Literary Master 1978

The mainland writers' delegation will depart on April 27 and will gather at the Xinqiao Hotel on April 26.

The day before departure, Tao Yucheng suddenly ran to find Lin Chaoyang, secretly gave him three big unity tickets, and asked Lin Chaoyang to bring back a set of Jin Yong's "Tianlong Babu" for him.

Since the 1970s, Hong Kong martial arts novels have been introduced to the mainland.

At first, handwritten copies were popular, and some were secretly smuggled through customs. By the end of the 1970s, some local small publishers began to try to publish Hong Kong martial arts novels.

Of course, this kind of publication is official piracy.

These official pirated martial arts novels are usually not printed in large quantities, but the price is extremely expensive. When the price of a single copy of pure literary works is 80 cents per yuan, their price is three or four yuan, which is a means for local publishers to generate income.

These official pirated martial arts novels have cultivated the earliest martial arts novel fans in China, and Tao Yucheng is one of them.

Lin Chaoyang held the money and felt a little embarrassed.

The elder brother-in-law finally managed to say something back. Even if he brought back a whole set of Jin Yong's novels, Lin Chaoyang wouldn't feel bad. But the problem was that there were regulations for entry, and it was not easy to bring back publications.

Of course, it was not easy to bring back, not that it was impossible to bring it back, but he had never been there before, and he didn't know whether the inspection would be strict after he came back, and he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to bring it back after buying it.

Lin Chaoyang explained the situation to Tao Yucheng, and he was a little disappointed, "Is there still such a thing? Forget it."

Lin Chaoyang said, "It's not certain that I can't bring it back. I'll try later."

"No need. If I really can't bring it back, wouldn't the money be wasted?"

Tao Yucheng was afraid of wasting money and causing trouble for Lin Chaoyang. After thinking about it, he simply gave up the idea and carefully hid the thirty yuan in the sole of his shoe.

He stood up and saw Lin Chaoyang looking at him in surprise, and smiled a little embarrassedly.

"Xiwen and Xiwu have grown up, and there are too many places to spend money at home. It's not as easy for me to ask your sister-in-law for money now as it was before. I saved this money with great difficulty."

Lin Chaoyang nodded to show his understanding. After all, he had done this before.

As a man, who can't have a little treasury?

But he remembered the chic attitude of his elder brother-in-law when he just married Tao Yushu, and then looked at his elder brother-in-law now, and couldn't help sighing.

When people reach middle age, they can't help themselves!

After Tao Yucheng left, Tao Yushu asked Lin Chaoyang, "Why did you come here, brother?"

"Ask me when "The Chess Master" will be filmed, and I want to recommend a student from their school."

Lin Chaoyang lied casually. His elder brother-in-law's family status is not as good as before, and it is not easy to save some pocket money. He was afraid that if he told the truth, Tao Yushu would accidentally reveal it to his elder sister-in-law Zhao Li.

Listening to his words, Tao Yushu did not suspect anything, and still concentrated on packing his luggage.

"Okay, bring fewer clothes. We'll be gone for a week, not a few months."

The next morning, Lin Chaoyang came to the Xinqiao Hotel with his luggage to gather.

The writers' delegation to Hong Kong this time was composed of 15 people. The leader was the veteran writer Xiao Jun, and there was also a staff member of the Literary Association and two WS staff members accompanying them.

Lin Chaoyang was a native of Yanjing, so he came relatively late. Many writers from other places arrived a day or two in advance.

There were not many acquaintances in the delegation. The most familiar one was Deng Youmei. Because of Wang Zengqi and Lin Jinlan, the two chatted very cordially when they met.

Then there were several people who had met once at the award ceremony of the National Excellent Short Story Award, Mao Dun Literature Award and other awards, such as Cong Weixi and Li Guowen.

"Hello, Comrade Chaoyang, do you still remember me?" Jin Ying was cheerful and shook hands with Lin Chaoyang when they met, and asked with a bright smile.

"I have an impression, Jin Ying, right?"

In 1980, when Lin Chaoyang went to the Central Literary Institute to give lectures to the fifth batch of students, she was one of the students.

Jin Ying smiled and nodded, "I went to your house for dinner last month, and I regretted not seeing you. I didn't expect to meet you so soon."

