Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 442 441 Change of Quantity

Tang Zhitong had a purpose in waiting until today to do this.

News spreads quickly in the neighborhood office, and he just wanted to tell his neighbors about his promotion.

In addition to a certain deterrent effect, it is also to show that one has been promoted. Promotion means higher salary. Since the salary is high, it makes sense to eat a little better, right?
When Tang Zhitong got home, there were a lot of wooden boards on the back seat of his bicycle. He planned to throw them into the cellar and use them as partitions for the shelves.

"Mom, please give me our grain book so I can go to the street to change the ration. Does our family still need to buy grain? I'll buy it all together." After Tang Zhitong entered the house, he put his shoulder bag on the table and asked Zhang Guifang.

"I just bought some grain, you go and do your thing. I bought a pound of meat today, how about I chop it into stuffing first?" Zhang Guifang took out the grain book and handed it to her son.

"You take a rest, and I'll do it when I come back." Tang Zhitong looked at his watch and planned to change the quota before the street office got off work.

"Okay, you go first. I'm not too old to do it." Zhang Guifang waved her hand to send her son away, and she took the kitchen knife and prepared to chop the stuffing.

Tang Zhitong smiled, said nothing more, took the letter of certification and grain book and turned to go to the street office.

Tang Zhitong went straight to Xu Hui's office and knocked on the door. He greeted her, "Aunt Xu, did I disturb you at work?"

"Xiao Tang, no need to disturb you, come in and sit down." Xu Hui heard the noise, looked up, and found that it was Tang Zhitong, and replied with a smile.

"Oh, you are so busy every time I come." Tang Zhitong stomped his feet outside the door, trying to keep the water and mud outside the house before he stepped into the house.

"Well, that's how it is at the grassroots level. It's not a big deal, but there are a lot of needles and threads." Xu Hui stood up, took a teacup and was about to pour water for Tang Zhitong.

"Hey, Aunt Xu, no need to pour the water, I'll be leaving soon." Tang Zhitong stopped her.

"You haven't been here for a while, please sit for a while. How is Sister Ye doing recently?" Xu Hui said as she quickly poured a cup and handed it to Tang Zhitong.

"Thank you for your concern. I'm doing fine. Thank you, Aunt Xu." Tang Zhitong leaned forward, took the cup of water and placed it on the table.

"Is everything going well for you and Xiao Wang at work?" Xu Hui sat back in her chair and chatted with Tang Zhitong about family matters in a friendly manner.

"Thanks to you, everything went smoothly." Tang Zhitong greeted with a smile.

"That's good. You are still young, work hard. Are you here today because you have any difficulties in life? Tell me and I will help you think of a solution." Xu Hui said politely.

The Tang family is not the best in the flower market, but it is definitely not the most difficult one, especially since Tang Zhitong's fixed quantity is still more than 40 kilograms. Xu Hui knows this very well, so she asked this question.

"Hehe, if you have any difficulties, just overcome them yourself. We grow vegetables in the yard. If you come here to bother Aunt Xu again, you might get yourself into some gossip." Tang Zhitong declined.

"Oh, all the trivial things, the gossips of the Zhang family and the Li family. If everyone was as sensible as you, I would be more relaxed." Xu Hui sighed and smiled bitterly. At the same time, she felt relieved. If Tang Zhitong really came to ask her for the votes, she would be in a difficult position.

"Hey, grass-roots work is difficult, let me relieve your burden. There are changes in my work, and I need to adjust the food ration." Tang Zhitong said, taking out the food ration book and letter of certification, putting them on the table and pushing them over.

"Oh, is this a promotion?" Xu Hui opened the letter of certification and took a look at it, then asked with a happy look on her face.

"Well, it's a small step forward." Tang Zhitong said modestly.

"You are too modest. Few people in our street can take this step. Besides, we commended you with drums and gongs last time, which brought honor to our street." Xu Hui seemed to be afraid that Tang Zhitong would regret it, so she honestly picked up the pen and changed the ration. She also made changes on another document she kept for backup. At the end of the month, she distributed food coupons according to the new ration.

Food supply is in short supply, and all units have compression targets, and the streets are no exception. Xu Hui is also having a headache over this matter. This time, if someone comes to her door, even if he is Ye Zhijuan's son-in-law, she has to change it first.

"You've reduced the ration a bit too much. Will it be enough in the future?" After making the changes, Xu Hui handed the grain book and certificate back to Tang Zhitong and asked.

"You can find a way to solve it yourself. Go fishing on Sundays, or go into the mountains to shoot birds or rabbits. You can earn some money.

I don't steal or rob, I make a living by my own ability, I can't let anyone talk about me, right? If someone is really blind, Aunt Xu has to help me."

