Rebirth of Siheyuan starts in the 1980s

On May 1st, National Day, at nine o'clock in the morning, Cao Zhiqiang, who was wearing a suit, and He Yuzhu, who was wearing a Chinese tunic suit, stood together at the gate of a courtyard house, and at the same time they pulled down a hanging red rope.

As the red rope is pulled down, a plaque covered by red silk reveals its true identity - Food is Heaven!

At the moment when the plaque was revealed, firecrackers blasted, gongs and drums roared, lion dancers, stilt walkers, and yangko dancers all entered the venue. Many spectators also applauded and shouted. It was a lively scene.

Well, this lively scene is the opening ceremony of a restaurant, and the name of this restaurant is Shiweitian. It is a restaurant jointly opened by Cao Zhiqiang and He Yuzhu.

Of course, although it is said to be a partnership, it is actually Cao Zhiqiang's own money. He Yuzhu only contributed a few shares and got a few shares. In fact, 90% of it belongs to Cao Zhiqiang himself.

This restaurant is a courtyard house along the street that Cao Zhiqiang bought from a family named Ma. He then spent a lot of money to hire people from the Peking Design Institute to renovate it. He worked quickly and slowly, and finally opened it in May.

It was officially opened on the National Day.

As for the name "Food is Heaven", of course it was also given by Cao Zhiqiang, which means "Food is Heaven for the people".

Of course, this is the interpretation of the third uncle. In fact, when Cao Zhiqiang originally chose this name, he didn’t think much about it. He just thought of a TV series he watched in his previous life, Miracle Doctor Xilaile, which had such a name, because it was so impressive that it made him read

It was also catchy, so I borrowed it directly.

Not to mention, after choosing this name, it was indeed a good name. Anyway, He Yuzhu nodded in praise.

Later, Cao Zhiqiang and He Yuzhu went to the big leader Uncle Xu and asked him to write the three characters "Food is the Heaven" with a brush, and then had a plaque made.

Looking for Uncle Xu to write an inscription is not because his handwriting is the best, but because of his identity.

Of course, this would not be appropriate if Uncle Xu was still in office, but coincidentally, on the eve of the opening of the hotel, at the end of April, Uncle Xu abdicated on the grounds of physical discomfort.

Now that he has abdicated, Uncle Xu is just a retired old man on the surface. There is no problem in letting a retired old man write the inscription.

There is another little episode here, which is the reason why Uncle Xu abdicated.

Externally, Uncle Xu abdicated because he was old, frail and unwell. After all, he was over sixty, so this reason was reasonable.

But in fact, retirement at the age of sixty is a requirement for ordinary cadres and employees, and with Uncle Xu's level, he actually does not have a clear retirement age.

Generally speaking, leading cadres like Uncle Xu do not need to retire under the age of sixty-eight.

Even if you reach the age of sixty-eight, as long as your health is up to standard, you can continue to work, and you can continue to work until you are seventy years old.

In other words, the general retirement age for people like Uncle Xu is around seventy years old. In fact, if you want to continue working, you can do it until you are seventy years old. No one will force you to retire.

Others don't know Uncle Xu's physical condition, but Cao Zhiqiang is well-known because he takes time to give Uncle Xu and Uncle Wang a massage every week.

There are top-notch Chinese massage techniques provided by the system. Although it cannot bring the dead back to life, it can still maintain health.

Anyway, since Cao Zhiqiang gave regular massages to the two senior leaders, Uncle Xu and Uncle Wang, the physical health of these two old people has been significantly improved.

In particular, some of the original leg and foot problems, as well as mental depression and neurasthenia, have been significantly improved. This is one of the reasons why the two uncles like Cao Zhiqiang more and more.

Not to mention Uncle Wang, he is now in a high position of authority and we cannot do without him for the time being and cannot retire.

But Uncle Xu is different. He has been retired for a long time. He is still the leader in name, but in fact he has delegated power to his deputy.

But in theory, Uncle Xu can continue to do it. As long as he is still in office, he still has the final say in many powers.

