The literary era since 1979

Chapter 36: Restoring the Glory of Literature
It was lunchtime, and Jiang Dan and others delivered meal tickets to each dormitory one by one.

Meal tickets are divided into flour tickets and rice tickets. There are a total of ten jin of national food tickets, four jin of rice tickets, and the remaining six jins of flour tickets.

The rice ticket is the size of a one-cent banknote, with the word "rice ticket" printed in black ink on the kraft paper, and weighs four taels per piece.

Fangyan and four others came to the cafeteria with their meal tickets.

The cafeteria has three functions: it is an auditorium during meetings and a classroom and restaurant at other times. There is a podium and a blackboard in the front and a glass window in the back corner.

Inside is the kitchen, and when it's time to eat, the window is opened.

The aroma of rice, vegetables, and the slightly sour vapor of yeast used to steam buns wafted out and filled the entire house.

"It's not good. This place will be both our paradise and our hell in the future," Fangyan said half-jokingly.

"Why do you say that?"

Jiang Zilong and others asked in surprise.

Fangyan said: "Just think about it, if you are in class and suddenly these aromas drift over, how can you concentrate on the class?"

Mo Shen joked with him, "Yanzi's words make sense. There's a saying that goes, 'If you're not active in eating, you have a problem with your thinking.' Eating is a very important thing, and listening to a class is just... "

“This will test our perseverance.”

Fangyan said: "Can the brain's desire for literature exceed the stomach's desire for food? Has it reached the point of being hungry and thirsty?"

"Haha, that's right!"

Jiang Zilong and others laughed.

When the teachers and students standing in line nearby heard this, they all looked over and smiled knowingly, including the director and deputy director.

"Is this the dialect that Mr. Li mentioned?"

Xu Gang looked back.

Li Qingquan nodded, "This Xiao Fang."

"Young people are full of energy."

The two of them stared at Fangyan, who was talking and laughing, without any expression, just like the head teacher secretly observing the classroom through the glass of the back door.

Gu Hua stood in the front of the line. While handing over the lunch box containing the tickets, he asked the people inside if they could use the flour tickets instead of rice tickets if they ran out of rice tickets in the future.
The staff member replied bluntly, "No."

"Ugh!"

Because of this sentence, Gu Hua sighed repeatedly while eating.

"How is this going?"

Jiang Zilong frowned, "Uncomfortable with the local climate?"

"Shoonan has been a land of fish and rice since ancient times, and it has a rice-eating culture. He may not be used to eating noodles."

Fangyan was well aware of Gu Hua's predicament: he didn't have enough rice coupons to spend.

But you can't ask your family for it, because oil and grain are rationed. One person's monthly local food coupons must be combined with one person's monthly oil coupons to exchange for about 30 kilograms of national food coupons. If you ask your family for national food coupons, it would be equivalent to withholding food rations at home.

No matter what, you cannot spend more than the allotted meal tickets.

"I thought it was something!"

Mo Shen raised his hand and said, "If you want rice tickets, you can exchange them with me. I like to eat pasta and I can't get used to eating rice."

"And me, you can also switch with me. When I was sent to work in the countryside in northern Shaanxi, I ate pasta and got used to it." Fangyan said with a smile.

"Thank you."

Gu Hua couldn't help but be moved.

Just as everyone was eating, Xu Gang stood up and made an announcement. In order to promote communication and familiarity between students and teachers, the institute would hold an opening tea party.

The time is set for tomorrow.

All of a sudden, the whole cafeteria was in an uproar.

"I heard that several leaders of the Writers Association will be here."

"Where's the teacher? Who will come to teach us?"

"What I know now are Wan Jiabao, Ai Qing, Ding Ling, Wu Zuxiang, Yuan Kejia, Wang Meng..."

"This is too... too... grand!"

"You haven't seen much. The first four issues were really great, with Zheng Zhenduo, Ye Shengtao, Lao She, Wan Jiabao, Ai Qing, He Qifang, Liu Boyu, Zhao Shuli, Zhang Tianyi..."

Hearing these names, everyone was fascinated.

Especially when I thought about so many big names in the contemporary literary world giving me lessons, I was so excited that I couldn't control myself.

"For this tea party, considering that we are short of staff, we need some of you to serve as waiters and receptionists. Those who are interested can sign up with Teacher Gu."

Li Qingquan looked around and found Fangyan among the crowd.

Oh, the old leader called my name!

Fangyan was the first to stand up and run to sign up.

