The literary era since 1979

Chapter 78 1981, the big one is coming

On February 2, a heavy snow fell in Yanjing.

The entire Nanluoguxiang is covered in silver.

A hazy mist lingered in the air, and water vapor condensed into ice on the branches of the old locust tree in front of the door. The rime looked like pearls and waterfalls.

Fangyan had a piece of Hetian jade in his pocket, in his right hand he held the salted fish and calendar distributed by his unit during the Chinese New Year, in his left hand he held a bowl stained with mud, and in his armpits he held two paintings by Qi Baishi.

Humming a little tune, returning home with a full load.

"You, you're wasting money again!"

Yang Xia scolded, "What kind of stuff did you buy? Do you think you can spend lavishly now that you've earned some royalties?"

"Has the remittance slip arrived?"

Fangyan thought that the royalties for "The Great Qin Splitting" had arrived.

"It hasn't arrived yet, but your sample book has arrived first."

Yang Xia pointed to his bedroom.

"Mom, I'm going back to my room to read."

Fang Yan was about to go back to the house when he heard Yang Xia shout:

"Stop right there! Don't try to fool me."

"Mom, these salted fish and calendars are distributed by the company."

"I won't ask you that. What's going on with this stone and this painting?"

"These are not stones, these are the finest Hetian jade."

Fangyan and Tian Zengxiang made an appointment to go to the jade station. Unexpectedly, the station not only had Hetian white jade seeds, but also the best skin colors such as date red skin and gold sprinkled skin, and the prices were all the same.

It’s 100 yuan per kilogram.

In addition, there is also one gram and eight cents of Hetian jade mountain material.

Of course, jade cannot be compared with old furniture. No one wants old items, the price is low, and there is great room for appreciation. The key is that the quantity is large enough.

"Is this jade really as good as you say?"

As Yang Xia listened to him talk about quality and meaning, her frown slowly relaxed.

"A man takes care of jade for three years, and jade takes care of him for a lifetime."

Fang Yan said: "Jade has always been regarded as a lucky object. You see, I bought a piece just to bring good luck to our family."

"It's fine to buy one piece for good luck, but you are not allowed to buy more in the future."

Yang Xia looked at the dirty bowl and asked, "Where did you pick this up? Why does it smell like chicken shit?"

"Mom, you have a very good nose. This is the bowl for feeding chickens."

"What, a chicken bowl! Where did you get that?"

“I bought this from an antique shop.”

Fangyan explained that after visiting the jade station, the two of them went to the antique shop that Tian Zengxiang visited most often to buy some calligraphy and paintings.

As luck would have it, I ran into an old lady selling this bowl in the store. She had come all the way here from a rural area outside Beijing.

Nowadays, many people would sell items that were inherited from their ancestors or found in excavations. Some were real, some were fake, and there were also a few heirlooms.

But the blue porcelain bowl in front of me was covered with dirt. Although the glaze color was evenly thick and thin, there were many white spots on it, which looked like flaws. Moreover, it was used to feed chickens, so it was inevitably bumped and worn out. There were several gaps on the rim of the bowl and cracks on the inner wall.

"A cultural relic shop actually accepts this kind of bowl?"

Yang Xia stared at the completely broken bowl with curiosity.

"Why not? This looks like a blue-glazed bowl from the Qing Dynasty. The body is thick and the glaze is even. This item is really good."

Fangyan introduced it with great excitement.

Yang Xia asked curiously: "How much does this cost?"

"Twenty dollars."

"This broken bowl is worth 15 yuan!?"

"15 bucks is a bargain."

Fangyan told the truth that the original price offered by the antique shop was 10 yuan, but when they heard that the old woman's family was in real financial difficulty and that she needed money urgently for the New Year, they raised the price to 15 yuan. He didn't care about the other 5 yuan. After all, whether it was 10 yuan or 15 yuan, it was just a matter of how much he earned.

General Fang is kind-hearted and cannot bear to see others suffer.

"Ugh."

Yang Xia couldn't help but sigh: "These days, every family has its own problems. It's not easy for anyone."

"Mom, the days ahead will be more and more promising."

