Literary Master 1983

Chapter 339 Settlement
Afterwards, performers from various ethnic groups sang together in a grand chorus.

Perhaps due to Yu Guangzhong's program schedule, this chorus lasted slightly shorter than Yu Qie remembered. The last singer was soprano Hu Xiaoqin, who sang "The Bell of Spring".

Friends

Let us wait quietly.

Five minutes left

Future hope and light

The bells of spring are about to ring.

The camera panned across the many celebrities in the audience, who smiled at the lens.

Only Fei Xiang—laughing with his big white teeth showing.

No wonder they're mixed race.

As midnight approached, the accompaniment noticeably sped up until the clock struck midnight, and the female singer held her voice out until the very last second:
"Let us wait quietly, let us wait quietly."

A close-up of a pointer was shown.

"Dong~~"

Instantly, the sound of bells ringing filled the air, both on and off the television screen. Gulou Street is named after the Bell and Drum Tower (Bell Tower) located there, which rings a bronze bell on the hour to announce the time. Since its construction in the Ming Dynasty, its chimes have been clearly audible throughout the entire street.

I could hear it clearly from the First Ring Road; the First Ring Road is the Imperial City.

"Happy New Year!" Yu Qie jumped up from the sofa and said.

Yu's parents immediately said, "Happy New Year to all of you little ones. No matter what, as long as you feel happy in your hearts, that's all that matters."

Yu's mother handed Zhang Li the gift she had prepared earlier. "I bought it in Beijing, don't be shy."

Zhang Li thought that the gift from Yu's mother might not be very expensive.

Because Yu Qie's family was quite frugal, and now that he has earned a lot of money, he spends his days tinkering with little gadgets and doesn't spend money extravagantly.

Inside places like the Great Wall Hotel, the profiteers who had made money started adopting the American practice of using receipts, waving US dollars and Hong Kong dollars at the state-run hotel staff to show off.
Press the elevator button!

Ten dollars!
Serve the food!
Ten dollars!
……

Unexpectedly, when she glanced into the bag, she saw a "Hongtashan" cigarette box and a bottle of Moutai liquor sticking out from the outside.

This is hard currency!

Moutai goes without saying; Hongtashan was very popular during this period because of its rationing system, which gave rise to the "cigarette coupon" culture. Cigarette coupons were even more valuable than money.

Aunt Yu said, "This is for your parents. As for your own, it's still downstairs."

Zhang Li said happily, "Thank you, Auntie!"

"Are you going to change your tune?"

"mom!"

Zhang Li spoke very decisively.

Chen Xiaoxu was looking at it, feeling both happy and envious. Then she saw another bag, exactly the same, being placed in front of her. Aunt Yu didn't say anything more, only saying, "It's his good fortune that you like Yu Qie; you are both good girls, both respectable people."

“On the contrary, it’s Yu Qie who’s the worst kid. If you ever suffer any injustice in the future, come to me.”

Chen Xiaoxu then called out loudly, "Mom!"

Yu's mother was very happy: "I like two-word phrases; they sound very fulfilling! Ever since Yu Qie grew up, he no longer calls me 'Mom,' he always uses just one word. In his novels, he writes about family affection so purely and subtly; it makes me cry! But I always think it's better to say it out loud!"

Yu Qie could only say, "Mom, once people grow up, they don't still use two-character names anymore."

“Xiao Xu and Zhang Li, that’s what they call Mom.”

"They are them, and I am a grown man."

Yu's mother shook her head and said, "It seems my two daughters are closer. From now on, I should side with them, don't you think? Yu Qie. Don't you dare complain to me and make me come all the way from our hometown to find you..."

Yu Qie said helplessly, "I surrender, I surrender."

Zhang Li and Chen Xiaoxu rarely saw Yu Qie at a loss, so they chuckled. Yu's mother, observing their reactions, felt it was about time and said, "Alright, I won't bother you any longer. I'm going for a stroll; I haven't really looked around the capital properly for the New Year yet!"

