Rebirth in 1960, My Industrial Age

Chapter 129: Celebrating the New Year in the City (Subscription Request)

The supply and marketing cooperatives and farmers' markets before the New Year were definitely crowded places.

If you don’t buy New Year’s goods after receiving your customs pay, then the pay would be in vain.

The Zhou family has a large population. If the one in Zhou Yan's belly is counted, there would be thirteen people in total.

So we need to prepare more New Year’s goods.

Zhou Fengnian had a high salary, and it was originally agreed that he would pay more. But the eldest and second brothers did not hesitate and contributed more than 20 yuan, so all three brothers contributed the same amount.

Spending more than 60 yuan to celebrate the New Year is already very luxurious.

It is only because the lives of the Zhou brothers and sisters have improved that they dare to spend so much.

However, Zhou Weitian and Zhou Jiaan had no way to get tickets as they were just a cook and an ordinary worker.

In terms of tickets, Zhou Fengnian has to pay the most.

This year, supplies such as toffee candies, crispy candies, peanuts, melon seeds, and pastries are much more abundant, and the supply and marketing cooperatives are obviously less afraid of selling them than last year.

Thanks to CNC machine tools, this year's debt repayment was exceptionally smooth. One machine tool can be worth hundreds of tons of pork.

The Ministry of Foreign Trade may still discuss business with Eastern European brother countries next year. Although we have almost torn our relations with the Russians, we still have certain connections with the countries in the same camp in Eastern Europe.

And as long as their machine tool level remains at the world's leading level, the Russians will have to come to them for help.

After coming out of the supply and marketing cooperative, the three brothers were basically squeezed to the point of feeling uncomfortable. Fortunately, they had bought all the things and kept them.

Zhou Weitian said with a sigh, "The shopping in the city during the New Year is so crazy. It's even more crowded than our rural market."

Zhou Fengnian said: "No one wants to 'eat' the last bite, even those who go to the cafeteria to get food are reluctant to do so, and they have to squeeze in."

"Third brother, you take the things back first. Big brother and I will go to the farmer's market."

Zhou Jiaan looked at the bags they were carrying, including three bottles of wine. He had to go home first.

Zhou Fengnian saw the same thing and said, "Okay, if you can't buy it, forget it, you can buy it tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

After saying that, Zhou Fengnian handed the money to his elder and second brothers, and went home with the bags of things.

The front beam and horizontal bar were filled with things. When Zhou Fengnian rode back, he didn't dare to ride fast, because if he rode fast, the wine bottles would clink and rattle.

As soon as I got home and parked my bicycle, my fourth sister Zhou Chunhua came out from the backyard.

"Hey, Third Brother, why are you buying so many things?"

Zhou Chunhua's eyes lit up and she hurried forward to take some. There were more than a dozen packages of different sizes, and even if she took half of them, Zhou Fengnian would still have to take a lot more.

"These are for the fifth day of the New Year. This year, our family must have a prosperous New Year. By the way, after you put the food down, call your two sisters-in-law over to have dinner together tonight."

"Okay, I'll go and shout later."

After Zhou Chunhua and Zhou Fengnian put down their things, they immediately turned around and went back to the house, saying, "Brother, wait a minute, there are some more New Year's goods."

Soon, Zhou Chunhua came back from the front yard with a box of snacks in her hand. She ran to Zhou Fengnian and said, "Brother, this is what Weinan gave to our family. He said it's a New Year's gift."

Zhou Fengnian took one look and said, "Oh, it's not cheap. Did he buy this with a large bag?"

"He didn't come to see me for a month last time, but he suddenly showed up at the factory gate today, handed me a box of snacks and left, along with two headpieces."

Zhou Chunhua said with some heartache that she could see that Song Weinan was very tired recently, but even so he was still thinking about their family.

"Okay, you have good perseverance. You can support yourself and save some money."

Zhou Fengnian thought about it and decided to wait for his elder brother to come back and ask him about it again. If there was really no problem, then he would not object.

"During the New Year, you can tell your parents about Song Weinan. They have no objection, and neither do I."

"Brother, do you agree?"

"I have no objection, Chunhua. Don't think about using my name to convince my parents. They will definitely ask me when the time comes."

"Brother, please help me!"

Zhou Chunhua immediately leaned on Zhou Fengnian like a spoiled child, and said anxiously: "When I was a child, I often washed your socks for you, and I wash them for you now, brother, you loved me the most before."

"Okay, okay, stop pulling my clothes."

Zhou Fengnian poked Zhou Chunhua on the forehead and said, "You're still talking about washing socks. I went barefoot when I was a kid because you lost my socks while washing them. The most I can do is say a few good words for you. For the rest, go find your big brother."

"I'm not going to ask my eldest brother to say something nice. Dad will get even angrier. Third brother, just help me."

