Chapter 277 (First Update) Pork Distribution Award
Having lived in Hong Kong for decades, Mr. Shen has always felt ashamed to face his elders back home.
Former friends are working hard to build a new China.
But what about him?
They lived a good life in the colonies.
Whenever he thought about these things, Old Master Shen was in great agony.
When he heard his grandfather say that he had enjoyed life in the colony and had not contributed to the country's development, Shen Jian disagreed.
“Grandpa, putting things into practice is one way to contribute, but donating money is also a way to contribute. You donate so much money to charitable foundations in mainland China every year, how can that not be considered contributing to the construction of the new China?”
This time, Grandpa Shen didn't refute his grandson, but chuckled and said, "You're right."
Today, Fu Ci used the phrase "different paths lead to the same destination" to dispel his inner demons.
This surprised Shen Jian.
In the past, his whole family would try to comfort his grandfather like this, but his grandfather would always retort: "Money is nothing."
But today, they actually said he was right.
Shen Jian was happy and surprised by this change.
If only they had realized sooner what was wrong with their grandfather, understood that a thousand words from them were not as valuable as a single word from an old friend, and returned to the mainland to find their grandfather's old friends, how wonderful that would have been.
After lunch, the group remained seated around the table chatting.
Grandpa Shen confirmed with Grandma Fu: "Are you going to Hong Kong again next year?"
He was worried that since the two had met today, there was no need for Madam Fu to go to Hong Kong.
But Madam Fu still firmly said, "I want to go."
She not only wanted to go herself, but also wanted to visit her deceased boss.
Grandpa Shen was very happy. "Okay, then I'll be waiting for you in Hong Kong."
After a pause, he suddenly asked Madam Fu, "Do you still remember Xie Ping?"
When the name came out of nowhere, Old Madam Fu was completely stunned.
After regaining his senses, he asked excitedly, "Xie Ping? He's still alive?"
Grandpa Shen nodded. "We met more than 20 years ago and have kept in touch ever since."
"That's wonderful, he's still alive." Tears welled in Old Madam Fu's eyes as she repeatedly murmured this phrase. After repeating it several times, she finally remembered to ask, "Did he go to Hong Kong too?"
Grandpa Shen shook his head: "He went to Taiwan."
"oh."
Madam Fu's "oh" was rather long, filled with unconcealed regret.
They clearly knew that if they stayed in Taiwan, they would probably never see each other again in this lifetime.
Unexpectedly, Mr. Shen said, "When you come to Hong Kong next year, I'll have him come too, and the three of us old folks can get together in Hong Kong."
"Is it possible?" Old Madam Fu was hardly incredulous; this surprise came too suddenly.
Mr. Shen said, "Why not? With his status, it might be difficult for him to go to the mainland; the authorities probably wouldn't allow it. But coming to Hong Kong is still possible. We met in Hong Kong more than twenty years ago."
"Great, great, then I look forward to seeing you in Hong Kong next year."
Madam Fu's anticipation for going to Hong Kong was even greater than before.
Although the others were confused, they could tell that Xie Ping must be their mutual friend from back then.
Everyone was happy for the elderly people who would soon be able to see each other again.
Having survived war and long years of separation, their reunion in their twilight years is truly a blessing from heaven.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Old Master Shen could no longer hold back and said with tears in his eyes, "If Zhenhua were still here, that would be wonderful."
Mr. Shen had actually learned of Fu Zhenhua's absence from Fu Ci's friend's words.
On this happy day, both sides have been intentionally or unintentionally avoiding mentioning it, and it's truly remarkable that they've held back until now.
Madam Fu also had such regrets, but she understood them better than Old Master Shen.
"It's okay. It's already a rare treat to see each other again, so how can we be too demanding of perfection?"
"That's true, we can't be too demanding of perfection."
Grandpa Shen agreed with her statement.
There's no rush. They're all this age; they'll reunite with Fu Zhenhua sooner or later.
-
Grandpa Shen and his grandson even stayed for three days.
After they returned to Hong Kong, Madam Fu's life went back to normal, as if nothing had changed.
But as the person involved, she knew that life couldn't possibly remain unchanged.
From then on, every day she looked forward to 1997, to Hong Kong's return to China, and to Nengzi stepping onto that land of Hong Kong.
No matter how much you hope, the days just pass one by one.
In the midst of ordinary days, another unexpected event occurred in the Fu family.
Of course, it's a good thing.
On this day, Mrs. Fu was signing autographs for a book that was about to be released at her desk.
Tang Mingli picked it up curiously and examined it, then laughed and said, "I thought that when publishing books, each book was bound together and signed one by one. I was wondering how those books that were signed in the thousands could be transported. But it turns out that they only send the signed pages, and after the signatures are done, they take them back to the factory to be bound into books."
Ms. Fu also said, "When the editor told me before that he wanted to sign two thousand copies, I was worried about how to carry so many books, and the editor laughed at me."
You don't know some things until you experience them.
Tang Mingli didn't disturb her mother-in-law's signing and returned to the living room.
I had barely sat down when the phone rang.
She answered the phone casually and politely asked who was calling.
A woman's voice came from the other end of the phone: "Hello, I'd like to speak to Ms. Tang Mingli."
