All Heavens Pension started from the fiery era

After the eleventh issue of "People's Literature" in 1977 was published, two novels in it attracted widespread public attention, one was "Class Teacher" by Liu Xinwu, and the other was "Xiao Fang" by Yue Wenxuan.

In the original history, the novel "Class Teacher" was the first novel to liberate thoughts after the multi-person group was abolished, and it has special significance in literary history.

After Yue Wenxuan published "No Regrets in Youth" first, although the novel "Class Teacher" is still popular among the public, its influence can no longer compare with "No Regrets in Youth".

Especially in the same issue, compared with Yue Wenxuan’s latest masterpiece "Xiao Fang", it is even more impossible for "Class Teacher" to achieve the original achievements.

The story of "Xiao Fang" is so strong, and it is an extremely bold love theme. With the support of Yue Wenxuan's profound literary foundation, it caused a sensation as soon as it was published.

With the success of the novel "No Regrets in Youth" and its precedent, as Yue Wenxuan's latest masterpiece, the novel "Xiao Fang" is no longer received with the unanimous criticism it received before.

Because it is a bold love theme, there are inevitably some debates in the industry, but the mainstream literary community has unanimously recognized and even praised it.

Especially after Mr. Mao’s literary review of the novel was published in the Literary Gazette, the few controversies that had already existed disappeared completely.

Yue Wenxuan had already gained huge attention in the literary world because of his novel "No Regrets in Youth". After the publication of the novel "Xiao Fang", his fame in the literary world became even more famous.

In addition to praise from the literary world, Yue Wenxuan is also loved by a large number of literature lovers because of these two novels.

"People's Literature" was originally the literary magazine with the largest circulation during this period. Coupled with the nationwide discussion triggered by the controversy over the novel "Youth Without Regrets", Yue Wenxuan's fame has spread not only among the majority of literature lovers, but even a large number of ordinary people who rarely read magazines know his name.

Especially after the novel "Xiao Fang" once again achieved great success, more and more people across the country have known the name Yue Wenxuan.

Because of the public's love for the novel "Xiao Fang", the eleventh issue of "People's Literature" was sold out a few days earlier than the previous issue, and the magazine had to urgently increase the number of proofreading copies for the reprint.

It is already the end of November and there is not much time left until the college entrance examination next month. All the candidates who are interested in taking the college entrance examination are reviewing and preparing for it day and night.

Several candidates from the Red Star Department Store were no exception. In addition to reviewing the store's mimeographed college entrance examination review materials, they also had to do a test paper set by Yue Wenxuan every three to five days.

Yue Wenxuan took great pains to prepare these test papers, mainly for the sake of his younger sister Yue Ruoyin.

Yue Ruoyin has a very positive attitude towards learning and studies very hard, but her foundation is a bit weak. It is difficult to improve her grades significantly in such a short review time.

In order to prevent his sister from failing the college entrance examination, Yue Wenxuan could only do his best. In addition to these test papers, he would also give his sister some private tutoring, incorporating some knowledge points that would definitely be tested in the college entrance examination into his daily tutoring.

He didn't expect his younger sister to get outstanding grades, as long as she could get into university.

In addition to Yue Ruoyin, the first beneficiary, Wen Xiaoqing, who was also going to take the college entrance examination, also benefited a lot. She and Yue Ruoyin were inseparable all day long, and they studied together. Yue Wenxuan specially gave his sister a small tutor, so Wen Xiaoqing was of course also a beneficiary.

Wen Xiaoqing already had a solid foundation, and with Yue Wenxuan's special tutoring, if the only criterion was test scores, Yue Wenxuan felt that with her grades, it should not be a problem for her to be admitted to a prestigious school. But if the recruiters also considered her family background, the final admission result would be hard to predict.

In the 1977 college entrance examination, although the policy stated that it would not only consider class background but would mainly depend on individual performance, there were still many people with poor class backgrounds who were stuck at the grassroots level and were eliminated at the registration stage.

Wen Xiaoqing didn't have to worry about that, as she had already successfully registered. But there were still many uncertainties in the final admission stage.

