Siheyuan: A master brewer starts with a jar of bone-strengthening wine!

Upon hearing this, Chen's mother nodded: "Oh dear, this should have been brought up a long time ago! I was just thinking about it anyway."

How could a mother not worry about her daughter's pregnancy?

Liu Dong then looked at his elder brother Chen Zhongze and sister-in-law Lü Fang: "Don't worry, Mom will help me take care of the baby for now. When you have children in the future, I'll give her priority to live with you!"

"Okay!" Chen Zhongze nodded.

Lu Fang waved her hand dismissively, "It's nothing, Mom can live with you." But inwardly she was overjoyed—if her mother moved away sooner, it would just be the two of them in the yard, and who could control whom? How carefree!

After the meal, Liu Dong didn't linger and left with his mother-in-law and Chen Xueru.

Chen Xueru went straight to work at the tavern, while Liu Dong rode his newly bought bicycle to take the old lady to her house.

As soon as the three left, Lü Fang glanced at her husband and asked in a low voice, "How about... we go buy some meat too?"

"Cut my ass!" Chen Zhongze snorted. "Don't listen to his nonsense! He's just trying to fool us so he can show off how knowledgeable he is!"

"Last time it was just a lucky break, a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse. How can you expect to hit the bullseye every time?"

"Tomorrow..." he said with a disdainful sneer.

On a certain day in a certain month of 1955.

The whole country started to mobilize.

Beiheyan Subdistrict Office.

An elderly woman named Director Zhang, carrying a black cloth bag, walked into the courtyard house number seven where Liu Dong lived.

This Director Zhang is not from the neighborhood committee in front of the gate; his rank is clearly higher.

It was the same kind-hearted woman who had helped Liu Dong get a job at the steel rolling mill and also found him a temporary job at the tavern.

"Director Zhang!"

"Director Zhang, you've arrived!"

"Hello, Director Zhang!"

The older people in the courtyard greeted her warmly when they saw her.

"Alright, alright." Director Zhang looked up at the gloomy sky; snowflakes were already falling silently. He said, "It's snowing, so I won't waste any more time. Get to the point within ten minutes!"

Under the old locust tree in the center of the courtyard, there is a small square table. The old men usually play cards and bask in the sun here.

At this moment, Director Zhang sat behind the table, while neighbors stood around in the open space in front.

She cleared her throat: "Based on instructions from higher authorities and the needs of community management, our facility needs to elect three 'fairness stewards.' There are three criteria, and everyone can nominate them on the spot!"

"First, you have to be old enough and have a stable character; you can't be a greenhorn."

"Secondly, they are literate and can read notices and keep records."

"Third, be fair and impartial in dealing with people, and have impeccable moral character!"

Liu Dong's eyes widened on the spot: What the heck, three managers are being elected on the spot?

This scene... I've actually stumbled upon a courtyard house election?

In terms of qualifications, a few years ago, it would have been Lao Jia, He Daqing, and Xu Fugui who were the best choices. All three were experienced, literate, and as for character... well, that's something you can't see or touch, so it just had to be passable.

But now, none of these three count.

Old Jia is gone.

There's no word yet on where He Daqing is hiding; he doesn't dare show his face at all.

The choice of personnel will have to be changed. As for Xu Fugui, the story of how he framed Liu Dong at the factory and was subsequently struck by lightning dozens of times has already spread like wildfire, and his reputation is completely ruined.

The next three to be interviewed were Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Bugui, a primary school teacher who lived further away.

These three individuals have officially taken office.

"Alright, I've noted it down—Courtyard No. 7, First Uncle Yi Zhonghai, Second Uncle Liu Haizhong, Third Uncle Yan Bugui." Director Zhang said as he wrote it down. After finishing, he looked up and said, "Dear neighbors, starting tomorrow, we officially enter a new era of more rules and fairness: living by ration coupons!"

"From now on, when buying things, it won't be about how much money you have; it'll all come down to how much you pay!"

"Don't rush off, everyone. Someone will be here soon to issue the coupons. They're all essential for daily life—grain coupons, cloth coupons, meat coupons, everything. Each household receives a monthly ration, one radish per hole, no one will be left out!"

"Wow—" The people in the courtyard immediately erupted in cheers, some clapping, some slapping their legs, their faces beaming with joy.

The day I'd been waiting for for over half a month has finally arrived.

"Of course, not all tickets are issued per person," Director Zhang continued. "For some rare items, you have to apply yourself! But note that it's not a matter of individual households applying; it's a collective application submitted for the entire courtyard!"

"Take your No. 7 courtyard for example. If you want some extra tickets, such as popsicle tickets, soap tickets, bench tickets, light bulb tickets, etc., which are not often issued, you have to register with the three old men in your courtyard."

"Yi Zhonghai was in charge of collecting the receipts, compiling them, and submitting them to the street office. After the street office approved them, the three of them would distribute the receipts to each household."

Liu Dong understood immediately: the real job of these three old men was to manage the application for tickets.

The government distributes basic necessities every month—grain, oil, eggs, and meat—things that everyone needs, rationed according to household registration.

But those less common and less frequently used items, such as match tickets, thermos tickets, and rubber shoe tickets... are not subject to government quotas; if you want them, you have to apply for them yourself.

How do I report it?

It's done through an application!

Each household clearly writes down what they need and submits it to Yi Zhonghai for compilation, who then forwards it. After approval, the items are distributed to other households.

In the end, the tickets were still in the hands of these three old men.

……

In that case, who would dare to mess with Yi Zhonghai and his two companions?

Their power grows from here.

"Alright, I'm leaving now. Someone will be here to issue the invoice later." After saying that, Director Zhang paused, then added, "Oh, and remember this—starting tomorrow, no one is allowed to buy or sell anything privately! All transactions must go through official channels, otherwise it's speculation and profiteering, which is illegal! Do you understand?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she wrapped her cotton-padded coat tighter and walked away through the fine snow.

Chen Xueru glanced at Liu Dong silently and asked in a low voice, "Has it started?"

Liu Dong nodded: "It's starting."

At this moment, Jia Dongxu leaned over, a smug and obnoxious smile on his face, and said in a sarcastic tone:

"Liu Dong, Liu Dong, I told you you were stupid! I told you to wait for the wind to blow before buying a bicycle, but you wouldn't listen! Look—"

"The ticket era has arrived! Prices will immediately collapse!"

"Aren't you just throwing money away? You're losing a fortune, bro! Hahaha!"

After saying that, he turned and pointed at He Yuzhu, laughing even louder: "And you, you idiot! You're really something! Your dad wasn't wrong to call you idiot! You dared to buy a second-hand bicycle? It's a piece of junk! Even a dog wouldn't ride it! You're a disgrace!"

"Let's go home and sleep!"

Liu Dong ignored him and pulled Chen Xueru back into the house.

It's quite warm inside.

Long before winter arrived, he began to modify his heating system—he welded iron pipes himself and connected them to the coal stove. When the stove was lit, the hot air would circulate through the pipes a few times before being expelled.

It's clean, doesn't smoke, and the room is warm.