However, Uncle Xu still resolutely chose to retire completely.

Cao Zhiqiang asked the reason privately, and Uncle Xu made it clear that the reason why he chose to abdicate early was to make way for reforms.

It turns out that by the early 1980s, many state-owned enterprises were already in dire straits and could no longer survive without reform.

The difficulty here is not just a simple market problem, but also includes many problems in the factory itself.

Disadvantages such as overstaffing and eating from one big pot have already been revealed during this period.

I think back then, everyone could still rely on support such as patriotic enthusiasm, but as time goes by, those things become less and less effective.

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The most fundamental reason is the overall backwardness in technology and system.

Technical backwardness cannot be corrected at once, but institutional backwardness can be corrected early.

Uncle Xu himself was a benchmark in the old era. Many factory directors at that time were retained by Uncle Xu, and he indeed made a strong contribution to industrial development.

However, now, Uncle Xu has become a roadblock to reform.

Because many of the factory directors and secretaries back then are now old. Many of them are old-fashioned and refuse to change. Moreover, they all use Uncle Xu as their backing, and they often use Uncle Xu as a banner to resist reform.

Uncle Xu knew that this situation was difficult to handle, so he simply went into semi-retirement to support the reformists. Now, he found that many people came to him, so he simply retired.

Once he retires and steps down from his original position, his old subordinates will no longer be able to ask him for help.

At least, he would have a reason to shirk.

At the same time, if he abdicates early, he can also let the newcomers think of him well, so why not.

All in all, Uncle Xu's early retirement can be said to be for the good of the country and to make the reform of the enterprise smoother.

Without Uncle Xu, many corporate reforms, such as some rectifications and mergers and acquisitions, can proceed smoothly.

If nothing else, factories like the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill in Beijing can be smoothly merged into Shougang.

In the same way, if a unit like Hongguang Machinery Factory does not have Uncle Xu as its backer, it will really have to rely on itself and will no longer be able to get help.

But no matter what, even though Uncle Xu has abdicated, his prestige is still there, and many people will still listen to his words.

So asking Uncle Xu to write the inscription means that this "food is the sky" has been given a layer of gold.

Let’s not talk about anything else, let’s just talk about the major units in the capital related to the metallurgical department. If we treat guests to dinner or something in the future, can we not come here?

It can be said that for these three inscriptions, Cao Zhiqiang can work for Uncle Xu.

In fact, Cao Zhiqiang did mention giving dry shares, but unfortunately Uncle Xu insisted on not giving him any, not even money. He also said that if money and shares were discussed, he would not write the inscription.

According to Uncle Xu, he knew what Cao Zhiqiang meant when he asked him to inscribe the inscription. The reason why he was willing to do this favor and inscribe this inscription was because he was optimistic about Cao Zhiqiang and wanted to help him as much as possible.

As for money, he has no shortage of it. After all, his pension is very high and he also has various benefits for retired senior officials, so he doesn't need much money at all.

What he wants is the prosperity of the country and the well-being of the people. What he wants is the prosperity of the country and the strength of industry and agriculture.

Anyway, Uncle Xu is truly lofty and unconventional.

Although Uncle Xu was willing to write the inscription, Cao Zhiqiang did not show it off everywhere, nor did he use Uncle Xu's name to publicize it everywhere. He just installed a plaque in a low-key manner.

According to Cao Zhiqiang, this plaque is just a low-key amulet, not something to show off to attract distinguished guests.

He Yuzhu also agreed to do this, so he didn't publicize the plaque everywhere.

Therefore, very few people know the inscription of this plaque.

If it weren't for this, I'm afraid there would be more than just these people at today's opening ceremony. There would definitely be many more high-ranking officials and dignitaries coming to support us.

But because Cao Zhiqiang and He Yuzhu did not publicize the true identity of the inscriber of this plaque in advance, and Uncle Xu himself did not come, many relevant leaders did not know about it, and naturally they did not come to support it.

However, even without the blessing of Uncle Xu's golden body, Cao Zhiqiang's own name alone is enough.

