1979: My fiancée is a goddess

Chapter 97: Visiting Relatives and Ye Shengtao's Comments

The third day of the first month, Wutong Courtyard.

Today is another sunny morning, with no sand or wind, a good day for visiting relatives.

Cheng Kaiyan got up on time before seven in the morning.

Wash and pack things.

Then, at Xu Yuxiu's urging, they started to eat. Today, the two of them were going to take a bus to Fangshan to pay New Year's greetings to their aunt.

Visiting relatives to wish everyone a happy New Year is really hard work these days. If you are in a city, it’s not too bad as you can just take the bus. But if you are in the countryside near the city, it will be a real pain.

Carrying cigarettes, alcohol and gifts in my hands, I took many buses along the way, and then had to walk on a muddy country road before reaching my destination. It was not an easy walk.

Naturally, there is no direct bus route from Beijing City to Fangshan County. It was not until February 1993 that the bus line numbered 917 was officially opened.

It was more than ten years ago now, so we could only go to the long-distance bus station to take a long-distance bus.

There are many long-distance bus stations in Beijing, including Sihui Long-distance Bus Station, Liuliqiao Long-distance Bus Station, Zhaogongkou Long-distance Bus Station, etc.

After dinner, Cheng Kaiyan packed up all the gifts in the house, including fruits, snack boxes, malted milk, etc., and put them outside the door.

Cheng Kaiyan pushed the cart and walked out of the yard with her mother. The gifts were placed in the basket in front of her, and she led Xu Yuxiu behind. The two of them headed for the long-distance bus station in Chaoyang.

"Dingling bell~"

Cheng Kaiyan sometimes rang the bell and sometimes looked at the situation around her.

There were many pedestrians on the road, all carrying gifts and wearing new clothes. Some children were setting off firecrackers as they walked.

The red shreds of paper left by the firecrackers covered the entire street in red, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder.

Soon after, the two arrived at the Chaoyang bus station.

"The bus is about to depart. Passengers, please pay attention."

At the long-distance bus station, the departure times are being announced on the radio.

The station is very simple and plain, with only rows of passenger coaches neatly arranged in front of the station, and in front of the coaches is a row of small sheds with the starting stations hung on them.

The crowd was chatting animatedly, and the bustling crowd filled the car to the brim.

Cheng Kaiyan and Xu Yuxiu placed their bicycles in a special locking area at the station, paid a few dimes for storage, and hurriedly got on the bus with their belongings.

Fortunately, there were few people going to Fangshan and there were still a few seats on the bus.

The two of them picked a seat near the front and sat down side by side.

It’s less likely to get carsick if you sit in the front, as the journey is only one or two hours.

"Rumble..."

With the hum of the engine, the vehicle finally started, and the pungent smell of diesel filled the car, making people want to vomit.

I don’t know how long it took.

The blue and white long-distance bus left the bustling city of Beijing, passed through the woods, crossed the fields, swayed on the bumpy road, and finally arrived at Fangshan County after bumping into other roads.

Cheng Kaiyan pulled her mother, who was almost asleep, out of the car and ran straight to the hospital of Fangshan County State-owned Textile Factory No. 2.

This auntie is receiving treatment in the hospital. These days, every factory has everything: hospitals, schools, canteens, shops, security departments...

It is equivalent to a small society that can operate independently.

While hurrying on the road, I looked around. There were sparse buildings standing on the cement road, and people were coming and going on the streets. Although it was not as prosperous as the capital, it was already prosperous.

Located in front of you at the southwest corner of the intersection of South Street and West Street, there stands a four-story building with white putty on the walls and red brick tiles on the roof, which looks very stylish.

"Fangshan has changed a lot in recent years. Look, this is the Fangshan County People's Shopping Mall that opened two years ago. It's as good as any mall in Beijing."

Xu Yuxiu pointed at the building and said.

"It's pretty good. Let's go to the hospital first."

……

Ten minutes later, the two rushed straight to the hospital and asked a nurse about the ward.

Pushing the door open, I saw a middle-aged woman with short hair and wearing a hospital gown lying on the bed. She was thin and her face was somewhat similar to Xu Yuxiu, especially her eyebrows and eyes.

"Miss!"

"Yuxiu? Why are you here... Did Qiaomei tell you that?"

Aunt Xu Yuran turned around and looked over, and was surprised to see Xu Yuxiu and Cheng Kaiyan.

"Yes, if Qiaomei hadn't come to pay New Year's greetings, I wouldn't have known you were sick."

Xu Yuxiu walked into the ward with a smile and placed the things in her hands on the table beside the bed, including a snack box, malted milk and the like.

Xu Yuran glanced at what he was holding and immediately complained, "Why bring anything with you? This is such a waste. This malted milk must have cost a lot of money, right?"

"Look at what you're saying. It's New Year's Day, isn't it?"

Xu Yuxiu didn't say much and found a stool to sit down.

"This! Is this Kaiyan? Has she returned from the army? I can hardly recognize her. I haven't seen her for four or five years. Kaiyan has grown so big. She was so cute before, and now she has grown into an adult!"

