Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 229 Walking House

A Yamaha 125 is worth 2650 foreign exchange coupons. According to official statements, the RMB and foreign exchange coupons are of equal value, but the people vote with their feet. Now one dollar of foreign exchange coupon can be exchanged for or RMB. In other words, a motorcycle is worth more than RMB.

In 50 when the average wage per capita was no more than 1981 yuan, it was a luxury item, equivalent to a million-dollar luxury car in later generations.

And this Yamaha driving on the streets today does have the style of a million-dollar luxury car.

When on the road, Tao Yushu was concentrating on driving and didn't pay any attention to the eyes of passers-by. Now that the motorcycle was parked at the door of his house, not only his sister Tao Yumo, but also many neighbors cast curious and envious glances at him.

The people living in the Overseas Chinese Apartments are all well-off, and a motorcycle is nothing to some of the neighbors, but for a female comrade like Tao Yushu riding a red Yamaha motorcycle, it would be very eye-catching.

The car stopped downstairs for two minutes, and several neighbors came over to greet Tao Yushu and ask what was going on with the motorcycle.

Hearing that it was a motorcycle bought by a husband for his wife, many female comrades couldn't help but look at Tao Yushu with envy, and even their eyes were filled with ardent admiration when they looked at Lin Chaoyang.

Tao Yushu was delighted by the compliments from her neighbors, but she had to put on a calm and generous expression on her face. She only felt relieved after all the neighbors left.

"Sister, it must be very hard to hold it in, right?" Tao Yumo teased.

Tao Yushu glared at her arrogantly, "You're the only one who talks too much."

As they were talking, the security guard at the door came over with his men.

"Old Liu, why are you here?" Lin Chaoyang stepped forward and greeted the person when he saw him.

Liu Xinwu smiled and shook hands with Lin Chaoyang, "Come over and give you two books."

As he spoke, he took out two books from the briefcase he carried with him.

The cover of the book was a slightly abstract self-portrait, and Lin Chaoyang recognized at a glance that it was the protagonist of his novel - Van Gogh.

"Lust for Life: A Biography of Vincent Van Gogh".

Lin Chaoyang smiled and asked, "It's going to be published so soon?"

"Not so fast. Your novel has been published for more than half a year, and our publishing plan was finalized a little later than your novel."

Some time ago, Liu Xinwu came to Lin Chaoyang and said that influenced by "The Death of Van Gogh", Yenching Publishing House planned to introduce Irving Stone's biography of Van Gogh, "Lust for Life", and wanted him to help write a preface. At that time, Lin Chaoyang readily agreed.

A few days later, Lin Chaoyang wrote the preface and gave it to Liu Xinwu. Today, Liu Xinwu came to deliver the book, which can be regarded as returning the favor.

"Come on, come on, let's go inside and talk." Lin Chaoyang pulled Liu Xinwu upstairs.

He saw the motorcycle parked there and asked, "A new motorcycle?"

"I bought it for Yu Shu."

"No wonder it's red. Yu Shu looks so heroic riding it."

Liu Xinwu's praise made Tao Yushu even happier, and his eyes were full of tenderness and affection as he looked at Lin Chaoyang.

The three of them went upstairs, but Tao Yumo was still drooling at the motorcycle downstairs.

When can I buy a motorcycle?
When she went to Beidaihe before, she was thinking about buying a camera. But when she saw her sister's motorcycle today, she immediately changed her goal.

After I get a job, I will definitely buy a motorcycle.

Must be red!
After going upstairs, Tao Yushu went to prepare dinner. Liu Xinwu first talked with Lin Chaoyang about the publication and distribution of the book "Lust for Life - Biography of Van Gogh".

In the past, Yenching Publishing House often introduced foreign publications, but what was different this time was that the introduction of "Lust for Life: A Biography of Vincent Van Gogh" was completely influenced by "The Death of Vincent Van Gogh".

Nearly seven months have passed since the publication of "The Death of Van Gogh", and its influence continues to grow. It has not only been extremely popular among readers, but has also become a favorite of countless writers and critics. It can be said to be one of the most highly acclaimed novels in the literary world in recent years.

Along with the influence of "The Death of Van Gogh", the legendary Western artist Van Gogh has also become a familiar figure to many Chinese people in the past six months.

In later generations, Van Gogh’s popularity in China was not as high as it was in the late 1980s. At that time, the auction prices of Van Gogh’s works hit new highs, and he became well-known to the Chinese people only after being widely reported by the media.

This laid a good foundation for Yenching Publishing House to introduce "Lust for Life: The Biography of Van Gogh". Yenching Publishing House was full of confidence in publishing this biography and the first print run was 50,000 copies.

In recent years, Chinese people have been very enthusiastic about foreign literary works. Many classic literary masterpieces have sold hundreds of thousands or even millions of copies, but "Lust for Life: The Biography of Vincent van Gogh" is different.

First of all, this work is not a novel but a biography, and its subject matter is inherently unappealing to readers. Another most crucial factor is that almost no one in China has heard of its own fame and the author's fame.

A first print run of 50,000 copies was undoubtedly a very risky move for a work like this.

Under such circumstances, Yenching Publishing House still dared to print the first print of 50,000 copies, betting that the influence of "The Death of Van Gogh" on the readership would be enough to prompt these people to be interested in this biography with Van Gogh as the protagonist and be willing to pay for it.

After talking about "Lust for Life - The Biography of Van Gogh", Liu Xinwu became concerned about Lin Chaoyang's new novel "The Chess Master".

"Your novel is quite controversial!"

"What? Even you heard about it?" Lin Chaoyang asked with a smile.

