December 23, 1978.
After getting off work, Zhao Qinglan turned on the radio as soon as she got home, and even turned the volume up to the maximum.
Mrs. Sun invited them to eat together, and she also brought the radio over and placed it next to them.
She's been like this for days, and her family has gotten used to it.
Unable to receive any definite news, Zhao Qinglan became visibly anxious.
If it weren't for her understanding husband who comforted her regularly, she probably wouldn't have been able to hold back.
While I was eating my meal with a troubled mind, a news report suddenly came on the radio.
"From December 18th to December 22nd, the Third Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing. The comrades who attended the meeting included..."
As soon as she heard the beginning, Zhao Qinglan stopped eating and stared at the radio with burning eyes.
Because of her reaction, her family also started paying attention to the broadcasts on the radio.
Aside from her, Li Huai, who was also eagerly awaiting confirmation, seemed somewhat excited.
"With renewed vigor and concerted efforts, we will embark on a new Long March to build our country into a modern socialist power in this century."
Zhao Qinglan's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"The great decision was made to shift the focus of the Party's work and the attention of the people of the whole country to socialist modernization and to put forward the reform and opening up policy."
"Did you hear that? Reform and opening up!" Zhao Qinglan said excitedly to her husband.
His wife's words had come true, and Li Huai couldn't hide his joy. "I heard it, the reform and opening up."
His wife said that it was precisely because of the reform and opening up that the country has undergone tremendous changes, and there is no doubt about how important this matter is.
The other people at the dinner table didn't quite understand what they were saying, nor could they comprehend their excitement.
Sun asked doubtfully, "Qinglan, is this news good news?" The flowery words, strung together, made her forget all she could remember, except for the names of the leaders mentioned at the beginning.
"Great news, fantastic news! Mom, from now on, we're going to be rich!" Zhao Qinglan said happily.
"Get rich?" Aren't they rich now? Does this mean they'll be even richer in the future? Sun's ideas are a bit fantastical.
"Yes, Mom, we'll get richer. With this policy, the business environment will get better and better. As long as we're willing to work hard, we can all make money. In the future, every household will be able to use all kinds of electrical appliances." She couldn't help but describe it.
Mrs. Sun laughed. "It's not as mystical as you make it out to be." She was clearly somewhat skeptical.
Zhao Qinglan didn't know how to provide any evidence for her mother, so she just smiled foolishly.
This joy lasted until she went to sleep.
But Li Huai clearly didn't look so happy.
He was simply reminded of another major event his wife had mentioned that was about to happen.
Zhao Qinglan finally noticed her husband's unusual behavior. "What's wrong? You look so serious."
"Qinglan, now that the reform and opening up has taken place as scheduled, the counterattack you mentioned must be coming soon, right?"
Zhao Qinglan's heart skipped a beat. Yes, the counterattack was in early 1979, when the weather was still cold.
At that time, everyone had just finished celebrating the Lantern Festival, and the festive atmosphere of the New Year had not yet completely dissipated when war broke out on the southern border.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, apart from a few battles to suppress bandits, such large-scale battles have rarely occurred, so the whole country is paying attention to them.
Newspapers and radio broadcasts were always reporting on the various developments of the counterattack.
This was a major event that neither of them could stop.
"Since it's destined to happen, let's be prepared for it."
They didn't know whether Li Huai would go to the battlefield, but they had to be mentally prepared for him to go to the front lines.
From that day on, Mrs. Sun noticed that her daughter and son-in-law no longer listened to the radio, but her son-in-law was rarely home.
To be honest, my son-in-law, Jingsheng, is quite busy, but he often comes over for meals.
Even knowing that war is going to break out, life must go on.
The snack shop finally moved after the lease expired. The new shop is more spacious and better decorated than the old one.
After all, they didn't have much start-up capital at the time, and they relied entirely on Zhao Qinglan's money to keep them afloat.
With the opening of the new store, in addition to Li Huai, Zhao Qinglan and the others also went back to the city.
Although the curtain of reform and opening up had been raised, Zhao Qinglan knew that there were still two years of ups and downs in between.
At least by the 1980s, doing business was no longer so risky due to policy restrictions.
Therefore, she didn't plan to expand her business before that; for the time being, her family would be content with just this small snack shop.
Because Zhao Qingju had been telling her regular customers that the store was going to relocate.
When their new store opened, business was booming from the start.
The main reason is the opening discounts and benefits.
The kitchen is basically run by Zhao Qingju now, mainly because the ingredients need to be kept secret.
It's not that Zhao Qinglan is selfish; these are the foundation for their small families to make a living. Besides, she learned them through trial and error in her previous life.
The two hired employees were responsible for tidying up, serving customers, and washing dishes.
When Zhao Qingzhu came to the store in the city, her main job was to handle the cashier duties.
Occasionally, Mrs. Sun would go into the city to replace her daughter at the shop.
They had just moved out of their previous shop, and the original landlord started doing business in the shop just two days later.
Zhao Qinglan and her team had specially renovated the shop beforehand, which made it very convenient for the landlord. With just a little tidying up and some new items, it could open for business immediately.
A few days before the snack shop moved out, the landlord would always pretend to come over and inquire about some business matters, and even directly ask Zhao Qingju and her family if they would sell their secret recipe.
How could this possibly be sold?
When Zhao Qinglan and her group bought wontons and spicy hot pot, they had to go to great lengths to find the flour and meat they needed.
They have few competitors in the area because most people can't handle large quantities of ingredients.
Even if they sell food, they can only sell seasonal or common items.
For example, roasted sweet potatoes, boiled edamame, and tea eggs brought from the countryside.
The landlords initially thought doing business was very simple, but once they actually got started, they found that there were troubles everywhere.
That's why they can only run small shops selling their own local products, which they have to trade with relatives in the countryside.
It can be said that ration coupons for grain and meat limited most people's motivation to do business.
This time-honored snack shop has a lot of customers every day. Has no one ever wondered where they get so much grain and meat?
There were also reports from people with ulterior motives, but fortunately Zhao Qinglan had considered this from the beginning.
The meat and flour were all sourced from legitimate state-owned factories. The ingredients they occasionally bought from the black market were kept secret as long as they were careful.
Limited by these factors alone, Zhao Qinglan and her team could not expand their scale much.
With the new store opening smoothly and getting on track, Zhao Qinglan and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
Before we knew it, it was already December, and the Lunar New Year was just around the corner.
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