I'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.

Page 1/3

It was impossible for water to seep through; the old dilapidated courtyard houses were all connected, forming large blocks. If water leakage ever occurred during such a fierce snowstorm, the entire Yanjing city would become warm.

“Old Xie, everyone says you have a heavy smoking habit, but this is just too much! How many have you smoked already?”

“And you folks have such big hearts! There are books all over this house—if even a spark caught fire, Old Qian would surely cry his eyes out!”

In a panic, she rushed into her son-in-law’s room carrying a basin of water, only to find someone smoking inside!

After clarifying it was a misunderstanding and realizing that Old Xie from the Shanghai Film Studio had come over to help tidy up the house, Feng’s mother couldn’t complain.

This was still her daughter and son-in-law’s "new home," and although her daughter wasn’t coming home tonight, these two had already filled the place with thick smoke.

“Sorry, sorry, Teacher Gu! It’s just that your son-in-law’s script is so good, I got totally absorbed and forgot I wasn’t at the office. My apologies!”

Old Xie, chatting with Feng’s father in the main room, kept awkwardly apologizing to Feng’s mother, admitting this was truly inappropriate.

“If you’re not at the office, do you have to smoke so heavily at home?”

“You’re getting old; take care of your health!”

Feng’s mother gave them a sharp look and said, “Old Feng, you should cut down too. Since our daughter isn’t coming home tonight, you should at least have some restraint!”

“Enough, you two chat! I’m going to make dinner!”

Seeing Old Feng also lighting up, Feng’s mother grumbled more. Usually, when the debt collector was home, Old Feng didn’t smoke so much. But today, with guests, he was chain-smoking without a care.

“Where’s the water leaking? Where? Old Feng, Teacher Gu, is there water leaking in your house?”

Old Qian had just returned from outside. The bus had broken down on the road, so he had stumbled all the way home on foot. As soon as he arrived, he heard rumors of water leaking in Old Feng’s backyard and hurried over with a basin, shouting as he ran.

“Where’s the water leaking? It’s just Old Xie and Xue Min smoking in his room with the door closed!”

“Oh right, Old Qian, why just now getting home?”

Feng’s mother, still outside the kitchen, raised an eyebrow when she saw Old Qian running toward them.

“No water leaking! You nearly scared my heart out!” Old Qian’s tense face relaxed instantly. Looking at Feng’s mother, he said, “Teacher Gu, Old Feng, you really kept this from me!”

“You didn’t tell me your son-in-law is the author of ‘The Herdsman’?!”

Today, Li Qingquan and the others had indeed given Old Qian a big surprise.

“Old Qian, now you know, don’t you?” Feng’s mother raised her eyes again and said, “Besides, if we had told you earlier, would you still have gone to the seminar to support him today?”

Returning home with her husband Old Feng, she already knew that Old Qian had been energetically promoting her son-in-law, the author of The Herdsman, at the seminar.

Old Liu from the office, who had coincidentally met them after work, didn’t say much, but the look of envy in his eyes showed he was also taken aback by the surprise.

Feng’s mother didn’t give him a chance to wallow in it; after seeing Old Liu’s reaction, she was secretly delighted and hurried home to cook a special meal for her son-in-law. Even though her daughter wouldn’t be home tonight, as a mother-in-law, she still wanted to reward him.

Besides!

Her son-in-law had made a bombshell for their magazine “October.” Was Old Liu’s envy really justified?

Later, on the way, she also heard from Old Feng that Old Liu had been putting on airs at the Yanjing Literature Bureau, practically turning Li Qingquan’s face purple with jealousy.

Li Qingquan was proudly clutching an excellent long novella, only to find out it was what Old Liu had left behind. No wonder Old Liu was so full of himself and Old Li was so irritated!

“Don’t! If I’d known it was Xue Min who wrote it, I would have braved the snowstorm—rain or shine—to go there!”

Old Qian waved his hands; this was a trap he wasn’t willing to fall into. On the surface, he had to praise, and he did go to show support today, but his words were half-hearted.

“All right, all right! Thanks, Old Qian, I appreciate it!”

“Since Old Xie is here, Old Qian, come inside and chat with them. We’ll have dinner together tonight!”

Feng’s mother felt her heart swell with joy, eagerly awaiting the morning papers to see how they would praise her son-in-law.

“Old Xie? Which Old Xie?”

