Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 815 814 Ta-da!
After the closed-door meeting ended, the delegates went home, and dinner was not provided this time.

During the past few days of meetings, Tang Zhitong has been going home after dinner.

It was still early, so Tang Zhitong went to see Xiao Wang first. Last night, Xiao Wang had been acting mysteriously and asked Tang Zhitong to go to the National Library of China after get off work.

"What's going on? Why are you being so secretive?" Tang Zhitong asked Xiao Wang what was going on yesterday, but she was very stubborn and said, "I'd rather die than tell you." Even torture, like having her nose scraped, wouldn't work. Tang Zhitong even got punched twice for it.

"You'll find out when you get off work and go to Mom's. How did your meeting go? Did she give you an advanced individual certificate?" Little Wang still didn't reveal the answer.

"They gave it to me, but it seems they didn't name names when they criticized me." Tang Zhitong then recounted the closed-door meeting's mention of not being allowed to go home for the National Conference of Outstanding Workers in Culture and Education. He felt it was targeting him, but he had no evidence.

"Don't overthink it. They've already called you out on this. Maybe that's a rule for the National Heroes Conference. Show me your certificate." Little Wang waved to Tang Zhitong, somewhat impatiently.

Tang Zhitong pulled everything out of his bag. Besides a certificate of personal excellence issued by Beijing, there was also a thin "Meeting Instructions." Perhaps Beijing had the advantage of being close to the source, because although the "Meeting Instructions" were printed for June, they were issued today.

Xiao Wang took the certificate, opened it, looked at it carefully, and was very satisfied: "Not bad, not bad. Keep up the good work and try to get another national one next month."

"Absolutely. If you don't qualify, you won't even be allowed to participate." Tang Zhitong was full of confidence. He had noticed something in the meetings over the past two days. Everyone who attended the meetings was either there to receive an advanced unit certificate or an advanced individual certificate.

Each person received a little over one certificate, because some people received both the Advanced Individual Certificate and the Advanced Unit Certificate on behalf of others; in any case, no one went home empty-handed.

"Your tail is about to be showing; you need to guard against arrogance and complacency." Xiao Wang closed his certificate for outstanding individual and picked up the "Meeting Instructions" to start flipping through it.

"What? You're trying to scare me. The front door is perfectly closed." Tang Zhitong pretended to look down and teased Xiao Wang.

Even the uniforms issued by the post office use buttons instead of zippers for the front opening. Occasionally, a button might come off, leaving the front opening open. However, due to the widespread use of underwear, even if the front opening is open, it won't result in the gun pointing outwards.

"How old are you? You're so irresponsible." Xiao Wang rolled her eyes at her husband. Jiang Ye was on maternity leave and hadn't returned yet, so there were only the two of them in the office. It wouldn't be a big deal if they just brushed past each other.

Tang Zhitong chuckled. Now he was just hoping that Xiao Wang's relatives would leave soon. After being a monk for a week or so, his little brother was really getting restless.

“Isn’t this written in the meeting instructions? Accommodation will be arranged uniformly, and you must abide by the meeting rules during the meeting. It’s not targeting you at all.” Xiao Wang pointed to a line in the meeting instructions and showed it to her husband.

"Okay, let's go to the meeting and listen to what they say." Tang Zhitong stretched. His butt was sore from sitting in meetings these past few days. He didn't know how those people managed to keep going. Thinking about the ten or so days of meetings next month, Tang Zhitong was a little worried.

"Let's put it away and go to the backyard to see how many cherries are left." Xiao Wang closed the meeting handbook and handed it to her husband along with the certificate for outstanding individual.

"Alright, it's about time. Pack your things, we'll stand in the yard for a bit, then head straight home," Tang Zhitong said, glancing at his watch.

"Okay." Xiao Wang quickly packed her things. At this moment, she was even a little impatient, but she suppressed her inner excitement so that her husband would not notice anything amiss.

There are some fruit trees in the backyard of the National Library of China. In the past, this was a place for the library staff to enjoy the flowers. This year, however, it has become a place for everyone to look forward to when the fruit ripens so they can pick it and take it home for a treat. Xiao Wang is no exception.

Upon arriving in the backyard, several fruit trees had already borne fruit, but the vast majority of them were still green and inedible.

Although it was cherry season, things weren't much better. The ripe ones had probably already been picked, and what was left were inedible. Even so, some people were still looking up at the trees, trying to find a few red fruits.

