1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 223 I am a cat

The delegation was surprised to find that Jiang Xian and Chen Xiru came back in a black Mercedes-Benz.

Chen Xiru recounted the whole story.

Naturally, the part where Jiang Xian was sweet-mouthed was omitted, and the only thing left in his mouth was this: Facing the rude provocation of seven or eight people, Jiang Xian refused to give in.

This integrity inspired the members of the delegation. The old national treasures had all experienced that era and valued this kind of quality the most. For a moment, their eyes were full of admiration when they looked at Jiang Xian.

"Thanks to Jiang Xian for being here today."

"It was the right decision to let him join the delegation!"

"."

Jiang Xian looked calm and told Ba Lao that the word "staff" could easily cause ambiguity. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, it would be better to make some changes.

Ba Lao nodded in agreement and after discussing with other members of the delegation, they decided to change “staff” to “accompanying personnel”.

Not long after, Comrade Saionji came to the hotel with the airport's investigation results. It turned out that Mr. Cao Yu's suitcase took the wrong flight and flew to Shanghai, but fortunately there was a flight from Shanghai to Japan today.

Everyone in the delegation breathed a sigh of relief.

The Reception Affairs Bureau invited the delegation to dinner. The hotel’s restaurant was Japanese style, and they had to kneel on the tatami while eating.

Jiang Xian took one look and shook his head, holding Xiyuan Temple, "Our staff are all elderly, their physical condition does not allow them to eat while kneeling, not to mention that Chinese people are not used to eating while kneeling."

Saionji was very easy to talk to. He nodded immediately and arranged for the hotel staff to bring tables and chairs.

Wan Fang ate a few bites and went back to her room. Although the luggage issue was related to the airport's negligence, she was also responsible for not checking it carefully.

On the other side, Xiyuan Temple and Jiang Xian were chatting enthusiastically.

After learning that he was not a staff member but a famous Chinese writer, I became more interested in him.

“Are you a poet, a novelist, or a playwright?”

“Mainly writing novels.”

"There are many excellent novels in China! My favorite is Romance of the Three Kingdoms!"

"Thank you." Jiang Xian said politely, "Japan also has literary works worthy of praise. I prefer Natsume Soseki's "I Am a Cat"."

"Ah~ That is indeed a good work."

Saionji smiled, "I hope today's events didn't affect your mood."

"No, no, thank you very much for all your help today, Comrade Saionji."

Jiang Xian looked sincere, as if he was really saying it. "In China, people give nicknames, titles, and elegant names to others to express their gratitude to their friends in such a simple way. As the saying goes, 'give favor to the benevolent, reward the wise, and bestow elegant names to pass down through the ages.' Today, I would like to bestow an elegant name on Comrade Xiyuanji."

Chen Xiru almost spit out a mouthful of water.

And was given a nickname?

What's the matter? You are the King of Tang and he is Monk Tang? You should call him Sanzang?

Xiyuan Temple was also stunned when he heard this. His understanding of the nicknames was equivalent to the 108 generals in "Water Margin". He felt that Black Whirlwind, Timely Rain and so on were simply cool and domineering. He longed for this nickname very much and excitedly held Jiang Xian's hand.

"Jiang Sang, please speak!"

Jiang Xian pondered for a moment, and said seriously: "Mr. Xiyuanji advocates the friendship between China and Japan, just like a dove of peace that symbolizes friendly exchanges. I would like to give Comrade Xiyuanji the nickname: Dove."

"Gege?" Xiyuan Temple was delighted. "Jiang Sang, you got it very well! I like it very much!"

Wu Qing and Li Xiaolin were sitting nearby, watching Jiang Xian act so majestically that the eldest son of the famous Saionji Ichihuang, Saionji Koichi, followed his lead. They were shocked.

"This guy is really powerful."

"Yeah yeah."

After the dinner, I went back to my hotel room to rest early.

It must be said that Jiang Xian finally regained some sense of modern life, with flush toilets, bathrooms, refrigerators, and televisions.
Chen Xiru took a shower and came out to see Jiang Xian rummaging through the cabinet under the VCR.

