Hard times: I worked as a truck driver in the county town

The Jiang family members mostly returned home around 5:30 pm. Except for Jiang Dahe, a formal employee of the soy sauce factory, everyone else was wearing thick, worn-out clothes with many patches.

In the county town, cloth ration coupons were not issued monthly, but annually, twice a year, totaling sixteen and a half feet. Children over one year old received the same ration, while those under one year old received half.

A 16.5-foot cloth ration coupon is only enough for an adult to make a single-layer garment, not even a cotton-padded jacket, which has two layers, one inside and one outside.

Furthermore, the cloth coupons issued couldn't just be used for making clothes, quilts, towels, socks, cloth shoes, hats, and cloth bags, etc. All of these required cloth coupons.

There are four quarters in a year, but the cloth ration coupons issued are only enough to buy a single set of clothes, and a cotton-padded jacket for a child.

New clothes last three years, old clothes last three years, and patched-up clothes last another three years. This saying is not an exaggeration at all; it's normal to wear the same set of clothes for seven or eight years. In fact, since clothes in those days were mostly cotton-padded, they weren't very durable or thick. After a few years, the pants might tear after just squatting down.

In the county, many families may only have one or two decent pieces of clothing, and whoever goes out wears them.

Jiang Cheng served in the army for three years and was only issued one military overcoat, one set of cotton-padded clothes, two sets of single-layer clothes, a military cap, liberation shoes, and an old quilt. These were all things the army allowed him to take with him when he was discharged.

For dinner, I cooked sweet potato porridge with a small handful of rice as a garnish. The main food was whole grains like sweet potatoes, and the side dish was dried radish.

"Dad, Mom. I'm planning to get a bed frame to stay at my workplace after the New Year."

Jiang Cheng spoke up during dinner. There weren't many chairs in the house, so his parents, brother, and sister-in-law all sat at the table, while Jiang Fang and Jiang Juan stood to the side eating, each holding a bowl and picking up a little dried radish.

"Is it convenient to live there?" Wang Lan, the mother, asked.

"Buy a coal stove and a pot so we can cook over there. We'll have to buy these things sooner or later," Jiang Cheng replied.

Jiang Cheng had already told his family about the situation at the transportation station. There were only two people at the station at the moment, but they would have to hire a station attendant and a loader sooner or later.

After the New Year, the housing management department will arrange a suitable house for Jiang Cheng, but he still needs to buy a stove and a pot.

Father Jiang Dahe remained silent, knowing that his second son, Jiang Cheng, would eventually move out. Although Jiang Cheng's presence here did cause inconvenience for Jiang Yong and his eldest daughter-in-law, and even for them themselves.

However, it is beneficial for the family that Jiang Cheng lives with them.

Jiang Cheng returned from military service in mid-January, but after registering with the resettlement office and re-registering here, he could immediately receive a one-month ration.

Jiang Cheng has now started working as a driver, and his monthly ration has increased to forty jin (20 kg). He eats with everyone else, and his ration is shared with them.

Moreover, the last time Jiang Cheng went out to deliver coke to the coking plant, he brought back half a bag of coal.

Jiang Dahe knew that even if he kept his second son now, he would still have to move out after the New Year when his work unit allocated him housing. If it were a year ago, Jiang Dahe would definitely have demanded some money from Jiang Chengjiao.

But now the whole family has jobs, although they are not formal employees, and they don't need Jiang Cheng's help.

"Okay, let Yongzi move it back then," Jiang Dahe said.

There was no way to refuse, no reason to back down. Jiang Yong's face lit up with joy upon hearing this. He, his wife, and son would have their own room again, allowing them to hurry and have a second child.

After discussing this matter, Jiang Cheng also mentioned the day's driving trip, then took out a pack of Lushan cigarettes and gave one to each of Jiang Dahe and Jiang Yong. They both smoked, but they both smoked the cheapest "Economy" brand cigarettes, which cost eight cents a pack.

If you want to save money on smoking, especially if you're a heavy smoker, you can buy cigarette paper and tobacco leaves and roll your own cigarettes. Nowadays, only premium cigarettes come with a filter; other cigarettes don't.

This is truly a case of "when one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs benefit," meaning Jiang Dahe and Jiang Yong can also enjoy the good cigarettes. Furthermore, there are Jiang Cheng's two younger sisters; their second brother is a truck driver, and matchmakers always emphasize this when introducing potential partners to them, ensuring they can find men with better conditions.

It gets dark quickly in February, so Jiang Cheng went to wash up after dinner. Usually, everyone just goes to sleep when they see the sky, and there's no clock in the house.

We relied on the loudspeaker to wake up in the morning, which would sound promptly at six o'clock every morning. First, it would play the song "The East Is Red." If you heard the sound of news being read or newspaper summaries being published, it was basically already 6:30.

