Zhang Mudan was watching "Dream of Red Mansions" when her good friend Wang Jinfeng came.

Wang Jinfeng said to Zhang Peony:

"You're watching Dream of Red Mansions again! How many times have you watched this? ”

"I don't remember exactly, I've seen it many times anyway! My sister-in-law especially likes to watch "Dream of Red Mansions", and she has watched it more times than me! ”

"That's what you told me."

"Do you remember? When I was cutting the queue in the countryside, I couldn't get enough of this "Dream of Red Mansions" in the winter slack season! ”

"Of course I do!"

"As long as you see me reading 'Dream of Red Mansions', you joke with me: 'You are like Xue Baochai in 'Dream of Red Mansions', but where is Jia Baoyu?' Speaking of this, Zhang Peony couldn't help laughing, "Actually, you are exalting me, how can I be as talented as Xue Baochai!" ”

"Hey, let me ask you, has Jia Baoyu ever come to look for you?" Wang Jinfeng asked with a hippie smile.

"Can you be serious?" Zhang Mudan slapped her with a smile, "I haven't seen him for several years, I heard that he is promising now, he has graduated from college, and he is studying as a Chinese teacher in a children's school!" ”

"Who told you all this?"

"It's what people let me hear when they're chatting. Just now, when her mother came to my house, she was so proud of her son that she said to me, 'Now, my son has a partner, and he is also a college student, and he looks prettier than you!' Zhang Peony said angrily, "You say, why does her mother want to compare me with her son's object?" Isn't that belittling me? ”

"Don't be angry! Who doesn't know that her mother is that virtuous? Wang Jinfeng took a sip of tea, and then continued: "I know, you like Chen Wenhai very much, and you have never forgotten him, if it wasn't for his mother to get in the way, your current husband would not be Chen Changjiang but Chen Wenhai!" ”

"I'm not afraid of your jokes, I really love Chen Wenhai, for many years, his image has often appeared in front of my eyes, sometimes, I can't eat and sleep, I don't want to do anything! My brother often laughed at me: 'When I see you looking so dejected, I know that you must be thinking about Chen Wenhai again!' What's so good about that Chen Wenhai? Nerd one! However, my sister-in-law is quite understanding of me and often comforts and enlightens me! Alas, I really didn't expect that falling in love with someone would bring so many troubles to yourself! ”

"Do you know these troubles Chen Wenhai?"

"If only he knew!" Zhang Mudan shook his head in frustration, "Perhaps, he forgot about me a long time ago!" ”

"Wouldn't it? Doesn't he love you too? ”

"How not?" Zhang Peony's face showed a painful expression, "For so many years, he hasn't come to see me, nor has he ever sent me a letter!" ”

"Perhaps, he has his difficulties, and you should be considerate of him!" Wang Jinfeng joked with her, "He is your younger brother, and my sister shouldn't worry about my younger brother!" ”

After Wang Jinfeng left, Zhang Peony fell into memories -

On the way home, Chen Wenhai was walking in front, and suddenly, he heard someone calling him from behind, and the voice was so familiar, and when he looked back, it was indeed Zhang Peony.

Zhang Mudan trotted all the way to Chen Wenhai, and then said to him breathlessly:

"You walk so fast, I'm going to have to trot like this if I want to catch up with you!"

"Because when I was in elementary school or middle school, the school was far away from home, so I had to walk briskly so that I didn't get late, and it became a habit over time!"

"In this way, you are a very disciplined and good student!"

"That's right!" Chen Wenhai said, "Because I am thin-skinned, I am afraid that I will be criticized by the teacher for being late!" ”

"This shows that you have a strong self-esteem!"

"I've always been strong since I was a kid, and I don't want to fall behind in everything I do, especially when it comes to learning! Another characteristic of me is that I have loved playing with girls since I was a child! ”

"Really? Why? ”

"Because I feel safe! I've been weak since I was a child, so some boys always like to bully me, but girls are different, they don't bully me! However, girls are generally cautious, angry and petty, which also makes me unbearable! ”

"So, your life is going to be harder than that of other boys!"

