1979: Reopening Wenhao Road from the Village

"How much do these cost approximately?"

"Peony tea costs 52 cents a box, Daqianmen tea costs 30 cents a box, and Hengda and Guangrong teas are 28 cents a box, which are relatively cheap and do not come with filters."

As for the liquor, a bottle of Xifeng liquor costs 3.5 yuan, and bulk grain liquor costs 2.3 yuan per kilogram.

After Ma Mei finished speaking, she added, "If you're giving it as a gift, it's best to choose Peony, Daqianmen, or Xifeng."

The current trend is to say things like, "I'd rather give you one Peony than two Daqianmen cigarettes," and "I'd rather have one high-end cigarette than two low-end ones."

"Then give me a peony and two bottles of Xifeng liquor."

Chen's mother readily agreed. After speaking, she looked around and then whispered in Ma Mei's ear, "Sister Mei, we don't have enough cigarette and alcohol coupons at home. Could you help me exchange some here? I'll trade you my grain coupons."

Nowadays, tobacco and alcohol coupons are harder to obtain than grain coupons. Grain coupons are issued at least monthly, while tobacco and alcohol coupons are only issued during holidays or special supplies, and even then, it depends on the workplace and the individual.

The reason Chen's mother sought out Ma Mei was because the latter, working at the supply and marketing cooperative, could directly obtain internal vouchers through her connections with the sugar, tobacco, and alcohol companies.

Ma Mei hesitated for a moment, then took out two cigarette and alcohol coupons from the drawer behind her. "I have two left that I can't use. You can use them first."

"That won't do. It should be whatever amount it is."

After some pushing and shoving, Ma Mei finally accepted it.

A pack of Peony cigarettes and two bottles of Xifeng liquor cost a total of 26.2 yuan. Actually, the price of cigarettes and liquor wasn't too expensive; the total cost was only 12.2 yuan. The main problem was the high price of the cigarette and liquor coupons, so it cost a total of 14 yuan.

Actually, Ma Mei didn't ask for more; otherwise, it would have been sold for a higher price on the black market.

As soon as Mr. Chen got home from get off work, he began to instruct him: "Quickly wash your face and change your clothes. Before it gets dark, take Weidong to Director Wang's house."

Mr. Chen nodded. He went inside and looked at the Peony cigarettes and Xifeng liquor on the kang (a heated brick bed). He felt a little heartache. He had never smoked such good cigarettes before. As for the Xifeng liquor, the last time he drank it was when Chen Xiaoteng was born. He bought a bottle to celebrate the birth of a descendant in the Chen family and drank it for more than half a year.

"That brat, he's such a worry!"

Compared to his elder brother Chen Jianguo, Chen Weidong was mischievous and naughty from a young age. Because he had his parents, the Chen family, as his backers, he dared to do anything.

Climbing walls and trees, stealing eggs and catching birds were common occurrences. They would light a fire inside the house with Chen Aihua and the other children to roast sweet potatoes, almost setting the house on fire. They would set off firecrackers in the toilet, scaring one of the children so much that he fell into a pit and nearly drowned. There were also fights and brawls…

There was nothing Chen Weidong wouldn't do, and his father always had to clean up his messes. From childhood to adulthood, whenever someone came to his door, his father never had to guess that Chen Weidong had caused trouble again.

Now that he's grown up and married, I still have to keep taking care of him. He's such a rebellious son; I must have owed him something in my past life!

Mr. Chen silently complained in his heart, but his body betrayed him. He quickly changed his clothes, wrapped the cigarettes and alcohol in a bag, and took Chen Weidong out the door.

"Director Wang."

"Brother Chen is here, please come in. This isn't a work unit, just call me Liming."

When Wang Liming saw Chen's father coming over, he immediately stood up and greeted him warmly.

Mr. Chen smiled but did not respond. Instead, he began to introduce Chen Weidong.

"This is my son, Weidong."

