Mixed in 1980

Chapter 19 Ticket Seller Li Qiang
Faced with Chen Fan's "concern", Zhang Jianjun was heartbroken.

You can't tell Chen Fan: I got a bunch of people to write letters to complain about you, and that's why you got beaten up, right?
This is also weird.

The magazine actually returned the complaint letter and directly contacted the leaders of the Children's Palace, attaching several Chinese-language newspapers praising "The Most Beautiful Youth".

It wasn't a big deal originally, at most just a few criticisms, but the weird thing was that there was one letter of complaint missing from the returned ones, the one he wrote.

It was him who the organization wrote the letter to complain about, it was him who sent the letter, and it was him who was missing... This is really like mud falling into one's crotch, it's hard to explain.

I just got off work and was blocked by people on my way out.

Not only was he beaten up, but he was also labeled a sinister villain.

If you are labeled like this in a public institution, how can you survive in the workplace in the future?
After getting beaten, Zhang Jianjun still had to think about inviting them to dinner and explaining the matter clearly, otherwise he would have no chance of achieving anything in the future.

After all, it was Chen Fan who caused all this. If he hadn't been writing novels, would these things have happened?

But can I say this out loud?

If any word gets out, your reputation in the yard will be ruined.

Facing Chen Fan's false concern, he still had to put on a smile: "It's okay, I had a fight with someone, and the other person wasn't in any good condition either, maybe even worse than me."

"Is it really okay?"

"It's really okay, don't worry, just apply some safflower oil when you get home."

"Then let me help you go back?" Chen Fan looked at his limping leg and laughed secretly.

"No, it's nothing."

Zhang Jianjun waved his hand. They were already at the gate of the courtyard and only a few steps away.

After crossing the threshold, Zhang Jianjun was stunned again. Who was next to Chen Fan? He looked back and saw a graceful figure. This was definitely not Zhou Xiaoying.

Just when he was about to vent his anger by spitting, he pulled the wound at the corner of his mouth and grimaced in pain.

Just like a monkey.

Arriving at the state-owned restaurant at the entrance of the alley, Chen Fan ordered his dishes. As soon as he sat down, he found Xu Jinqiu looking at him strangely: "Is there something dirty on my face?"

Xu Jinqiu shook her head: "Did you ask someone to beat up that guy just now?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"It must have something to do with you. You looked concerned just now, but the gloating in your eyes can't fool me. And that guy, there was a cold light in his triangular eyes, I think he wanted to kill you."

Chen Fan was surprised. Is this girl so perceptive?
"His colleagues beat him up. It was a group fight."

Chen Fan explained and told the story of how Zhang Jianjun organized people to complain about him and how he asked the magazine to send the complaint letter back.

"Neither of you are good people!"

Xu Jinqiu smiled and teased, "What's even more rare is that when you two meet, you can still act like brothers with deep affection."

"Fighting without breaking up, that's how it is when you live in a slum, you'll see each other everywhere, and unless there's a head-on conflict, few people will tear each other apart."

"Come to think of it, you two are from the same courtyard, what's the grudge between you two?" Xu Jinqiu asked curiously.

"What kind of grudge could there be? This guy is not very smart and mistook me for a love rival."

"Which girl did you mess with?"

"I just provoked you."

"You can say it if you want." Xu Jinqiu turned her head away proudly.

Chen Fan smiled. This girl was beginning to take him seriously.

"It really has nothing to do with me. He fell in love with a girl in our courtyard and inexplicably regarded me as a competitor. I am just sitting at home, and the pot came from the sky."

Xu Jinqiu bit her lip and looked at him suspiciously.

This expression is extremely lethal.

Chen Fan had little resistance to beautiful women biting their lips, and he almost couldn't help but kiss her.

"I'm not lying to you. That girl is average looking. She doesn't meet my aesthetic standards."

This is somewhat against my will.

In terms of looks, Zhou Xiaoying is not as good as Xu Jinqiu, but she is also a beauty. She is the type that gets a lot of attention when she walks on the street. Chen Fan married her in his previous life.

But Xu Jinqiu believed it.

Chen Fan is a person who looks at the face first. Only after seeing the outer beauty will he be interested in understanding the inner beauty.

"Why explain? It has nothing to do with me."

Chen Fan smiled and became arrogant.

The blushing look is very tempting, but it's a pity that you can only look at it now and can't eat it. However, this topic is not easy to explain, so Chen Fan changed the subject: "Do you have anything to do this weekend? How about I arrange it for you?"

"Not this week. Our dance troupe has a mission to perform at the grassroots level. We will leave at noon tomorrow and won't be back until next Friday."

