The literary era since 1979

The day after the lion dance conference was held in Foshan as scheduled, the news quickly spread from Foshan to all parts of eastern Guangdong, including Pengcheng.

In front of the post office newsstand, Zhang Weiming came as usual to see if there were any new newspapers or magazines.

This habit he developed when he was a worker in a state-owned factory. After work, he spent his time reading and writing.

I read classic masterpieces such as "Dream of the Red Chamber" and "War and Peace", and also popular literature such as "The Grandmaster Huang Feihong", "Malice" and "The Ring". In short, I will read anything that is good.

It was also because I read a news article in the Pengcheng Special Zone News that I resolutely gave up my stable job despite opposition from my family and friends.

Following the idea of ​​going out and trying my luck, I came to Pengcheng with my fellow villagers from Jiaoling.

After wandering for half a month, I finally found my first job on the assembly line in a garment factory in Hong Kong.

Since being assigned to the assembly line, working endlessly, I have become more and more numb and slowly lost my former vitality.

If I could live my life over again, I would never quit my job and come to Pengcheng to work. It is impossible for me to come here to work.

I will never work again in this life!
Now, only when I read newspapers and novels do I feel that I am alive again and dream back to the happy times in the state-owned factory.

He sighed and put on a smiling face in the blink of an eye: "Uncle!"

The old man at the newsstand saw that it was a familiar face, put down the newspaper and said, "Hey, you're here!"

Zhang Weiming said: "What's good to watch today? Can you recommend it?"

The old man lowered his voice and said, "The latest issue of Huacheng will be released soon. It is said that it will include Huang Feihong 3."

"Really?!"

Zhang Weiming had heard early on that the mainland and Hong Kong would co-produce the movie "Once Upon a Time in China", but he didn't expect there would be an unexpected surprise.

"Of course!"

The old man swore, "It was written in the Foshan Daily a few days ago. Teacher Fang announced it in person at the Lion King Conference in front of the folks of Foshan. He also said that a new literary trend has been discovered in Foshan, called 'migrant literature'!"

Zhang Weiming was very surprised, "How can I write literature while working?"

"Who says it's not true? I've lived for so long and read so many books, but this is the first time I've heard of such a thing as migrant worker literature."

The old man shook his head and laughed.

Zhang Weiming was very interested. "What's the name of this migrant worker novel that Teacher Fang praised so highly? Is it mentioned in the newspaper?
"Yes, yes, it's called 'Late at night, there's a person on the beach'."

The old man replied, "It was published in the latest issue of Foshan Literature and Art. It is said to be the story of workers who left their hometowns to work in Pengcheng."

When Zhang Weiming heard that the protagonist came to Pengcheng to work, he immediately felt the same way and searched around in the newsstand:
"Uncle, give me a copy of Foshan Literature and Art."

"Wrong, wrong, it's not the May issue."

The old man said that it would take a few days until early June for the latest issue of Foshan Literature and Art to be published.

"Then follow the old rules. You must leave me a copy when the time comes."

Zhang Weiming was whetted by the temptation and paid the deposit as per the usual practice.

With the anticipation growing day by day, the sixth issue of "Foshan Literature and Art" is finally here.

The first thing I did when I returned to the workers' dormitory was to read "There is a Man on the Beach Late at Night".

The editor's comments were written by Fangyan himself.

"Migrant workers also need emotional comfort, and migrant worker literature is about their common life, which to a certain extent alleviates the mental trauma of wandering and working hard for them. This may be the irreplaceable significance of migrant worker literature..."

All of a sudden, I was very fond of this working novel.

Reading from the beginning, the protagonist's experiences while working are highly similar to one's own ups and downs. In some places, they are very unfamiliar. Because I can empathize with him, I can easily put myself into the story, as if I were there.

The machinery of the assembly line, the helplessness of wandering, the melancholy of homesickness, the sweetness and sourness of love...

Unconsciously, his eyes were slightly red. Men don't cry easily, but they are not too sad. This scene shocked the other fellows in the dormitory, and they hurriedly came forward to ask: "What's wrong with you? Why are you still crying?"

"It's so well written! So well written!"

Zhang Weiming seemed to be possessed by a demon and kept saying "that's great".

The novel is full of emotions, not literary style. In particular, it does not have the "philosophy of suffering" that promotes misfortune and praises suffering like "My Second Uncle Cured My Spiritual Waste", but in the midst of suffering, the author sometimes blames others and sometimes is positive and optimistic. It is quite real and down-to-earth.

"I'll see, I'll see."

People passed it around, those who hadn't seen it read it attentively, and those who had seen it discussed it enthusiastically.

This trend of migrant worker literature quickly spread throughout the workers' dormitory, attracting widespread attention from fellow workers.

Whenever you walk into a workers' dormitory, you can see a copy of this issue of "Foshan Literature and Art".

Not long after the publication, letters from readers flew to the editorial office like snowflakes, and also flew to the author's address written on the letter.

The winery's mailbox often received a pile of letters. The secretary, with a smile on his face, hurried to the director's office.

"Dong dong dong."

Hearing the knock on the door, Li Jingwei called out "Come in," and then immediately asked, "Have you finished designing the trademark?"

"There's no news from the Design Institute yet." The secretary smiled, "But there's another piece of good news."

Li Jingwei took the Foshan Literature and Art handed to him, but when he heard that the factory had produced a famous writer, especially one discovered by Teacher Fang, his eyes lit up instantly, "This is indeed a great thing. Lin Jian has become famous, and the factory will also benefit from it."

"Director Han just called and said that a group of reporters will soon arrive in Sanshui to interview Lin Jian."

The secretary repeated Han Yuemin's words verbatim.

Among this group of reporters are those from Pengcheng and Foshan, as well as those from eastern Guangdong Province. The winery can fully utilize this opportunity of interviewing Lin Jian to give its own factory, or even the newly developed Jianlibao, a completely free advertisement. This opportunity is not to be missed.

"good idea!"

Li Jingwei slammed the table and stood up: "Go buy a batch of Foshan Literature and Art right now and distribute it to the people in the factory."

"Ah I?"

The secretary looked embarrassed. "Foshan Literature and Art" had already been sold out in the whole Sanshui.

"Then call the editorial office!"

As soon as Li Jingwei finished speaking, the secretary followed suit, but what he never expected was that the phone at the editorial department of Foshan Literature and Art was always busy.

The operators were overwhelmed with the calls, and the magazine was also very busy, receiving hundreds of submissions every day.

Most of the authors of manuscripts are front-line workers who cannot afford to buy manuscript paper, so they write the manuscripts at the back of the work orders, and the content is mostly about the authors’ experiences.

As the local dialect suggests, migrant worker literature has indeed set off an unimaginable craze in eastern Guangdong.

Seeing that Foshan Literature and Art reaped the first dividends of migrant worker literature, Huacheng Publishing House could no longer sit still.

Unfortunately, the latest issue of the journal won’t be published for another three days.

At this time, Fang Yan and Han Yuemin had already set off for Beijing after finishing all matters in eastern Guangdong.

"Teacher Fang, how about you stay a few more days?"

At the train station, Lin Xianzhi tried to persuade him to stay, saying, "'Flower City' will be published soon. Readers in eastern Guangdong will be excited after reading the third volume of 'Huang Feihong' and your theoretical views on migrant worker literature..."

Fangyan declined politely, saying that I had a lot of things to do and needed to focus on the manuscripts for "Mystery World" before going to the United States.

In the briefcase, there is a stack of manuscripts written in the past few days, the title of the book is... (End of this chapter)