Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 486 485 Urgent Telegram

After coming out of Liulichang, Tang Zhitong went into the alley, took out his bicycle, and then ran towards Fuchengmen.

Turn on the radar scan along the way. If you see a turtledove, pick up a big one and put it into the space.

The reason for coming to Fuchengmen was because Tang Zhitong had executed a rabbit here last time. It was a good place with few people and would not attract attention.

(The photo was taken in 1964, showing the inner city's western moat south of Fuchengmen. The city wall is no longer visible.)
At the same place as last time, Tang Zhitong parked his bicycle, pulled out his air gun, loaded the bullet, aimed, and then, while pulling the trigger, placed the turtledove at his aiming point.

Although he never missed a shot, due to the way the doves fluttered their wings after coming out, there were slight deviations, and not every shot hit the head.

Tang Zhitong was not greedy and only killed four.

While the turtledove was "calming down", Tang Zhitong did the same thing with a dozen rabbits.

In order to avoid being recognized as a domestic rabbit by others, Tang Zhitong performed a dermal removal surgery on the rabbit in the space, leaving no hair on its body, very clean.

If you take it out like this and say it is a hare, then it must be a hare.

Everyone has called a deer a horse, so calling a rabbit a rabbit is even easier to do. If you must question it, then don't eat it.

After tying the feet of the four cooled turtledoves with ropes and tying them into a string, Tang Zhitong then put on his air gun, shoulder bag, and water bottle, and rode his bicycle to Chunshu Hutong.

"You're lucky, you caught all of them today?" As soon as he entered the yard, Grandpa Gao, who came out to get water, saw the turtledove on the handlebars of Tang Zhitong's bike.

"Yes. Uncle Gao, would you like to try one?" Tang Zhitong got off his bicycle, took one off and handed it over. He had heartfelt admiration for the old soldiers and heroes who had come down from the front line.

"Take it back and add some to the little ones' dishes." Grandpa Gao waved his hand and refused to take it. Before entering the door, he turned around and said disdainfully: "Your shooting skills are poor, you need to practice more."

"Okay, I'll listen to you." You are a big shot, whatever you say is right, Tang Zhitong should be happy.

They agreed to it, but the escort department is not a formal professional soldier after all. How could they have so many opportunities to practice shooting?
After locking his bicycle, Tang Zhitong took his things and went upstairs with a clang.

Jingmin opened the door and saw Tang Zhitong. He called him brother-in-law enthusiastically. Then his eyes were a little busy and he looked at the turtledove and then at the air gun.

"Be careful not to hit your feet." Tang Zhitong put the turtledove on the ground, then took the air gun and handed it to his brother-in-law. There was no bullet in it, just a bare gun. It was still okay to try it out.

"Don't worry. Even if I fall, I have to put myself under the gun to prevent it from getting bumped." Wang Jingmin took the gun happily, aimed at it, and made "biubiubiu" noises with his mouth.

The Korean War was over just a few years ago, and now the whole country is filled with the voice of advocating martial arts, and children are no exception. However, due to their young age, no one has the chance to touch a real gun.

If a child steals an adult's iron tool, he will have to experience a "skin-to-flesh" package. At the mildest, he will be clamped under the arm and beaten with a bamboo stick. At the worst, he will be hung on the beam and have a close contact with a cowhide belt.

You can’t touch the real thing, but you can touch the fake one.

If anyone has a gun carved out of wood, it would be a treasure and they would want to hold it while sleeping.

If you show it off to your friends on the street during the day, you will have countless fans following you crazily.

When playing a game of fighting bandits, you must be the one with the highest rank, and everyone else has to listen to your orders.

"Brother-in-law, where is my sister?" Jingying asked, looking at the door that Tang Zhitong had closed.

"Your sister is at home. Why should I take her with me when I go out to hunt some game?" Tang Zhitong changed his shoes and put all the clinking pieces on the sofa.

"That's hard to say. You two have always been inseparable." Wang Jingying covered her mouth and laughed.

Ye Zhijuan heard the noise and came out of the kitchen with flour on her hands to greet him: "Anzi is here, please sit down first, I'll make the dough."

"Mom, you take a rest, I'll do it." Tang Zhitong took off his coat, threw it on the sofa, rolled up his sleeves, and walked towards the kitchen.

"You can do this?" Ye Zhijuan was a little surprised.

"I learned it from someone when I was on the construction site." Tang Zhitong lied. He had learned it in his previous life. Making fire cakes also requires leavening of dough, which is a little different from making steamed buns. He learned it by chance at that time.

"Then I can take a break." Hearing her son-in-law say this, Ye Zhijuan felt relieved. She followed him into the kitchen and rubbed the flour on her hands finely into the basin. She was afraid of wasting it, so she cleaned it up before she started to wash her hands.

After Ye Zhijuan was promoted, her salary level was 177 yuan. Later, her superiors required a salary reduction of 1%. After deducting union fees and organizational fees, she still received about yuan.