Even if the scores meet the requirements, the academic background will still be taken into consideration during the admission stage. Given her current situation, even if her test scores are relatively high, there is still great uncertainty as to whether she will be admitted in the end, or which university she will be admitted to.

In addition to Yue Ruoyin and Wen Xiaoqing who received special tutoring from Yue Wenxuan, several other people from the Red Star Department Store who were preparing to take the college entrance examination also had a better chance of getting into college after having the test papers set by Yue Wenxuan.

At all times, candidates from the capital have geographical advantages.

Since there were too many applicants after the resumption of the college entrance examination, other places often had to conduct preliminary examinations first to eliminate those candidates with poor scores. Only then would the remaining candidates be eligible to take the formal college entrance examination.

Candidates in Kyoto do not need to take the pre-examination and can directly register. After registering, they can fill in their choices after a period of time. They can only fill in three choices. After submitting the registration form, they can wait for the college entrance examination.

Several candidates from Red Star Department Store have successfully applied for the exam and submitted their application forms. They are all looking forward to the day of the college entrance examination.

At the end of the month, Qu Zhize once again came to the Red Star Department Store.

He had had lunch in the store and was already familiar with everyone. He didn't need to announce anything after entering and went straight into Yue Wenxuan's office.

Seeing Qu Zhize again, Yue Wenxuan rarely showed a look of disdain on his face. Instead, he said with a smile, "Old Qu is here. Please take a seat. You haven't visited for a while. Do you want green tea or black tea? I'll make it for you."

"Such a good treatment?" Qu Zhize was a little flattered. "Then I'd better drink black tea. Drinking black tea in the winter warms the stomach."

Yue Wenxuan took out a box of Keemun black tea and brewed it. He chatted with him for a few words first, and then asked casually, "You are a busy man. You never come to my place for no reason. You come here today. You don't want to eat with me, do you?"

"I just thought about this, but I knew I couldn't hide it from your eyes. I knew your store would regularly improve its life every Wednesday, so I came to support you so that it wouldn't be too lively."

"You really have no self-awareness at all. Our store is full of young people, all full of energy. Don't you feel out of place when a middle-aged person like you joins in?"

Qu Zhize didn't take Yue Wenxuan's sarcasm seriously at all, "I know you say that because you are jealous of my popularity, but I am a magnanimous person and I won't bother with you.

The last time I ate in your store, I still remember your hospitality.

I am your editor, and it is my duty to care about your life and your work. In this respect, my colleagues in the store and I are half family.

Since you are one of us, I won’t be shy about it.”

Yue Wenxuan said, "You came to our store to eat, you must be embarrassed to come empty-handed, didn't you bring anything? Can I give you a reminder, the last time we met, you said you would pay me the royalties this month."

Qu Zhize took out a bill from his bag and slapped it on the table in front of Yue Wenxuan. "I knew you were stingy, so I prepared it for you a long time ago. Take a look."

Yue Wenxuan took the statement and glanced at it, then he smiled and said, "I finally got the money I was waiting for. I was still waiting for this money to buy materials for the college entrance examination review."

"I won't ask you for money, so you don't have to cry poor in front of me.

But I am a little jealous. When it comes to making money, you novelists have to be the ones. I worked hard for half a year, but I didn't get as much as you did this time.

I am still a little too shameless, I should ask you to treat me to a meal at a high-priced restaurant. Just asking you to treat me to a meal in the cafeteria suddenly makes me feel that doing so seems a little disrespectful to you. "

The royalties that Yue Wenxuan received this time were indeed a bit scary, totaling 687 yuan.

In that era, ordinary workers earned 36 yuan a month. These royalties were almost two years' salary for a worker, which was indeed a large amount.

The reason why we can settle such a large salary this time is that the publishing house has also settled the royalties for the novel "Xiao Fang".

The earliest poems and essays published by Yue Wenxuan received royalties of more than ninety yuan.

"No Regrets in Youth" has 60,000 to 70,000 words, and "Xiao Fang" has 30,000 words. The two novels together have nearly 100,000 words. The standard remuneration is 6 yuan per thousand words, which is nearly 600 yuan.

Yue Wenxuan kept crying poor in front of Qu Zhize, so Qu Zhize went to the finance department to settle all his royalties in one go. Otherwise, the royalties for Xiao Fang would not be settled until next month.

