Chapter 28: Our Yanjing Literature, Thank Your Mother-in-law for the Manuscript (Please Keep Reading)

Bai Ling was the editor in charge of Huang Beijia’s work. She had previously summoned Huang Beijia to the Yanqing Literary Editorial Department for revisions. Their conversations were pleasant, and Bai Ling revealed she had just returned to the city from her time as a sent-down youth in northern Shaanxi.

As luck would have it, Huang Beijia’s roommate, Feng Jiayou, was also a sent-down youth who had returned from northern Shaanxi. Upon inquiry, they discovered not only had they lived in the same commune, but both had served in the Chengjiawan Brigade.

Back then, Bai Ling only learned from Huang Beijia’s words that after Bai Ling had left Chengjiawan to return to the city, Feng Jiayou stayed behind alone at the sent-down youth station and eventually was admitted to Yanqing University. Bai Ling couldn’t help but feel envious at the time.

Although Feng Jiayou was the last to return to the city, she received the best treatment—gaining admission to Yanqing University. The others who had entered university half a year before her, though all in the Yanqing area, had not managed to get into Yanda Shuimu.

Bai Ling’s fate was less fortunate. After returning to the city, her family didn't allow her to sit for the university entrance exam. Instead, she took her mother's place at work and was assigned a position within the Cultural Bureau complex, now serving as a junior editor at Yanqing Literary.

Similarly, Huang Beijia had immediately informed Feng Jiayou that Bai Ling was her editor, which led to Feng Jiayou telling Cheng Xueming that there was a surprise in store.

After all, back in Chengjiawan, Bai Ling had made several attempts to win over Cheng Xueming’s affections. He was, after all, the eldest grandson of the brigade secretary and the favored nephew of the commune cadres; associating with him made workdays much easier.

In fact, Cheng Xueming had looked after both women during their time in Chengjiawan, and Bai Ling still remembered those days fondly.

She even claimed to have written letters to Cheng Xueming?

Really!

He had never once admitted this to her!

Fine, when they got home, she would have to properly interrogate him about that letter!

With this thought, Feng Jiayou saw Bai Ling suddenly mention the pain of her manuscript revisions. Zhang Dening and the others looked at her with surprise, and Feng Jiayou realized that rumors had spread—they had misunderstood!

She quickly clarified, “It’s not that story! ‘The Horseman’ wasn’t written by me. ‘The Horseman’ was written by my husband, Xueming!”

“‘The Horseman’ was written by Cheng Xueming?!” Now it was Bai Ling’s turn to be astonished. “Cheng Xueming, since when did you start writing novels?! I remember you didn’t even finish middle school, right?!”

“Bai Ling, Xueming is actually quite talented. While he didn’t graduate from middle school, during those two years in the county, he learned far more than we did!”

“I got into Yanqing University only because he stayed up late tutoring me. Without him, I wouldn’t have made it!”

Before Cheng Xueming could reply, Feng Jiayou jumped in to explain for him.

Yet the more she tried to help, the more his head spun. Was this the start of some ambiguous drama? What were they trying to do?!

Cheng Xueming swore to the heavens—he truly didn’t know this Bai Ling!

“Really?! Tutoring all night? Why does that sound so bittersweet?” Bai Ling rolled her eyes. She could easily read between Feng Jiayou’s lines.

Her belly was already starting to show; whatever intentions she might have had, it was too late now! Back in Chengjiawan, she never noticed Xueming’s hidden talents.

At that time, according to the city folk, Cheng Xueming was nothing but a street rascal, always up to no good.

How had they changed so much in such a short time?

Bai Ling couldn’t imagine what happened during the period she left Feng Jiayou alone at the sent-down youth station. The transformation was astonishing.

Their marriage didn’t surprise Bai Ling much. After all, because of her background, Feng Jiayou couldn’t take the college entrance exam and returned to the city with no hope, so marrying a local farmer was only natural.

Bai Ling had learned that many female sent-down youths in similar circumstances ended up marrying locals.

But what truly shocked Bai Ling was that Feng Jiayou, who had no eligibility to take the exam, somehow managed to leap straight into Yanqing University.

