Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

Hou San stood aside listening to their conversation, his eyes darting around. "What's wrong with taking the first spot?"

He really didn't know that the toilets in the compound where he lived weren't the kind that were like that; they were the kind with a water tank on top, where you could pull a rope and water would come out.

A Zhe stopped Li Xiangdong, who was about to speak, and looked at Hou San with ill intent, saying, "There's a surprise in store, one you won't believe."

Hou San rubbed his nose, his small eyes squinting, "What surprise? Zhe, you're not kidding me, are you?"

Ah Zhe shook his head and said, "Why would I lie to you? I can't tell you what the surprise is. If you want to know, go and try it yourself."

"Just try it."

Hou San ran to Li Xiangdong's bedside, picked up two newspapers, crumpled them up a few times, opened the door and ran out, shouting, "I'm going right now!"

"Why did you have to trick him like that?" Li Xiangdong walked back to his bedside and lay down on the bed.

"How dare you call me filthy? You're no better! Aren't you sleepy? Go back to sleep."

After Li Xiangdong finished speaking, he closed his eyes. In his half-asleep state, he heard clanging and banging sounds, but because he was too sleepy, he ignored them, turned over, and quickly fell asleep.

The first rays of morning sunlight streamed into the room through the window.

Li Xiangdong opened his eyes, shielded his eyes with his hand, and looked out the window. What he saw was a pair of pants hanging on the window.

His mind cleared instantly, and he understood what had happened. Ah Zhe had tricked Hou San after all!

He got up from the bed and walked to the iron frame to wash up when a thought suddenly arose in his mind.

"Hou San, wake up."

Li Xiangdong went over and woke Hou San up, "When you washed your pants, did you use the washbasin in the room?"

Hou San, still half-asleep, said, "I used it, so what, Brother Dong?"

Li Xiangdong took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "It's okay, you can go back to sleep."

Seeing Hou San bury his head and start snoring again, Li Xiangdong was furious. He had almost fallen for it just now!

He didn't dare use the towels in the house anymore, and went straight downstairs to the tap in the yard to wash up.

He rinsed his mouth, smacked his lips, and found it neither bitter nor salty.

Next year, North China will experience a prolonged drought, which will lead to insufficient water flow in the Haihe River and cause seawater to backflow. As a result, the tap water in Tianjin will become bitter and salty, and may even be used to pickle vegetables.

After washing up, Li Xiangdong didn't go back to his room; instead, he sat on the stone steps smoking.

I watched as my colleagues returned to the door in twos and threes or alone, carrying large and small bags.

Just like the farmers in the Chinese textbook, their faces were full of the joy of a bountiful harvest!

"Dongzi, why are you smoking here all by yourself?"

Li Xiangdong looked up and saw Brother Yang walking over carrying a large cloth bag. He stood up and said with a smile, "I came out for some fresh air. Looks like Brother Yang had quite a haul last night."

He stepped forward, took out a cigarette, and handed it to him.

Yang didn't take it. He put down the cloth bag in his hand and took out a box of Liangyou from his pocket. "Try this one. It's a foreign product from Hong Kong."

"Brother Yang, you should put it away quickly, I can't afford to smoke this."

When Li Xiangdong saw that he was about to stuff a whole pack of cigarettes into his hands, how could he possibly accept it with a clear conscience?

These smuggled cigarettes, brought in from Hong Kong, cost about 1 yuan per pack when purchased, and can be resold for more than 2 yuan.

His salary next month is only 23 yuan, not even enough to buy 10 packs of cigarettes. He feels liver pain from smoking this!

When Yang saw him refusing, he stuffed it into his pocket without saying a word.

"Dongzi, would I, your brother Yang, ask you for money? That kid Hou San definitely didn't tell you my name, did he? Yang Dabao, now we're officially acquainted. From now on, let's be buddies and get to know each other slowly."

Having said that, Li Xiangdong understood that Yang Dabao wanted to be friends with him, so he couldn't refuse any longer. "Then I'll take this pack of cigarettes. Thank you, Brother Yang."

Yang Dabao waved his hand and said, "It's just a pack of cigarettes, there's nothing to thank me for. I smoke a pack or two every day."

Li Xiangdong knew that Yang Dabao wasn't bragging; long-time employees like them didn't care about money at all.

There's no other reason than that the money comes in too quickly.

They all spent money extravagantly and had no concept of saving money at all, so not many of these people in later generations were truly wealthy.

Li Xiangdong glanced at the cloth bag at Yang Ge's feet and reminded him, "Yang Ge, you need to be careful. Two people from your crew were arrested by the police last night."

"what?"

Yang Dabao looked very surprised. "Tell me what happened."

Li Xiangdong then recounted all the information he knew in detail.

But to everyone's surprise, Yang Dabao was not afraid at all after hearing this. Instead, he sneered and said, "Too greedy. He brought this on himself."

Worried that Li Xiangdong might not understand, he explained, "Like the good friend I just told you, smuggling goods from Hong Kong to ports like Tanggu in Tianjin is handled by local middlemen, who then secretly transport them in via the Haihe River. We receive the goods from these middlemen."

"Those two are trying to make more money by taking on the risks of middlemen. Isn't that stupid? They're blinded by money and don't know their own limitations."

As he spoke, he gave Li Xiangdong a careful look and asked, "You stayed at the guesthouse all night and didn't go out?"

Li Xiangdong said awkwardly, "I don't have much money."

Yang Dabao chuckled as he smoked, “Don’t rush, take your time. You’ve only just started working here. These connections are built over time. Otherwise, who would dare give you anything when you’re a complete stranger? But you can’t be like those two. It’s best not to be greedy for money.”

Li Xiangdong said gratefully, "I've learned a lot, thank you very much, Brother Yang."

Brother Yang smiled and said, "Look at you, didn't I tell you not to thank me like that? You still don't consider me a friend."

Li Xiangdong smiled and said, "Look at what you're saying, then I won't thank you."

Yang Dabao patted him on the shoulder, "That's more like it."

Seeing that he had dark circles under his eyes, Li Xiangdong said, "Brother Yang, you should go back to your room and get some more sleep. We have to get on the bus at noon."

"I'm not going to sleep. I can't sleep soundly anyway. The train conductor will definitely talk to those of us who weren't here last night when he gets back."

Yang Dabao sighed and plopped down on the steps. “Outsiders envy us for being able to make money by trading things, but they have no idea how hard we work.”

"It's hard to get a full night's sleep after I got out. Not only do I have to be a night owl, but I also have to be on guard against being double-crossed. This job is tough."

Listening to what Yang Dabao said, Li Xiangdong felt embarrassed to go against his conscience and say a few words of flattery.

Yang Dabao continued to complain, "My wife, your sister-in-law, keeps nagging me every few days about wanting to wear fashionable clothes."

"And then there's my eldest son, who insists that other people have toy cars and wants me to get him a few. These kinds of toys that foreign kids play with, are they something we can just buy whenever we want?"

“Kids get harder to please when they get older. Other kids can be happy all day just by eating a little meat, but your nephew doesn’t even want beef or mutton anymore. He’s always asking for chocolate and White Rabbit candy. It’s driving me crazy.”

Damn it!

Li Xiangdong couldn't stand it anymore; he really wanted Yang Dabao to go back to his room and go to sleep!