1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 91 was rejected?
September.

When Zhou Xu's manuscript arrived at People's Literature, it was Zhou Ming who received it from the editorial department. He took the manuscript to the magazine office.

He called out, "Cui Daoyi, your manuscript is here!"

Hearing this, Cui Daoyi looked up: "What manuscript?"

"The author of 'Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain'!" Zhou Ming held the thick stack of papers of the novel, wondering if the author had written a novel in three months and it had turned into a full-length work?
That's quite efficient. Most writers are considered good if they can produce a novella in three or four months.

Upon hearing this, Cui Daoyi's eyes lit up. He had been waiting for so long, of course, for Zhou Xu's new novel. He immediately said, "Then I must read it first!"

"..." Zhou Ming handed it to him: "Tsk! So many, they all seem to be military novels! Should we divide them into two issues?"

Cui Daoyi said, "If the quality is good, why not just clear out all the slots and publish his novels?"

"..." Zhou Ming was silent for a while, then he nodded.

Cui Daoyi picked up the manuscript and started reading.

The book is called: "Lurking"!
"Is it a spy story?"

Cui Daoyi remembered the new movie he had watched these past few days, "The Gunshots of the Secret Service," which was also about a spy novel. Of course, spy novels have existed for a long time, but they are a relatively niche genre.

But espionage is a perfect subject for novel writing.

To explain it using the logic of online novels, the sense of crisis comes from constantly being exposed and suspected of danger, while the thrill comes from the male protagonist's repeated gambles and narrow escapes...

The sense of crisis in espionage permeates the entire story, making espionage a natural genre for novels.

"Tsk!" Cui Daoyi felt that the pace of this novel was fast and fast, with the male protagonist solving one crisis after another.

This novel was very enjoyable to write.

Cui Daoyi read it all in one go.

but……

Cui Daoyi still felt something was off; he had a small question about this novel…

He hesitated: "Comrade Zhou Ming, could you take a look at this novel? I'm not sure what to do."

Zhou Ming turned to look at Cui Daoyi and asked curiously, "Have you been watching you all day?"

That's absolutely true. Cui Daoyi has been reading this novel ever since he received the manuscript in the morning.

He read for three or four hundred thousand words and didn't stop until night. Logically, the quality of this novel should be excellent. Why was Cui Daoyi so hesitant about this novel?

Cui Daoyi spoke the truth: "This novel is very well written, full of emotion, and of good quality... but it's just not enough..."

"Not literary enough?"

As mentioned earlier, a common problem with military novels is a lack of literary merit. Admittedly, no matter how excellent Zhou Xu's works are, they cannot make up for this.

"Yes! The previous story, 'Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain,' was very well written. That novel also contained philosophical insights, and it provided a very good analysis of the internal system of the military, addressing a profound topic: the issue of preferential treatment and privileges!"
This novel not only tells a story, but also delves deeply into human nature... The transformation of a person from someone who is afraid of death to someone with flesh and blood is a painful process...

However, the submitted novel "Lurking" has a significant problem: it lacks anything truly worth analyzing... I don't think it's a good thing if a journal keeps publishing novels like this.

Cui Daoyi put it very tactfully.

He thought Zhou Xu would write a story called "Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain," but to his surprise, Zhou Xu wrote "Changjin Lake," although this novel was a little better than "Changjin Lake."

However, in terms of literary merit, the two novels are quite similar.

The novel that Cui Daoyi or *People's Literature* magazine wanted was *Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain*. There are tons of popular military novels like that; there's no need to specifically commission one…

Of course, this old-fashioned mentality is related to Cui Daoyi and the background of the People's Literature magazine.

If we were to draw an analogy, we could say that *People's Literature* is like a bronze artifact in the museum of literature!

It was destined to be extraordinary, and it represented the word "authority"! After all, it bore the name "People's" and was an official publication, naturally giving it a superior position compared to other magazines.

Since its inception, People's Literature has published countless excellent literary and artistic works, proving its influence. However, this has also brought with it its old problems of political bias and outdated literary aesthetics.
Cui Daoyi graduated from the Chinese Department of Peking University in 1956. In the same year, he was assigned to work at the People's Literature magazine of the China Writers Association, thus beginning his editing career at People's Literature.

