The Interview

"Creak!"

A red-and-white Czech Škoda bus pulled to a stop near Qianmen.

Czechia was still part of the communist bloc, its full name the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. Many of the trucks and buses imported these days came from Eastern Europe. Škoda was later acquired by Volkswagen.

Sheng Yongzhi, a veteran reporter for China Youth Daily, struggled his way off the bus. He wiped his sweat and straightened his cotton shirt to make himself look a little more presentable.

He had worked at China Youth Daily all along, returning to his post when the paper resumed publication. But he would have to retire in a few years, and with few young people at the paper, it placed great importance on training the next generation.

"Xiao Yu, hurry up!"

"Coming, coming!"

Yu Jiajia ran a few steps to catch up.

She was in her early twenties and quite pretty. She had just taken over her father's job, becoming a rookie reporter. She clutched a bag containing an immensely precious camera.

"Xiao Yu, ask a few questions yourself later."

"Huh? I don't know what to ask."

"How can a reporter not know what to ask? I brought you out so you could get more practice and experience. Give it some thought."

The two walked a little farther and reached the east side of the Archery Tower. Sure enough, they spotted a tea stall, where a dozen or so people were busy at work. There were very, very many customers.

Sheng Yongzhi didn't identify himself. Instead, he joined the queue, stepped up, and said, "Two bowls of tea!"

"Coming right up!"

"That's four fen altogether!"

Huang Zhanying greeted customers with growing ease. Sheng Yongzhi picked up one of the large bowls, examined it and smelled it before taking a sip. Smiling, he said, "Is this jasmine tea?"

"That's right!"

"The water in the capital isn't very good. Jasmine tea isn't picky about water quality, so it's perfect for a stall."

"Oh, you know your tea! You're a local, aren't you?" Huang Zhanying chatted with him as usual.

"Mm. Do you have this many customers every day?"

"More or less. More and more people know about us now, and everyone's been very supportive."

Sheng Yongzhi chatted for a while before smiling and extending his hand. "Hello. Let me introduce myself properly. I'm Sheng Yongzhi, a reporter for China Youth Daily, and this is Comrade Xiao Yu. We've come to interview you."

"In-in-interview us??"

Huang Zhanying was stunned. "Why do you want to interview us?" she stammered.

"What interview?"

"What happened now?"

"Oh, heavens, China Youth Daily!"

The others heard and crowded around, shouting excitedly. In those days, the print media enjoyed supreme authority, and being a reporter was a profession everyone envied.

Sheng Yongzhi was experienced. After bringing the commotion under control, he asked, "Which one of you is Chen Qi?"

Swish!

Twelve pairs of eyes turned in unison toward the right side of the stall, where someone was squatting, playing at counting money out of a box.

Was he in charge of the finances?

Sheng Yongzhi wondered. He walked over and held out his hand again. "Hello! Were you the one who wrote to the newspaper?"

"Hello, hello!"

"I'm terribly sorry, I didn't notice you. I was just going over the accounts!"

Chen Qi hurried to his feet, a hint of shyness and nervousness on his face. He looked every bit a handsome, bashful young man. Scratching the back of his head, he said, "I wrote the letter. I really didn't expect you to come and interview us."

"Your letter was very good. Shall we have a casual chat?"

"Sure, sure!"

The customers stirred as well.

Oh, reporters!

Are they going to be in the newspaper? Does that mean we might be in it too?

An even bigger crowd gathered to watch.

Huang Zhanying perceptively brought over a few stools. Sheng Yongzhi didn't stand on ceremony. He sat down and began by asking about the general situation, then said, "Could you tell us specifically about the conflict that day?"

"It was our first day open, around our lunch break, I think. I was eating when I suddenly heard people jeering. I went over to look, and it was those workers from the No. 2 Plastics Factory. They mocked us for no reason and even sang the 'Song of Wandering.' Several of the girls were so angry they cried."

"What happened after that?"

"Thankfully, the police comrades arrived in time and stopped them. We're all very young, you see. The oldest is only twenty-one, and half of us are women. If the police comrades hadn't come, we really wouldn't have known what to do. Sigh..."

Chen Qi answered truthfully, bitterness showing on his face. "They were full of social prejudice. One comrade wanted to quit that very day, and it took all our persuasion to get them to stay."

