Back to my 1980s

"Is it done? Why did it take so long?"

Hearing the sound of a bicycle in the yard, Zhao Ru came out from the inner room.

"I finished getting it done, but I had to come back to get another certificate, which took up some time." Zhao Hua pushed his bicycle into the house.

As he passed Zhao Ru, he lowered his voice and said, "Once the shed is set up, we can start selling goods. I'll let them take the wood that was taken down from the educated youth settlement. They won't be able to learn how to drive a car for a while, so I'll give them the wood first, so they won't feel embarrassed to take it and just leave it there."

Zhao Ru nodded and didn't press the matter. She could learn to ride a bicycle anytime. She had already waited so long, so what was a little longer? Building a shed and opening a shop was quite interesting.

After parking his bicycle inside, Zhao Hua drank a large bowl of cold boiled water. Seeing Zhao Ru asking Meng Qinghe questions with her identification documents, he looked at Meng Qinghe and casually asked, "Qinghe, are you thirsty? Would you like some water?"

Meng Qinghe shook her head. Zhao Hua put the bowl on the table, peeked at the sky, and realized that they had returned around eight or nine o'clock. They had been busy with the paperwork for almost two hours, and her mother still hadn't come back to cook.

He looked at Zhao Ru with a puzzled expression and asked, "Where's Mom? Isn't it dinnertime? I haven't seen her."

Zhao Ru returned the certificate to Meng Qinghe and said with a smile, "Mother went to the new house, saying she was going to take a look."

"She must be helping out with chores there, otherwise she would have come back long ago." He glanced at Meng Qinghe, thought for a moment, and said, "Then you stay home and cook for yourself. I need to go to the educated youth settlement to discuss with her father where to set up the shed, and also call her mother back."

"Then you go ahead, I'll steam the rice first. I don't know what Mom is planning to cook for lunch. What if some vegetables go bad because we didn't cook them for lunch? Mom will scold me when she gets back."

Zhao Hua waved his hand and got up to leave, but suddenly he stopped and looked at the two of them. He thought to himself: It's almost lunchtime. Is it a bit inappropriate to take Meng Qinghe to the educated youth settlement now? Shouldn't we let her stay at home for a meal?

On second thought, there were only two people in her family, her father and her mother. Should she leave her there and let her father eat alone at home? What if her father had already prepared meals for two? Besides, there just didn't feel right about letting her father eat alone at home.

But no matter what, I should at least keep it. Just taking it with me like this feels a bit awkward and uncomfortable.

He took a breath, glanced at Meng Qinghe again, and hesitated before asking, "Qinghe, are you having lunch here?"

Meng Qinghe quickly shook her head and said, "No, Father should have already prepared dinner and is waiting for me at home, so I won't eat here."

"Hey!" Zhao Hua saw Meng Qinghe shake her head and felt that this was more in line with his opinion. He continued, "It's rare for you to come to our house. Have a meal before you go back."

Meng Qinghe's eyes widened as she glanced at Zhao Ru, then looked at Zhao Hua and said, "I should tell my dad first, otherwise I don't know how worried he'll be. But since I'm already back, I might as well eat at home!"

Before Zhao Hua could speak, Zhao Ru looked at him and said, "Brother, when has she ever come to our house so rarely? Doesn't she come every day?"

Zhao Hua thought to himself, "I know I come every day. Isn't that what everyone says when they invite guests to dinner? So I just say it too." But of course, he couldn't say it out loud. He smiled and said, "You used to come in the morning. This is the first time you've come at noon. Isn't that unusual?"

Zhao Ru pouted and said, "But we haven't even started cooking yet. Should I go cook and leave Sister Qinghe here waiting?" She glanced suspiciously at Zhao Hua, then at Meng Qinghe, and said, "Brother, you wouldn't be thinking of staying here to entertain Sister Qinghe, would you?"

Seeing that Zhao Ru was talking more and more nonsensically, Zhao Hua thought to himself, "I just wanted to go through the motions. What are you talking about? Anyway, the motions are already done." Zhao Hua ignored Zhao Ru, put his hands behind his back, and walked out.

Meng Qinghe was momentarily confused. One second she was inviting him to stay for dinner, and the next second the two siblings were bickering. However, she breathed a sigh of relief that she didn't have to say any more polite words. It wasn't that she couldn't invite him to stay for dinner, but her father should indeed be at home waiting for her at this time.

Moreover, while her family was busy preparing the meal, she was just sitting there waiting, which made her feel awkward. Besides, she was more familiar with Zhao Hua and Zhao Ru, but she hadn't really spoken more than a few words to Zhao's parents.

She quickly ran out the door and caught up with Zhao Hua, and the two walked together towards the educated youth settlement.

The educated youth settlement was still bustling with activity. To be honest, without watches or cell phones, Zhao Hua couldn't figure out when they started working or when they finished. When they were calculating, they only said it was calculated by the day, but no one said what time they started and finished work, so Zhao Hua didn't say anything.

"Mother!" Zhao Hua didn't rush to Meng Qinghe's house first. He went to the new house to find his mother, but he didn't see her at first glance.

Zhao's mother was chatting with some women from the village by the roadside when someone reminded her that Zhao Hua was looking for her. She quickly greeted the others and turned to Zhao Hua, saying, "What's up? What did you call me for?"

Zhao Hua smiled and said, "Mom, what are you chatting about over there? Zhao Ru is asking what you're having for lunch."

"What should we eat? Your dad won't be home for lunch, so anything will do."

Zhao Hua smiled and said, "She's afraid you've hidden some treasure, and it'll spoil by night if you don't cook it at noon. You should go back and check."

Upon hearing this, Zhao's mother glanced at the sky; it was almost dinnertime. Without further ado, she said, "Then I'll go back now. Will you come back with me?"

Zhao Hua shook his head and said, "No, you go back first. I have something to do, I'll go back later."

Zhao's mother nodded and said, "What is it? Dinner will be almost ready when I get home. Can't we wait until after we eat to do something?" As she spoke, she glanced at Meng Qinghe behind Zhao Hua, then at the household registration book in her hand, her eyes filled with suspicion. She circled around Zhao Hua twice.

Feeling uncomfortable under his mother's gaze, Zhao Hua rubbed his arm and said, "It's nothing, you can go back now, I'll be back in a bit."

Upon hearing this, Zhao's mother glanced at Meng Qinghe again, then glared at Zhao Hua before saying nothing and heading home.

With his mother gone, Zhao Hua felt much more at ease. He grinned and said, "Let's go, let's go to your house first and see where the shed should be built."

Zhao Hua knew what his mother meant with that look; it was nothing more than a warning to Zhao Hua not to mess around, and that she had already found him a wife.

But what can he do? If he really builds the shed against the wall, how high can the wall of his new house be? Then anyone can come and go as they please. Besides, this thing is also related to feng shui. If he wants to lengthen his own wall and leave gaps, he has to negotiate properly.

Although they were sent-down youth, what good are sent-down youth? Who knows if they care about these feng shui issues? There are plenty of neighbors and villagers who have fought over this.