The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 160 The Liu Family Has a Big Surprise, Offering Upstairs Stock at Xiamaqiao

It hadn't snowed for several days, and the temperature was dropping lower and lower. The accumulated snow was blown into sharp ice shards by the cold sea breeze.

Qian Jin turned up the collar of his military overcoat, but still felt as if a blade was scraping the back of his neck.

He heard no sound behind him, turned around, and saw that Chen Jingdi was kneeling down in front of him!

Feeling embarrassed, Qian Jin went up and pulled him up.
"What's going on? I only agreed to keep you in the city because I accepted your brother's gift. Damn it, don't mess with me during the New Year. You're shortening my lifespan!"

A happy and excited smile spread across Chen Jingdi's dark face. He made a "hoho" sound in his throat and frantically gestured with his free hand as if forming a hand seal.

Qian Jin said, "Alright, I think the most urgent thing is to find you a sign language teacher. Your gestures aren't very proper."

"Alright, alright, I know you're a loyal and righteous man. If I need anything in the future, just do it for me. There's no need for you to kneel and kowtow. That's feudal dregs!"

As the two were talking, they went downstairs. When they reached the door, someone suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "What does this mean? You two successfully delivered the gift?"

Qian Jin was startled.

Turning around, I saw that the young man on the bicycle hadn't left.

He got it.

That bastard wants to see them make a fool of themselves!
He didn't bother to respond, raised his middle finger, and left with Chen Jingdi.

The tenement buildings on both sides of the road are faintly visible in the night. The red bricks from the Republic of China era are exposed where the wall plaster has peeled off. When he came, it looked like an old wound that had scabbed over, but now it looks like a beautiful woman's red lips.

Today was quite fulfilling.

Qian Jin didn't know if he had any relatives in Haibin City, while Wei Qinghuan didn't, so the two of them didn't need to bother.

Wei Xiongtu's mother is from Haibin City, but his closest relative, his maternal uncle, has completely broken off relations with him, which means he can't see other relatives. So he has free time during the first month of the lunar calendar.

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Qian Jin rode his motorcycle to the countryside.

This time we're going to the Xiamaqiao production team.

He picked up Zhang Aijun, hung a lot of things on the handlebars and behind the seat, twisted the throttle, and sped off.

The motorcycle struggled along the road. Qian Jin was lucky to have bought a Qingqi 75; if it had been a Qingqi 15, it probably wouldn't have been able to carry the two people and all the New Year's goods.

He first took Zhang Aijun home.

Zhang Aijun didn't want to go back to the production team; he could guess that the news of his sheep-snatching incident must have spread throughout the commune.

But Qian Jin felt that it was his hometown after all, and Zhang Aijun was different from him; his parents were still alive.

It was already outrageous that this guy didn't go home before the Lunar New Year, but it's even more unacceptable that he doesn't go home during the first month of the lunar year.

Therefore, he forcibly demanded that Zhang Aijun go home.

The motorcycle first drove to the Maotoudu production team.

The sun was shining brightly today, and many children were setting off firecrackers at the village entrance. When they saw the motorcycles coming, they curiously gathered around to watch.

Zhang Aijun waved his hand: "Go away, all of you, get out of here."

The children didn't recognize him at first. When they saw a burly man with half his face wrapped in gauze suddenly get out of the car and wave at them, they screamed in fright, and the more timid ones even cried.

But they quickly recognized Zhang Aijun's identity.

A child stared at him wide-eyed: "Uncle Dajun, you've been released from prison?"

Zhang Aijun was furious upon hearing this: "Who went to jail? Who's talking nonsense?"

The other children laughed and said:
"Everyone's saying that, they're saying you're going to jail."

"You poked the udder of one of the ewes with your ox, and people say you were taken away by the security guards for target practice..."

"Uncle Dajun, my dad said you killed the ewe. Are you craving mutton? I am too. Can you share a piece with me?"

