Mixed in 1980

Chapter 8 Exhale and raise eyebrows
What is a self-employed person?

Self-employed people are a joke. There is a popular saying now: "If a girl wants to experience life and learn how to make a living, she should marry a self-employed person as soon as possible."

What this means is that if a girl is not mentally ill, she will never marry a self-employed person.

"Xiaoying, did you hear that?"

After seeing enough of the excitement, Zhou Shuhua called her daughter back home: "Guan Yuemei is right. When looking for a partner, you should choose someone who is of equal status. Don't look for Chen Fan anymore."

Zhou Xiaoying said, "I understand."

Zhou Shuhua glared at her daughter and snorted, "If you're dating a self-employed person at a class reunion, and someone asks you what your partner does for a living, how do you answer?"

Zhou Shuhua laughed twice and said disdainfully, "You can be embarrassed to death without others saying anything unpleasant. This is reality. Think about it carefully."

"I……"

Zhou Xiaoying opened her mouth, not knowing what to say, so she could only lower her head dejectedly.

Boom!dong dong!

Chen Fan put down his pen, and before he could say anything, the door opened and Li Hongbing walked in: "It's spread all over the yard, are you really going to set up a stall?"

"Setting up a stall is also an option. It's better than sitting idle at home." Chen Fan shook his wrist.

"Your mind is a mess, you are a self-employed person, and in a few years, when your peers get married one by one and you are still single, you will know how you feel."

"That's impossible. By then, I'll be a rich man. I won't be worried about not having a girl."

"Do you really think setting up a stall can make you rich?"

"That depends on what you sell. Not to mention places far away, let's say you sell braised meat at the entrance of the alley. How much do you think you can earn in a day?" Chen Fan asked.

"About ten dollars."

"That's it. Even though setting up a stall is not decent, it will definitely make money if done well. This is at the entrance of the alley. If we go to Qianmen Street, how much can we sell?"

"You're just arguing with whoever you catch, right? Is this reliable?"

"Just look back."

Chen Fan smiled, picked up the book on the table, and joked, "Seriously, my sister wants to set up a stall, and my buddy plans to take the college entrance examination."

Li Hongbing laughed and scolded: "You are such a shameless guy, you were just teasing me just now."

"There is really money to be made from setting up a stall. You'll see later. Also, I've never told anyone that I want to take the college entrance examination, so don't let anyone know."

Chen Fan didn't intend to hide anything from Li Hongbing.

Zhang Jianjun's opportunity fell on Li Hongbing. Although he made friends with Li Hongbing with a purpose, he still had to be sincere.

It really makes people think that you are a big liar and you are just trying to steal something.

After chatting for a while, Li Hongbing went back to rest. He was exhausted after riding the tricycle all day. Chen Fan picked up his pen and continued writing.

The next morning!

As usual, Chen Fan got up early, picked up a book, put it in his trouser pocket, ran slowly to Beihai Park, and found an empty corner to read.

Today is Saturday, and Beihai Park has been bustling since around seven o'clock. Many elderly men and women have come with their grandchildren, playing and making noise, creating a very quiet atmosphere.

Chen Fan stood up and walked back.

When passing by Yard No. 45, Chen Fan saw the security guard at work. He walked up to him, handed him a cigarette, and chatted with him, looking inside from time to time.

Suddenly, a figure flashed by.

Chen Fan's eyes lit up, and just when he wanted to take a closer look, the figure had already disappeared into the dormitory building. Even if he wanted to ask the security guard, he didn't know how to ask.

He sighed secretly, and after accompanying the old man to finish smoking, Chen Fan went back.

As soon as I passed the hanging flower gate, I ran into Zhang Jianjun and Zhou Xiaoying. Both of them were wearing brand new clothes and carrying canvas cross-body bags. It was obvious that they were going to a class reunion.

"Chen Fan, congratulations."

Zhang Jianjun deliberately poked in front of Chen Fan and joked, "I heard that your family has already prepared all the equipment for setting up a street stall. When do you plan to open the stall?"

"We can open the stall the day after tomorrow."

Chen Fan hooked his arm around Zhang Jianjun's neck and said, "What do you think of what I said last time? I'm telling you, I've done some research recently and it's true that setting up stalls is profitable, especially on Qianmen Street. There are many people who make two or three hundred yuan a month."

"Or not……"

Before Zhang Jianjun finished speaking, Chen Fan interrupted him: "Brother, I'm not lying to you. What can you do with a salary of 18.5 yuan a month? If we two brothers set up a stall together, I guarantee we can become a millionaire."

Zhang Jianjun was upset and broke free from Chen Fan's arm. "Where are you setting up your stall? I'll go check it out later. I can't do that today because I have to rush over to my class reunion."

"Qianmen Street, come and have a look. I'll treat you to a meal. As I said before, you should make money early. It's meaningless to get a fixed salary of 18.5 yuan."

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

Zhang Jianjun forced a smile, and only spat after he left the door: "Chen Fan is really funny. He feels superior even though he is a self-employed person."

"Everyone has their own aspirations. Maybe he can really make a fortune." Zhou Xiaoying sighed.

"How much money can you make from setting up a stall? You have to support your family. Anything that can make you rich is called speculation. You might end up in jail one day."

"Maybe. Let's go."

Zhou Xiaoying didn't say much, but Chen Fan's choice was indeed disappointing. Regardless of whether he made money or not, being a self-employed person was always not decent.

