The Red Era: Living in Seclusion in a Siheyuan as a Boss

Chapter 806 The Pride of Liu Family Village!
Since the beginning of the new millennium, the economy of Dongda University has been booming, and all sectors have entered a period of rapid development.

The financial industry took the lead, with foreign banks flocking to Lujiazui in Shanghai and Liujiazhuang in Yanjing, and glass curtain wall skyscrapers springing up like mushrooms after rain.

On the electronic screen of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, red and green numbers danced, revealing the secrets of wealth, while the opening bell of the ChiNext board awakened the dreams of countless entrepreneurs.

At the same time, some traditional industries such as manufacturing are also undergoing transformation in the wave, and the high-speed rail wheels are rolling across the Eurasian continent, handing the name card of "Dongda Manufacturing" to the world.

The internet economy has begun to surge ahead, and e-commerce platforms have reshaped people's consumption habits.

Amid this surging economic tide, the cultural and entertainment industry in mainland China has developed rapidly, which can only be described as changing with each passing day.

As the new millennium approached, Wang Huijuan, a student at Yenching University whose hometown was in the mountainous region of Yunnan and Guizhou, learned about rock music for the first time.

Because the boy behind her, Zhang, brought a cassette tape to school. The album was called "Naked," and the cover featured a handsome guy with long hair.

Although this album was released in 1994, it was the first time she had ever heard of it while she was still a high school student.

During lunch break, Zhang took out his relatively trendy "Patriot" portable music player, put the earphones into his classmates' ears, and played the music for everyone.

The classmates joked, "Why are you listening to this kind of inappropriate stuff!"

After that rock music enlightenment during lunch break, Wang Huijuan and her classmates began to listen to Pu Shu, Beyond, the Magic Rock Three, and so on.

There was a boy practicing sprinting diagonally in front of Wang Huijuan's seat. During breaks, he would always hum Pu Shu's "Newboy" with high spirits. That album happened to be called "I'm Going to 2000".

Back then, they got out of school at 3 PM. If the boys wanted to go to an internet cafe, they would always sing the drawn-out line "Relax a bit~ Windows 98~" while packing their bags.

Like a golden phoenix emerging from a remote mountain village, Wang Huijuan surprisingly got into Peking University two years ago, a remarkable achievement for their county.

Since being admitted to university, Wang Huijuan has found that her life has changed and become more colorful.

Another great pleasure of her lunch break was riding her bike to Xidan Audio-Visual World to buy cassette tapes, since the school was nearby.

The year 2000 was the era of transition between cassette tapes and CDs. A cassette tape cost a dozen yuan, and the girls bought them separately and then exchanged them to listen to.

Wang Huijuan has exchanged countless cassette tapes, including one of Lin Zhiying's "Before Dawn Breaks".

There's a title track on the album called "Celery," which Wang Huijuan likes to listen to while riding her bike.

Cell phones have been a novelty in recent years. Around 1998, the era of "Big Brother" mobile phones was still dominated by them. By the year 2000, some of Wang Huijuan's classmates were already bringing cell phones to school.

Once, while shopping at the Tianyi Small Commodities Wholesale Market with a classmate, the girl said she needed to call home to let her know. Wang Huijuan, like a fool, tried to grab a public phone booth for her, but the girl calmly pulled out her cell phone and said, "No need, I have a cell phone." At that moment, Wang Huijuan felt like a complete clown.

Wang Huijuan bought her first mobile phone this year. It's a Huawei Mate 1, dark blue, an old model that's been on the market for four years.

However, Wang Huijuan still couldn't put it down.

She still remembers the excitement of sending that first text message; the immense sense of novelty was like Armstrong's first step onto the moon.

As for whether her classmates replied to Wang Huijuan's text messages, she had no time to worry about it; the joy of sending messages was entirely her own.

At first, I was so excited that I sent out too many messages, each costing only one cent, that my phone credit was quickly depleted.

The impact of new things on Wang Huijuan was incomparable to that of encountering new things later in life.

As the new millennium began, Wang Huijuan experienced many new things for the first time.

