My era, 1979!

Chapter 34 Favor
At the entrance of the Education Bureau, Xu Chengjun leaned against the railing, lost in thought.

He came to return the bicycle to Lin Xiaomei. He felt a little bad about borrowing the girl's bicycle for more than ten days. On the way, he bought a peach shortbread, produced by the "Changjiang Food Factory" in Hefei. It was crispy, fragrant, and kept for a long time, suitable for all ages. At that time, it was considered a "decent food".

Correct!
The price is good too!
A serving of two jin (approximately 2 kg) cost 1.8 yuan plus 1.8 jin of grain coupons, which was roughly equivalent to two days' wages for an average person in Hefei at the time.

Xu Chengjun was borrowing an air hose from the gatekeeper to inflate the tires of his "Forever" brand bicycle when he heard a clear female voice from behind him.

"Comrade Xu?"

Lin Xiaomei clutched a brown paper folder, the red string at the end of her braid swaying. Seeing him pumping air, she quickly ran over: "Don't bother, I can do it myself!"

"That's okay!"

"I just bought some peach shortbread from the supply and marketing cooperative," Xu Chengjun said, stuffing a cloth bag into the bicycle basket after pumping up the tires. "I heard it tastes good, you should try it."

The cloth bag had just been stuffed in when Lin Xiaomei took it out: "This won't do! My brother owes a debt of gratitude to you..."

"How long has it been?" Xu Chengjun laughed. "Last time on the long-distance bus, if it weren't for your brother's twenty yuan, how would I have caught the thief?"

He tapped the bicycle bell with his fingertip, and it rang out crisply.

Young girls these days have never seen anything like this before. Lin Xiaomei's face immediately turned bright red. She thought to herself that Comrade Lin's words were quite amusing. No wonder she could write articles!
She blushed and lowered her head, fiddling with the end of her braid: "Your article 'Weighing the Stars' has been all the rage lately, it's been all over the place in our hall!"

"It's just nonsense." Xu Chengjun propped up the car. "Unlike your Education Department, where everyone's a master writer."

"You wouldn't dare say that!" Lin Xiaomei exclaimed anxiously. "What you wrote is excellent!"

Seeing the girl's appearance, Comrade Xu didn't dare to tease her too much. 79 was not like the 21st century. It was still an era when travel was slow and people could only love one person for a lifetime.

It’s easy to get into trouble!

"Alright, I have to go to Shanghai tomorrow. I was thinking of inviting you and your brother to dinner, but the news from Director Wang is too urgent, so there's really no way. I can only invite you to dinner when I get back."

"No need, no need! Then have a safe journey!"

The girl quickly waved her hand.

Xu Chengjun had just turned around when he heard a clear female voice behind him again.

"and many more!"

She suddenly pulled a few fruit candies from her pocket and stuffed them into his hand, saying, "Eat these on the way. Have a smooth trip to Shanghai."

Just as Xu Chengjun was about to thank her, Lin Xiaomei was already pushing her bicycle toward the bike shed, the corner of her blue shirt being lifted by the wind.

"I've locked the bike in the shed!" she called back, her braid swinging high. "I'll lend it to you when you come back from Fudan University!"

Xu Chengjun looked back at the girl, shook his head and chuckled. Girls these days are really simple and lovely.
-
The blue cloth banner of the state-run Jianghuai Noodle Restaurant fluttered in the wind. When Xu Chengjun lifted the curtain, the aroma of chili oil mixed with the smell of pepper wafted out.

"Brother Xu is finally here!" Ma Shengli was standing on tiptoe to reach the menu on the wall, and he threw his military green satchel on the corner of the table. "Brother Chen insisted on waiting for you to come before placing the order. Sister Zhai has glared at him three times already."

Chen Jianguo nearly dropped the enamel mug from his hand, glaring at his cousin: "Don't listen to this kid's nonsense."

Zhai Ying chuckled and draped her flared trousers over the chair: "Editor Chen is just being stubborn. He was just saying, 'If Cheng Jun doesn't come, this spicy soup won't taste good.'"

Qian Ming sat at the far end with an empty bowl in front of him. When Xu Chengjun came in, he offered him a seat: "Chengjun, they said they want to give you a farewell party and don't want you to spend any money!" "Don't do that." Xu Chengjun threw his canvas bag onto the empty chair. "I said I'd treat you. If you pay again, Editor Zhang will say I'm stingy."

