1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 22 Performance
Finish the drink.

Zhou Xu returned to the house, lay down on the bed, and immediately fell fast asleep.

night.

Liu Jia returned to the courtyard. She glanced at the adjacent courtyard, which was Zhou Xu's house. There were no lights or firelight from the stove.

"Did they go out to eat? That shouldn't be the case!"

Curious, Liu Jia went back into Zhou Xu's room.

After taking one look, Zhou Xu passed out drunk on the bed.

The fire in the stove was about to go out, and she hissed, "You drank so much and didn't even light the fire, you're really careless! People like you who are drunk are the easiest to freeze to death."

In Northeast China, the most common causes of death from freezing to death, besides homeless people, are drunk people who collapse on the roadside. People inside houses covered with blankets may not freeze to death, but the probability of them suffering severe frostbite is quite high.

Liu Jia shook her head: "Let's see this through to the end!"

Then she went inside and blew on the stove, which made the fire burn brighter and brighter, so she added some coal into it.

She glanced at Zhou Xu on the bed before sensibly leaving.

……

Zhou Xu was woken up by the heat at night, not the kind of heat that makes you sweat profusely, but a warm, comfortable heat.

He shook his head and looked at the fire by the bedside.

It was clearly not because he was lewd; there was a faint fragrance in the room... the distinctive scent of soap.

"It should be Liu Jia, right? Invite her to dinner sometime!"

He shook his head, ate dinner, and slept from 8 pm until 3 am. Now it was definitely impossible for him to continue sleeping; he wasn't a pig!

I leisurely read a book in the evening.

Don't look down on people from the 1980s. Look at the movie "The Troubleshooters." People from the 1980s talk about Nietzsche, Freud, and so on. The novels they read now are foreign classics like "War and Peace"!
Because we have a good relationship with Big Brother, we can translate literary works from other countries that aren't available in translation.

"..."

I watched it all midnight.

During the day, a rooster crows once.

Liu Jiazhao often comes to deliver breakfast, knocking on the door.

Zhou Xu opened the door: "Sister Jia! You're here."

Zhou Xu smiled at Liu Jia and then pulled her inside to sit down: "Thank you so much for your help last night, otherwise I might have frozen to death inside!"

"Why are you so drunk? I've never seen you like drinking before!"

Zhou Xu scratched his head: "Yesterday I met a writer friend outside. We got along well, so I had dinner with him. I was afraid of offending him, so I drank a few glasses too. I can't hold my liquor!"

"You know you can't hold your liquor!" Liu Jia shook her head.

"Thank you for your help last night. I just received some royalties recently, so let me treat you to a meal sometime!" Zhou Xu said.

Liu Jia poked his forehead with her finger: "Forget it, forget it, you should just keep the money and save it. Don't treat me to dinner. By the way, the drama troupe is having a performance later, and they need to invite editors and writers from the 'PLA Literature and Art' magazine to come and give their opinions. It's just a performance to comfort the families of residents in the residential compound. Are you going?"

"Huh? To see a performance?"

"Well, you're a soldier, so of course you can watch the cultural troupe's performances. They're right here in our family compound. You haven't seen the cultural troupe perform before, have you?"

Military family compounds are home to the families of military personnel, and are therefore considered part of the military. They also receive performances from cultural troupes. However, the frequency is definitely not as high as that of grassroots units.

The main purpose is to alleviate the pressure on military personnel who are separated from their families due to combat readiness, training and other missions, while also enhancing the cohesion of the troops and allowing their families to feel the care of the military collective.

Zhou Xu said with a smile, "We also have a cultural troupe over there, but they only perform for the company level. We recruits don't get any opportunities! We only watch movies."

"That's right! If you're interested, come and watch the show. Maybe I can introduce you to someone! There are plenty of outstanding female soldiers in the cultural troupe! You might find one and settle down in the capital!"

Liu Jia left, leaving behind a bowl of breakfast.

Both now and in the future, there is a system in place to adjust workplaces based on spousal relationships.

Liu Xiaoqing is an actress with the Chengdu Military Region Zhanqi Drama Troupe. While filming the August First Film Studio production "The Great Wall of the South China Sea" in Beijing, she broadened her horizons and wanted to stay in Beijing.

At the time, she was unknown and had no background or connections, so she met Wang Li, a violinist with the Beijing General Political Department Song and Dance Troupe, through a friend. After that, she began to pursue Wang Li relentlessly.

