The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 2 Strangers in the Newlywed Couple

Back home, Zhou Zhiqiang was familiar with the place, but it still felt somewhat unfamiliar to him.

This era feels alien; even if you inherit the memories, the sense of alienation still lingers.

Guo Linhua left a two-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house) for the young couple to live in. It was a separate house with little interaction with their neighbors.

Professors at the Beijing Institute of Technology earned more before the salary reform, so their family wealth must be substantial.

It wasn't just a second-hand house; there were also bicycles, watches, radios, and sewing machines. The watches and bicycles were new purchases made when Zhou Zhiqiang and Guo Yuting got married.

Zhou Zhiqiang couldn't help but sigh, Guo Linhua was truly good to the original owner of this body.

The original owner probably used up all her luck by meeting Guo Linhua, who not only arranged work for her but also helped her make contributions during her internship, shortening the time it took for her to become a full-time employee.

He arranged for the original owner to marry his daughter, gave him a bicycle and a watch, and arranged for him to move into the Guo family's two-courtyard house.

Although it's a single-story house without heating in winter, it's detached and much more comfortable than an apartment building.

Guo Linhua also built a toilet in his own courtyard house. He was a professor and had plenty of money, but he wanted his family to live more comfortably, so he discussed it with the people from the military control committee at the time.

The university professor was only building a toilet in his own home, and it didn't disturb the residents of other courtyards, so the military control committee readily agreed.

Back in the courtyard house, Zhou Zhiqiang looked around as he walked in.

The main house is now vacant. Guo Linhua told the young couple to stay wherever they wanted before he left, but Zhou Zhiqiang and Guo Yuting haven't moved in yet.

The courtyard was very tidy and spacious, except for a few potted plants.

The front yard contained a storage room, a toilet, and an empty room with only a bed and a table and chairs. It was left by Guo Linhua for temporary guests.

Zhou Zhiqiang used to live there. Sometimes when he stayed up late studying with Guo Linhua and didn't have time to go back to his dormitory, he would stay there.

Zhou Zhiqiang glanced at his watch; it was lunchtime. He turned to Guo Yuting beside him and asked, "It's lunchtime. What would you like to eat?"

"I want to eat Zhajiangmian (noodles with soybean paste), can you make it?"

Guo Yuting casually said, "If we can't make it at home, let's eat out. The noodle shop at the street corner sells pretty good fried noodles."

"I can make it at home, just a little less meat sauce. Wait for me at home for a while."

Zhou Zhiqiang thought for a moment. He had flour and various seasonings at home, but he was missing a little meat. He would go buy some and cook it quickly.

However, Zhou Zhiqiang himself was somewhat surprised after saying this. According to his previous personality, he would go out to eat whenever he could, but now he said he would buy food and cook it himself. It seems that he is greatly influenced by the original owner's memories.

When the original owner was in school, his family only gave him eight or nine catties of grain a month, at most ten catties. If it weren't for the village chief and the teachers at the township middle school occasionally supplementing his diet, he would have been starving and ended up in the hospital long ago.

Forget about studying, just surviving is a feat in itself.

This also led to the original owner developing a frugal nature, saving money wherever possible, and now even when Zhou Zhiqiang asks for help, it's all about saving money.

However, we've already entered the era of ration coupons, so let's save as much as we can.

Guo Yuting said, "Then I'll go back to my room and rest for a while. Call me when you've finished cooking."

"Okay, you go and rest."

After Zhou Zhiqiang finished speaking, he went back into the house to get the money and meat coupons, and then went out to the market to buy meat.

He didn't ride the new bicycle; he rode the old eight-inch bicycle that Guo Linhua had left behind.

It's called an old bicycle, but it's only been ridden for four or five years. It was bought before the ration coupon era. After a good clean and a coat of paint, it looks brand new again.

Guo Linhua was too kind to the original owner of this body, which made Zhou Zhiqiang feel a little uncomfortable.

But the person is already gone, and it's too late for Zhou Zhiqiang to do anything now. For now, he just needs to get his footing and make a living. Starting as a college graduate and making a name for himself in the factory during his internship is already considered an incredibly lucky start.

After buying half a pound of meat at the market, Zhou Zhiqiang started a fire upon returning home.

Zhou Zhiqiang knows how to knead dough, start a fire, and make fried sauce. He has cooked before, and the original owner of this body also has memories of cooking, having often started cooking since junior high school.

Zhou Zhiqiang kneaded the dough, cut the noodles, turned on the stove, stir-fried the minced meat to make the sauce, and soon the noodles were cooked.

After placing the fried sauce, noodles, and other side dishes on the table, Zhou Zhiqiang called out to Guo Yuting's room, "The food is ready, let's eat."

A short while later, Guo Yuting came out rubbing her temples and saw the fried sauce on the stone table in the courtyard.

He leaned closer to smell it and nodded, saying, "It smells quite good. Dad was right, you're quite good at cooking. How about you do the cooking at home from now on? I'll do the other chores."

Zhou Zhiqiang nodded and said, "Okay, what are you planning to do?"

"I'll just do some things, things I can do."

Guo Yuting sounded somewhat unsure when she said this. She used to be quite pampered at home, and now she works in a hospital.

To be honest, I've hardly ever done any housework growing up.

Guo Yuting's words were just a polite remark; she didn't expect Zhou Zhiqiang to actually press her for details.

Seeing that Zhou Zhiqiang did not press further, Guo Yuting breathed a slight sigh of relief and picked up her chopsticks to eat her noodles with soybean paste.

The food tasted good, and Guo Yuting was quite satisfied with it.

Zhou Zhiqiang also felt that his cooking tasted much better, probably due to the influence of the original owner's memories, which improved his cooking skills.

After the two finished their meal, Guo Yuting said, "You can take me home later. I only took half a day off, and you took a whole day off. You should be free today, right?"
You can tidy up the house this afternoon; we can talk about tonight's matters.

As she finished speaking, Guo Yuting turned her head away somewhat embarrassedly, and her voice became much lower.

Before they registered their marriage, she and Zhou Zhiqiang didn't communicate much, and their marriage seemed somewhat arranged.

Zhou Zhiqiang couldn't refuse Guo Linhua's kindness, while Guo Yuting, though pampered since childhood, dared not contradict her father's wishes.

After all, Guo Linhua is a professor and the head of the family.

Guo Yuting was initially very resistant to her father's arranged marriage, but her attitude softened slightly after meeting Zhou Zhiqiang, because Zhou Zhiqiang was very handsome and considered good-looking in that era.

Despite her looks, Guo Yuting still didn't want an arranged marriage, but after arguing with Guo Linhua, the marriage was still arranged.

The two met only a few times, having met twice before getting married, exchanging greetings but nothing further.

If you get married suddenly, and have already registered your marriage, you should be able to sleep together right away.

However, Guo Yuting was not mentally prepared for this. She wanted to delay for a while and make a decision after she had gotten over her mental hurdle.

"Okay, we'll talk about it later."

Zhou Zhiqiang followed up on Guo Yuting's words and then continued, "There are two bicycles at home. I don't think you can ride them all. I'll replace the new one with a 26-inch one for you to ride another day. I'll ride the one the teacher left behind."

Upon hearing this, Guo Yuting glanced at Zhou Zhiqiang and then replied, "Okay, you can handle it. You can also keep the grain ration book at home."

"I'm sometimes so busy at the hospital that I don't have time to deal with these things."

Being busy is just an excuse. In reality, Guo Yuting can't handle these tedious household chores. Every month she has to exchange for grain coupons and coal coupons, and there are a lot of things to do.

(End of this chapter)