"Comrade Jiang Xian, what are you looking for?"

"Oh, let me see if there are any interesting videotapes." Jiang Xian answered without blushing or beating his heart.

At this time, Japan's short film industry was already very developed. This industry started in Japan in the late 60s.

As mentioned before, Japan was a trial server. By the late 60s, it had already developed to the stage where movie theaters could not compete with video halls in China, which was the case in the mid-90s.

Image production rose rapidly, but image companies could not make any money. Only those who made small pink films made a lot of money. So in the face of huge profits, this industry began to take off.

The most popular subject matter among Japanese people in the 80s was the kind of roadside documentary works:
The scout from Pink Movie persuaded the amateur on the roadside, and then pulled him into a small room. The director sat beside him and kept persuading him. The amateur said, "Ah? No, I don't want to, absolutely not." Then his face showed curiosity and excitement from time to time, and he confirmed again and again, "Is it really that extent?" In the end, he couldn't resist the temptation and nodded lightly. As for what happened next, well, you guys understand better than me.

In addition, there is another series that is also very popular, called "Forgot to Delete".

There are many love hotels in Japan. Almost 90% of the newly built hotels and inns in the country are motels and love hotels. These places are also the main service targets of Pink Movies.

In these hotels, there is a type of room that is particularly popular: in addition to a video recorder for watching, it also has a camera installed for filming! The camera is also marked with a reminder that "recorded images will be automatically deleted."

After the young couple checked into the room, they were excited and slapped their butts.

"Onii-chan, let's film the lovemaking process!"

In fact, a signal line was secretly connected to the camera, and it was often the pink film producers and the hotel who collaborated to do this.

After these videos were saved, they were edited into the "Forgot to Delete" series and released into the market, which can be regarded as the prototype of the hotel candid series.

The experience server is different. In the 80s, you can see yourself and your girlfriend in the hotel videotape. This is not the most terrible thing. The most terrible thing is that when the film is played, the heroine is your girlfriend, and the hero is not you.
The next morning, the delegation got up early.

Japanese Prime Minister Suzuki will receive the entire delegation at the Prime Minister's official residence, and the delegation came out of the hotel in a mighty manner.

Wu Qing kept complaining, "Look at my mother, she's so vain, she insists on wearing half-heeled leather shoes. I told an 80-year-old lady that she can't wear them, it's too dangerous and she can easily sprain her ankle, but she wouldn't listen and insisted on wearing them. No matter how I try to stop her, I can't."

Several people looked at Bing Xin at the same time. She was standing at the head of the team. As expected, she was wearing a pair of half-high-heeled black leather shoes, a black and gray Chinese suit, and short hair.

Li Xiaolin slapped his thigh, "Wow! The old man's temperament! His demeanor! His elegance! His grace! He brings honor to the whole group! So stop complaining!"

Wu Qing glared at her and got into the car angrily.

At 10 a.m., the delegation set out from the New Otani Hotel in eight black Mercedes-Benz cars and headed for the Prime Minister's official residence in Nagatacho, Chiyoda-ku.

The Nagatacho area is the neon equivalent of Tiananmen Square and is the political center of Japan today. The Diet Building and the headquarters of various political parties are all located here.

Sitting in the car, Li Xiaolin, Wan Fang and Wu Qing couldn't help but look towards both sides of the street.

Today's Tokyo is known as the largest and most prosperous urban cluster in the world. There are tall buildings on both sides of the street, bright lights and night life. The pedestrians are dressed as if they were in the modern society decades later. Men wear trousers and shirts, and women wear black stockings, tight skirts, high heels and wavy skirts, and carry handbags.

No matter how much you hate Japan, you will feel dizzy when facing such an overwhelming and direct impact.

Wan Fang stared at it intently and sighed softly, "Is this what it looks like after modernization?"

"modernization?"

Jiang Xian pointed at the heavily made-up women on the street and asked, "Do you know who those are?"

“Isn’t it just a woman wearing national costume?”

"She's a prostitute."

"."

“It appears to be open, but in reality it is still a feudal society and a semi-colony of the United States.”

