Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 698 Chapter 697 Science and Technology Commission Visits
Tang Zhitong didn't feel the slightest bit disgusted by being given clothes, and they were old clothes at that.

When I was a child, my family was poor and I seldom bought new clothes. Most of the time, I wore hand-me-down clothes from my relatives’ brothers.

Tang Zhitong did not think this was a kind of charity, but rather a kind of help between family members, not to mention that the quality of those clothes was not bad.

Some people are giving their clothes away, but there are also many who choose to sell them for some money. Every once in a while there will be people in the alley shouting to recycle old clothes. They will classify them into different grades according to the quality and give different prices, without cheating anyone.

After the old clothes are recycled, they are washed and sent to the clothing store.

The clothing shop specializes in selling second-hand clothes. Before last year, the prices of used clothes were very affordable, and there were corresponding consumer groups for both high, medium and low-end clothes.

But starting this year, prices have been on an upward trend.

The main purpose of the Guyi Shop is recycling, so you don’t need cloth coupons to buy old clothes. However, this year fewer cloth coupons were issued, forcing the middle- and high-income groups who are used to buying new clothes to turn to the Guyi Shop.

Although there are more consumers, it does not affect the poor from continuing to buy clothes from clothing stores, because the clothes they choose are those with holes and patches, and their consumption levels do not overlap.

However, it is hard to say about next year. As cloth coupons continue to decrease, the clothing supply of clothing shops will become a problem. By then, most people will buy some tattered clothes to use as fabric for mending clothes.

When that time really comes, clothes will no longer be a matter of face. They only need to cover the body, keep out the cold and not reveal any flesh. Food, on the other hand, will become the most hard commodity.

Tang Zhitong left wearing Wu Haiyang's old uniform. Before leaving, he picked up the glass of water that Wu Haiyang poured for him and drank it all in one gulp.

It is very impolite not to drink a sip of water when the host pours it for you.

Although it was just a shirt, Tang Zhitong experienced the feeling of being a fox borrowing the power of a tiger. When he left the compound, not only was no one checking him, he also tricked someone into saluting him.

When they got home, Wang noticed something was wrong with her husband. She pulled Tang Zhitong's sleeve and asked in confusion, "Where did you get this shirt? Did my mom give it to me? No, I got ink on the sleeve of my dad's shirt."

"Hehe, Brother Haiyang gave it to me. How is it, are you feeling energetic?" Tang Zhitong tugged at the hem of his clothes and straightened his chest.

Since he was received and had a photo taken on his shoulder, he had gone through many reports and had to take on more duties. Tang Zhitong felt that he had changed. He had seen more scenes and his thoughts had changed accordingly. Mentally, he was no longer as timid as before.

"Yeah, very spirited. If he had another seal, people would believe him if he said he was an officer." Classmate Xiao Wang first took two steps back and looked at her husband carefully, then she covered her mouth and laughed.

"It's the same without the epaulettes. You don't know, when I went to Brother Yang's house this afternoon, although there was no inspection when entering the compound, I had to register. When I came out wearing this outfit, not only did no one question me, they also saluted me! My sister-in-law said that in the future, if I wear this outfit, I won't even have to register." Tang Zhitong recalled the scene when he was leaving the compound gate, and showed off to classmate Xiao Wang.

"Then did you return the gift to the sentry?" Classmate Wang did not ask why Wu Haiyang gave clothes to her husband or why her husband accepted the uniform. She knew that her husband was working on inventing an incubator, and this was Wu Haiyang and his wife's way of expressing their gratitude. It was just a tacit understanding.

"Should I return the gift? I thought I should, so I stopped my bike and returned the favor." Tang Zhitong scratched his head. This kind of etiquette was learned from some movies and TV dramas. He only knew the basics and it might not be accurate.

"When lining up or changing shifts at guard post, you have to turn back. But when passing by the gate, you can turn back if it is convenient, and it is okay to salute if it is not convenient. When a senior leader drives in, can you stop the car and return the salute?" Xiao Wang continued with a smile.

"Okay, so you were trying to trick me and wanted to see me make a fool of myself, right?" Tang Zhitong scratched Xiao Wang's nose. His words sounded like an angry question, but he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

"Hateful!" Xiao Wang covered her chest and pushed her husband's hand away, tears in her eyes almost overflowing.

"Hehe, I'll shave it in two days." Everyone's switches are in different positions. Xiao Wang's nose is one of the switches. Tang Zhitong rarely touches it outside, for fear of a bad ending.

"Hmph! Should we wear them or take them off?" Student Xiao Wang took out the uniform pants and the changed top from Tang Zhitong's bag and asked.

"Take it off." Maybe because he was wearing too many clothes, Tang Zhitong felt that the shirt was a little tight. It would probably fit better when the weather gets warmer in a few days.

