Back to my 1980s

The sky began to darken slowly.

Song Zhiqiang noticed that the light in the room had dimmed and the food was becoming somewhat blurry.

He got up and walked to the side, feeling along the wall until he found a thin rope, which he gently pulled.

Suddenly the room lit up, just like daytime. The light was so bright that Zhao Hua squinted, and only after his eyes adjusted did he look up at the light bulb above his head.

The lights were so bright they made it hard to open one's eyes. When Song's father and Song Zhiqiang saw Zhao Hua's actions, they didn't say anything and just ate in silence. When Zhao Hua saw their reaction, his heart skipped a beat.

Such a bright light bulb must consume a lot of electricity. Ordinary people wouldn't want to use such a bright light. Could Song Zhiqiang have secretly tapped into the electricity supply...?

Looking at his brother-in-law in front of him, he felt that with him there, the probability of this happening was indeed not low...

However, in those days, more than half of the people in a village were secretly installing electrical wires. It was reasonable for Song Zhiqiang to do the same since everyone else was doing it.

After dinner, just as it was getting dark, Song Zhiqiang enthusiastically led Zhao Hua out to borrow a flashlight.

Zhao Hua glanced back at Song Xueping. He didn't really want to stay and catch pheasants; he just wanted to spend more time with Song Xueping...

Unfortunately, the concept of free love doesn't exist yet. Once a girl reaches adulthood and is close to getting engaged, she has to avoid suspicion and can't casually contact boys.

Otherwise, those gossipy old women will gossip behind my back, calling me improper and immoral...

Putting aside all distractions, I walked along the road in Hongguang Brigade with Song Zhiqiang. I've never stayed here at night before; I used to go back to my parents' house with Song Xueping and leave after lunch.

Walking along the road, one could vaguely see the beams of flashlights in the distance. Zhao Hua casually tilted his head and pointed towards one of the lights, asking, "What are those people doing over there? Are they also out catching pheasants?"

Song Zhiqiang was bragging to Zhao Hua about how many pheasants he had caught and what he had encountered before. When he heard Zhao Hua ask this question, he glanced over there and stared for a moment before saying, "Those aren't them. Those should be guarding the wheat."

Zhao Hua nodded and followed behind Song Zhiqiang, asking, "Since everyone's guarding the wheat now, is your friend with the flashlight at home?"

Song Zhiqiang paused for a moment, then continued walking forward, laughing, "I really forgot about that. Since we're already here, let's go ask about it first."

Zhao Hua didn't say anything more. Since he was already here, he might as well ask. However, Zhao Hua didn't have much hope.

When the two arrived at Song Zhiqiang's friend's house, they knocked on the door. A young man who looked about the same age as Song Zhiqiang came out. Song Zhiqiang stepped forward, offered him a cigarette, and explained their purpose.

After hearing the two men's purpose, the man was a little excited, then said with some regret, "My parents took the flashlight out of the house, so I didn't leave it at home today."

Song Zhiqiang said with a regretful expression, "Alright then, a friend of mine just came to visit today. They don't have as many pheasants as we do here. I was thinking of asking you if I could catch a couple today."

The man glanced at Zhao Hua, then smiled and said, "That's really unfortunate. The flashlight isn't home today. How about I have my parents bring a lantern tomorrow and leave the flashlight there? You can come back tomorrow?"

Seeing that this person was quite polite, unlike Song Zhiqiang who said that he needed to coax him, Zhao Hua smiled and replied, "No need, just use what you have at home. I'm just curious, it's not like I have to go and catch it."

After saying that, he stopped talking and waited for Song Zhiqiang to finish exchanging pleasantries with the others before walking back together.

Halfway there, Song Zhiqiang still looked regretful. Zhao Hua pondered for a moment and thought that if they could catch a pheasant now, they would have food for tomorrow. Otherwise, Song's mother would have to go through the trouble of preparing the meal.

Thinking of this, Zhao Hua grabbed Song Zhiqiang and asked, "Does your convenience store sell flashlights?"

Hearing this question after being pulled aside, Song Zhiqiang remembered that Zhao Hua had just mentioned wanting to buy a flashlight earlier that day, and excitedly exclaimed, "Yes, we sell them! Do you want to buy one? If you do, I'll go and call for the door to open!"

Zhao Hua then remembered that the convenience stores these days were all consignment shops, and they should all be closed by now. However, seeing Song Zhiqiang's confident claim that he could get them to open, he hesitated and said, "Shall we go and see? If they're open, we'll buy something; if not, then forget it."

Song Zhiqiang immediately pulled Zhao Hua toward the sales point, patting his chest as they walked and saying, "Don't worry, I know that old man at the sales point very well, and his son often plays with us."

Seeing how confident this young man was, Zhao Hua's doubts disappeared, and he followed him to the entrance of the sales point.

When the old man at the sales point opened the door, cursing and swearing, Zhao Hua glanced at Song Zhiqiang sideways, realizing that this was how well they knew each other.

I bought a large flashlight for 2.5 yuan. Seeing that they also sold soda, I bought three bottles of orange soda. When I paid, I found that the three bottles of orange soda cost almost 1 yuan each, and I had to pay a deposit to take them away to drink.

The old man running the shop also had a deep impression of Zhao Hua, since not many people came to his shop to spend large sums of money. So he reminded him, "Remember to bring the bottle back after you finish drinking so you can get your deposit back. You can also get five cents back for the bottle."

Zhao Hua smiled and nodded to the old man, saying, "Okay! I understand. Thank you for coming to open the door so late." He then handed the old man a cigarette.

This time, the old man didn't have a sour face. He smiled at the two of them and even saw them off a little.

"How about that? I told you I could open the bottle! Why did you buy three bottles of soda? There are only two of us, aren't there?" Song Zhiqiang boasted to Zhao Hua, slurping a bottle of soda.

Zhao Hua gave him an annoyed look and urged, "Stop talking nonsense and let's go. This bottle was bought for your sister; we can't let her forget about it while we're enjoying it."

Song Zhiqiang said "Oh," then looked at the bottle of soda and said, "Tsk, it's actually pretty good. No wonder it's so expensive, and it's carbonated!"

Zhao Hua ignored him and quickened his pace toward the Song family's house. When he arrived at the door, Song Zhiqiang stepped forward and knocked. After a short while, Song Xueping opened the door, wearing a coat on her shoulders.

Zhao Hua handed her the soda, glanced into the house, and asked, "Are you home alone?"

Song Xueping took the soda with a surprised expression. Hearing Zhao Hua's question, she nodded subconsciously. Seeing that both her brother and Zhao Hua had some, she replied, "Yes, Dad and Mom went to the threshing ground. Did you manage to borrow a flashlight?"

Song Zhiqiang pointed to the flashlight in Zhao Hua's hand and said, "We couldn't borrow one, but Brother Zhao went and bought one. We're leaving now. You stay home and watch the door, make sure it's closed, don't sleep too soundly, and remember to open the door for us later."

Song Xueping softly agreed, and only closed the door after the two had walked a distance away.

Song Zhiqiang led Zhao Hua to the fields. Along the way, they encountered many people carrying flashlights or lanterns. The people with flashlights would turn them on when they got close or heard footsteps, greet Song Zhiqiang, ask who Zhao Hua was, and ask where they were going.

Zhao Hua didn't know anyone, so he silently followed behind Song Zhiqiang and listened to their conversation. When he encountered someone younger, he would stop and chat for a few minutes before leaving.

After walking and stopping for a while, the number of people gradually decreased, and the flashing lights around them also decreased, leaving everything pitch black. Zhao Hua then handed the flashlight in his hand to Song Zhiqiang.