1979 Golden Age

Before I knew it, it was almost dusk.

Chen Qi looked at the time, put away the manuscript paper on which he had written a few pages, and put it under his bed.

When the soft light of the setting sun fell on the table, the large courtyard that had been quiet all day finally became lively. The ringing of bicycle bells, the noise of children, and the clinking sound of chopping vegetables were mixed together, and wisps of smoke were scattered in all directions. Come.

"Mom, you're back!"

"Did you buy something delicious?"

“If it’s not the New Year or the festival, what can I buy that’s delicious? Cabbage, potatoes, and pickles.”

Yu Xiuli got off work on time and didn't care about anything else. She took off her coat and started working when she came in. She also gave instructions: "Put the pickles on the plate. Take out the half piece of tofu left in the morning!"

"How to make tofu? Do you roll tofu with pickles?"

"Take your head, boil it with hot water, mix with sauce and eat!"

There are two kinds of pickles, pickled cucumbers and sweet and spicy dried radish, both of which are from Liubiju.

Liubiju was formerly known as the "Red Flag Pickles Sales Department". When Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka visited China in 1972, the delegation asked to visit Liubiju, so the old plaque was re-hanged.

The small kitchen was set up outside the house, a simple shed made of bricks and linoleum, and it was fully occupied by a stove and a cupboard. Next to the kitchen is a place where briquettes are kept. They are also covered with linoleum and neatly stacked. This is a clean house.

If you are lazy, just let it go. On rainy days, puddles of black water flow out of the coal.

Chen Qi took the initiative to help.

He has only been here for a few days, how can he have any feelings for his parents?

Of course not, but when people treat me well, I don't hesitate to respond. Yu Xiuli was cooking quickly, glancing at him from time to time, wondering in her heart, this guy looked like a salted fish just a few days ago, why did he suddenly become a carp?

When the sky was dark, the food was on the table, and the cheap dad Chen Jianjun also came back.

He is also in his forties, tall and thin, with a gentle temperament. Although his clothes are old, they are neat and clean, and he has a pen in his chest pocket.

Chen Jianjun is a salesman.

Xinhua Bookstore is the largest book distribution unit in the country. If you want to distribute a book or magazine, you have to contact each salesperson. The salesperson will make a preliminary judgment based on the content of the book and report a number to the bookstore, such as 1,000 copies. , the bookstore will order 1,000 copies first, and then wait and see the market response.

But later the salesperson's job changed and became sales, because the book industry was liberalized and the monopoly was gone.

"dad!"

"Are you going to the meeting?"

"went!"

"Well, let's talk after dinner."

Chen Jianjun smiled, and his smile was very gentle. He had never used foul language in his life.

Dinner is very simple, potato vermicelli stewed with cabbage, tofu and pickles.

It’s not that I can’t afford meat; Urban residents only get 3-5 taels of pork per person per month. During the three-year difficult period, the capital only supplied 8 and a half taels of pork per capita every year. Other places were even worse, not even this little bit of meat.

My parents both went to school and are a bit particular at heart, so they don’t talk about things during meals.

After finishing eating, Chen Jianjun asked, and Chen Qi repeated the contents of the meeting.

"what are you thinking?"

"I……"

Just as he was about to answer, someone outside suddenly shouted: "Is Chen Qi at home?"

"Hey, Aunt Wang!"

"Come in, come in, come in, why are you here?"

The person who came was an old lady with gray hair and a kind smile. She was a street cadre. She sat down and said with a smile: "There will be a meeting this morning, and we will assign tasks in the afternoon. The street has entrusted 13 people to me, and I must find jobs for them.

I thought I would be at home at night, so I came over to take a look. You are the first household. "

"That's really troublesome for you. You can't rest at night..."

Yu Xiuli poured a glass of water, just in time to ask about this matter, and said: "Aunt Wang, I heard from my children that they want to establish a production service cooperative. You also know that it is a collective unit and has always been ignored. I am not saying that collective units are not Okay, but there isn’t a third garment factory in our street? Can’t it be installed in the factory?”

"Oh, that's putting it lightly. Do you know how many unemployed young people there are in the district?"

Aunt Wang slapped her thigh and made a gesture: "80,000 people! Where can the government find 80,000 jobs? Everyone is worried to death from top to bottom. And many of them are in their twenties and sixties and have not had jobs for several years. jobs, we must prioritize their placement.

That No. 3 Garment Factory, we managed to get more than 100 people in through hard work, so don't worry about it. "

"Then what do you want them to do?"

Chen Jianjun asked.

