Chapter 149: Moving into a New Home, the Whole Family Finally No Longer Has to Rent (Seeking Full Subscriptions)

After cleaning up and packing everything, Feng Jiayou gave Cheng Xuemin a generous and enthusiastic reward that very night.

Her husband had brought so much glory and pride to the family!

Whatever form of celebration he desired, Feng Jiayou, as his devoted wife, eagerly cooperated to fulfill, her heart brimming with joy.

Shanghai’s *Harvest* magazine had also officially been released here in Beijing!

Flushed with excitement after their celebration, Feng Jiayou sat at the head of the bed, holding the latest issue of *Harvest* and eagerly reading her husband's manuscript.

When it was merely handwritten pages earlier, she had helped proofread it, knowing then that it was brilliantly written and destined to pass editorial review and be published.

Now, seeing it transformed into crisp lead type in print, Feng Jiayou felt an even deeper emotional resonance, cherishing it beyond measure.

"Wife, isn't it just an article? It's not like it hasn't been published before!"

"Come, come! I feel like I'm ready again!"

Cheng Xuemin, who had hardly rested, felt his vigor surging once more.

"Stop it, no more of this nonsense, or something bad will happen!"

Though Cheng Xuemin repeatedly insisted that she was now in a stable period, Feng Jiayou, having experienced it once, truly dared not take any more risks!

Once was enough; she was utterly content with just once!

Such matters, even without a little one growing in her belly, couldn't possibly go on endlessly every single night, could they?!

Couldn't he see that her man had actually grown thinner over this period!

Under the wife's resolute and formidable defense, Cheng Xuemin found no loopholes to exploit and could only give up with a sigh.

"Teacher Gu, was this piece, *Chen Huansheng Enters the City*, personally commissioned by Old Ba when he sought out Xuemin?"

While Cheng Xuemin and Feng Jiayou were on holiday at home and paid little attention to external gossip and reactions,

Mother Feng had just arrived at the unit when she saw colleagues, including Liu Xinwu, gathered around the editorial department discussing something animatedly.

Upon seeing her enter, Old Liu blurted out and asked her.

"Yes, Old Liu! How is the response to this manuscript currently?"

Mother Feng nodded upon hearing this, as her primary concern right now was the public reaction to the piece.

"Tremendous!"

Liu Xinwu nodded along, saying excitedly, "Teacher Gu, I never imagined that Xuemin's grasp of the spirit of reform and opening up could be so profound!"

"His piece, *Chen Huansheng Enters the City*, has generated a sensational response. It has already been continuously fermenting from Shanghai!"

"Just wait, Teacher Gu! A phone call from above might come in very soon, requesting to meet with Xuemin once again!"

Liu Xinwu nodded repeatedly, his face beaming with boundless excitement. With Shanghai’s *Harvest* firing the opening salvo of this united front and achieving such a sensational response, it was clear that their subsequent successive strikes would inevitably elevate this commotion to new heights.

It would completely overshadow the rhythmic waves recently stirred up by the *Tianjin Daily*.

At the same time, the influence of their *October* magazine would undoubtedly rise with the tide. How could he not be excited!

Sure enough!

Not long after Liu Xinwu finished speaking, the telephone on his office desk rang!

It instantly made both Liu Xinwu and Mother Feng snap to attention.

Liu Xinwu strode quickly into his office, picked up the receiver, and answered, "Hello, *October* Magazine, this is Liu Xinwu!"

"Right! Yes! Understood!"

Seeing Liu Xinwu bowing and nodding respectfully throughout the call, Mother Feng knew Old Liu had guessed correctly. It must be a call from above with new instructions.

She just didn't know what those instructions were, and Mother Feng gripped her heart anxiously, waiting for Liu Xinwu to finish the call.

"How is it?! What did Old Wu say?"

Seeing Liu Xinwu put down the phone and let out a long breath, Mother Feng asked urgently, knowing without asking that it must have been Old Wu.

"Teacher Gu, Old Wu said he read this issue of *Harvest* and praised Xuemin's manuscript as exceptionally timely and brilliantly written!"

"He also instructed us that the rest is up to us, saying that *October* couldn't possibly be unprepared, and that he and the other leaders are waiting to see our performance!"

