The Beginning of the World: Going to the Countryside as an Educated Youth

When I arrived at the county cultural center and asked, I found out that Du Lili was no longer there.

Zhao Dongchuan didn't think twice about it. Since he wasn't there, he would talk about it next time when he had a chance. Next, he planned to go shopping for some things. Now that he had a storage ring, he wanted to buy some daily supplies and put them in the storage ring. Who knows, they might come in handy someday.

So he rode his bike along the route he remembered to the second store. When he entered, he saw several sales clerks busy at work. Many customers were queuing up to buy things and rushing to pay for fear that they would not be able to buy them.

It is still a seller's market at this time, with demand exceeding supply. As long as there is goods, they can be sold, so the salespersons have good benefits and it is an enviable job.

In this situation, there is no requirement for any service attitude. Many state-owned restaurants even have signs saying: "Do not beat customers without reason." This is hard to imagine in later generations.

Zhao Dongchuan didn't compete with others for things. He bought things quite casually, such as needles and thread, pots and pans, side dishes, toothpaste, toothbrushes, etc. He bought whatever he thought he might need and didn't need a ticket. The salesperson who served him was confused and thought he had something wrong with his brain.

Of course, he didn't care about such looks, and didn't explain. He just went shopping on his own, and it took him nearly an hour to buy everything he could. The main reason was that he had to wait in line, which took up a lot of time.

This cost him 30 yuan, which was equivalent to a farmer's annual income. Of course, workers' wages were high, and some senior technicians could earn nearly yuan a month.

The main thing at this stage is that agriculture supplements industry, and there is a scissors gap. This is determined by national conditions. If we want to develop industry and complete industrialization, agriculture can only be sacrificed. This is also a helpless fact.

After Zhao Dongchuan finished shopping, he prepared to take a bus to Huangyuan City. He originally planned to ride a bicycle there, but he didn't know the way. More importantly, he didn't know how far the journey was and was afraid of walking at night.

So he simply took the bus, bought a ticket, gave the conductor a few candies, and then hung his bicycle on the back of the bus. (At this time, there was a ladder at the back of the bus, which could be used to hang large packages)

There was chattering in the car all the way, and the noise never stopped. It seemed that this was people's habit when taking the bus at that time. Everyone was chatting with each other. Zhao Dongchuan didn't have any acquaintances and didn't want to chat, so he closed his eyes and rested.

It was already four or five in the afternoon when they arrived at Huangyuan City. Zhao Dongchuan unloaded the bike, put on his bag, and strolled on the streets of Huangyuan City instead of riding a bike. Huangyuan City was obviously much more prosperous and lively than the county town. The streets were full of workers in uniforms, and there were vegetable markets, department stores, grocery stores, barber shops and other state-owned stores.

Zhao Dongchuan planned to go to the address given by Jia Bing and see if he could stay for one night. If not, he would go to the guesthouse.

Jia Bing's house was on a small mound in Nanguan. Zhao Dongchuan asked for the address and finally arrived at Jia Bing's house.

As soon as he entered Jia Bing's yard, a big black dog woofed out. When the dog came out, he had already sensed it. His whole body was tense, staring at the dog. The dog was the bully of the weak and afraid of the strong. Seeing that Zhao Dongchuan didn't seem to be easy to bully, it didn't bark, but just stared at him.

Zhao Dongchuan ignored the dog and shouted into the yard, "Teacher Jia, are you there?"

"Baron!" Someone shouted from the kiln, and then walked out of the cave.

Zhao Dongchuan took a look and realized that this was Jia Bing.

"Baron, go back!" Jia Bing said to the dog. The "Baron", who had wanted to show off his power when he saw his master coming out, went to the den next to him in a huff.

Jia Bing came over and said, "It's Zhao Dongchuan, you're here, please come in."

Then he led Zhao Dongchuan to the kiln, shouting as he walked: "Shufen, a guest is coming, pour a pot of tea."

There was a middle-aged woman in the kiln, washing clothes in a large basin. Jia Bing said to her, "This is the poet from our county whom I mentioned to you before. He will report to the cultural center tomorrow."

"Oh, what a handsome young man! Come, come, sit down, I'll pour you some tea." As he said this, he stood up and poured tea for the two of them.

"You haven't eaten yet, right? I'll light the fire and cook right away. You guys chat," said Jia Bing's wife as she went into the kitchen.

Without waiting for Zhao Dongchuan to say anything, he left in a hurry.

"You must be tired after the journey. Have a drink of water first. You can stay here today. I have several cave dwellings here, which are usually empty. After dinner, I'll ask Shufen to clean up," Jia Bing said enthusiastically.

"Teacher Jia, I'm so sorry for causing you trouble by coming here. I have to ask for free food and accommodation. I am really ashamed!" Before coming, Zhao Dongchuan was afraid that Jia Bing's wife would be disgusted with his visit, but he didn't expect that she would entertain him warmly.

Zhao Dongchuan had no idea that Jia Bing's wife was really annoyed with outsiders coming, because they had already received many relatives and fellow villagers who came to Huangyuan to make a living, and they came to eat and sleep there. Jia Bing was a scholar and was too embarrassed to ask for money. Jia Bing usually spent money lavishly, which seemed decent to outsiders, but in fact he basically spent all his money every month.

"That's not true. It's rare to meet such an outstanding young man like you. It's an honor to have such a distinguished guest visit our humble home," Jia Bing said with a smile.

Zhao Dongchuan and Jia Bing chatted for a while, and Jia Bing's wife had already started to light the fire and cook. Zhao Dongchuan didn't want to just sit there and wait, so he went to the kitchen to help.

Jia Bing's wife refused to let him, so Zhao Dongchuan didn't care and just helped out. Zhao Dongchuan had apprentice-level cooking skills and solid basics, so washing, picking and cutting vegetables were no problem for him.

Jia Bing's wife was full of praise for Zhao Dongchuan. As they were both literary people, Jia Bing didn't take care of the household chores much, so she basically did all of them.

Jia Bing felt very ashamed watching from the side, and his heart was slightly touched.

The meal was ready soon. There were three dishes and a soup, all of which were seasonal fruits and vegetables, and a pot of steamed white flour buns, which was enough.

Zhao Dongchuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly, it was indeed the city people who were not comparable to those in the countryside.

Jia Bing also took out a bottle of homemade white wine. Although Zhao Dongchuan didn't drink much, he didn't want to disappoint the host, so he drank a little with him.

After drinking for a while, Zhao Dongchuan was not drunk at all, but Jia Bing was drunk. He started talking loudly and talked about all the current misconducts.

Zhao Dongchuan just nodded and made a comment from time to time.

While they were eating and drinking, Jia Bing's wife had already cleaned up a room which was a kiln to the east.

After the three of them finished their meal, Zhao Dongchuan helped carry Jia Bing onto the bed, and then went to the cave on the east to rest. Since it was not their own place, it was inconvenient to take a shower, so Zhao Dongchuan simply washed up and went to sleep.

The next morning, Zhao Dongchuan's biological clock woke him up very early. At this time, Jia Bing's wife had also gotten up and was busy making breakfast.

Not long after, Jia Bing also got up. After breakfast, Jia Bing took Zhao Dongchuan to report to the cultural center.