1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 388 Re-run of "Today"

The snow in Jingshan East Hutong was gleaming in the twilight, and the knock on the vermilion lacquered door startled the sparrows on the eaves.

Father Zhu rushed to hold his granddaughter, but was frightened and at a loss as to what to do when the baby suddenly burst into tears in the cradle.

The little Majesty's wrinkled face turned red, forcing the old comrade to retreat three steps.

"Dad, you have to support his neck." Zhu Lin demonstrated while suppressing her laughter, "A newborn's bones are as soft as tofu."

The carved porch was crowded with neighbors who came to watch the fun. Aunt Zhang was smacking her lips while holding a handful of melon seeds.

"Oh, the Jiang family went abroad this time and brought back a foreign doll."

"Hey, hey, hey?"

Before he could finish his words, Uncle Li tapped him on the back of his hand with his pipe, "What foreign baby? She's a real Chinese! My wife was already pregnant before she went abroad."

"I am so lucky that I can give birth to my child in the United States. I was not like that. I had to give birth to all four of our children at home by myself."

"Who made the Jiang family have such a son?"

The neighbors were so envious that their teeth were about to break.

"I just saw people taking down large and small packages from the car. Those things were in boxes and pieces, and there were foreigners' English words on them. I guess they must be American goods brought back from abroad."

"Oh, what a blessing."

"Oh, I've seen it too, looking at the picture on the box, I guess it's an American TV. Alas, Xiao Jiang is still young and unreliable when buying things. As for TVs, American ones are not good enough. We have to look at Japanese ones." Uncle Zhang, who lived in the same alley, was making his presence felt, looking like he knew what he was talking about.

"TV? What TV?"

At this time, a neighbor spoke up, "It's not a TV. I asked Jiang Xian and he said it's called a computer!"

"What? Computer? What is a computer?"

"Yeah, what's a computer?"

The neighbors were noisy. The one who had just spoken opened his mouth, but no words came out, so he had to wave his hands.

"It doesn't make sense to you. This is the most advanced and cutting-edge technology in human history. It's a hundred or a thousand times more advanced than a television."

"Is it?"

"Oh, then you can buy a hundred or a thousand TV sets, right?"

"I don't know."

The neighbors were discussing the home computer in Jiang Xian's house and were amazed.

Uncle Zhang was also among them. He tried to remain calm, but his heart was beating fast: It’s over, there is no computer in my house!
After making a fuss for a while, everyone dispersed. Uncle Zhang returned home with his hands behind his back, and his daughter was fiddling with a Peony brand radio.

"Dad, did Jiang Xian's family get a computer?" The daughter came over eagerly, "I heard that thing is more advanced than a TV."

"advanced?"

Uncle Zhang kicked off his cotton shoes and said, "It's just a lump of iron, a sugar-coated bullet of capitalism."

Neighbors are like this. They are not really bad people. They are worried that their neighbors are having a hard time and they are also afraid that their neighbors drive a Land Rover. It is human nature. However, Jiang Xian is helpless. He has been low-key enough, but his strength does not allow it. So you have to be the red-eyed rabbit for now.

"Brother-in-law, this is a computer?" Zhu Hong approached the computer with the screen lit up curiously. "I heard that students abroad are using this to complete their homework."

"Not really." Jiang Xian said.

It was still relatively early, and the era when every American home had a personal computer had not yet arrived.

"Zhu Hong, your brother-in-law brought you a watch from the United States." Zhu Lin took out a blue velvet box from the compartment of the suitcase.

“A Longines watch!”

Zhu Hong was surprised.

Ever since the launch of the L961 small movement specifically designed for women's watches, the Longines brand has been respected and loved by women in this era. Coupled with its high-end positioning, Longines has become the first choice for many American white-collar women and professional women in the United States.

The piece that Jiang Xian chose for Zhu Hong is the Agassiz slim gold watch series launched by Longines to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Longines. The watch is only 3 mm thick and is waterproof.

The watch has a black shiny leather strap, a gold case and a white dial, giving it a sense of luxury. It looks quite high-end, and Zhu Hong was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling.

"Oh, this watch is so beautiful!"

"Thank you, brother-in-law!"

Zhu Hong clutched the watch box and screamed.

"Try it on quickly," Zhu Lin reminded.

Zhu Hong was about to put it on, but halfway through, she remembered something and took it off with a worried look on her face.

"Brother-in-law, this is too expensive. I can't accept it."

After saying that, he hurriedly stuffed the box back into his sister's hands.

"I can't take it. If my dad sees it, he'll scold me for having bourgeois ideas."

