Thirteen, Labor is the most glorious
Li Wei pulled her reluctant grandfather along, carrying two large bags of food, and they eventually went for a walk.
The so-called "circle" was nothing more than a few shopping malls in a bustling commercial district, their names carrying the flavor of the times. For example, the Youth Store, the Women and Children's Store, and the People's Store. Li Wei knew that more than ten years later, only the People's Store remained; the others had all adapted to the times.
Li Wei still had a large sum of money in her pocket, given to her by her grandfather who had been a robber. She bought an outfit for Li Lin and Li Lianhui, spending less than a third of it. As for the source of the money, Li Wei first assured her that she would never squander it, and then appealed to her grandfather's emotions:
"Grandpa, if you don't have any savings, and you occasionally want to have a drink or treat your friends to a meal, do you think Grandma will always approve? If Grandma doesn't give you some financial support, you might end up with nothing. If you lose face at a crucial moment, how will you face your friends afterwards? So, Grandpa, I need to have some savings too, otherwise, if I'm short of money and my parents object, what can I accomplish? What's the point of living without money? What's the fun in living without money..."
Old Master Cheng had long been impatient and interrupted Li Wei's tearful performance:
"Alright, alright, don't use the same tactics you used on your dad on your grandpa. It's just ten or twenty yuan, why are you making such a fuss? I won't tell your mom, really! What kind of child is this? Where do all these cunning thoughts come from? He's such a little kid and he already knows how to grab money. Who taught him that? Your mom wasn't like this when she was a kid. Could it be... a problem with your grandpa's family..."
Li Wei was overjoyed to have her unexpected windfall in her pocket, but at the same time felt a little guilty towards her father. "Dad, your unfilial daughter is sorry." Actually, it's not her fault. In the end, it's still the problem with her maternal and paternal grandfathers.
After wandering around for half a day amidst the aroma of food, following Grandpa Cheng's advice, we should have headed home long ago. Men are naturally not fond of shopping, no matter how old they are.
Although Li Wei wasn't interested in the goods in these shops—they were worlds apart from what she was used to in later times—she still clung to a last glimmer of hope and dragged her grandfather onto the tram, heading towards the Changjiang Road of her memories—the largest small commodity wholesale market in the city in her later years.
According to Li Wei's memory, her college classmates told her that it used to be a free market where you could buy anything.
It's the weekend, so there should be quite a few people here.
Sure enough. Although it was already past three in the afternoon, Li Wei got out of the car and saw that it was still bustling with activity. The free market was right by the roadside. Flowers, birds, fish, insects, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, pancakes, clothes, hats, shoes and socks—it covered almost every aspect of local life, even the most obscure corners.
Li Wei saw the antique stalls. She'd heard of them before; if you really understood them, they could be quite profitable. In a few years, as people become wealthier, regardless of their understanding, they'll be willing to spend a lot of money on them. Unfortunately, she knew nothing about it. Besides, she couldn't even afford rice these days. She should think about something more practical.
As they walked, Li Wei began to understand something.
These days, people aren't very wealthy. Small vendors are generally looked down upon. "Individual business owner" is even a derogatory term. Where do people get so much stuff to sell? Look at that fabric vendor—just one bolt of printed cloth; that shoe vendor—just three pairs of thick work boots; that hammer vendor—and that helmet vendor…
Needless to say, Li Wei understood immediately. It turned out that many of these people were essentially the owners of their respective work units, relying on their connections and resources. Since they were the owners, they treated the unit's property like their own. They could take whatever they wanted. Ugh!
Li Wei lost all interest in shopping. She walked around a bit more with her grandfather, who, on the contrary, seemed to be enjoying the stroll. Then they headed home.
When he returned home in the evening, his daughter would always insist that he stay for dinner before letting him leave.
As usual, the old man wanted to have a couple of drinks. His son-in-law, Li Zhaoxing, also took out a small wine pot. Li Wei jumped out and refused to let him drink. The grandfather objected, and the father was in a difficult position. In the end, the mother, Cheng Min, stepped in to support Li Wei. The old man glared at his daughter and granddaughter, and in the end, the wine was not drunk.
Li Lin was overjoyed with the red tracksuit her "grandfather" bought her. She put it on and disappeared, presumably to someone's house to show it off. Li Lianhui was only briefly pleased with his blue tracksuit; he probably wasn't old enough to care about fashion yet, but he was ecstatic about the two large bags of food his sister brought back.
After seeing her grandfather off that evening, Li Wei found her father's old green military water bottle from when he was in the army. She washed and scrubbed it, tightened the lid, and tested it to make sure it didn't leak. It worked! She would use it to carry water tomorrow.
