Writer 1979: Writing for the People

On the morning of the day the latest issue of Yanhe magazine was published, Lin Xiaocong asked the production team for a day off, saying he had something to do at the commune, but everyone knew what he was going there for.

This is all because of the latest episode of "Yanhe".

When he arrived at the commune's bookstore, there was already a heated discussion going on. As he passed by, he could hear comments like, "This Xu Lu is really something else."

He took a deep breath, trying to control his emotions, constantly reassuring himself that maybe he had misheard, maybe it was a homonym, maybe it was just someone with the same name...

In any case, it couldn't possibly be the Xu Lu he knew.

He arrived late, and when he entered the bookstore, there were only a few books left on the shelves, but fortunately he still managed to buy one.

He went outside and found a shady spot where no one was around. He squatted there, opened the catalog, and began to search.

Soon, he saw Xu Lu's name in the "Newcomer Featured" section.

There are two pieces, one titled "Receiving the Precepts" and the other "My Distant Qingping Bay"...

He wasn't bragging; he really did have two articles accepted by Yanhe.

At this moment, Lin Xiaocong suddenly felt a little uncomfortable!

If he had to describe this feeling, it would be like his long-awaited white moonlight falling for a big, chubby man with thinning hair who was picking his toes!

How did Yanhe magazine manage to get their hands on his article, given that he was a newcomer submitting his work for the first time?

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Is it really true that his writing is better than mine?

With a sense of skepticism, Lin Xiaocong quickly flipped to the relevant text and began to browse it.

The plot of this "Ordination" is exactly the same as the version that Li Xiuzhi told in the field last time, which he scoffed at at the time.

In reality, listening to the plot and reading the full text are two completely different experiences.

It was like "Yingzi jumped into the middle cabin, and rowed quickly with two oars, rowing into the reed marshes."

The reeds are just sprouting new ears. The purplish-gray reed ears shimmer with a silvery light, soft and smooth, like a string of silk threads…” Here, in just a few words, the image, texture, and atmosphere are all vividly portrayed.

The kind of vivid description that can immerse the reader in the scene with just a few words is something that cannot be achieved by simply recounting the plot.

He fell silent.

Even by his standards, this article was "useless," but after reading it from beginning to end, he had to admit that Xu Lu's writing was indeed quite good.

At least... better than him!

At least his ability to use words hasn't reached that level yet!

He continued flipping through the pages, this time reading "My Distant Qingping Bay".

Upon realizing that this was a piece of literature written by educated youth sent to the countryside, his back, which had just bent over, involuntarily straightened up again.

Just a few days ago, he published a similar article in "Shaanxi Youth," which is his comfort zone. He felt that he could regain his footing here and prove that he was no worse than the other party!

Besides, the literature about educated youth sent to the countryside always revolves around the same few things: lamenting the wasted youth and the injustice of fate...

The only difference is who wrote about the more tragic aspects.

But when he actually started reading "My Distant Qingping Bay," he realized that the article was completely different from what he had imagined.

He thought they were writing the same thing, but in reality they were two completely opposite extremes.

One follows the current mainstream, focusing on the sacrifices of educated youth and the trauma of the era; the other, with a warm and calm retrospective perspective, writes about the human warmth, resilience of life, and the profound bond between people and the land on the barren Loess Plateau.

"What's the point of writing an article like this?"

Lin Xiaocong clenched his fists and shouted, his emotions running high as if he were trying to hide something.

Actually, he shouldn't be angry. The other party wrote such a "useless" article; he should be gloating!

But why is he still angry?

He doesn't want to admit it!

But he himself knew that because he felt that such articles... were actually alright.

This is what makes him most upset.

The other person's article was so well-written that even he couldn't find any fault with it.

In the end, Lin Xiaocong could only continue to comfort himself.

It's okay. Although these two articles are alright and have been published in "Yanhe", they might be articles that the other party has been holding back for several years.

What's the point of spending several years writing just these two articles?

When will he be able to write his next article?

Will the next article be just as good?

He didn't believe the other party could be so lucky.

Lin Xiaocong, having "regrouped," began walking back. When he passed the trash can, he originally intended to throw away the copy of "Yanhe," but when he thought about how it had cost him 25 cents, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

In the end, I still brought it back!

I paid for it myself, why should I lose it because of the other party!

He's not stupid!

snort!

……

When Lin Xiaocong returned to the dormitory, it was already noon. He originally wanted to hide the copy of "Yanhe" so that other educated youths wouldn't see it.

But who would have thought that someone couldn't contain their curiosity and had just gone to borrow a sample copy from Xu Lu.

The magazine "Yanhe" sent him three copies in total. He kept one for himself, and one was supposed to be given to Zhang Qiaoqiao. Since there was only one copy left, Xu Lu let them take it and read it.

Five or six people gathered around, staring intently at the text, and couldn't help but praise it.

"This part is well written; in just a few sentences, it captures the people, the scenery, and the objects perfectly."

"Xu Lu's two articles are really well written. I didn't know he had such talent before. He can actually write such good stories."

"That's called being low-key. If he had started submitting his work earlier, he might have become a great writer by now."

Lin Xiaocong nitpicks Xu Lu's article because he doesn't get along with Xu Lu and is afraid that Xu Lu will steal his thunder, so he is unwilling to admit Xu Lu's excellence.

Although they weren't very familiar with Xu Lu, they at least didn't have any grudges against each other on the surface.

At this moment, although I also feel that Xu Lu's two articles are a bit different from the usual ones, who cares?

As long as it looks good, that's all that matters!

Moreover, when they looked at Captain Zhang, who was based on Zhang Dameng, and Zhang Qiao'er, who was based on Zhang Qiaoqiao, in the novel, they suddenly realized that they had never looked at the land where they had lived for several years from this perspective.

Actually, this place isn't as bad as they think, much less as terrible as Lin Xiaocong described in his article!

In their view, these two articles, even if they appeared in "Yanhe", "Beijing Literature", "Contemporary" or "October", would be flawless.