The judges were still very nervous.

Among the more than 20 judges on the jury, except for a few old comrades who are over seventy years old and only show up at Xiaoliubukou Hutong every two days due to lack of energy, the other judges spent most of their time during this period.

Here it is.

This includes Li Tuo.

He made his debut by writing novels in his early years, and later wrote movie scripts, film reviews and literary reviews. Over the years, he has only had few masterpieces, but has done a lot of things.

To sum up, it is easy to understand everything and loosen everything.

Of course, what he means by "loose" is that compared with those first-class writers, to be honest, Li Tuo's creative ability is quite good, otherwise he would not have won the national award, and he has been highly praised by colleagues in the literary world for so many years.

.

He is a person who loves fun and new things, so he is even more attentive to the evaluation work of the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award.

He stayed in the west courtyard of Xiaoliubukou Hutong for six and a half days out of seven days a week.

Every day I am either reading, writing reviews, or discussing my works with the judges. My performance is a model worker.

It was only after lunch on Sunday that he would go home in his big 28 in the direction of Dongdaqiao.

After staying at home all night, I would go to Xiaoliubukou Alley to report for work the next morning.

After the first round of voting by the jury ended, the judges felt a lot more relaxed.

The quality of these 15 submitted works (parts) has been unanimously recognized by everyone. The best ones are selected. No matter which one (part) the result is, it is worthy of one's own conscience.

Moreover, after more than half a month of reading and discussion, the judges have already had an in-depth understanding of these works. The next thing everyone has to do is to weigh their own opinions and cast their precious vote in the end.

On the weekend after the first round of voting, the atmosphere in the West Courtyard of Xiaoliubukou Hutong became relaxed again.

After a lively lunch, Li Tuo said hello to his colleagues, got on his bicycle and headed to the East Bridge.

When I got downstairs, I met my neighbor who had returned from "fighting".

"Hey! Lao He, what did you buy here?"

"Rice, soybean oil, washing powder, toilet paper." Lao He has achieved fruitful results.

In the years when single holidays were implemented, Sunday had a unique name: Fighting Sunday.

All the family affairs that have been accumulated throughout the week must be completed on this only day off. It will not work if it is not solved quickly with the thunder of battle.

Li Tuo chatted enthusiastically with Lao He for a few words, then went upstairs and knocked on the door.

"Why did you come running here?"

The person who opened the door to Li Tuo was Zheng Wanlong.

"Waiting for you!"

Zheng Wanlong knew that Li Tuo would go home every weekend afternoon, and the two were talking. When Li Tuo entered the room, he did not see his wife Zhang Nuanxin, but saw Liu Heng, and his expression suddenly dropped.

"What are you doing? You want me to make a mistake?"

Liu Heng's "Food for Dog Days" was nominated for the Zhuang Chongwen Literature Award. According to the principle of avoidance, Li Tuo, as a judge, will definitely not have contact with him during this period.

Zheng Wanlong smiled and said: "Oh, it's not as serious as you said! We are not here to treat guests to dinner.

Those who are looking for you to canvass votes are actually asking for help."

Li Tuo snorted coldly, "Don't expect to eat for free. I'll be back after eating."

"Why don't you give me some noodles?"

Li Tuo didn't answer his words and asked, "Where's Nuan Xin?"

"She was about to go shopping when we came.'

Li Tuo said nothing more and ran to the public kitchen to serve Zheng Wanlong and Liu Heng a bowl of noodles. There were also two poached eggs in the pot.

While waiting for the noodles, Liu Heng winked at Zheng Wanlong. Zheng Wanlong opened his mouth several times, but seeing Li Tuo's attitude of not wanting to eat anything, he finally did not speak.

"Bring me the bowl."

Li Tuo gave instructions, and Liu Heng quickly took two bowls. Li Tuo put the chopped green onions into the bowls, and added some soy sauce, salt and MSG into them.

After the noodles are ready, reserve a ladle of soup before serving the noodles.

"Eat!"

Li Tuo brought the bowl to the two of them, and Zheng Wanlong and Liu Heng held the bowls in their hands and started to grumble.

Halfway through eating, Zheng Wanlong revealed his face from the bowl and asked casually: "Are you quite busy with the selection work?"

"Yeah." Li Tuo snorted in reply.

"Being a judge will make you look good!" Zheng Wanlong said sarcastically.

Li Tuo glanced at him sideways and said, "Don't be careless with me. How can I not know about your little thoughts?"

