1988: Back to the human world for a few years

Chapter 130: Lend you a kindness, return you wealth (1)

The money supply was tight, consumption was cooling, factories were running at low capacity, township enterprises were closing down on a large scale, unemployment was increasing, and capital circulation was sluggish;
But correspondingly, the rate of increase in the national price level has not slowed down.

The national overall price level rose by 17.8% in the first half of the year, which is a very exaggerated figure.

But it doesn't end there.

Starting from the second half of the year, the overall price level has continued to rise. According to historical trends, by the end of the year, this figure will even be as high as 40%!

Even people without any basic knowledge of economics know how shocking this figure is...Except for the time when China took over the world from Chiang Kai-shek, there has never been such an exaggerated increase in prices in the country!

Anyway,

The economy in 1989 was in a depression...

………………

Texas, department store.

This landmark building, which was established just six years ago, has suddenly lost its former hustle and bustle and prosperity. The bicycles that used to be parked densely under the building every day are now much sparser.

"Comrade, do you want your shoes polished? My father's skills are great. We can polish leather shoes and sneakers. It's 5 cents a time!"

"Comrade, do you have shoes that need repairing? Leather shoes, high heels, sneakers, cloth shoes, all can be repaired. High heels are 1 yuan, leather shoes are 5 cents, and other shoes are cents!"

Not far away, next to the big fish pond that had not yet been filled, Song Laonian, who was over fifty years old, was sitting on a small bench, staring at the passers-by coming and going, and shouting loudly.

The sun was very strong today, and the thin willow tree next to him could not block much of the sun. However, Song Laonian, with sweat all over his forehead, still left the only shade that could barely accommodate a person and exposed himself to the scorching sun.

It's getting harder and harder to get work nowadays, and more and more people come out carrying boxes to polish shoes. It's hard to say whether customers will be attracted by leaving this small shade of the tree, right?
As for myself...

Hey, I've lived from the Republic of China to now, and I've endured all kinds of hard times. It's just a matter of getting a little skinned when I go home at night. It's no big deal!
After shouting for more than an hour and seeing that no customers came, Song Laonian, with a hoarse voice, dejectedly took out a military water bottle with mottled paint from the shabby but well-maintained wooden box and took a small sip... He only earned 45 cents today. He couldn't drink too much. If he drank too much and had to go to the toilet urgently, he would miss the customers who wanted to shine his shoes, which would be a big loss.

After screwing on the kettle, Song Laonian took a look at the half cold steamed bun that he had saved from the previous morning in the wooden box. He cleared his throat with some intention, but after thinking about it, he did not reach out for it. Instead, he tightened his belt and quickly closed the wooden box as if he had been bitten by a snake... It was only a little after two in the afternoon, and this was his dinner. If he ate too early and lay in bed hungry and unable to sleep, he would be in trouble.

Thinking of the dark and messy little shack, Song Laonian sighed.

I really don’t know why so many people like to go to the city. The prices in the city are so expensive! If you dare to sell a steamed bun for 5 cents in the village, you will be scolded to death!
No, it's not 5 cents... Just yesterday, the price had risen to 8 cents, and that's the cheapest price. In some places, the price has risen to 1 cents.

How dare you sell a steamed bun for 1 cents?
Damn it, life in the city is so miserable!
Unconsciously squeezing the plastic bag full of coins sewn into the corner of his trousers, Song Laonian suddenly felt a little sympathy for the neatly dressed city dwellers on the street.

Everything is going up in price now, but I heard that everyone’s wages haven’t increased much. Not only that, many companies are unable to pay wages, and some self-employed individuals have even voluntarily applied to close down.

Hey……

It’s difficult for everyone now!
After carefully wiping the empty stool with his sleeve to make it look cleaner, Song Laonian hesitated.

Should we raise the price of shoe-shining back to 3 cents per time?
Since the price was raised to 5 cents last week, there are fewer and fewer shoe shiners.

But, all the shoe shiners on the street charge this price now, and if you adjust the price back, you will get into big trouble!
And to be honest, I really can't support myself by polishing shoes for 3 cents a time.

Although shoe polish is cheap, the cost of applying it three times is less than a penny. However, my own food, drink, and toilet expenses in the city are not small expenses... In addition, my health is not very good, and the monthly medicine bill is a large sum.

Hey……

It would be great if barefoot doctors had not been abolished. Although the doctors in the clinic in my village are of limited standard, the barefoot doctors in the neighboring village are still very good. The key is that the medicine is cheap, and sometimes they are even free... If barefoot doctors have not been abolished, why should I go to this city to suffer? Wouldn't it be better to see a barefoot doctor in the neighboring village?
Now I am better. My illness is dragging on, but my life is getting more and more difficult day by day.

It’s not a big deal that I don’t have money for next month’s rent, but in a few days I’ll have to buy medicine again.

Song Laonian squeezed the plastic bag containing coins at the corner of his pants again, and rubbed his chest, which was still a little stuffy, and sighed again. He counted it again last night, and the total was 7 yuan, cents... He still needed yuan, cents to pay for the medicine.