Zhang Aijun's dark face flushed red, and his eyes turned bloodshot: "Fuck you, fuck your own mother! Who taught you to talk nonsense? All of you, stop right there, don't move, don't run!"

Qian Jin was speechless.

Three become tigers.

Zhang Aijun will no longer be able to return to his hometown.

Although Zhang Aijun wasn't the sharpest of them all, he did have basic common sense.

He said angrily yet sadly, "Boss, let's go. I told you I couldn't come back. What would I do if I came back? Just to be made a joke of?"

Qian Jin handed him the wallet and said, "I actually wanted you to come back and see your parents, and give them your salary and ration coupons."

The wallet contained twenty 10,000-yuan bills.

Zhang Aijun was simple-minded; upon seeing so much money, his attention was diverted: "Huh? Why are you giving me so much money?"

Qian Jin said, "This is your salary!"

"I still get paid? I thought that since I eat so much with you and you feed me, I don't need to get paid." Zhang Aijun chuckled.

Nobody dislikes money.

Qian Jin said, "How many times have you saved me? How could I not pay you? But don't keep this money for yourself; you won't need it in the city..."

"For my mother?" Zhang Aijun was quite reluctant, but after looking back at the village where he grew up, he gritted his teeth and walked into the production team with the money, coupons and New Year's goods.

Qian Jin rode his motorcycle to Liu's production team to pay New Year's visits and give gifts.

Today, a thick roll of plastic sheeting was placed on the motorcycle.

With the No. 4 gold chest, Qian Jin can now purchase a wider range of supplies, including plastic sheeting.

He had promised to buy plastic sheeting for the Liu family to repair their water tank, and now he has kept his word and fulfilled his promise.

really.

Liu Wangcai, Liu Youyu, and others were overjoyed to see the large stack of plastic sheeting:
"This is a rare commodity that you can't even buy with industrial coupons. Boss, you're really something else. You've just given us a lifesaver."

Qian Jin smiled and said, "I asked someone to bring it from out of town. After all, I promised you that I would help you build a reservoir, and now I have fulfilled my mission."

“We have also fulfilled our mission.” Liu Youyu handed him a small paper package folded from a newspaper.

Qian Jin opened it with a puzzled look.

A set of colorful RMB banknotes!

These RMB banknotes were neatly stacked according to size, and he had opened them from the reverse side, so the first thing you saw was the largest denomination banknote.

Black ten-yuan banknotes!

Turn this ten-yuan banknote over, and the picture in the center is of a male worker and a female farmer standing together. The male worker is pointing forward, while the female farmer is holding a stack of wheat!
The worst of the ten days!
Qian Jin continued flipping through the pages.

A green banknote appeared.

This is a banknote that only exists in legends.

Three Yuan!

The central design of the banknote features the Longyuankou Victory Bridge in Jinggangshan, with a dark green border surrounding the stone bridge and a yellow background.

very beautiful.

Even though he had seen individual items worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan more than once, Qian Jin was still thrilled to see the entire second set of RMB banknotes.

He took a deep breath and sighed, "Uncle Liu, I failed to keep my promise."

"But I promise you, I'll come back in a couple of days and bring you a television!"

Liu Wangcai was very satisfied with his reaction and burst into laughter:

"What are you saying? How come you didn't keep your promise? Our team is famous throughout the whole commune because of your help!"

"We didn't take it seriously when you said you'd give us a TV, because our team didn't even have electricity yet. What could we do with a TV?"

Qian Jin said, "Then I'll provide you with another generator, at least enough to power the TV!"

Liu Wangcai waved his hand at him and laughed: "Come on, come on, you've done enough for our team, what's a little over twenty yuan to you?"

Qian Jin, who was hiding in the secret passage, said that this was not just twenty-odd yuan.

This is probably worth ten thousand or even tens of thousands of twenty yuan!

Liu Youyu explained to him, "I've been trying to get this money for you before the New Year, but it's really hard to find these three yuan and ten yuan."