"Then I'll fold it and put it away." Student Xiao Wang stretched out the pants that had creases on them and folded them again.

"Did our mother buy vegetables today?" Tang Zhitong asked while changing clothes.

"No, my mother went out this morning and came back in the afternoon. She dug up a lot of wild vegetables." Xiao Wang took the shirt her husband had changed out of, spread it on the bed, buttoned it, and then folded it carefully.

"Oh, then I'll mix some to eat later." Tang Zhitong changed his coat and watched Xiao Wang button up his shirt and fold it carefully. He felt very satisfied. If this happened a few decades later, many married women would not even hold a soy sauce bottle, let alone put away clothes.

I have accumulated blessings for several lifetimes. I am so happy to find such a virtuous wife!
"Don't stand there, you idiot. Go quickly." Xiao Wang looked up at her husband who was grinning at her and urged him.

"Yes, Chief!" Tang Zhitong stood at attention, saluted, and ran away.

It’s true, although he has never served in the military, Tang Zhitong likes the feeling of saluting.

Zhang Guifang dug up several kinds of wild vegetables from outside, mostly shepherd's purse, others included purslane, amaranth, and dandelion.

Malantou is the Malan flower that "blooms at twenty-one". It usually grows in fields. Horses are greedy for its juicy young leaves and always stay where they are and refuse to move, so it was named "Malantou". Later, because of a typo by someone in the previous dynasty, the name became Malantou, which is exactly the same as the origin of Zhongguancun.

"Wow, so much? It's enough to eat for several days." Tang Zhitong took a stool and sat opposite Zhang Guifang, picking vegetables together.

"It's so hard to go out, it would be a waste if we don't dig more." Zhang Guifang clearly classified the wild vegetables according to their types.

"Mom, I'll just dig a little when I come back from school. I heard from Wenwen that you've been out for most of the day and you're too tired." Looking at his mother who worked so hard for the family, Tang Zhitong felt a little uncomfortable.

"You have more important things to do, so don't waste time on this. It's not a hard job, it's just the time it takes to go back and forth. Your Aunt Ma has dug more than me." Zhang Guifang said indifferently.

"That's because her family has many people, so it's just right that you dig these. There are few of us and we can't eat much." Tang Zhitong comforted her while picking vegetables.

"We still have four hens at home, and we need to feed them, too. They have laid fewer eggs these days." Zhang Guifang looked at the wild vegetables on hand, which were enough to feed them for three or four days. "Oh, I was thinking about them laying eggs for us to eat, but I didn't expect it would be so difficult during this period of scarcity." Tang Zhitong has been busy these days, and sometimes he inevitably forgets to give the hens extra food.

"That's better than nothing. Wash these, blanch them and mix them. Since you don't like to eat bitter vegetables, I'll feed them to the chickens." Zhang Guifang saw that the wild vegetables had been picked almost completely, so she picked out the leaves, roots, and bitter vegetables and put them away all at once.

"Okay!" Tang Zhitong agreed readily.

Dandelion is a treasure from head to toe. It has the effects of clearing away heat and detoxifying, cooling blood and stopping bleeding, which is what people often call "de-fire". It can treat enteritis, dysentery, jaundice, sore throat, carbuncle, swelling and other diseases. However, due to its bitter taste, not many people like it. If you really eat it cold, you have to add some white sugar to neutralize some of the bitterness.

The ones picked out are shepherd's purse, purslane and amaranth.

Not to mention shepherd's purse, it has the best palatability and is eaten by the most people.

Portulaca oleracea also has the effects of clearing away heat and detoxifying, cooling blood and stopping bleeding. This thing is drought-resistant and will grow all over the ground after a while. You can't dig it all up. Many children pick two and squat on the ground to make necklaces or bracelets, treating it the same as sweet potato vines.

In addition to dandelions and purslane, Tang Zhitong also remembers a kind of wild vegetable called "Jijicao", "Qiqiya" and "Qiqicai" which also has a hemostatic effect, and the effect is very good. It is nicknamed "hemostatic grass" among the people.

When Tang Zhitong was a child, whenever he had some bumps and bruises, he would first look for this wild grass. Although there is a circle of thorns on the edge of the leaves, the taste of Qiqi buds is much better than that of bitter herbs and purslane!
Dandelion is bitter, Purslane is sour and greasy, and only the seven-leaf sprout has no peculiar smell, and even has a slight sweet aftertaste.

In fact, no matter which of the above, you just need to rub the leaves with your hands to squeeze out the juice and press it on the wound. You don’t have to chew it with your mouth. But rural kids are curious about everything. As long as it grows in the field, they want to taste it.

It is no exaggeration to say that any rural child who grew up in the fields has read half of the "Compendium of Materia Medica" when he was a child.

