Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

When Xu Bei returned to Hongguang Photo Studio, as soon as he entered, he was greeted by a mixture of acetic acid fixing solution and the smell of a stove, along with a warm and cozy atmosphere.

Mr. Huang, who was busy at the counter, immediately greeted him with a smile, "Brother, I'm sorry I'm a day late."

Xu Bei smiled nonchalantly, "It's okay, I understand there's a lot of work before the New Year."

Mr. Huang smiled gratefully, turned around and took out two kraft paper envelopes from the wooden cabinet behind him. "The two rolls were developed very well. I've kept the negatives for you. Also, your photography skills are really good. There are very few overexposed photos. You must not be a beginner."

"Not really." Xu Bei, of course, wouldn't speak too frankly with someone he didn't know well. He only gave a vague answer before taking the rather heavy envelope and squeezing the hard, solid thing inside.

The film rolls for his new camera are standard 36 exposures, but film rolls are usually manufactured with a certain margin to prevent them from being too short.

If the loading process is handled properly, such as hanging the title roll shorter, sometimes 37 to 40 photos can be squeezed out.

Boss Huang could tell that the handsome young man in front of him didn't want to talk much, so he said tactfully, "Then take your time looking around."

Xu Bei hummed in agreement. "Boss, you can get back to work now. Don't worry about me."

As he spoke, he pulled out a stack of black and white photos, still smelling of medicine, from one of the brown paper bags and began to look at them.

The first picture is a solo photo of my mother standing behind the counter in the store.

Although she smiled somewhat reservedly at the camera, a rare sense of ease was hidden in the wrinkles around her eyes.

Below is a photo of the older and younger sisters standing outside the store, with the entire signboard included in the picture.

One sister had a stubborn, unyielding look in her eyes, while the other smiled shyly with a hint of bashfulness; they both looked quite natural and pretty.

When Xu Bei saw his solo photo, he couldn't help but laugh.

It has to be said that the older sister's photography skills are far inferior to his, the experienced driver.

However, it's already pretty good that the exposure wasn't shaky; at least it's still usable.

When Xu Bei quickly flipped through some photos and finally saw the solo photo of Zhou Qingwan that he most wanted to see, a smile involuntarily appeared on his lips.

Even if someone isn't photogenic, good-looking people can still look 70-80% beautiful in pictures.

The unique texture of old-fashioned photographic paper, with its slightly grainy appearance, captures the expressions of the people exceptionally clearly.

Xu Bei's only regret was that the photo wasn't in color, so Zhou Qingwan's red coat and the red bucket on the snowman's head weren't visible; otherwise, it would have been even more stunning.

After all, China is currently in the initial and transitional stage of color photography.

Color film rolls are expensive, but the printing equipment is even more troublesome.

Most small and medium-sized cities, and even provincial capitals, in China do not have photo printing equipment.

If he were to use color film, not only would the forestry bureau's photo studio, whose main business is black and white photography and printing, be unable to develop the photos in the city, but it would also have to be sent to the provincial capital.

Xu Bei could spend a few more yuan to go to the city and find a craftsman to hand-color it.

In other words, it's a pseudo-color photo that has been developed from a black and white photograph and then hand-colored by a photographer using special pigments.

These photos often have harsh colors, and faces and lips are easily red like a monkey's bottom, giving them a very distinct sense of age.

However, that would look too fake, and Xu Bei felt it was unnecessary. It wouldn't be too late to shoot with colored film later.

Afterwards, Xu Bei paid the remaining amount and left the photo studio with the developed photos.

When he passed by the state-run restaurant, he first handed in the photos he had taken for Sister Yan, one of the waitresses.

When Sister Yan received the photos, she was extremely satisfied and praised Xu Bei's photography skills repeatedly.

Furthermore, they declared that if anyone needs their help in the future, they should just let them know and not be shy.

Xu Bei naturally wouldn't miss such an opportunity to befriend someone. The waiters in state-run restaurants in the 1980s were not to be underestimated; they might actually come in handy someday.

Moreover, even coming here for a meal is very convenient.

Afterwards, Xu Bei rode his bicycle into the alley next to the store and stopped at the tailor shop for a while.

Sister Liu took two photos in total, one inside the store and one outside.

When she saw the photo, she was even more excited and happy than Sister Yan, showering her with compliments.

Xu Bei was happy to improve his relationships with the neighbors around the shop, and after chatting for a while, he said goodbye and left.

When Zhao Fengying, Xu Li, and Xu Juan received the developed photos, the three of them huddled together to look at them and praised them from the bottom of their hearts.

"Oh my, son, you're such a great photographer! Mom says your photos are even better than those taken by professional photographers."

"Yes, my brother is really talented. I've never seen him handle a camera before, but he takes really good pictures."

"Brother, I thought there would be some unusable photos, but almost all of them turned out. Wow, this one of my little sister Wan's photos is really good!"

Xu Juan's discovery and exclamation made Zhao Fengying and Xu Li immediately put down the photos they were holding and look over.

"Young Miss Zhou is so beautiful. Look at our rented house, the yard isn't very nice either. Standing there, it looks like we're taking a picture of a calendar."

"Who can argue with that? It's definitely an advantage when someone is good-looking; it makes the whole yard look special."

Then, Xu Juan found the photo of the two of them together. "Why do I look so awkward next to them! And the walls inside are covered with newspapers, so the background is bad. I should have taken the photo outside."

Xu Bei had already looked through it before, but he still brought the warm teacup to his sister's side.

"What do you mean by 'rustic'? I think you two have different vibes, but you're both quite good-looking. You're both pretty in your own way."

Zhao Fengying and Xu Li chimed in, "That's right, my daughter is anything but rustic." "Exactly, our Xiao Juan is a girl from a modest family, while Miss Zhou is a lady from a distinguished family."

Xu Bei was amused by his sister's words and almost spat out the tea in his mouth.

"Sister, is it appropriate for you to say that? It sounds like a maid and a young lady."

Xu Juan also covered her mouth and laughed, "Anyway, I think Sister Xiaowan is very beautiful and a very nice person. Even if I look like a little maid next to her, I'm happy."

Brother, today is the Little New Year, so Sister Xiaowan isn't coming. She'll come over tomorrow morning to continue tutoring me. She'll definitely be happy to see the photos. Shouldn't you do something else? Treat us to something nice to eat or a movie? Otherwise, how can you say you're pursuing her...?

Xu Bei has been busy dealing with household registration and grain relations lately, and hasn't had time to find an opportunity to get to know the girl he likes.

Now, the younger sister seemed more anxious than the emperor, and couldn't help but laugh as she said, "No problem, I'm willing to eat delicious food or watch a movie, the key is whether you, Sister Xiaowan, will agree."

Xu Juan patted her chest and said, "Leave this to me. But I can't guarantee whether I'll agree or not."

Watching the brother and sister's back-and-forth conversation, Zhao Fengying and Xu Li also offered their suggestions, but whether they would succeed was uncertain.

Xu Bei was overjoyed to see this, thinking his family members were just too adorable.

Because today is the Little New Year, we closed early at around 4 p.m.

After returning home, in addition to the ritual of worshipping the Kitchen God, a sumptuous feast for the Lunar New Year's Eve is naturally indispensable...