Chapter 276

Ma Weidu is a milling machine operator, but he loves browsing flea markets and hunting for old objects; he spends his entire salary on them, and besides that, he has a literary dream.

He has indeed hunted down some good items over the years, but his literary dream has only truly set sail today.

On this day, he received a manuscript acceptance notice from the "China Youth Daily," and he could finally call himself a "writer"!

Moreover, the manuscript fee could help subsidize his old object hunting; just thinking about it made him feel wonderful.

He immediately went to a newsstand to buy a copy of today's "China Youth Daily," and although it didn't contain his own novel, he was still happy just looking at it.

However, when he flipped to the third page, he saw a review article about "Wei Ming's New Work 'Humanity's Righteous Path is Vicissitudes'," signed by the author "Liu Zhenyun." Old Liu, relying on the advantage of being close to the source, had sent out the review article before the novel was even published.

"Oh my, I almost forgot to thank Wei Laoshi!" Ma Weidu slapped his thigh.

Although Wei Ming didn't make a substantial contribution to his novel, he recommended a platform that suited the novel's level based on its quality—and it was quite a significant platform at that—and it was even accepted; this was his true ability.

So, Ma Weidu immediately bought a bag of fruit and candied snacks and headed to Beichizi Hutong. He only knew that Lao Lao Lao Wei lived in the Beichizi area, but he wasn't quite sure where exactly; fortunately, he managed to ask someone in the know.

Li Chengru, who had just returned from class at the Film Academy, heard this and said, "Wei Ming's father."

"Hey, I'm familiar with him."

Ma Weidu: "That's my uncle, too."

It was also a coincidence; Lao Lao Lao Wei had just handed Wei Ming's manuscript to Mr. Mao Dun's son, and now he was holding a cardboard box, bringing the Sheriff to the courtyard to let it get to know Ginkgo the younger brother. At this moment, the courtyard was a scene of cats flying and dogs jumping.

Although Ginkgo was slightly larger in size, he was absolutely no match for the half-year-old Black Cat Sheriff. Yet, even though he couldn't beat him, he still liked to provoke him, acting like a mangy dog.

This courtyard had a small room specifically reserved for the Sheriff, while Ginkgo had a doghouse built in the yard that could shield him from wind and snow.

Lao Lao Lao Wei was in that room cutting an opening to make it easier for the Sheriff to come and go when Li Chengru arrived with Ma Weidu. Along the way, the "Three-Like Hermit" had already learned why the other party had come.

"Yo, Little Li, Little Ma, how did you two bump into each other? Hurry up and close the door." Otherwise, this thieving cat would slip out again.

Ma Weidu hurriedly closed the door. He was also a cat lover and knew that cats were easier to lose than dogs, especially in the spring when they would run off as soon as they hooked up with a cat of the opposite sex.

Afterwards, Ma Weidu handed over the gift to express his gratitude: "Uncle Wei, my novel has been accepted. I came here specifically to tell you, and I also wanted to thank Wei Laoshi in person."

"Yo, that's unfortunate. He went to the Magic City to revise a manuscript and just flew off today." A very important piece of information here was "flew off."

Ma Weidu: "Oh, what a pity. I even wanted to treat him to a meal."

Li Chengru asked: "It's the revision of 'Humanity's Righteous Path is Vicissitudes', right?"

"That's right." He flew off to revise it.

Li Chengru: "I heard my classmate Zhang Guangbei mention it today. He said it was exceptionally brilliant and made one's blood boil. He even said something about 'long making heroes' tears soak their lapels.' It made me itch with impatience, and I want to buy a copy of 'Harvest' to read it too."

Ma Weidu hurriedly said: "Same here. I read the book review in the newspaper. It's truly gratifying; Wei Laoshi has produced another masterpiece."

Regarding this, Lao Lao Lao Wei didn't know how to be humble at all: "Don't just talk about you young people. You know Mao Dun, right? The old gentleman is hospitalized, and after reading this novel by my son, he saw that there was only the first part. Early this morning, his son came to my house and requested the original manuscript."

"Ah!"

Ma Weidu and Li Chengru were both greatly shocked. The two of them had just been exchanging pleasantries, but now, hearing Lao Lao Lao Wei say this, they truly realized the power of this novel.

They had long heard that Mr. Mao Dun was very ill; they didn't expect him to be so concerned about the subsequent plot of this novel. It shows just how well-written this novel must be!

