Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 213 Double Guarantee
In a blink of an eye, mid-May has passed. This weekend, Geng Chuanfeng informed Lin Chaoyang last night that the renovation of Mianhua Hutong has been completed. Early this morning, Lin Chaoyang and his wife came to Mianhua Hutong, and Du Feng also came to join in the fun.

After more than a month of renovation, the courtyard can be said to have been completely renewed.

The originally dilapidated screen wall at the entrance was polished and repaired, the doors and windows of each room were replaced with new ones, and the exposed beams, columns, hanging flower doors and other wooden works were painted.

The courtyard is paved with blue bricks in the shape of a cross, separating four small gardens. Two pomegranate trees have been specially transplanted into two of the gardens, adding a bit of vitality to the courtyard.

These two pomegranate trees were moved here by Geng Chuanfeng and his team on their own initiative, without Lin Chaoyang having to pay for them.

A local heater was installed in the main house facing south, and there were radiators in every room, which were much warmer than heating with a coal stove.

There is an independent kitchen and toilet in the yard. It is so comfortable to live in, not to mention the ordinary slums or even the tube-shaped buildings.

Although the hardware conditions of the renovated courtyard house cannot be compared with those of later generations, it is already very good considering the living standards of that era.

In the past half month or so, Lin Chaoyang and Tao Yushu have been busy purchasing furniture and daily necessities for the courtyard house.

During the week, they both had to go to work and school and were only free on weekends, so the progress was not fast. Fortunately, because they had foreign exchange coupons, they did not have to consider the issue of tickets when purchasing goods as before. The worst that could happen was that they would just have to spend some foreign exchange coupons.

Tao Yushu felt a little distressed before, but after using it a few times, she found that life and shopping were indeed much more convenient with foreign exchange coupons.

"The yard is now cleaned up, and it feels really good!" Du Feng said after looking around the house and the yard, and then said to Lin Chaoyang with a bit of complacency: "How is it? Brother-in-law, the craftsmanship of my comrades is pretty good, right?"

Lin Chaoyang smiled and nodded to show his satisfaction.

After looking at the situation in the courtyard, Lin Chaoyang arranged to invite Geng Chuanfeng and Du Feng to have lunch outside, but Tao Yushu came out of the house and shouted, "Wait a minute, hang this plaque at the gate of the courtyard."

She was holding the couplet that Deng Youmei had arranged to give to Lin Chaoyang. Lin Chaoyang said, "How could you be so cool?"

"Just hang it up. It's all from their heart."

As she spoke, she asked Du Feng and Geng Chuanfeng for help. It took more than ten minutes to hang the plaque at the gate of the southeast corner of the courtyard.

"Where can I find the heavenly music? The best taste in the world can be found in this pavilion, Xunwei Pavilion. Hey, brother-in-law, your yard really feels like a celebrity's former residence."

There is a sign "Xunwei Zhai" hanging right above the gate, and on the left and right are "Where to find the fairy music from heaven" and "The best taste on earth can be found in this Zhai". After Du Feng finished reading them, he exclaimed in praise.

Lin Chaoyang felt something was wrong as he looked at it. The more he looked at it, the more it looked like a restaurant sign.

"Pah, pah, pah! What celebrity's former residence? A dog can't spit out ivory."

Tao Yushu scolded Du Feng, but Du Feng knew he had said the wrong thing and apologized with a smile.

Lin Chaoyang chose the Old Xi'an Restaurant in Xinjiekou as the venue for the dinner. This is an old restaurant that opened in 54 years and specializes in Northwestern-style beef and mutton soup with steamed buns and halal dishes.

Geng Chuanfeng is from Shaanxi, and Lin Chaoyang and his wife mainly invited him to the dinner, while Du Feng was just a freeloader.

While eating, Du Feng asked, "Brother-in-law, the courtyard is ready. When will my uncle and aunt come over?"

Lin Chaoyang said: "They can't sit still, so they only come here to stay in the winter these past two years. After a few years, when they are old and can no longer work, they will come here to retire."

Du Feng nodded thoughtfully.

Lin Chaoyang was afraid of neglecting Geng Chuanfeng, so he chatted with him for a few more sentences, and the conversation turned to work.

Geng Chuanfeng knew that Lin Chaoyang worked at Yanjing University and was a writer, so he treated him with great respect.

"Writer Lin, I really envy you intellectuals!"

"The division of labor in the revolution is different. Aren't you doing well in the army?" Lin Chaoyang said with a smile.

