Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 89 The Secret of Longevity
No matter how unwilling Comrade Lao Liu is, he cannot make up for the actual gap between "October" and "People's Literature".

He also knew that this was not something Lin Chaoyang could control, and in the end, his mood calmed down and he was left with only a helpless bitter smile.

"I had planned everything, but I didn't expect that the army would have this requirement. Well, okay, now that it's like this, what can I do? It's a pity for your novel."

Comrade Lao Liu's resentment would not go away for a while, so Lin Chaoyang took him out for a meal after get off work, and they had a heart-to-heart talk. Comrade Lao Liu also promised that his next novel would be "October", and he felt relieved.

On Sunday morning, the Tao family dressed neatly and took the No. 332 bus into the city.

Yan University is located in the northwest fourth ring road of later generations. It may not seem like a big deal thirty years later, but in that era, it really takes a lot of time to enter the city.

Although the main purpose of going into the city was to eat at Quanjude, it was rare for the family to go out, so of course we had to take a good look around. It was almost noon when we arrived at the old Quanjude store in Qianmen.

When people in later generations mentioned Quanjude, they all said that its taste had changed. In fact, its taste had changed not only later, but as early as the 1950s after the public-private partnership.

Because in the early days, the price of roast duck was not affordable. In the 1950s, in order to allow more people to enjoy this delicacy, Quanjude made compromises in the ingredients.

The taste is not as good as before, but more people can afford it, so it has both advantages and disadvantages. Of course, the blame for turning it into a tourist destination cannot be shirked.

A family of nine came into Quanjude. Before they ordered any dishes, the younger ones were drooling at the smell coming from the oven.

Today, Tao's father treated everyone to a meal, but it was Tao's mother who ordered the dishes.

Tao's mother glanced at the menu casually, without seeming to read the words, and called out the names of the dishes one by one.

"Braised sea cucumber, sliced ​​pork and tofu, deep-fried pork tenderloin, spicy diced chicken, sliced ​​mushrooms and bamboo shoots, and two roast ducks, one for soup and one for salt and pepper."

Tao Yumo, who was standing by, reminded her, "Mom, there are too many meat dishes, right?"

When eating out, it is important to have a good combination of meat and vegetables, and both cold and hot dishes. Tao Yumo loves meat, but seeing her mother ordering dishes like this, it seemed like a country bumpkin coming to the city, which was a bit embarrassing, so she couldn't help but remind her.

Mother Tao said expressionlessly, "You all look like starving ghosts. If I don't order so many meat dishes, who will eat them? Did you come here to eat bamboo shoots?"

Tao Yumo was speechless after being scolded by her mother, and muttered: "It's as if you don't want to eat."

From the way Tao's mother ordered the dishes, we can indeed see that she is a capitalist lady. She didn't even look at the prices.

For example, dry-fried pork tenderloin is 2 yuan, and soft-fried meat is 1 cents. The difference in taste is not that big, the only difference is the texture of the meat, but she preferred the dry-fried pork tenderloin.

Among all the dishes ordered by Tao's mother, the most expensive one besides the roast duck is the braised sea cucumber, which costs 5 yuan per plate, which is equivalent to the food for an ordinary person for ten days.

It’s not obvious when we eat at home, but when we go out to a restaurant, there is a risk that the mother-in-law will be exposed as a capitalist daughter.

But no matter what dishes the mother-in-law ordered, Tao's father always looked calm and composed, as if he had prepared to bleed.

When you come to Quanjude, you naturally come to eat roast duck.

But just as Tao's mother said, when the meat and vegetables came, the children in the family devoured them like refugees who had fled to Yanjing City during a famine.

Especially when the roast duck is served, Quanjude's roast duck is cooked in a hanging oven. The duck is beautiful in appearance, plump and full, bright in color, a date red in color, with crispy skin and tender meat. It tastes much better than the duck sold in ordinary grocery stores.

After the meal, Tao's father paid the bill. The total cost of the meal was 34 yuan, which was almost as much as an ordinary worker's monthly salary.