Zhou Chunhua immediately smiled and said that she had just heard from her third sister-in-law that her third brother would be the deputy factory director next year.

On the surface, her father is the one who makes the decisions in the Zhou family, but that is when her third brother doesn't speak up. If her third brother speaks up, her father will also consider backing down.

"I'll go call my sister-in-law and nephew."

When Zhou Chunhua left in a good mood, she was jumping and skipping, and it seemed that she really wanted to get married.

If Song Weinan had been doing odd jobs during this period, Zhou Fengnian would really not object.

The young man is nice and handsome, and he values ​​his sister so much. There is no need for Zhou Fengnian to break up the couple.

If Song Weinan and Zhou Chunhua get married, Zhou Fengnian will also help Song Weinan find a job.

He is not like the Xue family, who let their daughter get married but refused to accept their son-in-law.

When she returned to the inner room, she saw Zhou Yan sewing clothes for the child, so she went forward to take a look.

Zhou Yan looked up at Zhou Fengnian and couldn't help but smile: "You're back so early? Didn't you buy anything?"

"We've bought half of it. The eldest and second oldest will go buy the rest. I'll carry the things back first."

Zhou Fengnian reached out and pinched Zhou Yan's face, and asked, "Were you planning to laugh at me for not buying anything just now?"

"What are you talking about? I just smile at ease when I see you by my side."

Zhou Yan slapped the hand that pinched her face, and then said, "Don't sit in the line, get up and change places."

"I'll go out and prepare the food. I'll stir-fry green pepper and pork for you later. I'll make this dish."

"Row."

After Zhou Fengnian left, Zhou Yan couldn't help laughing again and touched her belly.

These days are much more fulfilling than before.

------

The next morning, Zhou Fengnian was cleaning the yard when he heard someone knocking on the door in the front yard.

When I walked over and opened the door, I saw Zhou Fugui, his mother and his fifth sister Zhou Xiaomei.

"Dad, why did you bring so many mushrooms? What kind of food are you carrying? I have food here, why are you carrying so much?"

Zhou Fengnian saw his father holding a bag of grain on his left and a string of mushrooms on his right, so he hurried forward to take them.

"The village made a lot of money this year. These mushrooms were exchanged for work points. Fifteen points was enough to get this much."

Zhou Fugui grinned and said, "Work points are valuable now. Every household has to settle their work points at the end of the year, and they all get at least 19 yuan."

Nineteen yuan may not be a lot in the city, just a month's salary for an apprentice; but in the village, it is enough for a family to have a prosperous year.

"We'll eat this bunch of mushrooms, and you can give this bunch to your in-laws so they can have a taste of our Hongjia Village mushrooms. The food is for me, your mother, and your sister, so we can't just eat it for free."

"Is it reasonable to eat for free? Your three sons are all in the city, so how can you be short of food?"

Although Zhou Fengnian complained in his tone, he still took it and would change it for white flour when the time came.

After putting the things down, she went into the house to warm the stove. When Zhou's mother saw Zhou Yan's belly, she smiled and walked up to her to talk.

The fifth sister took some candy and went back to the house with the fourth sister.

After Zhou Fengnian poured the water, he said, "Let the elder and second brothers take you around the city tomorrow. Dad, the New Year celebrations in the city are much more lively than in the countryside. You can also buy tickets to watch the evening show. Do you want to watch it?"

"Buy tickets? Forget it, why spend that money? I'll just watch something free."

When Zhou's father heard that the tickets needed to be bought, he quickly shook his head.

Zhou Fengnian laughed twice out of anger. This old couple was really reluctant to spend any money in their entire lives, even if their children forced them to spend money.

When the time comes, I will ask the eldest brother to buy it directly and then bring him in to watch the Spring Festival Gala.

"San'er, Secretary Changshan asked me to ask you something."

"Dad, let's not talk about village affairs during the New Year. Just relax and have a good rest. You have been busy all year."

"You kid!"

Although Zhou's father was anxious, he could do nothing about Zhou Fengnian's lazy nature. However, he continued, "The village just wants to know what to do next year?"

Zhou Fengnian said, "Next year, what else can we do besides continuing to grow mushrooms? Dad, what does Uncle Chang Shan want to do?"

Zhou Fugui thought for a moment and said, "Aren't all other villages growing mushrooms? Secretary Changshan is worried that mushrooms won't sell well next year."

"Dad, tell him when you get back that you don't need to worry."

Zhou Fengnian sighed and said, fortunately Hong Changshan still knew to ask him, if it was a secretary who directly changed the method, he would really have a headache.

"There are millions of people in Beijing. How many mushrooms can he grow? Just let him continue to grow them. And don't be in a hurry to distribute the money he earns. You can save the money to build a greenhouse in the village so that you can grow vegetables in winter."

All the supplies in the city of Beijing are delivered from the surrounding areas, and even these are in short supply. Whether it is mushrooms or greenhouse vegetables, there is no worry about selling them after they are grown.

