Chapter 5: The Head of Peking University

"Dad, you're back?"

When Wei Ming came out with his pants up, Lao Lao Lao Wei was already lying on the bed.

"Yeah," Wei Jiefang closed his eyes and advised him, "You should sleep early too. Your uncle is going to take us into the city tomorrow."

"Oh, I'll write for a while, striving to finish this article." Wei Ming said with high fighting spirit.

Lao Lao Lao Wei thought to himself: It's really a waste of pen and paper.

However, they were about to separate, and he didn't want to lecture his son. Although he didn't understand adolescence, his son in the past two years was indeed not as obedient as when he was a child. He was like a donkey in the brigade, and he had to be smoothed along his fur.

Unexpectedly, Wei Ming wrote until one o'clock in the morning. He felt that his memory had been enhanced after his rebirth. Clearly, it was an animation he watched in the 80s, but he remembered it vividly.

Looking at this small article of about 5,000 words, Wei Ming felt full of achievement. After correcting the typos, he put it in an envelope and fell asleep.

That night, Wei Ming had a dream. He dreamed that he had become Wu Song, climbed Jingyang Ridge, and met a tiger with hanging eyes and white forehead. This scared him to death, scaring him until he peed and pooped.

The tiger laughed when he saw this. Wei Ming then noticed that the tiger had no teeth, so he grabbed the tiger and put it on his lap to spank its butt.

"Slap! Slap, slap!"

Wei Jiefang pushed Wei Ming, but didn't push him awake, so he simply gave him a few slaps on his thigh.

"Ah, what's wrong! Is there an earthquake?"

This finally woke him up.

Wei Jiefang hummed: "I told you to sleep early, but you didn't listen. Get up quickly, don't keep your uncle waiting for us."

It turned out that the sky was already bright.

Wei Ming put on his clothes and went to the bathroom to release water first. When he came out, he saw that Lao Lao Lao Wei had already packed a small bag.

He said to his son: "If your uncle handles the matter today, I will leave after lunch."

"Ah?" Wei Ming was a bit reluctant, "Will it be a bit rushed? Why not stay for another day and have a good stroll around Yanjing?"

Wei Jiefang waved his hand: "I've been to Yanjing so many times, I've almost strolled through it all. It's just like that. I can't rest assured about your mother and sister at home, and the group of livestock in the brigade."

Wei Ming didn't say anything more, just thinking about buying a house in the capital for his family after making money in the future.

Although Lao Lao Lao Wei spoke with contempt, he knew how much he yearned for the capital. Several trips to Yanjing were the biggest capital for him to brag and talk nonsense in the village. This time, he could finally update his material when he went back.

After about half an hour, Wei Pingan came. Wei Jiefang asked eagerly like a candidate waiting for his score: "How is it?"

"It's done!"

After Wei Pingan sat down, he said: "I drank the deputy director of the Security Department under the table yesterday and finally got a temporary worker quota. Little Ming, you go to report to the School Guard Team tomorrow."

So, is my first job a security guard at Peking University?

Oh, now it should be called a security guard.

Wei Ming comforted himself, from now on, I am the head of Peking University.

Wei Jiefang was very satisfied with this job. He noticed yesterday that the security guards at the gate were all wearing uniforms, very spirited.

"Brother Jiefang, you haven't eaten yet, right? Let's go have breakfast first, and then go into the city!"

Nowadays, the Third Ring Road hasn't been built yet. Only the Dongcheng, Xicheng, Xuanwu, and Chongwen districts within the Second Ring Road are considered inside Yanjing City, and they are also the most essential and bustling parts of this ancient capital.

Because the distance was far, it was not decent for one bicycle to carry three adult men, so they took the bus.

Slowly, transferring twice, it took an hour and a half to reach the destination, not as fast as riding a bicycle.

So Wei Ming felt that the first thing he did after joining the job was to buy a bicycle. The Yan Garden was so big, it would be convenient to have a car to get around.

Considering that he had already taken Wei Jiefang to stroll through the Forbidden City, Beihai Park, and Shichahai before, Wei Pingan chose the Qianmen Dashilan area this time, which was also closer to where they would eat at noon.

In the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, the Dashilan area was a famous commercial and entertainment center in the capital, with theaters, firms, and brothels densely packed.

