Chapter 109.

“Now I understand what ‘late bloomer’ means, look at how busy you are day in and day out, either going to the Writers’ Association or preparing for a recital, writer and performer at the same time.”

Outside the gate of the dry rest center, Zhen Zhen, Li Shuang, Ah Wen and Chen’s sister-in-law were walking in.

Hearing Li Shuang talking about herself, Jenny smiled and said, “I’m not as busy as you said.”

The Composers’ Association doesn’t have activities to attend every day, and the concerts are only held once a year in the local area.

Chen’s sister-in-law followed, “We’re all retired, compared to us, you’re a busy person now.”

Zhen Zhen didn’t continue to deny it, but still smiled and said, “Compared to that, it is indeed a bit busy.”

Shizuku added, “Zhen Zhen, the older you get, the more you shine.”

From fifty to fifty-seven, with seven more years of hard work and precipitation, her life’s picture has become even more colorful.

Thinking further back, from not knowing anything when she was young, to now having such achievements and status, she felt both incredible and reasonable.

After all, they all knew how she had come along step by step.

Those who could stick to boring things for ten or twenty years just because they liked it were not ordinary people.

She didn’t seem to want to accomplish much, but success followed her.

Some people do not like to compete for fame and fortune, but fame and fortune consciously follow her.

Zhen Zhen was one such person.

The four of them talked and walked slowly into the dry rest center.

No longer talking about Zhen Zhen busy things, turn around to look around, Li Shuang suddenly looked to Zhen Zhen asked: “That old Zhou and Wu Dafeng, they are not also live here ah?”

Zhen Zhen nodded, “Yes, they applied to move here after retirement and have lived here for a few years.”

Because Lao Zhou and Wu Dafeng are Servant Danling’s in-laws, and Servant Danling Zhou Jiming occasionally meet, will inevitably talk about some, so Lao Zhou and Wu Dafeng two people’s things, Zhen Zhen still know a general.

But because Zhen Zhen and Li Shuang and Wu Dafeng not good friendship between the past, so Lao Zhou and Wu Dafeng moved over, they did not deliberately about Wu Dafeng met, as usual, each have their own life.

Of course, the old week and service Huai Ming He Shuo is met, that is between them.

Li Shuang did some rough math and added, “It’s been almost thirty years since we’ve seen each other.”

Hearing her say this, Zhen Zhen smiled and asked, “You’re really wanting to see her?”

Li Shuang quickly shook her head, “That’s not what I thought.”

Of course, she didn’t want to, seeing or not seeing, it’s not that big of a deal.

At this age, after experiencing so many ups and downs in life, his state of mind has long been calm.

The good and bad of his youth would be blurred in his mind.

As for the topic of Wu Dafeng, Ah Wen and Chen’s sister-in-law could not talk about it, so they did not intervene.

However, Li Shuang had just finished saying that he didn’t want to see Wu Dafeng, and when the four of them walked to the small square of the dry rest center, they coincidentally saw Wu Dafeng walking over from the diagonal opposite side of the street.

Although Wu Dafeng’s hair is white, old, but the change in appearance does not seem to be too big.

She was dressed like this when she was younger, and she still looks almost the same now.

Even after not seeing her for close to thirty years, she was still instantly recognizable.

Seeing Wu Dafeng, both Li Shuang and Zhen Zhen froze slightly.

It so happened that Wu Dafeng glanced over and saw them as well.

After staring at each other for a few moments, Wu Dafeng spoke out first, “Zhen Zhen?”

Zhen Zhen came back to her senses, busy smiling, “Sister-in-law Da Feng?”

Hearing Zhen Zhen call out her name, Wu Da Feng also smiled, “It’s really you.”

Saying this, she took a few steps over and walked over to Zhen Zhen, looking Zhen Zhen up and down, and then said with a smile, “You haven’t changed much.”

Zhen Zhen smiled and answered, “Old.” She is almost sixty years old.

Wu Dafeng said, “With so few gray hairs, you’re not old.”

After speaking with Zhen Zhen, Wu Dafeng looked at Li Shuang next to Zhen Zhen.

Li Shuang also smiled and greeted her, “Mrs. Wu, how are you?”

