Chapter 33: Write a story.
In fact, there was nothing difficult along the way.
After leaving the house, He Susu helped carry a package, just like she usually carried a bamboo basket, and got on the ox cart when she arrived at the village entrance.
It’s free for children to ride on the ox cart, but since they take up space, just give a penny as a token of your appreciation.
When they arrived at the county town, He Susu was still carrying a package, and the third sister-in-law was carrying a package, with the two little kids following them, and they all walked towards the third sister-in-law's parents' home.
Su's mother was counting the days at home, and she estimated that her daughter would come back with her two grandchildren today. On the second day of the Chinese New Year, she had asked her daughter and son-in-law when they would leave. Given her daughter's personality, she would definitely bring the children back to live at home.
She couldn't help but worry, wondering if it would be convenient for her daughter to come back alone, taking care of the child and carrying the luggage.
So when Su's mother heard the knock on the door, she opened the door and saw not only her daughter but also her sister-in-law coming back with the luggage, and she became enthusiastic in entertaining He Susu: "Susu is here too? Come in and sit down."
Since she was already there, He Susu was invited into the house to sit for a while and drink the brown sugar water that Su's mother made for her.
Since they were not very familiar with each other, their conversation could only revolve around the daily New Year's day of the two families. A little later, He Susu left first, using the excuse that she had to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some things.
Mother Su escorted her out the door and said, "Susu, be careful on your way back. Come to our house more often when you have time."
He Susu nodded: "Okay, Auntie, I understand. Goodbye."
She then said to Su Yu and the two children who had gathered around, "Goodbye, Third Sister-in-law. Goodbye, Dabao and Erbao."
Su Yu smiled and waved: "Be careful on the way back."
Dabao and Erbao also waved: "Goodbye, aunt!"
After leaving Su's house, He Susu walked towards the supply and marketing cooperative. She didn't have anything to buy at the supply and marketing cooperative, but she was just walking there so that she could take the ox cart back later.
As she walked, she turned into an empty alley, and on a thought she called up the shopping system to redeem items.
Although there were four pounds of pork and the pork distributed before the New Year, two pounds of mutton and a chicken at home for the New Year, but with so many people eating and so many days, they were all eaten up with last night's meal.
Otherwise, if my mother made the leek dumplings today, she would at least chop some pork into minced meat and add it to the leek and egg filling, which would be so delicious.
He Susu was not greedy and exchanged 4 points of diligence for two kilograms of pork. During the New Year period, she saved some diligence points by sweeping the yard every day, otherwise she would not even be able to exchange pork.
This time she didn't plan to exchange the milk lumps to take back, as they were a specialty of the north and she had to wait for her classmates to bring them back. She would think about it next time.
Thinking that they were getting tired of eating pickled cabbage every day at home, He Susu suddenly wanted to eat bean sprouts. These bean sprouts can be grown by themselves. It doesn't matter if the weather is cold now. At most, they can be warmed up by fire.
She looked around in the shopping system and finally chose to exchange for a pound of soybeans between mung beans and soybeans.
Because I didn't carry a backpack when I went out, I had to carry a pound of soybeans and two pounds of pork in my hands. Fortunately, the pork was wrapped in oil paper, and the soybeans were also wrapped in oil paper. It was not very convenient to carry them in my hands, but it was not easy to be seen from a distance.
It’s not that He Susu didn’t want to wait until she got back to the village entrance to take it out of the storage compartment. In the past, when she was carrying a bamboo basket, she could put it in the bamboo basket. Now, if she goes back empty-handed and everyone is watching, it would be strange if she suddenly produced something when she turned around.
After walking to the supply and marketing cooperative and waiting for a while, Uncle Dali came driving a ox cart.
Maybe it was because the family had everything they needed after the New Year, or maybe they had spent all their money and had to save money, so not many people took the oxcart when they came in the afternoon, so there were not many people on the oxcart on the way back this time.
He Susu breathed a sigh of relief when she saw this, paid two cents and got on the ox cart.
On the way, I heard Uncle Dali sigh: "The villagers took care of me and arranged for me to drive a bullock cart. Although I don't have a rest all year round, I am not tired at all. They are fair to me. I am grateful in my heart."
