Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 819 818 Fengzhen is going to the countryside?
When Tang Zhitong got off work, he brought home a large piece of lard.

Although they had high-sodium glutamate at home to supplement their diet, they didn't have any at Chunshu Hutong. The day before yesterday, when Tang Zhitong was cooking there, he found that there wasn't much oil left, so he thought he would take this opportunity to replenish some.

Given Ye Zhijuan's position and responsibilities, if she wanted to improve her material life, plenty of people would have rushed to give her gifts, but she didn't do so.

Tang Zhitong greatly admired Director Ye's adherence to principles.

Tang Zhitong wasn't worried about Zhang Guifang asking too many questions, but she was a little worried that Xiao Wang would keep harping on it.

However, Ms. Wang didn't seem to care. She happily picked up the basin and washed the mulberries her husband had brought back.

"Why are you still cutting? Leave half for Jingmin's mother." Zhang Guifang quickly stopped her son when she saw that he had no intention of stopping cutting the lard.

"Mom, it's hot now, and the lard won't keep. I rendered it all today, and I'll bring the lard over tomorrow," Tang Zhitong replied with a smile.

Whether it's half or the whole piece, it's all about refining. Whether at home or in Chunshu Hutong, this work belongs to Tang Zhitong.

Tang Zhitong wanted to get everything done at home in one go, so she wouldn't have to spend the next day in the kitchen.

“We don’t have any suitable utensils to hold this.” Hearing her son say this, Zhang Guifang looked around for a container, intending to divide the lard into smaller portions.

"Just use our lunchboxes. We can heat them up a bit over there and get them out." After saying that, Tang Zhitong instructed Xiao Wang, who had just finished washing the mulberries, "Hey, wash our lunchboxes and Fengzhen's lunchbox. We'll use them to hold lard and pork cracklings later."

"Brother, let me do it." When Fengzhen heard that she was to use her own lunchbox, she quickly got up and was about to start.

"Anyone can do it, just drain the water after washing." Tang Zhitong kept working, focusing intently on cutting all the fat.

With meat supplies becoming increasingly tight, Tang Zhitong noticed that the meat Zhang Guifang bought a few days ago had started to show signs of being injected with water.

In this situation, the aroma emitted by the oil refining process is incredibly enticing; it could probably be smelled from three alleyways away.

To avoid making the neighbor's child cry from envy, Tang Zhitong chopped the lard, put it in a pot, carried it directly to the side room, and closed all the doors and windows.

At least visually, it won't give the family any indication that it's going to smell bad.

Fengzhi was eyeing the fried pork cracklings and wanted to join them, but Zhang Guifang slapped her on the back of the head, making her behave.

"Your idea is great. I didn't smell anything outside." Xiao Wang pushed the door open with a bunch of mulberries in his hand, then turned around and closed the door again.

"Why did you come over? It's hot in here." Seeing Xiao Wang enter, Tang Zhitong stopped blowing the air conditioner into the room, but didn't stop basking in the aroma.

"I've brought you some mulberries, they'll be gone if you don't eat them soon." Xiao Wang picked up a mulberry and held it to her husband's lips.

"You eat some too. I'll pick some more next time I pass by." Tang Zhitong put the mulberry that Xiao Wang handed her into her mouth and casually brushed her fingers with the tip of her tongue.

"How disgusting! It stinks!" Xiao Wang put his finger under his nose and smelled it, then frowned.

"Haha, you eat it, I'll just taste it." Tang Zhitong chewed and swallowed. The ripe mulberry was a little astringent, but fortunately it was sweet, so it was passable.

"Ugh! Not this time!" Little Wang stomped her foot playfully, then picked up another one and held it to her husband's lips.

"You can eat it, I don't like this stuff." Tang Zhitong looked at Xiao Wang and said sincerely.

Tang Zhitong used to eat fruits with a sweetness level of 12 or higher, and most of them were chilled. After coming here, when he helped with the purchase at the construction site, he tasted them one by one, and well, none of them were as sweet as the Kirin melon.

Saying it was tasteless and bland would be an exaggeration, but it certainly didn't arouse his interest.

Xiao Wang smiled without saying a word, and just kept feeding the child.

"I'm not eating anymore, I'm not eating anymore. If I keep eating, my tongue will turn purple. Is your tongue purple yet?" Tang Zhitong ate a few more pills, then shook her head and refused.

Xiao Wang playfully stuck her tongue out at her husband, and not only was her tongue purple, but even the edges of her teeth were stained with pigment.

Upon seeing this, Tang Zhitong exclaimed in alarm, "Oh no, oh no! How are you going to clean the guns and ammunition tonight looking like this? Won't they all get stained? Wouldn't they have to be removed as if they were cancerous?"

