Chapter 21: Submitting the Manuscript

Leaving Donglaishun, Li Yousi still carried the bowl of takeout noodles. He continued, "Does your guesthouse have a curfew?"

Zhang Li shook her head. "No, training hasn't officially started yet. I heard the actors for Daiyu and Baoyu haven't even been cast yet."

The actors for Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu would not be selected until 1984, after the training workshop was established. After all, these two roles were among the most important in the entire novel, and the director was incredibly selective. Although Zhu Biyun had already been confirmed for the role of Xue Baochai, the foolish girl was too focused on romance and blinded by a fascination with things abroad; she eventually followed her boyfriend to the United States, throwing away such a golden opportunity.

In *Dream of the Red Chamber*, whoever played Baoyu or Daiyu was destined to become a star.

"Then let me walk around with you for a bit," Li Yousi said, nodding as he walked alongside her.

After a few minutes of walking north, a grand structure appeared. It was the Zhengyang Gate. As the main southern gate of the inner city of Beijing during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the gate and its watchtower stood in harmony, serving as one of the iconic landmarks of old Beijing. There weren't many tourists about, though there were plenty of elderly locals.

Halfway there, Zhang Li suddenly stopped. She began rummaging through her small bag and pulled out a bundle of wool. Looking a bit nervous, she said, "Last time, you gave me something, and I thought I should return the favor. So, while I was bored at the guesthouse, I knitted this scarf. Would you like to see it?"

"Oh?" Li Yousi was taken aback at first, but quickly took the scarf and wrapped it around his neck, adjusting it slightly.

Zhang Li’s craftsmanship was quite good; the scarf was soft, free of heavy pilling or the prickle of coarse thread, making it very comfortable. "Thank you," he said. "It’s very warm!"

"It's getting late. There probably won't be any buses back if we stay out too long, so I should get going," Zhang Li said with a nod. She led him to the bus stop. After Li Yousi watched her board and wave goodbye, he caught the bus back to his own guesthouse.

Back at the dormitory, Yu Hua was huddled miserably at his desk, gnawing on a flatbread. He sighed, "Ah, youth is a wonderful thing."

As soon as Li Yousi opened the door, Yu Hua immediately asked, "Back already?"

"Yeah," Li Yousi nodded and returned to his seat.

A writer’s observation of life is always meticulous, and Yu Hua clearly noticed the new scarf around Li Yousi’s neck, recalling the young woman who had visited at noon. His suspicions were confirmed—in this day and age, would a woman go out of her way to find you and give you gifts if you were just "friends"?

Yu Hua didn't even believe it himself. "Hey, Comrade Li, that’s not very moral of you."

"What’s the matter?"

"That sweetheart of yours is an actress, right?"

Yu Hua had guessed it in one go; it seemed only fitting that such a young woman would be an actress.

"Well, something like that. She’s at the film studio’s guesthouse; I hear she’s auditioning," Li Yousi replied.

"You’ve kept me in the dark for so long!"

Li Yousi shook his head helplessly and quickly changed the subject. "Alright, enough nonsense. We have to submit our manuscripts in a few days. I see you reading magazines every day—have you finished revising your novel?"

The magazine office clearly held different attitudes toward the works of Yu Hua and Li Yousi. As a young writer, Yu Hua lacked life experience and had a penchant for showing off his techniques, so the quality of his work wasn't exactly top-tier. The novel he was revising, *Stars*, only needed to be finished within a month or two, and there was no fixed publication date—especially since three of his previous short stories had been withdrawn overnight.

Li Yousi’s novel, however, was highly anticipated by the magazine and was required to be a piece of high quality for the December issue. Naturally, the requirements and timelines for their revisions were not the same.

"I only wrote a short story, while you're writing a novella. If anyone should be worried, it’s you!" Yu Hua added, "But Comrade Li, you really are a damn good writer."

Yu Hua knew there was a gap between them, but he wasn't too disheartened. His optimistic nature soon found comfort: there were many writers in the guesthouse just like him, and someone like Li Yousi was truly a rarity.

Li Yousi smiled. "Alright, stop flattering me, Comrade Yu." He lowered his head and began to review his manuscript.

Life in the guesthouse was leisurely, and time flew by. Before he knew it, more than half a month had passed. He still had nearly half of his hundred-thousand-word manuscript left to go.

A benefit of staying at the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles' guesthouse was that it served as a free library, housing not only back issues of *Beijing Literature* but also *Harvest*, *People's Literature*, and more. Spending too much time reading novels, however, naturally led to procrastination.

With his pen scratching across the pages, Li Yousi revised his novel with focus, caring only about satisfying the magazine's editors so the work could be published. In the evening, the two simply heated up some leftovers before returning to their work.

Over ten days later, on the morning of the 25th, Zhou Yanru knocked on their dormitory door on time. Li Yousi, having maintained a habit of early rising from his time in the art troupe, opened the door immediately.

The older woman looked at him and said, "Comrade Li, you're up early." She glanced back at Yu Hua, who was still asleep, and sighed, "This young comrade certainly loves to sleep."

"Ms. Zhou, you're here for the manuscript, aren't you?" Knowing her purpose, Li Yousi immediately handed the pages over from his desk.

"Is it finished?" she asked.

"I finished it just last night. I was about to bring it to you." In truth, he had finished it long ago, but he decided to stay until it was ready to leave, given the two-yuan daily subsidy.

Zhou Yanru took the manuscript and said, "Let me take a look." She led Li Yousi toward the office of the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles, where many of the core staff of *Beijing Literature* magazine worked. She sat down at a desk and added, "Your novel is scheduled for finalization by the end of this month."

It was already November 25th, leaving only five days. As for the publication date of *Beijing Literature*, it was usually around the 20th of the month, meaning Li Yousi’s work would appear in the December 20th issue.

This was a fast turnaround; he had only submitted the manuscript in October, and it would be published in just two months.

"Don't be too anxious. I’m just checking to see if your first revision is qualified... though looking at your quality... it seems my concerns were unnecessary."