"."

Jiang Xian was also at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He couldn't even send a gift?
"Just wear it with confidence. It's given to you by your brother-in-law, not by anyone else."

"Brother-in-law, you are so nice."

Zhu Hong was somewhat moved and looked at Jiang Xian with stars in her eyes, and then she heard Zhu Lin cough.

"There's still one piece left, Jiang Ke, come and take it."

Of course Jiang Xian couldn't be partial. He couldn't just ignore his own sister and give the watch to someone else first.

In order to avoid any disagreement between the two, Jiang Xian simply bought the same style to avoid them getting jealous and accusing Jiang Xian of being biased.

"Thank you, brother, thank you, sister-in-law."

Jiang Ke happily accepted the box and called Jiang Xian and Zhu Lin sweetly.

"Let's make it clear first. I didn't bring you two gifts for nothing." Jiang Xian reminded: "During this period of time, you, an aunt and an aunt, must help your sister take good care of Nian Nian. You must take the initiative to undertake tasks such as washing urine boxes."

"No problem." Jiang Ke agreed immediately and readily, not finding it difficult at all.

Even a little happy.

I thought her brother was going to make a very difficult condition?
Isn't it just to help out?

What's so difficult about her brother's condition?
Besides, Xiao Niannian is so cute, and Jiang Ke loves to be with her every day.

It's not a burden at all.

After distributing the gifts to Jiang Ke and Zhu Hong, it was time to give the gifts to the two male comrades.

The two men had smiles on their faces and were just focusing on Xiao Nian Nian.

"Call Grandpa."

"Call me grandpa."

When Jiang Xian heard this, it seemed like these two were competing against each other secretly?
"Dad, the child is still young and can't cry yet." Jiang Xian went over and picked up the swaddled little Nian Nian, coaxing her a few times. Seeing his daughter in a good mood, he couldn't help but say, "Call daddy."

"Woooooooooo."

The little emperor didn't care about all this and started crying again. Jiang Xian had no choice but to hand his daughter back to Zhu Lin.

"Dad, how is things going in China lately?"

"How about it?"

Of course the two men knew what Jiang Xian meant, and they immediately started talking about it with great interest. After all, during the time Jiang Xian was in the United States, many things happened one after another in the country.

"Does your uncle Qin still remember the compound in Wei Ran Hutong?"

"What's wrong?"

"Alas, Old Qin is confused." Jiang Guoqing sighed.

Old Qin's wife died early, so he has been living alone these years. He usually seems to be honest and well-behaved.

"The young wife was taking a nap at home alone, and he sneaked into her room and took off her pants without saying a word."

"What the hell?" Jiang Xian was shocked. For making such a mistake at this critical moment, Lao Qin would be convicted of hooliganism in his life.

"The truck was paraded through the streets every day. I went to see it while eating peanuts. There were a lot of people watching," said Jiang Guoqing.

That’s right, people were allowed to watch while eating peanuts.

Jiang Xian listened briefly to what the two old comrades said and roughly understood that the current domestic trend was not much different from what he knew about the 80s, and it was still moving forward in an orderly manner.

A few days later, the news of Jiang Xian's return to China spread, and many friends came to visit his home.

The most active one was Wang Fulin.

Almost as soon as Jiang Xian came back, he arrived.

"Girl? A girl is fine too, she looks like her mother."

After seeing the child, Jiang Xian poured Wang Fulin a cup of tea and took him to sit down. "Director Wang, please don't give Jiang Ke any special treatment for my sake. We should just do what we have to do."

"Jiang Ke?"

Wang Fulin smiled and said, "Don't worry. Jiang Ke is a smart kid. I think he can be used, and he can be used in a big way. This is his own ability."

"That's good."

The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and then Wang Fulin explained the reason for his visit.

"I came here this time because I want to borrow someone from you."

"Director Wang, what are you saying? We were liberated a long time ago. People are not objects, so how can we borrow them?"

"I used the wrong word."

Wang Fulin smiled apologetically and looked at Zhu Lin.

"I see that Comrade Zhu Lin has recovered very quickly. Should he be able to return to work?"

"I?"

Zhu Lin didn't expect Wang Fulin to talk about her, and she suddenly had some guesses in her mind.

"I can resume work, but there haven't been many films looking for me recently. I think the film industry is almost forgetting about me."

Pregnancy is a disruption to an actress' career. There are too many good actors in the film and television industry. After nearly a year of retirement, both her popularity and traffic will drop a lot.

Many actresses have retired from the screen after becoming pregnant, such as Zhang Jinling from Beijing Film Studio, who decided to return to her family after having a child. Her concern and care for her child made it impossible for her to concentrate on her role.

