The literary era since 1979

Chapter 92: One article shocked the world
Two days later, Yanchuan, northern Shaanxi.

At a glance, the Loess Plateau is undulating, with gullies crisscrossing. There is almost no grass on the mountains, and dust flies when the wind blows.

Fang Yan and Lu Yao got on an old Jiefang truck for transporting goods and came here from Chang'an. They put their luggage in the guesthouse, rested for half a day, and then walked to Lu Yao's home, chatting as they walked.

"At that time, my family was poor and I had many brothers and sisters."

Lu Yao said, "My family had no food to eat. Not to mention cornmeal, even sorghum buns were never enough for me when I was a kid. It doesn't matter if it's bad or not, but I can't stand being laughed at by my classmates!"

This is the origin of the story of Sun Shaoping eating sorghum steamed buns.

Fangyan raised his eyebrows. No wonder it was written so profoundly.

Lu Yao said: "From then on, I swore a solemn oath that I would definitely leave the farm, make a name for myself, and leave Yanchuan!"

"you did it."

Fangyan was carrying the malted milk and peach cakes he brought from Yanjing.

“I did, but not completely.”

Lu Yao was talking about the family members who stayed in Yanchuan.

His wife, Lin Da, works as a propaganda officer in the county. Not only because of work, but also because their daughter Lu Yuanda was born two years ago and the child was too young and needed care, resulting in the couple being separated for a long time.

"Sister-in-law, have you ever thought about changing jobs?"

Fangyan looked sideways.

"I want to, how can I not want to!"

Lu Yao said: "But it's easy to transfer out. Which unit is willing to accept her? So I have to work harder. Only when I make progress can I leave Yanchuan with my wife and children."

"Yes, I think this article "Life" will become an important turning point in your life, and it may help you achieve your wish."

Fangyan patted his shoulder.

"Then I'll borrow your good words, brother."

Lu Yao laughed and took him home.

I stayed there for the whole afternoon.

After lunch, Fang Yan put down the gift and went back to the guesthouse so as not to disturb Lu Yao and his family of three from reuniting.

I went to the public telephone, ready to call Su Yu to report to the editor-in-chief about the commissioned article, and also to ask about the trend of public opinion after the publication of the second part of "The Splitting of the Great Qin".

These days, inter-provincial calls require dialing a long-distance number, which will require the operator to perform complicated manual transfers before the call can be connected.

After waiting for a while, Fang Yan finally got in touch with Su Yu.

But the news he received was beyond his expectations.

"You should stay in northern Shaanxi for a few more days and don't return to Beijing for the time being."

"Editor-in-Chief Su, is the situation very bad?"

"No, it's just not clear yet."

Su Yu comforted him by saying that the literary and art circles and the historical circles were fine, and that they were still the same old controversial points, and with the protection of Li Yaotang, Wan Jiabao, Zhang Guangnian and others, there were not too many disturbances.

However, the academic circles such as theory, law, and economics were arguing fiercely over the second part of "The Great Qin Splitting".

The scene was comparable to the discussion on the real standard back then.

"The Qin Empire", a shocking cannon that breaks conventions and promotes reforms, is praised by knowledgeable people as "the first spring thunder that breaks through the shackles" and "the first lightning that crosses the sky."

The turmoil intensified, but the hardest hit area was not Yanjing or Shanghai, but South China, especially Minjian and East Guangdong.

Pengcheng, Shekou.

In the director's office, Yuan Geng was flipping through the latest issue of "People's Literature". He had already read most of the second part of "The Great Qin Splitting". Whenever he saw something exciting, he would always slam the table.

"Dong dong dong."

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

The person who came was Xiong Bingquan, the deputy director of the Management Committee.

"Old Bear, come and look at this."

Yuan Geng couldn't wait to hand over the magazine.

"The second part of The Great Qin Splitting, right? I'm watching it too."

Xiong Bingquan took out "People's Literature" from his briefcase.

“I never thought that this dialect is not only good for writing spy novels, but also for writing novels about reform that can make people’s blood boil.”

Yuan Geng praised.

Xiong Bingquan felt the same way. They were both workers on the covert front back then. The Dark War, Listening to the Wind, and the spy literature trend that followed, which eulogized and paid tribute to underground workers, made them feel at home. But what they didn't expect was that -

Now as a reformer, Fangyan has once again stood up to sing praises to the spirit of reform and to voice support for this young man!

It really touched their hearts!

Right now, let alone the entire Shekou, even the entire eastern Guangdong, from top to bottom, whoever has not watched "The Great Qin Fission" is a backward element. If you don't watch "The Great Qin Fission", how can you still want to carry out reforms?
"This second part is better written than the first part."

