1979: Literary Master, Starting from the Return of Educated Youth

Chapter 81: Meat-colored Silk, Black Silk, Various Silk

I saw that every layer of the cabinet was covered with gold, sparkling and eye-catching. In the middle there were regular-shaped yellow croakers and broken gold.

Where did you get so much?

Xu Yuexin muttered, but of course he didn't ask any more questions.

People in their line of work must be particularly wary of asking too many questions.

The fat man took out 14 large yellow croakers and two pieces of gold in one breath. After closing the cabinet door, he opened another one and took out an electronic scale, which was rare at the time, and put it on the ground.

After putting the gold on the scale, the fat man took a look at the number and took out a piece of gold from the cabinet and added it to the scale.

“4389.31克，也就是87两5钱8分6厘。”

After weighing the food, the fat man looked up and said to Xu Yuexin, "Take the money."

Xu Yuexin handed the entire bag to the fat man: "Give me some money."

The fat man took the bag and checked it. After confirming that it was correct, he and Xu Yuexin handed over the money and the goods.

The 2540 Great Unity banknotes in the bag were instantly replaced by heavy gold.

Xu Yuexin walked out of the room with his bag on his back and left the house quickly.

When he reached the gate of the courtyard, he saw an old man carrying a basket of old circuit boards and walking slowly into the courtyard.

Xu Yuexin now understood the origin of gold.

They got the gold by dismantling scrap circuit boards.

As for the source of these circuit boards, Xu Yuexin speculated that it might be Hong Kong, where the consumption level would generate a large amount of electronic waste.

……

Back in the hotel room, Xu Yuexin opened the door and Chen Yixiu immediately got up from the bed and came to greet him.

"Are you okay? Did anything happen?"

Chen Yixiu looked him up and down, fearing that he might be injured somewhere.

"Nothing serious, it's very formal over there."

Xu Yuexin said carelessly, throwing the bag onto the bed, "Open it and take a look."

Chen Yixiu breathed a sigh of relief, but did not immediately go forward to open the backpack.

"I think it's better not to make this kind of money in the future."

Chen Yixue said with lingering fear, "You don't know how worried I was just now."

“The louder the waves, the more expensive the fish.”

Xu Yuexin said nonchalantly, "In the stage of primitive accumulation of capital, this is nothing."

Chen Yixue was still worried and shook her head: "It's also my fault for not stopping you firmly."

"Okay, I promise you, I won't take risks again."

Xu Yuexin patted Chen Yixue's shoulders and said, "Let's divide the gold first."

After getting his promise, Chen Yixue felt relieved: "Well, I don't want to see you take risks again."

The two men sat down on the bed together, and Xu Yuexin opened the bag and took out fourteen large yellow croakers and two pieces of gold.

"You offered 5400, which is exactly three large yellow croakers."

Xu Yuexin picked up the heavy gold, placed it in front of Chen Yixue and said, "Remember to keep it well."

Faced with the dazzling gold, Chen Yixiu took a deep breath.

“It’s really heavy.”

Chen Yixue picked up the gold and exclaimed, "This much gold should be enough to buy a house."

"Where do you want to buy?"

Xu Yuexin asked casually. He and his sister-in-law had the same idea of ​​buying a house.

"Buy in Tuanjie Lake. I heard that the authorities are planning to pilot a project there, and there will be commercial housing for sale in a few months."

"Oh, that's how it is."

Three large yellow croakers were far from enough to buy the houses in Tuanjie Lake, but Xu Yuexin didn't want to disappoint his sister-in-law.

"I'm tired of running around, I want to hear you sing a song."

After dividing the gold, he lay down on his sister-in-law's bed.

"Hmm? What song do you want to hear?"

Chen Yixiu asked softly.

"Sing a love song, the kind where a woman sings to a man."

Xu Yuexin said lazily.

Chen Yixue was a little helpless after hearing this: "I knew you had bad intentions."

"Then will you sing?"

"I didn't say I wouldn't sing."

Chen Yixue gave Xu Yuexin a blank look.

Xu Yuexin had worked so hard today that she felt embarrassed to refuse, so she kept reminding herself not to do it again.

After a little preparation, a lingering Hong Kong love song sounded in the room, and the sweet voice made Xu Yuexin feel like he was in a dream.

These days, people often secretly listen to music from Hong Kong through the radio, and this phenomenon is even more common within the art troupe.

As Xu Yuexin listened, he felt that his sister-in-law's singing style was even more authentic than the original singer.

……

The day to return to Beijing has arrived. Xu Yuexin and Chen Yixiu boarded the train with gold in their arms and bags of fruit in their hands.

After a long journey of 35 hours, the train stopped at Beijing Station.

The first thing Xu Yuexin did after getting off the car was to check whether the mangoes, lychees and other fruits were rotten.

