1987 My Era

Chapter 419, Being a Guest

I caught up with him and walked forward shoulder to shoulder for a while.

Li Heng asked: "Did you often do needlework at home before?"

Zhou Shihe asked back: "Don't women have to learn these things?"

Li Heng shook his head: "I thought people from your family would not touch such things."

Zhou Shihe said: "My grandmother said that as a woman, it is better to learn simple household chores so that it will be more convenient."

Li Heng agreed with this: "That's true. Hey, whoever marries you in the future will be blessed."

Zhou Shihe smiled gently and didn't argue with him about this issue.

After walking a little further, he unknowingly arrived at the intersection where he used to buy gifts.

Li Heng pointed to the street on the left and said, "Let's go shopping over here. I want to buy something."

Zhou Shihe naturally had no objection and followed him.

According to the preferences of Mr. Ba and Sister Xiaolin, Li Heng picked out two gifts for each of them. Worried that the teachers had children at home, he also bought some relatively high-end candies.

All in all, he spent more than 170 yuan.

At first glance, this amount of money may seem insignificant, but based on the prices these days, it is definitely a valuable gift.

Li Heng handed her two lighter items: "I can't carry them all by myself, so help me carry two."

"Okay." Zhou Shihe took the gift, and the two continued walking along Wukang Road.

After a while, we arrived at No. 113 Wukang Road, a three-story European-style building with a tiled roof.

This was Zhou Shihe's first time here. He looked up and asked, "Does Mr. Ba live here?"

"Yes." Li Heng rang the doorbell.

After a while, Xiaolin came out from the first floor and looked over. When she saw him, she immediately ran over and asked happily, "Junior brother, why are you here today? Didn't you go home during the summer vacation?"

Sister Xiaolin is not an outsider. Li Heng briefly talked about his recording of a pure music album here, and took the opportunity to introduce Zhou Shihe: "This is Master Wu Yili's last disciple, Zhou Shihe. She has been helping me for a month. I have time to bring her out for some fresh air today."

Seeing Zhou Shihe, Sister Xiaolin was a little surprised for a moment, and it took her a while to come back to her senses and said enthusiastically: "Miss Shihe, it's a little hot outside, come with me into the house."

They are all smart people. Seeing Li Heng introducing Zhou Shihe in such a serious manner, and considering that she is the last disciple of Master Wu Yili, and combining Zhou Shihe's temperament as a lady from a noble family, Sister Xiaolin can basically judge that this girl should have a good family background.

The first floor is the living room, with a total of 6 sofas, two large and four small, arranged in the shape of a "mouth". As soon as Li Heng entered the room, he saw the "Mandarin Ducks" on the wall, which was the work of Mr. Ba's good friend Lin Fengmian.

After I gave him the "Picture of a Galloping Horse" last time, I didn't expect that the teacher would change to this painting.

Seeing him standing under the painting admiring it, Sister Xiaolin asked: "What do you think of this painting? Do you like it?"

Li Heng was afraid that she would misunderstand, so he smiled and changed the subject: "It's a good painting, but where is the teacher?"

"He's taking a nap upstairs. Wait a minute, I'll go call him." Sister Xiaolin said as she was about to go upstairs.

Li Heng stopped her, "No, he is old and it is hard for him to get some sleep. Don't worry, wait until the teacher wakes up."

Sister Xiaolin asked: "Then you came here today, don't you have something to do?"

Li Heng patted his backpack and said, "I'm here to deliver the manuscript."

Sister Xiaolin asked happily: "Have you finished writing "White Deer Plain"?

"Finished." he said.

Seeing this, Sister Xiaolin was overjoyed and sat down on the sofa, put on her glasses, and quickly reached out to him, "Hurry up and take it out and show it to me. I have finished reading the previous ones and am waiting for your last 10 chapters."

"Eh."

Li Heng responded and took out the manuscript of the last 10 chapters from his bag and placed them on the coffee table: "Senior sister, this is chapters 37 to 40, you can read these first."

Sister Xiaolin took the manuscript and said, "Call your senior brother Liao and ask him to come for dinner," and then she couldn't wait to read it.

Li Heng glanced at the landline on the coffee table, and handed the last two chapters to Zhou Shihe: "I know you are jealous, but you have been holding back and not asking. Now, you can kill time while you have time."

"it is good."

His words touched her heart. Zhou Shihe was indeed looking forward to it, so she took the manuscript without hesitation.

