Reborn in 1977

It has to be said that the secretary He Qingsheng arranged for Chen Fan was not bad. She never had superfluous words when handling affairs. When something needed to be done, with a simple instruction, telling her the required result and standard, she could quickly execute it in place.

Although these tasks were not difficult, just passing on information and tracking progress, having such high efficiency for a newcomer was already considered good.

Under Bian Huifang's nervous running around and the Writers Association's relevant departments' busyness, a week later, everything was ready, and the east wind was blowing!

… …

On the vast grassland, yurts stood like white clouds fallen on the grass, with herds of cattle and sheep slowly moving in the distance.

Inside one of the largest yurts, Ning Jingmin held a textbook in his hand, leading the students in reading word by word.

This was a "Horseback School."

Since ancient times, the nomads on the grasslands had lived by following the grass, rarely having fixed locations. Under this circumstance, the higher authorities' requirement of "universalizing primary school education and eliminating illiteracy" became a major problem.

Especially since the winters on the grasslands would have continuous heavy snow, making travel very inconvenient.

In the winter of '46, the KSKTQ was blocked by heavy snow, and students couldn't even leave their homes, let alone go to school.

In order not to delay the children's studies, the teachers of KSKTQ at the time came up with a solution: the teachers would each take responsibility for a settlement, and then ride their horses to the students' homes to teach.

This teaching method was silently implemented locally for more than ten years, and finally received attention from the local authorities. Subsequently, it was reported to higher authorities and promoted, which was the origin of the "Horseback School."

By the mid to late 1960s, from Inner Mongolia to Qinghai, and then to Xinjiang and Tibet, such "Horseback Schools" or "Tent Schools" became more and more numerous, basically covering most of the pastoral areas.

In the summer, in places where the herders lived relatively concentrated, the yurts of the production team were set up there as temporary school buildings.

For those herders' children who lived scattered due to relocation, the teachers rode horses to the students' homes to teach, or formed the students into groups, entrusting others to manage and tutor them, while the teachers made rounds to provide face-to-face instruction.

The duration of the mobile teaching depended on the herders' living conditions, generally taking about 7 to 8 days for one round.

In the spring, autumn, and winter seasons, the herders lived scattered and there were no fixed school buildings, relying entirely on the teachers riding horses to teach. Whenever they arrived at a teaching point, they would blow a conch shell. The nearby students would gather to attend class upon hearing the sound of the conch shell, usually with each lesson lasting 3 to 4 hours.

Ning Jingmin was such a teacher on horseback.

He was originally from Shanghai. Ten years ago, he went to Inner Mongolia to settle down in the countryside with the tide. With his high school education, he successfully became a primary school teacher, responsible for teaching the students in this area.

Afterwards, he got married and had children, naturally settling down on the grassland.

Here, he had no summer or winter vacations, only one migration after another on horseback, like an old herder on the grassland, watching the children grow up little by little.

However, since he had loved literature since he was a child, he still had a literary dream in his heart.

He had also participated in the college entrance examination last year. He felt that he had done well in the exam, but reality gave him a head-on blow. Until now, he had not received an admission notice from any university... not even a junior college.

He could only suppress his restless mood, continue to ride his horse and teach with textbooks during the day, and return home to bury himself in study at night, hoping to take the exam again this year and see if he could get in.

Even getting into a technical secondary school where he could learn more about literature would be fine.

After finishing reading a passage, he called out the names of a few students for a spot check and found that they had almost mastered it, so he switched to a mathematics textbook.

It was not easy to have a class at the Horseback School, and he hoped to seize the time to teach more.

Just then, a faint shout came from outside.

Ning Jingmin cocked his ear to listen, sounding like his wife?

Why was she here?

Immediately, he put down the textbook, instructed the students to read the passage just now again, and then lifted the door curtain and walked out.

As soon as he left the tent, he saw his wife galloping towards him on horseback, seemingly holding a newspaper in her hand?

Ning Jingmin unconsciously took a few steps forward, and the horse quickly ran up to him.

Before the horse could stop, his wife jumped down and excitedly handed the newspaper to him, "The Jiangnan Writers Association is going to run a 'Literary Creation Correspondence Course', recruiting students nationwide, without any other requirements, only requiring an interest in literature, a certain foundation in writing, and a 10 yuan registration fee, and you can be directly admitted."

