Courtyard House: I'm an engineer, and a fairy godmother transferred me to a different position.

This completely ignited Sha Zhu, who raised his fist and was about to pounce.

Upon seeing this commotion, Jia Dongxu felt a headache coming on and quickly stood up, pulling Sha Zhu aside: "Alright, alright! Stop arguing! What's all this noise about after a few drinks!"

He was filled with helplessness.

I was hoping to have a nice drink and talk some serious business, but these two clowns ruined it all.

He finally understood—he must never invite these two to drinking, otherwise they wouldn't be able to say anything serious.

That silly Zhu... he's really making things a mess!

Seeing that the two were arguing so fiercely that their faces were red and their veins were throbbing, it was clear that the conversation couldn't continue.

That's it.

Anyway, there's still a long way to go, and there will always be opportunities to inquire again later.

Liu Guangqi, on the other hand, seemed to have expected this, and remained silent throughout, slowly sipping his wine and watching the farce with great interest.

This courtyard house is never quiet, not even for a single day.

The drinking session, amidst the bickering and arguing between Sha Zhu and Xu Damao, continued until the wee hours of the morning.

For Liu Guangqi, it wasn't a complete waste of time—at least he got to see some fun.

Living in the same backyard, he saw Xu Damao staggering drunkenly, shook his head, and helped him back to the back room.

But as he was leaving, this guy clung to the doorframe and mumbled towards the courtyard, "Silly Zhu...drink with your Grandpa Mao...do you submit...have you submitted yet!"

As for Sha Zhu, his situation wasn't much better than Xu Damao's. Jia Dongxu half-carried and half-supported him back to his room.

The next morning.

The sky was just beginning to lighten, but the cold wind was still swirling in the alley.

With the Lunar New Year approaching, not only the steel rolling mill has closed for the holidays, but other units and even the street offices have mostly left only one or two people on duty. Every household has taken a break and is busy preparing for the New Year.

In the house in the backyard.

At the dinner table, Aunt Er pushed a bowl of steaming hot porridge in front of Liu Guangqi and urged him with a smile, "Son, eat some more."

Liu Guangqi finished his breakfast in a few bites and put down his bowl with a smile.

Before returning home yesterday, he made a point of checking that there was still a considerable amount of food left in the house.

It was almost 1959.

The impending storm is already imminent.

Thinking of this, he took out a thick stack of colorful tickets from his pocket and gently patted them on the table.

"Dad, Mom."

"Since you have some free time today, gather all the coupons you've saved up at home, and let's go to the supply and marketing cooperative together to exchange them for goods."

Auntie Er panicked upon hearing this and reached out to collect the tickets: "Hey! Guangqi, what are you doing?"

"We finally managed to save up all these coupons, how can we spend them all at once? How will we survive after that?"

Liu Haizhong, also puzzled, chimed in, "Guangqi, you have everything you need at home, why do you insist on using all the receipts?"

Seeing his parents' reaction, Liu Guangqi wasn't in a hurry. He said slowly, "Dad, we only feel at ease when we have food at home. There are some things you two don't need to ask about. Just listen to me, you won't go wrong."

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong's ears twitched, but he still hesitated: "But this is too much money."

Liu Guangqi laughed: "What's the difference between money and coupons if you keep them and waste paper? Tell me, are tangible things more valuable, or are those few sheets of paper more valuable?"

By the end, his tone had become unquestionable: "Just listen to me, Hua!"

Liu Haizhong was speechless after hearing this. Although he couldn't figure out his son's thoughts, he vaguely sensed that the boy had his reasons for spending money. Looking at his son's determined expression, it didn't seem like a reckless impulse, but rather had a kind of... like the kind of drive he had when preparing gifts for his superiors before the New Year?

With that thought, Liu Hai's hesitation vanished immediately. He didn't ask any more questions and readily agreed, "Okay, I'll do as you say!"

He turned to his wife and ordered, "Honey, don't just stand there, go get all the receipts we have at home. Let's go all out and buy some things today!"

Seeing that her husband had spoken, the second aunt, though still feeling distressed and her lips trembling, could only turn around and get the tickets.