Tao Yumo took a peek at the bill and was so scared that she stuck out her tongue.

When the family returned to Yanda, it was already past three in the afternoon. From a distance, they saw a little old man sitting in the shade downstairs.

"Brother Zhu, why are you sitting here?" Tao's father came forward and asked.

"I wanted to play chess with you. I knocked on the door and found out you weren't home. It was too hot to leave, so I'll sit for a while."

Lin Chaoyang now doesn't believe a word of what Old Zhu says. He probably doesn't want to leave, but just sit here and wait.

Considering Mr. Zhu's chess skills, in this huge Yanyuan, perhaps only Mr. Tao would be willing to play chess with him.

"Chaoyang, come and play chess with me!"

Old Zhu said he came to play chess with Tao's father, but when he entered the door, it was Lin Chaoyang he called out.

"You come with my dad!"

"He is a terrible chess player." said Old Zhu.

"Please be more lenient with your words, old man."

“This is called seeking truth from facts.”

The two of them set up the chessboard, and Lin Chaoyang waved his hand, "You go first."

Seeing that he was pretending to be magnanimous, Zhu Guangqian sneered and placed a black piece steadily in the center of the chessboard.

Lin Chaoyang followed with a white piece, and Zhu Guangqian placed another piece without thinking.

Looking at the old man's operation, Lin Chaoyang frowned slightly.

This opening...

He raised his head and looked at Zhu Guangqian, "Have you memorized the chess manual?"

The old man's face drooped, "It's just a game of Gobang, why should I memorize the chess manual?"

Even if Lin Chaoyang beat the old man to death, he would never admit that he memorized the chess manual.

There are chess manuals for Go and there are actually chess manuals for Gobang as well, but most of them are found in the miscellaneous notes of some ancient literati and are not worthy of being published.

It was not until the information-rich era of later generations that people began to pay attention to the chess records of Gobang.

After not seeing each other for a while, Lin Chaoyang could clearly feel that Old Zhu's actions were different.

Otherwise, why don’t you say that this old man’s chess skills are average?

When playing Gobang, some people have to memorize the chess moves. This trend is corrupted by people like you.

I really don’t know where this old man learned this. There shouldn’t be such a thing in the Yanda Library, right?
Lin Chaoyang was distracted while playing chess and accidentally lost a game. Old Zhu was so happy that he almost did a tango with his crutches.

"Chaoyang, your chess skills have declined recently!" Old Zhu said earnestly.

"Just giving you a hand!"

When playing chess with others, momentum is a very important thing. Seeing that Old Zhu was getting too proud of himself, how could Lin Chaoyang let him have his fun?

"Your chess skills have improved a bit. You were lucky enough to win a game against me."

"Luck?" Old Zhu glanced at Lin Chaoyang and sneered, "I let you play twice and you really think you are good?" This old man is so proud after winning just one game. If he wins more, won't he be overjoyed?

Lin Chaoyang decided that he must be suppressed.

When playing chess again, he put in his full energy and won one game after another. He was satisfied only when he saw that Old Zhu finally stopped talking.

He drank a sip of water leisurely, "You think about it first, I'll go get some water."

When Lin Chaoyang came back after filling the water, Old Zhu was still there with a frown on his face and a grin on his face.

"Just admit defeat. I told you, you can't beat me!"

Old Zhu raised his eyes and glared at him fiercely, but the reality was before him, so he reluctantly surrendered.

After winning the game, Lin Chaoyang did not forget to undermine the old man's self-confidence.

"You can't rely too much on this chess record. The key is to look at your own level."

"Hmph!" Old Zhu snorted in dissatisfaction.

However, the winner takes all, and he was too lazy to argue with Lin Chaoyang. He thought that he would have to study further when he returned. This kid's level was a little higher than he thought, and he underestimated him this time.

Even after losing the game of chess, Old Zhu refused to leave. It was almost time for dinner, so he planned to have dinner before leaving.

Unexpectedly, the Tao family had such a good meal at noon that they didn’t even think about cooking in the evening.