Having worked in this place for over twenty years, Cui Daoyi has now also been tainted by this rigid, official style.

Zhou Ming understood Cui Daoyi's meaning, paused for a moment, and said, "Then... you're not going to return it to them, are you? But didn't you personally approach them to commission the manuscript?"

Cui Daoyi shook his head. He felt a little embarrassed thinking about this. It wasn't that Zhou Xu made him feel embarrassed, but rather that he felt embarrassed about his own picky nature.

"What do you think? Maybe my perspective is outdated?"

Zhou Ming picked up the manuscript: "Then I'll read it tomorrow and give you the answer."

Zhou Ming took the manuscript of the novel and left. When he got home, he opened the novel and began to read it.

Of course, the story of "Lurking" also attracted Zhou Ming.

……

The next day, Zhou Ming arrived at People's Literature magazine with dark circles under his eyes. Seeing Zhou Ming's condition, Cui Daoyi quickly asked him what was wrong: "What are you doing?"

Zhou Ming quickly shook his head: "Your novel is so good! I read it all night last night, almost all night long!!!"

After he finished speaking, he put the manuscript of his novel on the table.

"So what do you think?"

At this point, Zhou Ming covered his eyes and remained silent for a long time. Finally, he shook his head and slowly said, "This novel, just as you said, has many flaws. It... it feels like reading a story magazine to me!"

Wherever there are people and society, there will be discrimination and contempt. Traditional literary factions are very resistant to and look down on popular literature like "Story Club" that sells moral integrity.

Although that's a bit of an exaggeration!
However, this situation does exist in the literary world. Zhou Ming's words directly pointed out the pain point of this novel. He also felt that the novel was good, but it was not good to publish it in "People's Literature".

"You feel this way too?" Cui Daoyi was relieved that he wasn't the only one feeling this way; at least he had someone to keep him company!

“There are some, but I feel… there are too many romantic elements, it’s too cheesy!” Zhou Ming shook his head.

Literature is such a strange thing, mainly because of the social environment.

The first novel to depict love in the 1980s was Wang Zengqi's "Receiving the Precepts," but "Receiving the Precepts" has not been published yet.

Everyone at the magazine is sensitive about love and romance! Even more sensitive than about politics!
Things were different in the 1990s. Back then, it was just a matter of writing about breasts in novels.

"Then... what about this novel?" Cui Daoyi looked at Zhou Ming with a puzzled expression.

Zhou, over here, glanced at Cui Daoyi and said, "But what can we do about this novel? You kept your promise to pay seven yuan per thousand words to get the manuscript, and now... you're going back on your word after they've sent it to you?"

"Um... let me call Comrade Zhou Xu first!" Even someone as old as Cui Daoyi has his moments of embarrassment. Soon, beep beep beep, Zhou Xu answered the phone.

On the other end of the phone, Zhou Xu sounded quite happy: "Editor Cui? Did you receive the manuscript of the novel? How is it? Is there any problem that hasn't been resolved?"

Hearing this made Cui Daoyi even more embarrassed. He paused, unsure of what to say.
"Um... hello... uh."

Zhou Xu immediately grasped the implied meaning in those words and slowly said, "Editor Cui, are you dissatisfied with the manuscript of your novel? Otherwise, you wouldn't have called me."

“…Well,” since it was brought up by the other party, Cui Daoyi had no choice but to tell the truth: “Your novel is a bit too popular, I feel it’s not quite suitable for our magazine.”

Zhou Xu still felt a little resentful after Cui Daoyi finished speaking.

After all, they called specifically to commission a manuscript from you, and now they've sent the novel over, and even postponed the commission from "PLA Literature and Art".

We've already offended the old magazine because of you, and now you're saying it won't work? Should I then go to *PLA Literature and Art*?
Where do I put my face now?
Zhou Xu inwardly grumbled a few times; after all, no one is without a temper. He said sarcastically, "Is that so? The novel isn't written well enough, is it?"

"It's good enough, but our magazine has no precedent for this. You've written quite a few stories about romance," Cui Daoyi sighed.

"I'm so sorry, Comrade Zhou Xu!"

Zhou Xu could actually understand it.

