mesbooks Chapter 18 Artistic Youth
Chapter 18 Artistic Youth
"Sister Xu, this is just a poem that Chen Zhiqing wrote on the spot. Turn it over and let me see the poem he wants to submit to Huacheng."
From the moment Chen Tuo entered, he said he wanted to submit a manuscript to Huacheng.
The chubby girl whom Sun Changkui called "Little Hong" or "Hong Ye" was full of kindness.
Sun Changkui asked for two notebooks of letter paper, but Hong Ye gave him five or six directly.
A4 letter paper isn't cheap; the paper quality is better than many notebooks. A regular one costs five or six cents, and a better one costs eight or nine cents.
Whether it was giving extra letter paper or asking Sister Xu to turn the page, Hong Ye was very confident.
Xu Jie, who was being greeted by her, gave her face and, without caring whether the others had finished reading the "Eight-Cent Oil Coupon," turned the page directly.
"New life! Starting tomorrow, be a happy person, feeding horses, chopping wood, and traveling the world! Ah! What a beautiful poem!"
Upon hearing the phrase "travel the world," Hong Ye immediately declared it a good poem.
Chen Tuo shares the same confidence in this regard.
Hai Zi's "Facing the Sea, With Spring Blossoms" is definitely among the top tier of contemporary and modern poetry.
There are only about a dozen or twenty contemporary and modern poems that people can remember and never forget.
The rest are similar to the "eight-cent stamps" that Chen Tuo pieced together, and it's a matter of personal taste.
Some poems even rely solely on bold language to grab attention, but they cannot withstand close reading.
After praising the first line, Hong Ye quickly read the entire poem, said nothing, and turned to enter the post office warehouse.
When she came out again, she was carrying a whole stack of manuscript paper and holding several brand-new fountain pens.
"Chen Zhiqing, this is some stationery and a pen for you..."
This time, Hong Ye didn't take out letter paper, but rather the manuscript paper used by the post office to record telegrams.
A whole case contains one hundred books.
The post office employees ignored Hong Ye's generosity, focusing instead on the "new life" on the birch bark.
"I have no money!"
"I don't want your money, I just want you to let me go to your educated youth settlement."
Hong Ye's words might be ambiguous later, but at Songling Post Office, no one thought there was a problem.
"Then I definitely can't accept it!"
Seeing Chen Tuo's straightforward refusal, Hong Ye turned to Sun Changkui with a wronged expression.
"Section Chief Sun..."
After calling out to Section Chief Sun, she stared at Sister Xu with her innocent big eyes.
"Section Chief Sun, you asked for the letter paper, and we gave it to you. How can you refuse to accept it?"
Under Hong Ye's gaze, even though she felt a little guilty, Sister Xu still pressed towards Sun Changkui.
Hong Ye's confidence will come in two weeks, on New Year's Day.
After New Year's Day, the other staff at Songling Post Office will all go home to their own families.
Hong Ye will be on duty until April or May of next year.
They would only come over occasionally if there were inspections from higher authorities.
Taking shifts for everyone is both Hong Ye's source of confidence and the reason she can grow into such a chubby girl.
Because everyone else was not working, the subsidies from the forest farm went to her alone.
Hongye has many siblings, so he can work long shifts.
But Sister Xu and the others can't do it; everyone has a large family to take care of.
I don't have to go to work for almost half a year and I can still get paid by the post office. How great is that!
"This... Chen Zhiqing, please accept it!"
Although he knew it was inappropriate, Sun Changkui was also aware of Hong Ye's influence at the Songling Post and Telecommunications Bureau.
She not only covers shifts here, but also shifts at the Songling Town Post Office.
If we really offend this chubby girl, it will be a big problem.
Seeing Sun Changkui's troubled expression, Chen Tuo stared at Hong Ye for a while before smiling and saying:
"Then I'll give you a poem; you can publish it as you please."
After saying that, Chen Tuo didn't care whether Hong Ye agreed or not, and started writing on a piece of paper.
Wildfires are in the distance, and the distance is reflected in your amber eyes.
Silver ornaments from ancient tribes…
Simply change Shuting's name from Hui'an to Evenki.
Chen Tuo then explained the origin of the poem.
"This was written for the educated youth women in the road and bridge construction section. It was a bit feminine, but they left in such a hurry that I never got to give it to them..."
Even after hearing Chen Tuo's explanation, Hong Ye's eyes still held a hint of reproach.
The poem is quite well written, but it always sounds like a love poem he wrote for her.
For about half the year, I spend all my time alone on duty in the Songling area and Songling Town.
Besides radio, Hong Ye's best form of entertainment was reading books and newspapers, especially various literary and artistic periodicals.
She was an educated youth who came to Songling from the provincial capital. Her family was of modest means and she had many siblings.
I heard that she could earn an extra subsidy by working shifts for others. From the time she came to help out at Songling Post Office, everyone helped her become a full-time employee.
Hong Ye never went home, not because she didn't want to, but because her family wouldn't let her.
Her family taught her what reality is.
Therefore, Hong Ye did not refuse Chen Tuo's poem, but instead asked:
"Can I really publish this under my name?"
"Of course it's true. Didn't you see? Of the three poems, this one is the most delicate. It doesn't seem like something I would write..."
The poem was plagiarized, and Chen Tuo felt no psychological pressure or reluctance at all about giving it away.
Poets are romantics and shouldn't care about such mundane matters.
"Thank you, Chen Tuo. I'll visit you at the educated youth settlement..."
After saying that, Hong Ye ignored the frequent winks from Sun Changkui and helped Chen Tuo fill in the address of Huacheng Magazine on the envelope.
Looking at the chubby girl's elegant handwriting and the sparkle in her eyes, Chen Tuo could confirm that she was a young woman with a strong artistic flair.
He took out his neatly arranged savings from his pocket, took out one cent, and placed it flat on the counter.
For some reason, Chen Tuo felt a sour smell emanating from him, thanks to Hong Ye's presence.
"No need, I still have internal communication metrics."
"One thing at a time, I have to pay for the postage myself when submitting my work!"
After saying this, Chen Tuo felt the sourness in his body become even stronger.
There's nothing we can do about it.
He is now dressed in tattered clothes, penniless, and without food in his house; he is indeed poor and destitute.
However, this is only what's happening right now.
If the "eight-cent stamp" could be published and earned a fee.
Although he can't remember many modern poems, he can roughly write down quite a few...
Besides modern poetry, he also wrote "The Story of Fish Digging".
While working last night, he had already decided that he would write one about catching fish, one about wolverines, one about otters, and one about wolf packs.
Based on current royalty levels, earning several hundred or even a thousand yuan a month shouldn't be too difficult.
"Okay! Then you can pay for it yourself."
Smiling to save Chen Tuo's face and pride, Hong Ye slung her shiny braid over her shoulder and asked somewhat nervously:
"Chen Tuo, may I be your first reader?"
Seeing the two start flirting, Sister Xu, who was happy to help Hong Ye settle down in Songling, quickly pulled them over to the telegraph room.
He then gave Sun Changkui a perfunctory explanation of the poem on the eight-cent stamp, saying there was nothing wrong with it.
If Hong Ye can settle down in Songling, then these people will be very fortunate.
If handled properly, they could even not have to go to work for more than half a year...