Liu Heng said with a sad face: "Master Tuo, it's not Wan Long's fault for this. I had to beg him to come to you. Originally, I didn't want to win the prize, but I can't stand the uproar that's being spread outside now!"

"

The shortlist for the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award is not a secret. After all, it is handled by a group of college students. Many people have heard about it without even asking.

It was under such circumstances that Liu Heng heard that his "Food for a Dog's Day" had been shortlisted for the Best Short Story Award.

"Yeah, Liu Heng can't sleep all night now, for fear that he will miss the 100,000 yuan grand prize!"

Zheng Wanlong's last hit drew Liu Heng's dissatisfied look, and he changed his words: "What is that--such an important honor!"

"It should be yours but it can't run away. It shouldn't be yours. It's useless to pray to God or Buddha."

Li Tuo's face was solemn, with a sense of selflessness. This expression made Zheng Wanlong and Liu Heng feel strange.

Is this still the Tuoye they knew?

"You can't stand and talk without pain in your back! If Liu Heng knew the result and took care of the good or bad, he would be at ease.

"Don't say that the results haven't come out now. Even if the results come out, I can't tell you. You have to wait for the jury to announce it. This is a matter of principle."

Listening to Li Tuo's words, Liu Heng's eyes moved, "The results haven't come out yet?"

Li Tuo knew he had made a mistake, and no matter how guided Zheng Wanlong and Liu Heng were, he stopped talking about the selection.

After grinding for more than ten minutes, seeing that Li Tuo was determined not to reveal any information, Zheng Wanlong looked complicated and sighed, "Master Tuo, you have changed!"

Li Tuo's face turned serious, "Don't play the emotional card, it's useless!"

Zheng Wanlong gave up completely and said to Liu Heng: "Let's go! He is now the judge, and he is not of the same class as us."

Liu Heng looked slightly disappointed and was about to leave with Zheng Wanlong.

Before going out, Zhang Nuanxin happened to come back with something. They said hello and the two left.

After the two left, Zhang Nuanxin said that several groups of people had come to look for Li Tuo at home this week.

He shook his head helplessly, he was probably here to get some news.

Li Tuo didn't give any gifts, as he thought that the environment for literary awards at this time was not that bad.

The couple was cleaning up the housework while chatting about what happened at home and work this week. Not long after, there was another knock on the door.

Zhang Nuanxin opened the door and ushered in a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a Chinese tunic suit. When he saw Li Tuo, he smiled with a humble attitude.

Li Tuo recalled for a while and then remembered that this was a member comrade of the Yanjing Literary and Art Association.

In any unit, organization or institution, there are explicit or implicit levels or hills.

In the Yanjing Literary and Art Association, Li Tuo belongs to the top of the food chain.

Even though he has published very few works now, he has a higher status in the Yenching Literary Association than ordinary association members because of his past achievements, wide acquaintances, and his position as deputy editor of "Yenjing Literature".

The visitor's name was Lu Junfeng, and Li Tuo called him "Comrade Junfeng." After chatting for a while, Li Tuo asked: "Comrade Junfeng is here today..."

Lu Junfeng said with some embarrassment: "I came here today on the request of a friend. He heard that his work was shortlisted for the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award, and he wanted to ask me to ask if this is the case."

Hearing this, Li Tuo frowned, "This--"---I'm afraid I can't answer you. Before the results of the awards are announced, we cannot reveal any information about the nominated works."

Lu Junfeng looked pleading, "Don't get me wrong, my friend doesn't expect to win the award, he just wants to know if his work is shortlisted. You should also understand that for amateur writers like us, it is already an honor to be nominated.

"

Seeing Lu Junfeng's humble attitude, Li Tuo couldn't bear it, but he still said: "It's not that I'm unreasonable, the confidentiality system of the jury is indeed relatively strict.

If your friend just wants to know whether he has been shortlisted, he can wait until the awards are over and get this information through the local literary association.

At this time, it is really not convenient for me to disclose any information."

Lu Junfeng wanted to chat a few more words, but Li Tuo had already stood up to see off the guests.

He finally argued: "My friend's surname is He, and his novel was published in Jiaodong Literature."

Li Tuo was slightly startled when he heard this information. He just shook his head and sent Lu Junfeng away.

After the other party left, he sighed.

It's not that he looks down on "Jiaodong Literature", but one of the cruelest realities in the literary world is that good manuscripts are always monopolized by prestigious journals.

In an important awards event like the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award, the vast majority of nominated works come from first-tier literary magazines such as Harvest, People's Literature, October, Contemporary, and Flower City.
To be continued...