The Road of Life, Part 1

Heaven and earth are vast, but political labels are the biggest of all. As Chen Qi hurled one label after another, the other fellow’s HP plunged in chunks, dropping into critical condition in the blink of an eye… Clutching the fellow by the collar like a grim reaper hounding a soul, Chen Qi demanded, “Which work unit are you from? Today you insulted the working people, and you’re not leaving until you answer!” “Let go!” “Let me go!” The leading young man seemed to recall certain terrifying memories. His face turned pale as a sheet, and he clawed frantically at Chen Qi’s hands. “I rather preferred your arrogant, unruly look from earlier. Why don’t you bring that back?” Chen Qi said with a grin. “Big bro, older brother, my living ancestor, I was wrong! I was wrong! I shouldn’t have provoked you! I was just flapping my filthy mouth, all right? I’ll slap myself, just let me go…” To say these fellows were truly evil would be an overstatement. They were merely frivolous and uncouth. Seeing the situation spiral into unpredictable territory, panic gripped them. Terrified, all they wanted was to run away as fast as possible. “What are you all crowding around here for?” “Make way!” Just then, a police officer in a white uniform pushed through the crowd. Taking in the tense standoff, his heart skipped a beat. Another fight??? It was hardly his fault for jumping to conclusions. With four hundred thousand youths awaiting employment across the city, how much trouble did they stir up every single day? The higher-ups had repeatedly warned them to handle any related issues with utmost caution. “Officer, comrade, it went like this…” Chen Qi let go of his grip and took the initiative to step forward and explain. The officer listened expressionlessly, then said, “No matter what dispute you have, talk it out properly. No shoving or grabbing. This is Qianmen, with many foreign guests passing through. Mind the impression you make.” “We definitely won’t cause you any trouble. But he insulted us, so we want our neighborhood committee to communicate with their work unit. We definitely won’t settle this privately, let alone get into a fistfight.” “…” The officer studied him for a moment, then looked back at the twelve educated youths standing behind him. That wasn’t just twelve individuals; behind them lay an unimaginably massive demographic! The officer turned to the youth and asked, “Which work unit are you from?” “Speak up! Which unit?” The young man mumbled an indistinct reply. “Where?” “No. 2 Plastics Factory!” “All right, understood. Thank you, Officer Comrade!” Chen Qi stepped back willingly. Then he spat in disdain. What was a plastics factory putting on airs for? It wasn’t like they were the rolling steel mill, backed by millions of readers across the multiverse and that shameless flirt Qin Huairu… Once the troublemakers fled as though running for their lives and the police officer walked away, Chen Qi was instantly treated like a returning hero. In such a short span of time, his companions had cycled through fury, helplessness, shock, and jubilation. Life had its ups and downs, but this had been downright thrilling! “Chen Qi, you’re incredible!” “Whoa, how are you so good with words? I didn’t even know what to say back then.” “You’ve truly opened our eyes! Hidden depths indeed—you’re the real master among us!” The young woman who had previously brought him the pickled turnip knob completely changed her tune, declaring excitedly, “From now on, you don’t need to do any chores. Leave it to us! If you like crouching there, crouch all you want. It doesn’t matter if you crouch all day.” “Why would I crouch all day? What, do I have hemorrhoids?” Chen Qi waved his hand dismissively and walked over to the cashbox. “You guys keep selling. Half a day has passed, so I’ll calculate how much we’ve earned.” This time, no one complained that he wasn’t pulling his weight. Clear-eyed and naive, they went right back to selling large-bowl tea, seemingly convinced the whole affair was behind them and that no one would ever look down on them again. *A bunch of rookies!* Shaking his head, he took the cashbox and began counting. It was a massive headache; the box was almost entirely filled with one-fen and two-fen coins. A wave of sorrow washed over him: *I’m supposed to be a boss, yet here I am counting petty coins?* After a long while, the final tally emerged: twenty yuan, six mao, and eight fen for half a day! That meant they had sold over a thousand bowls of tea. Good grief. It truly was the early era of reform and opening up. In these times, someone could become a ten-thousand-yuan household just selling cow dung, or amass a million-yuan fortune selling roasted sunflower seeds. He told only Huang Zhanying, not wanting the others to get carried away or spill the beans with loose lips. Afterward, on his very first day on the job, he promptly asked for time off: “I’m suddenly feeling unwell, so I’d like to take the afternoon off. My apologies, everyone!” “Go on, go on, get some good rest!” “Don’t worry, we’ve got this!” “Aiya, you’re the brains of the operation. Leave everything here to us!” The group’s attitude had done a complete one-eighty; none of them minded in the slightest. “Then I’m off!” Chen Qi left without lingering. After walking a short distance, he looked back and couldn't help smiling. “What a