Liu Guangtian's childhood was one of constant beatings.
When Liu Guangtian was young, his father favored his eldest son, giving him all the best food and drink. When the eldest son got married, the family emptied their pockets to pay for the wedding. In the end, the eldest son ran away. Liu Guangtian thought he could finally live a good life. But to his utter surprise, his father said, "Liu Guangqi ran away because we were too good to him; you all deserve to be beaten."
If things were to change slightly, Liu Guangtian figured his own children wouldn't last until he was old enough to be independent.
Liu Guangqi didn't think it was a big deal, but Liu Guangfu was having some trouble.
Liu Guangfu's current wife is not his first love.
Liu Guangfu had been sent to the countryside due to his age. He didn't find a wife there, but instead passed the imperial examinations and returned to Beijing. At school, he met a female classmate. They were initially attracted to each other. However, the girl's parents disliked Liu Guangfu, believing him to be unfilial for abandoning their father.
Their relationship gradually wore down due to repeated arguments.
Later on, they broke up.
After breaking up, Liu Guangfu went to work at Wang Shouren's factory, where he met his current wife.
However, his current wife is an orphan, and the two have a very loving relationship. In 1982 and 1984, she gave birth to a son and a daughter. Now, the younger child is not even a year old and needs constant care.
If there is an elder in the family, you can ask them to take care of the child. If you find that troublesome, you can hire a nanny.
The problem is that they have no one around them.
This is a difficult situation.
"If it really doesn't work out, I won't go this time." Liu Guangfu gritted his teeth. He had always been the one who wasn't favored since he was a child, but now that he had a wife, he cherished his family even more.
“No, you have to go. Think it over. If you can get a house in Tiantongyuan and send your child to kindergarten there, it will be good for both our son and daughter.”
"But you're all alone."
“I can manage on my own. It’s not like we’re short of money. I’ll hire a nanny later.”
On the night Wang Shouren issued this notice, many families were caught in a prolonged dilemma.
————
The year 1985 came a little late.
February 12th, the 23rd day of the lunar calendar, is the Little New Year in the north.
In previous years, around this time, everyone would gather together for a meal. Most of the people in the courtyard were acquaintances, and that's how it always was. But this year was a little different. One of the older men and his family went to visit Xiao Chuan's neighbors. Originally, the two young people weren't in a rush. They were thinking of getting married in a few years.
But the older woman disagreed. She said Xiaochuan would be going abroad to study next year, so they should get married first. Ideally, he could even return pregnant while abroad, which would be perfect. Otherwise, with all the delays, who knows how long it would take. After all, studying is one thing, but once he returns, he'll likely be very busy.
There's nothing particularly wrong with what the older woman said.
After thinking it over, the parents of both families decided to get things done. And so, they got busy.
As for Uncle San's family, they went to Yan Jiecheng's new house to celebrate the New Year this year.
Yan Jiecheng built himself a two-courtyard house. The Yan family's business is doing quite well; this year, they even found a reliable partner on the food street to make a chili sauce and condiments. Later, Yan Bugui thought about it and decided to open a hot pot restaurant. With good condiments, it would be easy to succeed. As for the soup base, that wasn't actually that difficult to solve.
The couple got busy, and at their current rate of earning money, they figured becoming millionaires wouldn't be a big problem.
While it was still early, the two of them settled the matter of the house.
Qin Jingru followed Qin Huairu to Qin Family Village, a place they would return to every year around this time. Wang Shouren was originally also going, but he had appointments to make and planned to go tomorrow.
Yuan Li and Yuan Wai walked into the house through the wind and snow, carrying two large snakeskin bags in their hands.
As soon as I walked in, I opened the bag, revealing what was inside.
There were stacks of meat already arranged, including mutton and beef.
Kui Datou had already started the fire.
"It's here. The broth has just been added; you'll have to wait a while."
"Hey, it's alright." Yuan Wai still looked chubby, waved his hand casually, took out some wine from his pocket, put a big glass for himself and Yuan Wai, and a small glass for Wang Shouren and Kui Datou.
"Hey kid, the richer you are, the stingier you become. What's wrong? Trying to make trouble for me?" Kui Datou glanced at the small cup and said with dissatisfaction.
“Hey, brothers, you’re cultured people, and cultured people are suited to things from the official kiln. We’re rough people, so we’ll use big cups, it’ll be more refreshing.” Yuan Wai casually opened a bottle of Moutai, filled everyone’s cups, and poured himself a cup as well.
He gulped down a large mouthful, his facial features contorted in pain, and after a while, he let out a soft "ah."
"Homemade wine is the best."
"You little rascal, all you've done these past few years is drink, haven't you?" Kui Datou said irritably.
Who's the kind person who just sat down and immediately poured themselves a drink, like it's water?
"Hey bro, you have no idea how cold it is over there. They survive on this stuff. And those Russians drink like they're crazy. I used to be a heavy drinker, but when I got there, I realized what it means to be outmatched and have a lot more to learn."
“What do you mean there are always people better than you, and mountains beyond mountains?” Wang Shouren came out of the inner room, carrying some fresh vegetables in his hand.
The portion isn't large, just enough for a few people to share and cleanse their palate.
He picked up a few fresh cucumbers and handed them over: "Here, have some first. Make your own sauce."
"Oh, I've been waiting for this!" Yuan Wai laughed. "I've been looking forward to just this one bite."
He picked up the cucumber, wiped it on his chest, and took a bite without dipping it in sauce.
"Xiao Li? Want one too?" Wang Shouren asked when he saw that Xiao Li hadn't moved.
Yuan Li waved his hand: "Nothing else, I'm waiting to eat mutton."
"Hey, aren't we just going to keep eating over there?"
“That’s different,” Yuan Li simply said, without explaining how it was different.
"Alright, alright, stop talking nonsense. Come on, it's cooked, let's cook the meat. If you want to have a round, we can talk about whatever we want later." Kui Datou called out to everyone to start cooking.
We're all on the same side, so there's no need to stand on ceremony; we just started eating the meat. Today, that fat guy, Yuan Wai, brought quite a lot of meat.
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