“In the past, people didn’t have a good life. Back then, it was a big deal if someone had ten yuan in total, let alone a whole ten yuan like this.”

"Even if I had them, I would treasure them. When the government took them back and replaced them, I would quickly exchange them for money, so I have never been able to collect them!"

"It was quite a coincidence. On the 28th of the Lunar New Year, I went to the market and ran into a classmate. My classmate had already moved. His family used to be boat owners in our area. Before liberation, they were a very wealthy family that even landlords would look up to."

"It turned out his family had the money, so I exchanged it for him. Haha, I finally accomplished my mission."

Qian Jin said, "It's such a coincidence, it's such a wonderful thing. I've finally collected such a set of old coins."

"You wait here, I'm going to find a way to add another business to our team!"

Liu Youyu waved his hand at him and said, "Go to Xiamaqiao. Lao Sheng and the others are probably already longing for you. They're dreaming of getting your help to set up a production team enterprise."

Qian Jin carefully put away the money and rode his motorcycle to Xiamaqiao.

Just like the previous two production teams, the sound of the motorcycle attracted the playing children from afar.

They were playing with firecrackers when they saw the motorcycle enter the village, so they sped after it to see what was going on.

Some of the older kids were surprisingly sensible; they chased after his motorcycle shouting, "Happy New Year, leader!" Qian Jin would then stop his motorcycle, take out a handful of cash, and one of the kids would slip him a dollar as a red envelope.

The children were so happy they blew snot bubbles from their noses and eagerly led the way to the office of the Xiamaqiao production team.

The office was an adobe house, and Sheng Jinshun was scraping away the wheat husks left at the base of the wall from last autumn's harvest with an iron shovel.

Meanwhile, accountant Sheng Defu squatted on the steps, fiddling with the abacus beads. Beside him was a work point book, with a list at the top of it containing the names of those who had overspent in 1977.

As they saw the motorcycle approaching, the two men went to greet it.

Sheng Jinshun excitedly, as if they were telepathically connected, said, "It must be that leader Qian Jin who's here. Only he can ride a motorcycle."

Qian Jin had hung a lot of New Year's goods on the back of his motorcycle.

There was a whole box of pastries, and he tied a beautiful cross knot with hemp rope, which was the favorite knot of the supply and marketing cooperative's master craftsmen.

The motorcycle was parked under the old locust tree in front of the office, where several crows had nests.

A crow, startled, flapped its wings and flew away, dropping a clump of dung that landed squarely on Qian Jin's forehead.

This made several old men basking in the sun by the wall grin, revealing mouthfuls of uneven, yellow teeth.

This made Sheng Jinshun both embarrassed and anxious. He hurriedly used his sleeve to wipe Qian Jin's hair: "Those infuriating black crows! Damn it, tomorrow I'll climb the trees and tear down all their nests!"

Qian Jin smiled wryly: "Don't worry about it, don't worry about it. This is called having good luck. It's actually a good thing during the New Year."

He handed over all the snacks and braised meat to Sheng Jinshun.

When Sheng Jinshun saw that Qian Jin had brought two braised pig cheeks and two braised pig offal, he was very pleased: "Boss, you've really gone to a lot of trouble."

Qian Jin waved his hand.

It didn't cost much.

Now he buys fresh pig heads and offal from the mall and sends them to be braised and sold. Anyway, with the slaughterhouse as a cover, no one is likely to come and check the accounts to see where they got the pig heads and offal.

Someone told Sheng Jinshun, "The leaders gave the children red envelopes at the village entrance, one red bill per person."

Sheng Jinshun panicked: "How can this be?"

Upon hearing the news, Sheng Chenggong, the head of the Sheng family, who was preparing for the ancestral sending ceremony in the ancestral hall, came over and said with a smile, "Leader, please come inside and sit down. Defu, serve tea, quickly serve the best tea."

"Please wait a moment, leader. Our commune members are slaughtering a pig. They'll give you the pig's head and offal after they're done."

Qian Jin said, "Okay, leave it to me. I'll bring it over to you when I've made it."

