Back to my 1980s

"That's such a waste of money! Didn't you say it's the asbestos tile factory in our village? It shouldn't be that far, we can just use a handcart to haul it."

She spoke close to Zhao Hua's back, her mouth opening and closing, making Zhao Hua's back a little itchy.

At the same time, Zhao Hua felt a little itchy on his scalp. He scratched his head and wiggled his butt, but Meng Qinghe seemed to be stuck to his back. No matter what little tricks he made, she wouldn't back away.

He continued, "Haha, yeah, you can just use a cart! Oh my! Why didn't I think of using a cart when I bought lime last time? You're so thrifty, hahaha."

Meng Qinghe shook her head slightly and said, "That's different. You bought a lot of lime last time, and the cart couldn't carry it all. The shed doesn't need many tiles, so the cart should be enough. Besides, I've never seen those tiles before, so I don't know if I need to buy them. It would be too wasteful to call a tractor."

"Yeah, you're right. Oh! By the way, where's your dad? He should be free these days. I think he pulled all the weeds out of your little plot of land a long time ago. Even after the rain, no grass grows. He should be free, so why don't you ask him to take you? You can discuss it while you're at it."

"My father was an educated youth sent to the countryside," Meng Qinghe murmured in her sleep.

Upon hearing these five words, Zhao Hua was speechless. Yes, her father was an educated youth sent to the countryside, an outsider. The prices he paid for things might be different from those of the villagers.

Zhao Hua suddenly fell silent because he felt dampness slowly forming on his back. He nodded slightly in agreement and silently rode his bike without saying another word.

As he approached the Industrial and Commercial Administration Bureau, he vaguely sensed that something was wrong with Meng Qinghe behind him. Not only was her face pressed against his back, but her entire body was pressed against him, and the pressure on his head was gradually dissipating.

He quickly slowed down and turned to look at Meng Qinghe.

"Holy crap! Qinghe!"

"Huh?" Meng Qinghe opened her eyes groggily, looking at Zhao Hua with sleepy eyes.

"You...you, you, you can fall asleep on a bicycle?" He quickly stopped the bicycle.

"Ah! I don't know, I just felt your back without realizing it, oh!" She quickly wiped away her drool, her face slightly flushed.

Zhao Hua was momentarily speechless. It turned out that he had drooled all over his back, but he had mistaken it for tears. He looked Meng Qinghe up and down for a moment, then hesitated before asking, "Did you hide your household registration book? I remember you were holding it in your hand when you got on the bus?"

"Ah! I've been holding it in my hand the whole time!" The two quickly got off the bicycle.

Zhao Hua understood; the item must have slipped while he was asleep. He glanced back the way he came and found it lying not far away.

Seeing Meng Qinghe still shaking off her clothes, seemingly trying to produce the proof, Zhao Hua was speechless. He patted Meng Qinghe on the shoulder and pointed to the letter and household registration book lying on the ground in the distance.

Meng Qinghe looked up, slumped her shoulders in relief, and then ran a few steps to retrieve the certificate.

She walked awkwardly to the bicycle, head down, not daring to look at Zhao Hua. Zhao Hua smiled and said, "Are you awake yet?"

Meng Qinghe nodded quickly and said, "She's awake, she's awake."

Zhao Hua rolled her eyes and told her to get back on the bus. Goodness, she thought that living in the countryside and being a sent-down youth caused her all sorts of inconveniences and made her secretly sad, which was why she spoke in a soft and weak voice. Who knew she had almost fallen asleep.

The certificate process went very smoothly this time. Director Zhang didn't even need to show up. After filling out the forms and paying the fee, the certificate was issued. The administrator kept telling Meng Qinghe about various precautions, as if he had memorized his own employee code of conduct. Zhao Hua listened from the side and kept yawning.

After memorizing for half an hour, Zhao Hua finally couldn't hold back anymore. This even involved his essays from when he was in school. Anyway, he already had the certificate, so he took it from Meng Qinghe and walked straight out.

Meng Qinghe wasn't stupid. Seeing this, she smiled at the administrator and quickly followed him. No one wanted to stay here and listen to his rambling on and on.

The two walked to the bicycle and found that all three certificates were handwritten, but they were stamped with an official seal. The most valuable thing was probably the official seal.

He looked at it over and over again. He was very excited when he first saw it, but after that, he couldn't see the handwritten license anymore. Once the novelty wore off, he tossed it back to Meng Qinghe.

Meng Qinghe took the papers and examined them for a while, but she wasn't surprised. After looking at them for a bit, she looked at Zhao Hua and said, "Brother, these three pieces of paper are worth twenty-five yuan, that's so expensive!"

Zhao Hua smiled, knowing she was still a little distressed, so he didn't ignore her. He got on his bicycle and said, "With these three pieces of paper, you're officially the boss lady now. Get on the bike, boss lady, you can go home and get ready."

"Oh." Meng Qinghe took a few steps and got into the car. She pursed her lips and couldn't help but say, "Isn't it always the boss who comes first, then the boss's wife? I'm the boss's wife, so who's the boss?"

"Huh? Who told you that? You can have a boss's wife even if you don't have a boss. Sit up straight, we're going home. Don't turn around and fall asleep again." As he spoke, he slowly started pedaling.

"Brother, where do you think would be a good place to build my shed?"

This was the first time Zhao Hua had noticed that Meng Qinghe was not as taciturn as she had seemed before.

"I don't know, go home and talk to your dad about it."

"I didn't expect to start so soon. Dad said to do it at the door, but I think since your house is right next door, I need to discuss it with you."

Zhao Hua thought about it and realized that made sense. At least it couldn't be too close to their yard wall, otherwise the wall would be practically useless, and people could just climb over the wooden stakes on the shed and into their yard.

He thought for a moment and said, "My family is going to build a courtyard wall. I was thinking about whether to leave an alleyway between the gate and the kitchen, so that it will be more convenient for storing firewood or raising dogs in the future. That's why the courtyard wall is quite long."

"If your stall is placed in the back, people won't be able to see it from my side. That won't do. I've heard that many people will come here to build houses in the future."

Meng Qinghe thought for a moment and said, "Then should we put it by the roadside? If we put it by the roadside, we'll have to tear down the vegetable garden."

Zhao Hua laughed and said, "Hey! You're a boss lady now, why would you care about that vegetable garden? How many vegetables can grow in a garden? Once you make money, you can buy as many vegetables as you want."

Meng Qinghe sniffed, tapped Zhao Hua on the back twice, and said, "Hey! What boss lady! Let's not talk about that, let's get serious!"

Zhao Hua smiled, pondered for a moment, and said, "I really think setting up a stall by the roadside is better. Those vegetable gardens are all fenced off, so it won't hurt to tear them down. If you set up your stall a little closer to the road, people passing by can easily see it. If you put your shed at the entrance of the current vegetable garden, with my house blocking the view on the right and the left side huddled in the yard, people will have to walk right up to see it. Who will you sell your produce to then?"