Judging from the current business situation, I will probably have to postpone buying medicine for a few days. I just hope that I don’t faint on the street by then.

My life is worthless and it will be gone if I lose it, but if possible, I don't want to fall like a stray dog ​​on the busy street... At the very least, give myself a chance, change into a new set of clothes, and then find a few clean willow boards to lie on, right?
Song Laonian looked at the clean clothes coming and going on the street, then looked down at his own worn-out work pants that were covered in sweat, smiled somewhat self-deprecatingly, and an inexplicable impulse suddenly surged in his heart.

or……

Why not just go back?

Thinking of the one and a half acres of dry land whose vague memory was vague,
I think of the bamboo stool in the old house that always creaked when used with a hemp rope tied to the fourth leg.
Thinking of the hoe with a hole in it in the corner of the kitchen,
Thinking of the iron plow that had been washed clean of mud,
Song Laonian's thoughts suddenly drifted far away. He wondered if the old cow that was sold before he left was still there.

If I see myself again,
You shouldn't hate yourself, right?
Just thinking about it blankly, Song Laonian was already in tears without realizing it...

go back!

Let’s go home!
Wiping away the tears from his old face, Song Laonian took a deep breath and began to pick up the things on the stall without hesitation.

After three years of hardship in the city, he has never been so eager to return home...

………………

Just as Song Laonian packed up his things, carried the wooden box, and chewed the half cold steamed bun in big mouthfuls with a relieved and relaxed attitude...

"Hey~ Hey~ Lao Nian! Lao Nian! Wait for me! Wait for me!"

A very familiar voice came from behind.

Song Laonian turned around and saw a man in his thirties running towards him in a hurry.

He knew this man. They had shined shoes on the same street before and they had chatted a few times... Of course, he had also been beaten up by the man because of business issues; later he had also eaten the buns that the man gave him as a treat.

Well, yes, the relationships among the grassroots in the North at that time were so weird and messy.

"What's the matter, Old Joe? What's the matter?" Song Laonian had his usual simple and honest smile on his face, but he was less timid than before.

Old Qiao panted and stopped in front of Song Laonian. He glanced at this country bumpkin who seemed a little different today and grinned: "Sure~Laonian, I wanted to give you a surprise, but I didn't expect you already knew."

As he said that, he hooked his arm around Song Laonian's neck and said slyly, "I don't care. Anyone who sees it gets a share. If you make a fortune, you have to treat me to a good meal in the restaurant!"

Song Laonian, with his neck bent, carefully put away the remaining buns, and looked at him strangely: "Get rich? ... What do you mean by get rich?"

Old Qiao looked at him with disdain: "Pretending! Still pretending!? I just asked you to treat me to a meal, not to share your money, why do you have to hide it like this?"

Song Laonian was even more confused: "I really don't know what you are talking about!"

Old Qiao looked at him suspiciously, and when he realized that he didn't seem to be playing dumb, he asked in a low voice, "Do you remember the IOU you received more than two months ago? It was the one that Mo Mo Baizha had, the one with someone's stamp on it."

The silent and explosive white bar?
Song Laonian nodded: "Remember."

This was one of the few highlights in his life when he felt like he was living like a human being. How could he not remember it...even though he only had one dollar and thirty-seven cents on him at the time.

Old Joe asked anxiously, "Is the IOU still there?"

Song Laonian was even more puzzled: "It's still there, what's wrong?"

While answering, he calmly tucked his left arm... This IOU was very meaningful to him, so he did not use it to exchange for the fried fish balls that should have belonged to him, but carefully sewed it on the left rib of his clothes.

He was afraid that this guy would get greedy and try to snatch the IOU in exchange for food.

They were all working hard at the bottom, so how could Old Qiao not notice Song Laonian's little trick? He sneered, "Are you really that careful... There's your signature on this receipt. If it's not yours, it's useless even if you take it... People will verify the handwriting!"

Eh?
I have to verify my handwriting just to eat a bowl of fried fish balls. Is that so troublesome?

Song Laonian looked at Lao Qiao in disbelief... To him, the things sold by Mo Mo Bai Zha were actually something he had to look up to, so after donating one dollar and thirty-seven cents last time, he no longer paid attention to this famous store. He didn't even know that they no longer sold fish balls but chicken chops instead.

Old Qiao looked at this old man who, in his impression, was honest and cowardly to the extreme in silence. He was envious and spat on the ground in anger: "Fuck! I don't know what kind of shit luck you have, that such a good thing can happen to you... Here, see for yourself!"

As he said that, he took out a newspaper from the wooden box and slapped it on Song Laonian's chest.

Feeling his chest getting tighter, Song Laonian took the newspaper and smiled bitterly, "I can't read...Except for my name and the name of my deceased partner, the total number of characters I know is no more than ten."

Upon hearing this, Old Qiao glared at him with disdain. After taking back the newspaper, he said with a look of jealousy, "I don't know where this group of rich people came from. Now they are posting articles all over the newspapers, buying up the IOUs that Mo Mo Baizha had issued in the past... At least this much for each one!"

(End of this chapter)