He Susu naturally agreed with a smile: "Uncle, your job is really good. I don't know how many people in the village envy you."
When they got home, He's mother didn't react much when she saw the two kilograms of pork. She guessed that her daughter would bring pork back from the county town. After all, all the meat at home was eaten last night. Since her daughter had a connection, the family has never been short of meat.
She thought about going back to her room later to get money to buy meat for her daughter.
When she saw the pound of soybeans, He's mother couldn't help but ask curiously, "Susu, why did you buy another pound of soybeans?"
He Susu said truthfully, "I'm tired of eating pickled cabbage every day, so I want to eat something fresh. I remember you used soybeans to sprout bean sprouts when I was a child, and they tasted really good, so I bought a pound of soybeans and wanted you to sprout some more bean sprouts."
He's mother does know how to grow bean sprouts. In the past, there were fewer things to eat, so there were more ways to make food. There is no good way to cook soybeans. It's okay to roast them and give them to children as snacks, but it always feels wasteful. If there are a lot of bean sprouts, it will be enough for the whole family to eat for several meals.
I learned this method from the elders in the village.
Mother He smiled and said, "You are really smart, girl. If you had thought of it before the New Year, you should have bought some soybeans and stored them at home. You can eat them during the New Year. At least they are fresh. But it's not too late now. I'll get it done later."
He Susu admitted: "I am a person with no talent, but I have been studying food all the time, waiting to eat the bean sprouts you have grown."
He's mother said, "You'll have to wait another four or five days. Bean sprouts don't grow that fast."
Although she said this, she was worried about her daughter. Anyway, there was nothing else to do, so He's mother went to deal with the soybeans first. Thinking that her daughter loved to eat them, she simply used all the soybeans to grow bean sprouts.
She took a basin, washed the soybeans, put them in water and soaked them for about ten hours.
I don’t know how my daughter bought them, but these soybeans are in such good shape, each one is plump.
The next morning, after getting up and washing up, He's mother didn't even have time to eat breakfast. She first went to pour out the water in the basin of soybeans. The soybeans had expanded a lot after being soaked overnight.
She used a bamboo basin with gaps to hold the soybeans, and then used an ordinary basin to hold the bamboo basin, so that the water that leaked out could also be collected.
She covered the soybeans with a wet cloth, then scooped water from the well and poured it in to soak all the soybeans. He's mother put the basin in a dark place in the kitchen, then pressed a heavy plate filled with water onto the cloth and left it there.
A plate was specially placed to help the soybeans germinate, and it was placed in the kitchen so that the kitchen could be heated up when the stove was on, which would also help the soybeans germinate.
Knowing that her mother had arranged for the soybeans to sprout, He Susu was quite curious and would watch from the side every day when she changed the water.
Every day, He's mother repeated the steps of brewing water for the soybeans in the basin. After about two days, the soybeans sprouted and grew bigger day by day. Because the soybean sprouts stood up, there was no need to put a plate filled with water to press them down, so she just removed it.
Wait until the bean sprouts are as long as a palm, with white and tender tips and soft and crisp sprouts, they will be ready.
That day, the He family took half of the bean sprouts and fried them, adding some meat slices to enhance the flavor. This was a rare green color on the table after deep winter, which was really pleasing.
He Susu picked up some bean sprouts and ate them. They were just as sweet and soft as she expected. They were even more delicious with a little meat flavor, and juice would come out when she took a bite.
The other members of the He family were also very satisfied with the meal and said that fresh vegetables were the most delicious.
Fortunately, the bean sprouts grown at home were eaten two or three times every other day. In February, the weather was not so cold, so He's mother turned the soil in the vegetable garden in the yard again, sprinkled seeds and started planting vegetables again.
The He family, who had been idle for almost two months, had just finished tidying up the vegetable fields and became busy again. The Qinghe Production Team resumed their normal working days.
The late rice in the field is growing well. Everyone removes the weeds growing in the ridges of the field and becomes busy again, preparing to harvest the late rice.
When the villagers think about the food they have harvested, they become full of energy and anticipation for the new year.
He Susu still stayed at home. When she was in a good mood and had inspiration, she would pick up her pen to write articles. When she was in a bad mood or felt lazy, she would do nothing. Even sitting in the yard, staring at the blue sky and white clouds in a daze or daydreaming could make her life pass.
