1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 585 Want to Get Beaten Up?
Overall, Jiang Xian's family has never held him back in any way.

His parents were technical backbones and factory workers.

On Zhu Lin's side, her father was a professor at Yenching University of Science and Technology, and her mother was a cadre in the Ministry of Health.

As for the younger generation...

On Zhu Lin's side, Zhu Hong is a top student who graduated from Peking University. Jiang Xian transferred her to Haima, but even if she hadn't been transferred, Zhu Hong's career would probably still be thriving. She is a genuine Peking University graduate, and with that degree, she wouldn't have to worry about finding a good future even in later generations.

Let's start with his sister. She was a worker herself. Jiang Xian gave her the copyright of the comic book to improve their family's life, which was a way of helping her out. But it was also because his sister was capable. If his sister wasn't good at drawing, she definitely wouldn't have been able to take on this job.

Jiang Ke is young and her academic performance isn't great. Jiang Xian has worried about her a bit, but overall, he hasn't been too concerned.

She sought out the role in "Dream of the Red Chamber" herself, and now, thanks to the role of Shi Xiangyun, she has gained some fame and can be considered to have made her way in the entertainment industry on her own.

If left to develop on her own, she should be able to make a living as an actress. But since she is his own sister, Jiang Xian can't completely ignore her. It's just a matter of a few words and won't take much effort.

So overall, Jiang Xian was very satisfied with his family. No one held him back, whether it was Zhu Lin's family or his own. The whole family was very united and moved forward together.

This made Jiang Xian feel very comfortable.

Because there are no worries about the future.

What if there's someone in the family who's a spendthrift who just loafs around doing nothing and spends all their money like water?

Although Jiang Xian also had a way to cure it, he would definitely feel unhappy because it would add a problem to him for no reason.

This is very comfortable.

He only cared about the harsh realities outside, not about his own people stabbing him in the back. Besides, apart from his parents who had retired and were just waiting to die, everyone else had their own direction for progress and didn't need Jiang Xian to drag them along.

In this situation, Jiang Xian could easily lend a hand without much effort, and he only needed to utilize the resources at his disposal to help these family members achieve even greater success on their original paths.

And once they get promoted, they will definitely be able to give back the benefits to Jiang Xian.

Because these are family members, blood is thicker than water, entrusting things to them puts Jiang Xian at ease.

The most obvious example is Zhu Hong. Jiang Xian mentored her and placed her by his side to cultivate her. Zhu Hong's progress was absolutely rapid, which Jiang Xian had witnessed. Now, he was sending her abroad to help him manage "Today," which would save him a lot of trouble with things abroad.

As they were talking, dishes were served one after another. First were several plates of cold appetizers to go with drinks, including cold bok choy salad and cold tomato salad, along with a plate of fried peanuts and a plate of braised beef.

The three men found chairs and sat down. Jiang Xian brought out a bottle of 55-proof Xifeng liquor, which wasn't expensive, costing about forty yuan. It couldn't compare to Moutai and Wuliangye, which were now priced at nearly one hundred yuan.

"Dad, let me pour you some." Jiang Xian poured a glass for each of his two fathers, then filled his own glass, and quickly picked up a piece of bok choy to fill his stomach. It was so crisp, tender, refreshing, and appetizing.

“Come on, let’s have a drink, the three of us.” Jiang Guoqing picked up his glass.

"Go one."

Professor Zhu also raised his glass, looking at Jiang Xian with admiration. "This glass of wine is to congratulate Xiao Jiang!"

Professor Zhu is extremely satisfied with his son-in-law. Whenever he talks about Jiang Xian with Dr. Liu at home, they both have smiles on their faces.

How could I not be satisfied?
He is filial to his parents, takes good care of his wife, and has achieved great success outside the home, making him a well-known figure throughout the country.

In summary, a son-in-law who is successful in his career and also takes care of his family is a good son-in-law.
Both of them felt a lingering fear.

When Jiang Xian first came to their house, the old couple didn't really like the young man; they thought he was just an unemployed youth.

It's all thanks to Zhu Lin's good eye for men; she knew how to pick one. So many men with stable jobs were introduced to her, but she ended up with this unreliable one.

But he just happens to be the best!

Jiang Xian has now made money, gained fame, and even made up for the only thing that people would talk about about him: his academic qualifications.

What is perfection?

This is perfect!

