Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

After receiving the household registration booklet from his mother, Li Xiangdong put it in his satchel and went out with his father and two older brothers.

"Third brother, if there's anything you don't understand when you report for duty, remember to ask carefully."

While munching on a cornbread bun, Li's father didn't forget to give his youngest son some instructions.

"Don't worry."

Li Xiangdong nodded.

The four men walked and talked. Li Erge arrived at the bathhouse first, and not far away, Li's father and Li Dage also arrived at the coal shop.

The three of them worked in the same alley where his house was located.

Li Xiangdong was left alone. He left the alley and walked east along the main road. The scene before him was like a series of old photographs.

There are no skyscrapers, only red brick and tile houses everywhere.

The sparse traffic made the road seem exceptionally wide, with bicycles and cars running side by side in the middle of the road, neither giving way to the other.

In 1976, the United Nations designated Beijing as a city on the edge of desertification. It wasn't until the fifth session of the General Assembly this year that March 12 was designated as Arbor Day.

Both sides of the road are lined with saplings that were planted in the spring and are only a few months old. They are only the thickness of a finger and are sparsely spaced about ten meters apart.

Yes, that's how all those poplar and willow catkins flying around in the sky came about!

Among the crowds coming and going, everyone was dressed in blue-gray, except for the traffic police in the middle of the road, whose bright white uniforms stood out the most.

The crowds coming and going mostly had smiles on their faces. They walked leisurely, and some even stopped by the roadside to smoke and chat.

Life now is not the fast-paced kind of life we ​​will experience in later generations, and people have become accustomed to the relaxed lifestyle of the Great Movement era.

Gone is the era of the 1950s and 60s, when every second counted, and the spirit of working from dawn till dusk, where I was the most honored in the factory and would dedicate myself to the country's development even on an empty stomach.

Li Xiangdong, drifting along with the tide, walked slowly for about ten minutes and arrived at the gate of the Beijing Railway Bureau Passenger Transport Section compound.

"Hey, young man, I'm talking to you. What are you doing here?!"

The small window of the mailroom by the door opened, revealing a head. The man, who appeared to be in his sixties, pushed up his glasses and looked Li Xiangdong up and down as he looked around.

Li Xiangdong walked over and said, "Hello, sir, I'm here to start my new job."

"Oh, come in and talk."

When the old man heard that they were there to report for duty, he shrank back, closed the window, opened the newspaper, and began reading the instructions from the higher-ups.

"Sir, please have a cigarette."

Li Xiangdong knocked on the door and entered the house. He took out a Daqianmen cigarette from his pocket, handed it to the old man, lit it for him, and took out his letter of introduction from his cloth bag. "Sir, what is your surname? This is a letter of introduction issued by our neighborhood committee."

“What do you mean by expensive or not? We’re all working class. Just call me Uncle Hou. Let me see your letter of introduction first.”

Grandpa Hou put down his newspaper, took the letter of introduction and looked at it carefully. "That's right, this is our place, but you've come too early. The personnel department hasn't come to work yet."

Li Xiangdong laughed and said, "It's alright. If you don't mind me bothering you, I'll keep you company for a while."

"What's there to complain about? I don't get many customers every day. It's good that you can stay with me for a while."

Grandpa Hou returned the letter of introduction to him, and said while smoking, "Sit down, don't stand. You're so tall, it's tiring for me to talk to you. When did you come back from the countryside?"

"Oh my! Uncle Hou, you have such keen eyes! You even noticed that I'm a returned educated youth! No wonder the leaders entrusted you with such an important position!"

Li Xiangdong glanced around the small mailroom, found a chair, moved it over and sat down next to Grandpa Hou, offering a flattering remark.

His flattery was entirely genuine, mainly because he noticed a 12-inch black and white television set covered with a cloth on the cabinet.

In the alley where Li Xiangdong lived, there were very few households, both north and south, that owned televisions.

In an era when even radios were not common, an old man who guarded the mailroom could still watch television while at work.

What kind of treatment is this?

Master Hou's identity must be extraordinary!

"You're really good at talking nonsense. It's all written in your background report. You call yourself a sharp-eyed person? My reading glasses are already 300 degrees. Besides, I'm just an old man with a leisurely job as a gatekeeper, but you've made it sound like an important position."

Grandpa Hou looked at him with a smile. Hmm, this guy has a sweet tongue. The words he says make him feel comfortable. The more he looks at Li Xiangdong, the more pleasing he becomes.

"Your name is Li Xiangdong on the letter of introduction. Should I call you Comrade Xiao Li or Comrade Xiangdong?"

Seeing that Grandpa Hou was in high spirits, Li Xiangdong seized the opportunity and said, "You can call me whatever you want, but my family calls me Dongzi. Why don't you call me Dongzi too? That way, it will seem like we're closer."

Grandpa Hou chuckled, "So, according to you, I've spotted a relative while I was guarding the gate today?"

Li Xiangdong wholeheartedly agreed, saying, "Then you are my elder, aren't you? I will definitely come and chat with you to relieve your boredom when I have free time, so that you won't feel lonely staying here alone."

"So, is that settled?"

"we have a deal!"

"That's a deal?"

"I'll definitely come!"

"But I don't believe what you're saying!"

"Look at what you're saying, do you think I'd fool you?"

"That's hard to say."

Grandpa Hou waved the cigarette butt in his hand, "You wouldn't even take out a Peony cigarette, and you're so stingy giving me this? Do you think I can believe what you're saying?"

"Hehe... You misunderstood, it's just that I'm used to smoking it."

Li Xiangdong smiled awkwardly, took out the peony from his satchel, and quickly opened it and handed it over.

Seeing that Grandpa Hou wasn't really angry, he flattered him, saying, "I just forgot to take out the letter of introduction. You could even see that, and you still won't admit that I have a keen eye. You are sometimes too modest."

Grandpa Hou lit a cigarette and took a satisfying puff. "I'm presbyopic, but I'm not blind. I can't see the words, but do you think I can't recognize the cigarette box? You're all talk and no action, you're not an honest guy."

He said that, but his tone was much more intimate than before.

“I won’t smoke your cigarettes for nothing. Just stay here quietly. When the head of the labor and personnel department comes, I’ll call him over and say a few good words for you. I guarantee no one will give you a hard time when you report for duty today.”

Grandpa Hou's tone was full of pride.

"If you could put in a good word for me, I would be so grateful."

Li Xiangdong quickly expressed his gratitude.

It's common for new employees to be harassed when they join a company, and anyone who encounters this would feel frustrated.

If Grandpa Hou can help him complete the onboarding process smoothly, then all the flattery and cigarettes he just offered were worthwhile.

Of course, Grandpa Hou is also a very interesting person. It takes two to tango, doesn't it?