Literary Master 1978

Lin Chaoyang and his wife went to Hong Kong in mid-April and returned to Yanjing at the end of September. More than five months is definitely not a short time.

After living in Hong Kong for nearly half a year, Tao Yushu felt the most clearly that there was indeed a big gap in economic development between the two places after returning to Yanjing.

But the same thing is the enthusiasm, and Hong Kong and the mainland are a little different. At this stage, Hong Kong's economic development has reached a considerable level, and the upward channel is shrinking, and people are more impetuous in doing things.

On the contrary, in the mainland, while being energetic, they are more energetic.

In the evening, Tao Yushu talked to Lin Chaoyang about his feelings after returning. Lin Chaoyang joked: "Okay, you are really a boss. You have analyzed so well after just one day back."

"You are making fun of me, right?"

"Look at you, I am obviously praising you."

The couple told jokes and went to sleep.

The next day, the couple went to Langrun Lake Apartment. After not seeing their daughter for almost half a year, Tao's father and mother were a little excited to see Tao Yushu.

Tao's mother held her and looked at her for a long time, and then asked why Tao Yumo didn't come back.

Tao Yushu said: "Someone has to take care of things in Hong Kong."

Tao's mother asked again: "When can you come back? Don't you miss home?"

"She misses home?" Tao Yushu seemed to have heard something funny, "Mom, you really don't understand your daughter, she would rather not come back."

Tao's mother was not happy to hear her words, thinking that Tao Yushu was just trying to excuse herself for leaving her sister in Hong Kong.

Tao Yucheng said at this time: "Mom, Yushu said that I don't believe anything else, but I absolutely believe this. With your daughter's personality, she won't come back unless she has enough fun in Hong Kong."

After he said this, Tao's mother felt even more unhappy.

"This damn girl, she really doesn't miss home at all!"

After distributing the gifts to the family, Lin Chaoyang chatted with Tao's father and asked about Zhu Guangqian's condition. Tao's father said that there was still no improvement.

"He's almost ninety." Tao's father sighed sadly as he said this, for both his old friend and himself.

Tao's father was born in 1920, more than twenty years younger than Zhu Guangqian, so they were close friends regardless of age.

But in a few years, he will be seventy, as the saying goes, it's rare for a person to live to seventy. In the past two years, Tao's father can also feel that his health is obviously not as good as before.

At this time, Tao Yucheng came over to join the topic and asked Lin Chaoyang: "Chaoyang, I heard Du Feng say that he wants to open a clothing city?"

"Yes, he is still investigating during this period."

Du Feng investigated in Hong Kong for more than a week, and did not return to Yanjing afterwards, but looked for reliable suppliers in Guangdong.

The clothing city is not the small-scale clothing stalls in the past. He is more serious than ever before, and has not returned to Yanjing yet.

Tao Yucheng asked a few more questions in detail. After listening to Lin Chaoyang's talk about Du Feng's plan, he couldn't help but be surprised: "He mentioned it to me before, but I didn't believe it. This kid is really brave!"

"The bolder the person, the more productive the land!" Lin Chaoyang replied with a smile.

In the early days of reform and opening up, this sentence was the secret of many people's fortune.

After lunch, Tao Yushu took Lin Chaoyang downstairs for a walk.

She is now in the third trimester of pregnancy. She walks for half an hour every day after dinner, which will help her have a smooth birth in the future.

The couple walked near Langrun Lake and met acquaintances from time to time who greeted them warmly.

They have hardly appeared in Yanda in the past six months. When they met them unexpectedly, everyone couldn't help asking a few questions with concern.

"I went out." Tao Yushu responded modestly.

"Did you go to Hong Kong? I mentioned it when I met your eldest brother the other day."

Tao Yushu smiled and complained in his heart that some people are really talkative!

"By the way, I saw in Popular Movies that Chaoyang won several awards in Hong Kong. Now he is writing scripts for Hong Kong movies, right?"

"Two movie awards."