If it were any other time, she would have asked him for it the first thing after he finished last night.

But she didn't yesterday, and the reason was Teacher Yu.

Teacher Yu was already wary of her, and she didn't want to rashly touch Teacher Yu's "reverse scale" unless it was necessary.

These days she spends the night in Building 26, and Teacher Yu must be feeling a little depressed.

In addition, when she was practicing in the piano room, someone's eyes were on her more than on Teacher Yu. If she and Li Heng did not keep a certain distance, once Teacher Yu became jealous, the subsequent album cooperation would easily be affected.

Although she felt that Mr. Yu would not do anything out of line given his status and upbringing, love between men and women is the most complex, changeable, and unpredictable human emotion in the world, and it often cannot be measured by common sense.

Therefore, in order to passively attract Li Heng's attention, Zhou Shihe did not choose to "suppress" the opponent in all aspects, but chose to leave a window for Teacher Yu.

The two girls were quickly immersed in the world of books and were completely absorbed in it.

Li Heng, who had nothing to do, sat down at the other end of the sofa, picked up the landline phone on the coffee table, and made a call in a low voice.

The call was quickly connected, and Editor-in-Chief Liao's voice came from the other end: "Hello, who is this?"

Not wanting to disturb the two girls, Li Heng said briefly, "Brother, I'm Li Heng. I've finished writing White Deer Plain and am at my teacher's house. Sister Xiaolin asked if you have time to come over for dinner?"

Editor-in-Chief Liao had no plans for the afternoon, so he immediately said, "I'll be right over."

"Harvest" magazine and Mr. Ba are both in Jing'an, not too far away. By the time Li Heng finished reading two newspapers, Editor-in-Chief Liao had already rushed over.

It was Li Heng who opened the door.

As soon as they met, Editor-in-Chief Liao happily asked, "Where is the manuscript? Let me take a look."

Li Heng pointed to the sofa in the living room and said, "Sister Xiaolin is reading it, but she may have finished several chapters. It shouldn't affect you."

Editor-in-Chief Liao's arrival interrupted Xiaolin's reading. She looked up at the wall clock, closed the manuscript immediately and said with a feeling of unsatisfied satisfaction: "It gets more and more exciting as I read on. It's really well written."

Faced with the praise, Li Heng just smiled and did not respond.

After sitting down to catch her breath for a few seconds, Sister Xiaolin stood up and said, "It's almost time. I'll go prepare the food and you guys can chat."

Editor-in-Chief Liao nodded, and then his eyes focused on Zhou Shihe. He was very surprised and didn't expect to meet her here.

Zhou Shihe was so engrossed in the moment that she didn't notice the newcomers at all. Even when Mr. Ba came down from upstairs, she didn't notice.

His eyes flickered to Zhou Shihe, and then Editor-in-Chief Liao started chatting with Mr. Ba.

But after just a few words, Mr. Ba drove him and Li Heng away. He took the manuscript of Chapter 37 and waved his hand: "You two should go chat somewhere else. Don't disturb me while I'm reading."

The more familiar they are and the closer the relationship, the more impolite Mr. Ba will be. Before there is even any foreplay, he directly drives away the two annoying guys.

Li Heng and Editor-in-Chief Liao looked at each other, left the living room angrily, and went outside to the yard.

Editor-in-Chief Liao felt very aggrieved and itchy. The manuscript of Chapter 37 had just reached his hands, but it was taken away by the teacher before he could even warm it up. He was so sad that he could not even cry.

Lighting a cigarette, Editor-in-Chief Liao asked, "Would you like one, Junior Brother?"

"I'm not addicted to this stuff, and I can't tell whether it's good or bad. It's a waste to give it to me. Forget it, brother, you keep it for yourself." Li Heng likes to smell cigarettes when he is on the bus, and he usually has no feelings about this stuff.

At this point, there was no need to be pretentious. Editor-in-Chief Liao immediately put the cigarette box in his pocket and said, "Now that White Deer Plain is finished, relax and leave the rest to the magazine."

Li Heng said yes.

Sitting on the grass without any image, the two chatted about "White Deer Plain" for about 20 minutes. After a while, Editor-in-Chief Liao changed the subject and asked with concern: "Has the Huang family contacted you recently?"

Editor-in-Chief Liao is referring to the matter of Huang Xuqing.

Li Heng shook his head: "No."

