Chapter 00054: The Book Market
# The Book Market
Chapter 54
Novel: 1979 Golden Age
Chapter 54: The Book Market
"Who is that girl? She's so beautiful."
"I don't know her. Why is she carrying a lunchbox?"
"That's the lead actress from Lushan Love. She just came back from Jiangxi and is staying at the factory."
In the early autumn of Beijing, the leaves in the courtyard were gradually turning yellow.
Gong Xue wore a light jacket, long pants, and heeled shoes, clutching her lunchbox as she endured the curious glances and whispers around her.
Fortunately, Zhang Jinling was by her side.
"Don't mind them. Every time a new face shows up, they can't help but gossip."
"It's fine, Sister Jinling," Gong Xue replied.
The two of them entered the cafeteria, lining up to get their meals.
As they stood in line, they attracted even more attention.
A new person had arrived at the factory, and she was a beauty!
People were always curious, just like when Chen Qi first joined the factory.
"Xiao Zhang, you're back from Lushan?" A man standing in front of Zhang Jinling turned around to look at them.
He was in his thirties, not very tall, with a wide mouth and eyebrows that arched upward, giving him a somewhat comical appearance.
"Yes, I just got back a few days ago."
"And who is this comrade?"
"She's from our group, staying at the guesthouse."
"Oh, hello, comrade!" The man greeted with a smile.
"Hello..."
Gong Xue looked up timidly, like a little rabbit.
"I'm the assistant director here. My name is Huang Jianzhong."
"I'm Gong Xue."
"Nice to meet you!"
After exchanging a few words, Huang Jianzhong got his food and went to sit with a group of people, likely his usual circle.
Zhang Jinling leaned in and whispered, "He's from the second creative group, the assistant director for Little Flower. He's already married with kids."
"Little Flower? He must be quite talented."
"He does have some skills, but he's not really our type. Just be polite and keep your distance."
As mentioned earlier, the Beijing Film Studio had four major creative groups, and Wang Haowei belonged to the third group.
Gong Xue didn't know much about it, but from Zhang Jinling's tone, she understood that they weren't exactly on the same page.
The two of them got their food and had just started eating when they heard a voice call out, "Sister Jinling!"
"Oh, Cai Ming! How's your filming going?"
"Almost done, so I came back to grab some food!"
The newcomer was 18-year-old Cai Ming, young, cute, and full of energy.
The cafeteria was a place for everyone to chat.
People gathered in small groups, talking about everything under the sun—some discussing the book market, others joking about going to the airport to see a naked woman...
Before long, Chen Qi and Liang Xiaosheng also arrived, sitting down across from them and looking around.
"Where's Old Tang?"
"He got married, remember?"
"Oh, right! He still owes us wedding candies."
"You should've seen him, strutting around like he's on top of the world these days... Hey!"
Zhang Jinling suddenly lowered her voice.
"Do you know what his wife does?"
"Isn't she a doctor at the August First Factory?"
"It's not that simple. I overheard him talking with Director Wang the other day. His wife's family is quite influential—her father is at least a major general."
"That impressive?"
Liang Xiaosheng chimed in, surprised.
"I never heard anyone mention that."
"Sounds impressive, but in Beijing, that's just the entry level. There are plenty of high-ranking officials' kids around," Zhang Jinling said.
"Yeah, in the capital, you can't throw a brick without hitting a few of them," Chen Qi nodded.
In those days, it wasn't uncommon to run into children of high-ranking officials, unlike later generations where such things were kept under wraps.
Except for Miss Han.
Miss Han was like one of the Calabash Brothers, always calling out, "Grandpa~ Grandpa~"
A goddess with a grandpa complex!
"By the way, do you have plans today? I was thinking of going to the book market. Want to come?" Chen Qi extended the invitation.
"Sure!" Zhang Jinling agreed readily.
Gong Xue also smiled and said, "I was planning to go too, to buy a few books to read."
Chen Qi glanced at Cai Ming.
Since they were all sitting together, it wouldn't be right to leave her out.
"If you're free, why don't you join us?"
