My era, 1979!

Chapter 10 Heading Towards Hefei
On the morning of July 2, Xu Chengjun squatted in front of the stove at the educated youth settlement and stuffed the last piece of cornbread into his canvas bag.

The food ration coupons at the educated youth settlement were distributed according to work points. Last month, he earned 280 work points, which was equivalent to 28 jin of food and 7.6 yuan.

After deducting the two meals of sweet potato porridge each day, the 10 jin of coarse grain coupons saved were just enough to exchange for these few corn cakes.

"Aren't you going to wait for the team's donkey cart?"

Zhao Gang came in from outside carrying a hoe, his trouser legs still damp with dew. "I told the team leader to let Old Donkey rest a bit longer, and wait for you."

"I'm not waiting any longer, the sooner I leave, the sooner I'll arrive."

Xu Chengjun slung the canvas bag over his shoulder, with half of a pickle jar sticking out from the corner.

He felt his pocket; inside were crumpled twenty yuan bills, a few local grain coupons, a few national grain coupons, and a letter of introduction stamped by the Zhang County Education Bureau.

This is all his possessions.

Li Erwa poked his head out from under the covers, rubbing his eyes and muttering, "Brother Chengjun, this bag looks much heavier than the one you brought to the county town last time."

"I brought back some local specialties while running errands," Xu Chengjun said with a smile.

As I was leaving, I ran into Xinghua drawing water from the well.

The bucket wobbled, spilling water all the way.

"Brother Chengjun, are you off?" She stopped, the carrying pole still pressing on her shoulder. "Be careful on the road!"

The canvas bag was uncomfortable against his back. Inside, besides dry food and a cotton-padded coat, were two boxes of matches and a bar of soap that he had bought that month.

Soap was rationed, and it took him three months of saving up industrial coupons to get some.

That's really expensive!
The donkey cart was already waiting under the old locust tree at the village entrance.

Grandpa Wang, who was driving the cart, was smoking when he saw Xu Chengjun. He patted the cart floor and said, "Get on. We just put some fresh wheat straw on it; it's soft."

The donkey cart was used by the team as a public vehicle. It cost two cents to go to the commune, which saved three hours compared to walking.

Xu Chengjun had just settled down when he saw Wang Laosi's wife squeeze in with a cloth bag, half a piece of brown sugar sticking out of the bag.

That was a rare item; the supply and marketing cooperative priced it at 80 cents a pound, plus an ounce of oil coupons.

"Chengjun, you're going to the county town?" Wang Laosi's wife hugged the cloth bag to her chest. "I heard that a batch of face cream has arrived at the county department store. It's 25 cents a box, but you need a cosmetics coupon."

"Go to Hefei." Xu Chengjun moved out of the car to make room for her. "It's business."

These wives, both young and old, rarely speak in the village, but when they do, they can talk about your entire family history!

The key is to be careful of what others say!
The donkey cart rolled over the gravel road, making people's gums go numb.

The cart was piled high with cotton that the team wanted to sell, all white and fluffy. Grandpa Wang said this cartload could sell for fifteen yuan, enough for the team to buy a new water pump.

“The policies have been relaxed now,” the old man said, tapping his pipe. “A few years ago, who dared to sell cotton privately? Now, not only can you sell it, you can also negotiate the price.”

Xu Chengjun looked at the field ridges by the roadside. At this time last year, he was still working hard to earn 8 work points a day.

Eight work points are worth 8 cents, enough to buy three cornbreads.

Looking back now, the fare from Fengyang to Hefei alone was more than three yuan, which was equivalent to ten days' worth of his work points.
-
An hour later, the donkey cart arrived at the commune.

Xu Chengjun paid the fare and stood by the roadside waiting for the three-wheeled motorcycle to take him to the county town.

The cart was painted with "Commune-County Town 1.5 Yuan", which was seven times more expensive than a donkey cart, but saved two hours.

“Xu, the educated youth?” Old Zhang, who was driving, leaned out and had a scar on his face. “Zhao Gang asked me to save a seat for you. Come on in.” There were already two people sitting in the back of the truck: a cadre-looking man in a Zhongshan suit, holding a black leather bag in his hand; and a young man carrying a roll of cloth with the words “Shanghai Floral Cloth” printed on it.

