1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 101 Good news! ? ?
"Oh!" Zhou Xu remembered.

Only the black-and-white photo in the PLA Daily is clear enough; I have a relatively beautiful bone structure, so I'm easy to recognize.

"Hello?"

Liu Xiaoli immediately reached out her hand.

"My name is Liu Xiaoli!"

Zhou Xu also reached out and felt that her hands were very delicate, probably because she took good care of them. They had a fragrance, but it wasn't her natural body scent, as only virgins could smell that.

With his experience in recognizing women by their scent, Zhou Xu knew that the fragrance was clam oil, with a hint of soap.

"Comrade Liu Xiaoli, oh," Zhou Xu replied casually.

"Can I get your autograph?" Liu Xiaoli took out her notebook from her bag.

Zhou Xu smiled and signed her notebook.

Zhou Xu prepared to leave.

The girl clung to him and said, "Comrade Zhou Xu, are you going to the department store?"

"Hmm." Zhou Xu nodded blankly.

"What do you want to buy? I'm a local from Wuhan, I'll show you the way!"

Liu Xiaoli is probably from Heilongjiang, but she grew up in Wuhan with her parents, so there's nothing wrong with her saying she's from Wuhan.

"I'll buy a pot, a small earthenware pot, and a small stove, that's it..." Zhou Xu was a very realistic person. Regardless of whether the girl was trying to curry favor with him, it was indeed difficult for him to find a place when he was unfamiliar with the area.

"Okay, I'll lead the way for you, this way."

Zhou Xu followed her around and finally found the small casserole he wanted.

Liu Xiaoli continued to probe: "Comrade Zhou Xu, how old are you?"

"You'll be twenty soon, right?"

"So you were born in 1960? I was born in 1959, a year older than you, but you are truly outstanding!" Liu Xiaoli glanced at Zhou Xu, and it has to be said that she was particularly shrewd.

Judging from the fact that Liu Xiaoli is never controlled by her husband and can still "take care" of Liu Yifei, you can tell that this girl has a lot of ulterior motives.

Zhou Xu said helplessly, "It's alright."

"I guess you use this pot to cook for yourself in the army, right? Actually, we used to do the same when we were in the opera troupe."

"Hmm~"

Wow, it's so noisy.

Zhou Xu needs to learn to say no in the future.

"By the way, I didn't ask where you're from. Judging from your accent, you're from Enshi?"

"I'm from Lichuan, Enshi."

"Lichuan? You must be a Tujia person."

"correct."

"..."

"Could you give me your contact information? I want to send a letter to my teacher." Liu Xiaoli stared intently into Zhou Xu's eyes, blinking rapidly.
It's actually quite obvious.

Zhou Xu is able to publish his works at such a young age. He is a writer in the military and has even received a first-class merit award!
Being within the system is essentially a process of accumulating buffs.

This applies both domestically and internationally. The popularity of LGBTQ+, environmentalism, and anti-war sentiments abroad is simply a form of influence and political correctness.

Zhou Xu's various identities are also a kind of buff to him.

So Liu Xiaoli had it all planned out: why not find an opportunity to get to know such an outstanding person?

The key is that he's also handsome.

"You can just send letters directly to the performing arts troupe. I'll reply when I have time," Zhou Xu replied in a straightforward manner.

Liu Xiaoli squinted and pouted: Isn't it obvious? I want special attention!

"Of course not, I just really like Teacher Zhou's...work, but what if you can't see my letter...besides, aren't we friends now?"

"Okay, okay!" Zhou Xu gave her his contact information, mainly because he couldn't stand the girl's incessant chatter.

"..." Liu Xiaoli smiled and said, "By the way, teacher, let's go have lunch together? It's not late now, it'll be noon soon."

Zhou Xu glanced at the sky; since the girl had invited him, he had no choice but to go along.

"Shall I take you there? I know a place that has pretty good food."

Liu Xiaoli continued to lead the way, smiling as she followed Zhou Xu to a simple restaurant.

"I'd like a bowl of braised pork, a plate of stir-fried pork with chili peppers, and finally, pork rib and lotus root soup."

"Shall I treat you?"

"I'm so sorry, let me treat you." Zhou Xu prepared to pay.

Liu Xiaoli gently pushed his hand away, then handed the money to the restaurant...

Zhou Qingsheng could tell that he simply owed her a favor, and that he might treat her to a meal next time... Over time, they would treat each other and become familiar with each other.

So there are no truly straight men in the world; he's just not interested.

For example, Zhou Qingsheng has never had any intention of finding a partner.

Liu Xiaoli sat down, patted the stool, and waited for Zhou Xu to sit down with her.

Here's the second point: not all women in the 1980s were shy and ignorant! For example, Liu Xiaoqing went to great lengths to pursue her first husband, who worked in the capital, in order to go there.

Therefore, women with brains know how to utilize the relationship of love.

"Teacher Zhou Xu, please have a seat! This restaurant is delicious; I've been eating here since I was a child."

Zhou Xu sat down and waited for the food to be placed on the table so they could bring it over themselves.

Zhou Xu didn't stand on ceremony and started eating as soon as the dishes were served. Liu Xiaoli and he were having a lively conversation.