Sheng Jinshun said, "How can this be? There's no such logic. The braised pig's head and offal should belong to your unit."

Qian Jin laughed and said, "Our company cooperates with slaughterhouses, so we have plenty of pig heads and offal to take."

"So your pig head and offal are still yours. Our unit will braise them for you. This can be considered a way to support agriculture."

The mud-brick house was empty except for two desks.

The most conspicuous place on the wall is the certificate of "Model Production Team for Paying Grain to the State". The doors and windows are drafty, and when the sea breeze blows, the edges of the certificate flutter loudly.

Furthermore, perhaps to welcome Qian Jin's visit, the walls of the room were re-covered with newspapers, specifically the People's Daily. Qian Jin noticed that one of the headlines even featured the phrase "Two Whatevers"...

The stove inside the adobe house was burning lukewarmly; the temperature was low today, especially in places without sunlight.

After sitting in the house for a while and politely drinking a cup of tea, Qian Jin said, "Come on, I'll go see the scene of you slaughtering pigs."

Sheng Jinshun and others advised him, "That place is too dirty, leader, don't go there, have some tea here."

"We country folk are a bit clumsy, what if we accidentally splash pig's blood on your trousers?"

"Just wait to eat meat later..."

Qian Jin actually wanted to go out and sunbathe, so he said he liked watching pigs being slaughtered: "I like to join in the fun."

Hearing him say that, the others found it difficult to dissuade him.

Sheng Jinshun and Sheng Chenggong accompanied him and gave him a brief introduction along the way:
"Our team's butcher is famous throughout the commune. His name is Big Ox. If you, leader, have any connections to get him a job at the slaughterhouse in the city, he'll definitely become an advanced worker..."

Big Bull was a burly man whose physique was no less than Zhang Aijun's. However, while Zhang Aijun was generally strong, Big Bull was fat and muscular, perfectly embodying the idiom "broad shoulders and thick waist".

He used a skewer to slaughter pigs; the knife was very sharp and gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

Sheng Chenggong explained, "The pig-slaughtering skills of Da Mangniu's family are passed down from generation to generation. His skewer has been passed down for many years. It wasn't this short and narrow in the early days. It was worn down like this because he slaughtered so many pigs!"

An elderly man nearby said, "This knife is no joke; it has a murderous aura."

"Look at other people slaughtering pigs. The pig keeps squealing and scratching, but when the big bull puts the skewer on it, the pig becomes docile. What's going on? It's got a murderous aura!"

Other elderly people also spoke up:
"If any child is being haunted by ghosts or weasels, just put this knife under their pillow and it will be fine."

Upon hearing this, Sheng Jinshun frantically winked at the old men: "What nonsense are you spouting in front of the leaders? Don't talk about these feudal superstitions!"

The elderly people chuckled as they recalled the policies from previous years.

Qian Jin didn't care at all.

The pig slaughtered at Xiamaqiao was a large black pig.

Before slaughtering a pig, the big bull would first perform a ritual on the knife, pouring strong liquor onto it.

But the wind was strong by the sea, and he tried to light the liquor with a match, but three matches failed to ignite.

There was clearly a reason for this, which made him somewhat anxious.

Qian Jin went up, took out a windproof lighter, and clicked it on the pig-slaughtering knife. The flame hissed and caught fire instantly.

He handed the windproof lighter to Sheng Jinshun: "Here, it's yours. I have another one at home."

Sheng Jinshun grinned from ear to ear: "How could I possibly accept this? Haha, I saw someone from the Liu family using this windproof lighter before the New Year, it's really useful..."

Several young men tied the black-haired pig to a door panel.

The pig's tail kept wagging, and the black pig was squealing at the top of its lungs.

All preparations have been completed.

The twelve-print iron pot used for plucking hair was placed on three stone blocks, and the bottom of the pot still had the burnt residue from boiling sugar syrup when delivering grain last year.