For the mainland people at this stage, whether going abroad or going to Hong Kong is considered a very glorious thing, not to mention being able to make some achievements there.

Even in a place like Yanda, it is inevitable to be questioned by everyone.

After dealing with the neighbor aunt, Tao Yushu said: "Why don't we go see Uncle Zhu? I haven't seen him yet."

"Okay."

The couple walked towards Yannan Garden. Today is the first day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, September 30th.

Tomorrow is the National Day holiday. The weather is clear and cool in autumn. The Yanda campus is filled with a relaxed and comfortable holiday atmosphere.

"It's great! Yanda is still the best!"

Tao Yushu took Lin Chaoyang's arm, squinting his eyes, looking comfortable and lazy.

"Why don't we move back to Yanda?" Lin Chaoyang asked with a smile.

"What about the company?"

"Just quit." Lin Chaoyang said casually.

Tao Yushu immediately said firmly: "No!"

She is a person who can't sit still. A short break is fine, but if she is allowed to do nothing every day, she will get sick in less than two months.

Although Xiangjiang is a crowded and small place, its temperament is very suitable for her style. She is always busy and can always find something to do. It can be said that it fully stimulates the strong gene in her body.

When he came to Yannan Garden, Zhu Guangqian was very happy to see Tao Yushu. His current state is better than what Lin Chaoyang saw before.

"Is it going to be born soon?" Zhu Guangqian asked Tao Yushu with concern.

"Soon, next month."

Zhu Guangqian nodded, "Okay. Although the national policy is like this, a child is still a little lonely. It is right to have another child if possible."

At this time, he was not a senior scholar, but an elder who cared about the younger generation.

After chatting with Tao Yushu for a while, Zhu Guangqian turned his attention to Lin Chaoyang and said excitedly: "As you said, Nie Weiping really killed Koichi Kobayashi. Not only Koichi Kobayashi, but also Masao Kato Got them all!”

In August, the Sino-Japanese Go Tournament held two games. Nie Weiping defeated Koichi Kobayashi and Masao Kato, two of the three peaks in the Japanese chess world, with 2.5 and 4.5 games respectively.

After sweeping away the previous decline of the Chinese team, which was swept by Koichi Kobayashi in five games, it is no exaggeration to say that they can turn the tide.

The victory of these two games not only restored the morale of Chinese Go, but also restored the morale of Go enthusiasts and ordinary people.

Due to the competition format, the Sino-Japanese Go Tournament has been held for more than half a year. The two sides have come and gone, and now it can be said that it has entered a white-hot stage.

The attention of the people of the two countries towards this competition has also reached an unprecedented height.

Now, both sides have only one coach left. The Chinese team is Nie Weiping, while the Japanese team is left with Fujisawa Hideyuki, who has dominated the Japanese chess world for decades.

This is like writing a martial arts novel at the end. The soldiers and generals of both good and evil sides are killed and wounded countless times, and only the two protagonists, good and bad, are left to fight for the top of the Forbidden City.

Such scenes are very common in movies, but in reality, even screenwriters don’t dare to write them like this.

"There is only one Fujisawa Hideyuki left. Do you think Nie Weiping can do it?"

Zhu Guangqian held Lin Chaoyang's hand with an expression more pious than the good men and women worshiping the Bodhisattva in the temple.

"How could I know that?"

Zhu Guangqian's face was full of displeasure, "Are you still pretending to be with me? Tell me, I promise not to tell anyone else."

Lin Chaoyang looked helpless, "We are all Chinese, of course I hope Nie Weiping wins!"

Hearing this, Zhu Guangqian felt relieved.

"I am also optimistic that Nie Weiping will win. He has a relatively good chance of winning against Japanese chess players. That year..."

The old comrade thought he gave a pertinent analysis, but the whole article was based on idealism.

Lin Chaoyang was afraid that there would be something wrong with the timeline. If Nie Weiping really lost, the old man would be gone at once.

"Go is just entertainment. Don't be so concerned about gains and losses." He advised.

