Upon learning that Zhan Aiping and the others had arrived, Shen Liqing was very excited and came to the train station to pick her up. She grabbed Zhan Aiping's hand and said, "Xiao Zhan, Xiao Zhan, you are such a good writer!"
"Let's publish these stories you wrote in the magazine first!"
"Let me read your Qigong master's book. I also want to learn how to be a Qigong master. It also describes psychology..."
Zhan Aiping's "New Life" has been serialized in "Story Miscellany", and it is a good opportunity to continue with these scientific stories about qigong.
"Stories and Chats" had high sales, and Zhan Aiping's investment was very successful. She received 20,000 yuan in royalties from "New Life" alone, plus another 80,000 yuan in dividends, which was enough to buy a nice car.
Zhan Aiping chose to buy imported cars, and she bought three at a time. It was not because she suddenly became wealthy, but because the neighboring Qiongzhou Island was trading cars. She could obtain approval and import cars from Qiongzhou Island without paying customs duties, and then resell them to the mainland. Imported cars could be bought at relatively low prices in all parts of the country, and only a certain fee had to be paid to go through the relevant release procedures.
Buying a car there costs five or six thousand dollars, which is equivalent to a cost of fifteen or sixty thousand yuan, and reselling it for thirty or forty thousand yuan. Both sides make a profit.
Zhan Aiping asked someone to buy three cars, one seven-seater car and two twelve-seater vans, all in gray and white. She spent a total of 120,000 yuan, which was a huge investment. The seven-seater was for her own use, and the two twelve-seater vans were for the hotel.
Zhan Aiping had already obtained her driver's license, and as soon as the car arrived, she took the whole family out for a ride. The seven-seater car could accommodate their family of five, as well as Gao Jingmei and her son.
Gu Sheng and Gu Chen, father and son, had bright eyes, and even Lu Cheng was eager to try. They were lining up like wolves and tigers to grab the steering wheel. Zhan Aiping was so happy that she touched her new car. She got in the car but was not in a hurry to drive. Instead, she adjusted the seat, looked left and right, and adjusted the rearview mirror, making the men next to her so anxious that they wanted to fist pump.
Gu Sheng in the passenger seat: "Wife, if you forget, I'll drive."
Zhan Aiping said seriously: "I need to concentrate on driving, please don't disturb me."
She drove a car and took a group of people to a sparsely populated avenue in the suburbs to practice driving. Gu Sheng was like a child, playing rock-paper-scissors with Gu Chen, Gu Yuan, and Lu Cheng, and learning to drive according to the order of the winners.
Seeing that there were too many people, Gao Jingmei decided not to participate. She walked over to Zhan Aiping and asked, "Aren't you in the car watching your car?"
Zhan Aiping said: "Their father is always the co-pilot. With him watching, nothing will happen."
Gao Jingmei: “…”
"Let the children touch the car and learn a little. They are still young and cannot drive on the main road."
Gao Jingmei: "I want to drive too!"
Zhan Aiping smiled and said, "Your son also wants to fly a fighter jet."
"Everyone with the surname Gu and Lu, look here. I'll draw the lines. Let's practice reversing into a parking space and see who is the best at it." Zhan Aiping took a piece of chalk to draw the lines. These children are too young. It would be wrong to drive recklessly on the road. It would be a good idea for them to practice reversing into a parking space, parallel parking and the like.
Reversing into a parking space is a nightmare for many people when taking a driving test. Although it is a nightmare, the more you practice, the more you get addicted to it.
Zhan Aiping drew the garage lines and asked several people to practice reversing into the garage.
Gu Yuan: "Let me try. I'll drive first! Mom, reversing is so annoying!"
Lu Cheng: "Turn the steering wheel to the left."
Gu Yuan: "?!!! Really?"
Gu Chen: "Sister, you can't tell left from right."
Gu Sheng: "It's on the line, it's on the line, let's switch to the next one."
These men kept saying things left and right, and Comrade Gu Yuan was getting angry. "I'll open it for you, you open it!!! It's so infuriating!"
Lu Cheng said with a smile: "Get out of the car."
Gu Yuan said firmly: "No, I have to pour it in first."
Zhan Aiping said, "Drive forward first, then back up. Where are you going, dear?"
The whole family was learning to drive enthusiastically. The hotel near the train station also got a car. There were several veterans in the car, but only Chen Rong had a driver's license, so he was responsible for driving.
