The unparalleled talent of the country started from Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 23, Arrival in the Capital

There is no train station in Shuanghe County. If you want to take a train, you have to take a bus to Bingcheng, then go south from Bingcheng and cross Shanhaiguan to reach the capital. The whole journey is more than 1,000 kilometers. The train speed is 60 to 70 kilometers per hour. In addition to stops along the way and giving way to other express trains, it takes more than 20 hours, which is about a day and a night.

So when Wang Duoyu appeared at the Beijing Railway Station, it was already June 20th, and there was only one month left before the college entrance examination.

"Beijing Literature and Art" is located at No. 97 Qianmen West Street. Following this address, Wang Duoyu came over. Just at the door, he was stopped by the security department.

Before he could take out his letter of introduction and pass, a man came up behind him and asked, "Comrade, what do you do?"

"Hello, I'm here in Beijing on business at the invitation of Zhou Yanru, editor-in-chief of Beijing Literature and Art. Here's my letter of introduction and pass. Please help me."

When he was out, Wang Duoyu did not get angry because of the other party's unfriendly tone. He still took out his letter of introduction with a smile, hoping that the other party could help him.

Upon hearing this, Gu Zhizhong looked at the disheveled Wang Duoyu again with doubt. Although the latter's clothes were relatively clean, he exuded a sour and smelly odor from his whole body. When he got a little closer, the smell was overpowering.

After covering his nose and taking the letter of introduction, Gu Zhizhong frowned slightly, opened the letter with some disgust, and glanced at it carefully. It was indeed the handwriting of Editor-in-Chief Zhou, and it also mentioned the revision of the manuscript that Editor-in-Chief Zhou had mentioned.

In other words, the handsome and tall young comrade in front of me is Wang Duoyu, and he is indeed quite young.

"Yes, it is indeed a letter from Editor Zhou. Okay, come in with me. I'll take you to see Editor Zhou. Go wash up later. You smell so bad."

Wang Duoyu smiled bitterly when he heard this. He really wanted to wash up, but the problem was that the train was so crowded that there was no condition for that.

It's June 20th now, and the dog days of summer are not far away. The temperature is quite high. How can you not be sweating profusely when going out in such hot weather?
It’s not the era of later times where there is air conditioning everywhere, so when going out in this era, it is very important to choose the travel date.

After entering the editorial office, Wang Duoyu soon met the old lady Zhou Yanru who had spoken to him on the phone. The other party was not very old. She looked to be in her forties, but her actual age was fifty-one. Well, that was what the old lady said herself.

Mrs. Zhou is a very nice person, very kind and enthusiastic, unlike Gu Zhizhong, whose mood is reflected on his face.

"I've arranged accommodation for you. It's right next door at Courtyard 3, Dafang Hutong. These are food coupons."

With the food coupons provided by Old Lady Zhou, Wang Duoyu's food problem during his stay in Beijing was solved. Dafang Hutong was right next door, only about a kilometer away on foot, and very close to the editorial office.

"You just arrived here today, so take a rest first and come back here tomorrow to start revising the manuscript. Wait a moment, I'll have the security department take you to the dormitory."

"Okay, thank you, Editor-in-Chief Zhou."

After a while, a man came from the security department. His name was Captain Fu. Wang Duoyu thought he was the deputy captain, but it turned out that his real name was Fu Jixiang, and he was the captain of the security department.

"Let me help you with your luggage. It's still several hundred meters from here. You must be exhausted after taking the long bus ride. Wow, your bag is quite heavy. What's in it? Books?"

Fu Jixiang was quite enthusiastic, the kind of enthusiasm and courtesy that showed respect for scholars. From the moment he helped Wang Duoyu with his luggage, he started talking like a taxi driver in Beijing in later generations. The package Wang Duoyu brought contained quite a few books: journals, dictionaries, manuscripts, and a change of clothes. It was actually quite small, but the weight of the books was very heavy.

While chatting, they walked towards Dafang Hutong. After about seven or eight minutes, they finally arrived at their destination.

Entering from the golden pillar gate of Courtyard No. 3, several neighbors came out one after another. When they saw Fu Jixiang and the other person coming in, they looked at them curiously and asked what was going on.

People in Beijing are relatively hospitable. When they learned that Wang Duoyu was a writer who was staying here temporarily, they immediately asked him about his well-being. Some neighbors even took the initiative to help clean the room.

To be honest, Wang Duoyu was a little confused. When did people in Beijing become so enthusiastic?

Wang Duoyu, who had just arrived, could only respond politely and did everything himself, not wanting to rely on others. Fu Jixiang also persuaded the neighbors, and finally the neighbors had to give up. But what surprised Wang Duoyu was that when they were not allowed to help, the neighbors' faces were full of regret. It was really weird!

After politely asking the neighbors to leave, Fu Jixiang pulled Wang Duoyu to a corner of the room and whispered, "Comrade Xiao Wang, you must be careful when dealing with these neighbors. If you take advantage of them now, they will definitely come to bother you tomorrow."

"Two months ago, a writer like you came here. He didn't understand anything at the time and accepted all the favors from these neighbors. Then the next day, these neighbors brought their children to our house and spent the next two weeks asking for help with their children's homework, especially with writing skills."

"Finally, the writer was so annoyed that he barely came back for a week. Even when he did, it was always late and he left early."

Wang Duoyu was stunned. He had never expected that these neighbors were such people. When he thought about tutoring other people's naughty children for half a month, the scene gave him a chill.

"Okay, you can clean up first. This is the middle courtyard. There's a laundry trough outside. You can get water there. If you want to cook for yourself, forget it. I suggest you eat out."

Cooking for yourself means you need pots and pans, honeycomb coal, etc., which wastes time. Otherwise, you have to borrow your neighbors' kitchen utensils, which is even more troublesome.

"Well, thank you Captain Fu for the reminder. I understand. I will be more careful." Wang Duoyu's thanks were sincere, because the other party was really helping him and was really doing it for his own good.

After staying for a while, Fu Jixiang left first. Before leaving, he reminded Wang Duoyu that it would be better to familiarize himself with the route so as not to forget the way back to the office.

In response to this, Wang Duoyu said that there was no problem. He didn't dare to say anything about other aspects, but he had a strong sense of direction. Moreover, when he came here just now, he had paid special attention to observe the surroundings. He would definitely not go wrong in a distance of only a few hundred meters.

Half an hour later, Wang Duoyu, after a quick wash and change of clothes, closed the door, locked it and left the yard.

His house was the east wing of the central courtyard. It was a temporary house allocated to him and was considered an excellent house. After all, housing was still in short supply in the capital at that time.

A large number of educated youth returned to the city, and many families were overcrowded.

"Comrade writer, are you going out?"

PS: Today is the third update, please collect and vote for me!
(End of this chapter)