At her level, many people would hire a nanny, but considering that there are few people in the family and Wang Jingying can usually help share some of the burden, plus she has to send money to her mother-in-law, Ye Zhijuan did not hire a nanny from outside, and mostly solved all the problems herself.

A while ago, Ye Zhijuan bought more meals directly from the canteen, but the incremental method has been widely implemented in the past two days, and she felt that it was not cost-effective, so she picked up the job of steaming buns again.

After washing his hands, Tang Zhitong first mixed half a bowl of warm water and soaked the "old dough starter".

Then boil a pot of water to be used for processing the turtledoves later.

There is no civilian yeast at the moment. There is a factory in Shanghai that produces pressed yeast, which has a high water content and is generally used in industry.

The research and production of active dry yeast in China did not start and develop until the 70s, and production capacity was expanded in the 80s.

Old dough starter is a kind of yeast made by the people. The methods of making it vary from place to place, and the names are also different. Dregs, yeast, old fertilizer, old dough seeds, yeast dough, dough starter, and dough starter all refer to the same thing.

The old-fashioned starter in Sijiucheng is made by mixing soaked dough with bran and cornmeal, stirring it into granules, and then fully fermenting and drying it.

Store at room temperature and take it whenever you need it, very convenient.

Occasionally, the dough starter of a neighbor's house would be gnawed by mice, or would go bad or be lost. Neighbors would borrow it from each other and return it after it was done.

When making steamed buns with old dough, you need to pay attention to the fermentation time. If you do not do it properly, the dough will become sour. At this time, you will need to add some alkaline noodles to neutralize it.

In addition to the above methods, some people directly use baking soda as baking powder, but the amount of baking soda must be controlled, otherwise the surface of the steamed buns will turn yellow and there will be hard, yellow lumps inside.

Alkaline noodles have a wider range of applications. In addition to making dough, people used it to wash pots and dishes in their daily lives.

At that time, there was more supply of cooking oil and people were less willing to cherish food. But after the cooking oil was "saved" this year, more and more families boiled the oil with water and then drank it, without wasting a drop of oil.

Last year, the supply of alkaline noodles was a bit tight, but there was no purchase limit. Starting from February this year, alkaline noodles were supplied in a fixed quantity according to the population with non-staple food certificates. For households with less than 2 people, 4 taels of rice were provided per month; for households with more than 3 people, 4 taels of rice were provided per month.

The supply of baking soda is similar. It can also be purchased with coupons, one ounce per person per month, but there will be a small additional supply during holidays.

In addition to making steamed bread and fried dough sticks, baking soda can also treat excessive stomach acid. Some people have not eaten enough recently, so they have stomach problems, the main symptom of which is heartburn.

Pinch a little baking soda and drink it with water to relieve the pain quickly.

This is what Zhang Guifang did when she felt stomach discomfort a while ago.

Similarly, the sodium bicarbonate tablets in the hospital can also be used to make dough. When the supply becomes tighter next year, some people will do this and buy them and roll them into dough for use.

By then, someone will prescribe some Wu Ji Bai Feng Wan or something like that from the hospital to supplement nutrition.

In the face of hunger, people fully mobilized their intelligence and talents. Of course, the prerequisite is that they have to have money.

After kneading the dough, Tang Zhitong covered the basin with a lid, washed the handle, and prepared to process the turtledoves.

"Anzi, we just ate the roast duck you brought. You can take these turtledoves home." Seeing her son-in-law taking the turtledoves, Ye Zhijuan stopped him.

"Mom, there are some from both sides. A friend gave me four turtledoves yesterday and I ate them. This is the one I caught today." Tang Zhitong grinned and carried the turtledove into the kitchen.

Wang Jingmin was tired of raising his arms, so he put down the air gun and followed Tang Zhitong into the kitchen, watching him perform the boiling water beauty hair removal technique on the turtledove.

"Brother-in-law, my sister asked you to make a fishing rod for me. When will it be ready?" Wang Jingmin stood aside, staring intently, not disliking the smell.

"We'll have to wait about ten days." Tang Zhitong replied while pulling out the hair.

"Then when it's done, let's go fishing together. I haven't eaten for several days and I'm kind of craving it."

"Even if it's ready, I can't let you go. It's cold now. It might freeze in a couple of days. It won't be worth it if you catch a cold." Tang Zhitong refused.

"Oh... when will it snow? I want to go sledding."

"That's up to God, but I think it should be soon." Although Tang Zhitong doesn't know how to look at the sky, there is indeed more snow now than in a few decades. There are at least three to five heavy snowfalls every year, the kind that snows over the ankles.

Decades later, there are only two or three snowfalls a year at most, and none at least. The amount of snow is pitifully small, and much of the flavor of childhood is missing.

"Go, go downstairs and throw it away." Tang Zhitong squeezed out the turtledove feathers and the contents of its stomach and intestines and threw them all on the newspaper. He wrapped it up and handed it to Wang Jingmin. This thing had a strong smell and was not suitable to be kept in the house.

