Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 466 465 People feel refreshed when something good happens

Chen Zhongshi followed Fang Minghua, put the filled snakeskin bags in the trunk of the car, and then got in the car.

The car drove towards Yuxiangmen, and Fang Minghua chatted with Chen Zhongshi while driving.

"Teacher Chen, have you finished writing your novel?"

"It's finished."

"It's over? So soon?" Fang Minghua was surprised.

He vaguely remembered that "White Deer Plain" was first published in 1993. Now it's only 89, and it's already been completed?

Chen Zhongshi said, "It is finished, but it is only the first draft. In fact, it is still a rough draft. It is still far from being officially completed. After the Chinese New Year, I will revise it and start the second draft."

That's it!

Fang Minghua understood, and he immediately became interested: "Teacher Chen, can I appreciate your first draft?"

Unexpectedly, Chen Zhongshi refused outright.

"Minghua, it's not that I don't want to show it to you, but I won't show it to anyone else before I finish writing. Why? It's just like when we people in Guanzhong steam steamed buns, what are we most afraid of when the buns are halfway through being steamed? We are most afraid of opening the lid of the pot! Because once the lid is opened, the air will be released, so the buns will be cooked."

Chen Zhongshi's metaphor made Fang Minghua laugh.

"That makes sense. I'm just curious. OK, I'll read it after you finish writing it."

Chen Zhongshi was in a good mood today. When talking about his novel, he smiled and said, "I won't talk about the content, but I can tell you some interesting things about how I wrote this novel."

"What's interesting?"

"In order to collect materials, I visited Lantian, Chang'an, Xianning and other places to conduct humanities research. This summer, probably in April, I went to the tomb of Niu Zhaolian in Sanli Town, Lantian to pay homage. Do you know Niu Zhaolian?"

"I've heard that he was the last great scholar of the "Guanzhong School" in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China. He was revered as the "Great Confucian Scholar of Guanzhong" and "the only one in Guanzhong after Hengqu."

"Yes, that's him!"

"I admired his knowledge very much. After paying tribute to him, I returned to my hometown and started writing formally. I wrote the first sentence of the novel on the manuscript paper: Bai Jiaxuan later took pride in having married seven women in his life."

"Did you borrow the first sentence of One Hundred Years of Solitude written by Marquez for your opening: Many years later, facing the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía will remember the distant afternoon when his father took him to see the ice," Fang Minghua asked.

"Yes, that's right." Chen Zhongshi did not deny it.

"I like this book. To be honest, I have also borrowed some of his writing techniques in my novels."

"Magical Realism?"

"Yes, it's the magical realism you talked about a few years ago. I'm starting to follow the trend, haha."

"Coincidentally, Lu Yao's latest novella, "Yanhe", also used magical realism writing techniques," said Fang Minghua.

"Oh, that stubborn guy is not stubborn anymore? Hahaha." Chen Zhongshi laughed after hearing this.

The two chatted and laughed, and the car soon arrived at Yuxiangmen Bus Station. Fang Minghua sent Chen Zhongshi to the minibus bound for Bailuyuan and waved.

"Teacher Chen, I wish you a happy new year. Please finish writing quickly. We will go to play cards and drink with you in the spring."

"Okay."

As expected, people feel refreshed when happy events occur.

Perhaps, after completing the first draft of "White Deer Plain", Chen Zhongshi felt relieved.

Fang Minghua thought so.

When the Spring Festival arrived in 1989, Fang Minghua, his wife and their two children returned to their parents' home early. They steamed buns, made dumplings and cooked the "Eight Great Bowls of Guanzhong" together. The house was filled with laughter.

After the New Year's Eve dinner, in addition to watching the Spring Festival Gala, there is another activity tonight, taking the children to the yard downstairs to set off firecrackers. There is no policy to ban firecrackers these days, and the whole city of Xijing is now filled with crackling sounds. The two children are only two years old, but they are also very interested in this thing.

Fang Minghua discovered that Tiantian, as his brother, was not as brave as his sister Ruirui. The little girl bravely lit the firecrackers on the ground with a stick of incense, while her brother stood far away with his hands covering his ears.

Why.
This girl takes after her mother.

It was only after Fang Minghua got married that she realized that Song Tangtang was very naughty when she was a child, and was definitely not as elegant and cool as she is now.

The 1989 Spring Festival Gala was the last one in the 80s. Mainland pop culture had taken off, the Hong Kong and Taiwan music scene ushered in the "golden decade", and the period of comprehensive development of television programs was also slowly approaching.

The 1989 Spring Festival Gala was a comprehensive review of these cultural phenomena of the 80s, striking the pulse of the times at the end of the year and welcoming the arrival of a new decade.

However, Fang Minghua feels that the songs in this Spring Festival Gala are not as eye-catching as those in previous years, such as "The Bright Moon Sends My Love Across Thousands of Miles", "Love in the Heart", "Grandma's Penghu Bay" and "Follow Your Feeling".

It doesn't seem to be as popular as "A Fire in the Winter" sung by Fei Xiang in 87. After all, Hong Kong and Taiwan music is played everywhere in the streets and alleys now, and it's nothing strange.

On the first day of the New Year, he took his family of four and his parents to the city for a day of wandering. The second day was the day for the daughter-in-law to return to her parents' home. Since it was the first time for his younger sister Fang Mingli and son-in-law Li Jianjun to return home, Fang Minghua and Song Tangtang discussed and decided to stay at home on the second day and return to his father-in-law's home on the third day.

This was a big event. Fang Minghua's family and his sister Fang Mingmei's family all came back, making the place extremely lively.

Sister Fang Mingli was wearing a red tweed coat, which made her look less youthful and more mature than before. Liu Jianjun was wearing a blue suit and a tie.

This is fashionable these days.

Of course, both of them were carrying large and small bags of gifts.

"Just come back, why are you carrying so many things? Why spend so much money? Your salary is not high." Mother Zhang Fenglan happily accepted the gifts brought by her son-in-law and daughter while scolding them.

The two daughters and daughter-in-law Song Tangtang went to the kitchen to help cook. The men sat on the sofa in the living room and chatted, while the children stared at the TV - "Journey to the West" was playing.

"Jianjun, are you busy with work?" Fang Minghua asked casually.

"not busy."

"Not busy? Not working overtime?" Fang Minghua remembered that his sister often worked overtime at the company before she got married.

"Military-industrial enterprises are not performing well now, and the funding from the state is limited. Many scientific research projects cannot be carried out. Working hours are enough, so why do we need to work overtime?" Liu Jianjun explained.

"Hey, Jianjun, how much salary can you get a month?" The eldest son-in-law asked the younger son-in-law curiously.

"183 dollars."

"Is there a bonus?"

"No."

"Then your company's salary is really low, not even as high as the salary of my apprentice in the workshop. You are a graduate student, so why is your salary so low?"

"There's nothing we can do. The unit's performance is not good." Liu Jianjun smiled bitterly.

"What a shame this country is. It has worked so hard to train highly educated people like you, but they don't pay you high salaries," the eldest son-in-law couldn't help but shake his head.

The eldest son-in-law is called Chen Yaoming. He is a worker at the No. 6 National Cotton Mill and is now the foreman of the workshop.

Fang Minghua said nothing.

Your cotton mill is experiencing its most glorious moment now, but it is about to go downhill!

But isn’t the efficiency of military-industrial enterprises too low?

But it seems that the worst has not yet come.

(End of this chapter)