Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 56: Harvest Letter

After hanging out with her classmates in the school dormitory for an entire afternoon and listening to the legendary love story of Lin Chaoyang and Tao Yushu, Gong Yu didn't remember to go home until dinner was almost over. Tomorrow was the weekend, and before leaving she did not forget to borrow a few magazines from the dormitory.

On the way home, Gong Yu's mind kept flashing with the image of Cha Jianying talking excitedly, and occasionally Lin Chaoyang's face.

It was really unexpected that he was actually Xu Lingjun! Xu Lingjun was actually from Yanda University!
It's a pity that his face is a little ordinary. It would be better if he really looked like Xu Lingjun, Gong Yu thought selfishly.

When Gong Yu got home, the meal was ready. She ate a few mouthfuls of rice quickly and went into the house. She did not flip through the magazines she had looted from the girls' dormitory, but picked up a magazine she had bought earlier from the desk.

That was the eleventh issue of "Yenching Literature and Art" in 78, which published the novel "The Shepherd". She wanted to read the novel again today.

After learning that the author is someone who lives nearby, when I read the novel again, for some reason, Gong Yu always had the urge to compare Lin Chaoyang's face to the tall and handsome protagonist Xu Lingjun in the novel.

"Sister! What are you looking at?"

Gong Yun, the younger sister who is currently a senior at Yanda High School, noticed her elder sister reading a book intently as soon as she entered the room.

"What are you looking at? Show me!"

Before Gong Yun came over, Gong Yu slammed the magazine in his hand on the table and said, "I didn't read anything."

"Look at you, you look so guilty, you haven't seen anything yet!"

Gong Yun leaned forward and said flatteringly, "Let me see it!"

Gong Yu didn't know why she felt guilty just now, but now she finally reacted and showed the magazine openly, "I'm reading a magazine."

Gong Yun glanced at the magazine cover, "Haven't you read this issue? The one with 'The Horse Herder'?"

"I've seen it. Watch it again."

Gong Yu's eyes fell on the rough texture of the paper. Among the words on the whole page, only the three words "Xu Lingjun" deeply pierced her vision. She felt an urge to share with others, "Gong Yun, let me tell you something..."

On Wednesday, Lin Chaoyang did not go to class and was on duty in the library on the sixth floor. Du Rong sent a message saying that there was a letter for him downstairs.

After picking up the letter, Lin Chaoyang was stunned when he looked at the sender and address on it.

Sender: Editorial Department of Harvest Literary Magazine, address: No. 675 Julu Road, Shanghai.

It turned out to be a letter from "Harvest"?
He opened the envelope and found that the person writing to him was Li Xiaolin, the current editor of Harvest and Mr. Ba Jin's daughter.

Li Xiaolin used to be an editor in the editorial department of Zhejiang Literature and Art. After the Buzz Buzz ended, she was transferred back to Shanghai and worked as an editor in the editorial department of Shanghai Literature and Art. At that time, Mr. Ba Jin was the editor-in-chief of Shanghai Literature and Art.

At the end of last year, Mr. Ba Jin was preparing for the resumption of publication of "Harvest" magazine, and Li Xiaolin was transferred to the "Harvest" editorial department to help.

Before Li Xiaolin left Shanghai Literature and Art and transferred to Harvest, Lin Chaoyang's Qiu Ju's Lawsuit had just been sent to the editorial department.

Li Xiaolin was in charge of the second review of the manuscript at that time and was very impressed by the novel. In the past two years, "scar literature" has been gaining momentum in the domestic literary world, and more and more publications have set their sights on manuscripts containing such elements.

Some publications will even ignore the quality of the manuscripts themselves in order to cater to readers, just to get involved in popular topics such as "scars".

The style of "Qiu Ju Goes to Court" is completely different from the currently popular and widely sought-after "scar literature". Realism is its keynote. The plot in the novel where Qiu Ju goes to various units to file lawsuits is full of the flavor of satirical novels about officialdom in the late Qing Dynasty.

While reviewing the manuscript, Li Xiaolin had a hunch.

Such a work may not become popular, but it must be one of the most solid cornerstones of the Chinese literary hall.

"Qiu Ju Goes to Court" was published in the first issue of "Shanghai Literature and Art" in 79. After its publication, it did not cause a huge response among readers as quickly as "Class Teacher", "Scars" and "The Shepherd".

Nearly a month after the novel was published, the editorial department of Shanghai Literature and Art received feedback about the novel from readers' letters.

Although it did not cause a huge response, "Qiu Ju Goes to Court" was highly praised in the letters from readers.

The style of "Qiu Ju Goes to Court" is simple yet sharp.

It begins with a case of intentional injury and the main story line is a peasant woman suing an official. Although the story is simple, the conflicts are portrayed very naturally, and the natural opposition between the people and the officials is vividly displayed in a tangled lawsuit.

At the same time, Qiu Ju's several confrontations with government officials in the story did not fall into clichés, forming a unique structural method of the novel, thus achieving the effect of stirring up waves and showing the true social outlook of China's rural society in this era.

As time goes by, "Qiu Ju Goes to Court" has been published for more than a month and a half. In terms of the social impact it has caused, it is far less than the recently popular scar literature.

But unknowingly, this novel has won the recognition of hundreds of thousands of readers of Shanghai Literature and Art, and this recognition is still expanding.

Moreover, Li Xiaolin noticed a very interesting phenomenon when communicating with her former colleagues at Shanghai Literature and Art.

That is, according to the letters from readers of "Qiu Ju Goes to Court", the phrase "I want an explanation" that Qiu Ju often says in the novel has been deeply rooted in the readers' hearts, and every reader will mention it when writing to the book.

In the future, if the four words "ask for an explanation" can continue to be passed down, then the vitality of the novel "Qiu Ju Goes to Court" will probably crush the scar literature of his time that now seems extremely popular.

In her letter requesting an article to be published, Li Xiaolin praised Lin Chaoyang and Qiu Ju's Lawsuit, before explaining the purpose of her writing the letter.

"Harvest" resumed publication in January 79. It is a literary bimonthly magazine. The second issue has just been published and it is in need of manuscripts. The purpose of Li Xiaolin's letter to Lin Chaoyang was to ask for manuscripts.

Lin Chaoyang was in a good mood after receiving a lot of praise in the letter and Li Xiaolin asked him to write an article on behalf of Harvest. After all, this is the top literary journal in China.

However, emotional value is emotional value, and the matter of commissioning an article still needs to be carefully considered. Li Xiaolin did not mention the standard of remuneration in the letter.

When doing things, be a villain first and a gentleman later. It is better to say the ugly words up front.

Lin Chaoyang was just about to write a letter to Li Xiaolin to talk about this matter when the sound of the elevator reaching the floor was heard and a note was sent from downstairs.

(End of this chapter)