Zhu Guangqian glanced at him sideways, "All my defeated generals comfort themselves like this."

Lin Chaoyang:......

During the current National Day, there is no seven-day holiday, and fortunately, there is no horrendous holiday break.

This season in Yanjing is when the wind is refreshing. After living in a high-rise building in Xiangjiang for half a year, returning to the courtyard house in Yanjing feels indescribably comfortable.

Lin Chaoyang stayed home for two days and lived a leisurely life, but some people didn't want him to stop.

The day after the National Day, the West Courtyard became lively.

Li Tuo organized a gathering for a group of people and came over to ask him to join them.

After almost half a year away, Lin Chaoyang finally came back. When they saw him, a group of people were very happy.

We haven't seen each other for a long time, so Lin Chaoyang naturally became the protagonist of today's party, and all the topics revolved around him.

Everyone first asked him about his life and experiences during the six months in Xiangjiang. During this period, he inevitably mentioned movies and awards. Lin Chaoyang briefly told everyone.

Everyone listened with great interest, but they felt very far away from themselves.

Then Lin Jinlan talked about Lin Chaoyang's new book and asked him: "Chaoyang, how could you write such a story?"

Before Lin Chaoyang could answer, Li Tuo answered first.

"Old Lin, you don't care about Chaoyang at the first glance. He came back to do autograph signings before. Didn't he say it during the interview? He was inspired by that Xiangjiang movie star Xu Guanwen."

Lin Jinlan replied: "The report only has 1,800 words. What can it explain? Only by talking face to face can we talk thoroughly. This time "The Truman Show" is quite controversial. Of course I have to understand Chaoyang's thoughts."

It has been a month and a half since "The Truman Show" was released in the mainland. Thanks to the reputation accumulated by Lin Chaoyang over the years and the vigorous promotion of Huacheng Publishing House, sales have been soaring since its release.

The sales volume exceeded 200,000 copies in one week, and the sales volume in the first month reached 500,000 copies, maintaining the consistently high sales volume since the publication of Lin Chaoyang's works.

However, with the high sales of the novel, the reputation of the novel is not as outstanding as Lin Chaoyang's previous works, and it can even be said to be a mixed bag of praise and praise.

Talking about the reputation issue of "The Truman Show", Li Tuo said: "I think it has nothing to do with the novel."

Lin Jinlan asked: "What does that have to do with?"

"If I'm to blame, it's Chaoyang's last novel, "The Journey to Guandong," which was so well written. "The Truman Show" is not bad, but readers' expectations for Chaoyang and this novel were too high.

Even if "The Truman Show" is at the same level as "The Legend of Guandong", it may still be a step back in the eyes of readers.

Because readers are accustomed to Chaoyang's works bringing them surprises. "

Li Tuo's words made everyone present couldn't help but nod their heads, and he continued:

"I think another issue is the style. The content of "The Truman Show" is still too novel for many domestic readers.

Even when I first read the novel, I couldn't accept the format of this reality show.

I also specifically asked people about it. Western countries do have reality shows, but the reality show shown to us by Chaoyang has gone beyond the general reality show. I prefer to call it a world-wide reality show. A dramatic experiment in which they all participated.

For domestic readers who are accustomed to realistic themes, in order to fully understand the ideological connotation behind this novel, the first thing to do is to change their thinking mode. "

Li Tuo's words triggered Zheng Wanlong's retort, "You are wrong to say that. Readers are qualified to judge whether a novel is good or not. Reading a novel requires readers to change their thinking. That is not a writer, that is a teacher."

Several people debated for a while, each holding his own opinion. Zheng Wanlong said bluntly to Lin Chaoyang: "Chaoyang, I think your novel has failed!"

Being criticized by him in person, Lin Chaoyang's expression remained as usual.

Li Tuo said dissatisfied: "What you said is too arbitrary! You can't just say it's a failure because you think it's not good, and I still think it's good."

Lin Chaoyang waved his hand, "Okay, okay. It's just a discussion. Why are you two so excited?"