Wu Dafeng scrutinized Li Shuang for a moment, “You are ……”

Li Shuang picked up: “Li Shuang ah.”

Wu Dafeng unexpectedly “ouch” sound, “you change quite a lot, you do not say I do not dare to recognize.”

Said thought of something, and continued, “I think it is those years, you suffered a lot of crime.”

After graduating from the military school, she has never seen Li Shuang again, the impression that Li Shuang is still beautiful and arrogant look.

Now this Li Shuang in front of her was as pale as she was, and she was no longer arrogant.

This and her memory of that Li Shuang, not quite right.

How many years have passed since those things, and sensitive, Li Shuang naturally do not mention.

After standing and exchanging a few pleasantries, Wu Dafeng asked Zhen Zhen, “Why are you here? Also moved here?”

Zhen Zhen looked at her and said, “Not yet, but recently is all done retirement, our families plan to move over together in a few days, just passing by today, so I came over to recognize the road, look at the share of the house.”

After such a long time of separation, meeting again today is no different from the first time we met.

Wu Dafeng was still warm and enthusiastic, “Where is your house? I’ll take you there, the house here is very nice.”

Zhen Zhen didn’t reject Wu Da Feng’s goodwill, “Then I’ll trouble you, sister-in-law.”

With Wu Dafeng leading the way, Zhen Zhen and Li Shuang naturally followed her.

They caught up on old times in front of them, talking about things from the old days and also some recent events.

And most of what could be said about the recent past was still about the children, each talking about how each family’s children were doing today.

Ah Wen and Mrs. Chen walked behind them and listened to them for a while.

At the mention of Cheng Chen and Dan Sui, Wen turned to Mrs. Chen and asked, “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you, Mrs. Chen, why don’t you go to Kyoto and live with Cheng Chen and the others?”

As a matter of fact, she should have gone to Kyoto to look for Cheng Chen, but it turned out that she didn’t realize that she had also applied to come to the dry rest center.

Her application was only recently approved, and it just so happened that she moved here with Ah Wen and the others.

Sister-in-law Chen said, “I don’t want to go, I’ll just know a few kids when I get there, it’s not as comfortable as being with you guys.”

Ah Wen smiled, “That’s true.” It’s the most lively time for the old ones to get together and retire.

The children are busy at work, so living with them can be quite lonely.

Wu Dafeng took Zhen Zhen and the girls to see the house, and Zhen Zhen and the girls were very satisfied with the house.

After seeing the house, Li Shuang sighed with emotion, “We’ll retire here from now on.”

Wen answered, “It’s really quite nice.”

Mrs. Chen nodded at the side.

After looking at the house, Zhen Zhen and the four of them were ready to go back.

Wu Dafeng brought Zhen Zhen and Li Shuang all the way down, feeling much better than when they were together, so her enthusiasm did not diminish, and told Zhen Zhen and the girls, “We’re all here, why don’t you have dinner at my house before you leave.”

Even if Zhen Zhen and the others wanted to stay, they couldn’t tonight.

Zhen Zhen apologized and said to Wu Dafeng, “Sister-in-law, I still have things to do tonight, so I’ll go to your house for dinner when I move here.”

Wu Dafeng was sincere in wanting to keep them, and asked, “What’s so important?”

Li Shuang smiled and helped Zhen Zhen to explain, “Sister-in-law, you don’t read newspapers and magazines, you may not know, Zhen Zhen, she is not an ordinary person now, she is a famous writer. The long story she wrote ah, was selected and won the highest literary award in the country, tonight she is going to attend the award ceremony, do you think it’s important?”

Hearing this, Wu Dafeng’s eyes went round.

She looked at Zhen Zhen and said in disbelief, “Aiyo, Zhen Zhen you’ve become a writer? Really?”

Seeing Wu Dafeng’s face, Ah Wen added with a smile, “Of course it’s true, not only as a writer, but also as a role model for many people, Zhen Zhen is famous, not only for the books she writes, but also for her personality.”

Wu Dafeng stared round eyes blinking, all of a sudden feel that Zhen Zhen high so that she can not look up.

It turns out that not only has Li Shuang changed, Zhen Zhen has also changed, and the change is even greater.

