Chapter 132

The English teacher's hometown was not far from Shao City, about 20 li away, located right on the only road from the county seat to Shao City.

Looking through the window at the golden rice fields outside, Li Heng suddenly had a whim and shouted to the driver: "Master, step on it!"

"Kid, we haven't reached Shao City yet." Seeing his youthful face, the driver thought it was his first time in Shao City and kindly reminded him.

"I know," Li Heng replied.

"Screech!", the car stopped.

Li Heng shouldered his bag and got off, while Li Ran and Zhang Zhang Zhang Zhiyong followed, looking confused.

Li Ran looked around. As far as the eye could see, there were nothing but rice fields, hills, and some thatched huts:

"Li Heng, what are you doing? Why did you get off halfway?"

Li Heng pointed to the wooden house on the front right and said: "That's the English teacher's home. Let's go take a look."

Li Ran realized: "Visiting her home? Then we have to buy something."

"Of course."

The group found a nearby village shop, bought some candy and liquor, and also bought some fruit, spending nearly 15 yuan in total.

In this day and age, these were already very luxurious gifts.

The three of them had their hands full of bags, walking in single file along the field paths, and before long, they arrived at the English teacher's home.

Just as they stepped onto the threshing floor, they saw the old principal, who was the English teacher's father.

Beside him was a fashionable woman with big wavy hair, presumably the second wife he had married from the Yali Middle School in Chang City.

Seeing this couple, Zhang Zhang Zhang Zhiyong couldn't help but mutter: "Master Heng, we might be making a wasted trip."

Li Heng had this bad premonition as well.

Sure enough, after greeting the old principal and the English teacher's grandparents and chatting for a while, they learned that the English teacher had returned to Shao City the night before last, had a meal, and left; she hadn't stayed overnight in her hometown.

Not seeing her, the three of them drank a cup of water and left.

"What now? No more buses?" Zhang Zhang Zhang Zhiyong asked, squatting on the ground.

"Wait, there will be passing buses," Li Heng replied firmly.

After about 5 minutes, a bus came from the opposite direction, packed with people, and the driver didn't stop.

11 minutes later, another one came. No matter how they waved, the driver ignored the three of them entirely, kicking up a cloud of dust as he sped past.

"Damn! So arrogant, is having a car something to be proud of?" Zhang Zhang Zhang Zhiyong was splashed with a layer of dust and jumped up, cursing.

After cursing, the three continued to wait.

After waiting for about 20 minutes, finally, a bus was willing to pick them up.

As soon as they got on, Li Ran suddenly asked Li Heng: "Are you thinking of bringing your English teacher along again?"

Li Heng hadn't had the thought before, but after seeing the old principal and his wife, the idea popped up again:

"We're all familiar with each other anyway, and it's livelier with more people. Let's make a phone call to ask when we get to the city."

Zhang Zhang Zhang Zhiyong was very happy to hear this: "Hehe, we're four people again. I wouldn't have been able to bear it if one was suddenly missing."

Li Ran agreed deeply. Last month, the four of them had huddled together for warmth along the way, developing deep feelings.

Arriving in Shao City, Li Heng got off the bus and immediately found a public phone to call the English teacher.

"Dong dong dong!"

The phone connected on the first ring, and a sexy voice came from the other end, "Hello, who is this?"

"Teacher, it's me."

"Li Heng? What's the matter?"

"Teacher, I just went to your hometown and found you weren't there. We're about to set off for the Three Gorges. Want to come along? The simpleton and Li Ran are both waiting for you." Li Heng didn't waste words, stating his purpose concisely.

"Teacher Wang, come along. We'll have company, and it feels like something is missing without you," Li Ran chimed in from the side.

Wang Wang Wang Runwen pondered for a good while, then finally asked: "Where are you?"

Li Heng said: "The West Bus Station, just got off."

After being moved, Wang Wang Wang Runwen was decisive: "Then you go to the train station first, and I'll come find you."

"Eh, good! Good!" Li Heng was overjoyed. After hanging up, he high-fived Li Ran and the simpleton to celebrate.

"Li Heng, I'm hungry. I'll find a restaurant and have a big meal," Li Ran said.

"Sure, no problem, my treat." With the English teacher back in the fold, Li Heng was in a great mood.

Not long after the three arrived at the train station, the English teacher arrived. She was wearing a red shirt that made her bust look exceptionally full, casual pants, and red shoes. Her walk was swaying and charming, full of allure. Her whole person was, in a word, sexy.

