The Red Era: Living in Seclusion in a Siheyuan as a Boss

Chapter 812 Mid-Autumn Festival is here again!!!

The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, which is the middle of autumn.

In the traditional culture of Southeast University students, the Mid-Autumn Festival is the second largest traditional festival after the Spring Festival.

People attach great importance to the Mid-Autumn Festival every year.

Various organizations, businesses, and schools will give holidays and distribute holiday gifts.

Although we celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival like this every year.

However, society is changing rapidly, and people from different eras have different memories of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, Wang Lin, a reporter from the Yanjing Metropolitan Daily, randomly interviewed several elderly, middle-aged, and young residents of Liujiazhuang High-tech Zone to explore the Mid-Autumn Festival memories of several generations in Liujiazhuang and to feel the changes of the times and the unchanging emotions.

Unlike those born in the 60s and 70s, when those born in the 50s talk about the Mid-Autumn Festival, mooncakes become a shared memory. For them, who couldn't enjoy a mooncake all to themselves when they were young, receiving a mooncake the size of a thumb is not only a rare delicacy in their memories, but also a mark of the pure joy of their childhood.

"Back then, my family lived on the west bank of Liujiazhuang, which was still a village-run collective enterprise."

When talking about his Mid-Autumn Festival memories, Liu, who is over 50 years old, seemed to recall his childhood scenes, and his face was full of smiles: "Back then, we were really happier celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival than other places. The enterprises in our village would give the villagers pork, fish, crabs, wine and five-nut mooncakes."

The pork was from pigs raised and slaughtered in collective farms, the fish were grass carp raised in rice paddies, there was also the large, roey, and meaty 'Shengfang Crab', and the 'Taihang Wine' which was beginning to gain fame in the capital.

We've been waiting and looking forward to the Mid-Autumn Festival for ages, so we can go to the factory to collect mooncakes on behalf of our parents..."

Back then, Lao Liu's family lived on the west bank of the Yongding River, while the businesses in Liujia Village were on the north bank of the Yongding River.

Whenever the factory distributed mooncakes, Lao Liu would go with a dozen or so children from the neighborhood.

Walking along the ridges and through the rice paddies, a group of children chased each other excitedly towards the factory on the north bank of the Yongding River.

Along the way, children's laughter drifted in the autumn breeze, and the golden ears of "Jingxi Rice" swayed in the wind, as if they too were celebrating the upcoming festival.

Old Liu recalled: "Back then, mooncakes were wrapped in oil paper, and you could smell the aroma of five kinds of nuts from afar."

We kids couldn't resist secretly peeking at a corner to see whose mooncake was the biggest and roundest.

Upon arriving at the factory, the children lined up to receive their respective holiday benefits.

The village's old accountant, Uncle Si, wearing his reading glasses, carefully checked the work points book of each household. When distributing the work points, he would always remind them, "Hold it steady, don't drop it."

What the children looked forward to most was that after receiving the mooncakes, each of them would be given a few fruit candies.

Old Liu said, "The candy wrappers were so shiny in the sunlight that we would hold them in our hands until they were sweaty before we could bear to eat them."

On the way back, as the sun set, the children carefully held the mooncakes, occasionally lifting the oil paper to smell them.

Someone suggested resting on the edge of the field, so everyone sat around and shared a piece of candy. You licked it, I licked it, and the moment the sweetness melted on your tongue, even the sunset seemed to become more splendid.

Old Liu laughed and said, "Now that I think about it, the sugar was actually coated with the fragrance of rice ears."

Today, high-rise buildings line both banks of the Yongding River, and the former field ridges have been transformed into asphalt roads.

But every Mid-Autumn Festival, Lao Liu would still buy a few five-nut mooncakes and sit on the balcony, gazing in the direction of the former factory area, to slowly savor them.

He said, "Nowadays, there are so many fillings to choose from, but the most unforgettable is still the simple aroma of candied fruit peel and rock sugar from the oil paper wrapper."

Old Liu still remembers the happiness and joy he felt when he held the mooncake in his hands.