Zhen Zhen didn’t put these honorary titles or anything too at ease, only to smile again and said, “Sister-in-law, you don’t listen to them touting me, I’m just writing some stories for fun, open the recital that’s also for fun.”

Wu Dafeng was shocked: “You can play like this, you’re something!”

Seeing Wu Dafeng like this, Li Shuang, Ah Wen and Chen’s sister-in-law all laughed.

Looking at them laughing, Wu Dafeng’s mind turned, thought of something, busy and looked at Zhen Zhen again and said, “You’re busy, I’m not busy, so what about that ceremony or something tonight, can you also take me to see it?”

This is not a big deal.

Zhen Zhen responded, “Of course.”

Wu Dafeng was happy, “I’ll go and support you too.”

Coming out of the dry rest center, the four of them still had smiles on their faces.

Li Shuang lamented, “This Wu Dafeng, too, has become different from before, her face has changed.” Not as fierce as it used to look, this will be old, and the eyebrows when talking are surprisingly quite kind.

Zhen Zhen said, “This is decades past, you and I have changed, how can she not change ah?”

Li Shuang smiled and guessed, “It may be that someone who can cure her has appeared.”

Zhen Zhen whispered, “Sanwa’s daughter-in-law I heard is quite powerful ……”

***

It’s time to go to the awards ceremony in the evening.

After returning from the dry rest center, several people first cleaned up at home.

After cleaning up from head to toe, Zhen Zhen and Shi Huai Ming stood side by side in front of the mirror.

Serving Huai Ming was wearing a well-fitted military uniform, still as straight as when he was young.

He looked at Zhen Zhen and asked, “Are you nervous?”

Zhen Zhen smiled and said, “Not nervous, it’s not the first time.”

Although the long story is the first time to win a literary award, but before the middle story, short story, and some essays written, also won a few times, also on the podium a few times.

Since I’m not nervous, let’s go out.

Zhen Zhen went out with Squire Huai Ming, and was accompanied by He Shuo Li Shuang, Liu Zhi Ah Wen, and Chen’s sister-in-law.

The kids were busy with work and they didn’t make a point of informing them.

When they arrived at the awards ceremony, everything followed the process.

Zhen Zhen was here to receive the award, and Squire Huai Ming and the others were naturally here to be spectators.

Although now retired, he and He Shuo Liuzhi and Old Zhou were still just as imposing in their military uniforms.

Old Zhou came with Wu Dafeng.

They met and greeted each other and sat down in the audience, and Wu Dafeng naturally followed Lao Zhou and sat next to him.

Wu Dafeng usually seldom participate in such occasions, and now people are old, and do not know much about these, so looking at the host on the stage to speak, she is mostly frozen, cloudy.

Until Zhen Zhen came on stage, her face only to fight spirit.

Ran looked at Zhen Zhen on the stage to receive the trophy and certificate, and the microphone generously and freely give an acceptance speech, full of color, said a lot of words she did not understand, she suddenly felt in a trance again.

In a trance, she whispered, “Is that really the Zhen Zhen we know on stage?”

Old Zhou turned his head to look at her, “Then who else is it?”

Wu Dafeng gaze motionless looking at the stage of Zhen Zhen, voice has a kind of feeling as if it were a lifetime ago, “You say this gap between people can be really big, when we came to the city together, then she was not as good as me it ……”.

Speaking that last sentence, her voice was even smaller to the point of inaudibility.

The gap between people has always existed.

Old Zhou didn’t hear Wu Dafeng’s last sentence and didn’t pick up her words again.

But when he looked at the stage again, his heart suddenly couldn’t help but feel emotion – back then, he really couldn’t have imagined that Lin Zhen Zhen would live to be like this today.

After Zhen Zhen finished her acceptance speech, there was a round of applause in the audience.

Wu Dafeng heard confused, see others applauding their own busy to follow the applause.

Watching Zhen Zhen get off the stage, she felt that all the light in the world was chasing and hitting Zhen Zhen.

The force of her applause was unconsciously heavier, and she slapped her palms red.

***

After the awards ceremony, Zhen Zhen and everyone went to the restaurant to eat together again.

The most talked about during the meal was still about her winning the award, and the one who asked the most questions was naturally Wu Dafeng.

