Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

Around nine o'clock in the morning, the sunlight shone on the snow, reflecting a dazzling light, making the whole world seem bright and cheerful, easily giving people the illusion of warmth.

Only those outdoors know how freezing cold the weather is in this forest area as the twelfth lunar month approaches.

Even though Xu Bei was sweating from riding both bicycles, his feet and face still felt very cold.

Fortunately, dawn was just ahead, so he quickened his pace.

Unfortunately, when he arrived at his own front door, he found it locked and no one was home.

Besides, no one from the neighboring houses was outside at that moment.

Xu Bei had no choice but to rely entirely on himself to unlock the large brass padlock and push the two bicycles into the yard.

Seeing that the sled was not there, I roughly guessed that my parents had probably gone to deliver stools to the neighbors or visited them.

He propped up Xu Dashan's bicycle, then pushed another newly bought secondhand bicycle into the house.

If you want to wipe your car in the freezing cold, you have to do it indoors. You can't even stretch your hands out outside, and the wet cloth will quickly freeze and stick together.

When Xu Bei took off his hat and gloves and threw them on the kang (heated brick bed) in the west room, he turned around and found that all the wooden stools were gone.

Then it must be that the mother has another new order.

He hummed a little tune in a good mood, poked the stove, and warmed himself by the fire for a while.

Then I filled a basin with some hot water and started wiping the car with a rag.

Although used bicycles that are usually intended for sale are polished to a shine to increase their value, there are bound to be some rough edges and corners that haven't been properly cleaned.

Xu Bei was wiping the roof tiles off the front wheel when he heard a commotion in the yard.

When he saw his mother pull the sled back alone, he immediately wiped his hands, pulled down the sleeve of his cotton-padded coat, and went out of the house.

"Mom, you're back. Where's Dad?"

"He was called away to help with the chainsaw. He's probably having lunch with someone there. We don't need to worry about him."

Zhao Fengying asked with a smile, "Son, how did it go? Did you buy it?"

Xu Bei said with a smile, "I bought it. I'm wiping it down inside right now."

"You're pretty quick with your shopping, aren't you? Let me check it out." Zhao Fengying asked as she walked into the house, "How much did it cost? Is there any left?"

"Two dollars left."

As Xu Bei spoke, he took the money out of his pocket and handed it to his mother.

Zhao Fengying pushed his hand away, refusing to take it. "Keep it for yourself. You bought those two pounds of pork the day before yesterday, and I didn't reimburse you for them."

Xu Bei didn't hesitate about the money, since he would have to buy things for his family anyway, so he simply put it back in his pocket.

Zhao Fengying carefully examined the bicycle, then touched the frame, the seat, and squeezed the tires, commenting, "It's not too badly made; it should be rideable. Forty-odd yuan is fine. The one your Aunt Qian bought in the backyard had its front fork welded, and it cost fifty-two."

Xu Bei raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Really? Then I really didn't overpay."

"We didn't buy it at an expensive price, but we didn't buy it cheap either," Zhao Fengying suddenly said seriously. "Son, we've bought the car now. When are you planning to go back to work, as I mentioned?"

"Mom, I've only been down here for two days, and I haven't rested enough yet. Why don't I rest for a few more days?" Xu Bei paused. "Besides, the impact of this matter hasn't subsided yet. Going back so early will only lead to being targeted. You don't want your son to be made to do the hardest and most tiring work, do you?"

Zhao Fengying nodded without the slightest hesitation, "Of course not."

"That settles it then, so Mom, don't rush me. I'll go back to work myself when the time is right." Xu Bei deliberately changed the subject. "By the way, I noticed we're out of chairs. How many did you order?"

Zhao Fengying's attention was indeed diverted, and she said with a smile, "It wasn't all ordered by me; some people came directly to our house to buy them. After that, I delivered those eight stools from yesterday, and the family that wanted one wanted to order five more, so they paid for them."

As she spoke, she pulled a neatly folded handkerchief from the inside pocket of her cotton-padded jacket and unfolded it.

It contained a stack of banknotes of various sizes and denominations.

"Here's a total of twenty yuan. I took two yuan from each of the twenty stools, so you can give them the eighteen yuan they owed when you pick up the stools."

Xu Bei first sincerely praised his mother's competence a few times, and then said in a fake manner, "Okay, there are also some that my sister gave me last night, I'll give them to the carpenter together... and Da Hei will be taking at least 16 when he gets off work this afternoon, so I'll see if I can take a few more."

Nobody knew that he was the real carpenter behind the scenes.

In a short period of time, he earned enough to pay the workers a month's wages. It felt pretty good to make a fortune quietly.

Afterwards, Zhao Fengying took over the job of wiping the car, and Xu Bei got dressed and left home pulling the sled.

When he returned, the sled was piled high with many wooden benches, and his passing attracted the attention of the nearby neighbors.

However, now almost everyone living nearby knows about Zhao Fengying helping others sell stools. Usually, if they see her, they'll just exchange a few pleasantries and won't pry into the details.

Only the old woman from the Wan family, who lived in the house next door, came out to dump coal ash and slag. She ran into Xu Bei, who was pulling a sled, near the garbage dump and kept chasing after him, asking him what was going on.

"Hey kid, you've pulled a lot of strings again. How many chairs has your mom helped get out of here? She must have made a fortune, right?"

Xu Bei undoubtedly has deep feelings for these old neighbors and their former residences, but he treats each person differently.

No matter the era, there will always be honest and kind people, people who love to take advantage of others, and people who resent others' success and laugh at others' lack.

"Aunt Wan, what are you saying? My mother is just a kind-hearted person, helping out a little. She's earned a lot of money wherever she goes. You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want."

After Xu Bei finished speaking, he ignored the other person and continued walking towards his door.

Old Mrs. Wan curled her lip, not believing it at all. After all, no one gets up early for nothing, but she also understood that it was useless to ask again if the other party didn't want to talk about it. She could only observe secretly.

The two families live so close together, they're bound to overhear some clues over time.

Xu Bei had no idea what the other person was thinking.

However, even if they knew, they probably wouldn't take it seriously.

After all, the reform and opening up has been going on for several years now, and the spring breeze has not only swept across the land of China, but has also reached their forest area.

Relevant departments have even encouraged some unemployed youths and craftsmen to set up stalls and open shops.

Furthermore, forestry cities, which are primarily engaged in logging, are already subject to relatively lax regulations in many aspects.

Moreover, these are handmade stools, which do not fall under the category of reselling state-owned goods, grain coupons, cloth coupons, or foreign exchange certificates.

The state also allows individual craftspeople, namely carpenters, to make and sell furniture and other wooden products...