Before long, the family headed towards the supply and marketing cooperative in a large group. Before they even reached the door, the clamor of voices rushed towards them. The supply and marketing cooperative at the end of the year was like a boiling pot with its lid off, with people crowding the shelves, clamoring to buy New Year's goods.

Looking at the bustling scene, Liu Guangqi couldn't help but smile slightly—no matter the year, the enthusiasm for preparing for the New Year has never changed.

But he quickly realized that even spending a whole day in this crowded place wouldn't guarantee he'd buy everything, so he decided to go somewhere else. Once he made up his mind, he reached out and grabbed Liu Haizhong, who was about to push his way forward: "Dad, there are too many people here. Let's go to the state-run store. Perfect, we can get those big-ticket items like the 'three turns and one sound' (referring to a watch, a revolving door, and a radio) first, all in one go."

Pushing open the glass door of the state-run store, the family stepped inside. A sweet aroma, a blend of face cream and fruit candy, mingled with the chill of the outside air and hit their faces. Compared to the noisy, crowded supply and marketing cooperative, the shelves here were much neater, and the sales clerks seemed more polite. After all, those who could enter this place at the end of the year were at least somewhat confident. Even the usually indifferent clerks were a little less aloof this time.

Even so, the store was still packed with people. Preparing for the Lunar New Year seems to be a habit ingrained in people's bones. Regardless of their financial situation, they always put aside the year's hard work in the last few days of the year to prepare for this most important festival - this is probably what is called the "New Year's flavor".

Liu Guangqi stuffed a stack of grain coupons, cloth coupons, sugar coupons, and other miscellaneous receipts into his mother's hand: "Mom, let's buy them separately so we don't have to crowd together. You can take your time picking them out here, and we'll go inside and take a look."

Aunt Er took the ticket, looked at the dense crowd, and responded verbally, but couldn't hide the smile in her eyes. Liu Guangqi didn't join in the fun. He led his father Liu Haizhong, and Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu, who were looking around behind him, straight towards the large-item counter deep inside the store.

"Brother, look at that radio!" Liu Guangfu tugged at Liu Guangtian's sleeve, his eyes wide.

Liu Guangtian looked on with envy and said in a low voice, "This thing can make sound, it's amazing. Brother, do we have any radio vouchers?"

"Ahem!" Liu Haizhong coughed heavily with his hands behind his back, and scolded with a stern face, "Can't you be a little more steady? What are you looking around for! Stay close to me."

Even so, his own eyes were already drawn to the row of gleaming Forever bicycles not far away, and his pace unconsciously slowed down.

The larger counters further inside were indeed much quieter, with fewer people around.

Behind the bicycle rack, a saleswoman with short, shoulder-length hair was engrossed in working on an abacus, the beads clinking crisply. Hearing footsteps, she didn't even look up, simply asking, "Looking for bicycles? Do you have tickets?"

The programmed response had not yet completely faded.

The moment their eyes met, her fingers, which were moving the abacus beads, suddenly froze in mid-air.

The noise inside and outside the counter receded like the tide.

The young man standing before me was completely out of place amidst the hurried crowd around him; his unhurried gait seemed as if time itself had slowed down for him. With his handsome features and slender posture, he was like a vibrant scene that had quietly stepped out of a faded propaganda poster.

She remembered that face.

The floodgates of memory burst open, and vivid images from months ago rushed back—the young man who had pushed away a brand-new bicycle without batting an eye. On many days after he left, she couldn't help but glance at the empty bicycle rack.

And then we met again.

A slight warmth crept up her ears, and the earlier annoyance at being disturbed from her peace and quiet had vanished without a trace. She unconsciously straightened her back, adjusted her collar, and when she spoke again, her voice held a gentle warmth:

"It's you, comrade."

Liu Guangqi looked up at the sound of her voice, his gaze slightly unfamiliar. In this day and age, who among those who could stand firmly behind the counter of a state-owned store didn't possess an inner strength that others couldn't match? The unusual politeness of the woman before him surprised him somewhat. But he maintained his perfectly measured gentleness and nodded, saying, "Hello. I'd like to look at bicycles."

As soon as he finished speaking, he took out a slightly thick kraft paper envelope from his pocket, and with a flick of his wrist, poured the contents onto the clean countertop.

