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

When Feng's mother raised her eyes, what tone could she possibly use?

Yes!
If it were the first time Ms. Feng had heard this amount, she would have been extremely shocked, after all, it was 60,000 US dollars, enough to buy four or five apartments in the Overseas Chinese Apartments.

But if my younger sister knew that she gave the $60,000 to her son-in-law!
Moreover, besides the $60,000, my son-in-law also has over $200,000 in royalties from the Foreign Languages ​​Press, which he has been asked to collect, but he has never had time to come.

So, just you wait and see, little sister. You'll be absolutely stunned and dumbfounded.

Yeah, this is my son-in-law. Isn't he awesome, sis?!

The mother-in-law was secretly pleased and pleased with herself. She then echoed her younger sister, saying, "Yes, yes, Qiu Na, you're right. I've never seen sixty thousand US dollars in my entire life!"

"So, did you bring cash or a money order this time?"

Generally speaking, cash amounts up to $60,000 cannot be brought in; these dollars will be exchanged for foreign exchange certificates when passing through customs.

In China, foreign exchange certificates are equivalent to US dollar cash. Of course, any foreign exchange certificates that are not spent in China can be exchanged back into US dollar cash before leaving the country.

However, the mother-in-law asked this question because the foreign exchange control policy had changed again, especially for overseas Chinese like her younger sister who had returned to China. They no longer needed to exchange their US dollar cash for foreign exchange certificates.

You can use US dollars to buy things in China, but only in stores like Friendship Store and Overseas Chinese Store that sell imported goods.

However, for every policy, there is a countermeasure. Now that US dollars have come in, can we really restrict them to spending their money in one place?

So, when his mother-in-law asked him that question, Cheng Xuemin was actually quite looking forward to it.

If my aunt had brought all the $60,000 in royalties in cash instead of bank drafts, wouldn't she suddenly have another $60,000 in cash savings?

"US dollars in cash, of course!"

Without a second thought, Aunt Gu Qiuna continued, "Here's what I'm thinking! Having $60,000 in cash in front of people will definitely have a strong impact, making my subsequent requests for articles more convincing. Don't you think that makes sense, sister?"

"Yes, yes, you're still the same, full of tricks!" Mother-in-law Feng nodded in agreement again. US dollars and cash are indeed very tempting for us Chinese.

Her younger sister was right; if a writer were presented with a $60,000 cash royalty, everyone would have to kneel before her.

But sorry, I'm already used to it all, and I'm completely unmoved.

"Hehe, sis, I'll take that as a compliment!" Gu Qiuna winked at her sister, and the topic was temporarily dropped. The two sisters went into the Foreign Languages ​​Press together.

"Uh...Professor Gu, you're a rare guest!"

They had to register and greet the guards at the gate. The guards there clearly recognized Feng's mother and quickly poked their heads out to say hello.

“Old Chen, we’re here to see your Director Zhao…” Mrs. Feng also remembered this guard post, after all, it was her husband’s former workplace, so she knew roughly what kind of people there were. After speaking, she asked Gu Qiuna, “Did you have an appointment with them?”

"Yes, yes, hello, hello. Please tell them it's from the United States. Our letter should have arrived at your workplace a long time ago!" Gu Qiuna nodded repeatedly. In this day and age, you can't just drop by and visit anyone.

Moreover, she had returned from the United States, so she had already sent a letter to the Foreign Languages ​​Press before she set off.

This morning, I also got their phone number and notified them!

"Oh my, you're the overseas Chinese friend who's returned from the United States? Welcome, welcome! Our Director Zhao has been telling us that we have a distinguished guest today!"

"Please come in, please come in!" The gatekeeper, upon hearing this, could tell that she was indeed from America; one could tell from her foreign-sounding voice.

Moreover, Director Zhao from their unit had informed their sentry post this morning, so they understood immediately. They were so excited that they were trembling, and they quickly called out, shouting into their unit, "They're here! They're here! Our overseas Chinese friends from the United States are here!"

"Old Chen, Old Chen..."

Actually, at this moment, Lao Zhao from the Foreign Languages ​​Bureau had already come out of his director's office and hurried downstairs, but he still hadn't had a chance to tell the gatekeeper, Lao Chen, to be more reserved, because being so loud would make the overseas Chinese friends laugh at him.

The reason Lao Zhao was able to come down so quickly was because he knew that a well-known editor-in-chief from the United States was coming to their workplace this morning to solicit articles.

