Chapter 82: Chinese New Year "When Yingzi has a child, she will definitely understand...
On the third day after the welfare was distributed, department stores and supply and marketing outlets began selling shaqima and the improved version of the hardcover cloud cake.
As soon as these two products were launched on the market, they were deeply loved by the people of Beichong. Who really wants to eat "bitter rice" every day and not want a little oil and water, a little sweetness?
New Year's Eve is here in the blink of an eye. The old traditions and customs of the past, such as worshiping gods, temple fairs, and staying up all night to welcome the New Year, are all considered "Four Olds" and are not allowed at this time.
But it's still possible to close the door, get together as a family, and eat something good.
In the Zhao family's main hall, a family of four was enjoying their New Year's Eve dinner. The dishes on the table included braised meatballs, sweet and sour fish, braised pork, steamed bacon, stewed tofu, boiled dried bean curd strips, sweet osmanthus lotus root, and two already-opened cans of mandarin oranges. It was a truly sumptuous feast, one of the finest in Beichong. The family also opened a bottle of wine, each pouring a small cup.
While eating, Wang Ying calculated in his mind how many years it would take before he could watch the Spring Festival Gala while eating New Year's Eve dinner.
"The meatballs are fried well this year, and seem a little different from previous years," Director Zhao said while eating.
Chen Xiuqin smiled and said, "This year we put lotus roots in it. In previous years we put radishes in it. It was Yingzi who suggested that lotus roots taste better."
"Mm, it's delicious. I like it too." Zhao Yunsheng said, "Come here, Yingzi, I toast you."
Zhao Yunsheng raised the small wine cup and toasted Wang Ying.
Wang Ying picked up the wine cup and clinked it with Zhao Yunsheng's, then drank it all in one gulp amid Zhao Yunsheng's shouts of "Hey, hey, don't do it!"
Seeing Wang Ying finish his drink, Zhao Yunsheng had no choice but to follow suit. He put down his cup and said to Wang Ying, "Yingzi, could it be that you have a huge capacity for drinking?"
"I haven't drunk it, so I don't know!" said Wang Ying.
But Wang Ying was indeed a heavy drinker in her previous life. She had just moved south to do business and met a woman from Shandong Province. Her first requirement was to drink with her. Wang Ying had never drunk alcohol at the time, but to secure the deal, she forced herself to admit she could drink. Unexpectedly, once they were at the table, she actually did drink. They became close friends, and she landed the deal...
Zhao Yunsheng poured Wang Ying another small glass of wine and said, "You've never tried it before, so don't drink so much. We're family, so just give it as a token of your appreciation."
Wang Ying hummed and turned to look at Zhao Yunsheng, whose face was already red.
Chen Xiuqin and Director Zhao also drank a glass. After they put down their glasses, Chen Xiuqin said, "The New Year was fun before. Now nothing is allowed. Not even firecrackers are allowed. We don't even have a holiday now, and I have to go to work tomorrow. It's really boring."
"Why bring this up? Everything's fine now, and life is going on just fine," Director Zhao said. "As a family, we're all safe and sound, and we can all be together. That's better than anything else."
"That's true. Come on, Director Zhao, let me toast you again. I wish you peace and happiness in your family." Chen Xiuqin raised her wine glass, and Zhao Yunsheng hurriedly filled it for both of them.
Director Zhao picked up his glass and said, "Let's drink this one as a family. We won't eat anymore after that."
Wang Ying and Zhao Yunsheng also raised their glasses. The four of them clinked their glasses in the middle of the table, then drank it all in one gulp, put down their glasses together, and laughed out loud.
At Old Wang's house, Wang Yongren and Li Fengju sat at a large table, several dishes prepared. Wang Yongren drank alone and kept crunching peanuts.
Li Fengju missed her two daughters immensely and regretted marrying them off so early. But even more regretful was that she hadn't tried desperately to have another son. With a son, she could have brought someone else's daughter home, which would have been so much more fun. The saying that girls are meant for someone else's family was absolutely true, and Li Fengju couldn't help but sigh.