Starting next week, we'll be eating lunch at school, which will still be bread, fried dough twists, and other dry food. There's no water at school, but there is a small well that supplies water to the entire school. Since her rebirth, Li Wei has insisted on boiling water for her whole family, especially her younger siblings. Tomorrow, she'll probably have to bring her own thermos of boiled water; she can't let the twins, these little flowers of the motherland, go thirsty.
But Li Wei couldn't take it after only a week.
There were three reasons: First, there wasn't enough water. None of the students at the tables in front of and behind them, including Luo Erpao, Wu Feng, and Erpangzi, brought their own water. Their water bottle was only enough for half a day. Perhaps other people's water tasted better, because Luo Erpao and Erpangzi would constantly stare at the water bottle, making Li Wei feel guilty for the entire class if she didn't give them a sip. They used to drink directly from the well, pumped from the pipe, but they stopped going there now.
Secondly, although bread and fried dough twists are a nice treat to eat occasionally, some students can't afford to bring their own lunch these days. But Li Wei found it really hard to eat, so she preferred cornbread and cabbage soup, at least they were warm enough to feel like a proper meal.
Thirdly, a twisted dough stick costs 20 cents, and a loaf of bread costs 12 cents. The three siblings need 60 cents or 36 cents for lunch every day, at least 24 days a month, with no weekends. This means they spend at least 8.64 to 14.4 yuan a month, while their father's monthly salary is less than 40 yuan. Lunch alone costs nearly a quarter of their income, not even including stationery and daily necessities. And their mother's temporary job has too much uncertainty.
Although she could light a stove and bring her own lunch after November, Li Wei still felt heavy-hearted.
Seeing the small shop selling fried dough twists outside the school gate packed with students, Li Wei had an idea. That evening, during dinner, she said to her mother, "Mom, I see a lot of my classmates buying fried dough twists and bread from the shop outside the school. Why don't you make some steamed buns or dumplings and sell them outside the school? You're sure to make money, since you can't go out to work in the winter anyway."
Cheng Min glanced up at Li Wei but ignored her. Li Wei called out "Mom" again before saying dismissively, "What do you know, you little kid? Just focus on your studies and don't meddle in adult matters. Your mom is doing fine now; she's not at the point of having to become a small-time vendor."
Okay, Li Wei underestimated something. While individual businesses are starting to emerge in some cities, in rural areas, people are deeply ingrained in agriculture. For them, a stable wage and stable income are preferable, so small-scale vendors, the nascent form of individual businesses, are less well-regarded. They're often perceived as speculative and unproductive.
This involved her mother's dignity, so Li Wei didn't say much. Starving to death was a small matter, but losing one's integrity was a big deal. Besides, they hadn't reached the point of starvation yet, and she couldn't force her mother to lose her principles. Moreover, she might not even be able to persuade her mother. Besides, with her father's income, the family was already considered well-off in the village, and her mother was content. Poverty breeds resourcefulness, and in her mother's mind, they weren't poor now; they were actually quite well-off.
Although Li Wei knew that this was the beginning of a great era, and that those who dared to think and act would be the first to get rich, at this time, as long as one dared to act, there was basically no great risk, after all, the current socio-economic conditions provided people with too many opportunities.
The period from the 1980s to the mid-1990s was a golden age for personal entrepreneurship.
Realizing this, Li Wei felt she should do something. But what could she do? She took stock of the resources she could mobilize: twenty yuan in cash, no equipment, personnel... The only people she could mobilize were the twins, or perhaps Erpangzi and Wu Feng. The Luo brothers were an uncertain factor, especially Luo Er, who was always acting like a cat and a dog with Li Lin and Li Lianhui, and seemed uncomfortable if they didn't have some kind of conflict every day. Yet they would still hang out together when there was nothing else to do. Li Wei was completely speechless.
Given the circumstances, Li Wei felt somewhat powerless; if she couldn't get her mother involved, everything would be in vain.
As October drew to a close, the school began collecting firewood from students for winter heating. Due to local conditions, firewood was scarce, so most students contributed corn cobs or small sections of soybean stalks left on the ground after harvesting, which were then pulled up and dried, known as "stubble."
Many students took pride in handing in bean stubble, since the teacher required everyone to go to the field to pick bean stubble and hand it in. Lazier students, on the other hand, would hand in the corn cobs left over after their parents had threshed the corn kernels. Of course, handing in bean stubble was not as honorable.
In her past life, Li Wei and her two siblings always handed out corn cobs, oops!
Although Li Wei's family no longer had large fields, it was agreed when they rented them out that they would receive some corn stalks and corn cobs as firewood after the autumn harvest, so they still had those. But Li Wei certainly didn't want to take the corn cobs from her home anymore, so on the weekend she mobilized the twins and Wu Feng and the other two fat girls to go to the field to pull up bean stubble.