It was Cheng Xuemin, the reform and opening-up pioneer and Lao Feng's son-in-law, who submitted a novella to that magazine. This time, they flew over directly and refused to even discuss it.

So Old Zhao did nothing else all morning but made himself a cup of tea and stood by the window looking towards the door, waiting for people to come over.

They originally planned to send a car to pick them up from the Friendship Hotel, but when they notified Lao Feng, they told him not to worry about it and that he would arrange for someone to pick them up.

Okay!

When Lao Zhao saw Lao Feng's son-in-law's car parked at the door, he knew who Lao Feng had sent to pick him up.

Sure enough, when Lao Feng's son-in-law got out of the car, Lao Zhao wanted to call out to him from the window upstairs.

But when he saw two women getting out of the car, Lao Zhao immediately fell silent, wondering why there were two women.
And one of them you don't know too well, isn't he Lao Feng's wife, Teacher Gu from the industry?
That is, Cheng Xuemin's mother-in-law!

This puzzled Lao Zhao. If the other woman was from the United States, why did Lao Feng's wife come along too? What was she doing here?
Oh, right!
Perhaps he was accompanying his son-in-law, Cheng Xuemin, and happened to come along to collect his US dollar manuscript fee!
After all, that kid had over 200,000 US dollars in royalties, which had been hanging in their company's account for a long time. They had asked Lao Feng to notify his son-in-law to come and collect it, but he hadn't come yet.

Looking back now, I suppose he knew about the news from the US and was planning to meet with this well-known editor-in-chief from America, together?

"Oh my, welcome, welcome! Teacher Gu, ever since Lao Feng was promoted to Haizi, you haven't come to visit much. You've become a bit distant with us!"

Looking at the three people, Old Zhao didn't know who to greet first.

Logically, he should have gone with the overseas Chinese friend from the United States first, but Lao Zhao wasn't sure if this third party was really her!

Therefore, we can only proceed from the major to the minor, and it's always right to greet Cheng Xuemin's mother-in-law first!
"Director Zhao, please don't say that. There's no need for formalities. Old Feng often mentions wanting to invite you over for a casual meal!" Feng's mother greeted Old Zhao politely. She used to occasionally pass by this area on her way home from work with her husband, but since he was transferred to Haizi, she hadn't made it past. "Alright, alright, I'll have to have a drink with Old Feng sometime. He promised me a drink, and I still haven't treated him!" Old Zhao chuckled. "And please, don't call me Director Zhao anymore, it's too formal! Just call me Old Zhao!"

Then she greeted Cheng Xuemin, saying, "Xuemin, you've finally arrived! I thought you'd forgotten about that royalties and weren't planning on asking for them back!"

Speaking of this kid, Old Zhao really had nothing to say. The royalties of over two hundred thousand US dollars were already on their side, and they had long since called for him to come and collect them.

But this kid is something else, he's dragged it out until now, he's really not even enthusiastic about collecting his money, only Cheng Xuemin would do that.

"No, no, Director Zhao, I'm sorry, I've actually been wanting to come for a while!" Cheng Xuemin quickly extended both hands to shake hands with the other party and apologize.

"I know, I know. Old Feng mentioned it to me. You're a hot commodity now, everyone wants you. And you have a lot of responsibilities now!"

"But young people should be bold and courageous, and they should be able to shoulder heavy responsibilities. We all have high hopes for you!"

Old Zhao shook hands firmly with Cheng Xuemin and patted him on the shoulder encouragingly, though it was unclear what he had learned from his father-in-law.

"Thank you! Thank you, Director Zhao!" Cheng Xuemin looked flattered and thanked him repeatedly.

This really confused Gu Qiuna, the aunt next to her. Shouldn't she be the main person being visited?
The other leader might not recognize him, so it's only natural for him to greet his older sister first. After all, his brother-in-law was just here, and his sister has some influence in his former workplace, which is understandable.

But next, shouldn't it be the older sister introducing herself, or the other person asking her if she's from America?

Why did he skip over me and be so polite to my older sister, her handsome son-in-law?
Judging from Director Zhao's tone, my sister's son-in-law is quite remarkable; he's a hot commodity that everyone wants to have.
There was a notification to collect the royalties, but my sister's son-in-law has been dragging his feet and hasn't come to collect them yet.

So, my sister's son-in-law also earns money by writing articles?

It's not impossible.

After all, I heard from my older sister that she is now the deputy editor-in-chief of the prestigious Beijing magazine "October". It's perfectly reasonable for a mother-in-law to help her son-in-law publish some articles and earn some royalties to supplement the family income.

