Literary Master 1983

Chapter 155 Visiting Group to Thailand

July 7th, the first day after the opening of the Los Angeles Olympics.

The people of the whole country have been completely immersed in the frenzy of the Olympics, and the hearts of hundreds of millions of people have flown to Los Angeles. This expectation is like a tangible flame that is about to ignite Los Angeles.

In the morning, Yu Qie reported to the "Visiting Group to Thailand". The delegation was gathering at Yenching University. All the places he passed by while riding his bicycle were showing the Los Angeles Olympic Games.

The televisions in the Friendship Store, the radios on the stalls, the newspapers printed this morning...all were about the Olympics.

"Squeak!"

Stop the car and lock it.

When Yu Qie stepped into the campus of Yanda University, no matter which dormitory or teaching building he visited, he could find the latest news about the Olympics:
"It's the first time in history that an American actor president has attended the Olympics. The United States is a country that pays special attention to cultural promotion... Dear audience friends, this Los Angeles Olympics has created many firsts!"

"When the sun faded away, colorful fireworks rose from the dusky sky above the stadium. More than 2,000 Los Angeles citizens dressed in national costumes from all over the world sang and danced to Beethoven's "Ode to Joy"..."

Announcer Song Shixiong excitedly said: "Celebrate in the flames, citizens of Los Angeles! Flames are your toys!"

The time in the United States is more than ten hours behind that in China, so when the official competition starts, it is just morning here, and the competition lasts the whole day.

CCTV broadcast the medal list of the American ABC TV station. So far, China still has a zero.

The students of Yanda University were worried and extremely concerned about their final sports results.

After all, this was the first time that New China participated in the modern Olympic Games, and no one knew how it would perform. Especially in this era, sports had an extra heavy burden:
It is to be used as a harbinger of the rise of the Chinese nation.

If a nation cannot even manage sports well, how can it be an enterprising nation?
The gathering place for the "Visiting Group to Thailand" was in the "Big Dining Hall" of Yanda University, which was a place connecting the dormitory area and the student cafeteria. Because it was spacious and easy to convey messages quickly, it gradually evolved into a place for daily briefings and speeches.

The head of the delegation was the highly respected Ji Xianlin, who was also the only person Yu Qie knew in this delegation. The others were monks (Thais believe in Buddhism), officials from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, some combat personnel, reporters... They formed a hodgepodge, and each had a different focus of the visit.

"Director Ji?" Yu Qi waved towards Ji Xianlin.

Ji Xianlin used to be the head of the Department of Literature. It was thanks to Ji Xianlin that Yu Qie let him go when he got into a fight by the Weiming Lake.

Ji Xianlin said, "No, I've resigned. We have a new director now."

Yu Qie said, "Mr. Ji, in my heart you are the director. You have been the director for a day or an hour... How can this not count?"

Ji Xianlin was so happy that the wrinkles on his old face bloomed: "My good-for-nothing son, not only is he not as good as you in academics, but he is also not as good as you in the most basic way of dealing with people!"

"What happened to your son?"

"I asked him for money, but he refused to give it to me. I told him that he was an adult and should shoulder part of the expenses at home, but he said he was not a member of the family..."

Yu Qie remembered that Ji Xianlin, his son, had caused a big disturbance in Yanda University. In the 1990s, Ji Xianlin's wife died, and he asked his son to contribute 20,000 yuan and pool 40,000 yuan to give his wife (mother) a grand funeral. However, his son refused to give a penny, and the two severed their father-son relationship.

Later, Ji Xianlin donated all his inheritance to the school and set up scholarships for poor students at Yanjing University. His son came out to fight for the inheritance.

His son denounced his father for being a playboy and betraying his mother, and then the man married the 30-year-old nanny at the age of 70.

This kind of father-son relationship is like that between Fu Lei and Fu Cong, where love is only expressed in the diary and the two actually wish to never have any contact with each other until they die.

"Yu Qie, I heard that you can speak many languages. Do you know Thai?" Ji Xianlin asked.

"Sawadee ka?" "You really can do it!" Ji Xianlin was shocked.

"I don't know what happened next." Yu Qi said honestly.

So Ji Xianlin gave Yu Qie a Thailand handbook, which contained common conversations and local cultural customs that needed to be paid attention to. For example, Buddhism was very popular in Thailand, and Thai monks would take the initiative to beg for alms. At this time, the Chinese representatives must not drive away the Thai monks on the grounds that "begging is a crime."

Ji Xianlin emphasized this matter again and again:

"Comrades, of course, getting something for nothing not only violates traditional virtues, but also goes against the ideas of Marxism... But we must respect other people's customs. Thailand is a country with an emperor, a red-light district, and beggars..."

There are also transsexuals! Yu Qie muttered to himself.

"It's still the same process as before! The allowance and accommodation standards are implemented in accordance with relevant regulations. All your Thai baht will be kept in the group account. Remember, you need to report when you leave the group, two by two."

Someone raised his hand when he heard this, "Leader! Can I go with Comrade Yu Qie?"

"Yu Che has a special room, and he takes a different route than most people."

"I know Yu Qie can, but why is it different from us?"

Ji Xianlin was angry: "Yu Qie was invited by the Prince of Thailand. Are you dissatisfied? You can also complain to the Emperor of Thailand and see if he will give you face."

"I'm not dissatisfied..."

No one dared to contradict Old Ji anymore.

After the meeting, there was another political meeting. An old comrade who was a political commissar came to remind everyone not to "travel" recklessly. Thailand is not like a developed country in Europe or America.
"There is an internationally famous crime zone above Thailand. It is located at the junction of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. It is also a 'no man's land', known as the Golden Triangle. Comrades, this is an extremely dangerous area..."

You know, this place used to be engaged in tobacco business, and later on telephone sales. It has never been a peaceful place.

In the afternoon, after the long meeting, everyone dispersed. Yu Qie ran to Hongdu Clothing Store to get a suit. July and August are the hottest months in Thailand, so Yu Qie asked the clothing store to shorten his trousers to his knees.

The tailor was shocked: "How can it be cut like this? What a waste. Comrade, you don't understand suits at all!"

Yu Qie said: "Do you know where the raised line in the middle of the trouser legs comes from?"

"I don't know, tell me."

"It was because a British tailor once ironed the trousers at the wrong seam without careful ironing. Unexpectedly, the customer wore the trousers to a formal occasion and was very satisfied. They all praised the trousers for being more straight and straight. Then this ironing method became popular and everyone came to learn it."

"This tailor is really good. He can make the wrong one look better than the real one."

"No, it's because the person wearing these pants is the King of England."

Yu Qie rode his bicycle to October Magazine. Wang Shuo visited the editorial office of October Magazine in the name of Yu Qie and recommended himself, hoping that his future manuscripts would have a chance to be published in October Magazine.

Zhang Zhong'e, one of the four editors in Beijing, wrote a letter of recommendation to Wang Shuo, but Wang Shuo still felt uneasy and asked Zhang Shouren to call Yu Che to prove that he "really knew Yu Che."

Zhang Shouren had never seen such an outrageous person. He did not have the nobleness of a writer at all. Wang Shuo was indeed like a literary businessman doing business.

(End of this chapter)