Sigh!

Yu Jiajia was moved. If she hadn't taken over her father's job, she might have been assigned to a cooperative to sew and mend clothes too.

Sheng Yongzhi went on, "What do your parents do?"

"They work at Xinhua Bookstore."

"That's a good work unit. Why didn't you take over one of their jobs?"

"..."

Chen Qi hesitated, then said, "They wanted to retire early. On the one hand, I knew it was a very good choice that would benefit my life greatly. But on the other, I told myself it really showed no ambition."

"No ambition?"

"Think about it. My parents are only in their forties. If they retired so early, what would they do? And I'm only nineteen. I have hands and feet, and I'm educated. I've got a long road ahead of me. Asking my parents to make a sacrifice for my own selfish interests-I, I couldn't accept it!"

Chen Qi's expression was resolute.

Sheng Yongzhi was moved too. What a good kid!

"Most people are very friendly, especially comrades visiting on business. They've all praised our tea stall, saying it's convenient for the public."

"On our first day, we sold more than two thousand bowls!"

"There are far too few commercial service outlets in the capital. I think cooperatives can fill that gap, but people's attitudes are hard to change, and that leaves us feeling somewhat inferior."

As the conversation went on, Chen Qi seemed to relax and began speaking with assurance.

Sheng Yongzhi felt they had covered enough and left the opportunity to Yu Jiajia, signaling for her to ask a question. She thought for a moment and said, "What do you envision for the future?"

"For now, I just want to run the tea stall well. I'm personally fond of literature and film, and I'd like to try writing something."

"You mean that spiritual home you mentioned?"

"Yes. When I was feeling negative and gloomy, that spiritual home saved my heart countless times. I'm still full of hope for the future. I believe young people my age will be surrounded by flowers too, and I believe even more that our motherland will become better and better!"

"Like that line you wrote: 'Facing the sea, with spring's warmth and flowers in bloom'?" Yu Jiajia said with a smile.

"Uh, I was just scribbling nonsense!"

Chen Qi scratched the back of his head again.

Sheng Yongzhi had an excellent impression of this young man. He was modest, thoughtful and down-to-earth, with a bright future ahead of him.

He was a very traditional intellectual, generous with guidance for ambitious young people. "We all read your letter and were deeply moved. We've already decided to publish it, but the title isn't quite right. Although you wrote about some gloomy things at the beginning, the latter part is positive and uplifting, and you also said you had the strength to keep moving forward.

"So calling it 'The Road of Life, Why Does It Grow Narrower the Farther I Walk?' isn't quite appropriate.

"I suggest changing it to 'The Road of Life, Just How Should I Walk It?' That would better suit the content and also highlight an attitude of wanting to exchange thoughts with readers."

"You're right. That's how it should be!"

Chen Qi immediately agreed.

The title didn't matter to him. He had only picked that lousy one to make a reference.

That was because "The Road of Life, Why Does It Grow Narrower the Farther I Walk?" was an article that would be published in China Youth magazine the following year. It described all the gloomy things the author had gone through, ending with him about to kill himself.

The article was very famous and sparked a nationwide discussion at the time about the meaning of life.

But Chen Qi hadn't copied it. What he had actually written was a soft promotional article, advertising the tea stall, going after the plastics factory, and making a name for himself by creating a good image as a positive young man-in short, building a persona!

"All right, then. I'll speak to the editor when I get back."

Sheng Yongzhi nodded. A young person who took advice was a good young person. He then asked, "Would you like to choose a pen name?"

"A pen name... How about 'Bring a Knife but Not an Umbrella on a Rainy Night'?"

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing. I can't think of a pen name. I'll use my real name."

"Mm, that works too."

Afterward, the two went to interview the others.

They were much less impressive, all talking at once like a flock of ducks, saying far too much but offering little substance. Finally, Sheng Yongzhi took several photos of them and the tea stall, then waved goodbye.

As soon as the two left, the others surrounded him.

"Wow, we're going to be in the newspaper!"

"Chen Qi, I could practically worship you!"

"You and Sister Yingzi are the brains and the brawn. With you two leading us, we're sure to succeed!"

When she said that, nobody thought anything of it.

Without realizing it, everyone had already come to regard the two of them as their leaders.

(End of chapter)