After leaving Wei Ming's house, the two immediately went together to look for "Harvest." At first, it wasn't easy to find; it had been selling like crazy at newsstands for a few days, so they went to the Xinhua Bookstore on Wang Fujing.

There was a new atmosphere here as well. Starting this month, the Wang Fujing branch of Xinhua Bookstore began piloting a self-service book-buying model. The two clever men understood as soon as they saw it: this was imitating the Oriental Plaza!

When they reached the magazine section, they still couldn't find "Harvest," so they went to ask the salesperson.

"I'm sorry, today's copies are sold out. We are already requesting more stock."

At this moment, another male salesperson walked over and said: "Actually, there is one copy left. I was reading it earlier and just finished 'Humanity's Righteous Path is Vicissitudes.' If you don't mind that someone has already read it, just take it."

The two of them certainly didn't mind, but the problem now was who would buy it.

Ma Weidu and Li Chengru looked at each other. At this time, if anyone were to be falsely polite, the other would immediately agree, so they both stayed silent.

"Are you buying it or not? If not, I'll take it," a female reader behind them urged.

Ma Weidu hurriedly took out his money: "Buying, buying, buying!"

Li Chengru: "No, why did you buy it?"

Ma Weidu asked: "What year were you born?"

"54."

"I'm 55. In ancient times, Kong Rong yielded the pears; today, you, Li Chengru, yield the book. This can also be passed down as a beautiful story in the future."

Li Chengru laughed and scolded: "Go to hell, why don't you respect your elders?"

However, by this time, Ma Weidu had already received the magazine, and the other party had also accepted his money. The two of them walked out of the bookstore arguing and making a scene. Li Chengru said: "How about this, I'll add fifty cents, you yield it to me."

"Fifty cents~" Ma Weidu was a bit tempted. Given his income as a worker, this was not a small amount.

However, things were okay for Li Chengru. Thanks to Oriental Plaza, the garment factory's efficiency had been excellent recently, and his income had risen accordingly. He didn't care about this dollar or eighty cents. This person tended to get carried away when he had a lot of money on hand.

"Sixty cents, take it or leave it," Li Chengru said again.

"Don't be like that. Fine, fine, fine, I yield it to you. Who told you to be the older brother." Ma Weidu was delighted to have completed this transaction.

He had always felt that only antiques had room for appreciation, but he didn't expect that a magazine carrying Wei Ming's novel could also appreciate, and it appreciated by 60% in minutes!

And after Li Chengru obtained "Harvest," he immediately began reading.

Magic City, "Harvest" Editorial Department.

The trio of Ming, Hong, and Long successfully delivered Ba Lao to the "Harvest" editorial department. To show his appreciation for the meticulous care the three little friends had provided along the way, the old gentleman called his daughter, Li Xiaolin, and insisted on treating Wei Ming and the others to a meal.

One dare not refuse a gift from an elder, and one dare not refuse an elder's treat either.

So they had to temporarily leave their luggage at the Writers' Association guesthouse and followed Ba Lao to have dinner.

During the meal, Li Xiaolin mentioned that they had already received quite a few letters from readers in the Magic City, most of which were aimed at the novel "Humanity's Righteous Path is Vicissitudes."

Wei Ming was curious: "What are they all saying?"

Li Xiaolin smiled and said: "First of all, they feel it's refreshing. The current literary scene is filled with 'educated youth,' 'reflection,' and 'scar' literature. A family epic like yours, with such grand narrative and concerning the fate of the country and individuals, is a very rare genre, so many readers find it eye-opening."

In fact, educated youth, reflection, and scar literature were far from reaching their end. After all, Liang Xiaosheng's representative works, "There's a Blizzard Tonight" and "The Annual Ring," hadn't been published yet. He was the representative figure of Northern-style educated youth literature, and these genres had always had a market in the 80s.

But readers also got tired of seeing too much of it, and inevitably wanted to change their tastes. Coupled with Wei Ming's highly superb storytelling skills, the emergence of "Humanity" was like a breath of fresh air blowing into the novel market, and it was extremely popular with readers.

"Your work has also attracted many witnesses of that era. Some readers are even older than my father. Some will correct small details in your work, and others want to discuss the authenticity of certain events with you. You can take all the letters with you later."

"Great. It's currently being serialized; if errors can be discovered and corrected, that would be even better."

