Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

Upon hearing that there were fried dough cakes, Xu Juan, who was initially unaccustomed to the nickname "college prospective student," no longer bothered to protest.

"Brother, each of us only gets half a pound of oil per month. Mom used to just wipe the bottom of the pan with a little oil when she cooked, but now she's even willing to use refined grains to make fried pancakes. It's all become a bit strange to me these past few days!"

Xu Bei was certainly aware of the grain and oil supply situation for residents of forest towns in the 1980s.

In addition to providing half a pound of oil per person per month, the grains provided are mostly coarse grains and less refined grains.

Coarse grains mainly include cornmeal, corn grits, and sorghum rice.

Cornmeal is used to steam cornbread, make flatbread, or cook porridge, while corn grits are used to make corn porridge, and sorghum rice is used to make sorghum rice.

These whole grains have a rough texture, but they provide a good feeling of fullness.

Refined grains mainly refer to wheat flour and rice.

Ordinary residents can only receive about 7 or 8 jin of refined grains per month.

Moreover, they have to save every penny to set aside for entertaining guests during holidays and festivals.

Therefore, it's no wonder that Xu Juan felt uncomfortable.

Xu Bei patted the top of his younger sister's wool hat with his gloved hand. "Silly girl, what's so strange about that? You'll have to get used to it. Actually, Mom is just happy because she earned another commission."

Xu Juan covered her head, looked around, and whispered, "How much did you earn this time?"

Xu Bei replied in a low voice, "Two more dollars from last night and today."

Xu Juan jumped up and down happily. "No wonder Mom was so generous; this could buy a lot of discounted grain. Brother, this job you arranged is really great!"

"That's right. Your brother is a great contributor to our family." As Xu Bei spoke, he straddled the bicycle, gesturing to his younger sister with one leg on the ground, "Hurry up and get on."

Xu Juan smiled and hummed in agreement, then quickly put her arm around her brother's waist and sat sideways on the back rack of the car.

Xu Bei rang the bicycle bell from the front and asked with a smile, "Are you seated securely?"

Xu Juan held up the frozen candied hawthorn in her hand. "Hold on tight, brother."

Even without turning around, Xu Bei could sense his sister's good mood. "Alright, let's set off now."

After saying that, she jokingly added, "Xiao Juan, be careful when you sit in the back and eat candied hawthorns, don't break your teeth."

Xu Juan slapped Xu Bei on the back in embarrassment and annoyance. "I'm not stupid. Why would I eat something cold and hard outside? We can eat it slowly when we get home and sit on the kang (heated brick bed)."

However, despite saying that, she couldn't resist licking the cool, sweet, and crunchy candy shell, and squinted her eyes in satisfaction.

The brother and sister chatted and laughed all the way, not even noticing how slowly time passed in the freezing cold.

By the time I got near my home, it was already past 5:30.

The lights were on in almost every house nearby, and wisps of smoke were rising from the chimneys.

When Xu Bei saw that Xu Dashan's bicycle was no longer in his yard, he guessed that his father had already left for work.

When Zhao Fengying saw the children return, she quickly put down the bowls and chopsticks she was washing, wiped her hands haphazardly with a rag, and pushed open the door to the outer room.

"Oh, you're finally back. You must be freezing. Hurry up and come inside, take off your shoes, and get on the kang (heated brick bed) to warm up."

As Xu Bei pushed his bicycle forward, he said with a smile, "I'm fine, I've been pedaling the whole time. I bet Xiao Juan is freezing sitting here."

Xu Juan quickly replied, "Mom, with my brother blocking the wind in front, I'm not too cold, just my feet are freezing."

Zhao Fengying said urgently, "It's quite a journey from the station to our house, and you'll be lucky if your feet don't freeze. Hurry up and come inside."

Xu Juan proudly waved the candied hawthorns in her hand, "Look, my brother bought these, and there are some for you too."

Zhao Fengying couldn't help but laugh and said, "This is for you children, I won't eat it."

Xu Bei had anticipated his mother's reaction and said helplessly, "Mom, please don't refuse to eat them. I bought several."

Xu Juan chimed in, "Yes, Mom, if you're not going to eat, then I won't eat either."

"Okay, okay, I'll eat, alright? Don't dawdle in the yard."

After Zhao Fengying finished speaking, she grabbed Xu Juan's arm and pulled her into the house, while turning back to call out to Xu Bei, "You hurry up too, kid."