In March just past, Jin Ying won the National Excellent Short Story Award for her work "Oh, Xiangxue". Naturally, she also participated in the cultural salon after the award ceremony.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and Lin Chaoyang greeted the others. He basically didn't know the remaining people, but after a few casual chats, he could always talk about acquaintances. After all, the literary world is so small.

In the afternoon, all the members of the delegation arrived.

The two WS staff gathered everyone together, publicized the WS discipline for going out, and then briefly introduced the general arrangements for this trip.

During the period, the foreign exchange subsidy for going out was mentioned. The standard was 10 Hong Kong dollars per person per day. This trip lasted for 8 days, which was 80 Hong Kong dollars.

If we consider the current income level in the mainland, this subsidy standard is not low, but we are going to Hong Kong. If we want to use this money to buy things back, we really can't buy much.

The next morning, everyone came to the Capital Airport with the group and boarded the plane to Hong Kong.

After a few hours of flight, the plane arrived at Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong. Everyone got off the plane with the team. After exiting the passage, they found that a group of Hong Kong media had been waiting here. When they saw the delegation, they enthusiastically came forward and surrounded everyone.

The young people in the group were a little confused at first, and they understood it after the old comrades next to them whispered a few words.

It turned out that these reporters were from the ZY media in Hong Kong, including many well-known newspapers such as "Ta Kung Pao", "Wen Wei Po" and "Hong Kong Business Daily".

The delegation of mainland writers visited Xiangjiang at the warm invitation of two patriotic entrepreneurs, Mr. Huo from Xiangjiang and Mr. Ma from Haojiang. Therefore, the journalists’ blockage of the delegation was not only due to their own positions, but also to the two entrepreneurs. The face is there.

Speaking of which, there are fifteen writers in the delegation, and the one who is truly famous in Xiangjiang is Xiao Jun.

The old comrade became famous in the 1930s, and his relationship history with the female writer Xiao Hong was also recited for a while.

Xiao Hong was well-known in Xiangjiang. She died of illness shortly after she ran away from Xiangjiang.

Therefore, the media in Xiangjiang are naturally also very interested in Xiao Jun.

Therefore, the first person the reporters caught during the interview was Xiao Jun, and then they were very professional and interviewed people one by one using the list they had obtained in advance.

Lin Chaoyang hid in the crowd and was caught by a reporter from Ta Kung Pao and asked a few questions.

"Sir, may I ask who you are..."

"Xu Lingjun." Lin Chaoyang reported his pen name.

The reporter's eyes lit up when he heard this, "Is it Xu Lingjun who wrote "The Death of Van Gogh"?"

Lin Chaoyang nodded in surprise and asked with a smile: "Have you read my book?"

The reporter smiled back at Lin Chaoyang, "Your novels are quite popular in the cultural world, but the number of them available for public sale is too small, so it's not easy to see them."

The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press is a non-profit publishing house. Because they publish mostly academic works, they have never put much thought into book distribution.

After the introduction of "The Death of Van Gogh", only 10,000 copies were printed, focusing on the idea that the aroma of wine is not afraid of the depth of the alley.

Lin Chaoyang chatted with a reporter from "Ta Kung Pao" and learned that "The Death of Van Gogh" has gained a good reputation after it was released in Hong Kong. Many people in the cultural circle have praised the novel.

However, due to its small circulation, this impact is limited to the cultural world.

The reporters' interview lasted for more than ten minutes, and everyone boarded the bus and checked in at the hotel.

The hotel had a double room, and Lin Chaoyang was assigned to live in a room with Li Guowen.

When we first arrived at the hotel, it was difficult for everyone to go out because of the WS discipline. Several young people in the delegation were very excited and went from room to room.

In the evening, the delegation members were taken by bus to the Country Club in Clear Water Bay.

Tonight in Hong Kong, "Ta Kung Pao" and "New Evening News" hosted a banquet for a delegation of mainland writers.

The country club is called "Village", but it is actually a resort. The club covers an area of ​​more than 130 hectares. In a place like Xiangjiang where land is precious, such a huge area is enough to illustrate the gold content of this resort.

There are not only many activities and entertainment facilities such as golf courses, tennis courts, gyms, squash courts, and basketball courts, but also hotels and restaurants. It has always been an important entertainment and social place for celebrities in Hong Kong.

When everyone arrived at the country club, it felt like Grandma Liu had entered the Grand View Garden, and everything she looked at was novel.

