On July 25th, Yu Dong and his wife returned to Shanghai.
Before going to the set of "Don't Talk to Strangers", Yu Dong first took Cheng Yanqiu to Red Star Elementary School.
The school door is open and there is no one in the guardroom.
It had just rained last night, and the ground was still a little damp. The road in front of the school was full of potholes, so the two had to move forward cautiously.
Hongxing Primary School has only one two-story teaching building. When Yu Dong was studying here, this building was just built and was still new. Now, more than ten years later, the exterior wall of the building has become mottled.
There is a playground as soon as you enter the school. The playground is divided into two halves, with a basketball court on one side and a football field on the other side, surrounded by a cinder track.
It is said to be a football field, but in fact it is just a piece of broken grass. Because no one has taken care of it during the summer vacation, it is overgrown with weeds.
When Yu Dong and others were young, it was difficult for the grass on the football field to grow even during the holidays. Even though there was a holiday at that time, students still liked to go to school to play when they had nothing to do.
Walk through the playground, bypass the teaching building, and behind it is the school's dormitory area.
The staff dormitories of Hongxing Primary School are rows of small courtyards with only one floor and brick walls and tile roofs. Following the house number, Yu Dong found Tian Weizhang's house.
The door to the courtyard was open. Yu Dong looked inside first, but saw no one, and then knocked on the door.
"Come here, my courtyard gate doesn't have any..."
Tian Weizhang ran out of the back room wearing a vest and slippers. Suddenly he saw Yu Dong and his wife standing at the door. He was surprised at first, and then became embarrassed.
It's summer now and the weather is hot. Tian Weizhang usually wears a vest when he is at home. And he usually doesn't have outsiders here. They are all school colleagues who come to visit.
"You guys come in first..."
Tian Weizhang waved to Yu Dong and others, and then he ran into the house. After a while, he put on a shirt and came out.
"Yu Dong, why didn't you tell me in advance that you were coming? Why did you bring so many things?"
"It's just some fruits." Yu Dong smiled, "It's not too far away anyway, so I came right over. I also wanted to take a look at the school."
In fact, Yu Dong was afraid that if he told Tian Weizhang in advance, he would take Tian Weizhang too seriously and find a bunch of people to accompany him. In Hongxing Primary School, Yu Dong didn't have many acquaintances. His head teacher had gone abroad with his children a few years ago.
If you invite a bunch of people you don't know very well, the atmosphere will be awkward.
"Okay, okay, come in and sit down. I'll wash some fruit for you to eat." Then he called inside, "Yan Lin, come out and make a cup of tea for the guests."
An old lady came out of the house. She looked at Yu Dong and Cheng Yanqiu, "Old Tian, ​​who are these two?"
"This is Yu Dong. I mentioned it to you before. The person next to me is his fiancée. If I remember correctly, your surname is Cheng, right?"
Yu Dong smiled and said, "Teacher Tian has a really good memory, but now she is no longer the fiancée. We already received the certificate in January."
Then he looked at the old lady and said, "Hello, Teacher Yan. Long time no see."
"Okay, okay." Yan Lin responded with a smile.
Yan Lin is not a school teacher, but because he is Tian Weizhang's lover and often appears in the school, the students will call her Teacher Yan.
She didn't remember Yu Dong. There were so many students in the school at that time, and she didn't know who was good at studying or who was bad at studying. But in the past two years, she often heard her wife mention that there was a great writer named Yu Dong in the school.
When Tian Weizhang heard that Yu Dong and the others were married, he smiled and said: "Congratulations, congratulations. I saw you when Liu Jiang was getting married. I actually wanted to ask you when you were getting married, but I didn't expect to see you already married in the blink of an eye."
"Actually, I just received the certificate, and the wedding hasn't happened yet." Yu Dong smiled and took out an invitation card from Cheng Yanqiu's bag, "I came here this time to send you an invitation specifically for Teacher Tian. Our wedding is in Jinling.
The event will be held on September 10th."
Seeing Yu Dong take out the invitation, Tian Weizhang was obviously stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that Yu Dong would invite him to the wedding.
