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墨書 Inktalez
After May Day, the weather grew warmer. It had been nearly two months since he sent off that short novella to the Editorial Department of Story Collection, and the initial anticipation had gradually faded with each passing day.
—Perhaps, foresight is just foresight.
Hu Ruoyun's mood slowly settled. He comforted himself with the saying, "The road to success is paved with thorns and twists," but he still felt a twinge of sadness inside.
There’s a saying that "good things come to those who wait," and another that "good things take time." Unexpected good news is what truly counts as a surprise.
Another week passed, and it was Saturday again. With no classes in the afternoon, he only needed to attend two study sessions before heading home for the weekend.
During the second study session, his homeroom teacher, Teacher Wang, burst into the classroom with an excited expression, holding a large envelope. "Hu Ruoyun, this is from the Editorial Department of Story Collection! Open it quickly!"
Seeing his homeroom teacher so flustered caught the attention of all the students who were studying.
Hu Ruoyun had already lost confidence in the outcome of his submission, but this sudden email reignited his excitement.
Such a large envelope could mean two things: either a rejection or a sample copy!
Given that the original manuscript alone took nearly four notebooks' worth of grid paper, Hu Ruoyun couldn't be sure whether this hefty brown paper envelope contained a sample copy or a rejection letter.
He felt his heart pounding in his chest, as if it were about to leap out.
Under Teacher Wang's eager gaze and the watchful eyes of his classmates, Hu Ruoyun struggled to contain his excitement. With trembling hands, he tore open the thick, heavy brown paper envelope.
It was indeed a sample copy!
Three freshly published issues of Story Collection wafted with the strong scent of ink. On the table of contents, under the "Long Serial" section, there it was—Hu Ruoyun's own piece titled Humanity's Forbidden Island!
Teacher Wang reached out and eagerly grabbed a copy, quickly opening it and turning to the corresponding page, reading each word carefully. The surrounding classmates gathered around, vying to snatch the two remaining copies from Hu Ruoyun's hands.
In addition to the three sample issues, there was a page in the envelope with the editor's signature bearing the title "Acceptance Notification":
Comrade Hu Ruoyun: After careful review by the Editorial Department, your work "Humanity's Forbidden Island" has been accepted for publication in our journal, scheduled to be featured over fourteen issues... Here is the first sample issue... The first payment for your manuscript is 57.5 yuan.
...Thank you for your support!
Hu Ruoyun was so overwhelmed by this enormous surprise that he could hardly speak!
Currently, Teacher Wang's salary, including the homeroom teacher allowance, was just over 200 yuan. His monthly cafeteria expenses were less than 5 yuan. Suddenly receiving more than fifty yuan, and potentially continuing to earn this for over a year, added up to over seven hundred yuan!
It’s important to note that in this era, 700 yuan was not comparable to 2000 yuan in the next century. For a high school student, it was an immense sum!
Moreover, and most importantly, this was a "transformation of energy" from his masterpiece in "future time" taking place in this era!
The ability of future works to materialize in this time hinted that his future might not necessarily follow the trajectory he had foreseen—living a life of mediocrity and constant struggle!
If change were possible, wouldn’t his life be more vibrant? Wouldn’t he live with more dignity and meaning?
Riding his bicycle back home, Hu Ruoyun realized that the impact of his published work in "Story Collection" had already spread throughout the village, even more so than at school.
The village's Team Headquarters subscribed not only to "Jiangbei Daily" and "Jinan Daily," but also to popular literature like "Story Collection" (the former subscriptions were mandatory while the latter were imposed by the Post Office as a requirement funded by village public funds).
Whether it was letters or newspapers, the postal workers would deliver to each village once a week. Typically, they would bring letters to the elementary school where teachers would arrange for students to deliver them to recipients and subscribers.