Yue Wenxuan was very happy that he would soon receive a large sum of money that he could spend openly. He said generously: "If you want to eat at a high-priced restaurant, that's easy. When you are not busy one day, let's call a few more people and go together to have fun. Just consider it my treat.

But if you want to enjoy the food, you have to go to our own canteen.

You have tasted Cai Youliang's cooking skills, and they are no worse than those of the chefs in big restaurants.

Do you know what we're having for lunch today? Cai Youliang has been stewing a big pot of lamb ribs since this morning. You should have smelled the smell, right? Lamb ribs stewed in a big pot are so delicious. You will definitely be full at noon. Isn't it better to have a good meal like this than to have a high-priced conversation in a restaurant? "

Qu Zhize had already had breakfast before coming here, and after hearing what Yue Wenxuan said, he felt hungry now.

Although he and Yue Wenxuan were just joking, the aroma of stewed lamb wafting from afar did indeed arouse the appetite in his stomach.

These days, there are only a few meat coupons each month. Qu Zhize usually buys meat, but most of it goes into the stomachs of his children. He hasn't tasted meat for more than half a month. Qu Zhize has always believed that he is a layman who can live without bamboo but cannot live without meat.

Although he made a special trip to rush the manuscript, it would have been perfect if he could have a bite to eat at the same time.

"I'm a very good talker. I know you don't want to spend money, so I won't let you spend it.

Let's not go to an expensive restaurant to eat and drink, and you don't have to call those insignificant people. Next time you want to treat me to a meal, we can just have a meal in the cafeteria of your store.

The standard doesn't need to be too high, just about the same as today. I don't have many good qualities, and not causing trouble for others is one of them."

Yue Wenxuan had long been accustomed to Qu Zhize's thick skin, and habitually ignored his boasting, and invited him by the way: "We will have braised pig intestines next Wednesday. If you like this, come and eat with us."

"Oh, I like it so much." Qu Zhize smiled immediately, "I will give the food coupons to Cai Youliang later. I can't let you treat me all the time. When I came here today, Xiao Yunfan also suggested that I should not urge the manuscript too often. If he knew that you had lamb ribs in the cafeteria today, he would definitely regret it."

"You really don't come here for no reason. I thought you made this special trip just to give me the manuscript fee invoice, but it turns out that your real purpose was to urge me to submit the manuscript.

Since you are here for your work, it shouldn't be me who treats you, but you should treat me to a big meal." Yue Wenxuan looked disgusted.

"It's all the same, it's all the same. When I have some extra money, I can treat you to a meal, not just a meal. I can treat you to a meal every day." Qu Zhize's tone was so sincere.

Without waiting for Yue Wenxuan to answer, he immediately asked, "Have you finished writing your new novel? What is the subject of this novel?"

“This time I’m writing about the story of educated youth returning to the city. You came just in time. I just finished writing it two days ago.

I myself am a returned urban youth, and my colleagues in the store are also returned urban youth. I have seen too many returned urban youth face difficult situations, and I was deeply touched, so I wrote this novel "Return to the City."

At this point, Yue Wenxuan opened the drawer, took out a stack of manuscript paper, and handed it to Qu Zhize, "This is the manuscript of the novel "Return to the City". If you didn't come today, I would have sent it to you in the next few days."

After Qu Zhize took the manuscript of the novel, he stopped talking and immediately opened it to review.

This is the shortest novel written by Yue Wenxuan, with only 16,000 words in total. The story begins with an educated youth returning to the city and objectively describes the various difficulties he faces in life and work.

Because he had been unemployed, he finally, at the suggestion of the street office, joined forces with several other unemployed returned urban youth to open a big bowl of tea teahouse.

From being looked down upon and ridiculed in the beginning to the flourishing business of the teahouse later on, it fully demonstrated the new style of the new youth in the new era.

Qu Zhize read the novel in one go, and after closing the book, he was filled with emotion, "It's really well written. It may not be as influential as the previous two novels, but the subject matter fits the current situation perfectly. There is no doubt that this should be another extremely successful work."

(End of this chapter)