Back in the 1980s, hiking in the mountains was also a way of life

After Wang An finished speaking, Wang Li, as if his tail had been stepped on, immediately retorted, his face flushed red:

"I'm not blushing at all. I'm just feeling cold outside. I only felt this way after I came in and it got warm."

Although Wang Li and Li Xiuyu are not married yet, they are practically the same as if they were already married.

Ever since Wang Li learned that musk could prevent pregnancy when worn by women, this guy has been leading Li Xiuyu around Wang Li's old house, and he's been seriously talking nonsense all the time.

Of course, it wasn't always Wang Li who initiated the gossip; once Li Xiuyu got hooked, she would also take the initiative to gossip with Wang Li.

In short, this young couple often engages in serious banter.

However, as the saying goes, "love between men and women is human nature," so it is a very normal thing.

After Wang Li hurriedly and hastily finished explaining, Wang An and Mu Xueli burst into laughter, making Wang Li so embarrassed that he almost wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground.

To be honest, Wang Li still hasn't developed a thick skin!

After laughing, Wang An said to the two of them:
"I promised to buy Xiaoyi a motorcycle too. If you two buy one as well, I definitely won't have enough industrial vouchers. How many industrial vouchers do you two have?"

Since the liberalization, the industrial vouchers have become much less effective. For example, Wang An used to spend money to buy a sewing machine ticket, but now, all you need to do to buy a sewing machine is have money, although the price is a bit higher, basically the same as the price of a sewing machine ticket.

Besides sewing machines, other items such as flashlights, watches, wall clocks, and radios also use the "multi-track system".

That is, some goods are cheaper if you have a coupon or voucher, and more expensive if you don't. But some similar goods, like those produced by small factories, don't need coupons or vouchers at all; you just need money.

As for motorcycles and bicycles, they are still the kind of items that require tickets or coupons to purchase.

As for why this is the case, I don't know.

After Wang An finished speaking, Wang Li and Mu Xueli, who were already prepared, immediately reached into their pockets.

Wang Li placed a stack of industrial coupons on the coffee table and said:
"Including the 70 or so I originally had, and the ones I've been scrambling to buy these past few days, I've collected a total of over 320. The rest I'll have to ask you, Fourth Brother, to help me figure out. Hehehe, I really can't find any more."

Wang An nodded without saying anything. It was quite impressive that Wang Li could buy so many industrial vouchers.

However, these industrial coupons, which were said to number over 320, were actually just a thin stack.

The main thing is that industrial coupons have face values. Back in the 1960s and 70s, there were coupons with face values ​​of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.5 cents, which corresponded to 1 cent, 2 cents, and 5 cents respectively.

These small denominations were mainly used to purchase small industrial items such as pencils and matches, or as change from industrial coupons.

However, later on, many small items such as pencils and matches no longer required coupons to purchase, so these small-denomination industrial coupons were gradually issued less frequently or were stopped altogether.

Nowadays, they are mostly denominations of 1, 2, 5, and a maximum of 10.

After Wang Li finished speaking, Mu Xueli said with great shame:

“Brother-in-law, I have a total of more than 170 coupons, but I really can’t collect enough. I’ve bought all the coupons that the forestry workers in our village have, and I even asked them to ask their coworkers to buy some for me. I’ve tried every possible way, but I still can’t collect enough.”

Industrial coupons were issued along with workers' wages. Back in the 60s, one industrial coupon was issued for every 20 yuan of wages, and this was the general practice across the country.

By the 70s, with the development of industry, it gradually became the case that for every 10 yuan of wages, an industrial coupon would be issued.

Of course, the allocation ratio varies from place to place and cannot be generalized, because in some places, the allocation has reached the point where an industrial voucher is given for every 5 yuan of wages.

As for the local forestry workers, even in the 80s, they were still paid 10 yuan a month and given an industrial coupon. Only during holidays such as the Spring Festival would the distribution of industrial coupons be higher.

Therefore, it's quite remarkable that Mu Xueli was able to buy back the industrial vouchers of the forestry workers in their village.

After all, in those days, workers were the biggest consumers, and their industrial coupons would have been sold off long ago if not spent.

Upon hearing this, Wang An said nonchalantly:

"We'll pool together whatever we can. I still have quite a few industrial vouchers here. I haven't counted them, but I think if the three of us pool our money together, we can easily buy four motorcycles."

As he spoke, Wang An stood up and walked into the east room, saying:
"Wait a minute, you two. I'll go find all the industrial coupons and we'll check how many we have in total."