Ning Jingmin was stunned at first, but quickly reacted, grabbing the newspaper in his hand.

This was a Wenhui Daily. As an educated youth from Shanghai, reading the Wenhui Daily every day had become a part of his life.

But at this time, his mind was not at all on the news and literary works he usually cared about. Grabbing the newspaper, he quickly flipped through it, and in two or three seconds, his eyes were fixed on a box.

"The Jiangnan Writers Association is offering a literary creation correspondence course to fulfill the creative dreams of the majority of literature lovers!"

Ning Jingmin read the newspaper carefully, and when he saw the enrollment brochure, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up on both sides, "He, He Qingsheng, Tan Yong, Guo Daorong..., they are all famous writers in Jiangnan, who often publish articles in 'Jiangnan Literature', are they actually teaching in person?"

He said, suddenly raising his head and looking at his wife with glowing eyes, "Is it true? No exam is required, you can be directly admitted by signing up. Can I also study literature?!"

Looking at his appearance, his wife couldn't help but feel a little sad, raising her hand to cover her mouth, took a breath, and smiled, "With these great writers teaching you, you will definitely be able to become a writer!"

Ning Jingmin grinned and laughed, "Whether I can become a writer is uncertain, I just want to fulfill a dream."

After laughing for a while, he suddenly reacted, lowered his head and looked at the newspaper, "Oh no, they only recruit 2,000 people?!"

At this time, his face was full of anxiety, "It takes at least ten days to send a letter from Inner Mongolia to Jiangnan. Their correspondence course must be selecting people according to the date of receiving the letter. What should I do? What should I do?"

Unable to think of a solution for a while, he paced around anxiously.

His wife quickly said, "I've already thought about it on the way here. I'll go to the post office to send a telegram to register later, explaining the situation, and the registration fee will be sent over later. This should save time."

Ning Jingmin nodded repeatedly, "Okay, okay, do as you said."

At this time, he could no longer care about the expensive telegram fee. Getting a spot was the most important thing.

He gritted his teeth and looked back at the yurt classroom, "I still have to teach class and don't have time to go over there. Hurry up and help me register."

His wife smiled, "Leave it to me."

After saying that, she got on her horse, waved to him, turned her horse around, and galloped away.

Holding the newspaper in his hand, Ning Jingmin looked at his wife's receding figure, his eyes full of longing.

At the same time, countless registration letters were sent from all over the country to the provincial capital of Jiangnan...

"Why is it written that the limit is 2,000 people?"

He Qingsheng was very puzzled, holding the newspaper and asking, "Didn't you say you wanted to recruit 20,000 people?"

Chen Fan had already simulated the process with them.

This kind of correspondence teaching hardly consumed any energy. After the students registered, the correspondence center would mail a set of learning materials, which was also the "textbook" that the students usually used.

The textbook content included writing skills, analysis of common problems for newcomers, adjustment of writing mentality, etc., full of dry goods.

These were all sorted out by the old writers and editors of the magazine. Many of them were detours they had taken and pits they had stepped into. Now that they were summarized, it could be said that they could solve 99% of the students' problems.

Through this pure dry goods textbook, a normal "literature lover" with a middle school education could completely write a standardized article.

Although it was standardized, it could meet the inclusion standards of county-level or regional publications. If there were talented people, they might be able to challenge provincial-level publications.

In addition, each student would also have one to two face-to-face teaching opportunities.

The reason why it was one to two was to divide it into stages.

There was only one opportunity in the enrollment brochure, and every student could come.

After completing the first face-to-face teaching, there would be a "completion exam", from which a small number of outstanding students would be selected for a second face-to-face teaching, which was considered an "extra" reward.

These outstanding students would naturally become living advertisements for the correspondence class, laying a solid foundation for the next enrollment.

Moreover, face-to-face teaching was not too troublesome.

Taking the auditorium of the Provincial Cultural Palace as an example, it could accommodate 2,000 people in one class. Ten major classes could complete the basic courses for all students, not to mention that there were several regional branch schools that could share the burden.