Afterwards, Editor Li asked her father about Mr. Mao Dun's health. Ba Lao didn't say directly, only saying that he could still read, and then told the story of Mr. Mao Dun's son asking Wei Ming for the manuscript.

After hearing this, Li Xiaolin was first surprised, then proud. "Harvest" had produced another good book, and she had been involved since the theme was first determined, even helping Ma Xiaowei find quite a few reference books.

Previously, she had been worried that the sales would not be as good as "Wasted Years," which would dampen Ma Xiaowei's enthusiasm. Now it seems that "Harvest" might have a chance to reach a new level in sales!

The magazine has only been out for a few days, and market feedback hasn't been that fast yet, but judging from the number of letters from Magic City readers, it can be considered the best in "Harvest."

It is evident that there must be more readers across the country paying attention to the fate of the Jiang family. Even Jiang Lizhong, who is clearly set as a villain, is extremely charming and has a good rapport with readers.

After the meal, Wei Hong's excited mood had calmed down quite a bit, and he began to worry about where to stay tonight.

"Are we staying at the Writers' Association guesthouse?"

Wei Ming shook his head: "My friend has already given me the key. We can move in today."

Then he took the two of them to the Western-style villa on Huating Road for the first time.

"Ah, this, it's so big? Is this all your friend's home?!" Wei Hong was surprised.

Although the land area was about the same as the courtyard in Beichizi, this was a Western-style building, and it looked quite stylish.

Wei Ming opened the door and said: "That's right. From now on, we'll live here."

Sister Xue had already gone to Northern Jiangsu, and no one had come here for many days, but it would be lively from now on.

Wei Ming successfully found his master bedroom and tested the bed. Sure enough, it didn't creak, and there was a painting on the wall. If his guess was correct, it should be the work of his future father-in-law.

"Brother, how about I live next door to you?" Wei Hong poked his head in.

Wei Ming said indifferently: "The nanny room downstairs."

"That won't work. The nanny room has already been snatched by Brother A-Long."

Wei Ming was stunned. After thinking about it, A-Long lived downstairs, and it would indeed be inconvenient to let A-Hong live downstairs as well.

"Don't live next door to me. I'm afraid you'll disturb me at night. You, you live in that room," Wei Ming let him live further away from him.

Then Wei Ming began writing a letter to Sister Xue that day, telling her that he had arrived and she could return.

Oh, and he had to write a letter to Old Ghost about Shen Zui, telling him not to worry.

Ma Weidu, who had earned sixty cents from Li Chengru, still couldn't stop thinking about "Humanity's Righteous Path is Vicissitudes." On his day off the next day, he ran to the district library early in the morning. He was the first one in, and he actually found this magazine, and there was only one copy.

He immediately started reading it amidst the annoyed sounds of latecomers. The library was free, which was equivalent to earning a dollar and fifty cents himself!

Although the story took place in an era relatively far from him, starting from the 1920s, because the opening story took place in old Yanjing, he entered the story very smoothly. It soon developed into the Whampoa Military Academy plot, and familiar names appeared one after another.

Ma Weidu couldn't help but applaud Wei Ming's boldness. These names that only existed in history books had actually been written into the story by him, and many of them were villainous figures under their educational system.

But Wei Ming did not portray these villainous characters in their eyes in a stereotypical way. For the first time, Ma Weidu saw these characters like human beings, not like the obvious villain faces of Chen Qiang or Ge Cunzhuang. Some individuals even had some highlights that made him sigh that this person could also be considered a character.

These reading impressions instead made Ma Weidu a bit worried, worried that the stance of this novel might be problematic? After all, not many years had passed since '76.

It wasn't until he saw the "Party Purge" of 1927, seeing the forces led by Chiang Kai-shek begin to wantonly arrest and kill members of our Party, and seeing the teachers and classmates who were once friendly in the eyes of the male lead standing on the opposite side, that the heart Ma Weidu had been hanging for this novel finally relaxed.

Li Chengru also understood what Zhang Guangbei meant by "long making heroes' tears soak their lapels" when he saw the "Party Purge" plot. This section was written too well; he read it several times.

Wei Ming applied the techniques of filming to this story of arrest and killing, pinching stories that happened in different spaces and times together. Crack, crack, crack, the bloodiness and cruelty came rushing toward him.

Not only was it very visual, but it also had a full impact. Li Chengru considered himself a tough guy, but he couldn't help but have some tear incontinence.

