Rebirth of the courtyard, the start is 80s

On the National Day of May [-]st, at nine o'clock in the morning, Cao Zhiqiang in a suit and He Yuzhu in a Chinese tunic stood together at the gate of a courtyard, and at the same time pulled down a hanging red rope.

As the red rope is pulled down, a plaque covered by red silk reveals its true body - food is the sky!

At the moment when the plaque revealed its real body, firecrackers blared, gongs and drums blared, lion dancers, stilt walkers, and yangko performers all entered the arena, and many spectators applauded and shouted together. It was a lively scene.

Well, this lively scene is the opening ceremony of a restaurant, and the name of this restaurant is called Shiweitian, which is a restaurant jointly opened by Cao Zhiqiang and He Yuzhu.

Of course, it was said that it was a partnership, but it was actually Cao Zhiqiang's own money. He Yuzhu only paid for it personally, and got a little dry stock. In fact, [-]% of it was Cao Zhiqiang's personal money.

As for this restaurant, Cao Zhiqiang bought a courtyard house along the street from a family surnamed Ma before, and then spent a lot of money to invite people from the Peking Design Institute to do some decoration. It officially opened on National Day.

As for the name "Food is the sky", of course Cao Zhiqiang came up with it, which means "food is the sky for the people".

Of course, this is the interpretation of the third uncle. In fact, when Cao Zhiqiang chose this name, he didn’t think so much at all. He just thought of a TV series he had watched in his previous life. It was also catchy, so I borrowed it directly.

Not to mention, after the name was chosen, it was really good. Anyway, He Yuzhu nodded in praise.

After that, Cao Zhiqiang and He Yuzhu found the leader, Uncle Xu, and asked him to write the three characters "Food is the sky" with a brush, and then asked someone to make a plaque.

I asked Uncle Xu for an inscription, not because his handwriting is the best, but because of his identity.

Of course, if Uncle Xu is still in office, this is of course inappropriate, but coincidentally, on the eve of the opening of the restaurant, that is, at the end of April, Uncle Xu abdicated himself on the grounds of feeling unwell.

Now that he has abdicated, Uncle Xu is just a retired old man on the surface, so it's no problem for a retired old man to write an inscription.

There is another episode here, which is the reason why Uncle Xu abdicated.

Externally, Uncle Xu abdicated on the grounds that he was old, frail and unwell. After all, he was over sixty, and this reason was reasonable.

But in fact, retirement at the age of 60 is the rule for ordinary cadres and workers, and at the level of Uncle Xu, he actually has no clear retirement age.

Generally speaking, under the age of 68, leading cadres like Uncle Xu do not need to retire at all.

Even at the age of 68, as long as the physical condition meets the standard, you can continue to work, and you can continue to work until you are 70 years old.

In other words, the general retirement age for people like Uncle Xu is around 70 years old. In fact, if you want to continue working, you can stay at 70 years old. No one will force you to retire.

Others don't know about Uncle Xu's physical condition, but Cao Zhiqiang is well known, because he spares time every week to give Uncle Xu and Uncle Wang a massage.

There are top-level Chinese massage techniques given by the system. Although it cannot bring the dead back to life, it is still possible to maintain health.

Anyway, since Cao Zhiqiang gave Uncle Xu and Uncle Wang regular massages, the health of these two elderly people has improved significantly.

Especially some of the original leg and foot problems, as well as some problems of mental weakness and neurasthenia, have been significantly improved, which is one of the reasons why the two uncles like Cao Zhiqiang more and more.

Uncle Wang didn't mention it, he is now a high-ranking and powerful person, and he can't do without him for the time being, and he can't retire.

But Uncle Xu is different. He has already been in retirement status, and he is still the top leader in name, but he has already delegated power to his deputy.

But in theory, Uncle Xu can continue to work. As long as he is still in power, he still has the final say on many powers.

However, Uncle Xu still resolutely chose to retire completely.