Then, he pulled away Yu Xian, who still wanted to watch TV.

Yu Xian shouted, "Mom! I, I want to watch TV!"

"They're setting off fireworks outside, Dad will take you to see them." Dad Yu chose to help.

"Come when I call you, stop talking nonsense! You have four eyes and you're still watching TV! You'll go blind sooner or later!" Aunt Yu said succinctly.

He quickly dragged Yu Xuan, who was obsessed with television, away.

Only Yu Qie and the other two remained.

These guys are absolutely loyal... oh no, I mean, they're incredibly loyal.

Yu Qie thought to himself.

Zhang Li and Chen Xiaoxu stared at him blankly, so naturally Yu Qie, as the man, had to speak first.

The fluorescent light from the Panasonic large-screen TV fell on them, and because Yu Qie was much taller, both of them had a portion of Yu Qie's shadow projected onto them.

In Chen Xiaoxu's view, this was a day to truly open up and discuss things.

If "Dream of the Red Chamber" is gone, how will we live in Zhang Li's house in the future? Buy a house and live next door? That's just a joke.

That's not realistic either.

Zhang Li bought houses on both sides of the street so that Yu Qie could write in peace—at this rate, the street will be called "Yu Family Street." Someday, a rock singer named Wang Piku will come here and form a band called "Yu Family Street No. 43," and they'll become half of the Chinese music scene.

When Zhang Li saw it, she thought of the Los Angeles Olympics, where they also watched the opening ceremony in this room.

Zhang Li was right in the middle at that time, while Yu Qie and Chen Xiaoxu were far apart. If she hadn't held them back, things might not be like this today.

Zhang Li has no regrets.

Yu Qie said, "I ran into an old friend the other day who told me not to let him down. I think so too. Since we've developed feelings for each other, we shouldn't separate in the future."

"I can't say you can come or you can leave. That would be foolish. You're here now, and there's no going back."

Although these words were spoken to two people, they were mainly directed at Chen Xiaoxu.

"Wherever you go, I'll go!" Chen Xiaoxu vowed.

"And me?" Zhang Li asked.

"Aren't you the same person, going wherever he goes? It's the same for you."

"No regrets?" Yu Qie held up a finger.

"If I go back on my word, I'll be eaten alive! May God punish me!" Chen Xiaoxu quickly hooked her little finger around Yu Qie's, pulled him, and squeezed Zhang Li's hand away, saying, "Neither of us can go back on our word. Let's keep an eye on each other."

Zhang Li burst out laughing: "You're actually teaching me now!"

"boom!"

"Boom!"

Fireworks lit up the sky outside.

The rumbling sound was quite beautiful.

The fact that fireworks are being set off in Beijing right now, even on the first and second ring roads, is comparable to motorcycles driving along Chang'an Avenue.

Wait, didn't Chen Xiaoxu take my motorcycle?

“I haven’t settled accounts with you yet. We need to establish a family rule! Chen Xiaoxu is not allowed to ride a motorcycle.”

"Why are you targeting me?" Chen Xiaoxu was very dissatisfied.

"Okay, neither of you can ride bikes."

"Zhang Li doesn't ride a bike at all; it's just me."

"That's why I'm targeting you," Yu Qie said with a smile.

Then, Yu Qie suddenly decided to ride his bike around the capital, even though it was the middle of the night.

"It's pitch black outside..." Zhang Li was worried something might happen. "I'm an experienced driver. There's moonlight and the light from the fireworks here, that's enough," Yu Qie said.

Zhang Li and Chen Xiaoxu tried to persuade him a few more times, but they couldn't change his mind and had to listen to him.

As usual, Zhang Li is in front, followed by Chen Xiaoxu.

I got on the bike, inserted the key, and turned the throttle.

The entire Yu family was in the courtyard. Instead of stopping Yu Qie, they clapped and cheered, "Good, good, young people should do some romantic things."

They really are a family!