Each person carried a basket made of locust branches, trudging along the ridges of the fields, their steps uneven against the light autumn frost. Li Lin and Wu Feng chattered away; despite Wu Feng's quiet voice in class, she was quite outspoken when talking behind someone's back. Li Lianhui and Erpangzi, on the other hand, seemed to be having a blast, more like on a picnic than working.
Looking at the autumn fields, Li Wei took a deep breath of the fresh, cool air and then began to sing:
I walked across the ridge
Autumn colors on the ridge
Golden leaves on the branches
The wind rustles.
As if singing praises to the season
I walked through the countryside
There were quite a few gains.
The rice paddies are fragrant
Farmers are busy harvesting
A smile sparkled on his face.
How vast the blue sky is!
A few white clouds dotted the sky
The green hills are not lonely
A small river flows gently by.
I walked across the ridge
My heart is filled with autumn colors
If you were with me
You will stay with me
Relive the joy of the past
The green hills are not lonely, a little river flows gently by, and what about myself...?
Time flies!
Since the soil was still quite loose, each of them managed to pick a basket of bean stubble in less than half a day. Erpangzi and Wu Feng fared better, but the twins picked less than half a basket before going off to play. Occasionally they would work for a while longer, but then their hands would hurt, so they would stop. Anyway, knowing that their eldest sister was there, they ran around happily, laughing and joking.
Although Li Wei's hands ached, she thought of her younger siblings who were still young and would be playing at home if she hadn't dragged them to school. So she worked hard, sweating profusely, and managed to fill three large baskets.
After finishing her own tasks, Wu Feng came over to help Li Wei, which touched Li Wei deeply. Li Wei told her not to worry and to go play too, but Wu Feng silently insisted on helping, saying it was no use. Li Wei's own palms were burning, and she couldn't believe Wu Feng wasn't in pain, so she began to look at the girl with even more admiration.
As for Erpangzi, he helped pull out a few stalks and then ran off to play.
However, Li Wei was still quite happy that he came to help. It wasn't for nothing that she had spoiled him!
When they got home at noon, the overcast sky finally started to rain. Although the rain wasn't heavy, everyone got soaked by the time they arrived. That evening, Li Wei developed a fever, but the twins were fine. Cheng Min gave her daughter a fever reducer, covered her with a thick blanket, and she sweated it out, which temporarily brought the fever down.
At this stage, people with headaches or colds usually don't need injections; some medicine will suffice. Only when it develops into something as severe as pneumonia will they go to the hospital for injections. As for getting IV drips, that's a serious illness requiring hospitalization.
Like the economy, germs have developed at a rapid pace. More than a decade later, headaches and colds can no longer be controlled without intravenous drips.
After a restless night, Li Wei still felt weak all over when she woke up in the morning. Her mother touched Li Wei's forehead and found it was still a little hot, so she told Li Wei to stay home and rest for the day and go back to school the next day. Li Wei was too lazy to get up, so she went back to bed.
Soon everyone who went to school or to work left, leaving Li Wei alone lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) dozing off. Her mother originally wanted to stay and take care of her, but Li Wei was too old for anyone to take care of her. With her mother's help, she finished her medicine and drank some rice porridge, and finally managed to persuade her mother to leave.
Her mother earns a day's salary by working every day, so she can't afford to waste her time.
Li Wei woke up when the mechanical clock on the wall struck eight. She'd had a good nap and felt much better. Looking at the empty room, she remembered a skit she'd seen before:
Those who went to work have left, and those who went to school have left. Now, this old lady will sing a song for everyone – Little Bites (Grass)!
I'm not as tall as a tree, and I don't smell of flowers... I'm just a little grass no one knows about...
Li Wei sang as she climbed out of bed, folded the blankets neatly, and sat on the warm kang (heated brick bed). It was a rare day off, and she didn't have to take care of the children, cook, or do housework. Suddenly, she didn't know what to do.
After spacing out for a while, Li Wei felt a bit hungry; the few mouthfuls of thin porridge she had in the morning weren't enough. She went down to the kitchen, opened the cupboard, and saw the cornbread on the curtain. Li Wei lost her appetite completely. She remembered her favorite dumpling soup and decided to make some herself, adding some spinach and scallions—it sounded delicious.
Without further ado, she went to the west room, found the sack of flour, picked it up and weighed it; it probably weighed five or six pounds. Then she looked at the sack of rice, which weighed less than ten pounds. That was all the refined grains the family had. There was still quite a bit of cornmeal and sorghum left. Li Wei sighed. What kind of life was this? And her mother thought it was pretty good.
When she glanced at the flour sack again, a sudden idea flashed through her mind. Wait a minute... since she's off today anyway, and she's just killing time, why not... make some steamed buns and sell them?
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