My 1978 Hotel

Chapter 110: Treat the writers who come to exchange ideas with delicious food and drinks

"You wrote it so quickly?"

On the fifth day, Li Feng rushed to the post office early in the morning to submit the manuscript. Huang Xiaoli and Wu Xiaofeng were stunned. He had just said he had an inspiration a few days ago, but this guy wrote it in four or five days. It didn't even require any preparation or revision.

Even if it is fast, it can't be this fast. It's already amazing to write a short story in three or two months. But he wrote a novel in just five days. This is simply inhuman.

"Can I take a look?"

Several people were quite interested in this novel. After all, Li Feng had been published in People's Literature, so his writing was undoubtedly excellent. "Of course, but it's a bit long." The Pig Farmer could have been expanded to 40,000 or 50,000 words, but the system had optimized and adapted the original text, so it was now just over 20,000 words.

At the current minimum of three yuan per thousand words, that would have been at least sixty yuan. Of course, Li Feng was already a bit of a name now, so he'd noted it when he sent the manuscript. Even though Forget-Me-Not wasn't published, the People's Literature brand was still a strong enough presence.

Besides, there is the banned book "Scars". Although this novel has not been published and there is no royalties, its influence is not small at all. It has now spread from big cities to remote areas. I think it won't be long before educated youth from all over the country can see this unpublished article.

At this time, Li Feng's new article, not to mention the highest price, five yuan is basically no problem. If you calculate it this way, it would be hundreds of yuan. As long as the article is accepted by the magazine, Li Feng can get a hundred yuan in royalties.

Of course, the prerequisite is that the manuscript can be accepted by magazines and newspapers. Whether the manuscript needs to be revised is a later matter. As long as it can be published, revising the manuscript is just a small matter. Li Feng saw that the two of them couldn't finish reading it for a while, so he simply sat down to rest for a while. This guy didn't have a bicycle, so running ten miles was really tiring.

After tidying up his clothes and brushing off the dust on his trouser legs, Li Feng said to the two of them, "You guys watch first, I'm going to buy some breakfast first." He had come in a hurry and had no time to eat breakfast, so he went to the breakfast stall to buy some food.

I didn't want to eat meat buns anymore, and I was afraid there were no fried dough sticks either. Fortunately, I still had steamed buns, and white flour steamed buns were pretty good. At least I couldn't have a problem filling my stomach. After walking around, I returned to the post office and found that Huang Xiaoli and Wu Xiaofeng hadn't finished reading yet.

"One more thing, please sit down for a while."

After Wu Xiaofeng finished speaking, he continued reading the novel. It was really well written, worthy of being called Teacher Li. At this moment, Wu Xiaofeng decided that every time she saw Li Feng, she would call him Teacher Li. It was amazing, and each article she wrote was better than the last.

"What a great article."

"Yes, Xiuqin is such a good woman."

"Li Lingjun is also admirable."

"Teacher Li, how did you come up with such a good story?"

Wu Xiaofeng was very curious, and Li Feng smiled. "It was just something I felt like writing down, thinking someone might enjoy it. It's not a particularly exciting story, and it's even a bit plain."

"pretty good."

"Yeah, how touching."

"That's really too much praise! I was worried this article wouldn't get published."

This wasn't Li Feng being modest; the timing of publishing this article wasn't ideal. After all, the issue of rehabilitation was still under discussion, and large-scale rehabilitation hadn't begun. Furthermore, in Li Feng's time and space, this article had only been published in a provincial journal.

This time he chose Wenhui Daily, which has a better reputation than ordinary provincial journals. It is normal for others to have higher standards. This is also one of the reasons why Li Feng wrote some information about himself. After all, these days people still judge people by their appearance.

"It will definitely be published. Such a good article."

"Yes, Teacher Li, you are too modest."

Huang Xiaoli and Wu Xiaofeng chatted back and forth, which actually boosted Li Feng's confidence. Wu Shengnan, who came over a short while later, praised the article highly after reading it. "Don't praise me anymore, or I'll get carried away. It's just an ordinary article."

Wu Shengnan praised the article and looked at Li Feng with a strange look, which made Li Feng a little nervous. He wondered if this girl saw something. The article was adapted, so it shouldn't be a big problem. Could it be something else?

When I think about Wu Shengnan's occupation, I know, this girl must have doubted her identity. Damn it, she shouldn't be so arrogant and change her name to Li Lingjun. Xu Lingjun is so good. I hope Wu Shengnan has misunderstood her now.

This was still 78, and it would take more than a year for the policies to change significantly. Li Feng had no idea about the specific situation now. Could there be some mistake that he was unaware of?

For a moment, Li Feng was a little flustered. He thought that this article was too early and should be suppressed. But the article was already out. How could he get the royalties if he didn't publish it? How could he get the bicycle without royalties? After all, he couldn't bring the money with him.