As he spoke, Tang Zhitong glanced down and saw that the length of the bamboo shoot had been reduced from one bunch to half a bunch, requiring two cuts to remove it completely.

"Ugh, you're never serious!" Upon hearing this, Xiao Wang not only stomped her foot again, but also punched her husband twice on the back with her little fists.

"Hahahaha..." Tang Zhitong laughed heartily.

People often say that life is the same no matter who you live with; it's just about daily necessities, mundane routines, and mutual compromise.

Only after seeing what love truly looks like can you realize that who you spend your life with really makes a difference.

A partner can be ordinary, can be poor, but cannot be boring.

Having an interesting partner makes life more enjoyable.

Marriage is never just about living together. A good marriage is about mutual growth, a meeting of souls, and endless enjoyment in each other's company...

After laughing enough, Tang Zhitong asked the question that had been bothering him since he got home: "Why didn't you ask me where the lard came from or how much it cost this time?"

"Director Ye instructed me to trust you," Xiao Wang replied matter-of-factly, feeding the last mulberry to her husband.

"Hey, it still has to be our mom." Tang Zhitong said with great emotion after hearing this.

This shows Director Ye's trust in himself, and also serves as a precaution against the worst-case scenario.

The environment in recent years has been complex and volatile, shifting between left and right. Even Tang Zhitong is not entirely confident that his words and actions are without flaws.

If the misappropriation of supplies is discovered later, Director Ye will be innocent and can still get himself out of trouble.

The safest approach is for only one person in the family to handle the supplies.

Without the cool air released by the external device, the temperature in the room rose higher and higher. Tang Zhitong used the heat as an excuse to kick Xiao Wang out, then took a sip of the cold air blowing from Siberia and shivered with pleasure.

After rendering the lard, Tang Zhitong carried the pot back to the side room, ladled out the lard, and decided not to waste the remaining layer of oil on the surface of the iron pot, as it would be perfect for stewing some bok choy.

Tang Zhitong still remembers that the first meal he ate at home after arriving in this era was bok choy.

A pot of bok choy with a few ounces of shredded meat, with hardly a drop of lard.

At that time, my mother's temples were already gray. Now, times have changed. Life outside is getting harder every day, but our family's standard of living has remained above average. The stewed bok choy is covered with oil, and even my mother's white hair is starting to turn black again. She looks several years younger.

To be honest, being able to eat this bok choy is all thanks to Zhang Guifang, who has taken such good care of the small vegetable patch in the yard.

We don't plant too much of each type of vegetable. As soon as we finish eating them, we plant the next one, which keeps the peak seasons staggered so that we won't run out of vegetables at home all summer.

If it were near a vegetable shop… Tang Zhitong sighed inwardly.

Although the city of Beijing has not yet officially proposed "substituting vegetables for grains," it did indeed arrange for nearby communes to cancel the planting of grain crops and replace them with vegetable cultivation last winter.

Growing grain required paying public grain taxes, and the same applied to growing vegetables; the output was distributed proportionally.

In order to increase production, the commune reached an agreement with the vegetable company that the vegetables would not be harvested when they were most suitable for consumption, but rather waited and waited until the yield was at its maximum.

By this time, the vegetables are often overcooked.

The people of Beijing occasionally complained, but it was just grumbling.

This kind of old vegetable is not available on a free-for-all basis; it needs to be purchased with food coupons. If you don't like it, you won't get a single piece of this old vegetable.

"Brother, our teacher said that we'll be going to the countryside to participate in agricultural labor soon." Dinner was late at home today, and halfway through the meal, Fengzhen remembered the news the teacher had announced after school.

"Huh? Go to the countryside? Do productive labor? What can you do?" Tang Zhitong was taken aback. He had never heard of this kind of arrangement in junior high school in previous years.

"The teacher said to go help the production team harvest wheat."

“Harvesting wheat is no easy task. Do you students know how to do it?” Upon hearing this, Zhang Guifang felt sorry for her daughter. She knew all too well how tiring the summer harvest was, having done it since she could remember. Before she was sold, she never missed a year of harvesting.

"If you don't know how to do it, learn how. This is a great opportunity to learn, so you won't be clueless about farming in the future." Tang Zhitong felt that this production labor activity at the experimental middle school was somewhat similar to the suggestion he had made to Zhou Zheng.

Tang Zhitong strongly approved of this arrangement.

Heavy physical labor serves as a form of re-education for college students, and even more so for junior high school students in Beijing.

This is not about forcing oneself to endure hardship; it is a form of education and a necessary way to understand people's lives and sentiments.

In the current environment, if a person wants to go further, they must get close to the grassroots and the people.

Coming from the people and going back to the people is not just empty talk.

However, some intellectuals disagree with this view, feeling that as professors, they should take walks after meals, write articles, earn royalties, and teach students, and that they don't need to know how chickens are raised, how grains are grown, or how flour is ground.

