Siheyuan: A warm home with wife and children

I bought these things not only to visit Li Ying's home.

And then there are the wedding candy packets to be distributed later, to everyone in the factory, the courtyard, and the neighborhood office—they all need to share in the joy.

Don't worry about buying too much; you can save some for the Chinese New Year.

Other people's homes are afraid of dampness and woodworms!

Yang Jianguo has a system warehouse; have you heard of time-space freezing?

"Comrade, could you get me two more packs of cigarettes and a peaked cap?" Yang Jianguo rummaged in his pocket and found the tickets.

The cigarette brands of this era are more numerous than in later generations...

Domestic and foreign, all sorts of things are available.

In Beijing, the best-selling brands are Qianmen, Hongmei, Hezuo, and Jinhou.

At that time, Qianmen was called CHIENMEN (meaning the front gate of the capital), and it was later changed to Daqianmen.

Because a high-ranking official liked to smoke this brand, it became the most popular brand in Beijing.

Taking a sip from the front door seems to bring one closer to the ideological realm of the top leader.

Among high-end cigarettes, Zhonghua is undoubtedly the most famous.

The best cigarettes in China come from the Dragon Kingdom!

The national tobacco protection policy of protecting Shanghai and Shanghai protecting "Chunghwa" tobacco gave it a noble lineage from birth.

The annual production is only a few thousand, less than ten thousand boxes.

Not only must the personal needs of top leaders be met, but also the quota for entertaining foreign guests must be guaranteed.

Sometimes, when the harvest is poor and the yield is low, even the top leaders are reluctant to smoke.

At that time, Zhonghua cigarettes were the designated brand for entertaining Chinese and foreign guests.

We also need to make gifts and use them as business cards to promote our products abroad.

They are not available in the general market, whether they are packaged in 50-pack metal drums or 20-pack soft packs.

Forget about buying it, you won't even see it...

There are two places where you can buy it, one in Gangjiang and the other in Aogang.

Would you like to travel by boat or plane?

However, it also has its own 'crown prince' among the common people.

Of noble lineage, exclusively supplied to the People's Liberation Army.

The three major brands are: peaked cap (National Defense brand), sailor uniform (Navy brand), and Iron Eagle.

These are meritorious cigarettes produced specifically for land, sea, and air use.

It has only recently begun to circulate in the market, and it's very precious!

Wouldn't it be prestigious to draw a plaque alongside the People's Liberation Army soldiers and combat heroes?

—It has everything, not just appearances.

Two peaked caps, a pound of melon seeds, and two packets of milk candy.

Yang Jianguo then went to the market and bought a crucian carp. It cost four cents a pound, and the three-and-a-half-pound fish was quite large.

Finally, use a box that cost 1 cent to build at the market to put 10 eggs inside.

A generous gift that even city dwellers would envy was made.

This gift is truly substantial, especially when given as a gift during a visit.

Many families don't give such a heavy gift when they get married; half of that is already considered good.

But Yang Jianguo was aiming for marriage, so he was happy to give his future wife face.

She also wanted to let the neighbors see that she had married into a good family.

The girl got married.

If you marry well, you'll be treated like a VIP when you visit your parents' home.

If you marry badly, even the dogs at your parents' home will dislike you.

A married daughter is like water spilled from a cup; she's a money-losing burden, and that's not just a term used by the old woman of the Jia family.

It's just so realistic.

Back at the entrance of the courtyard alley, Aunt Liu was already waiting.

Seeing the gifts Yang Jianguo had prepared, Aunt Liu secretly clicked her tongue in amazement, 'Jianguo is really generous; Yingzi is in for a treat from now on.'

The supply and marketing cooperative's family compound was just a mud courtyard.

There is a main road in the middle, with rows of tiled red brick houses on both sides.

Each row has five or six rooms, with a communal kitchen at the end, and a communal water pool in the courtyard in front of the house.

Half of the vacant land has been cultivated and used to grow vegetables, scallions, garlic, and the like in the summer.

Buying one less item can save you a lot of money over the course of a year.

In those days when every penny was precious, saving even a few extra cents was enough to raise a child.

"We're here, this is the one." In front of the three rows of large houses, Aunt Liu stopped and went up to knock on the door.

Lifting the curtain, the door was open, and Li Ying's parents were talking inside.