Old Qian hadn’t quite caught on, peering into the main room in confusion.

“Old Qian, you old fellow! I just found out you live in the front and back courtyards with Teacher Gu and Old Feng!”

“And you don’t even act like the head of the household!”

Old Xie had been listening to Old Qian’s words from the main room, feeling that Old Qian lacked confidence, as if he was hiding from Teacher Gu.

When Old Qian started creeping over, Old Xie quickly stood up to greet him with a teasing smile.

“Hey, which Old Xie am I? How come you’re calling me Xie Jin? Why’d you come here ahead of me?”

Old Qian had indeed crept up to Xie Jin, greeting him with a sharp retort.

What did it mean to lack confidence?

Page 2/3

Let Old Xie become neighbors with Teacher Gu and write another critical article about her son-in-law—let’s see!

“I rode my bike back with Xue Min and Feng Jiao! Old Qian, didn’t you take the bus? Why are you behind us?”

Xie Jin smiled and helped Old Qian over the step.

“Get lost—only two years older than you, but you act like you’re a whole generation ahead!” Old Qian shrugged and entered, then muttered to Old Feng, “You’re no friend, keeping me in the dark!”

“Well... you know how things are at home, Old Qian!”

“Here, have a smoke, have a smoke!”

Old Feng handed over a cigarette with a remorseful face, knowing that after work today, a confrontation awaited.

So he had brought the office’s best perks home to offer.

“Wow! Imported cigarettes with filters? Old Feng, you came prepared!”

Old Qian’s eyes lit up as he accepted the foreign cigarette, but quickly his expression changed.

“Just one? You think you can send me off with only this?”

“Well... here, the whole pack is yours!”

Old Feng looked a little reluctant but pressed the half-pack of foreign cigarettes into Old Qian’s palm.

“Heh! Old Feng, you’re generous! But Xue Min, you...”

Before Old Qian could say more, Cheng Xue Min quickly cut in, sulking, “Old Qian, I get it, I get it! When the royalties come in, I’ll treat you to a pack of Daqianmen, promised!”

“Just one pack of Daqianmen? I want to get you some, but it’s hard to get!”

Old Qian weighed the foreign cigarette in his hand, his appetite whetted, hinting to Cheng Xue Min.

Cheng Xue Min wasn’t fooled. He firmly refused the idea of Daqianmen cigarettes, explaining that those foreign cigarettes could only be bought at external offices or overseas Chinese stores with foreign exchange coupons.

If he had that kind of money, he could buy four or five packs of Daqianmen.

“I didn’t say you could get that!”

Old Qian realized he was a bit greedy. If his mother-in-law, Teacher Gu, found out, he might lose even the promised pack of Daqianmen.

“The bus broke down on the road; I walked all the way back!” Old Qian finally responded to Xie Jin, “If I’d known, I should have come back with Xue Min!”

Indeed!

At the end of the seminar, Cheng Xue Min and Feng Jiao had invited Old Qian to return with them, but in this snowy weather, he chose the bus.

Who knew the bus would break down midway!

“You had a tough time! But we also fell off our bikes a few times!”

Old Xie joked.

“Well then, I feel better now!” Old Qian’s slight regret was balanced by hearing they had their own mishaps.

Gathered around the stove, he suddenly remembered to ask, “Xie Jin, why are you at Old Feng’s place? Didn’t the Yanying Studio assign you a guesthouse?”

“Yes, they did!” Xie Jin nodded. “But since Xue Min finished the ‘Herdsman’ script and left it at home, I came over first to check the script!”

“What?! Xue Min, you wrote the script yourself?”

“How is it? What do you think of Xue Min’s script?”

Old Qian was genuinely shocked. He hadn’t expected Old Feng’s son-in-law to be so talented.

To write an excellent piece like ‘The Herdsman’ and then personally take on the script!

“How is it? I think their Yanying Studio head, Old Teng, could only write as well as this!”

Xie Jin shook his head, not mentioning that Xue Min had even finished all the storyboard sketches!

With such drawing skills, he could directly join their Shanghai Film Studio’s art and script department—a true all-rounder.

“Old Teng can only write this well?”

Old Qian’s stern face twitched. Was Old Feng and Teacher Gu’s son-in-law a bit too extraordinary?

As they chatted beside the fire, the eldest sister-in-law Ke Yumei took the child, and the youngest sister-in-law Feng Jia Mo also came home, all helping in the kitchen. Feng Jiao’s groceries had arrived too.