“It’s really well written.”

"When it's published, be sure to let me know." The article would probably take more than a month to be published, and by then Wu Shengnan would probably have to go back to the county. After all, she would not be able to stay in the county to crack down on speculation until the autumn harvest.

At that time, Wu Shengnan could no longer stay in the commune, and had to either join the patrol team or return to the county town.

"must."

Good grief, Li Feng decided it was best to stay away from Wu Shengnan. This girl had already obtained a lot of evidence, and she might catch him someday. That would be really tough, so he had to be careful. He couldn't write this article carelessly.

These days, writers often write novels that incorporate some of their own personal experiences, and some articles can even be considered biographies. Damn it, if you write about a rightist, many people will doubt you. It's just ridiculous.

After returning home, Li Feng was not idle. He paved the cobblestone path in the yard. There was no shortage of stones. The stream in front of the door had dried up, and the ready-made stones followed the team to say hello. Li Feng started to work with Zhang Wenjuan, Daya and Erya.

First, let's design it. The yard isn't big, so Li Feng plans to make the cobblestone path winding, which will make the yard appear larger. "The fork point is far in front of the small gate. Let's draw the line first and dig a shovel of soil."

It is about ten centimeters deep, with small gravel underneath. I originally planned to lay pebbles, but after laying them I found that it didn't work because there was no cement and it was too slippery. So I simply dug some stream sand ginseng and mixed it with gravel, and paved a gravel road with pebbles, and the effect was pretty good.

Small fences were made of bamboo strips on both sides of the winding path. As for the empty space, Li Feng planned to plant some flowers and plants. As for whether it would succeed, he would leave it alone for now and try getting some seeds later. After all, he couldn't control the flowers, so at worst he could just feed them a few chickens.

You can't feed too many chicks. One reason is the rule, and the other is that too many chicks will smell bad. Li Feng didn't plan to feed too many chicks, but it would make him look different. If he really had no other choice, he would just feed two, and would never feed more.

It took three or four days to finally pave the path, and it looks really nice.

"very nice."

They all nodded as they watched, even shouting "sister-in-law".

"It's okay."

The house was almost ready for living. Li Feng had basically settled the wages for his sister-in-law and the others. He had originally planned to give them some gifts, but there wasn't much left at home. He had already given them a set of towels and soap when they put up the roof, so it would be a bit unreasonable to give them more.

After a simple meal, the house-building work was completed. Li Feng saw them out. He wanted to give them one of his woven hand baskets, but then he thought that the basket was delicate and small after all and could hardly hold anything.

It's okay to buy some vegetables in the city, but it seems a bit out of place in the countryside. It's too delicate. Last time I gave it to Yang Ming and a few others, they liked it very much. "It's a pity that the county town is too far away. It's not cost-effective to go there to trade with these baskets."

Driving the oxcart back and forth would take a whole day. If I could get another one over there, I wondered if I could sell it properly. And I wasn't sure if I'd be allowed to sell the other one either. Forget it now. I don't have many baskets. When I have more, I'll ask Wu Shengnan. If she can buy them, I'll take them to the county town to sell.

If I can't sell it, forget it. I can give it to a friend. After all, as the article is published, I think I'll have more and more friends. "Daya, Erya, come out quickly."

After seeing them off and calling out to his sister-in-law and a few others, Li Feng called Daya and Erya to come out and help clean up the new house. Everything that needed to be baked had already been baked. It hadn't rained for a few days, so there was no need to worry about the house being damp. It even needed to be sprinkled with water every day.

"Abba."

"Help Dad move things."

There are three large beds, one for the brothers Gao Ju and Gao Cheng, two single bamboo beds, and Li Feng's room is slightly bigger. There is also a desk, which is made of wood. It is one of the few pieces of wooden furniture. This is a batch of wood specially approved by the team.

After all, as a writer, a desk and a bookshelf are necessary. The team specially approved the wood, free of charge, and no one said anything. Although many people envied me, they could not be jealous. After all, the team also benefited a lot from writing this article.

Apart from anything else, the commune promised last time that they would provide more relief grain this year. According to the current weather conditions, the production will be reduced by 100%. It is not clear how much the production will be reduced, but it has not rained in the past few days, so a reduction in production is inevitable.

The river was getting shallower and shallower, almost drying up in some places. It was impossible to say this wasn't a serious situation. "Hey, Daoqiu, I wonder how Gao Jue and Gao Cheng are doing over there. They've been out for almost ten days."

He went out to shave hair, build furniture, and buy porcelain and knife loaches. Of course, all of this was done privately. Li Feng also planned to buy some, taking advantage of the river's still water. If he didn't buy a batch, it would be difficult. After making the bed, Li Feng called Daya to find Han Mingliang.

