My era, 1979!

Chapter 11 will be published in September!

At 1:30 p.m., long-distance buses began checking tickets.

The vehicle is an old-fashioned Jiefang brand, and a lot of the green paint has peeled off.

Xu Chengjun found his seat, next to a middle-aged man wearing glasses who was flipping through an "Agricultural Science and Technology" magazine.

"Are you also going to Hefei, comrade?" The middle-aged man pushed up his glasses; the lenses were very thick.

"Yes, I'll transfer to Hefei."

Xu Chengjun stuffed his bag under the seat, his fingertips touching the cold enamel mug containing leftover corn porridge from the morning. "And you are?"

In this day and age, people don't have cell phones when they go out, and travel time is generally quite long, so the distance between people isn't that far.

People in the neighborhood love to chat!

"They're from the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences, going to hold a conference to promote improved varieties."

The middle-aged man closed the book; the words "hybrid rice cultivation" on the cover were worn away and blurred.

"You've been there?"

"I spent three months there in 75."

The middle-aged man smiled and took out a kraft paper package from his canvas bag, which was printed with the words "Shanghai Food Factory".

"Want to try some? The child brought it for me; no food coupons required."

"No need, I brought my own food."

"Take it," the middle-aged man said, shoving the bread into my hand. "It's not easy being away from home. This bread doesn't require ration coupons, but it's a bit pricey, only 50 cents a piece."

Xu Chengjun held the bread in his hand.

This is a rare find these days.

The bread was soft and had a milky aroma.

He thought of the meals at the educated youth settlement.

They ate sweet potato porridge for every meal, and occasionally, to improve their diet, they would eat cornmeal porridge. They could only eat two white flour steamed buns during festivals.

Bread is still the best!
-
The car started moving, and the scenery outside the window slowly receded into the distance.

Along the roadside, on the ridges between fields, some people were plowing the land with oxen, while others were using modern walking plows, their shouts carried on the wind into the carriage.

The middle-aged man pointed to a rice paddy in the distance: "That's a trial planting of hybrid rice. The yield per mu is 200 jin higher than that of ordinary rice, but the seeds are expensive, costing 1.2 yuan per jin."

Cheng Jun nodded, remembering the cornbread he had brought.

Corn cost 13 cents a pound, and you needed grain coupons.

In this world, everything has its value.
-
In the evening, the car arrived in Bengbu.

The bus station was much more impressive than the one in Fengyang County, with blue bricks and red tiles, and two pillars at the entrance with a banner that read "Warmly welcome travelers from all over the world".

The passengers all got off the train and went to the water taps on the platform to get water. Xu Chengjun followed them. As soon as he turned on the tap, he saw a notice posted next to it:
"Save water; each person is limited to one teacup."

“Bengbu is a major station, crowded, and water is scarce.” A middle-aged man leaned over and said, “Look over there, they’re selling bottled water for one cent a bottle, no coupons required.”

Xu Chengjun looked in the direction he pointed and sure enough, there was a small stall with bottled mineral water in glass bottles, with the words "Laoshan" printed on the bottles.

He touched the money in his pocket, reluctant to part with it!

The "Laoshan" liquor that costs one cent is more prestigious than Evian liquor from later generations!

I drank two mouthfuls of cold water right from the tap.

There was a small shop on the platform, with cookies, fruit candies, and canned goods displayed on the counter.

Xu Chengjun glanced at the price list: fruit candy was 12 cents a tael, biscuits were 50 cents a pack, and luncheon meat was 2.5 yuan a can (with industrial coupons).

Suddenly, the loudspeakers on the platform blared, and the opening theme of the evening news program drowned out the noise.

The announcer's voice was filled with excitement: "...The Party Central Committee has decided to establish special economic zones in Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou, and Xiamen to encourage foreign investment..."

Everyone around stopped what they were doing and listened intently.

The old lady selling popsicles forgot to call out her wares, her hand holding the popsicles hanging in mid-air; the young people in work clothes exchanged glances and muttered to themselves, "Special Economic Zone... what's that?"

Xu Chengjun's heart was in turmoil.

It can be said that we witnessed a historic moment.

I can tell my grandchildren: Back in our day...
Hey! That's impressive!

Decades later, these places will become lands of gold.
-
"Comrade Xu Chengjun, there's an urgent telegram for you!" the loudspeaker in the dispatch room suddenly announced.

Xu Chengjun's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly ran to the dispatch room.

The dispatcher in the blue uniform rummaged through his drawer and pulled out a crumpled telegram: "Sent by Comrade Liu Qingwen (Officer Liu) of Fengyang County, just arrived."

The telegram read:

"Zhou Ming has reviewed the article for Anhui Literature, and it will be published in September. Two changes are needed: 1. Change 'group trial planting' to 'trial planting with remaining grain in the granary'; 2. The poor yield is attributed to 'leaky granary and dampness'. The revised version will be sent to Zhou Ming. Deputy Director Wang is already aware of this."

Officer Liu is awesome!
Xu Chengjun gripped the telegram and waved his hand fiercely at the sky.

He spoke lightly these days, but he was actually quite anxious inside.

Cool!
Provincial-level publication secured!
-
"Comrade, can I borrow a light?"

Xu Chengjun looked up and saw a young man wearing a military cap with engine oil stains on his trousers.

The other person smiled at the telegram in his hand: "You got accepted? Look how happy you are."

"I guess so." He took out the matchbox and handed it over.

"That's amazing! Anhui Literature is incredible!"

"Can I get your autograph?" the young man said with a grin.

"Can I still sign autographs?" Xu Chengjun smiled.

