1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 94, "Infiltration," has been published.

Arrived at the cafeteria.

Zhou Xu led Tao Huimin directly to the food serving window.

Because some students came today, the food was a little better. When she got to the window, Tao Huimin felt a little uneasy.

Zhou Xu said, "This is the cafeteria; everyone eats the same food."

Nowadays, unless you're a very high-ranking leader, everyone eats the same food in this cafeteria.

Zhou Xu was no exception; he served each of them a bowl of rice.

We ate braised pork and cabbage.

We've arrived at our destination.

Zhang Fangfang, Han Rong, and the others ran over again. Zhang Fangfang smiled and said, "Comrade Zhou Xu, who is this?"

Zhou Xu glanced at Zhang Fangfang and said, "This is a new member of the song and dance troupe. Three of our members left to go to university, so we filled in some new ones."

Han Rong looked into Tao Huimin's eyes and said, "This girl is really pretty. In a few years, she'll be a great beauty. I hope she'll become the face of our performing arts troupe!"

“Maybe she’ll be the next Gong Xue?” Zhang Fangfang said with a smile.

"Sacrifice to the Red" was produced by Changchun Film Studio. Gong Xue played two roles in the film, portraying both Cheng Yingtong and her daughter. She became an instant sensation because of her pure and innocent image.

This film was also a turning point for Gong Xue.

"Maybe," Zhou Xu nodded.

"What's your name?"

"Tao Huimin..."

"You speak in such a soft, sweet voice, where are you from?"

"From Zhejiang."

"Then it's not surprising,"

Tao Huimin lowered her head and ate her rice, too shy to look at anyone.

After teasing her, Han Rong revealed the purpose of her visit: "The political commissar wants you to go to his office later!"

"Political Commissar? Okay, thank you for passing on the message. I'll go check it out later."

After dinner, Zhou Xu took Tao Huimin to see the other buildings: "That's the office building over there, that's the sports field, you'll be training and running with them there, and this is the dance studio..."

Although they might not remember it after one or two tries, the team leader will lead them in training later, so it's no longer Zhou Xu's problem.

In the afternoon, seeing that it was getting late, he said, "Let me take you to the public bathhouse now. Bring your new military uniform with you."

In those days, only military units at the regimental level and above had bathhouses, and each bathhouse was only about 100 square meters in size. Some small cultural troupes would basically go to farmers' homes to take baths, because the military and the people were of one mind.

She obediently went to the dormitory, picked up her things, and followed Zhou Xu.

"This is it. Hot water is normally available every day, usually starting at 6 pm. Of course, sometimes there are power outages or the hot water is cut off, so you might not be able to take a shower even once a week!"

"oh oh."

"What are you waiting for?" Zhou Xu asked with a smile as he turned around.

"No...nothing!"

"You can go in now!? I'll head back first. You don't need to train on your first day, just go straight back to the dorm tonight."

Tao Huimin went straight into the bathhouse.

This bathhouse is over 100 square meters, with a shower head at each station, separated by a wall, but there are no curtains... after all, the conditions are shabby.

Tao Huimin was used to these conditions and didn't mind them.

After taking a shower, she washed her clothes and hung them to dry before returning to her dorm.

This kind of dormitory life, where several students live together, wasn't difficult for her to adapt to. In fact, it was even better than life in the Yue Opera troupe, except for the fact that she was unfamiliar with the place.

Of course, she alone felt that this life was acceptable, but the group of members did not think so. Some of the students in the dormitory were lying on their desks.

Some were sleeping in beds.

If you listen carefully, you can still hear faint sobbing sounds, like soft pattering. Tao Huimin shook her head, lay down on the bed, and took out one of her books.

He continued to reflect on what had happened that day.

"Huimin, do you know Teacher Zhou?" Zhang Xiaoyu was bored and took the initiative to talk to Tao Huimin.

Zhang Xiaoyu's seat was right next to Tao Huimin's, so the two could talk face to face.

Tao Huimin put the book away: "Hmm! We knew each other before, right?"

"Teacher Zhou has been showing you around for so long, she's really quite responsible. My teacher just said a few words and left me to fend for myself," Zhang Xiaoyu said helplessly, lying on the bed.

“…Hmm…” Tao Huimin nodded.

Have you tried on the military uniforms?

"I tried it!!"

"Want to go out for a photo shoot tomorrow? There's a photo studio right outside our cultural troupe!" Zhang Xiaoyu said with a smile.

"Can I go out?"

"As long as you don't stay out for too long, it's okay to take a walk after training. That's what my coach told me."

"Let's take a picture then, I want to send it back to my parents to see!"

After finishing with the trainees, Zhou Xu went to the office to find the political commissar. Old Huang smiled and said, "I thought you wouldn't be willing to lead the team, but I didn't expect you to like this little girl so much?"

Zhou Xu glanced at Tao Huimin's figure; "We're kind of destined to meet, we knew each other before."

