1978: Female educated youth, don’t want an illiterate husband

Chapter 155: The New Year's Eve Dinner in 1979 is Destined to be Extraordinary (Please Order the Whole Book)
Feng Jiayou was completely stunned!
So confused!
Hooking her eyes straight at Cheng Xuemin, so cute!
"Wife! Wife! Are you okay?"

Cheng Xuemin finished speaking in one breath, and seeing his wife looking at him stupidly without responding for a long time, Cheng Xuemin waved his hand in front of her eyes and asked.

"Really!?"

"Xuemin, is what you said true?! Mr. Wu wants to publish a collection of your short stories, and the old leader above will write an inscription for you as the cover, and Mr. Mao will write a preface for you?"

After Feng Jiayou, who had been in a daze for a long time, came to his senses, he went crazy!
He simply grabbed Cheng Xuemin's arm with both hands and asked in a trembling voice.

"Calm down, calm down, don't get too excited, my wife!"

What a startled woman!
Cheng Xuemin quickly calmed her body, which was so excited that she was about to jump up and down, and advised women not to be too excited.

Being too excited is not good for her as a pregnant woman.

"Yes, yes, yes! Xuemin, you are right. You need to stay calm and not get too excited! I will listen to you, I will listen to you!"

Feng Jiayou kept saying this, his words incoherently due to excitement, but as he looked at the four-character inscription in his hand, the strange light in his eyes became more and more obvious, and it was obvious that he was thinking about something in his mind.

Afterwards, at the woman's request, Cheng Xuemin gave her a brief account of what happened today in Zhonghai.

"What!?"

"Not only will you publish a collection of short stories, but the People's Daily will also publish a full-page report tomorrow?"

Then Feng Jiayou was stunned again. Did she really not hear it wrong?
Today, Old Mrs. Wu called her husband to Zhonghai, and asked him to either write an inscription or a preface for the collection, or to directly reprint the report on it in a full page in the People's Daily?
And it’s on the first day of the new year?

This... If her mother knew about this, wouldn't she be so excited that she went crazy?

"It should be published the day after tomorrow, the second day of the Chinese New Year!"

Cheng Xuemin corrected Feng Jiayou's words, saying that although the People's Daily would not stop publishing on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the final version must have been printed as early as yesterday, so it would be late.

"On the second day of the Lunar New Year, that's great! We're just in time to visit our grandfather's family in the suburbs of Beijing and make it in time!"

Feng Jiayou nodded repeatedly. Although it was not the first day of the Lunar New Year, the second day of the Lunar New Year was already very cool!

Another woman mentioned New Year's greetings.

Today is New Year’s Eve, and tomorrow is the first day of the first lunar month. It’s time to start going out to pay New Year’s greetings!

However, although Feng's father has five brothers and sisters, so far only Feng's father has been rehabilitated and transferred back to Yanjing. The other uncles and aunts have basically settled down in the local area and have been arranged with jobs.

I definitely can’t go back to Yanjing during the Chinese New Year!

The grandparents mentioned above had long sacrificed their lives for the revolutionary cause.

The situation on Feng's mother's side is even more special. Her brothers and sisters have basically all left. Some have settled in Hong Kong, and some have settled in the United States!
Even...Treasure Island!
Only the old couple couldn't bear to leave their hometown, so they were kept as special guests!

Listen to Feng Jiayou bragging!

On the day of the grand ceremony, her grandfather was invited to climb to the top of Tiananmen Square to watch the ceremony.

I don’t know whether it’s true or not!

Now the old man and his wife are living in the suburbs of Beijing, and my sister-in-law Feng Jiamo was previously arranged to be taken care of there.

When Feng returns to her parents' home on the second day of the Lunar New Year, her mother will bring the whole family to pay New Year's greetings to her father.

Cheng Xuemin had no idea how lively the event would be.

After wasting an hour or so at home, Cheng Xuemin went to the post office to call his parents in the countryside of northern Shaanxi.

