Chapter 53: The Book Fair

"Who is that girl? She's so pretty."
"I don't know. Why is she carrying a lunchbox?"
"She's the female lead from *Romance on Lushan Mountain*, just got back from Jiangxi and staying at the studio."

In the early autumn of Beijing, the leaves in the courtyard were gradually turning yellow. Gong Xue wore a light jacket, long trousers, and heeled leather shoes. Clutching her lunchbox, she endured the probing gazes and whispered conversations all around her.

Fortunately, Zhang Jinling was by her side. "Don't pay attention to them," Zhang said. "They're always like this whenever a new face shows up. They just love to gossip."
"It's fine, Sister Jinling."

Chatting, the two entered the cafeteria and joined the queue for food. Even in line, they attracted quite a few stares.

A newcomer at the studio, and a beauty at that!
People are always gossiping; the situation was no different from when Chen Qi first arrived at the studio.

"Xiao Zhang, back from Lushan?"
A man standing ahead of Zhang Jinling in line turned back to look. He was in his thirties, short in stature, with a wide mouth and eyebrows that slanted upward. He bore a striking resemblance to a Bulbapedia frog-like creature.

"Yeah, just got back a few days ago."
"And this comrade is?"
"She's in our group, staying at the guesthouse."
"Oh, hello there, comrade!" The man greeted her with a smile.
"Hello..." Gong Xue looked up, resembling a little rabbit.
"I'm an assistant director at the studio. My name is Huang Jianzhong."
"My name is Gong Xue."
"Nice to meet you!"

After exchanging a few words, Huang Jianzhong got his food and went to sit at a table with a few other people, who apparently made up his little circle. Zhang Jinling leaned in close and whispered, "He's from the Second Production Collective, the assistant director for *Little Flower*. He already has kids."

"*Little Flower*? Then he must be quite accomplished."
"He certainly has some talent, but it has nothing to do with us. Just be polite and that's enough."

As mentioned previously, the Beijing Film Studio had four creative collectives, and Wang Haowei belonged to the third. Although Gong Xue didn't know much about it, from Zhang Jinling's tone, she gathered they were not birds of a feather.

The two women got their food and had just started eating when they heard a voice: "Sister Jinling!"
"Oh, little Cai Ming! How is your filming going?"
"Almost done, so I came over for a free meal again."

The newcomer was none other than the eighteen-year-old Cai Ming, young, cute, and full of vitality.
The cafeteria was a social hub where people gathered in small groups, chatting about everything under the sun—some talking about the book fair, others discussing plans to go to the airport to see naked women...

***

Before long, Chen Qi and Liang Xiaosheng also arrived, sitting down opposite them and looking around. "Where's Old Tang?"
"He went to get married!"
"Oh, almost forgot. He still owes us wedding candy."
"You didn't see the look on his face—full of smug triumph. His mouth has been split wide open all the way to his ears these past few days... Hey!"

Zhang Jinling suddenly lowered her voice and asked, "Do you know what his wife does?"
"Isn't she a clinic doctor at the August First Film Studio?"
"It's not that simple. The other day when he was chatting with Director Wang, I overheard a bit. His wife's family background is extraordinary; her father is at least a major general."
"That impressive?" Liang Xiaosheng chimed in, surprised. "I've never heard anyone mention it."
"Sounds impressive, but here in Beijing, it's just past the threshold. There are plenty of children of high-ranking cadres," Zhang Jinling said.
"True. If you drop a brick in Xicheng, it's bound to hit a few of them." Chen Qi nodded. In this era, it was indeed very easy to run into the offspring of high-ranking officials, unlike in later generations where they kept a low profile, cutting leeks in silence and revealing almost nothing to the outside world.

Except for Miss Han, who spent her days acting like a Calabash Brother—Grandpa~ Grandpa~
A goddess of the grandfather-dynasty type!

"By the way, do you guys have any plans today? I want to check out the book fair. Are you going?" Chen Qi extended an invitation.
"Count me in!" Zhang Jinling readily agreed. Gong Xue also smiled and said, "I was just thinking of going to buy a few books to read."

Chen Qi glanced at Cai Ming. Since they were all sitting together, leaving her behind wouldn't look too good, so he asked, "If you're free, do you want to tag along?"
"Yes! I love reading the most!"