That day, He Susu rode her bicycle to the county town with the manuscripts she had been saving for a long time. She went directly to the post office and divided the three manuscripts into two envelopes and mailed them to different places.
Thinking that she had been submitting articles to alley people and youth magazines, she was tired of writing in that style, so she simply asked: "Comrade, I would like to ask if there are any new magazines?"
Upon hearing this, the staff member turned around and pulled out five magazines from the table at the back: "They are all here."
He Susu didn't look at the Alley People and Youth Magazine, which she was very familiar with, and turned to read the other three magazines.
Two of them are similar in style to Alley People, and most of the articles published are about interesting things happening around the country. If you have nothing to do, you would definitely like to read them to learn about the customs and practices of places you have never been to. I think these magazines sell well.
The words in the third magazine surprised He Susu a little. The articles published in it included those similar to those in "People in the Alley" and some stories similar to those in storybooks. Just from the beginning of the article, it was full of stories.
What is rare is that these stories are not published in one go with just two or three thousand words each, but are serialized with follow-up stories published in each issue.
He Susu thought that this format was quite novel. Readers who liked to read this story would certainly look forward to the next issue of the magazine being published every day so that they could continue to read the story, which would undoubtedly leave a group of potential buyers.
As a writer, she knows best that once a story like this is conceived, she just needs to keep writing it. This tests the continuity and readability of the story, but it also saves the effort of re-conceiving the story and character context.
For He Susu, the latter was the most time-consuming and difficult. She realized that this new form of story publishing was very suitable for her, so she decided to give it a try.
Thinking that she could further study the readability of these stories and the style of the magazines she liked when she got home, He Susu picked up the magazine she wanted and said, "Comrade, I want to buy a copy of this magazine."
The staff was not surprised. They quoted a price and collected the money. The magazine was considered sold and the rest were put back.
He Susu put the magazine in her backpack and rode her bike home.
This time she went out to bring some meat back home. Harvesting late rice is also tiring, and then it’s time to sow in spring. How can she not make up for it with some extra oil and water?
When they reached the entrance of the village and there was no one inside, He Susu suddenly moved the two pounds of pork belly that she had exchanged and placed in the storage compartment last night into the backpack.
After trying various ways of eating it during this period, she and her family still like pork belly the most, not to mention the fat but not greasy braised pork or twice-cooked pork, which is also delicious when cut into slices and stir-fried.
Moreover, every time you stir-fry pork belly, a lot of lard will be produced, and then the lard at the bottom of the pot will be used to stir-fry vegetables, which will also be very fragrant.
Anyway, in the shopping system, you need 2 points of diligence to exchange one pound of pork, so naturally I would choose the pork belly that I like to eat.
When she got home, the adults had gone to work, the children were at school or playing outside, and there was no one around. He Susu put two pounds of pork belly in a bucket and sank it into the well, then washed her hands and went straight back to her room.
She wanted to study the new magazine while she was still interested.
He Susu started reading from the first page of the magazine and quickly immersed herself in it. When she heard a noise outside, she had already finished half of it.
Putting the magazine on the desk, He Susu went out to the kitchen and said, "Sister-in-law, I bought two pounds of pork belly and put it in the well to cool it down. Do you want to take some out and stir-fry it for lunch?"
Zhao Miling was happy to hear this: "Okay, Dad and Mom are tired from work, I'd better cut some and fry it for lunch."
She didn't expect her aunt to buy meat again so soon. But considering her aunt's personality, it seemed normal that she ate meat without mistreating her family.
After explaining the matter of the pork belly to her sister-in-law, He Susu returned to her room to continue studying the magazine.
She found that the stories published in this magazine are still in line with the style that people like to read nowadays. Most of the protagonists are young and enthusiastic, with the spirit of hard work and dedication. When facing difficulties, the protagonists can always find the most appropriate solution, and finally have a happy ending.
In short, it is a story about the protagonist encountering difficulties, finding solutions, growing in the process, and ultimately achieving something.
Of course, this story is somewhat different from the novels she had read before. It is not too far-fetched from reality, and it allows readers to empathize with the story.
