Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 3 Dreams

Zhang Yan jumped up from the wire bed and started moving his arms and legs wildly. He had never imagined that being able to control his body would be so exhilarating.

Startled, Zhang Fang took two steps back and said nervously, "Brother, you...you didn't have an epileptic seizure because of your breakup, did you?"

"I've never been in love, so where would I go to experience heartbreak?"

Zhang Yan glared at her, then looked around at everything familiar. He used to think this place was cramped and simple, but now he felt an inexplicable sense of warmth and nostalgia.

That strange dream lasted intermittently for more than three years. Although he mostly skipped and jumped through it, the total duration was still more than a year. So now everything he sees feels like a distant memory.

Zhang Fang had initially breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her brother still knew how to argue with her, but seeing his strange expression, she couldn't help but become nervous again.

So Zhang Fang shuffled a few steps along the wall like a crab, then suddenly burst out of the door and shouted to her mother, who was cooking porridge outside, "Mom, Mom, come quick! My brother seems to be having a fit!"

Chaos erupted outside. Not only did Zhang's parents rush home to see what was happening, but the neighbors also came running.

Faced with those faces, some concerned and some curious, Zhang Yan could only helplessly spread his hands and say, "Dad, Mom, don't listen to Fangfang's nonsense, I'm fine."

Seeing that he was acting normally, Mr. and Mrs. Zhang were relieved. Mrs. Zhang quickly turned around and told the neighbors, "The kids are just playing around, don't spread rumors. Our Xiao Yan is currently looking for a girlfriend!"

She was afraid that people would link this incident to Zhou Nan's running away from home and spread rumors that her son had suffered a trauma, so she simply took the initiative and used "finding a partner" as a shield.

After saying that, he didn't forget to pinch Zhang Fang's hand.

Zhang's father didn't say anything, but silently packed away his son's bedding and wire bed, and then set up a folding table on the spot.

Seeing that there was nothing interesting to see, the neighbors dispersed.

After his wife set out the food, Zhang's father, while getting the fried dough sticks, casually pushed the fried toad in front of Zhang Yan and said with a stern face, "What's the use of thinking so much? Hurry up and eat!"

After three autumns, Zhang Yan felt a lump in his throat as he rediscovered his father's sharp tongue but kind heart. He quickly picked up a fried toad, took a bite, and mumbled to hide his sob, saying, "Dad, don't worry, I definitely won't get stuck on things anymore."

This long, strange dream, while unable to directly dispel Zhang Yan's obsession of more than twenty years, did dilute much of his sorrow and longing.

Moreover, Zhang Yan's mind was completely occupied with the scenes from his dream, leaving him no time to think about personal matters.

Recalling everything in the dream, he remembered the novel's content clearly, but due to the large time span and the sheer volume of information, he only remembered about 20-30% of the other information he encountered.

Moreover, most of this information is useless—at least in the short term.

Unfortunately, what he encountered in his dreams were mostly things that the author had glimpsed while researching, and were mostly fragmented pieces of information.

The biggest help to Zhang Yan so far, besides the long-form writing ability he developed by working alongside the novelist for several years, is the case methods, puns, humorous anecdotes, and famous quotes that the author specifically collected.

These ideas, if considered after 2017, would be seen as mere rehashing of others' work, but they were quite novel in 1990. If used properly, they could definitely enhance an article.

Then there's the playlist on QQ Music, which contains some people Zhang Yan knows, such as Luo Dayou, who sang "Childhood," and Cui Jian, who released "Rock 'n' Roll on the New Long March" last February.

But there are many more songs and singers he's never heard of. If he could follow the trail to find some of them and invest in them in advance, he'd definitely reap a substantial return.

But Zhang Yan doesn't have that right now, so it's more realistic for him to start by writing novels—or more accurately, by adapting novels.

The main reason is that he is not confident in his current writing ability, so the safest way is to refer to existing templates, namely the "Dream of the Red Chamber Detective" in his dream, and then adapt and recreate them.

Copying it verbatim is definitely not an option. The overall quality of the original book is actually quite average, but the core story and the methods used in the case were still very impactful in 1990.

He had already thoroughly memorized the novel's shortcomings and flaws in his dreams.

If we remove the dross and keep the essence, discarding a lot of mediocre and redundant parts, and then re-polish it with Zhang Yan's own writing style, adding those golden sentences that are already commonplace in later generations but are still amazing in 1990, it will definitely be refreshing.

The adaptation process also provides a good opportunity to test his ability to handle long novels.

Just as Zhang Yan was contemplating becoming a plagiarist, his parents were secretly observing his situation.

