1987 My Era

Chapter 146, Shanghai, meeting an old friend (Please subscribe!)
Seeing Lin Shusen looking a little absent-minded, the old principal asked a question that concerned him the most:
“How much more chapters are there after “Cultural Journey”?”

Li Heng replied: "It is assumed that there are about 35 chapters left."

The old principal was surprised that it was so long. He said, "Your new book is very good and of high standard. Keep it up. You can find a school if you need it."

It feels really great to have someone extend an olive branch to me before I even enter the school. Li Heng responded, "I understand. Thank you, teacher."

Next, the two chatted for a long time. The old principal was most interested in his creative inspiration and writing process.

When he learned that he had read thousands of books since childhood, that he had prepared more than 140 books and documents for the creation of his new book "Cultural Journey", and that he had personally traveled to most of China during the summer vacation in order to gain a deep understanding and perception, the old principal stood in awe and nodded with satisfaction, saying: "This is the attitude of doing academic research, very good."

About 20 minutes later, the dining car entered the sleeper car, and Li Heng invited the old principal, Lin Shusen, and a group of people to have dinner.

Regarding Li Heng's identity as a writer, Mai Sui's mother and Sun Manning's mother took a long time to adapt, but they did not refuse and both happily accepted the dinner.

After the meal, the old principal chatted with Li Heng for a long time about classics, history and geography. It was after 8 o'clock, and he returned to the next sleeper compartment because he was tired.

When leaving, the old principal smiled and said to Li Heng: "It's a good thing Xiaolin didn't buy a soft sleeper, otherwise I would have missed you. This is fate."

Lin Shusen complained in his heart, the tickets are sold out at the station, you can’t buy them even if you want to, unless you wait until tomorrow. But this time it’s really not a loss.

Li Heng smiled and personally sent him to the next door.

When he returned to the carriage, he saw that Sun's mother and Mai Sui's mother were still looking at him with strange eyes, so Li Heng greeted them warmly:

"Aunt Mai, Aunt Sun, we are bored, let's play cards."

With a different identity, one’s appeal increases exponentially.

Sun Manning's mother came over and said with a smile, "Hey, if my husband knew you were December, he would be so angry that he couldn't eat for a week. He has been scolding you for two months, but you didn't say a word."

Li Heng apologized with a smile: "It's my fault. I will go to his house in person to apologize when I go back during the winter vacation."

While Sun's mother was drawing cards, she asked gossipingly, "I heard from your English teacher that you already have a partner?"

Some words were easy to understand, and he immediately understood why the English teacher would go out and say that he had a boyfriend. He was probably afraid of the rumors about Liu Yejiang, and worried that others would gossip about him behind his back.

Li Heng nodded: "Yes, it's a bit early to talk about it. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Master's wife."

Unexpectedly, Sun's mother said: "As a writer, it's better to talk early. Experiencing love is good for your writing."

Listen! Listen! This is the influence of identity. It can turn the early love that teachers and parents hate into a good thing.

This is similar to what some people in later generations said about Jack Ma being handsome.

Li Heng and Zhang Zhiyong were on one side, while Sun's mother and Mai Sui's mother were on the other side, playing the upgrade game.

Mai Sui, Sun Manning and Mai Dong were watching from the side, often talking and pointing happily. Everyone was talking and laughing, and the atmosphere was very good, and they didn't disperse until late at night.

With Maidong keeping watch, Li Heng didn't act pretentiously. He climbed onto the bed and went to sleep to catch up on his sleep.

The sleepless Mai mother whispered to her daughter, "Is Li Heng really a great writer?"

Mai Sui didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Mom, why are you still doubting?"

Mai's mother looked at the sleeping Li Heng cautiously and shook her head: "It's not that I doubt it. As an outsider, I think this is too difficult! It's too incredible! This Li Heng, I think he is in a bad state."

In the rural areas of Shao City, Wencang often means the descent of Wenquxing.

Thinking of the drastic psychological fluctuations he felt when he learned that Li Heng was a great writer, Mai Sui agreed with this.

