The Beginning of the World: Going to the Countryside as an Educated Youth

Unfortunately, beer is not popular in China yet and there are no refrigerators. It will probably take a few years before we can drink it.

Zhao Dongchuan thought while eating quickly, until he licked the last grain of rice in the bowl into his mouth.

After finishing his meal and washing up briefly, Zhao Dongchuan walked to the table, turned on the desk lamp, and took out several letters that Jia Bing had written to him before leaving get off work.

One was a reply letter from Li Yuer in Pengcheng, one was from my parents in my hometown, and the other was actually from Zhang Jian, the editor of the "Yanhe" magazine in the provincial capital. This was quite unexpected.

Looking at the two words "Zhang Jian" on the envelope, Zhao Dongchuan took out the invitation letter that was sent together with the recording notice from the drawer. He felt a little guilty. He had been so busy that he had forgotten about this matter a long time ago.

I had been thinking of finding time to go to the provincial capital for a meeting, but ended up going back to Shuangshui Village and dealing with the black market, and I completely forgot about it!

Out of politeness, Zhao Dongchuan opened the letter first and started reading it.

Just as he guessed, this was a "punitive" letter. In the letter, Zhang Jian enthusiastically asked about his recent situation, talked about some of the positive comments on his works in the publishing house, and asked him when he would be able to "condescend" to come to the provincial capital. Finally, he asked him if he had any new works recently and hoped to contact him first, etc.

After careful consideration, Zhao Dongchuan wrote a letter back, first expressing his apologies to Zhang Jian, then talking about his recent situation and the matter of "Yellow Earth", and finally emphasizing that he would go to the provincial capital to meet with him soon to discuss the publication of the new work, which comforted Zhang Jian's wounded heart.

After writing the reply, Zhao Dongchuan felt much more relaxed, and the slightest trace of guilt disappeared.

It seems that I am too kind after all, and I am always unwilling to let others down!!! Zhao Dongchuan thought.

Then he opened the letter sent by his parents from his hometown. It was a reply to Zhao Dongchuan's "good news". In the letter, "Old Zhao" was very excited and pleased with his achievements. They didn't quite believe it at first, but when they saw the author of the poem signed in the journal: Zhao Dongchuan from Shuangshui Village, they couldn't lie.

They quickly accepted the fact that their son "Zhao Dongchuan" had made great progress. They were so excited for many days that they couldn't sleep all night.

He mentioned in a letter before that he asked his parents to keep a low profile as he didn't know if the news would spread everywhere.

"Let them be happy, these hard times are about to end!"

Zhao Dongchuan smiled and put the letter away. He had written a letter some time ago, so there was no need to reply now.

He took out Li Yuer's letter again, opened it and began to read. In the letter, Li Yuer talked about her daily life and responded to some issues she had discussed with Zhao Dongchuan before. At the same time, the letter inevitably mentioned the progress of his new work, and finally asked implicitly when he could come to Pengcheng.

Zhao Dongchuan looked at the letter with a smile, he felt as if seeing the words in person. In that era, transportation and mail were slow, so when writing letters, they poured their own emotions into them, and reading them gave a sense of intimacy. Unlike later generations, with the explosion of technology, everything became very convenient, but communication became more and more cold.

Technological development has brought convenience, but it has also caused people to lose something.

But the times are always moving forward, and only those who have experienced it know the taste of it.

Zhao Dongchuan picked up his pen to write a reply. It was already late at night when he finished writing. Then he tidied the envelope and went to bed.

The next day, early in the morning, Zhao Dongchuan put the letter into the mailbox and went to work.

On the way into the office, Zhao Dongchuan met Director Wang, whom he hadn't seen for a long time.

"Good morning, Director Wang!" Zhao Dongchuan greeted the director.

"Comrade Xiao Zhao, good morning!" Director Wang looked at him with a smile.

"I heard from Teacher Jia that you have been writing a lot recently. Will you publish a new work soon?"

"I am writing a novel with the Loess Plateau as the background. I have written more than half of it, and there is only a little left to finish!" Zhao Dongchuan replied with a smile.

"Very good. The new generation pushes the old generation forward. I was right about you. I look forward to your new work!" Upon hearing Zhao Dongchuan's affirmative reply, Director Wang smiled even more happily.

I entered the office separately from Director Wang.

"Morning, Teacher Jia!"

"Xiao Zhao, you're here. I didn't come yesterday and forgot to ask you how you've been doing recently?" Jia Bing asked.

"It's good, the book is almost finished!"

Jia Bing nodded and said, "Work hard, the future belongs to you young people!"

Then Zhao Dongchuan started another busy day. He had been away for many days and had left a lot of work behind, so he needed to catch up as soon as possible.

After get off work, Zhao Dongchuan proposed to go to Jia Bing's house to visit his sister-in-law, and Jia Bing readily agreed.

So after get off work, Zhao Dongchuan rode his bicycle with his bag on his back, and Jia Bing sat on the back seat. The two chatted on the way and soon arrived at Jia Bing's house.

Hearing the noise, the big black dog "Baron" rushed out with a whoosh.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!" He ran to the two of them and circled around them.

"Baron, come on, go in!" Jia Bing said to the Baron.

Zhao Dongchuan parked the car in the yard and followed Jia Bing into the house. In the house, Sister Shufen was sweeping the floor with a broom, cleaning the place.

"Oh, don't move. Didn't I tell you not to do these things? I'll do it!" Jia Bing saw it, walked up quickly, took the broom, and said complainingly.

"I just can't sit still. I used to do all the housework, but now I'm not allowed to do it anymore. I'm not used to it." Shufen lowered her head shyly.

"You are pregnant now, so try to do less. I will cook and you can take a rest!" Jia Bing said as he swept the broken leaves on the ground into a dustpan and dumped it in the corner outside the yard.

"Hello, sister-in-law!"

"Oh, Xiao Zhao, you're here too. Sorry, I didn't see you just now!" Shufen then realized that Zhao Dongchuan had also come.

"Hahaha, it's okay, don't be polite to me. Teacher Jia and I will cook today, you just have a good rest!" Zhao Dongchuan said and followed Jia Bing into the kitchen.

Jia Bing was obviously unfamiliar with cooking and looked a little flustered. It seemed that he seldom cooked and only started cooking recently after his sister-in-law Shufen became pregnant.

Fortunately, with the help of Zhao Dongchuan, things are different. After all, Zhao Dongchuan has some basic cooking skills. I can't say that the food he cooks is delicious, but at least it looks good.

As the food was served, the three of them sat down and started eating!

Zhao Dongchuan watched Jia Bing picking up food for Sister Shufen from time to time while eating, looking so affectionate, and he felt a great shock in his heart.

"Damn it, I'm just rushing here to eat dog food!" Zhao Dongchuan complained in his heart.

"Teacher Jia, have you seen a doctor for a check-up?" Zhao Dongchuan asked while eating.

"I took Shufen to see the doctor last week, and all indicators were normal!" Jia Bing said happily.

"What month is the due date?"

"The doctor said it will be around March after the New Year!" Jia Bing said as he picked up a piece of meat and put it in Shufen's bowl.