Seeing her son's absent-mindedness and frequent distractions, Zhang's mother couldn't help but want to comfort and persuade him, but Zhang's father stopped her, indicating that he would talk to their son alone later.

Before the father could even approach the son, the son approached the father first.

"You're taking a long leave to write a novel?"

Upon hearing her son's idea, Zhang's mother immediately became anxious: "The business of selling paper money has just started to make money. If you give up now, won't it all benefit others?! Besides, you used to write in your spare time after work. Why do you suddenly want to take a long leave this time?" She didn't actually want her son to sell ghost money, but she was even more unwilling to see the source of income that her son had worked so hard to create benefit others for nothing.

Zhang's father frowned as he looked at Zhang Yan, and after a long while, he said, "Have you really thought this through, or..."

Zhang Yan hesitated for a moment, but decided not to tell his parents about the strange dream. After all, it was too bizarre, and telling them would only make his parents worry.

He simply nodded emphatically and said, "I've made up my mind. I don't know how it happened, but I couldn't sleep last night, and suddenly it dawned on me that I can make it work this time."

He paused, then emphasized, "It will definitely work!"

"Well!"

Mr. Zhang immediately made the decision: "Anyway, you won't be able to enjoy this all by yourself for long, so why not take the initiative to show your good character and leave a good impression on the factory?"

"Revitalize the nation!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang's mother anxiously called out to her husband.

Zhang Xingguo waved his hand and said, "What's there to be afraid of? Just look at how he dared to take on the job of selling paper money and managed to make the business a success. This kid will definitely never go hungry in the future!"

Seeing his father's support, Zhang Yan was moved and quickly seized the opportunity to say, "Then I'll go to the factory to hand over the work in a bit, and take some people to set up a stall and practice."

It was already 7:30 when we started talking.

So the father and son ended their brief conversation and each set off for their respective workplaces.

The distance between the tenement building and the newspaper office and printing plant was not far, only a ten-minute walk, so the old bicycle was usually used by my mother.

Along the way, Zhang Yan encountered several children of newspaper employees, about half of whom looked dejected and listless, clearly having not slept well the previous night.

Zhou Nan, look at all the sins you've committed!
Upon arriving at the printing factory, Zhang Yan first went to a nearby tin kiosk to buy a pack of good cigarettes before heading straight to the factory manager's office.

As soon as he entered, he handed a cigarette to the factory manager, who took it and said with a smile, "Looks like you've made quite a bit of money lately, you're smoking hard pack cigarettes now."

"Thanks to you, it's alright."

Zhang Yan scratched his head, feigning distress, and said, "However, I may not be able to do this job. You'd better hurry up and find someone more capable."

"What do you mean?"

Upon hearing this, the factory manager frowned. Zhang Yan had made a lot of money recently, but the factory had also gained an extra source of income, especially from wholesale orders, which the factory took the lion's share of. So, he naturally didn't want Zhang Yan to quit.

So he hurriedly advised, "Young Zhang, let me give you a piece of advice: you have to choose between love and career. What about Zhou..."

"You're absolutely right!"

Seeing that he was about to mention Zhou Nan, Zhang Yan quickly interjected, "A couple of days ago, someone introduced me to a potential partner, but as soon as she heard that he sold paper money, she immediately said goodbye to the matchmaker, Sayonara!"

This infuriated my mom, and she absolutely forbade me from selling paper money anymore. Luckily, I'd recently heard a few stories while selling paper money at my stall, and I was thinking of turning them into a novel, so I decided to take a long leave of absence.

"This……"

Hearing Zhang Yan bring up marriage so readily, the factory manager was speechless for a moment, and said helplessly, "But this business has only just begun. If you abandon it..."

"Don't worry about that. People were unwilling to get involved before because they didn't have access to the money. Now that I've paved the way, there will definitely be some cunning people who want to get involved."

As Zhang Yan spoke, he waved the cigarette pack in his hand again: "After I go to the workshop to distribute some cigarettes, some people will come looking for you. You can choose two nice ones then, and I'll definitely teach you until you understand."

"You little rascal, you're really cunning!"

The factory manager shook his head helplessly again, but secretly praised Zhang Yan for being sensible and understanding. Even if Zhang Yan hadn't brought it up, he was planning to put two people in after a while. Now that Zhang Yan had offered a discount, it saved him a lot of trouble.

So he readily agreed, "Okay then, how long are you planning to take leave this time?"

"Two months!"

Zhang Yan held up two fingers and said resolutely, "This time, we men are determined to conquer Loulan and will not return until we have done so!"

(End of this chapter)