I've been giving out a lot of candy lately, or maybe it's something else. This guy hasn't come in a few days, and the razorfin loaches and ditch crawlers haven't been delivered in almost five days. "So far, there's less than ten pounds of razorfin loaches, and even less ditch crawlers. No water, no fish. Isn't that strange?"

"Uncle Feng."

"What have you been doing these days?"

Why is he looking so miserable? Li Feng was a little puzzled. Han Mingliang muttered, "My mom asked my uncle to give me some summer homework. I've been doing it these past few days."

"what?"

My goodness, he can’t escape summer homework these days. But it’s understandable that school is about to start, and his family must have seen him having fun. He must have almost forgotten everything he learned in the textbooks. It’s just that his parents probably have no other way, so they asked his third uncle for help.

After all, for those who have been admitted to technical secondary school based on their real abilities, it is very easy to solve some elementary school questions.

"Have you finished writing?"

Li Feng looked at Han Mingliang with a smile. "How about uncle help you with some more?"

"Uncle Feng, please don't go out."

Han Mingliang was so frightened that he confessed his skills. "I haven't finished the questions my uncle gave me yet." He rolled his eyes and became more alert. "Uncle Feng, you went to school, right?"

"Yes."

"Have you finished primary school?"

Good boy, you look down on your uncle like that. "Why, does your uncle look so uneducated? Not to mention primary school, high school, junior high school, and high school, your uncle has gone through them all."

"That's great."

Han Mingliang cheered, his eyes full of stars. "Uncle, can you help me with my homework? I really don't want to do it. My head hurts."

Li Feng looked at Han Mingliang excitedly and said, "What the hell, I'll help you write it. Go away, come back and write quickly. Your uncle is still waiting for you to help collect the knife loaches."

"Uncle, it's hard to catch knife loaches now. I don't have time."

Han Mingliang glanced at Li Feng and saw that Li Feng was silent. "How about, uncle, you help me with some cooking, then I'll have time to help you catch the swordfish."

"Good boy."

Who did he learn this from? He's really a bit crazy but quite scheming. "Get lost, I still don't believe it. Without you, Han Mingliang, I won't eat knife loach anymore."

"No one in the dam is better at catching knife loaches than me."

He even started to show off. There are quite a few little brats in the dam. After all, two or three in a family is considered a small number. Most of them have four or five, and a large group of little brats can add up to hundreds.

There weren't many deliveries of razorfish these days, but Han Mingliang accounted for nearly one-fifth of them. This guy must be quite skilled; he even caught a weasel a few days ago and traded it for money, and he was so proud of it.

At that time, Li Feng was deeply impressed. This kid is really capable. He can set traps and catch fish. Fortunately, his academic performance doesn't seem to be very good. "By the way, Mingliang, when do you start school?"

"I don't know either."

"Do you know when school starts?"

Good boy, your studies are either 80% or 99% not going well. You don’t even know the start date of school.

"In a few days anyway."

"School starts in a few days."

Li Feng decided to send Daya to school. Erya was still young. Nowadays, children in primary school are generally six or seven years old, and some are seven or eight years old, or even ten years old. This is a five-year primary school, so it’s okay to send her there when she is older.

I don't know if junior high and high schools have changed. Previously, they were two-year junior high and two-year high schools. That was a thing a few years ago. Now, textbooks are incomplete and we often have to rely on hand-copying. As for teachers, many elementary school teachers haven't even graduated from elementary school.

Even so, not every brigade had a school. Because Hanjiaba Brigade was a poor and backward production team that lacked work points and food, it did not have a primary school at all. Instead, students went to Wangjiazhuang, three or four miles away from the production team.

Wangjiazhuang Primary School was jointly run by three production brigades. Of course, Wangjiazhuang was the main provider of funds and labor, and all schools were located in Wangjiazhuang. Compared with Lijiazhuang and Hanjiaba, Wangjiazhuang's contribution to funds and labor was not much.

"Tell me when school starts, and I'll take your sister Daya to school. You can help take care of her when she goes to and from school." Li Feng said. Han Mingliang nodded. "Uncle, don't worry, I'll help you watch Daya. If anyone dares to mess with her, I'll beat him up."

"Forget about the beating. Just come back and tell your uncle about it."

Hitting people isn't a good habit, so Li Feng believes it's better to win them over with virtue. "Hurry back and do your homework. Once you're done, remember to catch more swordfish."

"By the way, if we can't rely solely on Hanjiaba, we can ask Anmin and the others if there are enough razorfin loaches in other villages and production teams. We need to collect them quickly, otherwise if the drought continues, the rivers will dry up and we won't have any razorfin loaches anymore."

(End of this chapter)