1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 130, "Nanjing Photo Studio," is published!
Time flies, and more than a month has passed.

The Chinese New Year is just around the corner, and the streets are starting to get lively.

Military academies will certainly have holidays.

The holiday is about half a month long, but Zhou Xu doesn't plan to go back during this time. It takes two days to get from Nanjing to Wuhan, and three days to get back to his hometown. Ten days will be gone in total! There's no point in going back to this home.

So Zhou Xu went to the post office and put in a thousand yuan.

A thousand yuan was a huge sum of money at the time... Zhou Xu sent it home directly.

Becoming a writer requires time to develop.

For example, if a very popular writer suddenly appears in people's lives, people will not be able to accept it at first. It will take a long time before they will label him as a famous writer.

Zhou Xu has already started using him as a role model in his hometown, so his parents should understand that the money he sends is his royalties.

Zhou Xu is very rich.

"Are you going home?" Song Zhipeng asked as he packed his things.

Zhou Xu shook his head: "I don't have much time to go home anymore, I won't be going back this year! What about you?"

"My home is in Wuhan, I think I should go back!" Song Zhipeng said as he packed his things.

Yu Wenyong glanced at the two of them: "I won't keep you company. My mom called me this year and wants me to go back home for blind dates... who knows!"

"Hehehe. Lao Yu, if you really can't find one, I'll find you someone. I have plenty of friends!" Zhou Xu patted Yu Wenyong on the shoulder.

Well, the phenomenon of "taking over a second wife" exists in every era... It mainly depends on whether the woman has a conscience! There are good and bad people among military wives! Of course, those who break up military marriages should indeed be punished.

"Ah! Your words warm my heart!" Yu Wenyong exclaimed.

Where is Lao Ye?

Ye Huawei nodded: "I'm going back by plane! Just a reminder, don't spread rumors about me. I'm on a passenger plane, not a military one!"

Pooh!
"Old Ye is truly leadership material; he's so careful, always afraid of giving anyone cause for gossip!" Old Yu said bluntly.

Ye Huawei said, "Better safe than sorry! I'll pack up and head out now. See you all after the New Year!"

"See you."

The three parted ways with Zhou Xu at the door.

Of course, Zhou Xu wouldn't be foolish enough to stay at school; he wanted to wander the world and make the world his home!

Of course, it's just about finding a place to stay.

Actually, what he really likes is the folk songs of Jiangnan. It's about finding a small courtyard near a river, and maybe before long, a girl with an oil-paper umbrella will knock on your door.

Of course, this is just wishful thinking at best.

What he really wanted to do was get some rest.

We arrived at the theater.

"Can you help me find a place to rent near you?" Zhou Xu asked.

This girl was the only friend he was really close to in Nanjing.

Lu Wenfu can be considered half a traitor, but Lu Wenfu actually lives in Suzhou. Suzhou is the biggest traitor in Jiangsu, sometimes more famous and economically stronger than Nanjing.

What kind of house do you need?

"Ideally, it would have a yard, and a small river right next to it!" Zhou Xu said with a smile.

soon.

Yao Fanghua led Zhou Xu through the snow, and the two arrived at Xuanwu District in Nanjing.

This area used to be an old residential area in Nanjing. Although some buildings were renovated in the 1980s, some low-rise bungalows and traditional courtyards were still preserved.

Yao Fanghua went inside and knocked on the door: "Hello? Are you home?"

Soon an old lady came to open the door: "Is this Fanghua?"

Yao Fanghua led Zhou Xu upstairs: "Grandma? Is your yard still in use? Is this comrade thinking of renting it for a month?"

"Which side?" She craned her neck, seemingly unable to hear clearly.

"Over there!" Yao Fanghua had no choice but to shout.

“Over there! Yes, yes! Nobody lives there, do you want to stay?” She straightened up slightly.

"It wasn't me!! It was this comrade!! He wants to stay here for the New Year!!" Yao Fanghua shouted, "Here's the money!! Ten yuan a month!!"

Actually, the current rental prices are not expensive. It's usually a little over ten cents per square meter per month. If it's in the suburbs, it might be even cheaper. That small courtyard is about several dozen square meters, so Zhou Xu rounded it up to ten yuan.

"Money? I don't want money! Why would you give me money?" the old woman said.

"It means I'm renting your house, so I have to pay you rent, not just give you money for free!!!" Yao Fanghua said helplessly, rubbing her forehead.

"Oh! It's free!"

"How can that be!" She handed over the bright red ten-yuan note.