They were all mentors who helped him a lot!

Xu Jun can afford to treat everyone to a meal!

The waiter, Chef Zhang, came over with a tray, the rough porcelain bowls clinking on the table: "Here comes your spicy soup, four of you! The one who added extra pepper, is that Xu Zhiqing?"

Xu Chengjun had just nodded when he saw Zhai Ying pick up the bowl and take a big gulp, sticking out her tongue from the spiciness: "Master Zhang, is the chili in your soup some kind of spirit?"

"Comrade Zhai is still so impatient." Master Zhang smiled as he placed some fried dough sticks on the table, then said to Xu Chengjun, "Your 'Weighing the Stars' is really well written! We always said that the author of such a good article must be at least forty or fifty! I didn't expect it to be such a handsome young man!"

Xu Chengjun waved his hand and said, "You look young too!"

Chen Jianguo paused as he scooped the spicy soup: "Speaking of which, I received a letter from a reader this morning. He's a shoe repairman who said he dared to raise his prices by two cents after reading the newspaper, and he even included a pair of newly sewn shoe soles as a thank you gift."

“Then it has to be framed.” Zhai Ying picked up some gluten with her chopsticks. “When Xu Chengjun becomes a great writer in the future, this will be a literary legend—‘A Price Hike Case Triggered by a Pair of Shoe Soles’.”

Qian Ming chuckled, and crumbs of fried dough fell onto his clothes: "I have to keep my copy of 'Nine Hundred English Sentences' so I can say 'I studied vocabulary with a great writer' someday."

Xu Chengjun had just picked up the bowl when Ma Shengli grabbed his wrist: "Don't drink yet! Brother Chen brought some good stuff."

Chen Jianguo pulled a book with a leather cover from his briefcase. The words "Class Teacher" were embossed in gold on the cover. "I just picked it up from the post office. It's Liu Xinwu's new single volume. I heard it was reprinted three times, and the supply and marketing cooperatives are going crazy for it."

Oh dear, it's the homeroom teacher again!
In many people's eyes, "scar literature" is about "I was originally a guest in heaven and earth, but I fell into the countryside and suffered the hardships of farming."

Crying and sobbing.

But in Xu Chengjun's view, literature is a mirror of social reality. It's okay to cry; as long as you can provide a solution, it's a good work.

Zhai Ying snatched the book away, tracing the spine with her fingertips: "This book is very controversial. The old editors almost flipped the table in a heated argument. Some people said, 'It's too explicit to write about petty hooligans,' while others cursed, 'It's simply a disgrace to education.'"

“I think it’s good that you dare to write.” Xu Chengjun took a sip of spicy soup, the pepper making his throat numb. “It’s more substantial than those empty words that just talk the talk.”

Chen Jianguo's eyes lit up: "You think so too? I argued with Zhai Ying for half the night. She said this book is like a dull knife cutting flesh, but I insisted that the more it hurts, the clearer you'll become."

"Oh, they've already started arguing?"

Zhai Ying slammed the book on the table. "Cheng Jun, be the judge. That homeroom teacher in the book always has a stern face, just like my elementary school homeroom teacher. It's suffocating to look at. What kind of 'sane' is that?"

Ma Shengli suddenly interjected: "If you ask me, none of them are as powerful as 'The Wounded'. The part where the girl travels thousands of miles to find her mother and eats dry steamed buns on the train made me cry so much that my tears fell onto my food coupons."

"What do you know?" Qian Ming rarely interrupted. "Cheng Jun said that 'The Wounded' was too deliberate, with tears flowing like they were free. 'The Granary' written by Cheng Jun is much better!"

Xu Chengjun was embarrassed. His hand, which was holding a fried dough stick, paused. This kid was really his die-hard fan! He dared to say anything!

But I love listening to it!

But then I remembered the days when I first transmigrated, squatting on the edge of the field revising my manuscript. Back then, I was always afraid of writing too explicitly, and I had to weigh every sentence carefully. I never dared to imagine that I would be mentioned in such a situation.

He squinted at the crowd.

It's as if it's saying: Not enough, praise me more!
(End of this chapter)