After a moment of silence, Wu Qing shared, "I was chatting with a hotel staff member yesterday and heard that people in Tokyo even add some gold foil to sushi and alcohol when they eat to show how wealthy they are."

"Gold foil? Can this thing be eaten?" Li Xiaolin was shocked.

"I heard it's edible gold foil," said Wu Qing.

"Eating with gold? This is too extravagant." Wan Fang sighed.

"Gold leaf is nothing."

Jiang Xian started talking again, explaining to them: "The richest people in Japan not only eat gold foil, but also have a kind of banquet that is highly respected by the Japanese. The ingredients are so strange that they eat feces."

As soon as these words were spoken, the car was suddenly filled with a strong smell, and the three female comrades were all stunned.

"What did you say?"

“Shit.”

"yue!"

Wan Fang had just imagined the scene when his body reacted. He covered his mouth and retched.

Li Xiaolin was also so nauseated that she dry-heaved several times. The driver thought they were carsick and considerately handed them a bag.

"They are very particular about it. It must be pulled out by a specific person, and it must be custom-made very early. You often have to wait several months before you can have such a meal." Jiang Xian continued.

Wu Qing couldn't bear to listen any longer and covered his lips, "Jiang Xian! Stop talking nonsense!"

She felt dirty, and the food she had eaten in the morning tasted different.

"Really? Someone told me." Jiang Xian said seriously, "They said that although this thing is feces, it is processed very cleanly. It is pure and clean feces without any filth. Eating it can beautify your skin and prolong your life."

"Jiang Xian, can you please stop talking?!" Li Xiaolin was so anxious that he covered his lips and his stomach contracted violently.

The car finally arrived at the Prime Minister's residence. As soon as it entered the yard, policemen wearing white gloves saluted. The protocol officer ran over to open the car door and led everyone into the reception room.

On the way, Ba Jin noticed that the three women looked pale and asked if they were carsick. Then a group of Japanese officials came in, led by Prime Minister Suzuki.

This is also an old artist. The former Prime Minister Ohira died of a heart attack during the election campaign. He just "sat at home and got a job from heaven". He even said famously: "I didn't take a bribe, I just kept it for him."

He has a son-in-law, the infamous Aso Tailang, the one who boasts seriously that wastewater can be drunk after processing.

Suzuki was alone and weak, so he just followed the crowd and advocated friendship. He first shook hands and exchanged brief greetings with Ba Jin and Bing Xin, then they exchanged gifts and sat down to chat.

"How are the cherry trees we sent to your country growing?"

“It’s already blooming.”

"The cherry blossom is the symbol of Japan. What flower symbolizes China?"

Ba Jin said: "Plum blossoms."

"China is a vast country with many exotic flowers. It is not easy to choose a flower that represents China."

After chatting for half an hour, the delegation stood up and said goodbye.

There was another activity, the delegation took a bus to another nearby hall.

Masako Toyota, director of the affairs department of the Japan Committee of Asian and African Writers, accompanied the delegation and reminded them quietly, "There are many reporters here today. If you encounter any sharp questions, you can choose not to answer them. We will arrange people to control the scene."

The interior of the hall is simply furnished with red carpet, two rows of sofas and coffee tables.

The elders in the delegation sat down on the chairs, and Jiang Xian and several of his entourage naturally stood behind the chairs.

Dozens of reporters came forward to take pictures, with the sound of shutter clicks and flashes filling the air.

After maintaining order, the session began with questions from reporters.

First, Chaoyang News asked a few questions, and soon it was the turn of Sankei Shimbun, a well-known right-wing newspaper that strongly advocated and supported visiting toilets.

"Many of your members are visiting Japan for the first time. I wonder what you think of the prosperous scene in Tokyo?"

This question was obviously malicious, and the expressions of all the delegation members became serious.

Ba Jin is experienced and smiled naturally: "There are many things we can learn from Japan. In terms of technology, Japan is a little ahead, but in terms of spiritual culture, we should learn from China."

The Sankei Shimbun reporter was not convinced by this mutually beneficial answer and immediately asked:

"Why should Japan learn from China in terms of spiritual culture? Yasunari Kawabata of Japan is the second Asian writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, but no Chinese writer has ever won the Nobel Prize in Literature."

