154 The New Year's Eve Dinner of 1979 Was Destined to Be Extraordinary

Feng Jiayou was utterly stunned by what she had just heard!
Her mind went completely blank!
She just stared blankly and naively at Cheng Xuemin, dumbfounded!
"Wife! Wife! Are you alright?"
Seeing his wife staring at him in a daze without a response for a long time after he finished speaking in one breath, Cheng Xuemin waved his hand in front of her eyes and asked.
"Really!?"
"Xuemin, is everything you said true?! Elder Wu is going to publish a collection of your short stories, that senior leader at the very top is writing an inscription and book cover for you, and Elder Mao is writing the preface for you?"
After snapping out of her dazed state for a long time, Feng Jiayou went absolutely crazy!
She grabbed Cheng Xuemin's arms tightly and asked with extreme excitement and trembling.
"Calm down, calm down, calm down! Wife, don't be too excited, don't be too excited!"
What an impulsive and jumpy woman!
Cheng Xuemin hurriedly supported her trembling body, which was on the verge of jumping up with excitement, urging her not to get too worked up.
Getting too excited was not good for her as an expectant mother.
"Right, right, right! Xuemin, you're right, I must calm down and not get too excited! I'll listen to you, I'll listen to you!"
Feng Jiayou repeatedly agreed, so excited that her words became incoherent. Yet, as her eyes glanced back at the four-character inscription, a strange, brilliant light flickered even more intensely in her gaze, clearly indicating that her mind was racing with thoughts.
Later, under the woman's repeated entreaties, Cheng Xuemin gave a rough summary of his trip to Zhonghai today.
"What!?"
"Not only is there going to be a collection of short stories published, but tomorrow the People's Daily will also publish a full-page feature?"
Following that, Feng Jiayou was once again struck dumb with shock. Could she possibly have heard wrong?
Today, when Elder Wu summoned her husband to Zhonghai, it wasn't just to write an inscription, book cover, and preface for a collected volume, but directly to get a full-page reprinted report in the People's Daily?
And all of this on the very first day of the Lunar New Year?
If... if her mother found out about this, wouldn't she be driven crazy with excitement?
"It should be published the day after tomorrow, the second day of the Lunar New Year!"
Cheng Xuemin corrected Feng Jiayou. Although the People's Daily did not stop publication on New Year's Day, it would have already been finalized and printed yesterday, so they wouldn't make the deadline.
"The second day of the New Year, that's still fantastic! Just in time for us to visit my grandfather's place in the suburbs of Beijing; we'll catch it right on time!"
Feng Jiayou nodded repeatedly. Even if it wasn't the first day, the second day of the New Year was already immensely impressive!
The woman then brought up the topic of New Year visits.
Today was New Year's Eve, and tomorrow would be the first day of the Lunar New Year, which meant the round of visiting relatives had to begin!
However, although Father Feng had five siblings, so far only Father Feng had been politically rehabilitated and transferred back to Beijing. His other uncles and aunts had basically settled down locally and had been assigned jobs.
During the New Year holiday, there was simply no way they could return to Beijing!
As for the grandparents on the higher generation, they had long since sacrificed their lives for the revolutionary cause.
The situation on Mother Feng's side was even more special; her siblings had mostly gone abroad. Some had settled in Hong Kong, and some had settled in the United States!
Even... Taiwan!
Only the elderly couple, unable to bear leaving their homeland, had been allowed to stay behind as specially invited guests!
If Feng Jiayou's boasting was to be believed!
Her maternal grandfather had even been invited to ascend the Tiananmen Rostrum to observe the founding ceremony on National Day.
Who knew if it was true or not!
Currently, the elderly couple was living in seclusion in the suburbs of Beijing, and previously, her younger sister Feng Jiamei had been sent there to be looked after.
On the second day of the New Year, to return to her maternal home, Mother Feng would take the whole family over to pay her respects to the old couple.
How lively that would be, Cheng Xuemin didn't quite know.

After lingering at home for an hour or so, Cheng Xuemin set off for the post office to return a phone call to his parents in the northern Shaanxi countryside.
Originally, Feng Jiayou had already made a call at noon and didn't want him to go out into the cold wind again.
But the woman insisted on going.