However, Zhou Xu didn't keep giving him the cold shoulder the whole time; he did say quite a bit.

"..."

After finishing his meal, Zhou Xu shook off the girl and said goodbye: "Goodbye!"

"Goodbye, Teacher Zhou. I'll treat you to dinner again next time."

He returned to the performing arts troupe.

Zhou Xu, carrying local specialties, first arrived at the studio: "Comrades, I brought some snacks. Feel free to take them if you like!"

He sold some local specialties from his hometown, namely dried tofu and cured meat. These are pretty much all that Enshi has to offer.

A group of people were very happy eating dried tofu.

Zhou Xu then ran to the political commissar: "Political Commissar, I'm back to wish you a belated Happy New Year!!"

Political Commissar Huang waited for him to come over and said with a smile, "You had a good time back home, didn't you?"

"Of course, but I'm used to military life. Going back would feel like being a caveman."

As Zhou Xu spoke, he took out the things he was holding.

Since a person's heart is located on the left side, it's definitely tilted, which is why the New Year's gifts for the group of friends in the creative studio were different from those for the political commissar.

"This is Lichuan black tea! This is Enshi Yulu tea. Although it can't be compared to the top ten famous teas, it's still well-known in our area."

Oh! By the way, let me be a cultural and tourism ambassador... These two teas were drunk by that old leader in the 21st century when he entertained foreign friends, and they caused our hometown's tea to sell out in no time... That's the influence of the country promoting products.

"This is an Enshi selenium-rich potato! It can help prevent cancer (because the area is rich in selenium)."

"Tujia oil tea soup".

"Baiyang Dried Tofu".

"Tujia cured pork".

"And this too!! Lichuan water shield."

"As for these, the dried mushrooms and dried bamboo shoots were dried by my parents themselves."

The political commissar was a little overwhelmed and said with a smile, "Why did you bring so much stuff?"

"Isn't it the New Year? Political Commissar, you know that you and I are the closest people in the whole regiment. I remember you were the one who led me when I first came to the regiment... My parents are also very grateful to you!"

"..." These words touched the political commissar a little.

"I treat all my comrades in the regiment with the same seriousness, but you're quite talented! Anyway, I can't go on... I just remembered your trip to the front lines. But thank you for all of this."

"No need to thank me. Political Commissar, please take it back for your aunt!" Zhou Xu put down his backpack.

Then I got a shoulder massage, and finally the things were brought over.

"Alright, alright, how many days have you been traveling by car?"

"There's no direct bus from Enshi; it takes about three to five days."

The political commissar waved and shoved Zhou Xu out of the office.
"You must be tired too, go back and rest first!"

The political commissar watched Zhou Xu leave, and then couldn't help but open the local specialties, which all looked quite delicious.

In this era of scarcity, everything was valuable.

Zhou Xu went back to his dormitory.

……

He had just returned to the performing arts troupe.

I rested for two days.

The editorial department called again, this time it was "PLA Literature and Art" again, and it was Comrade Liu Jiaju on the other end of the line as always.

Liu Jiaju said, "By the way, Comrade Zhou Xu, would you be willing to publish a standalone book of your novel, 'Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain'?"

"A standalone volume?" Zhou Xu paused for a long time.

"Well..."

Zhou Xu is now famous and has the ability to raise his prices, since the PLA Literature and Art Publishing House is not the only publishing house in China capable of publishing his work.

Publishers across the country, including People's Literature Publishing House, Writers Publishing House, Huacheng Publishing House, and Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, are all eyeing these excellent works.

Liu Jiaju understood Zhou Xu's meaning; "It's like this, you also know about the matter of restoring royalties for print runs, right?"

In May 1980, the State Press and Publication Administration issued the "Provisional Regulations on Book Royalties," which restored royalties based on the number of copies printed.

Remuneration is calculated in units of 10,000 copies. For print runs of 10,000 to 50,000 copies, 3% of the basic remuneration is paid per 10,000 copies. For print runs of 50,000 copies or more, a progressively decreasing method is applied.

Zhou Xu said, "But this new regulation hasn't been issued yet, right? Publishers can't just give money like this for the time being, can they?"

Liu Jiaju coughed and said, "You've got it wrong, haven't you? We're just publishing standalone books, why would we pay you?"

"……oh!!!"

Zhou Xu instantly understood what Liu Jiaju meant.

It's just a matter of timing. It's almost March now, and everyone knows that the Writers' Association is preparing to implement this new royalty system in May.

At that time, all Zhou Xu needed to do was start printing now, without paying royalties upfront, and then pay the royalties for two months in May. This way, he wouldn't break any rules and would still receive royalties for the print run.

Hearing this, he almost applauded Liu Jiaju: "Alright, then, Editor Liu, you guys handle the standalone edition of 'Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain,' okay? I don't know anything about books!"

"Then I'll take that as your agreement to publish the book as a standalone volume. We'll talk about the royalties later! That's all for now."

Liu Jiaju hung up the phone and sighed helplessly: "I feel that Zhou Xu has lost faith in our magazine ever since he was reported last time."

Liu Songlin nodded in agreement: "But we can't be too careful! We've given Comrade Zhou Xu a lot of benefits now, so maybe he'll understand us in the future."

(End of this chapter)