Shao Jianguo, Hu Ruoyun's elementary school teacher, was the first to see Hu Ruoyun's name in the Story Collection. Although he had not yet confirmed that this "Hu Ruoyun" was indeed his former student, he was convinced based on his understanding of her. As a result, all the teachers in the school learned about it, and soon enough, all the elementary students knew as well. When the children went home and mentioned it, most families were informed…
In rural areas at that time, appearing in newspapers or on television was a significant event. Having something they wrote published in a book was even more impressive. Moreover, the teachers said that the magazine would even pay for contributions.
Could one really earn money from writing? This completely changed the villagers' perception.
Suddenly, more people began visiting Hu Qihua's home to chat.
Some asked Hu Ruoyun how much money she made from writing. Others wanted her to teach their children how to "write" or "create stories." There were also those who simply came out of curiosity.
What delighted Hu Ruoyun's mother the most was that someone had come to propose marriage for her son!
It was known that their family was poor, and their son was of average looks. While other peers who weren’t in school were getting engaged, her child was still in high school. Of course, if he could get into college, that would be wonderful; but what if he couldn’t?
With their family's poor conditions and their son's average abilities, finding a wife would be difficult as he got older.
Now, someone had come to propose marriage! This was such good news! They could meet first; if they were compatible, they could get engaged. If he went to college, that would be even better; if not, they could still marry and start a family…
When they heard that their son could earn fifty or sixty yuan a month from writing, Hu Qihua and Zhao Meirong were filled with mixed emotions.
In this household, generations had lived in poverty and illiteracy, struggling to make ends meet. Now their son wasn’t just earning a few dozen yuan; he was changing their fate!
Looking at the people their son knew, he could buy fertilizer without needing to beg for discounts. During the New Year, when the police came to the village to crack down on gambling, every officer appeared fierce—except when the station chief visited their home; he greeted them warmly like an old friend!
Through their son, they saw a bright future and hope.
A week later, Hu Ruoyun finally received a green remittance slip sent from Magic City, amounting to 57.5 yuan. When she went to the Gaoqiao Town Post Office to cash it, a young female staff member in a green uniform, around eighteen or nineteen years old, repeatedly confirmed, "You are Hu Ruoyun?"
It wasn't until Hu Ruoyun took out her student ID and identification card (which had a black-and-white photo at the time, laminated) that the staff member's attitude became warm and friendly. "I often read 'Story Collection.' It's impressive that you can publish your work there! My brother, Mao Jie, also studies at your school. If he had your talent, that would be great!"
Hu Ruoyun knew Mao Jie; he was the class monitor of Class Three in the first year of high school. She had heard that his father was some kind of leader in Gaoqiao Town, and he usually carried himself with a lot of pride at school, rarely interacting with students like Hu Ruoyun who came from the countryside.
Upon hearing that she was Mao Jie's sister, Hu Ruoyun couldn't help but take a closer look at her. There was indeed a resemblance between them; the girl had a healthy wheat-colored complexion, her eyebrows slightly curved downwards as if she were always smiling. Her face wasn't particularly exquisite but had a certain charm, and her postal worker uniform fit her well, giving her an air of confidence.
Hu Ruoyun shyly replied, "I'm just writing randomly! Mao Jie is the class monitor; he studies much better than I do!"
The next day during the long break, Mao Jie casually draped his arm over Hu Ruoyun's shoulder and said, "When are we going to play basketball together?" Hu Ruoyun felt pleasantly surprised by this: "Sure!"
It was clear that his sister had said something to him.
Over the weekend, Hu Ruoyun used her earnings to buy her younger sister Xiao Feng a beautiful hairpin and her younger brother Xiao Hu a new pencil case—the latest model with magnets (her brother was still using an old pencil case that Hu Ruoyun had used during her school days; it was not only chipped but also dented). She also gave each of them fifty cents as pocket money, which made Xiao Feng and Xiao Hu incredibly happy.
"Brother, only one classmate in our class has this pencil case! They won't even let others touch it!" Xiao Hu exclaimed, clutching the pencil case with delight.
"As long as you both study hard, I'll buy you all the stationery you want in the future!"
Hu Ruoyun encouraged her younger siblings.
The world around them was quietly changing.
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