Farming and raising chickens are things that farmers should do. Everyone is doing their job and contributing to the country's development.

Moreover, in actual teaching, they particularly look down on students from rural areas, since their foundation is much weaker than that of students from capitalist, landlord, and rich peasant backgrounds.

The background check during college application is a relatively recent addition. In previous years, many students admitted to universities came from capitalist, landlord, or rich peasant backgrounds.

Tang Zhitong calculated that it would only be a few years before many students from good backgrounds but with poor grades would not be able to get their diplomas or even be expelled.

That will be another storm...

"Where are you going? How are you going? How many days will you stay? How will you arrange your meals and accommodation?" Fengzhen's departure meant that Jingying would also be going. The two young girls were going to the countryside to harvest wheat, and Xiao Wang was a little worried.

"The teacher hasn't said anything yet," Fengzhen shook her head.

“The township has to provide meals. In the past, landlords would provide meals when they hired day laborers to harvest wheat. This time, we can’t let the students bring their own meals, can we?” Zhang Guifang pondered from the side.

"Don't worry, these schools will definitely make arrangements." Tang Zhitong was confident about this, but the conditions arranged wouldn't be very good.

"It's hot and you're prone to heatstroke. When you go to the countryside, don't compete with others. Just take your time and do what you want. Rest when you're tired, and remember to drink plenty of water," Xiao Wang instructed meticulously.

Two years ago, a group of employees from the National Library of China went to the countryside and mountains. When they came back, they talked about those days in great detail, as if they wanted the whole unit to know that they had successfully transformed the area.

This is due to their qualifications. While promoting them, it can also indirectly expand their audience. Therefore, after noticing this situation, the National Library of China specially invited them to give several presentations.

The report was certainly a success, and its content was definitely positive and encouraging. Many people expressed their gratitude for this rural outreach program, but no one mentioned going back to the countryside again…

"When you go, have your sister-in-law bring a light long-sleeved shirt and some arm protectors. Wheat awns can be very irritating to the skin, so we should take precautions. I'll also buy you and Jingying some straw hats later, otherwise your faces will be sunburned after just one wheat harvest," Tang Zhitong added from the side.

"Are you sending them to the countryside for labor or for a trip? They're dressed like pampered princesses." Zhang Guifang didn't approve of this approach. Although she hadn't been to the countryside in recent years, she knew what it was like there; none of the children in the countryside dressed like that.

"Mom, don't worry, the school will send everyone together, and there will definitely be a lot of students dressed like this." Tang Zhitong smiled, full of confidence.

Sijiucheng Experimental Middle School is a key middle school in Sijiucheng, and it is all girls. These days, any family that can afford to send their daughter to junior high school is open-minded and has the means.

Even if such families agree to let their daughters participate in productive labor, shouldn't they take precautions beforehand?
Although Zhang Guifang had some doubts, she was also very concerned about her daughter's work in the countryside. After the meal, instead of cleaning up the table, she pulled Fengzhen aside and talked about the key points of each stage of wheat harvesting, how to save effort, how to avoid cutting her hands, and so on.

After Xiao Wang and Tang Zhitong finished cleaning up the table and washing the dishes, they left. Tonight, they still had to discuss whether mulberry pigments processed in the mouth could color bullets.

May 15th, Sunday, is a good day for traveling and visiting relatives and friends.

Before heading to Chunshu Hutong, Tang Zhitong used his cheat code to wipe out all the mosquitoes and flies inside and out. As for the rats, he let them go, since they were Beibei's snacks.

Beibei now eats rat sticks and rat chips all the time, and she rarely pesters Tang Zhitong for dried fish anymore, because Tang Zhitong always forgets about it.

As she gradually forgot, Beibei got used to it.

However, the sanitation work this year was not as thorough as in previous years. The street only organized everyone to clean up once after the instructions were issued, and the primary school where Fengzhi studied only handed in fly larvae once, and then there was no further news.

The number of mosquitoes and flies has increased significantly, so Tang Zhitong now has to swat them twice a day. Fortunately, the effect is remarkable, and the mentholatum in the house is almost covered in mold.

After leaving the gate, Tang Zhitong rode his bicycle westward along Huashi Street with Xiao Wang on the back. In the distance, he saw Liu Chengzhi with a bruised and swollen face carrying a flour bag home.

Ever since this old man incurred gambling debts, he's frequently been ambushed on the street or at home by those people. Not only have they pushed and shoved him countless times, but his reputation has also been ruined. The neighbors all know that his mother and son are in jail, his wife has run away, and he himself has become a gambling addict.

Even so, Liu Chengzhi did not give in, stubbornly refusing to pay his gambling debts and refusing to sign the documents for using his house to settle the debts.

(End of this chapter)