Cao Zhiqiang asked the reason in private, and Uncle Xu said clearly that the reason why he chose to abdicate early was to make way for reform.

It turned out that by the early 80s, many state-owned enterprises had already struggled to the point where they could not do without reform.

The difficulty here is not only a simple market problem, but also a lot of problems in the factory itself.

For example, the disadvantages of overstaffing, eating big pots of rice, etc., have been revealed during this period.

Back then, people could still use patriotic enthusiasm and other support, but as time went by, those things became less and less effective.

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The most fundamental reason is the overall backwardness in technology and system.

Technological backwardness cannot be corrected immediately, but institutional backwardness can be corrected sooner.

Uncle Xu himself is the benchmark of the old era. Many factory directors in those days were preserved by Uncle Xu, and they did make powerful contributions to industrial development.

However, until now, Uncle Xu has become a roadblock to reform.

Because many of the factory directors and secretaries in those days are old now, many of them are antiques and refuse to change, and they all have Uncle Xu as their backing, and they always look to Uncle Xu as a banner to resist reform.

Uncle Xu knew that this situation was difficult to deal with, so he simply put himself in a semi-retired state to support those reformers. Now, when he found that many people came to him, he simply retired.

Once he retired and stepped down from his original position, those old subordinates would no longer be able to ask him for help.

At least, he had reason to shirk.

At the same time, he abdicated early, and the newcomers would like him, so why not do it.

All in all, Uncle Xu's early retirement can be said to be for the good of the country and to make the reform of the enterprise go more smoothly.

Without Mr. Xu, many corporate reforms, such as some rectification and mergers and acquisitions, can proceed smoothly.

Among other things, factories like the Hongxing Steel Rolling Plant in Beijing can be merged into Shougang smoothly.

In the same way, without the backing of Uncle Xu, a unit like Hongguang Machinery Factory would really have to rely on itself, and would no longer be able to get help.

But no matter what, although Uncle Xu has abdicated, his prestige is still there, and many people will still listen to what he says.

So asking Uncle Xu to write the inscription itself means that this "food is the sky" has been coated with a layer of gold.

Don't talk about anything else, let's just talk about the major units related to the metallurgical department in the capital. In the future, if you treat guests to dinner or something, can you not come here?
It can be said that with these three inscriptions, Cao Zhiqiang can give Uncle Xu a stake.

In fact, Cao Zhiqiang did mention that he would give shares to cadres, but unfortunately Uncle Xu insisted on not wanting it, not even money, and said that if it was about money and shares, he would not write the inscription.

According to Uncle Xu, he knew the meaning of Cao Zhiqiang asking him to write the inscription, and the reason why he was willing to help him with this inscription was because he valued Cao Zhiqiang and wanted to help as much as possible.

As for money or not, he has no shortage. After all, his pension is very high, and he also has various benefits for retired high-ranking officials, so he doesn't need much money at all.

What he wants is the prosperity of the country and the well-being of the people. What he wants is the prosperity of the country and the nation, and the strength of industry and agriculture.

Anyway, Uncle Xu really has lofty intentions and is not out of the ordinary.

Although Uncle Xu was willing to write an inscription, Cao Zhiqiang didn't show off everywhere, and he didn't use Uncle Xu's name to publicize it everywhere. He just put up a plaque in a low-key way.

According to Cao Zhiqiang, this plaque is just a low-key amulet, not something to show off and attract distinguished guests.

He Yuzhu also agreed to do so, so he didn't publicize the plaque everywhere.

Therefore, there are very few people who know the inscription of this plaque.

If it wasn't for this, I'm afraid there will be more than these people at today's opening ceremony, and there must be more high-ranking officials and dignitaries coming to join us.

But because Cao Zhiqiang and He Yuzhu didn't publicize the real identity of the inscriber of the plaque in advance, and Uncle Xu himself didn't come, so many relevant leaders didn't know about it, so naturally they didn't come to join in.

However, even without the blessing of Uncle Xu's golden body, Cao Zhiqiang's own name alone is enough.