Feng Jiayou had already had a fight at noon, so he was not allowed to go out and blow in the cold wind.

And women just have to go.

Got it!

What was she going to do? She was going to tell her parents-in-law what Cheng Xuemin had just told her, and she was going to call them to announce the good news.

But her parents-in-law are just old farmers, how could they understand these?

What her parents-in-law are worried about is the phone bill!

What her parents-in-law are hoping for now is that their son and daughter-in-law can come home for the New Year. This is the most practical thing, and it would be best if they could bring back a cute grandson.

However, this year it is impossible!

It will have to be next year’s New Year!

Maybe this summer vacation, I can bring my family back to live there for a while.

"So many people?"

"How long will it take to line up? There weren't so many people just now."

When Cheng Xuemin and Feng Jiayou arrived at the post office again, they were frightened by the long queue in front of them to make phone calls.

Feng Jiayou exclaimed in confusion, there weren't so many people here at noon!

Cheng Xuemin looked at the two teams, each with more than a hundred people, and slapped himself on the forehead.

Today is New Year’s Eve!
Although landline telephones were a very rare thing in that era, most people were reluctant to make phone calls and were more likely to write letters.

But what day is today?
New Year’s Eve!

Moreover, this is Yanjing City, where there is usually not much demand for phone calls, but today is different.

In addition, Yanjing City has a large population base, so it would be strange if the post office didn’t get overwhelmed with people waiting for phone calls.

"It's my fault, my fault! Xuemin, I shouldn't have taken the initiative to let my parents wait over there for a while!"

"Xuemin, blame me! I shouldn't have gone home straight after the phone call. I should have waited in line here for you to come!"

Looking at the long line, Feng Jiayou was dumbfounded and began to blame himself.

If she hadn't asked Cheng Xuemin's parents to wait there and agreed to call them at three o'clock, his parents might have already returned to the brigade to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner, and would not have stayed in the commune waiting for them to call again.

Also, even though we had agreed to call back at three o'clock, he shouldn't have gone home directly after hanging up the phone. He should have stayed here and waited in line!
Better now!

With so many people, let alone being able to get a seat on time at three o'clock, you may not even be able to get one even at eight or nine o'clock in the evening.

More than a hundred people!

Even if each person makes a two-minute phone call, that would be two to three hundred minutes, or three to four hours.

And these are definitely most of the calls that are long-distance, and it takes a lot of time to wait for the number to be called, so it’s good if you can get a spot at around eight or nine in the evening!
"It's okay, it's okay, wife, this is not your fault!"

Cheng Xuemin hugged the woman and comforted her, then said with a bitter smile: "Blame me, blame me. I should have thought of it earlier!"

It’s really Cheng Xuemin himself who has to be blamed!

Young girls and women of Feng Jiayou's age have no experience and little knowledge.

But Cheng Xuemin was reborn in the future, and he had witnessed the prosperous Spring Festival travel rush quite often!
I had thought about going to the train station to book tickets, but I might have to queue up and not be able to get in, so I decided not to go.

But I never thought that the post office telephone booths of this era were actually the same!

and!

Cheng Xuemin had experienced waiting in line to make a public phone call in his previous life.

That was more than ten years later in the 1990s. Cheng Xuemin was still in elementary school at that time. He remembered that one year his father could not make it home for the New Year, so he made an appointment to make a long-distance call home on New Year's Eve and asked him and his mother to wait in a public telephone booth.

But that day I had to wait for a whole day. The call was supposed to come at noon, but I had to wait in line until the evening.

He said there was only one public phone at his dad’s place and he had to queue up to make the call!

After what happened today, Cheng Xuemin’s memory of that day became even clearer.

So, that was more than a decade later in the 1990s, when it was still difficult to make a long-distance call on New Year’s Eve.

Not to mention that it’s not even the early 1980s yet.

This is indeed Cheng Xuemin's fault, he should have considered it earlier!

