Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 637 Power Outage
"Aesop's Fables" was borrowed by classmate Xiao Wang. After hearing Tang Zhitong say that he could show it to his younger brothers and sisters, he stuffed it directly into his bag before leaving.

Because he had to pick up his two younger sisters, Xiao Wang left work a little earlier.

"Is this your textbook? You put it at the back like this, aren't you afraid it will be stolen?" Xiao Wang asked when he saw the textbook tied to the back seat of Tang Zhitong's bicycle.

"I am still very confident in your unit. Besides, I asked Weimen to keep an eye on it when I enter." Tang Zhitong stopped smoking and had no plans to sell the cigarettes he had stockpiled. It was a good opportunity to use small favors to get things done, and the effect was quite good.

It is not ruled out that some people use their power to do their best to embarrass others, but most people actually just want some respect. There are many ways to express this respect, such as nodding and greeting when meeting, or passing out cigarettes, but the latter is more effective.

When passing by the door, Tang Zhitong did not forget to greet the guard.

"You treat this place like your own unit. You know it better than I do." Seeing the guard respond with a smile, Xiao Wang joked as he walked out of the door.

"Hahaha, you're such a beautiful female comrade, but people dare not get close to you even if they want to get acquainted with you?" Tang Zhitong waited for Xiao Wang to go first, and he followed, getting on his bicycle to protect Xiao Wang's left side.

Hearing her husband praising her, Xiao Wang snorted lightly with a hint of arrogance.

Tang Zhitong smiled. Although it was not spring yet, the weather had warmed up in the past two days. The wind was no longer biting, and the cotton wool on his hands had also faded. If it continued to be so hot, he would be able to go out for a spring outing in about ten days.

"The radio station called and said I'll try again tomorrow. I don't know if Fengzhi can be selected." Xiao Wang pedaled the bicycle with his long legs without any effort. He lifted the strands of hair that were blown in front of his face by the wind and said.

"Do your best. If you are selected, sing. If you are not selected, that's okay." Tang Zhitong didn't care much about this. He had never planned to let Fengzhi develop in the direction of literature and art. If he was at home at that time, he might not let Fengzhi go. But since classmate Xiao Wang had taken his sister there twice, he would just treat this time as an experience for his sister.

"It's easy for you to say that. What if Fengzhi cries? " Classmate Xiao Wang rolled her eyes at her husband.

"No problem. Make her some candied haws or crushed chestnuts. She won't care about anything else as long as there's something delicious." Tang Zhitong cheerfully gave a solution.

"How can you fool your sister like this?" Xiao Wang was a little dissatisfied, and then asked: "I noticed that you don't seem to be very enthusiastic about Fengzhi singing the song we wrote. Why?"

"Is it that obvious?" Tang Zhitong was stunned by Xiao Wang's words.

"It's not obvious, but you give me this feeling." Student Xiao Wang shook his head.

"Hahaha, no wonder we can become a couple, you can feel it. It's true that there is a bit of repulsion. I don't want Fengzhi to be exposed to that circle at such a young age. It's a bit messy." It has only been ten years since the liberation. Tang Zhitong thought that the relationships between people were clean until he sent Fengzhen and Jingying to the music conservatory last time and heard some gossip.

"Hmph, prejudice. There are good people everywhere, and there are bad people everywhere. We can't generalize to everyone, right? I study dance, so I'm considered a part of the art circle." Xiao Wang was a little dissatisfied with her husband's view.

"Haha, you are different. You are pure and untainted by the mud, and you are beautiful and yet not coquettish. I don't allow you to compare yourself with those coquettish and slutty girls. That is a devaluation of you." At present, calling someone a white lotus is a compliment. In a few decades, if you call someone a white lotus, you will definitely be scolded, and maybe even beaten. Since it is a good word, Tang Zhitong pretended to be serious and criticized Xiao Wang a little.

The two have been married for almost a year. They chat normally during the day, and at night, after their sweet time, they can't help but stay together for a while. It was also during this period that Tang Zhitong learned a lot about Xiao Wang's past.

The dance academy is not a monolithic entity, and the interpersonal relationships inside are no simpler than those outside.

Who is the lead dancer, who is partnered with whom, who is good friends with whom, who is interested in whom, who dislikes whom, etc.

The dance academy is a place where there are more girls than boys. Although the boys and girls who are in adolescence dare not be jealous of each other openly, they compete and make indirect accusations against each other in private.

Because Xiao Wang has a pretty face and a prominent figure, she inevitably becomes the focus of attention of several boys. A group of girls privately give her the nickname "Yourong".

This kind of nickname these days is very lethal. Xiao Wang cried several times in private. His unwillingness to settle down in the dance industry is inseparable from this.

Xiao Wang never mentioned these things to Ye Zhijuan. He only told Tang Zhitong about them after they got married. Tang Zhitong felt distressed and had to comfort her several times...

