The literary era since 1979

Chapter 45 Young Friends Come to Meet
On April 4th, the institute had a three-day holiday.

The reason is simple: to let the students get acquainted with their respective mentors' homes. After all, their future creations will depend on the guidance of their teachers.

After Fang Yan returned home, he went straight to the editorial department of "Yenching Literature and Art" and handed "Furong Town" and "Listening to the Wind" to Wang Meng, Zhou Yanru and others. The two manuscripts were circulated back and forth.

"I won't say much about Yan Zi's "Listening to the Wind", as everyone has reviewed it before. Let's talk about "Furong Town" instead."

Wang Meng looked around and clapped his hands.

"Using the concept of reflective literature to give new meaning to the countryside is a brand new breakthrough in local literature."

"It integrates political events into local customs and practices, and uses the fate of characters to show historical changes. The combination is quite natural."

"Is this Gu Hua from southern Hunan? No wonder, his writings have a hint of western Hunan flavor that only Mr. Shen can have."

"........."

Seeing everyone's high evaluation, Wang Meng, as Gu Hua's instructor, felt very proud and said with a smile:

“This manuscript would have been published even if it had been submitted to People’s Literature, but it was snatched away by our Yenching Literature and Art.

The first credit must go to Yan Zi, thanks to his initiative, who was the first to think of asking the students of the training institute for manuscripts, and discovered Gu Hua and this article "Furong Town" among them!"

"Snapped."

"Pap-pap-pap-pap."

Everyone applauded Fangyan, and the applause was mixed with laughter.

"Hehe, this is called the one who is close to the water gets the moon first."

Fangyan suggested that, while other journals have not yet realized the value of the students of the institute, Yenching Literature and Art should simply publish a few more issues on the special topic of reflective literature and make a collective solicitation for articles from interested students, as there is a need for their works to be published.

It's a win-win situation for both parties.

We can even develop a special topic on spy novels. Ever since it was confirmed that "Dark War" would be published in "Harvest", the concept of "spy war" has become popular in the institute, and many students have followed suit.

"Iwako's suggestions are worth considering!"

Zhou Yanru and others praised it highly.

After discussion, it was decided that the fiction group would go to the training institute and recruit students to Yenching Academy of Literature and Art first.

"Iwako's trip to the training center was not in vain."

Wang Meng couldn't help but sigh: "It's only been a month, not only has the creative level improved by leaps and bounds, but the editing ability has also improved rapidly."

Li Yue smiled and praised: "That's right, Yanzi is simply the best talent of our Yanjing Literature and Art."

"There are Bole in the world, and then there are thousand-mile horses. There are many thousand-mile horses, but Bole is rare. If I am a thousand-mile horse, it is also thanks to all the Bole teachers. Of course, the greatest Bole..."

Fang Yan half-jokingly said, "It has to be Teacher Xiao Wang."

"That's pretty much it."

Wang Jie put her hands on her hips and raised her chin.

"Hahaha, that's right, Xiao Wang is Yanzi's mentor!"

The business compliments touched the hearts of Wang Meng and others.

In such a joyful atmosphere, it was finally decided to put "Furong Town" in the July issue as the front page of reflective literature, and to put "Listening to the Wind" in the September issue, trying to organize manuscripts around the theme of spy war. After all, no matter how delicious the delicacies are, they cannot be eaten every day.

The same goes for reflective literature, we need a change of taste.

After the meeting, Wang Meng called Fang Yan to his office alone and got straight to the point: "I heard from Professor Li that the institute took great pains to find a mentor for you. Who did they find for you in the end?"

Fang Yan lowered his voice and said, "Mr. Yan Bing."

"It's actually Mr. Mao?!"

Wang Meng was surprised, but after careful consideration, he said, "When it comes to novels, none other than Mao and Ba are the best candidates. Now that Lao She has passed away and Ba is far away in Shanghai, Mao is indeed the best candidate."

Then he patted him on the back and said, "It seems that Mr. Ding Ling, Mr. Li and the institute have high hopes for you. They not only hope that you can write a novel, but they also hope that your first novel can amaze the literary world like The Shepherd and The Dark War, and help the institute to regain its reputation and revive its glory after it resumes operation."

"Please don't say that. I'm under a lot of pressure."

Fangyan smiled awkwardly.

"Young people should not be afraid of pressure. The sky will not fall. Even if it does, Mr. Mao will hold it up for you."

Wang Meng smiled and said, "The prerequisite is that he must accept you as his disciple."

"Teacher Wang, what kind of person is Mr. Yan Bing?"

When Fangyan heard the word "disciple", his heart was filled with emotion.

Afterwards, Wang Meng described to him his impression of Shen Yanbing.

She is simply the old nanny of the Chinese literary world. She has encouraged, cultivated and supported countless writers of three generations, old, middle-aged and young.

It can be said that more than half of the entire literary world has been cared for by Shen Yanbing, including Wang Meng himself, who was able to become his disciple.

Your blessing is yet to come!

"When did Mr. Mao ask you to see him?"

Wang Meng cast an inquiring look.

"May 5th."

Fangyan touched his chest and let out a breath.

………………

The next day was May Day holiday.

At the No. 18 bus stop, Fang Yan waited and waited, and finally Tie Ning, Wang Anyi, Mo Shen and others arrived.

"Yanzi, quickly find us a place to have breakfast."