Many people stared straight at her, secretly swallowing their saliva.

After greeting Li Ran and the simpleton, the English teacher narrowed her eyes. When she passed by Li Heng's ear, she lowered her voice and warned: "Keep looking, and be careful I don't gouge your eyeballs out!"

Li Heng rolled his eyes.

Teacher, you're wronging me! Can you not keep staring at me?

With such assets, if not 100 men nearby are peeking, at least 80 are. This is purely instinct, what did I do wrong?

With the English teacher's connections, the train tickets they had no hope for were successfully obtained, still hard sleepers.

After eating, while the four were waiting for the train, Wang Wang Wang Runwen shook her hair and sighed with a smile: "Plans can't keep up with changes. I didn't expect to run into that couple in my hometown, and I didn't expect to be traveling with you all again."

Li Heng asked: "Teacher, the old principal came back from Chang City, didn't he talk to you?"

The English teacher sneered, "I refused to talk to him."

Li Heng nodded and handed her a bottle of soda.

After 8:00 at night, the four boarded the train heading west, arriving at the Three Gorges the next morning.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate; a light drizzle began to fall, and a chilly wind blew, leaving the group staring at each other in confusion.

However, Li Heng wasn't idle. After finding a place to stay, he began calling the *Harvest* magazine.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Editor Zou, good morning!" Li Heng recognized the voice immediately.

"Is this Li Laoshi?"

Zou Ping hadn't been able to reach Li Heng for the past month, and calls to Wang Wang Wang Runwen's phone went unanswered. He had been worried sick. Receiving the call suddenly, he was so excited that he stood up abruptly:

"Li Laoshi, you finally called. If you hadn't, I would have gone to your hometown to find you."

Li Heng apologized: "I've been traveling around these past two months and haven't had a fixed residence. Sorry."

Hearing about traveling, Zou Ping asked curiously: "Li Laoshi, where are you now?"

Li Heng said: "At the Three Gorges."

Zou Ping's heart skipped a beat, and he gathered the courage to ask: "Do you have new writing inspiration?"

Not bad, he's material for this job. Unexpectedly, he's quite sensitive. Li Heng didn't hide it: "I've been creating for these two months and have already written tens of thousands of words."

It was actually true!

Zou Ping, who had originally just been testing the waters, was overjoyed. He calmed himself down and asked: "What kind of subject matter is it?"

Li Heng said: "Prose."

"What? Pro... prose?" Zou Ping was a bit stunned.

No, he was extremely stunned!

How old is he?

He just turned 18, right?

How did the subject matter jump to prose?

Zou Ping's brain froze, a bit confused, but he couldn't openly question him, so he just asked anxiously: "How long are you staying at the Three Gorges?"

Li Heng pondered for a moment and said: "It depends on the weather; it should be one or two days."

Hearing this, Zou Ping was somewhat disappointed and continued to press: "Then where is the next stop? Is it decided?"

Li Heng said: "Dongtinghu."

Zou Ping immediately made a decision, "Then I'll go to Dongtinghu to wait for you."

Li Heng understood what the other party meant; he was probably anxious to verify the quality of the new text. He didn't refuse: "Okay, we probably won't arrive until three days later."

After finalizing the details of their meeting, Zou Ping began to share the good news: "Li Laoshi, congratulations! The standalone edition of *To Live* has broken through 1 million copies. As of yesterday, the cumulative sales reached 1,067,203 copies."

1.06 million copies?

This data was too fierce, completely unexpected.

Li Heng was very happy to hear it, his mouth almost stretching to the back of his head.

Calculating in his heart, each book was priced at 3 yuan, and at a 5% royalty rate for 1.06 million copies, he could get 160,000 yuan.

160,000!

That was definitely a huge sum of money!

Li Heng felt a bit dizzy, feeling a greater sense of stimulation than the tens of millions in savings from his later life.

"Li Laoshi, are you still there?" Seeing the long silence on the other end, Zou Ping asked cautiously.

"I'm here," Li Heng replied.

Zou Ping asked for his opinion: "Should this money order be given to you when we meet this time, or should I wait until you get to university in Shanghai?"

He's quite attentive, even knowing where he's going to university.

For safety reasons, Li Heng weighed the pros and cons and said: "No rush, give it to me when I get to Shanghai."

"Okay."

Because phone calls were too expensive, they chatted briefly and hung up.