The No. 49 Experimental Middle School is not far from the Beijing Library. The two came to Erlong Road. There was a row of cars parked at the entrance of the alley outside, all of which were picking up students from school.

The people who came to pick up the students were definitely not the students’ parents, but their drivers.

In terms of time, the girls who can go to junior high school now were born before liberation. After a few years, when they moved to the city and divorced their wives and remarried, their children would also be of junior high school age. At that time, there would be more cars outside the school.

The wind may not be without this reason.

Looking at the row of small cars, Tang Zhitong's guilt for not wanting to uncover the truth for the sake of self-preservation faded even more. Compared with them, who is he?

Some people are good at solving problems, but they are even better at solving the people who raise problems. Tang Zhitong has a family and doesn't want to be the one to be solved.

After picking up the two younger sisters, the young couple walked one after the other like an escort, first sending Jingying to the gate of the Women's Federation dormitory, and then returning home with Fengzhen.

The bag of flour has been thrown into the space. After all, no one at home knows about it.

After returning home, Tang Zhitong first put the textbooks from last semester back into the room.

When I returned to the main house to cook, I heard the song "One Cent" from the house.

The aunt and sister-in-law, one is willing to teach and the other is willing to learn, Tang Zhitong is happy to see it happen.

In order to take care of Fengzhi's voice, Xiao Wang did not let Fengzhi practice for too long.

After dinner, Tang Zhitong took out several pieces of pickled cabbage from the pickle jar, washed off the salt and alkali layer on the outside, and started cutting them into shreds on the chopping board.

In the past, the pickled vegetable shreds had to be rinsed in water in a basin to remove the salt, but now, this step can be skipped.

Salty is better, salty goes well with rice.

Tang Zhitong cut most of the pickled vegetable shreds into a bowl, then poured a whole bottle of vinegar from his home into the bowl. While pretending to pour sesame oil, he added some vinegar and cooking oil, stirred it a few times with chopsticks, and covered it with a lid.

After being pickled overnight, it becomes a delicious sour and salty dish to go with rice the next morning. "Bring some to mom tomorrow. It's hard to get vegetables these days, so let's make do with it for the next few days." Tang Zhitong cleaned up the kitchen utensils on the table and said to Xiao Wang.

"Okay." Classmate Xiao Wang was supervising Fengzhi to do her homework, with the "Aesop's Fables" she borrowed from the Beijing Library next to her.

After finishing work, Tang Zhitong felt a little bored. If he had a cigarette before quitting smoking and watched his family having fun together, he would have felt extremely satisfied psychologically.

Without cigarettes, Tang Zhitong thought about revisiting his childhood classics, so he picked up "Aesop's Fables" to kill some time.

I hadn’t read two pages when the lights in the room went out.

"Well, there's a power outage." Tang Zhitong could only put the book down, take out a match from his pocket, strike a match for temporary lighting, and light the kerosene lamp.

"Why is there a constant power outage these past two days?" Zhang Guifang put down the unfinished cloth shoes in her hand, and with the help of the light from the match struck by Tang Zhitong, she stood up and turned on the light.

"Either there's a line failure or a power shortage, who knows." Tang Zhitong lit the kerosene lamp at the last moment when the match was about to burn out. If he wanted to change to a candle, he would definitely have to change another match, as wax is not as easy to ignite as kerosene.

"There was a power outage without any notice, and if the light bulb burns out we have to spend money to buy new ones." Zhang Guifang muttered after hearing her son's explanation.

Tang Zhitong chuckled, knowing that his mother pulled the zipper because she was worried about the light bulb. He also heard from somewhere that the light bulb could not withstand sudden power outages and would easily burn out.

Tang Zhitong has no idea whether it is true or not, but this saying will continue to spread.

"You have quit smoking, why do you still carry matches with you?" After the kerosene lamp was lit, Xiao Wang covered the lampshade, turned up the brightness, and asked.

"I don't smoke but others do, so I can't avoid lighting cigarettes for others." The reason Tang Zhitong gave was very sufficient. Although he had quit smoking, matches and cigarettes are essential items for socializing. These are just little skills in dealing with people.

Tang Zhitong understood why Xiao Wang cared so much about a match, because the purchase of matches was limited, and he would save as much as he could to avoid having no matches at home later.

Tang Zhitong felt that the more restrictions there were on purchases, the more he had to carry matches and cigarettes with him.

According to simple logic, if you can't even get enough to eat, it seems more cost-effective to quit smoking and save money to buy food. However, the fact is at the other extreme. If there are fewer boxed cigarettes, tobacco leaves will appear on the market.

The reason is probably because cigarettes can relieve stress. For example, Lu Jian and others would rather reduce the level of smoking than quit smoking. It's not that they don't know that quitting smoking can save money, but they are under a lot of pressure. After all, they are not like Tang Zhitong, who has a space plug-in.

