Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 711: Berlin Love Talk

Early in the morning on March 3, Zhang Guifang got up to knead the dough.

Tang Zhitong said yesterday that he wanted to eat noodles, so we have to arrange it today.

Add appropriate amount of water to the flour, stir evenly, knead it repeatedly into a dough, put it on the chopping board, and press it little by little with a rolling pin to stretch it into a pancake.

Zhang Guifang sprinkled some flour on the dough from time to time to prevent it from sticking. After a while, the diameter of the dough became larger than the rolling pin.

After feeling the thickness, Zhang Guifang thought it was about right, so she folded the dough up and then started cutting it with a knife.

"Mom, do you want to eat noodles this morning?" Fengzhi was awakened by the noise outside. She put on her clothes and came out rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Well, wash your face and brush your teeth." Zhang Guifang didn't look back and concentrated on cutting noodles.

There are certain rules for eating noodles in Sijiucheng. The width of the noodles changes with the season: thinner when it is cold and wider when it is hot.

The thinner the better, the slower it cools down. On a cold day, you can slurp a hot meal and feel comfortable from the inside out.

This is not possible in summer. Even if the wide noodles cool down quickly, it is still not satisfying. They have to be rinsed again with well water, commonly known as cold noodles.

It is not suitable to eat cold noodles at this time of year, so the noodles Zhang Guifang cut were not that wide.

After cutting the noodles, sprinkle some flour on them, then scoop them up with both hands, shake them, place them on the lid and wait to be put into the pot.

As for how to eat it, Zhang Guifang plans to ask her son later.

"Let me make some simple fried sauce." After Tang Zhitong got up, he answered his mother's question.

There are generally two ways to eat noodles in the city, fried noodles with soybean paste and cold noodles.

Zhajiangmian can be eaten all year round. Meat is an indispensable part of it. If it is paired with a few side dishes of vegetables, it becomes a delicious home-cooked meal.

Cold noodles are light and basically contain no meat. The noodles are bathed in well water, scooped into a plate, sprinkled with pickled vegetables, cucumber shreds, and minced garlic, stirred and then eaten.

Conditions were limited, and Tang Zhitong made it easily. The main ingredient was the fresh and tender toon sprouts that had been dried last night, which were diced and set aside.

Add half a spoonful of lard into the pan, and when the oil is hot, pour in the diced toon sprouts and stir-fry.

Although there is not much oil, try to make sure each toon sprout is coated with a little bit of oil.

When it is almost done, add soy sauce and salt to season, then serve as frying sauce.

Due to limited conditions, this is all we can do for now, but it is not too weak for toon sprouts.

In the diet of the people in Beijing, the only dish that can be associated with Chinese toon sprouts and other meat dishes is probably Chinese toon fish.

For other dishes like toon sprouts with tofu and toon beans, just add two drops of sesame oil and that's it. Even scrambled eggs with toon sprouts are probably mostly stir-fried with water.

"Brother, do you think noodles can be mixed with applesauce?" While the noodles were cooking, Fengzhi finished washing and drooled as she stared at the noodles in the pot.

"Sweet noodles? How did you come up with that? What a weird way to eat it." Tang Zhitong knew that his sister was thinking about applesauce, but he still shook his head and rejected her suggestion.

There is a debate over the sweetness and saltiness of tofu pudding and soy milk, but when it is put on noodles, it is probably mostly salty or spicy. Even if it is a little sweet, it is mainly for seasoning rather than to dominate the meal.

Even though there was no applesauce, Fengzhi still concentrated on eating, almost burying her head in the bowl.

"Mom, please take some time to stew some soybeans today. We'll make some toon beans tonight." Tang Zhitong ate with relish. The family's staple food was cornmeal, and they ate less flour.

Although the proportion of flour coupons in each person's grain ration has not changed, the flour supplied by grain stores is not very timely and there is a slight downward trend.

"Okay." Zhang Guifang nodded in agreement, glanced at the children, and prepared to add two spoonfuls of soup to the food they had finished.

Noodle soup contains flour used in the noodle-making process, which must not be wasted. It must be drunk into the stomach and the original soup will be digested as food.

"What are toona beans?" This was the first time Xiao Wang had heard of it and he asked curiously.

"The cold dish of toon sprouts and braised soybeans with two drops of sesame oil is quite delicious." Tang Zhitong said with a grin.

The so-called deliciousness depends on what you compare it with. Toona sinensis beans cannot compare with big fish and meat, but they are still more delicious than mixed wild vegetables.

