Writer 1979: Writing for the People

Without hesitation, Xu Lu submitted "Postmen in the Mountains" to "Beijing Literature and Art" magazine. The magazine was indeed a good choice, and the two sides had a pleasant collaboration last time.

After a long journey of nearly a week, the manuscript was delivered to the editorial department of "Beijing Literature and Art" in late October.

Zhang Dening has been quite busy these past few days.

There are only a few days left until the final draft of the latest issue of "Beijing Literature and Art". The articles in other columns have been basically finalized, but for the headline section, we haven't received any particularly outstanding works in a while, so we haven't found a suitable choice.

One of the most annoying things about being an editor is that either a lot of excellent manuscripts come in, or none at all.

Like in the September issue, after they decided on Lin Jinglan's "Question Mark" as the lead article, they also received Xu Lu's "Life is Like a String." Both articles were of very high quality; individually, they would be considered top-tier.

But there was no way to do it at the time, as the "Question Mark" section had already been decided, so the article "Life is Like a String" could only be placed in another section.

If this article were published now, it would definitely be the headline of this issue.

Zhang Dening had also fantasized that perhaps they would receive another new work from Comrade Xu Lu in the next couple of days, and that it would be another outstanding article that would not only solve their immediate problem, but also elevate the current issue of "Beijing Literature and Art" to a higher level.

Unfortunately, after her pleasant daydreams, she still had to dutifully continue reviewing the manuscript.

There's no such thing as too much good luck in this world!

On this very day in late October, Zhang Dening, who had just received the latest batch of manuscripts from the mailroom, actually found Xu Lu's new manuscript while sorting them.

"Comrade Xu Lu, you've really submitted another new work?"

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She held the manuscript, somewhat incredulous.

No, my dream really came true?

The other party published an article titled "Let's Talk About the 'Yam School'" in late September, and then recently published the poem "Ideal"...

And how come I remember he was a seconded editor for "Yanhe"?

If a full-time writer can maintain such a high output, Zhang Dening can understand it to some extent, since the other person has relatively more free time.

But Xu Lu also has a regular job, and she is an editor herself, so she knows all too well that this job is not as easy as it seems on the surface.

Not to mention the frequent overtime for reviewing manuscripts, after spending so much energy on work, she didn't even want to move when she got back to her dorm.

Then, under such circumstances, Comrade Xu Lu sent them his new work again.

Regardless of the quality or length of the work, she wanted to start by making a comment.

How can a person have such boundless energy?

Doesn't he get tired?

Or does it mean he doesn't need to use his brain at all when he writes, and his inspiration comes like a torrent?

While she was completely in awe of Xu Lu, she couldn't help but pin her hopes for making headlines on this article.

They usually receive contributions from quite a few well-known writers, but they just don't have any good new works right now. What can you do?

You can't exactly hold a knife to their throats and force them to write something right away, can you?

Therefore, all her current hope rests on Xu Lu.

But will this article really meet my expectations?

She wasn't sure either. From a rational point of view, writers of Xu Lu's caliber should at least have a minimum standard for their work.

But after publishing "Wheat Harvester" and "Life on a String," Zhang Dening found it hard to believe that he could produce a new work of comparable quality in such a short period of time.

As the saying goes, even the best can make mistakes. It's a bit too much to expect Xu Lu's works to always be amazing!

Forget it, I don't want to think about it too much. I should just keep a calm mind!

Zhang Dening adjusted her mindset, then took the manuscript to her desk and began to carefully read through it.

……

After reading the beginning, Zhang Dening quickly realized that this was a piece of rural literature. However, she was somewhat surprised that Xu Lu had set the story in Hunan Province this time.

He seems to be from Shaanxi Province, right?

Zhang Dening's heart sank. She believed in Xu Lu's talent and writing skills, and she also believed that rural literature was his comfort zone. But a man from Shaanxi Province was going to write about the customs and culture of Hunan Province...

She still finds it difficult to maintain an optimistic attitude.

It seems that Comrade Xu Lu has taken a bit too big a step this time.

However, regardless, I still need to read the whole article first...

She continued to calm herself down and immerse herself in focused reading.

……

The fog hadn't lifted yet, and the stone path climbed up the mountainside. The cogongrass on both sides grew up to waist height, its leaves glistening with dew. It brushed against my trousers, making me shiver with coolness.

The son walked ahead, his steps quick, his young legs strong, each step making a thud on the stone slabs. He always felt that the postal route in the mountains was nothing difficult, just walking to deliver mail, something his father had talked about for half his life, as if it were some huge deal.

……

After crossing the mountain pass, the view suddenly opened up. A basin nestled in the mountains, with a village built along the slope, all stilted houses with black tiles and wooden walls, and wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys. A stream flowed around the village like a silver ribbon. This is a Dong village called Fengxiang Village.

From afar, the singing could be heard; it was the Dong ethnic group's grand song. The woman's voice was clear and bright, like mountain spring water, drifting on the wind. By the stream at the entrance of the village, several girls were washing clothes, chatting and laughing. When they saw them coming, they all straightened up to greet them.

……

The son remained silent, following behind his father. The mountain path gradually narrowed, and the trees on both sides grew denser, mostly pine and fir trees, blocking out the sky with only a sliver of light.

The air was filled with the scent of pine resin, mixed with the damp smell of decaying leaves; the fallen leaves felt soft underfoot. The wind blew through the forest, carrying the sound of mountain streams, gurgling like someone ringing bells in the distance.

……

In fact, the original author did use the Xiangdong mountain village where he grew up as a real prototype when creating "Postmen in the Mountains".

However, when describing the scenery, he was very restrained and impressionistic, hiding the regional characteristics in the details, rather than "nakedly" telling the reader that he was writing about Hunan Province.

Xu Lu, who had seen the film version, chose to add many special descriptions during his "creation" in order to enhance the "recognition" of Hunan Province.

So when Zhang Dening read these distinctive descriptions, she immediately felt as if she were there, as if she were really walking among the mountains and rivers of Hunan Province.

This article doesn't seem as bad as she imagined...

She continued reading, and after a while, she got up and knocked on Li Qingquan's office door.