Therefore, after considering various situations, the total number of students Chen Fan set was 20,000.

Even the Wenzhou "Literary Youth" magazine could drag 10,000 people at a time. With such a large resource from the Jiangnan Writers Association, could it not teach 20,000?

Even in Chen Fan's plan, twenty thousand people was just the beginning. After the first phase of teaching, they would summarize the experiences and lessons learned, optimize the teaching process, and then increase the number of students in the future.

As for why the enrollment brochure only mentioned 2000 people?

Chen Fan held a copy of "A General History of China" and said without looking up, "Of course, it's to give those who want to sign up a sense of urgency. If you write that you're recruiting 20,000 people, such a large number, how many people would be in a hurry to sign up?"

He Qingsheng looked at him and couldn't help but click his tongue, "As cunning as a fox!"

Chen Fan still didn't look up, "This is called the rational use of strategy."

As soon as he finished speaking, he finally looked up, and at the same time raised the book in his hand, "I learned it all from our ancestors."

Tan Yong sat aside, smoking with his legs crossed, and asked curiously, "There's nothing like that in the general history, right?"

Chen Fan sighed softly, "The teacher said we can't swallow it whole, we have to understand the history, so when reading the general history, we also have to look at related historical books and materials, otherwise it's a waste of time."

Even without Professor Xu's instructions, he had read many ancient classics before, and the use of this kind of small wisdom was just a casual act and not worth mentioning.

Tan Yong looked at Chen Fan reading seriously, and couldn't help but grin, "Old Xu is really rigorous!"

After a pause, he asked curiously, "Where are you reading?"

Chen Fan continued to bury himself in reading, "It's just the beginning. First read "A General History of China", and at the same time, I have to look up relevant historical materials. After that, there's also the History of Chinese Language, Literary History, Phonology,... so many, so many."

He Qingsheng sighed aside, "Old Xu is trying to cultivate you into a great Confucian!"

Chen Fan looked up at him, his eyes narrowed slightly.

Why does it sound a bit like gloating?

Then he continued to bury himself in reading.

Don't mention it, these books look very boring, but if you can read them, they are actually quite exciting.

At least compared to science and engineering, which requires frequent experiments, he still prefers reading more.

At least he doesn't have to move. If there's nothing else to do, he can find a place to lie down for a day.

From this perspective, it can be considered to basically meet his life requirements: lying flat.

He Qingsheng put down the newspaper, lit another cigarette, and took a few steps, "Guess, how many people will sign up?"

Tan Yong lay motionless on the sofa, "How can we guess this? What we're doing now is considered the first time since the 'creation of the world'."

He flicked the ash, turned his head and glanced at Chen Fan, and said with a smile, "As early as the Republic of China, many universities offered night school classes and correspondence classes, but most of them were only for local people, and there were no cross-regional ones.

Including the correspondence courses offered by universities all over the country in the past, they also almost always enrolled students within the province. And this time, we are recruiting students nationwide, even if there are only three or five hundred people in one province, that's still a scale of more than ten thousand people."

He said, turning his head to look at Tan Yong, "Based on the current circulation of literary publications in various provinces, you wouldn't think that there aren't even three or five hundred literary enthusiasts in one province, would you?!"

He Qingsheng pursed his lips and nodded lightly, "That makes sense."

Then he looked up and smiled, "If the enrollment can really reach expectations, 20,000 students, even if there is only a one percent success rate, that's still 200 people.

If we can really cultivate two hundred qualified writers, how many more manuscripts will there be?!"

Hearing this, Tan Yong couldn't help but smile, "You're just afraid of not receiving suitable manuscripts because you're afraid of being the editor-in-chief."

He Qingsheng laughed, "Who isn't? Besides our 'Jiangnan Literature' magazine, which newspaper isn't worried about manuscripts?"

He said, walking to the sofa and sitting down, smiling and sighing, "Speaking of submissions, there are really a lot, but unfortunately, out of hundreds of submissions, I would be thankful if I could pick out one that doesn't need much modification."

Tan Yong turned to look at Chen Fan and smiled, "Did you hear that? That's why Lao He values you so much, because so far, among all the new authors, only your manuscripts don't need to be modified and can be directly proofread and published."