Many people have rumored that Lao She received the highest number of votes for the Nobel Prize in 1968, the year when Yasunari Kawabata won the Nobel Prize. The rule of the Nobel Prize is that the voting process is kept secret for 50 years. The voting process of 1968 was announced in 2019, and the person with the highest number of votes was Yasunari Kawabata, which was not the case as rumored.

Ba Jin’s answer was quite beautiful: “When Confucius, Li Bai, and Cao Xueqin were alive, during the most brilliant era of Chinese culture, the Nobel Prize had not yet been born.

Besides, Dostoyevsky is one of the greatest writers in the world, and he never won a Nobel Prize.”

As soon as Ba Jin gave this answer, all the members of the delegation nodded and smiled.

However, the reporter from Sankei Shimbun still refused to give in.

"Mr. Ba Jin, please note that the Nobel Prize cannot be awarded to a deceased person in principle."

Ba Jin smiled and said, "Okay, then let's talk about the living ones.

Tolstoy was still alive when the Nobel Prize in Literature was established in 1901. However, until 1910, when Tolstoy died, the Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Germans, Poles, Spaniards, Italians, the British adventure novelist Kipling and the Swede children's literature writer Lagerlöf both won the prize, but Tolstoy did not win. Can we not acknowledge his greatness and the brilliance of Russian literature?

I would like to ask you a question:
The first Nobel Prize in Literature was not awarded to Tolstoy, so who was it awarded to?

The reporter frowned and was speechless.

Ba Jin's words have made the nature of the Nobel Prize very clear.

Tolstoy, who never won the Nobel Prize, is famous, but you don’t even know who the writer who won it is.

You still want to bring up the Nobel Prize?
The Sankei Shimbun immediately realized that it could not deal with this old fox and turned its attention to the young people in the delegation.

"Please ask these young friends of yours who have never been to Japan to share their feelings about their first visit to Japan."

Masako Toyota frowned and was about to stop the Sankei Shimbun from asking questions, but someone interrupted her: "This is my first time in Tokyo. It is indeed much more prosperous than our country."

The translator was holding the microphone and interpreting simultaneously. Masako Toyota looked in the direction where the voice came from and found that it was the young man standing behind Ba Jin, an entourage named Jiang Xian.

He held the microphone and said slowly, "I went out after checking into the hotel yesterday. I saw people on the street waving large bills to hail a taxi. I took one of your taxis, and the starting price was a full 10,000 yen!
I am deeply surprised by the high level of consumption in Tokyo.”

The reporter smiled with satisfaction, and was very satisfied with Jiang Xian's answer, as if he had never seen the world before.

"After returning to the hotel, I had a brief chat with the hotel staff. He said that people in Tokyo live in a world of mass consumption. He said that you have credit, credit cards, and installment payments.

This is so convenient! ”

Jiang Xian couldn't help but pat his thigh. "You know, in our country, you still need tickets to buy things. I didn't expect that you can actually overdraw your consumption. The staff member shared with me that his wife spent a full 300,000 yen on clothes a few days ago. It was divided into six installments, and each installment only required a repayment of 50,000 yuan.
Spending ahead of time and only having a small amount deducted from your salary every month to pay it back must be a very easy life.”

Jiang Xian slowed down his speech speed when he uttered the five words "It's very relaxing, right?"

The reporter was stunned when he heard this.

Hmm? Loan for clothes?
How did you know that my wife is a spendthrift?
Jiang Xian still had a smile on his face: "Oh, I heard that you have performance indicators at work. Everyone often shouts slogans together in the office to show unity. No one is allowed to drag the team down. Sometimes they even commit suicide out of shame. This kind of corporate culture is really shocking.

In addition, in my opinion, you are very dedicated to your work. I heard that in Japanese companies, no one will ever talk about overtime openly, and everyone will continue to work overtime silently after get off work.

This is incredible!
Our workers leave work as soon as the deadline comes, and they are unwilling to delay even a minute.

