Li Gang personally escorted Qi Tongwei out of the police station, and before they parted, he even left him his pager number, telling him to contact him if he ran into any trouble in the future.
Qi Tongwei wore a grateful expression, leaving all smiles and beaming like a triumphant general.
As soon as he rounded the corner, the smile vanished from his face, replaced by a calm and indifferent look. He lowered his gaze to sweep over his canvas bag, which held a thousand yuan and two cartons of Da Qianmen cigarettes.
In 1984, a single worker could support a family of six on an average monthly wage of 54.5 yuan. One thousand yuan would take two years of eating and drinking nothing to save—it was a veritable fortune.
Yet Qi Tongwei could not work up even a shred of excitement; instead, an indescribable sense of disillusionment and a stale aura of fatigue weighed down his entire being.
When he thought of Hummers and Cuban cigars, not to mention Shanshui Manor and a hundred million in provident funds, how could anyone possibly get excited over a mere thousand yuan?
Qi Tongwei slapped his face hard to snap himself back to reality.
"Wake up, Qi Tongwei. Since you've chosen to stay in politics, stop dreaming about those pie-in-the-sky things, unless you want to kill yourself all over again."
After giving himself a stern mental warning, Qi Tongwei quickly adjusted his mindset. Now that his basic food and shelter problems were solved, it was time to head to the library and slip a little note to Teacher Liang.
Just the thought of those increasingly bold notes washed away much of the weariness from his body.
He wondered when Teacher Liang would evolve into a daring, new-era literary young woman.
"Heh, Teacher Liang, with her passion for literature, never fails to disappoint me."
...
The streets of 1984 were filled with the aroma of meat everywhere, both cooked and raw!
Having spent the last few days of his rebirth gnawing on corn muffins at every meal, his mouth had long since lost all taste for food. Qi Tongwei first went to a restaurant for a hearty feast, then headed straight to the department store.
Weaving through the dazzling array of goods and the bustling crowds, Qi Tongwei had a clear objective.
First, grab a Japanese-made Two Lions watch—priced at 85 yuan, take one.
He was utterly fed up with telling time by looking at the sky.
Blue trousers and a white shirt—get two sets.
The bristles on his toothbrush were falling out—replace it!
His sulfur soap was almost gone—buy it.
His face felt a bit dry—did he need Dabao cream? Yes!
His socks had holes in them—should he get new ones? Buy five pairs.
The rubber soles on his sneakers were peeling off—did he need replacements? Take two pairs.
"Young man, you look like quite a talent, and this pager was just brought in from abroad. I'll let you have it for 2,300." He couldn't afford it—skip!
Laden with bags of all sizes, Qi Tongwei squeezed his way out of the department store looking somewhat disheveled.
He hailed a rickshaw at the intersection, admired the memories of the 1980s along the way, and rode all the way back to school.
Passing the post office, Qi Tongwei told the driver to step on the brakes, pulled 500 yuan from his shoulder bag to mail home, and instructed his parents not to worry about repaying the villagers for now.
At the thought of all the bullcrap from his past life, Qi Tongwei wished he could teleport right back to Qijia Village and drag those wet-behind-the-ears punks out, giving every last one of them a sound, hard slap across the face.
Repay the money? My ass.
Qi Tongwei had finally figured it out. For people like his fellow villagers, even if you handed them a mountain of gold and silver, they would still find a way to stir up trouble.
Rape, manslaughter—they would commit any heinous crime imaginable.
Especially that rapist: Qi Tongwei still couldn't understand how someone who could casually pay off a 200,000-yuan settlement was too stingy to pay 200 yuan for a shampoo girl.
With his traditional clan mindset, Qi Tongwei intended to try a different approach with those villagers this time around—he was going to play the part of a proper feudal patriarch.
........
The female teachers' dormitory building.
As a senior-title teaching assistant, the accommodation standard was a double room.
Liang Lu sat at her desk, engrossed in Charlotte Brontë's *Jane Eyre*.
On the desk directly above it sat a brand-new copy of *Stray Birds*.
Some might not understand why someone who already had a copy of *Stray Birds* at home would still go to the library to read it. In truth, it was the same logic as going to an internet cafe when you already had a computer at home.
Playing games required an atmosphere, and reading did too... not to mention building a romance.
Creak...
The door was pushed open gently.
"Lulu, hurry downstairs. Your Teacher Chen Shan is waiting for you down there."
"If you ask me, I should have moved out sooner so I could clear the space for your man."
Wu Huifen teased with a smile.
Liang Lu put down her book: "Don't you dare. You've been married to Teacher Gao for almost a year now; if anyone should clear out the space, it's me."
At the mention of housing, a look of distress clouded Wu Huifen's face: "Right, it's been a year, and we still have no idea when apartments will be assigned."
A professor and a lecturer—two senior intellectuals joined in marriage—yet they still couldn't get a place of their own.
Seeing Wu Huifen like this, Liang Lu felt a pang of sympathy. Having lived as roommates for two years, the two had long since become close confidantes who shared everything.
From a personal standpoint, Liang Lu didn't want to part with her best friend, nor did she want a new roommate.
Yet, as Wu Huifen had said, a whole year had passed. How many years does a person have, especially during the newlywed phase?
Liang Lu asked: "What on earth is going on? Have you gone to ask about it?"
"I asked. There's a 60-square-meter place available, but my Old Gao is a genuine professor. Even if we don't go by the top standard of 138 square meters, I could accept 100, but what's with 60 square meters? Isn't this just bullying people?"
Wu Huifen poured out her grievances. She knew Liang Lu had connections, but for a major issue like this, relying solely on a roommate and friend made it impossible to speak up directly, so she could only drop subtle hints.
Liang Lu wasn't a fool either. During their chats over the past three months, every single conversation had eventually drifted toward housing.
But did she really want to help?
The couple were merely teachers. Helping out not only offered no reward, but it also carried enormous risks. It had only been six years since the Reform and Opening Up began, and the turmoil had ended only eight years ago.
Cadres hadn't recovered their footing yet and were like frightened birds every single day. Who dared to stick their neck out?
Liang Lu weighed things over and over in her mind, but ultimately, affection won out over reason. She took Wu Huifen's hand and said solemnly, "Huifen, I can help you ask around, but I can't guarantee success. Do you understand?"
"I understand, I understand," Wu Huifen promised repeatedly. "Lulu, win or lose, I'm thanking you. Really, thank you so much."
She hugged Liang Lu excitedly, jumping up and down.
It took quite a while for the two of them to calm down. Only then did Liang Lu remember that Chen Shan was still waiting for her downstairs, but when she hurried down, the street was already completely empty.
She instinctively walked toward the male teachers' dormitory, only to turn back halfway and head to the telephone booth instead.
"Hello, this is Liang Qunfeng."
"Dad."
"Oh, what day is it today? My precious daughter actually remembered to call her old man."
"Heehee, today is the day your precious daughter misses you. What, not welcome?"
"Alright, alright, welcome, welcome. Tell me, what's on your mind?"
"Heehee, well, it's like this..."
Liang Lu recounted Wu Huifen and Gao Yuliang's situation with exaggerated flair, painting it as miserably as possible. When she finished, the phone fell silent.
"Lulu, the turmoil only ended eight years ago. Not just your old man, but the vast majority of people are still being very cautious. Nobody knows if there will be a second or a third wave. Do you understand?"