He didn't mind Zheng Wanlong's criticism. Criticism in person and praise behind his back were both behaviors that should be cherished.

Zheng Wanlong said with a serious face: "Chaoyang, regarding the novel "The Truman Show", I think there is a saying in "Literary Review" that is right: it is divorced from the reality of China and makes the common people unclear and unclear. , It’s like a castle in the air.”

Li Tuo couldn't help but retort after hearing this, "The article in "Shanghai Literature" also said that "The Truman Show" is a classic of absurd novels!"

After knowing each other for so many years, it is normal for us to have quarrels when we have different views on something or a certain work.

The two of them were talking tit-for-tat, and Lin Chaoyang interrupted and said, "You two should also let others speak!"

The two of them stopped talking, and Lin Chaoyang asked the others, "If you have any opinions, you might as well tell them."

His attitude was gentle from beginning to end, but now Li Tuo and Zheng Wanlong had just finished arguing, and everyone was embarrassed to speak.

When Lin Chaoyang saw this, he nodded to someone, "How about Yu Hua come and talk about it?"

Yu Hua originally came to Yanjing to revise his manuscript, but he was called here by Li Tuo today. Unexpectedly, Lin Chaoyang still remembered him.

He is the youngest among the writers today, and the least famous and senior. He never thought of speaking.

Being called upon by Lin Chaoyang, he was filled with nervousness and his face was hot. It took him a while before his brain came to his senses.

"I think "The Truman Show" is very well written. Some people think the novel is not grounded, or it is difficult to imagine the content depicted in the novel. I think these are minor problems.

We might as well leave this to time. Anyway, I think "The Truman Show" is a good work that can stand the test of time.

I also believe that the core of the thoughts he wants to express are worthy of people's repeated reading and thinking. "

After saying these words, Yu Hua seemed to let go of his heavy burden and let out a sigh of relief.

Regardless of whether the words are good or bad, at least he didn't embarrass himself in front of so many senior colleagues.

He showed his unreserved appreciation and love for "The Truman Show", which made Li Tuo feel proud, "Hey~ Yu Hua still has a vision!"

Yu Hua waved his hands quickly, with a bit of embarrassment on his face.

After he finished speaking, several other people present expressed their opinions one after another.

Overall, the reviews for "The Truman Show" are more positive than negative.

We are all peers, and we can all understand what Lin Chaoyang wants to express in the novel.

The mixed emotions of biting irony and bitter humor in "The Truman Show" are not something that ordinary people can write.

What's more important is that Lin Chaoyang interweaves realistic factors and unrealistic illusory factors to complete the creation with realistic techniques.

Although it seems a bit absurd and false, it brings the theme and connotation of the novel to a very high level.

Lin Jinlan finally concluded: "This novel of yours is a bit too highbrow!"

After hearing this evaluation, everyone felt that it was very pertinent.

Li Tuo asked Lin Chaoyang, "Chaoyang, everyone has said so much, please tell me, what did you think when you wrote it? How do you evaluate your novel?"

Lin Chaoyang pondered and said: "Actually, what everyone said is quite good. Whether you praise or criticize, you all have your own reasons. If you ask me what I thought at the time, it was actually nothing. I just wanted to write such a story.

Some people think that it is far from the current life and reality of our people, so we might as well wait a few years and see. "

Might as well wait a few years and see!

If he didn't have great confidence in his work, Lin Chaoyang would never have said such a thing.

Everyone present could also understand his mentality. There is no problem in the content and quality of "The Truman Novel". It is only the innovation in form that has triggered these debates.

Everyone also admits that "The Truman Show" has achieved quite high achievements in terms of ideology and artistry, which cannot be erased in any case.

"That's a good sentence! You might as well wait a few years and read it again. I'll write a review tomorrow and use this as the title." Li Tuo said happily.

"Then you have to pay royalties. With Chaoyang's current royalty standards, this sentence costs a few hundred yuan, right?" Lin Jinlan said humorously.

