1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 111 Another Fierce General Subdued (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
No. 675 Julu Road, Shanghai, is a Western-style building that holds literary significance.

This place is not only the headquarters of the magazines Harvest and Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, but also the location of the Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House.

It is also home to the Shanghai branches of the China Writers Association and the China Film Association.

It can be called a "holy land" in Shanghai's literary and artistic circles, and the legendary spiral staircase in the building is the path to the core of literature - climbing three floors will take you to the editorial office of Harvest magazine.

"Comrade Li Xiaolin, your letter!" the postman called out.

Li Xiaolin happily walked towards the door and received a thick letter. She slowly opened the letter and read it.

"It's a letter from Comrade Zhou Xu?!" Li Xiaolin exclaimed with slight excitement.

After all, Zhou Xu hadn't written a single letter before, so she thought her letter requesting an article had been ignored!
However, Li Xiaolin wrote the letter in Ba Jin's name, and mentioned Ba Jin in many places in the letter, which is why Zhou Xu was moved.

Li Xiaolin is also a second-generation writer, but there are many second-generation writers in the literary world, right? I don't need to mention her; the most familiar example is Shit and Pee Sister (a character from a popular TV show).

Wang Anyi, the author of "The Song of Everlasting Regret," is the daughter of Ru Zhijuan, the author of "The Lily" in the Chinese textbook.

Liang Zuo's mother was Chen Rong, the author of "Middle Age"...

Among the second generation, there are good and bad. In fact, Li Xiaolin is one of the more conventional ones, honestly inheriting her father's mantle and later becoming the editor-in-chief of "Harvest".

“The Boy in Striped Pajamas?” Li Xiaolin slowly opened the letter and quickly saw the book cover peeking out. Now she was quite curious about what story Zhou Xu had written.

Zhou Xu often writes military novels... well, it should be said that he has never written any other type of novel besides military novels, so Li Xiaolin guessed that this should be a work with a military theme.

She walked into the office carrying her manuscript.

Guo Zhuo asked, "Who sent the letter to Xiao Lin?"

Li Xiaolin didn't hide anything: "I sent a letter to Comrade Zhou Xu last time, so he sent the manuscript back this time."

"Oh! Is the novel well-written?!" Guo Zhuo asked curiously.

Li Xiaolin nodded: "I'm still looking at it."

Li Xiaolin read the novel more deeply. She felt that Zhou Xu's novel was trying to explore human nature on a deeper level. While the story itself might not be as compelling as "Lurking," it seemed to have a more literary feel.
What is this? Unit 731!

Li Xiaolin saw a name that was familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar.

Oh, so it's a novel based on the Japanese's past bacteriological experiments in China?

Have to complain.

After all that hype surrounding "731," with claims of being stuck in censorship, this is what it turns out to be? Despite the extensive promotion, many moviegoers felt it didn't live up to its hype and wasn't the great film it claimed to be.

The main theme was the trend set by the State Administration of Radio and Television back then, but... some of the films were indeed unsatisfactory.

Just like "The Sinking of Lisbon Maru" is a good subject matter, whether it's a novel or a documentary, but then Guan Hu made the terrible film "Dongji Island".

"It's really well written! Guo Zhuo, do you want to read it?"

After reading it, Li Xiaolin sighed. Not only sighed, but she also wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye. She was heartbroken when she saw that the two male protagonists were killed by Xiao Rizi with poison gas at the end of the story.

Guo Zhuo opened the manuscript of the novel that Li Xiaolin handed him.

This novel, totaling 120,000 words, describes the persecution of imprisoned Chinese by the Japanese during the War of Resistance against Japan... All the crimes were presented to Guo Zhuo.

Of course, Zhou Xu made localized adaptations and consulted a lot of materials before writing this novel.

Guo Zhuo shook his head: "This novel is written as realistically as a work of documentary literature!"

“I was deeply moved after reading it, and I feel that our Harvest magazine also has a responsibility to publish this novel!” Li Xiaolin said immediately.

Guo Zhuo paused for a moment: "Let's show it to the editor-in-chief first. It's a bit gory and needs to be reviewed! And right now..."

Japan established diplomatic relations with China in 72, and these past few years can be considered a honeymoon period for the US, China, and Japan, with relations remaining very harmonious.

Therefore, Guo Zhuo was still afraid that publishing anti-Japanese war novels now might damage Sino-Japanese friendship.

But things are different when the editor-in-chief speaks up. After all, it's Ba Jin. Even if the novel has some influence, the higher-ups wouldn't dare to make things difficult for Ba Jin.

Cough!

Li Xiaolin pondered for a moment, then took the novel into the office and knocked on the door: "Dad... oops, is the editor-in-chief here?"

She had forgotten how to refer to plants when she was working.

Ba Jin tapped the table, signaling Li Xiaolin to come into the room.

Li Xiaolin entered the room with the manuscript. She put it down and said, "Didn't I talk to you about Comrade Zhou Xu last time? So I asked him for a novel. This novel is a bit sensitive."

"Is it a military novel?" Ba Jin picked up the manuscript.

Military novels are indeed easy to be sensitive about.

