1979: The child's mother is a celestial being.

Chapter 11 Comments from Art and Literature Bigwigs
What's it like to sleep on the same kang (heated brick bed) with your father-in-law on your first night at your wife's house?
Chen Fusheng replied:

"She slept quite well."

Because of the fatigue from traveling for days, plus the fact that he, his father-in-law, brother-in-law, and his father drank three bottles of Maotai last night, he could sleep soundly even on the sofa, let alone on a kang (heated brick bed).

It's a bit cold in Harbin, so sleeping on the sofa might make it difficult to get up this morning.

Everyone ate noodles for breakfast, but Chen Fusheng is actually not a big fan of noodles.

But he didn't know if it was because the noodles tasted better when there were more people, or because the sauce made from the leftovers from last night was so delicious. Even he felt that the noodles tasted amazing this morning!

After breakfast, the plan for the day was for Chen Fusheng's father-in-law, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law to take the Chen family on a tour of Harbin.

As for Liu Xiaoli, she was pregnant and the outdoor temperature in Harbin was too low in winter, so she didn't come out.

However, she won't be lonely, because her mother, her sister-in-law, and two nephews are at home with her.

"Brother Sheng, later you can go to the cobblestone streets of Central Street to see the Soviet-style architecture. St. Sophia Cathedral is also quite famous in Harbin. If you want to experience outdoor ice skating, you can go to Stalin Park. I remember there's an ice rink there..."

Although Liu Xiaoli wasn't going, she gave her husband a lot of science education before he left.

"What's good to eat?" Chen Fusheng asked.

"What I remember as the most distinctive foods were mainly those from the Soviet Union, such as Lidaos red sausage, rye bread, saccharin, and sugar wine..."

As she counted, some childhood memories gradually came to mind, and Liu Xiaoli seemed to finally remember a local delicacy called frozen pear, and also frozen persimmon.

"I haven't had these two dishes in a long time. If you happen to come across them when you go out, please buy some for me."

"Row……"

After they went outside, they soon split into two groups.

One group of seniors and one group of young people.

The elderly group undoubtedly refers to Chen Fusheng's parents and father-in-law.

On the youth group side, there was him, his sister, his brother-in-law, and his sister-in-law.

Seeing a bookstore ahead, the sister-in-law asked curiously, "Brother-in-law, can I buy your novels in Harbin?"

"I'm not sure about that. It depends on whether your local bookstore subscribes to this issue of Fangcao magazine."

Chen Fusheng gave a somewhat uncertain estimate: "But I'm thinking too far ahead; it's probably not the case."

"There's a Xinhua Bookstore right ahead, let's go in and take a look," the sister-in-law suggested.

"Okay."

Anyway, they're out sightseeing, so they have plenty of time.

However, after the four of them briefly browsed the bookstore, just as Chen Fusheng had predicted, the bookstore did not carry the "Fangcao" magazine.

The sister-in-law, still unwilling to give up, asked the bookstore clerk, "Hello comrade, doesn't your bookstore subscribe to 'Fangcao' magazine?"

"What kind of grass magazine?"

"Fragrant grass".

"Never even heard of it," the shop assistant said.

"It used to be called 'Jiangcheng Literature and Art'," Chen Fusheng explained simply.

"Oh, Jiangcheng Literature and Art, huh? Our bookstore used to subscribe to a few issues before, but the sales weren't very good, so we stopped. Is it now called Fangcao?" the clerk asked.

"Yes." Chen Fusheng nodded.

The brother-in-law, being a bank manager, suddenly said to the clerk:
"Comrade, we heard that there's a really good short story called 'Bullfight' in this issue of 'Fangcao' magazine, so we came here specifically to buy the magazine. But we couldn't find it in several bookstores. Why don't you talk to your boss and ask him to order a batch of 'Fangcao' magazine for your bookstore to sell?" "Sure, I'll talk to my boss. What's the name of the short story again?"

"Bullfighting".

"Okay, I'll make a note of it. Do you want to buy any other books?"

The four of them couldn't just leave empty-handed, and just then the deliveryman brought over a batch of new newspapers that still smelled of ink. Chen Fusheng saw that it was "Popular Cinema" magazine, so he took out his money and bought a copy.

He glanced through it briefly as soon as he bought it.

This is his habit of reading newspapers after he transmigrated. He first skims through the contents, and only reads it carefully if he finds something interesting. Otherwise, he just glances at it and moves on.

Chen Fusheng didn't have high expectations for this "Popular Cinema" magazine; he only bought it to give the clerk face.

To his utter surprise, he found a news article about himself on it.

The news headline was: "Why did the story of a man and a cow receive such high praise from Mr. Xia Yan, Vice Chairman of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles?"

The story of a man and a cow—isn't this just about his own bullfighting?

Chen Fusheng suddenly stopped walking out, his pupils contracted, and he looked at the contents.

"Yesterday, thanks to my colleague Liu Fudao, I read a short story called 'Bullfighting' in the magazine 'Fangcao' (formerly known as 'Jiangcheng Literature'). I was quite moved by it, so I wrote a short review for it—"

"This is a story about a man and a cow."

"For the sake of a promise, Niu Er stayed with a cow belonging to the Eighth Route Army for ten years. This seems absurd, yet it also carries a sense of tragedy... Jiu'er is the embodiment of Niu Er's lover, but his lover and the villagers all died in the inhumane massacre by the Japanese army ten years ago. At the end, when the Eighth Route Army registers the cow's name, Niu Er's cry of 'Jiu'er' elevates the absurdity of the ten years of dependence between man and cow into a profound elegy that transcends life and death, and even species, questioning the possibility of redemption and the return of souls in the ruins of war. Its emotional intensity and symbolic meaning resonate deeply!"

"The above comments represent only one person's opinion, and are offered for readers' consideration."

"In addition, I heard that the author of the novel, Fusheng, is a young author who is only in his twenties. This surprised and pleased me. I was surprised that such a mature work was created by a young man, and pleased that our country's literary scene has successors and a wealth of talent."

"Finally, as a reader, I recommend that all my comrades read Fusheng's 'Bullfight.' As a senior, I also hope that Fusheng can continue his efforts and create more excellent works!"

Just as Chen Fusheng finished reading the article, he heard his sister-in-law's voice.

"Brother-in-law, brother-in-law..."

"Ah? What's wrong?"

"Brother-in-law, what are you looking at? You're completely absorbed."

Chen Fusheng handed over the newspaper and explained:

"A senior figure in the literary and artistic circles commented on my novel in Popular Cinema."

"Really? Who is it?"

All three heads simultaneously peered over curiously.

"Wow, it's Mr. Xia Yan! Although I'm not a writer, I know that Mr. Xia Yan is a leading figure in the literary and artistic circles."

"Wow, brother-in-law, you're really going to become a great writer now."

"Brother, you're awesome!"

The bookstore clerk was completely confused.

However, after the four left, he picked up a copy of "Popular Cinema" and took a look.

After a long pause, he put down his newspaper and said, "So those people weren't lying. 'Bullfight' really is an excellent novel."

"It seems we can indeed suggest that the leaders order some of those herbal magazines to sell."

(End of this chapter)