Back to 1984: I built a chicken farm on a barren mountain.

5 month 21 day.

April 21st on the lunar calendar.

Xiaoman (Grain Buds)

Suitable for: meeting relatives and friends, traveling, making engagements...

Chen Wenfeng treated Zhou Zhiming to tofu pudding and fried dough sticks in the morning, then rode his bicycle toward the county town.

Yesterday, he paid 30 yuan of the first year's contract fee for Jiming Mountain with the 56 yuan he earned from his writing, and now he has 26 yuan left.

As the saying goes, "A poor family travels with wealth."

He carried all 26 yuan with him when he went to the county town today.

Although it wasn't a lot of money, it could buy a lot of things in the 80s.

To make it easier to tell the time, he also put on his Shanghai watch from home.

It was bought when my parents got married.

When he returned home yesterday morning, he found his father, Chen Shouyi, lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), which was a bit strange.

According to my father's usual habits, he usually wouldn't stay on the kang (heated brick bed) until bedtime.

After all, this doesn't conform to the Chen family's rules!

He asked his father, and his father's answer was: He drank too much.

He asked his mother, and she said the same thing.

These two are acting suspiciously. Are they planning to have another baby?

Chen Wenfeng immediately shook his head, firmly rejecting this absurd answer.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard his father cry out in pain again.

He hurried back and found his father rubbing his back. His father's answer was that he had strained his back while holding a wine glass.

Haha, while the probability of this happening is low, it's not impossible.

After all, as Guo Degang once said in a crosstalk performance, eating a sugar pancake can burn the back of your head.

However, what Chen Wenfeng didn't know was that after he left home, the scene at home changed completely:

Chen Shouyi: Honey, quickly rub it for me, it's hurting again.

Wang Guizhi: Hey, I told you not to go, but you insisted on showing off. Now look what happened.

Chen Shouyi: Didn't they pay me my wages too?

Wang Guizhi: I was paid 1.5 yuan for a day's work, and I didn't get any compensation for getting injured while working.

Chen Shouyi: It's nothing serious, I'll be fine after a couple of days of rest, and I even had lunch.

Wang Guizhi: Look at your pathetic self, I wonder if Wenfeng has even noticed.

Chen Shouyi: Absolutely not. How could a son possibly see through his father?

Wang Guizhi: You should learn from this lesson; you're not a young man anymore.

Chen Shouyi: I've always felt like I'm in my twenties, not old at all, and very strong. Why don't you come up and give it a try?

Wang Guizhi: ...You still want to do it even when you're like this? Aren't you afraid of being hurt to death?!

Chen Shouyi: Hehe, I won't move, you can move... Honey, where are you going?

Wang Guizhi: Close the door!

......

Chen Wenfeng rode his bicycle, speeding along the road like a kite.

He soon arrived at Qiwang Town, stopped and checked the time: 9:45.

We should be able to reach the county town in about an hour.

It happened to be market day in town, and the streets were packed with people.

In those days, markets were the most important centers for exchanging goods in rural areas, without exception.

Almost all kinds of daily necessities, food, drink and toilet supplies can be bought at the market.

He pushed his bicycle through the crowd for a long time, feeling exactly the same as squeezing onto the subway during his commute in Beijing.

Finally, the crowd thinned out, and he glanced at his watch.

This short distance took 20 minutes to squeeze through.

He leaped onto his bicycle and continued heading towards the county town...

As he approached the edge of the county town, he pushed his bicycle and asked for directions along the way.

After asking around, I finally found out the location of the Zunxi Jiuzhou Hotel.

When he arrived at the Kyushu Hotel, it was already 11:30. The timing was perfect.

Zunxi Jiuzhou Restaurant is a privately owned restaurant in the county town.

According to Chen Wenfeng's standards from his previous life, the decoration of this three-story stand-alone hotel was rather simple.

But it's already top-notch for this era.

Moreover, state-run restaurants were still the mainstream at this time.

