Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 602 Taibai Tour

This time, Jia Pingwa went to Tangyu Town, Mei County.

In the Guanzhong Plain, there are two Tangyu Towns, one in Lantian and one in Mei County, and many people confuse them.

Tangyu Town, Mei County is located in the southeast of Mei County, at the foot of Taibai Mountain, the main peak of Qinling Mountains. It borders Hengqu Town to the east. It has a cool climate and is a good place to escape the summer heat.

Lu Yao was a person who loved being lively, so he immediately agreed to go when Fang Minghua invited him. Chen Zhongshi felt relieved after finishing "White Deer Plain". The novel was still being printed and had not yet been released to readers, but the promotion of Shengshi Books had already begun, and managers of Xinhua Bookstores in various places and private booksellers were very interested in his novel.

When this news was fed back to Chen Zhongshi, he was naturally happy and gladly accepted Fang Minghua's invitation.

I have been staying in my hometown, Bailuyuan, for the past few years. It’s time to get out and about.

At dawn that morning, Fang Minghua got up, washed up, and drove his SUV with his travel bag to Lao Liu's house outside Chaoyang Gate to drink a bowl of spicy soup. Then he went to Xingfu Community outside Nanmen to pick up Lu Yao, and then turned east to Bailuyuan. When he arrived at Jiangxi Village, Chen Zhongshi was already waiting at home. After getting in the car, Fang Minghua drove around the south of Xijing City and drove west along National Highway 108.

According to the map, first go to Zhouzhi County and then turn into National Highway 310 and head straight to Tangyu Town at the foot of Taibai Mountain.

The reason why Jia Pingwa chose this place is that he has a close connection with Taibai Mountain.

Four years ago (1988), Jia Pingwa was hospitalized due to illness, but he continued to work hard during that period and wrote a collection of short stories called "Taibai Mountain Notes", which contains about 20 short essays.

"Widow", "Ginseng Digger", "Hunter", "Village Ancestor", "Husband", "Girl", "Boy".
These various stories, seemingly written in the style of "wild fox Zen", have a mysterious and confusing atmosphere under the influence of traditional culture of Eastern mysticism.

This is reflected in his later novels such as "Wasted City" and "Missing the Wolf" and "Old Student".

Jia Pingwa's writing style began to change dramatically.

Fang Minghua drove for more than four hours before arriving at his destination.

Tangyu Town is a small town. When driving on the narrow streets, you can look up and see Taibai Mountain. The top of the mountain is shrouded in clouds and mist, giving you a feeling of "clouds across the Qinling Mountains".

Fang Minghua and his friends didn't know where Jia Pingwa lived, but it didn't matter. They drove straight to the town government compound, found the town office and asked a town official.

When the town official heard that they were looking for Jia Pingwa and learned the identities of the three people, his expression immediately became respectful. He smiled and said, "Chairman Jia lives in the dormitory in our town government compound. I will take you there."

We followed the town official to the backyard of the town government, where we saw three rows of bungalows. The staff said these were the dormitories for the town officials. Many of the officials’ homes were in the county town, which was nearly 50 miles away, so they usually did not go back home at night.

"Chairman Jia's room is on the far east side."

Fang Minghua followed him in and found the door was closed. The town cadres knocked on the door and saw smoke filling the room. Jia Pingwa was sitting at the desk, cigarette in one hand and writing furiously with the other.

When Jia Pingwa saw Fang Minghua and others coming in, he was stunned.

"Why are you here?"

"We have formed a group to come and visit you." Fang Minghua smiled.

Jia Pingwa laughed immediately: "Okay, okay, come in and sit down, sit down."

There were not enough chairs in the room, so the town officials kindly moved three chairs from another room and poured them some tea before leaving.

"Pingwa, you really know how to find places. I heard that here we can soak in Taibai hot springs, drink Taibai wine, and visit Taibai Mountain, right?" Lu Yao said with a smile.

"Haha, you're right. I can't drink alcohol now, just like you, but I still went to the hot springs a few times and it felt good. Taibai Mountain has beautiful scenery, and it's the best time to climb it. Last week I went to a place called Red River Valley and stayed there for a day."

"Really? Take us for a walk someday?"

"no problem."

Jia Pingwa then talked about his life here. He lived in the town government compound and ate in the town government cafeteria. He usually stayed in his room to write. When he was tired, he would walk around the town. Sometimes he would be accompanied by local leaders to visit the mountain scenery. His life was very comfortable.