The Eight Great Hutongs were in this area.

In addition, one could see time-honored brands like Xiangyihao, Ruifuxiang, and Neiliansheng, which were basically all joint state-private enterprises now.

There were some tourists, but far less than in later generations, and one could also see sporadic foreigners.

On the south side of the west entrance of Dashilan Street was the first cinema in China, "Daguanyuan." Now it had been renamed "Daguanyuan Cinema," and "Dingjun Mountain" premiered here.

A clerk named Wang Qiankun was tearing down the poster for the Beijing Er Yingchang's "Look at This Family" and replacing it with the promotional poster for the Changchun Er Yingchang's "Secret Bureau's Gunshots."

Beijing Er Yingchang, Changchun Er Yingchang, plus Shanghai Er Yingchang, were considered the three giants of the current film industry.

"You two get closer, smile... Got it, got it!"

Wei Pingan was very thoughtful and even borrowed a camera from the school to take some group photos of the father and son.

Wei Ming was even more sensible: "Uncle, let me take one for you and my dad."

Wei Jiefang put his arm on his brother's shoulder. Wei Pingan thought that the first group photo of him and Wei Jiefang was taken when he sent him to the capital for college. It was also this posture. Sixteen or seventeen years had passed in a flash.

More than ten years had passed, and he was still in his prime, but Brother Jiefang had become old. Fate, too cruel.

Wei Pingan was sighing there, while Wei Ming, touching the Seagull brand camera in his hand, was thinking that when he had money, he must buy one too!

He also liked photography, especially portraits, and the 80s were very worth recording.

After strolling around, Wei Jiefang bought a hairpin for his wife, a notebook for his daughter, and some Yanjing snacks.

Feeling a bit thirsty, they also went to drink the two-cent-a-bowl big-bowl tea at the "Youth Tea House" on the west side of the Qianmen Arrow Tower. The leader was named Yin Shengxi. Putting down the big bowl, Wei Pingan looked at his watch: "It's almost twelve o'clock. We can set off. Xiaoyan should be off work soon."

Wei Ming thought to himself, he also had to buy a watch. Now he had no concept of time at all.

There were too many things he wanted to buy, and his motivation to make money was even stronger.

As long as I can get eight yuan per thousand words, I will write whatever you want!

"Children's Literature" is located at No. 21, 12th Lane, Dongsi North. It was founded in 1963 and is known as a banner of Chinese children's literature, and it is also the children's publication with the highest sales.

Because of special historical reasons, it was interrupted for a time. After resuming publication in '77, the publication cycle was initially unstable. Manuscripts were published as soon as they were collected, sometimes three months, sometimes four months. Starting this year, it resumed as a monthly publication, and the pressure of compiling manuscripts increased sharply.

Those literary masters usually looked down on children's literature, and the fame gained from writing stories for children was far less than that of serious literature, so there were not many professional children's writers, and their levels were uneven.

Sister Mao, who was sitting across from Lu Xiaoyan, had just come out of the editor-in-chief's office, triumphantly saying: "The article 'Heihe on Honest Island' in my hand has passed. It's a newcomer. Little Lu, you have to work hard too."

Lu Xiaoyan was about to retort when Wei Xi walked over, pulling her trouser leg: "Mom, Lele said she is hungry."

Lele, who was reading a picture book: "???"

Lu Xiaoyan looked at the time, it was time to get off work: "Okay, okay, let's go, let's go."

After going downstairs, she put Lele on the front bar and Xizi on the back seat. As soon as she lifted her leg, she only heard Wei Xi give a "wow" cry. He was hit by his mother's whip kick.

!

"Ah, sorry Xizi, I forgot you were in the back. Are you okay?"

Wei Xi covered his mouth, and after a while, he spat on the ground, and a tooth fell out, making a crisp sound.

He was overjoyed: "Mom, my cavity fell out. Does that mean I can eat sugar!"

It wasn't clear which tooth fell out. Lu Xiaoyan wiped the shoe print on her son's face, feeling a bit guilty: "Okay, you can dip it in some sugar when eating duck skin."

"Thank you, Mom!" Wei Xi was satisfied, feeling that this tooth died worthily.

It took about 20 minutes to ride a bicycle from here to the Quanjude Hepingmen branch. When they arrived, Wei Pingan and his party were waiting at the door.

