Back to my 1980s

Riverside in Shuanghuai Village.

When the villagers saw the brother and sister board the boat, they pointed and whispered about it.

Zhao Ru patted Zhao Hua on the shoulder, and Zhao Hua unlocked the lock and then scanned the room following her gaze.

He chuckled and said, "What's up? What do you want me to see?"

"Brother, why do you think they're staring at us?"

Zhao Hua glanced at Zhao Ru's barely concealed smugness and chuckled, "You don't actually think others are envious of us, do you?"

Zhao Ru placed the buckets and carrying pole on the boat. Hearing something amiss in Zhao Hua's tone, she turned to look at him and asked, "Is there another explanation?"

Zhao Hua pursed his lips and said, "Not necessarily. There's probably a bit of envy, but more likely they're secretly cursing us in their hearts."

"Why? Why are you scolding us?" Zhao Ru pinched her waist with her small hand, and Zhao Hua then remembered that this little girl had always had a bad temper.

He smiled, waved for Zhao Ru to board the boat, and said, "Because we locked the boat up."

"So, other people are insulting us?"

"Yeah, that's it. Before, when it wasn't locked, people could use it whenever they wanted. Now that you've locked it, they can't use it anymore. Some people, even if they don't get any benefits from you, you've already offended them."

Zhao Ru looked surprised and said, "There are people like that?"

Zhao Hua followed Zhao Ru onto the boat and said, "Yeah, there are people like that everywhere. Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and row the boat. Don't you want to make money?"

"Oh, where are we going today?"

Zhao Hua thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to that spot yesterday. Cast a few nets there first, and then cast a few more nets in the middle of the river. Let's catch some big fish today."

Zhao Ru responded and ran to the stern to pole the boat. Zhao Hua suddenly remembered something and looked at Zhao Ru, saying, "Did you give the money to that person last time?"

Who is it?

Zhao Hua covered his forehead, frowning, and said, "It's that girl, what's her name again? Oh! Meng Qinghe! Did you give it to her?"

Zhao Ru chuckled and said, "I gave it to you, it's fifty cents."

Zhao Hua smiled and said, "Well, how did you meet her? Wasn't her father a sent-down youth? Why didn't he go back to the city? Aren't they allowed to go back to the city now?"

Zhao Ru paused, her hand still holding the oar, and said, "We met a long time ago."

She thought for a moment and said, "I heard that her father was removed from his post because of his bad class background, and her mother died when she was in the city. We were all young then, and the people in the west of the village called her a wolf cub and bullied her."

"I ran into them once, so I chased them away, and then we started playing together all the time."

"Hey! Our Comrade Zhao Ru is quite kind-hearted. Who's that from the west side of the village? Do I know her?" Zhao Hua raised an eyebrow and smiled at Zhao Ru; he was genuinely curious.

Zhao Ru smiled and said, "You should have heard of them, right? They're from our generation, and they're all quite young, but they should have heard of you."

Zhao Hua frowned and asked, "Then they didn't cause any more trouble?" He knew these kids all too well. Zhao Ru wouldn't be very gentle when she kicked them out. How could those kids let it go after being humiliated? Even if they didn't dare to cause trouble for Zhao Ru, Meng Qinghe's side certainly wouldn't have it so easy.

Zhao Ru laughed even more happily and said, "No, I'm very honest."

Zhao Hua noticed something was off about Zhao Ru's smile, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He frowned and looked at Zhao Ru, saying, "You're fine here, but what about Qinghe? Don't do something wrong with your good intentions. They might not dare to do anything to you openly, but they'll secretly hate Meng Qinghe. She's not from our village, so she's easy to bully."

Zhao Ru didn't even hit her, and laughed, "It's really nothing. I told them that Meng Qinghe is under your protection. If anyone dares to insult her again, it'll be your turn to stand up for her."

Zhao Hua pursed his lips, suddenly unsure of what to say. To be honest, his reputation did have some effect. In the eyes of adults in the countryside, saying that this child was idle and irresponsible was a derogatory term, but in the eyes of children, it was proof that a person was bad enough and "mischievous" enough.

However, he didn't have time to worry about that now. He clenched his fists, glared at Zhao Ru, and was about to scold her, but he couldn't say that she had done anything wrong. If she didn't say that, Meng Qinghe might continue to be bullied, and the idea of ​​suing the adults or the village chief was out of the question.

As long as a sent-down youth doesn't die, the village chief won't even glance at him. But if Zhao Hua doesn't scold this guy, he feels a bit uneasy. He clearly messed around in his name when he was a child, and now he's being scolded by the village chief.

He hesitated, wanting to speak but then stopping himself, before finally letting out a angry snort and saying, "Don't you dare say such things again! What will others think if they hear you?"

