Back to my 1980s

Zhao Hua glanced at Zhao Ru in front of him.

She does try to find ways to benefit her girlfriends, but it's just about keeping each other company and not helping out in any way. Yet she has to buy them clothes. These days, even a simple "country-style" Dacron shirt costs six or seven yuan, and she has to pay for it herself. She's just sitting at home doing nothing anyway.

However, it only adds up to a little over two cents a day. A real employee would get four or five cents for half a day's work, while they could get six or seven cents a day for helping with rice planting.

Besides, if it can keep Zhao Ru safe, a little over two cents a day for each person isn't much at all.

"Okay! Buy them, call as many people as you want. But why buy them clothes? Wouldn't it be better to just give them money and let them buy whatever they want?" Zhao Hua was a little puzzled.

"Because if we give them money directly, their family will definitely take it. We saw others wearing them when we saw movies in our village before, and we've wanted to buy one for a long time, but we just haven't had the money."

Looking at Zhao Ru's tender face, with her delicate nose slightly upturned, Zhao Hua felt a pang of sadness and sympathy for these girls. But then he thought, who hasn't gone through this? Who doesn't love their own daughter? It's just that they're short of money.

He waved his hand and said, "Alright, I'll buy each of them a pair of plastic sandals after we're done. You'll get some too. Go cook, hurry up and get ready to eat. After you eat, you can go talk to your girlfriends about who wants to go with you."

"Okay, okay! You can bring as many as you want!" Zhao Ru's eyes lit up.

"Hmm, whatever you want, but it can only be a girl!" Zhao Hua was worried that if his sister brought some scoundrels to help her, and they developed feelings for each other over time, that would be too disgusting.

Zhao Ru looked at Zhao Hua with a puzzled expression, not understanding why he made this request, but it didn't matter, she only wanted to bring her girlfriends anyway.

Zhao Ru was thinking of buying clothes for herself, but she didn't expect to have such an unexpected gain. She was overjoyed and ran out of the house as if she had received a royal decree.

At the dinner table, Zhao's father looked at Zhao Hua hesitantly: "I heard from your sister that you're going to sell fish at the market?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Zhao Hua took a bite of taro porridge and replied casually.

Zhao's mother said worriedly, "Isn't it a bit unsafe? The twins' father went to sell them at the village entrance a couple of days ago and almost got caught."

"Then he hasn't been arrested yet. I'll have my grandpa get a certificate from the village chief later."

Father Zhao asked, "Are you taking your sister with you?"

"Hey, who else would we bring if not her? You're free, aren't you?"

"I don't have time. I haven't finished my work yet, and I can't just leave it halfway through. If I didn't have work, would I need you to come?"

Zhao Hua nodded and said, "It's alright. I'll get my grandpa to issue a certificate for Xiaoru later, and find her a few more companions. I don't care. If anything happens, I can just run away. There are too many people in the market; they can't outrun me. Once I'm out of the market, I'll disappear into the fields. Even if they ride bicycles, it won't help!"

Zhao's mother tapped Zhao Hua's bowl impatiently and said, "Eat your food! All you do is brag. No wonder you can't see any cows for miles around!"

Zhao Hua pursed his lips and continued eating. Although his parents were a little worried, they didn't stop him. It was better than him not knowing what to do all day.

Zhao Hua had disappeared for over a month before, and the whole village was saying he was gone. The old couple were heartbroken and had prepared themselves for bad news. But then he suddenly appeared out of nowhere and said he had gone to visit friends.

After dinner, Zhao Hua and Zhao Ru went their separate ways. Zhao Ru went to discuss things with her girlfriends, while Zhao Hua went to see his grandfather.

"Grandpa, have you eaten?" Zhao Hua kicked aside the small wooden bed blocking the yard of his grandfather's house and walked towards his grandfather, who was enjoying the cool air in the yard. His grandfather used to be the brigade accountant, but he retired after the brigade was changed to a village.

"You've eaten. What brings you here now? Is something the matter?"

"Um, I need your help to get a certificate from the village secretary so I can sell the fish I caught at the market."

Grandpa Zhao frowned and asked, "Weren't you selling them to the purchasing station just fine? Why did you suddenly decide to go to the market?"

Zhao Hua shook his head and said, "No, it was fine before, but now the purchasing station says they've completed their task. Although they'll still buy fish in the future, the price will be lower. I guess they want to haul the fish to sell themselves, but they're afraid of paying too high a price and not making any money, so they're lowering the price."

Grandpa Zhao smacked his lips and chuckled, "Alright, I'll go find the village secretary. When do you need it?"

"The sooner the better!"

"Okay, I'll go now. You wait here for a bit."

Zhao Hua quickly stopped him, saying, "Sir, remember to write Zhao Ru's name when you go to get the certificate."

Grandpa Zhao suddenly stopped and said in surprise, "Write her name? Then it will be difficult to get yours. You can't get two certificates for one household. If you get two certificates for one household, the village will think that your family wants to run fish selling as a legitimate business and that you are showing signs of scaling up. They won't agree to that."

Zhao Hua laughed and said, "It's alright, just write about her. I only go there occasionally, so it's mainly up to her to go."

After hesitating for a moment, seeing Zhao Hua's insistence, Old Master Zhao had no choice but to nod and say, "Alright, then write her name down. You can go less often."

Zhao Hua nodded in agreement. He dared not say that he could go without proof. These old men had a very strong preference for sons over daughters. They would seem to care for the same child as the child, but if he really said that, they might force him to get the proof.

Zhao Hua sat in the courtyard for a while, then Grandpa Zhao took back the completed certificate and handed it to Zhao Hua, smiling, "Here you go, it's all set. When are you going to the market?"

After taking the certificate, Zhao Hua glanced at the letter in his hand, confirmed it was his sister's name, and smiled, "The day after tomorrow morning, what's up, sir?"

Grandpa Zhao nodded and said, "Well, it's nothing. Tomorrow I'll bring some cigarettes and alcohol to visit the city management director and mention you to him. When you go to the town market early the day after tomorrow, remember to go to the industrial and commercial bureau first and say hello to him."

"..." Zhao Hua was internally screaming "Holy crap!" but outwardly he exclaimed in shock, "Sir? You know the director of the city management office?"

Grandpa Zhao raised his eyebrows and said, "Of course I know him! Back when the brigade hadn't been changed into a village, wasn't it me who handled the handover of work with him?"

"..." Zhao Hua paused for a moment, then thought about it and realized that it made sense. These days, even a random old farmer might know this official or that official. You really can't underestimate the social skills of the older generation, unlike in later generations when you can hardly ever see the village chief anymore.

He nodded subconsciously and said, "Should I go directly the day after tomorrow morning? Should I bring something with me? It wouldn't be good not to bring anything, but if I do, I'm afraid someone will report me for bribery and cause them more trouble."

Grandpa Zhao glanced at Zhao Hua, blinked, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "What do you think? Do you think we should bring him or not? If we shouldn't bring him, what should we do? If we do bring him, what should we say?"

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Hua said, "I'd better not bring any. After we've met a few more times and gotten to know each other better, I'll bring some fish that I've caught myself and give them to him on his way home from get off work."

Old Master Zhao remained silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.