Mai Dong on the side echoed: "I can't believe that a great writer would be equated with the young Li Heng, or classmate Sui Sui. I still haven't recovered from the shock."

After dozing for about an hour, Li Heng was woken up by Zhang Zhiyong: "Uncle Heng! Wake up! Wake up! The Shanghai Stock Exchange has arrived!"

It was already bright outside, and the attendant was announcing to each sleeper compartment:

"The train is headed to the old Shanghai North Station, which is also the final stop of this train. Please pack your luggage and prepare to get off the train, especially those with children."

The flight attendants these days are very responsible. They will check each bed along the way, and if they see any passengers who have not woken up yet, they will kindly wake them up.

Li Heng didn't have much luggage, just two bags. When the train slowed down and stopped, he followed everyone else off the train and slowly moved towards the exit.

"Is this the Shanghai Stock Exchange? There are so many people here, but why isn't it as rich as I imagined?" On the platform, Sun Manning looked around and said this with some disappointment.

Li Heng consoled him, "This is a train station, so it's naturally a little off. It will be much better once we get to the city center."

Sun Manning asked: "Is Fudan University in the city center?"

"Uh…"

This was Li Heng's second visit to Shanghai, but luckily he had done his homework in advance: "Fudan is located at 220 Handan Road, YP District. Although it is in the city, it is not a core area in the traditional sense."

Any old Shanghainese on the street will know that the real city center of Shanghai usually refers to the HP District, JA District and other areas, which are the commercial and administrative centers of Shanghai.

Of course, there is another argument that there are 7 central urban areas, including HP District, JA District, XH District, CN District, YP District, HK District and PT District.

As for the Pudong New Area, which became extremely dazzling in later generations, it is still a piece of farmland today.

Even the Pentagon Plaza next to Fudan University is now just a prosperous place of some scale.

As soon as he arrived near the exit, Li Heng spotted editor Zou Ping in the crowd. The latter was holding a cardboard sign with four big characters written on it: "Li Heng! Li Heng!"

Later, Zhang Zhiyong also saw it and shouted excitedly: "Lao Heng, someone is here to pick you up."

Hearing this shout, everyone who was traveling with him looked over.

Zouping was not tall, at most 172cm tall. Li Heng thought his real height was closer to 170cm. But he was a very nice person, and when he saw him, he waved loudly:
"Mr. Li, Li Heng, Li Heng, this way, this way."

Zou Ping originally wanted to call him Teacher Li as usual, but he was afraid of leaking information, so he called him by his name with difficulty.

Li Heng walked over and asked curiously, "Editor Zou, how did you know which train I was on?"

Zouping helped him share a bag and explained, "I called Teacher Wang yesterday and she told me."

Li Heng tilted his head and asked Sun Manning, "Does the English teacher know about the train tickets?"

"I know. She specifically asked about this when she was having lunch at our house the day before yesterday at noon," said Sun Manning.

So that's how it is. That's why I didn't inform the other party before leaving. I didn't expect Zouping to be so enthusiastic and actually volunteered to come.

After a few pleasantries, Zou Ping said, "I drove here, everyone follow me."

Li Heng asked with concern: "There are seven of us, can we have room for them?"

Zouping said without any pressure: "I drove the magazine's largest van, which can seat 9 people."

When crossing the station square, Li Heng saw three long queues at the entrance. An old man wearing a red armband was maintaining order. He spoke Shanghainese in a rough and particularly arrogant voice.

But then again, although Shanghai people were very arrogant in the 80s, their living environment was ridiculed by people all over the country. Not only were the rooms small, the lighting was poor, and many houses were little more than pigeon sheds.

Then things went wrong. Real estate was privatized, and then prices kept rising. People from all over the country rushed to Shanghai, renting pigeon sheds and thinking they had come to heaven, but at the same time cursing this heaven. Although the van had nine seats, it was still packed with luggage, but this did not affect everyone's interest in Shanghai.

When the car started moving, everyone in the group, including Li Heng, rolled down their windows and looked around at the street scene outside the car.

