Writer 1979: Writing for the People

When Wang Pixiang saw Wang Yu and Lu Yao standing in front of him at the same time, insisting that the next issue of the magazine be given the headline to Xu Lu's new work, he felt a little confused.

These two were practically estranged just two days ago, weren't they?

How did an agreement come about?

And Wang Yu actually came to support Xu Lu's new work?

What kind of article did he write?

Wang Pi took the manuscript and began to read it carefully.

After a while, he understood why even Wang Yu would stand up and speak for this article.

This time, Xu Lu really gave him a big surprise.

"What a brilliant Xu Lu! What a wonderful piece of writing, 'The Wheat Harvester'!"

Wang Pi laughed heartily, then waved his hand and immediately decided to publish the article as the headline of the next issue of the magazine.

The headline of a magazine, also known as the cover story or cover story, is the most important and valuable feature article that the editorial department of the magazine deems the most important and valuable. It is usually placed on the front page and is the core selling point of the issue.

It also represents the magazine's attitude and image.

Magazines like "Yanhe," which have a significant influence throughout Northwest China, feature headlines from well-known authors in each issue.

The fact that Wang Pixiang gave the top spot to "Maike" this time is enough to show his recognition and importance of this article.

Of course, given the quality and significance of this article, it's only natural that it appeared on the front page!

As for pricing...

No one mentioned it, but everyone clearly assumed that the price was 7 yuan per thousand words.

If even an article like this can't earn 7 yuan per thousand words, how can any other article earn that much?

"This Comrade Xu Lu's talent is truly astonishing! If I had the chance, I would love to have a good chat with him!"

Holding the manuscript, Wang Pi continued to marvel at it, the "borrowed editor" matter that he had mentioned to Lu Meng before now came back to his mind.

It's okay, no rush. We'll talk about it after this issue of "Yanhe" is published!

……

On the same day that Yanhe received Maike, Chen Zhongshi, who worked at the cultural center, also received a reply from Xu Lu.

When he saw the letter from Zhangjia Village, he was somewhat surprised, because he did not expect that the other party would reply to him so quickly.

Immediately, a look of regret and self-reproach appeared on his face.

It wasn't that he regretted writing to the other party; his previous articles, "Receiving the Precepts" and "My Distant Qingping Bay," had really impressed him, and he had been rereading them from time to time these past few days.

He regretted that at the end of his last letter, he had presented the other party with a difficult problem.

Originally, he just wanted to write a letter, chat casually with the other party, and establish a connection.

Finally, unable to hold back any longer, she poured out her troubles to the other person and expressed her worries.

But he regretted it as soon as he sent the letter. Putting aside whether it was appropriate to write a letter directly about this, he was just throwing something he himself couldn't figure out at the other party. Wasn't that just putting the other party in a difficult position?

  

What kind of explanation could they possibly give?

This was a huge miscalculation!

As for self-blame, it's naturally related to the fact that the other party has been besieged recently.

When Chen Zhongshi saw that his article "Trust" was reprinted by the People's Daily, he was naturally overjoyed.

However, what happened next was completely unexpected.

He never imagined that Comrade Xu Lu would be besieged because of the explosive popularity of "Trust".

They said he had no real talent or ability and that he wrote those two articles just to grab attention and ride the wave of popularity!

That's complete nonsense!

Those two articles were so well-written, how could they possibly be just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

At first, he thought he should stand up and speak for the other party, but then he began to hesitate and struggle with his decision!

It's important to know that before the publication of "Trust," Chen Zhongshi's situation wasn't much better than Xu Lu's is now.

No, his condition was much more serious back then than Xu Lu's is now.

After all, Xu Lu's matter this time was purely literary, and he had gotten himself into quite a bit of trouble back then.

Given the unusual circumstances at the time, he was invited to write an article, but little did he know that the situation would change soon afterward.

However, the article he wrote became a major stain on his reputation.

This article had a significant impact on him afterward, including being widely criticized and being demoted from deputy secretary of the commune party committee to deputy director of the commune cultural center.

So when he saw that the People's Daily had reprinted his article "Trust," he was really happy.

He felt that he was gradually washing away the stain from his past and was being accepted back into the literary world...

That's why he really doesn't have the courage to stand up and speak up for Xu Lu right now.

A mix of emotions welled up inside Chen Zhongshi, making him feel suffocated.

Forget about it, let's see Comrade Xu Lu's reply first!

He opened the envelope, took out the letter, and found it covered with a large amount of writing.

Upon seeing this, Chen Zhongshi felt even more ashamed.

Regardless of the content of the letter, the fact that the other party wrote such a long reply when the two were complete strangers and he had sent the letter without prior notice is enough to show the other party's sincerity.

He really did let Comrade Xu Lu down!

At the beginning of the letter, the other party expressed understanding of his current predicament, and then quickly began to discuss his predicament, namely, where he should go after stepping out of the "problem novel".

This was somewhat unexpected for Chen Zhongshi, who felt that the question he had raised was rather difficult for the other party.

After all, even he himself, the person involved, didn't know how to make changes.

How can two complete strangers offer useful insights?

Therefore, he initially guessed that the letter would mainly consist of small talk, with other details only mentioned briefly.

Unexpectedly, the other party brought up this topic very soon!

Could it be that Comrade Xu Lu really has some brilliant insight?

Chen Zhongshi quickly read on!

He soon saw the words "rural culture"!

This did give Chen Zhongshi a wake-up call.

During this period, in order to break away from "problematic novels", he tried to explore themes that he had rarely touched before.

Although the goal was achieved, the final article was not satisfactory!

In reality, he didn't need to take such big steps. His understanding of rural life was his greatest advantage in his creative career.

He doesn't have to limit himself to "problem novels," but he doesn't need to completely abandon his greatest strength.

Then he saw this sentence.

"The focus has shifted from writing about 'problems' to writing about 'people and culture,' such as touching upon core themes like local ethics and human dignity..."

If Chen Zhongshi was a little confused when he first saw such a big topic as "rural culture," he suddenly became excited.

Because he suddenly realized that he could delve deeper into this area!