Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 894, Article 893: This report is unfriendly.

Monday, April 6th.

Tang Zhitong dropped off Xiao Wang early in the morning and then went to the School of Posts and Telecommunications to take his final exams.

Xiao Wang was craving cicada nymphs, so he came to the office, wiped his desk, washed his hands, poured himself a glass of water, and sat down to start planning his days.

Two days before Liu Chengzhi's seventh day memorial, I can go out with my husband to catch cicada nymphs again the day after tomorrow. We can catch them for two days in a row, and when my classmates come to visit, we'll definitely be able to put together a dish!

I wonder if those college students will be scared when they see a plate of cicada nymphs.

Xiao Wang smiled as he thought about it.

After resting enough, eating a cracked peach, and drinking most of a glass of water, Xiao Wang leisurely went to organize the ancient books.

Xiao Wang works in the preservation and restoration of ancient books, which is completely unrelated to her major. However, she has a steady hand and is doing a great job under the guidance of experienced mentors.

The National Library of China has a vast collection of ancient books, rivaling even the Palace Museum's collection of artifacts, and there's simply not enough to restore them all.

On his first day working at the National Library of China, Xiao Wang was told by his senior colleague to calm down, stay focused, and not to be afraid of being slow, but to be careful and not to be clumsy.

Under the guidance of this experienced mentor, Xiao Wang remained calm and composed, and when it was time to pack up, he would go back to the office for lunch.

But today was a little different. As she passed the office next door, a colleague handed her a bulging letter.

Xiao Wang thanked her colleague, returned to her office, and opened the letter. Her eyebrows shot up in anger, which meant that her entire face was completely natural; otherwise, she would have been furious.

After Tang Zhitong finished her exams, Lu Jian came looking for her hesitantly.

Food is scarce everywhere right now, and Lu Jian wanted to take advantage of the holiday to go home and bring some food back to his family. He had asked Tang Zhitong to buy some cornmeal during the winter vacation, but this time he was a little embarrassed to ask for it.

Two days ago, he went to the market and the black market to find out what was going on. He found that selling grain was not only done secretly, but the prices were also ridiculously high.

The wheat harvest has just ended, and in theory there should be more grain and the price should be lower, but raw wheat has already reached three yuan per kilogram.

Other whole grains are a little cheaper than wheat, but the difference in price is limited.

Lu Jian hesitated when he thought about the cornmeal he bought from Tang Zhitong for 80 cents a pound before the Spring Festival. Although he didn't want to trouble Tang Zhitong, the same amount of money could buy three times the amount of grain on the black market.

Who could resist such a temptation?

"Teacher Tang, can you still buy grain?" Although he was embarrassed, Lu Jian still asked, after all, he still had a wife and children at home who were not getting enough to eat.

"It's possible, but the railway is cracking down hard this year, so it might be difficult to bring it on the train." Tang Zhitong had figured out how to help Gu Mancang, but this method was not easy to replicate and would have a negative impact on him.

If Tang Zhitong could only bring one person on the bus, he would choose to help Gu Mancang, because there was a real possibility that an entire family might starve to death there.

“I have a fellow villager at the train station. I can ask him to get me on the train.” Upon hearing Tang Zhitong say that he could, Lu Jian felt half relieved. He knew that the station was strict with checks, so he had already made arrangements in advance.

"That's great, but... Dorm leader, there's no cornmeal this year, only corn kernels, and the price is a bit higher than last year, 1.1 yuan per jin." Tang Zhitong raised the bar a little. It wouldn't be fair if things outside got tougher year after year while prices here never went up.

"Not expensive, not expensive at all." Lu Jian was overjoyed. While taking out his money, he said, "Teacher Tang, I can't let you work for nothing. Just give me 1.5 yuan per jin."

"No, I'm just helping you out. My dorm leader has always covered for me in class, so this is my way of thanking her." Tang Zhitong waved his hands repeatedly. He didn't need the small amount of money. Rather than earning four cents, he preferred to let Lu Jian owe him a favor.

"No, no, one thing at a time. I'd be really embarrassed to ask you if you don't accept it." Lu Jian insisted on giving it to him.

"Dormitory leader, we're all family here. The situation is special right now, so I'll help if I can. You won't pretend you don't see me when I'm in trouble, will you? Are you going to ask me for money then?" Tang Zhitong raised his hand to block him, refusing.

"I certainly won't sit idly by. Pshaw, look at my mouth. How could Teacher Tang be in trouble?" Hearing Tang Zhitong say this, Lu Jian became less insistent.

"Hehe, dorm leader, we all know what kind of harvest this year is. It's not like people here can just sell grain as they please. I'll try my best to reach forty jin. If I don't, don't blame me. We can work through the shortfall a little and talk about it again during winter break." Tang Zhitong smiled nonchalantly. Given the harvest, he didn't dare to ask for too much.

