Sharon Woodcock's character is gentle and dignified. Getting along with her will make people feel like a spring breeze, and chatting with her is more comfortable. In comparison, Paul Theroux's character is a bit mean.
It was okay at the beginning of the chat, but once the conversation got underway, he couldn't help but reveal his true nature.
He arrived in China in November and visited several cities in the Yangtze River Basin. When talking about his travel experiences in the past month, he complained in his usual venomous tone.
“You Chinese have almost no mercy for yourself, and always put yourself and others in cramped and uncomfortable environments.
When I arrived in Shanghai, the sound of pile drivers was everywhere. It was so noisy and kept going day and night. I almost lost sleep in those days.
My rhythm of life is completely dominated by this rude and arrogant noise, as if a rude old woman is tugging on my ears and shouting, telling me not to sleep."
At first, Lin Chaoyang tried to communicate with him patiently, but later he gradually realized that Paul Theroux was so virtuous that there was no time when he would not make sarcastic remarks about the basic necessities of life while traveling in the country.
Lin Chaoyang simply put aside his politeness and said unceremoniously: "Come on, Paul, stop being such a bitch like you. China is like this, and no one is begging you to come."
Paul Theroux asked Lin Chaoyang, "Am I wrong in what I said?"
"We have an idiom in China called being picky, and it refers to people like you. I think people like you should not be travel writers, but sell vegetables in the wet market."
Lin Chaoyang's ridicule and sarcasm made Paul Theroux angry. He said angrily: "You Chinese people really have no hospitality at all."
"We Chinese people also have an old saying that when friends come, they have good wine; when enemies come, they have shotguns. Are you our friend?"
Lin Chaoyang looked at Paul Theroux with open eyes, tit for tat, and the atmosphere between the two was tense.
Lin Chaoyang pressed him and asked: "Paul, do you come to China to make friends?"
Under his intense gaze, Paul Theroux avoided his eyes, his momentum gradually declined, and finally said: "Of course."
Lin Chaoyang then changed his tone and said in a relaxed tone: "Okay. Since you are here to make friends, you have to show the attitude of making friends. Don't be such a bitch, like a bitch."
Paul Theroux said with an ugly face: "Can you stop using the word 'girl' all the time? There are two ladies here."
Seeing that Paul Theroux was completely subdued, Lin Chaoyang's expression became warm and he said sincerely to Sharon Woodcock: "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Woodcock."
"Oh, it's nothing. It's really a frank and frank exchange."
Sharon Woodcock's face was relaxed, with a bit of ridicule in her tone.
"Yes, it's just like the relationship between China and the United States." Lin Chaoyang said with a pun.
Sharon Woodcock smiled knowingly when she heard this.
Paul Theroux's expression also relaxed, and he couldn't help but ridiculed: "Dirty politics, stupid politicians."
As soon as these words came out, Sharon Woodcock's face became visibly embarrassed, because her husband was what Paul Theroux called a "stupid politician."
Just now, she was listening to Paul Theroux complaining about China without any burden. After all, the matter had nothing to do with her. This time she was attacked indiscriminately by his artillery fire, and she felt Paul Theroux's disgust.
"Shut up, Paul. I really can't imagine how you grew up. Every time you speak, you always make others embarrassed and sad." Lin Chaoyang said sarcastically without mercy.
"You think you speak nicely? You're a crappy third-rate writer!"
Seeing that the two of them started arguing again without saying a word, Sharon Woodcock shook her head with a headache.
"Tao, why don't we go over there and sit for a while?"
Sharon Woodcock decided to stay away from the place of right and wrong and invited Tao Yushu to sit in the rest area for a while.
Tao Yushu looked worriedly at Lin Chaoyang, who was having a quarrel with Paul Solu. Shanlen Woodcock noticed her worry and comforted him: "It's okay. It's just a quarrel between two writers."
Shanlun Woodcock's words suddenly awakened Tao Yushu. When she looked at the two people arguing, she felt inexplicably like watching primary school students quarreling.
For foreigners, Christmas Eve celebrations last until early morning.
Lin Chaoyang and his wife definitely couldn't hold on until that late, and they left the Yanjing Hotel at ten o'clock.
On the way back, Tao Yushu said: "I was really afraid that you would fight with that Paul Theroux."
"It's okay, he's just a talker." Lin Chaoyang said.
Listening to his words, Tao Yushu couldn't help but think of what Sharon Woodcock said about the two of them, and couldn't help but laugh.
"What's wrong?" Lin Chaoyang asked.
"Nothing." Tao Yushu suppressed his smile and asked, "Chaoyang, when do you think we will be as wealthy as Americans?"
The question asked by Tao Yushu was in line with her usual style. Lin Chaoyang thought about it and answered:
“The success of the United States is due to the right time, right place and right people, a vast land, weak neighboring countries, industrial explosion, World War I, World War II... In the past two hundred years, there should be no country that can compare with the United States in its national destiny.