Xu Yuran pointed at Cheng Kaiyan with emotion, her thin face full of joy.

The two sisters have a close relationship, and since she is the only relative in the country, they naturally become close.

In his early years, Xu Yuxiu was sent down to the countryside and they lost contact for several years. They only resumed contact when Xu Yuxiu returned to the city.

"Auntie, Happy New Year! I wish you good health and a long life. This is the gift I brought."

Cheng Kaiyan smiled and blessed.

"Okay, okay! This child is still so polite. Come here, let auntie give you New Year's money."

……

The two sisters were chatting animatedly. Cheng Kaiyan took a cup and made some malted milk. The two of them drank and chatted.

"This thing is quite sweet, no wonder it's so expensive. I'll ask Qiaomei to take it back so that she and Xiaobao can replenish their bodies. The mother and son have suffered a lot at home."

The aunt held the cup and took a sip, saying with pity.

"Suffering? What do you mean by that?"

Xu Yuxiu quickly grabbed her aunt's hand and asked.

Then Aunt Xu Yuran gave a brief explanation and everyone knew what was going on.

"A man who can't protect his wife is useless! They are a family of vampires!"

Xu Yuxiu snorted coldly and wondered why Qiaomei was wearing patched clothes when she came to pay New Year's greetings.

You have to know that nowadays anyone with a proper job can afford ready-made clothes. Qiaomei is a second-level worker in a state-owned textile factory. What does a textile factory mean?
The place with the most cloth is the textile factory. Which textile factory's workers would wear patched clothes?

Moreover, the factory would give out free scraps of cloth from time to time. Moreover, a monthly salary of more than 30 yuan was enough for a family of three to live comfortably, and Tang Dahai also earned money every month.

"That's right. The little money the young couple earned was all used to subsidize the family expenses. Only three people in the family of seven earned money. The old man and Dahai earned a little, Qiaomei paid a little salary, and the coupons for rice, flour, grain and oil were used to support the family.

You have to work outside and take care of the family when you get home!

In fact, it would be fine for the family to live like this, but the key is that there is a sister-in-law who is idle and a brother-in-law who is still studying. Which family can bear this?
In my opinion, the eldest daughter in the family should not marry! In the countryside, it is even more unacceptable to marry. The preference for boys over girls is too serious. Before, Qiaomei was treated as a treasure, but after giving birth to Xiaobao, the attitude was completely different! "Xu Yuran regretted it as soon as she talked about this. Why couldn't she resist her daughter's nagging in her ears!

"Yes!"

Cheng Kaiyan and her mother looked at each other.

"What the elder sister said is right. Who would want to marry their daughter to a rural family? Isn't that suffering? Moreover, your family is a worker in our textile factory. Isn't this a change from a non-agricultural household registration to an agricultural household registration?"

A lady in the bed next to her couldn't help but interrupt when she heard this.

"No, she wanted to turn around, but I didn't allow her to."

Xu Yuran sighed.

Cheng Kaiyan thought that if this happened, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

These days, an agricultural household registration is just like a piece of waste paper, and one still has to pay grain tax. Everyone in the countryside is trying their best to change their agricultural household registration to non-agricultural one.

This family, on the other hand, was trying to transfer their household registration to agriculture. Cheng Kaiyan guessed that this was probably because now rural areas divided welfare based on centimeters and population.

Just like distributing food, fish, meat and vegetables during the Chinese New Year, on the one hand they will be divided according to centimeters, and on the other hand the number of people in each family will also be taken into consideration.

Everyone chatted for a while.

Cheng Kaiyan glanced at her watch. It was half past ten, so she got up and went out for some fresh air.

Standing by the window of the hospital corridor, Cheng Kaiyan frowned and looked into the distance in the sunlight, his mind full of thoughts, "According to what my aunt said, Sister Qiaoqiao might not be doing well. I must go and see her in person today."

The warm sunlight shining on your body makes you feel comfortable all over.

Cheng Kaiyan stood in the sun for a while, and suddenly a hand patted his shoulder, and a young woman's voice came: "Cheng Kaiyan?! Is it really you?"

"Who?"

He turned his head and saw a woman in her twenties with short hair and glasses appeared in front of him.

Surprised: "Editor Xu? Why are you here?"

"My family is from Fangshan! My mother works in the hospital, and my father is the director of the factory. Isn't your family in Xiaowei Hutong? Why did you come to Fangshan?"

This person was Xu Dexia, the editor of Children's Literature. She looked at Cheng Kaiyan with a smile and explained.

Xu Dexia originally came to bring food for her mother, but she didn't expect to meet Cheng Kaiyan here. It was really fate!
You can take this opportunity to ask for an article!
"That's a coincidence. A relative of mine is sick, so I came to pay New Year's greetings and visit her."

Cheng Kaiyan waved, and the two walked downstairs, talking as they walked.

After a while, he came downstairs.

"Come to think of it, I dare to thank you, because you have helped our children's literature sales exceed 600,000 this issue! Editor-in-Chief Hu and the leaders of the publishing house are so happy, and we are having a great year!"