Chen Fan didn't care at all. It was just the prejudice of the times. When the self-employed made money and became wealthy, who would dare to look down on them?
Especially after 1985, self-employed people suddenly became the most popular profession, while workers, on the contrary, still earned only a few dollars.

The Chen family has already started working.

Zhang Yunze also settled down here. He went to the rural areas outside Beijing to harvest sweet potatoes and peanuts early in the morning. In the evening he brought back two large sacks, and the whole family followed him to peel the peanuts.

The couple both had ideas. After two days of hard work and when everything was ready, they rode their tricycles to Qianmen Street to set up a stall.

On the first day, the couple was too embarrassed to shout out their wares, and their sales were pitifully poor.

Chen Fan couldn't help but complain: "Sister, normally you open your big mouth and look quite lively, don't you? You are so quick and nimble, how come you become a gourd without a mouth?"

The situation was better the next day. The couple went home and did some accounting and found that they had earned four dollars.

Chen Min counted on her fingers, four dollars a day, one hundred and twenty dollars a month, a year...

Chen Fan couldn't help but tease, "You're so busy making money that you don't even know how to count? There are so many people on Qianmen Street, and you only make four dollars, and you're insulting this Feng Shui treasure land."

Chen Min couldn't bear it anymore and slapped his brother several times.

Listen, what are you saying?
My dad is a level 5 carpenter and his salary is only fifty-seven.

Then again, the flow of people on Qianmen Street is indeed huge, and four yuan is not much money. After all, they are a couple, and they only earn a salary.

In my brother's words: You two are doing business now. If you want to earn wages, you might as well do odd jobs. Labor costs are also a cost.

In the following days, the couple worked harder and earned more and more money.

Chen Fan was no different from usual, busy with writing and reviewing every day. The only change was that he spent more time chatting with the security guard at Yard No. 45.

After a few days, I became familiar with the old man.

What made him depressed was that the figure he had seen so briefly that day never appeared again.

Chen Fan was getting a little anxious. He was thinking about waiting until the right time to tell the old man, go in and look around to find the figure.

Time flies, and April 15th is here in a blink of an eye.

People's Literature is published.

Guan Yuemei had been waiting for this day for a long time. She ran to the newsstand early in the morning and bought a copy. She turned directly to the page of "The Most Beautiful Youth" and looked at the signature under the title with a smile on her face.

Even when he returned to the yard, his smile couldn't relax.

"Yuemei, what good news? Look how happy you are. The corners of your mouth are almost stretched to the back of your head."

The yard was as lively as usual, and the women were chatting under the pomegranate tree.

Guan Yuemei couldn't hide her happiness from others.

Guan Yuemei didn't want to hide it. Seeing Zhou Shuhua was there, the corners of her mouth curled up even higher: "Nothing, I just thought of something happy."

"What's the happy news? Tell me about it."

"It's all because of my Xiaofan. He likes to write something when he has nothing to do. Unexpectedly, he was noticed by People's Literature. Now he is not published in the magazine." Guan Yuemei raised the book in her hand.

"Hey, your Xiaofan has a cap on his head. What's written on it? Let me take a look."

"Just take a look."

Guan Yuemei flipped to "The Most Beautiful Youth" and handed it over: "I haven't read it yet. I heard from Xiaofan that it's about going to the countryside to work in the production team. I don't know what's so good about it."

The woman took the magazine and said, "The Most Beautiful Youth, written by Chen Fan. This is People's Literature, a first-class publication. Your Xiao Fan is really good."

"I just do some random things. At most, I have a decent background. I used to worry that without a decent job, it would be difficult to find a partner in the future."

Guan Yuemei deliberately glanced at Zhou Shuhua and said to herself, "I have been holding this anger for more than half a month, and now I am finally relieved. I will let you keep your mouth shut."

"That can't happen. Xiaofan has become a writer. It won't be easy for him to find a partner in the future."

“I’m afraid it’s not easy.”

Guan Yuemei sighed and said sadly: "When it comes to finding a partner, you have to have a job that matches yours. How many girls are there who are into literature?"

"..."

Are you here to show off?
Normally, I would have said to her: Look at your mouth full of ashes, how can you speak human language? What the hell, you want to find a female writer, are you worthy?

Especially Zhou Shuhua, she felt as uncomfortable as if she had eaten shit when she heard this.

A few days ago, I was teasing Chen Fan, saying that he couldn't find a partner as a self-employed person. At this moment, Guan Yuemei was eating a watermelon and removing the seeds, and she picked it up.

Even so, what could she say?
The article has been published in People's Literature. This is real ability. Isn't it allowed for others to brag about it?

Guan Yuemei didn't care what other people thought. Ever since her son returned to the city and had no job, she had been bullied a lot. Today she was going to vent her anger.

Seeing Zhou Shuhua feeling uncomfortable all over, Guan Yuemei felt so happy.

Let you be naughty.

Guan Yuemei has not forgotten what Zhou Shuhua said to her son that morning: Xiaoying and the others who are going to the party all have jobs, it would be embarrassing for you to go.

After thinking for a while, Guan Yuemei said, "Shuhua, you used to work at the Cultural Palace, and you know people of culture. If you find someone suitable, please introduce one to my Xiaofan."

　Six thousand words have been delivered, please vote~ Tomorrow is the weekend, I will take the children to climb the mountain, I wish you all a happy weekend.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)