The literary era since 1979

Chapter 117 The Ordinary Road
July 7, Hangzhou Railway Station.

Fang Yan and Han Yuemin carried large and small bags and set off on their journey home. Thanks to their identities as professional writers, they were able to book a soft sleeper compartment.

"Yanzi, this is a soft sleeper."

Han Yuemin sat on the soft berth, feeling very nervous, like a young girl sitting in a bridal sedan, it was her first time!
After all, a self-employed person like me who is on unpaid leave can only sit in a hard seat, and this time I was completely helped by the dialect.

"Brother Han, I'll be with you this time. It's a sleeper berth."

Fangyan joked, "Next time you have to sit on a hard seat. It's hard to go from luxury to frugality. You have to get used to it slowly in the future."

Han Yuemin patted his chest and said, "It's okay. I'm a boiler operator with thick skin and strong muscles. I can still endure this little hardship."

“It’s not suffering, it’s safety.”

If Fangyan had not considered that there were too many people on the train and there might be pickpockets hiding there, he would not have booked a soft sleeper compartment.

"You know what, if I were carrying so many things by myself and sitting on a hard seat, I would really feel uneasy."

Han Yuemin glanced at the cloth bag.

It contained 45 pairs of stonewashed jeans, costing $24 each.

80 Casio electronic watches, each priced at 6 yuan.

I used the remaining 40 yuan to buy socks, music tapes, and blank tapes.

Watching him count carefully, Fangyan packed his luggage and separated the things to be mailed and those to be taken home.

For example, periodicals such as "West Lake" and "Jiangnan" brought to the editorial department can be mailed, but the Golden Rooster Award trophy and certificate must be brought along.

"Yanzi, you asked me to buy tapes of people like Deng Liyun and Luo Dayou. I understand that."

Han Yuemin was puzzled, "But you asked me to buy this blank tape for 1 yuan. I don't understand why?"

Fangyan smiled and explained that a genuine song compilation tape is about 40 minutes long, while a blank tape is one hour long.

If you use a dual-cassette recorder to transcribe songs, it is equivalent to taking 2 blank tapes and being able to record 3 album tapes.

“I didn’t expect it could be like this!”

Han Yuemin's eyes lit up. An authentic tape cost 3 to 4 yuan, but once a blank tape was transcribed, the price would at least double.

Fangyan reminded: "Okay, Brother Han, let's quickly pack up the things that are not needed for the time being and send them home."

"It would be great if I could send these jeans and digital watches directly back to Beijing."

Han Yuemin sighed. It was inconvenient to carry so many bags, and it was even more inconvenient when he added the carry-on luggage.

"You're dreaming. Let's not talk about whether it will be confiscated. Just considering the efficiency of the post office, it will take at least ten days or half a month for it to be delivered to you. Can you wait that long?"

The dialect teased.

EMS, or Express Mail Service, was officially launched in July 1980.

It can be handled not only at the post office, but also on the train. At this time, there is a train post office, which is usually located at the front of the passenger train, or in the last postal carriage, or the postal department directly rents a part of the luggage carriage.

"Clang, clang."

At this time, in the shaking carriage, a female postman in a dark green uniform was sitting at the table.

Behind him were white cotton bags with red printed words on them.

"dialect?"

She glanced at the address and couldn't help but wonder, "Are you writing "The Horse Herder" and "Under the Hawthorn Tree" in dialect? "

"you know me?"

The dialect feels new, how can I recognize my own?
"No, I just saw 'Yanjing' written on the address, and wondered if you might be the 'Fangyan'."

The female postman said that she was a loyal fan of his and had sent letters to the editorial offices of Yenching Literature and Literary Gazette.

Fangyan raised his eyebrows. It turned out he was an avid book fan!

"Teacher Fang, I really like your work "Under the Hawthorn Tree", especially the poem at the end!"

The postwoman intoned, "Life used to be slow. Cars, horses, and mail were all slow. A lifetime was only long enough to love one person."

Fangyan looked me up and down and said, "You like this poem. I guess it has something to do with your profession?"

"'Cars, horses, and mail are all slow.' I understand this very well." The female postman nodded.

Then, he excitedly took out his little notebook and turned to the page of "Life Was Slow Back Then" which he had handwritten, hoping to leave a signature.

"Please don't tell anyone else my address."

Fangyan agreed readily and spoke as he signed.

"We have regulations on this. You cannot disclose or copy other people's sender or recipient addresses without permission."

The postwoman promised solemnly.

How can I share such a secret with others!

"I can rest assured that."

Fangyan handed the notebook back.

The female postman's tone was full of excitement: "Teacher Fang, what are you going to write in your next work?"

Fang Yan revealed that it is still a spy novel and will be published in "People's Literature" next month, but he did not specify that it is "The Hidden".

"that……"

"Mr. Fang, it may be a bit rude of me to say this, but if you have the chance, could you write about the postman?"

The female postman hesitated, but finally said it.

I was very curious about the dialect and found out after asking.

She and the leaders and colleagues at the Post and Telecommunications Bureau loved reading spy novels and were envious of and admired the underground workers. No one knew their names, but their achievements would live on, and there were countless literary works paying tribute to them, praising them, and glorifying them.

Naturally, they dare not compare themselves with the martyrs, but they also hope to have works written about ordinary postmen like them.

