Chapter 653 - 383: Lecture, Dialogue with Yu Hua (Part 3)

"My studio is recruiting for a copywriting operations position, but I’m not sure if you guys would be interested. The salary won’t be very high, but the workload is light, suitable for a transitional job."

Li Peifeng added, "If you have any suitable classmates, you can help me spread the word."

Shen Liao suddenly realized, "I saw your recruitment post on social media... Hey, doesn’t your studio have a lot of pretty girls?"

Li Peifeng laughed, "Oh, plenty, to the point where there’s more yin than yang. I usually don’t get involved; Wu Wenyue manages things. Recently, she’s been dissatisfied with the copywriting sector, so she thought I could scout some talents from the School of Arts and Sciences. I immediately thought of you two great talents."

"Then I could give it a try, just as an internship, but... talents?"

Shen Liao raised an eyebrow, "Why does that sound like an insult?"

Bai Qingchuan waved his hand, "Mainly because this term shouldn’t come from him. He’s about to have a meeting with Yu Hua. If we’re talents, then what is he?"

Li Peifeng changed the subject, "I’m also a talent. Come on, let’s toast to the three great talents of Bei Hua Teachers College."

The three of them drank quite a bit during hotpot, finishing the bottle of Fenjiu Bai Qingchuan had brought, then ordering another bottle of Luzhou and a case of beer.

Their conversation started with the copywriting job duties that Li Peifeng mentioned, expanded to the whole short video industry, and from the short video industry further into current economic development, historical retrospection discussing literature, and finally politics...

There’s a saying, when men drink and start discussing national affairs, they’ve definitely had too much.

Li Peifeng didn’t seem drunk, but Shen Liao and Bai Qingchuan were a bit tipsy. After the meal, it was already 6:20 PM, and after settling the bill, the three walked back to campus.

"What do you plan to discuss with Yu Hua?"

Shen Liao became a bit verbose, "I actually have a few questions for him, like these famous contemporary writers—can they write anything other than events from special times? They’re writing about the stuff from the 1950s and ’60s and completely ignoring contemporary life, yet shamelessly call it contemporary literature. It should be called interrupted literature. I regret choosing this research direction all the time..."

"Damn it! Can they even dare to write something current? Isn’t the turmoil and conflict of the present era much more intense than those of the past? Brother Feng, you must help me ask Yu Hua."

Bai Qingchuan was even more rebellious, "He doesn’t dare to write, can’t write, and won’t write! This bunch of writers already has a rigid worldview in their minds; all of them just want to use distorted methods to smash good things into pieces in order to be considered grandmasters. They think that not writing about the working people as if they were animals isn’t realism and doesn’t showcase so-called complex human nature."

"’Or look at the emerald orchids on the lan bridge, before the elusive whale in the green sea.’ This poem quite aptly describes them."

After Bai Qingchuan finished, he glanced at Li Peifeng and grinned, "I wasn’t talking about you; at least your writing is novel and interesting. I’ve been subscribing to your ’Sword and Law’."

Li Peifeng laughed heartily, "Thank you for your support, but you two drunks, remember, when the seminar starts, I definitely won’t let you speak."

He still wanted to graduate smoothly, not stirring up trouble by diving deeply into topics like ’literature is dead.’

Because literature has always been a reflection of the era or politics; if you say contemporary literature is dead, or disconnected, or self-indulgent... What on earth are you thinking? I dare not imagine!

"Let’s head out first."

"See you at the meeting."

"Goodbye, goodbye~"

At 6:30, Bai the Warrior and Shen Liao headed to the Student Activity Center, waiting for the seminar to begin.

Meanwhile, one of the guest speakers, Li Peifeng, returned to Zhao Qingge’s office, as it’s not customary for the stars to arrive half an hour early.

Before entering the office, he purposefully washed his face in the restroom to slightly rid himself of the alcohol smell, though Zhao Qingge still noticed, not because of her acute sense, but primarily because Li Peifeng entered and attempted to get close.

"Did you drink?"

"Just a little."

"Nonsense, you’re about to give a speech to the whole school! Could you not respect the occasion?" Zhao Qingge scolded lightly, "Go rinse your mouth; there’s some mouthwash in my bag."

"Just a little, okay."

Li Peifeng obediently rinsed his mouth, then returned to the room to kiss Zhao Qingge, at which point she was less resistant.

However, the two didn’t indulge for long, soon heading downstairs to meet Yu Hua, and together the trio went to the Student Activity Center.

This seminar was quite large, initially set at the school’s best-equipped classroom for 400 people; Jingwen Lecture Hall.

But after deciding on a joint talk by Li Peifeng and Yu Hua, school leaders anticipated more attendees, and thus shifted the venue to the Activity Center, capable of holding 800 people with both online and offline participation.

Offline attendees booked tickets via the school’s public account, while online viewers joined the live stream on the school’s internal website.

The decision was proven correct, as by the time the seminar started, not only was the Activity Center packed, but the school’s live streaming viewer count also hit 5,000.

Combining all undergraduates and graduates from Bei Hua Teachers College, there are only about 20,000 students, so Zhao Qingge’s claim that Li Peifeng would be giving a speech to the entire school was slightly exaggerated, yet not too far off.

"Is it starting?"

"Where’s everyone?"

"There’s still two minutes until seven, don’t rush."

On the stage at the Activity Center, there were three sofas and a round table, with the large screen behind displaying in blue and white: "Yu Hua in Dialogue with Li Peifeng – New Perspectives on Contemporary Literature."