Fangyan noticed that the atmosphere was not right and said a few words to comfort her.

"Since the antique shop says this bowl is good, I won't bother with you. Go wash your hands quickly. They smell like chicken shit."

Yang Xia rolled her eyes in annoyance.

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

A few days later, it was New Year's Eve.

The dishes on the table became more and more abundant. If the copper hot pot was not too expensive, costing thirty or forty yuan, Fangyan would have to eat a hot pot during the New Year.

The sunflower brand tape recorder was playing the tape of the "New Year's Eve Gala", which included 6 songs, all sung by Li Guyi.

"Homesickness", "Lovely Azalea", "Beauty of West Lake", "Why do I smile happily"...

When Fangyan's family was happily eating, Suya's voice suddenly came from outside the house.

"Aunt, can I borrow a light?"

I saw her holding a piece of honeycomb coal with an iron pair of tongs.

The fire in my stove was not sealed properly and went out.

"If you want to borrow a light, why bring a new one?"

Yang Xia stood up.

"How can that be possible? If you borrow, you must return. It's not difficult to borrow again."

Suya had a smile on her face.

“Yaya, take Xiaoya to get it.”

As soon as Yang Xia finished speaking, she shouted "Wait a minute".

He found an empty plate on the table, put six dumplings stuffed with pork and cabbage on it, and asked Fang Hong to deliver it to Su Ya's house.

"Aunt..."

Su Ya refused again and again, but finally had to accept it.

Yang Xia packed another six dumplings and said, "Yanzi, don't just eat them, take them to Jianjun's house."

When Fang Yan went out with the plate, Fang Hong came back from Su Ya's house with a plate of lard residue given by Zhao Hongmei.

Yang Xia took a new bowl, put a lot of carrot balls in it, and handed it over, "Yanzi, don't eat it yet, send this to Suya's house."

Fang Yan and Fang Hong looked at each other with a hint of helplessness in their eyes. These days, it is common for neighbors to exchange food with each other. The rich help the poor, and the poor also find ways to give back. They never take anything for free. Sometimes, one dish can be exchanged for a whole table of dishes.

Especially during the Chinese New Year, because everyone eats the same thing, corn paste, steamed bread, sweet potato chips, cabbage...

But on New Year's Eve, the food is sumptuous.

At this time, children from all households were coming and going in the yard. After Fangyan ran to Suya's house, he was ordered to run around the front and back yards.

"Ugh."

Holding a basket of oranges, he bumped into Su Ya head-on. He saw that she was holding persimmon cakes, and they both sighed at the same time.

"Yanzi, I heard from Sister Hong that your novel is going to be published in People's Literature. How come you didn't tell me about such an important thing? Are we still buddies?"

"This kind of thing is not worth mentioning."

"Not worth mentioning? This is People's Literature!"

Su Ya said sincerely: "In short, congratulations, you have reached a higher level. Now, you are really going to become a great writer."

"Isn't it the same for you, poet Su?"

Fangyan smiled.

"You're hurting me again."

"Don't talk so much. My sister told me that after the editorial department of Unnamed Lake was disbanded, you were recruited to work at the Yanda school newspaper."

"That's also thanks to you. The teachers knew that you and I were childhood friends, so they pulled me in to serve as your liaison."

Su Ya pursed her lips.

"You're overthinking it. Why do they have to let you work as a liaison for the Yanda school newspaper? They must value your ability, so they hired you." Fang Yan smiled and said, "You have to be more confident. After all, your poems have been published in Poetry Magazine and Poetry Exploration!"

"Thank you, Iwako."

Su Ya's frown relaxed and she smiled.

"No more chatting. If we continue, the oranges will freeze solid."

Fangyan turned around and walked back into the house, and heard the tape recorder playing:

"Your figure,
Your singing,

forever printed on
In my heart.

Yesterday is gone,
It’s hard to meet again…”

I listened in silence, feeling nostalgic.

"Tomorrow is coming,
But it's rare to meet you.

Only the wind,

Sending you my deepest love. "

After a song "Homesickness", not long after, the sound of firecrackers popped in the alley, one after another, without stopping.