For example, after Lu Yao wrote the hugely popular novel "Life", his second novel, "Ordinary World", was rejected by major magazines in the capital.

The reason is simple: it's too popular. Finally, a more fashionable magazine, *Huacheng*, took over the novel.

Of course, he couldn't afford to offend *People's Literature* just because of one rejection. After all, he was just a young writer with one representative work.

He has never won any awards, has no experience... and is still a nobody in the literary world.

"Then... can you return the manuscript to me?" Zhou Xu said slowly.

Zhou Ming shook his head, and Cui Daoyi understood this principle as well!
If you already owe someone a favor, would it be too unkind to just return it?

"Here's the thing, we can guarantee the quality of the manuscript. I'll recommend some reputable magazines near our capital to see how they handle it. If it doesn't work out, I'll return it to you."

Zhou Xu understood that Cui Daoyi didn't want their relationship to become strained over a manuscript, so he said, "Thank you, Editor Cui. I'll leave the manuscript to you!"

hang up the phone.

Bai Hua looked over: "What's the matter?"

“They said my writing was vulgar and they didn’t want it.” Zhou Xu wasn’t so tactful with his former superiors and spoke his mind directly.

"The editors of People's Literature magazine have gone too far! They made a good deal, but now they're going back on their word?" Bai Hua felt indignant on Zhou Xuming's behalf.

Zhou Xu shrugged helplessly: "But they said they would cover for me and help me find other magazines. Let's wait and see? We should have results in a few days."

Bai Hua nodded and continued to invite, "Xiao Zhou, I revised my play last time based on your feedback. Would you like to come and watch it with me again today?"

"..." Zhou Xu slowly followed Bai Hua away.

-

September.

When Zhou Xu's manuscript reached People's Literature, a letter was also delivered to Tao Huimin's home.

Tao Huimin slowly opened the letter with a sense of surprise.

Meanwhile, her older siblings were also by her side, watching her open the letters.

"hurry up!"

"What is it? What is it?"

Tao Huimin had no choice but to continue opening the letter. Soon the letter was opened, revealing the large characters inside.

Enlistment Notice

Name: Tao Huimin
You resolutely responded to the call of the Party and the country and actively signed up to join the army. Now, after review, your enlistment has been approved...

When the family saw the large characters on the enlistment notice, they knew that Tao Huimin had passed the test. Her older brother and sister jumped up with joy; "Huimin, you really succeeded?"

"Yes, yes, Huimin, you'll be the only soldier in our family from now on!" the older brother said with a smile.

The older sister clapped her hands and said, "Congratulations, Huimin, you've achieved your dream."

Hearing this, Tao Huimin smiled knowingly, because joining the army was indeed her dream!
Mr. Tao chuckled and lit his pipe, taking a drag before exhaling a long, deep smoke ring...

"Hurry up and get ready! You'll be enlisting in less than a month, right?" Mr. Tao looked at his youngest daughter with a smile.

Tao Huimin nodded: "Then I..."

"We'll go to the drama club first and help you get your school expelled!"

The drama troupe was naturally supportive of enlisting in the army, so dropping out of school wasn't a big problem and was quickly settled.

Tao Huimin returned home and looked at her enlistment notice. She felt a little disappointed... not because she regretted it, but because she was now wondering about the path she had chosen after everything had settled down.

Yes! People always romanticize the other way around.

Of course, Tao Huimin wouldn't do that now. She listened to her parents say these things with a smile. Everyone in the family was happy, and she was happy too.

These past few days, things have been busier at home, and the neighbors have been visiting more often.

"Oh my! Little Huimin has joined the army? She's only thirteen? How did you get into the army?"

"They are performing arts soldiers, they joined the army because of their special skills! So there's an age limit!"

"That's impressive too. Joining the army is a promising career path; you'll get a stable job after you leave..."

In this day and age, joining the army is indeed a good choice, and Tao Huimin was even happier.

It's the end of the month!

this point in time.

Her parents were also a little reluctant to let her go: "Come on, Huimin, we'll take you there!"

The family carried a small bag of things. Since they were joining the army, their supplies were all provided by the state, so they didn't have much luggage. They left Tao Huimin at the Armed Forces Department!
Her family waved goodbye to her.

(End of this chapter)