Chapter 77: Er Niu

On her way to work, Bai Shurong bought a copy of *Yanjing Literature and Art*. Upon entering the editorial department of *Contemporary*, the editor-in-chief, Long Shi Hui, smiled and said, "Little Bai, you bought this magazine too?"

Bai Shurong glanced at her colleagues' hands and saw at least three copies of the same magazine.

Liu Yin, sitting at the workstation next to her, said, "I heard from Zhang Dening at *Yanjing Literature and Art* that this issue has a novel by Wei Ming, and it's his debut work, so I have to take a look."

Bai Shurong: "Don't listen to her nonsense; Wei Ming's debut work is in *Harvest*."

Liu Yin: "Oh, *Harvest* has a good eye; it lives up to being the big brother."

Bai Shurong asked, "How do you feel after reading it?"

"I'm just like you, I just sat down. If I had known you bought it, I wouldn't have spent the money."

So, Bai Shurong didn't do anything else first; she started reading the novel. As soon as she opened the table of contents, she was delighted.

This issue of *Yanjing Literature and Art* only had two novels. One was "Liberation" by Jiang Zilong, the pioneer of reform literature, and the other was "Er Niu" by Wei Ming, the rising star of reform literature. Both were novellas, occupying almost half the space of this issue of *Yanjing Literature and Art*.

These two could be said to be the two authors with the highest popularity recently, and they were often compared. *Yanjing Literature and Art* was quite calculating!

Just by having these two names placed at the very front, the sales of this issue of the magazine wouldn't be low.

Immediately, Bai Shurong skipped "Liberation" and went straight to "Er Niu."

Unlike the step-by-step writing style of ordinary novels, Wei Ming started with an explosive scene, instantly hooking the reader firmly. His powerful writing and superb ability to render atmosphere allowed Bai Shurong to instantly enter that lonely Yimong mountain village where there was only one man and one bull.

He really didn't disappoint her; he truly had some skills. Bai Shurong adjusted her sitting posture and continued reading.

With over 40,000 characters, Bai Shurong read very slowly. As the story developed, her expressions kept changing. Sometimes she couldn't help but laugh out loud, and other times she took out a handkerchief to wipe away tears. She didn't finish it until almost noon.

The final scene was written too brilliantly. Niu Er begged the soldiers to leave him some words on a tombstone, saying he wouldn't go down the mountain anymore, so there were four pieces of paper: "Niu," "Er," "Zhi," and "Mu."

When the wind blew, the order got messed up. Niu Er, who was illiterate, pieced them together randomly, and in the end, it became "Tomb of Er Niu." The world was vast and desolate; on the mountain, only he and the bull depended on each other for survival. Wasn't the incorrect "Tomb of Er Niu" a kind of soul-stirring romance?

"Old Yan hasn't left yet, right?" she asked Liu Yin.

"Not yet."

Bai Shurong immediately ran into the editor-in-chief's office; she had to have a good talk with him.

When Wei Ming and Seeing Biaozi returned home, Auntie Qian had already made them authentic Zha Jiang noodles, full of the taste of home.

Seeing Biaozi was pleasantly surprised to find that there were diced meat in the sauce, a treatment he didn't usually get.

Moreover, Auntie Qian also gave Wei Ming a neck pillow produced by their factory, saying, "This thing sells for several yuan at the Friendship Store."

Wei Ming tried it; it was much better than his original version.

"Thank you, Auntie!" Now Mom doesn't have to worry about my business trips anymore!

"It's Auntie who should thank you. Not only did you get me a promotion, but you also take such good care of our Seeing Biaozi. They say that proximity to vermilion makes one red; after staying with an intellectual like you for a long time, he has become refined now."

Wei Ming: His refinement has nothing to do with me; it's mainly because of Yanzi, right?

The time for Seeing Biaozi to watch the movie was almost up, so he urged Wei Ming not to chat with his mom anymore. Let's go!

Next, Seeing Biaozi didn't need Wei Ming to accompany him to the sports school; he was worried that Yanzi would have a change of heart.

As for Wei Ming, he rode his bike to find the Dongsi Trust Store.

The editorial departments of *Children's Literature* and *People's Literature* were both in the Dongsi area.

After entering, the items were indeed numerous and miscellaneous. He saw more than a dozen watches alone, but there was only one camera.

Now most urban families had watches, so second-hand watches circulated quickly, but cameras were still rare items.

Wei Ming's contact with cameras was already in the mid-to-late 90s. This camera model was too old, and he didn't know much about it. It was a Modu DF-7 model. The Modu brand was the predecessor of the Seagull brand. It was probably not many years younger than him.

Moreover, there was no film inside, and Wei Ming was a bit worried about the imaging effect.

Although the price was very tempting, Wei Ming still didn't make a move. After all, he wasn't a camera enthusiast. If he wanted to buy second-hand, he still had to ask a professional to take a look.

As for a professional, Wei Ming could only think of one person: Zhang Yimou.

