Gu Wei really didn't know how to respond to Zhao Dajiang's rather helpless remark.
At the same time, I subconsciously recalled a line from a classic skit by Uncle Benshan: "Just make do, what else can we do?"
He quickly suppressed the smile on his face and changed the subject, asking, "The tailor shop must be very busy before the New Year, right?"
"So much! The people doing the work are all swamped." Zhao Dajiang really didn't treat Gu Wei like an outsider, and continued to complain, "Luckily they're so busy they're practically running around like headless chickens, otherwise your Aunt Zhao would have started causing trouble again, insisting on having a son for Luo Yuanzi! The couple took the child to Old Tao's house at the forest farm a while ago, and they haven't come down for the Lunar New Year..."
Gu Wei was speechless, feeling that some of the older generation's feudal ideas of valuing sons over daughters were really deeply rooted.
It's estimated that things might only change in the future as the cost of raising sons increases and the pressure of buying a house becomes too great.
"I was wondering why Yuanzi and the others weren't home. Turns out they went to the ditch."
"Yes, I think he'll be back today." Seeing Gu Hongjie put the table down and bring out the hot food from the pot, Zhao Dajiang urged, "Stop chatting and eat quickly."
Gu Wei glanced at the table and found it to be quite plentiful.
There was braised pork ribs with pickled cabbage, stir-fried green beans with meat, radish soup, white rice, a plate of sticky rice cakes, pickled garlic, pickled mustard greens, and half a bowl of white sugar.
"Uncle Zhao, would you like some more?"
Zhao Dajiang waved his hand, "No, no, I'm already stuffed."
Seeing that he didn't seem to be faking it, Gu Wei didn't press him any further.
Gu Hongjie, on the other hand, ate a few more pieces of ribs, his mouth dripping with oil.
Zhao Dajiang stubbed out his cigarette in an empty sardine can. "Gu Wei, how much did you spend to get your Beijing residency permit back then?"
Looking at the food in his mouth, Gu Wei said, "It cost a little over three thousand in total."
Although there was a period in the capital where you could get a household registration just by buying a house, Gu Wei wanted to get on board as soon as possible and secure his assets, so he couldn't wait.
However, he spared no expense to buy a courtyard house, which others saw as foolish and disregarding money.
Zhao Dajiang smacked his lips twice. "Damn, that's a really high price! I heard from people who came back a while ago that there was a rush to buy chimneys there. I was thinking, anyone can make one themselves, why would anyone need to fight over it? Is that true or not? Are they just making this up?"
"That's true."
Chimneys have never been snapped up since ancient times.
However, Gu Wei knew that it was snapped up in November 1988.
The reason is the price.
Buying food with a ration coupon and receiving government subsidies is much cheaper than buying it without a coupon, so wouldn't not buying it be a loss?
As a result, elderly men in urgent need of chimneys and middle-aged men seeking subsidies crowded together, with many people arriving at night to queue up.
Therefore, two strange sights appeared on the streets of Beijing: one was the long queue for buying Chinese cabbage, and the other was the long queue for buying chimneys.
Later, some people bought chimneys and left them at home for many years, turning them into waste. It's really absurd to think about it.
Zhao Dajiang received an affirmative answer and exclaimed, "Compared to that, life in our small town is not as good."
"Big cities have a large population, high demand, and tight supply, but they are more prosperous and advanced. Small places are sparsely populated and rich in species, so each has its own advantages."
“That’s true. Young people like you definitely yearn for big cities, but we older folks find it hard to leave our hometown. We still feel more comfortable here.” Zhao Dajiang sighed as he spoke. “I wonder when these prices will come down. Gold used to be 140 yuan a gram, and now look at how much it’s gone, and you still can’t buy it at all.”
"The price of gold will probably drop back down, but it's hard to say what else will happen." Gu Wei said this based on his research, but no one knows for sure what will ultimately happen; we can only wait and see.
After Gu Wei finished his late breakfast, Zhao Dajiang stayed for a while longer before taking his leave.
They agreed to come to Zhao Zhengyuan's house for drinks and dinner after he came down.
There are still a few days until the Lunar New Year. Although the day before Lunar New Year's Eve is the beginning of spring, and the weather may show signs of warming up, some places on the road are sunny while others have thick snow.
Whether traveling by motorcycle or in a minibus, it is not a wise choice.
So, Gu Wei took Gu Hongjie on a small train to the city.
Jin Hongfei remains the store manager for the shops in the city.
Besides his wife Wang Shufen, one of the other two quit, and he hired three new people, all of whom were eloquent and well-suited to be sales clerks.
Gu Wei's appearance as a hands-off manager naturally attracted the attention of both new and old employees and customers.
Jin Hongfei and Wang Shufen had a child six months after their marriage, and later successfully gave birth to a boy.
Gu Wei, without bias, also gave away a pair of small gold bracelets.
Perhaps it was because he had become a father, but Jin Hongfei was much more composed than before, but his respect and gratitude for Gu Wei remained unchanged.
Because he knew all too well that the good life his family was living was all thanks to Gu Wei.
Otherwise, their classmates and friends who graduated from technical schools and were assigned to work under contracts, even though both of them were employed, didn't earn as much as each of them individually in terms of combined monthly salary.
"Brother, I was just thinking you might come back before the Lunar New Year."
Gu Wei said with a smile, "You're quite good at thinking things through."
He was very satisfied with Jin Hongfei's work over the past few years and was willing to let him run the business.
Jin Hongfei chuckled, and Wang Shufen and the other sales clerks laughed along.
Next, accompanied by Jin Hongfei, Gu Wei toured the store, learned about its situation, collected the existing sales revenue, and then left with Gu Hongjie.
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