Liu Xinwu clenched his fist heavily, as pumped up as if he had been injected with adrenaline, and shouted, "Teacher Gu, the next step depends entirely on *October*, and Old Wu and the others are watching!"

"Good! Good! Good!"

Mother Feng's face flushed with excitement, tears welling up in her eyes as she spoke incoherently in a rapid succession of words.

Immediately afterward, Liu Xinwu called Li Qingquan from *Beijing Literature* and Zhang Guangnian from *People's Literature*, reaching a unanimous agreement that tomorrow would be the day!

Tomorrow, all three publications would release their pieces simultaneously, capitalizing on the opening shot fired by *Harvest* to whip up public momentum as grandly as possible.

After all, as had been said, Old Wu was waiting—Old Wu and the other leaders were waiting.

Meanwhile, Cheng Xuemin, who was right at the center of the vortex, paid little attention to the external reactions.

Instead, he was wholeheartedly in seclusion, working on a script as a tribute to *Yellow Earth Plateau*, striving to finish it before the New Year so he could bring it back with him when he returned to northern Shaanxi after the holiday.

There was also the script for *Female College Student Dormitory*. Although Xie Jin had mentioned over the phone that this script wasn't particularly urgent,

once he entered the crew in the spring after the New Year, he could shoot the movie by day and write the script by night, making it convenient for mutual communication.

Nevertheless, Cheng Xuemin still intended to write the script out beforehand if he had the time.

Over the next few days, Mother Feng returned from work every evening to brief Cheng Xuemin on the external reactions to their united front and his several manuscripts.

You could say the response was nothing short of sensational!

Even leaders above Old Wu had personally called to inquire.

During this period, even Old Qian from the front courtyard, who rarely returned home, specially came over to converse with Cheng Xuemin for an entire afternoon.

They shared a mutual feeling of having met too late, with Old Qian vowing to bring his grandson over here directly to be raised so he could engage in endless heart-to-heart talks with Cheng Xuemin.

What a pity, though!

The day for Cheng Xuemin and his family to move had also arrived!

Today happened to be the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, the traditional northern day of the Lesser New Year. The entire family had specifically requested a day off to move!

For this day, eldest brother-in-law Feng Jiahao, who had been informed long in advance, even borrowed a prop truck from the Beijing Film Studio to help haul their belongings!

"Can't you stay a little longer? Old Feng, Xuemin, what if I let you stay rent-free, won't that work?"

Old Qian had truly brought his grandson back, holding the boy's hand and pleading repeatedly on the side; it was clear he was genuinely reluctant to see them go.

With no other choice, Father Feng and Cheng Xuemin could only invite Old Qian to visit more often, explaining that the new courtyard was located near Peking University and very easy to find.

Cheng Xuemin was also puzzled inwardly. He hadn't seen Old Qian home much before, so why was he suddenly so reluctant to part with them?

As for the items to be moved, ever since the house-cleaning the previous Sunday, they had already begun transporting things over in batches.

Therefore, most of the smaller items were already moved, leaving only the bulky pieces that required a large truck, which was why they were left for today's formal housewarming.

For instance, the Phoebe zhennan wooden bed that Feng Jiayou had always been reluctant to throw away—although it was an old bed, it had cost the couple over eighty yuan back then.

At the time, they hadn't even received their royalties yet; what did eighty yuan mean to them?

In any case, it was the first major piece of furniture they had acquired, and no matter what, she refused to throw it away.

The other rooms were much the same, so the large truck borrowed by the eldest brother-in-law had to make three full trips back and forth before everything was completely moved over.

Looking at the empty backyard, Old Qian stomped his feet in exasperation and simply decided to move away as well!

Let this courtyard stay empty from now on; once the entire Feng family moved out, it would lack any human warmth and lose its meaning anyway.

After bustling about for an entire day, they finally got their respective rooms and quarters properly organized.

Mother Feng, the eldest sister-in-law, and the second sister-in-law ultimately did not move into the backyard's western side-house; instead, all of them were accommodated in the front courtyard.

Because everyone knew that the western side-house in the backyard was left vacant to prepare for Xuemin's parents.

