Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 586 585 Listen to the truth and ponder carefully

Sunday, May 1.

Tang Zhitong wanted to sleep in, but Xiao Wang pulled him aside and said, "Either you send Jingying and Fengzhen off while I queue up to buy things; or I send them off while you queue up to buy groceries. It's so cold, we should do as much as we can. We can't always let our mother queue up."

"Okay, okay, can't I get up?" Tang Zhitong quickly begged for mercy and asked Xiao Wang to let go.

Student Xiao Wang is considering his own mother. As a son, he should not let her down, right?

In the end, the two of them agreed that Tang Zhitong would send Fengzhen and Jingying to practice piano, then return to Chunshu Hutong to cook, and then come back to get busy preparing for the New Year.

"On the 23rd, I stick to sugar-coated melons; on the 24th, I clean the house; on the 25th, I make tofu; on the 26th, I cut meat..."

It is impossible to determine when the song of busy year began to be sung, but it is likely to have been sung during a relatively prosperous period.

Last year, there were still people offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God, but this year there will probably be even fewer people. Even sugar melons are not available. We can’t shut the Kitchen God’s mouth, so we decide whether to offer sacrifices to him or not.

Forget about the remaining tofu and meat. Each household is allowed three pounds of tofu, and the meat is even less. It is only enough for a meal of meat-smelling dumplings on New Year's Eve, and there is no sense of expectation at all.

On weekdays, the young couple goes to work and the two younger sisters take extra classes, so Zhang Guifang is the only one taking care of the family and she is too busy to take care of many things.

Although New Year's tickets were issued this year, the supply is still less than in previous years, so Zhang Guifang soaked soybeans last night and planned to make some tofu herself and share some with her in-laws.

After a quick breakfast, Tang Zhitong got up and went to Chunshu Hutong, while Zhang Guifang prepared to line up. Xiao Wang didn't want her mother-in-law to be cold, so she wanted to go by herself, but Zhang Guifang refused: "Take advantage of today's rest to sweep the house. Tie a broom to a stick, sweep the dust on the wall, and clear the spider webs."

Zhang Guifang meant well. In her opinion, staying indoors was better than going out in the cold. She also didn't want to enter the couple's room in case she saw something she shouldn't, which would embarrass everyone.

For shopping, the Women's Federation is much more convenient than the flower market. When Tang Zhitong arrived at the east entrance of Chunshu Hutong, he happened to meet Ye Zhijuan who was carrying vegetables.

"Mom, come, let me take it." Tang Zhitong hurriedly got out of the car and took the things from Ye Zhijuan.

"Put it on the back seat, I'll hold it." Ye Zhijuan looked at the bicycle. There were too many things on it and nowhere to hang them.

"Okay. You went out so early in the morning? You bought quite a lot of things." Tang Zhitong put the things on the back seat, waited for Ye Zhijuan to hold on, then kicked open the bicycle stand and pushed the bicycle towards the Women's Federation dormitory.

"In order to save everyone's time, the unit contacted the Commerce Bureau, collected the receipts, and asked the canteen to pick them up on their behalf." Ye Zhijuan said with a smile.

"Hey, that's good. It's also for the purpose of allowing everyone to focus on their work." Tang Zhitong also laughed.

If you say this kind of thing is against the rules, it’s not, but if you say it’s not against the rules, it’s a little bit on the borderline.

Anyway, many things start from such insignificant little things.

Hiring a nanny is for work, getting a private car is for work, even hooking up with young girls is for work, bah!
"It's Chinese New Year. The music school means that today is the last piano lesson before the New Year, and it will start again on the sixth day after the New Year.

Fengzhi and Jingmin should follow this pace when taking extra classes, so that the two older ones won’t have time to study while the younger ones are at home.”

Ye Zhijuan thought of the phone call she received yesterday and told Tang Zhitong.

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Tang Zhitong had no objection. If the classes were suspended temporarily, he could relax a little and no longer have to run back and forth.

"Wenwen is not coming today, right? Then please give them a ride and bring some things to the teacher." Ye Zhijuan guessed as she didn't see her eldest daughter.

"Okay, it's no problem. It's what I should do." Tang Zhitong responded happily.

When Tang Zhitong brought the dishes that Ye Zhijuan brought back upstairs, the two girls had already packed up and were waiting to put on their clothes and go downstairs.

Ye Zhijuan returned to the bedroom first and took out the money and bills that had already been put into the envelope and gave them to Tang Zhitong.

Tang Zhitong didn't even look at it, put it in his pocket, and went straight to the music college with his two sisters.

Because the ticket and money had to be handed over to the teacher in person, Tang Zhitong followed him upstairs.

This was Tang Zhitong’s first time entering his music teacher’s home. The decoration was not luxurious, but it was filled with the scent of books.

Tang Zhitong had heard from classmate Xiao Wang that the music teacher's surname was Sun and she was a teacher, and her lover's surname was Liu and he was an administrator at the music conservatory and his words carried a lot of weight.

When Ye Zhijuan wanted her two children to learn piano, she found the music teacher's wife, Director Liu.