What to do now?
If I had thought about it earlier, I would have just had the New Year's Eve dinner at Mr. Wu's place at noon today, and by the way, I would have gotten a landline phone from Mr. Wu to call his parents.

At worst, when I was at the People's Daily, I should have made the phone call before coming out.

People's Daily is such a big organization, is it possible for me to make a long-distance call to Teacher Qin Chuanqin?

I was thinking about rushing back and making this call with Feng Jiayou at the post office!
Now it's all right! I made a mistake in my thinking. How can I fix this later? !
Want to queue up obediently? You have to queue until midnight on the first day of the Chinese New Year!
Why not just go back without queuing and not fight anymore?
But Feng Jiayou left a message with his parents and agreed to call them back at 3pm. If Cheng Xuemin didn't call back, do you believe that his stubborn father would wait until the first day of the new year?
"Xuemin, how about...how about we squeeze in and explain the situation to the leaders inside? We have an emergency and let us fight first?"

Feng Jiayou was also panicked and gave Cheng Xuemin some advice.

"Forget it, it's useless. Who isn't anxious today?"

It's starting to snow, and according to the newspaper it's going to snow heavily tonight, so it's not easy to queue up in this cold weather to call home.

We have to find another way!

"Then try another post office?"

Feng Jiayou looked at the watch on his wrist, which showed that it was already two forty, and he spoke again anxiously.

“Other post offices may have more people than this one!”

This side of Yanda is considered remote, and the population density is not as high as in the city. Now other post offices in the city may have more people than this one.

"Then what should we do? Xuemin, our parents will be waiting anxiously over there!"

Feng Jiayou asked in panic again.

"Let me take you back first! If that doesn't work, I'll go to the People's Daily! Teacher Qin hasn't had a holiday yet and is still rushing to publish the newspapers for tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. I'll go over there and borrow a phone to make a call. It shouldn't be a problem!"

If you can’t call from the post office and can’t wait, then you can only call from a public phone in the government agency!
Originally, the Yanda Library or the principal's office of Yanda High School near them both had public telephones, and Cheng Xuemin was familiar with their library director and principal, so it was no problem for him to borrow one to make a call.

But now it's vacation time, and people won't keep anyone in the office.

Cheng Xuemin even thought of his mother-in-law's October, but the magazine had already closed for the New Year holiday. Even if his mother-in-law was willing to take him there, it would be impossible for her to open the door of the editor-in-chief Liu Xinwu's office.

Therefore, I have no choice but to go back and visit the People's Daily again.

"Ah?! That might be the only way!"

"Why don't you just go from here, Xuemin? I'll just walk back. It won't take more than two steps!"

Feng Jiayou heard that her husband had to go to the People's Daily again, and it would take until dark to go back and forth.

But I also know that I have to return this call.

Immediately, she urged her man to hurry up and not to worry about her, as she could walk back by herself.

But no matter how hurried Cheng Xuemin was, he couldn't just leave his wife here. He insisted on sending her back first. It would be late anyway, so a little time would not matter.

"Mom, Dad, Brother and Sister-in-law, you are all back!?"

When Cheng Xuemin sent Feng Jiayou to the door of his house, he didn't even plan to go in, but went straight to People's Literature!
But at the door, we happened to see Mr. and Mrs. Feng, who had returned with a cart full of New Year's goods, carrying lots and small bags.

Feng Jiayou and Cheng Xuemin both greeted each other and said.

"Xuemin, you should go first! Go slowly on the way, and come back quickly!"

Immediately afterwards, Feng Jiayou urged Cheng Xuemin to go to the People's Daily as it was already past three o'clock.

By the time Cheng Xuemin arrived at the People's Daily, it was probably four or five o'clock.

"Where are you going? Xuemin, did you just come back from Mr. Wu's place, or did you come back after calling your parents?"

Seeing that her son-in-law didn't even enter the house and was in a hurry to run out, Feng's mother asked another question.