Tang Zhitong packed up the food grain book and certificate, and made this suggestion not only to record the "reasonable source" for improving his family's food, but also to prevent others from getting jealous.

"Don't worry, if there are people who are blind and gossip, I will not forgive them." Xu Hui understood what Tang Zhitong meant and made a promise.

No matter what the reason was for Tang Zhitong to reduce the grain ration, the grain was related to the street, so the reduced amount was counted on the street, and it was also Xu Hui's task.

Although the supply is becoming tight now, it is not the most tense time yet, so Tang Zhitong is done with it and does not need to give a receipt to the Municipal Bureau.

If we wait until next year, the procedures will be more complicated, and they will be locked at that time. If those who eat in the cafeteria want to transfer their food relationship to individuals, it will be no easier than climbing to the sky.

When Tang Zhitong came out of the street office and walked to the entrance of the alley, he was stopped by Uncle Zhu from the water station.

"What's the matter, Uncle Zhu?" Tang Zhitong greeted Uncle Zhu with a slight smile and handed him a cigarette.

"Your mother bought a lot of meat today. Is there any happy event?" Old Zhu narrowed his only remaining eye and asked curiously.

"Well, I got a promotion, and my mother is so happy that she took out the meat coupons she saved and let us eat some meat." Although Tang Zhitong was a little disgusted, he still patiently explained to Lao Zhu.

Although she could tell him that this was a way for her family to improve their lives, it would be more appropriate to take this opportunity to reveal that she had been promoted. She could also use his mouth to let the short-sighted Liu Zhang know.

"Wow! You've been working here for less than two years, right? And you've been promoted?" Old Zhu widened his only remaining eye and asked in disbelief.

"Yes, deputy section chief." Tang Zhitong still smiled and calmly filled a cup as big as a D+.

"Oh, you are so arrogant! I have watched you grow up since you were a child. From the first time I saw you, I knew you were not an ordinary child." The disbelief on Lao Zhu's face turned into a flattering smile, and he quickly praised.

The Emperor rides on six horses, the princes on four, and the ministers on three. Because it is taboo to ride on the Emperor, "riding on four horses" is usually used to praise someone for having the qualities of a prince. It is a phrase to praise someone's greatness.

Jiasi is not the dialect of Beijing's old city. Tang Zhitong couldn't tell exactly where it came from. Anyway, as people from various places moved to Beijing, many local distinctive words began to enter the lives of Beijing's residents.

"Haha, Uncle Zhu, you're too kind." Tang Zhitong waved his hands repeatedly. The little Tang in the past was just an ordinary child. If he hadn't traveled through time, the orphan and his widowed mother might have been bullied to no end.

"Hey, I bought some cabbages these past two days, and many of them were frozen. I heard some sour words. They said that your family used everyone's water and grew good cabbages, so you should share some with everyone.

I despise this. How can one be so shameless, right?
He also said things like, building a cellar, buying a bicycle, etc., where would you get so much money? Anyway, he was just jealous of your family's prosperity."

After hearing that Tang Zhitong had become a section-level cadre, Old Zhu's attitude changed drastically. He stood on Tang Zhitong's side verbally, telling him the rumors he had heard. "Haha, that's what he said, right?" Tang Zhitong grumbled at the Liu Zhang family, and seeing that Uncle Zhu did not deny it, he took out the remaining half pack of cigarettes and slapped it into his hand, saying, "Thank you, Uncle Zhu, I understand."

Tang Zhitong would not say anything that would give rise to gossip, but he did not mind letting those who were short-sighted understand how many eyes the Horse King had at the right time.

It was expected that Lao Zhu would move closer to Tang Zhitong. Children tend to seek benefits and avoid harm, and adults are even worse.

In a few decades, a new saying will emerge in Beijing: If you haven’t been to Beijing, you don’t know how many officials there are.

How many are there? Throwing a brick toward Wangfujing Street can hit three C-level people.

Of course, the current Flower Market Street is not worthy of this sentence. It is either a slum or the residences of private craftsmen.

Anyone with a little ability will find ways to live in the company’s dormitory building. Who would want to live in a slum?

So much so that when the land was later demolished or vacated, some people complained: It's such a big yard, but there's not even a department level building!
After exchanging a few polite words with Uncle Zhu, Tang Zhitong returned the grain book to Zhang Guifang as soon as he got home. Although the grain ration on the front page had been reduced, it would not affect the family's purchase of grain this month because the grain coupons for this month had already been issued.

When the grain store is busy, most of the time they only recognize the tickets and don't pay much attention to the grain books, otherwise the grain tickets that flow from the black market will have nowhere to spend.

Tang Zhitong prepared some meat filling and would chop the cabbage tomorrow, then threw the wooden board into the cellar and put up the partitions.

