Writer 1979: Writing for the People

According to the Shaanxi Daily, which usually allocates about two pages a week to children's literature, Qian Guozheng originally planned to wait until July 16th to publish the third and fourth chapters of "Calabash Brothers"!

But he did not expect that the opening of that article, which was only five thousand words long, would cause such a huge reaction. In just a few days, countless children and parents sent letters to the editorial department.

The letters contained largely the same content, all urging readers to submit their drafts and expressing their desire to see the follow-up content as soon as possible.

Therefore, the editorial department had to temporarily change the plan and move the chapter scheduled for the 16th to the 14th!

On July 16th, I released the last two chapters I had on hand!

The continuous updates did not dampen the readers' enthusiasm; on the contrary, they made everyone even more eager for the subsequent plot.

As a result, even more people are writing to urge the manuscript to be published than before!

In the editorial office, looking at the pile of letters on the table, Qian Guozheng also showed a helpless smile.

To be honest, if he had any leftovers, he would have released them long ago; he wouldn't have bothered to hide them.

But the key point is that the remaining part isn't in his hands!

Comrade Xu Lu hasn't sent it yet, so there's nothing he can do!

At this point, all we can do is hope that Comrade Xu Lu will send the rest of the materials as soon as possible. Otherwise, he's afraid that these readers will come straight to the editorial office of the Shaanxi Daily and tear it down!

But honestly, this is just too surreal!

Who would have thought that a rural literature writer who had just become famous for "Wheat Harvester" at the beginning of the month would reappear in the public eye for a children's literature work just half a month later?

The connections between these two are far too different!

This Comrade Xu Lu is truly an extraordinary person!

……

Xu Lu, who had just sent the remaining half of "Calabash Brothers" to the Shaanxi Daily, was riding his bicycle back from the commune with Zhang Dameng on the back.

Some time ago, he had already asked Zhang Dameng to help him get a bicycle ticket, but it was really difficult to get one.

As a last resort, they had to buy from the black market at a higher price.

The three main brands of bicycles currently on the market are Phoenix, Forever, and Flying Pigeon. Their official price starts at 150 yuan, and on the black market, it will increase by another 80 or 90 yuan. Obviously, this price has exceeded Xu Lu's budget.

So in the end, he chose a "Yuanyang" brand bicycle made in Shaanxi Province, a 26-inch lightweight women's bicycle. The official price was 130 yuan, but he added 35 yuan on the black market, making it 165 yuan!

The meager two hundred yuan in royalties I had painstakingly earned from "Maike" and "Calabash Brothers" was suddenly gone, with three-quarters of it disappearing in one go!

  

However, Xu Lu didn't feel bad at all. On the way back from the commune on his bicycle, he even hummed a little tune.

After saving up for so long, I finally bought a bicycle!

He's very happy right now!

Seeing him like this, Zhang Dameng couldn't help but smile and shake his head.

I never would have guessed that Old Xu was such a romantic!

Li Xiuzhi is so lucky to have met him!

When Li Xiuzhi rode her bike home, she was making dinner. Hearing the commotion outside, she quickly ran out to check what was happening.

Then she saw Xu Lu standing in front of a brand new bicycle, smiling at her, with beads of sweat dripping from his forehead.

"Xiuzhi, come and see! It's a brand new bicycle! You won't have to walk to school anymore!"

Xu Lu said with a smile, then quickly added.

"I bought this car with the money I recently earned from writing; I didn't touch any of the money I had at home before."

The reason I didn't tell you was because I wanted to surprise you.

I understand your concerns and worries, but I also hope you can believe that I have the ability to give you a better life!

This bicycle is just the beginning!

He had kept these words in his heart for a long time, and this time he finally had the opportunity to say them.

Li Xiuzhi stood there blankly, listening to him finish speaking. Then, as if she had thought of something, tears welled up in her eyes the next second, and she ran over and hugged him tightly.

This was also the first time Xu Lu had seen her cry so hard in front of him.

I've never seen her cry this hard before, whether she first came to Zhangjia Village or was working in the fields.

He gently patted her back to soothe her.

Gradually, Li Xiuzhi finally calmed down. She still held Xu Lu in her arms, but she raised her head.

She wanted to say something, but she was tongue-tied and didn't know how to say anything nice!

Finally, she tiptoed and quickly kissed Xu Lu on the lips, then shyly hid in the cave.

Xu Lu, who was a beat slower to react, suddenly brightened up, then his lips curled up into a silly grin.

……

While Li Xiuzhi was cooking, Xu Lu took out a copy of "People's Literature" from his pocket. He had bought it on the spur of the moment when he came back from the bookstore.

After all, he's a "full-time writer" now, so he should read more magazines and newspapers in his spare time!

Flipping to the headline of this issue, the first thing that catches the eye is the headline "The Appointment of Factory Director Qiao"!

Indeed, the pioneering work of reform literature, Jiang Zilong's representative work, "The Appointment of Factory Director Qiao," was published in this issue of "People's Literature."

Xu Lu glanced at it; the story was not much different from the original history.

Although he hadn't heard any rumors yet, he knew that this article would soon become the center of a media storm.

In the future, when people talk about "The Appointment of Factory Director Qiao", they will only remember that it once led a literary trend, but few people will know that the article also caused some controversy after it was published.

The Tianjin Daily published four lengthy critical articles in succession, occupying a total of 14 pages, criticizing the article from multiple perspectives.

Including but not limited to core ideas, character portrayals, and principles of artistic creation...

The city's top leaders also expressed their support for this criticism, and even wrote a letter to the capital, insisting that "the novel contains serious errors."

This criticism put immense pressure on Jiang Zilong, who at one point considered stopping writing and transferring to a factory in a remote county to completely sever ties with the literary world.

However, many prominent figures in the literary world quickly stepped forward to support him.

Articles in literary journals such as *Literary Review*, *Literary Gazette*, and *Workers' Daily* came one after another!

In short, both sides held their own views, and the debate only came to an end in early 1980 when "The Appointment of Factory Director Qiao" won the National Excellent Short Story Award.

Of course, this matter has nothing to do with Xu Lu, and he has no intention of getting involved.

I just happened to see the article and remembered this.