript, walked to the window, took a few deep breaths, and patted his heaving chest, saying, "Look at all of you, all crammed together, I can't even breathe while sitting on this stool!"

Then he handed the manuscript to Yan Chen, panting heavily, and said, "Old Yan, you read it, I need to catch my breath!"

"Old Zou, the editorial department still needs ventilation!"

"Ventilation, it will definitely be open from now on!"

The group of veteran editors inside were all heavy smokers, and they competed to see who could exhale the most smoke. Some even joked that the more yellow the area between the middle and index fingers was smoked, the more professional one was.

[Love of Life - Liu Yimin]

I don't think about whether I can succeed.
Since you've chosen the distant horizon

They only cared about braving the wind and rain.

I don't think about whether I can win love.
As long as you love life
Everything was as expected.

When Yan Chen read aloud, it wasn't like Zou Huofan's passionate and frenzied recitation of poetry; instead, it was a low, deeply affectionate tone. After all, as the editor-in-chief, he couldn't let the other editors laugh at him.

After Yan Chen finished reading, Zou Huofan gave the others a smug look: "Don't just sit there, come and give your opinions!"

"Old Zou, Yimin's writing is undoubtedly excellent. Like 'Ideal,' it has an inspiring effect, but it sounds different. 'Ideal' is about moving forward without hesitation, while this song 'Love Life' is full of personal emotions. It not only has the spirit of moving forward without hesitation and urging people to strive forward, but also encourages people who are in the low point of life and wasting their years to bravely love life."

Ge Luo said with a smile.

"It has perfect parallelism and rhythmic beauty, similar to 'The Ideal.' It is easy to read aloud, with a rhythmic quality, and the sound gradually builds from soft to loud, eventually reaching a climax. 'As long as you love life, everything is within your expectations!'"

Yan Chen echoed.

"During the reform and opening up period, we needed poetry like this to inspire the whole country to achieve new victories. From the time the four-man team was wiped out until the meeting, the country and individuals were in a state of confusion. Although everyone is still confused now, at least we have a general direction."

I believe our poetry should also emerge from its confusion and call upon everyone to unite as one. As long as we share the same goal, victory is within our grasp!

"Yes, as long as we share the same goal, victory is within our expectations!"

Inside the editorial office of Poetry Journal, the editors were extremely excited. They felt that the country had been lost for too long, and individuals had been lost for too long. Encouraging poetry was like a torch in the fog, constantly guiding everyone forward.

Zou Huofan glanced at Shao Yanxiang, who was speaking enthusiastically, with a strange expression.

Upon seeing this, Shao Yan smiled slightly at Zou Huofan, then looked at Liu Yimin and said, "Yimin, I have to apologize to you. When you submitted your first poem, we discussed the payment. At that time, Lao Zou proposed a very high payment standard, which I felt was inappropriate. So I stopped him, thinking that high payments would not be conducive to the hard work of young people and would easily breed complacency and arrogance. Therefore, I suggested that you receive a lower payment."

Old Zou argued vehemently at the time, as did Old Ge. Fortunately, Old Yan made the final decision, aligning the payment with that of *People's Literature*, which was neither less than seven yuan nor too low. Now it seems I was wrong; your creative passion won't change because of this payment.

Shao Yan spoke sincerely, while Zou Huofan and the others remained silent. Yan Chen smiled, pleased to see this scene; the editorial department needed to remain united.

Liu Yimin glanced at Zou Huofan and Ge Luo, not expecting there to be such a story in the editorial department. No wonder he was thinking about it when he received his payment; the two editorial departments were surprisingly in sync.

"Old Shao, we can't blame you for this. Everyone has their own thoughts. Yimin is not a petty person. He can write so many magnificent poems. His heart must be incredibly broad. In the words of us cultured people, he has mountains and rivers in his heart, and hills and valleys in his heart."

Zou Huofan spoke first.

"Editor Shao, Comrade Lao Zou is right. Everyone has the right to speak. The instructor also said that we should let everyone speak!"

Seeing Zou Huofan and Liu Yimin say this, Shao Yan's expression relaxed.

Then, Shao Yan, looking embarrassed, said awkwardly, "Um, Lao Zou, Yimin, could you please add my name to the preface? I..."

Liu Yimin took out the manuscript and saw that it was indeed filled with names, but Shao Yanxiang's name was not among them.

Shao Yan thought for a long time. Everyone's name was on the list in the same room, but hers wasn't. If someone asked, she wouldn't be able to explain it at all.

It's as if I'm terrible at uniting my comrades.

Liu Yimin smiled and said, "Okay!"

"I have a suggestion: why not include the editorial department's discussion on the manuscript fee standards in the article as well?"