"Can I drive this car from now on?" When Chen Rong saw the imported car with twelve seats, his eyes were as bright as if he had seen gold ingots, as if a pie had fallen from the sky.
Zhan Aiping said: "You are the only one who can drive, so train two more drivers."
"This car is used to help transport goods and connect with travel agencies. I went to the capital before and got the contact information of several travel agencies. I can call them to contact them. Our two cars can take a small tour group of 20 people. If they travel in a group, the whole group can stay in our hotel."
"We pick up tour groups to various scenic spots and charge fares. Of course, we have to charge fares. The specific cooperation should be discussed with each travel agency. Now is not the peak tourist season here. It will be too late to discuss it during the peak season. Let's discuss it now."
Most travel agencies in the country have branches in the capital, so it is most comprehensive to find travel agencies in the capital. Because many people want to go to the capital when they think of traveling. Zhan Aiping contacted several travel agencies and prepared to discuss cooperation with them.
From April to October, Guicheng has a nearly half-year peak tourist season. If you can negotiate cooperation with a few fixed travel agencies, you won’t have to worry about the source of tourists, and the quality of such tourists is relatively high.
Providing out-of-town customers with low-cost, clean and comfortable accommodation experiences will also be beneficial to the development of their hotel and improve its reputation.
There were very few private hotels at that time. Most of them were guesthouses of various units. To stay in a guesthouse, one needed a letter of introduction from the unit. The guesthouses only accommodated personnel from the corresponding units, and the accommodation fee was several yuan per day. Most people could not afford to stay there, but it was different for business trips, which could be reimbursed.
Now that the individual economy has been liberalized, there are many people from non-state-owned units who have accommodation needs and are moving around the country. They cannot stay in guesthouses that require letters of introduction, so they choose small hotels that do not require letters of introduction. Of course... Because these people have more and more accommodation needs, many unit guesthouses are also beginning to reform and are gradually opening to the outside world, not only receiving personnel from the unit, but also opening to other personnel, which means that letters of introduction are no longer required.
The Mo Yu Hotel opened by Zhan Aiping is cheap, but the hygiene is excellent, and it has accumulated a lot of word of mouth. She also works hard in other areas, such as providing Chinese medicine sleeping pillows, placing various sachets in the room, and working on moisture absorption, ventilation and deodorization.
Nowadays, not only small hotels but also guesthouses have large rooms. Some even have five or six beds or even ten beds. If ten people sleep together and get smelly feet, you can imagine how it feels.
The Chinese herbal sleeping-aiding sachets launched by Zhan Aiping in the hotel have been well received. Many people have heard about the sachets of the Mo Yu Hotel and even come to buy them just to take them on the train. Smelling the Chinese herbal sachets on the crowded train makes people feel much more relaxed.
There are sleeping-aiding sachets, and there are also cooling sachets that clear the mind… Sleeping-aiding sachets are the best-selling ones. Zhan Aiping is also discussing cooperation with a local Chinese medicine factory recently to specially customize a batch of sachets for sale in the hotel.
Chen Rong said: "Sister-in-law, your brain works really quickly."
Chen Rong used to be a veteran under Captain Jiang. Now that he has retired, he doesn't want to do ordinary factory work, so he started a hotel with Zhan Aiping. Until now, he still thinks that his decision was very correct.
If I were an ordinary worker, when would I be able to drive this imported car with 12 seats!!!
He doesn't care about anything else at the moment, he just wants to get on this car and can't wait to take passengers around every day.
Zhan Aiping said: "This car still needs more practice before it can be put on the road."
"Oh, okay."
Gu Sheng also wanted to try out this imported car with 12 seats, so they drove to an empty lane to practice. Chen Rong was so excited that he gripped the steering wheel and braked, "Gu... Old Chief of Staff, it's your turn to drive now."
Gu Sheng: “???!!!” Old chief of staff
Is there something wrong with this person's brain? Why add the word "old"
Knowing that his family had a car, Wang Youli also came over to get a ride, "My wife's magazine company's car won't let me touch it, so you have to let me take your car for a spin."
Gu Sheng was particularly disgusted with him: "Brother, what are you coveting? Do you still need a car to drive? You said it yourself before, in fact, you can discuss with the young driver and drive to a corner, and then say that you want to drive secretly for a while."
Wang Youli snorted, "Don't I want to save face? If you want face, I want face too."
"Let me borrow your car."
Gu Sheng: "You are driving without a license."
"We both know each other."
"Let me try this imported car. It's quite big. Can the seats be removed? It can also carry a lot of things."
