Reborn during the early days of China’s reform and opening, the narrator finds himself in the 1980s countryside. In this setting, the past is still a cold reference, yet it is also a fresh start....
Due to the shortage of school buildings, the third year students were not in the same school building as the first and second year students. They took their cultural classes in the house to the west of the dormitory.
There are two households of the Xiao Wu family between this house and the vocational high school dormitory.
This empty house has been vacant all the time because of my internship in the senior year of high school.
The senior high school students rushed over the gable of the empty house and were dumbfounded when they reached the front of the house.
On this side of the house, there were about thirty or forty people standing in a neat row, each looking at them with a bad face.
"See? These guys kicked my dorm door three times last night and caught a cold. I just gave them a verbal education, but unfortunately they're stubborn and refuse to accept the education. There's nothing more to say now. Beat them up!"
Wan Feng raised his hand and pointed, and the students rushed towards the senior students like a tide.
It is no exaggeration to say that this was the largest group battle in the history of vocational high school, with more than 50 people mobilized from both sides.
These fifty-odd people were not just waving flags and shouting slogans, but taking direct action.
It is said that the more people there are, the less likely a fight will break out. But these people did fight, but there was nothing intense about it. On the contrary, it was a bit dull.
Because there was almost no decent fighting between the two sides, the most common thing these high school guys did was a group of people beating up a few people on the other side. They had never done a group fight of dozens of people. Before they could even start, they would disperse and look for ways to escape.
But with so many people running, where can you go?
In the end, they were beaten black and blue and cried for their parents.
This made Wan Feng, who was ready to applaud, feel bored.
Wan Feng examined the senior students one by one. "Remember my dormitory number is Grade 11. If you kick the door again at night, open your eyes wide and I'll break your legs! And listen to me, that garment factory is mine. It's not a place for you to go. Stay away from there from now on. Do you understand?"
No one answered.
"Ah? So you didn't hear anything? Brothers, clean their ears for me. They didn't hear me so loudly. They probably haven't cleaned their ears since they were little."
A student over there kicked one of them down with a flying kick: "My senior brother is asking you a question, did you hear me?"
"I heard it, I heard it."
Wan Feng was very satisfied with the effect.
Then he took out a stack of bills from his pocket and gave each person two dollars.
"Actually, you bastards are still getting a good deal. I have to pay you for the beating you received. Two dollars is worth the beating. If you don't want it, I'll take it back. I'm giving you a chance to make money today. If anyone is broke in the future, come find me and let me beat you up. You'll have money to spend. I'll pay you between two and ten dollars, depending on the severity of the beating. Everyone is welcome to sign up."
The students brought by Wan Feng were a little confused. Is there such a thing?
"Okay, that's all for today. If you're not satisfied, you can come to me anytime. Let's go."
Wan Feng waved his hand and took away a cloud.
The person who was beaten was given money, and of course the person who beat him also needed money. Wan Feng gave three yuan to everyone who followed him out. This battle cost him hundreds of yuan.
But Wan Feng felt it was a good deal. This way, anyone who wanted to cause trouble for him in the future would have to consider their own strength carefully, and if they didn't have the strength, they would stay away from him.
After the training, Wan Feng returned to the garment factory. Zhang Xuan was the first to run out of the house and circled around Wan Feng.
"What are you doing? Pretending to be a bee and circling around me?"
"Let me see if you've been beaten."
This woman is usually quite smart, why is she so confused now? I am such a big shot, do I need to do it myself now? I can use money to kill those who roll their eyes at me.
Seeing that Wan Feng was safe and sound, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.
"I was all ready to comfort you, but it's a pity you came back so well."
Hey, what's wrong with this woman? Does she want me to come back covered in blood like a wounded soldier on the battlefield?
Tonight, Zhang Xuan personally cooked for the triumphant Wan Feng. The steamed buns were good, but the dishes...
Wan Feng has always felt that it would be a huge waste if such an outstanding woman like Zhang Xuan couldn't cook. Now it seems that it is really a waste.
Luan Feng’s cooking was terrible at first, but after Wan Feng protested, she worked hard and finally turned her life around.
Wan Feng considered whether he should let Zhang Xuan work hard as well, but then he thought that Zhang Xuan was not his wife, and it was a gesture of affection for her to cook for him. To have any other demands would be unrealistic, so he could only hold his nose and swallow it.
But some people refused to compromise.
"Zhang Xuan should just focus on her work from now on. Don't let her worry about cooking." He Yanfei's words were quite knowledgeable.
"What the hell is this? It doesn't taste good at all, pig..."
"Well! Wang Wenmin, make three ski jackets after dinner. If you don't finish them, you won't be paid." Zhang Xuan put on a pair of shoes that were several sizes too small for Wang Wenmin on the spot.
"What! Zhang Xuan! You've gone too far! I want..."
"What? You don't want to do it? Okay, then move back to the dormitory right away. I really think it's crowded. I'm rebelling against you."
"I need to go to the toilet, I didn't say anything else!" Wang Wenmin acted like a bear on the spot.
Aren’t they annoyed by these women making noise all day long?
After dinner, Wan Feng went back to the dormitory without staying here. All his classmates came back today, and he was finally no longer alone in the dormitory.
The dormitory was indeed crowded, and the students who came back were bragging to each other about what they saw and heard at home during the holiday.
Some boasted about how many rabbits they had trapped in the mountains, while others boasted about how many kilograms of fish they had caught by digging holes in the ice in the river.
Guo Wu said happily that he earned five dollars at home during this holiday.
Someone immediately asked him how he made his money.
"I went to the riverside and bought fish from the fishermen who were shaving ice on the river for 20 cents per pound. Then I took a bus to the Wuxian market to sell them. On the first day, I made 3 yuan for 50 pounds of fish, and 2 yuan on the second day."
"What about the third day?"
"On the third day of my paralysis, someone stopped me from selling anything and said they would beat me if I tried to sell anything again," Guo Wu said depressedly.
This guy really knows how to do business. Even if others have this idea, they may not dare to try it.
"Guo Wu, if you like doing business, I can take you to a place where there is a huge market. You can buy whatever you want to sell there at a very low price."
Guo Wu sat up and said, "Really? Is there anyone selling military caps? I want to buy one, but it's too expensive here. An authentic military cap costs over 30 yuan."
The military cap that Guo Wu mentioned is the kind of military cotton cap. Military caps have been very popular in the winter of the past two years, and every young man is proud to have a military cap.
It seems that there were many incidents of snatching military caps the next winter.
There is definitely a market after Wa, with both authentic and imitation products.