As soon as he finished speaking, he was slightly stunned, looked at Chen Fan and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Chen Fan was holding a book in a daze at this time. Hearing his question, he slowly raised his head, looked at the two of them, and said, "Just now, Uncle He's words reminded me of something."

He Qingsheng blinked, "What words?"

Chen Fan put down the book, grabbed a cigarette from in front of him, lit it and said, "It's like this, the current situation is that all the magazines are short of suitable manuscripts, right?"

Seeing He Qingsheng and Tan Yong both nodding, he continued, "But this situation is caused by history. With the resumption of the college entrance examination, college students entering the campus, and the enrollment of our literary correspondence center, it is completely foreseeable that whether it is the 'academic school' coming out of the university, or the 'hobby school' participating in correspondence training, there will definitely be more and more authors who can write articles and write good articles."

He Qingsheng nodded lightly and smiled at Tan Yong, "That's right, in this way, we probably won't be short of manuscripts for long."

Tan Yong also laughed, "At that time, not only will there be no shortage of manuscripts, but there will also be so many good manuscripts that people will be dazzled."

He Qingsheng seemed to see that day, his eyes shining, "When that time comes, can it be considered a revival of literature?!"

Chen Fan looked at the two of them getting happier and happier, and couldn't help but feel a little speechless, "I said, two leaders, don't you have any other ideas?"

The two of them turned to look at him, their eyes full of confusion, "What idea?"

Chen Fan gestured with both hands, "So many manuscripts, you are dazzled, and then choose the best of the best, and publish the most outstanding part, what then?"

He looked at the two of them, "If there really is a day when there are more and more literary authors and more and more manuscripts, will those articles that have been picked and left but have reached the publication standard be wasted in vain?"

At this time, He Qingsheng finally reacted and slapped his thigh, "We can have another publication!"

Tan Yong also nodded in agreement, "I think we can."

Originally, each provincial writers association branch would have one to several magazines. Generally speaking, the more prosperous the literary style, the more magazines it would have.

For example, the Shanghai Writers Association has "Mengya", "Harvest", "Shanghai Literature" and so on. At present, in addition to "Shanghai Literature" being officially relaunched, the other two are also in preparation.

Since they can have multiple magazines, then the Jiangnan Writers Association can of course do the same.

After Chen Fan broke the window paper, He Qingsheng immediately woke up and said while thinking, "Magazines generally need to have a clear positioning. 'Jiangnan Literature' is used as an internal publication of the Writers Association, mainly to publish articles by members and discover new talents in the literary world.

As for the two magazines that were suspended before, they also have their own purposes. In terms of the current situation, the significance of relaunching is not great."

Tan Yong also nodded and said, "Instead of relaunching those two magazines, it is better to take the correspondence center as an opportunity to open a new magazine."

He Qingsheng tapped his head, "Select some excellent works from the articles of the students of the correspondence center and publish them in this new magazine. This magazine can be directly affiliated with the Writers Association and can be regarded as a provincial publication.

Turning one's own article into lead characters and being published in a provincial publication is undoubtedly a great honor and encouragement for these students."

Tan Yong directly threw away the cigarette butt, "The students' articles have a place to go, and our Writers Association has one more publication, including 'Jiangnan Literature', and there are also many more manuscripts to choose from."

He said, raising his head, looking at Chen Fan and He Qingsheng, his face full of smiles, "The above can also have an extra income, this matter is beneficial to everyone, it is completely feasible!"

He Qingsheng walked to Chen Fan and sat down, raised his hand and gently patted him on the shoulder, nodding and smiling with satisfaction, "Not bad, not bad, our Writers Association needs talents like you. In the future, put forward many ideas, and I will give you credit."

Chen Fan curled his lips, "It's better to give me a few more bottles of good wine."

He Qingsheng immediately coughed dryly and said sternly, "Now there is one last question. What kind of name do you think this new magazine should have?"

Tan Yong blinked and looked at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan picked up the book again and said with his head down, "Most of the students in the correspondence center are young literary people, so why not just call this magazine 'Literary Youth'."

He Qingsheng and Tan Yong looked at each other, silently recited it twice in their hearts, and nodded almost at the same time, "I think it's okay."