"That's right, and that's in line with the Huang family's tradition. Although they have doubts about you, they are not so petty." Editor-in-Chief Liao said with a sigh of relief. To be honest, he was quite embarrassed to be caught between the two.

Li Heng asked: "What is Huang Zhaoyi busy with recently?"

Editor-in-Chief Liao took a puff of cigarette and said, "We haven't been in touch for a while, but I heard recently that he seemed to have gone to Beijing. He should have a performance there."

Hearing this, Li Heng nodded, thinking that it was a good thing that he didn't waste time looking for her these two days. Otherwise, it would be quite a shame to specially call her back from the capital just for that little thing in bed.

Speaking of the Huang and Liu families, Editor-in-Chief Liao let him know, "Do you still remember Liu Yue?"

"Yeah, I remember, didn't you go to the United States?" Li Heng said.

Editor-in-Chief Liao said: "This girl is amazing. She created a software by herself and is said to have earned $10 in Silicon Valley."

Li Heng was surprised: "That girl also has a talent for computers?"

At the sound of "that girl", Editor-in-Chief Liao pinched his cigarette butt, grinned and said, "You haven't been to Huang's house. Xuqing said that there are hundreds of books and journals on computers in her bedroom, all of which were brought back from the United States by someone."

Li Heng suddenly realized: "This is a result of preparation and accumulation of experience."

"That's right. Xiao Liuyue gave up Fudan University and went to study abroad at Stanford, aiming for the computer industry. Without some interest and talent, most people can't do this." When talking about Liuyue, Editor-in-Chief Liao was full of praise.

Come to think of it, Liu Yue has been in the United States for only a few months, and she has made such a big fuss. This reminds Li Heng of Lei Jun, who is said to have made a full 100 million yuan from an antivirus software during his college years.

Grandma is a bitch!
Is Liu Yue the female version of Lei Jun? I worked so hard to write a book and only earned more than 100 million yuan, but a woman who talks nonsense went to the United States and made her first pot of gold. Who the hell can I talk to?
The weather in August is like a woman's face, changing at any time. It was sunny just now, and while they were chatting, the sky was suddenly covered with dark clouds, lightning and thunder, and the two had to run back to the house.

At this time, Zhou Shihe had finished reading the last two chapters. She had not yet recovered from the world of the book, and her eyes were shining as she looked at Li Heng. Although this light was very subtle, it was enough to show the shock that "White Deer Plain" brought to her.

After finishing reading the book, she did not disturb Mr. Ba, but gently placed the manuscript on the coffee table, then stood up and sat next to Li Heng, listening to the two men bragging and chatting.

Editor-in-Chief Liao looked at Zhou Shihe, then at Li Heng, and seeing that his junior fellow apprentice and Miss Zhou seemed to be accustomed to this way of getting along, he immediately pretended not to notice and continued to share the big and small things happening in the literary world.

The tea ran out, so after drinking it, Editor-in-Chief Liao said hello to the two of them and went to the kitchen with the empty kettle.

Sister Xiaolin, who was busy chopping vegetables, seemed to have guessed what he was doing: "Brother, the tea is already boiled and is cold over there. Pour it in yourself."

Editor-in-Chief Liao poured the tea as instructed.

Suddenly thinking of something, Sister Xiaolin glanced at the kitchen door and asked in a low voice, "What is the relationship between this Zhou Shihe and Junior Brother?"

Editor-in-Chief Liao found it funny, "When did you become so gossipy?"

Sister Xiaolin said with emotion: "This girl really amazed me. Why didn't I see her the last time I went to Lushan Village?"

"How long did you stay in Lushan Village last time? Less than two hours. It's normal that you didn't see him," said Editor-in-Chief Liao.

It was rare to see Sister Xiaolin like this, so Editor-in-Chief Liao couldn't help but ask curiously, "What does it feel like to you?"

Sister Xiaolin pondered for a while and uttered four words: "A fairy couple."

Editor Liao responded: "Are you saying that these two people outside are a good match?"

Sister Xiaolin asked back: "Don't you think so? They look very harmonious when they walk together."

Editor-in-Chief Liao nodded and shook his head: "It's not like you haven't seen Xiao Han before. Junior brother and Xiao Han look like a couple when they walk together."