Wang An's family possessed a considerable amount of legitimate industrial vouchers, but the source of these vouchers was, to put it mildly, quite impressive.

Apart from a dozen or so that were distributed to the village over the years, a large portion of them were taken from the pockets of the dead.

The remaining industrial vouchers were given by Zhang Shuya and Wu Dong.

Wang An kept these industrial vouchers simply as a precaution; otherwise, he would have sold them all to scalpers long ago, as they were not of much use.

Fortunately, it wasn't sold, otherwise I would have had to find a scalper and pay a high price to buy a motorcycle.

Soon, Wang An found a bag of industrial coupons and casually tossed it onto the coffee table.

Then, the three of them began to count the bills one by one.

After counting, the industrial vouchers for the three people were added together, and there were more than 1300 vouchers. Not to mention buying four motorcycles, there would be enough to buy five with some left over.

When they calculated that they had enough industrial vouchers, Wang Li and Mu Xueli were both very excited, because it meant they no longer had to worry about industrial vouchers.

Wang Li, his face beaming with excitement, flattered Wang An:

"It has to be my fourth brother. I believe there's nothing my fourth brother can't do, hahaha."

Mu Xueli also chimed in with a smile:

"Of course, you absolutely have to. Just follow my brother-in-law, nothing else matters, hehehehe."

Wang An put all the industrial coupons into a bag, rolled his eyes at the two of them, and said:
"You two, just shut up! I'm so annoyed by you two."

After a pause, Wang An continued:
"Alright, we've collected enough industrial vouchers. You two get the money ready, and we'll go to Harbin tomorrow to buy the motorcycle."

Upon hearing Wang An's words, Wang Li immediately agreed:
"Okay, Fourth Brother."

Mu Xueli, however, said somewhat anxiously:

"Brother-in-law, I'm all ready now. Why don't we go today, stay overnight in Harbin, and come back tomorrow after buying the motorcycle and New Year's goods?"

It's clear that Mu Xueli is itching to ride his motorcycle out and show off right now; I don't know why he's in such a hurry.

Wang An turned to look at Mu Xueli, and said with a look of annoyance:
"What's your hurry? It's freezing cold, how many of these bikes are you going to ride after you buy them?"

Mu Xueli smiled awkwardly and said:

"Hehe, I was thinking that the sooner we buy it, the less trouble we'll have. If we have time, we can even go into the mountains to catch some wild goats before the New Year."

Only then did Mu Xueqing, who was watching TV inside, interject with a smile:
"Anyway, there's nothing else to do, Xiao An, you can take them both. Oh, and bring Xiao Yi along too. Xiao Yi was talking to me yesterday about how you're going to buy him a motorcycle. He said he wants to pick out one in his favorite color, but he's worried you won't take him."

To be honest, in this freezing weather, Wang An really didn't want to move. He could just lie on the sofa or the kang (heated brick bed), watch TV for a while if he wanted, and take a nap if he didn't. Wouldn't that be nice?

However, thinking of Wang Yi's expectant eyes every day, and besides, Mu Xueqing had already spoken, Wang An said helplessly to Mu Xueli:

"Since your eldest sister has spoken, I, as her husband, can't disobey her. So let's pack up and leave."

Turning his head, Wang An asked Wang Yi again:

"Fifth brother, do you have enough money in your pocket? Do you want to take it from me first, or do you go home and get it?"

Wang Li, with a smirk on his face, said:
"It's enough, definitely enough. I took 6 from home before I left, and I already had over 2 in my pocket, so it's over 8 in total, hehehe."

Wang An nodded without speaking, but Mu Xueli couldn't help but speak to Wang Li:
"You even prepared the money, so why didn't you ask your fourth brother to go today? Why did you make me beg my brother-in-law to go today?"

Wang Li, still smiling, said:
"Well, I'm afraid my fourth brother will scold me!"

Upon hearing this, Mu Xueli immediately became anxious and said:
"So you're afraid of me but I'm not? You always make me take the lead in everything, how can you be so damn stupid?"

Wang Li felt no remorse whatsoever and said matter-of-factly:
“I’m just following my fourth brother’s instructions. I didn’t say I had to go today. I can go tomorrow too. It was you who insisted on going today.”

Mu Xueli was taken aback upon hearing this and was about to speak when she heard Wang An say impatiently:
"You two shut up. Fifth Brother, go tell Xiao Yi to hurry up and change his clothes. Xue Li, you go, start the car and get it warm, then drive it out of the garage. You two, don't you have any sense of duty? I think you two deserve a kick."

