Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

After finishing her meal and helping to clean up the kitchen, Xu Li didn't stay long and left carrying a stool.

Xu Bei listened to the province-wide news broadcast on the radio in the east room for a while, learning about the major news in the province that day, before his mother sent him back to the west room to rest.

However, it was only a little past six o'clock, and he couldn't possibly go to sleep that early.

Furthermore, people who are used to playing on their phones and watching short videos to pass the time will feel uncomfortable when they are suddenly transported back to an era of scarcity of material entertainment decades ago.

So Xu Bei went to the outer room and used the water from the aluminum kettle and water tank sitting on the stove to prepare a basin of slightly hot water for washing his feet.

Then, while comfortably soaking my feet, I studied the game system.

After he brought up the system panel, he noticed that his reputation value, which was previously 0, had become [Reputation Value 98/100000].

That means that selling ten stools yields 98 reputation points, and starting a second production line requires 10 reputation points.

That translates to roughly 1000 units, which doesn't seem too difficult to achieve.

There are less than 10 wooden stools left in the game space's extraction area.

It's estimated that even that won't be enough for my mother, who's going all out to sell tomorrow, let alone with my older sister who's also poised to make a splash.

Therefore, Xu Bei kept a close eye on the wood that he planted at noon, which would take 12 hours to mature.

The plan is to cut down trees as soon as the time comes, and then plant new ones to reach the target of successfully planting and harvesting five trees as soon as possible, thus unlocking the second plot.

At eight o'clock, Shan Tianfang's unique, husky voice came from the Red Lantern brand radio in the east room: "Last time, we talked about how Qin Qiong rescued the emperor at Lintong Mountain, and just then..."

Xu Dashan also staggered back from outside.

In the west room, Xu Bei, who had already turned off the lights and lay down, heard the sound of the gate and footsteps entering the yard. He groped his way out of the warm bed in the dark and lifted a corner of the curtain to look into the yard.

Upon discovering that Xu Dashan had clearly drunk quite a bit, he turned around and locked the door from the inside, staying in his room to avoid getting into trouble and having another argument late at night.

Although he wasn't afraid of his father at all, he didn't want to upset his mother.

At the same time, Zhao Fengying heard the noise and knew that her husband had returned, and her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.

Even after so many years of marriage, and despite the occasional arguments, there's still affection between them; it's impossible for them not to care about each other.

Xu Dashan, shivering with cold, quickly entered the house, his face flushed and a mysterious smile on his face, a stark contrast to when he slammed the door and left.

Zhao Fengying put down her needlework. "Where did you go drinking? What time is it? You should at least come home!"

"If I don't go home, where am I supposed to go? Sleeping outdoors in this freezing weather, I'll freeze to death! Do you think I'm stupid?" Xu Dashan complained as he took off his cotton-padded coat. "You old woman are really ruthless. You don't give me any face at all in front of the kids."

"That's your own fault. If you had spoken politely, would I have been so rude to you?" Zhao Fengying took his cotton-padded coat and hung it on the nail above the door. "I had some good news to tell you."

Xu Dashan asked curiously, "What good news?"

Zhao Fengying briefly explained, "My son got a good job selling stools... I sold ten in one go and made a dollar."

Xu Dashan was quite surprised. "This brat is quite good at making friends. I thought he only knew a bunch of scoundrels."

"Yes, our son is so capable. He usually doesn't cause trouble, but today he did something a little wrong, and you scolded him and even tried to hit him."

"I was just angry too..."

"What's done is done. We only have this one son. Do you really want to alienate him?"

"...Yingzi, tug on the hem of my cotton-padded trousers for me, I can't take them off by myself."

"What else can I do? I have to be waited on every day..."

Xu Bei listened to the faint sounds of conversation coming from the east room. It seemed that no one was making a fuss, so he yawned and went to sleep with peace of mind.

When Zhao Fengying woke up naturally the next day, Xu Dashan had already left for work, and only Zhao Fengying, who looked quite well, was busy in the kitchen.

"Son, you're sleeping so soundly, I didn't even want to wake you up."

Hurry up and get ready to wash up and eat, then take the money for the chair back to the owner, and pick up a sample for Mom while you're at it.

Seeing that his mother was in a good mood, Xu Bei was happy too. He patted his messy short hair and smiled, "Okay, Mom, I'll go after I finish eating. I definitely won't delay you from selling the stools."

Zhao Fengying paused for a moment, then said, "By the way, I've already told your dad about selling the stools."

Xu Bei wasn't surprised at all. "Really? What was my dad's reaction? He didn't say he objected, did he?"

"It's a good thing that those who stay at home and take care of the land can earn more, so why is he objecting?" Zhao Fengying once again acted as a peacemaker between father and son. "Actually, besides your sister and younger sister, you're our only son. How could your father not love you? Yesterday, things happened so suddenly that he didn't think things through..."

Xu Bei instantly understood his mother's intention.

Now that he has been reborn, his mother is still alive and well, and his father has not remarried, it would be best if the family could live in harmony.

So he cooperated and said, "I know my dad loves me. There's no grudge between father and son, don't worry, Mom."

After having a late breakfast, Xu Bei got dressed and left home, pretending to deliver money to someone.

After delivering a wooden stool to his home, he left again to go to the city.

First, I want to see if there's a suitable place to buy wooden stools, so that I can get closer to my upgrade goal.

Then, he went to the high school to find his younger sister, Xu Juan.

Although he knew that students only have one day off a week and his sister would probably not be able to go home until after her classes this afternoon, he still wanted to see her as soon as possible.

In the 1980s, the only way to get from Beishan Forestry Bureau to the city was by taking the forest railway train.

This is the most distinctive mode of transportation for local workers and their families during this era.

The type of train was not the standard green-skinned train, but a simple passenger carriage pulled by a narrow-gauge steam locomotive.

The carriage windows are large, but their sealing is generally poor.

In the summer, it can be turned on, but in the winter, a coal stove is used, and the car windows are often covered with a layer of fog or ice flowers.

Xu Bei spent a few cents to buy a ticket, boarded the train, and found a window seat.

Experiencing some of the unique characteristics of this era.

For example, people's overall clothing is in shades of blue, gray, and black.

Besides handmade cotton-padded coats and trousers, there were also sheepskin coats with the fur facing inwards and the leather facing outwards.

It would be extremely stylish for someone to wear a green military overcoat.

We also enjoyed the scenery along the way, which felt like we were traveling through a snow-covered forest.

An hour later, with a long whistle, the train slowly pulled into Lindu Station.

The platform here is much larger than that of Beishan Forestry Bureau, and the flow of people is much denser, bustling and noisy.

Xu Bei took a deep breath as he disembarked from the train with the other passengers.

The fresh, crisp scent of winter wafted over, instantly dispelling the stale air I had inhaled in the carriage, leaving me feeling much more refreshed.

Instead of browsing department stores, he went directly to the farmers' market in the city center...