The literary era since 1979

Chapter 26 Awards Ceremony (Please read!)
When Fangyan returned to the compound after get off work, he saw Yang Xia pushing a brand new Phoenix bicycle and parking it at the door.

"Mom, this bike belongs to my sister, right?"

Fangyan parked the car on the side of the road and locked it.

"nonsense."

Yang Xia touched the seat with a smile.

"Finally I bought it. I thought my sister wouldn't agree."

Fangyan felt relieved.

"Your sister is unwilling to do this, but don't you think about it? Your sister is so busy, how can she have the time to buy a bicycle?"

"Please ask for leave."

"Why ask for leave!"

Yang Xia scolded, "Do you think your sister is like you and can leave work early? Your sister took two days off for you, which was an exception. You know, except when she was sick, she never took a day off. She got up early and came home late every day and worked hard. Otherwise, how could she be rated as a model worker and advanced worker and get this one and only Phoenix brand bicycle ticket?"

"hey-hey."

Fangyan nodded repeatedly and dared not refute.

"Wash your hands. Wait for your sister and Yan Zi to come back, then we'll have dinner." Yang Xia walked towards the small kitchen.

Fangyan walked back to his room, took out the script of "The Shepherd" from the drawer, and began to think about random things.

Is it shot for the Shanghai Film Studio or the Beijing Film Studio?
Gradually, the script started to make me think of the next novel.

Sometimes having all the cards in your hand is not necessarily a good thing, because you don’t know what to come out with. For example, "Farewell My Concubine" involves the sensitive topic of homosexuality, and publishing it at this time is tantamount to a huge wave.

Moreover, this movie is adapted from Li Bihua's novel.

It would be embarrassing if the publication dates coincided.

Nowadays, the most suitable subject matter is actually military resistance.

The first thing that came to my mind was "Drawing Sword".

Of course it is a TV series, not a novel. The original work is a typical scar literature, which is fabricated and of third-rate quality.

If it weren't for the superb performance of the screenwriter and actors, the TV series would not have been so successful. Even so, if it were put in today's time, it would still be a definite "anti-Japanese drama" and would definitely be criticized if it were released.

After thinking it over, he took out a cigarette from the cigarette box, walked into the yard to get some fresh air, and heard voices coming from the corner.

Leaning against the wall, he quietly poked his head out.

He saw Yang Xia and Fang Hong whispering with their backs to him.

"Mom, didn't you tell me to think about it again?"

"Don't think about it. You've been riding Yanzi's second-hand car for so long, it's time for you to put it down. Find some time to go to the police station and get the license plate registered."

"But……"

"There's no but. I know you've always wanted to make it up to Yanzi. Mom does the same thing. That's why I favored Yanzi when Aunt Lu came to propose marriage and when I got the bicycle ticket this time."

Yang Xia sighed, "Don't blame mom for being partial. I'm a human being. If it's not you, it's him. When I think of the hardships your brother has gone through, I can't help it. But he doesn't want anything. The more sensible he is, the more I feel I owe him."

"Me too, Mom."

Fang Hong shook her head.

"Mom knows you're feeling miserable. You didn't want to take your dad's job at all. You wanted to go to college."

Yang Xia said helplessly: "But the situation at that time was that your father was the only one who earned a salary in the family. After his death, someone had to take over to support the family. Only you, the eldest sister, were of the right age."

"Mom, this is all old news, don't read it. Even if I wanted to go to college, I couldn't go in that situation. It was good enough that I didn't go to work in the countryside. Yanzi suffered all the hardship for me."

Fang Hong shook her head.

"Iwako suffered, and you suffered a lot too."

Yang Xia said: "If you are allowed to ride the Phoenix, then you should ride it. It is your right to ride it. You got the ticket and earned the money. Don't think too much. Just ride it to work steadily in the future."

Faintly, bursts of sobbing could be heard.

Fangyan left quietly, holding a cigarette in his mouth.

I had only seen a similar scene in my previous life when my sister got divorced and returned to her parents' home. Seeing this now, it felt like a lifetime ago.

...............

On March 3, the list of winners of the "16 National Excellent Short Story Award" was announced, with a total of 1979 works selected.

According to the number of votes from the public and the opinions of the judges, "The Horse Shepherd" ranked second among the 25 articles, only behind Jiang Zilong's "The Record of Director Qiao's Taking Office". This ranking is reasonable.

After all, "The Shepherd" set off a wave of reflective literature, but "The Record of Director Qiao's Taking Office" is also a representative work of reform literature.

Although it is a pity that it cannot be ranked first, this is the first time that "Yenching Literature and Art" has won an award since its resumption of publication.

Moreover, the judges of this year's award ceremony include 24 national literary masters such as Shen Yanbing, Li Yaotang, and Ding Ling.