Among Wei Ming's reader letters, there were still many readers from Beijing, including some meat coupons, sugar coupons, and the like. So, before returning to school, Wei Ming first went to Tianfuhao to buy a soy-sauce braised pork knuckle, and then went to Gongyifu to buy some pastries. It could be considered sharing joy with the people; after all, he was too rich now.

Before entering the school gate, Wei Ming first went to the newsstand to buy *Yanjing Literature and Art*.

As a result, the old man said, "It's gone, sold out!"

"Not a single copy left?" "If there was one left, I would read it myself. You wait until tomorrow. I'm urging them to send me stock." The old man was a bit depressed.

Wei Ming asked, "Grandpa, how long does that stack usually sell for?"

"Usually, that's my amount for a week, but it sold out in less than half a day!"

Wei Ming felt it was strange. Even if the work had a good reputation, there had to be a dissemination process, right?

When he returned to the dormitory and took a look, good heavens, there were ten copies of *Yanjing Literature and Art* on the table. The booklet was thin, and the cover was Huang Yongyu's color ink painting "Four Boxes of Flower Shadows Angry Like a Tide."

"No, who bought these?"

Mei Wenhua said proudly, "Me. The brothers entrusted me to buy them, and they also want your autograph. Come on, great writer."

Wei Ming remembered that the stack at the newsstand was much thicker than this, so a large portion must have been bought by others.

In a classroom at Peking University, the 77-grade Chinese department was about to hold a class meeting.

Chen Jiangong arrived a little late. As soon as he entered, he found that many classmates were holding a copy of *Yanjing Literature and Art*.

He was very moved. Last month, his work was placed in the first position in the special issue of *Yanjing Literature and Art* for novels and was highly recommended. At that time, he joked with his classmates: You guys don't even say you support your classmate's work.

Unexpectedly, they actually bought so many this time. They were really loyal!

!

The younger brothers and sisters were loyal, so he couldn't be less so. He thought about whether he should just take out half of his royalties to buy some melon seeds and candies.

As a result, when he walked closer, he heard Su Mu say, "This 'Er Niu' is written too brilliantly. I feel like a movie was playing in my brain!"

Li Zhihong said, "The character of Niu Er is shaped really well. He reminds me of Ah Q. He is too typical!"

Gao Xianjun said, "No, why does Wei Ming get to eat with you girls? I want to invite him to dinner now too!"

Huang Ziping said, "Count me in. I feel like my time in this Chinese department is meaningless. I don't know when I will have such writing skills. The key is that he is only eighteen!"

The more Chen Jiangong listened, the more something felt wrong. He walked closer and realized that Wei Ming's novel was also published in this issue of *Yanjing Literature and Art*, titled "Er Niu," ranked second.

How embarrassing. He almost got the wrong idea, but it was also good; he saved half of his royalties.

He reminded his classmates: "After you finish reading Wei Ming's novel, remember to read mine too."

Liang Zuo: "Ah, does this issue also have your work, Big Brother?"

Chen Jiangong: "Look at who the author of the reportage 'The Great Road is Opening for You' below is."

"Oh my, if you hadn't said it, we wouldn't have noticed. Big Brother, you really are hiding your light under a bushel!" Liang Zuo gave a thumbs up.

Chen Jiangong: "..."

He took the copy from Liang Zuo's hand and began to read Wei Ming's work, which was being praised by everyone, at the class meeting.

In Tianjin, Sun Li, the founder of the Lotus Pond School, came to Bai Hua Literature and Art Publishing House to discuss the publication of an essay collection.

Then the editor, Little Fei, excitedly handed him a copy of *Yanjing Literature and Art*: "Old Sun, there is a work by a fellow townsman of yours here. It's written really well!"

After Sun Li took it, he looked at the table of contents. Oh, the lineup for this issue was quite strong, with Ding Ling, Wang Meng, Qin Mu, Qin Zhaoyang, and of course, an essay of his own.

He smiled and said, "Little Fei, you misunderstood. Although Jiang Zilong and I are both in Tianjin, his hometown is Cangzhou, and mine is Hengzhou. We are neighbors."

"I'm not talking about Teacher Jiang, but that Wei Ming below."

"Oh, never heard of him. Is he from Hengzhou?"

"Yes, he's been very popular recently. There is a brief introduction at the back. Age 18, from Hengzhou. The recently popular poem 'Ideal' and the novel 'Spring River Water Warm Duck Prophet' are both his works."

Sun Li smiled warmly: "Then I am ignorant. I must take a look."

Sun Li was reading. Also in Tianjin, Jiang Zilong, the other half of the "Peerless Duo" of reform literature who had been tied to Wei Ming recently, also opened this issue of *Yanjing Literature and Art*.

When he saw Wei Ming's name, he was obviously stunned, then immediately opened Wei Ming's "Er Niu" and started reading...

(Available tomorrow at 12:00 noon!)

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 78 =====