"I thought so……"

Aunt Wang took a sip of water and said: "The front door is a treasure. People from the capital and outsiders also like to visit. Every year, I don't know how many people from out of town come here for business trips. They all have to come and take a look, right? But there are so many shops at the front door. There is no water seller, and when these people come, they can’t even drink.

You said you want to buy Arctic Ocean soda, but it only costs 15 cents, and you also need a ticket, so everyone is reluctant to part with it. I saw with my own eyes that someone was drinking water from a flower-watering pipe.

So we thought, if we set up a stall selling tea at the front door, someone would definitely buy it. "

Selling tea? ? ?

The parents looked at each other, this is so inappropriate! We are both cultural people, working in Xinhua Bookstore, but my son went to sell tea? In the old society, that was the work of the lower class!

How inferior?

In "Camel Xiangzi", an old man could no longer pull a rickshaw, so he could only sell tea on the street with a load on his shoulder, barely making a living. It was very miserable... Look, the tea seller is not even as good as Xiangzi, who at least has a house (rented), a car (bought three times, all gone), and a wife (died in childbirth).

"Auntie Wang, are there really no other jobs?"

"Yes, technical positions. Can your boy do carpentry?"

"No!"

"Does he have tailoring skills?"

"No!"

"Can he stir-fry?"

"No!"

"That's it!"

"..."

The parents looked at each other again, even a little ashamed. So my son is a waste? What's more annoying is that the waste is still laughing, as if he is not the one being talked about.

"Okay, you guys discuss it. I have to go to the next house!"

Auntie Wang got up and left.

The family of three was silent for a while, and Yu Xiuli said: "Speak up, what do you think?"

"I obey the organization's arrangements and do whatever I am told to do!" Chen Qi said.

"You are asked to sell tea, and you go? And in Qianmen, how far is it from the bookstore? My colleagues will laugh at me to death?"

"No, because your colleague's child is selling tea with me."

Poof!

Yu Xiuli was almost angry to death, and said angrily: "Don't talk nonsense to me, I will apply for early retirement tomorrow, and you will take over my job!"

"I don't need you to retire. If you apply for retirement, I will go to set up a stall overnight."

"Xiao Qi, don't be so slick, tell us the truth, why do you want to go?"

Chen Jianjun, who had been silent all the time, asked.

"There is no special reason. I just think that labor is glorious and that you can contribute to the motherland wherever you are. It is you who have serious old ideas and look down on tea sellers. Shi Chuanxiang can become a NPC representative and a national model worker for digging manure. What's wrong with me selling tea? I can also stand in the Great Hall and shake hands with leaders in the future!"

Good guy, Chen Qi's party spirit is brilliant.

Shi Chuanxiang was a manure collector in Chongwen District. On National Day in 1966, he climbed the Tiananmen Tower. The teacher shook hands with him, Wu Hao toasted him, and General Zhu picked up some food for him and said, "Old Shi, you are a person who does heavy physical work. You should drink more and eat more vegetables..."

At that time, there was a voluntary manure digging fever in Beijing. College teachers and students, writers, reporters, and actors lined up to dig manure with him. It is said that there was also a female student from Tsinghua University who pretended to be Shi Chuanxiang's goddaughter because she couldn't get a number. In the end, she dug manure with her godfather as she wished.

There used to be a story about Shi Chuanxiang in elementary school textbooks, but I don't know if it is still there now.

That was the most awesome era for the working people!

If anyone now promotes that labor is the most glorious... People: He... Tui!

"..."

Chen Jianjun choked up after hearing this irrefutable statement, and looked at Yu Xiuli. Let's have another child when we have time? This child was stunned!

The spirit of dedication is all for others.

When it's your turn or your loved ones' turn, you can still make sacrifices without hesitation. That's called a role model, and many people can't do that.

The conversation could not continue, so I could only sleep.

There was no TV at home, and there were frequent power outages. There was no entertainment except for a broken radio.

The yard gradually became quiet, the moonlight reflected the curtains, the spring insects chirped softly, Chen Qi lay on the bed in the outer room, listening to the whispers inside, he must still be studying his work.

He really didn't want Yu Xiuli to retire early, because he knew that he would definitely not stay in the position for long, it would be a waste.

Besides, he had no interest in the job at Xinhua Bookstore. Others had three generations of tobacco, oil, electricity, and banking, but I had three generations of bookstore people?

"..."

Chen Qi turned over and closed his eyes.

In fact, whether he sold tea or did something else, it didn't matter. He was ready to run away at any time.