Mixed in 1980

Chapter 513 Interview
Upon receiving the message, Ni Ping was somewhat surprised, as she hadn't done this kind of work for many years: "Why are you suddenly asking me to do interviews? Who should I interview?"

"You can't know about the Chen family, but Xu Jinqiu should know, right?"

“Teacher Xu?” Ni Ping’s eyes lit up.

Nodding slightly, he said, "Boss, that's impressive. Professor Xu is so low-key; she's never appeared in public. How did you manage to get her here?"

"Don't worry about this."

The leader put down a stack of documents: "These are the Chen family's documents. Familiarize yourself with them carefully. When you're with Xiao Sa, remember to go over the lines beforehand."

Ni Ping opened the documents, her eyes brightening slightly.

An acquaintance!
The great writer Chen Fan—in my time, which young person hadn't read Chen Fan's books? Back then, I was filming "Female Soldier," and in my spare time, I would hold one of his books in my hand.

"Chen Fan's Editorial Collection" and "Chen Fan's View of the World" were very popular among young people at the time. They didn't have much literary depth, but they were just interesting.

The insults they use are really fresh.

Young people at the time loved this and often used the words from the book to curse others. If you didn't say a few words, you weren't considered a "trendy kid".

These two books were also very valuable in that era. "Chen Fan's Collection of Editorials" truly exposed many social phenomena, such as moral kidnapping and the "saintly mother" mentality.

As for "Chen Fan's View of the World," it truly opens up young people's perspectives on the world, allowing them to see beyond the hype of public intellectuals and understand the darker side of the outside world.

As she continued flipping through the documents, Ni Ping quickly narrowed her eyes and gasped, "No wonder, her works decreased sharply in the late 1980s, and she basically stopped writing in the 1990s."

"He actually went into business and caused quite a stir."

"These are the real financial giants. Compared to them, the richest men in recent years, such as Ma, Wang, and Xu, are nothing."

Ni Ping was a little nervous about interviewing such an important figure. Xiao Sa felt the same way; big capitalists are not easy to get along with.

A few years ago, when I interviewed Jack Ma, the richest man in Taiwan, he said, "I have never touched money, and I am not interested in money." I was speechless on the spot.

Doing it again would be incredibly annoying.

However, judging from the information, this family is different. At least in terms of charity, they are dedicated and unparalleled.

"Wow, they're so rich!"

Seeing the company names on the information, Xiao Sa couldn't help but feel envious. Any one of them was a giant in the industry. She couldn't understand how they made their money.

"Let's first go over the words with Teacher Ni Ping."

The two quickly got together, and the leader sent someone over to film a promotional video: "The whole thing will be live-streamed on Douyin, which is a way to attract traffic in advance."

When busy, Chen Yanyin posts videos first.

The screen showed only a silhouette, wearing a white shirt and with her hair in a ponytail, accompanied by a voice message: "Want to see Teacher Xu? Saturday afternoon at 2 PM, live on CCTV's Douyin account."

The comments section exploded instantly.

People's attention to Chen Yanyin is a result of their affection for her; they initially came for Xu Jinqiu, but Xu Jinqiu is too low-key and has never made an appearance.

Even if there are any, they are from when I was young.

What everyone really wants to know is how Teacher Xu is doing now, whether he is doing well, and if possible, they would like to hear what Teacher Xu has to say.

Especially those who attended Xinghuo Hope Primary School, and those who received Xu Jinqiu's scholarship and successfully changed their destiny.

"It's not easy, Teacher Xu is finally going to show up."

"I'm really looking forward to it. I hope Teacher Xu stays healthy and as beautiful as she was when she was young."

"I promptly canceled my weekend date!"

Following closely behind, CCTV's Douyin account released a promotional video, announcing that Ni Ping and Xiao Sa would be guests at the Chen family's live stream, further fueling viewers' anticipation.

When two top-notch hosts appear together, the show's effect is bound to be excellent.

Saturday will arrive soon.

The film crew had already set everything up, with a round coffee table, many comfortable chairs, and a large screen on the side.

Besides that, there are also lighting and sound equipment.

The live stream didn't start there. It officially began the moment Ni Ping and Xiao Sa entered, with the Chen family members all there to greet them.

“Teacher Ni Ping, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I watched a lot of your programs when I was young.”

The moment they opened their mouths, it was a confrontation.