The methods of making cold wild vegetables are similar: blanch them, squeeze them dry, cut them a few times, then pour the sauce on them and stir them.

After mixing the wild vegetables, Tang Zhitong thought for a while, cut some more shredded vegetables, and made some spicy pickled vegetable shreds for Xiao Wang.

"Hey, the wild vegetables tonight have the effect of stopping bleeding. It's not suitable for you to eat too much these two days. I mixed some pickled vegetables for you. It will take a few days for you to consume it." After Tang Zhitong finished mixing, he went back to the room to tell Xiao Wang.

"Okay." Xiao Wang happily accepted her husband's concern.

During dinner, Zhang Guifang carefully noticed that her daughter-in-law was acting strangely. As a person who had experienced this, she thought about it for a while and understood the key point. She complained to her son: "Why don't you cook an egg for Wenwen?"

"Mom, it's okay. I'm fine eating pickles." Faced with her mother-in-law's concern, Xiao Wang blushed and covered up for her husband.

"Sister-in-law, don't you like eating wild vegetables?" Fengzhi asked ignorantly.

"Don't ask questions, little kid." Zhang Guifang glared at her little daughter and forbade her to ask any more questions.

Xiao Wang differed from her mother-in-law on this point. Although she couldn't bring herself to name the reason, she still answered her sister-in-law, "I love it, but I've been feeling sick these past two days. I'll eat it after this period."

"Well... Mom, I think my stomach will be uncomfortable tomorrow too." The family hadn't had any proper vegetables for several days, and there were no eggs at all. Fengzhi thought about the eggs and felt a little greedy. She found a lame excuse and tried to trick them into giving her an egg.

"Eat your meal. If you continue to talk nonsense, I will beat you." Zhang Guifang felt a little embarrassed and frowned after her daughter's behavior.

"Hehe, you deserve it!" Tang Zhitong watched the fun from the side without thinking it was a big deal. Being greedy is not wrong, but talking nonsense to get free food and drinks is wrong.

Under her mother's gaze, Fengzhi finally dared not say anything and finished her meal obediently.

After dinner, Tang Zhitong actually felt like he had "stealed a little time off from his busy life". He didn't have to pay taxes, nor did he have to rush his homework, and he didn't have to use his phone. He had nothing to do, so he read a Chinese-English and a Chinese-Russian dictionary before going to bed.

Monday, April 3th.

Tang Zhitong rushed to the Post and Telecommunications College early in the morning. Just as the first class started, he saw Zhou waving at him outside.

There was nothing Tang Zhitong could do, so he could only give the teacher an apologetic smile and then walked out.

After leaving the classroom, Tang Zhitong discovered that Ding Hui from the Science and Technology Committee was standing outside the door, waiting for him with a smile.

"Director Ding, you see, there is no need to follow us to the school for this matter, right? I will not be transferred to work at the Science and Technology Commission." After meeting Ding Hui, Tang Zhitong felt as if he was haunted by him. She had already rejected him through the Women's Federation, but Ding Hui not only went to the escort department but also followed him to the school. This was very rude, so Tang Zhitong directly expressed his attitude again in front of Zhou Zheng.

"Comrade Xiao Tang, this is not about job transfer. We want to invite you to work in the Science and Technology Association. This job does not need to be transferred." Facing Tang Zhitong's directness, Ding Hui's expression remained unchanged and he still had a smiling look on his face.

"Thank you for your kindness, leaders of the Science and Technology Commission. I'm too busy now and I can't just sit there and do nothing." Tang Zhitong still shook his head. He had experienced the rules of the Science and Technology Commission himself. They were very strict. What if they dug deeper into themselves and found something out, how would he be able to live?
"Why don't you make a phone call and ask first?" Ding Hui was a shrewd man. Facing Tang Zhitong's repeated rejection, his expression remained unchanged.

Ding Hui's words made Tang Zhitong lose confidence. It turned out that the other party came prepared?

"Um... there's a phone in the office." It was true that Zhou Zheng stood on Tang Zhitong's side, but it was the first time he saw a section-level cadre from a ministerial unit come to see Tang Zhitong, and what he was doing was to bring honor to the Post and Telecommunications University, which made him a little embarrassed.

"Okay, thank you, Teacher Zhou." Tang Zhitong didn't know what Ding Hui relied on. Since he had already said it, he would go and ask Director Ye.

Ding Hui and Teacher Zhou both understand the ways of the world. When Tang Zhitong called, they were very far away.

After the call was connected, Ye Zhijuan heard what was going on and said directly, "You should follow the arrangements of the Science and Technology Commission this time. I will tell you the details when you come over."

Okay, it’s not convenient to explain the reason over the phone, so I’ll go to the Women’s Federation later.

(End of this chapter)