Reborn in 1979, with a female educated youth lying next to me.

Before Liu Yutian could speak, Liu Jia had already stood up.

"The supply and marketing cooperative also has brands like Phoenix and Flying Pigeon, but I always feel that none of them are as sturdy as this one. Dad, why don't you ride it around the yard a couple of times and see if it's comfortable to ride?"

Liu Jia walked to the bicycle, and just as he gripped the handlebars, he said, "Try the brakes, and if they don't work, we'll adjust them."

At first, Liu Yutian assumed that Liu Jia was just too embarrassed to speak up, so he used the bicycle as a prefix.

Unexpectedly, Liu Jia's mind was completely on the bicycle, so Liu Yutian could no longer hold back.

"Sanzi, that's not what I meant. Let's put the bicycle thing aside for now. Why did you take Zhou's second son with you to the city today?"

Liu Jia was taken aback for a moment, then came to his senses.

Isn't Zhou Caixia the second daughter of the Zhou family?

“Dad, what’s wrong with me taking her with me? I’ll need Caixia’s help with the bamboo basket thing in the future.”

"Why can't anyone else do it? Why does it have to be her? She's an unmarried girl who comes to our house all the time. Aren't you afraid people will gossip?"

As Liu Yutian spoke, his brows furrowed more and more. Finally, he simply pinched his trousers with two fingers, pulled the trouser legs up, and sat directly on the small stool.

It's hot, and I'm also angry inside. No matter how I try to vent my anger, it just doesn't feel right.

Liu Jia immediately understood.

It must have been Zhang Daba's words that reached my father's ears.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have told me all this.

Liu Yutian kept a straight face, as if waiting for Liu Jia to give an explanation.

Despite his anger, Liu Yutian still harbored a sliver of hope.

The second daughter of the Zhou family is a good girl; she is honest, capable, and, most importantly, kind-hearted.

If Liu Jia really marries Zhou Caixia, then it will be a blessing for Liu Jia.

Just as I was pondering this, Liu Jia suddenly walked over slowly, his gait quite different from usual.

She landed on her toes, very carefully.

"you……"

Before Liu Yutian could finish speaking, Liu Jia raised his hand and slapped Liu Yutian's leg!

"Snapped!"

The sound was loud and clear.

"What are you doing? You're going to hit your father now?!"

A sharp pain shot through him, and Liu Yutian immediately panicked.

Liu Jia opened his palm and said, "Dad, look, this is such a big mosquito!"

In Liu Jia's palm, a mosquito lay dead. The slap he had just delivered was accurate and hard, drawing blood!

Liu Yutian rubbed his legs. "Sanzi, can't you talk about something serious? Do you actually have feelings for Caixia?"

"I know you won't listen to your mother about this. I, as your father, have already swallowed my pride and spoken to you about it. What more do you want?"

Liu Jia stretched out his other hand and flicked the mosquito away with his index finger and thumb.

Then, Liu Jia looked at Liu Yutian solemnly.

"Dad, let me tell you, even if I were to get married now, I would never marry Zhou Caixia."

"Even rabbits don't eat the grass near their burrows, what kind of person do you take me for? Zhou Caixia and I have a revolutionary friendship, we can call each other brothers."

Even if we don't call each other brothers, we're still siblings!

Liu Yutian had just picked up his cigarette when he heard Liu Jia say that, so he immediately threw it back into the dustpan.

"Don't make it sound so fancy. If you're not interested in that girl, then... stay away. Caixia is a girl, not like you young men!"

"Okay, okay, it's not as complicated as you think. Go ahead and smoke your cigarette. You've been dropped so many times, you'll be all crumpled up in no time."

As he spoke, Liu Jia hurriedly slipped into the south room and lifted the curtain.

Zhang Guilan was cooking, and the house was filled with smoke.

Liu Jia coughed twice, then sat down in front of the stove to add fuel to the fire.

"Never mind, this amount of firewood is enough. You have to go ahead and do your work."

Zhang Guilan was steaming cornbread, adding some wild vegetables to the sweet potato flour.

While she was asking the questions, Zhang Guilan picked up a piece of dough, tossed it back and forth between her left and right hands, and finally poked a hole in the middle with her thumb, and the cornbread was done.

The hole wasn't made for aesthetic reasons, but to ensure the food steamed properly, and mainly to save firewood.

Nowadays, no one is well-off; everyone has to tighten their belts just to make ends meet, and no one dares to spend lavishly.

Looking at the wrinkles on Zhang Guilan's forehead, Liu Jia frowned slightly.

Another wave of emotion washed over me.

Filial piety is something that cannot be postponed, or you will regret it for the rest of your life.

Seeing Zhang Guilan looking at him, Liu Jia grinned.

"Mom, I've already finished my work. I'll just watch you cook."

"What's so interesting about cooking? Don't you get hot?"