"That was during the three years of hardship."

Our business in Liujiazhuang is just starting out. Although the villagers are already happier than those in other places, we still lack resources.

"We certainly didn't dare to open and eat the mooncakes right away after receiving them, but what if we wanted to eat them?" Old Liu said with a smile. Back then, the outer packaging of mooncakes was just a layer of paper. The mooncake oil seeped out, and they would touch that layer of oily paper and lick their fingers.

"A group of kids went to collect mooncakes. On the way back, you touched mine, I touched yours, and we looked forward to the moment we would eat them." Years have passed, but the happiness of that journey is still etched in Old Liu's heart.

"During the Mid-Autumn Festival, each family will receive two catties of mooncakes. One catty will be kept for their own consumption, and the other catty will be used to give as gifts to relatives and friends."

To celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, one pound of mooncakes is enough. "We, the post-40s and post-50s generation, have many brothers and sisters. Since there are more people than mooncakes, the siblings will share one mooncake together. "The smallest one gets more" has become the rule for sharing the mooncake.

“I have four siblings. Every time we divide a mooncake, each person gets a piece about the size of a thumb, and my brother gets two pieces,” Lao Liu said with a smile. His brother is the kind of person who “gets a good deal but still acts innocent.” Every time he sees his older siblings finish their mooncakes, he shows off his remaining piece in front of them.

After the younger brother fell asleep that night, Lao Liu and the older brother immediately got up and took out the small piece of mooncake that the younger brother had "treasured" in his pocket and shared it.

The story of "stealing" his younger brother's mooncakes has become a sweet memory shared by the brothers.

Like Lao Liu, Lao Zhang, born in the 60s, also has Mid-Autumn Festival memories related to mooncakes. He also tried touching the oil paper that wrapped the mooncakes and then licking his fingers. "Barbecued pork mooncakes are very oily. Some children from poor families would pick up the mooncake wrappers that others threw away and lick them."

Old Zhang has five siblings. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, his parents would "preside" over the cutting of a mooncake into eight small pieces and then distribute them to their children who were gathered around.

"I'm the youngest in the family, so I'm the most spoiled."

The mooncake was divided into eight pieces for the whole family to eat, and the extra small piece was all for me.

For children back then, mooncakes were so delicious that Old Zhang couldn't bear to eat them all at once, so he would eat one piece and save another.

One year, Old Zhang hid the leftover mooncake in the rice jar for more than two weeks. When he took it out, he found that the mooncake had become moldy.

Old Zhang couldn't bear to throw it away, so he wiped it with his hand and ate it all.

"Although there was a shortage of material goods at that time, I didn't feel bitter. I was very happy to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival because I had a large group of neighbors."

Old Zhang, who grew up in a large courtyard, still clearly remembers that back then, every household would bring out a table for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

People gathered together to worship the moon. Some families couldn't afford mooncakes, so they put peanuts and taro that they had grown themselves on the table.

"Back then, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, there were more taro than mooncakes. We would cut the taro into pieces and offer them to the moon."

There were also homemade pastries, and a group of children would run around the table, freely taking whatever was on the table to eat.

In the late 1960s, Lao Zhang was still attending primary school in a town in his hometown of Daxing.

Around that time, their family's circumstances began to improve. Old Zhang's father was a winemaker who worked at the Yanshan Winery in Liujiazhuang.

Don't underestimate this small township enterprise; their benefits are higher than those of large state-owned enterprises in the city.

The Zhang family's life suddenly improved.

"When the Mid-Autumn Festival came, I said I was going home to eat mooncakes. Some of my classmates were surprised to hear that, as they had never eaten mooncakes since they were little." At that time, Old Zhang's weekly vegetable allowance was 1 yuan.

"I ate steamed buns for several days without any vegetables, and saved the money to buy a pound of mooncakes, which I shared with all 20-plus male classmates," Mr. Zhang said. Back then, everyone "shared what they had to eat." Although there wasn't much food, the happiness was real and simple.

"Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival in the past feels different from celebrating it now. When I was a child, I cared about the food, but now I care about my family getting together."

