Go back to the past to plant trees

After talking with Yu Zheng, Feng Cheng went to collect his salary and then went to take care of his own business.

Feng Cheng needs to buy a lot of things on this trip. One of them is clothes. His clothes are already very worn out and patched up. Although they are still wearable, Feng Cheng can't stand them anymore and plans to buy a couple more pieces.

Feng Cheng originally wanted to buy ready-made clothes, but after Uncle Liu found out, he said there was no need to buy ready-made clothes, as they were too expensive and a waste of money. He told Feng Cheng to buy some fabric and have Aunt Liu make a few pieces for him.

In addition, Feng Cheng also needs to make two cotton quilts. He has saved up enough cotton coupons. He has some for himself and spent money to buy a few more from a ticket scalper. Last winter, Feng Cheng's cotton quilt was too stiff and not warm enough. This year, Feng Cheng wants to get a new one. After the new one is made, he also plans to take down the old one and make it again so that he can give it to Zhao Jinquan. Zhao Jinquan's quilt is even thinner than Feng Cheng's.

Feng Cheng also troubled Uncle Liu with the task of making cotton quilts, since Uncle Liu had been staying in Bashang and didn't have time to do it. Anyway, Aunt Liu had retired and had plenty of free time.

Feng Cheng felt a little embarrassed for causing Uncle Liu two troubles. He had taken food and gifts and even arranged for Uncle Liu to do chores for him. Even relatives would rarely go to such lengths.

Feng Cheng wanted to get something for Uncle Liu's family, but Uncle Liu's family didn't lack anything. The things that were easy to get didn't need his help, and the things that were difficult to get, he didn't have the ability to get.

Feng Cheng could only silently remember this kindness in his heart. He had no hope of repaying Uncle Liu, but he believed that he would still have some ability to help Uncle Liu's children in the future.

In 1961, the country was still in a difficult period, but compared with the previous two years, the situation had begun to improve slowly. Although it had not yet recovered to its best state, it was at least slowly moving upward, as evidenced by the increasing flow of people and goods in the black market below the dam.

The improvement in the rural economy has made Feng Cheng's life much more comfortable. At least when it comes to buying chicken, duck, and eggs, Feng Cheng is no longer as troubled as before. He can buy more, and the prices have started to come down.

However, these are all minor matters. Since the vegetable garden was opened up in Bashang, Feng Cheng and Zhao Jinquan's lives have been getting better. Last year they had enough to eat, and this year they are trying to eat well and have more variety in their meals, instead of eating potatoes and sweet potatoes all year round.

In August, after several months of preparation, Zhao Jinquan finally had all the parts for his first radio. He had asked Xiao Pang to help him buy the parts, but Xiao Pang didn't know what the parts were for. In addition, he didn't go to the area often, and even if he did, he might not have time to buy them. Even if he did go, the stores might not have them. So the process of collecting the parts was slow, and it took several months to barely gather enough parts for one radio.

Zhao Jinquan valued this radio highly. During the assembly process, he kept asking Feng Cheng for his opinion, and after connecting the wires, he checked them several times against the book.

When Zhao Jinquan was soldering the radio, he didn't know how and even dragged Feng Cheng down to the dam. It took two hours, but with Feng Cheng's guidance, they finally managed to solder the radio's circuitry.

When he turned on the radio and heard the sound coming from it, Zhao Jinquan jumped for joy.

It took him an entire winter to learn this, and he read the book dozens of times. It was the first time in Zhao Jinquan's life that he had spent so much time and energy learning and doing something.

Although he had improved his cooking skills and learned carpentry and stonemasonry in the camp, he had seen those things before and watched others make them, so he didn't find them difficult. But a radio was different. It was an electronic product, expensive and rare. In the past, Zhao Jinquan would never have been able to assemble such a thing, let alone even touch it. But now, he had actually made such a valuable thing in his own hands. How could Zhao Jinquan not be happy and excited?

"Alright, now that everything's ready, let's go back!"

Feng Cheng wasn't particularly emotional about assembling a radio. He'd used smartphones before, and he had absolutely no interest in old-fashioned things like radios, even though he'd learned how to assemble one.

Compared to the newly manufactured radio, Feng Cheng was more concerned about Xiao Liu, who was still staying in Bashang, and the nursery that was left unattended.