Xu Bei smiled and agreed, set up the bicycle ladder, then took his sister's cloth bag off the handlebars and held it in his hand. Inside were several strings of candied hawthorns wrapped in oil paper.

For dinner, in addition to the fried dough sticks that were specially set aside at noon, we also made a sauerkraut and potato soup.

After the brother and sister took turns washing their hands, they sat down around the kang table to eat.

Meanwhile, Zhao Fengying ate a candied hawthorn on the side.

At the same time, he was talking to them with great enthusiasm.

"Your sister came over after get off work tonight and said she ordered 14 more. I figured since Dahei already told you to come pick them up, it wouldn't be good if they didn't have enough when they arrived, so I didn't let your sister take any more."

Xu Bei swallowed the pickled cabbage in his mouth before smiling and saying, "Then I'll go see if I can bring back more after I finish eating. Mom, you guys are really good at selling stools these days, I have to work harder to catch up."

Only in this way could some of his money be used legitimately, allowing him to openly buy things for his family.

Zhao Fengying said with a sigh, "Then what are you chasing? You and your brother, as well as Dahei, all have jobs, unlike me, a housewife who's always busy with the kitchen."

Especially for Big Black, his family members also sell stools with him; he's not alone.

As soon as he finished speaking, Cao Cao arrived.

Big Black pulled a sled to his house.

They also brought them a large piece of roe deer meat, a gift from their relatives.

This gesture made Zhao Fengying quite embarrassed. "You child, our two families have known each other for so many years, you're being too polite."

When Xu Bei went to the city that day, he saw a stall selling roe deer meat and asked about the price. It was more than one yuan per jin (500 grams), so he also spoke up.

"Yeah, given our relationship, you're being a bit too polite. Just take it home and keep it for yourself."

Dahei's attitude was very firm. "My mom said that thanks to Dabei for helping to set up this great job, she doesn't know how to express her gratitude."

This roe deer meat came for free, you absolutely must accept it, otherwise I'll definitely get a scolding when I get back.”

Zhao Fengying and Xu Bei exchanged a glance. "Alright, then I'll be frank and not stand on ceremony with you. Give my regards to your mother when you get back."

Seeing that they agreed to accept it, Dahei grinned, "Okay, Auntie, I'll definitely take it with me."

Afterwards, Xu Bei helped his childhood friend increase the number of wooden stools from sixteen to a total of twenty-two, and then stacked them on the sled in the yard.

Then, the two of them worked together to tie the rope around the object to prevent it from falling off while being dragged along.

While tying the rope, Dahei chatted casually, saying, "Dabei, after your little sister finishes her exams, let's invite Guodong and his sister, as well as Dayu and the others, to go to the movies together. It'll be more fun with more people."

Xu Bei wasn't surprised at all by his childhood friend's suggestion, because the other person had been planning to go to the movies before.

Furthermore, entertainment options were extremely limited in that era; apart from watching movies, there seemed to be no other better pastimes.

"Actually, there's something I forgot to tell you. This afternoon, before I picked up my sister, I had to wait a long time and had nowhere to go, so I thought I'd watch a movie. That's when I ran into Guodong's sister and one of her classmates from her repeat-year class..."

After listening to Xu Beiyan's concise explanation, Da Heiqi couldn't help but complain.

"You're really something! If I hadn't suggested going to the movies together, you probably wouldn't have told me!"

Two girls are going to the movies with you! What a great opportunity! Why didn't I get to experience it? Is it because I'm darker-skinned and less energetic than you?

Xu Bei shrugged with a half-smile, "How would I know? Looks are all given by your parents. Besides, I didn't go there on purpose; we just bumped into each other by chance."

Big Black snorted twice, "Who knows if you went there on purpose, then spotted them, and insisted on watching a movie together?"

After that, all I cared about was one thing: "By the way, is Guodong's sister's female classmate pretty?"

Xu Bei recalled that the other person looked about 70-80% like the actress who played the Queen of the Women's Kingdom, and felt that he should give a fair answer: "Very beautiful and has a great temperament."

Hearing this made Dahei even more anxious. "It's not easy to hear such a compliment from you. If I have the chance in the future, I must see for myself just how beautiful she is."

Meanwhile, Song Guomei was also extremely anxious.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I felt more and more that no matter how carefully I dressed up, I was still outshone by my classmates.