In the blink of an eye, hot dishes were also placed on the table: crispy pork meatballs sprinkled with scallions, fried pork crackling pancakes, a stew made with pork belly, cabbage, and vermicelli, and fried pork crackling pancakes.

This dish was rarely eaten in later generations because it was a dish created due to economic constraints in that era.

Because most families were poor at that time, they often couldn't afford to buy fatty meat and oil when buying vegetables. So, they developed the tradition of making their own pork cracklings. When making pancakes, they would put the golden pork cracklings in, and oh my, the aroma was irresistible.

“Come on, come on, you’re going to put on a show for us every year!” Jiang Ke exclaimed.

Everyone's eyes immediately turned to Jiang Niannian. The tiny little girl was wearing a light yellow dress and plastic sandals, and her hair was tied into two small buns.

When the whole family looked over, she was covering her face with her chubby little hands, looking shy.

"Niannian, what kind of show are you going to perform for Grandpa?" Jiang Guoqing, who had drunk a little wine, pulled Jiang Niannian onto his lap.

"Hehe." Jiang Niannian shyly buried her head on Jiang Guoqing's shoulder. Her bashful appearance was adorable.

"We sing every year."

Rao Yuemei grinned, "Sing it to them, didn't I sing it for Grandma before? Sing 'Rowing the Double Oars'."

"Wow, our Niannian is so amazing! She can even sing!" Zhu Hong looked at Jiang Niannian with great interest, her tone full of encouragement.

"Sing it for your aunt."

Grandma wants to hear it too.

"Don't be shy, Mom loves listening to Niannian sing the most."

After much coaxing from the adults, the little girl finally climbed off Jiang Guoqing's lap, stood sweetly in front of the table, and sang indistinctly:

Let's row our boats!

"The little boat pushes through the waves~"

As the little princess sang, she swayed her head from side to side in a serious manner, as if keeping time. She was already adorable, but this made her even more adorable, melting the hearts of the entire family.

As for the well-known song "Let Us Row Our Boats," it was written by Mr. Qiao Yu in the 50s. He also wrote "Unforgettable Tonight" and "The Big Windmill" later.

Jiang Xian and Qiao Yu had indirectly crossed paths before, since Qiao Yu wrote the lyrics for "Longing," the opening theme song for the TV series "Stories from the Editorial Department," and Gu Jianfen composed the music. Now, listening to his daughter's sweet singing and watching his family's joyful scene, Jiang Xian felt an immense sense of happiness and peace. In this life, all the things we do, all the money we earn, all the achievements we make, are ultimately for this moment.

The whole family can sit together without any burden and enjoy the happiness of family life.

Of course, as a reborn person, Jiang Xian would not be content with the current comfort and forget his homeland. If he wanted this kind of life to continue, he would have to continue to create with his ambitious plans.

Furthermore, once the arrow is released, there's no turning back. Even if he were willing to stop and relinquish his current tasks, it wouldn't be so easy, and a lot of people would be unhappy about it.

"Oh, you're eating."

The family was having a good time when two people followed Xu Chenhui and pushed open the door to come in.

Jiang Xian took a look and laughed.

The people who came were several deputy editors-in-chief of People's Literature, Cui Daoyi, Wang Chaoyin, and Liu Xinwu.

There's an old Chinese saying, "Guests are always welcome." Jiang Xian stood up and smiled, "What brings you all here? Please sit down, you've come at the perfect time. Let's sit down and have a few drinks together."

Cui Daoyi smiled and said, "Let me make it clear first, we didn't come here to freeload a meal for Editor-in-Chief Jiang. We didn't expect to come at such an inopportune time."

Because Jiang Xian had picked up his graduation certificate and taken care of a bunch of things early in the morning, this meal at Jiang Xian's house was not at a normal mealtime.

"Stop talking, we're all here, sit down. It's such a coincidence that we're all sitting together today, we have to have a drink. Mom, go get me a few more cups."

"Won't I bother you?" Wang Chaoyin asked with a grin.

"No way, sit down, sit down," Jiang Xian said, gesturing to the three of them.

"."

Liu Xinwu pursed his lips but didn't say anything. He sat down in the chair, looking somewhat unnatural.

Jiang Xian noticed his unusual behavior and guessed what was going on, but didn't say anything. He simply did his best to be hospitable, pouring wine from the bottle into glasses: "What's going on today? What brought all three of you here?"