Alright then!
Why did she want to go? Wasn't it to report the good news Cheng Xuemin had just told her to his parents over the phone?
But his parents were just old farmers; could they possibly understand these things?
What his parents would care about was the phone bill!
What his parents were hoping for right now, most practically, was for their son and daughter-in-law to come home for the New Year, and preferably bring a big, precious grandson back with them.
However, that was impossible this year!
It would have to wait until next year's New Year!
Perhaps during the summer vacation this year, they could take the whole family back to stay for a while.
"So many people?"
"When on earth is this going to reach our turn? There weren't nearly this many just a while ago!"
When Cheng Xuemin and Feng Jiayou rushed back to the post office, they were truly frightened by the queue of people waiting to make phone calls.
Feng Jiayou exclaimed in pure bewilderment—there hadn't been this many people around at noon!
Looking at the two queues, each numbering over a hundred people, Cheng Xuemin slapped his own forehead.
Today was New Year's Eve!
Although landline telephones were an extremely rare luxury in this era, and ordinary people couldn't bear to spend money on phone calls, preferring to write letters instead.
What day was it today, though?
New Year's Eve!
Moreover, this was Beijing. Normally the demand for phone calls wasn't huge, but today was different.
Coupled with Beijing's large population base, it would be a miracle if the post office wasn't bursting at the seams with people waiting to make calls.
"It's my fault, my fault, entirely my fault! Xuemin, I shouldn't have acted on my own and asked Mom and Dad to wait a bit longer over there!"
"Xuemin, blame me! I shouldn't have just come straight home after finishing the call; I should have stayed here in line waiting for you to come over!"
Looking at the long queue, Feng Jiayou went from utter astonishment to a string of self-reproaches.
If she hadn't asked Cheng Xuemin's parents to wait over there and arranged to call them back at three o'clock, his parents probably would have already gone back to the production brigade to prepare New Year's Eve dinner instead of lingering at the commune waiting for them to call again.
And even if they had arranged to call at three o'clock, she shouldn't have hung up and come straight home; she should have stayed right here and waited in line!
Now look at this!
With so many people, let alone whether they could get a turn at three o'clock sharp, it was doubtful they'd even get a turn by eight or nine in the evening.
Over a hundred people!
Even if everyone spent just two minutes on the phone, that would still be two to three hundred minutes—three to four hours.
Besides, these were undoubtedly mostly long-distance calls, and connecting the lines and calling out numbers would waste a fair amount of time. So being able to get a turn by eight or nine in the evening would already be considered lucky!
"It's fine, it's fine, wife, you shouldn't blame yourself for this!"
Cheng Xuemin pulled her into his arms to comfort her, then laughed bitterly and said, "Blame me, blame me. Actually, I should have thought of this earlier!"
Indeed, Cheng Xuemin had only himself to blame!
It was fine that Feng Jiayou, being a young woman of this era, hadn't experienced it and lacked foresight.
But Cheng Xuemin was a time-traveler from later generations; he had seen plenty of the grand spectacles of the Spring Festival travel rush!
Earlier, when he thought about going to the railway station to book train tickets and realized the lines might be too long to get a turn, he wisely decided not to go.
Yet he hadn't thought that the post office telephone booths of this era were essentially the exact same thing!
Besides!
Waiting in line to use a public phone wasn't something Cheng Xuemin hadn't experienced in his past life.
That was in the 1990s, more than a decade later, when Cheng Xuemin was still in primary school. He remembered a year when his father couldn't make it back for the New Year, and they had arranged to make a long-distance call to connect with home on New Year's Eve, telling him and his mother to wait at the public telephone booth.
Yet they waited the entire day that day; the call that was supposed to come at noon didn't happen, and they ended up waiting in line until evening.
The excuse was that his father only had one public phone on his end, and he had to wait in line to use it!
With today's incident, the memory of that day in Cheng Xuemin's mind became increasingly vivid.
So, if making a long-distance call on New Year's Eve was that difficult even in the 1990s, more than a decade later.
Let alone right now, in the very early 1980s.
This really was Cheng Xuemin's fault; he should have considered it much earlier!
What should they do now?
