Courtyard House: Starting as a mediocre engineer

As the sun set, Zhuang Zhongchen returned to the courtyard house carrying his luggage.

"Hey, Chenzi, you're finally home. You look much tanned, didn't you suffer too much?"

"Uncle, are you making fun of me? It's alright, isn't it?"

"Hey, Chenzi, I heard it's our steel mill's turn next month. What exactly does the militia training consist of?"

"I actually know that. Da Mao, I heard that your steel rolling mill wants to be the vanguard of the working class. So you even volunteered to do a few extra training exercises, including swimming across Kunming Lake fully armed."

"Holy crap, which bastard came up with this terrible idea? All we're doing is firing anti-aircraft guns!"

"I don't know about that. Anyway, the people of our motherland are watching you."

"What the hell are the people of our motherland like? Are they out of their minds?"

He Yuzhu, standing to the side, burst into laughter, gloating, "Silly Mao, you should go train hard! I'll cheer you on, anyway, all I need to do is cook."

Zhuang Zhongchen glanced sideways and said, "Zhu Zi, I have some bad news for you—I've also joined the cooking squad and have to run five kilometers of cross-country running while carrying a big black pot."

"Huh? No way? Good heavens."

That's absolutely true. Militia training these days is incredibly rigorous. I strongly suspect it incorporates special forces training. Luckily, I've finally made it through; things should get a bit easier from now on... right?

That said, taking the blame for something while running a trail race is truly inhuman. In fact, "taking the blame" later became a common phrase and was even included in the dictionary. Damn, it actually contributed to Chinese culture?! Unbelievable!

Xu Damao and He Yuzhu were scared half to death, while Zhuang Zhongchen happily returned home.

Opening the rice container, Zhuang Zhongchen found less than two jin of flour left. He smiled slightly. Bai Lianhua (White Lotus) still had some conscience, leaving him a little.

When he left, Zhuang Zhongchen made sure to leave behind more than 20 jin of grain so that he could take care of Qin Huairu and her daughter, Huaihua. He also left the key to the young widow so that she could clean the house regularly.

"Chenzi, are you home?"

"Oh, Sister Qin." Zhuang Zhongchen quickly took the child from Qin Huairu's arms and smelled the sweet fragrance emanating from Huaihua.

You know what, human babies are incredibly cute, you just can't help but love them.

"You rascal, don't touch me like that. Everyone in the yard is here," Qin Huairu said coquettishly. "I'm here to collect the cleaning fee. Just give me whatever you think is fair! You need to give my mother-in-law an explanation."

"for you."

"Hey, where did you put it? It fell in! Humph!"

"Ha ha!"

To be honest, today wasn't exactly convenient. So the two of them agreed to have a fierce battle a few days later...

That evening, in a backyard.

Mi Cuicui, wearing a sleeveless top, stood beside him with a beaming smile, the two of them happily eating a large bowl of boiled pork slices.

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The boiled sliced ​​pork came from the system's daily necessities supermarket, which cost two shopping vouchers; it was one of those semi-finished dishes that were sealed in plastic.

Interestingly, pre-cooked meals later became the subject of much controversy. But in this day and age, the technology for pre-cooking meals doesn't even exist, and it's difficult to find such a complete range of ingredients and seasonings on the market.

To be honest, the people who came later were quite fussy; they didn't appreciate their good fortune. The country's extremely developed logistics system has created a large number of "troublemakers."

Do you really think that chicken, duck, fish, meat, vegetables, and fruits can be kept fresh every day? Is that easy to do? Like those poor people abroad, they can only hold their noses and eat zombie meat and pre-made meals?

Therefore, we often see vegetarians abroad who do not abstain from eggs and dairy, fish, or beef...

Wait, this is supposed to be vegetarian? Are you kidding me?

The key point isn't actually vegetarianism or environmentalism at all; it's just—I can afford fresh vegetables, I'm rich! It's a way to show off!

In other words, being able to afford fresh vegetables freely in other countries is considered showing off wealth!

So, the migrant workers in China silently looked at the boxed lunches they received at the construction site. Fresh vegetables?

However, in the early 60s, semi-finished dishes were a game-changer. The high-tech preparations involved, in particular, brought a revolutionary shock to people's taste buds.

Therefore, seeing Mi Cuicui wolfing down her food, even Zhuang Zhongchen couldn't help but laugh and cry: "Cuicui, is it really that delicious?"

"It's so delicious! Let's save the broth later and add some glass noodles, cabbage, and bean sprouts; that'll make another meal. Mmm."

"???"

"By the way, Chenzi, where did these vegetables come from?"

"Oh, when the cooking squad disbanded, everyone took some leftovers home. I didn't expect you to like this."

"It's fine! Eating it once in a while is okay. But eating it often would be a waste of so much oil."

At this moment, Zhuang Zhongchen glanced at the supermarket and saw a whole row of shelves filled with semi-finished dishes. He decided to hold off for now.

Nothing more was said that night!

When Zhuang Zhongchen went to work the next day, he felt a little uncomfortable.

Although militia training was tough, he had long been used to the tricycle. It's hard to go from luxury to frugality, and he really needed a means of transportation, which would at least improve his quality of life considerably.

How about buying a bicycle? That's an option. But it would be better to do what Xu Damao did and use the company vehicle for personal purposes. That way, you won't have to spend your own money, and it won't be so conspicuous. After all, you still have a lot of debt outside, so there's no need for such "high consumption."

Since it's a public bus, we can think outside the box and not be limited to bicycles. Why not just put an engine on a bicycle? Wouldn't that be an electric bicycle?

Electric-assisted bicycles are not being considered at this time. Firstly, current battery technology is simply inadequate; secondly, traffic conditions are unsuitable. Even city roads are full of potholes, making it impossible for electric-assisted bicycles to navigate them effectively.

That would be a gasoline-powered bicycle, which is quite suitable. The key is the choice of powertrain, that is, the choice of engine.

A four-stroke engine is definitely out of the question. It would be better to just produce motorcycles. Perhaps a two-stroke engine could be used instead?

To be honest, compared to a four-stroke engine, a two-stroke engine has disadvantages in every way. But it has two very significant advantages: one is its simple structure; the other is its low price.

Especially for electric bicycles, which are essentially cheap and undeveloped, like three-wheeled motorcycles or motorized vehicles for the elderly, there is a unique untapped market in China. And after competition among themselves, they have developed into a very special product category.

This is why there were no electric bicycles in China at that time. The reason is simple: if they didn't exist abroad, it was impossible for China to imitate them.

Including using a two-stroke engine? Nobody would do that.

Since that's the case, well... I'm bored out of my mind anyway, so I'll give it a try!