Even the first time I chatted online was unforgettable.

When Wang Huijuan first arrived at school, a classmate earnestly told her, "There's a virus going around these days, so please be careful."

Wang Huijuan felt a little ashamed after hearing this, since she didn't know how to use the internet, while many of her classmates had already started using QQ to chat.

After Wang Huijuan registered a QQ account, her classmates began teaching her how to chat in the NetEase chat room.

Wang Huijuan asked her classmate curiously, "What's your name in here?"

She said, "I'm just a passerby!"

Wang Huijuan nodded blankly, only to later realize that the default nickname was "Passerby".

Wang Huijuan, entering the chat room for the first time, awkwardly typed on the keyboard, the chat box on the screen constantly refreshing with greetings from strangers.

She cautiously replied with "Hello," her heart pounding faster with each blink of the cursor.

In the internet cafe late at night, the blue light from the monitor illuminated her focused face, and the "beep beep beep" of message notifications came from her headphones, as if opening the door to a new world.

On weekends, Wang Huijuan and her roommates often went to Zhongguancun to hunt for DVDs. In the crowded aisles of Dinghao Electronics City, vendors selling pirated DVDs enthusiastically promoted the latest movies.

They used their saved living expenses to buy a "Titanic" VCD, and back in their dormitory, they watched it until dawn on a second-hand desktop computer's CD drive, crying their eyes out over Jack and Rose's love.

Last winter, Wang Huijuan met a senior from the Computer Science Department on the campus BBS.

They agreed to meet at the fountain in front of the library. The senior student gave her a 16MB USB drive, saying it could store the entire "Dream of the Red Chamber".

This small silver object was a treasure to Wang Huijuan, and she bid farewell to the era of floppy disks.

On New Year's Eve, the class monitor took a group photo of the whole class with a digital camera.

When the photo appeared in the class QQ group, Wang Huijuan experienced the wonder of "digital life" for the first time.

Later, Wang Huijuan stored these precious memories on her newly bought MP3 player, a magical device that could play music, allowing her to listen to Jay Chou's "Starry Night" on repeat in the study room.

In mid-July last year, Liu Jiapeng and his classmates, as middle school students from Liujiazhuang No. 7 Middle School, were preparing to perform a group dance at Victory Square.

Although it's uncertain whether the bid to host the Olympics will be successful, everyone has been incredibly excited since early this morning.

There was a girl in their class who looked like Sammi Cheng and excelled in both academics and the arts. In the afternoon, she helped everyone hand-paint the five rings and various Olympic elements on their T-shirts, which made everyone very happy.

That day, many photographers snapped pictures of excited passersby, and several classmates were in the shots, which even made it into the next day's newspaper.

On the night the bid for the Olympics was successful, everyone was so excited and there were so many people that they decided not to perform. Instead, everyone happily ran around and took photos together.

On the bus that took Liu Jiapeng and the others back to school, we all leaned out to greet and cheer the equally excited passersby on the roadside. Everyone was genuinely happy, and even strangers smiled brightly. That night, everyone was really happy and excited, full of hope for the future and looking forward to the arrival of 08.

This explosive joy was replicated again on October 7th, more than two months later.

That day, at Wulihe Stadium, the Chinese national football team advanced to the World Cup, and the TV screen displayed several large red characters: "We have qualified!"
While the celebrations were still going on on TV, Liu Shulin had already driven his son Liu Jiapeng to Victory Square in Liujiazhuang.

The entire route was filled with joyful crowds. When the father and son reached the East Bank Bridge, they could no longer cross it, as fans gathered on the sidewalk to cheer.

Liu Jiapeng took his father's digital camera and took a photo of himself against the backdrop of the celebrating crowd, but unfortunately he lost it later, which he deeply regretted. The most joyful thing for Liu Jiapeng that night was near the Liujiazhuang Gymnasium, where a fan was sitting in the back of a Jingchi C-100 with the windows rolled all the way down and the car moving very slowly. He was shirtless and using a large iron shovel to scrape the ground, cheering as he did so. Passersby were laughing hysterically and echoed his sentiments.

