Mrs. Wen originally wanted to hold a dinner party for Chen Xuan, but Chen Xuan politely declined. Chen Xuan said, "I'm just going abroad to study, and I didn't pass the exam to become a government-funded student. I'll wait until I've achieved academic success in the future before I decide."
Since Chen Xuan was going abroad to study, Mrs. Wen did not force her.
Mrs. Wen also prepared a box of things for Chen Xuan to take with her. Wen Shao and others also gave gifts to the little girl, and the little girl did not forget to remind her uncles, "Don't forget the big award certificate." She would show it off when she went abroad.
Wen Shao smiled, "I can't forget it."
Mr. Wen and Mrs. Wen gave Wei Nian and Chen Xuan a few words of advice, which were nothing more than to be careful on the road, and that even though they were going abroad to study, they should not study too hard, and that health was the most important thing. Finally, the little girl kissed her grandma and grandpa before getting in the car with her father.
Mrs. Wen originally wanted to send a car to take them to Shanghai, but Mrs. Wei preferred to take the train. The roads were not very good now, and taking a car was bumpy. The old lady thought the train was better. Not only was it stable, but the carriages were also more spacious than cars. She could lie down and take a nap, and it was convenient to eat, drink water, and go to the toilet. So Mrs. Wen asked someone to book a train ticket. It didn't take long, and it would take eight hours to get to Shanghai. They set off early in the morning, had lunch on the train at noon, and arrived at Shanghai Railway Station in the afternoon.
Mr. Wen said to Wei Nian, "Call home when you get to Shanghai."
Wei Nian agreed, "Okay, father-in-law."
Mr. Wen smiled and said to Mrs. Wei, "Mother-in-law, please come over if you have the chance. Let's get together more often."
Old Mrs. Wei felt that Mr. Wen, her future father-in-law, was a very kind person, so she smiled and said, "You must come! I'm sorry to bother you these few days!"
“It’s all as it should be.”
Afterwards, Wei Nian said, "Father-in-law and mother-in-law, we are leaving first."
Chen Xuan waved goodbye to the Wen family, and the little girl also waved her little hands in imitation. Mr. Wen nodded and signaled the driver to drive.
The little girl probably felt that her grandma and grandpa's house was really nice and everyone treated her very well. She twisted her eyebrows in the car and said sadly, "If I didn't have to go abroad, I really want to live in my grandma's house in the future."
Wei Nian thought to himself, girl, you are so real.
Chen Xuan said, "People say that a home is worse than your own. Why do you like living in someone else's home?"
The little girl is still too young to understand the difference between her own home and others’. She said, “Grandma’s home is not someone else’s home.”
Old Madam Wei spoke up for the little girl, "The little girl is only a few years old, how can she know this. Girl, you should make money well in the future and make our home better than your grandma's."
The little girl sighed reluctantly.
Chen Xuan wondered why her daughter didn't miss home at all!
The little girl's adaptability is really amazing. She felt that her grandmother's home was the best when she was there. When she arrived in Shanghai, she was so excited that she said to her father, "Dad! There are better places in the world than Beijing!"
Wei Nian smiled, "There are a lot."
The little girl opened her mouth and chattered, "It's so lively! Even more lively than our Beijing! There are so many cars! There are big ships on the water!" She almost wanted to stick her head out of the window, and Wei Nian was so scared that he quickly rolled up the window. The little girl pressed her fat face against the window and looked out, speaking all kinds of local dialect along the way!
After arriving at Wen Mansion, the little girl no longer missed her grandmother's home.
However, the child remembered things. She greeted Uncle Rong and asked politely, "Uncle Rong, can I use your phone? Grandpa told us to call home when we get to Shanghai."
Rong Yang asked her, "Can you make a phone call? Do you know your grandpa's phone number?"
"I know! I can make the call too!"
"Go ahead!"
The little girl went to make a phone call, and Wei Nian hurriedly followed her. The little girl was short, and at home she had to stand on a small stool. At Uncle Rong's house, she asked her father to hold her. The little girl dialed the number, and she reported that she was safe first. Wei Nian took the call, said a few words, and hung up.
Rong Yang has his own aura, no matter whether it is a little girl or an old lady, they are all polite and courteous in front of Rong Yang. In the words of Old Lady Wei, this is the etiquette of our old Beijing, and we must not let others look down on us when we go out.
The little girl also gave Rong Yang a gift, a small dough figurine of Guanyin Bodhisattva. Children don't lie, and the little girl said, "My father said that you look like a Bodhisattva, so I made this for you at Dong'an Market."
"Thank you, Xin. I like it very much." Rong Yang glanced at Wei Nian with a smile. He didn't know how Wei Nian called him in private. It was hot in summer. Wei Nian handed his daughter a glass of juice and said to her, "Are you thirsty? Come and drink the juice." Children are just like mynah birds. You say something and she may remember it and even think she is smart enough to understand it.
