1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 21 The Children of High-Ranking Officials!

For the past ten days or so, Zhou Xu has been revising the manuscript.

After all, his main purpose in coming here was to revise the manuscript.

However, in order to earn money from the manuscript, and given the one-month deadline, there was no benefit in revising it in advance, so he kept procrastinating.

Beyond his bedroom was the General Political Department's library, which contained mostly books on revolutionary history and war, with very few other types of books.

Zhou Xu reads everything; he reads whatever he's bored.

After all, the current Beijing is not the city he is familiar with. Apart from the editor, he doesn't know anyone else there!

After finishing revising the manuscript today, Zhou Xu left the guesthouse and went to the magazine office!
Were you at the magazine editing manuscripts?
No, no, no! It's just about building relationships. Maybe some old leader will be in a good mood and pull him into the editorial department as a new editor!
That's actually quite possible; many editors today were originally writers.

For example, Li Tuo was originally a worker, but after he gained some fame by submitting novels, the Beijing Writers Association recruited him and arranged for him to be a resident writer for "Beijing Literature" to specialize in literary works.

Maybe Zhou Xu?

Because he published his work, he was transferred to "PLA Literature and Art" as a new editor? Being an editor really has its advantages, after all, it's a secure job.

"Zhou Xu! Zhou Xu!" Liu Jiaju shouted!
"Editor Liu!"

Liu Jiaju called Zhou Xu over.

Standing next to him was a slightly chubby man with a round head, wearing a military uniform.

Zhou Xu looked at him, his big eyes and flat nose filled with resentment!
Damn it, isn't this Wang Shuo?

"Let me introduce you. This is Comrade Wang Shuo, a writer from the Navy, and this is Comrade Zhou Xu, who edits the manuscript. You two should get to know each other!"

Wang Shuo joined the army in 77. After basic training, he was sent to a military hospital in Qingdao to learn medic skills. Six months later, he worked on a naval degaussing ship.

It seems Wang Shuo's performance in the army wasn't great either. He wasn't assigned to a front-line unit but instead did odd jobs, which usually means he was at the bottom of the training rankings.

In 1978, during the reorganization of the Navy, Wang Shuo was assigned to a military warehouse as a medic. That same year, while working at the warehouse, he wrote his first novel, "Waiting," which was published in the 11th issue of "PLA Literature and Art."

So Wang Shuo is still Zhou Xu's senior!
However, Wang Shuo became slightly popular after the publication of "Air Hostess" in 1984, and became really popular after the release of movies like "Half Flame, Half Sea" in 1988, which even earned the title of "Wang Shuo Year"!
Wang Shuo, like Zhou Xu, is now just a nobody in the literary world.

Zhou Xu said, "Comrade Wang Shuo!"

"Hey! Hello!" Wang Shuo smiled.

Zhou Xu immediately sensed that this man was a troublemaker. He was extremely arrogant when he was young, and the younger he got, the more arrogant he became.

Liu Jiaju continued, "Comrade Wang Shuo published a work in 'Liberation Army Literature' and is here to collect his royalties! I was thinking of going to the finance department and giving you a ten-day allowance in advance!"

Nowadays, magazines only pay authors after the novel is published; that is, they only pay authors when the novel is featured in the magazine.

Liu Jiaju's purpose in providing the subsidy was simple: Zhou Xu had only been serving for less than a month and hadn't received his salary yet, so he was afraid Zhou Xu would starve to death in the guesthouse.

The two followed the editor to the finance department.

"Hey, how old are you?" Wang Shuo glanced at Zhou Xu, clearly concerned about the matter.

Zhou Xu said, "Me? Eighteen years old."

"Young! A young genius!" Wang Shuo raised his head and looked him over again. These children of high-ranking officials usually looked down on outsiders; their main emotion was arrogance. Wang Shuo was indeed arrogant.

However, Wang Shuo is not a bad person by nature; he is particularly loyal.

In 2001, Liang Zuo suddenly passed away from a heart attack. Wang Shuo was devastated when he heard the news. He went to Liang Zuo's home, only to find Liang Zuo's relatives rummaging through drawers and cabinets looking for things, while Liang Zuo's 15-year-old daughter, Liang Qing, was crying helplessly and handed him an IOU.

It turned out that after Liang Zuo's death, his brother-in-law Yingda came to his door with an IOU and forcibly took away Liang Zuo's computer and other valuables, attempting to monopolize Liang Zuo's posthumous works and seek profit from them. Wang Shuo was furious about this, and he and Liang Qing rushed to Yingda's house, demanding that Yingda return the computer, but Yingda refused to hand it over.

Wang Shuo then sued Yingda and ultimately succeeded in regaining the computer and the works contained within. He also promised in court, "I will support Liang Qing for Liang Zuo!" In addition, Wang Shuo compiled the manuscripts from Liang Zuo's computer into a book titled "The Book of Laughter and Forgetting," which is Liang Zuo's only collection of works. The royalties from the book were left to Liang Zuo's wife and daughter, part of which was used to pay off debts and part of which was used to support Liang Qing's studies abroad.