In other words, tobacco was not strictly controlled in those days. Once it was strictly controlled, cigarettes would be out of stock at the end of the year. The more economically depressed the year, the more severe the shortage of low-priced cigarettes would be.

After lighting the kerosene lamp, Xiao Wang and Tang Zhitong stood up and made room for Fengzhi, letting Fengzhen and Fengzhi sit next to each other. Tang Zhitong had no intention of picking up the book again. No matter how big the flame of the kerosene lamp was, its brightness was limited. The book had to be spread on the table to be seen clearly. He stretched his neck to read, which was a bit tiring.

Beibei was probably the only one in the house who was not affected by the power outage. He lay obediently on the stool next to the stove, his eyes bright and shining with a creepy green light, and whoever he glared at made people scared.

If someone encounters a group of wild cats outdoors late at night, it will be very refreshing. Not only will it refresh you, but it will also stimulate your potential and inspire you to sing loudly.

"The grocery store is selling Iraqi dates today. I found out about it late and didn't buy any." Zhang Guifang wanted to sew more shoe soles, but when she tried it in her hand, she couldn't see it clearly, so she had to give up.

"If we didn't buy them, we didn't buy them. We don't need them at home." Tang Zhitong was not very keen on Iraqi dates. There were still some given by his mother-in-law last time, but Zhang Guifang had been holding on to them and was reluctant to give them to the children.

"That won't work. Iraqi dates are cheap and much more affordable than sugar. I'll go check again tomorrow." Zhang Guifang was not giving up. These were things that could satisfy hunger, and she would be losing out if she didn't buy them.

"That's fine. Since the grocery stores are selling it, the supply must be limited. There's no need to worry about not being able to buy it. It's just a matter of a day earlier or later." Tang Zhitong cast a vote in favor without any bias.

At the end of last year, when there was a shortage of non-staple food on the market, Iraqi dates were released. Now that there is a gap between the old and the new, it is understandable that another batch will be released.

This is the advantage of living in the old city. Even if you are just an ordinary citizen, there are people who are thinking hard about the heat supply issue for you.

"Mom, I have to take Fengzhi out early tomorrow morning, and there is no time to ask for leave for her. Should I tell the teacher at school?" Student Wang didn't worry much about the problem of supplementary food at home. When he saw his sister-in-law doing homework, he thought of asking for leave.

"Fengzhi, are you confident about tomorrow?" Tang Zhitong suddenly interrupted.

"Yes...right." Fengzhi heard her brother asking her, she raised her head and glanced at her brother and sister-in-law, not feeling very confident.

"Then there's no need to ask for leave. Just find an excuse later. Say you went to a radio station for an audition, so that Fengzhi won't be embarrassed if she doesn't get selected." Tang Zhitong said immediately after taking a look at his sister's expression.

"I will definitely be selected!" Fengzhi was unhappy when she heard her brother say that she would not be selected, and said angrily.

"Okay, keep up the good news and be more confident. We are waiting for your good news at home." With the competition approaching, Tang Zhitong certainly cannot discourage his sister, but he is not optimistic about Feng Zhi.

During the selection scene, Tang Zhitong heard from Xiao Wang that the other children all had special skills, experience, and cooperation with radio stations, and his family was truly grassroots, so how could he compare with them?
The only thing that is worth mentioning is probably the lyrics and composition of this song, right?
"Okay, the power is out. You should go to bed early and stop arguing with her." Zhang Guifang didn't spoil her daughter. As a younger sister, how should she talk to her brother and sister-in-law?

"Okay, you should go to bed early too. Leave your books here and read them when you have time after finishing your homework. Be careful not to get them dirty." Tang Zhitong stood up happily and took Xiao Wang back to the room.

Candles were used in the wing room, but there was no candlestick at home, so they just found an empty wine bottle as a base and used it.

When the candle is long, you can drip a few drops of wax on the table and press it directly on the table, but there will always be a moment when it burns short, which will cause irreversible damage to the table, so it is best to have a support under the candle.

When Tang Zhitong was a child, his family used wine bottles as the base of candles. They wrapped two layers of paper around the bottom of the candles and then stuffed them into the mouth of the wine bottle.

As the candle burns, the wax will flow down the candle and condense on the wine bottle when it gets cold.

Every once in a while, Tang Zhitong would skim the wax off the wine bottle and throw it into the furnace, which would produce a bright flame. This would then lead to his mother scolding him, who would accuse him of not knowing how to live and would want him to keep the wax to light the stove.

"Do you think we should buy a candlestick?" Tang Zhitong looked at the makeshift candlestick, which was not in harmony with the furniture, and asked Xiao Wang for his opinion.

(End of this chapter)