Reborn in '77, I have a job panel!

Qian Cheng pushed open the door and went inside. It was deserted except for a middle-aged man wearing glasses sitting behind the counter reading a book.

Qian Cheng walked up to the counter and asked, "Comrade, do you have any college entrance exam review materials?"

The middle-aged man looked up, glanced at him, and pulled out a few books from under the counter, placing them on the counter.

"That's it: math, Chinese, politics, and English."

Qian Cheng flipped through the list. Math was his strongest subject, Chinese was alright, politics required memorization, and as for English...

He opened the English book and looked at it. He recognized all the letters, but he didn't recognize many of the words.

Qian Cheng's English wasn't very good in his college entrance exam in his previous life, so he still needs to catch up in this one.

"How much are these?"

The middle-aged man glanced at it and quoted a price: "Math is 1.2 yuan, Chinese is 1 yuan, Politics is 0.8 yuan, English is 1.5 yuan, that's 4.5 yuan in total."

Qian Cheng took out his money from his pocket, counted out four yuan and fifty cents, and handed it over. The middle-aged man wrapped the book in paper and handed it to him.

Qian Cheng took the book and was about to leave when he suddenly noticed something on the shelf behind the counter.

A radio.

The wooden casing is square and has several knobs and a row of markings on the front. It says "Spring Thunder Brand" and is priced at thirty yuan.

Qian Cheng stopped in his tracks.

He stared at the radio in front of him, his mind racing.

A radio is a device that allows you to listen to broadcasts.

Qian Cheng remembers that the People's Broadcasting Station had English lectures every night. If you could listen to them every day, your English would probably improve.

In this year's college entrance examination, English will account for 10% of the total score.

Not many, but not few either.

If you can improve your English, you'll leave a lot of people behind in no time.

But at thirty yuan, it's really not cheap.

He's earned quite a bit these days, but he's saving it all and can't bear to spend it. A radio costs thirty yuan, which is equivalent to several days' income for him.

But then he remembered Zhang Mingxi.

This girl doesn't want anything in return. She comes to help him with the accounts every day without asking for a single penny. If he gives her some candy, she's overjoyed.

He can't keep making empty promises to people.

Consider this radio as my first gift.

Qian Cheng pointed to the radio and asked, "Comrade, how much is this?"

The middle-aged man glanced at him and said, "Thirty yuan, and you'll need industrial coupons too."

Qian Cheng was taken aback: "Industrial vouchers?"

The middle-aged man nodded: "Yes, radios are industrial products and are rationed. Do you have any industrial coupons?"

Qian Cheng shook his head.

Where did he get the industrial vouchers?

For rural people, the work points they accumulate throughout the year are not enough to exchange for industrial vouchers.

Even if they had the money, they would save it up to buy big-ticket items; who would be willing to use it to buy a radio?

The middle-aged man looked at Qian Cheng and said, "You can't do it without a ticket. It's a national regulation. You can't sell without a ticket."

Qian Cheng stood in front of the counter, staring at the radio, feeling a little uneasy.

He does have thirty yuan, but he's out of luck when it comes to tickets.

The middle-aged man glanced at Qian Cheng, who was hesitating, and said, "The production team in the countryside issues a few cards a year, and city workers also receive them. If you know any relatives or friends in the city, you could ask them to lend you some."

Qian Cheng nodded, thanked him, and left the bookstore.

Walking down the street, his mind was racing.

He didn't have any industrial vouchers. His family consisted of only his mother and brother, both with rural household registrations. They only received a few vouchers a year, and they'd already spent them all.

The city dweller has it, but who does he know in the city?

He suddenly remembered someone.

Mr. Cui, the owner of Qingping Restaurant.

Boss Cui is a city dweller who runs such a big restaurant. He must have plenty of industrial vouchers, so why would anyone lend them to him?

Qian Cheng thought about it and decided to give it a try.

