Back to 80: My literary life

Chapter 43 Revision of the Draft (Please bookmark and vote for further reading)

It's still Lao Ma's house at the crossroads. Don't tell me, there are still a lot of people eating mutton dip on a hot day.

One bowl per person, served with white steamed buns and chili sauce, and the two of them ate without asking for wine this time.

After just a few mouthfuls, Fang Minghua felt sweaty and steamy, but felt very good.

Lu Yao was also sweating profusely, but he didn't forget to discuss the manuscript while eating.

"Xiao Fang, you have finished reading the novel, tell me what you think? What parts were not written well?" Lu Yao lit a cigarette and asked.

"Then I'll say it. Don't mind if I say it wrong." Fang Minghua said modestly before saying:

"First of all, I think the title of your novel is not very good. "The Movement of Life" is too ordinary and does not reflect the essence of this novel."

"Hey, naming the book is too troublesome." Lu Yao took over the conversation and said: "At first, I named it "The Story of Gao Jialin" which was very straightforward, but later I felt it was inappropriate, so I changed it to this name after I finished writing. "

Oh.
  Fang Minghua nodded and was about to express his opinion when he heard Lu Yao say: "How about changing the name to "What Do You Get?". Didn't the Soviet writer Kochetov write a book called "What Do You Want?" "I like it very much, so I just copied his name."

"No, it's not as good as "The Movement of Life."" Fang Minghua shook his head.

"Hey, it's so hard to come up with a name." Lu Yao scratched his messy hair.

"Brother Lu, how about just calling it "Life"?" Fang Minghua said in a tentative tone.

""Life"?" Lu Yao listened and smoked slowly, seeming to be thinking about it.

Suddenly he slapped his thigh: "This is a good name. I really appreciate what Teacher Liu Qing said in "History of Entrepreneurship":

"Although the road of life is long, the important points are often only a few steps, especially when people are young. No one's life path is straight and without forks. There are forks in the road, such as political forks and personal life. If you take a wrong step at a fork in the road, it can affect a period of your life, and it can also affect your life."

"The name "Life" is great. I didn't think of it." Lu Yao laughed.

Is this how the name "Life" came about?

Fang Minghua is not sure.

"Xiao Fang, thank you."

no need thank me?
  I am ashamed.

It should be thanking yourself, or a friend who helped you come up with this name, right?
  "Xiao Fang, if there is anything unsatisfactory about the content of the article, feel free to mention it." Lu Yao asked again.

This time Fang Minghua didn't think about it anymore but went straight to the point: "Brother Lu, in your article Gao Jialin wrote very well about rural life. In comparison, he wrote less well after he moved to the city. Also, don't get too entangled in men and women. The protagonist’s love story should strengthen the psychological conflict between the protagonist’s traditional rural lifestyle and modern concepts,”

"As for the question you mentioned, I gave the novel to a friend named Li Xiaoba, and he raised these two questions after reading it. It seems that you two heroes have the same ideas." Lu Yao said.

"No, no, Brother Lu, you've given me a reward." Fang Minghua quickly humbled himself.

He had heard of the name Li Xiaoba, who was also a writer from Qin Province, but he was almost fifty years older than Lu Yao.

"Let's go back!" Lu Yao hurriedly finished the mutton dip, wiped his mouth and walked out.

"what?"

"The manuscript is still with you. I'm going to take it back and revise it at night!"

"Brother Lu, why are you in such a hurry? Let's rest first and take good care of ourselves." Fang Minghua advised.

"I'm in good health. You, everything else are good. You just act like a woman sometimes."

There was no other way, Fang Minghua also finished his meal quickly, and the two of them left the small restaurant and walked towards the work.

Lu Yao took back his manuscript and left in a hurry. Fang Minghua did not continue writing. The body is the capital of revolution, so it is better to take it easy.

Once people don't focus on something, Fang Minghua will feel uncomfortable all over.

I wanted to get a haircut first, but I still had to pay attention to my appearance, so Fang Minghua rode to a barber shop at Jianguo Road to get a haircut, which was a standard 37 cents. Then he went back and prepared to take a shower, feeling sweaty and uncomfortable all over his body.

