National Tide 1980

Spring in the capital always starts from the moment when "poplar beard" grows.

What is "Yangbeard"?

"Yangbeard" is the name people in the capital give to the poplar trees that grow in early spring.

In the south, this kind of thing is also called "yanghua".

The reason why the common people in the capital would call it "Yang Bearded".

It's entirely because the flowers growing from the poplar trees are green and fluffy and cluster in clusters, resembling an old man's beard.

And it is obvious that the different names of the two places can reflect the distinct perceptions and attitudes of the south and the north towards things.

Southerners are probably more romantic.

What I pay attention to is the poetry of this thing, and I like the beauty of poplar catkins flying like heavy snow in the sky.

People in Beijing are more pragmatic.

Emotionally, I mostly hate the white hairs produced by this thing, which can penetrate everywhere and fly around in a simple way.

This is not surprising, because spring in Beijing is windy and very windy.

It can cause flying sand and rocks, making people feel hairy and unable to open their eyes.

So just take a look when the time comes. There will be poplar catkins everywhere in the streets and alleys of the capital, in the sky and on the ground, on clothes hanging to dry, on bedding, in the water and vegetables... everywhere.

This thing will block people's vision, making the front of them look mottled and dazzling.

This thing can get into people's nostrils and make them itchy and sneeze all day long.

When it is inhaled into the throat, it will cause continuous coughing, damage the lungs and respiratory tract.

Once it flies into the collar or sleeve, people's skin will no longer have a safe and comfortable place, and they can only scratch it frequently.

But that's not all. The most critical point is that this thing still poses a risk of fire.

If anyone is willing to check the annual records of the Beijing Fire Department, it will definitely be a shocking experience!

In short, the disgusting guy "Yang Beard" spreads poplar catkins with the help of wind, just like a scoundrel.

It cannot be beaten or scolded, and it is slimy, greasy and crooked.

It has brought too much unhappiness and inconvenience to the lives and work of Beijing people.

But what is more interesting is that from March to May 1980, in this capital city where the "Yang Beard" was going on, the social situation was actually similar to that of the season.

It's like Yang Xu fills the sky, with a little bit of romance, but also confusion and confusion.

Romance mainly occurs on college campuses, or among young people.

College students in this period, as well as young people in society, have two characteristics.

First, both body and mind are in the midst of a rapid change in concepts, and they begin to have diversified thoughts and desires about life and the future.

Second, many people have delayed their time due to historical reasons, and now they are faced with the need to start a family and start a business.

So for them, in addition to the poetry craze, literature craze, foreign language craze, movie craze, dance craze, and Teresa Teng craze that have become popular.

Naturally, the thing that became more popular was falling in love.

As a result, thoughtful people began to discover that institutions of higher learning were no longer serious places for pure study of knowledge, and there were more and more cases of a man and a woman in the corner of the park.

Among young people, not only has a new word been born to describe people - "very open".

The originally distant and estranged boundaries between young men and women who have a crush on each other are beginning to be narrowed by a more euphemistic way of getting closer.

You know, the person who was dating her at that time was very conservative and did not dare to hold hands or hug openly in public.

But when walking side by side, their arms tend to be close together and carried behind their backs.

In this way, maximum intimacy can be achieved to reflect the extraordinary relationship between the two people.

This should be regarded as an innovative application of folk wisdom.

It's just completely different from young people who are eager for change.

During this period, almost all other groups are feeling anxious because of the huge changes that are happening or are about to happen around them.

In addition, because the "great man" spoke during this period, he announced that he could buy a house in installments.

And "foreign exchange certificates", as a second currency with transcendent purchasing power, began to officially circulate in our country.

It also makes some strata who have long had advantages in housing allocation welfare policies and material rationing systems feel unprecedented confusion and at a loss as to what to do.

There is also the ideological battle in the literary and art circles, which is also intensifying.

At this time, Li Guyi was criticized and questioned by the industry just because he sang "Nostalgia", the theme song of "The Legend of Three Gorges".

At work, large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises seem to be faltering and suffering from serious problems that are difficult to recover from.

Do more and do less, and do more and less.

Not only does it make hard-working people who long to restore their old glory increasingly feel cold.

It also makes state-owned enterprises overstaffed and increasingly losing vitality.

There is no doubt that the skyrocketing urban population is the inevitable result of the return of educated youth to the city.

In the three years from 1978 to 1980, the capital accommodated these young adults returning home from other places at a rate of hundreds of thousands per year.

Almost every family in the capital has children belonging to this group, so no one can complain.

Take Courtyard No. 2 of Shan'er Hutong as an example.

After Ning Weimin, the second son of the Bian family made meritorious service, and the eldest daughter of the Mi family, Mi Xiaoran.

They all returned home this spring and moved their household registrations back to the capital.

As a result, not only is the job gap getting bigger and bigger, but the educated youth who have returned to the city are nicknamed "unemployed youth."

The capital's municipal system and service industry are also deeply overloaded.

Whether taking the bus, shopping on the street, bathing in a bathhouse, getting a haircut in a shampoo shop, taking photos in a photo studio, or eating in a restaurant.

These basic needs of people have all become difficult things.

Looking at the doorstep of Ning Weimin’s home, there are Qianmen Street, Dashilan Street, Xianyu Port, and the Polishing Factory.

As the downtown area of ​​Beijing, it is overcrowded almost from morning to night.