Reborn in 1985, starting from a machine factory

Chen Mo didn't have a bicycle, but he wasn't flustered. He even stopped when he passed the bulletin board.

The bulletin board, painted blue, is divided into two parts: a bulletin board and a factory bulletin board.

The People's Daily, Workers' Daily, and Beiyang Daily occupied the main positions on the bulletin board.

Chen Mo read through the news carefully and found that most of the news these days was just old news.

For example, leaders visiting foreign countries, deepening reforms, and vigorously promoting mechanical productivity.

Even so, Chen Mo didn't dare to miss any news. It was the same back then; sometimes, you only realized that there were signs in the news when the moment was right.

For example, the so-called "three irons" – iron rice bowl, iron salary, and iron chair – actually had its beginnings in this era.

This subsequently triggered a wave of layoffs.

After reading the news, Chen Mo realized there was nothing new to report.

He then looked at the factory's bulletin board, where the factory news appeared much faster.

What a 200-day sprint to celebrate National Day!

What kind of old worker has stayed at the factory for ten years, treating it as his home?

This isn't worth looking at.

Suddenly, Chen Mo stopped and looked intently at the document in front of him.

He looked at it once, and then read it carefully again.

This is an official document with a bright red stamp that stands out prominently.

Notice Regarding the 1985 Enrollment Work for Adult Higher Education Institutions

This is it!

Adult higher education institutions, commonly known as night schools.

Having only graduated from high school, I was considered inferior when I entered the factory and could only work as a factory worker.

However, getting a ticket to night school is a different story; it will definitely provide more opportunities.

Chen Mo read it carefully three times; the deadline for registering for this night school was the end of March.

The applicant needs to submit a written application, which must be signed and approved by the workshop director before being submitted to the personnel department, which will then forward it to the factory manager for final approval.

Then, after less than two months of preparation, the exam was held in May.

The exam covers politics, Chinese language, science subjects (mathematics), and physics and chemistry.

Evening college entrance exams are simpler than regular college entrance exams, but the overall pass rate is no higher than 20%.

Chen Mo nodded. The transfer to a cadre position and promotion were extremely important steps. With this, the situation at home could be stabilized.

......

It took some time to get home, and it was already six o'clock.

This area is close to the factory area, and workers who cannot be allocated housing and those who do not want to live in the dormitories gather here.

Most of the houses are self-built, and the surrounding people jokingly call it Construction Village.

Even in self-built houses, the layout of each household is similar, with uniform 49-square-meter or 37-square-meter walls, covered with thick cement, giving them a grayish-blue appearance.

The downside is that it's extremely small, and so small that it doesn't provide any sound insulation!

An argument between one family can attract the attention of half the neighbors in the alley.

Occasionally, you can hear a few barks from dogs, and roosters crowing at any time.

As soon as Chen Mo opened the door, the strong smell of Chinese medicine hit his nostrils.

Standing guard in front of the medicine dispenser was a little girl of eleven or twelve years old. The smoke made her eyes red and she kept blinking.

Hearing the door open, she didn't turn around: "Second Brother, you're late today!"

Chen Mo looked helpless: "Chen Fen, are you brewing medicine or preparing to burn down the house?"

"Second brother, if you don't help me, I'm really going to burn the house down!"

"Help, help, go wash the rice!" Chen Mo approached the makeshift stove made of a few bricks.

The stove was stuffed full of firewood, so it never lit and only emitted smoke.

Chen Mo carefully took out half a bundle of firewood and blew on it twice.

"call!"

Flames leaped from the stove.

Chen Mo was guarding the medicine dripping container.

My mother has been sick for some time, and we've tried everything, but nothing has helped.

The traditional Chinese medicine doctor suggested that coal fires are too drying and that the medicine should be boiled over firewood.

Chen Mo usually brews the medicine in the morning and evening, but today he was delayed for a moment, and his restless younger sister volunteered to help.

The little girl could only manage to cook porridge with a coal stove, but she had absolutely no idea how to use this simple stove.

"Chen Fen, have you finished your homework today?" Chen Mo asked as he saw his younger sister putting the rinsed rice on the coal stove.

"Mom, my second brother is being unreasonable. I spent ages boiling medicine, and he still said I hadn't done my homework!" Chen Fen said to the house.

