Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 465 464 The first draft of "White Deer Plain" is completed

Lu Yaoxing hurried back home, walked into his study, made a cup of strong tea, lit a cigarette, and immediately began to revise the novel.

What Fang Minghua said made sense. I was indeed a bit too hasty. Instead of always trying to prove something, I might as well just tell a good story seriously.

Magical realism is of course good, and it should be used where it is appropriate, but it should not be abused.

For the whole day, apart from picking up and dropping off the children, I simply made a bowl of臊子面 for lunch, and didn't have to worry about dinner because my wife would come back to cook.

At 11 o'clock in the evening, the daughter had already gone to bed, but Lu Yao was still writing furiously in the study. His daughter-in-law Linda was also preparing to rest. She felt very strange when she saw her husband, who usually prepared to wash up, go into the study and not come out. She put on her coat, opened the door and went in. She was immediately choked by the strong smell of smoke and started coughing.

The room was filled with smoke. The husband was holding a cigarette in one hand and writing something on manuscript paper with a pen in the other.

"Lu Yao, you're going to die!"

Seeing his wife's angry look, Lu Yao hurriedly said, "Don't worry, I will definitely follow the doctor's advice and go to bed on time at 12 o'clock. I will never stay up late. Okay?"

After hearing what her husband said, Linda's expression softened a little: "But, don't smoke so much."

"Smoking doesn't damage the liver." Lu Yao defended himself, and then excitedly said to Linda: "Linda, I have good news for you. Minghua has decided to publish my novel, and it will be in the editor-in-chief column!"

"Look at you. Even when I was writing Ordinary World, I wasn't as excited as you."

Linda sneered, but she was also very happy because she knew that her husband had been anxious about writing during this period.

"Editor-in-chief's recommendation is the ace column of Yanhe. The fact that your novel can be included in the list shows that you write it really well." Linda added.

But Lu Yao shook his head, sighed and said:
“In the past few years since Minghua took charge of the editorial department of Yanhe, the magazine has undergone tremendous changes, and the works published in it are basically excellent.

"Especially the Editor's Recommendation column, every piece has set off a literary storm, or is well-written, or has set the trend of the literary world. Just as you said, works that can be included in this column are definitely first-class works of the current era, but I know that the one I wrote is still not up to par."

"This is Minghua's view on our friendship. I understand this very well." Lu Yao said lightly.

Linda stood aside, not knowing how to comfort her husband.

"But I can revise it! I can keep revising it until I am satisfied with it! I don't believe that my article, Lu Yao, won't be recommended by the editor-in-chief with my real ability!"

"You can definitely make it, but you have to take care of yourself." Linda comforted her softly.

"I know. I've suffered a loss once, and I can't suffer it again. I will go to bed on time at twelve o'clock!"

Just as Lu Yao was working hard to revise his latest work, dozens of miles away in Bailuyuan, another heavyweight writer in the Qin Province literary world finally completed the first draft of his work.

Chen Zhongshi.

Two years ago he vowed to write a book that he could use as a pillow after his death, and now he has preliminarily achieved his goal.

The first draft of "White Deer Plain" was completed.

He lit up an old dry cigarette, rubbed his sore wrists, turned around and walked out of the room and into the yard.

The winter nights in the Guanzhong Plain are clear, cold and silent.

His mood was as calm as the night sky. Instead of feeling happy, he felt a sense of relief.

"Tomorrow I can finally go into town to buy some rice, flour, and meat for the New Year." Chen Zhongshi talked to himself while smoking a cigarette, a happy smile showing on his wrinkled face.

After the Little New Year on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the employees in the unit are in a state of restlessness and have no intention of working. They are all busy preparing New Year's goods for their families.

The same goes for Fang Minghua. Although he basically spends the New Year at his parents' house and doesn't need to buy a lot of things for his family, his parents are older now, so he has to share some of the responsibility of buying New Year's goods.

Today is Sunday, and it is snowing heavily outside. After having lunch at my parents' house at noon, my daughter-in-law Song Tangtang took her son back to her parents' home to reunite with her daughter, while Fang Minghua drove out to buy various New Year goods according to her mother's instructions.

Mother Zhang Fenglan was afraid that her son would miss something if he didn't pay attention, so she made a special list for him, clearly writing down not only the weight but also the unit price.

She knew that her son had a problem. He never bargained when buying things at the farmers' market. He would just pay whatever the vendors said. As a result, the things he bought were much more expensive than those of others. This made Zhang Fenglan very angry.

If it weren't for the strong wind and heavy snow outside today, I would have gone out to buy it myself. Amid his mother's repeated instructions, Fang Minghua drove his own Mazda, first sent his wife and baby to his father-in-law's house, and then drove to Tanshi Street.

This is the largest non-staple food market in Xijing and even in the entire Northwest. It has everything from tobacco, alcohol, meat, eggs, vegetables, rice and noodles. Fang Minghua likes to come here the most and get everything in one go.

Although it was windy and snowy today, the market was crowded with people and cars could not get in. Fang Minghua found a place to park the car on the side of the street, then entered the market carrying a snakeskin bag.

These days, it’s no big deal.

This snakeskin bag was used by my grandfather to store fertilizers, but now it is most suitable for storing vegetables.

He followed the crowd and walked forward. There were various stalls on both sides of the street, and the sounds of hawking were very lively.

Fang Minghua didn't understand either, and couldn't tell which stall had the best meat or the freshest vegetables, but it didn't matter. He would just go to whichever stall had the most people around it and it wouldn't be a wrong choice.

I bought everything according to the list my mother made, and soon the snakeskin bag was full.

After tying the mouth of the woven bag, Fang Minghua simply carried it on his shoulder and walked back. Suddenly, he saw a familiar figure bargaining with the vendor beside a butcher shop.

"Two pieces of buttocks per pound."

"It's too expensive. I bought more. Order less."

"How much?"

"10 pounds."

"That's one dollar and ninety-five cents."

"One dollar and ninety cents, okay?"

"Okay! It's almost the New Year, let's get away with it. Okay!"

"I want this piece, not too fatty," said the middle-aged man, pointing at a piece of meat.

Fang Minghua recognized him. It was Chen Zhongshi whom he hadn't seen for a long time.

"Teacher Chen! Zhongshi!"

Fang Minghua called out, and Chen Zhongshi turned around and saw that it was Fang Minghua, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Why, are you here to buy New Year's goods too?"

"Yes, the New Year is coming soon."

"Me too. I came to the city today specifically to buy meat and some rice. My kids love to eat these." Chen Zhongshi said.

"Do you still live in your hometown?"

"Yes, always."

"How did you get here?"

"It's snowing today so I can't ride my bike. I came here by bus."

Seeing Chen Zhongshi also carrying a snakeskin bag, Fang Minghua asked, "Have you finished shopping? It's inconvenient to squeeze into the bus with a bag on your back. I'll take you to the bus station."

Chen Zhongshi knew Fang Minghua had a car, so he smiled and declined: "Don't bother you, you still have your things to do."

"I'm fine. I drive fast. It's just a matter of pressing the accelerator."

In that case, Chen Zhongshi didn't hesitate. After buying the things, he walked towards the street entrance like Fang Minghua, carrying a snakeskin bag on his back.

(End of this chapter)