Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 493 Fishing and Fish

Zhang Wang nodded, seemingly lost in thought. Xiao Wei understood his current confusion; he himself had been in the same boat back then.

Back then, rural people came to the city to make a living, and they really did. It took a kind of daring courage to sustain them. The income disparity meant that the meager income that farmers cherished as their lifeblood was worthless in the city. Then there was the issue of opportunity, as the vast unemployed population in the city scrambled for the few remaining opportunities. To put it bluntly, there were simply too few opportunities to make money in those days.

Chen Hui said, "What's so difficult about it? You're making it sound so complicated. It's just about going to the city to work. How many families and people do you have in total? Just send them all over and arrange jobs for them. We need to recruit workers anyway."

Xiao Wei glanced at Chen Hui and said, "If it were that easy, that would be great. What about their household registration? What about the future? Can you guarantee to support them for life and then for life? It's not that simple. They have to change little by little on their own. They have to adapt and learn how to live in the city and how to earn money. That's the only reliable way."

I sent my brother to our area because he's my brother. Even if things don't go well in the future, I can still help him out. Can Xinghai and Changyuan handle it? Can they accept it? That's why I told them to go to the city first and try it out for a while. Let them experience it, and they'll have a better understanding of the city and themselves. Then, I'll help them with whatever they want to do and how they want to do it.”

Xia Maosheng put down his chopsticks, let out a burp, rubbed his stomach, and said, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. You have to do it yourself. No outsider can help you with this. Xiaowei did the right thing."

From inside the house, Geng Hui's voice could be faintly heard: "Xia, Xia, are you there?"

Xiao Wei, Chen Hui, and Zhang Wang had just heard a sound and were about to listen more closely when Xia Maosheng jumped up from the horse stable, ran over, opened the door, and said in a low voice, "I'm here, honey. What do you want?"

Geng Hui, perhaps still half asleep, woke up and whispered, "I need to go to the toilet, but never mind, I can manage myself." Xia Maosheng ran inside, helped his wife up, helped her put on her shoes, and then helped Geng Hui out of the room, asking, "Brother Wang, where's the toilet?"

Xiao Wei stood up and said, "I'll take you there. The toilet here is a bit dirty, Geng Hui, you'll have to make do."

Geng Hui said, "It's okay, my family also has a dry toilet." At that time, most places in the city also had public dry toilets, not much different from those in the countryside.

Xiao Wei led the two men to the hilltop above the house. They found the toilet nestled between the house, the chimney, and the pigsty. There was no door, but the chimney blocked the view, so it wasn't visible unless you turned into the house. Xiao Wei said, "Old Xia, hold on tight. This side is all paved with wood; it's a bit shaky."

In Northeast China, farmhouses have chimneys with necks. They don't rise directly up along the house. Even if the house is demolished, the chimney will still stand straight. Over time, tobacco ash will clog the kang (heated brick bed) hole, and the chimney is cleaned out by opening it from the neck.

"Japanese devils!" someone shouted from outside the courtyard. Xiao Wei turned his head and saw Xinghai, Changyuan, Siwei, and the others standing outside the gate. He said, "Come in, why are you being so polite?"

The boys opened the door themselves and walked in, laughing and joking.

Xiao Wei pointed to the toilet to indicate that someone was there, afraid that these silly boys might suddenly run in. This kind of thing happens quite often in the countryside. He said, "Xiao Hong and the others are sleeping, please keep your voices down."

The group nodded and walked with Xiaowei to the doorway. They didn't go inside, but sat down on the dripping stone platform in front of the door to talk. Xiaowei went inside, brought out a horse harness, and sat down to one side.

Xinghai said, "We've discussed it and we'll listen to you. We'll rent two stalls in the underground shopping mall in front of the station to sell clothes and shoes. The north end will be for clothing, and the south end for shoes. We'll take turns minding the stalls and split the profits. But we still need to rent a place to live; we need a place to eat and sleep, right?"

Xiao Wei said, "We definitely need to rent a place. Have you decided yet? How much will it cost in total?"

Xinghai licked his lips, a little embarrassed, and said, "A large stall there costs 50,000 yuan a year, and a small one costs around 30,000 yuan. Renting a place there would cost at least 2,000 yuan a year. I don't know about stocking goods; we've never done that before."

Chen Hui, his belly slightly protruding, came out of the house, took out cigarettes to offer everyone, and nudged Xiao Wei to sit on the stool, asking, "Are there enough seats there?"

Xinghai said, "There are quite a few, but they're all basically occupied. Business is booming there; it's so crowded that you get overwhelmed as soon as you go in. If you want to rent one, you'll have to go over and ask, and you don't even know if they're all available." He scratched his head sheepishly.

The underground air-raid shelter shopping mall in front of Beixi Station was actually poorly planned and managed. It was a bit chaotic, and the exit design was unreasonable. It was all open-air downward passages, which would flood when it rained heavily. In winter, the steps were covered with ice and snow, making them more slippery than slides. However, it was incredibly popular during a good era, and it really helped a lot of people get rich.

Chen Hui said, "It's under the jurisdiction of whoever is in charge, understand?"

Xinghai said, "How would we know? Anyway, it's the government's responsibility."

Xia Maosheng helped Geng Hui out of the restroom. Xia Maosheng was holding a sorghum stalk in his hand, which he held up from a distance and asked, "Xiao Wei, what's this for?"

Because Geng Hui was there, Xinghai and Changyuan could only glance at each other and chuckle silently. Xiao Wei said, "You want to try shaving someone's butt?"

Geng Hui entered the house with a flushed face. Xia Maosheng stood next to Xiao Wei, holding the sorghum stalk in a daze: "Really? You're not kidding me?"

Xiao Wei said, "It's true, I used to use this to shave my bottom when I was a kid. There was no toilet paper available. Now fewer people use this."

Xia Maosheng held up the sorghum stalks behind him, his face contorted in a grimace, and said, "What the hell am I supposed to do?"

Xinghai said, "We used to use this at home, but we never used it outside to cut vegetable leaves with stones."

Everyone laughed together; except for Xia Maosheng and Chen Hui, everyone else had gone through the same thing.

Xinghai hesitated for a long time before asking, "Wouldn't renting two be too much? Including renting the house and stocking the goods, it would cost over 100,000 yuan. Where would you get that money? Xiaohong, do you think Xiaohong would be happy about that? Don't make me angry." As he spoke, he glanced guiltily at the window behind him.

Then I saw Xiaohong's little face pressed against the window looking out, and I was so startled that I jumped up.

It turned out that Geng Hui's frequent trips to the toilet had woken Xiao Hong up, so she leaned against the windowsill to watch the people talking outside. Chen Xiao was still fast asleep.

Xiao Wei turned to look at Xiao Hong and said, "It's okay, as long as you do a good job, a few hundred thousand is fine. Xiao Hong can't worry about it."

Looking at Xiaowei from afar, Changyuan said, "You really have that much? That's amazing! 100,000! How did you earn so much money? I've never even seen a thousand."

Xiao Wei said, "There are more opportunities to make money in the city. Besides, 100,000 yuan isn't a lot. There are quite a few families in the city with that kind of money. You guys work hard, and you'll have that much next year too. Then you can buy a house in the city, come back, and bring your parents, siblings, and other family members to the city to enjoy a better life. That's what it means to be successful."

The group of friends nodded excitedly in agreement, each one filled with longing for a bright future.

(End of this chapter)