Thinking about it this way, it's no wonder that Xu Bei had such an amazing reaction when he saw Zhou Qingwan, and then he was so attentive, buying her candied hawthorns, melon seeds, and peanuts.

But I've never been this nice to her before.

Annoyed, Song Guomei slammed the mirror down on the desk, making quite a noise.

When Song Guodong came home from get off work, he noticed that his younger sister, who was on holiday, was acting a little strange.

Hearing the commotion, she came in and asked with concern, "Xiaomei, who upset you?"

Song Guomei remembered that her brother had met Zhou Qingwan once, and immediately stood up.

"Brother, do you think I'm prettier, or is that girl in my cram school prettier?"

Song Guodong subconsciously took a step back. "Which one? The one you said you had a lot in common with, the one surnamed Zhou?"

Song Guomei bit her lip. "Yes, it's her!"

Song Guodong thought for a moment before answering, "Then it's definitely my sister who's prettier."

Song Guomei's eyes reddened with anger. "You're clearly lying! No wonder you and Xiao Bei are best friends! You two even have the same taste!"

Song Guodong was extremely puzzled. "Why are you bringing up Da Bei? Oh, I see. Did Xu Bei praise your classmate in front of you?"

"No, not at all. But his behavior..."

Song Guomei poured out her story, recounting everything that had happened that afternoon.

"Anyway, Xiao Bei has changed a lot lately. I have a feeling he's probably got a crush on my classmate!"

Since that day when Song Guodong had drinks with Xu Bei and the others at Dahei's house, he hasn't seen them again and has been busy with work.

Now, hearing my sister say this, I'm also filled with curiosity.

However, she said righteously, "You're just a young girl who doesn't think about studying all day but only about these things. How can you expect to get into university?"

Besides, it's their freedom to choose who they like or don't like. What's the point of you throwing things around at home?

Song Guomei angrily shoved Song Guodong, "Get out! I don't want to hear you!"

Xu Bei had no idea that his self-perceived gentlemanly behavior had caused some misunderstandings and suspicions from Song Guomei.

Furthermore, the Song siblings even had an argument with him at home.

A good night's sleep.

The next morning, Xu Bei got up early again to take his younger sister to the station to catch her train.

Because the school shortened the exam time, today is the last day of exams, and the final exams will be over.

After that, these high school students were finally able to welcome their long-awaited winter vacation.

Usually, it will continue until the start of school on March 1st.

Therefore, the winter vacation is much longer than the summer vacation.

However, today he didn't let his sister go to the city alone. Instead, he stored her bicycle at the bike storage area near the station and took her on the Sentetsu train with him.

Xu Juan was particularly happy about this.

Because it takes an hour to drive from Beishan Forestry Bureau to the city, I didn't feel lonely or bored with my brother by my side.

Xu Bei looked at his younger sister sitting by the car window, who was increasingly showing the demeanor of a girl in her teens, and felt quite gratified.

This is only a few days after he came back, and there have already been significant changes.

I believe that over time, everyone in the family will experience greater changes and things will get better and better.

After the train arrived at Lindu Station, Xu Bei specially took his younger sister to school for her exam before leaving alone.

Last time he came to the city, he visited the farmers' market and the spontaneously formed free market, but he couldn't find a suitable place to sell wooden stools.

Therefore, I want to take advantage of the time I have today to walk around more and look for opportunities.

Lindu is a city that was born because of forests. It has more than a dozen forestry bureaus and used trains to transport timber to all parts of the country to support national construction. It was very prosperous in the 1980s.

Therefore, the city not only has several hospitals, but also department stores, workers' cultural palaces, theaters, cinemas, and so on, making it a very prosperous place.

The high school Xu Juan attended was the closest to the department store.

Therefore, after Xu Bei left, he planned to go there and take a look first.

Nowadays, department stores offer a wide variety of goods to locals, ranging from furniture and appliances to small items like needles and thread, covering almost all the high-end needs of people's daily lives, making them far more abundant than the goods available at the Forestry Bureau below.

Therefore, this is also the liveliest place, and the first choice for many people who want to buy big items.

The counters selling televisions, in particular, were places that countless people once longed to visit and lingered in.

Xu Bei wasn't very interested in the other goods, but he was interested in checking the price of black and white televisions.

I plan to get a TV for my family when I find a suitable opportunity in the future.

To his utter surprise, he ran into Zhou Qingwan, whom he had watched a movie with the day before, on his way upstairs...