Huh? Where's the helmet?
"We didn't have helmets. We lost one, so now we have two," Chen Xiaoxu remembered.

Before, she could carry Zhang Li on her bike, which was just enough. Now that the main character is back, and Yu Qie is a rigid person who always wears a helmet—at this time, nobody wears a helmet when riding a motorcycle.

What kind of helmet are you wearing?

There's no regulation on this in the traffic rules.

There aren't many people in the whole country who own heavy motorcycles.

Simply unheard of.

Only Yu Qie had this awareness, and he even forcibly popularized it to the two of them.

"What should we do?" Zhang Li asked as well.

Three people, two helmets; whoever doesn't have one will feel awkward.

Does this mean I have to choose one of two options?
Yu Qie said with a double meaning: "After today, we'll have no rules anymore. Let's discuss things from now on."

Finally, all three of them made an exception. Chen Xiaoxu pressed herself against Yu Qie's back, her hair fluttering in the wind. Finally, without the helmet in her way, she hugged Yu Qie tightly. Zhang Li, on the other hand, felt much more spacious. Before, her head was blocked by the helmet, making it very uncomfortable to tilt her head. Now she could rest her head on Yu Qie's collarbone.

Not to mention Yuqie!

What could be more enjoyable than taking two girls for a drive during Chinese New Year?

It should have been done a long time ago!
Amidst the whistling wind, Yu Qie began to comment on this year's Spring Festival Gala:
"A director from CCTV invited me to come, but I declined because I was busy selling books in the United States and couldn't attend to it!"

"Yu Guangzhong was reciting poetry there, and I was a little envious—you know, everyone's talking about me, but I just wasn't on stage. In the future, when people recall this year's Spring Festival Gala, they won't remember Yu Guangzhong! That's a regret, isn't it?"

Yu Qie muttered to himself.

"But I have no regrets! If I had actually been on stage, how could I be where I am today?"

"That's it then. One must let one's thoughts flow freely!"

……

It is customary to visit relatives on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Yu Qie didn't have many relatives in Beijing, but he had many friends and elders. On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Yu Qie started by calling Ma Shitu, then Ba Jin, and the editors of major literary magazines in Beijing... He called them one by one. If he couldn't get through to someone, he would send a letter of greeting to their address.

This is Yu Qie's little trick in the literary world. He is not like the person in the documentary "East Wind Prevails West Wind" who is always in charge. That only happens when he is working.

Even for executives at Harper's group of American booksellers, like Carmen, a Spaniard, Yu Qie would write "Happy Year of the Rabbit" cards on them; there was an American publisher named Jason, who only met Yu Qie once.

Moreover, it was precisely because of his "cheap book" revolution that, to some extent, caused some printing errors in Oracle when the Metro series was first published.

But Yu Qie also sent a New Year's card to this person.

This alone kept me busy all day.

“You really should start a company, just to say Happy Chinese New Year to you! We’ll provide you with that service!” Chen Xiaoxu said.

"What you said makes sense, but there's no rush!"

Chen Xiaoxu and Zhang Li helped write some of the cards, and their hands were sore from writing them: "You have so many friends, many of whom I've never heard of."

I haven't heard much about them, but we can't ignore these people.

Then Yu Qie talked about Jason, the father of cheap books, and how Yu Qie respected him so much that he published an article in The New York Review of Books saying, "We can't make all books cheap. Being too cheap will hinder innovation. Some books deserve at least some packaging."

"Why is this person speaking up for me?" Yu Qie asked.

"Because of his cheap book revolution, he offended many writers. And as the founder of *The New York Review of Books*, he was always criticizing other people's work. Therefore, he didn't get along well with many popular authors. When I heard in Boston that his mother had passed away, instead of immediately confronting him, I privately offered my condolences..."

"And then?" Zhang Li asked curiously.

"Then we still had a big fight. His profession meant he couldn't be completely dependent on me; he had to criticize every writer, and I had to defend my work. But after I expressed my condolences, he knew I was a good person, so he was willing to make things convenient for me at times."

