1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 140 Things Have Changed! How Can You Be So Awesome?

Three days later, Zhou Xu walked out of Beijing Railway Station.

In May, the snow in the capital had long since melted, and the weather was neither too hot nor too cold—a truly pleasant and comfortable time of year.

After two years, Zhou Xu has finally returned to the capital!
Of course, he wasn't that obsessed with the central government, because his highest dream was to achieve a decent position at the local level.

Upon arriving at the editorial office, Zhou Xu's figure naturally attracted attention: "Comrade Zhou Xu!"

"Editor Liu, it's been a long time!" Zhou Xu greeted the old editor as soon as he saw him.

Liu Jiaju had been wanting to catch up with Zhou Xu again, but he just hadn't had the time. Now that he'd seen Zhou Xu here, Liu Jiaju said with a smile, "Let's go, Comrade Zhou Xu, you've arrived at the editorial department. I'll go arrange your dormitory first!"

Zhou Xu followed Liu Jiaju outside.

This time, instead of arranging for him to stay in a library, they took Zhou Xu to the General Political Department's guesthouse and gave him a private room!
Liu Jiaju said, "Now that you're a well-known writer and the deputy battalion commander in our army, I'd feel embarrassed to let you live a life of scavenging!"

Zhou Xu replied, "I don't have any objections to where I live, after all, I have to obey the army's arrangements!"

"Your short story recently published in Harvest magazine is quite impressive!"

"Yes, those two short stories!"

"But you're on such good terms with Harvest now? Have you forgotten about your old employer?" Liu Jiaju played the emotional card, his tone tinged with a hint of resentment.

Zhou Xu immediately shook his head: "No, that's not it!"

"Is it because of the report we received last time that you still don't trust our editorial department?"

Zhou Xu shook his head again: "The reason I was reported was because of a problem with the Literature and Art Department, and it has already been dealt with. How could I possibly have a problem with you!"

"That's good. I was worried you'd misunderstand our magazine!" Liu Jiaju sighed. "...But you don't really want to send these short stories to our magazine? Is it because 'PLA Literature and Art' isn't reaching a very high level anymore?"

"No, it wasn't that. Teacher Ba Jin wrote to me asking me to write a high-quality piece, and in a moment of impulse, I submitted it to Harvest!" Zhou Xu used Ba Jin as a shield again.

Hearing this, Liu Jiaju didn't press the matter further: "So, what about your new work? No ideas?"

Zhou Xu said, "Did I submit it to *Shanghai Literature*? Wang Anyi contacted me last time to commission an article, saying she would give me a subsidy..."

After hearing Zhou Xu's story, Liu Jiaju scoffed. He felt a slight disbelief, not that he didn't believe Zhou Xu had given the magazine to "Shanghai Literature"?
Instead, they didn't believe that Zhou Xu would give up the novel for fifty yuan. Could it be that it was commissioned by Wang Anyi?

He had also met Wang Anyi; the young girl was quite pretty! After all, you couldn't get into the performing arts troupe if you weren't pretty! Could it be that Zhou Xu and Wang Anyi were having an affair?

He compared her to his own daughter, Liu Jia, and realized she wasn't bad either. However, in terms of looks, Liu Jia was actually a little better. Could it be that Zhou Xu preferred women with higher education? Wang Anyi was indeed quite educated…

After thinking for a while, Liu Jiaju finally sighed and said, "Then I won't bother you anymore. You should rest well at the guesthouse. You can go out and have some fun these few days! The awards ceremony is on the 25th! I'll let you know in advance if there are any arrangements!"

Liu Jiaju closed the door.

Zhou Xu went back into the house and lay down.

He was holding a book in his hands.

He then slowly fell asleep while reading a book.

The capital city is no longer cold in May; you can sleep comfortably with just a blanket and no need to light a fire.

Two days passed.

An unexpected phone call came in: "Comrade Zhou Xu, do you still remember me?"

Upon hearing the voice, Zhou Xu thought for a moment, but the distinctive air of someone from a high-ranking family reminded him: "You're Wang Shuo, aren't you?"

"Oh! Thank goodness, this great writer still remembers me! I just heard you're in the capital, so I thought I'd get together with you!" Wang Shuo said on the other end of the phone. "This time we won't go to Quanjude, I'll take you to Donglaishun for a good meal and drinks! Oh, and two friends want to meet you!"

Zhou Xu hung up the phone.

Someone's inviting me to dinner, might as well go!
Besides, if he has the opportunity to develop his career in the capital in the future, there's nothing wrong with him making more connections!
the next day.

I've tidied things up!
Hey! It's like he said nothing at all; no matter how Zhou Xu tries to dress up, he's still in his military uniform.

When they arrived at Donglaishun, Wang Shuo was nearly 1.8 meters tall, and he was accompanied by two friends, both around 1.8 meters tall!