But just as the phone was hung up, a figure walked over to the editor-in-chief's office.

Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao asked: "Was that the writer 'December' on the phone just now?"

Zou Ping replied yes.

Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao asked with concern: "He's been missing for so long, where is he?"

Facing his leader, Zou Ping didn't play any tricks and told him everything that had just happened.

Like Li Heng traveling through more than half of China.

Like him writing a new book.

After listening patiently, Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao frowned: "Did I hear that right? Is he really writing prose?"

Seeing the editor-in-chief was as skeptical as he was, Zou Ping felt inexplicably better: "I confirmed it repeatedly."

Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao was silent. After a good while, he said: "Go buy two tickets. Never mind, don't worry about this; I'll take over."

"Ah?" Zou Ping was dumbfounded.

He had set his heart on hugging this big thigh to realize his dream of becoming a gold-medal editor. How could he suddenly be taken off the case?

Instantly, he felt terrible, but he didn't dare show it.

Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao noticed his anomaly, reached out and patted his shoulder, saying: "The credit will still count for you, and you'll still be responsible for connecting with 'December' later.

As for this time, it's a special case; I have some business and need to see him."

Hearing this, Zou Ping's mood instantly turned from cloudy to sunny, and he beamed.

Seeing his appearance, Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao laughed along and changed his mind again, "You'd better come with me, so you don't lose sleep over it."

Zou Ping scratched his head and just kept grinning foolishly.

Returning to his office, Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao closed the door, then grabbed the landline phone on his desk and dialed a number.

After waiting for about half a minute, the phone connected, "Huang Huang Zhaoyi, it's me."

"Uncle Sister Sister Liao, so early, do you have something for me?" Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi hadn't gotten up yet, and hadn't even opened her eyes.

"I have news about the writer 'December'," Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao said.

Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi opened her eyes instantly, "Uncle Sister Sister Liao, are you busy? Let's meet and talk."

"Okay." The two agreed to meet at a coffee shop, and the call ended.

An hour later, Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao appeared at a nearby coffee shop. After looking around at the entrance, he headed toward a booth in the corner on the right.

"Huang Huang Zhaoyi, you arrived earlier than I imagined," Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao said as soon as he sat down, taking the initiative to start the conversation.

"Uncle Sister Sister Liao, you're making me blush; I just got up too."

After ordering two coffees, Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi pondered for a long time and asked: "What is his real name?"

Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao had guessed various questions before coming, "Li Heng."

Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi pondered the name for a while and asked again: "Where is he?"

"He's currently at the Three Gorges, and in three days, he'll be at Dongtinghu," Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao said, sharing what he knew.

Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi pondered for a good while and asked: "If I go to see him rashly, will it make him unhappy?"

This question stumped Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao.

Because he had no idea what had happened between Li Heng and Huang Huang Zhaoyi.

He didn't know the content of their letters at all.

He only knew that Li Heng had suddenly stopped responding to her.

And Huang Huang Zhaoyi seemed to be holding a grudge about it.

Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao suggested: "Then this time, will you appear as my assistant?"

Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi shook her head: "I sent him a photo."

???

A row of question marks floated through Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao's mind. Although he knew the other party greatly admired Li Heng's talent, he hadn't expected her to be so proactive?

To the point of sending a photo.

This somewhat overturned Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao's perception of her past. Facing each other, he was momentarily choked up, not knowing how to speak.

Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi asked with a bitter smile: "Do you find it unbelievable?"

Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao said, "Then what was Li Heng's reaction?"

Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi's gaze drifted out the window: "There has been no contact since then."

Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao sighed secretly, but he could also understand Li Heng very well.

After all, Li Heng was only 18, while Huang Huang Zhaoyi, despite her extraordinary background, was a generation older than him. How could he be moved?

Actually, there was an information gap here; Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao didn't know that Li Heng had rejected Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi by posing as a married, older man.

And Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi didn't know that Li Heng was only 18.

Due to their status and to save face, Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao couldn't ask about the content of their correspondence, and Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi naturally wouldn't say much.

Therefore, to a certain extent, they were each talking about their own things, failing to communicate.

The coffee arrived. After the waiter left, Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi asked: "Is his new book prose?"

Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao said: "I've only heard rumors; I haven't seen the content."

Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi asked: "Uncle Sister Sister Liao, are you optimistic about it?"

Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao pondered for a while and shook his head: "Hard to say."