Yu Qie said, "These Americans are arrogant and haughty. You can't really look down on them like they're trash; that would backfire. You have to show them appropriate respect, which will satisfy their strange desire for recognition from celebrities."

It's a bit complicated, but Zhang Li and Chen Xiaoxu's situation is understandable.

However, Zhang Li was more curious about "why you didn't express friendliness from the beginning."

Yu Qie shook his head: "That won't work. We need to take these people seriously tactically, but despise them strategically."

This made Chen Xiaoxu look at Yu Qie with new respect.

Chen Xiaoxu was also misled by the media to some extent, believing that Yu Qie was very domineering in the United States, when in fact that was not the case.

After that, Jiang Wen, Lin Yifu, and others in the capital came to visit Yu Qie. Lin Yifu, in particular, brought his daughter, which made Yu Qie a little envious.

"Why don't you have one too?" Lin Yifu said.

Have a daughter?

Last April, before Yu Qie went to Colombia, Zhang Li and Yu Qie worked hard to prepare for their pregnancy.

No success.

This is certainly common, and perhaps it's time to get back to work.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the Yu family packed their belongings and came to inform Yu Qie.

"We are ready to go back."

Are you going back now?
Yu Qie advised, "Why don't we just stay in the capital? Zhang Li bought ten houses in total, so we have thirteen houses in total. One for each of us, you can stay wherever you like."

He added, "Yu Xian, I'll prepare one for you too. This is a house in the capital; it will be your dowry."

"It's so far!" Yu Xian said, looking like an idiot.

Yu Qie smacked his sister on the head: "This is a house in the capital, what do you know!"

"Why buy so many houses?" Aunt Yu asked.

"Deliver the letter."

Yu thought for a moment and then said, "I visited Mr. Ba in Wukang Road, Shanghai. He has a lot of books at home, and the key thing is that the toilet and corridor are full of books... Now that he is in a wheelchair, it is a bit inconvenient for him."

"Is Buffett unable to afford a house?"

“He donated the money to build a museum. I feel it would be better to build it myself. My houses are all courtyard houses in good locations, some big and some small. It would be very convenient to transform them into small museums in the future.”

Because of his status as an international writer, Yu Qie is sometimes given gifts that take up a lot of space.

It may not be very valuable in monetary terms, but it certainly has great historical value.

The eagle feather crest given by Momadi?

A large bronze compass inscribed with South American shamanic script, which Márquez collected.

And Harper commissioned a replica of the Sanxingdui-style "sun"—a massive fake bronze artifact. Over two meters in diameter, this thing might one day become a sacred relic for fans of the "Nuclear Wasteland" series.

There are also gifts sent on behalf of countries or organizations.

Last year, the writers' associations of those small South American and Central American countries sent Yu Qie some strange things because of the "Neruda case" and the "Erdogan mass grave": ashtrays, Neruda's private letters, and even a 16th-century treasure map... Who knows what these people were thinking.

What's interesting is the red wine sent by the King of Ultra—every year since the year before last, the country has been quietly sending gifts to Yuqie through its embassy.

It's said that the Ultra Family members are actually fans of celebrities, enjoy watching movies and reading novels, and are fans of the NBA and Maybach. Before being exposed to the "Plasma Spark Tower," they were just ordinary people.

At the end of last year, the Land of Light remade "Lurking" on its own. The plot was very short and had many flaws. Despite this, it was very popular in the Land of Light, and "Yu Zecheng" became a national idol overnight.

In addition, Yuqie's uncle had fought in the Korean War, making them "friends" bound by blood ties despite never having met. The King of Ultra also sent two Ultra Medals and four cases of wine from a French estate.

Is this a reward for his work in 1986?
But Yu Qie had no intention of responding to the calls of these special book fans, and of course he wouldn't send them cards; he made the distinction very clear.

(End of this chapter)