bunch of innocent greenhorns!” *** Around one in the afternoon. Chen Qi returned home; his parents were out at work as usual. First, he checked on his screenplay. Most of it was already finished, with only the ending left to wrap up, bringing the total length to roughly fifty thousand words. Having lost half the day selling tea, he had no desire to drag his feet any longer and immediately threw himself into the flow. The nib of his pen rustled softly across the manuscript paper. A simple love story leapt onto the pages. Simple though it was, one had to remember this was an era when people were embarrassed to even speak of romance; putting this out into the open would shock a great many people out of their wits. When he finally looked up, he exhaled in satisfaction. After a quick once-over, he packed the manuscript into a manila envelope and penned an address on the front: *To: Film Creation Magazine, Beijing Film Studio!* Because of constant interruptions, writing this screenplay had taken ten days from start to finish. Chen Qi felt a flicker of excitement. At long last, he was about to stay in a guesthouse—and the Beijing Film Studio guesthouse was quite respectable. Never mind that they were in the same city; freeloading room and board locally was a venerable tradition. “Chen… Is Chen Qi home?” “Is Chen Qi home?” Auntie Wang’s panting voice suddenly carried through the dry spring wind. The old lady had jogged all the way over, her blood pressure surely on the verge of spiking, clearly having caught wind of the incident. The moment she entered, she caught sight of the rascal flipping over a manila envelope and instantly cried out, “What are you holding? What is that?” “This?” “Oh, my little ancestor!” Auntie Wang nearly fainted. She hurried to say, “You’re really writing it? Whatever you do, don't go stirring up trouble!” “What’s wrong with writing this? You ought to be very familiar with it, shouldn't you?” “It’s precisely because I’m familiar with it that I’m terrified! At my age, I can’t handle you kids causing a ruckus. The moment I heard, I rushed straight over…” Auntie Wang pleaded with heartfelt earnestness, doting on him even more tenderly than her own flesh and blood. “I’ve heard the whole story. What was the big deal, really? They just ran their mouths a bit, yet you refused to let it go. Is this kind of thing something you can just write on a whim?” “I don’t like the sound of that. You call that running their mouths? They were pointing straight at the noses of all four hundred thousand youths awaiting employment and cursing us! “Search your own conscience: haven’t the thirteen of us been obedient enough? We didn't get into fights, we didn't fool around with inappropriate relations, and when you told us to sell large-bowl tea, we agreed. We all respect you as an elder. But what right did they have to insult us? “We took the abuse; we are the victims! Instead of standing by us, you’re siding with them? “I feel wronged!” Chen Qi rubbed his eyes, his nose turning red, making it look as convincingly pitiful as could be. “I know things aren’t easy for you all…” “No, you don’t!” Chen Qi cut her off. “Even if we listen to you and turn the page without pursuing it, can you guarantee it won’t happen a second time? Don't you know in your heart whether we face discrimination selling large-bowl tea? If this happens again, should we just swallow it, keep enduring, endure endlessly? Aren’t you afraid of what happens when things finally erupt?” *Erupt?* *Hiss!* The old woman shuddered. “Then what do you want, young man? How do you want this handled?” “First, those bastards must face disciplinary action! Second, they have to issue a public apology!” “A public apology?” “Right at our tea stall, before the eyes of the masses, they must apologize to us properly and formally!” “That… wouldn’t that be slapping their work unit in the face? There’s no way they’ll agree to that.” “I don’t care. If they don’t agree, I’ll put up the posters!” “No, don’t, don’t! Hold on a moment. Let me communicate with their unit first. Wait for my word, all right?” “Fine. Only because you’re the one asking!” Chen Qi reluctantly conceded. Auntie Wang departed with a head pounding from high blood pressure. In truth, he had no desire to write big-character posters either; that sort of thing invited far too much trouble. But unsure whether that crummy plastics factory could be intimidated, he had prepared a contingency. Chen Qi was not like Huang Zhanying and the other greenhorns. Today’s matter was far from settled; as long as they continued selling large-bowl tea, discrimination would remain inevitable. At its root, society’s mindset needed to change, but that was an uphill battle. A simpler approach was best: make the tea stall famous! Once it was famous, and better yet, visited by inspecting leaders, it would gain an extra layer of protective armor. *Words are like blades: they can kill, but they can also elevate!* *Besides, I need to make a name for myself too. Fame should come early!* Chen Qi sat down, took out a fresh sheet of manuscript paper, pondered for a moment, and wrote down a title: *“Oh, the Road of Life, Why Does It Narrow the Further One Walks?”* Having written the title, he paused briefly to look up, then resumed writing. Truly, thoughts surged like a spring, and inspiration gushed forth like an unstoppable flood…