Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 851 850 Strikes Down the "Voting"

Wu Aijun was a polite child. After finishing his meal, he insisted on saying goodbye to Ma Wei before leaving.

"Alright, go ahead. If you're not sure, don't linger in the office. I have a meeting to attend in a bit." Given that Wu Aijun didn't immediately check on Ma Wei's injury when he came over today, Tang Zhitong had originally wanted to remind him to be more attentive and considerate, but now that he's done this, there's no need to remind him anymore.

In love, many things don't need to be taught. As long as you have the other person in your heart, you'll naturally learn many things.

The office wasn't just occupied by Ma Wei; it also had Fu Caiyun.

"Hey, Comrade Ma Wei, I'm heading back now. I just wanted to say hello to you." Wu Aijun only had eyes for Ma Wei. After speaking to Ma Wei, he nodded to Fu Caiyun.

"Okay, be careful." Ma Wei blushed again. Fu Caiyun's words had made her worried, but she couldn't help feeling shy in front of Wu Aijun.

Wu Aijun nodded in agreement, hesitated for a moment, then turned and left without any hesitation.

To outsiders, it might seem like he lacked formality, but Wu Aijun knew that he was afraid that if he hesitated any longer, he would be rooted to the spot.

"Go back and study hard and work hard. Don't overthink it. These things need to happen naturally. Pushing too hard won't help." Tang Zhitong saw him off a bit. He could see that Wu Aijun clearly cared about Ma Wei. But their relationship wasn't just about mutual affection; there was also the issue of their parents' approval.

"Okay, thanks." Wu Aijun took a deep breath, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit one, and calmed his tense emotions.

"Alright, stop with the formalities, drive carefully," Tang Zhitong said, watching Wu Aijun push his bicycle while smoking.

"Yeah. Hey, if you need money, just tell me, but whatever you do, don't gamble!" Wu Aijun hadn't forgotten about that. He almost put his left foot on the footrest, but then put it back and turned around to give him a word of advice.

"Get lost! Do I look poor? Do I have a face that says I'm broke?" Although Wu Aijun meant well, Tang Zhitong told him to get rid of him as soon as possible and let the matter pass.

"Hey, you look pretty decent. I was just wondering if your family is big and your expenses are high." Wu Aijun made excuses for himself. Ever since he started this line of work, he had developed an occupational habit. He didn't believe that Tang Zhitong would ask about gambling penalties for no reason. As a friend, he felt he had to remind her as much as possible.

"Alright, thank you for your concern. I know that nine out of ten gamblers lose. We grow a lot of vegetables in the yard, and we're doing alright. Wenwen and I together earn enough to support the whole family, so don't worry about it." Tang Zhitong saw that Wu Aijun was thinking of her, and that this matter was caused by her, so she added an extra explanation.

However, he didn't say what was on his mind. If he were really asked to gamble, he could use cheats to make the bookmaker lose so badly that they would question their existence. At that time, the ones who would cry for Wu Aijun to uphold justice would probably be the bookmakers who set traps for gamblers.

"You can't go to the black market either. Recently, multiple departments will be cracking down on 'those who defect'. If they get caught, you'll lose your job. You have to be careful." When talking about the output of the yard, Wu Aijun's face became serious, and he even blurted out the recent work arrangements.

"You're getting more and more absurd. How could I possibly relate to that? I'm going to attend the Cultural and Educational Elite Conference, a closed-door meeting that will last for ten days or so. By the time it's over, your operations might be finished. Hurry up and leave, hurry up and leave. You're so annoying, you have too many ideas!" Seeing that Wu Aijun's guesses were getting more and more unbelievable, Tang Zhitong started trying to coax him out.

Although Tang Zhitong had never heard of the crackdown on "voting down" before, the current food supply problems, coupled with the wheat harvest season, make it clear to anyone with a modicum of common sense that there is a connection between the two. Those who can resist going are those whose families are not yet in dire straits.

"Hey, I'm off then." Wu Aijun waved his hand, stepped onto the pedal that had been hooked up, and rode away.

Watching Wu Aijun's departing figure, Tang Zhitong felt that although he meant well, his words were not pleasant to hear.

The most important thing in life is knowing when to temper one's emotions, a saying attributed to Hannibal, but Wu Aijun clearly had never heard of it.

Considering that he didn't know Hanbari, Tang Zhitong decided to forgive him this time and remember his kindness for the time being.

Tang Zhitong went back to the finance department to get the receipt that Ma Wei had helped her attach, packed her things, and went out to the municipal bureau to get Su Qingxiang's signature.