These days people don't care about such things. Qian Jin reminded him to tidy up, but Sheng Jinshun didn't care at all: "It's all grain."

The women held their chipped earthenware basins in a semi-circle, waiting to collect the pig's blood. They planned to get some hot soup to take home and help their children digest the blood.

Sheng Chenggong changed into an old cotton-padded jacket and took a jujube wood cane.

This walking stick looks quite old, and it's carved with a dragon head shape.

He stomped his cane three times on the ground and shouted in a loud voice, "Sending off the ancestors..."

According to local custom, ancestors are welcomed home before the Lunar New Year and then sent back after the New Year.

The heavy cane pounded on the brick floor of the ancestral hall like a tamper, shaking the banner on the main beam that read "Prepare for war and famine for the people" and causing it to shed dust.

A large bull brandishes a skewer in front of a black pig.

The black pig was still squealing. He went up and kicked it in the chest. The pig probably got a stitch from the kick, because when the skewer was brought to its side again, it was silent.

Seeing this, an old man rushed to Qian Jin and smiled smugly.

Qian Jin was stunned.

So that's where the murderous aura of this chisel comes from!

The skewer was plunged into the throat and pulled horizontally, spraying pig's blood into the basin. The white frost that had fallen into the basin that morning instantly vanished without a trace.

The old ox scooped up the first drop of blood with a chipped porcelain bowl and splashed it into the groove on the threshold of the ancestral hall. The blood slowly seeped into the frozen soil along the bluestone patterns.

They slaughtered the pig and began removing its hair.

The moment boiling water was poured over the pig, the pungent steam carrying the smell of dead skin permeated the drying area.

The twenty-odd teenagers huddled together, laughing and joking, showing no fear of the bloody scene.

Qian Jin was led to a side room of the ancestral hall to warm himself by the fire. Looking up, he noticed a shriveled meatball in a hemp rope net hanging from the beam.

Sheng Jinshun told him, "Those were thieves who came to our team to steal things. They had their testicles cut off after they were caught."

Qian Jin was stunned: "Huh?"

A man's testicles?

Is it so tough?

Sheng Chenggong laughed and said, "Boss, don't listen to our captain's jokes. Those are boar testicles. When we're slaughtering pigs, we usually eat the testicles of the piglets, but we leave the testicles of the big boars."

He didn't say why he left it there, but since it's hanging in the ancestral hall, it's probably for some superstitious reason.

From this perspective, Qian Jin seems to have high expectations for the old objects from Xiamaqiao.

Compared to Liujia Production Team, Xiamaqiao is more traditional, so they should have more old objects left behind here.

That's the main reason he came here.

Sheng Chenggong locked the door from the inside. He nodded, and Sheng Jinshun and Sheng Defu worked together to carry a wooden box onto the table.
"Boss, take a look at these items. What do you think? Can we exchange them for something?"

The box lid was opened, and Qian Jin took a quick look.

Good guy.

Ancient coins and calligraphy, ceramics and purple clay teapots, wood carvings and crafts, wine sets and snuff bottles, as well as the simple and unadorned Four Treasures of the Study.

The things are very messy.

Qian Jin was very excited when he saw a black banknote.

Is it going to be another big black ten?

Domestic banknotes are so big and black; the only one he remembers is the "Big Black Ten".

When I pulled it out, I found that my impression was correct.

This is not domestic currency.

The banknote has "North Korean Bank Note" printed in the center...

He asked in bewilderment, "Comrades, is there foreign money involved?"

Sheng Chenggong said, "This is a five-yuan note issued by the Japanese during their occupation of Korea. Before liberation, we transported dried fish from Xiamaqiao to the Korean Peninsula and received a few of these notes."

"I read in the newspaper that many foreigners now like to collect banknotes with hairstyles from the colonial period of various countries. Do you want some?"

Whether or not the money goes into the mall depends on whether the mall wants it.

He said, "Then let me carefully verify their identities. Could you leaders please go out and close the door for me? This cannot be disturbed."