Also, I see that there are many excellent universities in Tokyo, so they must have trained a lot of college students, right?
We can't do that. We have relatively few universities and relatively few college students. We only resumed the college entrance examination a few years ago. Fortunately, the employment pressure on our college students is not that great. As long as they graduate from university, they will be assigned a job. Oh, by the way.

Tokyo is such a good place where every inch of land is worth a lot of money, so the houses should not be cheap. I saw that your house is very neat and beautiful, so I asked someone and it seems that a single-family house costs .40 million yen? Converted into RMB, it is hundreds of thousands, which is terrible. You should know that our monthly income is only a few dozen yuan. It can be seen that the income of Tokyo people must be very high, otherwise how can they afford such an expensive house.

To be honest, our house is not as beautiful as yours, and our salary is relatively low, so we can't afford to buy a house. However, our company allocates a house to us, and we only have to pay rent every month, which is about a few hundred yen.

And your retirement age!
It's really enviable. I heard that you generally retire early, and engineers have to retire at the age of 35.

It's incredible that at the age of 35 you can do nothing. But we can't do that. Our workers, men, have to work until they are 60 and women, until they are 55.

Hey?
I see you are not young anymore, are you going to retire soon?"

puff.

Wu Qing, Li Xiaolin and the others all lowered their heads. Wan Fang felt quite embarrassed and couldn't help laughing out loud.

Anyone could hear that Jiang Xian was clearly being sarcastic.

The reporter from Sankei Shimbun's face turned red as a pig's liver. He wanted to refute a few words, but he had no way to refute.

Because their society is just like what Jiang Xian described.

Before you turn 35, you must work like crazy, make money, and get promoted, otherwise you will be forced to "retire" when you reach 35.

And it's not just this one. Advance consumption, overtime, employment, housing, unemployment. Everything Jiang Xian said hit his most painful points.

This guy knows it as if he has really been a "corporate animal".

That’s right, the term “corporate slave” was invented by the Japanese.

Many Japanese people are in a state of collapse because of the current environment. Behind the extravagant lifestyle, these "social animals" are losing a lot of hair, drinking every day to relieve their sorrow, and then relying on shopping to vent their stress.
Such a vicious cycle.

Once you collapse, choose "Apologize".

There must be a strange folder in your computer, and among these strange works, there must be one about the theme of "working women's wives".

Art comes from reality.

Behind this is the helplessness of the Japanese people's lives.

A husband who works overtime every day and is always worried about being eliminated by society is blinded by work pressure. He only knows how to use his wife as a "tool" to vent his momentary desires and has no patience to communicate with her properly.

A wife, who lacks communication with her lover all day long, can only fill the emptiness in her heart by shopping. At this time, once someone gives her a little sweetness, it is like a person in the desert encountering water, which will naturally be easily invaded.

"To the reporter just now, do you have any questions?" Jiang Xian leaned forward slightly with a hint of elegance on his lips.

The reporter from the Sankei Shimbun's face turned blue and purple, as if he had lost his parents.

When he thought about how he had not only achieved nothing but also lost face this time, his whole body was shaking and his heart almost stopped beating.

Yes, the pressure is that great.

In Japan, if you do a bad job, it’s okay, just be more careful in your next life.

The characteristic of us in Japan is that if you can do it, do it. If you can't, find someone who can do it. Anyway, there are plenty of people who can do it.

The faces of the delegation members were all filled with joy. This was a problem that was not easy to resolve. If the words were too intense, it would appear ungraceful and difficult to end. If the words were too weak, it would be easy for the other party to seize on them and bring shame to the country.

Jiang Xian’s handling was just right!

I say all good things about you, but your little hearts just can't bear it.

Chen Xiru felt very happy. Of course, they could see that the Sankei Shimbun was hostile to a certain extent, and the questions were so aggressive.

But Jiang Xian did a good job, it was just like that, sarcastic and disgusting!

After only living with Jiang Xian for one day, Chen Xiru seemed to be in cahoots with him.

Wang Dajun, a reporter for Xinhua News Agency in Tokyo, was also watching the scene, from nervousness at the beginning, to relaxation, to laughter, to relief.

Jiang Xian did a great job! He was bold and courageous! This is worth reporting!

(End of this chapter)