He quickly regained his composure and accepted the invitation with a smile, "September 10th is a good day. You are a teacher now and it is very meaningful to get married on this day."
"My wife is also a teacher." Yu Dong pointed at Cheng Yanqiu and said.
"That makes more sense. We are in Jinling, right? I will go there no matter how busy I am then."
At this moment, Yan Lin made two cups of tea and came over. Yu Dong took the tea cup and said, "Teacher Yan, if you have time, we will come with you."
Yan Lin smiled and said, "Okay, okay, I'll be with Lao Tian when the time comes."
Yu Dong nodded, "You can go there one day in advance. I will arrange a car then. I will ask my father to contact you later."
"Okay, I'm ready."
After talking about the marriage, Yu Dong then talked about the school, "I don't think the school has changed much over the years."
Tian Weizhang smiled bitterly and said: "There are fewer and fewer students and teachers, and financial allocations cannot be allocated. In the years since you left the school, you have built two new table tennis tables and a flag-raising platform. The books in the library have been damaged over the years.
Seriously, there is no way to replace it."
Hongxing Primary School has a library.
Of course, it is said to be a library, but it is actually an ordinary classroom with several rows of bookshelves inside. Tian Weizhang works part-time as the librarian.
This library is not open around the clock. It is only open for one and a half hours from 12 noon to 1:30 on Thursday. Both borrowing and returning books are completed during this time.
This time doesn't sound like much, it's only one and a half hours a week, but it's actually quite enough.
After all, this is an elementary school, and the lower grades don’t know how to borrow books, and they can’t understand them if they borrow them. When Yu Dong was in school, the students who borrowed books were usually fourth- and fifth-grade students.
Moreover, in order to prevent students from not cherishing books at that time, a library card required a deposit of three yuan. The average parents of lower-grade students were reluctant to part with this money. After all, at that time, the tuition fee for Yu Dong and others was only three yuan.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "How many students are borrowing books now?"
Tian Weizhang nodded, "It's quite a lot. Now that a library card costs five yuan, parents are willing to give it up. And the school now has sixth grade, and it's time to read books."
Yu Dong frowned and thought for a while, then said, "Teacher Tian, ​​would it be convenient to take me to the library?"
"Convenient, convenient, of course convenient, I'll get the key." Tian Weizhang agreed quickly, as if he was afraid that Yu Dong would change his mind.
After taking the key, Tian Weizhang took Yu Dong and his wife to the library on the second floor of the teaching building.
After entering the library, a familiar feeling hit me because most of the books here have been borrowed by Yu Dong.
He likes to read books, and at that time he didn’t ask for a thorough understanding of the books. Even if he couldn’t understand, he would read the books very passionately.
After reading many books, he actually only had a vague impression. For example, when he was in fourth grade, he borrowed a copy of Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea". When he read it, he found it quite interesting, but after reading it, he remembered many things in it.
I can't help but remember a rough plot.
Another book was "Camel Xiangzi" by Lao She. Although there were many words in it that he couldn't understand, it didn't stop him from reading the book. After reading it, he felt that Xiangzi was quite miserable, sometimes funny, and nothing else.
When I grew up and looked back at it, I realized that I missed a lot of things when I first read it.
But Yu Dong still has to thank the ignorant reading period in elementary school. Those books that he couldn't understand had actually planted seeds in his heart. He was just waiting for one day when there would be enough rain and sunshine, the seeds would take root.
sprout and grow vigorously.
After Tian Weizhang entered the library, he rummaged through the cabinet. After searching for a long time, he finally found two folders among a pile of information.
He patted the folder and smiled and said, "This is the book borrowing record from 1978 to 1980. You were lucky at that time, and the library had a batch of new books. The books in the library before were even worse than they are now.
Many of them are missing their beginnings and tails, and the book covers are even less likely to be there. Let me see if I can find your book borrowing record."
Cheng Yanqiu heard that she could still find Yu Dong's borrowing records, and was quite curious, so she pulled Yu Dong closer. She wanted to see what books her husband read when he was a child.
