Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 239 The Prospective Father-in-Law and Mother-in-Law

The following day, major media outlets provided detailed coverage of the inaugural Mao Dun Literature Prize award ceremony. In particular, media outlets specializing in literature or affiliated with literary federations and writers' associations gave extensive reports.

The Writers Association's affiliated newspaper, "Literary Gazette," published a special report on the award-winning works and set up a special column to analyze several of them, as well as publish many readers' opinions and views on the winning works.

Around nine o'clock, Liu Yimin came out of the bedroom, looked at the courtyard which had a hint of spring, and stretched.

Liu Yimin went to the kitchen and cooked a bowl of rice porridge. After finishing his meal, he took out the ginseng and cinnamon nourishing wine from the study, wiped it with a towel, and gave it to Zhu's parents.

Over time, the bottles had gathered a layer of dust on the bookshelf. Looking at the cleaned bottles, Liu Yimin thought he should write a letter to Zhang Mengzhao at the Shanghai Film Studio, enclosing a few ten-yuan bills, hoping she would buy him a few more bottles and have someone bring them to him when someone came to Beijing.

The master's wife said that the drink was very effective, but at the same time she said that she didn't need to send any more. Hehe, how could Liu Yimin not understand these contradictory words?

After finishing all this, Liu Yimin sat in his study, thinking about what else he needed to buy. He thought for a long time but couldn't decide, so he decided to wait until Zhu Lin arrived to discuss it with her.

At noon, Zhu Lin arrived and placed a thick file folder on Liu Yimin's desk, which was full of photos taken yesterday.

"Teacher Liu, what do you think of my photography skills?" Zhu Lin spread all the photos out on the desk, carefully examining each one, and placing the ones she was satisfied with in a special spot.

"Great shot! From now on, you'll be in charge of carrying the camera when we go out!" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Zhu Lin put a few of the most satisfactory ones into an envelope and placed them in his handbag.

"We're going to see your parents today. What do you think we should buy?" Liu Yimin asked, leaning his head back in his chair.

"Buy something? Actually, you don't need to buy anything!" Zhu Lin said with a grin, "Just showing up is enough!"

"That won't do, we still need to bring some. Two bottles of Shengui Yangrong Wine, can you help me think of something else? Does your dad smoke?"

"No way! If you buy cigarettes for my dad, he'll have to kneel on a washboard in his bedroom at night. My mom works at a hospital and doesn't like him smoking." Zhu Lin quickly waved his hand.

The two sat in the study for a whole afternoon, and then they thought of buying a scarf for Zhu's mother, a fountain pen that Zhu's father had bought in France, and a few boxes of his favorite snacks.

In the afternoon, Zhu Lin went to work, while Liu Yimin rode his bicycle to Wangfujing and Dashilan, bought all the necessary items, and also visited the nearby Eight Great Hutongs.

After putting his things in the courtyard, Liu Yimin went to the Beijing People's Art Theatre, chatted with a few directors, and gave Zhu Lin a look that said everything was fine.

Ouyang Shanzun, Lan Tianye, and Su Min congratulated Liu Yimin on winning the first Mao Dun Literature Prize.

"Why don't you bring your medal over so the three of us can see it and share in the good fortune?" Lan Tianye said with a smile.

Liu Yimin said, "I'd like to invite the three of you to my courtyard for tea another day."

"Want some tea? Sure, when the weather gets nicer, we'll come to your yard to soak up some sun!" Su Min said.

After the rehearsal, Zhu Lin smiled at Liu Yimin and asked in a low voice, "Teacher Liu, were you nervous?"

"Don't be nervous!" Liu Yimin laughed when he saw her disbelief. "Don't believe me? Put your hand on my conscience."

Zhu Lin pursed his lips and didn't say anything. The next second, he grabbed Liu Yimin's wrist, carefully felt his pulse, and said in confusion, "His pulse is steady. He really isn't nervous."

Zhu Lin had already asked for leave that evening. She didn't have a role that night, so her leave wouldn't affect the rehearsal. Ouyang Shanzun and the other two readily agreed.

After leaving the Beijing People's Art Theatre, the two went to a courtyard house and hung all their belongings on their bicycles.

The two looked at each other, and Zhu Lin shouted, "Let's go!"
The Zhu family is in complete chaos. Zhu Lin had just called his parents this afternoon using the People's Art Theatre's phone to say he was bringing his girlfriend over for dinner that evening.

When the two people received the call at their respective workplaces, they were still busy working. When they checked the time, they realized that it was almost time to get off work, and they didn't have enough time to prepare.