He Susu had a clear idea in her mind, and some ideas popped up in her mind. She immediately took out a pen and paper to write them down, not missing a single inspiration.
Just after she finished writing, the He family came back and called for dinner. He Susu put the inspiration she had just written down and the magazine into the desk drawer, and then went out to eat.
After eating and taking a breath, He Susu returned to her room and lay down on the bed to sleep. Of all things, sleeping was the most important thing, and nothing could stop her from taking a nap.
The day is so long that if you don’t take a nap, you will feel like you have no energy for the afternoon.
Over the next few days, He Susu kept thinking about the story she wanted to write.
The background of the story is naturally the youth of this era. She took great pains to set the personality traits of the protagonist, and also extended several important supporting characters based on the people the protagonist comes into contact with in life and work. The main line of the story gradually becomes clear.
Considering that these stories were published in the magazine one by one, He Susu divided the main story line into several stages, and then set up some plots to attract readers at the end of each stage, so that they would want to buy the magazine again next time.
She guessed that the magazine would also try to publish the next story based on the readers' feedback. If a story was of interest to readers at first, but no one was interested in it later, the magazine would not be stupid enough to continue publishing it and occupying space.
After all this trouble, a week passed.
Seeing her daughter's serious look, He's mother was afraid that she would be too obsessed with writing and ruin her health. It was not good for her to sit at the desk in the room every day.
She was busy during the day, so she would always take her daughter for a walk in the village after dinner. She would say, "The sun is not that strong in the morning. Don't just stay in your room after breakfast. You can walk outside more often and look at the new buds growing on the trees. It will make you feel good."
He Susu knew her mother's worries. She had been too obsessed with writing stories recently. She wanted to succeed in one go, so she was too nervous. This made it easy for her to lose her original intention.
She smiled and nodded: "Okay, mom, I know. I will definitely go out more often when I have time."
After breakfast the next morning, He Susu originally wanted to go back to her room to think about the story that was almost finished, but then she remembered what her mother had told her, so she simply turned around and went out for a walk in the village.
The houses are still the same. Except for my uncle's house, the party secretary's house, and a few other families with better conditions, my house is a brick and tile house, and the rest are mud houses.
Speaking of being able to build a brick and tile house, it was all thanks to my third brother who went to the army and saved a lot of money by sending back his monthly allowance. Otherwise, we would not have been able to build such a big house now, and accommodate three generations of our family without feeling crowded.
It was just as my mother said. All the trees in the village had grown tender leaves. They were green and looked particularly full of vitality. They exuded the spirit of spring under the sunlight, which made people happy just by looking at them.
The sky was clear, with clouds rolling and unrolling, and it seemed as if one could make out different shapes, such as a rabbit running wildly, a person riding a horse leisurely, and a bow and arrow shooting into the distance. He Susu indulged in her imagination.
As I was thinking, my thoughts drifted to the story that I had almost conceived. Suddenly, new ideas popped into my mind, and the parts that I hadn't thought through before suddenly became clear.
He Susu was so excited that she quickly went home to complete the last part of the story framework on paper.
I can finally start writing.
It took her four or five days to write the first part of the story.
According to the magazine's requirements, although the first publication is only 3,000 to 4,000 words, the author must also provide a 20,000-word manuscript. This will not only make it easier for the magazine to control the subsequent development of the story, but also prevent the author from suddenly stopping the manuscript and breaking the trust of the readers.
The first part of the story is like a starting point, and it is also the first stepping stone. It should attract the favor of both magazine editors and readers, and arouse their expectations for the next story.
When He Susu was writing, she spent a lot of time thinking about every word and sentence, and she was much more careful in choosing words and sentences than before. After writing, she revised it two or three times until she was satisfied.
She was rarely so serious.
After finishing the first part, all she had to do was continue writing until she had 20,000 words. He Susu buried her head in writing, and for a while it felt like she was working, or even busier than when she was working at the cinema.
A few days later, He Susu read through the 20,000-word manuscript again, and after confirming that there were no typos, she stuffed all the letter paper into the envelope and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She opened the door and walked out of the room, looking at the blue sky in the distance, and felt particularly good.
When He's mother came home from work, she was relieved to see that her daughter was not staying in her room like she had done in the past few days, but was sitting lazily on a bamboo chair in the yard, playing with Guimian and the others.