"Alright, let's go." Tang Zhitong glanced at the distance and then called out to Xiao Wang to stop.

"Yeah. Ripe ones aren't picked as quickly as they're picked. The union reminded everyone yesterday to wait until the fruit is ripe before picking it." Xiao Wang was also a little helpless. Although everyone knew that green fruit didn't taste good, there were some people who were afraid of missing out and being taken advantage of, so they would rather pick the unripe ones than wait for the fruit to ripen.

"Do you think they'll pick them and eat them?" Tang Zhitong and Xiao Wang turned to walk back, and Tang Zhitong looked back at the staff under the cherry tree and asked.

"I probably won't eat it. It's sour and astringent, I can't eat it at all." Xiao Wang shook her head. She had eaten this kind of fruit when she was a child. Her friend couldn't wait to pick it and gave it to her. She had only taken one bite and never wanted to try a second one.

"Hehe." Tang Zhitong chuckled. Human nature is like that most people; even if they don't eat it themselves, they don't want to give it to others.

With no cherries to pick, Xiao Wang didn't return to the office. Instead, she and her husband went to the Women's Federation dormitory and went straight upstairs.

Jingying and Jingmin haven't arrived home yet, and Director Ye hasn't returned either. Only the young couple are there. If Xiao Wang were feeling better, Tang Zhitong felt he could take this opportunity to discuss the true meaning of life with her, but not this time. He'd rather use this time to cook a meal first.

Tang Zhitong was busy in the kitchen, while Xiao Wang turned on the radio in the living room.

According to reliable sources, she played "The Athletes' March" this afternoon to surprise her husband. It was a bit childish, but that's what she wanted to do.

"Why are you listening to the radio today?" Tang Zhitong asked as she came out of the kitchen after making a bok choy soup.

Although Director Ye holds a high rank, his current food supply is no different from that of ordinary people. His family doesn't have any seasonal vegetables, and even the bok choy was delivered by Xiao Wang this morning through Zhang Guifang.

"I suddenly wanted to listen, is that not allowed?" Xiao Wang suppressed a laugh, raised his chin, and replied with a hint of pride.

“Sure, why not? What I mean is, if you like listening to it, we can buy one.” The Tang family had never bought a radio, not because they couldn’t afford it, but because Tang Zhitong disliked the vacuum tubes used in radios at the time.

Tang Zhitong has a science-oriented mindset, and when buying big-ticket items, he always wants something sturdy and durable. However, transistor radios will not be mass-produced until all components are domestically made in two more years. Fortunately, there are still a few transistor radios available now, so if Xiao Wang likes them, he can buy them even if they are a bit expensive.

"No, I won't buy it." Little Wang shook his head with a smile. Just then, the radio started playing the announcer for "The Athletes' March." After the familiar prelude, the familiar lyrics followed: "We soar like eagles, we brave the wind and waves like petrels..."

"Huh? This is..." Tang Zhitong was stunned when he heard it. He had forgotten the lyrics, but the memory came back to life after hearing it. The stirring music gave him a sense of destiny that he had come full circle back to where he started.

"What? You don't like it?" Ms. Wang didn't see any surprise in her husband's eyes, but rather some astonishment.

"I like it. It feels like I've heard it somewhere before." Tang Zhitong rubbed his face with both hands, temporarily putting that feeling out of his mind, and put on a smiling face: "Who wrote the lyrics?"

“Mom contacted the comrades from the military band. They even praised you, saying that this piece is grand and that they put a lot of effort into writing the lyrics, and they even asked for my opinion. They said that no matter how they wrote them, they didn’t feel quite right, and it wasn’t as exciting as just listening to the music.” Seeing that her husband’s smile was a little forced, Xiao Wang turned down the volume on the radio as she spoke.

"Thank you for your hard work. Speak up a bit, I'm listening carefully." Tang Zhitong rubbed his hand against Xiao Wang's peach blossom cheek, pulled over a chair from the dining table, and sat down.

As instructed, Ms. Wang turned up the volume again, pulled up a chair, and listened to "The Athletes' March" with her husband.

This song was originally a work from the military unit. Tang Zhitong thought he was just plagiarizing it, but he never expected that he would end up back in the original unit where the song was created.

Tang Zhitong scratched his head, not really wanting to think of it as fate. It should just be a coincidence, right?

The song was short and finished playing in just a few minutes. Ms. Wang observed her husband's expression, but before she could ask him anything, she heard the sound of the door being unlocked.

