My 1978 Hotel

"These two girls are much more lively than usual."

Li Feng couldn't help but sigh, the temptation of going to the city was too great; he was afraid he could find a young wife just by getting a job. "But it's good that these two girls have some feelings for me, otherwise, if Uncle Futian and Uncle Fuqiang found out that they had feelings for me, it would be a huge uproar."

Sigh, even now, Li Feng is quite troubled. The way these two girls are looking at Li Muchen is getting weirder and weirder; something's bound to happen sooner or later. "I need to talk to him, just in case something goes wrong."

"Oh, I've been looking for you."

"What's the matter?"

"I heard you were buying old timber a few days ago, so my family asked me to ask if you're still buying. Someone in their village wants to buy some timber," Han Anbing said, taking a sip of water.

"Buy it, I want all the good timber."

Li Feng said with a smile, "You know how big houses are in the county town; they need several sets of furniture."

"Okay, I'll tell her later and I'll send the wood over to you in the next couple of days."

Han Anmin said this as he prepared to get up and go back.

"Wait a minute, is there any news about the leather we talked about last time?"

"Look, I'd completely forgotten about it."

Han Anmin slapped his forehead. "I asked around for you, and even asked several timber-selling brigades to inquire for you. There are indeed a few families who are planning to sell their hides."

"What do you mean the leather is gone?"

"Two tiger skins and a few leopard skins, how about you take them?"

"Yes."

"Good stuff," Li Feng said hurriedly. "Please tell them to bring the item over. If it's really good, I'll buy it on the spot, and I'll definitely offer them a fair price."

"to make."

Han Anbing then remembered something else. "Oh right, there's something else. My wife's uncle has a jar of silver dollars. He asked me to ask if you want it. His eldest son is getting married, and he was planning to build a house this autumn, but unexpectedly, there's been a drought, and even food is a problem. He doesn't dare touch the little money he has."

"A jar of silver dollars?"

"Okay, don't tell anyone about this."

Han Anmin said in a low voice, "His family were landlords, so they wouldn't have dared to dig this up if it weren't for the fact that their eldest son was getting married and they needed money for it."

"Okay, I'll bring it over sometime later. I'll take a look, and if there are no problems, I'll accept it."

"Alright, I'll have him come over sometime tonight."

Li Feng thought to himself, "I don't even dare bring this guy over during the day. But that's normal these days. It's always good to be careful. In another ten or six months, when the social environment is better, people will be able to speak and act more freely."

“Anmin, there’s nothing else in his house. Porcelain, bronzeware, or even wine bottles would all be fine.”

"I haven't actually asked that yet. I'll ask later if these things can be exchanged for money?"

“My relatives in the city really like it.”

Li Feng said with a smile, "Besides, I am now a scholar, so adding some porcelain or something makes me look cultured, and it also makes my writer friends look sophisticated when they come over."

"That's true. How's your seminar preparation going?"

"It's alright, it should be ready in the next couple of days."

"Then we'll have to move the furniture over ahead of time," Han Anmin said hurriedly upon hearing this.

If writers could take a liking to their furniture, there would be no worry about selling it in the future. Not only Han Anmin, but the whole of Hanjiaba thought so. It has to be said that in just one or two years, the status of writers has risen rapidly.

This was quite unexpected for Li Feng. Perhaps it was due to the strong support from the national level, the resumption of publication of batches of magazines, and the establishment of some new magazines and literary journals. The social atmosphere is now very friendly to writers.

Writers have become objects of worship for the general public, to the point that they possess an idol-like aura.

"No need to rush, just send it over the day before."

Li Feng said, "This time it will most likely be handled by the regional or county cultural center. I'm afraid only some of my friends will be going."

"That's it."

Han Anmin looked regretful and could only hope that Li Feng could bring the seminar to his home next time.

“There will always be opportunities for seminars.”

"Of course, I believe you." Han Anmin said, standing up. "Then I'll head back now."

"Then you go ahead and do your work."

Li Feng returned to the courtyard and tidied up. Daya was going to school tomorrow, and everything was almost ready; he was checking it one last time. "Erya, where's your sister?"

"He went to the team."

"Oh, what's wrong?"

Seeing that Er Ya was a little down, Li Feng smiled and rubbed Er Ya's little head.

"Aunt An Ying said that Dad is going back to the city..."

"Back to the city?"

Li Feng chuckled. "Who said that? At least for now, Dad isn't planning to go back to the city. Besides, even if he does go back, he'll take you and Daya with him."

"really?"

"Of course, what nonsense are you thinking with your little head?" Li Feng said with a smile. "By the way, have you been studying to read with Aunt Wu Tong and the others these past few days?"