Jiang Cheng planned to arrive at Xiangyang Commune at six o'clock tomorrow morning. He could only rely on his intuition to get up early. If the broadcast came on, then he basically wouldn't need to go.

After washing up, Jiang Cheng went to bed early. Most people in the county town usually go to bed around eight o'clock, and in the summer, some might stay up later because they're outdoors enjoying the cool air.

Jiang Fang and Jiang Juan were busy in the kitchen for a while. When they washed up and returned to their room, they saw that Jiang Cheng was already lying down under the covers. They tried their best not to make any noise to disturb his sleep.

~~

Because you have something on your mind, especially something that requires you to get up early, sometimes it's like a magic trick—you'll wake up early instead of oversleeping.

When Jiang Cheng woke up the next day, the room was pitch black. That's the inconvenience of not having time; Jiang Cheng had no idea how long he had slept.

Jiang Cheng groped his way into the dark and put on the clothes he had taken off on the bed. Then, he checked his underwear pocket. It was bulging; inside were his demobilization pay and allowance of over a hundred yuan, as well as yesterday's wages and receipts.

The key to the transport station was also in his pocket. Jiang Cheng got up and left the room as quietly as possible.

The temperature outside was probably only a few degrees Celsius, but Jiang Cheng felt fine wearing a military overcoat and a hat. It was brighter outside than inside, and he could clearly see the road on the ground. Jiang Cheng quickly walked towards the transport station.

There wasn't a soul on the street, but as he passed the breakfast stalls, he could still see lights on inside. This reassured Jiang Cheng a bit; he was worried he'd wake up after only a few hours of sleep. If it was too early, he'd have to nap in the break room.

The breakfast stall was lit up, so it must have been at least three or four o'clock.

When Jiang Cheng arrived at the transport station, he went straight to the rest room. The clock showed 4:08. In the rest room, Jiang Cheng took out gloves and a flashlight from the drawer of the table.

The flashlights were also provided to the transport station, and there's only one for now. If there were extras, Jiang Cheng would just keep one in the vehicle. He only carries it when he's on a trip; it's not usually used, but it's there in case the vehicle breaks down at night.

With swift movements, he quickly started the engine, then got in the car and turned on the headlights. The two headlights emitted a dim, yellowish light that was penetrating but not glaring.

If it weren't for the changes at work, Jiang Cheng would probably have been driving this car for many years. So, sitting in the car gives him a sense of security.

The streets were deserted. Jiang Cheng left the transport station and drove at around 40 km/h towards Xiangyang Commune. He slowed down briefly and lit a cigarette.

Jiang Cheng wanted to learn to smoke, not for the sake of smoking itself, but for the sake of socializing. Besides, in this day and age, it was indeed a bit embarrassing for a man who had started working to say he didn't smoke.

So Jiang Cheng basically only takes a puff, and actually inhales a tiny bit of smoke; he just wants the feeling. The feeling of driving with a cigarette in his mouth, looking cool.

As dawn broke and light began to appear, Jiang Cheng arrived at the intersection of Xiangyang Commune. The road was about three and a half meters wide, only wide enough for one car to pass at a time.

"Ding! Time and location match. You may enter the Xiangyang Commune market area."

"1. Funds available for conversion: 132.5 yuan."

Second, if the vehicle does not meet the standards, it can be converted.

Just as Jiang Cheng was about to drive the Jiefang truck onto the road leading to Xiangyang Commune, the vehicle "went out of control." It stopped moving forward without any response, but when he shifted into reverse, he could feel the vehicle's power.

Jiang Cheng didn't make a choice immediately. The current situation was different from the system he had known for over ten years. He initially thought that coming here and entering Xiangyang Commune would naturally bring him some kind of opportunity.

Previously, choices were singular; once a certain opportunity was chosen, there was no follow-up. This time, however, there have been continuous choices.

The other two options for division seem to be functional choices.

He hesitated for a moment, then thought, "Since I'm already here, I've had this system for so many years. Putting everything else aside, at least for Jiang Cheng, the choices offered haven't been bad for him."

If different choices could lead to bad things, then Jiang Cheng wouldn't have had such a smooth and successful life.

Therefore, Jiang Cheng took out the money on his body. He actually had more than 132.5 yuan, but 132.76 yuan.

Using his mind, Jiang Cheng first selected option one and converted the funds. When making the selection, the system did not require him to keep the money in his hand, but Jiang Cheng couldn't understand how the funds were converted, so he kept it in his hand.

Then Jiang Cheng witnessed a magical scene: over 130 yuan, the largest denomination being a ten-yuan note. He could hold a small bundle in his hand, but after making his choice, a beautiful red banknote and several other banknotes of different colors and sizes appeared.