"That's right! People in the group say you're cold-hearted!"

Zhou Xu stared at the political commissar: "Political commissar, where did you hear these rumors?"

"The political commissar is responsible for grasping the ideology and political direction of the cultural troupe. He has to carefully observe the ideology of the troupe. What gossip can be kept from me?!" Political Commissar Huang closed the documents and said slowly.

"If you want to become a political commissar in the future, you need to learn all of this well."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xu grinned broadly again: "Hehehe, if I became the political commissar..."

Bah! It's just another empty promise from the old political commissar. No wonder people say this group is in charge of ideological and political guidance.

"Hehe, I've become the political commissar now. Where have you been, old commander?"

"It's tough...tsk, I shouldn't have talked to you about this." The political commissar immediately shook his head.

"Then why did you call me here?" Zhou Xu also took a sip of tea. The political commissar was a rather incorruptible person, and he only drank the tea leaves.

Although conditions were already poor in those days, many places and governments used broken tea leaves to attract customers.

The most obvious cultural influence is in the capital city, where the tea culture is a reflection of the wisdom of ordinary people in drinking tea.

Tea crumbs are mostly the fragments left after tea leaves are sorted. They are inexpensive and a common daily beverage for ordinary people. They are often served in teahouses and tea stalls in alleyways, accompanied by large bowls or coarse porcelain cups, making them convenient for quenching thirst.

"..."

"Of course it's your business. I've been so worried about you. Are you going home for the New Year?" the political commissar asked.

"Going home? Of course I want to."

I didn't go back last year because I was still in basic training, but this year I'm a company commander and I've won several awards, so I have to go home in glory and show off.
One of the three great joys in life is returning home in glory.

"The application is due at the end of this month, remember to write it down and give it to me when you get back." The political commissar glanced at him.

Zhou Xu nodded immediately.

Generally speaking, you need to write up and apply for family visit leave a month in advance. It's already October now, so you submit the application in November and visit your family in December... That's indeed the procedure.

"Alright, sir, I'll bring you some New Year's gifts at the end of the year."

"Okay, you can go back to work now."

Zhou Xu left with the application letter.

……

Since its inception, "October" has always been a bimonthly publication, that is, it is published in even-numbered months.

In the blink of an eye, October magazine has also ushered in the publication date of its October issue.

As a newly established magazine, and without the profound influence of "People's Literature" in people's hearts, "October" has always taken the route of touching people's hearts with its works, and its sales have been fluctuating around 300,000 copies.

Of course, the first week's sales reached 100,000 copies, not mainly because the novel became a hit in the first week, but because the military subscribed to 50,000 copies.

Because the military already subscribes to these well-known magazines, they will subscribe to more if a military-themed novel is published.

However, Su Yu noticed that the novel's sales were steadily increasing, and the magazine was receiving calls from the distribution office asking for additional print runs.

A week later, the reputation of "October" began to rise.

Sales also changed abruptly.

Readers flocked to street bookstores and newsstands, and in the army, a single novel would often be borrowed by an entire squad or platoon!

Of course, the reason why this issue became so popular is actually well known to the magazine and bookstores, because a large portion of "October" was dedicated to a single novel, "Lurking".

"Lurking" is also the featured work in this issue of "October".

Every year, the domestic literary world produces such blockbuster works, like "The Wounded" last year! This June saw the release of "The Appointment of Factory Director Qiao," a novel considered the progenitor of reform literature, which was immediately sought after by readers upon publication.

The sales curve of this issue of "October" is even better than that of "The Appointment of Director Qiao".

However, since 50,000 copies of the initial 100,000 copies were taken by the military, the remaining copies could not meet the needs of the public.

It was at this time, half a month after the publication of "October", that the military, namely the Wuhan Military Region, called first and requested that an additional 20,000 copies be printed!
The printing of additional telephone numbers has already kept both the printing plant and the distribution center extremely busy.

Now, the priority must be given to meeting the needs of the troops...

In an instant, this novel became extremely difficult to obtain in the market.

However, in contrast to the scarcity of copies available for publication, the novel "Lurking" gained widespread fame in society.

Because spy dramas are rare to begin with.

June.

"The Gunshots of the Secret Service" achieved outstanding results.

Upon its release, the film achieved a remarkable feat: attracting 9 million viewers and grossing 6 million yuan at the box office, despite a total population of over 1.8 million and ticket prices ranging from five to three cents. It sold over 1000 copies, becoming the highest-grossing film of the year.

Readers' love for espionage is evident, which is why the novel "Lurking," which blends romance and espionage elements, is so beloved.

"Another call?" In the editorial department, Su Yu was answering so many calls that she couldn't keep up with the flow, and her head was throbbing with exhaustion.

"This time it wasn't a call to urge delivery, it was a call from the boss..."

"..."

(End of this chapter)