It was already mid-August when Yao Yuan started studying, and he would have to return to school at the end of August.
In more than ten days, it was mainly about adapting and sorting out his ideas. He said he wanted money, but actually left two thousand yuan for Yao Xiaobo and had three thousand seventy in hand.
Before leaving, I got a haircut, took a long bath, bought a large-capacity satchel, and replaced my sandals with sneakers.
Yao Xiaobo returned to Shencheng first. On a drizzly morning, his parents and aunt gathered at a broken train station on the outskirts of the city to see Yao Yuan and his uncle off to the capital.
The station is small and pitiful, with only temporary stops. To go to the capital, you have to take an express train from Shencheng.
The whole journey takes more than eight hours.
In a few years, the high-speed train will be opened and the time will be shortened to four hours. The high-speed train will be really fast. However, in 2011, an accident occurred that shocked the country. The front of the train was buried on the spot...
At that time, a popular saying was born: "As for whether you believe it or not, I believe it anyway!"
After that, the train started to slow down.
Inside the car, a familiar smell came to my face.
People were crying and coaxing children, making noises and chattering, smoking and drinking. There were human legs on both sides of the aisle, welcoming a creaking trolley.
"Peanuts, melon seeds and eight-treasure porridge, beer, drinks and mineral water!"
"Tuck your legs!"
The two of Yao Yuan were sitting by the window, and the old uncle was drinking a bottle of white wine and eating dried tofu brought from home, a handful of green onions, and doenjang in a plastic bag.
The old uncle is darker than Yao Xiaobo, and has the same thick eyebrows and big eyes, but his temperament is a bit bold, and he will fight if he disagrees with him.
"..."
Yao Yuan smelled the smell of alcohol and dried tofu, yawned and said, "Uncle, is your performance company reliable? Can you guarantee regular work? Don't let you quit after working for a few months."
"Reliable! My comrade-in-arms said that the boss used to work for CCTV, so he has some connections. He takes performances from big companies, either coal bosses or real estate companies, and whatnot, CCTV 3, they get a bunch of people to sing...
…”
""The same song"?"
"Yep!"
The old uncle knocked on his forehead and said: "The boss knows the person and has pulled the strings between them."
At this time, a neighbor listened and suddenly interjected and asked: "Isn't "The Same Song" a TV program? Why are you still pulling the strings?"
"Uh, this..."
The old man didn't know how to explain, so Yao Yuan said: ""The Same Song" was originally a New Year song show planned by CCTV. After it was broadcast, it became so popular that it became a regular program.
I didn't think much about it at first. CCTV invited celebrities to come, and they just paid for the carriage fare. But the program was so popular, especially the performances in rural areas, that some local governments started to think about it. Although you didn't plan to come to my place, but
Can I spend money? Can I get a few more local businesses to sponsor together?"
"Why?" the neighbor wondered.
""The Same Song" is shown on CCTV, and the ratings are very high. The subtitles say "The Same Song Enters xxx" for you. It is a big advertisement for the local government. So there are benefits in it.
To gain benefits, you have to talk about money..."
"I understand, I understand! So someone has to make the connection."
The neighbor gave a thumbs up: "Young man knows a lot."
The old uncle was even more surprised: "How did you know?"
You’re kidding! I’m just kidding you with my 20 years of media skills!
Yao Yuan joked and fooled him, and said: "Since that boss is great, you should work hard. You don't have to spend money at all. Save some money to marry Xiaobo."
"Yeah, I'm thinking about it too! Xiaobo is about to graduate, so what should I do if I can't find a partner?"
The old uncle took a sip of wine and a mouthful of dried tofu, but he actually started to worry.
Yao Yuan looked at him. The old uncle worked outside for a few years and was doing well, and his salary also increased. Then he was fired for fighting. Now he should watch more.
…………
The train is mostly boring.
Yao Yuan squinted and woke up, woke up and squinted again. From time to time he got up and walked around. In the evening, he finally entered the capital and stopped at the North Railway Station.
As the surging crowd walked out of the station, a dusty smell, mixed with accents from all over the world, the smell of sweat and struggle for survival, like the air of the capital in this era, instantly enveloped his whole body.
Yao Yuan stood there, feeling the smell of this thing. It was chaotic, dilapidated, dirty, and full of the smell of fireworks.
By the way, there are always people saying that the air in Beijing was good 20 years ago, what a daddy!
In 1999, the front page headline of a certain issue of "Beijing Evening News" read: "Never let the polluted atmosphere enter the new century!"
He just carried a shoulder bag and went into battle lightly. The old uncle carried a heavy bedroll and looked around. Suddenly he ran over quickly and stepped forward with a kick.
The man dodged as expected and laughed happily.
After the two of them chatted for a while, Yao Yuan came over and the old uncle introduced: "This is my comrade, called Uncle Sun!"
"Uncle Sun!"
"This is my nephew. He is studying at university in the capital, which is great!"
"Oh, that's really good!"
Uncle Sun, like many people, always has a feeling of envy towards students, especially college students. He seems to be smoother than the old uncle. He has been hanging around for many years. He chatted enthusiastically and arranged for dinner.
Yao Yuan declined, but after thinking about it, he said, "Do you have a business card? Give me one."
"Oh, yes!"
Uncle Sun handed over a business card, and Yao Yuan took a look: Feiyue Cultural Performance Agency has a private phone number and the address is Tongzhou.
"The company is in Tongzhou?"
"No, our installation team is over there, but we usually run around, so this is where we stay."
"Okay, I'll give you a phone number. This is my number. If anything happens, I'll contact you."
"Okay, see you later."
Uncle Sun was quite surprised, why does this kid look like an elder?
After bidding farewell to the two of them, Yao Yuan took the subway, transferred to the bus, and walked a long way back to school.
This university is quite intimidating in the Northeast, but in the capital it can only be said to be pretty impressive. The Chinese department he studied in his senior year basically has no classes. The school has newspapers, magazines, publishing houses, TV stations and other units.
There is cooperation and there are internship quotas every year.
If he could, he really didn't want to waste time walking it again, but he was afraid it would affect his graduation.
In my previous life, I worked as an intern at the "Beijing Youth Daily" for almost half a year, and stayed there for a while after graduation, just for the sake of a big deal: becoming a full-time employee.
He had strong business ability and was serious about his work, but he was young, energetic, unsophisticated, and his connections were not very good, so he ultimately failed to stay. After leaving, he went to work for a tabloid in Beijing, and later returned to Shencheng, and finally returned to Shenyang.
I bought a house in the south and worked there for 20 years.
Yao Yuan went back to school, nodded, communicated with the teacher responsible for arranging internships, and was currently packing his big satchel.
Paper and pen, water cup, snacks, scissors, fruit knife, band-aids, condoms... and the most important thing, a camera from home.
After installing it, I lay on the bed in the dormitory. Several roommates were not there. Everyone in the senior year had their own busy schedules, so the relationship was like that, good or bad.
""Beijing Youth Daily"..."
Yao Yuan muttered the name, like a wool-pulling machine without emotion, thinking only about how to harvest some wool.