"Comrade, are you going to the county town to buy cloth?" Xu Chengjun asked the young man after he had settled in.

"Yes, it's for my sister's dowry." The young man touched the roll of cloth. "It costs 1.8 yuan per foot, and you need cloth coupons. This roll cost me 10 feet of coupons, which is 18 yuan."

A cadre-looking man chimed in: "Now you need ration coupons for everything in the county town. Last month I went to buy a bicycle, and not only did I need industrial coupons, but I also had to pull some strings. It was a Phoenix brand, and it cost 180 yuan, which is equivalent to three months' wages for an ordinary worker."

Xu Chengjun did the math in his head: his monthly subsidy of 7 yuan, plus the money converted from work points, amounted to less than 6 yuan at most.

To buy a bicycle, you have to save up for a year without eating or drinking!
The three main items truly live up to their reputation!
The three-wheeled motorcycle sputtered along.

As we got closer to the county seat, more and more slogans appeared along the roadside: "Develop production and ensure supply" and "Take grain as the key link and achieve all-round development."

After crossing the Huaihe River Bridge, a supply and marketing cooperative appeared by the roadside. A blackboard hung at the entrance, with the following written in chalk:

"Today's supply: Salt 0.15 yuan/jin, soy sauce 0.12 yuan/jin, matches 0.02 yuan/box, liquor 1.2 yuan/jin (with coupon)."

“This supply and marketing cooperative has everything,” Old Zhang said, turning around. “When I came last month, they were even out of soy sauce.”
-
The county town was more bustling than Xu Chengjun had imagined.

The streets in the county town are not wide, and there are mostly mud-walled and tiled houses on both sides, with the occasional two-story building.

There were quite a few bicycles on the road, their bells jingling, and a few trucks were driving slowly, their cargo beds filled with farmers wearing straw hats, who looked like they were going to work at a factory on the outskirts of the city.

A price list is posted on the blue brick wall of the bus station. The top line reads "Fengyang-Hefei long-distance bus 2.3 yuan/person", and below it is marked in red pen "Ticket purchase requires proof of employment".

He pulled out the letter of introduction issued by the commune. The ticket seller at the window glanced at it and threw him a cardboard ticket: "Departure at 2 p.m., tickets will be checked half an hour in advance."

With three hours to go before departure, Xu Chengjun planned to go to the post office to send a telegram.

The streets of the county town are narrow, with slogans such as "Marching Towards Science" painted on the earthen walls on both sides. Occasionally, there is a two-story building with a sign that reads "Fengyang County No. 1 Department Store" hanging at the door.

A crowd had gathered at the store entrance. Squeezing inside, I saw a black-and-white television set showing the TV series "Tunnel Warfare".

"This thing costs 180 yuan," someone nearby commented. "And you need industrial coupons to buy it; most people can't afford it."

Xu Chengjun touched the five yuan in his pocket and suddenly realized that the fare to Hefei was indeed not cheap.

He walked to the snack stall on the street corner, where the stall owner was serving oil tea in a rough porcelain bowl and shouting, "One cent and fifty cents a bowl, all you can eat."

I hesitated for a moment, then decided not to buy it!

A bowl of oil tea is enough to buy three corn cakes, which can be a meal.

He chuckled to himself: Even a great writer of the future would struggle to earn a penny!

Therefore, Xu Chengjun set his first life goal in 1979: to drink as much oil tea as he wanted!

The post office counter is very high; you have to stand on tiptoe to see inside.

Xu Chengjun filled out a telegram form: "Officer Liu: Arrived in Bengbu at 6:00 today, will go to Hefei tomorrow. Chengjun."

The sales clerk glanced at it and pointed to the words on the telegram: "Three cents per word, for a total of forty-five cents."

After sending the telegram, he sat down on the steps outside the post office and took out a tortilla from his canvas bag.

The pancake was a bit hard, and I was choking on it while eating it with the cold boiled water I brought with me.

A young man in overalls was eating a steamed bun nearby. The aroma of meat wafted over, and he couldn't help but take a second look.

A meat bun costs five cents, and you also need an ounce of grain coupons. The future great writer still couldn't bear to spend the money!
(End of this chapter)