Zhou Yan's handwriting is vigorous and powerful, reflecting his personality.
The three pages, flowing freely, begin with the persimmons at his grandmother's house and then move to amusing incidents at the restaurant. The writing is witty and humorous, avoiding pretentious language, flowing smoothly and comfortably, like a friend gently sharing their story.
The last page discusses the confusion and distress she briefly mentioned in the previous letter. Instead of offering empty comfort, he expands on the topic, sharing his understanding of designers and his visions for the future.
His ideas were wildly imaginative and bold, yet seemingly based on some clues.
He says that advertising will no longer only appear on signs and in newspapers, but also on television, billboards, trains, and even satellites.
All products that want to sell better will need advertising; they will appear everywhere people can see.
How interesting! Satellites can advertise? How did he come up with such a thing?
He also said that advertising will no longer be just for selling products, but also for building brand image; by creating a high-end brand, one can obtain supernormal profits.
She had heard similar things from Teacher Su before, but most factories still lack an understanding of brand building.
Zhou Yan truly understood; he had even applied his knowledge to the promotion of Cross-legged Beef, earning high praise even from Teacher Su.
Later, on the bus back to university, the students discussed this. Some thought Zhou Yan's cleverness was merely the shrewdness of a commoner, worth learning but not something to be admired.
Xia Yao disagreed and argued with them briefly.
This letter today proved that Zhou Yan wasn't just clever; he was far more knowledgeable about advertising design and brand building than even them, graduating university students.
Xia Yao read the text word by word, carefully pondering the information contained within. It corroborated the knowledge she had acquired over the years and the philosophy of her teachers. The fog that had surrounded her began to dissipate, and the direction she was heading seemed to be becoming clearer.
Zhou Yan's perspective was incredibly forward-thinking, and his answers addressed her doubts, like a beam of light guiding her.
Since advertising was so important, sticking with advertising design was definitely the right thing to do.
Brand building is still a relatively vague concept. If she can gain a first-mover advantage, she may be able to seize some opportunities of the times.
As Zhou Yan said, televisions are expensive, but they are rapidly becoming widespread, with production capacity for brands like Changhong and Panda constantly expanding.
A television's audience often extends beyond just one household, and television advertising has begun to appear.
Xia Yao felt a surge of excitement, sensing a magnificent golden age unfolding in front her.
Upon seeing the last line of small print, a look of surprise appeared on her face, and she turned to the next page.
The drawing paper, cut from a calendar, had a charcoal drawing on the back. Folded several times and weathered many twists and turns during its mailing, only a rough outline remained.
A small courtyard, a little girl, a cat, and a big goose.
Xia Yao studied it intently under the lamplight for a long time, finally completing the drawing in her mind through imagination.
Momo is so cute!
She could even picture her holding a piece of charcoal and drawing on the paper.
A three and a half year old girl, to be able to draw like this with charcoal—that's quite talented.
Xia Yao took a pencil from the pencil holder and, following the outline of the drawing, filled in the details.
The vibrant rural courtyard, in the little girl's eyes, even the big goose looked so majestic, and the cat resembled a little tiger.
Xia Yao stared at it for a while, then smiled and tucked the drawing into a sketchbook, so that even if all the charcoal dust fell off, the drawing wouldn't disappear.
She read the letter again, carefully folded it, put it back in the envelope, and solemnly placed it in the innermost corner of the drawer.
Two heads had been hanging over the edge of the bed for quite a while, and finally, they couldn't help but speak:
"Yaoyao, Zhou Yan wrote you a letter?"
"What did he write? Did he confess?"
Xia Yao glanced back at them and smiled, saying, "Don't talk nonsense, we have a pure revolutionary friendship! We only talk about life and studies, nothing romantic."
"I don't believe someone can laugh so happily while talking about studying!" Deng Hong said with a laugh. "Unless you bring me the letter so I can critique it!"
"I don't believe it either!" Zhu Yuyu nodded in agreement. "Let's critique it together!"
"That won't do. That's disrespectful to him." Xia Yao immediately locked the drawer, looking at Deng Hong with a smile. "I never said I wanted to critique the love letters Ma Xingye wrote to you."
"That's true." Deng Hong nodded, then thought for a moment and glared at her. "Wait a minute! Every time I receive a love letter, I read it aloud to you both with deep emotion right away!"
"That's because you read it voluntarily." Xia Yao laughed, turned off the lamp, and climbed into her bed.
"Tell Ma Xingye not to write such cheesy stuff next time; it gives me goosebumps." Zhu Yuyu agreed.
"You both don't understand…"
…
Zhou Yan lay on a single bed made of eight long benches pushed together, covered with the new six jin quilt. He understood what it felt like to be cared for and loved.
His mother insisted on giving him the new quilt to use, and the old quilt to use as a mattress pad.
Under the terrifying threat of counting from one to three.
Zhou Yan had no choice but to give in.
The new quilt is so different!
It's so soft and warm against skin, so comfortable!
He closed his eyes and fell asleep instantly.
