Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 622 Chapter 621 Recalling the bitterness and thinking of the sweetness
Saturday, September 1960, 2.

The investigation team had breakfast, brought lunch from the cafeteria, and started the research trip.

Each person was assigned an area, and Tang Zhitong was assigned to the area near the Yangtze River Bridge.

In order to facilitate the investigation, the Municipal Bureau allocated eight bicycles for temporary use by the investigation team.

The first time we went to the area under our charge, we were led by comrades from each branch bureau. Although the contact was brief yesterday, everyone had already gotten to know the comrades from the corresponding branch bureau.

The person who contacted Tang Zhitong was called Jiang Siyuan.

The weather here is a little warmer than in Beijing. Tang Zhitong didn't wear a cotton jacket. He wore a sweater inside and a coat outside.

On the way, Jiang Siyuan gave Tang Zhitong a brief introduction to the daily work content of his branch.

Thanks to his previous work as a deliveryman, Tang Zhitong was familiar with the system and got the hang of it quickly after arriving at the branch.

In the morning, I followed the deliveryman to deliver the parcels. Due to the reduced delivery quantity, the deliveryman did not ride very fast.

This is not a disadvantage. When the famine peak comes in the second half of the year, even the old cities will behave like this.

While delivering mail, Tang Zhitong informed residents in his area about the benefits of postal codes and thoughtfully wrote the postal codes of his area with chalk on the walls of each alley.

Some people would ask about the zip code of a certain place they were concerned about, and Tang Zhitong patiently used a comparison table to look up and inform them one by one.

The deliveryman next to him had no intention of participating, and didn't even want to say a word, trying to save his energy as much as possible.

Tang Zhitong did not blame anyone for this situation. He just said eight words: everything happens for a reason and it is excusable.

The delivery work only took one morning. After returning to the branch office, Tang Zhitong took a look at the backlog of letters. Judging from the postmarks, some of them arrived a few days ago.

"Director Jiang, is there a backlog of letters?" Tang Zhitong flipped through the letters and put them back as they were.

"Yes, the quantitative reduction has been significant. The Municipal Bureau cares about the employees and has reduced the delivery time." Jiang Siyuan did not hide it and admitted it with a wry smile, but this was not his personal fault.

Tang Zhitong nodded to show his understanding, but asked, "Timeliness cannot be guaranteed, but accuracy can be guaranteed, right?"

"We must deliver the goods in place, otherwise it would be a shame to wear the uniforms we wear.

In order to save energy and ensure timely delivery, we divided the jurisdiction of the branch into several small areas. We go to one area every day and take turns delivering to several areas.

As letters pile up, the amount of letters in each area will increase day by day. If accumulated for a week, it will be enough to deliver letters to this area in the morning.

There are a lot of letters, and they are all in one area, so there is no need to make unnecessary trips to deliver them.

All in all, the workload has not been reduced much, but it can save physical energy.

This is the case in other branches.”

Jiang Siyuan briefly introduced the specific operation methods to Tang Zhitong.

"Commissioner Tang, could you please raise your hand slightly when writing the report? It's really difficult for us." Jiang Siyuan said, pleading.

"Director Jiang, I was also a courier, and I can empathize with the difficulties we are facing here. I will report truthfully and objectively." Tang Zhitong did not agree directly, but spoke in a calm manner, but the implication was very clear.

"Thank you so much!" Jiang Siyuan took Tang Zhitong's hand and shook it.

Jiang Siyuan didn't say anything, but Tang Zhitong was still willing to write truthfully. It was just too difficult.

We had lunch at the branch office and everyone ate their own food.

The canteen did not mix flour with the cornmeal for the investigation team today. The steamed bread was made of pure cornmeal, but it was much drier than yesterday.

Since it was an investigation, Tang Zhitong did not secretly peek at the meals of the comrades in the branch office. Instead, he sat with them openly and looked at them carefully.

Some people ate double-steamed rice mixed with sorghum rice, some ate cornmeal steamed bread, but the color was much darker than the one in Tang Zhitong's lunch box, and some people brought black dry food, and Tang Zhitong couldn't tell what it was.

"Come, let me try everyone's food." Tang Zhitong broke the steamed bread in his lunch box into several pieces as evenly as possible.

"Commissioner Tang, how can this be so embarrassing? Our dry rations are not good. You will be at a loss if we exchange them with you." Jiang Siyuan saw this and quickly refused.

“Whether they are at a loss or not, they are all our own comrades.

If you ask me, the Municipal Bureau is still too polite. Team Leader Huang said yesterday that there would be no special treatment. But the result is that this steamed bread is still better than yours.

To be honest, I can't eat this kind of steamed bread when I see you guys eating it." Tang Zhitong gave everyone a portion regardless of Jiang Siyuan's dissuasion.