Cao Zhiqiang is now at least the senior leader of a large state-owned enterprise and the head of a state-owned publishing house. In the boundary of the capital, he can be regarded as a small power at any rate.

Coupled with the blessing of the famous poet's name, it still attracted many people.

Secretary Dong and Director Li of Hongguang Machinery Factory, as well as some senior cadres and leaders of the factory, basically all came.

In addition, most of the employees of Hongguang Publishing House, the editor-in-chief and deputy director of the Poetry Magazine, and several hosts of the TV station, such as Chen Duo and Hong Yun, as well as several editor-in-chiefs, reporters, editors, etc., all came. Come on.

What Cao Zhiqiang didn't expect was that some literati and poets whom Cao Zhiqiang didn't have much contact with usually, such as the vice chairman of the Chinese Writers Association, would come to congratulate without invitation.

This caught Cao Zhiqiang a little by surprise, because he never thought that so many poets and literati would come to seek friendship with him.

In fact, this is the problem of cognitive bias.

In fact, although Cao Zhiqiang has always considered himself a layman and a businessman, in fact, in the eyes of outsiders, he has only one label, that is, a poet.

If there was one more thing to add to this label, it would be literati.

Yes, although Cao Zhiqiang never regarded himself as a poet, literati or writer, in fact, with the popularity of the authentic poetry anthology "The Farthest Distance in the World" and the later best-selling remake "Journey to the Rivers and Lakes", Cao Zhiqiang is a new and cutting-edge writer. The status of young poets is already a certainty.

Whether it's the first set of "The Farthest Distance in the World" or the later set of "Journey to the Rivers and Lakes" with additional additions, it is indeed a classic in terms of poetry level.

Especially the later poem "Journey to the Rivers and Lakes", that is, the poem "The world is born of my generation, once I enter the rivers and lakes, the years remind me", it is highly respected, and even set off a new climax of young people's pursuit of martial arts .

If it weren't for the fact that there is still a ban on martial arts in China at this time, prohibiting the publication of martial arts novels, martial arts novels may have been flooded long ago.

Among other things, at least in the field of poetry, or new poetry, Cao Zhiqiang is now a banner figure in China, and even far surpasses the older generation of poets in terms of popularity.

No way, who made Cao Zhiqiang's poems more easy to understand, but the artistic conception is equally good.

Don't talk about rivers and lakes, just talk about seeing and seeing, and the farthest distance in the world. Only these three poems can establish Cao Zhiqiang's status as the strongest new poet.

That is to say, there is no first place in literature, and there is no ranking of poets in China.

If there is really a ranking now, and if it is ranked by popularity, then with Cao Zhiqiang's current reputation, it will definitely be the number one.

However, this fermentation is a long-term process, and people in the early 80s were not so fanatical about star chasing, especially the pursuit of poets, which is different from the fanaticism of chasing idols, so Cao Zhiqiang didn't feel deeply.

As for other literati, they are relatively conservative. Even if they want to make friends with Cao Zhiqiang, they must always be reserved.

Usually, Cao Zhiqiang doesn't take part in many literati activities, such as this poetry salon and that poetry tea party, which naturally reduces the opportunities to make friends with other literati.

Frankly speaking, it's not that no one has sent invitation letters to Cao Zhiqiang for related activities. Unfortunately, Cao Zhiqiang accepted the invitation letters, but he himself refused to go.

Because Cao Zhiqiang was too busy, he didn't have time to attend the symposium organized by a group of literati.

And he was also afraid of revealing his secrets, if he exposed his lack of knowledge, he would be laughed at by others.

After all, Cao Zhiqiang's status as a poet was obtained through plagiarism. In terms of real knowledge, he must be different from a serious poet and cultural person.

Sit with them and talk about it, and you will show your timidity after a few words.

Of course, even if he didn't show his cowardice, Cao Zhiqiang wouldn't go, because he didn't think it was a good opportunity at all, and thought it was a waste of time.