Cao Zhiqiang is now the senior leader of a large state-owned enterprise and the head of a state-owned publishing house. He can be considered a small power in the capital.

Coupled with the blessing of the famous poet's name, it still attracted many people.

Secretary Dong and Director Li from Hongguang Machinery Factory, as well as some senior cadres and leaders from the factory, basically all came.

In addition, most of the employees of Hongguang Publishing House, as well as the editor-in-chief and deputy president of Poetry Magazine, as well as several hosts from the TV station, such as Chen Duo and Hongyun, as well as several chief editors, reporters, editors, etc., all came.

Applauded.

What Cao Zhiqiang didn't expect was that some literati and poets with whom Cao Zhiqiang had no contact or friendship, such as the vice chairman of the Chinese Writers Association and other figures, came uninvited and took the initiative to congratulate him.

This caught Cao Zhiqiang a little off guard, because he never thought that there would be so many poets and literati who would actively seek friendship with him.

In fact, this is a problem of cognitive bias.

In fact, although Cao Zhiqiang has always considered himself a layman and a businessman, in fact, in the eyes of outsiders, he has only one label, that is, a poet.

If I were to add another label to this label, it would be literati.

Yes, although Cao Zhiqiang has never considered himself a poet, scholar or writer, in fact, with the popularity of the original poetry collection "The Farthest Distance in the World" and the subsequent sales of the remastered version "Journey to Jianghu" with added materials, Cao Zhiqiang is a new star.

The status of the young poet is already certain.

Whether it is the first set of "The Farthest Distance in the World" or the later set of "Journey to Jianghu" with added content, in terms of pure poetry level, it is indeed a classic.

Especially the later poem "Journey to the Rivers and Lakes", which is the poem "The world's winds and clouds are beyond my generation, and the years are rushing me once I enter the rivers and lakes", it is even more highly praised, and even set off a new wave of young people pursuing martial arts.

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If there hadn't been a ban on martial arts in China at this time, prohibiting the explicit publication of martial arts novels, martial arts novels might have become a disaster long ago.

If nothing else, at least in the field of poetry, or new poetry, Cao Zhiqiang is now a banner figure in the country, and even far surpasses the older generation of poets in terms of popularity.

There is no way, who can make Cao Zhiqiang's poems more easy to understand, but the artistic conception is equally good.

Let’s not talk about Jianghu, but talk about seeing and not seeing, and the farthest distance in the world. These three poems alone can establish Cao Zhiqiang’s status as the strongest new poet.

That is to say, there is no first place in literature, and there is no ranking of poets in the country.

If there were really a ranking now and it would be based on popularity, then with Cao Zhiqiang's current reputation, he would definitely be number one.

However, this fermentation is a long-term process, and people in the early 1980s were not so enthusiastic about chasing stars, especially the pursuit of poets, which is different from the enthusiasm for chasing idols, so Cao Zhiqiang did not feel deeply.

As for other literati, they are relatively conservative. Even if they want to make friends with Cao Zhiqiang, they must always be reserved.

Normally, Cao Zhiqiang does not participate in many literati activities, such as this poetry salon or that poetry tea party, which naturally leaves him with fewer opportunities to make friends with other literati.

Frankly speaking, it is not that no one has sent invitation letters to Cao Zhiqiang for relevant activities. Unfortunately, Cao Zhiqiang accepted all the invitations, but he will not go.

Because Cao Zhiqiang was too busy, he had no time to attend a talk meeting organized by a group of literati.

Moreover, he was also afraid of revealing his secrets. If he exposed his lack of knowledge, he would be laughed at.

After all, Cao Zhiqiang's status as a poet was achieved through plagiarism. In terms of real knowledge, he is definitely different from a serious poet and cultural person.

If you sit with them and talk loudly, you will show your timidity even if you say a few words.

Of course, even if he didn't show his timidity, Cao Zhiqiang would not go because he didn't think it was a good meeting at all and thought it was a waste of time.