"Of course! I love reading!" Cai Ming had been waiting for this.
She chattered on, "I came by bike, so you don't have to worry about me. Even if you hadn't asked, I was planning to go later. I heard that Ye Shengtao, Zang Kejia, and Bing Xin are all going to be there today. Oh, I love Bing Xin! I must get her autograph..."
She went on and on.
Hmph! The noisy Cai Ming!
Chen Qi rolled his eyes.
......
Everyone loved going to the book market, so they quickly agreed.
However, just as they were about to leave, a little girl joined their group.
"We're going to the book market. Why are you tagging along?"
"Do you think I want to come with you? My dad doesn't have time, so he told me to go with you... Hey, ride steady! You're going to kill me!"
In the morning, Jiang Shan, who was also on break, sat on the back of Cai Ming's bike, yelling at someone.
"If you keep yelling, I really will crash!"
"Go ahead, I'll tell my dad!"
"And I'll tell your dad that you were screaming and cursing at me."
"When did I curse?"
"Don't you know what slander is?"
Jiang Shan was so angry she started yelling again, thoroughly annoyed.
She patted Cai Ming's back and said, "Sister Cai Ming, crash into him!"
"What's his weight? What's my weight? You really think that's a good idea?"
Cai Ming pedaled her bike with her short legs, turning her head to say, "Brother Chen, you're a grown man, over a hundred pounds. Is it fun picking on a kid?"
"If I wait until she grows up to pick on her, wouldn't that make me a creep?"
"Huh? That makes sense!"
"Sister!"
Jiang Shan glared, while Chen Qi burst out laughing.
Cai Ming wasn't bad—she helped you find Guo Da early.
Over there, Liang Xiaosheng was riding with Ge You, looking enviously at Chen Qi.
They couldn't joke around with female comrades like he could, even though these two female comrades were only 18 and 12 years old.
Further ahead, Zhang Jinling was riding with Gong Xue, who was looking at Chen Qi with newfound curiosity.
She hadn't expected him to have such a childish side.
The group set off from the Beijing Film Studio, passing by Shichahai and skirting the Forbidden City to the south, eventually arriving at the Workers' Cultural Palace.
Located east of Tiananmen Square, the Workers' Cultural Palace was formerly known as the Imperial Ancestral Temple, where the Ming and Qing dynasties' royal families enshrined their ancestors.
There was a saying, "Worthy of being enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple," referring to this place.
After the founding of the People's Republic, it was renamed the Workers' Cultural Palace.
A fitting name change.
"Wow, so many people! There must be over ten thousand!"
"More than that. I read in the paper that over 300,000 books were sold in just three days. Some people even came from Tangshan."
They parked their bikes and marveled at the dense crowd.
Men, women, old, and young, from all walks of life—some well-dressed, others in tattered clothes—all wore expressions of joy, eagerly pushing forward.
As the saying goes, after being deprived for so long, people were hungry for everything.
They followed the crowd inside, heading toward the cypress grove in the cultural palace.
The Imperial Ancestral Temple was naturally surrounded by evergreen pines and cypresses.
Seven book stalls were set up among the towering ancient trees, selling books in the open air.
Every stall was packed with people.
Some were loudly arguing over a good book, others were reciting poetry, and some were sitting on the ground, passionately discussing with strangers.
There were even people carrying sacks, filling them to the brim with books.
The atmosphere was so lively that even Liang Xiaosheng rolled up his sleeves, ready to dive in.
Jiang Shan pouted, clutching Cai Ming's clothes, afraid she'd be crushed in the crowd.
"There are a lot of people. Are you okay?" Chen Qi asked Gong Xue out of the blue.
Gong Xue smiled.
"I'm fine. I'm not that fragile."
"Then let's go! Charge in!"
(Thanks to Wizard79 for the support!
After talking with the editor, the book might be released on June 1st, but it's not confirmed yet.
I'll let you know when it's decided.
I bought some Longjing tea, 80 yuan for half a pound, and they even threw in a small can of sparrow tongue tea.
Not bad, not bad~)
(End of Chapter)