Chapter Fifty: Facing the Sea, with Spring Blossoms
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“Bang!”
One by one, the lights mounted on the iron framework above the auditorium suddenly blazed to life, illuminating the vast sea of people below.
A young female host then stepped forward with a microphone and announced in a clear, ringing voice:
“Good morning, teachers and students!
“I am today’s host, and it is my solemn honor to announce that the First Beijing Normal University Teachers and Students Poetry Competition has officially begun!
“This event has brought together all the poetic talent and inspiration of our university. The finest among us are gathered here today.
“Our outstanding works will receive generous prizes, and some may even be recommended to Poetry Magazine.”
“Clap, clap, clap, clap!”
Endless applause surged in from every direction like waves upon the sea.
As the judging began, everyone below gazed expectantly toward the stage.
The judging process began with the four judges reviewing each poem together. If they considered a work worthy, they would ask the host to recite it aloud before offering their comments and analysis.
Poorly written pieces, or those that were merely doggerel, were skipped outright.
…
As time passed, one beautiful poem after another appeared before the audience.
Onstage, Jiang Ting drew out an envelope. The name that met her eyes belonged to Song Jianchun of Class Two, Chinese Department.
The piece was titled “Spring Rain.”
“Awaken at dawn to crimson, glistening hues… Across the garden, shades both deep and pale; fine threads weave a veil of gauze… The language is plain and fresh. Among the students, this is a fairly good work.”
After reading it, Jiang Ting offered her assessment and passed the poem to Director Fang beside her.
“Hmm. It is well written.” Director Fang nodded after reading it.
Once all four judges had reviewed the poem, they handed it to the host for public recitation and announcement.
“Student category, contestant number twenty: ‘Spring Rain,’ written by Song Jianchun of the Chinese Department… ‘Awaken at dawn to crimson, glistening hues; across the garden, shades both deep and pale; fine threads weave a veil of gauze…’ Score: seventy-eight.”
After that, the pace quickened considerably, with one poem following another.
“Student category, contestant number thirty-seven: ‘The Tree,’ written by Zhao Ruixue… Score: seventy-one.”
“Student category, contestant number fifty-one…”
As the scores and evaluations were announced from the stage, the students and teachers below silently repeated the finest lines in their minds, recording the ones they liked.
Those who received higher scores were especially delighted, among them Song Jianchun and Zhao Ruixue.
“Ruixue! You’re probably going to win a prize! Look—in the student category, you’ve already made it into the top twenty!”
Ji Qinglan had simply written down everyone’s scores in her notebook and even calculated the rankings.
“That’s wonderful.” Zhao Ruixue was overjoyed, though she had not forgotten that Cheng Kaiyan had also submitted a poem. She could not help looking forward to his result.
Lin Xiaohong, sitting beside her, quietly breathed a sigh of relief. When she had learned that the poems would be recited aloud, she had been scared half to death. Fortunately, no one had thought much of the doggerel she wrote; otherwise, she would have been utterly humiliated.
Now, her only remaining task was to accept the prize on Cheng Kaiyan’s behalf.
An hour later.
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“Teacher category… Assistant Song Jianming’s ‘The Canglan River’… Sincere emotion, plain and earnest language… Eighty-five points.”
“Big brother! You have the highest score in the entire competition! First prize is practically yours! You’ll get a television set ticket!”
Song Jianming was visibly excited.
“Haha.”
His square, dignified face was filled with laughter as well. His eyes swept across the auditorium, and he noticed that quite a few students were looking at him with admiration.
Then came the intermission.
Everyone began animatedly discussing which poems were best. Song Jianchun went over to Ji Qinglan and the others to congratulate Zhao Ruixue.
Onstage, Jiang Ting’s gaze passed over a sheet of paper with several spots of grease on its surface. At once, she recalled what Lin Xiaohong had said when collecting the poems that day.
Grease stains?
This must be Kaiyan’s poem!
The fatigue brought on by reading poetry for so long vanished, and Jiang Ting’s spirits suddenly lifted.
She opened the envelope and read:
“Facing the sea, with spring in bloom.
“From tomorrow on, I will be a happy man—
feeding horses, chopping wood, and traveling the world.
“From tomorrow on, I will concern myself with food and vegetables.
“I have a house, facing the sea, with spring in bloom.
“From tomorrow on, I will write to every one of my loved ones…”
The poem’s many layers of sincere feeling touched her heart, and she could not help reciting it softly.
When she finished, astonishment filled Jiang Ting’s eyes. Then she sighed.
“Kaiyan truly is gifted. He’s simply too reserved and low-key… He nearly managed to fool even me. He can write essays and poetry, and he writes both exceptionally well. His character and temperament are excellent too… Xiaoli, it seems you missed out on a fine man.”
“Oh, well. The engagement has already been called off, so why dwell on it? I’ll introduce someone else to Kaiyan after a while… Wasn’t my eldest sister-in-law’s daughter nineteen already?”