Gu Sheng: "You're wasting my family's gas money. Gas is expensive. Use it sparingly."
Wang Youli: "Old Gu, Old Gu, you are getting more and more stingy as you grow older."
"I love my wife." Comrade Gu boasted, "My wife worked hard to earn money to support me and bought me a car. I put myself in her shoes, so of course I have to be frugal. I warn you, don't waste our oil."
*
At the end of 1984, news of military downsizing gradually spread, causing panic among the people. The previous six million had gradually been reduced to four million, and now several military regions were to be abolished, reorganized, and a large number of personnel would be laid off.
Zhan Aiping jokingly asked Gu Sheng: "What if you get laid off?"
Gu Sheng: "Take my wife and children back to dig wild vegetables."
Zhan Aiping: "Tsk tsk, no wild vegetables."
Gu Sheng said enthusiastically: "Then open a transportation company!"
Zhan Aiping suggested: "I think we can definitely make a lot of money if we open a small restaurant as a couple. Old Gu, you can be the chef. It's time to show your true strength!" Gu Sheng smiled and said, "How can a small restaurant work? It must be a small hotel. I will be the husband of the hotel owner, and just do as you say, driving my imported car to pick up and drop off tourists every day. You don't have to be a doctor or a teacher anymore, but a tour guide. We can make money as a couple while traveling around."
Zhan Aiping laughed: "You want beauty!"
Wang Youli was also very anxious. He was of neither age nor seniority. Some older people had retired voluntarily, but people like him could stay if they wanted to. However, several major military regions were being dismantled and reorganized, and positions would definitely have to change. Anyone would be worried.
He came to talk to Lao Gu and his wife, and Lao Wang came to his senses: "At worst, I can open a transportation company with you!"
Gu Sheng: "Who wants to make a big deal with you? My husband-and-wife shop doesn't want outsiders."
Gao Jingmei ate an apple nearby to join in the fun, "I'm going to drive too."
Zhan Aiping teased her: "You and your husband Lu should go to Pengcheng to open an electronics factory. Don't forget each other when you become rich and powerful in the future."
Gao Jingmei: "You are the one who is rich and powerful."
Zhan Aiping: "... Meimei, how were your Chinese grades back then? Let me see your elementary school diary."
During the Chinese New Year of 1985, these people enthusiastically discussed re-employment after retirement. Although none of them retired in the end, the discussion was lively and fun, and they chatted and talked a lot together.
Zhan Aiping is not so idle during the New Year. She is busy publishing three books. "New Life" has been published, "Science Story" has been reprinted, and "Teaching Everyone to Master Qigong Performance - Everyone Can Become a Qigong Master" has been published.
Gu Sheng commented: "My wife changed her career early and became a writer. The end of a doctor's career is to become a writer. Mr. Lu Xun gave up medicine to pursue literature, which is a role model."
"I'm so busy, so stop talking nonsense. If you have nothing to do, just help me organize the manuscripts." Zhan Aiping flipped through the old manuscripts and was filled with emotion. "The publishing house said that the reprint should be more creative, and the old manuscripts should be displayed. The manuscripts at home are well preserved. They have a smell, but at least they are not moldy. The books here are not exposed to the sun, so they are easy to mold."
"Look, you were the one who copied the original manuscript for me, and both of our children were still breastfeeding."
Gu Sheng held the old manuscript, his peach blossom eyes full of smiles, he sighed: "Isn't it because you conscripted me into the army?"
Zhan Aiping shook the manuscript and said, "This is your contribution as a young man. Keep it well and take it out to read when you are old. Don't throw it away as waste paper."
Gu Sheng: "We don't sell waste paper, so keep it and don't let mice eat it."
Zhan Aiping, Mrs. Luo, Shen Liqing and Gao Jingmei got together to play mahjong. Comrade Zhan was very lucky this year and won a lot, but Comrade Gao lost too much and began to doubt her life. She began to study Zhan Aiping's book on qigong performances.
Gao Jingmei is very talented. She performs "qigong" all day long. It can be said to be qigong, but it can also be said to be a magic show. She makes a group of people laugh so hard that they can't stop.
"If you practice more, you can even participate in the Spring Festival Gala! We are waiting to see your magic show."
Gao Jingmei said disdainfully: "Who wants to perform magic tricks? Come on, come on, continue playing mahjong."
Zhan Aiping said: "Lao Gao, I will give you a diploma from the Artillery School this year."