If it's something from the Liu family's production team, he'll take it back to the city first.

He had never worked with Xiamaqiao before, so he could only conduct the on-site assessment.

Sheng Chenggong nodded and said okay, then led the two out the door.

Qian Jin locked the door from the inside.

The side room of the ancestral hall only had one window at the front. He moved the wooden box to a dead corner so that he wouldn't be visible from the window.

The scroll inside is quite large, about 70 or 80 centimeters long, so we need to use the No. 4 gold box.

The number 4 gold chest was big enough that he could have stuffed all the items in at once, but he didn't. Instead, he observed each item one by one to learn from them, making a judgment before putting them in.

He first put the five-won North Korean note in.

Worth four yuan...

It's not even worth as much as the local currency!

He appraised the items from largest to smallest, starting with a scroll painting.

After getting his hands on it, he felt it was something special; the drawing paper was made of silk.

When he opened it, he saw eight fine horses listed on it.

Eight Horses?!

The painting has no Chinese characters but Manchu script, which he had seen on Qing Dynasty copper coins.

Sure enough, the Eight Horses painting was put into the gold chest and put on sale. The information provided by the store was:

Eight Horses, a silk painting by Lang Shining of the Qing Dynasty court.

value--

8888 yuan.

Qian Jin smiled.

The online store is deliberately giving itself lucky numbers!
Are Qing Dynasty silk paintings really that worthless?

However, the mall's price was non-negotiable, so he had no choice but to accept it.

There were several more scrolls of paintings. When Qian Jin opened them, he found that it was a set of paintings depicting the Four Gentlemen: plum blossom, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum.

They are paper paintings, and the paper is yellowed and even badly damaged by insects, so they look quite old.

The items listed in the online store are four-panel screen paintings of flowers and birds from the Republican era; originally, these were used as hanging paintings for screens.

When Qian Jin looked at the price, he realized it wasn't even as good as a silk painting, which was priced at five thousand yuan.

He was getting a little anxious.

No valuables?

He quickly put these old items on the shelves, and while the final result wasn't exactly disappointing, it was certainly not very promising.

There are many old items, but few are valuable.

The most valuable item is a large copper coin, about the size of a child's palm, called a Qing Dynasty Mountain Spirit Bagua Coin.

This coin is a type of amulet coin, with inscriptions such as "Taishang Laojun urgency as the law commands" on it, and is worth 38,000.

Other items are not many that cost tens of thousands of yuan; many are only worth tens or hundreds of yuan, and are old items without any collectible value.

Qian Jin sighed.

Even if all the items are put together, it might not be enough to reach 100,000 yuan.

He shouldn't have had too much hope for Xiamaqiao; the production team was indeed too poor.

But then again, 100,000 yuan is not a small amount.

He put the old items away, tucked away the gold box, opened the door, and beckoned the three people to come inside.

Sheng Jinshun rushed in excitedly and asked, "Boss, how did it go?"

Qian Jin smiled wryly: "If you trust me, then I can tell you the value of my identification."

Seeing the wry smile on his face, Sheng Jinshun felt as if a bucket of snow had been smashed into his forehead—

"Aren't they worth anything?"

Qian Jin said, "It's not very valuable, maybe only a few hundred yuan."

"Like I said, if you trust me, I can exchange it for grain, I can help you get one or two thousand catties of fine grain..."

“Then let’s change it!” Sheng Jinshun immediately accepted the offer.

They didn't have high hopes for these old objects; these days, they didn't even know if they still had any value.

If we could exchange it for one or two thousand catties of refined grain, we would naturally choose to do so.

Qian Jin liked straightforward people, so he said, "I'll use my connections to get you two thousand catties of Fuqiang flour."

The three of them were overjoyed upon hearing this.

Two thousand catties of Fuqiang flour!
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, there have never been so many fans of the "Fuqiang" movement in the team at once.

Sheng Chenggong felt more secure, but he still hoped to have a team-run enterprise.