"Yes, I can recognize twenty characters now."

"That's good."

Li Feng said with a smile, "How about Er Ya goes to school with her older sister next year?"

"it is good."

Er Ya was overjoyed when she learned that her father would take her and her sister with him when he returned to the city.

"Cousin, didn't you go to the team?"

Just then, Wu Tong and Qin Yue returned with Hua Ziyao.

"You didn't go into the mountains to play?"

"No, there's nothing to do in the mountains right now."

Wu Tong patted Er Ya. "I just saw Daya at the furniture factory polishing furniture. Wasn't she supposed to go to school tomorrow? Why is she still working today?"

"This girl."

Li Feng sighed helplessly. "I thought she was going to the team to say goodbye to her friends. She's going to the commune primary school tomorrow, and I'm afraid she won't be back for a week or so."

"I knew it!"

"We'll go with Daya tomorrow. Ziyao also wants to visit the commune."

"Alright, I'll buy the air rifle then. It'll be convenient for hunting small things like rabbits and pheasants. The Type 56 is okay for hunting wild boars and antelopes, but it's a bit of a waste to use it for small things like pheasants, rabbits, and doves."

"Absolutely, it's covered in blood."

"But we should still bring one when we go into the mountains, in case we run into a wild boar." Although wild boars have been almost wiped out, who knows? The mountains are so big, what if a wild boar hides in a burrow and escapes?

It's hard to say. There are other wild animals, and if there's no food in the mountains, they might come down. The probability of encountering one is very small, but it's always good to be safe just in case.

"Let the young man carry the rifle."

Qin Yue laughed and said, "We girls should just shoot air guns."

"Okay, I'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy an air gun tomorrow."

The price wasn't high, and Li Feng planned to buy a few more to play with. Unfortunately, it wasn't convenient to take them back with him. Otherwise, if someone saw them, a report and confiscation would be the least of his worries. He might even have to stay in jail for a few days. Even if he found someone to help him avoid jail time, it would still be a hassle.

Before long, it was evening, and a large crowd had gathered at the furniture factory. Good heavens, Li Feng was also dragged over to join the fun. "You have solar-powered lights at home, why did you come all the way here to look at them?"

“It’s lively.”

Wu Tong said with a smile, "I've only ever seen it in movies, the way everyone cheers when the lights are turned on. It's a good opportunity to see for myself."

"Yes, cousin, look how happy everyone is."

Indeed, men, women, and children from the entire Hanjiaba area came; it was quite a lively scene, and everyone was just waiting for the solar lights to come on.

"It's lit! It's lit!" "Oh my god, it really is lit! No electricity, no oil, it lights up without any light!"

The older folks were practically kneeling down and kowtowing. If I hadn't been told earlier that it's solar-powered and only lights up by collecting sunlight, I'm afraid many of them would have knelt down and kowtowed.

The children were much simpler; they chased each other around the stage, cheering and overjoyed.

"Good good."

Han Fuguo and Han Futian, along with several other team leaders, smiled broadly and shouted "Good!"

"This money was well spent."

Han Futian said with a smile, "Fengzi, why do I feel that this light is brighter than yours?"

"This light has a high wattage."

Li Feng thought to himself, it wasn't actually that much brighter.

"I knew it."

Han Futian was quite satisfied. "These two lamps have illuminated the entire furniture factory as if it were daytime. Good."

"Of course, Uncle Tomita, we can all come and work tonight."

"Absolutely, it's just as good as during the day."

"Captain, what do you think? Should we start tonight?"

Several young men looked at Han Fuguo with anticipation. You see, the furniture factory now operates on a pay-as-you-go system, where the more you do and the better you do, the higher your wages will be. This has greatly increased everyone's enthusiasm.

"Let's do it tomorrow. I'll discuss it with your Uncle Futian and Uncle Fuqiang. We can't be too late, or it will interfere with tomorrow's plans." Han Fuguo looked at Han Futian. "Futian, what do you two say?"

"That's what I think too. It's good to do something at night, but we can't let it interfere with things the next day."

"Let's discuss this carefully and agree on a timeframe. We can't keep doing this for too long."

"Fengzi, tell me, how should this work be arranged?"

"Uncle Fuguo, Uncle Futian, I don't know about this. You can arrange it as you see fit." Li Feng didn't plan to get involved. He worked all day and then asked to work overtime at night. The capitalists would be overjoyed to see this guy.

"No, I do get dividends. In the end, I guess I'm one of the capitalists too," Li Feng muttered. "Forget it, I won't get involved." He thought everyone would disperse after a while, but who knew that neither he nor the child would leave for quite a while after the solar-powered lights came down.