Zhao Ru chuckled and said, "It's nothing, it happened a long time ago."

Zhao Hua waved his hand. Although he was a little depressed, his curiosity got the better of him. He asked, puzzled, "Then why don't they go back to the city? Didn't all the educated youth go back to the city before? Aren't they all hoping to get government-subsidized grain rations now?"

"She can't go back. Her mother is gone, her grandfather and maternal grandfather are gone too. It's just her and her father left. When she and her father came down to the countryside, their household registration was changed to rural."

"Her father can go back, but he needs approval. She can't leave because she doesn't have a job to take her in. Her father can't bear to leave her here alone, so they're not leaving together."

Zhao Hua nodded. He had heard in the 1990s that a town household registration cost around ten thousand yuan, and now the quota for town household registration is even more fiercely contested, so it's normal that it's impossible to transfer back.

The two chatted for a while before reaching the ditch. Zhao Hua sighed and said, "Life is tough for people from other villages. Next time, take some of those whitebait for her to take home and eat."

Without waiting for Zhao Ru's reply, he straightened the net and threw it down. Since Meng's father did not become a teacher, it was either because he was not educated enough or because his exoneration certificate was blocked. There was no one in the city to help him. Expecting him to run his own way to get the certificate, especially with a daughter in tow, was not that easy.

Zhao Hua was busy until evening. Zhao Ru watched Zhao Hua work until evening. Although he was a little late today, it was still easier to catch fish on a rainy day. He caught a lot more fish today than yesterday.

On his way home, Zhao Hua was both happy and worried. So many fish must be worth a lot of money, but he would have to keep them at home, which would make selling them quite troublesome.

As usual, he gathered a bunch of water plants and stood by the boat waiting for Zhao Ru to come home and push the cart over. As soon as he got off the boat, he locked it up.

As for the villagers who came to watch the commotion, Zhao Hua managed to keep his spirits up and give them a few perfunctory replies.

After the two finished their work, it was already dinnertime. They ate a simple dinner, and after Zhao's mother and Zhao Ru finished cleaning up the dishes, he found Zhao's mother, clicked his tongue, and said, "Mom, there's something I want to discuss with you."

Zhao's mother glanced at him, wiped the water from her hands, and asked, "What is it?"

Zhao Hua didn't know how to start the conversation. He chuckled awkwardly twice and said, "Um... do you remember what happened in Hongguang Village?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao's mother narrowed her eyes, her face expressionless, and said, "I remember. What did you say? Are you sure?"

Zhao Hua nodded without saying anything. He only knew that he couldn't go to propose marriage himself, but he didn't really understand how to do it. In the past, everything was arranged by his mother. He had to arrange his own son's marriage, and then Song Xueping took care of everything. He just ate and drank, and did whatever Song Xueping asked him to do.

Mother Zhao smiled and said, "Tell me in detail, whose daughter is she? What's her name? How many people are in her family?"

Zhao Hua explained the situation of Song Xueping's family in detail. Zhao's mother looked out through the kitchen window, but it was pitch black outside.

He thought for a moment and said, "When looking for a matchmaker, remember to look for one from their village. I went to their village today, and there were a lot of people gathered at their house. I'm worried they'll spread rumors if I don't look for one from their village." Then, he recounted what had happened at Song Xueping's house over the past two days.

Zhao's mother looked at Zhao Hua and smiled, "I didn't realize you were so capable. Not only did you find a wife yourself, but you even got to pick one?"

Zhao Hua pursed his lips. In another month, his mother probably wouldn't want this kind of reputation anymore. He changed the subject, saying, "Where's the cat? Didn't Zhao Ru say you were going to bring the cat back? Didn't you bring it? I haven't seen it."

"Yes, I've kept it in my room. I fed it some food before its meal, but it's wary of strangers right now. I'll let it out after it gets used to being fed for a couple of days."

Zhao Hua nodded and didn't say anything more. She had said everything she needed to say. Now it was up to her mother's abilities. In her past life, she could find a clue even when there was none. Now that she had a target, wouldn't it be a piece of cake?

He turned around and went back to his room to sleep. He still had to sell fish during the day. This kind of business, where he didn't have to worry about selling his goods, was more and more enjoyable.

……

The next morning, it was still raining. After finishing his meal, Zhao Hua gave Zhao Ru forty or fifty catties of fish and another forty or fifty catties to Zhao's father. He went out to make furniture for people and knew quite a few people. He should make use of these connections when necessary!

He then carried the remaining 100-plus kilograms to the county town. The bicycle felt a bit heavier, but the Phoenix brand bicycle is officially rated to carry 300 kilograms, so this amount of fish was nothing.

I shouldn't go to the spinning mill gate today. After all, it's not an opportunity to indulge every day. I've gone for two days in a row, and they've already skimmed off most of the wool. Let them save up their money before going to skim again.