A small stack of receipts was scattered.

He calmly picked out one from the pile and handed it over. This wasn't intentional; it was simply that the coupons he'd accumulated over the past few months were numerous and varied, and with the extra allowance he'd just received yesterday, the sheer number of coupons made things even more chaotic. To avoid losing any, he'd grouped the most important ones together as a simple way to store them. He'd intended to collect them all today.

The saleswoman's gaze had been lingering on his fingers holding the ticket, but the next moment her attention was completely captured by the bright red name of the organization on the envelope.

First Ministry of Machine Building

It felt like something had gently bumped into my heart. His casual remark last time had actually come true.

Immediately, her gaze was fixed on the spread-out tickets—bicycle tickets, sewing machine tickets, watch tickets, radio tickets, and even tobacco and alcohol tickets with special markings… a dazzling array, like a small, mesmerizing microcosm.

Her hand, reaching out to take the ticket, froze halfway, her fingertips trembling almost imperceptibly. Her throat bobbed a few times before she found her voice, the way she addressed him unconsciously shifting:

"Sorry...you have a really complete set of tickets."

Over the years, she has seen many families save up money and ration coupons to buy "big-ticket" items. But which family didn't go through a lot of trouble, save up for years to exchange for a precious coupon, and be happy to bring home the item?

This is a scene where people dump all the "three turns and one sound" tickets on the counter like ordinary miscellaneous items...

I've never seen it with my own eyes, and I've never even heard of it before.

What kind of wealth must they have? No, what kind of status must they have to be able to afford such a thing?

Her gaze shifted between the young man's handsome features and the heavy stack of tickets, and in shock, she blurted out, "You...you're planning to buy everything at once?"

"Yes."

Liu Guangqi nodded, his tone calm and even: "The tickets are all here, please process them all at once."

The words "Supply by Ticket" on the four tickets were strikingly red, like four silent seals stamped on everyone's perception. The saleswoman felt a brief dizziness until Liu Guangqi's voice pulled her back to reality:

"Could you please calculate the total cost of these four items?"

"Okay...okay!"

She suddenly realized, as if waking from a dream, that this was no longer a matter that one person could easily handle, and hurriedly turned around and called out towards the inner room, "Director! Director, please come quickly!"

This call, like a pebble thrown into a tranquil lake, instantly shattered the quiet hum of everyone bustling about in the shop. Those pulling out cloth stopped, those looking at the candy turned their heads, and those selecting pastries all looked up.

The noise in the store suddenly froze. All eyes were focused in the same direction—on the young man in dark blue overalls standing in front of the counter.

"What a mess! What kind of scene is this!"

The bald man, holding an enamel teacup, pushed through the crowd, his brow furrowed. But when his gaze fell upon the four pale yellow receipts, something seemed to choke him. The teacup sloshed, and hot water splashed onto the back of his hand, yet he remained oblivious.

"This...this is the complete set of large-item tickets?"

The man's voice was erratic.

Liu Guangqi disliked being stared at. He had originally planned to finish the matter quietly, but he hadn't expected these four pieces of paper to carry such weight. Since he couldn't hide them anymore, there was no need to hide them any longer.

"Um."

"Forever heavy-duty bicycle, Shanghai all-steel watch, Butterfly sewing machine, Red Light radio."

"Please settle the payment."

His tone was like reciting a menu, but the air around him suddenly tensed up.

"God, he only picks the top brands!"

Whispers spread like wildfire.

The store manager had already changed his demeanor. He winked at the stunned female clerk: "Abacus!"

One person counted, the other calculated. The director's voice was exceptionally loud, each word striking the silence:

"Bicycles cost 180!"

"The watch is 125!"

"One hundred and twenty for a sewing machine!"

"The radio costs eighty-eight!"

The abacus beads clattered crisply and quickly, then stopped abruptly. The shop assistant looked up, her Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

"Total... five hundred and thirteen yuan."

The entire store was filled with the sound of synchronized suction.

Five hundred yuan—an amount an ordinary worker would have to save by clutching fifteen months' worth of wages, without eating or drinking. All eyes turned back to the young man, a mixture of surprise, bitterness, and disbelief filling the air.