1979: My fiancée is a goddess

Chapter 8 Submission
The next day, it was bright and clear.

"It's six o'clock!"

Cheng Kaiyan, feeling relaxed after a good night's sleep, glanced at the wall clock and quickly got up.

He went outside and scooped up a handful of cold water and splashed it on his face. In the middle of winter, the cold water in the plastic bucket was frozen, and Cheng Kaiyan grimaced in the cold.

"Hiss~ It's so cold!"

After washing my face, I wiped it casually with a towel and went to the desk.

Last night Cheng Kaiyan finished writing and proofreading "Submarine at Night", and today is the day to submit it.

He first sorted the manuscript papers in order, then took out the kraft paper envelopes and eight-cent stamps from the drawer. There was a pile of these things on the desk, all bought by Xu Yuxiu for him to write letters.

"North of Zuojiazhuang, Chaoyang... To the Children's Literature Editorial Department! Sent by Cheng Kaiyan."

Well, he was planning to submit his manuscript to Children’s Literature, and the original work of Night Submarine was also first published in Children’s Literature.

The reason is very simple. It is less difficult and we should be more generous to new writers. After all, there are few writers who write fairy tales.

"Children's Literature" is a publication of literary works created specifically for children and teenagers. It contains a variety of literary forms such as fairy tales, fables, poems, dramas, novels, etc. The content and form are suitable for the characteristics of children and teenagers of different ages.

Since its founding in October 1963, this publication has nurtured several generations of people and is known as the "No. 10 Children's Literature Magazine in China". It not only collects the best works of pure literature, but also focuses on the unity of thought and art, and adheres to the literary character.

It was suspended due to Buzz Buzz Buzz, but resumed publication in August 1977 and was officially changed to a regular publication in July this year.

Since its founding, it has published many popular classic works, such as Zhang Tianyi's "The Secret of the Magic Gourd" which Cheng Kaiyan often read when she was a child, Ye Shengtao's "The Scarecrow", Yu Pingbo's "Remembrance", Bing Xin's "Letter to Young Readers", Li Jinhui's children's musical, Zheng Zhenduo's "Hippo Kindergarten", and "The Education of Love" translated by Xia Yizun.

Of course, Cheng Kaiyan is most familiar with Zheng Yuanjie, who has contributed to children's literature for several years. In September this year, he published his first fairy tale "Heihei on Honesty Island" in "Children's Literature". The gears of fate have begun to turn...

Cheng Kaiyan wrote down the message and delivery address, and took out a piece of paper from a box of eight-cent Chinese People's Post stamps and pasted it on.

Pack up!
He also took the opportunity to take a look at his mother's room.

Mmm, slept soundly!

Then he ran out of the door and headed straight for the nearby Wangfujing Street.

Across Xiaowei Hutong, a few blocks away, is Wangfujing Street, where there is a post office. There is also a stamp market in Dongdan, which is a place specializing in trading stamps.

By the way, are the monkey tickets out?
Not yet. In February next year, there will be a special misprinted stamp numbered T62. The great painter Huang Yongyu from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Xiaowei Hutong has painted a golden monkey on it.

Cheng Kaiyan thought to herself, there are only more than two months left, so she might as well save some money and buy more.

When they arrived at Wangfujing Street, Cheng Kaiyan dropped the envelope into the dark green mailbox. According to regulations, postmen in urban areas must open mailboxes at least once a day. He estimated that the letter would reach the editorial office in the afternoon.

As for why it wasn't sent directly to the editorial office, Cheng Kaiyan just wanted to say that he couldn't bear the pain. Even if there were buses, he would have to walk at least a few miles. It would be better to let the postman deliver it.

These days, transportation depends entirely on walking, and communication depends entirely on shouting.

Except for those who have bicycles at home, who doesn’t walk within ten miles?

The streets outside were covered in white. The snow had not melted yet. The temperature in the capital had dropped again. Last night the temperature was reported to be minus eight or nine degrees Celsius.

Cheng Kaiyan walked towards the east city gate.