If you have that kind of effort, you might as well sleep at home for a while, or plagiarize a few pop songs.

Cao Zhiqiang has never been in contact with mainstream poets, and everyone didn't mind at first, but as Cao Zhiqiang's status in the poet world is getting higher and higher, many people have to pay attention to him again.

There is no way, with the current atmosphere, at least in the poetry world, it is impossible not to pay attention to Cao Zhiqiang.

There are even rumors that some middle school Chinese textbooks are planning to include some of Cao Zhiqiang's essays in textbooks, making them compulsory poems for middle school students.

I don't know if the rumor is true or not, but the meaning is obvious anyway, that is, Cao Zhiqiang's works are becoming more and more influential, and have even broken the circle. They are not only popular in China, but have completely gone abroad, becoming popular in overseas Chinese circles.

It is said that there is already a pirated book about "The Farthest Distance in the World" in Xiangjiang, and the name of the poet Qiangzi has gradually exploded in overseas Chinese circles.

It's just that these news are all popular in the literati circle, and Cao Zhiqiang didn't get involved, so it's a little belated.

Of course, if it was just like this, Mr. Jiang, the vice chairman of the Writers Association, would not condescend to come to him on his own initiative.

In fact, there is a university in Xiangjiang, and it has decided to invite Cao Zhiqiang to give a speech.

Just because of some political and other reasons, the University of Hong Kong did not officially send out an invitation letter, but only asked Cao Zhiqiang verbally through Mr. Jiang, the vice chairman of the Writers Association.

According to Vice Chairman Jiang, as long as Cao Zhiqiang agrees, the University of Hong Kong will officially send an invitation letter to Cao Zhiqiang, inviting him to give a speech.

At the same time, the round-trip fare, as well as the accommodation fee, are also covered by the University of Hong Kong.

In other words, as long as Cao Zhiqiang agrees, there will be no problem in terms of back and forth expenses, and there will even be a lot of speaking allowances.

"Really, am I really so famous now?"

Cao Zhiqiang, who was about to greet the guests, was stunned after hearing what Uncle Jiang, the vice chairman of the Writers Association, said.

"You mean, Xiangjiang University actually plans to invite me to give a speech to college students? Or is it paid? Is it true or not?"

"Of course it's true." Mr. Jiang smiled, "I'm an old man, can I still lie to you?
However, they considered your current status and the current situation of the two places, so they didn't send you an invitation letter hastily, they just asked you through me first.

If you are really interested, they will formally send you an invitation, if not, forget it. "

Cao Zhiqiang thought about it, and finally decided to refuse.

Because although the honor of Xiangjiang University's speech is good, at this sensitive moment, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.

What's more, his most important job now is to make records, so he doesn't have so much time to go to Xiangjiang to talk about modern poetry to a group of students.

He could imagine that with the current atmosphere, once he went to Xiangjiang University to give a speech, he probably wouldn't be able to speak much. Instead, he would be asked malicious questions, and then guided by various malicious intentions to use his reputation to discredit the inland.

Although this is just Cao Zhiqiang's personal guess, it should be more or less the same.

Once you do that, your reputation will be over, at least in mainland China.

"What, refuse, have you thought about it?" Mr. Jiang frowned, "This is going to Xiangjiang University to give a speech. This kind of honor and opportunity doesn't come around all the time. Most people don't even dare to think about it. You just So rejected? Don't think about it anymore?"

"I understand the truth." Cao Zhiqiang smiled, "However, besides being a poet, I am also the president of a state-owned publishing house and the general manager of a record company.

I'm so busy now that I don't have time to give lectures at Xiangjiang University.

What's more, I'm just a person who didn't graduate from high school. With my current education background, if I give a speech to college students, isn't that nonsense?

So, kindly accept it. "

"Are you sure you don't want to go?" Mr. Jiang asked again.

"Affirmative and affirmative!" Cao Zhiqiang nodded with a smile, "If you don't want to go, you won't go, you can just reply like this!"