Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

Around noon, the snow finally stopped.

The sky was as clear as if it had been washed with water, and the dark sun was much brighter than before.

The streets and alleys of the entire city seemed to be covered with a thick layer of silver.

The air was also purified, and you could clearly feel a fresher and cooler sensation when you breathed it.

The pine trees lining the street were covered with fluffy, lightly falling snow.

Occasionally, a cold wind blows by, and the snow on the treetops falls softly, sparkling in the sunlight and refracting light like shattered diamonds.

Although it is quite beautiful, it is a bit dazzling.

Xu Bei used a sled to pull fifty wooden stools and found the address provided by Old Scar without much effort.

It was a family living in the mountains, with their front door tightly shut, covered with raw iron sheets and studded with neat, silver-white thumbtacks.

The wooden planks of the barn, and the planks that enclose the yard, were much denser than those of the neighbors.

Xu Bei took off the hemp rope hanging on his shoulder, checked the street address number nailed to the upper right corner of the gate, and then went up to knock on the door.

The thumping sound echoed through the courtyard, shaking off some of the accumulated snowflakes by the door.

Soon, a somewhat wary voice came from behind.

Who is it?

Even though it was only two words, Xu Bei recognized Old Scar's voice and immediately replied, "Brother, it's me."

Old Scar responded with a "Coming!" and at the same time, footsteps echoed in the courtyard.

Soon, the door opened from the inside.

Old Scar, wearing a cotton-padded coat but no hat, appeared behind the door.

Xu Bei finally noticed that the other person had a bald head and scars on his head.

Old Scar scratched his head and grinned, "Brother, you're pretty punctual."

Xu Bei smiled and said, "The main thing is that your place is pretty easy to find, brother. Can you open the whole gate?"

"Yes, let me open the other half of the door too."

As Old Scar spoke, he bent down to open the latch.

Xu Bei returned to the sled and stepped onto the rope again.

The two of them worked together to get the sled into the yard.

While Old Scar went to close and bolt the gate, Xu Bei roughly surveyed the yard and house.

It felt similar to the layout of other houses, but it had an extra long wooden pole with a homemade antenna tied to the top, making it look like a small lightning rod.

No need to guess, there must be a TV in this house.

Those who experienced it probably know that in the 1980s, having a television set wasn't enough; the signal was terrible, so you had to set up an antenna pole in the yard.

When watching, you often have to rotate the receiver to get the signal, otherwise the TV will have static.

The worst times are when it's windy, rainy, or snowy.

If the antenna tilts, the image on the screen will twist and turn as if it has been soaked in water, or there will be no signal at all.

People usually curse the awful weather while running out to find ways to improve it.

It wasn't until the people inside shouted, "It's here!" or "It's not here!" that things finally settled down after a long period of back and forth.

"Brother, is this all fifty in total?"

Old Scar stroked the neatly stacked wooden stool and asked a question.

Xu Bei immediately nodded and said, "Yes, exactly fifty. Big brother, you can count them."

Old Scar waved his hand and laughed, "No need, we're definitely on par. Then, brother, could you help me unload it into the warehouse?"

Xu Bei naturally agreed to such a small favor, saying, "Sure, no problem."

Fifty wooden stools were neither a lot nor a little, and the two of them finished them off in a short time, going back and forth.

Old Scar was a straightforward man; he settled the payment immediately and even invited Xu Bei inside to sit down, have some tea, and chat.

However, Xu Bei knew that this was just polite talk, and there was nothing else to talk about. It was very easy to say too much and make a mistake.

So, he quickly took the money and left.

Another forty-five yuan came in all at once, with almost no cost and all profit.

Xu Bei was naturally very happy.

You have to understand that in those days, a worker's monthly salary was only a few dozen yuan, and they had to work from dawn till dusk until they were exhausted.

He made this money so easily; it's practically unearned.

Knowing that his family was going to stew sauerkraut and pork ribs and make dumplings with roe deer meat filling, and that the food would be quite good, Xu Bei didn't go shopping. Instead, he took the forest railway train back to their Beishan Forestry Bureau.

After getting off the bus, he went to the bicycle parking area to get his bicycle, and after all that trouble, he finally rode it home, which was already past 2:30.

As soon as I pushed the cart into the yard, I saw several canopies placed on two long benches near the south window of the house.

The top is densely packed with wrapped dumplings.

Based on Xu Bei's experience, the cold white texture he observed confirmed that the substance had frozen.

After all, the outdoors at this time of year is like a giant natural refrigerator; anything taken outside will freeze solid in no time.

Just then, the door was pushed open, and Xu Juan leaned out.

"Brother, you're back."

"Yeah, you're back," Xu Bei said with a smile. "You guys packed a lot of bags, didn't you?"

"Yes, my mom and I started preparing the filling, kneading the dough, and opening the package this morning."

Xu Juan closed the door tightly and ran to Xu Bei's vicinity before speaking softly.

"Brother, you have no idea, Mom and Dad have been fighting again since you left!"

Xu Bei paused in his action of using his right foot to prop up the ladder, then looked up at his sister. "What are they arguing about again?"

Xu Juan glanced back at the direction of the house before quickly giving her report.

"First, they talked about you not going back to work, and you grumbled a few times."

Later, when Dad saw that we were making dumplings and stewing ribs at home and eating so well, he insisted on inviting Zhao Laosi and his friends over for dinner and drinks, but Mom didn't agree.

They said they'd finally get a decent meal, but even their own family might not have enough to eat. Then they invited some outsiders over, and they ate a lot of food. By the time you, your sister, and your brother-in-law came back, there might not be anything left, and then the two of them would start arguing.

Now one is in the east room, and the other is in the west room, and neither of them is paying attention to the other…

Xu Bei frowned upon hearing this.

He wasn't surprised at all by his father's routine action.

Drinking buddies and people from my hometown always come before my wife and children.

The grievances suffered by the mother and her children as a result are probably too numerous to recount for days and nights.

"Did you have dumplings for lunch?"

"No." Xu Juan finished speaking, then looked at Xu Bei with some concern, "Brother, when you go in later, will Dad scold you and take his anger out on you? Otherwise, whose house will you go to..."

Xu Bei sneered, interrupting his sister, "You can run away now, but you can't hide forever. Do you think I'm afraid of him? Let's go inside now and see what he can do!"

"Brother! You..." Xu Juan tried to grab Xu Bei's arm but failed. She could only jog after him, her face full of tension and fear.

Xu Bei walked ahead and opened the outer door.

Along with the sweltering heat, Xu Dashan's cursing voice came from the doorway of the east room.

"You little brat, you actually know how to come back!"