A middle-aged woman lay on her side on the bed near the door. Her face was sallow. When she heard Chen Fen speak, a smile appeared on her sallow face.

"Second and third children have finished their homework. After school, they haven't had a moment's rest."

Upon seeing the middle-aged woman, Chen Mo's eyelids twitched involuntarily. He quickly lowered his head and swallowed back the tears welling up in his eyes.

Seeing the person he had been longing for again, even though he had seen them once that morning, still left Chen Mo with mixed feelings.

In her previous life, her mother, Li Guihua, was ill for four years.

Exhaustion, poverty, and malnutrition took a toll on her health early on, first causing chronic hepatitis and later cirrhosis.

Since developing cirrhosis, she has been bedridden for long periods of time, and even with Chen Mo emptying his savings, he still couldn't afford the treatment costs.

He had no choice but to search for folk remedies and doctors everywhere, but he kept delaying treatment until he developed liver cancer, and finally, there was no cure.

"This life must not be like this," Chen Mo thought to himself.

Based on the timeline, this should be around the early stages of cirrhosis.

The Chinese medicine in front of you is completely useless; in fact, it damages the liver, and frequent use will worsen your condition.

You need to go to the hospital as soon as possible and take good care of yourself to stabilize your condition.

According to the doctor, this is a disease of affluence and requires careful management.

Go to the hospital!

Chen Mo subconsciously touched his pocket; there were only five yuan in total.

Not enough, this money isn't enough!

To get it cured, it will cost at least 300 yuan, and the doctor said it would cost several tens of yuan a month.

My salary of 46.5 yuan is far from enough.

Moreover, the preparation and exams for the upcoming night school will cost at least 100 yuan.

Not to mention, there's also the cost of Chen Fen's books.

These things cannot be delayed; they must be done!

Chen Mo suppressed his emotions, looked at his mother's sallow face, and sniffed: "Hey, you little brat, you actually know how to tattle."

"Second brother, are you about to cry?" Chen Fen exclaimed, her eyes wide.

"Bullshit, go get a bowl and come here to fill the medicine."

"Oh!" Chen Fen replied, picking up a large enamel bowl with several pieces of porcelain chipped off.

Chen Mo wrapped the medicine container in a cloth, used two chopsticks to block the residue, divided the medicine into bowls, and set them aside to cool.

After a while, Chen Mo touched the temperature of the IV drip, then handed it to Chen Fen: "Go, pour it out on the way!"

"Okay," Chen Fen replied.

Looking at the brown Chinese medicine in the enamel bowl, Chen Mo hesitated for the first time.

If he just dumped the medicine, his elderly mother would probably jump out of her sickbed and chase after him.

Giving it to my mother was even more inappropriate; the medicine had no effect and instead contained excessive levels of heavy metals.

This concept didn't exist in this era, but twenty or thirty years later, there are countless people whose livers are damaged by traditional Chinese medicine.

Li Guihua, lying on her sickbed, turned her head and asked, "Second brother, is the medicine cold?"

"Mom, can you please not take this medicine!" With a heavy heart, Chen Mo stood up.

"I don't think this medicine is working for you. We should go to a bigger hospital to get it checked out!"

"Big hospital? You look like you're from a big hospital. Bring the medicine over when it gets cold." Li Guihua said irritably.

"Mom, look, this medicine costs three cents a dose. Let's go to the hospital and see if it's cheaper there."

"Oh, do you think I've spent too much money?" Li Guihua's voice was weak.

Chen Mo turned his head away, let out a long breath, and resignedly picked up the large, rough porcelain bowl.

"Splash!"

A cracking sound came from the doorway, followed by Chen Fen's crying: "Chen Gang, why did you break the medicine jar? It belongs to Aunt Wang, we have to return it!"

"Medicine, medicine, medicine. Taking medicine every day will make even a healthy person sick."

Upon hearing this voice, both Li Guihua and Chen Mo's faces darkened.

Reeking of alcohol, Chen Gang staggered through the gate. As soon as he entered, he stared at Chen Mo and casually tossed an empty canvas bag in front of Chen Mo.

"Second brother, lend me fifty yuan. Dad got into some trouble, you need to go see him in the hospital tomorrow!"