The little girl took the cup and drank most of the juice, then went to see the fan in Rong Yang's house. She had seen it in Beijing before, but that was in a restaurant, and they didn't let the children get close to it, so the little girl never got enough of it. Rong Yang said, "It's plugged in now, so don't touch it with your fingers, or you'll hurt your fingers." It's okay to touch the outer shell, but the wings inside are too fast, and if a child accidentally puts his finger in, it will be a big deal. There are families in Shanghai who are not careful and children have become disabled because of this.
The little girl nodded and said obediently, "Uncle Rong, I won't touch you."
Old Madam Wei was most concerned about the little girl. She said, "It's okay. I'll take care of the girl."
Old Mrs. Wei felt that Mr. Rong looked very high-class. In fact, Old Mrs. Wei would be a little reserved in the Rong family. Fortunately, she had a little girl who didn't know why she was reserved. In the evening when the weather was cool, the little girl saw that there was a tennis court in the garden, so she pulled her father to teach her how to play tennis. Old Mrs. Wei, Wei Yin, watched the fun on the side and gave the little girl some instructions.
Chen Xuan and Rong Yang were drinking tea under an umbrella in the garden. The weather was hot, and Rong Yang was wearing a jade-green silk robe, which gave off a scholarly scent. Rong Yang saw that the little girl was a chubby girl and not very tall, but she held the tennis racket in her two small hands, and she was very energetic whether running or swinging! Rong Yang said, "Ah Xin really likes sports."
Chen Xuan looked at her daughter and smiled naturally. She said, "Don't look at us because we are fat. We can run very fast."
Rong Yang's clear eyes gradually became tinged with warmth, and he asked, "What are Mrs. Wei's plans next?"
Chen Xuan said firmly, "Study."
Rong Yang asked, "Have you arranged your accommodation abroad?"
"Mom has a villa to lend us." Chen Xuan's eyes were gentle. "I thought, let's go there and settle down first. We still have to go for an interview. After we enroll, we'll see if there are any businesses we can do abroad. Although we have some savings, there won't be any financial problems in the short term, but we can't just live off our savings."
"In fact, Mrs. Wei's business talent is not inferior to her academic ability." Rong Yang nodded, smiled again, and put down the snow porcelain teacup. "But I still won't persuade you. There are tens of millions of businessmen in the world. It doesn't matter if there is one less outstanding businessman, but it would be a pity if there is one less outstanding professor."
"Brother Anian is better at business than me, and he has a quick mind." Chen Xuan warned Rong Yang seriously, "Mr. Rong, the Japanese devils are coming. I don't know if they will come to the south. You have to be careful."
Rong Yang said, "Don't worry, I know what's going on."
Miss Bai came over at dinner time and brought Shanghai's famous snacks for the old lady. She gave the little girl some high-end candies. Chen Xuan confiscated the candies and gave the little girl two every day. The little girl was also very happy. She was optimistic by nature and said, "Aunt Bai, this big bag you gave me is enough for me to eat on the boat for a month."
Everyone was chatting about some random things. Miss Bai heard that the Wei family would be boarding the ship tomorrow, so she decided to come and see them off in the morning.
Mrs. Qin came a little later and packed two small boxes of things, asking the Wei family to take them to their daughter. Mrs. Qin smiled, "You are all in Boston, so it will be convenient for us to visit each other in the future. Since Ah Shu left, he would think of you every time he wrote home. By the way, if you go abroad, you must bring some of the food you like to eat on weekdays. Those foreigners eat differently from us. Ah Shu wrote back in the first year and asked me to send her vermicelli, which is easy to send. She also said that she wanted soy sauce and fermented bean curd, which is really worrying. How can I send these things? There is nothing else in the box, all of which are food. The ship to the United States has Chinese food at the beginning, and the ship is replenished on the way. If we leave our territory, there will be very little Chinese food. These two boxes of things, one box is for Ah Shu, and the other box is for you to take with you to eat on the road. Those Western-style food, it’s okay to eat occasionally, but it’s unbearable to eat it all day long."
Old Mrs. Wei was surprised. "There's not even soy sauce or fermented bean curd in that foreign land?"
"That's right, there's not even any tofu. Ah Shu wants to eat Shanghai's old dried tofu, but that can't be sent because it would go bad on the way. She also said she wanted to eat leeks and beans, but there aren't any of those either. I once sent her some dried beans and asked her to soak them and make food, but she couldn't do it well." Mrs. Qin gets worried whenever she talks about her daughter.
Chen Xuan was not in a hurry. She said, "Don't worry, Auntie. I brought a lot of seeds. I can grow vegetables. I can grow all kinds of home-cooked vegetables. As long as there are soybeans, I can grind them and make tofu. Then ask Ah Shu to come to our place to eat, and we'll have everything to eat."
Mrs. Qin knew Chen Xuan's ability to grow strawberries. Seeing that Chen Xuan could grow any vegetable and brought a lot of seeds, Mrs. Qin was impressed, "Xuan, you are really capable. Confucius said that three friends are beneficial: honest friends, understanding friends, and knowledgeable friends. Ah Shu is where she is today because of friends like you. You are all ambitious children, and she has been influenced by you and has naturally followed suit. I am really glad that Ah Shu has such good friends like you."