After sending my brother-in-law away, the rest is easy. I clean the vegetables, chop them into pieces with a knife, soak them in water, prepare the side dishes, and start stewing.

Tang Zhitong had lunch in Chunshu Hutong, but this time he ate the steamed bread prepared by his classmate Xiao Wang.

Ye Zhijuan asked Tang Zhitong to eat rice with her, but Tang Zhitong disagreed.

Although some supplementary food was delivered here many times, the couple never brought meal tickets every time they came, which was also a burden for Ye Zhijuan.

So, after finishing the meal, Tang Zhitong took out the food coupons that Wan Xiangyang had returned to him and gave them directly to Ye Zhijuan: "Mom, when I went to hunt turtledoves today, I passed by the park gate and saw someone selling food coupons. I bought a few. You can take them and use them to supplement the family."

"Your family has this child. You can take it. You have a large family." Ye Zhijuan waved her hand and refused to take it.

"Mom, Wenwen and I don't need anything for now. If we really need something, I can just go to the park entrance to buy some. It's not appropriate for you to go there with your status." Tang Zhitong put the grain office bill directly on the table.

"Alas, I have made you spend a lot of money. You have brought a lot of cabbage recently. How much is a pound of food coupons? I will give you the money." Ye Zhijuan sighed and did not insist. If her daughter and son-in-law did not help her, her life would be more difficult even if she had a high rank.

"Well, it's just some cabbage. There are plenty over there. If I wasn't afraid that it would go bad here, I would have brought it all here. You don't have to give me money for the food coupons, it's enough for us. I'll go check on the noodles." Tang Zhitong ignored this and went into the kitchen.

There is heating here, so the dough rises quickly. If it were at home, you would have to squat next to the stove to keep it warm.

After kneading the steamed buns, put them on the lid, then cover them with a piece of cloth, and let them rise for a while before steaming them.

"Eanzi, I've paid attention to Wang Bo's situation. He has learned well and has a high level of comprehension." Ye Zhijuan said after Tang Zhitong finished kneading the steamed buns and came out of the kitchen.

"That's good. The Women's Federation's arrangement to let male educated youth sign up was not in vain. Mom, just let it take its course. You don't have to take special care of it. It will have a bad impact on you if others know about it." Tang Zhitong was very happy that Wang Bo was doing well, but his base was still on Ye Zhijuan's side, and he couldn't lose the big picture for the small.

Although there are people who use backdoors now, such behavior is not looked down upon in the cultural context.

"Yes, I know." Ye Zhijuan nodded with satisfaction at her son-in-law's understanding and tact.

"Mom, you can steam it yourself for a while. I have something else to do, so I have to leave early." Tang Zhitong looked at his watch. He had to buy a steel saw blade to cut the teeth of the comb before the hardware store closed.

"Okay, slow down on the road."

When Tang Zhitong passed by a hardware store, he not only bought a hacksaw blade, but also bought several sheets of sandpaper for different purposes.

According to today's wood carving master, if you want to make a beautiful comb, you have to polish it from 200 mesh to 2000 mesh, and then brush it with a layer of beeswax or oil. This way it will be both beautiful and durable.

Tang Zhitong threw all these odds and ends into the space. He had no intention of doing handicrafts in front of classmate Xiao Wang. He had to do this behind her back, and it would be a surprise when he took them out later.

When Tang Zhitong got home, before he could put down his scattered things, classmate Xiao Wang came over and said, "Hey, there's a telegram for you."

"Who's here? Just open it and take a look." Tang Zhitong said as he put the things down.

"Uncle, my mom was afraid that there was something urgent, so she asked me to open it and read it." Xiao Wang winked at Tang Zhitong mischievously, and said with a smile: "I didn't mean to read your letter."

"Wow, look at what you said. We are friends, how can I not trust you? Besides, since the Virgin Queen Mother has given her an order, I have to listen to it too." Tang Zhitong washed his hands before taking the telegram.

Xiao Wang’s point is very good. Even if she is concerned about or curious about personal items such as letters, she will not check them privately.

Of course, Tang Zhitong would not look through Xiao Wang’s things.

"You're already married, but you keep talking nonsense all day long. It's a joke." Zhang Guifang glared at her son. What kind of family is this, the Holy Mother Empress Dowager? If it happened in the past, it would be disrespectful.

Tang Zhitong smiled and didn't say anything back. Since everyone at home was happy, there was nothing to worry about from his uncle's telegram.

Tang Wenbang's telegram was urgent, and the content was very concise: Everything is fine, don't worry. It's cold, please put on more clothes.

Tang Zhitong read it three times. "Everything is fine, don't worry" was a response to the question in his letter about the situation over there, and "It's cold, put on more clothes" was a subtle reference to the weather conditions over there.

To interpret it, it means: We are fine here, don't bring anything when you come this time. It's quite cold here, the river is frozen, you must wear more clothes when you come.

(End of this chapter)