Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

"The Beijing Railway Station and our passenger transport section just held an emergency meeting together. In addition to criticizing the broadcasting room for its slow response to the emergency, Deputy Station Master Hou of the Beijing Railway Station specifically praised the three of you at the meeting."

"Dongzi, Deputy Station Chief Hou praised you for daring to be the people's loudspeaker."

Liu Erdan looked at Li Xiangdong and laughed, "Li Big Mouth, you're famous now!"

groove!

It's fine if he didn't earn the titles of "Li Da Neng Nai" and "Li Da Ben Shi," but even just calling him "Li Gong Shui" would be fine!

Li Xiangdong was speechless. What the hell was this Li the Loudmouth?

He's too embarrassed to answer when others call him that!

Li Xiangdong was very unhappy with this title, especially when he saw Hou San standing to the side, trying hard to suppress his laughter.

He almost broke down on the spot!

Looking at Li Xiangdong's strange expression, Liu Erdan laughed and said, "Don't let personal feelings get to you. There's another reason why Deputy Station Master Hou of Beijing Railway Station addresses you like that."

Li Xiangdong naturally understood, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"I have no personal feelings; everything is for the revolutionary work. As long as my nickname can keep my colleagues at Beijing Railway Station in mind and prevent things like today from happening again, I will not have any resistance."

Liu Erdan gave him an approving look, clapped his hands and said, "Well said! Comrade Li Xiangdong, the fact that you thought of these things shows that you have a high level of awareness. I am proud to have a team member like you!"

He patted Li Xiangdong hard on the shoulder, "You're really good, kid!"

Li Xiangdong was so embarrassed he didn't know what to say...

He was just saying a few high-sounding words to please Liu Erdan, but he didn't expect Liu Erdan to actually take it seriously!

Liu Erdan looked at Li Xiangdong and Hou San and said in a very solemn tone: "In view of the fact that Comrade Li Xiangdong and Comrade Hou Quan acted decisively in today's emergency and promptly stopped a potential mass incident that could have endangered the lives and safety of the people."

"Through a vote by all the staff present, you two are hereby given a verbal commendation and your apprenticeship period is shortened by one year."

He looked at the two of them and smiled, "Starting next month, you two will be able to receive your second year's wages as apprentices."

Although there was no award, only verbal praise, the salary increase was real, from 18 to 23, which means I can earn an extra 5 yuan per month.

Li Xiangdong finally smiled from the bottom of his heart. Nothing is more practical than money!

Seeing the two laughing non-stop, Liu Erdan pointed to the two cloth bags on the table.

“You two each receive one. This is a material reward for you. Inside are some good things that our comrades brought back from Shanghai.”

Seeing the two eager-to-move-in individuals, Liu Erdan laughed and said, "Aren't you embarrassed to have me here? Okay, I'll make room for you two right away."

As he walked out, he said, "Dongzi, if there's nothing else, you can leave work early. I'll give you a short break as a reward from our team. Remember not to be late for work tomorrow."

"I understand, Team Leader Liu. Thank you so much!"

Li Xiangdong was naturally happy to be able to go home early. His family must have been worried since it was his first day reporting for duty, and going home early would put their minds at ease.

Hou San hurriedly asked, "Brother-in-law, don't leave yet. Can I leave work early too?"

Liu Erdan stopped and turned to look at Hou San, saying, "You can't do that. Dongzi is here for the first day. Going home early will save his family from worrying. Why are you going back so early? Just stay here!"

After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked straight out of the office.

"Tch!~"

Hou San muttered, "What are you so proud of? All you do is bully your brother-in-law."

After muttering to himself, he walked to his desk, picked up one of the cloth bags, and opened it.

White Rabbit Creamy Candy!

Hou San grinned and started laughing; his mood changed drastically!

He took out a candy, opened the wrapper, popped it into his mouth, and said while chewing, "White Rabbit milk candy is still the best!"

Li Xiangdong laughed and said, "You're missing this?"

Hou San chuckled and replied, "Of course we're short of food! How could we not be? Whenever there's something good to eat at home, my older sisters come over and take it back to their own homes. I'm an adult now, I can't compete with my nephews and nieces for food."

"Then you've done a pretty good job as an uncle."

Li Xiangdong rarely praised Hou San.

Hou San said proudly, "That's right, my nephews and nieces really like me."

Li Xiangdong smiled, opened his cloth bag, took out a net bag of White Rabbit milk candies, and when he saw what was underneath, he exclaimed, "Holy crap!"

It's instant noodles!

He never imagined that the station's leaders would give him instant noodles as a reward!

He poured all the instant noodles from the cloth bag onto the table and counted them—ten bags in total!

"Egg instant noodles from Shanghai Yimin Food Factory! That's great, I haven't had them in ages!"

Hou San exclaimed in surprise, took out a bag of instant noodles from his cloth bag, and danced with excitement.

Seeing Hou San's expression, Li Xiangdong realized that instant noodles are still considered a high-end food. Ordinary people have to grit their teeth and make up their minds to buy a pack.

Moreover, the production of this product is currently insufficient, and it is often out of stock. If you want to buy a bag to satisfy your craving, whether you can buy it depends on luck.

Li Xiangdong took off his shoes and put on rain boots, packed up the things he wanted to take home, and prepared to leave work.

There's a saying that goes, "If you don't take advantage of a holiday, even a turtle will turn back..."

He carried a cloth bag on his back and a cloth bag in his hand, while Hou San helped him carry a bag of clothes.

As soon as the two stepped out of the office, they saw Ah Zhe coming out of the flight attendant's office.

Seeing the two of them like this, Ah Zhe walked over and asked, "Where are you two going?"

Hou San said sourly, "My brother-in-law let Dong Ge leave work early."

Ah Zhe glanced at Li Xiangdong with envy, then asked mysteriously, "Did you two get a raise?"

He saw Li Xiangdong and Hou San nod. "You two have White Rabbit candy and instant noodles too, right?"

Hou San said smugly, "Yes, you have it, how could Dong Ge and I not have it?"

Ah Zhe was in high spirits at the moment, so he didn't argue with Hou San. He looked at Li Xiangdong and thanked him, saying, "Dongzi, thank you this time. If you hadn't made me shout along, I wouldn't have gotten this good thing."

Li Xiangdong glanced around the corridor and saw that there was no one else besides the three of them. He then said in a low voice, "If you want to thank someone, thank Hou San. Without Hou San, my clever trick would only get me a verbal praise at most, and the leader might even pretend he didn't know anything about it."