At noon, my eldest uncle's wife and cousin Rongrong returned home. Compared to the other three uncles, my eldest uncle, who had been a soldier, was more upright and was also one of Feng Yiping's favourite uncles. I remember when I was a child, he often visited my grandparents' house because there were four uncles there, which was a lot of fun. When my eldest uncle returned from the army, he brought me his army cap with the five-pointed star and a few bullets without the gunpowder.
But my eldest uncle also got married first, and after he got married, he didn't like to stick around me anymore.
Usually, Grandpa would cook alone, but today we all ate together at noon. My uncle went to the butcher's and weighed some meat, and my aunt boiled some egg noodles, because noodles don't fill you up, and then fried some scallion pancakes.
In the afternoon, Uncle and the others still had to go to the mountains, and they still left their young son with Grandpa.
Even if he was with Grandpa, it would still be hard to say if it would cost money, and after a long hesitation, Feng Yiping still said it with deliberation.
Mei Jianzhong was very surprised. A child who had just finished primary school could not even tell a long story clearly, let alone write one.
He was a little more convinced when he saw the stack of exercise books Feng Yiping had brought out, which were covered in words.
He pulled out his reading glasses from a drawer and read it carefully from beginning to end.
Rui Rui was tired from playing, so Feng Yiping held him in his arms and patted his back slowly and gently. The little boy fell asleep in no time.
It took more than an hour before Mei Jianzhong had finished reading the novel. He didn't have much literary knowledge, so he couldn't say whether it was good or not, but at least the story made sense. Although the story was set in a rural village in the northwest, whether it was a rural village in the northwest or the central region, at that time they were all poor villages, and many things in the story could be found in the surroundings.
As for whether the magazine would publish his grandson's work, he had no idea. However, his grandson was still young, and he should be commended for making such an effort to lighten the burden on the family. Even if it couldn't be published, it would be like buying the child a dream.
At the same time, Feng Yiping was very young, having just graduated from elementary school, and yet he was able to write a novel of tens of thousands of words, which made Mei Jianzhong very proud. He thought to himself, this child, with this kind of heart, will certainly do well in school in the future.
He took off his glasses, folded the manuscript, and whispered, 'Yiping, you've worked hard on this, and it's not easy. Grandpa is very happy. Tomorrow morning, we'll go to town. Don't worry about money, Grandpa still has some.'
Although this was what Feng Yiping expected, he was still very happy. If Grandpa didn't agree, it would be even harder for his parents to agree.
He wanted to say something to thank him, but in the countryside, people tend to keep their emotions to themselves. Saying something too formal would sound fake, so he just said, 'I'm young, and I can't help with the family's difficulties. On the contrary, going to school costs money, so I thought of writing something down. What if it's accepted? It can at least help my parents a little. You know the situation at home. We don't have any money, so I can only turn to you.'
The more he looked at his grandson, the more he loved him. He said with a smile, 'You're very good to be able to think of so much at such a young age. Your grandfather is also your family member. If you encounter any trouble in the future and don't want to trouble your parents, just come and talk to me.'
The next day, the grandfather took out 50 yuan wrapped in a handkerchief from the small box on the top of the closet, told his eldest uncle, and the two of them walked towards the town.
Although my uncle was a little puzzled, he asked what they were doing in town for no reason. He didn't ask in detail, but only asked if he should give them a ride on his bike. However, it would be difficult for him to take them both on one bike, so he had to give up.
Rongrong was fine, but Rui Rui cried and screamed, wanting to follow them. However, it would be very difficult for an old man and a young man to hold such an active little guy like him for dozens of miles back and forth. Mei Jianzhong squatted on the ground, promising to buy him candy and a pistol, before Rui Rui stopped crying.
But as soon as they set foot outside the door, Ruirui started crying again. His aunt picked him up and placed him on her lap, then gave him two slaps on the bottom. 'What are you crying for? You're not listening, are you?'
The little one's crying got even louder, so Feng Yiping and his wife had to hurry up.
Although it was next to the provincial road, they passed only long-distance buses and trucks. There were no cars in the town, and at this time of day, no private tricycles or vans were being used for passenger transport. In the past, people walked, but now more people ride bicycles.