This gold content is purer than 24k gold!

More importantly, Zhang Jie, who was also recommended by the Yenching Literature and Art Editorial Department, was unfortunately not selected because the love theme depicted in "Love, Can't Be Forgotten" was still considered "explicit" in the standards of that era, so "The Shepherd" became the only one.

Being an only child, one naturally has the privileges that come with being an only child.

On the day of the award ceremony on March 3, Wang Meng personally accompanied Fang Yan to the scene to show off his "child"!
The yard was full of bicycles and people coming and going. There were also many reporters with signs on their chests and cameras walking in through the gate.

As soon as we entered the venue, there was a stage in front of us. A banner was hung on the wall behind the seats for leaders and guests, which read: "National Excellent Short Story Awards Conference."

Below are rows of tables and chairs, each with a name tag.

Wang Meng didn't rush to sit down, but walked around speaking in dialect.

"Yanzi, come here, let me introduce you. This is Jiang Zilong and Feng Jicai from Tianjin."

"Hello, my name is Fangyan."

Fangyan shook hands with everyone one by one. His palms were broad, thick and rough, especially Jiang Zilong's. As soon as he introduced himself, his palms tightened instantly.

"Uh……"

"Just call me Yanzi."

"I've heard a lot about you! I read your book The Horse Herder at the Writers' Congress and have always hoped to meet you one day. Today I finally met you. I didn't expect you to be so young."

Jiang Zilong and Feng Jicai had both joy and sorrow.

What makes me happy is seeing the dialects that emerged last year, but what makes me sad is my own age. One is 38 and the other is 37. Logically, we should both be the leaders of the new generation of literary world, but we are just so old!
Where the hell are you going to reason with this!

Before the conference, there was naturally a lot of socializing.

Wang Meng wanted to promote it, so he went around speaking in dialect, wandering all the way from Yanjing, with a bunch of labels on his body:
"Horse Herder", "Loess Plateau", the first person to reflect on literature, assistant editor of "Yanjing Literature and Art", handsome...

After one round, I won countless admiration.

When we turned to northern Shaanxi, there was no one familiar from the previous delegation. Suddenly, a man with thick black eyebrows came over:

"Hello, my name is Chen Zhongshi. Teacher Hu, Lu Yao, and Ping Wa have been talking to me about you since they came back from the Writers' Congress."

Chen Zhongshi? "White Deer Plain"!
Fangyan shook hands with him and they exchanged greetings.

Chen Zhongshi said: "When I came here, Lu Yao and other editors of Yanhe asked me to meet you."

"Is it about 'A Thrilling Scene'?"

The dialect is understood.

"Well, not only Lu Yao, but the entire editorial department of Yanhe takes it very seriously and wants to know if the novel can be published?"

Chen Zhongshi cast an inquiring look.

Fang Yan shook his head and said, "Although it cannot be published in Yenching Literature and Art, our editor-in-chief has found a way for "A Thrilling Scene" and recommended it to Editor-in-Chief Qin of Contemporary."

"Is it Editor-in-Chief Qin Zhaoyang?!"

Chen Zhongshi was shocked.

"Yes, that's him."

Fang Yan said: "Please tell Lu Yao for me..."

"No need to say sorry. If Lu Yao knew that you could recommend his novel to Editor Qin, he would definitely thank you very much."

Chen Zhongshi was immediately filled with awe.

At this moment, the venue became noisy.

"Mr. Zhou is here!"

"Ba Gong is here!"

"Mr. Ding Ling is here!"

"..."

Amid the discussions, the guests and leaders walked onto the stage.

In an instant, everyone returned to their positions and the scene became quiet.

The cameras were set up and pictures were being taken at a rapid pace. There was an invisible sense of pressure in the air. At 14:, the conference began.

Before presenting the award, Li Yaotang spread out the manuscript and said:

“Comrades,

On behalf of this selection committee, I would like to extend my warm congratulations to this conference and wish it a complete success..."

"This is the 2nd National Excellent Short Story Awards Conference. I still remember the grand occasion of the first conference last year."

"Many talented, knowledgeable and energetic young people came to the conference with their ideals and hopes. Over the past year, there are more such young people, and the team of young writers has grown."

"I believe that only a small number of people attended the award ceremony this time, but some people may be puzzled as to why so many young people are interested in literary creation?"

Some people think that this may just be a temporary fad, a flash in the pan, and worry that there will be no successors. I think this worry is unnecessary. I always believe in the old saying: Life cultivates writers! "

"........."

The whole place was silent except for the speeches.

The dialect swept the podium, and apart from Li Yaotang, Zhou Yang, Ding Ling, and Feng Mu, the others were also big names in today's literary world.

Even Wang Meng was only qualified to sit on the edge of the rostrum.

　Two chapters posted together.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)