Everyone burst out laughing.

After a while, Lin Jinlan saw that it was already noon and started cooking.

In the past six months, the West Courtyard of Xiaoliubukou has become the favorite place for Yenching writers and many writers from other places who come to Beijing to revise manuscripts, hold meetings, or travel on business.

The place is large and the conditions are good. You can stay here and make your own food. Writers often gather here. Chang'an Avenue and Tiananmen Square are just outside the door. It is like a paradise.

During the meal, Lin Chaoyang chatted with Yu Hua for a few words. Yu Hua asked, "Is Teacher Tao at home today?"

"Yes, I'll take you there later."

Yu Hua was discovered by Tao Yushu when she was an editor at Yenching Literature. When she came to Lin Chaoyang's house today, of course she had to visit her.

After dinner, he followed Lin Chaoyang to the East Courtyard. It happened that Tao Yushu also finished her meal and took a walk in the yard. She was very happy to see Yu Hua.

"Oh, when did Yu Hua come to Yenching?"

"Teacher Tao!" Yu Hua greeted her first, and then said: "I came last week. I submitted a manuscript to Yenching Literature. The editor said it was well written and asked me to revise it."

Tao Yushu asked about the specific content of the novel. Although she is no longer an editor, Yu Hua was discovered by her.

Yu Hua briefly described the content of the novel. The novel is called "Going Out on a Long Journey at the Age of Eighteen". It tells the story of the eighteen-year-old "I" who is eager to enter society, go out on a long journey, and take a ride, just like Kerouac's "On the Road".

But the car broke down halfway, and someone started to snatch apples. "I" went to help but was beaten, while the driver, the real owner of the apples, was indifferent and even took away "my" luggage in the end.

Yu Hua treated the ending of the novel into a circular structure, which is a dialogue between "I" and his father.

"You are eighteen years old, you should go to know the outside world", which suddenly put aside the indifference and absurdity in the previous part, and felt sunny again.

Listening to Yu Hua's story, Tao Yushu nodded in approval.

"Yes, this structure is very innovative. You have made great progress in the past year.

The fact that you were asked to come to Yenching to revise the manuscript shows that the editorial department is optimistic about your work. Maybe you will become famous after it is published."

Yu Hua blushed, "I'm still far from it."

"Hey! Don't belittle yourself."

As time passed, the discussion about "The Truman Show" in the domestic literary circles and reader groups became more and more intense.

Before Lin Chaoyang was in Hong Kong, he could not feel this kind of public opinion atmosphere. After returning, whether it was his friends or newspapers and magazines, they all discussed this novel.

Who made this his new work, Lin Chaoyang?

Others wrote a controversial work, everyone took a look, and one or two debates were over.

But Lin Chaoyang is different. He is the most influential writer of the young generation in China, and also the most popular writer. He is the writer who wrote "Crossing Guandong" and other classic works that are worthy of being passed down to future generations.

The literary world is looking forward to it, and the readers are praising it. How could everyone not discuss his works when they are published?

Even when the reviews were overwhelming, those discussions were endless, not to mention that the new works are still controversial.

Only two months after the publication of "The Truman Show", articles about this novel appeared in dozens of domestic literary magazines and literary review magazines of all sizes.

There are praisers, but there are also many critics.

For a time, it was very popular and became a big carnival in the literary review circle.

During this period, the praise and criticism from the outside world had no effect on Lin Chaoyang.

As winter is approaching, Lin Chaoyang has been busy stocking up winter vegetables in the past two days.

Chinese cabbage, potatoes, radishes... These vegetables are indispensable in the winter of Yanjing, just like the West cannot lose Jerusalem.

After stocking up winter vegetables, coal for the winter must be arranged.

Xiaoliubukou Hutong has a large courtyard and many rooms, and the amount of coal used has always been high. However, Lin Chaoyang's family has never worried about this. After all, they have foreign exchange coupons and overseas remittance coupons, so it is easy to get some coal.

