1979: My fiancée is a goddess

Chapter 346: Shopping for Books and Shocking the Mother-in-Law (Please give me a monthly ticket, any request!)
Seven o'clock in the morning.

The cold sunlight shines through the windows on the semicircular balcony deep in the living room.

The thin light neutralizes the chill in the air, leaving behind oblique squares and a faint residual warmth on the elegant and simple cold-glazed floor tiles.

In the spacious and clean bathroom, Cheng Kaiyan washed and wrung out the towel.

"Wow..."

The water droplets and mist flowed away from the warm white towel up and down.

Place a towel over the edge of the plastic basin to prevent the heat from escaping.

He finished washing up and came out of the bathroom.

It was early morning, the living room was empty and bright.

On the wall covered with old-fashioned wallpaper with elegant patterns, there are a few quaint wall lamps hanging sporadically, emitting a bright yellow light, illuminating the living room.

The fireplace in the middle of the living room was brightly lit, and the crackling sound of burning coals and wood could be heard.

The kitchen door in the distance was open, and there could be faint sounds of water splashing and pots and pans creaking.

Cheng Kaiyan just looked at the time, it was seven o'clock in the morning.

No one had gotten up yet at this time, so I guess Aunt Wan was cooking.

"Sure enough, Sister Xiaoli actually learned a lot from Aunt Wan's words and deeds, but fortunately she didn't learn Aunt Wan's arrogance and duplicity..."

"But if you think about it carefully, Sister Xiaoli seems to be a bit arrogant..."

Thinking of this, Cheng Kaiyan recalled carefully.

I was slightly moved by the similarities between mother and daughter.

He turned and walked towards the TV. There was a brand new calendar hanging on the wall.

Late birth and late childbearing lead to better birth and better childbearing.

This is the promotional slogan printed on the calendar, occupying more than 70% of the page.

The rest is the calendar.

It should have been issued by the unit.

However, Cheng Kaiyan was too lazy to take a look and went straight to look at the rows of numbers below.

February 1, 1981, the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month.

Sunday.

Time flies by like a white horse.

In a blink of an eye, three days had passed since Cheng Kaiyan and her companion arrived in Harbin by train.

After a conflicted, complicated, drunken first day.

These two days, Cheng Kaiyan had a pretty comfortable time at Liu Xiaoli's house.

Except that Aunt Wan's attitude was rather cold and ambiguous.

Both Uncle Liu and Xiaoling became more familiar with him as they got to know him better.

……

"There are less than four days left until New Year's Eve. How is mom going to spend New Year's Eve this year...

I guess I'll just wait until the clock strikes, burn some incense for my dad, and set off some firecrackers as usual?

However, I don’t know if my aunt will come to our house to celebrate the New Year as agreed.”

Cheng Kaiyan looked at the circled words "New Year's Eve" on the calendar, her mind filled with thoughts.

What he was most concerned about was naturally how his mother and aunt would celebrate the New Year at home, and then there would be New Year greetings and gift giving. It was inevitable that he would be worried about Cheng Kaiyan since she was not at home.

Besides, it’s not a big deal that my aunt doesn’t go to the Ning family to celebrate the New Year.

But visiting for New Year's greetings is definitely a must. Judging from the last prior contact, he is not an easy person to get along with.

I’m afraid that my aunt will go and get bullied again.

Cheng Kaiyan stood there, thinking for a long time.

Suddenly, a hand patted my shoulder.

"Dong dong..."

Cheng Kaiyan's heart skipped a beat. Before she turned around, she heard Aunt Wan's mature and quiet voice asking:

"Get up so early?"

"Early to bed, early to wake up."

Cheng Kaiyan turned around and answered.

"Today is the first, your work will be published today, right?"

Jiang Wan asked quietly. Ever since she heard the news that day, she had some expectations.

"Yes, it's today. Aunt Wan, are you looking forward to it? Are you going with us later?"

Cheng Kaiyan nodded and asked calmly.

It seems that Aunt Wan is still thinking about it. When she said she would write everything down that night, she was not just talking.

When she gets serious, she seems a lot like my aunt.

"Looking forward to it? Haha."

Jiang Wan glanced at him indifferently, and the emotion that flashed across her beautiful eyes was very obvious.

I'm just verifying it myself, why would I expect anything?
If you can't satisfy yourself...

hum!

"..."

Cheng Kaiyan saw her mother-in-law's expression and was speechless.

Duplicity, right?

"If you have nothing to do, come in and help."