Qian Jin asked them, "Your team can make vermicelli, right? Then make vermicelli. I'll arrange for someone to come and buy your vermicelli."

Having received this promise, the three were completely relieved.

Sheng Jinshun said happily, "Don't worry, leader. Our vermicelli from Xiamaqiao is the best in the entire Hongxing Commune. We will definitely make good products for you."

"Let's go have a drink. The meat is already stewing. Let's drink and wait for the meat to be served."

They went to Sheng Chenggong's house, where a table of dishes had already been prepared.

For a clan leader, Sheng Chenggong is not old, only in his forties. He became the clan leader because of his high seniority and his strong personal abilities.

You can tell from his house that it is the only brick and stone mixed structure tile house in the entire production team, facing south, and is impressive and sturdy.

The main walls of the house and courtyard are still made of a mixture of adobe and mud, but the foundation is built with multiple layers of blue bricks, which is not only sturdy and solid but also moisture-proof.

His house is also different from other rural houses in terms of decoration. The interior walls are painted white all over, some areas are painted green, and the floor is smoothed with cement.

This kind of decor isn't considered outdated in the city these days; Qian Jin's apartment, 205, hasn't even had its walls painted green yet.

The furniture is also quite complete.

Due to the limitations of the era, his family did not have a separate living room; the living room served as the master bedroom, which was the most spacious room and was usually used to entertain guests.

A double solid wood bed was placed in the southwest corner of the room, covered with cotton sheets with the words "Labor is Glorious" written on them.

A dark brown double-door wardrobe stood against the wall next to the bed, its surface inlaid with gleaming copper pull rings.

An eight-immortal table was placed in the center of the room, with four long benches. On the table were a tin thermos and an enamel mug.

Furthermore, the walls of the room were adorned with portraits of the leader and frames of certificates, with a propaganda poster of "Learn from Dazhai in Agriculture" displayed below. Handwritten couplets hung on both sides, with "Self-reliance" on the left and "Hard work and struggle" on the right.

Sheng Chenggong was clearly quite confident in his house, and after bringing Qian Jin inside, he even gave a special explanation of the house's layout.

Qian Jin exclaimed, "This house is really nice. I've been to many rural areas, and to be honest, few can meet this standard."

Sheng Jinshun laughed and said, "Our team will take Chenggong's family situation as the standard. In the future, every household will have to build a house like this and live a life like this."

“That would be considered the beginning of the primary stage of socialism,” Sheng Defu said with a laugh.

The two of them were joking; they didn't believe they would live to see the whole village built houses like that.

Sheng Chenggong called to his wife, "The leader is here, hurry up and serve the dishes."

Sheng Jinshun unscrewed a bottle of liquor; it was Yanghe Daqu.

Several home-style dishes were already laid out on the table: fried peanuts, scrambled eggs with chives, stir-fried cabbage with vinegar, and a plate of pickled vegetables with sesame oil.

Qian Jin was quite satisfied with this. He took a bite of the pickled vegetables with sesame oil and nodded repeatedly: "These pickled vegetables are well pickled and have a fresh flavor."

Upon hearing this, Sheng Jinshun laughed and said, "Brother Chenggong is very good at making food; his family's pickled vegetables are the best in the whole team."

Sheng Chenggong then told his wife, "Go and get a piece of meat and some vegetables. Today, let's make some pork belly stir-fried with pickled vegetables for the leader to try."

Qian Jin agreed to purchase their vermicelli, which meant the production team had another direct source of cash, so the production team leaders naturally treated him well.

The Sheng family's daughter-in-law agreed and brought over the ceramic basin, where the oil was still boiling.

A hearty winter dish in rural areas: pork and cabbage stew with glass noodles.

Large slices of pork, each two fingers wide, were half-submerged in the rich broth, while the glass noodles, soaked in oil, gleamed with an amber light in the sunlight.

The cabbage stalks were stewed until soft and tender, but the veins of the leaves still stubbornly stood out, like wheat seedlings sprouting from frozen soil.

