1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 641 A Blank Letter

"When the car plunged into the sea, the driver's side window was opened as wide as possible. It had been raining since morning on the day of the incident, so it was impossible for Kawabe Midori to have the window open while driving. The only possibility is that it was opened after the car plunged into the sea."

"In other words, it wasn't a suicide attempt with the child, but an accidental death."

"Kawabe Midori was driving because of hunger and malnutrition, which caused her to become anemic. She borrowed a car from a friend, which was probably true, as she said, to take her child to the hospital."

"But because of anemia, she briefly lost consciousness and only regained consciousness after falling into the sea. In the chaos, she opened the window and the first thing she did was to put the baby out of the car and pray that her daughter would be saved."

"When Kawabe Midori's body was found, she was still wearing a seatbelt. It is possible that she was unconscious due to anemia."

"At that time, the baby weighed more than 10 kilograms, which shows that Kawabe Midori provided the baby with sufficient nutrition."

"After my friend finished saying all this, he asked me what I thought and whether I still felt that I shouldn't have been born."

"I don't understand my own feelings. Because I've never met my mother, even if I hate her, that feeling is very abstract. Even if I want to turn it into gratitude, I don't know how. So, all I can say is that I have no feelings at all."

"The car plunging into the sea was her own fault; the biggest problem is that she became so poor that she suffered from malnutrition; as parents, it is only natural to save their children; she was too stupid to escape successfully."

“After hearing what I said, my friend slapped me. She told me that she didn’t want me to view a person’s life that way. After saying that, she cried and asked me if I had forgotten the fire three years ago. It was only when I heard her ask that that I woke up from my dream.”

“Three years ago, there was a fire at the orphanage. It was Christmas Eve, and I was terrified.”

“My friend’s younger brother didn’t escape in time and almost died in the fire. He was saved because someone came to his rescue. The person was an amateur musician who was performing at the Christmas party. I remember him as someone who seemed very gentle. When everyone was running out, he listened to my friend’s request and went upstairs to find her brother. In the end, her brother was saved, but the man suffered burns all over his body and died after being taken to the hospital.”

“My friend cried and said that she and her brother would be grateful to that person for the rest of their lives and would make it up to him for the rest of their lives. I hope I can also appreciate the preciousness of life.”

“I finally understand why the orphanage staff sent her to find me. Because she was the one who could best tell me how to see my mother. The orphanage staff’s decision was absolutely right. I was moved by her and cried along with her. I was finally able to honestly express my gratitude to my mother, who had no memory of me at all.”

“After that day, I never felt that I shouldn’t have come into this world. Although the journey has not been smooth sailing, I think it is because I am alive that I can feel these pains and overcome many difficulties.”

"So, I really wanted to know who wrote the letter to my mother back then, ending with 'Namiya General Store.' I was very curious, who was this person? And what was this general store all about?"

"Until recently, I learned from the internet that there was a grandfather who liked to help people relieve their troubles. Because someone wrote about their memories of the past on a blog, I continued to search online for any other related information and saw this announcement—Namiya General Store."

"I sincerely thank you for your advice to my mother; I've always wanted to express this sentiment. Thank you so much. I am now full of confidence and so grateful to have been born. —From Green River's daughter"

"P.S.: I am currently my friend's manager. She has showcased her musical talent and become one of Japan's most representative singers. She is also repaying her debt of gratitude in her own way."

In short, when Jiang Xian first read it, he didn't expect that Kawabe Midori's cause of death would be like this.

Even though she had struggled with whether to give birth to the child, after the child was born, this mother almost burned herself out in order to raise and protect her child.

This reversal greatly shocked him.

Moreover, Jiang Xian had not expected Xiao Qin to appear in this story.

In other words, the girl who was redeemed in the previous story redeems others in this one.

That Kron actually saved another person without anyone noticing.

Both Guizhi and the old man were shocked by the letter, and at the same time, they were puzzled about how to deal with these future letters.