"Brother Jiefang, Little Ming, have you been waiting for a long time?"

Wei Jiefang: "No, no, no, we just arrived."

Wei Pingan smiled and took Lele: "I have already booked a seat, let's go in."

This new store is located at Building 14, Qianmen West Street. It is four stories high and has been built for less than half a year. It has only been open for these two months.

Because it was established after the reform and opening-up, it is relatively in line with international standards. First of all, it is large enough to accommodate 1,500 people at the same time.

Then there are many functions. The "Golden Hall" on the fourth floor can be used for dining and meetings.

Moreover, after opening, it began to receive political dignitaries and celebrities from various countries, undertaking the important task of spreading food culture.

The price of Quanjude in later generations is outrageous, and the current Dezi is not something ordinary people can afford.

Wei Jiefang put down the menu after looking at it. Good guy, what kind of duck is this? Ten yuan each! The sauce also costs money!

However, compared to the live duck price of 1.5 yuan per kilogram, the premium of Quanjude roast duck is not serious yet. It is outrageous in later generations.

Quanjude roast duck costs between 8 and 10 yuan each depending on the size. Wei Pingan knew Wei Jiefang's appetite and ordered the largest one directly.

"In addition, a large bowl of duck bone soup, and the duck rack will be fried later and packed when leaving."

After that, he ordered several stir-fried dishes: shredded pork with wood ear, pork slices with tofu, kung pao chicken, mock crab, shiitake mushrooms with bamboo shoots, and several lotus leaf pancakes.

Usually, Wei Pingan wouldn't order so many meat dishes when eating out, greasy. But he knew that there was a lack of oil and water in the countryside, and it was too difficult to eat meat. Today was mainly to let Wei Jiefang and his son eat well.

Lao Lao Lao Wei started to salivate just listening to him ordering dishes. Fortunately, he didn't eat the steamed buns in the morning.

And Wei Ming, besides sighing at the price of 1.5 yuan for mock crab, also roughly calculated the cost of this meal, which was almost 20 yuan.

He didn't know if his monthly salary as a temporary worker at Peking University was 20 yuan.

Uncle Pingan was worthy of being a level 13 administrative cadre, with an income of more than 150 yuan a month. The two of them added up to at least 200 yuan a month, which was enough for their family of four to scrape food from the soil for a year!

The duck-slicing master performed a culinary performance in front of them. The meat was meat, the skin was skin, and there were also pieces with both meat and skin, a total of three plates, showing excellent knife skills.

Everyone ate roast duck first. Xizi and Lele were obviously not eating it for the first time, and they knew how to eat it.

Several dishes were served one after another. Wei Ming focused on the mock crab. It smelled like that taste. If you taste it carefully, you can distinguish the granular feeling of salted duck egg yolk.

Lu Xiaoyan was a contemporary of the Republic. She had lived in the military compound with her parents since she was born. She had the most say in Quanjude. She had eaten it when she was a child.

"I ate it twice when I was as old as Xizi and the others. It was really delicious at that time. Later, it became a joint state-private enterprise, and the taste changed."

Wei Pingan: "That's right, the price has dropped, and the quality decline is inevitable. But at least it allows more people to afford it. However, as long as the sauce recipe doesn't change, most people can't tell the difference in meat quality."

Lu Xiaoyan nodded. Seeing Wei Jiefang eating happily, she said: "This time we ate Quanjude roast duck. Next time Brother Jiefang comes, let's eat Bianyifang's."

Wei Jiefang asked after swallowing the meat in his mouth: "They are all roast ducks, why are they different?"

Lu Xiaoyan: "Quanjude is a hanging oven, and Bianyifang is a braising oven. The methods are slightly different. Quanjude's skin is crispier."

She looked at the watch on her wrist: "Oh, it's one-thirty. I have to go to work. I won't accompany Brother Jiefang and the others later."

She not only left early but also left Xile to Pingan. Anyway, he was off today.

Seeing Lu Xiaoyan go out, Wei Ming quickly followed.

"Oh, Little Ming, you don't have to send me off. I have hands and feet."

"Aunt, actually I have a matter," Wei Ming took out the envelope he had been holding for half a day, "I want to submit a manuscript..."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 6 =====