Bringing himself into the perspective of the male lead Jiang Limin, he also chose the Communist Party camp without hesitation. At this point, the male lead finally found the faith he would follow for the rest of his life, completing the transformation from a soldier to a revolutionary.

And at this point, he had only seen half of this "first part." Wei Ming's writing was very concise; in just 100,000 words, he had shaped a dozen major characters and two major climaxes. It made Li Chengru's body boil with blood, and he didn't even want to go to work.

Li Chengru could afford not to go to work, but Liang Xiaosheng didn't dare to ask for leave or skip work, even if today was his blind date day.

This morning, he hurriedly met the textile worker surnamed Jiao in the park around the textile factory.

This 32-year-old literary youth had a rugged appearance and a decent job, as well as the ability to earn manuscript fees by crawling on grids, but his personal problems could never be solved, and his blind dates repeatedly failed.

Because every time he went on a blind date, he would be very frank about his situation.

"My monthly salary is 42.5, but I have to send 30 yuan to my hometown in the Northeast. There are 5 brothers and sisters in the family, my eldest brother is mentally ill and needs to take medicine, and my third younger brother is still in high school."

After saying this truth, nine out of ten girls would be scared away. Even if you were to marry into our family, we wouldn't dare to have you.

However, this textile worker Jiao Dan was the tenth. She felt that this person was quite honest and had a sense of responsibility, and was a good person.

So she asked: "What time do you get off work?"

"Ah?"

"Ah what? What time do you get off work? Can you come pick me up?"

Liang Xiaosheng wouldn't sing "Good Days," otherwise he would definitely have sung this song into the Beijing Film Studio. However, along the way, from the gatekeeper grandpa to Ge You, everyone could see that this old bachelor was in a good mood.

He even thought that if it didn't work out this time, he would go to the newspaper to post a marriage advertisement. Recently, a math teacher named Ding Naijun had just posted a marriage advertisement in the "Market News" under the "People's Daily," which caused a sensation throughout the city.

After entering the literature department office, he heard several senior colleagues discussing which general of the Fruit Party was better at fighting, and the words "Whampoa X Cohort," "Five Tiger Generals," and "Four Great Vajras" were everywhere.

Later, after asking around, he found out that it was the follow-up reaction caused by finishing Wei Ming's new work "Humanity's Righteous Path is Vicissitudes."

This was a Republican-era war craze blowing up in the editorial department!

Liang Xiaosheng thought about having a partner and getting married in the future, so he was a bit reluctant to buy a copy of "Harvest" for one yuan. However, the editorial department definitely had it. Sure enough, he soon borrowed a copy and began to read it hungrily.

At Peking University, in the classroom of the 79-level Chinese department, everyone was also asking around who had "Harvest" and if they could take a look, willing to trade meal tickets for it.

Many students knew that this long novel by Wei Ming was a story about the period of Kuomintang-Communist cooperation, and there was fighting and such. As soon as they heard the subject matter, they weren't interested.

But after two days, everyone was saying it was well-written, wishing they could see the follow-up plot that very day. But at this time, when they wanted to buy it, hey, it was gone!

The somewhat famous campus poet Luo Yihe didn't borrow it in his own class, so he simply ran to the 78-level class to borrow it, first looking for Liu Zhenyun.

Liu Zhenyun spread his hands: "Do I look like someone who can afford 'Harvest'?"

In fact, he had just received a manuscript fee and could afford it, but sorry, I have already read "Humanity's Righteous Path is Vicissitudes," and I read the complete collection! Except for Wei Ming and his editor, I guess I'm the only one!

It just so happened that Dai Jinhua had finished reading it at this time, so she readily lent it to the junior student and then began to say to Liu Zhenyun: "My previous worries seem to be superfluous. Wei Ming did not fall into the narrative of small love. The momentum of the novel 'Humanity's Righteous Path is Vicissitudes' is like this poem, vertical and horizontal, grand! Satisfying!"

Liu Zhenyun asked: "What do you think is the thing in this novel that attracts you most and makes you urgently want to see the second part?"

Dai Jinhua: "I admit that I am still quite vulgar. I really want to see the two brothers Jiang Lizhong and Jiang Limin attacking each other. It would be best if the brothers killed each other in a dark and chaotic way."

"Hehe, same here!" I don't know when Liang Zuo entered their class and echoed Dai Jinhua, then pulled Liu Zhenyun out.

"What's wrong?" Liu Zhenyun asked.