Plus, Feng’s mother had gone out of her way to buy special dishes at the pigeon market to reward her son-in-law.

In the end, they had a big table full of food!

The adults drank at the table while the children and women stood around eating, ending the night all tipsy and in a mess.

Xie Jin was supposed to return to the guesthouse, but with this weather, it was impossible to send him back—he might freeze on the way.

So they arranged for him to stay overnight at an available room in the nearby guesthouse—actually, the front courtyard where Old Qian lived.

Page 3/3

Early the next morning, Xie Jin and eldest brother-in-law Feng Jiao took the script to the Yanying Studio.

Cheng Xue Min also went early with youngest sister-in-law Feng Jia Mo to Yanda High School, where the tutor of their repeat class, Teacher Zhang, had asked Feng Jia Mo to deliver a message.

Cheng Xue Min was to visit the class today.

“Old Xu, Old Xu, sign my autograph, sign it!”

“Feng Jia Mo, so your brother-in-law is the Old Xu who wrote ‘The Herdsman’? Why didn’t you tell us earlier?”

“Sign, sign! Old Xu, I admire you! I wrote you a letter, why didn’t you reply?”

“Yeah, yeah! I wrote too, I wrote too!”

As soon as Cheng Xue Min entered the class, many students, especially girls, flocked to their repeat class, eager to catch a glimpse of Old Xu, the author of ‘The Herdsman.’

This was to be expected.

After all, Yanda High School was only a street or two away from Yanda University. Word had spread from the university to the high school.

Today Cheng Xue Min came to class; otherwise, after school, some brazen female students might have shown up at his home to “chase their star.”

“Old Cheng, you’re actually Old Xu, the author of ‘The Herdsman’?”

A skinny, monkey-like deskmate slammed the desk in shock, expressing his extreme astonishment.

It was chaotic, noisy, and overwhelmingly enthusiastic. Cheng Xue Min could barely handle it. Luckily, Teacher Zhang rushed in to calm the girls down.

“‘The Herdsman’ was written by you?”

After the students left, Teacher Zhang approached, full of disbelief as he examined his student.

“Ah, just some spare time to earn a bit of money to help the family, so I submitted a piece,” Cheng Xue Min said sulkily. The girls’ excitement was understandable.

But Teacher Zhang’s eyes were full of... enthusiasm.

“Really you wrote it? The pioneer of reflective literature?”

Teacher Zhang’s tone suddenly tightened, breathing heavily, clearly exhilarated.

“Ah?!”

Cheng Xue Min asked back in surprise.

“Today’s Yanjing Daily, Workers’ Daily, and Yanjing Youth all reported on yesterday’s seminar, praising your ‘The Herdsman’ as the foremost work of reflective literature!”

“In a couple of days, even the Wen Hui Bao and Xinhua News Agency will reprint it!”

Teacher Zhang grew so excited he spread out the newspapers he carried behind his back in front of Cheng Xue Min.

Indeed, Yanjing Daily, Workers’ Daily, and other newspapers covering the seminar had rushed to publish the content overnight, especially highlighting Old Qian’s appraisal of him as the leading figure in reflective literature.

“All right, come with me to the principal’s office. Old Yang has been waiting for you like crazy these past days!”

Before Cheng Xue Min could speak, Teacher Zhang pulled him along to the principal’s office.

The principal wanted to see him?

Cheng Xue Min was stunned. Yesterday, Teacher Zhang had Feng Jia Mo deliver a message because the principal had been eagerly waiting for him.

“Old Ge, Old Ge, I need a favor! You know Yanjing City well, help me find a place to live!”

Before going to the principal’s office, Cheng Xue Min didn’t forget another important matter: to ask his classmate and deskmate Old Ge to help scout for housing.

Old Ge came from the Red Courtyard under the Forty-Nine City and knew old Yanjing well. Asking him to find a house was sure to be reliable!

“Old Cheng, you want a place? Leave it to me! Wait, are you really Old Xu?”

“Didn’t we agree to submit together? Why did you get so far ahead?”

The skinny, monkey-like Ge You was completely crushed. He had boasted a lot in front of Cheng Xue Min, claiming a lifelong passion for literature and a dream to become the next Old Xu.

But who knew his deskmate Old Cheng had secretly become Old Xu himself?

How could someone hide it so well?

…