He heard that there were snack shops stretching for several miles from Dongdan to Dongsi, open from morning to night, and he also wanted to see the grand spectacle of breakfast in old Beijing.

The shivering cold wind blowing from the sky was extremely biting, but fortunately it didn't snow, but the ground was a little slippery.

Following the route he remembered, it took Cheng Kaiyan about 20 minutes to walk. His feet were sore from walking. He was now feeling the cold wind and hungry. He couldn't stop muttering in his heart,
“Now if only I had a bicycle!”

I continued walking until I heard a familiar Beijing accent:
"Tanghulu~Tanghulu~!"

"Stir-fried liver...hot."

"Sheep - head meat!" Even at six o'clock in the morning in the middle of winter, there were already many people on the street. Many shops were open with lights on, and there was no end in sight. There were also farmers carrying loads on their shoulders into the city to sell eggs and vegetables.

Even with all the buzz, old BJ's morning market never stopped.

"Give me half a pound of mutton head meat."

Smelling the aroma of meat in the air, Cheng Kaiyan felt her stomach growling and she quickly walked towards the stall selling mutton heads.

To grow, you need to eat meat.

"Okay, which ones do you want?"

The man who sold the mutton head meat was a middle-aged vendor who spoke in Beijing dialect and his speech was a bit slurred.

Cheng Kaiyan took a look and saw that there were a lot of things in the stew pot, including sheep head meat, sheep feet, lamb ribs, lamb liver, lamb tripe, lamb soup, lamb offal, bitter intestines...

Because mutton's head meat is the most delicious, everyone is called mutton's head seller.

He pointed to a few items that were all lean meat. The vendor was delighted. He took them, sliced ​​them with a knife, sprinkled them with pepper salt, mixed them, and then packed them in a brown paper bag. The job was done.

It cost 42 cents for a little over half a pound. Cheng Kaiyan thought it was too expensive and asked, "How much is a pound of mutton?"

"Seventy-five cents, almost as much as pork." The vendor sighed.

That's right, beef and mutton are cheaper than pork right now.

Firstly, people’s consumption habits are pork, and they mainly like lard. Every household has a lard jar.

Mutton is okay, the Hui people eat it, and people in Beijing also like to eat it in winter, such as shabu-shabu mutton, mutton head meat, etc. But beef is not okay, not many people eat it.

Secondly, the concentrated breeding areas are in the north, and logistics and transportation are inconvenient. It takes a long time to transport from these production areas to all parts of the country. Therefore, they are basically transported in the cold winter. Naturally, the concentrated market price is much lower.

After buying the mutton head, Cheng Kaiyan gritted her teeth and bought two fried dough sticks for four cents and a bowl of Old BJ tofu pudding for three cents.

First time eating at a roadside stall in Beijing, eat well!
All in all I spent was fifty-three cents, but it was money well spent.

There are still more than nine dollars left... sad!

He found a seat and sat down, took a bite of mutton and ate a fried dough stick. He felt so comfortable.

There were many snacks in Beijing in the old times, but in later generations it has almost become a food desert.

Drinking tofu pudding almost made him break down. It tasted salty and sweet, and was covered with marinade.

"I'm never going to drink this again, I only like sweet things!"

Cheng Kaiyan put it down with a look of disgust, but then she thought, this is a time for growth, and it shouldn’t be wasted.

He swallowed it in one gulp.

I didn't finish eating the mutton head and took it home, and my feet were sore from the journey.

"Damn it! Write a long novel! Make a lot of money and buy a bicycle!"

……

When Cheng Kaiyan returned home, she found that there was one more person in the house.

To be precise, she was a tall and slender woman in her early thirties, wearing a gray woolen coat that matched her height, a hat with ear covers on her head, and a bright red scarf around her neck. She wore a pair of glasses on her slender and straight nose, and her eye sockets were slightly sunken, making her look a bit like a foreigner. Her skin was as white as snowflakes slowly falling from the sky.

As soon as he entered the room, Cheng Kaiyan asked, "Mom, what is this?"

The price part has been modified. There is a bug in Dianiang. The comments will be swallowed after the modification. It is not deleted by me.

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(End of this chapter)