That's very Chen Fan. Ni Ping replied shrewdly, "Teacher Chen, it's a pleasure to meet you. Our generation grew up reading your books." "Writers never lose out with their words."

Xu Jinqiu rolled her eyes and said irritably, "Xiao Sa is here. As a junior, I don't know how to smooth things over for you."

"What junior? He's my junior."

Chen Fan extended his hand to Xiao Sa: "We're both from Peking University, but Xiao Sa was admitted through special admission, while I got in through the entrance exam. There's a huge difference between us."

Xiao Sa shook hands with Chen Fan, both amused and exasperated: "Senior, should I boast or be modest right now?"

"Young man, what's with the modesty? Show off when you want to. When you get to my age, well, before you know it, you find yourself unable to show off anymore."

"Alright, stop making things difficult for me. You're just taking advantage of Xiao Sa's young age, and she's too embarrassed to go against an old man like you." Xu Jinqiu slapped her husband hard.

Then he added, "Don't just stand there, let's talk in the yard."

The group walked into the courtyard.

The people in the live stream were amused. Just as the Fourth Princess had said, her father loved to fight, and they started fighting right from the beginning.

When asked about her younger days, Ni Ping cleverly replied, "Our generation grew up reading your books."

As for Xiao Sa, things are much worse.

It's not that he lacks eloquence; in fact, he's more eloquent than anyone else. But his age is a major disadvantage; he's the only young man around.

However, Xiao Sa was clearly not one to be taken advantage of. As they walked inside, she casually remarked, "Teacher Chen, your house is really big; you can even ride a bike in the yard."

"It's not big enough, there's not enough room for everyone."

Chen Fan sighed in frustration: "All five of my children are married and have children of their own. There's simply not enough room for them to live here. We've had to convert some of the rooms into two-story houses."

"That was quite a lively scene," Xiao Sa said in surprise.

Unexpectedly, Chen Fan suddenly said, "It's not just this one, the whole alley is like this, but none of these kids want to move out."

Xiao Sa choked.

I initially thought this wealthy man was quite frugal, with his whole family crammed together. Who knew that his flaunting of wealth would come so unexpectedly?

Seeing his expression, the viewers in the live stream burst into laughter. Now they could see that the fourth princess's father had a wicked sense of humor.

Is it really okay to flaunt wealth like this?
Chen Fan continued, "Back then, many of these houses were large, cramped courtyards. In order to exchange for these houses, we specially built a residential complex within the Third Ring Road and swapped them with others."

"Basically, it took four times the area plus a resettlement fee to get it."

"I just want the children to live closer."

As they were talking, they arrived at the east courtyard. Chen Fan invited everyone to sit down and took out a pot of cinnamon from Niulankeng, which had been sent from his hometown, to brew.

After having two cups of tea, everyone got down to business.

Ni Ping asked first: "Professor Chen, before you went into business, as everyone knows, you were a writer, whose works include 'Chen Fan's Collection of Editorials' and 'Chen Fan's View of the World'."

"Chinese novels include 'The Age of Awakening,' 'The Most Beautiful Youth,' 'Zhu Yuanzhang,' 'The Ming Dynasty,' 'The Romantic Reign of Zhenguan,' and 'Emperor Wu of Han.'"

"At the same time, you are also a recognized master of dystopia in the West, with works including The Matrix, The Hunger Games, and In Time."

"In the 1980s, you were the leading figure in the literary world, but there was never an interview with you. At that time, everyone was very curious about how you got into this field?"

What was your initial motivation for creating this work?

As soon as he finished speaking, the viewers in the live stream were astonished.

When Ni Ping said, "Our generation grew up reading your books," everyone just assumed it was a playful argument, or perhaps a compliment.

Who would have thought he would become such a great writer?

How many people haven't seen the TV series adapted from these novels? Even if they haven't seen them all, they've probably seen some.

There are also movies adapted from "The Matrix," "The Hunger Games," and "In Time," which I've watched online even if I didn't go to the cinema.

For a long time, everyone thought it was written by a Westerner.

I came to see Teacher Xu and was pleasantly surprised, especially by "The Awakening Age" and "The Matrix". There are so many people who like them.

Instead of answering the question directly, Chen Fan asked in return, "Teacher Ni Ping also writes books. What was your reason for writing books in the first place?"

(End of this chapter)