Geng Chuanfeng sighed, "It was fine before, but now..."

Du Feng knew why he sighed. Geng Chuanfeng was a construction soldier, just like the art soldiers. It was fine before, but the troops have been in CJ for the past two years, and everyone has a sense of crisis.

Lin Chaoyang comforted him, "With your skills, even if you leave the army and go to the local area, you will still be popular, and you may even have better development."

Du Feng asked, "Brother-in-law, what development can we achieve in the local area?"

Lin Chaoyang pointed outside and said, "Look outside, how many construction sites are under construction? The country is reforming and opening up, and the economy needs to develop. Infrastructure is indispensable. People like Chuan Feng will be popular in the future."

"Makes sense."

Geng Chuanfeng's eyebrows relaxed after hearing what Lin Chaoyang said. "Writer Lin, you intellectuals are the ones who see things in the long term. I respect you!"

Coming out of the Old Xi'an Restaurant, Geng Chuanfeng left first. Du Feng pulled Lin Chaoyang aside and asked in a low voice, "Brother-in-law, what happened last time..."

"I knew you had ulterior motives for coming here today."

Du Feng chuckled twice feeling guilty.

"Director Li Hanxiang's film is in preparation. I asked him for a minor role, but it won't be filmed in the short term."

Du Feng immediately thanked him profusely, "It's okay, it's better this way."

Lin Chaoyang could roughly understand what he meant by "better". Women are indeed the best school for men. After experiencing some setbacks in love, his brother-in-law has indeed grown up.

"Brother-in-law, um..." Du Feng hesitated to speak.

"What else?"

"Look, no one usually lives in your yard. This house is not afraid of anything else, don't be afraid of it being empty..."

Lin Chaoyang just calmly watched him make up stories. Finally, Du Feng couldn't make up any more stories. "Hey, brother-in-law, we're too far from the city. Sometimes it's inconvenient to go out and come back. Can you lend me a room in your yard?"

"Lend it to you, or lend it to you guys?"

Lin Chaoyang revealed his little thoughts in one sentence. Du Feng was a little embarrassed, "Brother-in-law, don't get me wrong, I'm just sleeping."

Perhaps he felt that he was making things worse, so Du Feng said, "Brother-in-law, I'm not living in this house for free, so leave the cleaning to me. I'll just take the back house on the south side, and when the old man and his wife come, I'll make sure they aren't disturbed."

How could Lin Chaoyang refuse the security and cleaning services that came to his door?

"I reserve the west wing for entertaining guests. You can live there if you want."

"Brother-in-law, you are really my brother-in-law!" Du Feng hugged Lin Chaoyang happily.

Lin Chaoyang pushed him away and said, "Let me make it clear first, don't mess around in my yard."

Du Feng made a solemn promise to Lin Chaoyang, and then left happily. Tao Yushu asked, "What happened?"

Lin Chaoyang then told Du Feng about his request and said, "Aren't you afraid that he might do something weird?"

"Are you still worried about your brother? Besides, it's not good to leave this yard empty. At least it's more lively if someone lives here. He can also help clean the yard."

Tao Yushu joked: "You have a good idea."

"It's mutually beneficial."

A few days later, when Lin Chaoyang got home from get off work, he saw Zhang Dening sitting in the living room. He thought Zhang Dening was here to urge him to submit the manuscript, but Zhang Dening just greeted him briefly when he saw him. He didn't mention the manuscript at all, but was chatting enthusiastically with Tao Yushu.

Lin Chaoyang listened carefully and found that the two were discussing "Furong Town" which was published in "Contemporary" this month.

According to the normal historical trajectory, "Furong Town" should have been published in January this year, but because of the variable of Lin Chaoyang, the first issue of "Contemporary" this year became a special issue on "The Death of Van Gogh", and "Furong Town" was postponed to May.

When the first draft of this novel was sent to Contemporary Magazine, it immediately attracted the attention of the editorial department, which placed high hopes on it.

After being published this month, "Furong Town" quickly caused a strong response in the literary world.

This novel incorporates political turmoil into folk customs and, through the changes in an ancient town in a remote mountain area, presents a picture of southern rural society in the tide of the times, and has won praise from many readers.

Tao Yushu has been writing literary reviews in recent years. Recently, "Furong Town" is very popular. She plans to write a review for this novel and is having a great discussion with Zhang Dening.

Seeing that the two were very engaged in the conversation, Lin Chaoyang went to cook first.