Even though the weather was still dry and hot at the end of August, and even though everyone had experienced a day and two nights of bumpy long-distance bus ride, the beautiful girls and black stockings on the street, the young Chinese guy holding a blond foreign horse, the various shops, and the dazzling array of goods dazzled the group and were full of novelty.

Seeing that everyone was eager to explore, Zouping drove and acted as a tour guide:
“This is a church, this is a gymnasium, this is a bus station, this is a Shikumen, this is a crematorium.”

"What? A crematorium?" Zhang Zhiyong saw this thing for the first time and immediately poked his head out: "Is this where all dead people are sent?"

"Of course, no matter how high an official position one held during his lifetime, or whether he was a celebrity or intellectual, he would come here for a visit after his death," said Zou Ping.

However, Zhang Zhiyong's next words almost made everyone vomit blood: "How long does it take for a dead person to turn into ash? If it takes a long time, will one crematorium be enough? If it can't burn enough, will they all become wronged souls at night?"

Li Heng's forehead was twisted into a black line, and he slapped the fool on the back of his head: "Hey, fool, can you speak properly? If you can't speak, just eat and shut up."

Mai Dong interrupted at this time: "Let alone a big city like Shanghai, even one crematorium in Shaoxing is not enough.

I have a friend who works at a crematorium. When we were drinking and chatting, he said: Shaoxing has a large population base, so the crematorium is always full.

Zou Ping nodded and said, "That's true. People grow old in batches. It seems like they were 40 yesterday, but in the blink of an eye they are already in their 4s or s. Everyone has to die at the end of their life. No one can escape it. As far as I know, there are more than four crematoriums in Shanghai."

With Zouping, a local, to chat with, the group constantly gained new insights into the Shanghai market. They did not feel tired along the way, but rather full of energy.

More than an hour later, the van drove into the YP area. Zou Ping, who was in the middle of a lively conversation, finally realized and asked:
"Li, Li Heng, are you hungry? Do you want to eat first?"

Zou Ping still felt it was very awkward to shout "Li Heng", but he didn't know the situation of the people in the car, so he had to bite the bullet and continue shouting.

Li Heng noticed the other party's strange mood and said considerately: "Lao Zou, you can just call me Lao Li from now on, but I want to emphasize that you can't call me Xiao Li, you can only call me Lao Li."

"Hey, Comrade Li." Zou Ping was filled with joy as he felt Li Heng's recognition of him for the first time.

Li Heng discussed with Mai Dong and others and said, "School will officially start tomorrow. Please take us to find a hotel closer to Fudan University. We need to stay overnight."

"Row."

Zouping had obviously made sufficient preparations in advance to entertain Li Heng. Without taking any detours, he took everyone to the best hotel in the nearby Five Corners Square.

They asked for four rooms. After Li Heng and his friends had taken a shower and changed their clothes, Zou Ping took them to the Blue Sky Hotel and introduced them:

"The chef of the Blue Sky Hotel is a chef who specializes in cooking for pilots in the military's aircrew kitchen. His stir-fried and stewed dishes are delicious and his steamed buns and dim sum are even better. Since the establishment of this restaurant, the once popular Songhu Hotel has declined.

Lao Li, if you get tired of the food in the school cafeteria, you can come here to improve your diet. Braised chicken feet and meat buns are must-orders. A fist-sized meat bun costs only 20 cents. Because they use special flour supplied by the army, it is white and fine, and there is a long queue at the door every morning."

There were many people coming and going in the restaurant. Li Heng asked casually, "What is the turnover of this restaurant?"

Zou Ping shook his head: "I don't know how much the turnover is. It's under the management of the army and is not open to the public. But I heard Editor-in-Chief Liao say that the profit turned in more than 30 a year."

"Hey, Editor Zou?"

Just as Li Heng and Zou Ping were walking towards the restaurant and chatting, two people came up from behind, specifically a man and a woman.

The man, Li Heng, is familiar to me, Editor-in-Chief Liao.

The woman, um, theoretically I know her. I have seen her photo, but she doesn’t recognize me, Huang Zhaoyi.

It's really a bit of a coincidence that we meet in a narrow road. I didn't expect to meet each other here.