Both Liu Shulin and his son are avid football fans, and the Liujiazhuang Gymnasium is the home stadium of Beijing Guoan, the dominant force in the Eastern Super League and a powerhouse in Asia, where the football atmosphere is extremely passionate.

Liu Jiapeng still remembers the classic battle when Guoan came back from behind to beat Shenhua 3-2 at home that season, and the entire stands were boiling like a pot of water.

I remember when my father, Liu Shulin, took me to watch a game live for the first time when I was a child. I was wearing a green scarf and shirt and singing "Guoan will always strive for first place" like the adults.

After the event, the father and son ate skewers at a barbecue stall near the stadium. Liu Shulin told him about the football prodigy Gao Feng who made a solo run across a long distance in a match when he had just debuted.

The aroma of barbecue skewers that night, mixed with the cheers of the fans, became the warmest memory in Liu Jiapeng's mind.

Looking out the car window at the revelers, he suddenly realized that these moments were like his father's treasured old football tickets, which would yellow with age but would never lose their warmth.

After returning to school, Wang Huijuan went to the computer lab.

A group of students are gathered around a computer screen, watching the live news of Southeast University's successful bid for the Olympics.

"Look at this!" Wang Huijuan suddenly noticed the words "Groom's Online Live Broadcast" displayed in the lower right corner of the video as her senior pointed to the moment Samaranch announced "Beijing" on the screen.

It turns out that the world is unfolding in a completely new way, without needing to stay glued to the television.

After finishing her internet session in the computer lab, Wang Huijuan was packing her belongings to go back to her dormitory.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the window onto her profile, casting a faint blush.

Just then, familiar footsteps sounded behind her. Senior Brother Liu Yunpeng walked quickly over, stopped in front of her desk, and asked with a smile, "Junior Sister Wang, going back so early?" His voice was filled with undisguised concern.

"Um, Senior Brother Liu, is there something you need?" Wang Huijuan lowered her head slightly, her fingers unconsciously twisting the strap of her schoolbag.

She felt her heart suddenly race and her cheeks flush even more.

In fact, she knew very well that this cheerful and sincere senior brother had always taken extra care of her.

Whenever they bumped into each other, Liu Yunpeng would always find some excuse to chat for a few more minutes.

She herself had long been attracted by the sunny boy's cheerful smile.

Liu Yunpeng carefully took out a beautifully packaged box from his backpack, a hint of shyness on his face: "This is Huawei's latest MP3 player. I heard you like listening to Jay Chou's songs, so I specially downloaded the entire 'Fantasy' album."

Wang Huijuan's eyes widened in surprise; the expensive gift left her at a loss for words.

She noticed that there was a green ribbon tied to the box—that was the color of Beijing Guoan, Liu Yunpeng's favorite team.

“This is too precious,” she said softly, but couldn’t help reaching out to run her hand over the smooth packaging box.

"Actually," Liu Yunpeng scratched his head, "I have a few tickets for our Beijing Guoan home game against Shanghai Shenhua next weekend. If you're interested..."

The computer lab suddenly fell silent, with only the hum of the computer towers running.

Wang Huijuan felt that her heartbeat was so loud that it seemed the whole classroom could hear it.

She recalled seeing Liu Yunpeng's post on the campus BBS last week, which provided a detailed analysis of the technical characteristics of the new foreign player introduced by the Beijing Guoan team.

"Senior Brother Liu, I... I might not understand football," she answered softly, somewhat embarrassed.

"No problem!" Liu Yunpeng's eyes lit up. "I can explain it to you, and I believe you will also fall in love with this great sport..."

"After watching the game, I'd like to take you on a tour of my hometown, Liujiazhuang."

"Ah? Senior brother, so you're from Liujiazhuang?" Wang Huijuan's eyes lit up, her voice filled with undisguised surprise.

Since arriving in Yanjing, Wang Huijuan had often heard people mention the great reputation of Liujiazhuang.

It is not only the core area of ​​the most prosperous economy in Yanjing and even the whole country, but also famous for its beautiful environment and extremely high happiness index of residents.