"No problem, no problem, we'll buy as much as we can." Lu Jian immediately counted the money, not daring to give too much, and handed it to Tang Zhitong, saying that he would refund any excess or make up any shortfall.

"Okay, I'll give it a try. Should I take it to the dorm?" Tang Zhitong counted the money in front of him and put it in his pocket.

"Okay, take it to the dormitory. Thank you, Teacher Tang."

"Tomorrow... the day after tomorrow, I'll get to the dorm the day after tomorrow. The dorm leader will have to figure out how to hide it." The day after tomorrow is the last exam for the Wired Department. After the exam, we'll have a holiday. Tang Zhitong has a lot of things to do after the exam, so he probably won't be here for a while.

"I have another class the day after tomorrow, and I guess everyone will have to go to the classroom to review. I'll wait for Teacher Tang in the dormitory," Lu Jian replied after thinking for a moment.

"Okay, it's settled then. I'll definitely go back to my dorm before the exam."

The two agreed that Lu Jian would go to the cafeteria to get food, while Tang Zhitong would return to the dormitory.

The only difference between the dormitories at the Post and Telecommunications Institute and those at other universities was the presence of a telephone. There was neither air conditioning nor a fan in the dorms, and the space was already small. With eight energetic young men crammed in, their yang energy almost broke through the roof.

As soon as Tang Zhitong went upstairs, he saw a classmate who couldn't stand the heat coming out of the washroom, soaking wet and wearing only his underwear.

Some students were barefoot, while others were wearing slippers. Whether they were wearing shoes or not, they left a footprint with every step. If this were drawn on paper, wouldn't it be called "Lotus Blossoms with Every Step"?

Looking at their carefree manner, Tang Zhitong felt a little like taking a cold shower. Back in college, there was only one oscillating fan hanging on the ceiling in the dormitory that had been used for who knows how many years. We were able to get through the summer thanks to the continuous supply of tap water in the washroom.

"Squad leader, is summer in Beijing this hot? It's not even the hottest time of the year yet, how are we going to get through it?" As soon as Tang Zhitong entered the dormitory, he heard Lu Shi asking Luo Zhiping about the weather in Beijing.

The other roommates sat on the edge of their beds near the window, most of them shirtless, fanning themselves with newspapers. "It wasn't this hot before, this year is weird. When it gets hot, we just wipe ourselves down, there's no better way." Lu Yan had almost recovered, and Luo Zhiping's mood had also improved a lot, returning to his usual lively and talkative self. At this moment, he was rubbing his back with a towel, looking as if Lu Bu was wielding his halberd to challenge Diao Chan.

"Wow, big brother! Look at those muscles, no wonder Xiao Lu is so fond of you. You won't go hungry even if you pull a cart." Tang Zhitong chuckled and moved a little further away from Luo Zhiping. Although the kid hadn't gone to the washroom, his towel had been soaked in water, and when he shook it, it was covered in tiny specks of water.

"Teacher Tang, please don't make fun of me. My arms and legs are too small to pull a cart." Luo Zhiping bent his arm, and a bulge appeared on his biceps, which was not even as big as a steamed bun in the cafeteria.

"You seem to have a lot of strength; the water on the towel is almost splashing onto the roof. You should tone it down a bit, or you'll spill it into the rice bowl, which doesn't taste good with rice porridge." Tang Zhitong remained cheerful, showing no sign of reproach.

"Oh dear, my fault, my fault. Who did I throw it into? I'll trade with him." Often, criticizing or directly pointing out someone's mistake doesn't solve the problem, but reminding them in a joking way often has a surprising effect. After hearing this, Luo Zhiping stopped rubbing his back, took the towel down, bent down, and threw it into the basin.

"It's okay, everyone's waiting for you to finish wiping. We'll eat together after you're done." The other classmates all kept their distance, placing their lunchboxes at the end furthest from Luo Zhiping.

"Sigh, I'm sorry about this mess. Here, have a smoke before you eat." Luo Zhiping breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the food hadn't really been wasted. He pulled his shirt off the bed, took out a cigarette, and started offering it to others.

Tang Zhitong doesn't smoke, but he stands at the window watching his roommate smoke.

Summer winds are mostly from the south, and southerly winds are mostly hot. They are not cool when blown directly on the body, but it's a different story if you are sweating. You can always feel a refreshing breeze when the wind blows.

"Teacher Tang, it's quite hot outside, and you're covered in sweat. Why are you still wearing a shirt? Take it off and cool off." Luo Zhiping lit cigarettes for everyone and began to persuade Tang Zhitong.

"Forget it, I'm afraid you'll say I'm a cart puller." Tang Zhitong remained unmoved. At least his clothes could cover his eight-pack abs. It wasn't that he was afraid of being seen naked, but he was afraid that they would be jealous.