If I have that time, I might as well take a nap at home, or plagiarize a few pop songs.

Cao Zhiqiang has never been in contact with mainstream poets, and originally everyone didn't mind. However, as Cao Zhiqiang's status in the poet world is getting higher and higher, many people have to pay attention to him again.

There is no way, with the current atmosphere, at least in the poetry world, it has reached the point where it is impossible not to pay attention to Cao Zhiqiang.

There are even rumors that some middle school Chinese textbooks are planning to incorporate some of Cao Zhiqiang’s articles into their textbooks and make them a must-read poem for middle school students.

I don’t know whether the rumor is true or not, but the implication is obvious, that is, the influence of Cao Zhiqiang’s works is getting bigger and bigger, and has even broken out of the circle. It is not only popular in China, but has completely gone abroad and become popular in overseas Chinese circles.

It is said that there are already pirated books about "The Farthest Distance in the World" in Xiangjiang, and the name of the poet Qiangzi has gradually become famous in overseas Chinese circles.

It's just that these news were popular in literary circles, and Cao Zhiqiang didn't get involved, so he was a bit of an afterthought.

Of course, if it were just like this, Mr. Jiang, as the vice chairman of the Writers' Association, would not condescend to come to him.

In fact, there is a university in Xiangjiang that has decided to invite Cao Zhiqiang to give a lecture.

However, due to some political and other reasons, the University of Hong Kong did not formally send an invitation letter. They only asked Cao Zhiqiang verbally through the Vice Chairman of the Writers Association, Mr. Jiang.

According to Vice Chairman Jiang, as long as Cao Zhiqiang agrees, the University of Hong Kong will formally send an invitation letter to Cao Zhiqiang and invite him to give a speech.

At the same time, the round trip expenses and accommodation expenses are also covered by HKU.

In other words, as long as Cao Zhiqiang agrees, the round trip expenses will not be a problem, and he will even get a considerable speaking allowance.

"Really, am I really that famous now?"

After hearing what Uncle Jiang, the vice chairman of the Writers' Association, said, Cao Zhiqiang, who was about to greet the guests, was stunned.

"You mean, Xiangjiang University actually plans to invite me to give a speech to college students? Or is it paid? Is it true or false?"

"Of course it's true." Mr. Jiang smiled, "How can I, an old man, still lie to you?

However, they took into account your current status and the current status of the two places, so they did not send you an invitation letter rashly. They just asked you what you meant through me.

If you are really interested, they will formally send you an invitation letter, but if you are not interested, forget it."

Cao Zhiqiang thought for a while and finally decided to refuse.

Because although the honor of speaking at Xiangjiang University is good, at this sensitive moment, it still does more harm than good.

What's more, his most important job now is to release records, so he doesn't have much time to go to Xiangjiang to lecture on modern poetry to a group of students.

He could imagine that with the current atmosphere, once he went to Xiangjiang University to give a lecture, he probably wouldn't be able to say much. Instead, he would be asked all kinds of malicious questions, and then through all kinds of malicious guidance, he would use his fame to discredit Inland.

Although this is just Cao Zhiqiang's personal guess, it should be close to ten.

Once you do that, your reputation will be over, at least in mainland China.

"What, rejection, have you thought about it?" Mr. Jiang frowned, "This is a lecture at Xiangjiang University. Such honors and opportunities do not come around all the time, and most people don't even dare to think about it. You just

So rejected? Don’t think about it anymore?”

"I understand the truth." Cao Zhiqiang smiled, "However, in addition to being a poet, I am also the president of a state-owned publishing house and the general manager of a record company.

I'm very busy right now, and I don't even have time to go to Xiangjiang University to give a lecture.

What's more, I am just a person who has not graduated from high school. With my current academic qualifications, giving a speech to college students, isn't that nonsense?

So, I accepted it with good intentions.”

"Are you sure you don't want to go?" Mr. Jiang asked again.

"Definitely and definitely!" Cao Zhiqiang nodded with a smile, "I won't go if I don't go. Just reply like this!"