They played around until almost 10 o'clock. This wasn't the future; in these days, not sleeping by 10 o'clock definitely made you the king of night owls.

How long will this light stay on?

Good heavens, all that waiting was for the light to go out! Li Feng was both amused and exasperated. "Uncle Fu Guo, this light can stay on all night."

"It can stay lit all night?"

"Yes, to be honest, a day's sunlight can last for several days."

"That means it can stay lit for several nights even on rainy days."

"More or less."

New lights are fine, but that might not be the case over time.

"Wow, this is really good stuff."

As he spoke, Han Futian waved his hand. "Go back, everyone. We have things to do tomorrow. Leave this light on."

Everyone then realized that the light could stay on all night, and many people commented on how great it was; since they lived so close to the furniture factory, they wouldn't need electric lights at night. The children didn't want to go home; they wanted to keep playing.

Fortunately, in those days, slaps and shoe soles were quite effective; each one felt better after a beating and obediently went back to sleep. Li Feng shook his head with a wry smile, wishing he had gone home earlier; he thought they were discussing something important.

After the lights went out, on the way back, Wu Tong, Qin Yue, and the others couldn't stop laughing. "It was so funny, waiting for the solar lights to go out was really something."

"Yeah, I thought something was wrong. Nobody was going back. So that's why. Cousin, why didn't you tell the captain beforehand?"

"I just forgot."

Who would have thought of this? Sigh, we've wasted an hour or two for nothing. "Alright, hurry back, wash up and go to bed. We have to go to the commune early tomorrow morning, so the sooner we go, the sooner we'll be back."

"Why are you back so early?"

"Someone delivered wood."

Li Feng said with a smile, "Oh, right, there's also some leather."

"leather?"

Hua Ziyao was somewhat puzzled, but Li Muchen reacted immediately. "It's tiger skin?"

"Well, they say there are two tiger skins and three leopard skins, probably left over from hunting wild animals in the 1960s. I don't know how well they're preserved. I'll take a look tomorrow," Li Feng said with a smile. "If they're good, I'll buy them and use them as covers when it's cold in winter."

"Tiger skin."

Wu Tong and Qin Yue exchanged a glance. "Cousin, didn't you collect some chairs and make a tiger-skin chair?"

"Do you think this is Liangshan?"

The tiger-skin chair left Li Feng both amused and exasperated.

"It's a pity I can't take it back, otherwise it would be nice to put a tiger-skin chair in the lobby of the guesthouse."

Li Muchen said with a smile.

"That's a good idea."

Qin Yue clapped her hands.

Li Feng was speechless. "You're afraid I won't be able to get in, aren't you?"

"This area is full of South China tigers, and these are no joke."

Li Feng laughed and said, "With my fans, I bet they'd report you the moment they see you, right?"

"I believe it, I believe it completely."

The thought of Li Feng's group of haters, Li Muchen, Qin Yue, Wu Tong, and even Gao Jiu and Gao Cheng made me laugh.

"Cousin, I think you should talk to them less often."

"That depends on them."

"It seems unlikely that they will succeed."

They returned to the courtyard amidst laughter and chatter, and as soon as they entered, Li Feng and the others were greeted by thunderous snoring.

"That snoring is way too loud!"

"That must be exhausting."

Wu Tong looked towards the room where Liu Wei and the others were sleeping.

"Cousin, you've worked hard tonight."

Li Feng hadn't expected that the heavy training would result in Liu Wei and the others snoring so loudly. Was this a case of shooting himself in the foot? "Sigh, whatever, I'll just plug my ears later."

After a night of snoring, even though Li Feng was in good health, he was still a bit listless when he woke up in the morning, let alone the other guys.

"How about this, you guys stay at the furniture factory from now on."

Li Feng looked at the listless Gao Jiu and Xiao Ge, and Hua Ziyan.

"Alright."

Gao nodded quickly. This guy living next door couldn't sleep at all; his snoring was like thunder.

"What about you, boss?"

"I'm fine."

Li Feng waved his hand, saying that he should be fine once he got used to it, and at worst, he could learn some technology in the simulated space, which wouldn't have much of an impact.

"Let's go, we won't make breakfast, we'll eat at the commune."

Li Feng had Gao fix up the car he'd picked up yesterday, and then invited everyone to get in. Of course, Liu Wei and the others didn't need to go. "Da Ya, have you checked everything? If anything's missing, just tell Dad." He'd take Da Ya to school first, and then they could go for a stroll in the streets after she'd finished enrolling.

"They checked everything; there were quite a few things."

"Alright, let's go." (End of Chapter)