Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

When his sister mentioned the old lady with bound feet and his aunt Xu Dahong, who was only five years older than him, Xu Bei became furious.

If Zhao Fengying hadn't been a bit shrewish, and if Xu Dashan hadn't been completely blindly filial, someone else might have been bullied to death by that mother and daughter long ago.

He remembered that Xu Dahong wanted to find a partner in the forest area so that he could also receive government-supplied food, but because he had a rural household registration and was not good-looking, he went on several dates but none of them worked out.

Instead of looking for the cause within himself, he blamed his family, especially his mother, and was thoroughly resented.

After his mother passed away, the old woman with bound feet lived in his father's house. It happened to be her birthday, and Xu Dahong and the others came all the way from out of town. At the dinner table, they spread rumors about his mother, and in a fit of anger, he overturned the table.

"Don't listen to their nonsense! Let me tell you, Xiaojuan, these people are deliberately trying to hurt you, make you lose confidence, and make you doubt yourself. They'll want you to fail your exams and not be able to study. So, just focus on your studies, for yourself, and for our family!"

Xu Juan went home for New Year's Day. Her brother had changed a lot since then. "Brother, you talk so eloquently now, it's unbelievable! We've only been apart for a few days, and you're like a completely different person!"

Faced with his sister's suspicions, Xu Bei remained calm and confidently stated:

"That's right, I'm not like I used to be. Your brother has suddenly figured it out too. What's the point of living? Isn't it just to do whatever you want and have fun? If you're going to be miserable every day, you might as well die sooner!"

I got into an argument with my boss at work yesterday…

Xu Bei then proceeded to give a vivid account of what had happened the day before.

Xu Juan was both shocked and impressed. "Brother, you're amazing! Not only do you dare to argue with the boss, but you're not afraid of Dad either!"

Xu Bei raised his chin. "That's right. From now on, I'll protect you. Nobody will dare bully my sister!"

By the time the brother and sister boarded the little train and made their way home, Xu Dashan had already gone to work, leaving only Zhao Fengying at home working in the kitchen.

Seeing her son and youngest daughter return together, Zhao Fengying, who was already in a good mood, beamed with joy.

"Oh my, my dear daughter, why are you back so early this week?"

Xu Juan then mentioned the final exams on Monday, "...and then we can have winter break after the exams."

Zhao Fengying clapped her hands with a smile and said, "Great! Hurry up and finish the exam so you can have a holiday and come back to enjoy yourself and make up for it. Look how thin my old daughter has gotten from all that hard work. You must be hungry. The stewed pickled mustard greens and frozen tofu and the rice are still warming up in the pot. I'll also make you a few poached eggs."

Xu Juan said with a smile, "Okay, my brother and I both love to eat this."

Xu Bei put his sister's luggage, thermos, basin, and other belongings on the floor of the east room. Hearing this, he added, "Mom, here are the two pounds of pork I bought. Let's stew them tonight."

"You little rascal, why did you buy so much? Can't you just buy a pound to satisfy your craving?"

After taking the meat, Zhao Fengying didn't continue to complain about Xu Bei's wasteful spending. Instead, she smiled and said, "Great! With such a good job selling stools, our family won't have to eat meat every day, but we can have it every four or five days. Son, guess how much Mom ordered this time?"

As Xu Bei lathered his hands with soap, he chuckled, "It should be at least as much as yesterday."

"You're quite the guesser, kid," Zhao Fengying said smugly. "I went to the front and back yards and ordered 15. One family is planning to buy one to try it out. Oh, and your sister came over at noon too. She ordered 8, which is pretty good."

"That's pretty good," Xu Bei said, picking up a towel from the wrought iron washstand to dry his hands. "Mom, you're earning almost more than Dad makes in a day."

Zhao Fengying laughed happily, "Who says otherwise? It would be wonderful if it could be like this every day."

Xu Juan had heard about her mother and her family selling stools from her brother, and she was overjoyed. "After I go back to school and finish my exams, I'll ask my classmates if they need to buy stools."

Xu Bei liked that his younger sister had become more cheerful and adventurous, and he smiled as he reached out and flicked her forehead, "Oh dear, if our Xiao Juan gets an order, I'll deliver it no matter how far it is."

Zhao Fengying was somewhat surprised. "My youngest daughter seems to have changed. She would never have dared to bring this up with people before. But, is it alright if your classmates find out we sell stools? Will they look down on us or something?"

Xu Juan took Zhao Fengying's arm. "What's there to look down on? Don't worry, Mom. I only asked my close classmates."

On the kang table in the east room, the food, dishes, bowls, and chopsticks were quickly set back on.

Xu Bei put the pickled mustard greens, frozen tofu, and rice together, then added a poached egg and pickled vegetables on top. After mixing it all together, he found it incredibly delicious and ate two large bowls.

After dinner, he went back to the west room and had a good sleep.

After waking up, he pretended to pull the sled away.

Then, when he estimated that it was about time, he pulled the more than twenty wooden stools that had been tied together home.

As a result, after the mother and her two children unloaded ten stools and put them into the west room, Xu Bei was about to go with his mother to deliver stools to the neighbors when a person walked in from outside the gate.

Zhao Fengying greeted him warmly, "Dahei is here, come in quickly."

Then he turned to Xu Bei and said, "Then son, you don't need to go. Let your sister go with me."

Wearing a padded coat, hat, and gloves, Xu Juan immediately chimed in, "Yes, brother, you should stay with your buddy. I'll go with Mom."

Xu Bei had no choice but to agree, "Alright then. You two take it easy."

Seeing his childhood friend Dahei from his younger days filled him with emotion.

Dahei's real name is Zheng Lifeng. He's a really good person, honest and loyal, but he loves to drink too much.

The alcohol content of the loose-leaf liquor, especially in the forest area, is so high that it completely depletes the body.

He later suffered a cerebral thrombosis, and the aftereffects were similar to those of Wu Lao Er in Song Dandan's skit—he still drank without restraint.

Dahei had no idea what Xu Bei was thinking. As he followed Xu Bei into the house, he asked curiously, "Da Bei, why do you have so many stools? Where are you taking them?"

"I delivered it for someone else. Aren't you working at the grain depot?"

Xu Bei remembered that his childhood friend had also taken over his father's business, just like him.

However, before the old man retired, his children worked in the company almost like temporary workers.

"No. I only found out from my second aunt that you had a fight with your boss at work." Dahei sighed. "I should have known better than to let you drink so little..."

Xu Bei interrupted him with a laugh, "Why bring this up? It's not like anyone forced me to drink it. Besides, it's not a big deal, I didn't even think about it."

Big Black asked curiously, "So when are you going back to work?"

"No rush, let's rest for a few days and then talk about it."

Xu Bei knew that people still believed that having a stable job was the most important thing, so he would never say anything foolish like never going to work again.

"Taking a few days off is fine, but if you go back right away, your boss will definitely make things difficult for you."

Big Black paused for a moment, then suggested with a smile, "If we're not busy tonight, let's go see 'The Herdsman.' Old Xu, do you want a wife?"

Xu Bei knew about this joke in the movie, as he was often teased about it because of his surname Xu, so he laughed and said, "You keep it for yourself, I don't want it. Besides, it's no fun for two grown men to watch a movie together."

Dahei chuckled, "Who said it's just the two of us? If you're going, invite Guodong and the others too. Isn't his sister interested in you...?"