But do you know where this is?

Foreign Languages ​​Press!

This is a platform specifically for submitting articles to foreign exchange and earning US dollars. My sister's son-in-law is actually getting paid for his articles here. What's going on?
Gu Qiuna was increasingly surprised as she listened, and she truly had to look at this nephew-in-law with new respect.

Could it be that I've misunderstood? This nephew-in-law isn't the driver for the big boss at his workplace at all?

"Good, good, good!" Old Zhao patted Cheng Xuemin several times, said "good" repeatedly, and then looked at Gu Qiuna.

Before Lao Zhao could even ask or greet her, Feng's mother-in-law introduced her, saying, "Director Zhao, this is my sister. She just returned from the United States. She didn't even go home after getting off the plane; she came straight here. You must treat her well!"

"Oh! Is she Teacher Gu's sister? No wonder she looks so much like you. I've never heard Lao Feng or Teacher Gu mention her before..." Lao Zhao was taken aback when he heard Feng's mother's introduction. So she was Lao Feng's sister-in-law. No wonder she looked so much like his wife, Teacher Gu.

Upon hearing Mrs. Feng's subsequent introduction, Old Zhao was stunned again, and asked in disbelief, "No... Hello, hello, you must be Ms. Gu from that magazine that sent us the letter from the United States?"

"Hello Director Zhao, I'm the one who sent you the letter earlier. I came from the United States. Our magazine is called Vanity Fair. It's a pleasure to meet you!" Finally, it was her turn. Aunt Gu Qiuna's face was full of bright smiles as she extended her hand to shake hands with Old Zhao.

"Ah, right, right! It really is called 'Vanity Fair'. Xuemin translated it for me before, but I'm so stubborn, I never remembered it. My apologies!" Old Zhao suddenly realized and shook hands apologetically.

"Oh? Xuemin translated for you?"

What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener. Aunt Gu Qiuna's expression immediately turned suspicious after hearing what Old Zhao said.

How did her nephew-in-law know the English name of her magazine?
Moreover, according to Director Zhao, it was her nephew-in-law who helped with the translation. What... what exactly happened?
"That's right! It was Xue Min who chose the magazine himself and submitted the article himself... We were wondering at the time, since so many well-known magazines in the United States, such as Time, Reader's Digest, Metropolitan, The New Yorker, etc., all approached Xue Min to commission articles!"

"In the end, Xuemin chose your side of the fame and fortune arena. We were puzzled at the time because we hadn't heard of it much. It turns out there was a reason... because of you, Professor Gu!"

Old Zhao's words sounded ambiguous and a bit impolite. How could Time Magazine and Reader's Digest be so well-known in front of people, while Vanity Fair was completely unknown?
However, at this moment, Aunt Gu Qiuna didn't care about politeness. She was completely shocked by the information revealed in Lao Zhao's words. She could only subconsciously murmur the last sentence of Lao Zhao, saying, "Director Zhao, you can just call me Li Na. My English name is Li Na!"

"Alright, alright, Miss Li Na, welcome! Please come inside and let's talk!" Old Zhao, equally puzzled, quickly ushered her inside and said.

"Sis, don't speak yet!" Seeing that her older sister was about to talk to her, Gu Qiuna, who hadn't quite sorted out her thoughts, told her sister to be quiet and continued to ask Lao Zhao, "Director Zhao, you just said that Xuemin submitted the article to us?"

“That’s right! Xuemin chose your Fame and Fortune website himself and submitted the article himself!” Old Zhao nodded, then added, “You two just happened to come together today, so everything must have been settled by now, right? I was wondering why Xuemin had to drag it out until now. It turns out he was waiting for you, his… auntie, is that how you call her?”

"We didn't talk! I...I...I just got off the plane, I don't know anything!"

"Sis, what exactly happened?"

"Director Zhao said it was Xuemin who submitted the manuscript to our Fame and Fortune magazine. So... so the writer I'm looking for when I go back to China this time is your son-in-law, Xuemin?"

"My God, I knew it couldn't be such a coincidence!"

"Sis, you didn't tell me anything along the way, I... I... Sis, you're so mean!"

"You're making fun of me like this the moment we met!"

Finally regaining her senses, Gu Qiuna launched into a series of probing questions at her older sister. But from the helpless yet cunning look in her sister's eyes, Gu Qiuna had already gotten the answer she wanted. Instantly, she was so embarrassed and ashamed that she stomped her feet repeatedly!

……

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