Because the letter contained a lot about things like the internet and mobile phones, there could be serious consequences if others saw it.

Finally, the two decided that after the old man passed away, they would put him in his coffin and burn him to ashes together.

Just then, another letter fell through the rolling shutter door. When the two opened it, they found that it was a blank letter.

After thinking about it for a long time, Guizhi thought it was a prank, but the old man didn't think so.

"Perhaps this person hasn't reached a conclusion yet, may still be hesitating, and hasn't found the answer, so they just dropped in a blank sheet of paper."

The old man asked Guizhi to leave because he needed to reply to this person's letter. Guizhi was confused; how could he reply to a blank letter?

He got back into his Civic, by which time it was fully light, and soon after, the old man came out of the grocery store.

After that, the old man passed away.

Strangely, the old man's death was strange. Although the doctor said he could leave this world at any time, he did not feel any pain. His life continued to burn weakly, like an endless strand of natto.

This surprised even the doctors.

Because the old man hardly ate anything and lay in bed all day, a year passed like this, as if time was flowing particularly slowly through his body.

A year later, Takayuki returned to the general store and unexpectedly met a woman who said she had received valuable advice there and that she was a fencer.

Guizhi asked when it was, and the woman said it was November of last year. Guizhi was taken aback because the old man was not in the general store in November of last year, but he thought the woman had made a mistake.

It's obvious that this woman is the Moon Rabbit from the first story.

After the woman left, Guizhi suddenly recalled the reply the old man had written on a blank sheet of paper that night. He opened the milk box and found it was empty.

Perhaps the letter has already been successfully delivered to the future? He wondered.

Many years later, in 2012, Takayuki's grandson, Namiya Shungo, was asked by his grandfather, Takayuki, before his death to post a letter on the internet containing the contents of his grandfather's will: "The general store will be resurrected one night."

Although Namiya Shungo was uneasy, he kept his promise to his grandfather and posted the letter on the internet.

At this point, the entire process is complete.

Without a doubt, this third story is the chapter that brings the entire novel to its climax. With this chapter, Jiang Xian is confident that he can absolutely live up to Li Xiaolin's expectations.

Furthermore, adapting this chapter is not as difficult as adapting the story of Kro. Jiang Xuan basically only used the story logic of Kro, while this third story does not require much adaptation.

The only thing to note is that those terms related to the internet and mobile phones are a bit too advanced for today's standards.

It is worth mentioning that the Internet was born in China at this time. Just last year, Chinese and German scientists successfully sent the first international email, which read "Crossing the Great Wall, Going to the World," marking the beginning of the Internet in China.

However, this was more symbolic. The real development of the Internet in China did not come until 94. At that time, with the exchange of emails between Chinese and American personnel, China officially gained full access to the Internet, and the Internet era in China officially began at that moment.

Another issue is mobile phones, but this doesn't have a significant impact because there aren't many places in the novel where mobile phones are absolutely necessary.

"There's nothing wrong with making a prediction."

"Science fiction writers often predict the future in their novels."

"I don't think anything will happen if I write it like this."

Jiang Xian thought to himself, this could be considered an Easter egg. If in the future everything written in "The Miracles of the Namiya General Store" gradually comes true, Jiang Xian could foresee how many people in later generations would use this to boast about the novel.

"The value of the Namiya General Store is still increasing!"

They'll definitely say that.

Li Xiaolin acted swiftly after returning to Shanghai, and soon a major piece of news was published in Wenhui Daily.

"Renowned writer Shen Congwen has passed away due to illness and has been disqualified from the Nobel Prize in Literature!"

The content is roughly as follows: the famous writer Shen Congwen was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature for the second consecutive year and made it to the final shortlist. He had the support of most members of the Swedish Academy in this selection process and had a very high probability of winning the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature in October. However, due to his death, the Nobel Prize committee revoked his eligibility for the award.
The news caused an uproar in literary circles and all sectors of society.

