The literary era since 1979

Chapter 292: Son-in-law Visits (Two in One)

As night falls, street lights light up one after another.

Gong Xing walked lightly, with a crescent-shaped smile on his face that never stopped along the way.

Whenever I see the emerald ring on her hand, I think of the scenes that happened at the Shanghai Film Studio, and my smile becomes even brighter.

I returned home happily and pushed the door open. I saw the whole family in the living room except my eldest brother Gong Chu.

Gong's father, mother and Gong Ying all cast their scrutinizing eyes on her, as if trying to find any clues.

"Xiaoxiang, have you finished watching the movie?"

Father Gong looked kind and asked, "How is it?"

Gong Xing spoke the truth and the response was very enthusiastic. Wu Yigong and other factory leaders felt that "Under the Bridge" would be a hit across the country.

"Sister, what are you wearing on your hand!?"

Gong Ying had sharp eyesight and keenly noticed the colored diamond ring on Gong Xing's hand.

Mother Gong followed her gaze and her attention was quickly drawn to the ring. "Hey, Xiaoxiang, where did this ring come from?"

"Mom, don't you always ask me if I have a partner?"

Gong Xing admitted it openly, "Can I bring him home for lunch tomorrow?"

The sudden answer was like a bolt of lightning to Gong's mother and the other two, and they were unable to react for a moment.

Gong Ying's eyes were filled with curiosity and envy, "Sister, who will be my future brother-in-law?"

Gong's father and mother also came to their senses and stared at Gong Xing closely, equally eager to know who their son-in-law was.

"You all know it. It's the dialect."

Gong Xing twirled his fingers and smiled sweetly.

"what!!!!"

As Gong Ying's screams resounded throughout the house, Gong's father and mother were shocked and their pupils trembled.

It turns out that the pig that was eating his own cabbages was him!
…………

The next day at noon, the sun was shining brightly.

Fangyan was carrying bags of gifts in both hands as he and Gong Xing walked through the Shikumen houses.

Overhead, all kinds of clothes and sheets were hung high. Passers-by dodged left and right, guarding against water drops dripping from above, while also having to pay attention to the people on the lounge chairs and the things drying on the windowsill.

All around my ears are the gossips about family life in the soft Wu dialect.

"Dad, brother, Xiaoying, why are you here?"

Gong Xing saw Gong's father and others wandering around downstairs and hurried over.

"You'll have to ask your mother."

Mr. Gong looked helpless.

As he was speaking, Fangyan's face suddenly appeared in his sight.

Although they were well prepared, when they met formally, everyone still found it incredible and looked incredulous.

Gong Xing was also affected. He was obviously stunned and at a loss as to how to introduce the two parties.

Fang Yan helped her out, bowed slightly to Mr. Gong, and said politely: "Hello, uncle, my name is Fang Yan, you can just call me Yan Zi."

Father Gong seemed to have just woken up from a dream. He subconsciously stretched out his hand, only to find that he couldn't free his hand and stood there awkwardly.

Fangyan put the things on the ground and shook hands with him, showing great consideration for his appearance.

"Hehe, how can we let the guests carry things? Hurry up and give us a hand." Father Gong hurriedly urged Gong Chu and Gong Ying to help.

"Eh!"

Gong Chu and the others took the things that Fang Yan was carrying without saying a word, with a hint of excitement in their tone.

I greeted my future brother-in-law and sister-in-law enthusiastically in dialect and got to know each other.

"Don't just stand there, let's go upstairs."

In front of Gong's father and others, Gong Xing took the initiative to hold his hand and walked towards the corridor.

Gong Chu and Gong Ying looked at the couple who were showing their love from time to time, and a sense of unreality came over them.

The four of them said nothing, and the only sound was the footsteps on the stairs.

Just as he reached the entrance of the corridor, Fang Yan smelled a very stinky odor and almost fainted.

He couldn't help but wonder, could it be that his future mother-in-law had some opinion of him and was unwilling to accept him, so she wanted to use this stench to drive him away?
So, he asked Gong Xing in confusion.