Fortunately, with ice cubes and cotton wool to cool the fruits down, all the fruits were intact and as juicy as when they were first bought.

Xu Yuexin put the gold in his bag.

He kept the bag against his chest throughout the journey. Sometimes when the train jolted, he could experience what the Cantonese people call "the sound of the lungs being lifted up."

When parting with Chen Yixiu, the two agreed to meet again next time they had news from other publishing houses.

As long as you keep in touch, sparks will always fly.

After Xu Yuexin returned home, he put the plastic bucket containing the fruit in a cool place, put the gold and "Nanyue Old Manuscripts" together, and went to take a shower.

Wait for two months before the country raises the gold price, then sell for profit.

Of course, you have to be careful when selling gold. You can't take so much gold to a gold shop to sell it, and the shape should not be too regular.

For example, if you have the yellow croaker in your hands now, it would be best to knock it into gold cakes, so that you can tell the gold shop that they are heirlooms.

When Xu Yuexin finished taking a shower, Chen Qiaoqiao just came back from the street to have lunch.

"Are you home? Did your trip to Guangzhou go smoothly?"

A short separation is better than a new marriage. Chen Qiaoqiao ran to him and asked with concern, "Did you feel wronged in your accommodation and food there?"

"It went very smoothly, and the food and accommodation were very good."

Xu Yuexin, wearing a pair of large shorts, walked up to her and said, "Come, let me show you something."

After saying that, he brought Chen Qiaoqiao into the room, opened the plastic bucket under her expectant gaze, and uncovered the layers of cotton.

"Is this a lychee? This... should be a mango?"

Chen Qiaoqiao felt very curious when she saw these fruits which she had only seen in picture magazines.

"Yes, these are mangosteen and pineapple."

"Teach you how to open it."

As Xu Yuexin spoke, he picked up a mangosteen and squeezed the shell with his palms to crack it, revealing the snow-white flesh inside.

"Come on, have a taste."

Xu Yuexin said to Chen Qiaoqiao.

Chen Qiaoqiao picked up two pieces of fruit flesh and put them into her mouth. Her expression changed immediately: "So sweet!"

"Here, eat all these."

Xu Yuexin handed the remaining mangosteen to Chen Qiaoqiao.

"You eat too."

“I’ve had enough of it in Guangzhou.”

Xu Yuexin squatted down and dragged out the box containing Nanyue's old manuscripts from under the bed and opened the copper lock on it. When the box was opened, the mangosteen in Chen Qiaoqiao's hand fell to the ground with a snap.

"Is this gold? Where did it come from?"

"I bought it and will sell it after a while."

Xu Yuexin calmly comforted him, "Don't panic, they are all genuine products."

"I just thought that the country would raise the purchase price of gold in the future, so I tried to buy some."

"really?"

Chen Qiaoqiao didn't know why Xu Yuexin made such a judgment.

Of course, she still hopes that Xu Yuexin’s prediction will be correct.

"Of course, wait and see."

Xu Yuexin raised the corner of his mouth slightly and whispered in Chen Qiaoqiao's ear, "If my judgment is correct, you have to..."

Chen Qiaoqiao's face turned red.

"I just got back, and my mind is full of these."

Chen Qiaoqiao poked Xu Yuexin's forehead with her finger and said coquettishly, "You are really hopeless!"

……

After returning from Guangzhou, Xu Yuexin slept until noon for several days in a row.

This is really a good rest!
One day, Xu Yuexin got up from the bed and stretched.

He can't sleep today, as he has an appointment with the editors of Contemporary and October to meet today to discuss the publication of The Wreath under the Mountain and The Shepherd.

Meet "Contemporary" in the morning and "October" in the afternoon, both locations are in the community teahouse.

When he finished talking with the editor of October, it was already dark. Xu Yuexin went home, ate, washed up, and went to bed.

I will meet with the editors of "Yalu River", "Yanhe" and "Shanghai Literature and Art" tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, and the workload will be no less than today.

Two days later, Xu Yuexin finally met with editors from all publishing houses and finalized the publishing matters.

This time, the remuneration was still calculated based on the number of copies printed. In just three days, Xu Yuexin earned a full 2800 yuan.

When he returned home with the royalties paid by Shanghai Literature and Art for the number of copies he had published, his parents told him a piece of news.

"The city is currently planning to integrate all coking plants to form a coking group."

"Your father's expertise is suitable for you, and the organization has decided to send him to the group as the executive deputy general manager."

Wu Yan gently said to her son and daughter-in-law, "The group's headquarters is in Xicheng, which is too far from our home. I have to go with you to take care of your father."

"Ranran will start living on campus tomorrow. You two should take good care of yourselves at home, stay healthy, and don't quarrel over anything."

"Qiaoqiao should eat more and get enough nutrition. Yuexin should also pay attention to rest when writing novels, especially for the lumbar and cervical spine."