After a morning of drying, the road became even more difficult to walk on. The surface was no longer a mixture of mud and water, but had turned into a muddy mess, becoming increasingly sticky. You could see people stopping their bikes and poking around under the mudguards after riding only a short distance.

Relying on his cheat code, Tang Zhitong secretly peeled away the layers of mudguards as he rode his bike, since no one could see what was under the mudguards.

Along the way, Tang Zhitong pondered the "throwing down" incident. If Wu Aijun hadn't brought it up today, he would have even forgotten that he had promised Tong Wang to visit the Bell and Drum Tower often.

It's not hard to predict when there will be "throwing down" people; the closer it gets to the harvest season, the more there will be, and the stronger the crackdown will be. It's like how the "shortcuts" to getting rich are written in the highest law. You may be able to make money this way, but you may not be able to spend it.

Compared to going to the black market, earning a few yellow croakers from Tong Wang is obviously safer, but Tang Zhitong still has no intention of going now.

Having been here for two years, Tang Zhitong could feel that his mindset had undergone a significant change.

When I first arrived, I kept thinking about stockpiling supplies so I could resell them in the next couple of years to make a profit and give my family a better life.

That's exactly what they did at first, but as the famine spread, Tang Zhitong felt that he had transcended such base desires. He was no longer thinking about making a profit from the price difference, but rather, on the basis of his own safety, helping those around him who deserved help and earning more foreign exchange.

Although Tang Zhitong gained some fame and fortune from doing these things, he also secretly reminded himself not to have too much of a moral sense.

An excessive sense of morality will inevitably lead to being constrained by rules, resulting in internal friction and the unavoidable compromise of oneself to satisfy others.

Being helpful doesn't mean you have to help; it means you should help if you want to, and you can simply refuse if you don't want to.

The prerequisite for helping is that you have the ability yourself; if you don't have the ability, don't take the risk.

If someone tries to morally blackmail us by saying that suffering a loss is a blessing, then let them enjoy the blessings—enjoy them for a lifetime, blessings they'll never run out of!
The further north we went, the better the road conditions became. The meeting point was on Zhengyi Road. After handing the tickets to Su Qingxiang, there was no longer any mud on the road from the Municipal Bureau to the meeting point.

People are like the roads in Beijing. Although the inner and outer city are separated by a wall, the differences are still obvious. How can they possibly be absolutely unified?
After gathering, in addition to emphasizing meeting discipline and arrangements, we were also given badges.

As everyone put on their badges, Tang Zhitong noticed that quite a few people were also wearing military medals.

"I heard from Lao Ye that you have military medals, why didn't you bring them?" Luo Qingquan asked quietly, noticing that Tang Zhitong's chest was bare except for a participation medal. "Hey, I was just thinking of keeping a low profile." Tang Zhitong wasn't a high-profile person to begin with, and coupled with his worries about the next few years, he just wanted to live a low-key, stable, and quiet life.

"Alright, young man, you're quite composed." Medals represent seniority and prestige; they look good when worn, but not wearing them doesn't make much of a difference. Luo Qingquan chuckled and praised him without saying anything more.

Tang Zhitong chuckled, and the matter was over. In fact, Xiao Wang had brought it up several days earlier and found it for him, but in the end, she was persuaded by her husband and put it back.

Some things are like secret weapons; revealing them to others too early or too often means you've run out of cards to play.

Military medals are definitely useful, Tang Zhitong thought he should keep a low profile for now and bring them out to ward off evil spirits at a crucial moment.

After the meeting, everyone left in an orderly manner and headed to their accommodations.

This gathering of heroes was of a very high standard. The delegation from Beijing was accommodated at the Beijing Hotel, which is not far from Zhengyi Road. It is located to the north, just across Chang'an Avenue.

When arranging the rooms, Luo Qingquan chose to share a room with Tang Zhitong. Tang Zhitong had no objection to this; it was always easier to share a room with someone you knew than with a complete stranger.

"The accommodations are quite nice." Upon entering the room, Luo Qingquan looked around at the furnishings and was very satisfied.

"Hey, this is the public face after all." The room wasn't big. Tang Zhitong glanced around and saw two single beds, a sofa, a bathtub, a toilet, and a nearly floor-to-ceiling window. Standing in front of the window, you could see the Great Hall of the People and the base of the city wall. These conditions would definitely be considered five-star by today's standards.

“Now conditions are better, and we can stay in hotels of this standard. In the old days, when people came to Beijing, most stayed in the Qianmen area.” Luo Qingquan sat on the sofa, lit a cigarette, and reminisced about the past.

