Yonghe Road

Chapter 18 Visit
That night's private dinner ended on bad terms. Xie Anmin, a veteran of many storms, was used to a few gropings, but it was Wang Zian who was displeased. He threw a glass of rice wine in the seaweed poet's face on Xie Anmin's behalf. Xie Anmin, however, was distressed, saying that farm-brewed rice wine was precious. She drank plenty of Moutai and Wuliangye in the capital, but she had no chance to try this kind of handmade rice wine.

Pouring such good rice wine on a dirty person is a blasphemy to the rice wine.

But the rice wine that had been spilled could not be taken back, so the next day Wang Zian went to the home of Lan Dafeng, the old man on the bench, and bought a jar of rice wine. The wine was bright red with a hint of yellow, which was pleasing to the eye, and the aroma of the wine was even more mellow.

Lan Dafeng assumed Wang Zian had bought the wine as a gift to Secretary Wang Kai, so he gave him a jar of bayberry wine. The bayberries were freshly picked this summer, Dongkui bayberries, each about the size of a baby's fist. Soaked in a pound of shochu costing a few yuan, they lost their purple-red juice and took on an off-white color, turning the previously transparent shochu reddish-purple.

Xie Anmin was in the lobby downstairs of the Rural Revitalization Hotel, holding a laptop and organizing materials, when Wang Zian came with two jars of wine.

Borrowing two white porcelain teacups from the white tea display in the lobby, Wang Zian and Xie Anmin enjoyed a couple of drinks. Xie Anmin had already tasted rice wine, so he opened the jar of bayberry wine first. The bayberry wine was sweet, mellow, and delicious. Xie Anmin was tempted to drink a little too much.

Wang Zian reminded her that this bayberry wine had a lasting effect, but Xie Anmin ignored him, only seeking a momentary refreshment. The level of the wine in the glass jar kept dropping, and the off-white bayberries appeared one by one on top. Xie Anmin's mind finally began to drift.

"Are you drunk? I told you, bayberry wine tastes good, but it has a strong aftertaste. After all, it is made with liquor," said Wang Zian.

Xie Anmin didn't seem to hear what Wang Zian was saying. The alcohol had slightly affected her, and she was immersed in her own world. A self-deprecating smile unconsciously appeared on the corner of her mouth, and she muttered to herself, "Why wasn't Zhong Ziqi the one who stood up for me?"

From that day on, Wang Zi'an discovered a truth: Xie Anmin loved Zhong Ziqi. This left Wang Zi'an devastated; his love had died before it even began. His feelings for Xie Anmin were filled with regret and melancholy, like "My heart was set on the bright moon, but it shines only on the ditch," and "There are trees on the mountain, and branches on the trees; I love you, but you don't know it."

A forced melon is not sweet. Wang Zian's character meant that he would not force anything. He hid his affection for Xie Anmin, leaving only a sour feeling in his heart that tortured his nerves.

While Wang Zian was heartbroken, Zhong Ziqi was enjoying the sweetness of love. He and An Hongdou were in a carefree relationship, like two happy little birds. Zhong Ziqi thought An Hongdou was the most lovable girlfriend in the world. She had no material desires, and a cup of milk tea or coffee from Zhong Ziqi could make her happy for a long time. An Hongdou was only 18 years old, so Zhong Ziqi still had plenty of time to save up the money for the bride price and bring her home.

Because of the unpleasantness of that private dinner, Mei Wending had long sought an opportunity to apologize to Xie Anmin. He hadn't anticipated that the woman Wang Zian and Zhong Ziqi had brought with them would be such a renowned female writer. He had no choice but to offend anyone, but writers. Mei Wending held a deep reverence for the very act of writing. He rigidly believed that birth, aging, sickness, and death were the physical body, but a writer's pen could condemn a person to a lifetime of history, and even more ruthlessly, cause their corpse to be repeatedly scourged throughout history.

The death of the body is only a one-time death; the death of reputation will leave a lasting infamy.

Mei Wending considered himself an official dedicated to serving the people, but the fact that the seaweed poet had infiltrated his circle inevitably raised suspicions that he was a traitor. He desperately wanted to find an opportunity to get Xie Anmin to recognize him, but he couldn't be too pushy.

Fortunately, the opportunity presented itself. Secretary Wang Kai personally called Xie Anmin and invited her to his home. This was the first time Secretary Wang Kai had proactively invited her since the start of his targeted in-depth work. Xie Anmin happily went, fully prepared, including a voice recorder and laptop. Upon arriving at the Wang family villa in the new district, she discovered that in addition to Secretary Wang Kai, Wang Zian and Zhong Ziqi were also present. Mei Wending's signature white hair made him instantly recognizable to Xie Anmin.

"It's the weekend today, why don't you go to the club to play ball?" Xie Anmin asked Wang Zian and Zhong Ziqi.

It was Mei Wending who answered: "I fought this morning, and I can't fight all day. My bones are old and I don't have the strength to do it. I followed Zi'an and Ziqi to Baile Village to see you."

Mei Wending then asked Xie Anmin if he was accustomed to his assigned residence in Baile Village, how was the food and accommodation, whether the interview went smoothly, and whether the villagers' hospitality was warm and attentive. Xie Anmin replied that everything was fine, except that Secretary Wang Kai still lacked sufficient interview material. As he spoke, he gave Secretary Wang a somewhat resentful look. Secretary Wang hurriedly apologized, and Mei Wending understood his intentions. Baile Village had a heavy reception schedule, and Secretary Wang Kai was overwhelmed. However, to please Xie Anmin, Mei Wending instructed Wang Kai not to neglect Xie Anmin. Once the novel was finished, Xie Anmin's influence would be a great publicity stunt for Baile Village.

"How can I have any influence? Few people here know me."

Mei Wending couldn't tell whether Xie Anmin's words were self-deprecation or had some deeper meaning.

He did not go into details, but changed the subject, saying how their white tea industry had, under the leadership and planning of the government and the joint efforts of all tea companies and tea farmers, shifted from exports to domestic sales over the past decade and how it had flourished. It had now become one of the top brands in the domestic tea industry. He hoped to have the opportunity to invite Xie Anmin to create works for the local white tea industry.

"Our Secretary Qinglai has always wanted to take the lead in filming a TV series about the white tea industry. He hopes to first write a novel, then adapt it into a script, and then film the TV series. He has also asked the publicity department to connect with some well-known domestic writers, but nothing has been finalized yet. If Writer Xie is interested, we hope we can have the opportunity to cooperate with him."

Anyone who has the opportunity to make money is a fool, but Xie Anmin knows very little about the white tea industry. If they want to cooperate, it will not be an easy task at all, and a lot of field research will be required.

Mei Wending said, "Writer Xie has settled in Baile Village anyway, and he also researched our white tea industry. It's a matter of perfect timing, perfect location, and perfect people..."

Xie Anmin thought Mei Wending's words made sense. As a writer, she felt it was always a good thing for her to have more opportunities to collect materials. Mei Wending then said he would arrange for the director of the tea office to contact Xie Anmin to discuss the specific time and route for the collection.

After Mei Wending finished speaking with Xie Anmin, he turned to Wang Zian and Zhong Ziqi and said, "There's one more thing I forgot to tell you."

Wang Zian and Zhong Ziqi were listening intently to the conversation between Mei Wending and Xie Anmin. Suddenly, they were cueed by Mei Wending. They were stunned and didn't know what Mei Wending was going to say to them.

(End of this chapter)