"Hey, we're all grown men, would I be lusting after your body?" Luo Zhiping waved his hand dismissively.

“Yeah, then let’s cool off.” Everyone in the dorm was shirtless, and he was dressed formally, which made him feel a bit out of place. So Tang Zhitong listened to Luo Zhiping and unbuttoned his shirt, draping it over his bed.

"Hey, still all muscular?" Dou Yongchang joked from the side.

"Hey, I've always had a big appetite since I was little, so I'm quite chubby. Before coming to school, I worked as a temporary worker on construction sites and also did delivery work. The physical labor was intense, so my muscles got stronger and stronger." Tang Zhitong explained with a smile. There would be a shortage of food in Beijing for at least a year, and it would be a bit unreasonable if his roommates found out that he was still chubby even though he wasn't eating enough. So he decided to give them a heads-up in advance.

When Lu Jian returned with the food, the others had finished their cigarettes and sat down to eat together. Their conversation still revolved around hot dishes.

Installing a fan was impossible, so Tang Zhitong thought of the narrow tube effect, recalling a "zero-power" air conditioner that appeared in a certain Indian movie.

A wooden board riddled with holes was nailed to the window, and beverage bottles were stuffed into the holes to blow cool air into the room using the narrow tube effect.

This method of playing does not consume electricity, but in terms of actual effect, Tang Zhitong felt it was not as good as the winter melon air conditioner invented by their ancestors. Holding a winter melon in one's arms was much more effective.

The problem is, there are no winter melons available right now...

After much discussion, the group finally decided to take a shower – a primitive but effective solution.

Taking advantage of the brief coolness after the storm, Tang Zhitong took a nap in dormitory 219. After finishing the exam in the afternoon, he grabbed his bag and went to find his classmate Xiao Wang.

“Some people are so annoying. What time is it? They’re still criticizing your songs.” As soon as Xiao Wang saw her husband, she took out the letter she had received that morning.

"A song? 'The Little Girl Picking Mushrooms'?" Tang Zhitong, not bothering to wipe his sweat, took the letter and checked the sender's name first.

The letter was sent to Xiao Wang by Yang Lin, an editor at China National Radio. It contained two letters and a newspaper.

"Hmm, saying this won't work, that won't work, if he can do it, then you do it yourself. What do you mean by talking badly about people behind their backs?" Xiao Wang used her handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her husband's forehead and neck.

"Let me take a look first." Tang Zhitong smiled at Xiao Wang, giving her a reassuring look.

One of the letters was written by Yang Lin herself, and the other was a letter from a reader.

Yang Lin's letter was short. In it, she said that after "The Little Girl Picking Mushrooms" was broadcast, she received many letters from readers. Some praised the song, some asked for a rebroadcast, and some asked for advice. However, she didn't see any criticism.

CNR usually forwards all these letters to the authors, but Ms. Wang, having learned from her husband's experience in handling reader letters for "The Barefoot Doctor's Manual," handed over the disposal authority to CNR from the beginning.

When a reader noticed that the author hadn't replied, they actually wrote a letter to the Wenyi Bao (Literary Gazette) that took things too far, and the Wenyi Bao published it!

After seeing the newspaper, Yang Lin considered that the two of them might not subscribe to such a professional newspaper, so she forwarded the newspaper and the reader's letter to them.

The meaning is clear: let the two of them see how to handle this, since the criticism was directed at the lyricist, not China National Radio.

At the end of the letter, Yang Lin revealed the identity of the author of the newspaper article: he was also a lyricist and composer, but not so famous, and he used a pseudonym.

After reading the letter, Tang Zhitong started reading the newspaper, which only contained the page with the critical letter.

The piece is short, starting with the phrase "barefoot," and argues that the lyricist openly slanders the commune and vilifies the countryside. How could a young girl go barefoot up the hill?

Then they seized on the "market day" again, claiming the lyricist harbored resentment towards the great XXX work, asking how someone could go to a market after picking mushrooms? And how could there even be a market?!
Next came increasing the height and intensity, with hats being shoved on like they were free, as if the inability to enter heaven was entirely due to a children's song written by Tang Zhitong.

Tang Zhitong laughed when he read the reader's letter one last time.

This letter is under her real name, but the Wenyi Bao (Literary Gazette) uses a pseudonym. Yang Lin has confirmed with the Wenyi Bao that it is the same person. There may be cases of pseudonyms being used interchangeably, but the addresses for sending and receiving letters will not be the same.

"That's it? Why get angry? It's not worth it." Tang Zhitong had finally gotten a newspaper article because of the song, but it wasn't a compliment. After reading the letter, he tossed it aside and comforted Xiao Wang with a smile.

Xiao Wang is pregnant; we can't let her get angry.

(End of this chapter)