And this is what Hongjia Village is best at.

It’s not that Zhou Fengnian didn’t consider other options, but papermaking or brick-making are not as good as growing mushrooms and greenhouse vegetables.

If the mushrooms grown in Hongjia Village really cannot be sold, Zhou Fengnian will help Hongjia Village build a mushroom canning factory.

It was not difficult for Zhou Fengnian to find a matching production line and the recipe for mushroom sauce. As long as the village could raise enough money, he could use his connections to set one up.

However, it is unlikely to happen within ten years. Even if the scale of mushroom cultivation in Hongjia Village expands, Sijiu City can absorb it.

After chatting for a while, Zhou's father knew what to say when he got home, so he lit a cigarette and smoked it while his nephew was not around.

Seeing this, Zhou Fengnian said, "Dad, please smoke less. Smoking is bad for your health."

"Oh, you little brat, you are not trustworthy. Working is bad for your health. Can you avoid labor?"

Zhou Fengnian was choked by Zhou's father's words, and he couldn't say anything to refute for a while.

After a while, Zhou Chunhua poked her head out the door and walked into the house with a box of snacks.

"Dad, Third Brother, you guys try this."

Father Zhou shook his head and said, "I won't eat it. Wait for your nephew to come over and give it to them."

Zhou Chunhua said unwillingly: "Dad, my third brother bought a lot, you can try this first."

"Dad, you better eat, otherwise the fourth brother will pester you all morning."

Zhou Fengnian took a piece of cake, tasted it, and then said with a smile.

"Why, what's so special about this snack?"

Father Zhou picked up a piece, smelled it, and then put it in his mouth to taste it.

Zhou Fengnian said: "The dim sum is not special, but the person who delivers the dim sum is special."

Afterwards, Zhou Chunhua mustered up the courage to talk about Song Weinan, but she mentioned that Song Weinan had separated from his family and did not have a job yet.

Seeing that Zhou's father's face was becoming increasingly ugly, he quickly pointed at Zhou Fengnian and said that his third brother agreed.

This suddenly made Zhou's father turn his head and look at Zhou Fengnian, but the latter did not hide anything and told him about Song Weinan's situation.

He also praised her, saying that she was a good person and that he valued Zhou Chunhua very much, but she just didn't have a job.

Zhou Fugui fell silent after listening to this. When his cigarette was almost finished, he spoke again, "If you think it's okay, then bring him home to see. As long as he has good character, your mother and I won't object."

"I'll go talk to Mom right away."

Zhou Chunhua was happy after hearing that. She took the snacks and went to the inner room.

After everyone left, Zhou's father turned around and asked, "Do you really think this will work?"

"It's OK. If he had a family, I probably wouldn't agree. But he's willing to split up the family for Chunhua and leave the house empty-handed, which means he values ​​Chunhua enough."

Zhou Fengnian said: "The work is not important. If he marries Chunhua, I can help him find another one. By the way, Dad, I will be the deputy director of the factory after the new year."

"What? Deputy Director?"

Although Zhou Fugui didn't know how high a rank the deputy factory director was, he could tell that his son had been promoted again.

"San'er, what rank is the deputy factory director?"

"It's a cadre, not an official. Dad, next time don't say official. Just call me cadre."

After Zhou Fengnian finished speaking, he made a comparison and continued, "It's almost equivalent to the deputy county magistrate."

After hearing this, Zhou Fugui immediately slapped his thigh and said, "My goodness, in the past I would have been considered a great official."

"Dad, you, the production team leader, have no awareness at all. You always talk nonsense."

Zhou Fengnian knew that his family would not use his position as deputy factory director to do anything, so he did not hide it.

At most, it would give Zhou's father more face so that he could brag about it to others when he returned to the village.

After a while, Zhou Weitian and Zhou Jiaan's families came, and the house suddenly became lively.

The two nephews were also affected and ran around the yard. They usually had a very small range of activities in the yard over there, so they liked to run in Zhou Fengnian's yard.

We just got together to chat in the morning, and today we talked about our fourth sister's marriage. My parents didn't object, and my brothers didn't have any objections either.

Now it all depends on when Song Weinan will come to discuss the matter.

Zhou Weitian was still the one cooking at noon, but Zhou Fengnian also cooked a few dishes.

In the afternoon, Zhou Fengnian asked the eldest and second sons to take his parents for a walk in the city.

It’s my first time to celebrate the New Year in the city, so I have to experience what’s not available in the countryside.

Zhou Fengnian decided not to go. He and Zhou Yan went back to her home and just happened to pick up the mushrooms that Zhou's father brought.

He still has a few friends in Sijiu City, such as Gao Zhiyuan and Bai Kang, who are very nice to him and take good care of him. Zhou Fengnian will visit them when the time comes.

(End of this chapter)