Back to my 1980s

early morning.

The east wing of the Zhao family courtyard.

Zhao Hua listened to the sound of rain outside and slowly opened his eyes. It was a bit chilly after the continuous rainy days. The bed was so warm, and he really didn't want to leave for a while.

It started raining again in the middle of the night. Zhao Hua pulled the blanket tighter, closed his eyes, and pulled his arms back into the blanket. His arms had been outside in the cold all night, but now they were suddenly enveloped in warmth, which felt very comfortable.

The weather had just warmed up a bit when the images of the fish in the water tank in the yard and Song Xueping suddenly popped into my mind. I sighed, gritted my teeth, and sat up abruptly.

He reached over the covers, pulled his coat over his shoulders, then pulled his pants over and shoved them under the covers. He then buttoned his shirt and slipped his feet into his shoes as he walked out. When he opened the door, he saw Zhao Ru sitting in the main room.

"Why are you up so early?" He poured some hot water into the basin and looked at Zhao Ru.

Zhao Ru sighed softly and said, "It's raining inside!"

"Tsk, I'll fix up your roof later, or clean up the kitchen and storage room when I have time, and move to the kitchen to sleep. The kitchen is smaller and less prone to leaks. There's not much point in fixing this thatched house. I just saw that there's some water seeping through the walls in my room too."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ru shook her head rapidly and said, "No, there are rats in the kitchen, they're huge! I've seen them crawling into the chimney so many times, I'm not going there."

The thought of that little gadget sent a chill down Zhao Hua's spine. He felt a bit disgusted and said, "How can you keep going like this? Is the house leaking everywhere? Find a corner where it doesn't leak and sleep there. Even just making do is better than enduring this."

"No, it's the sound of the basin catching water that's too loud, I can't sleep."

"You deserve it. I thought it was raining on the bed that kept you awake."

Zhao Hua glanced at her, and seeing that she didn't say anything, he thought for a moment and said, "How about I ask Mother to go and bring back two female cats? Tell her that we only need female cats. It won't be long before the rats in the house are all gone. Then you can sleep in the kitchen."

"Anyway, it's not hot now. Our mother cooks with very little oil, so there's not much smoke. You can come back after the rain stops, or you can move into my room for now. It's up to you."

It's unrealistic to repair or build a new house right now. Construction can't be done on rainy days, and the rainy season lasts for almost a month, so we can only make do for now.

Zhao Ru nodded casually, but she was more curious: "Why only female cats?"

"Because we have plenty of fish, we can easily steal a bite and fill our stomachs. The male cat is lazy; once he's full, he won't do any work. Even if the female cat is full, she'll still think about cleaning her territory." Zhao Hua casually replied, splashing the water from the basin into the yard. He glanced up at the sky; the rain wasn't heavy, but it probably wouldn't stop anytime soon. He turned to Zhao Ru and asked, "When will dinner be ready?"

Zhao Ru shook her head, stood up and said, "I don't know, it should be soon, I'll go take a look."

"Okay, let's finish eating quickly and leave. Let's go catch fish at night from now on. We've already gotten to know that area of ​​water. It's too much trouble for the seafood station to raise fish every day. We have to get up to change the water all the time. It's better to catch fish at night and sleep during the day. It'll save us the trouble of not being able to sleep well day and night."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ru looked at Zhao Hua with bright eyes and said, "Great! I also think it would be better to go at night!"

She'd been worried about this for a long time. The rainy season would eventually end, and with all the sun on her skin, she'd get a tan and wouldn't feel so excited about buying new clothes anymore...

……

Around 7 a.m., at the factory-run kindergarten of the spinning mill.

After breakfast, as usual, Zhao Ru was assigned to the market, while Zhao Hua went to the county town alone.

It's the same alleyway as yesterday, and the same old man as yesterday.

"Where's the fish?" The old man and Zhao Hua stared at each other for a long time.

"Isn't this it?" Zhao Hua pointed to the fish basket, looking puzzled.

"Where's my big fish?" The old man paced back and forth, his gaze sweeping between the two fish baskets, before looking up and staring intently at Zhao Hua.

The old man was already waiting here when Zhao Hua arrived. He coughed twice and said, "There are big fish here. The blackfish and catfish are quite big, and there are also large carp."

"You call those big carp?" The old man blew on his beard angrily, stretched out his hand and pointed to the fish basket, where three or four carp lay, each weighing just over a pound.

"It's not small anymore, it's about a foot long."

"Hey! I've lived for sixty or seventy years! This is the first time I've ever seen anyone call this kind of fish 'big carp'. Where are those big fish from yesterday?" The old man's eyes widened, and his voice trembled slightly.