It's quite rare to see this group of people standing together. Why? Because in the 1980s, the average height was only 165 cm, so three people who were 1.8 meters tall plus Zhou Xu, who was also 1.8 meters tall, made this formation very eye-catching!

"Here you are! You've become a high-ranking official and don't recognize me anymore!" Wang Shuo exclaimed with a laugh!
Zhou Xu walked towards the three of them.

Zhou Xu didn't recognize the other two people next to Wang Shuo, but these two people did recognize him and were looking at him with surprise!

Wang Shuo said, "I'll introduce you later. Let's go find a seat first!"

Wang Shuo went to Donglaishun.

In 79, Donglaishun was restored to its original brand name. It is the most famous hot pot restaurant in the capital. Their hot pot is different from the Sichuan hot pot of later generations. It is a traditional Beijing copper pot with a protruding center.

The mutton can be cooked in the broth and then taken out to eat! The seasonings are still carefully selected. The soy sauce is natural soy sauce from our own "Tianyishun" sauce factory, and the shrimp oil is made from small shrimp from Nanbeibao, Hebei. More than ten kinds of seasonings are placed in small bowls.

A plate of sliced ​​mutton cost 9 cents, side dishes like cabbage and garlic cost 2 cents per serving, and a small bucket of draft beer also cost 9 cents. At that time, the average worker's monthly salary was around several tens of yuan, so going to Donglaishun for a hot pot meal was a relatively luxurious expense for an average family.

There are two main ways to eat: "refined eating" and "fierce eating!" There are quite a few TV dramas about it.

Wang Shuo shouted, "First, bring four plates of mutton, beef shank, mutton kidney slices, mutton tripe, and mutton honeycomb tripe. And two vegetable dishes: stir-fried mutton and stir-fried pork tenderloin with coriander..."

After ordering these dishes.

A group of people were waiting.

Wang Shuo then began to introduce them: "These two are my friends, and this one... you two should know Comrade Zhou Xu whom I've been talking about!"

The first to stand up was Ma Weidu, who formally shook hands with Zhou Xu: "Teacher Zhou Xu! My name is Ma Weidu! You can just call me Lao Ma!"

Ma Weidu?
Tsk! Upon hearing this, Zhou Xu instantly remembered that Ma Weidu was an editor at "Youth Literature" in the early 1980s, but later became a big shot in the Beijing circle. He was especially famous for his ability to find bargains. Zhou Xu was drooling!
"Hello, Comrade Ma!"

Ma Weidu flattered Zhou Xu even more than Wang Shuo: "Teacher Zhou, you are truly amazing. Your voice is heard all over the country. It is my good fortune to meet you today."

"Haha, Comrade Ma, you flatter me!"

Ma Weidu immediately had the editor's idea in mind: "Comrade Zhou Xu! Do you have any ideas lately? Our *Youth Literature* magazine will definitely..."

Wang Shuo coughed and said, "Old Ma, Old Ma, you're here to eat, don't talk about work!"

Another comrade stood up: "Hello, Teacher Zhou Xu, my name is Zheng Xiaolong, you can just call me Xiaolong!" Zheng Xiaolong shook hands with Zhou Xu, without much flattery! But the excitement in his eyes could not be erased.

Zheng Xiaolong is still studying at Peking University! You know Peking University, right? It's full of literary youths, even more so than the average young person. Under these circumstances, Zhou Xu's fame at Peking University is second only to Bei Dao!

Why is he second only to Bei Dao? Because poets are even more pretentious than writers, and their affected manner is even stronger.

Of course, Zhou Xu knew more about Zheng Xiaolong's identity.

Wang Shuo and Zheng Xiaolong are both children of military families, and they have known each other for a long time!

Wang Shuo's father was a regimental-level cadre, and Zhou Xu caught up with him in just two years of hard work.

However, Zheng Xiaolong's status was higher than Wang Shuo's; his father was the propaganda minister of the General Staff Department... a rank roughly equivalent to a department head, or even a division commander! That's a high enough rank!
Wang Shuo coughed and said, "Alright, everyone knows each other now, right?"

"The food is here!"

Zhou Xu's mouth watered as soon as he saw the food arrive.

Soon the copper pot and all sorts of dishes were brought over.

Zhou Xu is scalding mutton!

He popped a mouthful in, and Zhou Xu exclaimed, "Delicious!!!"
"Haha, being a soldier! It's always like this. The first time I went back to the city, I ate a whole plate of mutton!" Zheng Xiaolong said with a laugh. "But Comrade Zhou Xu is so capable, I'm afraid the army won't let you leave anytime soon!"

Zhou Xu coughed and said, "I don't know. Let's talk about leaving the army after I finish my studies!"

Zhou Xu wasn't in the mood to talk to them; his only purpose in coming here was to eat! He'd already eaten a bowl of mutton!

He looked at Wang Shuo: "Anything else?"