When Xiao Wang and Feng Zhen came back, Tang Zhitong was nailing the cover of the cellar.

Tang Zhitong worked very carefully, striving to make it perfect.

The reason for doing this is, on the one hand, to prevent rats, and on the other hand, to prevent centipedes.

The centipede is a small creature with many legs and very long legs. It likes dark and humid places by nature and can occasionally be found in the house.

Not only does this thing look scary, it also bites. Once it bites you, your skin will quickly become red and swollen, and you will feel obvious itching and pain.

Brave children would play with bean worms, silkworm pupae, hanged ghosts, and earthworms, but Tang Zhitong had never seen a child playing with centipedes.

For dinner, we still had stewed cabbage and steamed corn bread.

Although she knew she would have dumplings tomorrow, Fengzhi did not complain about skipping one meal today and having a big meal tomorrow.

It is useless to teach others with a hundred words; only events can teach people once and for all.

Seeing his sister in such a state, Tang Zhitong felt distressed but more relieved. Going hungry for a few meals was not a bad thing.

After dinner, Xiao Wang asked for Tang Zhitong's new work permit, opened it and looked at it carefully. It said that his education was a part-time technical secondary school and his status was a cadre, so he said, "Not bad, not bad, it's quite serious, not a work-for-work arrangement."

"I have to thank you for reminding me to make progress and attend a part-time technical secondary school." Tang Zhitong leaned against the door, chatting with classmate Xiao Wang, while turning on the cheating device and filling the cellar with dust.

"What is work-for-labor?" Zhang Guifang asked, not understanding what was going on.

"Work-for-work means working as a cadre in the capacity of a worker." Xiao Wang returned the work permit to Tang Zhitong and said to his mother-in-law.

"Aren't they all cadres? Why are they different?" Zhang Guifang asked while mending shoes.

"There are still some differences. The impact on male cadres and workers is smaller. It has some impact on women. Female cadres retire at 55, and female workers retire at 50." Student Xiao Wang explained the difference to Zhang Guifang.

"It's better to be a worker so you can retire early." Feng Zhi suddenly interjected.

"You are still too young and don't understand the ins and outs of this. Just do your homework. If you don't study hard, you can't even be a worker." Tang Zhitong answered Feng Zhi and ended the topic.

Even though we are at home, there are many things we cannot say.

There is work instead of work, but there is no work instead of work.

Moreover, Xiao Wang only talked about the difference in retirement age. There are also differences in other aspects, especially for those who do not have complete procedures, they will still be treated as workers after retirement.

After the kettle on the stove boiled, Tang Zhitong rushed into the thermos, filled another pot, and boiled a little more water as the whole family would use it to wash their feet later.

The water tank had been moved into the house a few days ago, and the rabbit skin mattresses had been laid out. Together with the stored firewood and coal, the Tang family would be able to have a comfortable winter this year.

"Mom, we have a lot of cabbages this year. It's getting tiresome to stew them all the time. How about pickling some sauerkraut?" Tang Zhitong looked at the pile of cabbages exposed in another room. There was no water on them anymore, and it seemed that they had been dried in the sun.

"Okay, okay!" Fengzhi responded immediately while doing her homework. She had great faith in her brother's craftsmanship.

"Can you?" Zhang Guifang hesitated, fearing that her son would ruin the cabbage.

"Don't worry, I will not waste the cabbage. I ate it when I went to my uncle's house, and I also asked my aunt how to make it." Tang Zhitong swore so confidently that he almost raised his fist to swear.

"How much do you want to pickle? Do you need a jar? We don't have any idle ones at home." Zhang Guifang felt relieved after hearing what her son said.

"Then buy one. I still have five dollars. How much do you want to pay? Is it enough?" Tang Zhitong took out the only five dollars left in his pocket and handed it to Xiao Wang. It was she who bought the jar last time.

"It's enough to buy one." Xiao Wang didn't have much money, so she didn't refuse the money given by her man.

"Be frugal this month and wait until next month when you get your salary. I'll get more than seventy yuan in salary." Tang Zhitong knew that they had spent more money recently, so he comforted them.

"Now that our salary has increased, we should give our mother a little more." Xiao Wang, who is not stingy with his own people, gave a reminder.

"No need. What you gave me every month is enough for us to spend." Zhang Guifang stopped her son before he could say anything.

"I'll give you another ten yuan. You'll feel at ease with the money. If you can't spend it, just save it for your retirement." Tang Zhitong said to Zhang Guifang happily, and then said to Xiao Wang: "I'll keep a small amount for myself, and the rest will be given to you. You can save it."

"Okay, come to me again if it's not enough." Xiao Wang was not polite to her man at all and nodded in agreement.

Having said this, Zhang Guifang didn't say anything else and accepted it happily.

(End of this chapter)