In this day and age, the largest denomination available is only the ten-yuan "Great Unity" coin.
This is the third set of banknotes, and the main design on the front is "People's Representatives Walking Out of the Great Hall of the People." In the picture, people's representatives from different professions and ethnic groups, such as workers, farmers, intellectuals, and cadres, are walking side by side, holding documents and smiling. This visual expression of "national unity" is the direct origin of the common name "Great Unity."

Finally, the old lady accepted it: "Oh! Money! Whose is this?"

“This is my friend!” Yao Fanghua replied speechlessly.

"Oh! Your boyfriend?"

"friend!!!"

"Yes, that's the person you're dating. That's good. I was worried you'd bring a stranger back!" The old lady nodded.

Zhou Xu glanced at Yao Fanghua, and finally nodded.

He was quite certain that the old woman was not really deaf, but was just bored and teasing the two of them!
You can't hear anything they're saying, but you can talk nonsense.

Helpless, Yao Fanghua didn't argue: "I've given you the money, give me the key, I'll take him over to take a look!"

The old woman, leaning on her cane, said, "I'll go with you!"

Yao Fanghua whispered to Zhou Xu from behind, "This grandma used to be a relative of mine. Although she was quite distant, she was very pitiful. Didn't she have two houses? That one belonged to her son! He went to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution and never came back! But don't worry about anything. You're living in her house, but she's always lived in her son's house."

So I come here occasionally to check on things! This old lady's cooking is delicious.

“Oh! You’re really kind!” Zhou Xu replied.

"You're talking nonsense again!" She pinched Zhou Xu.

Zhou Xu winced in pain, but his eyes remained sincere and earnest: "No, I really think you're kind and beautiful!"

She blushed for a moment, then walked forward with her head down.
The old lady exclaimed, "How wonderful! Ah!"

"What did you say?" Yao Fanghua walked over.

"No! I said the weather is nice today. The winter sun is like a layer of soft cotton. It's not dazzling at all. It's the only day I can look directly at it!" the old lady said.

Zhou Xu listened, thinking that this old lady was somewhat educated. He asked, "Grandma, were you a teacher before? A Chinese language teacher!"

"Hey! You guessed right!"

"..." When they arrived at the courtyard by the river, it wasn't actually that far, but the old man walked quite slowly, step by step.

We just kept going, step by step.

Zhou Xu has no memories of his grandparents. After all, his grandmother seems to have starved to death, while his grandfather mentioned that he was a veteran of the War of Resistance against Japan who died in battle.

The two arrived at the door.

The door is right next to the pebble path by the river. As soon as you open the door, the scent of plum blossoms fills the air.

Zhou Xu looked inside and saw a patch of plum trees—several plum branches in the corner, blooming alone in the cold. "From afar, one knows it's not snow, for there is a faint fragrance."

Pushing open the door, the delicate atmosphere of Jiangnan is welcomed into the house. The courtyard is not large, but it exudes an exquisite order. Two houses stand in the courtyard, one main and one secondary, complementing each other in a charming way.

The main house is a two-room layout. The front room serves as the living room, furnished with old wooden tables and chairs, and sunlight filters in through the windows. The back room is the bedroom, with plain-colored curtains hanging down, exuding a sense of warmth and comfort.

The side rooms are even simpler; one is piled with miscellaneous items, with bamboo baskets and old pottery jars scattered around but not messy; the other is the kitchen! The two rooms together are probably about the same size as the main house.

There wasn't much in the courtyard except for a few plum trees, because the space wasn't large.

Zhou Xu entered the house.

"This house is wonderful! So tranquil and elegant!"

He was still wondering if he could buy it, but after glancing at the old lady, he figured she probably wouldn't sell it.
Perhaps it's because I was used to being poor and couldn't afford a house in my past life, so now that I have the money to buy a house, I want to buy some and hoard them.

I'm terrified of being poor! I don't dare touch a single penny! (Zhao Dehan emoji, owing money.)
I went in and experienced it again.

Zhou Xu replied with a smile, "That's great, Grandma. You've kept this house so clean. Can I stay here this year?"

"Well, I've already collected your rent, so of course you can stay here. Don't be shy, I've lived in this house before!"

"No way, I'm happy." Zhou Xu put his things on the bed.

Actually, the old lady trusted Zhou Xu completely because she saw him in his military uniform.

after awhile.

Yao Fanghua sat on the edge of the bed, swinging her legs gently. Thick cotton pants covered her legs, but they couldn't hide her slender figure. Zhou Xu glanced at her and felt that her slenderness was not thin or frail, but rather a well-proportioned and neat figure with a beautiful outline.

But to be able to swing your legs on such a "high" bed? That speaks volumes.