However, this alone shows that he has a conscience.

"How old are you?" Zhou Xu asked as well.

"I'm two years older than you." Wang Shuo slapped his forehead. "Are you in the army?"

"Yes, I heard it's in our unit's artillery company, but I'm still in basic training and haven't been assigned yet!"

"Impressive, but someone with your special skills will most likely be assigned to a performing arts troupe or a civil service class when you serve in the military!" Wang Shuo said, looking at Zhou Xu.

Not only do civil servants enjoy high status, but their jobs are also very relaxed.

Zhou Xu laughed and said, "Maybe it depends on luck! I don't know either."

"Tsk!" Wang Shuo patted Zhou Xu's chest and said, "You're strong, buddy! Even if you didn't write, you'd be a good soldier on the front lines!"

"No, I was always at the bottom of my class in our recruit training company!"

"You're at the bottom? I don't believe it!"

Once they started chatting, there was no shortage of topics. "I forgot to ask, I'm from Beijing, where are you from?"

"I'm from Lichuan, Hubei."

Wang Shuo twisted his wrist: "Hubei? Tsk, there's nothing to talk about there. I thought you were from the Capital Military Region or the Jinan Military Region, otherwise we might have had a chance to have a drink together when we were in the army."

Chatted for a few words.

Wang Shuo went into the house and collected his first royalty payment.

Zhou Xu found the finance department and received his first paycheck of twenty yuan for revising the manuscript... Tsk, this salary is more than he earned in a month of basic training!

If I could revise my manuscript for "PLA Literature and Art" for three years, I could earn two or three thousand yuan in royalties.

Unfortunately, that's unrealistic.

After receiving his royalties, Wang Shuo invited, "How about we go out for a meal sometime? That way we can get to know each other!"

Both being military writers, Wang Shuo felt a connection with Jiang Wen, and like them, they would have meals and drinks together if they got along well, and become brothers if they became close friends.

Zhou Xu wasn't interested in navigating Beijing's elite circles, but having more friends meant having more options. Wang Shuo was the kind of person who was completely open and honest with his friends, making him a good brother figure.

"Okay, shall we go for a walk?"

"I got paid for my writing, let me treat you. Speaking of Beijing, the most famous place is definitely Quanjude Peking Duck. Have you ever tried it?"

Zhou Xu shook his head; he definitely had never eaten it before in his life.

"Let's go, let's go, if we come to the capital, we can't eat at Quanjude... Although there are other delicious foods, Quanjude is still the first choice."

"How much did you get paid for your writing again?" Zhou Xu asked curiously.

Wang Shuo glanced at it: "A hundred or so yuan."

Tsk!
One hundred yuan in royalties.

Zhou Xu said, "Quanjude? I heard that a roast duck costs ten yuan, right?"

"That's about right. Thirty or forty yuan is definitely enough for the two of us to eat out, and my royalties should be enough for that..."

If Wang Shuo were alive today, he would definitely be known as a spendthrift, because he really did spend as much as he had. Otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up with no savings when his works were banned in the late 1990s, relying entirely on his girlfriend and a few friends for support.

Wow, this guy is really honest; he even asked a complete stranger to spend all the royalties.

Zhou Xu didn't want to disappoint Deng's kindness, so he followed him.

We arrived at the legendary Quanjude.

Wang Shuo casually ordered: "One roast duck, and I'll use the rest of the duck carcass to make soup. Besides the roast duck, I'll also have some stir-fried chicken, deep-fried shrimp, shredded pork with eggs, and sliced ​​pork with tofu. And two bottles of Moutai!"

Four or five dishes are more than enough for two people.

However, due to what happened a few years ago, Quanjude is not as famous as it used to be, and the menu is not as extensive.

soon.

Roast duck and various dishes are served.

Zhou Xu stared at the dishes, silently drooling...

"Eat up! Want some drinks? I've ordered two bottles of Moutai."

"I can't hold my liquor, but I'll drink with you to the death!" Zhou Xu picked up a bottle of wine and opened it.

Upon hearing this, Wang Shuo exclaimed, "You're my brother now, let's drink!"

"drink!"

The two of them started drinking, chattering away.

Zhou Xu continued eating, especially the roast duck... It was really delicious; the roast duck of today was definitely more delicious than that of later generations.

The reason is that fewer people eat it now, and it's expensive, so it's considered a premium product. Later, it became a must-order roast duck, and the preparation method naturally changed to accommodate the increased number of customers.

Wang Shuo was quite drunk after finishing his drink.

The two parted ways at the restaurant entrance: "If you ever come to the capital again, find me for a drink! Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Zhou Xu felt that he and Wang Shuo still had a chance to meet, after all... the two were quite destined to meet.

(End of this chapter)