The dinner was of a very high standard and was attended by well-known figures from the cultural, journalistic and business circles in Hong Kong. The representative figure from the business world was Mr. Fok, who was also the promoter of this delegation of mainland writers’ visit to Hong Kong.

Representative figures in the press are naturally the reporters of Ta Kung Pao and New Evening News, as well as Comrade Zhang, the president of Xinhua News Agency's Xiangjiang Branch.

Another person who surprised Lin Chaoyang was Jin Yong, who attended on behalf of "Ming Pao".

Others include people from the cultural circles such as Xu Simin, Hu Juren, Zhao Lingyang, An Zijie, Han Suyin and others.

Today's occasion can be said to be a gathering of big names, and their attendance has already demonstrated the positions of these people, and many of them have interactions with members of the delegation.

For example, Li Zongying, deputy editor-in-chief of Ta Kung Pao, has an old relationship with Ye Junjian, one of the members of the delegation. Ye Junjian was also a classmate of Yenching University with the overseas-renowned female writer Han Suyin.

"In 1933, we were both studying at Yanda. At that time, we even discussed becoming doctors. Who would have thought that in the end we didn't become doctors, and we all embarked on the path of writing."

Han Suyin's father is China's first-generation Geng Grant student studying abroad, and her mother is Belgian, so she is of mixed race, with three-dimensional and exquisite facial features.

Although she is now over sixty years old, her beauty when she was young can still be clearly seen.

She recounted the past with a somewhat nostalgic look on her face, and her words were full of regret.

She and Ye Junjian reminisced about the past for a while, and couldn't help but ask about the current situation of Yenching University. Ye Junjian smiled and said, "I have been away from Yenching University for many years, how could I know!"

As he spoke, he aimed his gaze at Lin Chaoyang, "You'd better ask the young people. Comrade Chaoyang happens to work at Yanda."

Han Suyin looked at Lin Chaoyang curiously. There were nearly thirty guests present today. Except for an introduction at the beginning, most of the time no one could even match their names.

The two nodded to each other and exchanged pleasantries. Han Suyin asked, "What does Mr. Lin teach at Yan University?"

"I am not qualified to teach at Yanda. I am the librarian of Yanda." Lin Chaoyang said with a smile.

After hearing Lin Chaoyang's self-introduction, Han Suyin asked about the current situation of the library. After Lin Chaoyang gave a brief introduction, Han Suyin sighed, "The conditions are much better than ours back then."

She asked again: "I remember that there was an administrator in the library named Jin Kepu at that time. He studied very hard on his own!"

Lin Chaoyang responded: "Uncle Jin is now a professor in the Department of Eastern Languages ​​and is extremely knowledgeable."

Han Suyin nodded, "He was very smart back then."

Having a familiar figure in common, Han Suyin's interest in sex was aroused by Lin Chaoyang, who asked him several more questions.

Ye Junjian on the side reminded her, "Chaoyang and we have some connections."

"What connection?"

"His father-in-law is Tao Jingfa."

"Tao Jingfa?"

Han Suyin recalled for a moment, frowned, and remembered with difficulty, "Tao Jingfa seems to be from the history department, right?"

"Yes, he is a few years younger than us."

Han Suyin laughed, "It turns out that he is the son-in-law of an old classmate. I didn't expect to meet him here."

She asked Lin Chaoyang again, "I see you are not very old..."

After graduating from Yan University in the 1930s, Han Suyin went to study in Belgium and gradually became interested in literature. After the July 7 Incident, she returned to China and married Tang Baohuang, a KMT officer, and began to publish novels in 1941.

Later, Tang Baohuang went to Britain as a diplomat, and she followed her husband to Britain. The civil war broke out in 1945, and Tang Baohuang returned to China to participate in the war, but she stayed in Britain to study for a doctorate in medicine.

After Tang Baohuang died in the war in 1948, she returned to Hong Kong to practice medicine and met journalist Elio Mark. She wrote about this love experience in the work "Treasure", which caused a great response after being published in the United States. The success of this novel also established Han Suyin's position in the European and American literary circles.

Later, the novel was adapted into the movie "Life and Death" by Hollywood, and won three awards at the 1956 Academy Awards.

After that, she had two more marriages. Her current husband is Indian Lu Wenxing, who has done a lot of work to repair Sino-Indian relations in recent years.

Now she lives in India all year round. Strictly speaking, she is an international friend, so she has never heard of Lin Chaoyang's name or his deeds.