"Well, then... I'll give you some too." Seeing that he couldn't persuade her, Jiang Siyuan picked up his lunch box and was about to put it into Tang Zhitong's lunch box.

"No, no, I can do it myself." This time it was Tang Zhitong who stopped him and took Jiang Siyuan's lunch box.

Tang Zhitong would not ask for more rations from his colleagues here, but he was afraid that they would give too much because he had reserves, but they did not!
"More, more." Jiang Siyuan urged Tang Zhitong when he saw that he only gave a little bit, which was obviously less than the steamed bread he gave himself.

"That's enough, that's enough. Let's all follow this standard.

Director Jiang, please stop calling me "Specialist". At my level, I am not worthy of the title of Specialist. Just call me Xiao Tang."

Tang Zhitong returned Jiang Siyuan's lunch box, and then transferred rice from other people's lunch boxes into his own lunch box one by one, with almost the same amount.

"Hey, the commissioner sounds so impressive." Tang Zhitong's style of not taking advantage of others and not bullying others immediately won the favor of all the staff in the branch, and they began to talk intimately.

"No, no, if the real specialist hears it, my work will be over." Tang Zhitong said with a smile while holding the hundred-family rice.

A few decades later, the term "specialist" will be common, with titles like administrative specialist, business specialist, etc., which are the lowest level of positions. But for now, "specialist" is definitely a special title for cadres.

Leaders from township and county levels to prefectural party committees can all be addressed as "commissioners".

The meal from a hundred families was not tasty. After eating it, Tang Zhitong finally understood why other people’s cornmeal steamed bread was dull in color. It was because the grain was old and a little moldy.

"Investigator Tang, this cornmeal is worse than the one in Sijiucheng, right? Are you still used to eating it?" Tang Zhitong did not allow people to address him as "commissioner", but the comrades in the branch office did not call him Xiao Tang directly, but made some adjustments.

"It's OK, hahaha. My mother always says that there is no hardship that cannot be endured. The food when I was a child was even worse than this. I heard my mother say that when she was young, she was so hungry that she had to eat three-grain flour mixed with sawdust." Tang Zhitong naturally would not compare the food in the two cities, because saying it out loud would not be conducive to unity.

In a situation like this, you can only change the topic, such as "remembering the bitterness and thinking of the sweetness".

"Hey, that's true. In the past, when there was a famine, not to mention old grain, even the lotus leaves in the lake could be pulled up and eaten. We ate whatever we could get and were not picky at all. When I was a kid, I was so hungry that I was skin and bones, and my ribs were clearly visible." Jiang Siyuan became interested when talking about the past.

"That's right. We didn't even have this kind of sweet potato noodles before. One of my neighbors died from eating Guanyin soil. His stomach was as big as a ball." said the one holding the black dry food.

Tang Zhitong also tasted it and it didn't taste good. It was black because it was moldy. Sweet potato noodles are also called white potato noodles or sweet potato powder. They are called differently in different places. In the 1990s, this stuff was used to feed pigs in rural areas. When pigs were no longer allowed to be raised, it became the source of starch for vermicelli and rice noodles. But it couldn't be from "Northeast Rain Sister"'s family because she couldn't bear to use sweet potatoes for her family.

"Although this sweet potato flour steamed bread is a bit bitter, it is better than that one." In fact, it was hard to swallow, but Tang Zhitong saw that others had no difficulty eating it, so he swallowed it all.

"Actually, I don't want to eat it either, but there is no way. There are many people in my family and my children are still young, so I can only take corn flour to the market to exchange for sweet potato flour, so that I can get more to fill my stomach." Perhaps he noticed Tang Zhitong's gaze and expression, the guy who was eating sweet potato noodles explained to Tang Zhitong.

"Hold on, difficulties are only temporary and will eventually pass." Tang Zhitong said thinly.

"Damn it, who knows how long it will take to get there!" the dissatisfied man muttered.

"What nonsense! If you want to die, don't drag us down!" Jiang Siyuan replied in dialect after hearing this.

"What are you discussing? I don't understand, I don't understand." Tang Zhitong reacted quickly and shook his head with a smile.

Wuhan has been known as the "crossroads of nine provinces" since ancient times. It has unique geographical advantages and was a former logistics distribution center.

When the volume of logistics is large, it must be processed in a timely manner, otherwise it will easily accumulate and the workers will be pushed around like spinning tops.

As time went on, the people in Wuhan became impatient.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

It is said that hot dry noodles used to be soup noodles, but because the soup cools down slowly and people didn’t have time to eat it, it was changed to dry noodles.

The bus that best represents the character of Wuhan people is Wuhan public transportation.

Wuhan had its first bus in 1929. In the late s, the individual contracting system was introduced. In order to make money, people had to carry more and run faster. As a result, Wuhan public transportation became a legend.

As soon as the bus steps on the accelerator, you can smell the wind from Wuhan.