Jiang Ting furrowed her brow, already planning to find another girl for Cheng Kaiyan.
After settling on a candidate in her mind, she handed the manuscript to Director Fang.
“Director Fang, please take a look at this one. I think it is extremely good—at least ninety points.”
“Oh?”
Director Fang raised his brows. His gaze fell upon the page, where the name Cheng Kaiyan immediately caught his eye. He froze for a moment, then continued reading.
After a while, he said in some amazement, “This young Comrade Cheng truly is gifted. He has written such a fine poem! Editor Zhou, Xiao Zhao, you two should take a look at this manuscript.”
“Of course, of course!”
“This poem is truly excellent! Especially the opening line—‘Facing the sea, with spring in bloom’…”
After reading it, North Island and Editor Zhou of Poetry Magazine both slapped the table and applauded enthusiastically.
The four judges then handed the manuscript and its score to the host. She read it once, then, visibly excited, raised the microphone and began reciting it to the students in the auditorium.
“Teacher category: Assistant Cheng Kaiyan’s ‘Facing the Sea, with Spring in Bloom’… ‘From tomorrow on, I will be a happy man—feeding horses, chopping wood, and traveling the world…’”
The host’s clear, sweet voice carried an infinite yearning for a beautiful life. Combined with the poem’s extraordinary appeal, it tugged constantly at the hearts of everyone present.
“It’s Teacher Cheng’s poem! It sounds so beautiful.”
Ji Qinglan and Yang Mengshan’s small faces flushed crimson, and they became so tongue-tied that they could barely speak coherently.
If the novella The Submarine at Night had shown these girls that this young man, scarcely older than themselves, possessed talent,
then this poem told them, in the most direct terms imaginable, that his gifts were truly as formidable as the story had described:
“I once possessed talent, but that talent was too powerful!”
“As expected, he’s still dazzling.”
Zhao Ruixue murmured to herself.
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Only Lin Xiaohong sat to one side, wondering whether she would have to go onstage to accept the prize later.
…
“It’s so well written!”
Elsewhere, Song Jianchun continued murmuring to himself after hearing the poem.
Beside him, Song Jianming’s expression had darkened. With his level of literary judgment, he could naturally tell how excellent the poem was. It had completely overwhelmed his own “The Canglan River.”
Whether in the beauty of its language, the depth of its conception, or the profundity of its ideas, it surpassed his work by far.
But what he could not accept was the contrast.
How could a young man who spent every day doing nothing, living an excessively idle life, possess such overwhelming talent?
Song Jianming clenched his teeth. He refused to believe it, and refused even more strongly to believe that he could lose to someone like that.
“How many points?”
Now, all he could do was hope for the score…
The host then announced, “Congratulations to Assistant Cheng Kaiyan, who has received the highest score of ninety-five points!”
Song Jianming’s eyes quickly dimmed. It was not that he could not bear to lose; he simply could not accept being defeated by Cheng Kaiyan, a favored connection he had always looked down upon.
During the prize ceremony that followed, Song Jianming received second prize: a bicycle ticket, two yuan, and several vouchers.
He stood onstage, waiting for Cheng Kaiyan to come up and accept his prize. But Cheng Kaiyan never appeared. Instead, a woman walked onto the stage.
Lin Xiaohong.
“Hehe, thank you, thank you. I’m here to accept the prize on Cheng Kaiyan’s behalf.”
Only then did Song Jianming realize that Cheng Kaiyan had not even bothered to come because he considered the prize beneath him.
Song Jianming’s face shifted from green to white and back again. He stood there in a daze, completely stunned.
Then he overheard Professor Jiang and Director Fang talking.
“Our Kaiyan went to the Fragrant Grass editorial office in River City yesterday to revise his manuscript. He doesn’t even care about a little prize like this.”
“This young Comrade Cheng! So he submitted to Fragrant Grass, one of the Four Little Famous Publications? He certainly knows how to keep his talents hidden. He’s a fine prospect!”
Director Fang pondered for a moment before continuing, “In my view, once Comrade Kaiyan returns, we should make him a permanent employee at once. It would sound unpleasant to say that he was only a temporary worker.”
Upon hearing this, Song Jianming nearly spat up a mouthful of blood. He remembered that it had taken him more than a year to obtain permanent status in the logistics department!
How had Cheng Kaiyan managed it after being there for less than a month?
Song Jianming’s heart was filled with conflicting emotions. He felt an inexplicable fire racing through his chest. Suddenly, his vision went black, and his body toppled stiffly to the ground.
He had fainted from sheer rage!
“Big brother!”
“Quick, save him!”
“What happened to him?”
Lin Xiaohong stood to one side and said faintly, “I suppose he was angered into unconsciousness. He has such a narrow heart. Tsk, tsk.”
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