Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

After forcing himself to eat half full, Bang Geng couldn't eat anymore and left the cafeteria with Yi Zhonghai in disappointment.

They thought the work in the afternoon would be a lot easier, but the factory suddenly received an urgent production task, which resulted in them, the porters, having a lot more work to do than usual.

Originally, it was only necessary to transport raw materials and finished parts back and forth ten times, but in the afternoon it was increased to twelve times.

Banggeng used up all his strength in the morning and moved the raw materials and parts back and forth eight times before leaving work. With the help of Yi Zhonghai, he completed the remaining two trips.

Now that the workload has increased to twelve trips, it will be even more impossible for him to complete it.

When the announcement signaling the end of get off work was made, Banggeng still had four boxes of processed products in front of him that had not yet been delivered to the warehouse.

Each box of products weighs sixty to seventy kilograms.

Holding Banggeng in his arms, he could only move forward a dozen meters at most before he had to take a break. At this speed, he would have to move the remaining four boxes of products and would not be able to leave work until six or seven in the evening.

Faced with such a situation, although Yi Zhonghai was growling with hunger because he did not eat enough at noon and his face was full of fatigue, he still decided to deliver the remaining four boxes of products to the warehouse with Banggeng and then go home together.

…………

The central courtyard of a quadrangle.

Qin Huairu prepared dinner as usual and waited for Banggeng and Yi Zhonghai to come home before eating.

Today was their weekly snack time. Qin Huairu bought half a pound of pork and stewed it with potatoes in a large pot. The strong aroma of meat could be smelled from a long distance away.

Xiaodang and Kuihua sat beside the table, staring at the pork and potatoes stewed in the bowl, their saliva almost flowing out, but they couldn't eat it.

Jia Zhang was also drooling at the sight.

If she hadn't been worried that Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu wouldn't provide for her in her old age, she would have stuffed all the pork in the bowl into her mouth.

"Mom... why haven't my brother and stepdad come back yet? I'm almost starving to death..." Xiaodang said as he stared at the pork stewed with potatoes on the table.

Jia Zhang, as always, favored boys over girls and scolded him without hesitation: "If you are hungry, give me some water."

"The pork and potato stew on the table is for Banggeng and your stepfather, not for you, a money-loser."

"Don't you know that Banggeng is working in the steel mill to earn money to support you? You can't wait for just a short while. Money-losing goods are money-losing goods."

Seeing that both girls had aggrieved expressions on their faces, but dared not say a word in rebuttal, Qin Huairu had to stand up and glared at Jia Zhang and said, "Mom..."

"What are you talking about?"

"Xiaodang and Kuihua are also my Qin Huairu's daughters and the grandchildren of the Jia family. How can they be considered as money-losing goods?"

"Mom will make the decision for you today. When your elder brother and stepfather come back, each of you can have two pieces of meat."

Although Jia Zhang was very afraid that Qin Huairu would get angry at her, she refused on the spot when she thought that Xiaodang and Kuihua would be able to eat four pieces of meat in a while.

Banggeng and Yi Zhonghai have to go to work and earn money, so the amount of meat they eat cannot be reduced.

If Qin Huairu promised Xiaodang and Kuihua the four pieces of meat, he would probably have snatched the food from his own mouth.

There are only a few pieces of pork in half a pound that I can eat. If Xiaodang and Kuihua take away four pieces of meat, then I will be left with nothing.

He stiffened his teeth and retorted: "They are just two money-losing bastards and they want to eat four pieces of meat. What a fart."

"At most, give them each a piece of meat."

"Even if they are the grandsons of the Jia family, they are still money-losing goods. They will get married sooner or later. Why do they eat so much?"

"Huai Ru, you just spoil them too much." "If you ask me, there is no need for them to study now."

“Not only is it a waste of money, it’s also a waste of time.”

"If you have that much time, you might as well stay at home and help us paste matchboxes. You can earn four or five dollars a month."

Faced with Jia Zhang's new round of curses, Qin Huairu did not refute immediately this time, because he was tempted by the benefit of earning an extra four or five yuan every month.

If one person can help himself earn an extra four or five yuan by making matchboxes, two people can help him earn an extra ten yuan. Then he can save twenty-five yuan of pocket money every month in the future, which is three hundred yuan a year.

When Yi Zhonghai gets old and has no money in the future, he can at least save 3,000 yuan in private savings.

By then, even if he lost Yi Zhonghai, he would be able to live a good life with these three thousand yuan.

In addition, people nowadays are not so eager to read.

In their eyes, having a job that can be passed on to future generations is much better than studying.

Unless you can get into university or a technical secondary school in the future, there is still a chance that the government will assign you a job.

Otherwise, no matter how much you read, you still have to find a job yourself.

If you are lucky, you can find a job in a short time. If you are unlucky, you may not find a job even after waiting for three or four years, or even four or five years.

At that time, they will be sent directly to the countryside by the street to serve as educated youth.

Faced with the tangible benefits, and the fact that continuing to study might not necessarily bring him benefits, Qin Huairu hesitated.

But when he saw Xiaodang and Kuihua's longing eyes, Qin Huairu was shocked and decided to let them continue reading.

After thinking for a while, he replied: "Mom..."

"Xiaodang and Kuihua have good academic performance in school. Maybe they can go to university in the future. Why don't we let them continue their studies?"

Jia Zhang replied angrily: "What good will it do to our Jia family if you continue to study?"

"Even if she gets into college in the future, the beneficiaries will be her future husband and in-laws. What good will it bring to our Jia family? Do you still expect her to get money from her in-laws to subsidize her family after she gets married?"

"Besides, is it that easy to get into university?"

"I heard that many schools are in chaos now. No matter how good your grades are, you have to go to the countryside as an educated youth after graduating from junior high school. How can you then take the college entrance exam or the technical secondary school entrance exam?"

"Instead of wasting time and money in school, I might as well stay at home and make a few more years of money by pasting matchboxes."

"When they get old enough and the street office asks them to go to the countryside, they can save some money and bring it back to the countryside to avoid going hungry."

"If you don't make money now, when they are sent to the countryside by the street office as educated youth and have no food to eat, they will have to rely on you, Huairu, to send them money."

"I am just being considerate of you as a mother. I am not stopping the two little ones from continuing their studies."

"When the time comes, stay at home and make matchboxes. You'll earn five dollars, give three dollars to your mother, and keep two dollars for yourself."

"If I can earn six dollars a month, I can save three dollars, and I can save more than thirty dollars a year."

"You still have four years before you go to the countryside, so you can save more than a hundred yuan."

"In the countryside, this hundred dollars will be enough for you to live a good life for several years."

"If you don't have this hundred yuan, when you go to the countryside in the future, the little you earn won't even be enough to fill your stomach. It would be tragic if you starve to death in the countryside." (End of this chapter)