Fighters in the sky, 521 on the ground.

The wheels were on fire and the handrails were bent.

The scariest thing is that a 521 hits another 521.

Can you believe that the bus can drift?

These were the jokes that were popular in Wuhan back then. To be honest, high-speed racing and life-and-death situations are nothing compared to Wuhan Bus 521!

It was not until 2017 that the situation was completely resolved with the monitoring and control of various advanced technological equipment.

In the afternoon, Tang Zhitong stayed in the branch office.

Although the postman only delivers in the morning, it does not mean that he can go home in the afternoon. He still has to sort out the newly delivered letters and prepare for delivery the next day.

Tang Zhitong was receiving customers at the front desk and found that many people did not have the habit of writing their postal codes.

To this end, Tang Zhitong was thinking about how to quickly improve the pass rate of the letters here.

The common people are similar to the municipal bureau employees and they all don’t have enough to eat. It seems a bit of an overreaction to force them to fill in their zip codes at this time and it may easily cause dissatisfaction.

This person, when his dissatisfaction is suppressed to a certain level, is very likely to explode.

Tang Zhitong didn't want to come here and become a fuse.

After thinking it over, Tang Zhitong came up with a clever idea and planned to try it out when he returned.

"Tang Fenchai, this place is not far from the Yangtze River Bridge. Why don't you go over to take a look when you come to Wuhan?" There were not many people coming here to do business. Seeing Tang Zhitong standing here in a daze, Jiang Siyuan took the initiative to suggest.

"Then let's go visit the area." Tang Zhitong agreed happily. He just happened to be hungry, so he went out to find a chance to fill his stomach.

Jiang Siyuan watched Tang Zhitong go away and felt relieved. The employee of his branch office had just said something inappropriate, and he hoped that Tang Zhitong really didn't understand.

Tang Zhitong didn't know what Jiang Siyuan was thinking and thought he was simply recommending him to go see the "Jiang Bridge".

Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge is the pride of Wuhan people and the pride of the Chinese people.

It has four tracks in both directions, and can accommodate cars and pedestrians above and trains below. It is a luxuriously equipped road.

It's not easy to go on a business trip these days, and visiting local attractions after work is a common practice that people dare not make public.

Because the higher-ups did not encourage it and even opposed it, no one spoke out. This is why Tang Zhitong did not say he was going to the Yangtze River Bridge but said he was going to "visit" instead.

Tang Zhitong stored his bicycle and then walked to visit the Yangtze River Bridge.

After seeing the elevated road that crosses the mountains, the Yangtze River Bridge seems a bit plain, but it is quite solid and still intact after decades, which makes those shoddy buildings ashamed.

There is a small square under the Yangtze River Bridge. Tang Zhitong saw many tourists taking photos below.

Judging from the smiles and expressions on their faces, some of the tourists were not very hungry.

Cats have their ways, mice have their ways, and there are capable people in every era.

Now that he was here, Tang Zhitong planned to take a photo as a souvenir.

There were several people taking photos. Tang Zhitong chose a photographer with a smile on his face and negotiated the price.

Smiling faces and laughter are the behaviors that require the least investment, produce the fastest results, and bring the highest returns, but many people don’t understand this and often look gloomy.

When Tang Zhitong bought cigarettes in the past, he preferred to go to stores that welcomed people with a smile for the same price.

Others called the photographer "photographer", but Tang Zhitong called him "photography comrade". This simple name made the smile on the photographer's face even bigger.

After paying the money, taking photos, and leaving the school address, the photographer became even more enthusiastic when he learned that Tang Zhitong was a college student: "I am also a college student. I didn't go home during the holidays. I borrowed a classmate's camera to earn some pocket money to support my family."

"Not bad, you are self-reliant." Tang Zhitong gave the photographer a thumbs up. Judging from his method, not only is his work easier than Gu Mancang's hairdressing, but he also earns more. He is a smart man.

"Well, there's nothing we can do. It's because we're hungry now. It's all because of the food shortage." The photographer smiled generously, pointed at the Yangtze River Bridge, and introduced it to Tang Zhitong, like a tour guide.

It's no wonder that their business is so good given the way they do it.

Before coming here, Tang Zhitong had learned the text "NJ Yangtze River Bridge" in the elementary school textbook. The one in Nanjing has not been built yet. I don’t know why the first bridge was not included in the textbook, but the second one became famous instead. Maybe it’s because this one was built with aid?
Through the introduction of a part-time photographer, Tang Zhitong learned that the employees of the Bridge Bureau were proud to be able to participate in the construction of the bridge. In the past two years, many of them named their children "Jianqiao", "Hanqiao" and "Jiancheng".

The rate of duplicate names is quite high, and the police station has stepped forward to dissuade people from doing so, but to no avail.

(End of this chapter)