Then he added: "However, Li Heng's talent is obvious to all. Perhaps there will be unexpected surprises, so I've decided to go personally."

After speaking, Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao looked at her.

After a long time, Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi finally gave her reply: "I won't go after all; I'll wait at home for his new work."

Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao nodded.

After finishing their coffee, the two parted ways.

Before separating, Huang Huang Huang Zhaoyi had wanted to ask Editor-in-Chief Sister Sister Liao to get a photo of Li Heng for her, wanting to see what he looked like, but thinking of Li Heng's rejection and worrying about her own image, the words died on her lips.

The drizzle at the Three Gorges lasted for two days, and Li Ran spent two days going wild in the small town with Zhang Zhang Zhang Zhiyong.

As for Li Heng, besides flipping through some local county chronicles, he didn't go anywhere, just holed up in the hotel, focused on revising his manuscript.

Regarding *Cultural Bitter Travel*, he didn't copy Mr. Yu's text verbatim.

Although the writing under Mr. Yu's pen was very beautiful, the shortcomings were also particularly obvious.

For example, the writing style was overly affected and lacked natural, fluent expression.

For example, although *Cultural Bitter Travel* set the standard for cultural tourism with its mode of culture, history, and sentimentality, Mr. Yu neglected an in-depth exploration of the essence of culture.

Although it is generally recognized that *Cultural Bitter Travel* is a rare classic in the history of Chinese literature and holds an extremely important position in contemporary literary history, these shortcomings affected the depth and breadth of the work to a certain extent, and also caused a small portion of readers to rate it poorly.

And Li Heng, who had rich reading experience and decades of life experience, decided to improve upon the shortcomings while inheriting the strengths.

Especially in exploring the essence of culture, he truly put in the effort.

Not only did he come to the scene to pay respects and realize things personally, but he also flipped through local literature and county chronicles, plus the 140+ reference books and notes Zhao Jing had left him, as well as his own experience from two lifetimes. He could now be said to be fully prepared and well-equipped.

Li Heng could confidently say: the words under his pen were not only more beautiful, but their literary and cultural qualities had reached a new level, attaining a new height the original book didn't have.

Of course, he didn't mean to belittle Mr. Yu. On the contrary, in terms of literature alone, he still admired the other party very much.

And what he was doing now was just standing on the shoulders of others to perfect and repair, removing the redundant and adding cultural depth, allowing the work to reach another realm.

Originally, the original *Cultural Bitter Travel* consisted of a preface, an afterword, and 37 articles, totaling over 230,000 words.

But after Li Heng's repairs and improvements, he expected the final word count to reach around 320,000.

This was a fairly vast project, and it also carried his ambition after rebirth.

He planned to squeeze out all his knowledge and pour his heart and soul into this work, making it more eye-catching and more brilliant.

Making it hold a higher historical position in literary history.

Although she had already been shocked, and shocked several times already, watching him personally carry out large-scale changes on the original foundation again and again, the English teacher looked at his meticulous side profile, and her heart still couldn't calm down for a long time.

She thought he was already a genius, and thought his writing had reached perfection, but every time he revised, the words became more refined and vivid, with obvious progress. This made Wang Wang Wang Runwen think she had encountered a monster.

Perhaps, well, he really is a freak! Not belonging to this world.

While the English teacher was thinking this, she also felt secretly happy for him; she had a sense of glory in witnessing history and witnessing a miracle.

The rain outside kept falling, ding-donging against the eaves and corners of the wall.

Although the window was open, the room was still very stuffy. Seeing the beads of sweat on his forehead gathering into a cluster and about to drip onto the paper, Wang Wang Wang Runwen, who was already immersed in the literary world, didn't think much. Her upper body leaned forward slightly, and she instinctively took out a handkerchief to help him wipe it carefully.

But with this one move, her fullness almost pressed against Li Heng's left arm, lightly, hazily, the touch soft and clear.

The air trembled.

One looking up, one looking down, the two looked at each other quietly for a moment, saying nothing, then tacitly returned to their own work.

The English teacher used the handkerchief to wipe his forehead clean, and even went back and forth on his neck, her movements always gentle and delicate, a far cry from when she usually spat out the word "scram."

The room was very quiet, with only the sound of falling rain and the "shasha" sound of the fountain pen nib wandering on the white paper.

After doing all this, the English teacher returned to her original state, looking intently at his writing, occasionally glancing at his side profile, her heart at peace.

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(End of Chapter)