Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

Xu Bei arrived at the post office first, only to find that the counters had already closed and were preparing to go home.

He wasn't surprised at all, since state-owned enterprises generally have very early closing times in winter.

Anyway, the goods have already arrived at the Forestry Bureau, so picking them up tomorrow morning is fine.

And after a night of reflection, I believe my mother will have recovered somewhat and be able to focus on organizing the goods again.

Therefore, Xu Bei quickly turned the wheel and headed to the state-run restaurant.

In this day and age, state-run restaurants don't stay open late like they do in later years. If you arrive late for dinner, they will stop serving customers.

Unless there are special circumstances, such as when the Forestry Bureau has a reception task or it is a holiday, the restaurant may extend its business hours slightly.

But usually by six or seven o'clock in the evening, the entire restaurant is already dark and the doors are tightly closed.

Because Xu Bei and his friends have been eating at the state-run restaurant quite often lately, the waitresses there all know him.

Especially since the forestry bureau is small, individual business owners are extremely rare. People from state-run restaurants have also been to the shops a few times. Regardless of whether they are really familiar with each other, they at least exchange pleasantries on the surface.

"Sister Yan, please reserve a table for me, five or six people. They'll be here in a bit."

Sister Yan has a round, plump face. Perhaps because of her job, she eats well and is different from many thin women of this era.

"Sure, bro, you can order the food first so the chef can prepare it."

"Okay." Xu Bei's gaze swept over the blackboard on the wall listing today's menu. "Braised pork belly, braised pork ribs, stir-fried bean sprouts with pork, braised ribbonfish, and a stew and stir-fried liver tips. What's the main course?"

As Sister Yan repeated the order aloud, she also quickly jotted down notes on the order form: "The main dishes include rice and steamed buns. Young man, you've ordered quite a lot for five or six people. Isn't that a bit too much?"

Xu Bei knew that the other party meant well. After all, in this era, thrift and simplicity were the mainstream values, so he smiled and said, "It's not much, Sister Yan. We all have big appetites."

Knowing that the handsome young man in front of her came from a well-off family, Sister Yan smiled and said, "You have a good appetite. Shall I tell the chef to cook?"

"Okay, I'll go back to the store to pick them up now."

Xu Bei finished speaking with a smile and quickly left.

When they rode their bikes back to Fengying Clothing Department Store, they saw that their mother had washed her face, and their eyes were also a little red.

Taking advantage of the fact that there were no customers at the moment, Xu Bei immediately made arrangements to close the shop.

"...Then write a note and stick it on the door. When my brother-in-law comes home from get off work and sees it, it'll be better to go over to the restaurant."

"Sure. If he gets off work early, he can make it. If he's late, he'll miss out."

As soon as Xu Li finished speaking, Zhao Fengying, who doted on her son-in-law like a son, quickly said, "What do you mean you're not lucky enough to eat? Even if you can't make it, you have to leave some for Wenliang to take home, otherwise we'll be eating it all by ourselves."

Xu Bei and Xu Li exchanged a glance and teased each other, "Didn't you see, sis? Mom really dotes on my brother-in-law. You have to step aside."

Zhao Fengying laughed and scolded, "You brat, stop stirring things up. I care about all of you, and I miss all of you."

Seeing his mother finally smile, Xu Bei was also happy. "Of course, my mom always treats everyone equally. I've already ordered the food, and they've started serving it. Let's hurry up and leave, or we won't be able to leave when other customers come."

"Okay, okay, let's hurry up."

Zhao Fengying and Xu Li, the two sisters, stopped dawdling and quickly packed and put on their coats, hats, scarves and gloves.

After they closed the wooden gate and the shop door, and put up the note, they were heading towards the state-run restaurant when they unexpectedly ran into Zhu Wenliang riding a bicycle.

Xu Bei, on the other side of the road, tugged at the bicycle bell and laughed, "Brother-in-law, you really know how to rush."

Zhu Wenliang turned around, staring blankly at the four people. "What time is it? The shop is already closed? Is no one buying anything? Besides, this isn't the way home."

Xu Li, who was riding her bicycle alone, gave him a wink. "Who said we were going home! Mom got the divorce certificate. We're going to the state-run restaurant to celebrate. Hurry up and stop dawdling, come with me."

Zhu Wenliang stared wide-eyed in utter shock.

After all, he was still in the shop at noon, and he never expected that his mother-in-law and father-in-law would get divorced in such a short time!

"Ah...so soon! Then we should definitely celebrate. Mom, I'll have a good drink with you later."

Zhao Fengying had been worried that her son-in-law's attitude might change, but seeing this, she felt particularly comforted. "Alright, let's all have a little to drink today."

Xu Bei knew what his mother was thinking, and said with a smile, "We can drink until we drop. Let's hurry up, some of the dishes are probably already cooked."

So the three bicycles quickly headed towards the state-run restaurant, braving the biting cold wind.

On the way, Zhu Wenliang also learned that his brother-in-law had borrowed a camera to take pictures.

They tried to avoid the topic of divorce during their conversation, and even discussed taking some photos in the state-run restaurant.

When the group arrived, just as Xu Bei had said, the dishes were already prepared.

The waitress, Sister Yan, was very good at reading people and situations. Even though she clearly saw that Zhao Fengying and her daughters had been crying, she pretended not to notice and exchanged a few pleasantries with them.

Xu Bei was very pleased with Sister Yan's thoughtfulness and planned to ask for her permission to take a photo for her in the future.

Sure enough, Sister Yan was overjoyed when she heard that she would be taking pictures of herself later.

These days, there are very few opportunities to take photos yourself except at a photo studio. The staff were even more enthusiastic in their hospitality, which made the other tables in the restaurant look on with a bit of disapproval.

Ignoring what others were saying, Xu Bei waited until all the dishes were laid out before snapping a few photos to record the moment.

Zhu Wenliang even learned from Xu Bei on the spot and, with some clumsy movements, helped take a group photo of the mother and her four children.

Besides the pregnant Xu Li and the very young Xu Juan, who drank orange soda, Xu Bei, Zhao Fengying, and Zhu Wenliang all drank baijiu (Chinese liquor).

However, they certainly wouldn't openly admit in front of outsiders that the meal was to celebrate their divorce.

Zhao Fengying picked up her wine glass and subtly raised it, saying, "Today I'm completely free. I won't have to deal with those rotten people and things anymore. To be honest, I'm quite relieved."

"Mom, it's great that you think this way. Life is only a few decades long, and when you encounter bad people and bad situations, you need to cut your losses in time. If you keep getting involved without thinking things through, not only will you suffer, but we'll all suffer too..."

Before Xu Bei could finish speaking, he raised his glass and laughed, "Alright, let's not bring this up anymore. Let's drink and eat, it'll get cold soon."

Zhu Wenliang chimed in, "Yes, yes, so many good dishes should be eaten while they're hot."

After several rounds of drinks and five courses of food,

After Xu Bei took photos for Sister Yan, everyone parted ways at the entrance of the state-run restaurant, riding their bicycles in different directions...