Since 1980, Yanjing has been in a coal shortage, and it has been difficult for ordinary people to use coal in recent years.

In previous years, at this time of year, the coal factories in various streets of Yanjing would always be very busy.

Sometimes, because of insufficient coal transportation capacity, the streets had to hire some farmers in the suburbs who were not busy to supplement the coal delivery team to ensure that coal was delivered to every household before winter.

This year in Yanjing, the coal factories in various streets are still very busy, but this kind of busyness is not as urgent as in previous years.

Everything looks the same as in previous years, but it seems a little different.

The source of this difference is the policy. Just a few months ago, the state officially announced that the price of coal has entered a dual-track era:

The price of small coal mines follows the market; the part outside the quota of state-owned coal mines can be sold at a higher price.

The entry of coal prices into the dual-track stage is an inevitable measure in this specific historical period of reform and opening up, and it will inevitably affect every Chinese citizen.

With the liberalization of policies, China's coal production has ushered in explosive growth. Mining coal means digging money!

Under such circumstances, small coal mines in various coal-producing areas have sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

The problem that troubles ordinary people is no longer that they can't buy coal with money, but why the price of coal is so expensive?

But no matter what, it is better than before. At least you can buy coal with money.

On this day, Lin Chaoyang's coal bought from outside was just delivered to his home, and the coal transporter was helping to unload the coal.

Little Dongdong, who was almost three years old, was very curious about this scene. He ran to the yard with his short legs. He was not satisfied after watching for a while, so he went to pick up the small pieces of coal that fell on the ground.

The black coal slag shone like gems in the sun. He looked at it for a while and liked it more and more.

Tao Yushu saw this scene and shouted: "Put down the coal, is it dirty?"

Little Dongdong didn't react, and still played with the coal.

Tao Yushu saw that he didn't react, so she knew that the little guy was playing dumb again.

As long as he liked to do something that adults didn't allow him to do, he would pretend not to hear it.

She saw that Xiao Dongdong's hands were already black, and if he continued to play, his face and clothes would not be spared, so she walked over to teach him a lesson.

When he saw that she was coming, the little guy immediately put down the coal, hugged her thighs and shouted sweetly: "Mom! Mom!"

"Don't hug me, your hands are dirty!"

Tao Yushu said she was disgusted, but she couldn't help but pick up her son.

"Ouch!" She suddenly covered her stomach with a painful expression.

"Mom!"

Little Dongdong didn't know what happened to her mother, and she was still holding her legs and shouting.

Tao Yushu quickly pushed him, "Go call your dad, hurry up!"

Little Dongdong ignorantly stepped on his short legs and ran to the study.

"Dad! Dad!"

Lin Chaoyang put down the book and asked, "What's wrong?"

Little Dongdong is not old enough to learn to talk, so he can only say, "Mom!"

That means: Mom is calling you.

Lin Chaoyang got up and left the study, and came to the front yard, only to see Tao Yushu leaning against the doorpost with a face full of pain.

He immediately walked over to support her, "Are you going to give birth?"

"I feel so." Tao Yushu said with difficulty.

Lin Chaoyang quickly called Zhang Guiqin again. Tao Yushu was about to give birth recently, and she had been taking care of her here.

Let Zhang Guiqin look after Little Dongdong, and he drove Tao Yushu to the hospital.

The couple arrived at the hospital, and after the examination, the nurse pushed Tao Yushu into the delivery room.

Tao Yushu was sweating from the pain, but she insisted on holding his hand and asking, "Do you think it's a boy... or a girl?"

After the pregnancy, the couple never checked the gender of the child.

Lin Chaoyang didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "It's already this time, what does it matter if it's a boy or a girl?"

"Why... it doesn't matter? I'm hitting you now... son, my hand hurts! Still... it's better to have a girl!" Tao Yushu was in so much pain that he had no strength and spoke intermittently.

"Okay, okay, then it's a girl!"

After listening to his words, Tao Yushu finally felt relieved and entered the delivery room.