Huang Zhaoyi was about 30 years old, wearing a yellow spotted floral dress, transparent high-heeled sandals, long flowing hair, the ends of which must have been done, slightly curled, and a pair of sunglasses, looking extremely fashionable. She walked over and said:
"It's really you, Editor Zou. From the side, they look a bit like you. I didn't dare to recognize you at first."

Zouping, who was very active before, greeted Huang Zhaoyi respectfully as soon as he saw her: "Teacher Huang, you are here too."

Li Heng didn't want to attract too much attention, so he took a step back and moved to the side of the wheat ear. Then he looked at Editor-in-Chief Liao secretly, and the two smiled in tacit understanding, without speaking to each other.

After exchanging pleasantries with Zouping, Huang Zhaoyi began to look at Li Heng and others.

Her gaze quickly swept across Zhang Zhiyong, Sun's mother and Mai's mother, then stayed on Mai Sui for two seconds, then stayed on Li Heng for the same two seconds, and finally looked at Mai Dong.

Maidong felt puzzled by the look, but fortunately Huang Zhaoyi nodded slightly to him and looked away in time.

Later, Huang Zhaoyi invited Zou Ping: "Editor Zou, Editor-in-Chief Liao and I are planning to have Chinese food. Do you want to come with your friends? It will be more lively with more people."

Zou Ping subconsciously glanced at Li Heng, and when he saw that Li Heng did not respond, he politely refused:
"Thank you, Mr. Huang, but my friend and I have something to do today, so I'll treat you another day."

Huang Zhaoyi followed Zou Ping's gaze and looked at Li Heng again, then smiled and said, "Okay, then you should spend some time with your friends and we'll meet again next time."

After saying that, Huang Zhaoyi and Editor-in-Chief Liao were the first to enter the Blue Sky Hotel.

Staring at Huang Zhaoyi's back, Sun Manning said with envy, "She's so elegant. Women in big cities are just different."

Then she took the wheat ear's arm and said, "But it's still not as pretty as our wheat ear."

Mai Sui smiled softly and said, "No way, I feel a strong literary and artistic aura similar to Li Heng's from him. Could he also be a writer?"

Seeing everyone looking at him, Zou Ping said, "Miss Mai guessed half right, but Mr. Huang is not a writer, but a literary critic. He is also a professor at the Shanghai Opera Academy and a Peking Opera performing artist."

"Wow, so many titles, which one is your main job?" Sun Manning asked.

Zouping said: "My main job is Peking Opera performance, and I am very famous in the circle."

The group entered the restaurant murmuring to each other, but Li Heng said nothing.

Mai's mother also didn't say anything.

She suddenly felt a sense of danger. The strange woman had just looked at her husband the longest, which made her feel most at a loss.

Mai Dong patted his wife's arm considerately and explained in a low voice: "This is my first time in Shanghai and I don't know him."

Hearing this, Mai's mother breathed a sigh of relief and said half-truthfully, "You are not allowed to come to Shanghai for the next five years."

This wife was something he had pursued with great difficulty, and Mai Dong cherished her very much, so how could he not obey? "Okay, I'll do whatever you say."

Mai Sui, who was walking at the end, heard his parents' conversation, quietly pulled Li Heng's sleeve, deliberately fell behind a few steps, and asked in a low voice:
"Li Heng, do you know this teacher Huang?"

Li Heng did not deny it: "Comrade Mai Sui, you reacted quite quickly. I know her, but she doesn't know me."

Mai Sui smiled a little embarrassedly: "There must be something wrong when things are out of the ordinary. The other party would not pay attention to us like this for no reason. My parents and Manning's mother and daughter have never been to Shanghai, and have no intersection with them.

You and Editor-in-Chief Liao over there smiled at each other, obviously knowing each other, but you didn't greet each other directly. I think there must be something else going on.

You are so famous for writing books, only you have the ability to attract people, Teacher Huang must be coming for you."

"You're so awesome! I'm afraid of you. Could you please not be so smart next time? Just pretend to be ignorant about everything concerning me, okay?" Li Heng said jokingly.

Mai Sui smiled tenderly, "Okay."

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(End of this chapter)