Zhao Hua chuckled, waved his hand, and said, "There aren't any today. They're all wild fish caught from the river. How could I possibly say what their size is?"

The old man stamped his foot and glared at Zhao Hua, his voice filled with indignation: "You didn't say that yesterday! You told me there was a big fish, and I believed you!"

Zhao Hua glanced at him and laughed, "I said there will be more tomorrow and the day after, not that there will definitely be some on any particular day. Isn't there tomorrow? If you want big fish, there will definitely be some tomorrow." He had already planned to fish at night, as big fish are indeed more likely to come out of the middle of the river at night.

Seeing that Zhao Hua remained unmoved and unmoved by reason, the old man clicked his tongue, deciding to give up the pretense. He thought to himself, "These days, even young lads aren't so easily fooled." However, he wasn't giving up. He paced a few more steps and said, "Since the big fish is gone, can you give me a discount on these fish?"

"No, but we agreed on two crucian carp for you, that's a deal." A discount is out of the question, it's impossible. Someone's already coming this way, so if they give in now, the person isn't stupid. If someone uses this as an excuse to haggle, the loss would be far greater than giving away two fish.

The old man rolled his eyes at him, looked down at the fish basket, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly asked, "So, what's the price of these fish?"

Zhao Hua glanced behind the old man and saw that several people had already walked over. He thought for a moment and realized that the price of crucian carp in the rural market had dropped to 70 cents, and the price of pork listed at the supply and marketing cooperative was about one yuan. However, due to the control measures that required invoices, the price of pork in the market had increased by 30 to 50 cents, which would be one yuan and 30 to one yuan and 50 cents.

However, supplies are scarce now, and you can't buy anything if you go too late. Thinking of this, he felt a little uneasy, but he still gritted his teeth and said, "Crucian carp is one yuan per pound, black carp is a medicinal fish, one yuan and ten cents per pound, catfish is ninety cents, and carp is a little smaller, so it's also ninety cents."

The old man nodded without saying a word, then bent down and started picking through the fish in the basket. Zhao Hua's heart skipped a beat; he was truly bewildered now.

In Shuanghuai Village, villagers are so frugal that they try to stretch every penny to two pieces. In this county town, crucian carp are only one yuan per kilogram and no one even bothers to bargain.

He scratched his head, his expression subtle. Everything was just starting out, and there were no standards yet. Prices in the free market were all set arbitrarily, especially for what he caught, grew, or raised himself. It all depended on how he sold it. If he sold it for three yuan a pound, no one would care, but if he couldn't sell it, that was fine.

Parents dropping off their children all leave around this time to take them to kindergarten. As the crowd grows larger, he doesn't have time to think much. He puts aside all other thoughts and focuses on attending to the people in front of the fish basket.

It's not entirely elderly people picking up and dropping off children; there are also quite a few young mothers. And to be honest, their skin is indeed much fairer than that of the girls from the countryside...

Some young fathers who had been passing by glanced into the alleyway and then eagerly came over. To avoid attracting attention, they also bought some fish. Zhao Hua secretly rejoiced, thinking it was quite good; these people were quick to pay and didn't talk much.

Two hours later, the crowd dispersed. Zhao Hua glanced at the fish basket, which contained some leftover fish and small fish that looked half-dead. He looked out the alleyway and saw that few people were passing by; he guessed they had all gone to work.

After thinking for a moment, he simply packed up the fish basket. There was no need to wait for such a small number of fish; he could just feed them to Song Zhiqiang. Once he made up his mind, he didn't delay any longer. He quickly tidied up the trash on the ground and rode his bike straight to Shuanghuai Village.

The Song family's gate was open today, and Zhao Hua, without any formalities, rode his bicycle directly into the courtyard. Before his smile could even bloom, a large group of people came into view, sitting in a semi-circle in the courtyard, and he ended up right in the middle of them.

Zhao Hua turned his head back and forth, looking at the group of people with wide eyes. Some of them looked familiar, but he didn't know their names. The group stared at him intently without saying a word. Zhao Hua pursed his lips. He was completely unprepared. He had never seen so many people before when he came here.

And it was all so quiet; not a single person spoke to each other. Zhao Hua felt uneasy under their stares. Suddenly, his gaze froze. Could these people have ill intentions? His face turned cold. He parked his bicycle to the side, looked at the group in front of him, and said in a deep voice, "Where are Uncle Song and the others?"

As soon as Zhao Hua spoke, the group burst into laughter. They were all very enthusiastic, standing up to surround him and greet him. Some asked if his name was Zhao Hua, some praised him for being hardworking, and others asked if he was tired from selling fish that day.