However, there are plenty of factory residential areas in the county town. Just find any factory residential area and you can sort all the fish in a little over two hours.

He didn't go to Song Xueping's house today. Since he had already told his mother, he would leave everything to her to handle. Going there now would be superfluous.

Zhao Ru was already waiting at home; her father had given her all the money he earned from selling the fish.

After calling Zhao Ru into the house, he collected the money they had earned from selling fish that day and calculated it. The total income was 260 yuan. He earned about 170 yuan from the fish he sold in the county town alone. Although riding a bicycle was tiring and troublesome, the profit margin was really high.

After settling the accounts, he gave Zhao Ru her share of the money and then threw it into the drawer. Xu Qian and Jiang Yue wouldn't start work for another month, and Song Xueping's matter couldn't be rushed. It was almost lunchtime, and going out to play now might get him scolded.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Hua got up and went to the kitchen to find his mother, who was cooking. He sat down on a stool by the stove, looked at his mother, and said, "Mother, do you know how much a red brick costs these days?"

"Hmm? What do you want to do with this? Do you want to build a house?" Zhao's mother paused in her stir-frying.

Zhao Hua wasn't surprised that she guessed his thoughts directly; it would have been strange if she hadn't. Red bricks weren't used much other than building houses. He smiled and said, "I've had that thought, but it mainly depends on how expensive red bricks are."

"I don't know, I'll ask around for you later. How much money have you saved up to build a brick house?"

"I was just asking around, I didn't say I had to build it now."

Zhao's mother nodded. Building a house was a big deal. She had talked about it with her old friends and knew that houses in the city were built with red bricks, which were more sturdy than mud houses. They wouldn't leak when it rained, and the walls wouldn't collapse. They were also clean and durable.

With marriage on the horizon, it was time to build a proper house. Zhao's mother had mixed feelings. Her eldest and second sons had built mud-brick houses, but her youngest son, who was the least serious, was planning to build a red brick house.

They were all their own children, and the elderly couple always thought of dividing everything equally into three parts. When their youngest son suddenly stood out, they felt a little strange.

However, her thoughts only lingered for a moment. She was still very happy that Zhao Hua had managed to save money and build a house on her own, and said with a smile, "I heard that the pigsty and cowshed in the village are going to be demolished. Why don't you go and ask your grandfather if you can buy those old bricks from the village?"

The collective pigsty and cowshed were indeed built of red bricks. He didn't care whether they were new or old bricks. The problem was that he had to dismantle the old bricks himself and clean the lime and yellow mud off the bricks. The rainy season only lasted for a short time, and it didn't seem worthwhile for him to give up a job that earned him a couple hundred yuan a day to dismantle old bricks.

He hired villagers to help him demolish the structures, but now everyone in the village is frantically catching fish in the river. Who has time to earn a pittance like him? On second thought, not everyone is catching fish; there are still many idle people.

He clicked his tongue and said, "Then I'll go to my grandma's house. It just so happens that my grandpa has to be involved in the land approval process. If I go by myself, I doubt they'll approve a very large area for me. If he's involved, the approval process will be faster. Otherwise, I estimate it will take half a month just to wait for the approval."

"Go ahead, go ahead, eat first, then go. We'll be eating soon."

Zhao Hua smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go after I finish eating."

In the afternoon, the rain was still drizzling. Zhao Hua put down his bowl and chopsticks, wiped his mouth, took off his straw hat from behind the door and put it on his head, put on his raincoat, said goodbye to his parents, and stepped into the rain.

"Hey, Hua Zi? What brings you here? What's up?"

Zhao Hua glanced at his grandmother feeding the chickens and asked, "Um, something's up. Where's my grandfather?"

"He went to play cards. What do you want with him?"

Zhao Hua's lips twitched. The old and young men of Shuanghuai Village really loved playing cards. He laughed and said, "I want to ask the village to approve a piece of land to build a house. I was thinking of asking my grandfather to talk to me and see if we can get a bigger piece of land."

"You're building a new house? Okay! When your grandpa comes back, I'll have him go to the village and tell them for you. Don't worry, if the village secretary doesn't agree, I'll smash his pot!"

Zhao Hua blinked. His grandmother had survived the hardships of the 60s. No one who survived such a hard life was weak-willed. Zhao Hua was not surprised at all that she could say such things. In fact, he was used to it. He had heard people say that his grandmother was very fierce since he was a child.

However, he always felt that his grandmother was very kind. He chuckled and told her about buying the collective bricks again. When the old lady heard this, she was even happier than Zhao Hua. It seemed that if it weren't for the rain, she would have gone straight to the mahjong parlor to drag Zhao Hua's grandfather home.