Shao Yanxiang's suggestion was agreed upon by everyone present. Zou Huofan, the chief writer, made some revisions and added a brief note of Shao Yanxiang's remorse at the end. Liu Yimin took the preface and left. Since Shao Yanxiang hadn't suffered any loss, and the stories from the editorial department made the preface even more interesting, as for how to maintain contact in the future, things would remain the same.
"High royalties are not conducive to young people's creative work?" Liu Yimin almost spat on the spot. Isn't this the same principle as low housing prices being not conducive to hard work?

After leaving *Poetry Journal*, another debate arose within the editorial department regarding who should write a review for the poem "Love of Life." Zou Huofan had already written several reviews, and naturally, the others disagreed with writing another one. Finally, Yan Chen made the decision: everyone who wanted to write would produce a review, and the best review would be published.

Yan Chen returned to his office, pulled out a sheet of paper, and quickly wrote "Love life—" on the manuscript with a pen.

Unlike later times when the streets of Yanjing were decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, they were still full of the festive atmosphere of the New Year.

Inside the alley, steam rose from the chimneys of every household, and all sorts of aromas filled the air. The rare smell of meat made the children playing outside drool.

Some children were playing with rolling iron hoops. Rolling iron hoops is done by using a wire with a hook to push and control the speed and direction of the hoop. The children, wearing cotton shoes and with mud stuck to their pants, ran around and had a great time.

I rode my bicycle back to the Beijing People's Art Theatre and watched the rehearsal. The actors were all present, and the rehearsal went much more smoothly. Lan Tianye was sitting below, watching them rehearse from beginning to end.

"Yimin, you're back?"

"Teacher Lan, how is it?"

Lan Tianye knew he was asking about Zhu Lin, so he said, "She's definitely not as good as the veteran actors from the Beijing People's Art Theatre, and she's also not as good as Yang Lixin and the others. But the young girl is very hardworking; at least she's memorized her lines. As for the rest, she'll take it one step at a time!"

After listening, Liu Yimin didn't say anything, but instead watched the performance.

"He delivered his lines smoothly, but his facial expressions couldn't keep up!" Liu Yimin said.

"Yes, I was so nervous!"

Zhu Lin was performing when she saw Liu Yimin sitting next to Lan Tianye. She panicked for a moment and misspoke her lines. After realizing her mistake, she quickly apologized to Lan Tianye.

"Come again if there's nothing else!" Lan Tianye said helplessly, rubbing his forehead.

Seeing that no further mistakes were made, Lan Tianye looked at Liu Yimin and teased, "This little girl shouldn't have made any mistakes with her lines, how come you made a mistake as soon as you arrived?"

“Mr. Lan, shall I go?” Liu Yimin said, standing up.

“Alright, sit down! Let’s give her some practice, otherwise she’ll keep making mistakes when performing in a theater with nearly a thousand people.” Lan Tianye pulled Liu Yimin aside, gesturing for him to sit down.

During halftime, Zhu Lin walked over to Liu Yimin and said, "I'm sorry, Comrade Liu Yimin, I'm sorry to disappoint you! I don't know what happened just now, my mind just went blank!"

“If you perform perfectly in the first rehearsal, then all those actors from the Beijing People’s Art Theatre have practiced for nothing all these years,” Liu Yimin said, pointing to Yang Lixin beside him.

Yang Lixin took a few sips of tea, wiped his sweat, and quickly said, "Yes, Comrade Zhu Lin, I entered school in '75, and this is almost my fourth year of training. You've only been training for one day, and you're already doing very well. I remember when I first rehearsed, I stammered when I said my lines. Lao Pu, what about you?"

Pu Cunxi quickly came over and began to talk about his failure in his first rehearsal. His story was even more disastrous than Yang Lixin's. As he spoke, he glanced at Liu Yimin to see what expression he had on his face.

Seeing that Liu Yimin was satisfied, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Look, even they, as professionals, are struggling this much. You can only imagine how difficult it must be for you. If you're better than them on your first try, they might as well just buy a block of tofu and smash their heads against it!"

Zhu Lin was amused and regained some confidence. He said to Yang Lixin and Pu Cunxi, "Comrades Yang Lixin and Pu Cunxi, please help me in the future!"

"Comrade Zhu Lin, rest assured, we will definitely help wherever we can!"

After finishing his sentence, Pu Cunxi said to Liu Yimin, "Writer Liu, thank you. This opportunity for Yang Lixin and me was all given to us by you. We will definitely work hard! Teacher Lan told me that as long as I perform well, he will find a way to transfer me to the Beijing People's Art Theatre!"

"You don't need to be so polite!"

"If you ever need our help at the Beijing People's Art Theatre, just let us know." After becoming familiar with Liu Yimin, Yang Lixin spoke much more casually than Pu Cunxi.

On stage, after one more rehearsal, today's rehearsal officially ended.

Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin walked out of the rehearsal hall and ran into Cao Yu as soon as they stepped outside.

Zhu Lin looked at Cao Yu and subconsciously said, "Isn't this the old comrade I met at the play the other day?"

I'm going home for vacation, there will be another update later... Please vote!

(End of this chapter)