Reborn in 1981, starting by smashing my iron rice bowl.

Liu Weidong frowned and said, "What's wrong with you now? Why are you so easily startled?"

"My stomach... my stomach hurts!" Hao Jianjun said, rubbing his stomach. "I can't take it anymore, I need to go to the bathroom. Brother Weidong, do you want to come with me?"

"I'll pass, you go by yourself. I'll watch your things for you!" Liu Weidong quickly shook his head, declining Hao Jianjun's kind invitation.

For Liu Weidong, who has seen toilets decades later, today's public toilets are truly terrifying.

Although it was no longer a dry toilet, it was still a ditch that ran from one end to the other. The stalls were lined up in a row along the ditch, separated by wooden planks. None of the stalls had doors, so whenever someone came in looking for a stall, the people squatting there naked could only accept the inspection of the other person.

At one end of the ditch is a water-filled tipping bucket that pours water into the ditch every now and then, flushing the sludge into the sewer at the other end.

If you relieve yourself at the end of the flushing device, it's okay, but if everyone else is taking up space and you're forced to squat at the end where the drain is, it's a nightmare. Every time you flush, the contents of the drain flow right in front of you, and the scene is truly indescribable.

Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, Liu Weidong would never use a public toilet outside, for fear of ruining his good appetite for the day.

However, to people at the time, this was perfectly normal. Only public toilets in cities and county towns were this clean; many places in the countryside still had dry toilets, which were truly horrible!

The two left the mall and soon found a public restroom in a small alley.

Hao Jianjun handed the cigarettes he had bought earlier to Liu Weidong, then quickly ran to the public toilet entrance and gave the old lady who was looking after it two cents. These days, public toilets charged two cents for urination and defecation, even if it was free for small urination.

However, the two cents weren't given away for nothing. Hao Jianjun received a rough piece of yellow paper and then hurriedly went inside.

Liu Weidong waited idly outside for his childhood friend to come out, and couldn't help but imagine what Wang Shujuan would look like in jeans. She must be very beautiful!

Just then, Liu Weidong suddenly saw a familiar face at the alley entrance – Huang Zhigang, who had bought stoves from him twice before.

This guy was acting suspiciously; you could tell he wasn't up to any good. A stranger followed him, and after they entered the alley, the stranger secretly slipped him a roll of banknotes, which looked to be more than ten dollars.

Huang Zhigang handed a heavy package to the other person, who opened it, glanced at it, and then silently and quickly left.

The whole process took only a few seconds and went completely unnoticed. However, Liu Weidong, who witnessed the entire event, knew that Huang Zhigang had definitely stolen and sold the machinery factory's equipment again.

Liu Weidong had warned Huang Zhigang before that if he continued like this, he would eventually be caught, and it would be better to stop now. However, Huang Zhigang clearly didn't take Liu Weidong's words seriously and continued with his side business.

Liu Weidong simply laughed it off. Even a reborn person couldn't change everyone's fate. Since Huang Zhigang was determined to go his own way, Liu Weidong would respect other people's destinies.

Just then, Huang Zhigang also saw Liu Weidong and couldn't help but show an embarrassed expression. After hesitating for a moment, Huang Zhigang still walked towards him with a wry smile.

"Comrade Liu, long time no see." Huang Zhigang greeted Liu Weidong, making conversation as he went, "Are those stoves... still working well?"

Since Huang Zhigang was still engaging in illegal and criminal activities, Liu Weidong didn't want to get too involved with him. After all, if Huang Zhigang got caught, it could implicate him as well.

However, since the other person had already come over to greet him, Liu Weidong couldn't pretend not to know him. He nodded slightly and said, "It works great, no problems at all, thank you!"

Huang Zhigang could also tell that Liu Weidong didn't really want to talk to him. After a moment of silence, he smiled bitterly and said, "Comrade Liu, I know that what you said before was for my own good, but every family has its own problems, and I had no choice."

Seeing that Liu Weidong still didn't react, Huang Zhigang gritted his teeth and said, "Comrade Liu, I'm really not lying to you. If you don't believe me, come home with me and you'll see!"

Although Liu Weidong was Huang Zhigang's colleague in his previous life, he knew nothing about Huang's family situation, let alone had ever been to Huang's home.

Seeing that Huang Zhigang was very serious, Liu Weidong pondered for a moment and then decided to go to his house to take a look.

So after Hao Jianjun came out of the public toilet, Liu Weidong told him to take all the things he bought back with him, while he and Huang Zhigang went to his house together.

Huang Zhigang's family lived in a shantytown, with dilapidated bungalows on both sides of the winding alley. Liu Weidong had to be very careful as he walked in, and his head almost hit the low eaves several times.

Huang Zhigang's house was also very small, just one room, even smaller than Liu Weidong's kitchen. You had to duck to enter, or you'd bump your head. The whole house had only one small window, so it was very dark even in broad daylight.

However, people in those days would never dare to turn on the lights during the day, so Liu Weidong couldn't see what was going on inside at all.

As soon as Huang Zhigang reached the door, he shouted loudly into the house, "Xiufang, we have friends coming to visit, turn on the lights quickly!"

"Oh, coming!" a weak voice came from inside the house, and then the lights came on.

Only then did Liu Weidong get a clear look at the room. Besides a few pieces of old furniture, there was a sickly middle-aged woman. He knew without asking that she must be Huang Zhigang's wife.

"Xiufang, this Comrade Liu is my friend. He heard you weren't feeling well, so he came to see you." Huang Zhigang introduced the two, his eyes filled with pleading as he looked at Liu Weidong.

Liu Weidong understood Huang Zhigang's meaning and immediately smiled at Li Xiufang, saying, "Hello, sister-in-law. I'm a friend of Brother Huang. I just happened to be passing by today and came to see you. You can just call me Weidong."

As Liu Weidong spoke, he placed the canned fruit he had bought at the department store on the table. Upon seeing this, Li Xiufang quickly said, "Oh dear, Weidong, you've come all this way, why did you bring anything?"

Canned fruit is nothing new in later generations, but in the early 1980s it was a real treat. Many children could only afford it during the Lunar New Year, and children in rural areas had never even tasted it before, which is why Li Xiufang was so embarrassed.

Liu Weidong said, "This is my first time here, so it's not right for me to come empty-handed. This isn't for you, it's for the children, so please don't refuse."

"Oh, thank you so much, you're too kind!" Li Xiufang only accepted the canned fruit after Liu Weidong mentioned the child.

After saying just a few words, Li Xiufang suddenly turned pale and swayed as she fell backward.