Back to 80: My literary life

Chapter 12 “The Four Irons”

"I can't help it, dad forced me to do it. Come on, Minghua, sit next to me. Make way, my friend. My friend is here." After saying that, he patted the shoulder of the young man sitting next to him.

The young man looked at him, and then he noticed that there was a long scar on the back of the hand holding the cigarette, which extended into the sleeve.

Nima's.

This is not a student who comes to school, he is simply a gangster on the street.

But he didn't dare to say anything, so he picked up his schoolbag and walked to other empty seats.

Fang Minghua sat in the empty seat next to him.

"Brother, are you still in the security department of the magazine?" Zhao Hongjun asked.

"Yeah, what about you? Are you still in the Provincial Planning Commission?" Fang Minghua asked.

"Yes, every day is about running errands and getting documents. It's really boring." Zhao Hongjun said.

"Come on, you are a cadre now, and you are eating royal food. Many people can't even envy you, but you actually say it's boring." Fang Minghua said with a mocking tone.

"I admit that most people can't get this job, but I feel bored." Zhao Hongjun looked nonchalant.

Nowadays, there are four popular trends in society: "We went to school together, we carried guns together, we went to the countryside together, we went to prostitutes together."

Fang Minghua and Zhao Hongjun belong to the third type.

They met when they joined the team in Gan Province. They were both in the same company. They were both from Xijing and were fellow villagers. Zhao Hongjun was only two years older than Fang Minghua, so they quickly became familiar with each other.

Unlike Fang Minghua, who was born in an ordinary working-class family, Zhao Hongjun was a son of a high-ranking cadre, but his father was unlucky in that special era. Zhao Hongjun also suffered a lot in the company because he was not from a working-class family, and he was forced to do heavy and tiring work.

Fang Minghua came from a working-class background, but he did not look down on him. Instead, he helped him a lot secretly. Zhao Hongjun was also very grateful, and the two became brothers sharing weal and woe.

At the end of that era, Zhao Hongjun's father quickly resumed his position after being rehabilitated. Zhao Hongjun's life also changed dramatically. He was the first educated youth in the company to return to the city, and the job he was assigned was quite good.

After Fang Minghua returned to the city and returned to Xijing, the two of them also contacted each other frequently, but there was less contact in the past six months.

Sure enough, Zhao Hongjun began to complain: "You kid, what have you been busy with for the past six months? Why don't you come to me? One weekend I went to your house to find you, but your mother said that you were visiting your sister."

"There are a lot of things going on in the unit, and besides, we have to prepare for the correspondence entrance exam." Fang Minghua prevaricated.

"I didn't take the exam. I was admitted after the unit issued a letter of introduction." Zhao Hongjun said lightly.

What the hell!

This unit is awesome in every era.

While the two were chatting, a teacher wearing glasses and a Chinese tunic suit hurried in. Zhao Hongjun quickly put out the cigarette, and the two stopped talking.

The middle-aged man first introduced himself, his surname was Xu, and he was a teacher in the Chinese Department of Western University, and then performed a brief opening ceremony.

I encourage everyone to study hard and cherish your time.

"Students, this Chinese correspondence class has enrolled a total of 100 students, and they are outstanding students selected from more than 500 students who signed up, so you should cherish this good time and study hard! Only in the future can you make more contributions to the four modernizations. Great contribution!”

There was warm applause in the classroom, and Zhao Hongjun also clapped lazily.

After the opening ceremony, the teacher officially started teaching. This class was a Chinese class.

This is the first time that Western University has held a Chinese correspondence class. Naturally, there are no ready-made teaching materials, and high school textbooks are used.

The first lesson is "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond" written by the famous Zhu Ziqing.

"Classmates, read it aloud after me first."

“My heart has been quite uneasy these past few days.

Tonight, I was sitting in the yard enjoying the shade, and suddenly I thought of the lotus pond I walked past every day."

The article was beautifully written. The students followed the teacher in reading it aloud. Fang Minghua also read it very seriously, but he fell asleep while reading it.

No way, too sleepy.      Young people sleep a lot.

I don’t know how long I slept for, but someone suddenly woke me up: “Brother, wake up, the teacher is here!”

He suddenly woke up from his sleep and saw Teacher Xu looking at him with an angry face.

Fang Minghua stood up quickly.

"Student, what's your name?"

"Fang Minghua."

"Classmate Fang Minghua, I just talked about the "wenyan" of this article. Which sentence is it?
  This problem.

If you ask me anything else I may not know, but this.
  Fang Minghua looked at the text and said: This is the sentence, "I have been feeling quite uneasy these days." The spatial trajectory of the author's visit to the lotus pond in the Ming Dynasty actually implies the author's complex mood from "not peaceful" to "seeking tranquility" and then "not being able to seek tranquility". "

After listening to Fang Minghua's words, Teacher Xu's expression immediately softened.

"That's a good answer, but you still have to listen carefully in class. Don't waste your good time!"

After the teacher left, Zhao Hongjun, who was sitting next to him, whispered: "Okay, buddy, my level has improved a lot after not seeing each other for a few months."

"You also know that in the magazine, you come into contact with a lot of literati and read a lot of books, so you know a lot from what you hear and see."

"My father said that your magazine "Yanhe" is a hidden place. The magazine is quite good, but I can't read it. I might as well read "Story Club".

Ha ha
  I guess you prefer to watch "Legends of Ancient Times" and "Friends".

Of course this cannot be said.

After finishing two Chinese classes and two math classes, it was almost noon, and Fang Minghua's stomach was already growling with hunger.

After class, he was about to go to the school cafeteria with his sister to have a meal, but Zhao Hongjun grabbed him.

"What's the best thing about the school meal? Come with us to eat calabash head. There is a delicious calabash head from Lao Sun's near Bianjia Village."

Fang Minghua had no choice but to go to his sister's dormitory, tell her the situation, and then left the school with Zhao Hongjun.

Gourd head is a special snack in Xijing. It is actually cooked with pig intestines and served with steamed buns. It is served with sugar garlic, chili sauce, etc. It is fragrant, tender, fat but not greasy. It is a bowl to eat on a cold day. It's really cool.

The shop is not big and there are quite a lot of people, but the price is not cheap either, only 40 cents per bowl.

"Want some wine? Let's have a bottle of Zephyr." Chen Hongjun said.

But Fang Minghua dissuaded him: "Forget it about drinking, there are classes in the afternoon. It's not good to be drunk."

"Getting a hammer is just for show."

"Respect the teacher."

"Okay! I listen to you. Let's have a good drink next time."

A large bowl of gourd heads with an alluring aroma was brought to them, and the two of them ate hot sauce and candied garlic while chatting.

"I'm Ming Hua, don't stay in your magazine all day long, take some free time and have some fun. I'll introduce you to some friends so that you can see new things."

"What's new?" Fang Minghua was a little curious.

"Hehe. I'll find out when I call you."

Fang Minghua didn't take it to heart.

After dinner, there were two classes in the afternoon. History and geography didn’t get out until six in the afternoon - and a lot of homework was assigned.

"Minghua, I will call you when we have activities. You must come." Zhao Hongjun also warned before leaving.

(End of this chapter)