The road has been realigned. The original road ran along the river, but now some of the bends have been straightened as much as possible. The grandfather and grandson walked to the town. The scenery along the river was nice, and it was cooler. In the places that had been changed, Grandpa took him along the old road by the river. Perhaps, to Grandpa, these old roads were more familiar and more intimate!
Wuli'ao Town is a very prosperous town. It used to be just a town, but now the four surrounding townships have all been streamlined and merged into Wuli'ao, so even within the county, it is considered a large town. More than 20 years later, its land prices are no lower than those in the county seat.
The original Wuli'ao Town, although it was located next to the provincial highway, had its houses concentrated on one side of the road, with a gap of hundreds of metres from the road. Now both sides of the road are full of houses, with a newly built department store and a farmers' market along the roadside. As a result, the provincial road has become the main street of Wuli'ao Town, quickly replacing the commercial function of the old street in the original town.
In addition to the various shops, both sides of the road are full of all kinds of small stalls. However, it is the middle of the day in the middle of summer, and there are not many people in the street, and the hawkers are also drowsy.
If you come here during the New Year or other festivals, it's a real hive of activity, and it's packed! BJ's Wangfujing and Dongbei are nothing compared to this! Shanghai's Nanjing Road and Chenghuangmiao are no match for this either, they'll have to bow to the king!
The hawkers do business standing on the road, with their stalls one after the other, and the people buying things are shoulder to shoulder, one after the other. Motorised and non-motorised vehicles can only pass through here carefully. Don't even mention 70 miles per hour, if you're capable, try speeding at 7 miles per hour!
Zhang Yan was going home for the New Year with Feng Yiping for the first time. Once the car entered the town, it could only go at a snail's pace. It felt as if not the car was moving, but the people around it were carrying it. Zhang Yan exclaimed at the time, 'When I went to see Andy Lau's concert in Wenzhou, I thought the stadium was the most densely populated place. Now it seems that it was nothing compared to this!'
The Xinhua Bookstore was at the easternmost end of town, next to the bus station. It had just one shopfront, and it wasn't even an open-shelf display. Everything was kept behind the counter and in the cabinets along the wall.
In Feng Yiping's eyes as a child, this was no ordinary place. His sign was handwritten, and he sold books and stationery, all of which were associated with knowledge. And, there was no bargaining on the prices. To Feng Yiping as a child, this was not just a bookstore, but a presence equivalent to a temple or something.
Of course, for Feng Yiping nowadays, who is used to seeing bigger and more luxurious bookstores, this shop is very simple.
Behind the counter sat a middle-aged man in a blue short-sleeved shirt with grey hair, reading a book in his hands. Hearing a noise, he looked up and saw Feng Yiping and his grandfather. He smiled and said hello, 'Here you are, uncle. Is this your grandson?'
Even state-owned enterprises like Xinhua Bookstore, because they are in town and the employees are all from nearby, and they know each other after going around the three bends and four turns, so at least the employees of these state-owned enterprises in town have a completely different attitude towards customers than their counterparts in the county and city. If you are rude to someone, it is possible that your parents, relatives and friends will come looking for you the next day, saying that the person you were rude to is my so-and-so.
Therefore, they all have very good attitudes, and their service is not stiff. Instead of asking you what you want to buy as soon as they start talking, they first chat with you about your daily life.
'Oh, this is my grandson,' the grandfather said with a smile, and Feng Yiping said obediently, "Hello, uncle!'
The middle-aged man praised him, "This child, he really knows how to be polite. What grade are you in?'
The grandfather took over the conversation, "I'm in the first year of junior high. I want to buy some copy paper and a pen today. Yiping, what else do you need?'
Feng Yiping asked, "Uncle, do you have Harvest magazine? Our Chinese teacher says it's pretty good.'
The middle-aged man scratches his head, 'Harvest? I think we have it, but not this month's issue. I'll help you look for it.'
'That's okay, it doesn't have to be this month's.'
A few minutes later, he finds a thick book among a pair of books at the foot of the cabinet by the wall and hands it to Feng Yiping, 'The June issue. Take a look.'
'Thank you,'
Feng Yiping took the magazine and slowly flipped through it from cover to cover. In fact, the main point was to look at the mailing address, so that he could remember it easily. He was afraid of getting the zip code wrong. Just as the middle-aged man was asking his grandfather to choose a pen, he took a pen, dipped the tip in some ink, and said he wanted to see if it was easy to write with. He wrote the zip code in the palm of his left hand, then said that this one was not bad, and asked his grandfather what he thought. His grandfather had bought it for him, so he said it was fine and that was the one he would choose.