"I read the article in Shanghai Literature and heard that it received quite a response. You are now the most popular young writer in the country. If I use you as the subject of my article, it will certainly attract a lot of attention."

Seeing that Lin Chaoyang's expression did not change at all because of the controversy caused by his mention of "The Chess Master", Liu Xinwu said in a relaxed tone: "It seems that you have anticipated this?"

"I can't say that I had anticipated this. It's just that in this environment, the ideas expressed in my book will definitely cause discomfort to some people."

Liu Xinwu nodded slightly, agreeing with Lin Chaoyang's point of view, "It's good that you have this idea, don't be influenced by those voices outside. The novel is generally very good, and the point of view of that article is too biased."

Then he added: "But Mr. Zhang from our editorial department does have some opinions about your novel."

Lin Chaoyang showed a questioning look, and Liu Xinwu smiled and said, "He is a Go enthusiast. He thinks that the plot of Jiangnan Sheng fighting against nine people at the end is too far-fetched. He said that unless your Jiangnan Sheng is based on Wu Qingyuan. But he can also see that your novel has nothing to do with Wu Qingyuan." Lin Chaoyang smiled and did not refute himself. "These Go enthusiasts are all substituted for the Go confrontation between China and Japan in recent decades. Their ideas are not wrong. However, it is not impossible for one to fight against nine, right?"

Liu Xinwu didn't know where Lin Chaoyang's confidence came from and thought he was expressing his optimism about the future of Chinese Go.

"It's not wrong to think so. Everything is possible."

Liu Xinwu had a meal at Lin Chaoyang's house and then left. After he left, Tao Yumo started to pester Tao Yusu.

She was so envious of that Yamaha 125 that she even lost her appetite after coming back. She certainly couldn't afford a motorcycle at the moment, but there was no problem in riding her sister's motorcycle.

That night, Tao Yumo was sleeping in a daze, when she seemed to hear a sobbing voice in her ears, which lasted for a long time.

The next day, Tao Yushu went out to practice driving again, and the couple had to bring this little tail along.

After a day of practice, Tao Yushu had become quite good at riding a motorcycle. However, as soon as Tao Yumo sat behind her, he started shouting and screaming, which greatly reduced her riding skills. She rode the motorcycle crookedly, and Lin Chaoyang was so scared that he quickly asked Tao Yushu to stop.

"Why are you shouting all the time?" Tao Yushu complained unhappily after getting off the car.

Tao Yumo knew he was in the wrong, so he smiled carefully and said, "I'm just too excited."

Lin Chaoyang felt that there was something wrong with Tao Yumo. Which good guy would react like this when riding a motorcycle? Could this girl be the hidden ghost fire girl?
He shook off the image in his mind and said to Tao Yumo seriously, "Yumo, a motorcycle is made of flesh and steel. If you drive too fast, it's easy to get into danger, and it's life-threatening. Do you understand?"

Tao Yumo asked in confusion: "Brother-in-law, my sister is riding a bike, why are you telling me this?"

Lin Chaoyang glared at her, "You knew it was your sister riding the bike? Then why did you react so strongly?"

The two of them scolded her one after another, and Tao Yumo felt a little depressed. When you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head!
Seeing that it was almost time to go to work, Lin Chaoyang yawned and said, "Okay, let's stop here. I think it's enough."

After two consecutive days, Tao Yushu had become very skilled at riding a motorcycle.

"I'll take you to work."

Tao Yushu was carrying a motorcycle. She had a pair of slender and healthy legs, like a work of art carefully carved by nature.

This pair of long legs can really kill you!

Lin Chaoyang thought of the tenderness of last night and couldn't help feeling itchy in his heart.

The motorcycle is not bought in vain!
What he meant, of course, was that someone drove him to and from get off work.

Tao Yumo excitedly urged, "Sister, brother-in-law, let's go home for lunch at noon."

It was not difficult to guess what she was thinking. She just wanted her family to see Tao Yushu's motorcycle.

This kind of mentality is probably the same as a gangster showing off to others that his boss is Brother Crow.

A red motorcycle was speeding along the road. A few hundred meters away, Tao Yumo was pedaling his bike, feeling angry. "Is it so great to have a motorcycle? Why didn't you wait for me?"

Tao Yushu rode his Yamaha 125 all the way into the Yanda campus. It was summer vacation and there were not many students in the school.

The motorcycle stopped in front of the Yanda Library. The staff were at work at the time and were filled with curiosity when they saw Tao Yushu riding a motorcycle with Lin Chaoyang.

After the motorcycle roared away, everyone gathered around curiously.

"Chaoyang, what's going on?"

"What's going on?"

“When did your family buy the motorcycle?”

“I just bought it yesterday.”

"Why is it your wife who's riding it? And you asked her to give it to you?"

"Nonsense, I bought it for her, if she doesn't ride it, should I?"

Lin Chaoyang's words made everyone fall into silence. It was normal for a well-off family to buy a motorcycle these days, but it was the first time anyone heard of someone buying a car for his wife.

The most important thing is that Lin Chaoyang actually let his wife ride a motorcycle to take him to work.

How to describe this behavior?

Mixing showing off one's affection with living off a gigolo is quite consistent with Lin Chaoyang's previous personality.

After entering the library, Du Rong asked in a low voice: "Chaoyang, your motorcycle is quite expensive, right? I think it's an imported car?"

"Well, Yamaha's are a little more expensive than domestic motorcycles."

"How much is one point?"

"More than two thousand."

Lin Chaoyang gave a very conservative number, but even so, Du Rong took a breath.

"This money is enough to buy a house. It seems your wife is riding on a house now!"

Her expression was full of amazement, and she couldn't help but say, "You writers are so rich!"

(End of this chapter)