She walked over and said unhappily, "You finally finished writing your precious story? How can you be so busy?"
He Susu put her arm around her mother and said with a smile, "I've finished writing it. I'm quite confident about submitting it this time. Just wait for my good news."
She would never start writing the next story before receiving feedback from the magazine.
Don't say that you don't have to be so nervous after writing it in advance. For someone like her who won't cast a net until she sees the rabbit, what if the magazine doesn't like her story and doesn't accept it? Wouldn't all the work she wrote in advance be in vain?
He's mother was also happy to hear her daughter's confident words: "Okay, okay, then I'll be waiting for your good news."
She also hoped that the magazine would be interested in her daughter's manuscript, otherwise all the hard work she had endured for so many days would have been in vain.
The next day, He Susu rode her bicycle to the county town to mail her manuscript, and brought two kilograms of pork home. Then she waited for a reply.
During this period, the village organized spring sowing and planted cultivated seedlings in the rice fields, which looked green from a distance.
After the spring sowing, the whole village took a day off. The He family was relieved to finally be able to rest after such a long busy period. In addition to eating and sleeping, they also gathered together to chat and talk to pass the time.
He Susu sat in the living room listening to her parents, brother and sister-in-law talking, and her thoughts began to wander.
She remembered that it was around this time last year when she hit her head and accidentally awakened her memory. She also received a shopping system as compensation from heaven. In the days that followed, she was able to often eat meat and other things, which she had never dared to imagine before.
Now life at home is getting better and better, and I have found the direction of my efforts. The future will be better and better.
Because she was worried about the reply, He Susu rode her bicycle to the county post office every two days. The first time she went there, she found nothing, but the second time she got a reply.
She couldn't even wait to go home and read the letter. After receiving the reply, He Susu walked to the post office, opened the envelope and started reading the letter. As she read, she smiled brightly.
The story she wrote was selected, and the editor praised the novelty of the idea, asked her to keep working on it, and agreed on a deadline for the next submission. The magazine accepted manuscripts at 4 yuan per thousand words, and she sent 20,000 words, with a remittance slip of 80 yuan in the envelope.
He Susu took out the remittance slip and looked at it carefully. It was the first time she had earned so much money. She was so happy that she could earn 4 yuan per thousand words for the next story.
He Susu carefully put away the remittance slip, stuffed the letter back into the envelope, rode her bicycle to the bank to withdraw money, and then went home.
When He's mother came home from work, He Susu immediately took her to the room.
He's mother smiled and said, "You want to tell me something mysteriously. Did you get a reply to the manuscript you submitted?"
He Susu nodded quickly and said in a low voice, "The magazine liked my story very much and offered 4 yuan per thousand words. I made 80 yuan this time!"
"What!"
After hearing this, He's mother couldn't help but raise her voice, and then carefully lowered her voice, "Make so much money!"
Then he was happy again, "My daughter is amazing. She has earned so much money just by writing articles these days. I think even those eighth-level workers in the city can't compare to you."
After getting excited, He Xiuxiu said modestly, "I was just lucky. I earned more money because I wrote so many words for the first time. Next, I have to finish writing the story and submit it on time."
"Yes, yes, my girl, you have to remember this." Mother He said again, "Don't tell anyone about this except me and your father. Don't even tell your sister."
He Susu nodded: "I know."
Although she wanted to keep it a secret, He's mother was in a very good mood the whole day, smiling broadly. Everyone could tell at a glance that there was something happy going on.
Zhao Miling and Qian Chunhe didn't think much about it, they just guessed that the article written by the aunt was accepted and she earned some money. They never thought there would be so much money.
He Susu let herself be happy and did not continue writing the manuscript while she was excited. Instead, she let it settle for two days and thought out the next content before continuing to write.
The magazine required that each submission be no less than 5,000 words. He Susu spent four or five days writing it and mailed it to the magazine within the agreed time.
After practicing for a while, I was able to have a stable income in a short period of time.
In mid-March, one day Su Yu hurried home and approached He Susu: "Susu, come with me to the county town. I heard that the supply and marketing cooperative will post a job announcement this afternoon, saying that registration will end this afternoon."
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