If he had thought of it earlier, he could simply have stayed at Elder Wu's place at noon to eat the cultural and propaganda sector's New Year's Eve dinner, and incidentally borrowed Elder Wu's landline to make the call to his parents.
At worst, later when they were at the People's Daily, he should have made the call before leaving.
With an institution as large as the People's Daily, would it have been a problem to borrow a long-distance call from Teacher Qin Chuan?
Instead, he had just been in a rush to come back and make the call with Feng Jiayou at the post office!
Now look at where they were!
One wrong thought, and how on earth were they supposed to salvage this now?!
Honestly stand in line? They'd be queuing past midnight into the first day of the New Year!
Just give up on the queue, go back like this, and forget about calling?
But Feng Jiayou had already left a message with his parents, arranging to call back at three in the afternoon. If Cheng Xuemin didn't make this call, would you bet on whether his stubborn-as-a-mule father would stubbornly wait until the first day of the New Year?
"Xuemin, why don't... why don't we squeeze in, explain the situation to the person in charge inside, and ask them to let us make our call first because we have an emergency?"
Feng Jiayou was equally panicked and offered an idea to Cheng Xuemin.
"Forget it, it's useless. Who isn't in a hurry today?"
Snowflakes were starting to fall already. Judging by the weather forecast, tonight was going to be a heavy snowstorm, so braving the freezing cold to queue up and call home wasn't going to be easy for anyone.
They had to think of another way!
"Then should we go check out another post office?"
Feng Jiayou glanced at the wristwatch on her wrist, which showed it was already 2:40, and said anxiously.
"Other post offices probably have even more people than this!"
Yanda University was considered a bit remote, and the population density wasn't as high as in the city proper. Right now, other post offices in the city probably had even more crowds.
"Then what should we do? Xuemin, Mom and Dad are going to be worried sick waiting over there!"
Feng Jiayou asked with mounting panic.
"I'll send you back first! If all else fails, I'll make another trip to the People's Daily! Teacher Qin isn't off work yet today; she's still rushing to put out tomorrow and the next day's papers. It shouldn't be a problem if I go over there and borrow a phone to make the call!"
If they couldn't call from the post office and couldn't afford to wait, the only option was to find a public phone in an official government unit!
Originally, near their side, there were public phones in the Yanda University Library or the Yanda Affiliated High School principal's office, and Cheng Xuemin was on good terms with the librarian and the principal, so borrowing a call wouldn't have been a problem.
However, everything was closed for the holiday now, and nobody would be left behind in those offices.
Cheng Xuemin even thought of his mother-in-law's *October* magazine office, but that publishing house was also closed for the Chinese New Year. Even if his mother-in-law was willing to take him there, there was no way they could open editor Liu Xinwu's office door.
So, they had no choice but to make the trek all the way back and run to the *People's Daily* once more.
"Ah?! Well, I suppose that's the only way!"
"Why don't you just go straight from here, Xuemin? I can walk back myself, it's only a couple of steps!"
Hearing that her husband had to run all the way back to the *People's Daily*, Feng Jiayou realized it would be dark by the time he made the round trip.
Yet she also knew that they couldn't skip this phone call.
Immediately, she urged her husband to hurry up, telling him not to worry about her, as she could walk home on her own.

No matter how rushed Cheng Xuemin was, there was no way he would leave his wife stranded here. He insisted on sending her home first anyway. Since it was bound to be late, a little more time wouldn't make a difference.
"Dad, Mom, Brother, Sister-in-law, you're all back already!?"
When Cheng Xuemin dropped Feng Jiayou off outside their gate—originally intending not to go in and head straight for People's Literature Publishing House instead—
They happened to run into Father Feng, Mother Feng, and the others returning with bags and parcels piled high on a handcart full of New Year goods.
Feng Jiayou and Cheng Xuemin both greeted them.
"Xuemin, you should get going right away! Take it slow on the road, go quickly and come back soon!"
Right after, Feng Jiayou urged Cheng Xuemin again to hurry to the *People's Daily*, since it was already past three o'clock.
By the time Cheng Xuemin reached the *People's Daily*, it would probably be four or five o'clock.
"Where are you off to?! Xuemin, did you just come back from Elder Wu's place, or are you coming back after calling your parents?"