Jiang Wan didn't plan to chat more, so she asked casually and turned to walk towards the kitchen.

After walking a few steps, he added, "Forget it if you don't have time."

Cheng Kaiyan thought it was really funny to hear these words coming from someone like his mother-in-law. He really wanted to say that you didn't need to add this sentence.

"Of course I'm free."

He would not make a rash joke, but followed quickly.

Besides, he also felt a little emotional.

Unexpectedly, the kitchen became a good place for me and my mother-in-law to ease the relationship and get closer.

There is indeed a saying:
Men who are good at cooking get 10,000 points extra!
……

Breakfast is also very rich.

The diet in Harbin still retains many Russian habits.

Today's breakfast is a perfect example of this, with Russian bread spread with jam, produced by Qiulin Company.

The braised beef was bought from Daoli Market, and each person had a cup of milk ordered in advance.

"Auntie Wan actually heated it up in advance. I am moved to tears."

Cheng Kaiyan ate her breakfast with a mouthful of bread and a sip of milk.

This is the kind of hearty breakfast that intellectuals and cadres from wealthy families have.

For ordinary families, cornmeal pancakes, millet porridge and sauerkraut are enough.

From the richness of the breakfast, it can be seen that although Cheng Kaiyan was treated coldly by the head of the family here, the standard of hospitality was still quite good.

After breakfast, clean up the dishes.

Everyone is getting ready to go out, today is the 1st, which happens to be the weekend.

"Dad, Mom, do you want to go together?"

Liu Xiaoli, Cheng Kaiyan and her sister were changing shoes at the door and preparing to leave the house.

"I'm not going. I worked overtime last night and I need to take a break. You guys go ahead. The weather is nice today so you guys can have fun."

Uncle Liu leaned back on the sofa and shook his head tiredly.

"Well, what about Mom?"

Liu Xiaoli looked at her mother.

Aunt Wan glanced at Cheng Kaiyan casually and said, "Of course I'll go!"

So the four of them put on warm clothes and went out.

……

"Tanghulu~~"

"Shrimp candy! 50 cents a bag! If you don't buy it now, the price will go up during the Chinese New Year!"

"Wine candies (chocolate with liquor filling) are one yuan a pound!"

On Central Street, Daoli District.

On the streets paved with square bread stones, the flow of people was as busy as traffic, and citizens wearing new clothes were shopping in the streets.

Small vendors push three-wheeled carts loaded with goods and sell them on the streets.

On both sides are three or four-story buildings in Baroque and Russian styles.

Classical and elegant, rugged and Western style.

Even the bustling Wangfujing Street in Beijing cannot be as fashionable as here at this time.

"Hey, comrade, why don't you take a look? The New Year is coming soon and the kids at home are greedy. The gifts for the New Year are all top-notch things."

In a small shop on the street, blankets are placed outside.

Jiang Wan and her group of four happened to pass by and were 'stopped'.

"Sister Xiaoli, would you like some candied haws?"

"Two please."

Liu Xiaoli raised two white fingers and then quickly put them back into her pocket.

Nothing else, cold.

"Two of them."

Cheng Kaiyan paid.

He soon understood why his partner bought two.

Aunt Wan and her sister ate one, and he and Xiaoli ate one.

Central Street is more than 1,400 meters long. The four of them walked forward for a while, buying this and that, and soon had some things in their hands.

When he came to a two-story building, Cheng Kaiyan smelled the aroma of wheat bread and turned to look.

I found that there were quite a few people queuing up.

"That's the bakery on the first floor of Huamei Western Restaurant. They bake fresh trough bread every day. It's made from fermented rye and costs thirty cents a pound. There are many people lining up every day. It's delicious and affordable. Xiaoling and I used to buy it often."

Liu Xiaoli followed his gaze and explained with a smile.

"Do you want to eat? Let's buy some now that there are fewer people around?"

To be honest, Cheng Kaiyan was a little greedy. The aroma was really tempting.

"Uh-huh."

Liu Xiaoli glanced at her sister and saw that her little nose was moving constantly.

She was also a little tempted, as she hadn't eaten it for a long time since leaving Harbin.

"Cough cough..."

Aunt Wan at the side coughed lightly, as if to remind them not to spend money indiscriminately.

However, the three of them ignored it and rushed over to line up.

After buying bread.

Each of the three came back with a paper bag, which contained a piece of fluffy bread that looked like a crooked rectangle. "Auntie Wan, here."

As usual, Cheng Kaiyan tried to improve Aunt Wan's favorability by tearing off a piece of steaming bread and handing it over to her.