"Anyway, it's better than being at home!" said Jia Pingwa.

As the four were chatting, they heard footsteps outside. The cadre from before came back, followed by two middle-aged men who looked like middle-level leaders.

"Secretary Zhang, Mayor Liu is here to visit you." Jia Pingwa said with a smile.

It turned out that the town cadre saw Fang Minghua and the other three people suddenly arrive. These are all the "big guys" in the literary world of Qin Province that can be expected. Why didn't they report such a big event to the leader? Hurry up and report to the leader, so the secretary and the mayor put down their work and hurried to the backyard.

After they introduced themselves to each other, Secretary Zhang smiled and said, "No wonder I heard magpies chirping in the trees when I went to the village today. It turns out that there are distinguished guests. I have asked the office to prepare meals to welcome the three newly arrived vice chairmen!"

Fang Minghua and his companions had rushed over from Xijing, already starving. After saying a few polite words, they followed the town leaders out.

There is a restaurant called "Taibai Restaurant" on the east side of the town. When Fang Minghua and his friends went in, they saw a middle-aged man who looked like the boss coming up to greet them with a smile.

"Secretary Zhang, Mayor Liu, please come in, the private room on the second floor."

"Boss Hu, we have distinguished guests coming today, so please prepare the food," said Mayor Zhang.

"Don't worry, Mayor Zhang, this is definitely the specialty of our store."

Tangyu Town also belongs to Guanzhong, and the dishes are actually similar. However, it is located at the foot of Taibai Mountain, and there are also a lot of game on the table, such as deer meat, wild boar meat, etc.

The wine is naturally Taibai wine.

During the meal, the town leaders toasted Fang Minghua and his colleagues and introduced the basic situation of Tangyu Town.

"Our Tangyu Town is located at the foot of Taibai Mountain and belongs to the Qinling Fold Belt. There are many people and little land. In recent years, many young and strong laborers in the town have gone out to work. Some go to the county town nearby, and some go to Baoji or even Xijing. The town is not as lively as before."

"It's like this in all the villages now, including our hometown Shangzhou." Jia Pingwa interrupted: "I guess in a few years, there will be no young people in the village, only old men and women sitting under the roots of big trees to bask in the sun."

"Pingwa, according to what you said, who will farm the land?" Lu Yao asked back.

"Farming can only provide food and clothing, but it can't make you rich. How can it be compared to working?"

"Doesn't that mean that the countryside will gradually decline?"

"That's how it is. Doesn't the book talk about industrialization and urbanization?"

Everyone discussed this topic with great interest.

But it's just talk.

Whether it is grassroots officials like Secretary Wang and Mayor Zhang, or literati like Jia Pingwa, there is no correct answer to this question.

After the meal, Fang Minghua and his friends politely declined Secretary Zhang’s suggestion to arrange accommodation for them.

There were not many dormitories for cadres in the town, so it would be nice to arrange one for Jia Pingwa. Anyway, their group would only be staying there for a few days, so they could just find a clean hotel in the town to stay in.

Soon, they stayed at a place called Tangyu Hot Spring Hotel and began their summer vacation.

We climbed Taibai Mountain, soaked in hot springs, and played mahjong with four of us in the evening. We lived a very comfortable life.

Of course, the four of them will still talk about literature when they get together.

Tonight, after the four of them finished their meal, they wandered around the town. Jia Pingwa asked Chen Zhongshi.

"Is your book 'White Deer Plain' going to be published soon?"

"Mr. Su from Shengshi Books called me and said the book is expected to be published in mid-July. By then I will have to go to several cities to hold reader meetings, sign books and so on. Anyway, I don't understand much and they will arrange everything," Chen Zhongshi answered truthfully.

"Haha, Minghua understands. He has done this before." Jia Pingwa said.

Seeing that the three of them were looking at him, Fang Minghua replied, "It's a reader meeting. You can talk to your readers about your writing experience and some interesting things that happened during the creation process. It's easier than holding a creative seminar. As for signing and selling books, that's even easier. Teacher Chen, your handwriting is so good, it's a good opportunity to show off your skills."

After hearing what Fang Minghua said, everyone laughed.

Jia Pingwa suddenly changed the subject and asked in a joking tone, "Minghua, Shengshi Books has published both of Lu Yao's and Zhongshi's novels and paid royalties for them. When will it be my turn?"

(End of this chapter)