Back to 80: My Literary Life

The next morning, the whole family got up early. After breakfast, they got on Fang Minghua's SUV and happily headed to the Tianhan area. Even the German Shepherd Xiaodou Miao was no exception. Only the nanny and Xiao Dou Miao were left to look after the house.

These days, the highway from Xijing to Chengdu passing through the Tianhan area has not yet been repaired. To go to Tianhan, you must take the 108 National Highway, starting from Mazhao Town in Zhouzhi, driving into the Qinling Mountains, passing the Heihe Reservoir, and winding along the Heihe River. .

Although the road is steep in some places, the scenery is charming. It is autumn now, and there are dense virgin forests on both sides, and some of them are already completely dyed.

Fang Minghua didn't drive very fast, and it took him almost four hours to reach Foping County in Tianhan Prefecture, which is the hometown of giant pandas and the smallest county in Qin Province. Later generations said on the Internet that the county had no traffic lights and only three taxis.

The county town is indeed very small, with only one street, but this is the mid-1990s, and there are many county towns without traffic lights. It is not surprising that there are more county towns without taxis.

In Foping, we ate the local specialties "fried bacon with vermicelli", "brown sugar glutinous rice cake" and "fairy tofu".

The so-called "fairy tofu" is a kind of fairy tofu made from the leaves of the "fairy tree". The "fairy tree" is called Double-winged Liudaomu. I heard that the locals can find it all over the mountains and plains in Foping. They pick the leaves, wash them and soak them in boiling water. Then they stir them back and forth with a rolling pin to make a paste, and then add some to the pulp. Add brine to make tofu.

The cold salad tasted smooth, moist, cool and delicious. Fang Minghua thought it was delicious, but it had a slight grassy and bitter taste. The two children didn't like it very much. They liked the "brown sugar glutinous rice cake".

Continuing south from Foping, we soon entered the Tianhan Basin. Now the rice has basically been harvested. The fields are full of stubble, lacking some of the beautiful scenery of rolling rice waves in autumn.

However, the orange gardens in Chenggu are quite beautiful. There are orange trees all over the mountains and plains. They are not yet fully mature, half yellow and half green. Song Tangtang bought two kilograms, and Fang Minghua tasted one. It felt a bit sour, but his wife and two children ate it with gusto.

Standing on the hillside of the orange garden, looking into the distance.

This place belongs to the northern foothills of Qinling Mountains, and the faint mountain range in front is Bashan Mountain. The sky is high and the clouds are light, which makes people feel relaxed and happy.

"Here, have another one." Song Tangtang specially picked an orange with a yellower peel for Fang Minghua.

Fang Minghua peeled it open, put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly.

"Minghua, I feel that you are in a good mood and were not affected at all by Lili's call yesterday." Song Tangtang said.

"What's the impact? To be honest, I didn't want Simon to publish it in the first place, but we have been working together for so long, especially with their vice president Johnson, who is also a friend. It would be inappropriate to refuse without a suitable reason. Isn't that just right." Fang Minghua said.

After hearing this, Song Tangtang felt a little strange.

"You don't want Simon to publish it, and you prevent Lili from contacting Random House. So which company do you want to publish it?"

"Well, I haven't thought about it yet." Fang Minghua pondered for a moment: "Tangtang, I'm going to the United States."

"Going to the United States to publish a book?" Song Tangtang asked.

"Not exactly, there are others. I'll tell you when I get back."

"Shouldn't you be going to see Lili?"

Hearing this, Fang Minghua glared at Song Tangtang and said, "Lili will be back before New Year's Day. Do I need to make a special trip?"

"Just watch it. I have no objection." Song Tangtang muttered.

Fang Minghua ignored it and said: "This time I go to the United States, I also want to inspect some American companies, so I have to stay for a while."

"Do you want to invest?" Song Tangtang keenly felt the meaning of her husband's words.

"I have such an idea. But it depends on the situation. The main thing is the book." Fang Minghua said.

"Okay, then go ahead. When I get back, I'll call Liao Yawei from the Yanjing office and ask him to help you apply for a visa." Song Tangtang said.

"Okay, but don't apply for a tourist visa. Apply for a B1, which is a short-term business visa." Fang Minghua reminded.

"Okay, I understand."

I took my children to play in the Orange Garden for most of the day, and stayed in Chenggu County in the evening. The next morning, I ate the local specialty snack tofu noodles, and then drove to the famous local Nanshahu for boating for a long time, and finally returned to the city. Rush back to Xijing in the evening.

After the National Day, while Fang Minghua was writing "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", he also had to hurry up and apply for a visa to the United States. For this purpose, he even made a special trip to Yanjing.

In the mid-1990s, although applying for a visa abroad was not as difficult as it was in the 1980s, the procedures were still very cumbersome, especially when there was a long queue at the entrance of the US Embassy on Xiushui North Street.

Provide a valid ID to the guard, wait in line for the security check, and only after passing the security check can you enter the service hall of the US Embassy to submit application materials and apply for signature.

But these matters do not need to be so troublesome for Fang Minghua. Liao Yawei has already helped him deliver the relevant materials to the embassy.

Famous writers like Fang Minghua also enjoy high reputation in the United States, and there is no problem of visa refusal at all.

I heard from Liao Yawei that the visa officer asked him jokingly, does your client have any tendency to immigrate? We refuse to apply for visas for some Chinese citizens who intend to immigrate, but we welcome Mr. Fang to immigrate to our country.

After hearing the news, Fang Minghua didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

I am staying well in China, why would I immigrate to your country? !

By the end of October, Fang Minghua had completed all the procedures for leaving the country and was preparing to go to the United States.

Of course, Fang Minghua not only had to inform his work unit and parents about this matter, but also called Li Li. The night before leaving, Song Tangtang called Li Li specifically, and the two sisters talked quietly for a long time.

Going abroad was not a particularly exciting thing for Fang Minghua. He specifically told his two children to listen to their mother while he was in the United States.

"Dad, I also want to go to the United States to visit my aunt." The daughter was a little unhappy.

"You're in school, how do you get there?" Fang Minghua knelt down and hugged his daughter gently: "How about this, when you have winter vacation, let your mother take you to the United States to play, okay?"

"Okay, okay." The daughter became happy.

After comforting the two children, Fang Minghua returned to his study room. At this time, Song Tangtang walked in and said.

"Everything is packed, including your driver's license."

Fang Minghua agreed and told her that his two children wanted to go to the United States. Song Tangtang agreed.

"That's okay. Now that the children are older, it's more important to go out and broaden their horizons. I'll take the time to apply for a visa. As for you, stay for a while longer and then our family will gather in the United States."

Fang Minghua nodded.

He applied for a business visa to the United States, which is valid for 10 years. After each entry, he can stay in the United States for up to six months, so he has enough time.

"We might as well celebrate the New Year in the United States." Fang Minghua said with a smile.

"Well, that's a good idea. I haven't spent the Spring Festival in the United States yet." Song Tangtang said.

In fact, Fang Minghua just said casually that as for the decision when the time comes, his wife has the final say.

"Minghua."

"Um?"

"Where will you live in San Francisco?" Song Tangtang suddenly asked.

"What's the reason for this? It must be a hotel. Let Lili book one for you." Fang Minghua replied.

"You'll stay at Lili's house, right? Save money."

"I can't even afford to pay for a hotel, can I?" Fang Minghua laughed: "Besides, it's not convenient for me to live alone because Lili lives alone."

"It doesn't matter. I told Lili just now and she agreed."

Um? !

Fang Minghua looked up at Song Tangtang.