The Nobel Prize is a world-renowned award, and it is almost universally known in China. Even if people don't know it, the phrase "the highest honor" is enough to explain the prestige of this award.

Not to mention, in recent years, the Nobel Prize in Literature has gained widespread popularity in China due to the popularity of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and its author Gabriel García Márquez.

To date, only four Chinese people have been actual Nobel Prize laureates in the world.

Two of them are from Taiwan.

The other two are Li Zhidao and Yang Zhining, who jointly won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957 for their discovery of parity non-conservation in weak interactions.

The order is alphabetical, with 'l' before 'y', so it's Li Z Dao and Yang Z Ning.

Both gentlemen made outstanding contributions and deserve respect. However, compared to Yang Z-ning, his continued influence on physics is stronger.

His proposed Yang-Mills gauge theory was initially ignored by the mainstream because "the mathematics was too difficult."

However, the non-Abelian gauge field equations, which were perfected by Mills in 1967, directly became the "foundation" of the Standard Model of particle physics.

This theory describing the strong, weak, and electromagnetic interactions remains the "bible" of physics, and the Yang-Mills field is its "irreplaceable backbone."

It can be said that at least 10 Nobel Prizes in Physics worldwide have been won based, directly or indirectly, on the mathematical framework of the Yang-Mills field.

The Franklin Institute commented that he redefined the boundaries of physics and modern geometry—not by finding new paths on existing maps, but by drawing a completely new one.

It's a pity, however, that both Mr. Li and Mr. Yang are now...
So when people heard that Shen Congwen, a native Chinese, was likely to win the Nobel Prize, it immediately stirred up excitement throughout the society, just like when Mo Yan won the prize. A name that had faded somewhat in the literary world due to some mistakes, a name that had hardly been mentioned, suddenly became the absolute top name in the country.

But then came the news that he had passed away not long ago and had been disqualified from the award, which was deeply regrettable and sparked a huge discussion.

It was with this news that the death of writer Shen Congwen finally received the written report that his stature warranted.

Before the Nobel Prize announcement, the news media could hardly find any mention of Shen Congwen's death. After the announcement, some uncontrollable factors were finally overwhelmed by the huge public outcry.

Shen Congwen, a name that had been buried for a long time, has finally become a household name in China once again.

Half of 1988 had passed in the blink of an eye, and as autumn approached, Jiang Xian and Zhu Lin, having completed all the formalities, flew to Hong Kong.

There are currently no direct flights from Beijing to Hong Kong.

There are generally two routes to Hong Kong: one is to go to Shanghai first and then fly directly to Hong Kong; the other is to go to Guangzhou first and then enter Hong Kong via Shenzhen.

Jiang Xian and Zhu Lin took the first route, arriving in Shanghai first, where they visited Ba Jin and Zhang Leping, and also visited his sister's family. Then they took a direct flight to Hong Kong, which was an international flight.

The airplane meal was quite plentiful, with Moutai to drink and Zhonghua cigarettes to smoke. Jiang Xian and Zhu Lin simply ate a little something and then slept all the way to Hong Kong.

Speaking of which, Jiang Xian and Zhu Lin had passed through Hong Kong many times when returning to China before, but this was the first time they had made a special trip from the mainland to Hong Kong.

The two arrived at Kai Tak Airport.

This airport is quite peculiar; it's located near mountains and the sea, and also next to a residential area, so Zhu Lin was quite startled when it landed.

“Jiang Xian, look.” Zhu Lin nudged Jiang Xian.

Jiang Xian leaned out the window and could see the streets and buildings below, and even the clothes drying on other people's rooftops.
"It's okay, you won't crash into it." Jiang Xian smiled at her. "There's nothing we can do, it's just a small place."

There's a saying in Hong Kong these days: you could knock a plane down from a high floor of a building with just a clothesline pole.

(End of this chapter)