Qian Jin knew from this that Sheng Chenggong's wife was a good cook; she knew to cook the cabbage stalks and leaves separately.

As Sheng Chenggong picked up the wooden ladle and poured the broth over the glass noodles, the steam carrying the aroma of the sauce wafted straight into people's noses.

"The price of autumn grain purchased through the central government increased by three cents last year," Sheng Jinshun said casually, sucking the oil off his chopsticks. "But fertilizer coupons are strictly controlled. Could the leaders help us get some fertilizer coupons this year?"

Qian Jin nodded: "I'll give it a try, okay? If I can manage to make it, I'll definitely send it over in the spring."

"Come on, thank you, leader." Sheng Chenggong raised his glass. "A toast to our good leader."

After setting down their wine glasses, they urged Qian Jin, "Eat your food, eat your food, don't put down your chopsticks."

Qian Jin couldn't eat fatty meat; he only ate vermicelli.

The Sheng family's vermicelli is wide and glutinous, and tastes really good, especially when stewed in a large pot over a wood fire. It's particularly delicious, with the smoky aroma of the wood-fired stove, a wild flavor that a coal stove can never replicate.

Then more fried meat was delivered.

The fried pork slices, piled high like golden armor, formed a small mountain on a large plate. The fatty and lean pork belly was coated in a thin batter, and the oil was still sizzling.

The moment Sheng Defu bit into it, oil splattered out.

A plate of pork cracklings was also served.

It smells even better than fried meat, and it made everyone's throats bob as soon as it was served.

The finger-sized fat cubes are fried until crispy. When you bite into them, you first hear a 'crunch,' then the scalding oil rushes down your teeth to the back of your tongue, leaving you with a mouthful of oily flavor.

Qian Jin, slightly tipsy from the alcohol, casually remarked, "Tell me, if the policy allowed, has your team ever considered implementing the household responsibility system?"

"What is the household responsibility system?" Sheng Jinshun asked casually.

Qian Jin explained the household contract responsibility system.

Sheng Jinshun slammed his fist on the table: "Absolutely not! Last year, Secretary Liu of the commune said at a meeting that anyone who smashes the pots in the collective kitchen will have their whole family put on the list of overspending households."

“That’s right, we’d rather starve than leave the communal kitchen in Xiamaqiao.” Sheng Defu nodded solemnly.

Sheng Chenggong was about to say something, but upon seeing this, he laughed and said, "If the collective kitchen is dismantled, the five-guarantee households will not be able to eat. This collective kitchen embodies the superiority of our socialism. We will eat from the collective kitchen for the rest of our lives."

Qian Jin stopped talking and focused on eating.

Just then, the stir-fried pickled vegetables and pork were served.

The mustard tubers, pickled all winter, were shredded into distinct strands and fried in lard until they shone like pearls.

The diced fatty pork was stir-fried until it curled up, like pieces of gold scattered in the dark clouds.

The Sheng family's daughter-in-law deliberately added extra chili peppers; the bright red oil coating the pickled vegetables made each bite spicy and appetizing.

Qian Jin ate the most of this dish.

Sheng Chenggong was very perceptive; when he left, he even specially hung several pickled vegetable dumplings on his plate.

"There aren't many good things in the countryside, so it's rare to find something that you, leader, like. Here's a little something for you, don't be offended, otherwise the kids in our team won't be able to accept your red envelope."

After cleaning the pig's head and offal, I put it on him and also prepared a string of pork for him.

Qian Jin forcibly stuffed fifty yuan into Sheng Jinshun's hand: "Consider this money as if I bought it at the market price, and you can put this money in your account."

"We must not let the members think I'm a heartless cadre who extorts money and favors. Let's keep things separate..."

Sheng Honghu said, "Don't worry, boss, with a little firecracker like me around, no one will dare to talk to you like that!"

Qian Jin smiled, waved to them, and rode his motorcycle back home.

Having a motorcycle makes going to the countryside much more convenient.

(End of this chapter)