Looking for her?
Tang Mingli replied, "That's me."
"Hello, Ms. Tang Mingli, this is the Shenzhen Calligraphy Association. Your entry has won an award, and we are calling to inform you that you will be able to come to the Shenzhen Calligraphy Association to collect your award on the 23rd of this month."
Tang Mingli's first reaction was: "Scammer." She never expected that phone scams would occur at this time.
Over the years, although she has persisted in practicing calligraphy, it has only been a hobby, and she has never submitted any entries to competitions.
She told the other party, "These kinds of scams won't work on me. I've never participated in any competitions."
He hung up the phone without hesitation after saying that.
Not long after, Madam Fu returned from her walk.
Tang Mingli then chatted with her grandmother about the funny scam she had just witnessed, saying, "You know, scammers these days really don't put in any effort. At least they should check if the other person has participated in the competition beforehand."
To everyone's surprise, Madam Fu was so anxious after hearing this that she stomped her feet.
"Oh dear, I should have told you beforehand. I thought your copy of the Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River was quite good. It just so happened that the Shenzhen Calligraphy Association was holding its first calligraphy competition, so I took the liberty of sending your copy of the Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River."
Because it happened at the end of last month, and she hadn't heard back since sending it, she forgot about it.
"No, we have to call back and explain to them. We can't let this prize slip away." Mrs. Fu said as she turned on her phone.
Once found, call back immediately.
The same woman answered the phone. After I explained, she couldn't stop laughing.
Fortunately, despite the laughter, their attitude was still very good.
"Okay, I understand. Remember to come to the association's award ceremony at 10 a.m. on the 23rd of this month."
"Okay, no problem."
The weight lifted from Madam Fu's heart.
After hanging up the phone, she quickly explained to her granddaughter-in-law, "Mingli, don't blame Grandma for making this decision on her own. Grandma knows you're indifferent to fame and fortune, but Grandma really thinks your handwriting is really good now, and it's a shame not to show it to everyone. Will you blame Grandma?"
The last question was asked very cautiously.
I didn't think much while I was doing it, and only started to feel scared after I finished.
Although Tang Mingli does dislike others making decisions on their own, she really doesn't blame her grandmother at all for this.
She just submitted one of her copied works to a competition and coincidentally won an award. What's there to be angry about?
She smiled and shook her head: "Grandma, how could I blame you?"
Only then was Mrs. Fu relieved, and she said very sincerely to her granddaughter-in-law Fu, "Your current level is truly better than many so-called calligraphers."
"Really?" Tang Mingli was very happy, but she still felt that her grandmother was looking at her work with a bias towards her.
"You've won awards this time, isn't that the best proof?"
Such a powerful statement is truly impossible to refute.
Perhaps that's just how it is sometimes; things turn out unexpectedly well.
However, Madam Fu disagreed with her statement, saying, "Your skill will naturally improve when you reach a certain level."
There are no such things in the world as unintentional successes.
If you want willows to provide shade, you have to plant them first.
You can only expect a result after you've done something.
Tang Mingli felt that her grandmother was absolutely right, and perhaps she should be more confident.
Although she has no talent for calligraphy, she has persisted for almost twenty years.
Not many people can stick to doing one thing for twenty years.
She should go and collect the award at 10 a.m. on the 23rd.
-
After signing her name, Fu's mother came out and heard that her daughter-in-law's work had won an award. She was even happier than Tang Mingli herself.
"No, this is fantastic news, we have to celebrate!"
These words immediately received the support of Madam Fu: "Yes, we must celebrate."
"How should we celebrate?" Fu's mother asked her mother-in-law.
After thinking for a moment, Madam Fu said, "Shall we have a nice meal?"
Whenever they have something fun to do, it's either a good meal or some fun activities, so she couldn't offer any good advice.
Even Fu's mother was unsure, so she looked at her daughter-in-law.
Tang Mingli didn't object to the whole family going out for a meal, but since they hadn't gone out for a long time, she thought they could choose a weekend to go on vacation.
"A vacation is great."
"A vacation is a good suggestion."
Madam Fu and her mother both expressed their agreement.
"Okay, then I'll choose a resort carefully, and after receiving the prize, my family and I can relax properly."
Tang Mingli already had several resort hotels in mind.
-
Number 23.
Tang Mingli arrived at the Shenzhen Calligraphy Association on time.
I thought I was just going to their office to receive an award, but it turned out to be a proper award ceremony.
As expected of an association in the special economic zone, they are wealthy. Their offices occupy an entire floor in a bustling area and have their own modern conference hall that can accommodate nearly a hundred people.
Today's awards ceremony was held in this conference hall, and the vice mayor was invited to present the awards, which was quite a grand affair.
Tang Mingli and other award winners sat down in their designated seats and waited for the awards ceremony.
The staff did not tell the winners what award they had received, so the award ceremony was still something to look forward to for them.
However, when the awards ceremony was about to begin, Tang Mingli roughly estimated that there were more than twenty people who came to receive the awards.
It seems that this competition is mostly for encouragement.
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Author's Note: There may be no more than 100,000 words left before reaching the initial planned end of the main text. Updates will be irregular. Thank you for your understanding.
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