"Go back, I'll go back right away. I need to go back and check if this radio can still receive a signal in Bashang."

Zhao Jinquan packed his things and rode with Feng Cheng towards the dam. Although it was already afternoon, summer nights come late, and if they rode fast, they could still return to the camp after it was completely dark.

"Brother Feng, I plan to take this radio back to my dad."

Feng Cheng said, "If you want to give it, then give it. You bought all the parts and assembled the whole thing yourself. You can decide how to handle it."

Zhao Jinquan said happily, "My parents have never heard a radio before. If I send it back to them, they will definitely be very happy."

Zhao Jinquan then added with some concern: "But this transistor radio needs batteries to work, I don't know if they'll be willing to take it out and use it."

Feng Cheng gave him an idea: "Tell them that the batteries will break down if they are not used for a long time, and then buy them a pair of batteries every one or two months. Then you won't have to worry about them not using the radio anymore."

"This is a good idea!"

Back at the camp, Zhao Jinquan immediately turned on the radio to check its signal reception on the dam. The result was satisfactory; although not as good as Feng Cheng's, it wasn't far off.

Before assembling this radio, Zhao Jinquan had thought about assembling it to sell and make some money. But after assembling one, he gave up on that idea because the parts were too difficult to obtain. He owed Xiao Pang a huge favor for getting the parts this time, and he was too embarrassed to ask again, not to mention whether Xiao Pang would be willing to do it.

Zhao Jinquan had considered getting Xiao Pang a radio, but Xiao Pang said he already had one, a Red Star brand. Compared to Zhao Jinquan's unbranded, handmade product, Xiao Pang's branded radio was more presentable.

Over the next few days, Zhao Jinquan worked on the casing for his radio, making a wooden box out of wood. Feng Cheng's radio also had a wooden box, so Zhao Jinquan was already quite familiar with the process.

After everything was set up, Zhao Jinquan took the radio home.

He placed the radio in front of his parents with great joy, his face beaming with pride and arrogance.

Zhao Peide and his mother were indeed stunned by the voice coming from the radio.

This is a radio! The entire production brigade didn't have one; only the commune leaders had two. Now, my family actually has one!

Especially after hearing his youngest son say that he had assembled the radio himself, Zhao Peide was even more shocked.

Buying a radio is nothing special; although tickets are hard to come by, you can still get one by spending some effort and money. But assembling a radio is a completely different story in Zhao Peide's eyes.

This is a radio, not a table, chair, or cabinet at home that you can make with a little effort and practice. In Zhao Peide's view, this kind of industrial product is not something that ordinary people can understand, let alone make themselves.

"Jin Quan, did that college student teach you how to do this?" Zhao Peide asked softly.

In the past, Zhao Peide had a great psychological advantage over his sons. After all, he was much older, more experienced, and was the brigade leader, so he could naturally look down on his two sons.

But the changes in his youngest son over the past year have forced Zhao Peide to admit that his son is indeed much better than him. His cooking skills are excellent. Even if he can't become a worker at the Forestry Bureau, he can still get a position as a chef at the team. He can make tofu, bread, cakes, and maltose. He is also good at carpentry and can make stone mills and thatch roofs.

If you know just one of these skills, you won't have to worry about going hungry in the countryside, let alone Zhao Jinquan, who has mastered them all.

Feeling that his son was becoming more and more outstanding, Zhao Peide's attitude towards his son also began to change slowly.

Thirty years ago, sons respected their fathers; thirty years later, fathers respect their sons. Zhao Peide was illiterate, but he had seen a lot of people and things, so he understood many principles, but he just couldn't express them.

Given his youngest son's current situation, Zhao Peide was certain he would be more successful than him in the future, which brought him both comfort and a sense of loss.

"Yes, this is what Brother Feng taught me. Last year, when I was bored during the winter, Brother Feng told me to read books, and this year I asked someone to buy the parts and put them back together."

"If the parts weren't so hard to come by, I would have liked to get two more, one for my older brother and one for myself," Zhao Jinquan said with regret.

Zhao Peide tapped his pipe and said, "Alright, one is enough. Your older brother and I can take turns listening. If we get another one, people will suspect that our family has taken things from the team."

Zhao Jinquan pursed his lips, but did not refute his father's words, because he knew that his father was right.