Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 169 Cotton Alley
Lin Erchun took over the task assigned by Lin Chaoyang and prepared to go out early the next morning.

Yanjing is located in North China, and the winter temperature is still somewhat lower than that of the Northeast. The old couple didn't take the weather outside seriously at all and went out briskly.

They were out for the whole day, and when Lin Chaoyang and Tao Yushu returned home at night, they didn't see the two men come back.

Tao Yushu asked worriedly, "Will mom and dad get lost and not be able to come back?"

"Not really. If you don't know the way, can't you just ask?"

As Lin Chaoyang was speaking, Lin Erchun and his wife came back.

After running around outside for a day, both of them were covered in weather and frost. Lin Chaoyang noticed that Comrade Zhang Guiqin's expression remained unchanged.

"Why are you back so late?"

"You ask him!" Zhang Guiqin said angrily.

Lin Chaoyang looked at Lin Erchun with a questioning look.

Lin Erchun said nonchalantly: "Don't listen to your mother's nonsense."

"Am I talking nonsense? He said he was going out to look for a house, but he was so good. After lunch, he ran to the alley to watch people repair shoes, and he watched for the whole afternoon.

I started chatting with people and didn't want to leave.

What? You want to open a stall to repair shoes too?"

Zhang Guiqin was so angry that she couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

"Chaoyang, don't listen to your mother's nonsense, she doesn't understand at all.

We took the bus to Xicheng in the morning. At first, we didn't know where it was, so we just asked around.

People are wary of outsiders like us, and they look at us with strange eyes.

I thought it would be useless to just ask anyone, so I might as well ask someone who knows the area. The shoe repairman is an old local and knows everything about the area."

"So what did you find out?" Zhang Guiqin asked.

Lin Erchun said, "This is only the first day I've been out, what can you find out? Just wait, in less than half a month, I'll have a thorough understanding of the entire Yanjing. Will it be difficult to find a house by then?"

"Just brag, just go ahead!" Zhang Guiqin said disdainfully.

Lin Chaoyang smiled and advised: "Okay, okay, you've been running around outside, go to bed early."

He asked Lin Erchun to go out and look for a house purely to give the old couple something to do and also to let them get familiar with Yanjing City.

This trick was indeed effective. After just one day, the two of them were obviously in much better spirits than they were in the previous two days.

The next day, Lin Chaoyang received a payment slip from Renwen Publishing House while at work.

"Lai Zi's Summer" will be published by Renwen Press next month, with the first print run of 100,000 copies. The basic remuneration and the remuneration based on the number of copies printed will add up to a total of 2,400 yuan.

After returning home, they learned that Lin Chaoyang had earned 2,400 yuan by writing a novel, and that this was his second payment for the novel. Including the previous payments, he had already earned 4,400 yuan. Amazement was written all over Lin Erchun and his wife's faces.

Lin Erchun finally understood why his son wanted to buy a house. He could earn more than 4,000 yuan by writing a novel, and more than 40,000 yuan by writing ten novels. What house could he not buy?

After seeing Lin Chaoyang's payment slip, Lin Erchun became more motivated to go out and rob private property.

During this period, there was a restless mood on the Yanda campus, which came from a group of restless students.

The reason is that the HD District where Yanjing University is located is holding a representative election. This is the first grassroots election of representatives since the Buzz Buzz Buzz. Yenching University also has a quota, and the HD District Government also asked the school to recommend candidates.

As soon as the news came out, students from Yan University flocked to it.

Many people took the initiative to register with the department and expressed their opinions through big-character posters and speeches. For a while, the Yanda campus was very lively.

College students of this generation have an unusual passion for politics. Lin Chaoyang found it difficult to understand their emotions, so when Chen Jiangong came over to ask him about his opinion on the election representative, Lin Chaoyang pondered for a long time and finally said:
"Deputy, are there any salaries?"