Upon arriving at Qingping Restaurant, he entered through the back door. Old Wei was busy at work. Seeing him come in, he greeted him, "Little Qian, what brings you here again? Did you miscount?"

"No, no, I wanted to talk to Boss Cui about something."

Old Wei glanced at him: "Boss Cui is upstairs. Wait here, I'll go call him."

Not long after, Cui Minggui came downstairs. He was wearing a crisp, clean Zhongshan suit, and his hair was neatly combed. When he saw Qian Cheng, he smiled and asked, "Xiao Qian, is there something you need?"

Qian Cheng nodded: "Boss Cui, there's something I'd like to ask you for help with."

Cui Minggui glanced at Qian Cheng and nodded, inviting Qian Cheng to speak.

Qian Cheng explained that he wanted to buy a radio but didn't have industrial coupons.

Cui Minggui laughed heartily after hearing this.

"Is that all?"

Qian Cheng nodded.

Cui Minggui looked at him and asked, "Why did you buy a radio?"

"I want to learn English because it's part of the college entrance exam this year, and I'd like to listen to English lectures on the radio to improve my score."

Cui Minggui was taken aback: "You're going to take the college entrance exam?"

Qian Cheng nodded: "Yeah, I'd like to give it a try."

Cui Minggui looked at Qian Cheng with a slightly different expression.

This kid is not only good at business, but also has ambition.

Cui Minggui didn't say anything, but silently took out a small notebook from his pocket, flipped through it, pulled out a ticket, and handed it to Qian Cheng.

"Take it."

Qian Cheng took it and saw that it was an industrial coupon, brand new, with a red stamp on it.

"Boss Cui, this..."

Qian Chenggang wanted to say something to express his gratitude, but Cui Minggui waved his hand, signaling him to stop talking nonsense: "Take it, it's just an industrial voucher, nothing much. Study hard, get into university, and make us country folk who haven't had much education proud."

Qian Cheng felt a surge of warmth in his heart: "Boss Cui, I'll remember this deal. If you ever need anything in the future, just let me know."

Cui Minggui smiled, put his arm around Qian Cheng's shoulder, and walked out: "Okay, that's enough. Go on, buy the radio, study English hard, and try to get good grades in the college entrance exam. Maybe my restaurant will benefit from your college degree."

Qian Cheng tucked the industrial vouchers into his pocket, left the restaurant, and headed straight for the Xinhua Bookstore.

When he arrived at the bookstore, he put the industrial coupons and thirty dollars on the counter.

"Comrade, I want the radio."

The middle-aged man looked at the industrial coupons, then at the money, nodded, took the radio off the shelf, wiped it with a cloth, and put it in a box.

"Handle it carefully, don't drop it, this thing is very precious."

Qian Cheng took the box and pointed to the review materials: "Put these in for me too."

The middle-aged man stuffed the books into the box and tied them with a rope.

Qian Cheng carried the box, slung the basket over his shoulder, and left the bookstore.

Qian Cheng quickened his pace and headed towards the station.

It was still early when we got back to the village.

My mother and Zhang Mingxi have already brought back all the wild vegetables they picked today.

Qian Cheng saw Zhang Mingxi and Hou Yufen busy at the door from afar.

Several piles of wild vegetables were stacked on the ground, and Zhang Mingxi was bending over, putting the wild vegetables into a basket.

She was so tired that her forehead was covered in sweat, her face was flushed, and her clothes were soaked.

Qian Cheng quickly ran over to lend a hand.

"You rest, I'll take care of it."

Qian Cheng put down the box and basket, took the wild vegetables from Zhang Mingxi, and began to carry them into the yard.

Zhang Mingxi wiped his sweat, smiled at Qian Cheng, and said, "It's okay, I'm not tired."

Seeing her like this, Qian Cheng felt really bad. These days, Zhang Mingxi has been helping out every day, doing all sorts of work, and she's even more tired than him.