"Old Li, I brought Jianguo with me. Where's your Yingzi?" Aunt Liu smiled from ear to ear.

She was happy that they could come together for such a joyous occasion.

"Oh my, Aunt Liu is here! Yingzi is in the next room!" Yingzi's mother got up and called out to Yingzi from the doorway.

But his eyes were fixed on the young man in the courtyard.

Tall and sturdy.

He has a kind face, a short haircut, regular features, and a friendly smile.

The splendid parallel bars of the 28-inch bicycle were propped up in the yard, with large and small bags hanging behind them, making Yingzi's mother overjoyed.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: On-site Visit, Inside and Outside Observation

This is my first visit, and I've brought so many gifts.

The neighbors were all astonished and gathered in the courtyard to look at the Li family's house.

"Yingzi is in luck now, she's found a good husband."

"That's right. I heard that with a monthly salary of around a hundred yuan, you can eat refined white flour every day."

"Look at what you're saying, you need tickets for that!"

"Hey, you can earn a hundred yuan and not have a ticket? Can't you go to Hongqiao without a ticket?"

There were quite a few markets in Beijing, including Hongqiaokou, Fahuasi, Ciqikou, outside the Temple of Heaven Park, and Nanluoguxiang.

In these places, there are elderly farmers from the countryside who bring their own grains, vegetables, livestock, and various kinds of eggs to sell.

Of course, we can't make a big fuss about it.

Not in broad daylight!

You need to pack up by 8:45 AM, and you can only put it up after 5:35 PM.

Nighttime is also not an option, for fear of causing trouble.

In an era lacking widespread legal awareness, there were quite a few ruthless individuals.

When you're starving, you'll do anything.

So, by 9 p.m. at the latest, you have to pack up your stall and find a place to rest.

Whether you're visiting relatives or going to a teahouse.

Or you could spend the night in a park.

In short, we can no longer set up stalls to do business.

and also……

You need to have a keen eye.

If you encounter an inspection, whether you can escape or not is up to you.

If you encounter red armbands or similar items, put down what you're holding for now.

Don't start counting or accepting money in front of others.

If we don't arrest you, who will we arrest?!

It can be said that current policies turn a blind eye to 'markets'.

As long as things don't go too far, the higher-ups won't investigate, and the lower-ups are happy to pretend they didn't see it.

After all, no matter how high his official rank is, he still needs to eat.

The country is in a recovery period after a difficult time, and supply and demand are tight in all aspects.

Everyone wants to eat some vegetables, some meat, and an egg.

Have a good meal...

It's understandable, it's not a big mistake!

The villagers have more produce than they can eat, so they bring it to exchange for some grain and money.

Buy seeds for next year, so that the family can have enough to eat and raise more children.

It's not a matter of principle!

The country is also feeling its way across the river, and the supply and marketing cooperatives are making great strides in the 'market trade' that they lead in the suburbs.

That's great!

So, as long as you're not specifically hoarding supplies for resale.

The villagers wanted to exchange for some money or barter.

Nobody would deliberately cause trouble!

They'll escalate the issue and label you as a speculator.

Of course, this might offend someone.

Don't try to speculate or profiteer; these days, there are plenty of excuses to punish you.

If you stare at girls on the street too much, and they call you a 'pervert,' then you are a pervert.

Do we really need to specifically monitor you and help you with speculation and profiteering? Isn't that exhausting?

Once inside the house, Yang Jianguo was surrounded by his men.

Two boys, a girl named Li Ying, plus her parents.

The family of six surrounded Yang Jianguo, scrutinizing him from head to toe.

“Yingzi’s mother, you should take a break. This is making Jianguo feel embarrassed.”

It was Aunt Liu who spoke up and got him out of the predicament.

To be honest, it's not a pleasant feeling to have all twelve eyes on you, with six people watching you.

"Uncle, Auntie, these are things I brought home. Please accept them, Auntie."

After placing the things in front of Yingzi's mother, Yang Jianguo found a place to sit down.

"Oh my, so many melon seeds and candy."

"Old Li, look, there's another fish... Oh, and there are eggs too."

"Jianguo, you're too kind." Yingzi's mother laughed so hard she almost fell over, her heart filled with joy.

Every time he called out something, he had to raise his voice several octaves so that everyone outside could hear him clearly.

This is a blind date; they're going to each other's homes to discuss marriage.