Chen Jiangong's face turned green after hearing this, and the look in his eyes as he looked at Lin Chaoyang was almost written with six big words - a rotten wood cannot be carved.

"You are a nationally renowned writer after all. Can you think of anything else besides money?" Chen Jiangong said in an angry tone.

Lin Chaoyang closed the registration book and asked, "Why did you come to see me? Just to ask for my advice?"

"Yup!"

"I don't have any suggestions."

Chen Jiangong looked at him disappointedly: "You are so boring. Don't you care about such a big thing?"

"I'm not in politics, why should I care about this?"

"Okay, then I'll treat you to a meal when I win the election!"

"Row."

"When I went to your house, Li Tuo said that your cooking skills are good. Really, we have known each other for two years, and I didn't know this!"

Lin Chaoyang asked, "You're treating me, and you want me to cook? Is that appropriate?"

"If there's anything inappropriate, just think of it as you congratulating me." Chen Jiangong said shamelessly.

"Okay, then I wish you failure in the election!"

Chen Jiangong was speechless, "You really know how to talk."

After he left, Hu Wenqiong said, "These students are really noisy!"

As for the election of representatives, the Yan University administration actually does not support it.

Although Yanda usually takes good care of its students and creates excellent conditions for them as much as possible, for the school, exposing students to real political activities at an early stage can easily have the undesirable effect of forcing things to happen.

Many departments of Yanda University have remained silent on the nomination of election representatives. Only those students who are keen on participating in activities and politics are the most excited. The school is not in a position to explicitly prohibit such things, so it can only adopt a laissez-faire attitude.

Lin Chaoyang did not respond to Hu Wenqiong's words. She said a few words and finally concluded: "It's all because of the school!"

Lin Chaoyang deeply agreed with her words.

Counting decades in the past and decades in the future, there should be no students who are more valued by the country and the school than Chen Jiangong and his generation. After get off work, Lin Chaoyang rode his bicycle out of the school and passed by Building 26 where international students lived. He ran into Zhang Yaozhong and Liang Zuo, who were complaining to each other.

"Where are you going?" Lin Chaoyang stopped the car and asked the two.

When the two saw that it was Lin Chaoyang, they greeted him. Liang Zuo looked at Zhang Yaozhong with disdain, "Ask him!"

Zhang Yaozhong said aggrievedly: "How should I know? People asked you and you didn't tell me, and now you blame me!"

Lin Chaoyang watched the two of them playing dumb and stepped on the pedal of the bicycle, "Speak or not? If not, I'm leaving!"

Liang Zuo then said, "Tonight the TV will broadcast the special court trial of F4, and we planned to go to the International Students Building to watch it. When we entered the building just now, the doorman asked who we were looking for, and he said 320. The doorman immediately got angry after hearing that, and kicked us out without saying a word."

Lin Chaoyang asked curiously, "Why is the concierge so angry? There is no number plate for this dormitory?"

"Yes, but it's a toilet!" Liang Zuo said in a faint voice.

Hearing this, Lin Chaoyang couldn't help but burst into laughter, and he almost cried with laughter.

"Oh! I'm not saying anything, but you two are really good. You go to watch TV without even thinking twice!" He laughed and teased.

Liang Zuo said helplessly: "Can you have some sympathy? The concierge just now hurt us both badly."

"I'm sorry." Lin Chaoyang apologized insincerely, and then said: "To express my apology. Let me do you a favor."

"How can we help?" Zhang Yaozhong asked.

Lin Chaoyang led the two to the door of Building 26 and said to the doorman, "Comrade, please help me find Mao Tianci."

Television is still a rare thing nowadays. Among the student dormitories of Yanda University, only the International Students Building has a TV room, so Chinese students often come to watch TV.

Lin Chaoyang looked like a student at first glance. The doorman looked at him warily, then went upstairs to call A Mao down for Lin Chaoyang.

"Hello, Lin!"