As he spoke, Wang An strode forward and kicked each of the two men once with his big foot.

The two of them grinned and didn't seem to mind. They made a face at each other and then walked out together.

After the two people left the house, Wang An went inside and complained to Mu Xueqing:

"These two are always bickering the moment they meet. If they didn't keep arguing, they'd probably get really irritated."

Mu Xueqing and Huang Li were laughing along with Wang Li and Mu Xueli when they heard Wang An's complaint. Mu Xueqing laughed and said:

"I find their bickering quite amusing, it's like they're doing a stand-up comedy routine, hahaha."

The oriole chimed in with a grin:

"Yeah, I find it really interesting. Listening to them bicker is even more fun than watching TV."

Wang An said:

"Come on, stop it. It's annoying to have me around like this all the time."

As everyone boarded the vehicle, Wang An suddenly noticed Huang Zhong's envious expression and took the initiative to say to him:
"Xiao Zhong, would you like to take a stroll around Harbin? If you do, hurry up and change your clothes. We're leaving now."

Upon hearing this, Huang Zhong was first taken aback, then immediately exclaimed with delight:
"Hey, big brother, I'll go change my clothes right away."

After saying that, Huang Zhong turned and ran towards the old house.

After Huang Zhong left, Wang Li said with some concern:
"Fourth Brother, that truck only has three seats. It's already a struggle for all four of us. If Xiao Zhong joins us, will we even be able to enjoy the ride?"

Mu Xueli also said:

"Yeah, brother-in-law, we can't let Xiao Zhong sit in the back of the truck, can we? It would be so cold there."

Before Wang An could speak, Wang Li exclaimed in sudden realization:

"Fourth Brother, you mean we should take two cars? Taking two cars is fine, taking two cars is even better."

Wang An rolled his eyes at Wang Li and said irritably:
"Why are you driving two cars? Just the gas alone will cost a fortune! Damn it, you and Xue Li can sit in the back truck bed. Xiao Yi, Xiao Zhong, and I will have plenty of room in the driver's seat!"

After Wang An finished speaking, Mu Xueli and Wang Li, those two idiots, were immediately dumbfounded.

The main problem is that with the current temperature, sitting on the back of a truck for a short time is fine, but if it goes on for too long, it could really freeze a person to death.

After a while, Wang Licai stared straight ahead and said:

"How about we go to my house first? I'll bring two sets of blankets with me, otherwise my brother and I will freeze to death in the car."

Mu Xueli also said with a blank expression:

"Hmm, let's take two bear skins. Even wrapped in a blanket, I probably won't be able to hold out much longer."

Seeing that the two believed him, Wang An then said:

"Alright, you two, shut up already. Why are you so annoying? I know what I'm doing."

Upon hearing this, the two exchanged a glance, then Wang Li turned his head and said in a sly tone:
"Fourth Brother, tell me, what are you planning to do?"

Wang An raised his hand and ruffled Wang Li's hair, saying:

"What's it to you what I do? If you keep nagging, you can get off the plane."

Wang Li chuckled and dared not speak.

A little while later, Huang Zhong came out dressed in clean clothes, his face beaming with excitement.

Along the way, apart from Wang An, the other four people seemed very excited.

Mu Xueli, Wang Li, and Wang Yi were excited about the motorcycles they were about to get, while Huang Zhong was excited about being able to take a trip to Harbin.

Wang An, however, found nothing particularly exciting about the trip.

We sped along the road and headed straight for Gong'anju in the county.

The reason Wang An went to Gong Anju instead of Zhengfu Compound was because he knew that Gong Anju had been assigned a new double-cab truck called Jinbei SY132, while Wu Dong's unit's trucks were currently all single-cab.

If five people are in a single-cab truck, someone has to sit in the back of the truck bed. But if they were in a double-cab truck, there wouldn't be so many problems.

The Jinbei SY132 truck was among the first batch of double-cab trucks developed and produced in Fengtian last year. Most importantly, this truck has diesel heating.

When Wang An got the car keys from Zhang Shuya and let everyone get in the car, Mu Xueli and Wang Li were shocked!

Just as Wang Li was about to speak, Wang An immediately said:

“Shut up, or you can go talk in the back of the truck.”

Wang Likabaka ...

And so, Wang An drove while instructing Mu Xueli and Wang Li on how to operate the car, and the group of five headed towards Ice City. (End of Chapter)