When it was time for dinner, only a few of the little ones with quick digestion skills complained of being hungry, so Mother Tao perfunctorily served them some noodles.

Losing the game was fine, but for dinner they only had some noodles. Before leaving, Old Zhu complained, "There wasn't even any sauce."

"Don't eat too much salt when you are older, it is easy to get cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases."

Today, it was Lin Chaoyang who sent him off again. The old man looked at him and asked, "Do you know what the secret to longevity is?"

"Pay attention to your diet, exercise more, and keep a happy mood." Lin Chaoyang gave the standard answer.

"Wrong! Mind your own business!"

After saying this, he swung his walking stick and walked away with small square steps.

Hey, old man!
In mid-July, Tao Yumo finished his college entrance examination, put his weapons into storage, and retired to the mountains. He spent the whole day visiting friends and going to various scenic spots in Yanjing. In addition, his elementary school student Tao Xiwen and kindergarten student Tao Xiwu were on summer vacation, so the house was noisy all the time.

Tao Yushu also had her summer vacation, but unlike her sister, she spent most of her time at home reading and studying, and occasionally went out on a date with Lin Chaoyang.

That day, Tao Yumo brought two classmates to her house. They were Gong Yun and the girl with pigtails who had gone to the library with her to see Lin Chaoyang before.

After entering the house, Gong Yun asked Tao Yumo: "Is your brother-in-law home?"

"Not at home, I'm at work!"

Ever since Lin Chaoyang's identity was exposed in the Tao family, Tao Yumo has boasted countless times at school that her brother-in-law is Xu Lingjun.

When they heard that Lin Chaoyang was not at home, they felt a little disappointed.

Tao Yumo borrowed Tao Yushu's tape recorder, and several girls hid in the room to listen to Teresa Teng.

Of course, the focus today was not on listening to songs, but on copying them.

Since it is a player and recorder, it can naturally play and record.

Several people specially borrowed several tapes of Teresa Teng and bought several blank tapes. This was probably the earliest piracy activity in China.

When Bi*ge comes, we have to call him ancestor!
After a long time of tinkering, the girls finally managed to copy a tape. Tao Yumo shouted excitedly, "Hurry up and listen to it! Listen to it!"

Gong Yun put the copied tape in and pressed the play button.

“Good flowers don’t bloom often.
Good times don’t last forever

......"

A beautiful and melodious voice was heard, and several girls cheered.

"Yumo, this recorder is so easy to use!" Gong Yun said excitedly.

"That was bought for two hundred yuan!" Tao Yumo said complacently.

The girl with pigtails said enviously, "I've never seen such a small recorder in Xidan Mall."

"How can you find such good things in a department store? You have to go to the Friendship Store." Gong Yun explained.

Tao Yumo tried her best to hide the vanity on her face, "Oh, it's just a little smaller."

"Yumo, your brother-in-law is so good to your sister!"

"Of course, they have been together since my sister went to the countryside to work in the production team. They are a couple who have been through thick and thin together."

When talking about the love between her sister and brother-in-law, Tao Yumo's face was filled with pride.

A few girls continued to copy the tapes while chattering. After working for an entire afternoon, they finally got four tapes. They were happily preparing to leave the Tao family when they saw Lin Chaoyang walk into the house.

"Brother-in-law!"

"Yumo, are your classmates here?"

"Ah."

Seeing that Tao Yumo seemed to want to send them off, Lin Chaoyang said, "It's time for dinner. Let's eat first."

The girls hadn't thought about eating at all. After hearing what Lin Chaoyang said, Tao Yumo tried to persuade them to stay, saying, "Yes, let's eat first."

Gong Yun and the other two felt embarrassed to refuse, so they stayed.

During the meal, Gong Yun kept staring at Lin Chaoyang, and he refused to change his bad habits even after being rebuked by Tao Yumo several times.

Lin Chaoyang didn't take it seriously, thinking that the girl might be a hipster.

After finishing the meal, Gong Yun asked, "Brother-in-law, do you really think scar literature will disappear in the future?"

(End of this chapter)