In the past, when Zhu Lin didn't come home in the evening, the elderly couple wouldn't rush to cook. They would leisurely finish their meal and sit in the living room, each busy with their own things.

The two of them were cooking while complaining that Zhu Lin hadn't told them sooner, so that they could have prepared the ingredients and discussed how to entertain them.

"That brat, she's getting more and more arrogant. Oh my god, Old Zhu, this won't do, this won't do. When she gets back tonight, I'm going to give her a good scolding." Zhu's mother wiped her forehead with the back of her wet hand, then her hands moved even faster.

"No need to rush, what's the rush? We should maintain our dignity and not be too eager, making it seem like we're rushing to marry off our daughter. Back when I visited your family, your father..."

Zhu's mother slammed the kitchen knife she was holding onto the cutting board, where it stood upright. "It's been so many years, and you're still holding a grudge!"

Zhu's father shrank back, his hands moving faster as he picked the vegetables: "Zhenzhen, I was just joking!"

"Hurry up and pick the vegetables, he should be here soon. He's not quick enough when he should be, and he keeps passing by his house without going in when he shouldn't!" Zhu's mother walked out of the kitchen and looked down through the living room window, only to find that he hadn't arrived yet.

Zhu's father blushed upon hearing this; it was too damn humiliating. However, after glancing at the knife on the cutting board, he obediently began picking the vegetables.

"What kind of person do you think Linlin will bring back for us?"

"Hey, we won't know anything until the door is opened; it could be one way or another."

Schrödinger's "son-in-law"!
Zhu's mother glanced at Zhu's father helplessly and said irritably, "Speak like a human being!"

"How can this not be human language? When the door opens, the person might be ugly or good-looking. Scientifically speaking, before the door opens, the person is in a superposition of being good-looking and not good-looking, talented and not talented. After the door opens, the person will move towards a certain state!"

"That professor is full of fallacies. I remember you once said that a state is either living or..."

"I dare not say that!"

"Bang!" The kitchen knife slammed onto the cutting board. Zhu's mother said coldly, "You dare not speak, yet you keep talking!"

The two rode their bicycles along Chang'an Avenue, and Zhu Lin smiled as he guessed that his parents were busy at home.

"Teacher Liu, I call this a surprise attack. My parents will be caught off guard for a while, which will make things much easier!" Zhu Lin said smugly, showing Liu Yimin his cunning plan.

Liu Yimin joked, "What a cunning girl!"

"cluck"

Led by Zhu Lin, Liu Yimin walked into the gate of the compound. The compound was filled with all sorts of odds and ends, and almost every household had a clean white coat hanging on their balcony.

This is the staff quarters of the Ministry of Health's research institute, where professors from the nearby Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and doctors from its affiliated hospitals also live.

The stairwell was cleaner than the other courtyards, but the incandescent lights in the stairwell emitted very weak light.

The stairwell was filled with the aromas of various dishes, a mingled mix of chili and oil. But upon reaching the landing at the top of the stairs, only the pungent smell emanating from the walls could be detected. In buildings designed in China at this time, the walls around the stairwell often have protruding grooves or hollow sections, specifically designed as a passageway for garbage.

Simply dump the trash into the passageway, where it will fall into the garbage bin on the first floor, where it will be cleaned up by a designated person.

It's a good idea, but the smell of rotten food inside is terrible. It's okay now, but it will be even worse in the summer.

"Aside from the toilets being inconvenient, I feel that the toilets in the courtyard houses are much better than those in apartment buildings," Zhu Lin said, pushing Liu Yimin upstairs.

When Zhu Lin arrived at her doorstep, she took a deep breath to calm herself before nervously knocking on the door.

Just as they were about to knock again when the door opened, Zhu Lin stood in front of Liu Yimin and greeted his father first: "Dad, where's Mom?"

"They're busy cooking in the kitchen!" After saying that, Zhu's father craned his neck to look at Liu Yimin behind him. The hallway was dimly lit, and he only saw Liu Yimin when he walked in.

"Comrade Liu Yimin?" Zhu's father was both surprised and not so surprised, like Schrödinger's surprise.

But after confirming it, Zhu's father was not so calm. His heart was churning, and he didn't know what to say for a moment. He reached out to let Liu Yimin go in.

"Uncle Zhu, you can just call me Yimin!" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

"Comrade Yimin, please sit down, please sit down. I'll go pour you a cup of tea!"

"Dad, let me pour it!"

"Comrade Liu Yimin?" Zhu's mother, holding a kitchen knife, stepped out of the kitchen door and called out subconsciously.

"Hello, Aunt Fang!"

