Back to 80: My Literary Life

Su Tong was only one year older than Ge Fei, but he had already published novels such as "Remembering the Mulberry Garden" and "Escape in 1934". Especially "Escape in 1934" made him famous in the literary world.

After listening to Ge Fei's words, he pondered for a moment and asked, "Liu Yong, did you receive a personal letter from Editor Fang?"

"Yeah, I didn't believe it at first. Editor Fang and I are not relatives, we just met once," Ge Fei said.

"Have you seen it before?" Su Tong was a little surprised.

"Yes, it was the end of 1983. I was in Shanghai before I graduated." Ge Fei brought Fang Minghua to Shanghai to participate in a symposium of young and middle-aged writers in East and Northwest China. He found Fang Minghua himself and told him about a novel he had written. I gave it to him and briefly explained what happened when it was returned.

"Actually, at the end of the day, I haven't published that novel yet." At this point, Ge Fei felt a little embarrassed.

"Then what did he say about you?"

"He said that I have a certain talent and have mastered some stream-of-consciousness writing skills, but I focused too much on writing skills, which he called dazzling skills. He asked me to read the paper he wrote on "The Advantages and Limitations of Western Modern Literature" and add more in the future. Practice." Ge Fei said matter-of-factly.

"That's right. Chief Editor Fang thinks that you have talent and potential and can write good works in the future!" After Su Tong finished speaking, he suddenly lowered his voice: "Liu Yong, many of the people in this meeting are unknown. Qin Have you heard of the man named Gao Jianqun?"

"No, I haven't heard that he has published any works." Ge Fei shook his head honestly.

"You're still invited, aren't you? Editor-in-chief Fang is optimistic about your future potential!" Su Tong said with a smile.

These words made Ge Fei both happy and terrified.

The two were chatting when they suddenly heard a knock on the door and opened it to see Fang Minghua standing at the door.

"Why, why don't you go out for a walk at night?" Fang Minghua said with a smile.

"I'll be out in a minute. Editor Fang, please come in." The two of them greeted hurriedly.

Fang Minghua came in and sat down on the bed, chatting with them about accommodation and food for the conference.

"Both of you are from Jiangsu Province. Are you used to our food?" Fang Minghua asked with concern.

"You're used to it, you're used to it, it's not spicy at all." Ge Fei said quickly.

For the food for this meeting, Fang Minghua specially asked the chef of the hotel, saying that the writers attending this meeting were from all over the world, and the food should be lighter with less spicy food.

Now when he heard what Ge Fei said, he said, "As long as you like it, since you're in Xijing, I'll pay more attention to Liu Yong. Have you written any articles recently?"

Ge Fei was a little embarrassed and said, "I do a lot of substitute teaching now and have very little spare time, but I recently wrote a short story."

"Oh? Did you bring the manuscript?"

"Brought it."

Ge Fei took out a stack of manuscripts from the yellow satchel on the bedside and handed it to Fang Minghua. Fang Minghua looked at it carefully, and even Su Tong next to him came over to read it together.

The name of the novel is "Remembering Mr. Wu You".

It is written about the tragedy of Mr. Wu You, an intellectual who was sent to a mountain village. Although he was full of aspirations for enlightenment, he eventually died unexpectedly.

“When two middle-aged men in white police uniforms and another girl in a skirt came to the village, people reluctantly remembered Mr. Wu You.

That remote thing is as easily aroused as a girl's virginity thrown away. Since people's memories have been awakened through the intervention of these three strangers, the elders in this village will continue to repeat to any young person who attempts to experience the joy of the painful past again:

Time makes people forget everything.

The article is not long but a short story. What surprised Fang Minghua was that he used avant-garde literature writing techniques but also wrote the content of scar literature. In the novel, there are no tearful accusations or tense criticisms. The background is vague and the emotions are light. Yes, but it was shocking after reading it.

It’s hard to believe that it was written by a 21-year-old young man!

"Su Tong, what do you think?" Fang Minghua asked Su Tong next to him.

"Very good!" Su Tong was a little excited: "Liu Yong, you just said that you haven't written any good works, but this novel actually combines the stylistic features of reminiscence and detective in its narrative form! It's simply unexpected."

"That's right." Fang Minghua held the manuscript in his hand without any politeness.

"Liu Yong, if we, Yanhe, want this novel, it will be published in the next issue! As for the remuneration, how about 14 yuan per 1,000 words?"

"Okay, okay!" Ge Fei replied quickly.

"By the way, are you going to publish under your real name, or do you want to use a pen name?" Fang Minghua asked.

"I have a pen name called Ge Fei."

"OK, then publish it under the pen name Ge Fei." Fang Minghua decided immediately.

"Liu Yong."

"Um?"

"Our "Yanhe" editorial department has just launched a submission agreement specifically for outstanding young writers. The remuneration, publication speed, and publication space are all given considerable discounts. I privately call it the "Great God Appointment." Are you interested in signing?"

Fang Minghua smiled.

Ge Fei was stunned for a moment and agreed readily.

"good!"

"Okay, wait until tomorrow and ask my colleague and the sample agreement to be sent over. You can take a closer look at the final decision."

After dealing with Ge Fei, Fang Minghua looked at Su Tong with a smile.

"Editor Su, you are the editor of "Zhongshan" magazine. Novels are usually published in your magazine, right?"

"No, Editor Fang." Su Tong shook his head and told the truth: "I rarely publish in "Zhongshan" because our editor-in-chief doesn't like what I write."

"Oh, how about, your future novels will be submitted to our "Yanhe" first, and I will personally review the manuscripts and sign the "Great God Agreement"?

Su Tong also agreed.

Fang Minghua chatted with the two for a while before saying goodbye and leaving.

He was now going to find Yu Hua and Mo Yan, but unfortunately after knocking on the door for a while, there was no sound. It seemed that the two of them had gone out for a stroll.

Yu Hua and Mo Yan were wandering in the hotel yard at this time.

The courtyard of Tangcheng Hotel is very large, with small bridges and flowing water. It has a Jiangnan garden style. After dinner in the evening, many guests came out for a walk.

Unlike Su Tong and Ge Fei, both of whom graduated from the Chinese Department of a key university, Yu Hua and Mo Yan both seriously never went to college.

Yu Hua became a dentist after graduating from high school and failed the college entrance examination. Mo Yan was even worse. He dropped out of elementary school before graduating from elementary school and went home to work. Later, he joined the army. In the 1980s, he began to publish novels and was admitted to the Literature Department of the People's Liberation Army Art Academy. Not graduated yet.

Both have experienced the life of low-class people, so compared with Su Tonggefei, the two of them are less intellectual and more businesslike, and their speech is quite speculative.

No, the two of them were walking and chatting, not about literature. Yu Hua was telling Mo Yan his story vividly.

Although Mo Yan is named "Mo Yan" (his real name is Guan Moye), he actually has quite a lot of truth.

"Yu Hua, let me tell you a story. It happened when I was in elementary school."

"Okay, tell me." Yu Hua immediately became interested.