"what!"

Gong Xing explained that his mother specially prepared a famous dish from An Wan, stinky mandarin fish, for him.

The characteristic of this dish is that it smells extremely bad, but it tastes quite good, just like stinky tofu.

"So this is ah."

Fang Yan joked, "I was worried that she would not want to marry her daughter to me, and wanted me to back out."

Gong Xian rolled her eyes shyly, "If you continue to speak so recklessly, I won't cover for you. You will bear the consequences at your own risk."

Fangyan walked into the house and took out the gifts one by one.

Father Gong was quite satisfied, but Mother Gong spoke first: "That's thoughtful. Come, sit for a while. Dinner will be served soon."

Compared to the gifts, Gong Ying was more concerned about the love history between Fang Yan and Gong Xing, with gossip burning in her eyes.

This question is also what Mr. Gong and others are curious about.

How did these two end up being together?

The confidentiality work was done so well!
Gong Xing glared fiercely at his sister who had been making a fuss.

At the same time, Fangyan grabbed her hand without hesitation:

"Uncle and aunt, you are experienced people, you must know that if you like someone, you like him/her. You can't control your love for him/her!"

"Hi~"

Gong Ying took a breath. No wonder he was a great writer. He spoke in a very organized and pleasant way.

Just as he was about to continue asking questions, he was ruthlessly interrupted by Gong Xing.

She stood up suddenly and pulled her sister into the kitchen, "Come with me and help."

At this time, the only people left at the table were men.

After a few drinks, they gradually started talking.

"So, you came to Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai to select actors for the crew of Dream of Red Mansions?"

As a fan of the Dream of the Red Chamber, Mr. Gong immediately became interested.

"You can say that."

Fang Yan also mentioned the "Seventh Night" he adapted for Yu Hua, and the "The Ring" he was working on.

But it was clear that Gong's father and Gong Chu were more interested in the TV series Dream of the Red Chamber. "So how is the selection of actors going?"

“I’ve picked some.”

Fang Yan said: "When the time comes, we will gather these actors from all over the country in Yanjing, put on makeup and audition, and then hold a training class for the selected actors. After the training is completed, we will continue the screening."

When Gong Ying heard this, he ran out of the kitchen excitedly, carrying the steaming dishes, "Brother-in-law! Brother-in-law!"

Gong Xing followed out, his face flushed.

"Xiaoying, what are you talking about!"

"You're not shouting nonsense, are you, brother-in-law?"

Gong Ying hid behind Fang Yan and stuck out her tongue at Gong Xing.

Gong Xing rolled his eyes in annoyance, "'Brother-in-law, brother-in-law', you call me so sweetly, and you are just being attentive to me..."

"sister!"

Gong Ying felt very guilty, especially when her father "exposed" that she had also signed up for the national auditions for the TV series "Dream of Red Mansions".

"Have you ever acted in a play before?"

Fangyan looked her up and down at her appearance and conditions. Although her temperament and appearance were not as good as Gong Xing, she could still be called a "beauty".

"I have acted in it! I have acted in it! I acted in my first play this year!"

Gong Ying said that she was acting in Xie Tieli's "The Bao Family and Son".

Oh, that’s Bao Guowei!

Fangyan tapped the table with his hands and hummed a jingle: "I only use Stancom for hair oil, I only wear Paramount for clothes, I only smoke Beauty brand cigarettes, and I only eat at Songhelou. Is that right?"

Gong Ying nodded repeatedly and said that she played "An Shuzhen", the female student that Bao Guowei loved.

"Hehe, we all performed well!"

"I think there are two sentences in total."

Gong Xing jokingly revealed the truth.

"That...that feels good, right, brother-in-law!"

Gong Ying pouted.

Fang Yan thought she was quite suitable to play "Lin Xiaohong". "If you really want to try, you can go for an audition, but you have to think about it carefully. The filming of Dream of Red Mansions will take several years. Once you are selected, you will have to live in Yanjing for several years..."