Liang Zuo: "Don't say that senior brother doesn't take care of you. I just got a book from Taiwan. The author is Bai Xianyong, the son of Bai Chongxi."

"Huo, worthy of being Young Master Liang," Liu Zhenyun teased, "What's the name, what's it about?"

"'Wandering in the Garden and Dreaming of a Dream,' it's about those things in the upper echelons of the Fruit Party. The credibility of what Young Master Bai writes should be very high."

Liu Zhenyun originally had no interest in the upper echelons of the Fruit Party, but after reading "Humanity's Righteous Path is Vicissitudes," he felt that this group of people was really interesting. They were once a group of people with such ideals, and they could lose the country with such a big advantage.

Thinking back to the 1942 Henan famine that he often heard the older generation talk about, Liu Zhenyun also began to feel curious about this group.

"Your book came just in time. It can just be verified with 'Humanity's Righteous Path is Vicissitudes'."

Liang Zuo said: "Be careful not to spread it around, and also, this book is in traditional characters."

"I have no problem with traditional characters."

"Come to my dormitory after school to pick it up."

If Wei Ming's "Humanity's Righteous Path is Vicissitudes" is the first novel in the mainland to describe the upper echelons of the Fruit Party, then Bai Xianyong's "Wandering in the Garden and Dreaming of a Dream" can remove the word "mainland" and be considered the first novel to directly describe this group.

However, this novel is about the upper class of the Fruit Party after they retreated from the mainland and shrank to Taiwan.

The upper class of the Fruit Party in those years took 1949 as a watershed and could be divided into two categories: one retreated to Taiwan with Old Chiang, and the other remained on the mainland.

Those who remained on the mainland were also divided into two categories: one surrendered directly and was preserved, and the other was captured and directly admitted to Gongdelin University.

Shen Zui belonged between the first and second categories. He also surrendered, but it was forced, so he was also locked into Gongdelin, and his nature was only recently changed.

But he also had acquaintances with the first category, such as his old leader Tang Shengming.

Tang Shengming was a student of the fourth cohort of the Whampoa Military Academy. Because of his contribution to the peaceful liberation of Hunan, he became a member of the People's Liberation Army after liberation, and later went to Hong Kong to do business for a period of time.

This is a life winner who lay down and won all the way by relying on his brother's relationship. Except for the few years of suffering he endured after returning to the mainland from Hong Kong in the 1950s, his life was smooth sailing.

When they worked together in Changsha, Tang Shengming let Shen Zui do whatever work there was, and Shen Zui worked diligently, so their relationship is still very good to this day. Shen Zui also often comes to visit this old leader.

However, coming to visit on the Little New Year still made Tang Shengming a bit unsure of what he meant. Paying me an early New Year's greeting?

Tang Shengming also knew that Shen Zui had gone to Hong Kong to visit relatives some time ago, and had been coerced and lured by Fruit Party agents, but he had persisted and did not lose face for Gongdelin, so he praised him a few times.

Shen Zui chuckled, and seeing that there were walnuts on the table, he pinched them open with his bare hands, letting the old leader eat the walnut kernels.

Don't look at him as a secret agent; he still had some skills in his hands, and they were quite extraordinary. When he was young, few people could get close to him.

"Little Shen, do you have something on your mind? Is it big?" Tang Shengming asked.

"No, no," Shen Zui took "Harvest" out of his carry-on bag, "I just saw a good story and wanted to share it with the old leader."

"Oh, 'Harvest,' I know this, edited by Ba Jin, right."

Shen Zui opened "Humanity's Righteous Path is Vicissitudes" to a certain page to show Tang Shengming. It just happened to be Tang Shengming's name on it.

"This is? I was written into a novel?" The 70-something Tang Shengming suddenly became interested.

"There's also me, but neither of us has many scenes; we're just small supporting roles."

Tang Shengming asked: "Then who has many scenes?"

"The third cohort of Whampoa, Wang Yaowu, Kang Ze, Zhu Yunqing, and these," Shen Zui briefly introduced the plot summary, "This protagonist is from the third cohort of Whampoa, so the third cohort of Whampoa has the most scenes, and I saw some of my own shadow in this person."

"What the hell does Whampoa have to do with you?" Tang Shengming laughed and retorted.

Shen Zui laughed it off and asked again: "Old leader, do you still remember Wei Muchun of the sixth cohort of Whampoa, that old classmate of Boss Dai, the mastermind of Principal Chiang~"

(Minimum guarantee today~)

(End of chapter)