"Not many writers can get published in Anhui Literature! They're all big-name authors! Why can't they?"

Unable to refuse, Xu Chengjun took out a pen and wrote his name in large characters on the notebook the young man handed him. "Thank you! I'll definitely read it when it's published!"

Got it!
My first ever signature!
-
The young man gestured towards the square with his chin.

Xu Chengjun looked in the direction he pointed and saw a man in a blue cloth jacket stuffing something into someone's hand in a corner of the station square.

The gleaming metal watch case shone brightly in the setting sun. The man lowered his voice and shouted, "Shanghai brand! 150 yuan, no industrial coupons needed!"

Several people immediately gathered around, some holding the watchband and trying it on: "Is it accurate?"

Someone muttered, "So expensive!"

"These are goods from the supply and marketing cooperative, I've opened and inspected them!" the man patted his chest. "Just these two pieces, they were transferred from Hefei yesterday. If we weren't in a hurry to clear the cash, we wouldn't be selling them!"

"This thing isn't expensive anymore; even if you had the money, you couldn't buy it!"

This individual business owner dared to buy and sell goods near the train station.

These days, you can't just be bold enough to make a judgment.
-
It took some effort to find a place to stay.

All the hotels near the station were full, so we finally found a "Workers and Peasants Hostel" deep in an alley. It cost 1.2 yuan a night, which was a bit expensive.

The proprietress, a plump middle-aged woman, scribbled in the register: "An educated youth from Fengyang? Going to Hefei on business?"

"Hmm." Xu Chengjun took the key; it was brass and heavy.

There were four iron-framed beds in the room, an old wooden cabinet piled in the corner, and a cracked mirror.

He threw his canvas bag onto the empty bed and took out Officer Liu's telegram, reading it repeatedly.

Changing two places isn't much.

He took out a pencil and some scrap paper and started revising from memory.

After finishing the revisions, I felt hungry, so I took out a cornbread and took a couple of bites. Then I remembered the fried peanuts that Li Erwa had given me.

Peel off the shell, and the peanuts have a slightly earthy taste, but they are very fragrant when you chew them.

The fragrant one might not actually be made from peanuts.

It's *Anhui Literature*!
-
The streets of Bengbu are even more lively in the evening than during the day.

The streetlights came on, their golden light casting long shadows of the trees.

The stall selling roasted nuts and seeds set up a kerosene lamp, and the aroma of melon seeds and peanuts wafted far and wide.

The man in the polyester shirt was still selling digital watches, this time accompanied by a young man in bell-bottoms, who was haggling with someone: "Fourteen yuan, not a penny less!"

Xu Chengjun walked along the street and passed a department store. In the window, there were polyester shirts priced at seven yuan and eighty cents, with a sign next to them that read "Supply with cloth coupons".

A girl was peering through the shop window, tracing the shape of a shirt on the glass with her finger, her eyes sparkling.

A crowd had gathered in front of the blackboard on the street corner.

Someone read it aloud, while others whispered among themselves, "What's foreign investment? Foreigners' money?"

"The radio said that they want foreigners to come here to open factories and make money for us."

Xu Chengjun stood at the back of the crowd listening, and suddenly felt that this summer of 1979 was truly different.

The wind carried a fresh, warm, and steaming energy.
-
When I returned to the hostel, the corridor was crowded with people.

There was a salesman gesturing to someone about "parts prices";
Some officials on business trips would be carrying black briefcases, muttering to themselves, "Which department am I going to?"

There were two other young men like him, carrying canvas bags, saying they were going to Hefei to take the college entrance exam.

"Have you heard? Changjiang Road in Hefei has been widened to a great extent, and the department store there has everything."

As Xu Chengjun lay in bed listening to these words, the fire in his heart burned ever brighter.

He touched the manuscript in his arms.

The snoring from the bed next door started, sounding like thunder.

Xu Chengjun, however, was not sleepy and stared blankly at the cobwebs on the ceiling.

I need to go to Hefei first thing tomorrow morning to meet with Deputy Director Wang and get the necessary approvals.

The sound of train whistles rose and fell outside the window.

Xu Chengjun gazed at the lights outside the window, yellow and white, shining in the darkness.

He suddenly thought that once he finished publishing his article and earned his royalties, he would have to buy a watch.

He wanted to see just how fast time had passed in 1979.
-
The next morning, Xu Chengjun was woken up by the hotel's loudspeaker.

"Attention passengers, the first bus to Hefei departs at 7:00 AM. Please take your belongings with you."

He rubbed his eyes and took out a cornbread for breakfast.

I had just taken a bite when I heard a shout from outside the window: "Digital watches on sale! Thirteen yuan each!"

I ran to the window and saw a man in a polyester shirt stuffing people into a car, holding up a shiny watch.

Xu Chengjun suddenly laughed, "Your pricing is really flexible!"

There were so many people catching the early bus, queuing up to have their tickets checked.

Xu Chengjun was in the middle of the line when he heard the people in front of him talking: "Have you heard? They've started building high-rises in Shenzhen, all invested in by foreigners."

"Really? Can foreigners be trusted?"

"Could what they say on the radio be false?"

Xu Chengjun followed and moved forward.
The car started moving, and the streets of Bengbu slowly receded into the distance.

Xu Chengjun looked out the window. The city in the morning light was like a child who had just woken up, exuding a lively energy.

The wind blew in through the car window, carrying the smell of a coal stove and the smoke drifting from the factory chimneys in the distance.

Xu Chengjun took a deep breath, his lungs filled with the smell of 1979.

It's comforting, and with a touch of sweetness.

(End of this chapter)