The popular folk saying, "In the south there is Bao County, and in the north there is Liujiazhuang," is truly well-deserved.

"Has Junior Sister Wang ever visited our Liu Family Village?" As a native of Liu Family Village, Liu Yunpeng's face was filled with a proud smile.

"I've never been there, but I've long heard that Liujiazhuang is a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery, where the people live in peace and contentment," Wang Huijuan shook her head gently, her eyes revealing longing.

Liu Yunpeng laughed heartily: "Then you should definitely go and see for yourself! If you come to Yanjing and don't visit Liujiazhuang, wouldn't it be like entering a treasure mountain and returning empty-handed?" He enthusiastically introduced, "We not only have the renowned 'Number One in Western Beijing' Liujiazhuang cherries, 'Imperial Tribute Melons,' 'Western Beijing Tribute Rice,' but also 'Shengfang Golden Crabs.'"

"Furthermore, there are the world-renowned 'Yanshan' liquor, the benchmark of China's automotive industry 'Beijing Automotive,' the globally leading 'Liujiazhuang Traditional Chinese Medicine Group,' and the Asian food and beverage giant 'Nongfu Spring Group,'"

"In the sports field, we have the top football club in Asia, Beijing Guoan Football Club. The main players who qualified for this World Cup are all from Beijing Guoan."

Even Manchester United's key full-back Sun Jihai, Eredivisie rising star Sun Xiang, Bundesliga's top scorer Yang Chen, and Inter Milan's substitute midfielder Yu Genwei... are all talented players nurtured by our Beijing Guoan.

"The natural scenery is equally breathtaking: the sea of ​​clouds at Miaofeng Mountain, the ruggedness of Changcheng Valley, the red leaves of Xiangshan Mountain, the vicissitudes of the ancient Jingxi Road, as well as the unique Liujiazhuang homestay, the 'Liu Family Culture Museum,' and the thousand-year-old Baipu Temple."

Liu Yunpeng became more and more excited as he spoke, his eyes lighting up: "Every spring, our cherry orchards are full of pink and white flowers, which look like a sea of ​​clouds from afar."

By late May, the branches are laden with bright red cherries, which visitors can pick themselves—and they taste incredibly sweet!

“In the summer, we hold bonfire parties at farmhouses at the foot of Miaofeng Mountain, roasting whole lamb, singing folk songs, and looking up, we can see a sky full of stars.” He gestured as he spoke. “Autumn is even more beautiful, with golden waves of rice rolling in, and Shengfang crabs plump and juicy. We also hold a harvest festival.”

Wang Huijuan listened intently and couldn't help but interject, "Hearing you say that, I'm tempted to set off for Liujiazhuang right now."

“If you like it, junior sister, I can take you anytime. I’m a native of Liujiazhuang, and I know better than anyone where there are fun things to do and good things to eat…” Liu Yunpeng was overjoyed to see that Wang Huijuan was interested, and he talked more and more.

Wang Huijuan looked at Liu Yunpeng with a smile as he spoke eloquently, as if she could see that enchanting paradise through his description.

The last rays of the setting sun streamed through the window, casting a warm glow between the two.

Wang Huijuan suddenly remembered what her roommate had said: "Someone who truly likes you will be eager to share everything they love with you."

She looked up, met Liu Yunpeng's expectant gaze, and nodded gently: "Then it's settled."

Liu Yunpeng's face instantly lit up with a bright smile. He gestured excitedly, "Great! Let's go together on the day of the competition. Let's first try the most famous 'Shengfang Crab' in Liujiazhuang. The shop near my house has been open since my grandfather's generation."

Wang Huijuan was amused by his enthusiastic manner, and the evening breeze outside the window gently brushed against her hair.

The sound of students laughing as they finished class drifted in from outside the window. The breeze of the new millennium gently stirred the curtains, carrying the unique fragrance of locust blossoms of early summer.

On this ordinary evening, two young hearts are slowly drawing closer in a way unique to this era.

(End of this chapter)