I really wasn't forced, I did it voluntarily!

With his start, more and more students signed up to participate. Finally, Fang Yan was assigned to a group with Tie Ning, Wang Anyi and others. They put the small tables together to form a square table and covered it with a bed sheet.

The entire cafeteria was decorated in a simple and elegant manner. At this time, the blackboard read:

"Opening Ceremony of the 1980 Literature Workshop".

"Mr. Li, Mr. Xu, can we change this wording?" Tie Ning poked with a piece of chalk.

The students who were there to help seconded the proposal, and generally hoped to change the name to "Literature Workshop", as it sounded too informal.

"How do you want to change it?"

Li Qingquan looked kind and asked for his opinion.

Everyone was talking, and Fangyan cleared his throat.

"I think that since the institute has run for four terms, it would be better to continue the program and call it 'The Fifth Period of the Literature Institute', which means to carry on the past and open up the future."

Then he looked around, "Or it could be called 'The First Period of the Literary Institute in 1980'. Starting all over again, there is a long way to go."

In an instant, his proposal was discussed by everyone.

"I think 'Issue 5' is good."

"No, the first term is better. The first term students sound better than the fifth term students."

When Fangyan heard this, he couldn't help but think of Chiang Kai-shek. Fortunately, he was not the principal of this Huangpu School of Literature, otherwise he would say:
"You are in the first period!"

Finally, the teachers and students unanimously approved “The Fifth Period of the Literature Institute”, and Tie Ning immediately wrote it on the blackboard in a flamboyant manner.

"And these, what should I write?"

Wang Anyi picked up the paper used for banners and couplets, which were written with nothing more than "Warm Welcome" and "Celebrate the Opening of School"...

It looks like nothing new.

"Xiao Fang, what do you think?"

Li Qingquan looked at him with a smile.

"Ahem, that's what I think."

Fang Yan said seriously, "In addition to expressing welcome, couplets and banners can also show the purpose of the training center and the aspirations and wishes of our students. When Mr. Sun was in the Whampoa Military Academy, didn't he leave a couplet that said 'If you want to get promoted and make money, please go elsewhere. If you are afraid of death, don't enter this gate'? Why don't we write a few too?"

"That sounds like a good idea."

Tie Ning, Wang Anyi and others whispered to each other and nodded continuously.

"Tell me more, what should I write?"

Xu Gang and Li Qingquan looked at each other.

"Then I'll show off my ugliness. I'll start by throwing out some ideas and talking about my own opinions. For example, like this..."

Fang Yan pretended to be deep and recited: "Where there is a will, there is a way. With a desperate struggle, the 120 Qin passes finally belonged to Chu. Heaven will not let down those who work hard. With slumber and bitterness, 3,000 Yue troops can conquer Wu."

When these words were spoken, the whole audience was shocked.

"Comrade Fangyan, did you write this?"

Tie Ning's eyes lit up.

Fangyan shook his head: "This was written by Pu Songling."

"Who is Pu Songling?"

"You don't know Pu Songling? He's the author of Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio."

When Fangyan heard their conversation, he couldn't help but look back at the "Fifth Period of Literature Institute" on the blackboard, and his eyebrows twitched.

Even though those recruited are all writers and will be the mainstay of Chinese literary world in the future and their cultural level must be very high, in fact, their current knowledge is not much broader than that of college students in future generations.

Just pick up the motivational slogans that were often used in the company in your previous life, and change them a little, and you can get applause and surprise from the whole room.

For example, "It is our duty to restore the glory of literature!"

I vaguely felt that I stood out from the other students. Although I was the youngest, I looked like the backbone of the group.

"Rebuilding the glory of literature, good! Good!"

The leaders of the training institute were all amazed and applauded.

"Mr. Li, this Xiao Fang is really good."

Xu Gang was full of praise, "No wonder you always mention him."

"He always comes up with something new for me."

There was a doting smile on Li Qingquan's lips.

After a while, the buyer came back from outside, having spent more than ten yuan on some peanuts, bean-sized ordinary flour biscuits and tea leaves. They looked a bit shabby, but he was willing to pay for them.

These days, a big piece of unity can buy a good meal.

Seeing the venue being arranged, Li Qingquan, Xu Gang and other old people who had worked in the Literature Institute before were all excited.

A whole 22 years!
The Literature Institute is finally back! They are all back!

　Thanks to Hello Shuge for the 500 Qidian coins.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)