And Cheng Xueming, an authentic son of northern Shaanxi, was even more remarkable—he had caught the attention of their editor-in-chief, Li Qingquan, with “The Horseman.” It turned out he was the author!

“All right, all right! Bai Ling, you’ve been jealous for days now!” Zhang Dening, upon realizing that this couple were the authors of “The Horseman,” was genuinely surprised.

To think they were Bai Ling’s acquaintances!

Now, she wanted to speak with her authors, but Bai Ling’s endless reminiscing made it impossible to get a word in.

If this continued, her newly discovered promising writer might just be poached!

Taking advantage of the moment, Zhang Dening broke in, teasing, “Dening, won’t you let me enjoy my jealousy for a bit?! I took half a day off that morning and missed out on my old acquaintance’s submission—‘The Horseman’ no less. Tell me, isn’t that a loss?!”

Bai Ling felt she’d missed out. She and Zhang Dening had a clear division of labor: they did preliminary reviews of submissions, alternating single and double days. Whoever discovered a promising manuscript claimed the author as their own.

If a colleague found the author while covering for an absent editor, the credit went to the substitute.

Because Bai Ling’s mother forced her to go on a blind date that morning, she missed the chance, and Zhang Dening found “The Horseman,” which was praised even by the editor-in-chief.

Bai Ling had been jealous for days. Had she not taken leave, “The Horseman” would have been hers!

“All right, all right! You can be jealous for a while longer, but I need to meet with my author now!” Zhang Dening laughed heartily, then turned to Cheng Xueming, teasing, “So, Xueming, are you Xu Lingjun? And Jiayou, you must be his Li Xiuzhi, right?”

With Bai Ling’s loud introduction, Zhang Dening already knew who was who, without the need for introductions.

“Ha ha, Teacher Zhang, nice to meet you. I’m Li Xiuzhi, also known as Feng Jiayou! He is my husband, Cheng Xueming, the author Old Xu of ‘The Horseman’!” Feng Jiayou introduced herself and her husband, showing off their affection.

“Hello, Teacher Zhang. We’re here to revise the manuscript!” Cheng Xueming greeted her as well.

“Hello, hello, please don’t call me Teacher Zhang—I don’t deserve the title! Just call me Dening!” Zhang Dening’s face was tinged with awkwardness as she quickly welcomed the couple. “Come, please sit. Our letter was only sent yesterday; I didn’t expect you to arrive so soon!”

Indeed, she hadn’t expected Old Xu, the author of “The Horseman,” to arrive so quickly. The letter had stated they could come anytime before the twentieth to finalize the manuscript.

“Bai Ling, Bai Ling, stop sulking and please help me pour some hot tea for our guests!” Zhang Dening picked up the kettle, pouring water and asking Bai Ling to take the cups.

“Jiayou, do you still consider me a friend?! You know I work at Yanqing Literary, yet you submitted to Zhang Dening and not me?!”

“I helped you so much in Chengjiawan, and now you break my heart like this?!”

Taking the hot water from Zhang Dening, Bai Ling spoke with a sour tone as she handed it to Feng Jiayou.

“Sister Bai Ling, you can’t blame me for this! He was determined to submit his work, and I only found out today myself!”

“My mother doesn’t know he submitted to Yanqing Literary either. If the manuscript hadn’t been accepted, he wouldn’t know how to explain it to her!”

“By the way, how is the quality of his ‘The Horseman’ manuscript? If it’s just average, maybe you should reject it. Otherwise, he’ll have a hard time explaining to his mother-in-law!”

Women, women, women—please, continue your performance!

Cheng Xueming had originally intended to submit to his mother-in-law’s “October,” but was persuaded to switch to Yanqing Literary. Now, she was acting as though he’d submitted behind her back.

Moreover, Cheng Xueming had wanted to save postage and deliver the manuscript in person, but she insisted on mailing it for the surprise.

Now, it was all Cheng Xueming’s fault—what a woman!

“‘The Horseman’ was written by Gu Xueqing’s son-in-law?! I must call her right away and thank her for recommending the manuscript!”

Suddenly, a female colleague emerged from the inner room, likely having overheard that the author of “The Horseman” had arrived and was eager to share the news.

…