Gao Jingmei snorted: "Let's wait until your old Gu becomes the principal."
What artillery school diploma? It’s the same for everyone. This year she is unlucky. Comrade Zhan just had good luck for a while. She is not convinced!!!
In the summer of 1985, Gu Yuan and Lu Cheng graduated from junior high school and they both got admitted to high school. Gu Yuan went to high school instead of technical secondary school. She wanted to take the college entrance examination. At that time, many technical secondary schools were very popular and many people would rather go to technical secondary schools than high school because they could directly find a job and earn money after studying at technical secondary schools.
Lu Cheng joined the army. At that time, the age requirement for joining the army was not strict, as long as you were tall enough. In other words, the age requirement was not strict in every place. Even when taking the college entrance examination, you had to fill in your own age. Many students could change it if they wanted. They would fill in this age this year and that age next year. They decided their own age.
Of course, when you retire decades later, the age on your original admission record will be used as the basis.
Before Lu Cheng left, he planned to give a lot of his models to Gu Yuan, but Gu Yuan refused and took the initiative to say, "Give me the key to your room. I will help you clean the house often. Don't worry."
Lu Cheng had a headache: "..."
According to Lu Cheng's logic, if these things were given to Gu Yuan, they would be hers and she could do whatever she wanted with them. But Gu Yuan said that she would help him clean up...
The things are still his, but their future is unimaginable.
Although he was filled with melancholy, he still gave the key to his room to Gu Yuan. He was prepared to find anything in the room when he returned home in the future.
After thinking for a while, Lu Cheng gave her a drawer key: "There is a gold bracelet in the first drawer on the left. If you want to wear it for fun, then go ahead."
Gu Yuan was shocked. Wow, a gold bracelet. "Really let me play with it. If I lose it, I can't afford to pay for it."
Lu Cheng smiled: "How can you not afford to pay?"
Gu Yuan: "Then I will have to sell myself to my mother to pay off the debt."
Lu Cheng: "As long as you can afford it."
"Do you still have any humanity? Never mind, I won't play with it. I have my own."
Lu Cheng joined the army, wearing a brand new green military uniform and a big red flower. When Gu Yuan saw him off, she was very happy and took a lot of photos of him with her camera.
Lu Cheng stood out in the crowd. He inherited his parents' good looks, with a tall and handsome figure, sharp eyebrows and bright eyes under the brim of his hat. He stood very straight. In Gu Yuan's impression, his posture and demeanor were always outstanding.
After all, she was an experienced flag-raiser who had been doing so for nine years. Although she was the class monitor and the leader in elementary school, when the flag was raised every Monday, Lu Cheng often walked at the front of the team, and she saw Lu Cheng's back.
You can't have your cake and eat it too. Whenever she saw him raising the red flag, Gu Yuan would always think of how her comrade Tangyuan was spotted as soon as she entered the school and was told that she would be trained to be a flag-raiser, but she refused!
The flag-raiser is really handsome!
Gu Yuan would sometimes secretly envy him and hope that the wind would be stronger, a tornado would come, and the flag would be blown all over his face, so that she could watch him retreat in embarrassment, but this never happened.
What a pity.
Lu Cheng was also watching her in the car. It was a very windy summer day, blowing Gu Yuan's waist-length hair into the air. Lu Cheng had seen this scene many times. Gu Yuan's hair was very long. She was tall and always sat at the very end of the classroom. When the wind blew into the classroom, he could see the long hair behind her head being blown up, sparkling in the sunlight.
He always thought that Gu Yuan's hair was terrible. She had a lot of hair and it fell out frequently. Wherever she was, her long hair would always fall off.
Whether in elementary school or middle school, as long as Gu Yuan wore her hair in a ponytail, whenever she turned her head, her hair would be like a slap in the face.
It was fine when she was standing, but if she was sitting with the brother and sister, as soon as she turned her head to look at her brother, her hair would hit her face directly.
She turned to look at him again, and her hair hit Gu Chen's face again.
He and Gu Chen were good brothers who were beaten by his sister's hair together.
*
In September, Gu Yuan started her freshman year in high school and Gu Chen was her sophomore year. Next year he would be a senior year and would take the college entrance examination. Gu Yuan sat in the new classroom and class and suddenly felt a little lonely.
She looked back subconsciously, but couldn't see the familiar figure behind her. After her brother was admitted to university, she would be the only one left in the school.
—Even if she is alone, she is still squad leader Gu.
(End of this chapter)