As soon as they met, A Mao greeted Lin Chaoyang enthusiastically. They chatted for a few words. Lin Chaoyang called Zhang Yaozhong and Liang Zuo over and explained the situation to A Mao.

When Mao heard that the two were going to watch the special televised court where politicians were publicly tried, he was very excited as he had not known about this before.

"Come on, I'll take you to the TV room."

With A Mao leading the way, Zhang Yaozhong and Liang Zuo strode into the International Students Building amid the helpless look of the doorman.

When they reached the stairs, the two of them turned around and saluted Lin Chaoyang to express their gratitude.

That night, the television in every household in Yanjing was on and the place was packed with people. People sat in front of the TV, crying or laughing.

The Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside Movement, which had lasted for more than a decade, was coming to an end. Those who had been wronged were brought to justice, and the culprits were brought to justice.

As the 1970s approached its final month, everything about it seemed to have come to an end.

By December, the temperature had dropped significantly, but Lin Erchun was still happily wandering around Yanjing City.

He recently found out to Lin Chaoyang about several private houses for sale, located in the Haidian and Xicheng districts, but a considerable number of them had unclear property rights.

This situation is not uncommon. During the period of the "Buzz Buzz Buzz" movement, houses were occupied and some of the original owners had no place to live after returning to Beijing.

In this case, selling the house is almost the best option for the original owner.

After all, the money from selling the house is yours, and if you don’t sell the house, it will only be given to others to live in.

However, such houses are usually difficult to sell. Even if the asking price is much cheaper than the market price, most buyers will not pay attention to such houses with disputes.

Among the houses that Lin Erchun was looking for, there were two wing rooms for sale. He was quite optimistic about these two houses, and the yards were also well maintained.

But after he finished talking to Lin Chaoyang, Lin Chaoyang shook his head.

"I found a house for you with great difficulty, but you didn't even take a look at it. What's the meaning? Are you tiring, you silly boy?" Lin Erchun asked.

"Didn't I tell you? If we're going to buy something, we're going to buy a courtyard house."

"I'm also looking for a courtyard house."

"Your house is called a compound. There are more than a dozen families living in this nice compound. How can the living environment be good? It's even worse than the farmyards in our countryside."

Lin Chaoyang's words were unpleasant to hear, but they were true.

Nowadays, most of the shantytowns in Yanjing have no water supply or drainage, no central heating, no natural gas, and no separate toilets. The houses are at least thirty to fifty years old, and at most hundreds of years old. The originally good courtyards have all been covered with earthquake-resistant sheds because some people have taken more space than they deserve.

To be honest, it is not as good as the courtyards in some rural areas with relatively better conditions.

"That's true." Lin Erchun had to admit that Lin Chaoyang's words made sense, but he still said with some displeasure: "You are so arrogant that you even look down on other people's houses in Yanjing. In the past, would you have been able to live there?"

"Dad, we can't say that! This is called the time for change. What's wrong with pursuing a happy life?"

"Stop talking to me."

Lin Erchun interrupted Lin Chaoyang impatiently. Although he said he was unwilling, he still ran out to continue looking for a house for Lin Chaoyang.

"Go!"

That day, Lin Erchun urged Zhang Guiqin to go out, but Zhang Guiqin did not move. "I won't go. It's too cold. If you want to go, you go."

"You've been in Yanjing for a few days, and you're already acting so spoiled!"

Lin Erchun muttered something, didn't force it, and walked out of the door.

After his unremitting and persistent search, he finally found a decent house after spending more than half a month.

The house that Lin Erchun found for Lin Chaoyang was a two-story house located in Mianhua Hutong in Xicheng District, sandwiched between Deshengmen Street and Xinjiekou Street, and close to the Huguo Temple.

After listening to Lin Erchun’s introduction to the house, Lin Chaoyang decided to go and take a look.

On this weekend morning, Lin Erchun and his son Lin Chaoyang rode their bicycles to Mianhua Hutong.

(End of this chapter)