"Drink less." Li Fengju advised Wang Yongren when she saw him drinking one glass after another.
"Why not drink?" Wang Yongren said angrily, "The two girls who lost money have all left. They have suffered all their lives until now. I don't know what they are doing. The eldest girl has even turned away from us."
"Don't say that. The last time I went to Yingzi's house, her mother-in-law treated me very politely. When Huihui had an accident at her house, Yingzi was busy running around and was very concerned about Huihui." Li Fengju said.
Wang Yongren snorted, "Humph, you see, she won't be very filial in the future. Since she left home, has she ever come back except for holidays?"
"She's busy at work!" Li Fengju pointed at the welfare products on their counter and said, "This year's welfare products were made by her. She works long shifts every day, how tiring it is."
Wang Yongren snorted again. "You're still saying that? This new product has been out for quite some time, right? Did she send us one in advance? I'm telling you, Fengju, the eldest girl just holds a grudge against us. She's cold-hearted now, and we can't count on her in the future."
Li Fengju was actually feeling uncomfortable. On the day the benefits were distributed, someone somehow knew that this thing was made by Wang Ying and asked Li Fengju if they had eaten it a long time ago and were tired of it. Li Fengju could only smile awkwardly and say that it was something from the company, not from home...
After about thirty-four seconds, Li Fengju said, "Let's try not to favor Huihui anymore. After a while, she'll know we treat her equally and will be close to us again."
"You're dreaming!" Wang Yongren said, "She's completely devoted to the Zhao family now. It's useless for you to treat her well. You'd better be nicer to Huihui. She'll still have hope in the future."
Li Fengju recalled the day at Zhao's house when Wang Ying and her mother-in-law were chatting and laughing in the kitchen. She felt increasingly upset and said, "No, I won't accept this. Why shouldn't I be close to my daughter, the one I raised? How deep can the hatred between mother and daughter be? When Yingzi has her own child, she will surely understand my feelings as a mother."
"Hmph, whatever you want, go ahead and coax her. Anyway, I've already flattered her and went to Zhao's house once, and I got scolded by her. There's no way I can coax her to be filial to me in the future. All my money will be given to Huihui from now on, not a penny to her." Wang Yongren said.
"Don't say such angry words!" Li Fengju said, "Yingzi's family is well-off, she's capable, and she has connections in the hospital and the government. You're crazy, insisting on making things awkward with her. Why not try to coax her? Didn't you coax your own daughter when she was a child?"
Wang Yongren looked at Li Fengju without saying a word. He pinched another fried peanut into his mouth and drank the rest of the wine in the cup.
Wang Yongren said nothing more and just drank silently. The more Li Fengju thought about it, the more she felt that Wang Ying would understand her after she gave birth. She hoped that Wang Ying would get pregnant and have children soon, preferably two, so that she would understand even more.
Wang Yingke had no idea what her mother was thinking. After finishing the New Year's Eve dinner, the family went downstairs to eat melon seeds and candies, listen to the radio and chat. It was past nine o'clock when they dispersed and went back to their rooms.
Wang Ying and Zhao Yunsheng returned upstairs, washed up, and went to bed. In this era, entertainment options were scarce, so they could only turn off the lights and devote themselves to the great cause of preserving human genes...
On the first day of the Lunar New Year in 1975, Wang Ying went to work as usual and continued to work on the front line of building the motherland.
Wang Ying now spends half of his time in the office and half in the workshop. Occasionally, he is called to a meeting by Director Zhao or the factory manager, so he has almost no free time every day.
Wang Ying was still a little uncomfortable going to work on the first day of the Lunar New Year, but his colleagues in the factory had long been accustomed to it and were still doing the same as usual. At most, when they greeted each other, they would say something like "Strive for progress in the new year" and "Strive for greater success".
When she arrived at the office, Wang Ying wrote down her work schedule for today. In addition to her work at the factory, she also wanted to go to department stores and supply and marketing outlets to see how the new products were selling.
At around ten o'clock, Wang Ying went to see Director Qian and explained her purpose. Director Qian then gave her a note allowing her to go out for an "inspection."
