Back to my 1980s

With a beaming smile, Zhao Hua asked the two women when they would start working, only knowing that it would be about a month later.

After understanding the situation, Zhao Hua thought for a moment and said, "When you go back, remember to go with someone you know, preferably with Director Zhang."

Jiang Yue smiled faintly and nodded in agreement with Xu Qian. Zhao Hua glanced around and suddenly remembered that the two had said they were there to buy groceries, but now they were empty-handed.

He thought for a moment, then said in a gruff voice, "I'll go get some fish. You all stay here and don't move."

The two men felt something was off when they heard Zhao Hua's tone. Before the early 70s, the essay "The Back View" was removed from textbooks and lost its popular appeal. However, from the late 70s to the early 80s, it had become a classic piece in Chinese language textbooks.

When they were in school, literary societies and reading groups flourished, and "The Back View," a masterpiece of vernacular prose, was frequently discussed. Many boys would even deliberately recite the entire text in front of them.

They were certainly deeply impressed. The two of them didn't understand why he suddenly blurted out such a sentence. As Zhao Hua walked away, they were still frowning and deep in thought.

Zhao Hua found his mother, in front of whom was a bucket containing a dozen or so fish that had been left over after being picked over, a mix of crucian carp, black carp, and willow bream. He glanced at them and saw that there was just enough for the two girls to share.

When Zhao's mother saw him coming, she asked in surprise, "Why are you here now? I only have a little bit left, what about yours? Did you buy all the fish?"

Zhao Hua nodded, scooped the fish from the bucket in front of his mother, divided them into two portions, skewered them, and said, "They're all sold out. I'll take these with me; they'll be useful. You go wait for Dad and Zhao Ru in the alley; I'll be there in a bit."

Zhao's mother didn't press him about what he was going to do with the fish. The price of miscellaneous fish was inconsistent, making them difficult to sell, but not selling them was not an option either, as they would all be money once sold.

She had no choice but to wait there. It was just as well that Zhao Hua took the fish away, saving her from having to wait any longer. Seeing Zhao Hua leave with the fish, Zhao's mother picked up the sack on the ground, shook it, and cleaned the stall before heading to the cart.

Jiang Yue and Xu Qian waited until Zhao Hua had been gone for a while before they slowly realized what he meant. Wasn't this the same context in which Zhu Ziqing's father spoke to Zhu Ziqing from behind? What did Zhao Hua mean by saying this to them?

The two were unsure and decided to wait for Zhao Hua to return so they could ask him for clarification. A moment later, they saw Zhao Hua's figure appear in the crowd, slowly walking towards them.

Jiang Yue took a few steps forward, gritting her teeth, and asked, "Do you know who 'Back View' is?"

Zhao Hua could tell from their expressions that they had realized what he meant. He had seen the phrase on a short video in his later life and had only blurted it out on a whim.

Only a fool would admit this. He looked at Jiang Yue, feigning confusion, and asked, "What back view?"

Jiang Yue and Xu Qian stared intently at Zhao Hua's expression. Seeing the confusion on his face, they were unsure what to do. After a pause, Jiang Yue continued, "It's that essay by Zhu Ziqing, called 'The Back View'."

Zhao Hua handed the fish in his hand to the two of them respectively, and said, "Prose? What kind of prose is prose? Textbook text? You've asked the wrong person if you're asking me about textbook texts. I only went to elementary school and I only know a few words."

The two girls took the fish from Zhao Hua's hand and looked at him with suspicion. But how could Zhao Hua, who had lived two lives, let two naive little girls see through his deception?

Jiang Yue read it for a while, and seeing that his expression remained unchanged, she thought about it again. Now that this essay has just returned to the textbooks, it is only circulating among students studying in schools. He sells fish in a small town, so he probably wouldn't be able to come across it. So she gave up.

Jiang Yue withdrew her gaze from Zhao Hua's expression and suddenly noticed that he was holding a string of fish. Looking at the fish in his hand, she asked curiously, "Where did these come from? What are you giving them to us for?"

Zhao Hua walked towards the bucket, saying as he went, "These are fish from my other stall. Didn't you come to buy vegetables? You've been busy until now and haven't bought any. Here, take them home and eat them."

Jiang Yue quickly caught up with Zhao Hua, saying anxiously, "How can that be! We only helped you because we were causing you trouble, how can we accept your things again? You should keep them to sell for money."

Zhao Hua put down the bucket in his hand and said, "Take it! I'll still need you to help me collect fish in the future, so consider this my advance bribe."

Xu Qian, who had been observing Zhao Hua's expression without saying a word, chuckled upon hearing this. Someone actually gave away a few miscellaneous fish as a bribe. She picked up a few fish, looked at them, and poked their heads with her slender, fair fingers. She couldn't help but chuckle again.

The two looked at Xu Qian, who had suddenly burst into laughter, exchanged a glance, and couldn't understand what she was laughing about. After a moment of silence, Jiang Yue thanked Zhao Hua in a low voice, pulled Xu Qian, who was still laughing, aside, and hesitated, "How can we contact you after we join the company?"

Xu Qian stopped laughing upon hearing this, finding it quite novel that she could receive a bribe. She laughed and said, "Yes! How can we contact you?"

Zhao Hua frowned. Information flow is very inconvenient now, and there really isn't a good way to notify people in a timely manner. He also couldn't wait a month and go to the restaurant every now and then to see if they were working.

When he went to catch fish early in the morning, the restaurant hadn't opened yet, and when he got home, the restaurant had already closed. He couldn't expect the two girls to wait for him at the restaurant entrance late at night after get off work, nor could he stay at the restaurant every day without catching fish.

He thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll go to the hotel to take a look in a month and a half."

Jiang Yue and Xu Qian nodded, and Xu Qian suddenly asked curiously, "Do you have any other stalls?"

"yes."

"How many stalls do you have in total? Weren't there already plenty of fish here?"

Zhao Hua thought for a moment, then decided not to tell them the truth. He said that after the rainy season in a month, they probably wouldn't be able to catch so many fish anymore, and casually replied, "There are two stalls, but the other stall doesn't have many fish."

Jiang Yue narrowed her eyes. The seventy-odd catties of fish on this side had been sold out long ago, and there were not as many fish on the other side. How could there be any left? However, she did not expose Zhao Hua and listened to them talking quietly.

Xu Qian, however, did not suspect anything and continued to ask curiously, "Then how did you catch so many fish? Last time there were many big fish."

Zhao Hua smiled and said, "My home is in Shuanghuai Village, which is very close to the Qinghe River. I have a small boat that can go to the middle of the river, so there are more fish there."

"Aww! I know your village!" Xu Qian exclaimed excitedly, raising her hand that was holding the umbrella. "You have a ferry crossing there, right? You have to cross to the other side through your ferry crossing! My dad and I have been there a few times! Riding the boat is so much fun! You even have a small boat?"

As she spoke, she turned to face Jiang Yue, excitedly wanting to tell her how fun it was to ride the boat. However, she was still carrying fish in one hand and holding an umbrella in the other. After trying a few times, she found that it was inconvenient to use either hand, so she simply put her hands down and started talking.