However, Zunxi Jiuzhou still managed to stand out among many state-owned restaurants thanks to its taste, price, and service, becoming the first choice for many people in the county to entertain guests.

It was lunchtime, and the area outside the Kyushu Hotel was full of bicycles, with the occasional car or two.

An elderly doorman is helping customers park their bicycles at the restaurant entrance.

Although Chen Wenfeng also rode a bicycle, his clothes and demeanor were clearly different from those of people in the county town.

The old gatekeeper looked down on Chen Wenfeng because he was wearing a blue vest and gray pants, and looked dusty from riding all the way.

The old man also had a sharp tongue, and he immediately started making sarcastic remarks:

"Our restaurant does not serve beggars."

Chen Wenfeng was taken aback. What a watchdog! He had seen plenty of security guards making things difficult for people in his previous life.

He was so angry at the old man's harsh words that he laughed, but he still spoke politely:

"Sir, I'm here to eat, not to beg."

The old gatekeeper was taken aback by Chen Wenfeng's direct response, and his anger flared immediately.

"Go take a look at yourself in the mirror. Everyone who sees you will think you're a beggar!"

Chen Wenfeng was speechless, thinking to himself, "I've been reborn, why should I put up with you?" He instantly switched to his sarcastic mode:

"I'm not a beggar, and even if I were, I wouldn't be begging for your food."

"Furthermore, beggars are human, but guards are dogs!"

The old gatekeeper was speechless and was thinking about how to retaliate.

A middle-aged man in a uniform came out of the restaurant, and the old doorman fell silent when he saw him.

The middle-aged man said to Chen Wenfeng:

"Welcome! Please come inside for your meal. Would you prefer the main hall on the first floor or a private room on the second floor? Do you have a reservation?"

Chen Wenfeng parked the bicycle, locked both locks, and replied:

"Reserved, third floor."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man immediately asked:

"May I ask your surname?"

"My surname is Chen."

"Oh, distinguished guest. Mr. Wu is waiting upstairs! He specifically asked me to come down..."

The man pulled Chen Wenfeng into the restaurant, introducing himself as they went:

"My surname is Li, and I'm the foreman here. These days, people usually call me manager."

"The doorman was Old Sun just now. It's not the first time he's had a conflict with a customer. Please be understanding. It's only because Mr. Wu took pity on him..."

Chen Wenfeng followed Manager Li into the restaurant and went up to the third floor in one go.

Unlike the bustling first and second floors, the third floor has a rather quiet and elegant environment.

Manager Li stopped in front of a house, knocked on the door, then pushed it open and said to the person inside:

"Mr. Wu, Mr. Chen has arrived!"

First, a hearty laugh came from inside, followed by a person coming out of the house.

The man gripped Chen Wenfeng's hand tightly and said with a smile:

"I didn't expect Brother Chen to be so young!"

Chen Wenfeng then took a closer look at the man. He was in his thirties, very tall, with a straight back, sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and had the air of a soldier.

This person was Wu Jiajun.

Chen Wenfeng had already prepared his polite reply, and said in a refined manner, "I am just a country bumpkin, not worthy of such elegance. Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Wu."

Wu Jiajun laughed heartily and pulled Chen Wenfeng into the house.

The table in the room was small, with three chairs and three sets of bowls and chopsticks.

There must be one more person.

Wu Jiajun said to Manager Li:

"Serve the food first, let's eat while we wait for Lao Feng."

Manager Li responded and went to prepare.

Wu Jiajun asked Chen Wenfeng his age and said:

"I'm thirty-two years old. From now on, let's call each other brothers. I'll call you Wenfeng, and you can call me Brother Wu."

"Listen to Angkor!"

I have to latch onto this powerful figure.

Wu Jiajun then said:

"Old Feng will be here soon. He's a reporter, sent down from the city, and he's very busy. I was planning to make an appointment with you later, but he couldn't wait."

"Angkor, who is Old Feng?"

"His name is Feng Jianguo. You should remember him; Old Feng and I published articles in the same issue of the Daily."

"That slut..."

"Yes, that's him!"