Mr. Yang, who is over seventy years old, expressed the sentiments of the elderly: "The moon is full and people are reunited." In the changing and unchanging memories of several generations, reunion has always been the theme of the Mid-Autumn Festival and the ultimate destination in their hearts.

Grandpa Yang's hometown is Miyun. Talking about his childhood Mid-Autumn Festival memories, he, who grew up in the 1940s and 50s, told reporter Wang Lin a story related to "mooncakes." When he was a child, his family lived in extreme poverty; even on Mid-Autumn Festival, they still couldn't afford to buy mooncakes.

Around eight or nine o'clock in the evening, Mr. Yang's parents went to their uncle's house with troubled expressions and managed to borrow a few cents to buy mooncakes.

"After borrowing the money, my mother rode on the bicycle of our neighbor Uncle San and took me to buy mooncakes."

Grandpa Yang clearly remembers that it was around 9 p.m., and many shops in the county were closed. The mother and son searched all over the county but still couldn't buy mooncakes.

Sitting on the back of his mother's bicycle, Xiao Yang knew that his parents wanted all four of them to have a mooncake for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

"My mother asked around all the way, and finally managed to buy a mooncake on Beijie Street in Miyun District."

Recalling the scene, Grandpa Yang said with a smile that he and his mother had really put in a lot of effort to get this mooncake.

Aunt He, Grandpa Yang's neighbor in the same courtyard, listened as everyone talked about their past Mid-Autumn Festival experiences.

Aunt He couldn't help but tell everyone about her childhood.

Aunt He's parents were employees of the Yanjing Railway Bureau back then, so by all accounts, their family was quite well-off.

However, she said that during the three years of hardship, although there were no mooncakes to eat, she was still very happy during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The siblings sat around with their parents making dumplings and listening to their parents tell stories. Even when they were so sleepy that their heads were hitting the table, they didn't want to go to sleep. The family chatted until the moon went down before they finally went to bed.

Although people lived in poverty back then, they had a rich variety of ways to celebrate festivals.

"When the children didn't have enough to eat, they would go out to dig for wild vegetables and climb to the top of the mountain to look at the moon."

What Aunt He misses most is that the hardships are over, people's living conditions have improved, and children will bring mooncakes and fruits. Everyone will eat and admire the moon while walking, and walk for more than half an hour to the locomotive depot to watch a movie.

Aunt He still clearly remembers the film titles, including "Tunnel Warfare," "Mine Warfare," and "Railway Guerrilla."

Having experienced the hardships of the past, like Aunt He, Grandpa Yang has a deep understanding of the changes in life: "In the 80s, after the reform and opening up, life became much better."

At that time, my wife and I ran a scrap metal shop in Liujiazhuang Development Zone. We had a lot more food to eat during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and several families would gather together in the courtyard to admire the moon.

Life now is completely different from what it used to be.

Grandpa Yang said with a smile, "When you get old, you don't think about what good food will be served during the holidays like you did when you were a child. Instead, you look forward to family reunions."

Mr. Yang is gratified that both of his sons have started their own families.

Yang Chengwei, the youngest son, works for RT-Mart Group. A few years ago, he was transferred by the company to Tianjin Port to be in charge of local business.

No matter how busy he is, his youngest son always brings his grandchildren back to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with him.

The eldest son, Yang Chengli, stayed by her side; he married late.

Because Yang Chengli had served in the army for twelve years, he was assigned to work at the Armed Forces Department of Liujiazhuang High-tech Development Zone after his discharge.

Two months ago, our eldest son also gave birth to twins, making the house even more lively during the holidays this year.

"Although life is better now, we can't lose our traditional festivals. We should get together often." For Grandpa Yang, every reunion with his children and grandchildren is a source of great joy.

Compared to the Mid-Autumn Festival memories of those born in the 50s and 60s, those born in the 70s have more mooncakes, but the sense of ritual in celebrating the festival has weakened.