Tian Weizhang found it quickly, "Look here, October 12, 1978 should be the first time you borrowed a book. That time you borrowed a copy of "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea"."
Seeing that the book Yu Dong borrowed for the first time was "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea", Tian Weizhang couldn't help sighing: "It seems that it is not unreasonable for you to become a famous science fiction writer now. You borrowed this book for a month before returning it.
, and then on November 16, 1978, when you returned "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea", you also borrowed a copy of "Flowers in the Mirror". This one had to be returned quickly, and it was returned the next week."
Yu Dong smiled and said, "The main reason was that I didn't understand it at the time. I only watched it for one day and then stopped watching it."
"Haha, you borrow books quite frequently. Basically, you borrow two books a month on average. It's also because the library is only open for a limited time, otherwise you would have borrowed more, such as "Flowers in the Mirror", you
After I borrowed it, I found that I couldn’t read it. If I could return the book at any time, I would come back and exchange it for another one soon.”
Tian Weizhang smiled and handed the folder to Dong and others, and Cheng Yanqiu reached out and took it.
While Cheng Yanqiu was looking through the records of that year, Yu Dongze and Tian Weizhang walked around the library. The bookshelves were still the same, and the books had not changed much, but many of them were broken.
After finishing the tour, Yu Dong looked at the bookshelf and said, "Let's see, Teacher Tian, ​​I will have someone send a batch of books over in a while. It shouldn't be many, probably a few hundred books. It's my opinion of this library."
To give back, I gained a lot here back then.”
Tian Weizhang was not polite at all. He held Yu Dong's hand and said, "Yu Dong, on behalf of all the teachers and students in the school, thank you for your help. I will definitely let the students and their parents know your thoughts."
Yu Dong shook his head, "No, Teacher Tian, ​​it's just a little effort. There is also the matter of coming to the school to see what I said before. Wait until I get married. If I don't come in September, I will come in October."
Tian Weizhang looked excited and held Yu Dong's hand tighter, "I really don't know what to say. No amount of words of thanks can express the excitement in my heart at this time. I want to express my gratitude to you."
I guarantee that we will use the books you donate to their fullest potential to benefit the students in a real way. You can come to the school to check at any time to see if we have lived up to your goodwill."
Yu Dong smiled and said, "Teacher Tian, ​​you are serious."
…
Tian Weizhang wanted to stay with Yu Dong and the others for dinner, but Yu Dong declined.
After coming out of school, Yu Dong and the others went directly to the crew of "Don't Talk to Strangers".
After arriving at the place, Yu Dong didn't see Zhao Baogang yet, but he saw Ruan Xiaohu first.
Ruan Xiaohu was squatting on the ground playing with a box. Next to him, there was a pretty girl with her hands on her knees and bent down to talk to him.
After Yu Dong and the others approached, they only heard the girl say, "Xiaohu, Xiaohu, tell me quickly, in which other magazine have you published works?"
Xiaohu didn't respond.
She said again, "Xiaohu, Xiaohu, are you mute?"
Xiaohu still didn't respond.
"Xiaohu, Xiaohu, I'm angry."
Xiaohu looked up at her, "I told you, it's gone."
"So do you have any unpublished ones? Can you show them to me?"
Xiaohu lowered his head again and did not respond.
When Yu Dong and Cheng Yanqiu saw this scene from the side, they both smiled.
When the girl saw Ruan Xiaohu ignoring her, she straightened up angrily. Then she saw Yu Dong and Cheng Yanqiu and said in surprise, "Teacher Yu Dong, you are here."
Xiaohu looked up at her again, "Don't keep using this trick."
Li Yu often teased him like this before. At first he believed it, but then he stopped taking it seriously.
Yu Dong smiled and coughed lightly, "Ahem, what are you doing here?"
Ruan Xiaohu heard Yu Dong's voice and turned around. When he saw Yu Dongzhen coming, he quickly stood up and said, "Teacher, Mistress, you are here."