"I lifted the curtain, it's not hot."

The two chatted about everyday things, one sentence at a time, just like always.

Sure enough, after only a few words, Zhang Guilan asked about the bicycle.

Fortunately, Liu Jia had prepared his words beforehand, so what he said sounded just like the truth.

The money to buy the bicycle was saved by tightening my belt.

The industrial coupons used to buy the bicycles were pooled together by everyone.

Zhang Guilan was taken aback.

"Are there really that many people pooling their money to buy you tickets?"

"Mom, you don't understand. Those industrial vouchers expire every year. For those who don't plan to buy them right now, who wouldn't be willing to do them a favor and pay them back later? It's better than them going to expire."

As Liu Jia spoke, he put another piece of firewood into the stove.

Zhang Guilan thought about it carefully and seemed to agree with the reasoning.

This year, we pool our money to buy things for others, and when it's time to buy something ourselves, everyone can pool their money to buy things for us. This is not a bad idea.

As usual, they ate dinner after dark, and after dinner, Liu Jia went to his room to rest.

The next morning, Liu Jia took leave again to go to the city. When he left, he rode a bicycle with several baskets hanging on the handlebars.

This time, I went to the supply and marketing cooperative to have these finished products inspected.

Li Zhenhe and his team had already made arrangements and were just waiting for their finished product to be released.

Liu Jia thought to himself, if everything goes smoothly, this matter can be settled today.

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, and his legs kicked faster and faster.

There was no whooshing sound in my ears, but my face felt cool, like an electric fan was blowing on it!

Unfortunately, it will probably be several more years before electric fans become widespread.

Li Zhenhe went to work today, but he wasn't at the supply and marketing cooperative. However, he left a message before leaving.

When the gatekeeper saw Liu Jia, he quickly walked over with a smile: "You must be Liu Jia, right? Little Li has told me several times that he saw someone carrying a basket looking for him, so he told him to go to the backyard to find Director Li."

"Grandpa, did Brother Li go out today?"

"That's right, he left early this morning. He told me several times before he left that I should go find Director Li. Turn left at the back door and the first house there is the right one."

"Okay, thank you, sir!"

Liu Jia parked his bicycle, took his basket, and went straight to the backyard.

Behind it was a row of warehouses, and next to them were several separate rooms where the director and deputy director had their offices.

Liu Jia found Director Li's room and knocked on the door.

Soon, a clear voice came from inside the room.

"Please come in."

Liu Jia pushed open the door and entered, and then saw a middle-aged man with a square face.

The man was wearing a clean and tidy blue Zhongshan suit, with a fountain pen pinned to his chest.

He has the typical look of an intellectual, yet he speaks with great vigor.

Liu Jia had prepared cigarettes beforehand, so as soon as he saw Director Li, he handed him the cigarettes.

"Hello, Director Li, my name is Liu Jia. I was introduced by Brother Li. Today I would like to have you take a look at our baskets."

Liu Jia spoke and laughed, and the atmosphere in the room became more relaxed.

Director Li didn't stand on ceremony; he took the cigarette and tucked it behind his ear, then reached out and took the basket.

"Not bad, this is good, much more exquisite than the ones in the supply and marketing cooperative."

Liu Jia quickly picked up the conversation.

"Director, this was woven from the best parts of bamboo. Although the cost is a bit higher, the quality is absolutely top-notch."

"Look at this, this is just ordinary material, it's a bit rough, but the cost is low."

Director Li looked in the direction Liu Jia pointed, nodding repeatedly.

……

The two talked for almost an hour.

During this time, Liu Jia not only talked about their plan, but also emphasized the bamboo forest in Xili Village.

Director Li nodded repeatedly, even forgetting to drink water.

Finally, Director Li told Liu Jia that he would draft a contract, but he would have to go out for a couple of days, so Liu Jia could come and sign the contract in three days.

"Okay, our cooperation is just the first step. Once our whole village has developed, I'll treat you to Peking duck from Kyoto!"

Liu Jia was generous and made a grand promise without any hesitation.

"I'm also waiting for your good news, young man, you have dreams!"

Director Li patted Liu Jia on the shoulder and said a few more polite words before Liu Jia left.

Afterward, Liu Jia wandered around the city for a while before returning to Xili Village.

By the time I got home, the sun was almost setting.

After entering the house, Liu Jia parked his bicycle against the wall and was about to go inside when he suddenly froze.

Two hands suddenly appeared on the top of the low wall!

Liu Jia's heart tightened, and his pupils narrowed to a single point!

Thief! In broad daylight!

Liu Jia took a careful breath, then held it, staring straight at the top of the wall.

Both hands slowly moved forward, and then another leg slowly stepped forward!

The thief's pants were a bit baggy, and the pant legs got stuck on the mud wall.

More and more of her ankles were exposed as she went up, until finally, her entire fair calves came into Liu Jia's view!