"We in the television industry welcome you."

Wang Fulin chuckled and said, "I'll be frank, Comrade Zhu Lin, our Red Mansion crew welcomes your joining. I personally strongly support you playing the role of Red Mansion."

"Filming Dream of the Red Chamber?"

"I think the role of Qin Keqing is particularly suitable for you. I'm not sure, but I still want to ask you to try it out and see how it goes." Wang Fulin said.

"This is too hasty." Zhu Lin said, "Director Wang, you have to give me some time, I will think about it and make a decision."

"Yes, make a decision." Wang Fulin nodded.

Jiang Xian walked him all the way to the entrance of the alley.

"Director Wang, I thought you came to visit me, but it turns out you are secretly trying to get through Chencang."

Wang Fulin looked embarrassed.

"I'm here to visit you and your wife. The rule I set for the crew is not to use famous actresses, but Comrade Zhu Lin, I'm willing to make an exception for her."

"Don't you need to discuss this with the consultants?" Jiang Xian said jokingly.

But he knew that Wang Fulin had always been a steady person, unlike Yang Jie. No matter what the matter was, he would discuss it again and again before making a decision.

"We haven't reached the shooting stage yet, so we can observe slowly. If it is really not suitable at that time, I have to apologize to you in advance." Wang Fulin said.

"It's okay."

Jiang Xian is very open-minded.

He would be happy to see Zhu Lin play the role in "Dream of Red Mansions".

But if it is really inappropriate, he will not force it, and he is unwilling to ruin this version of "Dream of Red Mansions" because of his own selfish desires.

After all, this version is of too high a value.

Even in later generations, this version is still the best looking one.

When I got home, Zhu Lin was feeding the little Majesty.

"What do you think about the Dream of the Red Chamber?" Jiang Xian asked Zhu Lin for her opinion.

"I really want to try it." said Zhu Lin.

Faced with the olive branch extended by Wang Fulin, it was impossible for Zhu Lin not to be moved.

This is "Dream of Red Mansions"!

Being able to perform in "Dream of Red Mansions" is a dream come true for many actors.

"Well, I also support you to give it a try." Jiang Xian said.

"Really?"

Zhu Lin looked at him in surprise.

"Why would I lie to you?" Jiang Xian smiled, "You don't think I'm the kind of man who keeps you tied up at home every day, do you?"

".I just said it casually." Zhu Lin blushed, and then a beautiful smile appeared on her face.

Every time Jiang Xian supported her, she felt particularly touched. Although the saying "Women hold up half the sky" is said every day, not many people around her really take it seriously. Zhu Lin felt that Jiang Xian was an extremely special one, as he really attached great importance to his career.

A few days later, one morning, Zhao Zhenkai pushed the handlebars of his bicycle and entered the gate of Jiang Xian's yard.

"Zhenkai, why are you here?" Jiang Xian, who went to the toilet to empty the urinal, looked at Zhao Zhenkai and opened his arms for a warm hug.

"I heard that you came back from the United States, so I came to see you and listen to your experience of this trip." Zhao Zhenkai still spoke in a gentle manner, but Jiang Xian knew very well the rebellious power hidden under this gentle appearance.

"Come, come in and sit down."

Jiang Xian welcomed Zhao Zhenkai into the house, poured him a cup of tea, and asked about his recent situation.

".I have now been transferred to China Report under the Foreign Languages ​​Bureau as a literature editor," said Zhao Zhenkai.

After a few casual words, Zhao Zhen started talking quickly.

He has been very depressed recently, extremely depressed even.

As a representative poet of the Misty School, Zhao Zhenkai suffered very fierce attacks. He said that he was even forced to write a self-criticism last month, but he would rather die than submit. However, he heard that the editor-in-chief of the magazine later secretly wrote one for him and submitted it.

"Jiang Xian, I really don't know what to do. I'm so confused." Zhao Zhenkai looked sad.

Jiang Xian thought about it.

"Why don't you go abroad?"

"what?"

"Why don't you go abroad?" Jiang Xian repeated.

"I met a writer from Taiwan in the United States this time. She runs her own magazine in the United States. It is doing well. She has shareholders investing in it and has sold a thousand copies."

"."

Zhao Zhenkai adjusted the glasses support on his nose, and his eyes gradually brightened.

"You mean"

“I want to start a magazine in America.”

Jiang Xian said firmly, "The name of the magazine is "Today"!"

(The fireworks are set off every year.)
(Potato Chips wishes you all a happy new year!)

(End of this chapter)