Sister Xiaolin recalled Xiao Han's appearance and didn't know what to say. Although she personally preferred Zhou Shihe, who was a charming type, Xiao Han's appearance was already good enough, not to mention that she was the legitimate girlfriend of her junior brother. If she went to gossip about him, it would be her fault.

In the evening, after spending most of the day reading the next 10 chapters of "White Deer Plain", Mr. Ba stroked the manuscript with his right hand, speechless for a long time.

Li Heng, who was originally very confident in the book, was also made a little nervous by the teacher's behavior. He sat aside and waited quietly for the teacher to speak.

The same goes for Editor-in-Chief Liao and Sister Kobayashi.

Zhou Shihe sat dignifiedly on Li Heng's right, her eyes moved around imperceptibly, taking in everyone's expressions, and finally focused on Li Heng. She didn't expect that he, who was already successful in the eyes of outsiders, actually had a nervous side.

This surprised her a little, but considering Mr. Ba's status and position, she felt relieved later.

After a long while, Mr. Ba slowly raised his head and said, "This book is an epic of the Chinese nation. It is magnificent and majestic, and it presents the national secrets of China over the past century. In terms of content and structure, no contemporary novel has surpassed it so far."

This evaluation is quite high!

This is enough to show Mr. Ba's love for "White Deer Plain" and his deep affection for Li Heng.

After hearing this, Editor-in-Chief Liao was silent, feeling both happy and shocked! He hadn't read the last 10 chapters yet, but the fact that the usually calm teacher said this for the first time in his life explained everything.

Editor-in-Chief Liao couldn’t imagine how much of a sensation it would cause if these words were thrown into the literary world as is!
So will he do that?
He is the editor-in-chief of Harvest magazine and Li Heng's senior. Why doesn't he do this? Why doesn't he do this?
In the opinion of Editor-in-Chief Liao, after being wronged for so long, it is time to clear the name of his junior and "White Deer Plain", and it is also time to slap those jumping clowns in the face.

The teacher had always kept a low profile and had not expressed his opinion in the past, but now these words are enough to kill off most of the fanning the flames.

Sister Kobayashi was happy for Li Heng and personally refilled the cups of tea for everyone.

Zhou Shihe was like a fern with delicate branches and leaves, very gentle and quiet. After hearing Mr. Ba's comments, her eyes fell on Li Heng's profile and did not move away for a long time.

She also thought that this book was very good. If it could truly live up to its title as the best novel of the contemporary era, it would surely go down in history.

Thinking about the heavy weight of the four words "leave a name in history", Zhou Shihe's eyes changed slightly when he looked at him. Although the change was very subtle and not obvious, it added a hint of respect and envy.

Being born as a human being, we only have a few short decades, but if we can be remembered for thousands of years, isn’t it a great fortune? If given the opportunity, who wouldn’t want it?
But she knew that ordinary people were just ants, and only talented people like him could stand out and be remembered by history.

Mr. Ba didn't say much, but the living room was solemn. Li Heng, who already had a very high status, was further elevated in everyone's hearts.

Finally, Sister Xiaolin said with a smile: "Let's eat first. It's already 7 o'clock. You can have a second meal."

Upon hearing this, the extremely rigorous atmosphere suddenly relaxed. Mr. Ba stood up first, patted Li Heng on the shoulder, smiled kindly at Zhou Shihe, and walked towards the dining table.

Li Heng turned his head to Zhou Shihe and said, "Let's go eat. We should go back after eating."

"Okay." Zhou Shihe responded, his tone particularly soft and gentle.

Sister Xiaolin heard the conversation between the two and immediately tried to persuade them to stay: "It will be dark after dinner, and you are going back? Don't go back, stay with the teacher tonight, and I will take you back to Lushan Village tomorrow morning."

Zhou Shihe said nothing, just looked at him and let him decide.

Li Heng was a little tempted, but said helplessly: "Sister, forget it. It's hard to sleep without a shower in the hot summer, and we didn't bring any spare clothes."

Sister Xiaolin originally wanted to say that she had some at home, so she and her teacher could just wear theirs. However, when she saw Zhou Shihe, who had an extraordinary temperament, she swallowed the words back. This girl might not be used to wearing old clothes.

Editor-in-Chief Liao and Sister Xiaolin thought of the same thing and said, "Junior brother is right. After dinner, I will drive them back. I just happen to have two packets of readers' letters in the car. I will give them to him."

Li Heng was speechless: "You're sending me readers' letters again. My grocery room is almost full."