Looking at the money in his hand, especially the production date on the currency, Jiang Cheng could feel his heart beating faster.

It's a date from over sixty years in the future! Does this mean money will look like this sixty years from now, and there will even be 100-yuan notes?

In the past, people in the county town would often take their families to a market if they had free time. But after 1955, market events became very rare.

It's impossible that the county wouldn't have any news about the market in Xiangyang Commune. Besides, Xiangyang Commune is quite remote from the county seat, so it's unlikely that a market would be held there.

The system converted the money to be from more than sixty years in the future. Jiang Cheng felt that the system wouldn't give such a prompt for no reason, so there must be something wrong with this market.

Jiang Cheng put the money in his pocket and continued to select the second option using his mind. This was the first time the system allowed multiple selections; previously, he had to choose one from several options.

After selecting the vehicle switch, Jiang Cheng was surprised to see an image interface appear before him. He already knew that only he could see such interfaces. This was just the first time he'd seen one with images; before, it was always text. The first time, there was even a sound.

~~

A dozen minutes later, Jiang Cheng drove an electric tricycle into the territory of Xiangyang Commune. If he hadn't needed to practice driving the tricycle, he would have made his choice long ago.

Driving the electric tricycle, Jiang Cheng felt that this thing was really amazing. It didn't need an engine to start; you could use it by inserting the key and turning it. Moving forward and backward was also very simple, and he mastered how to drive it in just a few moments.

Upon entering the territory of Xiangyang Commune, Jiang Cheng was truly shocked. This small commune had paved roads with cement, a stark contrast to what he saw before entering.

Riding a tricycle along the cement road, I looked at Xiangyang Commune not far away. Everywhere there were self-built cement buildings, even more beautiful than the villas in the city.

After entering Xiangyang Commune, it seems that they also celebrate the New Year here. The years may be different, but the months and climate are similar.

The street was lined with shops, but most were closed, probably because it was so early. However, the breakfast stalls were already open for business.

Jiang Cheng hadn't had breakfast yet when he saw a steamed bun shop and parked his tricycle next to it.

"Boss, what would you like to eat?" The sachet at the steamed bun shop asked Jiang Cheng as he approached, immediately taking out a plastic bag.

"Just looking," Jiang Cheng replied, shaking his head somewhat awkwardly.

Leaving the steamed bun shop, Jiang Cheng immediately returned to his tricycle, his heartbeat slowly calming down. It was only after arriving at the shop that he noticed a price list hanging above the steamer baskets of buns.

Three-delicacy buns and beef buns cost two yuan each, meat buns cost one yuan and fifty cents each, and vegetable buns cost one yuan each. There are also tea eggs, which Jiang Cheng had never heard of before. If you take the name literally, it's eggs boiled in tea.

In Jiang Cheng's mind, tea was a very scarce product; one could only buy a few ounces during the Chinese New Year, and even then, it was usually broken tea leaves. Generally, people who could drink tea were high-ranking officials.

A vegetable bun cost a dollar, while in the county town's breakfast stalls it would only cost four cents, plus two ounces of grain coupons. Meat buns cost eight cents, plus extra meat coupons, and only a few were sold each day; breakfast stalls didn't make many.

Now, in Xiangyang Town, more than sixty years later, Jiang Cheng never imagined the price would be so high. He figured he'd be back in about an hour, not wanting to be late for work. Even though he only drove when he had orders, what if, by sheer coincidence, an order came along?

Riding his tricycle, Jiang Cheng planned to ask someone where the local market was. Asking for directions also reminded him that the clerk at the steamed bun shop had called him "boss."

They call each other "boss" instead of "comrade," which is also strange. Another odd thing is that the pedestrians on the street are all dressed very "well."

There wasn't a single person wearing patched clothes, and the clothes were brightly colored, with several different colors.

During Jiang Cheng's era, the main colors of clothing worn by residents of the county town were gray and blue. Black was generally used for trousers, while older people preferred black shirts, as they conveyed a sense of solemnity. Yellow, a kind of earthy yellow, was also a popular color among some employees, as was green military uniforms.

Another issue is the limited color options; most garments are only one color. While most of the clothes he sees are also only one color, some wear stripes in one or two colors.

Jiang Cheng was truly amazed to come to the market in Xiangyang Commune today. This is just a township more than sixty years later; he really doesn't know what the county seat and city will be like in sixty years.

On the way, Jiang Cheng asked an older woman where the market was, and learned that it was near a farmers' market not far away. He had already decided that he wouldn't buy anything if it was too expensive; a vegetable bun cost a dollar, and he really didn't know how much other things would cost.