"You spend money lavishly. You really take after your mother."

Jiang Wan glanced at him and said indifferently.

But she took it anyway.

"..."

This sounds very familiar...

Cheng Kaiyan thought about it and immediately turned to look at her partner.

"Ouch..."

Liu Xiaoli met Cheng Kaiyan's eyes, lowered her head as if nothing had happened, opened her mouth and took a bite of a corner of the bread.

"Don't buy it next time. I'll do it."

Seeing Cheng Kaiyan's childlike look, Jiang Wan suddenly said something.

"You can also make this foreign thing? Aunt Wan, you are amazing!"

Cheng Kaiyan's eyes lit up and he glanced sideways repeatedly.

"of course."

Jiang Wan raised her chin proudly, but soon felt that it was inconsistent with her image.

She pursed her lips and calmed down: "Let's go to Xinhua Bookstore to buy books."

……

232 Central Street.

A three-story yellow building in Russian eclectic style stands on a busy street, with four big characters "Xinhua Bookstore" hung on the door.

There was a long queue of people waiting to buy books at the door, mostly young people, including students and teachers...

“There are still so many people, I know it.”

Liu Xiaoling made a bitter face. Now she would have to wait in a long queue.

"Let's get in line, buy as soon as possible and go back as soon as possible."

Jiang Wan spoke, waved her hand and led the four people to line up.

Now that you are here, you must buy "Children's Literature".

The four of them walked to the end of the line and lined up.

As the line was quite long, many people who were buying books were chatting with each other to pass the time.

Just like the young men and women in their twenties in front of Cheng Kaiyan and the other three, they looked clear and pure in temperament.

Cheng Kaiyan could tell at a glance that this must be a college student who was going home for the holidays and had come out to buy books.

"Xiaohui? Are you back from BJ?"

"Comrade Wenhui, long time no see. You came so early, what are you planning to buy?"

"Buy People's Literature. The quality of the works there is really high."

"That's right. Those who can be published are all famous people in their area."

"Not necessarily. There are also many new writers who have their works published in People's Literature right after their debut. For example, I saw a work called Love Letter in People's Literature before, which was written by a new writer."

The pretty girl with big braids and freckles on her face shook her head.

"Love letter? Comrade Wen Hui, do you read this too?"

"Yes, it is very touching. A letter from heaven, a letter arranged by a lost lover."

The female comrade raised her head, her face full of emotion, and then she shook her head and chanted: "How are you?..."

"I'm very good!"

The gay man answered quickly.

The two of them immediately looked at each other with sparkling eyes, as if they had found a confidant.

“It’s a pity that this love letter writer has not been published in People’s Literature since then. What a pity.”

"Haha, Comrade Wen Hui, you guessed wrong! Teacher Cheng is not limited to People's Literature. He has created many works. The college students in our area in Beijing are very familiar with Teacher Cheng! He is too famous!"

"Oh? You actually have other works? Tell us about them?"

The female lesbian was immediately pleasantly surprised. These days, information is so blocked that many times when writers publish new works, readers may not even know about it.

"My most recent work is Youth, which was published in PLA Literature and Art. It was adapted from Teacher Cheng's real experience when he joined the army in southern Xinjiang. It attracted a lot of attention once it was published, and it won the first prize in the military essay contest not long ago! I heard that it will also be used to change movies in the future!"

"Youth? Which issue is it? Where can I buy it?"

"The October issue, I guess you can't find it. I happen to have it over there. I'll lend it to you later!"

"Great! Are you coming this time?"

"Buy Children's Literature. I heard that Teacher Xiao Cheng has a new children's literature work published today!"

"Teacher Xiao Cheng also writes children's literature?"

"That's not the case!"

……

The conversation between the two was naturally heard clearly by Cheng Kaiyan and the other three behind them.

"Mom, how's it going?"

Liu Xiaoli folded her arms across her chest and looked at her surprised mother with a smile.

"It seems you didn't lie to me."

Jiang Wan nodded with some complicated feelings, even though she already knew that Cheng Kaiyan was indeed somewhat famous.

But seeing these two young college students with my own eyes, these talented students enthusiastically discussing Cheng Kaiyan's fame and works, looking like book fans, was even more shocking.

Sometimes seeing it with your own eyes is more convincing.

Jiang Wan silently observed Cheng Kaiyan and found that he was not very excited, but rather very calm.

It seems that he often encounters situations like this and is used to it.