Hey!
"Why are you sighing? Why are you looking at my legs?" Yao Fanghua asked, dissatisfied.

“It’s nothing! Your legs are beautiful. Don’t you know I’m from the performing arts troupe? I often observe dancers, and I think your legs are even better than theirs!” Zhou Xu replied.

“I’m a dancer too.” She tossed her hair back, then leaned against his bed and asked, “Ugh… this is so annoying. Didn’t I tell you? My parents are pressuring me to get married every day!”

"Pushing me to get married?" Zhou Xu struck the sparks from the stove.

"Yeah, I'm already twenty-three! Of course they'll say, 'You're so old, why aren't you married yet?'" she complained helplessly. Her relationship with Zhou Xu had become increasingly close, so she could say whatever she wanted without any fear.

In this era where women are expected to marry at a certain age, and should have children by twenty, especially since Yao Fanghua already has boyfriends!

Zhou Xu comforted her for a while.

In the afternoon, I went out with him to buy some things.

It's impossible to freeze to death with just this little bit of bedding during the Chinese New Year, right?
And he also needs to buy some New Year's goods for himself!
When you're away from home, you need to take better care of yourself. He thinks he's just making do on his own, but that's a very irresponsible statement. If you can't even take responsibility for yourself, how can you expect anything from others?

We arrived at the newspaper stand.

He saw a new book called "Harvest"!
The cover features: Zhou Xu's new work, highly recommended!!

Zhou Xu was also a collector, and seeing his own book, he decided to buy one anyway. He picked up a book and asked, "Comrade, how much?"

"Harvest Magazine? It's in high demand right now! They're selling like hotcakes! It's 1.3 yuan!"

"So expensive?" Zhou Xu asked.

"Of course! This is a novel written by Zhou Xu! Do you know who Zhou Xu is? A famous military novelist, with a million best-selling books! He specializes in writing about the War of Resistance against Japan and military life! His talent is top-notch, and you can't go wrong with this for 1.3 yuan!" His little mouth chattered like a machine gun.

Zhou Xu felt a surge of satisfaction upon hearing this.

It's quite comfortable to be praised by someone in person as the author of the original work; such praise is worth a dollar.

"Two cents cheaper!"

"Alright! Here you go."

Zhou Xu wasn't short of money, but he felt like he was losing out if he didn't call out the price when buying something. However, if he did call out the price and the other party immediately agreed, he also felt like he was losing out.

That's probably how people are psychologically.

Zhou Xu paid and picked up the Harvest magazine.

Yao Fanghua, who was leading the way, suddenly slammed on the brakes: "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

She blinked her affectionate eyes and asked.

The reason why people have "peach blossom eyes" is because they look at dogs with such affection...

"I just bought a book! Harvest!" Zhou Xu handed the book to Yao Fanghua.

She picked up the novel: "Wow, you wrote this! You're amazing! If I were as good as you, I wouldn't be arguing with my parents every day."

“If you were like me, you’d be under even more pressure every day!” Zhou Xu pursed his lips. “But you should just be yourself. There’s no need to think about your parents all the time.”

"Ah."

Yao Fanghua nodded, and she stared at the person with her sparkling eyes.

Zhou Xu turned his head away in embarrassment.

He bought a lot of things: new pots and stoves, then bedding... Finally, he hailed a small tricycle, and the two of them pushed it home together.

"..."

Once inside the house, she warmed herself by the fire while reading a novel.

Zhou Xu called out, "I'm going outside to pack my things. Remember to add the coal in, don't let it go out!"

"Oh!"

She opened the book; the title was "Nanjing Photo Studio"!
"You wrote about the Nanjing Massacre?" Yao Fanghua asked.

After looking for a long, long time, Yao Fanghua felt her eyes getting tired. Only then did she see Zhou Xu enter the room, and she asked again:
"Xiao Xu? Xiao Xu? Where did you find your information?"

Their relationship grew stronger, so she started calling him Xiaoxu.

Zhou Xu replied, "Of course I checked the archives at the military academy! It was originally converted from an old military camp, and there's a lot of information there!"

"Oh! This part of history is really confusing!"

Yao Fanghua is not from Nanjing; she is from Suzhou. She used to be Lu Wenfu's neighbor. Later, she moved to Nanjing with her parents and settled there before going to work at the drama theater.

Although she is not from Nanjing, she has developed a deep affection for the city after living there for so long.

Seeing this history, she couldn't help but feel saddened.

“Hmm…this history is indeed worth remembering, both for the invaders and for those who have passed away!” Zhou Xu walked over and patted her on the back.

(End of this chapter)