He then bought three notebooks. Feng Yiping apologetically smiled at the middle-aged man and handed him the magazine. 'Uncle, I still can't understand some of this book. Thanks!'
The middle-aged man didn't think it was something a child who hadn't yet started junior high school would read. He didn't think it was a problem. 'It's okay. Next time you want to buy a reference book, just come and see me. If I don't have it, I'll order it for you.'
'Okay, I'll definitely trouble you then!'
Over there, Grandpa was looking at the school bags hanging on the wall, thinking of buying one for Feng Yiping. Feng Yiping went over to persuade him, 'Grandpa, really, there's no need. We all live in the dorms, so we won't need it.'
'Are you sure you don't need it?' Feng Yiping nodded, and his grandfather relented. After paying the bill, the notepaper cost 1.50 yuan per book, and the fountain pen 3 yuan, for a total of 7.5 yuan. Feng Yiping held the notepaper in his hands as he walked with his grandfather towards the exit. The middle-aged man politely asked, 'Won't you stay a while longer and have a drink?'
After leaving the bookstore, Grandpa took Feng Yiping to the clothing stall in the market and insisted on buying him two items of clothing: a navy blue shirt and a white undershirt with a five-pointed star on the chest. It cost a total of 11 yuan. Then, at a street stall, he bought a small plastic pistol, two taels of soft candy and five catties of local pears. The grandfather and grandson slowly walked back along the road. If they walked faster, they could still catch up with lunch.
When they were about to arrive at the house, Meijianzhong stopped for a moment and tucked two T-shirts into his waistband, one of which was a dark grey shirt that looked normal from the outside, while the other was wrapped in a black plastic bag, rolled into a small cylinder, and placed at the bottom of the plastic bag containing the manuscript. Feng Yiping understood that his grandfather was worried about his uncle and his family, especially his aunt, who would say something if she saw the clothes.
Knowing that they would be back for lunch, and that his uncle and his family had already prepared dinner, Rongrong and Ruiru were waiting at the door. When they saw them, they ran over happily, 'Grandpa, I want some candy.'
Grandpa felt around in his bag and handed him a handful. "These are all yours. Look, what else is there?'
'A pistol!" With one hand holding the candy and the other holding the pistol, he pointed it at his sister and made a "beeping" sound.
Rongrong took the bag of candy, while Grandpa carried the pears in one hand and held Rui Rui by the hand as they walked towards their uncle's house.
As soon as they entered the door, their eldest uncle said with a smile, 'Oh, you're back! Rui Rui, you've already had your candy.'
Their aunt glanced around and said, "You're back, dinner is ready. Yiping, what did you buy?'
Feng Yiping deliberately showed a bit of the manuscript, "Grandpa bought me three notebooks.'
Grandpa then put the pear down and said, 'Yiping, let's go wash our faces first, then come and eat. You must be hungry!'
Feng Yiping then walked next door with Grandpa, carrying the bag of letter paper.
Next, Feng Yiping spent two days transcribing the novel onto the manuscript paper. He wrote very slowly, for fear of making a mistake if he wrote quickly, and wasting a sheet of paper.
Once he had written a sheet, Grandpa would check it with his glasses.
The day before the start of the school year, Grandpa accompanied Feng Yiping to the town post office again, and with great hope, sent off two registered letters.
This time, they had an easier time going home, with both men walking and chatting with empty hands.
After returning home, they had dinner together, and as usual, Uncle and the others went to work in the fields, leaving Rui Rui at home. After they had all left, Ruirui was still asleep. Feng Yiping was also preparing to go home. Grandpa wrapped his clothes for him and was about to give him 5 yuan. Feng Yiping refused to take it. Grandpa had to put the money away. After thinking about it, he said to Feng Yiping, 'Grandpa doesn't understand things like fiction and literature, but just think about it. There are so many people in the whole country, and only a few of them can get what they write published in books. So just in case this time doesn't work out as you hope, don't be discouraged. Keep trying, okay!'
Feng Yiping smiled and said, 'I understand, Grandpa. I'll come and visit you during the holidays.'
'Okay, be careful on the road.'