After all, there are very few novels about postmen up to now.

"Some time ago, the Ministry of Railways invited professional writers from the Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Writers Association to go to the front line and write railway-related works."

The female postman said that similar activities were organized in the postal and telecommunications systems as well as factories, mines, medical care, and machinery systems.

"Is that so? I'll think about it carefully."

Fangyan walked towards his own carriage, looking thoughtful.

At this time, postal services and telecommunications were jointly operated, namely the postal and telecommunications system.

Apart from other things, it seems that it is a good thing to have a good relationship with the postal and telecommunications system. For example, in the 80s, people had to queue up to install telephones.

Even if you pay a few thousand yuan for the installation fee, you still have to wait in line for several months or even years.

...............

It was afternoon when we returned to Yanjing.

The scorching sun made Fangyan sweat profusely. He first helped Han Yuemin take the things home, and then walked back to Nanluoguxiang.

I bought a red bean popsicle on the way and sipped it all the way.

"elder brother!"

As soon as she arrived in the yard, Fang Yan ran out immediately.

"Oh, the sun didn't rise from the west today."

Fang Yan teased, "Usually I watch TV and you don't move even when I call you for a long time. Why do you think of welcoming me, your brother, now?"

"How could I not miss you! You are my brother!"

Fang Yan stretched out her hand, "Let me help you with your bag."

"You are such a smart kid, you miss me, don't you? You want the autographs and photos of Zhang Yu and Zhu Shimao, right?"

Fangyan handed over the bag with a smile.

"Hey, I want it all."

Fang Yan felt the cloth bag was very heavy and she had difficulty carrying it with both hands.

"Let me do it. This bag is quite heavy."

"It's okay, brother, I can carry it."

I watched my little sister grit her teeth and persevere, carefully avoiding bumps and bumps.

Seeing this, Fangyan walked into the house with great relief.

Then the TV displayed a colorful "round plate", which was the TV signal test pattern.

Every Tuesday afternoon, the TV station would shut down for maintenance, allowing the equipment and machines that had been running continuously to have a good rest and maintenance. This would usually not be completed until the evening.

"Okay, I said so!"

He turned off the TV and said, "Why don't you and your friend watch TV in the room? So this is what happened."

"Mom! My brother is back!"

Fang Yan put down the cloth bag and ran to the door of the room.

Yang Xia walked out slowly, looking like she had just woken up, but when she saw her son, her eyes opened immediately.

"Are you back? Are you hungry?"

"Mom, look what I brought for you and my sister."

Dialect opens the bag.

Yang Xia looked inside and saw polyester and knitted fabrics. Her eyes widened even more. "Where did you get it from?"

"Don't worry, you don't have to spend a single coupon. These are enough for you to make a new set of clothes, and there's also this."

Fangyan also bought nylon socks for the family of four.

Nylon stockings, I’ve worn them enough.

"Brother, where's mine? Where's my gift?"

Fang Yan held the flowery socks given to her in her hands, becoming more and more excited and looking forward to her gift.

"Here it is."

Fang Yan took out a Casio electronic watch and autographed photos of Zhang Yu, Zhu Shimao and others from his canvas bag.

"Wow!!"

Fang Yan was very excited, "Brother, is this the electronic watch from Astro Boy?"

“It’s the ad behind Astro Boy.”

Fang Yan patted her forehead and said, "Don't show it off everywhere. If it's confiscated, I won't buy you another one."

The reason why Casio electronic watches are widely known in China is that it used a bundling trick. Casio gave the broadcasting rights of the cartoon "Astro Boy" to CCTV for free, but the condition was that it bundled the broadcasting of Casio electronic watch advertisements.

Of course, the price of genuine products is much higher than that of fake ones.

"No, I absolutely won't."

Fang Yan carefully put it on her wrist and showed it to Fang Yan, Yang Xia, and then to Fang Hong when she came back.

"Why did you buy so many things?"

Fang Hong couldn't take her eyes and hands away when she touched the polyester fabric.

"Sister, this is yours." Fang Yan lowered his voice, "Brother Han's thoughts are also in it."

"Yuemin went to Hangzhou with you just to buy these things?"

Fang Hong felt mixed emotions and pursed her lips. "I didn't expect that he would really take a leave of absence and become a self-employed person."

"Sister, Brother Han didn't do this just for himself."

Fang Yan spoke well of Han Yuemin, "Besides, he was only suspended without pay. He didn't lose his job. He can still return to the factory in the future."

"I won't look down on him just because he has a stable job and is a self-employed person. Besides, the country also supports self-employed people. It's not shameful!"

As she was talking, Fang Hong went to her room and took out a newspaper that she had "treasured for a long time", which was published on July 7 this year.

The "Several Policy Provisions on Urban Non-agricultural Individual Economy" was clearly published on the front page.

It is clearly pointed out above that individual economy is a necessary supplement to state-owned economy and collective economy!

"Sister, it turns out that you have been keeping an eye on Brother Han..."

Fangyan smiled.

"Go away, stop talking nonsense."

Fang Hong said angrily, "Give him this newspaper and tell him to go ahead and do it. I fully support him!"

Fangyan stepped aside and said happily, "As for that, you should wait until he is ready to open the store in a few days, and then you can talk to him yourself."

(End of this chapter)