Yuan Geng said excitedly: "Especially this conversation between Qin Xiaogong and Shang Yang, 'Laws are time-sensitive', 'Reducing sentences undermines the law', 'No mercy outside the law', and this sentence, 'Strive to reform the law, regardless of life and death! Enrich the country and strengthen the military, and avenge our national humiliation', I think it makes sense to change it to 'reform'!" "Isn't this exactly in line with the note you wrote to me?"

Xiong Bingquan took out another note from his bag.

It says, "Time is money, efficiency is life, customers are God, and safety is the law."

"Do you think this slogan is feasible? Give me some suggestions."

Yuan Geng poured him a glass of water.

“I have no objection to putting forward a loud slogan to further stimulate everyone’s enthusiasm for the development and construction of Shekou, but…”

Xiong Bingquan changed the subject.

The first two sentences can be mentioned, and it is necessary to mention them, but as for the last two sentences, the concept of "God", I am afraid that society and the masses may not be able to accept it for the time being, so it is recommended not to promote them.

"Okay, the last two sentences don't need to be written as slogans, but they must be implemented." Yuan Geng smiled and said, "For the first two sentences, we'll make a huge placard and put it in the most conspicuous place someday."

"Old Yuan, isn't this inappropriate?"

Xiong Bingquan reminded us: "We should work hard to develop the economy and avoid getting involved in politics."

"Old Yuan, it's not that I want to get involved, it's that we have to."

Yuan Geng shook his head helplessly.

"But this is too shocking and will cause a big commotion!"

Xiong Bingquan's face was serious.

"Is the commotion caused by "The Great Qin Splitting" still small?"

Yuan Geng said seriously: "No matter how much Shekou's economy struggles, it is just a drop in the bucket compared to the entire eastern Guangdong. Only by making a breakthrough here can we best help the national reform situation. If "The Great Qin Splitting" is a banner of literary reform, we in Shekou should strive to be a banner of political reform."

"But this is too dangerous. If things go wrong..."

Xiong Bingquan frowned, looking worried.

"I'll take the brunt of the consequences if anything goes wrong. The worst that can happen is that I'll be torn to pieces."

"I'm determined to be Shang Yang!"

Yuan Geng said in a firm tone.

Soon, Shekou’s 12-character slogan, along with Yuan Geng’s reading notes on "The Great Qin Splitting", were delivered to the leaders of East Guangdong one level at a time, and everyone was surprised and delighted.

In particular, I strongly agree with the suggestion of inviting Fang Yan, a great writer, to come to eastern Guangdong to hold a symposium on "The Splitting of the Great Qin".

Nowadays in eastern Guangdong, the dialect is more famous than all of them.

He is no longer just a reform literature, but an iconic figure of reform, and perhaps even a pioneer symbol of an era.

So, along with this suggestion, it appeared on the old man's desk as an internal reference. He flipped through it and said with a smile:
"How is the situation now?"

“The discussions were very intense.”

Hu Muqiao said frankly that in theory, the discussion was about what surname to use, in the judicial field, the discussion was about whether legislation should be passed for reform, in the economic field, the discussion was about whether there should be commodities, and even about household contract responsibility system and individual business…

"That means this novel is well written."

The old man put down the documents in his hand.

"What about this symposium proposed by Yuedong?"

Hu Muqiao asked tentatively.

"It's better to forget it. A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind."

The old man recalled his brief encounter with Fangyan at the funeral and shook his head, saying, "Although he is a man of strong will, he is still a child after all. He has done a lot for the overall situation. Don't put him on the spot. If he dies young, it will be unfair to Mr. Mao. Let's put it aside and find another opportunity later."

"You are right, the dialect is still just a baby."

Hu Muqiao nodded in agreement and felt relieved.

"Being able to shout out 'Chinese Renaissance' and write these works, I am looking forward to what this child will be like when he grows up."

The old man handed the document back and picked up the brush again.

Hu Muqiao took a closer look and saw the words "strong and unyielding, cannot be taken away" written on the paper, with only the word "ambition" missing. It was obvious that this sentence describing Qin Xiaogong in dialect had touched the old man's heart.

"Oh, there's one more thing you need to do."

The old man finished writing, "Many people have reported that the movie 'The Sun and the Man', as well as the movie's script, 'Bitter Love', made serious principled mistakes. You should investigate."

Hu Muqiao was in charge of ideology, which was his job, so he asked what to do if mistakes were made.

The old man pondered for a moment and said, "If criticism is necessary, it should be criticized, but when criticizing, facts and reason should be presented to avoid one-sidedness."

Hu Muqiao understood what was meant, and he not only launched an investigation into the author of "Bitter Love", but also the magazine and publishing house that published "Bitter Love", and even the editor in charge.

Which magazine published "Bitter Love"?

　The bitter love incident in "October" was actually requested by this person in reality.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)