After listening to the conditions and requirements, Gong Xing glanced at the silent Gong Ying and joked, "It's not too late to quit now."

"How can I quit?"

"Besides, you are going to marry in Yanjing in the future. If I am chosen, I can find you..."

Gong Ying did not back down, but became even more excited. Gong Xing glared at her in embarrassment, then glanced at Fang Yan who was trying to hold back his laughter, wishing he could find a crack to crawl into.

"Ahem, you're making trouble again!"

Father Gong coughed awkwardly, "Yanzi, don't bother with her. She has been spoiled by us and always speaks without any care."

Then, he picked up the wine glass and said, "Come on, Yanzi, let's go for a drink."

Fangyan immediately held the glass with both hands and clinked it respectfully and politely, acting like a perfect son-in-law.

Everything remained like this until Gong's mother came to the table.

Gong's mother said, "Don't just drink, eat the food, eat the food."

"Yep."

Father Gong adjusted his glasses and said, "Xiaoxiang, come and pour the wine. Yanzi and I will have two more drinks."

"Dad, he can't drink that much."

Gong Xing felt so distressed that he put away the Maotai that Fangyan brought.

Fang Yan quietly patted her hands, took the bottle, poured wine for both of them, and said:

"Uncle, I'll drink some more with you."

"Hey, it's okay, just drink whatever you want. If you can't drink it, don't drink it. Don't be so restrained."

Gong Xian saw Mr. Gong's performance and couldn't help but complain in his heart, Dad, you shouldn't be so restrained!

What happened to the natural suppression of the father-in-law over the son-in-law?

But this is exactly Gong's mother's strategy. The man is responsible for pouring wine, and the woman is responsible for asking questions.

He and Gong Ying cooperated with each other and bombarded him with questions, even asking about his birth date and a bunch of other random questions.

Suddenly, out of the blue, "When are you going to get married? When are you going to have kids?"

"puff!"

Gong Xing was so restless that he almost spilled the wine.

"To be honest, I came here specifically for this matter." Fang Yan said bluntly that he had originally planned to get married in the second half of this year, but it happened that he had to visit Japan.

"To Japan?"

Mr. and Mrs. Gong looked at each other.

Fangyan explained that he was visiting Japan as a representative of the Chinese literary and art circles.

"Iwako is very famous in Japan."

Gong Xing said that "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" has been published in Japan, and the movie will soon be released in Japanese theaters.

Father Gong was shocked. "Then we should postpone it. After all, national affairs are more important!"

"So Yanzi came up with a compromise."

Gong Xing defended Fang Yan and raised his hand with the ring on it and said, "Let's get engaged first, and then pick a good date to get married."

"Alright, alright."

Gong's mother was overjoyed and asked, "Yanzi, what's the situation at your home? When are you going to bring Xiaoxiang to your home..."

"Mom, I've been to his house before." Gong Xing blushed, "During the National Day trip."

"Which National Day?"

Mother Gong didn't react for a moment.

Father Gong's eyes flickered as he asked, "Was it when we were filming 'That Mountain, That Man, That Dog' last year?"

Gong Xing said happily, "Yes, he is really bad. He tricked me into coming to Yanjing to attend his sister's wedding."

Gong Ying exclaimed: "What! Sister, your underground work is too secretive!"

"So you two were already in love at that time!"

Gong's mother suddenly understood and said with mixed feelings.

Looking at Gong Xing and Fang Yan talking and laughing, Gong's father had a satisfied smile on his face.

The whole family had a very good impression of Fang Yan. Putting aside the halo he carried, they found this boy very pleasing to the eye.

He is not impetuous and is thoughtful in his handling of things. Most importantly, he cares a lot about his daughter.

No matter when their children fall in love, parents are most worried about two things.

The first thing is to worry about children being cheated. There are many cases of hooliganism in society nowadays, but dialects are obviously not included.

After rejecting the first one, they start to worry that this person is not suitable for their child and the two of them will not be happy together.

But I just can't figure out what it is about my daughter that makes Fangyan value her, other than the fact that she is pretty?