Based on the principle of handing things over to the corresponding personnel, Tang Zhitong wanted to give the envelope to Director Liu, but as luck would have it, someone at home was pestering him to talk about something.

The dormitory building of the Conservatory of Music is a tube-shaped building with a staircase on each side and no units.

The entire floor shares a bathroom and kitchen. The house is limited in area and has only one bedroom, so Director Liu works in the living room.

Despite the sound of the piano, the conversation between the two inevitably reached Tang Zhitong's ears.

Tang Zhitong originally wanted to go out and avoid it, but when he heard the content of the conversation, he didn't want to move because he heard Zhang Erhe's name.

There were also other names mixed in during this period, but their fame outside the circle was not as great as Zhang Erhe, because Tang Zhitong had never heard of them.

The person who came seemed to be a teacher from the Conservatory of Music. He was eager to get rid of these bad apples as soon as possible, but Director Liu refused to give in.

"Our school has no precedent of severely punishing students. I will go back and discuss with other leaders at home to see how to deal with it appropriately." Director Liu sighed. Some of the students' behaviors were indeed inappropriate, but the school also had difficulties.

After Director Liu guaranteed that the punishment would be imposed, he escorted the visitor out of the house with gifts.

When he went out, Tang Zhitong seized the opportunity, followed him out, and left the door ajar.

"Director Liu, I am Wang Jingying's brother-in-law. You can just call me Xiao Tang." Tang Zhitong noticed that the nails on Director Liu's right index finger and middle finger had been yellowed by smoke. After watching the visiting teacher go downstairs, he took out a cigarette and gave it to Director Liu.

"Oh, hello." Director Liu took the cigarette. Actually, Tang Zhitong was listening at the side just now, and he felt a little unhappy, but he had to give face to the Buddha. Ye Zhijuan's face was there, so he couldn't say anything.

"I really envy you and Professor Liu, you teach and educate people, and you have many students all over the world.

As the old saying goes, peach and plum trees are silent, yet people will come to them.

I believe that you and Professor Liu’s students will achieve great things in the future.

Today they are proud of the school, and in the future the school will be proud of them.”

Tang Zhitong took out a match and lit a cigarette for Director Liu, and then had one for himself.

It was fine at the beginning, but after hearing the latter part, Director Liu frowned, thinking, is Director Ye's son-in-law so bad at speaking? He just overheard the school scandal, and now he points at the monk and calls him a bald donkey?
"This is not a good thing. I just hope they won't bring shame to the school in the future." Director Liu was still well-mannered. Although he was unhappy, he still pretended to be nice to Tang Zhitong for Ye Zhijuan's sake.

Tang Zhitong admires Director Liu very much for his patience.

What I said sounded nice and was all positive, but after hearing the gossip, it seemed like I was making a veiled accusation when I said such things.

“Hey, almost every semester in our school there are outstanding students who are seconded or directly transferred to various units.

The students who are leaving are overjoyed, the school is happy that the students can make contributions in their new positions, and the employers are also happy that there is someone to solve various problems that arise in the work.

There are also some students who have performed particularly well. When they were out for military training, they were spotted by the local counterparts and were not allowed to go. Guess what?

I have found a job!"

"Although I don't know much about the arts, there is a shortage of high-level talents in all walks of life across the country. I believe some regions are also short of arts talents, right?"

After Tang Zhitong finished speaking, he took out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Director Liu: "Thank you and Professor Sun for your careful teaching of my two sisters during this period. I hope you will take care of them in the future."

The two of them had no affiliation and their industries spanned a wide range. This might be the only time they would deal with each other in their lives, so Tang Zhitong did not praise him.

Even if you just hint at it, it may be harmful to others, but who can blame that person for being so unpopular?
Especially that naughty kid, who was arrogant and domineering, was a minor and driving without a license, and beat someone until his head was bleeding. It was said that there was a big thing in the trunk.

After he was released, he refused to repent and did that to others, so he was sentenced to ten years in prison.

He is still called a "little bully" and more like a spoiled devil.

After hearing Tang Zhitong's remarks, Director Liu seemed to grasp the key point and subconsciously took the envelope.

"Director Liu, please stay." After saying what needed to be said, Tang Zhitong nodded to Director Liu and went straight downstairs. He had to go back to cook!

As for whether Director Liu could understand it, Tang Zhitong felt that he could.

How many people who work in administration and are able to reach management positions are willing to stick to the rules?
The speaker is intentional and the listener is intentional.

As expected, Director Liu watched Tang Zhitong go downstairs, took a puff of his cigarette, and pondered Tang Zhitong's words. There was nothing wrong with listening to them the way they were, but listening to them the other way around seemed to be the solution?
Due to professional skills issues, students from music conservatories are assigned after graduation, and the assignment is targeted, with most of them being assigned to art troupes in various regions.

Everyone wants to join the art troupes in big cities, but what about the art troupes in remote areas?

Director Liu seemed to have thought of a solution.

There has been no precedent of music conservatories assigning students to jobs before graduation, but can an exception be made this time?

Secondment is unlikely, but what about a consolation performance?