"Director Wang."

Chen Weidong called out to Wang Liming, who was much younger than Chen's father. At that age, his future prospects were limitless.

If this were in later generations, he wouldn't even have the chance to see the other party, let alone have them come to his door.

"Just call me Uncle Wang. Let's be casual at home. Speaking of which, I used to hold you when you were little. I heard you're married now?"

Wang Liming looked at Chen Weidong. This was the first time Chen Guangde had brought his child to his home. The two families had been friends for many years, and Chen Guangde would come to visit him every year. He had never brought anyone else or made any requests, which made Wang Liming very gratified.

Wang Liming has always kept the events of that year in mind. Therefore, as long as the other party doesn't make excessive demands and it's within his ability, he will definitely help if he can.

"Yes, she was a sent-down youth I met in the countryside."

"When did you get back?"

"I just got back yesterday."

"They even brought me back two grandchildren, especially the granddaughter, she's so adorable!"

Mr. Chen interjected, his words filled with happiness.

"Weidong already has two kids. You're so lucky, brother, to have both a son and a daughter, surrounded by your children and grandchildren. Unlike my good-for-nothing son, I barely see him once a year, and he's still not married."

"Guoqing is still young. He has already been admitted to university at such a young age. He has a bright future ahead of him."

Unlike my son, who only has a junior high school education and no skills whatsoever. He just registered at the educated youth office and doesn't know when he'll be able to find a job.

Following Wang Liming's lead, Chen's father brought up Chen Weidong and continued, "Liming, I came here today to ask you to find him a job. Any job is fine, as long as he can eat and support his family."

"Brother Chen, you're being too serious. Don't talk about begging or anything like that."

When Wang Liming saw Chen Weidong, he already had a pretty good idea of ​​who he was. As the deputy director of the subdistrict office, he knew the educated youth very well.

People like Chen Weidong, with only a junior high school education, are a dime a dozen.

Fortunately, Chen Guangde didn't ask for too much. If he had only asked to assign one job, it would have been difficult, but he could have managed to do it.

"I wonder what kind of job Weidong is looking for?"

"I'm fine with anything, but it would be even better if it were closer to home. My second child is still too young and needs someone to take care of him."

"You don't need to worry about things at home. Your mother is taking care of the child. Liming, don't listen to him. That kid has a lot of ideas now. He even submitted an article to that newspaper a while ago."

Chen's father stopped Chen Weidong for a moment, then pretended to have forgotten his name, just wanting Chen Weidong to show more of his abilities.

"October."

"Yes, it's that October newspaper, it's quite thick."

"October!? Which magazine published by Yenching Publishing House?"

Wang Liming looked at Chen Weidong with some surprise. As an ambitious person, he read newspapers every day and could study a lot of information from them. This was a basic skill, so he was also familiar with the "October" magazine.

"Yes, I was lucky. I just wanted to try it out, but I didn't expect to actually pass one."

Chen Weidong gave a shy smile and deliberately scratched his head.

"Chen Weidong, you wouldn't happen to be the author of that story 'The Horse Herder,' would you?"

Wang Liming also seemed to realize something and looked at Chen Weidong.

"Liming, you've read it too? It really was written by that brat. He even came back from his hometown at the beginning of the year to revise the manuscript. I didn't expect it to actually be published in the newspaper."

"Brother Chen, that's not a newspaper, it's a magazine."

Wang Liming corrected him, then said with some emotion, "So you wrote 'The Herdsman'! Brother Chen, you've raised a fine son!"

Wang Liming had read "The Herdsman" several times. At first, he didn't pay much attention to it, but after visiting a leader and hearing him mention the manuscript, he went home, bought a copy, and found it to be quite good.

Wang Liming originally thought that the person who could write a novel like "The Herdsman" must be a middle-aged educated youth of similar age to him, but he never expected that it would be Chen Guangde's son!

It's unbelievable!

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