Seeing that her son-in-law wasn't even stepping through the front door and was rushing out again, Mother Feng asked.
"Mom, we haven't called yet!"
"There are over a hundred people queuing up to make phone calls at the post office, and I'm afraid we won't even get our turn, so Xuemin is planning to go to the *People's Daily* and borrow their phone!"
Feng Jiayou was panicked to the point of desperation and quickly explained to her mother.
"Making a trip to the *People's Daily* at this hour?!"
Upon hearing her troublesome daughter's words, Mother Feng was dumbfounded on the spot; with a round trip like that, they might as well skip New Year's Eve dinner altogether.
Following that, her mind rapidly scanned through places that might have a telephone.
Her own unit?
The phone was in Old Liu's office, and since everyone was on holiday, Old Liu definitely would have locked his office door.
Should she go to Old Liu's house to get the key from here, and then go to the unit to make the call?
That would take even longer than just going directly to the *People's Daily*.
Then there was... Mother Feng ran through her mind, but the places she could think of were basically in the inner city, and they didn't have many acquaintances around the Yanda University area.
"Old Feng?!"
Mother Feng cast her gaze toward Father Feng. His unit, the Foreign Languages Press, had several phones, and there was even a phone installed in Father Feng's personal office.
So if they really wanted to go to People's Literature, they might as well go to Father Feng's Foreign Languages Press—both units were in the inner city, so the time required would be exactly the same!
"Let's get the things for Elder Tang sorted out, and I'll take Xuemin over there first!"
Father Feng nodded and told Mother Feng.
That made Mother Feng's eyes light up on the spot. Right!
They couldn't find a place to make a call around Yanda University, but Elder Tang was different!
If they went to Elder Tang!
The old man could directly take Xuemin to the Yanda University principal's office to make the call, and not a single person would dare to stop them.
Originally!
Father Feng had planned to visit Elder Tang, his former mentor, on the first day of the Lunar New Year to pay his respects!
With this sudden complication, however!
They would just deliver the New Year gifts for the visit along the way first; it wouldn't be proper to go empty-handed anyway.
"Xuemin, we'll go over to Elder Tang's place in a bit. There's a telephone downstairs in Elder Tang's faculty apartment building!"
Father Feng explained to Cheng Xuemin.
"Oh! Right, right, right, Elder Tang! How could I have forgotten about him!"
"Xuemin, we'll go ask Elder Tang for a favor in a bit!"
Hearing her father's words, Feng Jiayou also nodded repeatedly and said.
"Is this alright? Didn't you say we were going to visit Elder Tang tomorrow?"
Paying New Year respects on New Year's Eve didn't show much sincerity!
"It's fine, our whole family will go pay our respects again tomorrow. Since it's so close by, it's no big deal!"
Father Feng nodded, speaking to Cheng Xuemin to dispel his misgivings.
A short while later, Mother Feng fished out all the New Year goods prepared for Elder Tang from the handcart.
"I'll go wheel out the bicycle!"
Father Feng followed by stepping into the courtyard first to wheel out his bicycle so they could ride over together.
Mother Feng instructed Cheng Xuemin to pass along a message to his parents on the phone, wishing them a happy New Year on her behalf and once again inviting Cheng Xuemin's parents to come over for the Lantern Festival.
Originally, they had been invited to spend the New Year here, but Cheng Xuemin hadn't managed to leave before the holiday!
After that, she had her eldest son and his wife pull the handcart into the courtyard!
"Dad, Dad, Dad! Take this for Elder Tang to see! Take this for Elder Tang to see!"
Not knowing when she had slipped back into the house, Feng Jiayou came out holding something else, calling out to Father Feng, who was about to leave outside the courtyard.
"Slow down, what on earth do you have that your dad has to take over today instead of waiting until tomorrow?"
Seeing this reckless, troublesome daughter of hers, Mother Feng couldn't help laughing with amusement.
"Nothing much, nothing much. I just figure Elder Tang will definitely love it, and who knows, he might even give your son-in-law some lucky money!"
Feng Jiayou said playfully with a smile, waving the sheet of paper with the four-character inscription in her hand.
"This is..."
When Father Feng skeptically took it, glanced at it, and saw what it was, he was struck dumb with shock on the spot!