Zhu's father and mother exchanged a glance. Zhu Lin, seeing their formation already in disarray, smirked smugly.

"Comrade Liu Yimin, please sit down!" Zhu's mother gestured towards the sofa, then glared at Zhu Lin, wishing she could start disciplining him right now.

"Mom and Dad, how can you let someone carry things all the time!"

Zhu's father stepped forward and took the things from Liu Yimin's hands, saying politely, "Why did you bring anything? Comrade Yimin, you're too kind!"

"Linlin, come and lend a hand, the food is ready!" said Zhu's mother.

"Okay!" Zhu Lin patted Liu Yimin's shoulder affectionately, then looked at Old Zhu. Zhu's father smiled bitterly to himself, thinking that his daughter didn't know how to think about him!

If you didn't know better, you'd think she was Comrade Liu Yimin's little darling.

Sitting on the sofa, Mr. Zhu didn't know what to say. It was his first time being a father-in-law, and he really wanted to imitate his father-in-law's stern face, but no matter what he did, he just couldn't manage to put on a serious expression.

"Comrade Yimin, congratulations on winning the Mao Dun Literature Prize! I listened to your broadcast yesterday, and it was excellent. I've read both your novels and poems. My favorite part of 'The Kite Runner' is the part where he goes back to save Gesang's son—it's thrilling, exciting, and moving."
I'm a professor of science and engineering, but I've been teaching Linlin literature since she was little. So she's very proficient in literature and calligraphy.

The poem "Ideal" is very popular among students at our university of science and technology, huh? Comrade Yimin, what are you trying to say?

Zhu's father talked on and on about literature, keeping a close eye on Liu Yimin, and he accurately caught the movements of Liu Yimin's mouth.

"I say, Uncle, you're absolutely right!"

"Haha, isn't that brilliant? Your writing is still the best. Come on, have some peanuts. I wrote a literary review before, let me show you!"

Zhu's father returned to his study and handed the manuscript to Liu Yimin.

Watching this scene from the kitchen, Zhu's mother gritted her teeth and said, "How can a future father-in-law act like this on his daughter's first visit?"

"Mom, don't you also like the poems written by Teacher Liu?"

"Teacher Liu?"

"Yes, I call him Teacher Liu! Teacher Liu likes spicy food, Mom, put extra spice in this dish."

After the meal was prepared, Zhu Lin and his mother began to serve the dishes. Liu Yimin wanted to get up to help, but Zhu's mother smiled and said, "Old Liu, Comrade Liu Yimin, please sit down!"

After the meal was finished, Liu Yimin looked at Zhu's father and mother and smiled, "Uncle, Aunt, you can just call me Yimin!"

Zhu's mother nudged Zhu's father, who then realized what was happening and quickly said, "Okay, Yimin, let's start eating then. Linlin told us it was too late, so she didn't make any good dishes. Next time, your Aunt Fang and I will cook something nice."

During the meal, Mr. Zhu started discussing literature again, and Mrs. Zhu couldn't get a word in edgewise when she tried to ask some basic questions.

After dinner, Zhu Lin saw Liu Yimin downstairs and whispered in the stairwell, "All that preparation for nothing!"

"What? You didn't argue? You're still unhappy?" Liu Yimin said, holding Zhu Lin's hand.

"No, it's just that I feel like things are going a little too smoothly?" Zhu Lin said after thinking for a moment.

"It means my uncle and aunt like me!"

"Yes, who doesn't like our teacher Liu? She's talented and polite! Come on, I'll walk you a little further."

Zhu Lin pushed his bicycle and headed towards the main road.

By the window, Mr. and Mrs. Zhu watched the two people downstairs, who were acting so confidently. Mr. and Mrs. Zhu had smiles on their lips the whole time.

Zhu's mother pinched Zhu's father's arm: "Look at what you're talking about! I didn't even ask about your family background. When other people's daughters' boyfriends visit for the first time, the fathers-in-law are all very serious. And you?"

"What's wrong with me?" Zhu's father asked.

Zhu's mother, in a high-pitched, hoarse voice, said, "Comrade Liu Yimin? You must be tired. Have a seat. Your novel is really good. Are you thirsty? Let me pour you a cup of tea."

Seeing Zhu's mother's expression, Zhu's father suddenly smiled: "You're one to talk, aren't you? Yimin, what do you like to eat? I'll cook it for you!"

After exchanging a few words, Zhu's father suddenly sighed, "I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing. Tell me, why did she take a liking to our daughter?"

“What’s wrong with our daughter? She’s beautiful, well-educated, a good actress, and will soon be a director,” Zhu’s mother scolded.

(End of this chapter)