Xu Dexia said excitedly, looking at Cheng Kaiyan with a hint of amazement.

The sales volume of 600,000 broke the record of Children's Literature Publishing House.

"It's just luck. If it weren't for Xiaofang's song, Fangcao probably wouldn't have become so popular so quickly."

Cheng Kaiyan shook her head. It was indeed a bit of a trick, but the quality of this book was such that it was only a matter of time before it became popular.

"You're being modest again. I've also read your article about Fang Cao. It's so well written. Xiao Fang is really pitiful! Oh, right! Let's go check out the newspaper. I tell you that all the major newspapers are already at work today. Maybe there will be a review of your Fang Cao!"

Xu Dexia suddenly thought of something and hurriedly pulled Cheng Kaiyan towards the street.

They found a newsstand and started searching.

There are all kinds of newspapers on the newsstand, including People's Daily, Yanjing Daily, Liberation Army Daily, China Youth Daily, Guangming Daily, etc.

Cheng Kaiyan then wanted to pick up a copy, but was stopped by the newspaper vendor, "Hey! Comrade, you can't do that. You have to pay first before you can read it."

"Go, go, go."

Cheng Kaiyan paid a few cents and bought a copy of the Yenching Daily.

This is an old acquaintance of mine. Mr. Ye’s comments were previously published there.

The front-page headline at the beginning was a reprint of the People's Daily's New Year's greetings: Warm congratulations on the Spring Festival, and wish the people of the whole country a happy New Year!
At the same time, an article from the People's Daily entitled "Welcome to the Era of Great Achievements" was reprinted. This editorial emphasized the importance of 1980 as the second year of national economic adjustment, and proposed that achieving the four modernizations would be the central task for a considerable period of time, and that other work would revolve around and serve this center.

The editorial mentioned that in order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to unswervingly implement the eight-character policy of "adjustment, reform, rectification and improvement".

Cheng Kaiyan flipped through the pages and finally saw what she wanted to see on the third page.

A report titled "On New Year's Eve, fragrant grass is popular in Beijing, and major bookstores are welcoming a buying spree" appeared before my eyes:
"Recently, a novel titled "Fragrant Grass" has attracted great attention and a buying frenzy among readers across the country. Once it was released, all major bookstores sold out. This work, written by the writer Cheng Kaiyan, has won the love of readers for its stories close to life and profound themes.

This caused countless young intellectuals to burst into tears, and some were so grief-stricken that they were sent to the hospital..."

"So exaggerated?"

Cheng Kaiyan asked in surprise, "He cried himself into the hospital?"

"Cheng Kaiyan, look! Look at China Youth Daily. Your novel has been reviewed by Mr. Ye again! He highly praised your novel as a great work of realism!"

At this time, Xu Dexia was holding the newspaper in her hand with a look of shock on her face, her hands were shaking with excitement.

This is Mr. Ye!
"What? Let me see!"

When Cheng Kaiyan heard this, she quickly grabbed it and saw a few big words in black letters on a white background on the China Youth Daily: "A true, great masterpiece of realism" with the subtitle "Suffering is not worth being praised!"

"When I first met the author Cheng Kaiyan, we discussed "Submarine at Night", a book that presents a fantasy world with simple but profound texts. I commented that he is a very spiritual literary creator and wrote a review for him.

When we met for the second time, this young comrade, who was only 20 years old, came to visit me with "Fragrant Grass" and asked me to review it. He once again refreshed my understanding.

During the more than six hours of hard review, the author was sometimes moved by the sincerity and simplicity of the novel, which was full of the youthful passion of young people; sometimes he was indignant at the seemingly true and false love between Xiaofang and Song, and cried for this infatuated girl.

I am heartbroken by Xiaochun who steals to survive, and Xiaocao who tries so hard to survive but ends up burning herself...

In just 280,000 words, labor and love, frustration and pursuit, pain and joy, daily life and huge social conflicts are intricately intertwined, profoundly showing the difficult and tortuous path that ordinary people have taken in the historical process of the great era.

A speck of dust from the times is like a mountain above a person's head.

……

The author once asked: Why do you describe so much suffering? Is the tragic thought too heavy?

This young comrade, who is only 20 years old, said: Suffering is not the premise of happiness, and suffering is not worth praising. What is worth praising is people's perseverance in suffering until spring comes. The tragedy in your eyes is actually a common thing that happens to everyone.

These words are profound and thought-provoking.

The author is Ye Shengtao, written in BJ on February 15, 1980.

……

Cheng Kaiyan read it silently. From the words, she could tell that Mr. Ye's review was written from the perspective of memories and his own feelings.

It is more real, more relevant, more down-to-earth, and more acceptable and understandable.

Xu Dexia on the side looked at the young man deeply. She knew that this would not be the last comment, and soon comments from all over the country would emerge like mushrooms after rain.

Not long ago, he was a new author writing children's literature, but now he has become the author of a great realist masterpiece evaluated by Mr. Ye Shengtao!
It seems that it is impossible to commission him to write an article.

"Let's go back first."

"it is good."

Thanks to Yanhuo Chengcheng for the 500-point reward

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(End of this chapter)