If we want to be as prosperous and powerful as Americans, we can't do it without the efforts of several generations."
Listening to his words, Tao Yushu suddenly felt heavy in his heart.
"How many generations!"
Lin Chaoyang laughed and said, "Didn't Paul complain just now that our workers are tireless and work day and night? This process can be shortened by half."
Tao Yushu nodded, "Yes, we Chinese are the most hardworking nation in the world."
When she said this, her expression was serious, her eyes were determined, and she was so cute that Lin Chaoyang couldn't help but want to kiss her.
Christmas was a foreign festival that had no sense of existence in China in the 1980s. While the few foreigners in Yanjing City were having festive carnivals, the common people were still living their lives step by step.
Seeing that it is already the end of December, "Lai Zi's Summer" published by Humanities Society has officially landed in major Xinhua Bookstores in China.
"The Summer of Lai Zi" is Lin Chaoyang's first novel. Since its publication, the novel has received very high praise in the literary world.
The Humanities Society also attached great importance to this publication and advertised the novel in its magazines such as "Contemporary" and "New Literature Historical Materials" one month in advance.
It was Sunday. Tao Yumo and several female classmates walked through Laohudong to Haidian Street and went straight to Xinhua Bookstore on this street.
Arriving in front of Xinhua Bookstore, several people couldn't help but sigh.
There’s a queue again!
From the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, bookstores have always been one of the most popular cultural venues in the city.
Especially on Sundays, or when a best-selling book comes to the bookstore, there will inevitably be a long queue at the door of the bookstore that morning.
There are top universities such as Shuimu and Yanjing University near Haidian Street. The number of highly educated people is almost the highest in the city of Yanjing, and the bookstore is naturally the most popular.
It has become a daily routine for students to come here to buy books and queue up every weekend.
But habits are habits, and everyone will inevitably feel anxious when watching such a scene.
"When will the bookstore stop being so crowded? Don't we have anything else to do?" Guo Jianmei complained.
Tao Yumo joked: "Everyone thinks like you."
Several other people couldn't help laughing.
There was definitely a queue. Tao Yumo and the others arrived not too late. The queue in front of them was only more than thirty meters long and contained less than a hundred people. As long as the quantity of the book they wanted to buy was not too small, they would definitely be able to buy it.
A few girls were chatting and laughing, but not long after, they saw the door panel of the bookstore moved. The salesperson who had just arrived was preparing to open the door for business, and the crowd in line became restless.
When the door of the bookstore officially opened, crowds of people rushed into the bookstore eagerly.
At the door of the bookstore, there is a notice written on red paper and black ink on the arrival of new books: 200 copies of "Raizi's Summer" will be available on Sunday. If you want to buy it, hurry up.
"Hey, don't squeeze! Don't squeeze!"
"Why are we so crowded? We are all college students, can we have some quality?"
From time to time, shouts from individual people could be heard in the crowd, but unfortunately this did not dampen everyone's enthusiasm for buying books.
Xinhua Bookstore on Haidian Street is one of the few bookstores in Yanjing that sells books on the open shelves. After people poured into the bookstore, they all rushed towards the bookshelves with new books.
At this time, there was a row of new books that stood out on the bookshelf. After everyone checked the titles, they immediately picked up a few books and ran to the counter to check out.
Tao Yumo and several classmates crowded in the crowd and took a few books from the bookshelf with difficulty.
"Limited to two copies per person! Limited to two copies per person!"
The salespersons at the counter have long been accustomed to such scenes, and they just loudly remind everyone of the purchase limit.
"I can buy two copies if I tell you. Why are you holding four copies?"
The cashier skillfully took out two books from the books brought by the customer and put them aside before settling the bill.
Tao Yumo and the others were not in a hurry to check out, because they came today not only to buy "Laizi's Summer", but also wanted to buy a few other books.
It's just that new books are always popular, so they have to rush with everyone. Now that they all have a copy of "Raiko's Summer", they are not in a hurry.
Please wait patiently for a while until the people who came to grab new books have dispersed, and then everyone can choose books leisurely.
The queue to grab new books was very efficient. After a while, the new books on the shelves were empty, and the originally crowded bookstore was also empty. Only about twenty customers who were at the end of the queue were still checking out.
Tao Yumo and others dispersed to the bookshelves where they wanted to buy books, one horse, two philosophy, three social sciences, four classics, five military, six laws...
The books in Xinhua Bookstore are classified in order. People who frequent the bookstore are familiar with this jingle and can easily find the books they want to buy.
Tao Yumo and Guo Jianmei picked out their books and went to the counter to pay.
I happened to meet a classmate walking into the bookstore. His face was very young even for a college student. To use the words of later generations, he looked like a young lady.
"Xiao Cha, you're here to buy books too!" Guo Jianmei smiled and said hello to the boy walking opposite.
Chapter completed!