Originally,

according to Mother Feng's intention, even Feng Jiamei should have been moved to the side rooms of the front courtyard rather than lingering in the backyard to be an eyesore for her older sister.

Yet this stubborn younger girl refused adamantly, insisting on clinging to the backyard, leaving Mother Feng with no choice but to drop the matter.

The television set was placed in the main hall of the front courtyard.

Mother Feng prepared a table full of fine dishes that day to celebrate the Feng family's housewarming, and they made quite a lively and joyous occasion of it.

At the dinner table, Mother Feng unusually drank a couple of cups of wine and, under the influence of alcohol, expressed her heartfelt gratitude to her son-in-law, Cheng Xuemin.

If not for Cheng Xuemin, their entire Feng family would still be living under someone else's roof and renting a house.

It hadn't been easy!

Feng Jiayou was deeply moved upon hearing this and told her mother not to speak that way, as they were all one family; why use such estranged language?

Cheng Xuemin wasn't an outsider; he was her man, her husband, their son-in-law, and an inseparable part of the Feng family!

In any case, everyone was overjoyed, and the mother-in-law drank a few too many cups, ending up being helped to bed by her husband, Father Feng!

"Sister, sister, hot water, hot water, hot water! The hot water in the backyard kitchen is all boiled, you go tell Big Old Cheng to pump it over for you!"

"Once you're done soaking, let me soak next!"

Little sister-in-law Feng Jiamei was the most enthusiastic. While her mother was cooking in the front courtyard kitchen, she hadn't helped tend the fire at all.

Instead, she had run straight to the backyard kitchen and boiled two full pots of hot water.

She was simply waiting to take a bath right now!

To wait for today's bath, she had stubbornly delayed her bath—which should have been taken the day before yesterday—all the way until today.

Fortunately, however,

she still knew the boundaries and understood the order of seniority, courteously yielding to let her older sister soak first.

It made Cheng Xuemin roll his eyes in exasperation!

He wasn't angry that his little sister-in-law helped boil the water, but rather that she was such a colossal light bulb!

Originally, Cheng Xuemin had planned to enjoy a romantic, newlywed mandarin-duck bath with his wife for their housewarming, but with an extra little sister-in-law lingering in the backyard, what kind of arrangement was that?

During the day, when Mother Feng suggested moving her to the side room in the front courtyard, both he and Feng Jiayou should have raised both hands in agreement and stood firm on the matter!

"Jiamei, you wash first! I still have some things to take care of here!"

"Xuemin, go draw the water for her!"

While Feng Jiamei was making a ruckus outside, and the husband inside was glaring at her intensely with his eyes, Feng Jiayou gave a helpless, wry smile and called out to her younger sister outside.

"Great! Great! Then sister, I won't be polite, I'm going to soak first!"

"Big Old Cheng, help me pump the water over!"

Hearing that she could go first, Feng Jiamei became even more spirited!

Right!

Wife, you're entirely right. Let Feng Jiamei soak first, and once she finishes, chase her out and lock the bedroom door securely!

Afterwards, it would be another private world for the two of them. As expected, his wife was brilliant!

With that thought, Cheng Xuemin suddenly became very enthusiastic about pumping hot water for his little sister-in-law!

After filling more than half the bathtub with hot water and testing the temperature, he announced that it was ready and that he was going to the front courtyard to sit for a while, heading straight out.

Over in the front courtyard, the eldest brother-in-law, eldest sister-in-law, and the children were all gathered around the stove watching television.

Father Feng sat to one side, reading the newspaper in his hands.

"Is Jiamei making a fuss in the backyard?"

Mother Feng happened to come out for a drink of water at that moment and, seeing Cheng Xuemin walk over, asked with a still relatively clear mind.

"Mom, no, no, Jiamei is helping her sister boil hot water for a bath, I just felt a bit bored and came over to sit!"

Cheng Xuemin replied with a sheepish smile, pulled up a stool, and sat beside them to watch TV.

"Always trying to show off. I'll go drag her out of there!"

Upon hearing this, Mother Feng's expression turned grim once again, and she immediately put down her teacup and headed toward the backyard.