It's only natural that he was retained by the regional art troupe, which is short of artistic soldiers, right?
The more Director Liu thought about it, the more he felt that this method was feasible, until the cigarette embers burned his fingers and he realized that the cigarette was finished.

As Tang Zhitong rode his bike back, he became happier and happier, and he almost wanted to sing "Good Days" loudly.

The new society is not the Republic of China, and there will be no good things if teachers have affairs with students.

What is a normal teacher? Tang Zhitong has actually seen one.

When I was in high school, there was a teaching assistant who was very handsome and had just graduated from college. We were almost the same age as each other. It was said that a female student secretly put a love letter in her homework book.

As a result, the teacher became sloppy from then on. He no longer took care of his hairstyle, and he didn't shave his beard cleanly. There was even ink on his clothes. He was always dirty, fearing that female students would pester him.

An old man, who abandoned his original wife and children and married a student, even if the king and the queen were the ones to arrange this, his character is not good.

His little deeds were not only well known in the Northwest, but even the people in the General Political Department were well aware of them. There must be a reason why he was called "The General Political Department's Shot".

And that student was no pushover either. He was a sponsored student sent by a state-owned enterprise in Jingzhou. Logically, he should have returned to his original unit after graduation.

Well, locking it is also good.

Tang Zhitong first returned to Chunshu Hutong and went into the kitchen to cook.

Ye Zhijuan heard the noise, came out of the bedroom, and went into the kitchen, and told Tang Zhitong: "Bring back some meat today, you can put some in the dishes when you cook. Xiao Gu has been very attentive these days, we should not let him down in terms of food."

"Okay, don't worry. I made an appointment with my friend. I'm going to pick up a pig's head today and cook it again this year. I'll send some to you later. It'll be great for a post-New Year treat." They are all family members, so Tang Zhitong has some secrets to keep, but not much.

"Is the money enough? If not, just tell me." Sure enough, Ye Zhijuan didn't ask any more questions.

"It's enough. It won't cost much." Tang Zhitong grinned, looking innocent and harmless.

It was indeed not much money, but that was in the second half of 58. Now the price has at least increased tenfold. In another ten months or so, it will be an astronomical price!

After cooking, Tang Zhitong said hello to Ye Zhijuan and went straight home.

The idea of ​​asking a friend to pick up the pig's head is completely false.

These days, even if you work in a slaughterhouse, you may not be able to produce a pig's head.

This is possible if you work in a cold storage.

There are only a few cold storages in Sijiucheng. There is a cold storage in Sidaokou that was put into operation in May last year. It is used to store fish, eggs, and fruits. Pork is stored in the Shiliuzhuang cold storage. At its peak last year, 5 tons of pork were stored.

Starting from the end of 58, collective pig farming was blindly carried out on a large scale across the country. Both communes and factories were taking practical actions to implement the feasibility of large-scale farming.

(Bracket: It’s time to pull out these hidden pictures!)
Tang Zhitong has seen many propaganda posters and even has a local pig farming manual.

According to the pig farming plan in the pig farming manual, even if all the pigs in stock are sows, each sow must give birth to 21 piglets in a year to achieve the total number of pigs raised for 58 years.

Don’t even mention seeking support from sister cities, after all, they also have a mission to complete!
This is just a number made up out of thin air, what nonsense!

The actual effect of large-scale collective pig farming is that the pig farming industry has suffered a severe blow, with many deaths and few pigs slaughtered.

The highest record of Nanyuan's Dahongmen slaughterhouse was in the second half of 58, when 5000 pigs could be slaughtered a day. There was no place to store the pig heads and offal. Tang Zhitong seized the opportunity and sold them.

It was actually very easy back then, the slaughterhouse would almost beg you to get out.

After the glory days of the previous year, the slaughterhouse has been going from bad to worse, and is now probably almost out of business.

Tang Zhitong parked his bicycle under the gate, pulled out a sack containing pig heads and offal from the space, and carried it into the yard.

Student Xiao Wang had finished cleaning the room and was now grinding the mill, but his movements were a little clumsy.

"Where's our mother? Is she queuing up again?" Tang Zhitong threw the sacks aside. These sacks were given as gifts when he bought Jingxi rice at Shangzhuang Market last time. It was just right for him to use them.

"No, I'm kneading dough in the house. What are you holding?" Student Wang stopped, stared at the sack and asked.

"I came back from my mother's place and visited a friend on the way. I brought a pig's head with me. Let's cook the pork head meat today. Are you tired? You take a break and I'll do the pushing." Tang Zhitong took off his gear without saying a word, stuffed it to Xiao Wang, and walked forward to grind soy milk.

Student Xiao Wang held Tang Zhitong's belongings, opened the sack curiously and took a look inside. Wow, what a big pig's head, the kind that looked like it died with its eyes open.

"What's so good about a pig's head? It's all hairy. Put your things down first, and then move the stove out. I'll remove the hair from the pig's head later." Tang Zhitong urged.

"There are a few letters for you. I put them on the desk. Remember to take a look later." Student Xiao Wang closed the sack, raised his chin towards Tang Zhitong, and went into the room holding his hat and gloves.

(End of this chapter)