Backtracking to the Age of Literature and Art

Chapter 225 Novelists?
In fact, the wine for lunch was much better than Yu Dong imagined.

Yu Dong drank one and a half cups of Erliang, and felt a little dizzy, so he didn't dare to drink any more. The old man only said, "Drink more slowly next time."

Later, Yu Dong deeply realized the profound meaning of this sentence.

The couple of the Cheng family drank in a very rhythmic manner. At the beginning, they settled down quickly in twos and threes, and then slowed down, eating and chatting, and Yu Dong was also chatting with them.

The old man usually doesn't talk much, but after drinking a little wine, the chatterbox opens up and he becomes more talkative.

But he was not drunk, and he didn't say a word of drunkenness. It seemed that wine was a catalyst for him, and he could urge a lot of words after drinking a glass.

After drinking half a catty, the old man probably got a little drunk, and started talking about the past.

As soon as the old lady heard him recall the past, she joked, "I'm bragging again."

In fact, it is not bragging, he just talked about his previous school experience.This study experience shocked Yu Dong. The old man graduated from the Department of Mathematics of Zhejiang University in 42, and then worked as a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics of Zhejiang University and Yanda University. A few years later, he got a scholarship and went to Princeton to obtain a Ph. Postdoctoral research work for a period of time.

He only talked about studying, not about returning to China.

But according to his education and qualifications, he should be a big boss in Yanda now.

When he was drinking seven or eight taels, the old man stopped and poured wine for Cheng Liye with the bottle, and finally the two shared the two bottles of wine.

I drank a meal for more than an hour, and it was not over yet. After drinking, we chatted for a while, and the whole meal ended for nearly two hours.Moreover, this old man is really good at drinking. He is in his 70s. After drinking seven or eight taels of wine, he is a little drunk, but he is in good condition.

Mr. Cheng also has a theory of drinking, called the "Golden Ratio of Alcohol Capacity".

He said that if a person happens to be drunk after drinking a catty of wine, then the most comfortable time is to drink 0.618 catties.

Yu Dong shouted that he has learned a lot. It turns out that mathematicians are so particular about drinking.However, he does not agree with this theory, mainly because the state of "drunkness" is not easy to define.

Do you get drunk when you vomit, or do you get drunk when you drink fragments?
In addition to the golden ratio of alcohol intake, the old man also has a theory of "wine quality judges character".

"It is said that wine quality is like character. I agree with this. But wine quality is not the same as alcohol capacity. It is better to drink more wine. If you can't drink, you can admit that your alcohol capacity is not enough. This is honesty .Drinking with people, trying to do your best to have fun with them is called loyalty. If you can’t drink but want to drink, you end up making yourself ugly. How much, but don't know how to refuse, this is called honesty. Being able to hold on and not drink too much under the pressure of high-ranking people is called upright..."

Yu Dong agrees with Mr. Cheng's theory.However, this theory is basically feasible when applied to other small things, but the old man loves to drink, and he used wine as a carrier to explain the truth.

In the afternoon, the four elders gathered a table of mahjong, and Yu Dong and Cheng Yanqiu watched TV in the living room.

Playing mahjong together as a family is also a good thing, and they often bicker, especially Mr. Cheng, who counts cards very well and uses probability theory to play mahjong. Once Cheng Liye plays a wrong card, he will be baptized by a wave of probability theory.

Yu Dong couldn't help asking Cheng Yanqiu, "Is your grandfather not satisfied with your father studying Chinese?"

"No, it was the Chinese department that my grandfather asked my dad to study."

"Ah?" This is completely different from what Yu Dong thought, "Your grandparents are all engaged in mathematics, why did you let your dad study Chinese?"

"Because of my great-grandfather, my grandfather always hoped that my dad would also be a novelist, so he was asked to study in the Chinese Department, but he didn't expect that after studying the Chinese Department, my dad would stop writing novels." Cheng Yanqiu said.

"Your grandfather doesn't know much about the Chinese department... Hey, you said that because of your great-grandfather, your grandfather wanted your father to also be a novelist. Does that mean your great-grandfather is a novelist?" Yu Dong asked.

"Yes, my great-grandfather is Cheng Zhanlu, don't you know?" Cheng Yanqiu asked with a strange expression, "Didn't Uncle Wu tell you?"

"Cheng Zhanlu?" Yu Dong patted his head: "No."

There are not many handed down works of Cheng Zhanlu, but he was very active in the literary world in the 30s and [-]s, and most of his writings were witty and interesting chapter novels.

You can still often see his books in the old bookstores in Shanghai.

Yu Dong would never have thought that Cheng Yanqiu's great-grandfather was actually Cheng Zhanlu, but he was relieved that at least Grandpa Cheng Yanqiu would not have any objections because he was from the Chinese Department.

Even with a turning point, his status as a writer can still add points to the old man.

Speaking of which, his experience is somewhat similar to that of Grandpa Cheng Yanqiu.Cheng Zhanlu was a teacher at the beginning, and later he wrote novels full-time after earning money.

Dinner at night is simpler, no alcohol.

After eating, Yu Dong left.Cheng Yanqiu was going back to school, so he followed suit.

After the two of them left, Chen Yuqing shook her head, "Oh, the girls are not allowed to stay."

Cheng Liye smiled and said: "That's why I said you are a contradictory body. You were afraid that she would become an old girl every day, but now you are talking about the female university."

Chen Yuqing rolled her husband's eyes, "My daughter has been raised so big, can't I say a few words?"

Turning around, she asked her in-laws again, "Dad, Mom, what do you think of Yu Dong's child?"

The old lady said with a smile: "It's good, it's good, it looks good and has a good temper."

"Dad, what do you think?"

The old man put his hands behind his back and said, "I'm not able to drink, but everything else is good."

Chen Yuqing and Cheng Liye looked at each other, both holding back their smiles, the couple knew the old man very well, he could say that, and his evaluation was already very high.

In fact, Cheng Liye was not surprised at all, because Yu Dong had a unique advantage - he was a writer.

Also a well-known writer.

The old man hoped that Cheng Liye would become a writer back then, but unfortunately he failed in the end. Now that a grandson-in-law of a writer has come, it means that his expectation has been fulfilled in disguise. Of course he is happy.

"Liye, do you have Yu Dong's works here?" the old man asked.

"Yes, his novels are basically published in "Zhong Shan" and "Harvest"."

"These two magazines, I haven't read them for a long time... Let's go to the study, find out his works, and I'll take a look."

"Look now? Didn't you say to play mahjong for a while?"

"You are addicted to cards." The old man glared at Cheng Liye and walked towards the study, "Come on, let's go to the study."

Cheng Liye followed behind, shaking his head and sighing, it seems that the dozen or so dollars he lost this afternoon will not be recovered.

(End of this chapter)