dkrc Chapter 5 Departure
Chapter 5 Departure
After having breakfast at his colleague Wang Fang's house, Yu Zhen was greeted by a mule cart arranged by the production team cadres, which was already waiting at the educated youth settlement.
What moved him even more was that the brigade arranged for a drum and gong troupe to see him off.
Another group of people were arranged to use long bamboo poles to hold up a large red banner, on which was prominently displayed:
Warmest congratulations to Comrade Yu Zhen, writer from Chiling Brigade, on accepting the invitation to visit Shanghai.
Oh my god, this is so embarrassing, and I'm so flattered!
The production team sent him off with a procession of over thirty people. They beat drums and gongs, held up banners, and passed through village after village until they escorted him to the county's East Railway Station, which was more than ten miles away.
The county's train station was very small; it was actually a coal transport transfer station and there were no dedicated green passenger trains to carry passengers to the provincial capital.
But this was obviously no big deal in the eyes of the brigade cadres.
After some coordination, Yu Zhen boarded a black-skinned van.
Knowing that he was a writer traveling to Shanghai on business, the train staff were very polite and arranged a very comfortable seat with a backrest for him.
After a journey of nearly three hours, the coal transshipment train slowly entered Tang'an, the provincial capital.
After another round of twists and turns, led by staff, we walked through the station's internal passageway and arrived directly at the passenger train platform.
As a writer, he was entitled to cadre benefits. He took out his letter of introduction and urgent telegram form, got a replacement train ticket to Shanghai, and finally boarded the train smoothly.
In those days, there were no express trains or high-speed trains; long-distance travel was only possible on old-fashioned green trains.
Yu Zhen's ticket was for a soft sleeper carriage.
Once on the train, I found that the conditions were actually quite good; a soft sleeper compartment had four berths, which was quite spacious.
He walked through the station's internal passageway and didn't leave the station at all; he boarded the train directly from the platform.
Tang'an is the starting station.
So the carriage is still empty at this moment, and no passengers have boarded yet.
Even a direct train journey from Tang'an, the provincial capital, to Shanghai takes 40 hours.
It's around 4 PM now, and we'll arrive at our destination the day after tomorrow morning.
To be honest, this was the first time Yu Zhen had ever tried such a long journey. He was both excited and bewildered, and had no idea whether this choice was good or bad.
I waited for about twenty minutes.
Passengers began to gather on the platform.
A short while later, three other passengers boarded the soft sleeper compartment where Yu Zhen was.
One of them was quite old, and looked to be in his early fifties.
The other two are relatively young, but both are over thirty.
All three were dressed in standard navy blue Zhongshan suits with four pockets, typical of cadres. The two young men knew each other, while the older man had slightly gray hair and sunken cheeks, clearly showing signs of chronic malnutrition.
They were clearly quite curious about Yu Zhen's youth, and even more surprised that Yu Zhen had gotten on the bus so early, with his luggage already packed, looking as if he were waiting for them at home with guests.
When you're out and about, there's not much warmth between strangers you meet for the first time.
The group simply nodded to each other, which was considered a polite exchange.
The three men busied themselves tidying up their bunks. Seeing that the carriage had suddenly become cramped, Yu Zhen simply climbed onto his bunk on the right side to make room for them.
Then, Yu Zhen took out a copy of "Story Collection" and casually flipped through it to pass the time.
The two young cadres originally shared the lower bunk.
They were quite polite, and one of them even offered to switch his lower berth with the older passenger.
This little incident made the three-person room instantly warm and inviting.
Listening to their self-introductions, Yu Zhen learned roughly who the three people were.
The older passenger was an electromechanical engineer from Xi'an Aircraft Industry Group, who was sent to Shanghai for exchange and learning by his company.
The identities of the two young cadres surprised Yu Zhen.
They turned out to be from the Shaanxi Provincial Writers Association. Their trip to Shanghai was also to learn from the advanced work experience of their brother organizations. No wonder they both had a pen clipped to their left breast pocket; their professional characteristics were indeed obvious!
As the three chatted and introduced themselves, they naturally noticed Yu Zhen, who was already lying on the top bunk reading a book.
However, I saw Yu Zhen holding a copy of "Story Club" and reading it with great interest.
The two young cadres clearly lost interest in conversation, and even gave each other a slight smirk and a barely perceptible shake of their heads. One of them, whether intentionally or unintentionally, took out a copy of "Poetry Journal" from his briefcase and then raised his voice slightly.
The gist of what he said was that he had several copies of literary journals like "Poetry Journal," which were rich in humanistic spirit, and that retired cadres could borrow them from him at any time if needed.
Yu Zhen could easily tell that what the other person was saying was actually directed at him.
Unfortunately, from the moment it was born, "Story Club" was considered a lowbrow publication, both inside and outside the industry. It was criticized for its vulgar and tasteless content, deemed unsuitable for intellectuals to read.
Yu Zhen remained silent, losing even more interest in conversation.
What else could he say? Was he supposed to introduce himself by saying that his destination in Shanghai was the "Story Club" magazine, and that he had written dozens of cheesy stories that the magazine had picked up?
The person who brought out the Poetry Journal, seeing Yu Zhen's utter incompetence, also lost the desire to get to know him.
The veteran comrade swapped bunks with the other two, and how could he not know the proper etiquette and flatter them? He immediately and sincerely asked for a copy of the Poetry Journal from the other two, and then talked with them with great interest about the poems that had impressed them the most in the recent issues of the Poetry Journal.
"These recent issues of Poetry Journal have featured many excellent works, but the most memorable ones are those by the poet Yu Zhenyu, including three of his poems..."
"Ah, old comrade, you certainly have a good eye! I think so too. My favorite poem by Yu is 'Motherland, My Beloved Motherland.' I wonder which of his poems you like best..."
"My favorite song is 'The Furthest Distance in the World'..."
"Ha, I'm different from you two. My favorite poem is 'Facing the Sea, with Spring Blossoms.' Starting tomorrow, I'll be a happy person, feeding horses, chopping wood, and traveling the world... Stranger, I also wish you well. May you have a bright future, may you and your lover be together forever, and may you find happiness in this world... I only wish to face the sea, with spring blossoms..."
'
Lying on the upper bunk, Yu Zhen casually covered his face with a copy of "Story Club".
The world is vast, but my heart is unattached.
The world is so small, and on my first long journey after transmigrating, I actually encountered a fan of my own poetry.
The young cadres of the literary association who recited his poems seemed to have a desire to subtly influence him with high-quality literary works. After reading one poem, they recited several other poems that he had copied and published in the "Poetry Journal" with even more passionate and enthusiastic emotions.