Cai Ming had been waiting for precisely those words. She blattered on, "I rode my bike here, so you don't need to give me a ride. Even if you hadn't asked, I was planning to go take a look in a bit. I heard Ye Shengtao, Zang Kejia, and Bing Xin are all coming today. Oh, I adore Bing Xin so much; I definitely have to get her autograph..."
She could just go on and on.

*Hmph! Noisy little Cai Ming!* Chen Qi rolled his eyes.

***

Everyone loves browsing book fairs, so they hit it off immediately, though a minor hitch occurred just before departure: the group had acquired an extra little girl.

"We're going to the book fair, why are you tagging along?"
"You think I want to come with you? My dad didn't have time, that's why he made me come with you... Hey, ride straight! Ah, you're going to crash into me!"

Mid-morning, Jiang Shan—who was also enjoying a holiday—sat on the back of Cai Ming's bicycle, shouting at the top of her lungs at someone.
"Keep yelling and I really will crash into you!"
"You wouldn't dare, or I'll tell my dad!"
"I'll tell your dad too, that you were howling like a ghost and cursing a blue streak."
"When did I curse?"
"Don't you know what slander is?"

Jiang Shan shrieked with exasperation, utterly annoyed by this person. She patted the front of the bike and said, "Sister Cai Ming, crash into him too!"
"What's his tonnage? What's my tonnage? How could you even think of that?"

Cai Ming pedaled with her short legs, turning her head to say, "I say, Brother Xiao Chen, you're quite a big guy, tipping the scales at over a hundred catties just standing there. Is it really fun to keep bullying a little kid?"
"If I wait until she grows up to bully her, wouldn't that make me a scoundrel?"
"Huh? That actually makes sense!"
"Sister!"

Jiang Shan widened her eyes in disbelief while Chen Qi burst out laughing. *Not bad, Cai Ming, helping you find Guo Da a bit earlier.*

Over on the other side, Liang Xiaosheng was carrying Ge You on his bike, looking at Chen Qi with immense envy. They could never manage to laugh and banter so effortlessly with female comrades—even if these two female comrades happened to be aged twelve and eighteen respectively.

Farther along, Zhang Jinling was carrying Gong Xue, who looked at him with a mixture of novelty, never expecting him to have such a childish side.

Setting off from the Beijing Film Studio, the group passed Shichahai, skirted alongside the Forbidden City heading south, and finally arrived at the Working People's Cultural Palace.

Located on the east side of Tiananmen Square and formerly known as the Imperial Ancestral Temple, it was the place where the imperial families of the Ming and Qing dynasties offered sacrifices to their ancestral tablets. The saying "to be entitled to share the Imperial Ancestral Temple" originated from this very place. After the founding of the People's Republic, it was renamed the Working People's Cultural Palace.

A well-chosen name, indeed.

"Goodness, so many people? Must be over ten thousand, right?"
"More than that. I saw in the paper that they sold over three hundred thousand books in just three days, and some people even came all the way from Tangshan."

They parked their bicycles and gasped at the densely packed sea of humanity. Men and women, young and old, regardless of social class or profession—some dressed in decent clothes, others in ragged attire—all wore joyous, eager expressions on their faces.

True to form, people had been cooped up for too long and were starved for culture in every aspect.

They flowed inward with the crowd. The fair was set up among the cypress groves of the Cultural Palace; being an ancestral temple, the pine and cypress trees were naturally evergreen. Seven makeshift bookstores were interspaced among the gnarled, towering ancient cypresses, operating as open-air stalls selling books without enclosures.

Every single stall was packed to bursting. Everywhere you looked, people were loudly arguing over a coveted book, reciting poetry aloud right on the spot, or sitting cross-legged on the ground discussing things with absolute fervor despite being complete strangers. Some even arrived carrying burlap sacks to haul away full loads of books.

The atmosphere was so infectious that even Liang Xiaosheng rolled up his sleeves, itching to dive right in. Jiang Shan puckered her lips and clutched the corner of Cai Ming's jacket, terrified of being crushed to death in the crowd.

"It's a bit crowded. Will you be okay?" Chen Qi asked out of the blue.
Gong Xue smiled. "I'll be fine. I'm not that fragile."
"Alright then, let's charge in!"