Unlike previous generations, the "post-70s" generation of Liujiazhuang, who grew up with the reform and opening up, have distinctly different memories of the Mid-Autumn Festival: fewer memories associated with poverty. As their material lives have improved, they still mention looking forward to eating mooncakes as children, but fewer stories related to "mooncakes." In their hearts, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a circle, not only the roundness of the moon and the roundness of the mooncake, but also the beautiful reunion they yearn for.

I fought off sleepiness to wait for the moon with my grandparents, so we could eat mooncakes after the moon-worshiping ceremony.

Because her parents often traveled to other places for business, Sister Sun, born in 72, grew up at her maternal grandmother's house in MTG.

Children went to bed early back then, so my most vivid memory is of the Mid-Autumn Festival. I was always terrified that the moon would rise too late that night. My sister would constantly pester her grandmother, asking, "When will the moon rise?"

Sister Sun remembers that after having dinner early, her grandparents would move the table to the ground and set out fruit and mooncakes.

No matter how tired they were from working during the day, or how late it was, my grandparents would wait until the moon came out and then light candles to worship it.

A group of children went out to play with food, but by the time they were tired from running and playing, the moon had not yet risen.

My grandparents, who were watching TV inside the house, would occasionally go outside to look up at the night sky and see if the moon was visible.

"Grandma would also tell us the story of Chang'e flying to the moon, and we would fall asleep while listening to it."

Sister Sun can sleep soundly because she knows that as soon as the moon comes out, her loving grandmother will definitely wake her up. "I was sleeping soundly, but as soon as I heard my grandmother say that we should worship the moon, I immediately got up with energy."

Grandma took Granddaughter Sun to light candles and pray to the moon, then shared the mooncakes with the children.

The ritual of offering sacrifices to the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival has always been deeply etched in Sister Sun's mind.

Even now, Sister Sun still fondly remembers spending the Mid-Autumn Festival at her maternal grandmother's house when she was a child. It was filled with love and ritual, and this sense of ritual was not diminished by poverty.

Sister Sun noticed that while life is getting better and better, the Mid-Autumn Festival is becoming simpler and simpler as the living environment changes.

When Sister Sun entered junior high school, her parents bought a commercial apartment in the eastern district of Liujiazhuang. This was a new residential area developed by "Liujiazhuang Construction Company".

She also came to Liujiazhuang to live with her parents.

"Back then, we lived in a garden community where neighbors were close and there was a strong sense of community."

Every year on the fifteenth of August, to celebrate, neighbors would set up tables and chairs in front of their doors on the first floor, and lay out mats for the children to play on, all together offering sacrifices to the moon.

Sister Sun said that under the bright moon, adults chatted about everything under the sun, while children played games.

At that time, "eating mooncakes" had become less important during the Mid-Autumn Festival; what mattered was the atmosphere of everyone gathering together to celebrate.

In the years that followed, Liujiazhuang developed faster and faster, changing rapidly day by day.

After Sister Sun entered high school, her family bought a 200-square-meter riverside apartment in the Liujiazhuang South Bank Education District.

After moving into her new home, Sister Sun felt that the lively atmosphere of celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival when she was a child was gone.

"It feels like the Mid-Autumn Festival has been simplified to having a reunion dinner. Our family of five sat together to eat as usual, and then my mother set up a table on the balcony and put out fruit and mooncakes to offer to the moon."

Sister Sun said that after the reunion dinner, some family members watched TV, while others went out to sing karaoke. It felt like her mother's moon-worshiping ritual was just a formality.

My younger brother, in particular, is a post-80s generation and doesn't really understand the concept of "a full moon and family reunion." After eating at home, he goes out to meet up with classmates and friends, and sometimes he doesn't even spend the holiday at home but goes on a trip with friends.

"I'm married now and have my own children."

I'm thinking about what kind of Mid-Autumn Festival I should give them, how to spend it with them, so that they will have wonderful Mid-Autumn Festival memories when they grow up.

Ms. Sun said that every Mid-Autumn Festival, she would bring her children home so that the whole family could celebrate the festival together in a lively and joyful atmosphere.

(End of this chapter)