"Comrade, give us four more plates of mutton..."

Ma Weidu once mentioned on a program that he ate hot pot with Wang Shuo and others in the 80s. There were more than ten people at the table, and according to the standard of two catties of mutton per person, they ordered more than 20 catties of meat as soon as they entered the door.

Zhou Xu only ate so little, which Wang Shuo could accept. He was known as a little tyrant, generous and lavish.

Wang Shuo picked up a piece of tender, boiled mutton with his chopsticks, coated it with sesame sauce, and put it in his mouth. As he chewed, he looked at Zhou Xu across from him and exclaimed in amazement, "Zhou Xu, you've really made something of yourself! We've only been apart for a little over a year, right? And you've already won the National Excellent Novella Award?"

Before the award ceremony, the list of winners had already been published in newspapers, and he, Ma Weidu, Zheng Xiaolong and their group had heard about it long ago.

But when Wang Shuo actually sat in front of the copper pot at Donglaishun, facing this junior who had entered the industry a step later than him, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Zhou Xu entered the industry much later than I did! I had been writing my own book for half a year before Zhou Xu published his first work.

Who knew that after publishing his debut work, this person would become unstoppable, with each of his works having a far-reaching impact. Now, at the age of twenty, he has won the National Excellent Novella Award, making him arguably the youngest winner ever!

Looking at myself, I realize that many of my manuscripts are now published by smaller magazines, and I even have to revise them several times.

Thinking about this, he wanted to say: How come you're so awesome?

Zhou Xu continued eating his mutton, then choked up slightly: "Speaking of which, I was actually quite surprised myself. I actually won the National Excellent Novella Award! I couldn't believe it when I first heard about it! Maybe it was just luck!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Xiaolong coughed, thinking to himself, "I was lucky enough to win the Nobel Prize, wasn't I?"

However, the way they looked at Zhou Xu was genuine envy and admiration!
Twenty years old!?
As Eileen Chang once said, "Ah, one should become famous as early as possible! If it comes too late, the joy is not so intense."

Becoming famous at twenty is really a good thing!

The feeling of being able to keep up with everything is wonderful, but when you get old and famous, you won't have that same sense of pride from being admired by everyone.

Zhou Xu is currently being adored by a group of young people, but he didn't have time to experience it while he was in the army. Of course, he did experience being adored by women to some extent.

Zheng Xiaolong laughed and said, "Don't talk about luck. So many people in our school can't even get into writing! The group of people in the literary society can only write a few poems! The only one who is slightly famous is Liu Zhenyun, but he's not that great! I really admire you. You're only twenty years old and you're already a well-known writer!"

Zhou Xu nodded. Liu Zhenyun didn't seem to be anything special; he was a well-known writer in his later years! He wrote "One Sentence Worth Ten Thousand Sentences"!
However, Zheng Xiaolong's observation is also correct.

Speaking solely of writing, out of the thousands, even tens of thousands of students at Peking University, hundreds or even thousands must have actually put pen to paper, yet not a single one has been published in a provincial-level or higher journal! Perhaps the Chinese Literature Department might get lucky and publish a commentary.

The novel has one exception: a man named Chen Jiangong.

However, Chen Jiangong was admitted to Peking University as a writer, and he is almost thirty years old now!

From this perspective, Zhou Xu really is a genius.
Zhou Xu laughed and said, "Peking University! The national center of universities! So many people envy it! Comrade Xiaolong, I admire you very much too!"

To reiterate: "How can Wuhan University compare to Tsinghua University? Tsinghua University today is like the Whampoa Military Academy of the past. In the future, when it comes to the appointment and promotion of cadres, Tsinghua and Peking University will definitely be number one!"

"Tsinghua and Peking University? Only a few out of a thousand people could achieve what you did!" Zheng Xiaolong took a sip of wine.

Upon hearing this, Wang Shuo clicked his tongue in amazement and exclaimed, "Enough said, let's drink!"

"drink!"

"We're all friends now, no need for these formalities! Let's be real, drink and eat!" Wang Shuo sighed.

After dinner.

Wang Shuo paid the bill!

Before leaving, Ma Weidu called out to Zhou Xu, "Teacher Zhou, do you like the necklace?"

Zhou Xu asked curiously, "A necklace?"

Ma Weidu took out a piece of Hetian jade: "This thing isn't worth much now. I found it with someone who didn't know its value last time. Maybe it's worth around 800 yuan! Consider it a gift from me to you?"

Zhou Xu didn't know much about antiques, but the quality looked good: "Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Ma Weidu said, "What's wrong with friends giving each other gifts? I'm not asking you for any favors."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xu's eyes lit up, and he took the necklace: "Thank you, Lao Ma. I'll treat you to dinner next time."

"You also like antiques?"

"A little, perhaps?"

Zhou Xu frosted the necklace and put it in his pocket.

(End of this chapter)