"This," Wang Chaoyin glanced at the two people beside him.

"Hehe." Cui Daoyi chuckled. "Let Old Liu..."

"Jiang Xian, Editor-in-Chief Jiang".

Liu Xinwu suddenly stood up. "Actually, I had to beg Lao Cui and Lao Wang to bring me here today. I'm a shy person, and I would be really embarrassed to come alone."

"This"

Jiang Xian glanced at Liu Xinwu, then looked at Cui Daoyi and Wang Chaoyin with a questioning expression.

The two shook their heads with wry smiles, signaling Jiang Xian to listen to Liu Xinwu speak for himself.

"I've come here today to apologize for what happened last time, for what I said last time," Liu Xinwu said.

"Oh."

Jiang Xian sat down and nodded meaningfully. "What's wrong? Lao Liu, what do you want to apologize for?"

"I'm sorry."

Liu Xinwu sighed, "Last time I talked back to you in the office. Because of my personal emotions and my rash judgment, I actually said those things about your 'The Little Prince'. Now when I think about it, I really feel that I was stupid, so stupid."

"."

Jiang Xian squinted and remained silent.

Liu Xinwu downed the glass of baijiu in one gulp. The 55-degree heat made his throat burn, but once it subsided, he continued speaking to himself:

"Today I'll say whatever comes to mind. The other day, I criticized your novel. When I saw you didn't say anything, I thought I had touched a sore spot and I was secretly pleased with myself."

But when I read "The Little Prince," I realized that you weren't just offended; you weren't taking my words seriously.

To be honest, I didn't give up on the novel "Tongue Coating." I asked Lao Cui and Lao Wang, as well as several editors from other publications, such as Zhang Shouren from "October" and Zhang Zhong'e from "Contemporary," to take a look. They all told me that it was very risky to publish the novel, as the publications would be at great risk. I'm so glad that you intercepted it.

When I thought about it, I realized, what is there for me to feel wronged about? I almost ruined the publication because of my own selfishness, and you stopped me, and I even made a lot of nonsense in front of you.

I've been cooped up at home for days, and I've been feeling really uneasy. So why did I insist on coming over this time? First, to apologize to you, and second, because I'm completely blown away by what you wrote. I'm truly impressed by *The Little Prince*; I can't find a single bad word to say about it. Thinking back to what I said before, I feel like I've been slapped in the face—it hurts so much.”

Liu Xinwu talked for a long time, perhaps because he was a little nervous. As a writer, his words were somewhat incoherent.

"I came here today to apologize to you, but I couldn't find any brambles on the way. I saw that you have willow trees in your yard. If you're upset, feel free to flick a few willow branches at me, and I promise I won't utter a sound."

"Old Liu, you're exaggerating." Seeing that Liu Xinwu really looked like he was apologizing, Jiang Xian smiled at him. "I didn't take what you said that day to heart. As for the 'Tongue Coating' incident, I should sit down with you and explain it properly. Apart from its literary merit, there are too many dangerous parts in this article. Writing about Tibet is not an easy task. Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, let's have a drink."

Jiang Xian is certainly not a saint.

So many years of grudges and grievances between her and Liu Xinwu cannot be erased with a laugh.

However, Liu Xinwu's coming here today to "plead guilty" clearly shows that he made a great decision and struggled for a long time.

Jiang Xian couldn't appear too petty, lest he lose his composure. Besides, the two only had different opinions on literature, which was inevitable. It wasn't like they had any real conflicts in life, so they had to maintain appearances.

"Really, I, Lao Liu, am not joking. You must give me a few lashes today, otherwise I won't feel right about it," Liu Xinwu said with a serious face.

“Old Liu, don’t say things like that. You’re getting on in years. If I were to cause you any trouble, wouldn’t that be like trying to extort money from me?” Jiang Xian said.

Upon hearing this, Liu Xinwu quickly said, "No, that won't happen. Old Cui and Old Wang can vouch for me today. If I, Liu Xinwu, am beaten to death in your house today, it's my own fault, and I will never hold you responsible."

"Aren't you going to pursue legal action?" Jiang Xian said, both amused and exasperated.

Jiang Xian's family, who were standing nearby, were also stunned.

How come someone actually came to my house to get beaten up?!

It's none other than the famous Liu Xinwu!

Jiang Xian can actually control such a nationally renowned figure? He can even manage to turn him into this!
(End of this chapter)