Madam Qin also said, "Ah Shu sent a telegram back a few days ago, asking us to ask if you have found an apartment. If you haven't, she is convenient over there and can help you find one. The ship will take more than a month to sail. The telegram has been sent now, and by the time you arrive, the apartment will be ready."
Chen Xuan said, "My mother has a house that we can live in."
Young Madam Qin thought of Chen Xuan's biological mother and smiled even more deeply. "Madam also went to college in Boston. Mother and daughter went to the same school. It can be said to be fate."
Chen Xuan smiled and said nothing more.
The little girl said innocently, "When I grow up, I will go to the same university as my mom and grandma."
Chen Xuan smiled, touched her daughter's chubby face, and said, "Okay."
The ferry the next morning.
Mr. Rong went to see them off, and Miss Bai, Mrs. Qin, and Young Lady Qin also arrived early. When the little girl saw such a huge ship that was taller than a building, her eyes widened with shock! She exclaimed honestly, "Oh my God! What a big ship!" It was completely different from the rocking boat she had taken in Beihai Park, and it was also different from the pleasure boat-like cruise ship she had taken on the Qinhuai River. This was a real modern ocean-going ship.
The boat tickets were arranged by Mrs. Wen early in the morning, and they were all first-class tickets.
Everyone said some parting words, and the little girl couldn't wait to get on the boat. She was small and had to walk by herself. The old lady was old, so Wei Yin had to support her. Wei Nian held his daughter's hand and walked together. The river breeze gently blew through the morning sunshine and the broken hair on Chen Xuan's forehead. Chen Xuan looked at Rong Yang, thinking of the chance encounter with Rong Yang at Mr. Wen's salon a few years ago, and the look on Rong Yang's face when he handed her the book list he had prepared. She couldn't help but call out, "Mr. Rong—" The words of gratitude were in her throat, but she couldn't say them for a while.
Rong Yang extended his right hand elegantly. A string of antique sandalwood beads was tied around his snow-white wrist. Rong Yang's hand gently clasped Chen Xuan's hand. Rong Yang said gently, "There's no need for this between you and me."
Chen Xuan smiled. That was right. She and Rong Yang were both teachers and friends. But she couldn't say thank you anyway. Chen Xuan said, "Take care of yourself."
Rong Yang nodded.
The little girl sat in her father's arms, shouting at the top of her voice on the boat, "Mom—Mom—let's get on the boat—"
Rong Yang said, "Let's get on board."
The two clasped hands gently separated, Rong Yang's hands were still thin and white, and Chen Xuan's palms still had two thin calluses that might never fade away in her lifetime. Chen Xuan turned around, and in the sunlight, Wei Nian and the little girl smiled with white teeth and waved at her.
Chen Xuan felt an indescribable excitement and bitterness in her heart. She waved vigorously at the father and daughter and walked quickly up the gangway to board the ship. There, there were her husband, her daughter, and her future ideals. Wei Nian quickly handed the little girl to the old lady, went down the gangway to pick up Chen Xuan, held Chen Xuan's waist, and muttered, "Oh, my grandma, you are pregnant, walk slowly, walk slowly."
Chen Xuan looked at her husband. She had experienced extremely difficult times and met many people who helped her selflessly. Fortunately, she had gone through the hardships and sufferings, and studied hard night after night. She finally lived up to her friends and herself.
The sky was clear and a few large snow-white birds were flying over the river, chirping. Another new and wonderful life for Chen Xuan had begun.
The author has something to say: ps: "The First Wife" is Shitou's first modern article written in the Republic of China. I was quite nervous at the beginning, because as everyone knows, Shitou has always written ancient stories, and I was always worried that my writing style would not be able to adapt. However, because I really wanted to write about a woman who went from the old to the new, I started writing. In fact, when it comes down to it, Chen Xuan is not a new woman advocated by the Republic of China. As she said herself, she is half new and half old. This is also Shitou's point of view. The old is not all dross, but when the new era arrives vigorously, the old culture is completely denied. For an old-fashioned woman to be reborn, she must transition to the new culture. However, I still want Chen Xuan in my writing to retain some of the advantages of old women, such as the calmness of old women, such as the tenacity of old women.
It is said that literature carries the message, and most of the readers of Stone's articles are female. I also hope that all readers can be like Chen Xuan, self-reliant and hardworking. Even if we walk slowly, we must have our own small ideals.
Next are some extra stories about various characters.
Well, everyone knows that Shi Tou has the habit of writing extra stories.
By the way, I would like to introduce Shitou's new article "The Ambitious Family". The copy has been posted. I guess some readers will not like it. This is a series of articles in "The First Wife", which is the story of Mrs. Wen. Mrs. Wen is a very bitter character. I want to use a sentence from Zhang Ailing, "If you knew me in the past, you would definitely forgive me now."
Well, collect the ones you like and don’t tear up the ones you don’t like. This is the love for stones.
Come, let's throw flowers~~~ Let's celebrate~~~ Today is the day when the main text is finished~~~ Shitou is going out for a drink~