"Still, I prefer girls, girls are better than boys! If there is a lack of girls in my life, my life will be even harder! ”

Chen Wenhai was sitting at home reading the newspaper, Zhang Peony came, she walked up to Chen Wenhai and said to him:

"You're working so hard, you're such a good student!"

"Sadly, I'm not a student anymore!"

"You really don't want to go to school anymore?"

"Now, I can't even understand the words of the local people, and I will definitely encounter a lot of difficulties in going to school! I've heard that both the teachers and the students speak the local dialect during the classes here, and they don't speak Mandarin! ”

"However, you are not yet 16 years old, and the factory doesn't want you, how can you do if you don't go to school?"

"Let's wait a minute!"

However, what Chen Wenhai never expected was that he waited for three years, and in 1974, the relevant departments issued a document that all middle school students, including the children of the second automobile, should go to the mountains and go to the countryside to receive re-education from the poor and middle peasants!

It was in this year that Chen Wenhai's family moved from Shiyan to Junxian, and after moving to Junxian, he joined the army of educated youths and became an educated youth.

Fate really plays tricks on people, from 1974 to 2008, in this long 30 years, Chen Wenhai has never seen Zhang Huili again! If it weren't for writing this novel, maybe Zhang Peony would really be overwhelmed by the years, and their love story would not be known to readers!

When Zhang Peony was immersed in happy and sweet memories, her husband returned with her daughter Chen Shanshan.

Chen Shanshan threw herself into her mother's arms, and then, with a red face, asked her mother:

"I heard that an old woman came to my house just now, and her son used to be nice to you. What the hell is going on? ”

"Who told you this? Don't listen to other people's nonsense! ”

"Is her son's name Chen Wenhai?"

"yes!" Zhang Mudan replied, "His name is Chen Wenhai!" ”

"And when will he come to my house?"

"I don't know!"

"Can you take me to see him? I want to see what he looks like! ”

"What's there to see? Like all of us, he was an ordinary man! ”

Just as she was saying this, her sister-in-law Du Xiuling came back, and she said to Zhang Mudan:

"Someone told me: In recent years, Chen Wenhai has attracted much attention and is about to become a 'news figure'! I don't know how, now people have mixed opinions about Chen Wenhai! ”

"I've also heard that in recent years, Chen Wenhai seems to have encountered a lot of things! I don't understand how such a nerd could get into so much trouble! Who did he provoke whom? ”

"In these days, all kinds of strange things can happen, and people are no longer surprised!"

"Why did so many things pop up all at once in this reform and opening up?"

"Who knows?"

At this time, Zhang Peony's master Chen Dajiang came, and he said to everyone:

"What's so strange about that? Originally, our country was engaged in construction behind closed doors and closed itself off, but now, when the country is opened, new things from outside are pouring in all at once, and people's minds have become complicated. As soon as this mind is complicated, won't there be more things? Now it can be said that there are many problems that are endless, and there are many problems that feel tricky to solve! However, I believe that with the deepening of reform and opening up, people will definitely find many good ways to solve these problems! Well, there are problems in any society, it's up to you to solve them! ”

"Or my master has the level!"

"I just like to read books and newspapers and be good at thinking about problems! Nowadays, this era is an era of rapid change and rapid progress, science and technology are becoming more and more developed, if we want to adapt to this era, we must continue to learn and arm our minds with knowledge, otherwise, we will be eliminated by this era! ”

"Master Chen has a point, we should read more books and newspapers, only in this way can we become smarter and smarter!"

"The world is getting more and more complex, and yet, no matter how complex it is, we humans will have a way to navigate it! We have no reason to be pessimistic and disappointed, because the world is constantly improving! ”

"Master Chen, you speak so well, just like Chen Wenhai back then!"

"Who is Chen Wenhai?" Chen Dajiang patted his forehead, "Oh, I remember, it's the young man who came from Shanghai with you back then!" How is he now? Is there still a connection with you? ”

"It's been years since I got in touch, but I'm sure I'll see him again in the future! He now works not far from us, and he is now a middle school Chinese teacher. ”

Revised March 13, 2022