"That area is bustling, with everything you need for eating, lodging, entertainment, and shopping. If you're visiting Beijing, it's a good place to stay." The accommodation industry in the Qianmen area started when the Manchus entered the pass. Back then, they weren't hotels, but "guild halls," somewhat similar to today's liaison offices in Beijing.

However, the current liaison offices in Beijing are still not as good as the guild halls of that time. Before liberation, students and merchants from all over the country would often stay there as soon as they arrived in Beijing. Lu Xun stayed there, and so did great figures.

Most of the well-known, mysterious government offices in Beijing were established in the last two years. Due to limitations in communication, various regions needed such an office to handle document transmission and communication between different levels of government.

From 58 onwards, almost all the local liaison offices in Beijing used the second branch of the International Hotel at No. 4 Tieshizi Hutong as their office location. At that time, most of the liaison offices in Beijing were just for show and did not have any reception functions.

Due to the ever-growing number of personnel, the pressure on salary expenditures and material allocation is increasing. Since last year, the highest authorities have intended to reduce the number of lower-level Beijing-based offices. This year, in accordance with the directives from higher authorities, the city government has taken a decisive step—all offices below the prefectural level, including those of factories, mines, and enterprises, should be abolished. If these offices are not abolished by the end of this year, the city will conduct a cleanup and relocate the staff of these offices to the city's suburbs to participate in production.

After two years of back-and-forth, the results were limited, the staffing was reduced, but the signboard was retained.

"You know quite a lot. Have you been there?" Luo Qingquan smiled and nodded, agreeing with Tang Zhitong's statement.

"I went to temple fairs in my early years, and having grown up in the southern part of the city, I heard a lot about the Qianmen area from my neighbors." Tang Zhitong selectively admitted that he had been there in the past, because that area not only had guild halls, but also the famous "Eight Great Hutongs".

The so-called "Eight Great Hutongs" refer to Baishun Hutong, Yanzhi Hutong, Hanjiatan Hutong, Shaanxi Lane, Shitou Hutong, Wang Guangfu Xiejie, Zhujia Hutong, and Li Shamao Hutong. These areas are filled with various health clubs favored by brothel addicts, ranging from high-end to low-end, making them veritable money pits.

Of course, none of this had anything to do with Tang Zhitong, because his family couldn't afford such spending. Although they could afford it now, the money pit was gone, and most of the places had been converted into hotels.

Yes, even if I don't change my ways, I won't go. I'm determined to fight gambling and drugs to the very end!
I kept the yellow color and only showed it to Xiao Wang.

Speaking of Xiao Wang, Tang Zhitong misses her a little. The conference will last for more than ten days, and he won't be able to touch her for more than ten days. He's actually looking forward to the conference ending so he can go home.

The meeting starts tomorrow, but the meals will be provided starting today.

Dinner was standard, a typical four dishes and one soup.

Because the quantification rules are not strictly followed, many people eat too much.

After dinner, Luo Qingquan took Tang Zhitong for a walk along Chang'an Avenue: "Regarding the medical insurance issue you mentioned, there's still some resistance from the health department. I'll bring it up again in front of the higher-ups when our Beijing delegation meets."

"Uncle Luo, let me propose it! You are, after all, part of the health system, and it wouldn't be good to offend anyone over this. I'm an outsider, and I was the one who proposed the motion, so it's reasonable and legal for me to take this opportunity to follow up," Tang Zhitong immediately refused.

Providing medical insurance for commune members was my own idea, and it was something I had always wanted to promote. I couldn't just shrink back when there were difficulties and leave the problems to the elders to handle. So what if I offended the officials? Anyway, they couldn't control me.

"Well... that works too." Luo Qingquan smiled and agreed.

The temperature in Beijing was pleasant after the rain. The two strolled all the way to Zhongshan Park before turning back.

After returning home, Luo Qingquan took a shower and jokingly asked Tang Zhitong afterward, "Are you sensitive to sleeping in unfamiliar beds?"

"No way! This mattress is so soft, it'll definitely be comfortable to sleep on." Tang Zhitong said, bouncing the mattress a couple of times. She wondered where it was made, and whether she was getting one for her own family. Since they didn't have a mattress at home, Xiao Wang's knees had become bruised after a while.

"Okay. If my snoring disturbs you, just wake me up," Luo Qingquan instructed before going to sleep.

Despite Luo Qingquan's statement, Tang Zhitong would not do such a thing.

When Tang Zhitong came out after taking a shower, Luo Qingquan was already asleep, and his sleep quality was quite good; his snoring was almost louder than a loudspeaker.

Tang Zhitong thought he could fall asleep, but in reality, things were quite different; even covering his ears with a pillow didn't help.

(End of this chapter)