"Chaoyang, please add a dish tonight!" Zhang Dening suddenly said.

Lin Chaoyang teased, "I've never seen a guest who eats and drinks for free as comfortably as you do."

Zhang Dening was too disdainful to argue with Lin Chaoyang, as she had now clung to Tao Yushu's thigh.

During dinner, she and Tao Yushu were still discussing the novel "Furong Town". Tao Yushu looked at Lin Chaoyang and asked, "Chaoyang, what do you think of this novel?"

"It's well written." Lin Chaoyang said while picking up the food.

Zhang Dening asked: "Just 'very good'?"

"'Pretty good' is not enough? How good should it be?" Lin Chaoyang asked back.

"Then can you elaborate on why it is only 'good' and not very good?"

Lin Chaoyang pondered and said, “Whether you call it scar literature or reflective literature, its main theme is still to settle accounts with Buzz Buzz Buzz.

There is nothing new in the story structure, and it still proceeds in a binary opposition mode.

On one side are the Wang Qiushes who insist on wrong and absurd lines and are extremely dogmatic; on the other side are the Hu Yuyins who are honest and live a decent life but suffer a lot, plus at most the good party member Gu Yanshan and Qin Shutian who finds joy in misery.

Its flaws include simplifying the complex society and life, and stereotyping and clownizing some characters.

Of course, the flaws do not outweigh the merits. Overall, the quality of this novel is good, and it fits the experiences of many people today very well, reflecting the bizarreness of that chaotic and absurd era. "

Lin Chaoyang's summary was not long, but every sentence was on point. Zhang Dening admired his literary sense and said to Tao Yushu, "The great writer in your family is becoming more and more discerning."

"He reads much more than the average person. It would be great if he could write novels as diligently as he reads them."

Hearing that Tao Yushu was trying to increase his strength in disguise, Lin Chaoyang said, "Reading novels is also a process of learning."

"Yes, yes, you are right." Tao Yushu said with a smile.

Zhang Dening asked casually, "Hey, how's your novel going?"

“Almost done!”

"I came here half a month ago, and that's what you said."

"I'm busy lately!"

Lin Chaoyang was not being perfunctory, he was indeed almost done with the novel, and he had indeed wasted a lot of time recently because of the matters concerning the Siheyuan.

Zhang Dening urged her a few times but didn't continue. Anyway, the novel was already in her pocket, and Tao Yushu was still there.

"Chaoyang, our magazine is going to hold a writers' club in two months," said Zhang Dening.

"Writers' meeting?" Lin Chaoyang subconsciously wanted to refuse. He had taken a lot of leave this year, and the writers' meeting was not something he had to attend. "I won't go. I still have to go to work."

"You can take a leave from work! It happens that our literary gathering is during the summer vacation, so you can take Yushu with you. We plan to hold a literary gathering in Qingdao, the environment is very good, and you two can go together and treat it as a vacation, how great!"

"Can I bring my family with me?"

"Others can't do it, but you can." Zhang Dening said with a smile, a calculating look on his face.

Lin Chaoyang was alert, "Is your editorial department so kind?"

"Look at what you're saying! What bad intentions could our editorial department have? The writers' meeting is just a trip to enjoy the scenery. It's a benefit for writers like you."

Lin Chaoyang felt that Zhang Dening had grasped his weakness. If she had only invited him, he would have rejected it outright. But now that she had also invited Tao Yushuo, it was really difficult for Lin Chaoyang to refuse.

"I won't go to the writers' meeting. I don't want to be bothered in such a hot day." Tao Yushu was afraid that Lin Chaoyang would be embarrassed, so he took the initiative to say this.

But the more she said this, the more Lin Chaoyang couldn't refuse this invitation. Only now did he understand the brilliance of Zhang Dening's move.

"It's okay. You'll be fine by then anyway, so let's go together. We've been married for several years, and we've never gone out to travel." Lin Chaoyang said softly.

Zhang Dening smiled somewhat proudly, "That's right! Our editorial department also had the same consideration."

Lin Chaoyang glanced at her. You're bragging without even thinking beforehand, right?

Tao Yushu asked: "But...is it appropriate for me to go?"

Zhang Dening raised his neck and said, "Why is it inappropriate? You are also the author of our Yenching Literature, okay?"

Tao Yushu has been writing literary reviews and has also published an article in "Yenching Literature". Her statement is a bit far-fetched, but there is nothing wrong with it.

We are all authors, so it makes sense to attend a writers' club, doesn't it?

(End of this chapter)