Back to 1978: Getting rich starts with treasure hunting

"Grandma, a grandfather who mends pots has come to the village. He is sitting under a big tree at the entrance of the village mending the pots." Lin Xiaoshuang replied.

"Mom, do we have a pot to repair?" Lin Shu put the luggage back into the bedroom and came out just in time to hear Liu Xiao'e's question.

Liu Xiao'e turned around and took out an iron pot and a wok from the kitchen. "I've used these two pots for so many years. I don't know when a small hole appeared in them. I plan to repair them and use them again."

Especially the iron tripod pot, this old-fashioned iron pot is great for stewing soup. The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming, and there are many guests at home, so naturally we have to cook a lot of dishes. These two pots are just right for replenishing the dishes.

"Oh, then Gu Jiu and I will go over there. Where are my dad and the others? Why haven't they come home yet?"

"Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. There are a lot of fish in the reservoir at the end of the mountain in the village. The captain is organizing people to catch fish today, and is preparing to give each household one or two fish. Your father and the others have gone to the reservoir to join in the fun, and they should be back soon."

"Oh, then let's go mend the pot."

Lin Shu and Gu Jiu each carried an iron pot and walked towards the big tree at the entrance of the village.

The profession of tinker was very common in the 60s, 70s and 80s. In the early s, you could often see him walking around the streets carrying a load on his shoulder.

By the late 1990s, the tinkers had changed their equipment, opting for large and small round aluminum bottoms.

At that time, many families used aluminum pots at home, and the bottoms of aluminum pots were easily broken, which led to a good business for pot menders replacing pot bottoms.

"Lin Shu, are you back today?"

Walking in the village, I met Lin Haiyan holding an enamel basin.

Lin Shu smiled and said, "We just got back this afternoon, are you going to fill the pot?"

Because Lin Shu had already seen that a piece of enamel had fallen off the bottom of the enamel basin in her hand, and there was a small hole where the piece had fallen off.

In fact, an enamel basin is just an iron basin, but it is coated with a layer of enamel on the surface. If this layer of enamel is accidentally knocked off, the iron sheet inside will easily rust through when it comes into contact with water.

Lin Haiyan smiled at Gu Jiu and said, "Well, this basin is leaking. It can still be used after it is fixed."

Lin Shu introduced to Gu Jiu: "This is my childhood friend, Lin Haiyan."

Gu Jiu's mouth curled up slightly, distant but polite: "Hello."

Lin Haiyan pulled the corner of her mouth and leaned close to Lin Shu's ear, "Is your partner a bit cold?"

He looked like he didn't want anyone to approach him, and Haiyan felt that he might be difficult to get along with.

"It's okay." Lin Shu thought that someone was passionate in some aspects, which had nothing to do with coldness.

She just doesn't talk much to people she's not familiar with. For example, when they first met, Gu Jiu ignored her.

The three of them arrived under a big tree at the entrance of the village. The tinker saw them and greeted them with a smile: "Wait a minute, I have two more pots to mend."

"It's okay, take your time." Lin Shu smiled and placed the iron pot next to his stove.

When it was their turn, the tinker first took the wok and looked it over, then took a pointed hammer and enlarged the hole.

Before Lin Shu could say anything, Lin Haiyan got anxious first, "Hey, Master, it was originally a small hole, why did you enlarge it? It will only get bigger if you patch it up."

"The iron next to it is brittle. How can I fix it if I don't clean it up?" Without even raising his head, the tinker enlarged the hole to a certain extent, then poured a proper amount of molten iron from the furnace, and the molten iron rolled on the clay. Then he quickly filled the hole with the molten iron, and flattened the other side with a fireproof cylinder.

It can be said that it takes less than a minute or two to repair a pot, and it can be repaired very quickly.

Lin Shu's two pots cost 20 cents, and Lin Haiyan's enamel basin cost 10 cents, which were not expensive.

In this era, everything from clothes and shoes to pots and pans can be mended.

When the three of them returned to the village, they found it had become lively.

"Ah, the fishermen are back." Lin Haiyan said happily, "Lin Shu, let's go and watch the fish being sorted."

"You go first, I'll put the two pots back home."

"Okay, I'll go see how many fish we've caught." Lin Haiyan waved at them with the basin and ran away.

Gu Jiu and Lin Shu returned home carrying the pot. Lin Dashan and his two sons and daughters-in-law had already returned.

There was a large basin at the door of the house, with two big silver carp in it.

"Dad, have you finished dividing the fish?"

Lin Dashan nodded, and called to Gu Jiu who was following behind Lin Shu, "Brother Jiu is here, come in and sit down."

"Dad, big brother, second brother." Gu Jiu glanced at the door and didn't see Lin Gang, so he asked: "Why don't I see third brother?"

"The third brother's unit adopts a shift system for work, and it happened to be his turn to work during the Mid-Autumn Festival, so he had no time to come back." Lin Wei explained.

"Young people should put work first. Since the third brother hasn't come back yet, you two brothers can stay and have a couple of drinks with the ninth brother." Lin Dashan was happy. His son didn't have time to come home because of work, but it was not a worry for him at all. Instead, he felt that his son would be busy with work only if he could make progress.

Liu Xiao'e remembered something and quickly handed over the work in the kitchen to her two daughters-in-law. She came out and asked, "Jiu Ge'er, is your mother alone in the county town?"

Gu Jiu shook his head: "Mom, my mom took the train back yesterday. She was a little worried about my dad being at home, and the Mid-Autumn Festival was coming soon, so she went back."

"I thought she was alone in the county town. It's good for her to go back. There must be someone to take care of my father-in-law at home."

Early the next morning, the villagers collectively slaughtered a pig, and the villagers distributed the meat according to the number of people in each household.

As soon as Lin Shu got up, he saw his sister-in-law He Caiyun coming back with a pot of meat.

"Little sister is awake?"

"Did the village kill a pig?"

"Yes, it's Mid-Autumn Festival. After a busy year, the team will kill a pig so that everyone can have a good celebration. In addition to the pork, I also got a piece of pork liver. At noon, my sister-in-law will prepare some pork liver soup for you to replenish your blood." He Caiyun smiled from ear to ear. It was rare that the captain was willing to kill a pig during the Mid-Autumn Festival this year.

In the past, this opportunity to get meat without a meat ticket was only available during the Chinese New Year.

Lin Shu walked around the house. His two sisters-in-law were busy in the kitchen, Liu Xiao'e was feeding the pigs and chickens, Lin Dashan took his two sons to the private plot, and Gu Jiu went to dig loaches with Lin Dongfa early in the morning.

Finally, she saw Lin Xiaojun hiding behind the bedroom door of their big house, eating cookies.

Lin Shu dragged him out and said, "You are eating alone. If I remember correctly, your uncle-in-law asked you to share this box of cookies with your sisters, right?"

Lin Xiaojun held the cookie box, holding half a cookie in one hand, and took a bite: "I didn't eat it secretly, my sister said I could have one more."

"You really only ate one piece?"

"Well, that's it."

This surprised Lin Shu. Could it be that this kid could really resist the temptation of delicious food?

"Okay, I won't say anything about you eating cookies. You are in the first grade now. Do you understand what the teacher is saying?"

Lin Xiaojun is seven years old this year. He has registered for school starting on September 1st. But I don’t know how his studies are going as he just started school?

"I understand. One plus one equals two, very simple." Lin Xiaojun opened his big round eyes, not understanding why his aunt asked about his study.

"anything else?"

Lin Xiaojun said proudly: "There are also a, o, e, I can read them too. Our teachers all praised me for being smart and I remembered them as soon as I was taught."