"Big sister, brother-in-law!" Jingmin rushed in first after Ye Zhijuan opened the door, calling out before anyone else could speak.

"Hey, come and do your homework." Tang Zhitong stood up, made room for his brother-in-law, and turned off the radio.

"I heard noises outside. Is that the radio playing that song?" Ye Zhijuan asked as she hung up her bag and keys and changed her shoes.

"Yes, this is the first time it's playing today. Come and listen to it on the radio." Xiao Wang didn't dwell on her husband's expression anymore and went over to bend down and straighten the shoes her mother had taken off.

"Not bad, the comrades from the military band called me and praised Anzi for her talent. I think they're absolutely right," Ye Zhijuan said with a smile.

"Mom, I'm embarrassed by your praise." Tang Zhitong scratched his head again. He knew his own situation well. He knew that all his "talents" were stolen. But he was a scholar, and a scholar's actions couldn't really be considered stealing.

“What’s there to be embarrassed about? The band members even suggested you learn some music theory, saying it would help with composition.” After saying that, Ye Zhijuan asked Xiao Wang, “Did you tell them that Anzi can’t read music?”

"Yes, they asked, so I didn't hide it from them," Xiao Wang readily admitted, then looked at Tang Zhitong: "They told me the same thing. Do you want to learn?"

"I don't have any free time either. I'm so busy all day long." Tang Zhitong felt like she was in two places at once. She currently holds nominal positions in many organizations, and most of them require her to take on some responsibility and do some work.

“I can teach you in the evening. Although I don’t know much, I can still teach you the basics,” Xiao Wang said with a smile, covering her mouth. Although she didn’t force him, she still hoped that her husband would get better and better.

"Okay, then I'll have to trouble you, Teacher Wang." Faced with her lover's ardent gaze, Tang Zhitong finally agreed.

If you want to get into the department, then music theory and knowledge of arts and literature become essential skills, because now and in the future, the higher authorities attach great importance to the spiritual life of the people. However, once it becomes the entertainment industry, the content becomes rotten to the core.

The following big shots may not be proficient in all kinds of instruments, but they can at least do one of them.

Even more extreme, some people go so far as to kidnap others to personally direct the filming of movies, as if they cannot prove their pure bloodline without doing so. Of course, this absurd thing does not happen in China.

"Brother-in-law, you called me 'sister teacher'?" Jingmin, who had been listening intently, grinned mischievously and successfully earned a lecture in return.

Ye Zhijuan and Tang Zhitong were already used to this, so they pretended not to hear Wang Jingmin's cries for help and started talking about the gathering of heroes in Beijing.

"Your Uncle Luo is very concerned about your matter. He just called me this afternoon and said that the cooperative medical care has reached an agreement with the health department."

"Yes, I was just about to tell you about this. I didn't expect it to go so smoothly." Tang Zhitong said with some emotion. It's always easier to get things done if you have connections in the court. If Luo Qingquan hadn't intervened, the cooperative medical project probably wouldn't have been implemented so easily.

"I heard from your Uncle Luo that the grain allocation is already facing obstacles. If the cooperative medical care issue is delayed any further, it may be difficult to implement this year. It is estimated that the rations for our city will be reduced soon, and the days ahead will not be easy." Ye Zhijuan sighed, her expression somewhat solemn.

"Let it be. We still have plenty of corn at home, enough to last until the end of the year. I'll figure something out then." Tang Zhitong knew better than anyone that as news of this year's summer harvest came in, grain rations would definitely have to be further "conserved." Faced with widespread disaster, his abilities were limited, and he couldn't manage too much; he could only take care of his family.

"I'm sorry to trouble you. Most of the royalties from the editorial board, as well as the foreign exchange earned from your inventions, are used for training barefoot doctors and raising abandoned children, so they can't help much in this regard." Although Ye Zhijuan said she was in a difficult position, she had a smile on her face.

Every loss has its gain. Now my son-in-law has entered the high-level field of vision, which is a privilege that money can't buy.

"Look at what you're saying. I never intended to use that to make money. I'd be happy if it could help more people." Tang Zhitong smiled genuinely when she heard that she had helped abandoned children.

Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Although you don't need to have a golden statue or for others to remember what you did, doing good deeds will always bring you joy.

According to Maslow's theory, this should belong to the fifth level of self-actualization. Tang Zhitong was astonished to find that he had already mastered all five levels of Maslow's needs in just two years!

(End of this chapter)