Upstairs, Zhao Tieying and Zhou Miao tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
"Can't sleep?" Zhou Miao hugged Zhao Tieying from behind and asked softly.
"I've been sleeping at home for so many years, I might be a bit picky about beds." Zhao Tieying snuggled closer to him, then couldn't help but laugh. "This kid, he's really generous, buying an eight jin quilt! When we got married, we only had a six jin one."
Zhou Miao laughed along. "If I'd known this new quilt was so comfortable, I should have gotten you a new one a long time ago. Zhou Yan is right, we spend eight or nine hours a day on bed, we should make sure we get a good night's sleep."
"Zhou Sanshui, I'm warning you, don't let your son's extravagant spending habits corrupt you! A quilt costs over twenty yuan, what family can afford to replace it so often?" Zhao Tieying turned and stared at Zhou Miao in the darkness. "We can sleep in this quilt for at least ten years. We can just take it out and fluff it every winter."
"Okay." Zhou Miao nodded vigorously.
"Has anyone asked you to slaughter a cow tomorrow?"
"No."
"Then you should get up a little later. Go with Zhou Yan to buy meat and vegetables when it's light. I won't go; I'll let Momo get a good night's sleep." Zhao Tieying said with a smile, her tone relaxed.
"You just sleep well. I'll wash the offal. I'll call you for breakfast." Zhou Miao nodded.
"Sanshui, you're so sweet." Zhao Tieying reached out and touched his face, then leaned in and kissed him.
"Sleep." Zhou Miao hugged her, beaming with delight; his white teeth were almost conspicuous in the darkness.
…
"Zhiqiang, you're so amazing…"
Meng Anhe lay on Lin Zhiqiang, her face flushed, her breath soft and her voice trembling slightly at the end: "Those recent days of eating cross-legged beef haven't been a waste~"
Lin Zhiqiang gently stroked her beautiful back and smiled confidently: "It was just a normal performance. I've been running with Little Zhou everyday lately, and I've regained some of my former glory."
"Great, keep it up! I'll bring you a pair of Warrior running shoes from Rongcheng later; they say they're comfortable for running in." Meng Anhe said with a smile, offering her full support.
"Okay." Lin Zhiqiang lit a cigarette, exhaled a smoke ring, and casually asked, "Has Yaoyao written to you recently?"
"I just received it yesterday. She said she's nearing graduation and is a bit confused about her future career choices." Meng Anhe rolled over, resting her head on his arm, and pulled the blanket over herself. "I don't know much about advertising design either, so I plan to ask someone before writing back to her."
"That kid is so stubborn. She won an award for her ink painting in high school. If she had chosen the China Academy of Art for her college entrance exam, with her mother paving the way for her, whether it was staying at the academy as a teacher or becoming a painter and holding exhibitions, it would have been a natural progression.
Even if she chooses architectural design and works with you after graduation, she'll start in a design institute, without having to endure any hardship. With her talent, her future achievements will undoubtedly be substantial.
In the end, she secretly enrolled in the Arts and Crafts Department of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, majoring in interior design, without telling anyone."
Lin Zhiqiang smiled and shook his head: "However, in this respect, she's exactly like you. Back then, when you chose architectural design, didn't your dad go crazy with anger?"
"People always need some ambition and pursuit." Meng Anhe said, a smile playing on her lips. "My dad is a master of ink painting and calligraphy, and my sister is a genius in ink painting. If I were to follow suit and study ink painting, I wouldn't even be able to overcome the two mountains in my family; that would be too boring."
"That girl, Yaoyao, seems quiet, but her ambition is even higher than mine was back then."
"It's perfectly normal to feel lost when young. As long as someone guides her and helps her find her direction, she can soar to great heights."
After listening, Lin Zhiqiang silently took a few puffs of his cigarette, then sighed with some distress and said, "If you put it that way, I don't think Zhou Yan and she have much of a chance."
"Xia Yao is a person with her own opinions. Once she has more experience in the workforce, she will know what kind of person she should choose as her husband to spend her life with." Meng Anhe rolled her eyes at him and laughed, "Don't try to play matchmaker. If my sister and brother in law find out, they'll take the train to Suji the next day to deal with you."
"I'm not afraid of anything else, just don't take me to eat West Lake Fish In Vinegar Gravy next time I visit them in Hangzhou."
...
The next day, just as dawn broke, Master Little Zhou and Master Old Zhou set off early to buy groceries.
Two 28-inch bicycles could carry more goods.
Zhou Yan was in charge of selecting the meat and paying for it, while Old Zhou was in charge of moving and putting the meat; they worked together well.
Zhou Miao had been butchering cattle for over twenty years, and he could tell the quality of beef at a glance.
The meat Zhou Yan selected was always top-notch.
The cow his First Uncle was selling today was an old cow that couldn't work anymore. After it was slaughtered, it would be hard for an outsider to tell. But Zhou Yan only glanced at it from afar before turning to his Second Uncle to buy sirloin. He didn't even turn back.
"How could you tell that your First Uncle's cow wasn't good?" Zhou Miao asked curiously after leaving Zhou Village.