Cheng Yanqiu looked at Ruan Xiaohu's rosy cheeks and joked with a smile, "It's really hot today, Xiaohu, your face is so hot that it's all red."
Li Yu said with a smile, "Master's wife, he is not hot, he is embarrassed."
After the words "Master's wife" came out of Li Yu's mouth, Ruan Xiaohu's face turned even redder, "Li Yu, don't scream nonsense."
Yu Dong could see the girl's face clearly now, and suddenly felt that she looked familiar. She looked a bit like the actress who played Fang Yu in "Love in the Rain".
It's just that he doesn't know much about the actress, and he doesn't know if her name is Li Yu.
Yu Dong glanced at Ruan Xiaohu again, "Where is Director Zhao?"
"Director Zhao is inside, Teacher Yu, Mistress, I will take you in to find him." Li Yu rushed to say.
Faced with Li Yu's kindness, Yu Dong and the others did not refuse and followed her in. Ruan Xiaohu thought for a while and followed quickly. He was afraid that Li Yu would tell nonsense in front of the teacher and the others.
However, Ruan Xiaohu's worries were unnecessary. Apart from calling Cheng Yanqiu "Master's Wife", Li Yu behaved well in front of Yudong and the others and didn't say much.
Zhao Baogang was busy today, but he still took time to chat with Yu Dong for a while. After having dinner together in the evening, Yu Dong took Ruan Xiaohu away.
On the way back, Yu Dong asked him, "What's going on with that little girl named Li Yu?"
Ruan Xiaohu quickly explained: "I have nothing to do with her, teacher."
Yu Dong smiled, Xiaohu acted like a middle school student explaining to his class teacher that he did not fall in love early.
"I think she doesn't think so, right?"
"What she thinks has nothing to do with me..."
Ruan Xiaohu's voice became softer and softer, his face became redder and redder, and Yu Dong didn't even think about teasing him anymore. It was obvious that Ruan Xiaohu at least didn't dislike Li Yu.
Yu Dong didn't want to ask too much about feelings. Ruan Xiaohu was already an adult and he had his own ideas.
…
In early August, Jimmy returned to the United States, and the first thing he did was to go to Seattle. He compared it and found that Seattle was very suitable as a base for the website. It was very close to the Oregon warehouse of ingram's book department and there were many technical talents.
If it were before, he wouldn't be able to leave now because "Resident Evil 2" will be officially released in the next two days, but now with Cambot, he can put down the book business.
Yu Dong’s autograph signing in the UK has already been decided. There will be two cities in total. The first stop will be London, and then Manchester City. The dates will be August 18th and August 20th. If he has time, he will do it in person.
Go for a run with Yu Dong. If you don't have time, ask Capote to follow.
After arriving in Seattle, after several days of investigation, he discovered something.
That is, there is actually a company here that sells books online and has already set up a website.
Jimmy went to browse that website specifically. Perhaps because of limited funds, the website was very crude.
But Jimmy did not underestimate the other party, because the path taken by this company was very similar to what Yu Dong mentioned.
To this end, he spent another two days investigating this company called Amazon.
The results of the investigation showed that the boss of this company is Jeff Bezos. He had been working as a hedge fund on Wall Street for the past few years and was doing quite well. Then he suddenly resigned and went to Seattle to open this company.
Jimmy also asked someone to inquire about Jeff Bezos's previous company. It turned out that Jeff Bezos initially wanted the boss of the previous company to do online transactions, but the boss did not agree, so Jeff Bezos
It was only then that Soth came out to do it alone.
After coming out, Jeff Bezos first took 300,000 US dollars from his family and ran to Seattle, and then raised more than 900,000 US dollars from friends to set up the website.
After reading the information, Jimmy had a clear idea.
The scale of this company is very small. If he enters now with tens of millions of dollars, there is no way the other party can be his opponent.
But Jimmy's idea was not to open another company to defeat Amazon, but to acquire the other party.
What Jimmy likes is not the company, but Jeff Bezos.
He still has a lot of things to do in the future. If he can recruit Jeff Bezos, he can let go of this business in the future.
Chapter completed!