These people changed their expressions like acrobats, leaving Zhao Hua completely bewildered. His initial assumption that they were there to cause trouble was also overturned. Just as he was wondering how to deal with them, Song's mother came out of the house to greet him and invited him to come inside. Zhao Hua breathed a sigh of relief.

He nodded to everyone, pushed his bicycle a little further into the yard, and followed Song's mother into the house. Once inside, he found that there were quite a few people there as well. Song's father and Song Zhiqiang were sitting among them. Song's mother pulled him along without stopping, so he had no choice but to continue following her into the inner room.

When they reached the inner room, Song's mother stopped. The people outside got up and blocked the doorway. Zhao Hua glanced around casually. This must be Song Xueping's boudoir. It was the first time he had entered this room. There were few decorations or furnishings. It looked empty.

There were eight or nine people sitting in the room at this time. Song Xueping was also inside. There were two or three girls around her age. Zhao Hua knew one of them; she was Song Xueping's friend and he had met her twice in his previous life. The others were some middle-aged women, none of whom he recognized.

Song's mother moved a stool to Zhao Hua. After taking it, Zhao Hua hesitated for a moment. The room was not big, and he didn't know where to put the stool. He glanced behind him and saw that the door was blocked.

He simply put the stool down where he was, straddled it, and asked in bewilderment, "Auntie, why are there so many guests at home today? Is there anything I can help you with?"

Song's mother chuckled and said, "No, what could possibly happen at home right now?" She didn't say anything more and exchanged a few glances with the middle-aged women next to her.

Zhao Hua instinctively sensed something was wrong. He secretly glanced at Song Xueping, hoping to glean some useful information. However, Song Xueping was looking down and picking at her nails when she made eye contact with her best friend beside her. He quickly looked away and smiled, "It's alright. I just finished selling fish in the county town, and I had some left over. I thought I'd bring some for my brother Qiang to eat. They're all small crucian carp and catfish, just to give him a treat."

Mother Song smiled and said, "You're too kind. Don't worry about the fish. All these people are here to see you today."

Hearing that these people were all looking for him, Zhao Hua was momentarily confused. After thinking carefully, he realized that he hadn't accidentally done anything bad in the village. He usually went straight to the Song family's house when he entered the village, and he hadn't bumped into any elderly people or bullied any children.

The only time they sent out some candy was last time, but all of that candy was bought by Song's mother. Even if there was a problem, Song's mother should have taken them directly to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Could it be that I accidentally stepped on someone's field, or broke some taboo? It can't be that serious! The customs and habits around the county town are similar to those at home. I've lived for decades, so I wouldn't make a mistake in this regard.

Did they get caught peeping at young women and wives? That's unlikely. At most, they just glanced at them out of curiosity. It's not like so many people would come knocking on their door to interrogate them.

While Zhao Hua was lost in thought, Song's mother spoke up, "Little Zhao, I have something to ask you."

Zhao Hua quickly composed herself and sat up straight, saying, "What is it, Auntie? Please tell me."

After a slight hesitation, Song's mother frowned slightly and said, "I was just asking around. You can tell me if you want, or not if you don't. Don't be angry, okay?"

Zhao Hua was even more suspicious. Why was he making such a big deal out of it? Did he need to say something beforehand? But he didn't show it on his face and smiled, "It's alright, Auntie, just ask me whatever you want to know. I promise I won't hide anything I know."

Upon hearing this, Song's mother's brows relaxed slightly, and she chuckled softly, "Little Zhao, have you found a girl you like in your village?"

"..." The air froze for a moment.

Zhao Hua sniffed and said, "No, Auntie, why are you suddenly asking this?"

"Oh! I was just asking around. Logically, these things should be your parents' concern. I shouldn't have interfered."

She paused, glanced at the few people inside and outside the house who remained silent, and then asked softly, "How many brothers do you have in your family?"

Zhao Hua was starting to understand, but he wasn't quite sure yet. His eye twitched, and he glanced at Song Xueping, saying, "There are three brothers in the family: two older brothers who are already married, and several older sisters who are also married. There is only one teenage sister who is still at home."

Mother Song nodded slowly, then exchanged glances with the others in the room. She then looked troubled, as if she was hesitant to speak. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "I have another question for you. You can answer it if you want, or you can leave it at that."

Seeing that Zhao Hua nodded and his expression was normal, she slowly asked, "How much can you earn a day catching fish?"

Zhao Hua laughed. People these days are so simple, straightforward, and honest. If they want to know how much money you make, they just ask right away.