Back to my 1980s

The next morning around 6 a.m.

Zhao Hua has already returned home from town.

I arrived at the Commune Restaurant around 5 a.m., hoping to get there early to buy turtles. But when I asked the staff on duty, they said they couldn't make the decision and that someone who could make the decision would arrive around 7 a.m.

Zhao Hua thought for a moment. Since he wouldn't arrive until after 7 o'clock anyway, he might as well take the goods to the market and see how they sold. If they didn't sell, he would come back after 7 o'clock. He thanked the staff on duty and headed to the market.

A crowd of early risers had already gathered at the market entrance. Zhao Hua found a spot against the wall and took out his turtle. Someone immediately asked the price. Zhao Hua casually quoted 3.3 yuan, and it was bought on the spot. It weighed a little over three jin (approximately 1.5 kg) and sold for 10.56 yuan. He didn't even round it down; six fen was enough to buy his wife six pieces of malt candy!

"Brother? Why are you back so early? Did you sell the turtle?" Zhao Ru asked Zhao Hua curiously as she poured tea into the kettle.

"Okay, let's go. Let's get ready to leave. Have you had breakfast yet?"

"I've finished eating. I thought you wouldn't be back for a long time."

"I sold it at the market, I didn't go to the restaurant, the restaurant won't be open until after seven o'clock." Zhao Hua went into the house, put the money in the drawer, and came out to pack things up with Zhao Ru.

"They sold quite well; they were sold out as soon as they got to the market."

"Yeah, there are quite a few rich people. I'll take a few steamed buns and some dried pickled vegetables with me when I leave."

Zhao Ru quickened her pace, finished packing, and went out with Zhao Hua.

Zhao Hua had already put the trap back into the river last night, and was worried that some snakes might accidentally crawl in—this was quite common by the river. He shook the trap for a while but didn't find any snakes, figuring they should all be hiding during the day.

As usual, Zhao Hua and Zhao Ru started another busy day.

……

……

In mid-June, the weather grew hotter and hotter day by day.

In recent days, several households have gone to the purchasing station to inquire about how much money Zhao Hua earned in a day. The people at the purchasing station did not keep it from Zhao Hua. The more people who caught fish, the faster the purchasing station could complete its task.

So some people followed Zhao Hua's example and built a small wooden boat to go fishing. However, building a small wooden boat costs more than a hundred yuan, and not many families could afford that amount. There were only a few households. When Zhao Hua saw this, he smiled and greeted the people, only telling them where his fish trap was.

After finishing dinner, Zhao Hua, wearing only a vest and shorts, sat in the yard enjoying the cool evening air. He casually flipped through a calendar he'd taken down from the wall and asked his mother, "Mother! The wheat harvest should be almost finished by now, right?"

Zhao's parents and Zhao Ru were all enjoying the cool air in the courtyard. Hearing Zhao Hua's words, Zhao's mother turned her head and asked疑惑地问道, "Yes, the wheat we planted should be almost all harvested. They should be drying it in the threshing ground right now. Why are you asking this?"

Seeing that Zhao Hua only asked one question and then fell silent, Zhao's mother curiously pressed on, "What are you daydreaming about? Why did you ask that?"

Zhao Hua turned his head and glanced at it, then smiled and said, "It's nothing, I was just asking."

Zhao's mother glanced at him, but seeing that he didn't seem to have anything to say, she turned back to talk to Zhao's father and Zhao Ru.

These days, he's been working long hours and has already saved over 500 yuan. Zhao Hua thought to himself, "I've been working diligently for so many days in a row, so it's only natural to give myself a break, right?"

My wife's family is busy, and she should be helping out. If I just go and check on them, I can keep seeing them, right?

Thinking of this, Zhao Hua had a sudden inspiration, placed the calendar next to Zhao Ru, and slapped his thigh.

"Ouch! Bro, why are you taking pictures of me?"

"I thought of something and got a little excited."

"If you're so excited, why are you slapping your own thigh? Why are you slapping me?"

Zhao Hua turned to Zhao Ru and said, "I think you've gone crazy from catching fish all day. Doesn't it hurt when I slap my own thigh?"

Zhao Ru was so angry that she retaliated by slapping Zhao Hua's thigh twice.

Zhao Hua rubbed his thigh and said, "Little sister, I have something to do tomorrow, so I'll take a break. You and Mom can go collect the ground cages, or you can take your older brothers with you if either of them is free."

Zhao Ru nodded and said, "Where are you going? I'll see who's free to call tomorrow."

Seeing that he had finished giving instructions, Zhao Hua got up and ignored her. He filled a basin with cold water, went inside, took a good bath, shaved off the beard that had grown out in the past few days, and picked out the clothes he would wear for going out tomorrow.

After a lot of commotion, things finally calmed down. Seeing how much her son had been running around, Zhao's mother knew what was going on. After Zhao Hua finished showering and getting his clothes, she came over and asked, "Are you going to see that little girl tomorrow?"

Zhao Hua folded the clothes and placed them on the bedside table, saying, "Yes, I'm exhausted from working every day. I need to rest."

Zhao's mother thought it was a serious matter, so she didn't scold her. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Alright, then go ahead. Don't come empty-handed. It's a long way. Or I can go with you and take a look. I'll go get you some snacks and fruit to take with you tomorrow." As she spoke, she turned around to prepare.

Zhao Hua was startled. He didn't like carrying a bunch of things on the bus and quickly stopped him, saying, "Don't bother with all that. I can buy whatever I need over there. Bringing all this stuff along will just cause it to get crushed when we get there!"

Zhao's mother rolled her eyes at Zhao Hua, annoyed, and said, "You're just burning money! Everyone else is carrying loads of stuff and I see no problem with that!"

After saying that, Zhao's mother turned around and left without paying any attention to Zhao Hua, and went to prepare things for Zhao Hua to take when he went out the next day.

Zhao Hua stroked his chin, thinking, "If you want to prepare, then prepare."

The next morning, Zhao Hua put on a clean, light-colored short-sleeved cloth shirt, dark blue straight-leg trousers, tucked the shirt into his waistband, wore black cloth shoes with old socks, stuffed the money into his inner pocket, and vigorously washed his face.

Although I got a bit tanned from working these past few days, it actually made me look more resolute and sturdy.

After getting ready, he sneaked out without saying goodbye. Anyway, his mother already knew last night, so if he said goodbye now, he would definitely bring the pile of snacks that Zhao's mother had prepared.

As I walked to the village entrance to wait for the bus, I thought of Song Xueping's appearance and my heart was filled with anticipation and excitement.

The bus arrived shortly afterward. Just like before, it was a long drive from Shuanghuai Village to the county town. Fortunately, it was the busy farming season, and many people were busy in the fields, so there weren't many people on the bus.

However, many people carried a large bag of things. After buying his ticket, Zhao Hua found a corner to sit in, avoiding the roosters and carp that the fellow villagers on the bus were carrying, for fear of getting covered in chicken droppings and fishy smell.

After a long and arduous journey, Zhao Hua finally arrived in the county town, where he once again experienced the exhilarating feeling of the bus dancing on the road.

When he arrived at the county town bus station, he bought a sesame seed cake from a roadside stall to fill his stomach. Zhao Hua looked around and saw that the county town bus station was very dilapidated. It was called an entrance and exit gate, but it didn't even have a gate.

Some vendors have already dared to sell food at the station. People who dare to set up stalls here must have some connection with those hooligans and shady characters. Zhao Hua shook his head, finished his meal, and looked away. Some of these people will probably become very rich in the future.

While thinking about it, I boarded the bus heading to the Hongguang Brigade.