Xu Qiang added earnestly: "We must also study hard and strive to grow into the professionals needed by the Party and the government."

"I'll give you the phone number of the coking plant. If anything happens, go to the street office and call me."

After Xu Qiang finished speaking, he took out a small notebook from his pocket, tore off a piece of paper, wrote the phone number on it, and handed it to Xu Yuexin.

"I know, Dad. You should also take care to rest while working at the Coking Group. Don't work too hard."

Xu Yuexin persuaded.

"That won't work. The Party and the government have entrusted me with this position, and I cannot fail to live up to their trust."

Xu Qiang laughed and said, "We have to fight when we need to."

"Besides, I am here on behalf of the school. If I do things perfunctorily, others will have a bad impression of our school."

Well, seeing his father's ambitious attitude, Xu Yuexin actually felt a little ashamed.

"The child just wants to remind you to take care of your health."

Wu Yan smiled and said, "The body is the capital of revolution. What he said makes sense."

The family chatted until late at night. The next morning, Xu Qiang and Wu Yan packed up some simple bedding and luggage and left.

Xu Yuexin helped his parents carry the luggage, and despite their objections, he called a taxi and paid for them in advance.

It is a regular urban route and there is no traffic jam, so the driver can accurately estimate the fare as soon as he hears it.

"Don't call us a taxi next time."

Before getting in the car, Wu Yan still reminded him, "What a waste."

The taxi sped away. Xu Yuexin walked on his way home, looking at the blue sky and took a deep breath.

The newly established coking group is a municipal state-owned enterprise and a bureau-level unit, and it has become the second generation itself.

And from now on for a long time, there will only be himself and Chen Qiaoqiao at home.

Doesn’t this mean... that all the dreams I had at the beginning of my marriage can come true?
Black silk, flesh silk, various silks...

Xu Yuexin was a little excited. He immediately went home to get out several foreign exchange coupons and went straight to the Friendship Store.

……

That afternoon, in the bedroom.

Chen Qiaoqiao picked up the black stockings and looked at Xu Yuexin in confusion: "I don't usually wear this color, why did you buy it?"

"Wear it at home for me to see."

Xu Yuexin encouraged, "Try it on. It will look great on you."

Chen Qiaoqiao understood.

He must be thinking about that again.

No wonder he is so troublesome every time I wear white stockings...

"I won't wear it. It's too embarrassing."

Chen Qiaoqiao threw away her black stockings in disgust, her face as red as a ripe apple.

"Then try this."

Xu Yuexin said calmly, picked up the shredded meat and stuffed it into her hand.

Even in later times, not all women can accept black stockings, so just take it slow.

It's all about taking one step at a time.

Chen Qiaoqiao took a look at the flesh-colored stockings and thought they were okay, so she lifted her skirt and put them on.

"So lovely."

Xu Yuexin touched his wife's slender and straight legs in flesh-colored stockings and said, "Your legs are suitable for wearing stockings."

"Huh, do you praise people like this?"

Chen Qiaoqiao's heart was beating fast because of his touch, and she raised her face deliberately.

"Of course, that's the best compliment."

As Xu Yuexin spoke, he stood up and hugged Chen Qiaoqiao, kissed her on the neck, and his hands began to become naughty.

"Oh...I haven't eaten yet."

Chen Qiaoqiao blocked Xu Yuexin's big hand and leaned weakly in his arms.

"It's just right that you haven't eaten yet. I'll feed you right away."

Xu Yuexin unbuttoned Chen Qiaoqiao's shirt with a wicked smile and pushed her onto the bed...

……

The next morning, the flesh-colored stockings that Chen Qiaoqiao had worn were hung out on the balcony to dry in the sun.

In fact, Xu Yuexin wanted to tear it up yesterday, but when he thought about the imported goods that he had spent a full 100 overseas remittance coupons to buy, he finally couldn't bring himself to do it.

Just like the Balenciaga lettered socks of later generations, if you dare to tear them, it’s not the real thing, and the ones you tear are definitely fakes.

All we can say is that the domestic chemical fiber industry should become self-reliant!
This way he can tear and tear as much as he wants!

After Chen Qiaoqiao went to work at the street office, Xu Yuexin went to see Wang Meng to inquire about the approval issues for overseas publications.

The reply is that the relevant departments have approved it and there is no longer any policy risk.

Xu Yuexin then felt reassured, and after having lunch with Wang Mengna, he went home to continue writing "The Ming Dynasty 1566".

During the time he returned from Guangzhou, he slacked off a lot, but he still wrote about ten thousand words in total.

After writing for another two hours in the afternoon, Xu Yuexin sorted out all the manuscripts and planned to start serializing "The Ming Dynasty 1566".

However, Xu Yuexin also has a pressing problem to solve regarding serialized novels.

(End of this chapter)