Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 846 Chen Hui's Advice

Uncle Wang said, "Even if you have money, you still need a place to buy it. Where can you buy it? It was a state-controlled system, with ration coupons issued according to household registration. It was strictly controlled. Besides, buying it was illegal. Back then, I really thought the countryside was great, but I couldn't go back. Do you know how many people envied your older brother when he went back to the village? There were even people who reported him."

Chen Hui said, "I don't remember that. I just remember that when I was a child, I didn't like to eat steamed buns, so I threw them away and my grandfather beat me with a willow twig."

Uncle Wang said, "Your family definitely didn't lack food. Back then, there were several guarantees. The army and electricity were among the top priorities. There was a sufficient supply, and we had meat at every meal. I still remember that the army had cabbage and pork stew with vermicelli every day. The smell wafted far and wide. It was really tempting."

Aunt Wang said, "That's right. You know, the 64th Army was really wicked back then. There was some kind of staff headquarters not far behind my house. Every day at mealtimes, the smell was so good that I would get hungry just from the smell. Xiao Hong would cry and ask for meat. Where could I get it? I didn't save any money over the years. It was all eaten by Xiao Hong."

Xiao Hong blinked at her mother and said, "Mom, aren't you going a bit too far in shifting the blame? It's like I'm the sinner in our family. My dad said he blames me for not having any younger siblings, and now you're blaming me for not being able to save money. It's like I orchestrated everything behind the scenes."

Chen Hui said, "That doesn't make sense either. Back then, people usually had two, three, or even four children. How did they raise them?"

Uncle Wang said, "The adults were starving, so they scavenged for food everywhere. They secretly bought old grain from the countryside, borrowed from their work units, and stole from the canteen. What tricks didn't they use? Let me tell you, back then, twenty catties of rice could save your life."

Aunt Wang said, "That's right. Before you could ask if they had any grain, you had to check if they had any at home. I remember one family, they borrowed some grain, but when they came in, they found it was fake and refused to cooperate. The whole village went to complain. Who was it again?"

Xiao Wei's dad said, "Gazi's family, his dad was a big eater back then, and his mom was really tricked into marrying him. That was only in those days; if it were now, she would have run away long ago. Back then, people accepted their fate and were honest."

Xiaowei's mother turned to Xiaowei and asked, "Didn't Gazi and the others move in? Why can't we see them when we come back? Tell them to come to the yard for a meal."

Xiao Wei said, "You guys are getting a little confused by this topic. Ga Zi and Zhao Di'er have their own business, selling clothes. I specifically asked him to go to Harbin with me. How can you not let them make money?"

Xiaowei's mother asked, "Are Ga Zi and Zhao Di'er dating? What does Zhao Di'er's family do?"

Xiao Wei said, "Gazi bought it for four thousand yuan. I reckon Zhao Di'er's parents will have a hard time borrowing money from their son-in-law in the future. Zhao Di'er definitely won't agree; his parents are being a bit unreasonable."

Xiaowei's mother nodded: "Indeed, Zhaodi'er has had a tough time. Her family is so sexist, and we outsiders can't do anything about it. At most, we can only secretly slip Zhaodi'er a steamed bun sometimes, but that silly girl will take it back to her brother. Sigh."

Xiaowei's father said, "People are indeed different. If you look at Kexin's family, you'll feel sorry for her younger brother. That couple dotes on their daughter, and treats their son like he was adopted."

Xiaowei's mother paused for a moment, thought for a moment, and said, "How about we go back to the fort in a few days? I wonder what it's like now."

Xiao Wei said, "If you want to go back, just go back. Your uncle's house is still there, your fourth uncle's house is still there, and the car is there. It's not a big deal."

Xiao Wei's dad said, "It's not that easy. The house needs to be tidied up before anyone can live in it. Where's the luggage?"

Xiao Wei said, "I'll bring my own. I'll drive myself, so I can just bring a few sets of luggage. How long do you want to stay? Mom, how long do you want to stay? I'll prepare food for you, and we can get firewood from Ga Zixinghai's house. It won't burn much."

Xiaowei's mother said, "I just wanted to go back and take a look. I didn't intend to stay; it's too much trouble."

Xiao Wei's dad said, "You should go back during the winter camp. Everyone will be free then, so you can go back, meet up, chat, and play together. What are you going to do now that the harvest is almost here? Help with the chores?"

Xiaowei's mom said, "Winter camp? That's so cold."

Xiao Wei's dad said, "Why would it be cold driving back? There's air conditioning in the car. If we go back anytime, we can just have Ga Zi's mom or someone else heat up the kang (heated brick bed) at my brother's house for a day."

Xiao Wei said, "Just call me Fourth Uncle. He said he'd go back to the fort to live in the winter because there's no work at the mountain products company in the winter."

Uncle Wang asked, "Your mountain produce company will stop production for winter? What about the workers' wages?"

Xiao Wei said, "There's nothing we can do about it. Most of them are day laborers. They're busy for a while in the spring, busy for a while in the fall, and then when the snow covers everything in the winter, there's nothing left to do. We just pay them one day at a time. I can't just keep them working for free."

Aunt Wang said, "This is more profitable than farming, and there are plenty of people willing to come."

Xiaowei's mother asked Aunt Wang, "When are you going back? Do you want to go back?"

Aunt Wang said, "Go back, I'll go with you, you make the arrangements."

Xiaowei's mother thought for a moment and said, "The house shouldn't have been sold."

Xiao Wei's dad said, "If we don't sell, are you going to go back to live there? All our family members have moved out, what's the point of leaving it empty? If it collapses, there won't be anyone to buy it. Nonsense."

Xiao Wei turned his head and gave Xiao Hong a wink, and Xiao Hong immediately understood: "Auntie, Auntie, um, um..."

Xiaowei's mother slapped Xiaohong on the head: "What? I'm not arguing with him, so why don't you all gang up on him?"

Chen Hui said, "Now I understand what 'too many mouths make' really means. This topic has somehow veered off course. What were we talking about again?"

Xiao Wei said, "The development zone, you know, is all muddy puddles when it rains."

Chen Hui suddenly realized and said, "Right, right, right. What I mean is, let's get a piece of land. When the development zone first starts, the land price will definitely be low, and there will be many policies. You can move the food factory there and expand it directly, one workshop per product, and build an employee community. Only the school and Lao Tang will remain here. Don't you think it will be a bit crowded after the school moves here? And now the sales are getting better and better, and there won't be any room to expand in the future."

Xiao Wei said, "This is small? It's over three thousand square meters."

Chen Hui said, "Find some time to ask Brother Long. The instant noodle business definitely needs to expand, and Brother Long also wants to increase the variety of biscuits and bread. The cakes are enough for now. The students are coming over again. Don't they need space to study, practice, and sleep? Right now, this 3,000-square-meter space is almost half occupied by living quarters and the canteen."

Xiao Wei touched his head, sighed, and said, "Why is there never enough space? It was doing quite well in Longcheng, but this place, several thousand square meters, has only been used for a few days?"

Chen Hui said, "Nonsense! How many workers produced that little bit of stuff before? Now how many workers produce how much goods a day? Longcheng has hundreds of thousands of people, and Fengtian has millions. Don't you have a good idea of ​​the market capacity?"

(End of this chapter)