"So long?" Chen Fan was numb.

The two of them have only known each other for a short time, and their relationship has just started to develop further. Today is Monday, and by next Friday, eleven days have passed, and the relationship will be cold.

"The task is quite heavy. We have to travel to three places."

“Will you perform on stage?”

Chen Fan was depressed, but there was nothing he could do. This was his job and there was nothing he could do about it.

"You're overthinking it. We're temporary workers. We go out to do odd jobs, like helping to move things, look after equipment, set up the venue, etc."

"It's so miserable that the troupe doesn't even give me a chance to go on stage?" Chen Fan asked in surprise.

"The actors in the troupe have all been trained since childhood and selected through layers of hard work. They are all top performers in the industry. Why should we compete with them?"

Just as the waiter brought the food, Xu Jinqiu picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and said, "We can't compare with them in talent, and we don't have as much time to practice as others. Temporary workers like us will eventually be transferred to logistics positions."

"So do you prefer being a dancer or doing logistics work?"

"It's all the same, it's just a job."

Xu Jinqiu sighed helplessly, there was no choice in her job.

Some of the educated youth who returned with us back then have not found jobs yet. If it weren't for the "big sister" using her connections, she would probably be unemployed at home now.

If you want to find a satisfactory job these days, you either need to have strong family connections or special skills, otherwise it is just a pipe dream.

We ate and talked, and when we came out of the restaurant, it was already dark.

The two of them did not go shopping anymore, and Chen Fan directly sent the girl back to Yard No. 45.

The nights have been quite restless in the last two years, with many alley roamers and street urchins, so naturally a group of old-timers were born.

The movie "Mr. Six" is about this group of people. The director even glorified them, but in the final analysis, these people are also gangsters, hooligans, and scoundrels.

None of them are good things. If there are too many people like this, society will be in chaos.

After Xu Jinqiu went in, Chen Fan turned around and went to the 18th Courtyard of Maoer Hutong and went straight to the backyard: "Li Qiang, Qiangzi, are you home?"

The door opened, and a young man with long hair and a strong body walked out, with a fierce look in his eyes.

"Fanzi, why are you here?"

Seeing Chen Fan, the fierceness in Li Qiang's eyes immediately disappeared: "Hurry up and sit inside. I haven't seen you recently."

After entering the house, Li Qiang quickly poured water for him: "I was saying that you have become a writer and you don't even hang out with us old guys anymore."

"Fuck you, am I that kind of person?"

Chen Fan took out a cigarette and threw it over: "Brother stays at home writing things every day. My hands are almost broken from writing. How can I have time to mess with you guys?"

Li Qiang lit up the cigarette and took a puff: "That's true. You're the only one who has made progress among the group of us who came back together. The others are just fooling around."

"What a prospect! You only earn some royalties, which is far from what you can do." Chen Fan chuckled, lit a cigarette, and rolled his eyes at the same time.

Even if others don’t know, how could he not understand?
Li Qiang took the route of the ghost market, dealing in various bills and the like, and also working as a broker. When things were good, he could earn a year's salary in a week.

Others think that this is speculation and that if they are not careful they will end up in jail, but in Chen Fan's view, the early days of reform and opening up were a game of "the bold will die of overeating, and the timid will die of starvation."

In his previous life, Li Qiang not only did not go to jail, but also made a lot of money and had a promising future. When he first started out in the business world, Li Qiang helped him a lot and introduced him to many clients.

"Don't give me that, buddy, I'm risking my life to make money."

Li Qiang flicked the ash off his cigarette and asked teasingly, "How are you and Zhou Xiaoying doing? Did it work out?"

"It didn't work."

"Aren't you two getting along well?" Li Qiang was surprised. These two had been close since they were in Saihanba, so this should be a natural thing.

"I didn't have a job before, so my family didn't like me."

"Okay, just pretend I didn't say anything. How about we get together this weekend and introduce someone to you? You're handsome and a writer, so you'll definitely be able to succeed."

"Don't, buddy. I have a goal. I come to you today to get some tickets. The girl is going on a business trip, and I want to prepare some things for her." Chen Fan said.

"It's easy, what kind of ticket do you need?"

"Give me some food coupons, canned food, cakes, candies, etc., cigarette coupons, wine coupons, national grain coupons, etc. If you have them, give me some too."

Li Qiang broke open a brick in the corner and took out a box: "Whatever tickets you need, take them yourself. Just think of it as my friend sponsoring you to chase girls."

"Don't give me that. Just take what you deserve. You're taking the risk here. It's really a waste. Next time I need the ticket again, do I have the nerve to come to you?" Chen Fan said as he started to pick.

　Working hard~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)