After eating a bowl of noodles and drinking half a bowl of soup, Tang Zhitong was about to go out when he remembered that he had to continue to exchange for toon sprouts tonight, and would have no chance of getting toon beans!
"Mom, I've been busy lately and haven't had time to deal with some things at school. I may have to come back later today. You can eat first and don't have to wait for me." Tang Zhitong stepped out of the door with one foot and the other foot was still in the house. He stopped as a notification.

"Got it. I'll mix some more Chinese toon beans and save them for you." Zhang Guifang responded from inside the house.

Xiao Wang also heard what her husband said and smiled without saying anything.

My husband now has several jobs and there must be a lot of things he needs to deal with. I can do little to help, so I naturally cannot fall behind.

After more than twenty days of hard work, the chain reactions caused by Tang Zhitong's interview finally came to an end.

Today, Tang Zhitong sat in the classroom seriously, doing his homework, and even went to the classroom in the afternoon.

"Teacher Tang, why didn't you go to work today?" Today is Saturday, and the Cable Department has no classes in the afternoon. Luo Zhiping came to the classroom and asked in a mean way.

"There is too much homework to be done, so we have to catch up today. Why didn't you go home today?" Tang Zhitong stretched his stiff wrist and rubbed the callus on the first joint of his right middle finger.

People who work in the fields with a hoe all year round will have calluses on the palms of their hands. Students and cadres also have calluses on the first joint of their middle fingers because they write frequently.

In a few decades, the calluses on farmers' hands will not disappear, but the calluses on cattle and horses' hands will be replaced by tenosynovitis, because by then, except for students, basically no one will write with pens anymore, and will use mobile phones, computers, and tablets instead. "Hehe, hehe." Luo Zhiping smiled embarrassedly when he heard Tang Zhitong ask this.

Seeing Luo Zhiping's expression, Tang Zhitong seemed to understand something. He winked at him mischievously and said nothing more.

This person, once a thief, is prone to feeling guilty. Luo Zhiping is one of them. After receiving Tang Zhitong's meaningful look, he quickly explained, "We are showing a movie in the college tonight."

"Movie? It's shown almost every Saturday, right?" Tang Zhitong thought Luo Zhiping was going to do something he didn't want others to see, but he didn't expect that after all he talked about it, it was just a movie.

"It's shown every week, but today is different. It's a movie from the north!" When he talked about this, Luo Zhiping became excited, and his eyes sparkled.

"We've shown movies from the North before, right? It's as if you haven't seen them before." When it comes to movies, Tang Zhitong has watched a lot of films and can be said to be knowledgeable. He has watched not only movies from the North, but also movies from the East and West, covering all types and sizes.

Although he has watched a lot, there are some films that Tang Zhitong will not watch.

Life is tiring enough, just watching some electronic pickled mustard tubers can ease your tense nerves, as long as it feels good. Tang Zhitong is unwilling to waste his brain on movies with too many ideological connotations.

As for today’s movies, almost all of them bear the stamp of the times.

After entering this era, although Tang Zhitong has watched movies, most of the time he did so to find a corner to discuss life alone with his classmate Xiao Wang. Not many of them were actually watched to the end.

"This time it's different, because it's a private film, and it was never shown before!" At this point, Luo Zhiping was no longer tired, and said mysteriously to Tang Zhitong: "There are such scenes in this movie."

"Which one? The kind that has no money to buy clothes?" Tang Zhitong teased.

"Hey, Teacher Tang, you have become a bad person. Are you talking about having no money to buy clothes?" Luo Zhiping was not stupid. He was in his youth and became more excited when talking about this topic.

"I mean I don't have money to buy clothes. Have you seen the White-Haired Girl? Xier doesn't have money to buy clothes." Tang Zhitong saw that Luo Zhiping understood, but he started to play dumb. He couldn't say something inappropriate in front of other classmates, right? After all, there were people who really listened!
Facing Tang Zhitong's playful smile, Luo Zhiping was stunned and could only respond: "Yes, yes, it's just as I thought."

"Oh? So the film being screened this time is the northern version of The White-Haired Girl?" Seeing Luo Zhiping agreeing reluctantly, Tang Zhitong chuckled and did not let him go.

"Teacher Tang, the movie we're playing this time is 'Berlin Love Talk'. I heard that it contains scenes like this." Some of the students who were listening attentively couldn't hold their excitement. They turned their heads from the front row, made bird beak shapes with their left and right hands, and then moved closer to each other.

"Wow, no wonder the squad leader is so looking forward to it. This is much more festive than not having money to buy clothes." Tang Zhitong didn't know whether the sign language is unified now, but this action can be basically understood by everyone, mouth to mouth.

