Siheyuan: Walking the Path of Qin Huairu

Xu Huizhen thought this was a good idea, so she agreed. She took the manuscript written by Teacher Xu and read it from beginning to end. It was written in a standard and straightforward manner. She revised the manuscript according to her own ideas and added a few slogans that were representative of this era.

She deleted all the parts about building an embroidery factory. The factory is just a concept and has not yet achieved results. Excessive publicity will not do any good, so we should proceed steadily.

Teacher Xu read the revised manuscript and felt it was much better than what he had written, so he said, "Thank you, Huizhen. I'll go back and rewrite it. Also, what was the name of the editor who reviewed your manuscript before? Do you have his contact information?"

As he spoke, he scratched his head awkwardly and said, "This is what I think. With a familiar editor, the manuscript may be more easily approved."

Xu Huizhen also understood the reason. Last time, the editor of the newspaper wrote to her and said that she was welcome to continue to contribute articles, and left her contact information. But Xu Huizhen didn't want to go deeper in this area, so she didn't care.

Since Teacher Xu wants it, then give it to him. Giving roses to others will leave a lingering fragrance on your hands. Teacher Xu is different from Fan Jinyou. He has some minor flaws, but he is not a wicked person. He is someone who can be united.

So she went home and found the letter. The editor was called Wang Yang. She wrote down the address and phone number and gave it to Teacher Xu.

Teacher Xu went home, reorganized the manuscript, put it in an envelope, and was about to go to the post office. After thinking it over carefully, he decided to go directly to the newspaper office and hand the manuscript to the editor in person. With the momentum from Xu Huizhen's previous two poems, the success rate would be higher this way.

Thinking of this, he went to the store to buy two packs of cigarettes and rode his bicycle to the newspaper office.

Xu Hesheng successfully knocked on Wang Yang's office door. There were three people in the office. He asked politely, "Excuse me, which one is Editor Wang Yang?"

A middle-aged man looked up from a pile of manuscripts and said, "I'm Wang Yang. What can I do for you?"

Xu Hesheng: "Oh, Editor Wang, do you still remember Xu Huizhen? She wrote "Bloodstained Style" before, and it seems that you were the one who reviewed the manuscript."

Wang Yang: "Oh, I remember. That poem was so well written that I was almost moved to tears."

Xu Hesheng took out the cigarettes he had just bought from his pocket, put them on the table and said, "Editor Wang, please have a smoke. Xu Huizhen wrote another news article, and I delivered it to her today."

Wang Yang: "Why doesn't he come? I really want to see what the person who can write such a poem looks like."

Xu Hesheng: "Comrade Huizhen is a very busy person. You will know after reading this manuscript. She is busy running literacy classes and building an embroidery factory recently."

Wang Yang took the manuscript from Xu Hesheng and saw that there were two authors, one was Xu Huizhen and the other was Xu Hesheng, so he asked, "Are you the other author, Xu Hesheng?"

Xu Hesheng nodded: "Yes, I am Xu Hesheng, a teacher at Qianheyan Primary School."

Wang Yang read the manuscript from the beginning. The news article didn't have many words. It didn't take long for him to finish reading it. He nodded and said, "Well, it's OK. The most important thing is the news content. It fits the current political situation very well."

Xu Hesheng was very happy to hear this. He said, "This is the first time for both of us to write news articles. We have no experience. Please give us some advice."

Wang Yang said: "News releases do not need any fancy words, as long as the characters, time, place, events, results, etc. are clearly stated. Whether it will be accepted depends on factors such as the timeliness, political nature, and credibility of the news. I will recommend your article to the editor-in-chief, and I think it is likely to be accepted. There are some individual words. Can I modify them for you?"

Xu Hesheng nodded quickly: "Of course, thank you Editor Wang."

Wang Yang: "You just said Xu Huizhen is busy building an embroidery factory?"

Xu Hesheng nodded: "Yes! The mayor personally appointed her as the director of the embroidery factory. Now Xu Huizhen is a famous person who dominates Qianmenlouzi and Dashilan."

Wang Yang: "This is a versatile person. I have to get to know him if I have a chance. Go back and tell Xu Huizhen to come to me directly if she has any manuscripts."

Xu Hesheng: "Okay, I will definitely pass on the message. If you are free, come to the Daqianmen Tavern and have a seat. I will treat you. The tavern used to be the private property of Xu Huizhen's family, but now it is a joint public-private enterprise. Xu Huizhen is the private manager of the tavern."

Wang Yang nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go when I'm free."

When he walked out of the newspaper office, Xu Hesheng breathed a sigh of relief. He felt that he had made the right decision today. He met Editor Wang under the name of Xu Huizhen. He was really smart.

Xu Huizhen followed Director Wang to see the embroidery factory. Director Wang introduced: "This is a three-story courtyard with east and west cross-courtyards. The people who lived there before were also prominent people in the city, but they ran away later. After liberation, it was returned to the government. It's just that some parts of the house have been destroyed, otherwise it wouldn't have been vacant for so long. Huizhen, take a look and see if it's enough."

The gate of the courtyard, though a little shabby and with mottled paint, looks spacious and grand. It is a typical golden pillar gate. (Golden pillar gate is a type of gate in ancient Chinese architecture, second only to Guangliang gate and higher than Manzi gate in rank. It is usually inhabited by officials of high rank. Although not as deep and solemn as Guangliang gate, it still retains the style of officials).

The first thing you see after entering the door is the screen wall, which has become a ruin. What a pity.

Xu Huizhen walked around the yard from the front yard to the back yard. The weeds in the yard had obviously just been cleared. Only four walls were left of the main house in the second courtyard, and the roof was gone. The roof was covered with weeds. The room was also full of spider webs, dust, and all kinds of garbage. This house had not been lived in for a long time, and it was quickly damaged.

Overall, although the house looks dilapidated now, its former glory can be seen from the materials used in the doors and windows to the flower covers in the corridor. There are also rockery and pavilions in the backyard.

Director Wang asked: "Huizhen, is this area enough?"

Xu Huizhen: "Very good, it fits the style of our embroidery factory. I just want to restore it to its original state. It will cost a lot, right?"

Director Wang: "It won't cost much. Although some houses have collapsed, their foundations are still there, and some walls are intact. It's cheaper than building new ones. For useless things like screen walls and rockery, why not just demolish them?"

Xu Huizhen: "Don't demolish the rockery and pavilion, keep them, they look so beautiful. The screen wall and the hanging flower gate connected to it can be demolished, so that the front yard is brighter. We use it as a factory, and it will be more convenient to move goods in the factory in the future. If funds are tight, we can repair the front two entrances first, and then repair the backyard and the cross yard when the factory makes money."

Director Wang: "Okay, let me take care of the factory maintenance. You can come to check every now and then. Your main task is to recruit workers, buy materials, and prepare to build an embroidery factory. Director Li of the street said we should have a meeting in a few days. You go back and prepare, and raise any difficulties at the meeting."