Editor-in-Chief Liao said with a smile: "Don't fool me with my age. Your small building has a lot of empty rooms, and it can hold all the letters. But Harvest magazine is almost full of your letters, and there's no place to put them."

Mr. Ba was in a very good mood today. He opened a bottle of wine and smiled as he asked Li Heng to have a few drinks with him, and he didn't allow him to cheat.

Editor-in-Chief Liao was envious. He had been with Mr. Ba for so many years, but had never received such treatment. Unfortunately, he had to drive tonight and did not dare to drink too much.

The meal lasted for quite a long time as we talked enthusiastically. Mr. Ba asked many trivial questions. When he learned that he was recording an album of instrumental music, he was very happy. He said that he was old and liked this kind of music that was close to nature. He also said that he would go and listen to the album as soon as it came out.

After dinner, Li Heng looked at the time and it was already 8:13
It was getting late, so he took Zhou Shihe to say goodbye to the teacher and Sister Xiaolin.

After sending him to the courtyard, Mr. Ba looked at Zhou Shihe carefully, and then patted Li Heng's shoulder again with earnest words, and told him: "Come and sit more often when you have time."

"Okay." Since the elder had a request, Li Heng readily agreed.

Xuhui is not close to Yangpu, and it was almost 10 o'clock when the van carrying the three people arrived at Fudan University.

Putting two large packages of readers' letters on the ground, Li Heng invited Editor-in-Chief Liao: "Brother, do you want to go upstairs and sit for a while?"

Editor-in-Chief Liao quickly shook his head and said, "Come back when you have time. It's already this late. I have to go home and rest. I have to go to Beijing for a meeting tomorrow morning."

Hearing that something was wrong, Li Heng immediately let go of his hand, "Okay, then I won't keep you here. Be careful on the road."

"okay."

After watching the van go away, Li Heng picked up two packages of readers' letters and said to Zhou Shihe, "Let's go back too."

Zhou Shihe said, "Can you carry it? Why don't you leave one pack here and I'll guard it."

Li Heng said: "No need, it's only a few dozen kilograms, it's nothing."

When I reached the end of the alley, buildings 25, 26 and 27 were all dark, and only building 24 had lights on.

The fake Taoist priest who was enjoying the cool breeze in the attic saw the two and asked, "Where have you two been? Why did you come back so late? Teacher Yu came to see you earlier."

Li Heng looked up and asked, "When will you find me?"

Chen Siya next to her said, "In the evening, around 6 o'clock."

Li Heng asked: "Sister Chen, where is Teacher Yu now?"

Chen Siya touched her big belly and said, "I don't know. She didn't find you. She had dinner at my house and left."

Li Heng and Zhou Shihe looked at each other, took out their keys and prepared to open the door and enter the house.

At this time, the fake Taoist priest shouted: "Li Heng, listen to Teacher Yu, do you have time tomorrow?"

Li Heng responded: "Yes."

The fake Taoist priest said, "Let's go fishing tomorrow, do you want to go?"

Li Heng asked: "Where are we going to fish?"

The fake Taoist priest said, "Don't ask. You won't know even if I ask. Go to bed early. I'll call you tomorrow morning. By the way, Siya is going too. You should bring Miss Shihe with you."

Li Heng was confused: "Sister Chen is going to the bathroom? Aren't you afraid of the scorching sun?"

The fake Taoist grinned and said, "Let's go out and relax. It's cool there. We'll be back in the afternoon."

They agreed to set off at 5: tomorrow morning. As soon as Li Heng entered the room, he asked Zhou Shihe, "We have to get up early, do you want to go?"

Zhou Shihe didn't refuse and said yes.

Putting two packets of readers' letters on the ground, Li Heng requested, "Go take a shower first. I'll come after I take a rest."

Zhou Shihe looked at him quietly.

Li Heng's lips twitched. "Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue! Hey, stop standing there, and go quickly. It makes me feel creepy when I see you like this."

Zhou Shihe smiled knowingly, "I won't occupy yours anymore. Go wash at your own home to save time."

"Yeah, that's okay."

Li Heng was too lazy to be polite with her, so he found some clean clothes and went into the shower room.

After taking a few minutes to take a shower, Li Heng took a flashlight and went outside to check on the ginkgo tree. It was indeed dead, more completely dead than in the previous few days. The last glimmer of hope was shattered.

ps: Change first and then change.

(End of this chapter)