In 76, Liu Xiaoqing married Wang Li on the very night she arrived in Beijing. After their marriage, the Beijing Film Studio, citing the need to maintain a good relationship between the couple, officially transferred Liu Xiaoqing to their studio.

Tsk tsk, Zhou Xu still thinks this old man has potential! But he's not suited to being a kept man. It depends on the type. If the Queen of the Women's Kingdom begged Brother Zhou Xu to stay in the capital like in "Journey to the West," then being a kept man might be an option.

Unfortunately, Zhu Lin should be married by now.

Zhou Xu was eating breakfast.

My gratitude towards Liu Jiaju's family grew even stronger. No wonder Yu Hua always remembered the old editor Zhou Yanru so fondly! Any old editor who treated you like family would be grateful to him too!

After finishing his meal, Zhou Xu revised the manuscript for a while.

in the afternoon.

It was Mrs. Liu who knocked on his door: "There's a performance in the courtyard of the family compound later, do you want to come and watch?"

Zhou Xu nodded: "Auntie, I'll be right there."

Zhou Xu tidied himself up and stood up.

He was still wearing his military uniform; it wasn't strange to wear that uniform since they were in the family compound.

"Let's go."

Madam Liu waved and led Zhou Xu into the family compound.

In the very center of the residential compound, there's a small courtyard where this group of people sometimes gather to play and have fun...

Zhou Xu followed Madam Liu over.

I randomly picked a seat and sat down.

Mrs. Liu said with a smile, "Liu Jia will also be performing today, but she's not the lead... She's still playing supporting roles, but maybe she'll become a lead in a few years."

Zhou Xu then praised, "I believe in Sister Liu Jia; she's very talented."

"..."

The two looked ahead.

The General Political Department Drama Troupe simply set up a stage, which was surrounded by veterans, military families, editors of "PLA Literature and Art" and their families... a large number of people.

Zhou Xu stared ahead.

First of all.

A host walked onto the stage and simply said, "Welcome everyone to our drama troupe's performance. Today's program includes 'Jinggang Mountain' and 'Ten Thousand Waters and Mountains'..."

A program typically lasts about two hours, and usually ends in four hours.

The program started soon.

Zhou Xu watched them perform.

Madam Liu pointed and said, "See that one? That's Liu Jia!"

Zhou Xu looked in the direction she was pointing, and a female soldier walked out.

Liu Jia is quite good-looking.

He has neat short hair, wears a tight-fitting military uniform, has a very energetic smile, big eyes, a small mouth... and has two or three lines of dialogue.

The premiere was "Jinggang Mountain".

The play "Jinggang Mountain" by the General Political Department Drama Troupe, written by Chen Qitong, is set against the backdrop of the failure of the Great Revolution in 1924. It depicts how teachers and others led the workers and peasants in the Autumn Harvest Uprising from 1927 to 1928, defeated the enemy, and established the Jinggang Mountain Revolutionary Base, embodying the revolutionary truth that "a single spark can start a prairie fire."

Zhou Xu read it through; after all, it was a work by the General Political Department, and they were all classic revolutionary works.

It ended quickly, and the second piece began.

He looked at the next piece, which was naturally one of the more popular works from the General Political Department in recent years, and which had also been adapted into a film: "Ten Thousand Waters and Thousand Mountains".

The play "Thousands of Rivers and Mountains" is also a work created by Chen Qitong.

The play, consisting of six acts, depicts the heroic deeds of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, after the Zunyi Conference, under the correct leadership of the Party Central Committee headed by the Communist Party of China, overcoming numerous difficulties and obstacles to complete the Long March of 25,000 li. The play showcases classic scenes such as "Crossing the Chishui River Four Times," "Forced Crossing of the Dadu River," and "Climbing Snow-capped Mountains and Crossing Grasslands."

As Zhou Xu watched "Ten Thousand Waters and Thousand Mountains," a woman with bright eyes and white teeth suddenly walked out onto the stage. She only had two or three lines.

But this appearance is very distinctive?

Isn't this the essential female lead in our period dramas, Gong Xue from the drama "Gong Xue and Zhu Lin"?
Pooh!
Zhou Xu spat and glanced at her. Gong Xue was indeed beautiful now, and her smile was particularly radiant.

(End of this chapter)