After saying that, Tang Zhitong looked at Luo Zhiping with pity. The poor kid had never eaten any fine food, but he was so excited by a kissing scene. How would he feel if he had really seen a movie about a man who had no money to buy clothes?
However, is it appropriate for the school to do this? Showing this kind of movie to a group of young men and women with raging hormones is encouraging students to do something else besides studying? Aren't they afraid of something going wrong?
"Teacher Tang, do you want to go and see it?" Luo Zhiping invited.

The notice for the broadcast of "Berlin Love Talk" has been posted. Students in the school who have watched the internal version have already told their roommates about the key scenes. Then the word spread from one to ten, from ten to a hundred, and from a hundred to a thousand. Soon, many students were looking forward to the arrival of night with a devout heart to learn.

"Forget it, I won't go. I have to go to the research class. I've been busy these days, and the progress of the part I'm responsible for is a bit slow. I have to catch up." Tang Zhitong shook his head and refused. What's so good about a kissing scene? It doesn't arouse interest at all. It's not as exciting as the DVDs in the small screening room back then.

However, this kind of scene is a sure kill for today's young people. The first domestic film with an intimate scene was "Lush Mountain Love", which was not released for another 20 years, and it only featured a kiss on the cheek.

"Go ahead, learn what you should learn and criticize what you should criticize." After Tang Zhitong finished speaking, he pointed at Luo Zhiping again meaningfully.

Tang Zhitong has no control over how the school arranges things, but he wants the old man to learn some bad things and bring them back. If someone gets killed, should he, as the student committee member, take care of it or not?

During lunch in the afternoon, everyone in the dormitory, whether married or celibate, participated in the discussion of "Berlin Love Talk". Dirty jokes were flying everywhere, making the new guys' blood boil.

After dinner, those who planned to go to the movies went to the playground early to occupy advantageous positions. Tang Zhitong took his time to finish cleaning the lunch box and went to the scientific research class.

As soon as he entered the classroom, Tang Zhitong handed a few parts to Bi Bin as usual, then looked around and asked, "Team leader, there are not many people here today, where are they all?"

"Let's go to the movies. I heard it can broaden our horizons, so let's go and broaden our horizons." Bi Bin replied nonchalantly while measuring the parts that Tang Zhitong had rubbed out with a hook.

"'Berlin Love Talk', right? Team leader, why don't you go and broaden your horizons?" Tang Zhitong sat down and watched Bi Bin busying himself. The few people in the classroom were also a little absent-minded, as if they wanted to go to the movies to broaden their horizons.

"No, there's nothing interesting about the movie. It will only slow down my speed in making the model airplane." Bi Bin focused on the measurement work at hand, and occasionally glanced at the blueprint.

"Team leader, you'll easily end up single if you continue like this." Bi Bin was very aware, but what he said made Tang Zhitong laugh and cry.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Once you get a job, you can rely on the organization to assign you a job." Bi Bin said seriously.

"You're right, this is a good idea." Tang Zhitong gave Bi Bin a thumbs up. Although the stage of organizational assignment of partners has long passed, the current trade unions and women's federations will not look at employees being single and will still introduce some to them.

"Hey, there's no point in talking about it now. The work will most likely not be assigned to the same team. You know what, you did a really good job processing these parts." Bi Bin put down the vernier caliper in his hand, took the one made by Tang Zhitong in his hand, stroked it carefully, and praised.

"It's okay. Everyone has done a good job and the prototype has come out." During the days when Tang Zhitong was away, the students in the scientific research class were not idle either. The skeletons of the ship models of the three groups have been completed.

"There is strength in numbers. This is what we think about the incubator..." Bi Bin put down the parts in his hand, took his notebook, opened it and placed it in front of Tang Zhitong. He also sat down and went over the research team's discussion results with Tang Zhitong one by one.

"Everyone has good ideas. This, this, and this, they are all refreshing and inspiring. However, I think the first function of an incubator is to keep warm, and reliability and stability must be guaranteed." Tang Zhitong mainly encouraged the research team's efforts, but he also cut out some ideas.

As we all know, for mechanical or electronic products, the more functions they have, the more parts they need. Once there are too many parts, it is difficult to ensure stability.

At present, both materials and technology are not suitable for development towards full functionality. If a malfunction occurs in the middle of the night and cannot be discovered in time, a life may be taken away.

"Okay, then let's discuss it further and see how to change it." Bi Bin understood and took over the matter.

"The next step is to make a model, right? I'll give you some funding first. Buy what you need. You need to separate the materials with the research class. Don't take advantage of the school." After Tang Zhitong said this, he took out thirty yuan from his pocket and handed it over.

"As it happens, tomorrow is Sunday. I will take my comrades to buy the materials and give you the receipt together on Monday." Bi Bin took it without any hesitation.

"Okay, the team leader will make the final decision."

(End of this chapter)