At this time, the younger sister also looked at Cheng Kaiyan beside her with a radiant look in her eyes, thinking to herself: "As expected of my brother-in-law, he is really amazing! My brother-in-law is a great writer! Hehe!"

"Sister Xiaoli, Aunt Wan, it's almost our turn."

At this time, Cheng Kaiyan spoke up to remind him.

Everyone then realized that they had arrived at the door of the bookstore without realizing it.

"go!"

Jiang Wan brought everyone into the store. She wanted to see how well Cheng Kaiyan wrote!
As soon as she entered the store, Jiang Wan found the clerk and asked directly: "Comrade, I want two books of children's literature!"

"Great! It just so happens that there are a lot of people buying it! I heard that the works of great writers are published there, so many people come here to buy it. Usually there are so few people buying children's literature, but today there are so many people."

The clerk complained as he rummaged through two books behind him.

He would probably have to call the head office later to ask for more children's literature.

Judging from the situation, it’s not enough at all.

“There are works by great writers published, and many people buy them?”

Jiang Wan raised her eyebrows. The first thing she thought of was, could this great writer the clerk was talking about be him?

It must be just a coincidence, right?
So as soon as they got the book, Jiang Wan took everyone to find a table in the store and sit down.

Two books were spread out on the table and everyone gathered around to read.

All they saw was the words "Children's Literature" written on the cover, and several large and small fairy tale patterns printed in color, which looked very cute.

"Ah! Kaiyan, look, isn't the picture on the cover the Totoro you drew on your draft before?"

Liu Xiaoli spotted the clue immediately and pointed at the cartoon pattern on the cover and exclaimed in surprise.

Jiang Wan was surprised when she heard this.

Cheng Kaiyan's work was not only published, but also used as the cover?
She followed everyone else and looked down. There appeared a bus shaped like a cat, and a fat gray-white mouse with rabbit ears holding a lotus leaf...

It looks naive and a little ugly, but also a little cute.

at the same time.

Inside the store, there were cries of surprise from young lesbians and some gay men.

"So cute, is this Totoro? And this cat bus is really magical!"

"Look, the editor of the magazine said in the description that these pictures were actually hand-painted by Teacher Cheng Kaiyan herself!"

"It's so awesome!"

"Although I haven't read the novel yet, just looking at these pictures makes me look forward to this My Neighbor Totoro!"

"That's right! It feels like there are so many novel settings, and it's not inferior to classic fairy tales from abroad!"

"Comrade, what are you talking about?"

A lesbian asked curiously.

"My Neighbor Totoro? Don't you know about Teacher Cheng's new work?"

"Is it Teacher Cheng Kaiyan?"

"Yup!"

"Comrade clerk, we want a children's literature!"

"We want it too!"

The store is getting busier and busier!
……

"Aunt Wan, why don't we go home quickly?"

As Cheng Kaiyan listened to more and more discussions around her, she couldn't help but recall an incident when she once went to a bookstore to buy a book, but was recognized by a reader and had to wait for several hours before she could escape.

His expression suddenly became serious and he suggested.

"Yes, Mom."

Liu Xiaoli also felt deeply touched.

"Why are you panicking?"

Jiang Wan frowned slightly. She could naturally understand what the two meant. They were afraid of being blocked by readers in the store.

But how could it be so exaggerated?
If this is really the case, wouldn’t he be a truly great writer?

"Huh? Comrade, you look familiar to me?!"

Suddenly, someone patted Cheng Kaiyan from behind. He turned around and found that it was the boy from the young college pair who had just spoken in front of them.

"You, you, you! Are you Teacher Cheng Kaiyan?!"

Sure enough, the next second.

The boy who was studying at BJ University immediately exclaimed.

"Teacher Cheng Kaiyan?!"

In an instant, the bookstore became quiet and many people turned to look.

"what happened?"

When Jiang Wan heard the noisy sound beside her ears, her heart skipped a beat and she froze in her tracks while turning the pages of the book.

He glanced at Cheng Kaiyan standing beside him, and a look of deep surprise and astonishment flashed in his eyes.

This kid actually...actually said the truth?

"Shh-"

Before Jiang Wan could react, Cheng Kaiyan and Liu Xiaoli looked at each other, then quickly grabbed Aunt Wan's arms and ran out.

"Hey Hey hey!"

On the desk, only the younger sister was left, with her arms outstretched. She looked at the three people who had already run out of the door with a look of shock on her face, and shouted:
"I haven't... caught up yet!"

(End of this chapter)