Mo Shen said weakly.

"You haven't eaten?"

Fangyan was shocked.

Tie Ning smiled and said, "The cafeteria is closed for May Day. No food will be provided today."

"Yes, follow me."

Fangyan took them to a store he often visited in Beixinqiao.

In those days, even breakfast required money and food stamps. For example, the flour used to make fried dough sticks had to be bought with food stamps.

就见挂在窗口的价目表上写着，“油条4分/根（半两）”、“豆汁3分/碗”、“咸豆浆4分/碗”、“甜豆浆5分/碗”、“肉包1毛/个”……

"Give me two fried dough sticks and a bowl of soy milk~"

The dialect was spoken with a light ending sound of "er", mixed with a kind of humor and frivolity, which was very authentic.

"You didn't have breakfast either?"

Wang Anyi was very curious.

Fang Yan took out the money and said, "I've already eaten, but I can't just sit there and watch you guys eat. I'll eat some more with you."

"I heard that if you come to Yanjing, you must try this bean juice."

Tie Ning looked at Wang Anyi and said, "How about we try it too?"

"Do you really want to try it? Don't blame me for not warning you in advance. I don't think you can stand the smell."

Fangyan curled his lips.

"How do you know if you don't try? Teacher Xiao Fang is treating us anyway."

Tie Ning and others had no intention of ripping off the rich man, so they just let him treat them to a morning meal.

"If you really want to try something new, you can order a bowl first."

Fangyan suggested.

"Only one bowl for two people, Yanzi, you are too stingy."

Mo Shen rolled his eyes in annoyance.

The dialect can understand "shoupi", "This is not stingy, let's order a bowl first so that they can taste it. If they are not used to it, we can save waste. If they are used to it, we can order more." Then he patted his chest and said, "Drink as much as you want. I will provide you with enough bean juice today!"

The more he said this, the more surprised Tie Ning, Wang Anyi and others became. When the bean juice was brought to them, it had a gray tint in the white, and a green tint in the gray, with a faint aroma of mung beans.

"Just in case, you should drink it with a spoon."

Fangyan handed his spoon to Tiening.

"Give it to me, what will you do?"

As soon as Tiening finished speaking, he picked up the big bowl with both hands, blew the hot air, took a sip, then put his lips to the rim of the bowl and drank the boiling hot soy milk in circles.

"what!"

Suddenly, Wang Anyi, who was already drunk, shouted.

Tie Ning and others were startled and asked what it felt like.

"It's so rotten, I feel like throwing up the food I ate the night before."

Wang Anyi felt nauseous.

Tie Ning pursed her lips, and seeing Fang Yan's playful smile, she drank a spoonful of liquid in a huff, her eyes widened, and she swallowed it down with gritted teeth:
"Don't sell this soy milk, it's gone bad!"

"This is not soy milk, and it's not rotten. This is the taste of fermented mung beans." Fangyan said with a smile.

"Forget it, I can't stand the smell."

"See, I knew you couldn't handle it, so you should go order a bowl of soy milk."

"What about this bowl? Isn't it wasted?"

Tie Ning felt regretful and wished he should have listened to the dialect earlier.

People of this era cherish food very much. They are reluctant to waste even a grain of it and cannot stand any waste.

"That's why I told you to drink it with a spoon. Give it to me."

Fangyan brought the soy milk in front of himself.

Seeing the bowl touch his lips, Tie Ning and Wang Anyi looked at each other, feeling a little strange in their hearts.

"After breakfast, where is our first stop?"

Jiang Zilong, Mo Shen and others looked at Fang Yan.

"In this weather and at this time, let's go boating in Beihai Park."

Fangyan looked up at the sky.

The sky was clear and the sun was shining. On the sparkling water were two rowing boats, one in front and one behind, with three people in each.

"Let us row our oars and push the boat through the waves."

The beautiful white tower is reflected on the sea, surrounded by green trees and red walls..."

Although Tie Ning and Wang Anyi were sitting on different boats, they sang "Let's Row the Boat" in unison. Mo Shen and Gu Hua couldn't help but sing along. Finally, it was Fang Yan and Jiang Zilong's turn to row the boat.

After singing for a while, Jiang Zilong shook his head:

"This song is nice to listen to and is appropriate for the occasion, but it's not suitable for people our age. Are there any other suitable songs?"

“I heard one on the radio recently.”

Fangyan cleared his throat and sang while rowing:
“Young friends, let’s meet today.

Rowing the boat, the warm wind blows gently,
The flowers are fragrant, the birds are chirping, the spring scenery is intoxicating,
Singing and laughing are flying around the colorful clouds.

Ah, dear friends, to whom does this beautiful spring belong? It belongs to me, to you, and to us, the new generation of the 1980s!
We will meet again in another twenty years.

How beautiful our great motherland is! "

After singing it once, Tiening, Jiang Zilong and others were still not satisfied, so they asked Fangyan to sing it slowly twice. Gradually, one by one, they learned to sing it, and the singing floated on the quiet water.

The breeze is blowing gently and the willows are swaying.

"Okay, now you decide where you want to go?" Fangyan said in a hoarse voice, glancing at everyone.

"Summer Palace! Jingshan Park! Temple of Heaven..."

“And Ditan Temple!”

Wang Anyi, Tie Ning and others shouted.

Fangyan was stunned. Ditan...

(End of this chapter)