…………

Overall, the two elders were quite satisfied with the investigation of dialects.

Throughout the whole process, they kept a very humble attitude, and were even prepared to be subservient. No matter whether the Gong Xing family was sincere or testing them, or even if they accidentally said something harsh, they all accepted it with a smile on their faces, without blinking.

The reason why a person like him is willing to do this is simple -

Of course I love Gong Xing!
Fortunately, Gong Xing's family loved each other and there were not so many troubles. The atmosphere at the whole table was harmonious and peaceful.

After the banquet, the guests dispersed and the slightly tipsy Fangyan said goodbye and left:

"Uncle and aunt, I'll go back first."

"Dad, Mom, I'll go see him off."

Gong Xing said hello and followed him out immediately.

Mother Gong and Father Gong looked at each other and did not stop him. Instead, they reminded him, "Remember to come back!"

However, before he could finish his words, Gong Xing had already disappeared and ran in front of Fang Yan. The lights in the corridor slowly went out.

In the dim darkness, the two people could only see each other's outlines.

After a long silence, Gong Xing finally spoke: "Thank you, Yanzi."

"Thank you for what?"

Fang Yan said happily: "I should thank my father-in-law and mother-in-law for giving birth to a wife for me."

"Virtue!"

A bright light flashed in Gong Xing's eyes. He stood on tiptoe to get closer and could smell a faint smell of alcohol.

Fang Yan hugged her and said, "It's a pity though."

Gong Xing blinked: "What a pity?"

Fang Yan half-jokingly said, "It's just that Shanghai is not like Beijing. It's hard to buy a house here. I'll have nowhere to live when I come back..."

"It's not like nothing."

Gong Xing said that a new apartment building, also called "Yuanyang Building", was recently opened in Shanghai.

In fact, it is a transitional house for newlyweds.

There is only the right to lease, with a lease term of two years. There are three conditions for moving in: one is being an older youth, two is getting married without a house, and three is that the unit where the employee works signs a commitment to allocate housing to employees living in Yuanyang Building within two years. The original intention of building it was to solve the problem of wedding housing for men and women in Shanghai.

"forget it."

Fang Yan smiled and said, "Let's not take up other people's places."

Gong Xing nodded, then followed him along the road, wanting to keep walking and chatting.

Fang Yan said directly: "I will return to Yanjing the day after tomorrow."

"The day after tomorrow? So soon?"

There was reluctance in Gong Xing's eyes.

"There's nothing we can do. There's still a lot of preparation to do before leaving for Japan." Fang Yan sighed.

For example, "The Ring" had to be written as quickly as possible and then handed over to Yoko Suzuki and Bai Ruoxue for translation.

"That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" is just a stepping stone to open the Japanese literature market, but "The Ring" will definitely explode the Japanese's gold coins!
"miser!"

Gong Xing stretched out his finger and poked his waist.

Fang Yan winked and said, "There's no other way. I have to save more money to get married."

"I, I saved some money, too."

Gong Xing lowered his head, looked at his toes, and then suddenly raised his head: "I'll give them all to you tomorrow!"

Fang Yan was stunned and teased: "You said I was a money-grubber, but you are also a little money-grubber."

"Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog. You are a money-grubber, so of course I am one too."

Gong Xing raised his fist and punched him lightly, "Ever since I met a vulgar person like you, I have become a vulgar person as well."

"Hey, it's not that easy to be 'elegant'."

Fangyan pointed to the moon in the sky and said, "This is the moonlight."

Then he pointed to the shadow on the ground and said, "It's better in cold places, with different roots and buds. This is your shadow, it's the color of snow."

When Gong Xing heard him mention "Caisangzi: Chanting Snowflakes on the Frontier" again, he looked confused and didn't know what the gourd was about.

"Between this world and this sky, between the moon and the snow."

Fang Yan stared at her and said, "You are the third kind of beauty."

Gong Xing's eyes flashed with cunning, and he smiled sweetly and said, "Then you are the fourth type of lust."

(End of this chapter)