Wang Ying took the note and went to the workshop to call Xu Lili to go out together.
When Luo Wenshu heard that the team leader took Xu Lili out for an inspection, he felt very jealous.
"It would be great if the team leader was a man!" Luo Wenshu said dimly, "If not, I could be a woman, too!"
Zhou Qianjin laughed: "Why, do you really want to follow the team leader?"
"Don't you want to?" Luo Wenshu said.
Zhou Qianjin certainly wanted to see how the team leader conducted his inspections, what he would look at, and what questions he would ask...
"We'll talk to the team leader about this later. Gender equality is advocated now, and she can't just take care of Xu Lili and ignore us team members," said Zhou Qianjin.
"That's right!" Luo Wenshu strongly agreed.
Wu Haiyang remained silent. He didn't want to; he was genuinely scared. Because of what happened last time, his family even wanted him to transfer to another team... But he also knew that Team Leader Wang was capable, and he wanted to learn from him, too. He was torn.
Xu Lili was very happy. She usually walked to work. Today, she borrowed a bicycle from Zhou Qianjin and took Wang Ying out.
The first place the two arrived at was the department store on Jiefang Road, which is the largest department store in Beichong and has the most goods.
Before reaching the cake and candy counter, Wang Ying saw a lot of people gathered in front of the counter, most of whom were asking about Yunpian Cake and Shaqi Ma.
Xu Lili whispered, "Team Leader, there are quite a few people here. Most people who pass by the cake and candy counter buy our new products."
Wang Ying nodded and continued to observe. She found that most people came directly for Shaqima. Yunpian Cake was also very popular. Peach cakes, biscuits, and fried fruits were also sold one after another, but they did not sell as much as the other two.
After a group of customers left, Wang Ying took advantage of the free time and walked to the counter.
The salesperson thought she was there to buy something, so Wang Ying took out her work ID and said, "Comrade, I'm from the non-staple food factory. I'm here to see how our new products are doing."
"It's selling very well and is almost sold out. You've come at the right time. Please give us some more stock," said the salesperson.
"Did you encounter any problems during the sales process?" Wang Ying asked.
The salesperson said, "No problem, everyone loves it, I like it too!"
Wang Ying asked again, "Then the business of peach cakes and biscuits has been affected, right?"
"It definitely has an impact, but people are still buying," the salesperson said. "There are only so many tickets, and if people want to buy more, they can't afford it."
Wang Ying also understood this truth. This problem was difficult to avoid in the planned economy era.
"By the way, some people want to buy them in bulk. Your factory can get some for them," said the salesperson.
Wang Ying nodded: "We have thought about this too, it will be there in the future."
"Any other questions?" Wang Ying asked.
The salesperson thought about it and shook his head. At this time, another customer came, and Wang Ying and the others moved aside a little.
The man who came this time was a young man wearing a Mao suit and carrying a briefcase. He pulled out a handful of bills and money from his briefcase and placed them all on the counter. Wang Ying heard Xu Lili gasp beside him.
The young man said, "I want twenty packets of shaqi ma and ten packets of mixed-flavor cloud cakes. Here are the money and notes. Comrade, please count them."
The salesperson looked at the man suspiciously: "Why do you have so many tickets? Are you planning to speculate?"
"Comrade, you misunderstood." The young man took a piece of paper out of his bag, handed it to the salesperson, and said, "I came to Nanchong on business. There were more than a dozen of us. We all liked the shaqi ma and yun pian cake and wanted to buy some to take back. I didn't buy this alone."
The salesperson looked at his work certificate before he felt at ease to take the ticket and money and get the goods for him.
When the young man saw Wang Ying and Xu Lili standing aside, he smiled at them politely.
"Oh no! There are only sixteen packs of Shachi Ma left!" said the salesperson after counting the inventory.
The young man was a little embarrassed: "Hey, can you help me think of another solution? We are going back to Nanchong today."
The salesperson pointed at Wang Ying and said, "Looking for her! She works at the food factory!"
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