She didn’t know anything about it and wasn’t overly restrained, asking whatever came to mind.

Everyone was also very patient, explaining things to her very clearly.

Asked some honor and fame on those imaginary, Wu Dafeng asked the actual, “Then Zhen Zhen you won this award, just to get a fame and that certificate?”

Li Shuang said, “Of course not, there is a bonus, but this is the least important.”

But Wu Dafeng was still curious, “How much is the prize money?”

Wen made a gesture, “Eighty thousand.”

“Eighty thousand?” Wu Dafeng’s eyes went wide.

She moved her gaze to look at Zhen Zhen, “Really?”

Zhen Zhen smiled, “Not about the money.”

But Wu Dafeng just wanted to hear about money, after all, she didn’t know anything else.

So Mrs. Chen told her again, “If you want to make money, she can make money by submitting articles, and she can make money by signing a contract with a publisher, and the more famous she is, the more money she makes. Usually, she can win awards again, and get bonuses.”

Wu Dafeng listened attentively and sighed softly, “Aigoo, I’m really knowledgeable.”

She then looked at Li Shuang and Ah Wen, “You are all literate, even earlier than Zhen Zhen, so it’s so lucrative, why don’t you write it? If I say so, you guys should write together too.”

Old Zhou gives her a look, “You think anyone can write something?”

Wu Dafeng: “Isn’t it true that if you can read, you can write?”

Li Shuang: “Of course not. Even if anyone who can read can write, there’s still a difference between good and bad writing. This time, for example, there are many novels participating in the competition, how come only three or four of them won the prize?”

Wu Dafeng nodded, “So I understand, we also have a distinction between good and bad farming.”

Wu Dafeng understood everything.

In her heart, she gave Lee? Zhen Zhen stamped three words – big writer!

***

After receiving the prize, Zhen Zhen was free again.

The next few days there was nothing else to do, she and Shih Huai Ming stayed at home, packing together.

Although he didn’t retire at the same time, he and Liu Zhi agreed to leave the military compound together.

The houses had all been divided up and they would be moving out in a few days, so naturally they had to pack their bags in advance.

After living here for sixteen or seventeen years, there were just too many things to pack.

And all of them bear witness to a memory from the past.

The objects were packed in hand, but what was really packed seemed like a small half-life in the past.

Those old things in the boxes and cabinets, every time I turned over one of them, I remembered a piece of the past.

That year, when Servant Huai Ming returned from the war, Zhen Zhen wore a red scarf and came to Xicheng to look for him.

That year, Zhen Zhen successfully gave birth to Dan Sui, and Zhong Minfen also came to Xicheng.

That year, they moved here from the military school to start a new life.

That year, she went to college with his encouragement.

That year, she quit her job to focus on writing with his support again.

……

While packing up the old books on the shelves, Jen saw the set of elementary school textbooks she used to use in the corner.

She reached down and took all the textbooks down, as well as the workbook she had used at the time.

Placing them on the writing table, she flipped through those books, only to see that they were covered in the marks she had left behind when she first started studying.

In addition to the traces left by her, in certain places, there were also traces left by Squire Huai Ming.

Flipping through two textbooks, the corners of her mouth smiled shallowly, and warmth flooded her heart.

Turning over the workbook with the yellow cover again, on it were the slightly tender words she wrote with a pencil, the handwriting left by the pencil had faded a bit, but the red pen in the lower right corner looked brighter and brighter.

Zhen Zhen smiled, her fingers gently touching that red color.

Squire Huai Ming walked next to her at this time and asked her, “What are you looking at?”

Zhen Zhen picked up her workbook and pointed it out to him.

In the lower right corner of the workbook was a four-petaled red flower that he had drawn with a red pen, and next to the flower was written the word “渚�” and the date. This was the first little red flower he drew for her when he taught her to read and write.

As she was looking at the flower, she was immersed in her memories, when the sound of a song suddenly came from outside the house.

Zhen Zhen and Servant Huai Ming slowly turned their heads and looked out the window together.

The moon was traveling through the white lotus-like clouds, and the evening wind blew in a burst of happy singing.

We sat beside the tall pile of grain and listened to our mother tell us about that past.

We sat beside the tall pile of grain and listened to our mother tell of that past. ……鈶