During the War of Resistance against Japan, Ba Jin actively participated in the cultural salvation movement, creating works such as "Spring," "Autumn," and "Cold Night," focusing on the suffering of the lower classes and the struggles of humanity, with a more profound style.

He was also one of those writers who fought to save the nation: "Hmm... this novel..."

He sighed as he read the novel.

Soon, Ba Jin also finished reading the novel.
His eyes were brimming with tears as he said, "...Few people touch upon this long-forgotten history; it is an old scar on our nation! Comrade Zhou Xu not only wrote a good story, but also incorporated his own understanding of anti-war sentiment! He is an excellent writer!"

"..."

Ba Jin rarely felt so moved by novels about the War of Resistance against Japan, because many of these novels now praise the bravery of soldiers and heroes, which is certainly commendable.

However, themes about the persecution of ordinary people by war are rare, and this novel is written from the perspective of teenagers.

"Can it be published in Harvest?" He said, "It can be published, don't worry. Excellent novels will be proven by history! I can vouch for it!"

Li Xiaolin realized her mistake and left the editorial department with her novel.

"The editor-in-chief is going to take a break, but he said this novel can be published."

-

Three days later.

Zhou Xu stood outside the gate of the Shengli Cultural Troupe.

He led the group to board the Victory Cultural Troupe's car.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the cultural troupe, before they could even go back to rest, the political commissar and the troupe leader first had them stand at the entrance, and then gathered everyone together:

"Let us give a warm round of applause to Comrade Zhou Xu and Comrade Xiong Jiayuan for winning the first prize in the arts competition held by the General Political Department in the first all-army singers' competition since the reform and opening up!!"

A group of people applauded and congratulated them.

Only after the public commendation was completed did the political commissar release the group of people.

The political commissar waved his hand, and Zhou Xu walked over to him: "The application materials for the third-level screenwriter have been submitted. You are now a great contributor to the art troupe, and I believe the comrades in the political department will not reject it."

The conditions for Level 3 are:

Possesses professional theoretical knowledge and has the ability to create independently. Works demonstrate a certain level of intellectual and artistic merit; plays and programs have been performed by theaters and troupes and have received positive reviews.

In fact, in addition to the conditions mentioned above, there are many other restrictions within the military, such as age and length of service.

Zhou Xu has been here for almost two years, and given his outstanding achievements, he still has a good chance.

"Oh! It should take another month or two for the materials to come through, right?" Zhou Xu asked.

The political commissar nodded: "It should take about that long, you don't need to worry too much."

"No, no."

Zhou Xu felt delighted when he thought of the title of deputy battalion commander.

"..."

Back in his dormitory, Zhou Xu immediately lay down on his bed and fell fast asleep. Suddenly, he felt a little hot.

"..."

It was only then that Zhou Xu realized that it was already June in Wuhan; time really flies!

He felt that the time for the New Year and the competition had passed in the blink of an eye.

But he wasn't bothered by the heat anymore; he had his own super-sized fan, which he turned on full blast: "So refreshing!!!"

"Boom boom boom!"

"Boom boom boom!"

There was a knock on the door. Zhou Xu sighed and immediately got up, opening the door with a bit of morning grumpiness: "Who is it?"

"Hehehe, Comrade Zhou Xu!" Xiong Da chuckled foolishly, "Me and..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lei Yuansheng squeezed in: "I heard you have a big fan, let me try it out..."

"Ahem..." Zhou Xu glanced at them: "Go inside and take a shower first!"

Lei Yuansheng, carrying a large basin, said, "I'm holding it, aren't I? Come with me."

“I brought shampoo! Comrade Zhou Xu, you don’t need to take anything.” Xiong Jiayuan walked ahead.

Zhou Xu followed a group of people downstairs and went straight to take a shower, feeling completely refreshed.

Soon, he returned to the dormitory with a group of people.

Zhou Xu lay in the middle, one of the two lay on the ground, and the other found a bunk bed and lay down in the room.

"It's so cool! I really appreciate the fan! It's so refreshing," Lei Yuansheng exclaimed, enjoying the breeze.

Xiong Jiayuan nodded: "Actually, I can now understand why the leader likes Comrade Zhou Xu."

Before Xiong Jiayuan could finish speaking, Zhou Xu kicked him off the bed frame: "Nonsense!!"

"I'm not talking nonsense. To be honest, when I encounter such an outstanding soldier, I treat him well and provide him with good food and drink. Not only does he bring back awards and honors for the cultural troupe, but he can also be kept as a mascot in the troupe," Xiong Jiayuan sighed.

He used to avoid talking to Zhou Xu, even though they were close in age.

Firstly, he rarely interacted with singers and songwriters, and secondly, he hadn't particularly liked Zhou Xu's hedonistic personality in the past.

Later he realized that talented people are welcomed everywhere.

Especially after he saw that Zhou Xu had declined invitations from Yan Weiwen of the General Political Department twice, and Yan Su had also extended an invitation, Zhou Xu's admiration for him grew even stronger!

Lei Yuansheng clicked his tongue: "Didn't you get impressed by them?"

Xiong Jiayuan nodded: "I'm truly impressed!"

Well, Zhou Xu felt he had gained another powerful general, and there was hope for retaking the Victory Art Troupe in the future!

(End of this chapter)