Bathing is a big problem these days, but it can be easily solved in the summer. Anyway, everyone in the work unit is off work now, and the backyard is very quiet. Fang Minghua simply ran home on his bicycle, got a washbasin towel, and a change of underwear, and returned to the work unit. Finally, I took off my clothes and took a shower with water from the faucet in the backyard while wearing my underwear.

I immediately felt much better.

Go out for a walk and change your mind.

Fang Minghua locked the door, swayed out of the unit door wearing a vest, large pants and slippers.

It's summer night and the lanterns are on. In the ancient city of Xijing, the streets were busy with people coming and going, and there were also the cries of street vendors. It was full of the smell of fireworks. Fang Minghua suddenly thought of southern Xinjiang, the war-torn world, and Zhou Shunlai and Song Tangtang.

Haizi once wrote a poem:

Some people sing and drink in the smoke of fireworks at night markets or food stalls;

Some people's eyes wandered, and they were bumped into the summer evening breeze.

But none of these belong to Zhou Shunlai, Song Tangtang and the others.

Nor does it belong to Lu Yao and the others.

Creation was important, but correspondence courses also had to be taken. Fang Minghua got up early on Saturday morning and took his sister to Western University on his bicycle. The summer morning breeze felt very comfortable on his face.

Don't tell me, it's fun when you don't code.
  Fang Mingli sat on the back of the bicycle, humming happily.

"Brother, there have been a lot of activities in our literary club recently." The girl suddenly said.

"What activities are there?"

"Our Literary Society is preparing to launch its own publication and calls on everyone to actively contribute," Fang Mingli said.

"That's a good thing, you can write."

"Then I've written it for you to read. Please check it for me."

"no problem."

"Also, we organized a literature lecture and a poetry recitation, specifically going to Chengnan Park to recite. There were many people watching."

"Have you recited it?"

"Reciting, the poem recited is the poem in "Long Live Youth", but the best thing to listen to is "Motherland, My Dear Motherland" recited by Li Li."

Fang Minghua immediately thought of meeting Li Li for the first time.

Standing on the West Lawn and reading "To the Oaks" aloud, wearing a white shirt and a blue suspender skirt, with her short hair flying slightly in the wind, she looked like an oil painting.

It looks very beautiful.

Thinking of this, he smiled and replied casually: "I have heard her recite poetry, and it is indeed good."

"Let me tell you, brother, Li Li especially likes those two poems you wrote. She even mentioned them in the lecture and called you Teacher Minghua."

"Really?"

"Really, I won't lie to you. It's really funny that she thinks you are a middle-aged uncle, but I won't tell her that you are actually not yet 21 this year, not much older than her."

Ah?
  "By the way, sister, don't let literature affect your normal studies. You should still learn your professional course - mathematics!" Fang Minghua warned.

"Don't worry, brother, I won a third-class scholarship last semester, and I will try to get a second-class scholarship this semester!" Fang Mingli said in a somewhat arrogant tone.

"Ambitious!"

The brother and sister chatted and laughed and rode their bicycles to Western University. Fang Mingli was going to do self-study and homework, while Fang Minghua was going to class.

As soon as he entered the classroom, he found Zhao Hongjun sitting at the back of the classroom, so he went over to sit next to him and asked:

"What, you won't skip class?"

"Look what you said, I come to class on time every time now. You are right, learning some knowledge is always useful, especially English. I am planning to do business with foreigners in the future."

"Aim high!"

Fang Minghua raised his thumb.

"Hey, Minghua, how about your trip to Southern Xinjiang? Have you seen Tangtang? Is there any danger?" Zhao Hongjun asked with concern.

"I saw it." Fang Minghua didn't hide anything and briefly told the story of his trip to southern Xinjiang.

"What? You almost died? So dangerous?" Zhao Hongjun exclaimed after hearing this.

　Thanks to janport for your monthly vote.

　　PS: Successfully advanced to the second round of recommendations. Thank you readers for your support. I will try my best to write it well. I also hope to continue to vote, collect and read it! Read more!
  　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)