"Mom, I haven't fought yet!"

"There were more than a hundred people queuing up at the post office to make a phone call. I was afraid that we wouldn't get a turn, so Xuemin thought of going to the People's Daily to borrow a phone to make the call!"

Feng Jiayou was so anxious that she quickly explained the situation to her mother.

“Going to the People’s Daily at this hour?!”

When Feng's mother heard what her debt collector said, she was dumbfounded. After all this, she decided not to have the New Year's Eve dinner.

Then I quickly went through the list in my mind again, looking for a place where I could make a phone call.

Your own unit?

The phone is in Lao Liu's office. It's holiday now, so Lao Liu must have locked the office door.

From here, should I go to Lao Liu's house to get the key, and then go to the office to make a phone call?

It would be better to just go directly to the People's Daily.

Another thing is... Feng's mother thought about it and found that the places she could think of were basically in the inner city. She didn't have many acquaintances in Yan University.

"Old Feng?!"

Feng's mother looked at Feng's father. There were several telephones in the Foreign Language Bureau of his unit, and even Feng's father's office was equipped with a telephone.

So if you really want to go to People's Literature, you might as well go to Feng's father's Foreign Languages ​​Bureau. Both units are in the inner city and the time schedules are the same!

"Put out the things for Mr. Tang. I'll take Xuemin over there later!"

Father Feng nodded and said to Mother Feng.

Feng's mother's eyes lit up immediately, yes!

They couldn't find a place to make a phone call near Yan University, but it was different for Mr. Tang!
If you want to find Mr. Tang!
People can just take Xuemin to the president's office of Yanda University to get beaten up, and no one would dare to stop them.

originally!

Father Feng plans to visit his old teacher Tang to wish him a happy new year tomorrow, the first day of the Lunar New Year!

Now let’s do this!
Send the New Year's gifts over first; it won't be nice to go empty-handed.

"Xuemin, go to Mr. Tang's place later. There is a phone downstairs in Mr. Tang's professorial apartment!"

Father Feng explained to Cheng Xuemin again.

"Uh! That's right, Mr. Tang, Mr. Tang, how could I forget about him!"

"Xuemin, go ask Master Tang Laobao for help later!"

After hearing what her father said, Feng Jiayou nodded repeatedly.

"Is this okay? Didn't you say we can go over and wish Mr. Tang a happy new year tomorrow?"

We pray for the new year on New Year’s Eve, but there is no sincerity!

"It's okay. Tomorrow our whole family will go over to pay him New Year's greetings. We are so close, it's okay!"

Father Feng nodded and spoke to Cheng Xuemin to dispel his concerns.

After a while, Feng's mother took out all the New Year's goods prepared for Mr. Tang from the cart.

"I'll go push the bike out!"

Father Feng followed him into the yard, pushed out his bicycle, and waited for them to ride their bicycles over together.

Feng's mother asked Cheng Xuemin to help her convey a message to his parents on the phone, to wish them a happy new year, and to invite Cheng Xuemin's parents to come over to celebrate the Lantern Festival again.

Originally, we invited him to come over to celebrate the New Year, but Cheng Xuemin didn’t make it before the New Year!

Then I asked my brother-in-law and others to pull the cart into the yard!
"Dad, dad! Take this to Mr. Tang and let him see it. Take this to Mr. Tang and let him see it!"

No one knew when Feng Jiayou slipped into the house, and came out with something in his hand, shouting at Feng's father who was about to leave the yard.

"Wait a minute, what do you have that your dad must bring over today? Can't you just take it over tomorrow?"

Mother Feng also laughed when she saw her own impatient debt collector.

"It's nothing, I think Mr. Tang will like it, maybe he will even give your son-in-law a New Year's gift!"

Feng Jiayou smiled mischievously, holding in his hand the draft paper of the inscription with the four words on it.

"This is……"

When Feng's father took it with confusion, he was dumbfounded and shocked after taking a look!

……

(End of this chapter)