◎Second update◎
The distance from Yueya Hutong to the National Cotton Factory is not too far, but Liang Baozhen and Xu Shengjie still rode their bicycles to work that day.
Joining the bicycle army, Liang Baozhen sat on the back seat, holding Xu Shengjie's waist. Riding my own bicycle to work is really different. I even have time to look at the blue work uniform army riding bicycles and walking to work.
The only regrettable thing was that Liang Baozhen couldn't pedal by herself. The reason was that Xu Shengjie was tall and strong, and too heavy. He was nearly 1.9 meters tall, and his body was strong from military training, so for a novice bicycle rider, it was really a bit strenuous.
"Next time I'll carry Xiaowei and Xiaoya." Liang Baozhen hugged Xu Shengjie's waist, and seemed to feel the abdominal muscles on his waist through the thin work clothes. "I really can't carry you."
A deep laugh came, and Xu Shengjie even felt a little regretful, "Then you should practice more, maybe you will succeed one day."
"Forget it." When they arrived at the National Cotton Mill, Liang Baozhen got out of the car quickly, waved to the man, and went to her workshop first, "I'm leaving first."
The woman as quick as the wind disappeared in the team of people in blue overalls in the blink of an eye.
Today, Liang Baozhen and Wang Xin followed Meng Ping to continue learning the stretching of fine yarn in the fine sand workshop. While they were working, the workshop director Yang Jianlin came over to care about the new workers. He asked them about everything from production learning to their mental state, and finally mentioned the factory's blindness-elimination class to the two.
The National Cotton Mill responded to the call of the country and held regular classes to eliminate illiteracy. Most of the workers in the mill had little education, and many of them could barely read. They entered the mill at a very young age. It was only in recent years that the situation improved, and the mill was able to assign students from the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' University or graduates from technical secondary schools to work.
There were many illiterate people in the factory. Instead of taking advantage of learning and progress, or ideological propaganda and education, the factory office organized a campaign to arrange for personnel in each workshop to undergo illiteracy elimination training. The main teachers were also educated workers in the factory.
This month's literacy training was the turn of the fine yarn workshop. There were only two workers in the workshop who had attended junior high school, but they had almost forgotten everything they learned and could still recognize words. They had served as literacy teachers a few months ago and were very happy to see two highly educated female comrades in the workshop this time, so they asked Yang Jianlin to arrange for Liang Baozhen and Wang Xin to go.
"This literacy class is also a key project in the factory. It is mainly for the workers to improve together. But you don't have to feel any pressure. One of you has studied in high school and the other has studied in junior high school. You will definitely be able to handle teaching the workers to read."
"Director, when will it be done?"
"Next Friday at 6:30 p.m., in the empty room behind the cafeteria."
"Okay, let's get ready." Liang Baozhen had taught Baoling and Mengmeng to read at home before. Now there are just a few more people, so it shouldn't be a big problem, so she agreed directly.
In addition to their daily studies, the two of them had another task, which was to prepare the content of the lessons for the blindness-eliminating class.
After learning about this, Meng Ping encouraged the two to participate in more such activities. "The factory attaches great importance to ideological education and the learning and progress of workers. Doing this well will also help you become formal employees as soon as possible."
In addition to the literacy classes, the factory also organized ideological study classes after work. They were held in the conference room during normal times. A group of workers read the Selected Quotations of Great Leaders and had ideological discussions from time to time. Liang Baozhen and Wang Xin had never been there. Firstly, the ideological study classes were not large, and there were many people in the factory, so they were often unable to register. Secondly, neither of them lived in the factory and had to go home after get off work.
After work, Liang Baozhen and Wang Xin separated at the gate of the National Cotton Mill. They went in different directions, one to the east and the other to the west. They agreed to go home and think about it tonight, and then discuss the content of the blind spot-clearing class together tomorrow.
Xu Shengjie had to work overtime today, and the equipment in the workshop broke down again. He couldn't stand the recent overtime work, so Liang Baozhen left his bicycle to him so that he could go home at night and walk back by himself.
But she never expected that someone was waiting for her in the compound at that moment.
——
There are several black markets in Beijing, all hidden in secluded and narrow streets.
In a secluded alley twenty miles away from Yueya Hutong, many people were doing secret transactions.
"Comrade, how much do you sell these eggs for?"
"Are there any TV tickets for sale?"
"Do you want a bicycle ticket?"
All those doing business were very cautious and kept looking outside for fear that any unfamiliar faces, especially those wearing red armbands, would come in.
Liang Baojun just sold 150 eggs for 12 yuan. Eggs in the supply and marketing cooperative were sold for 5 cents each, and you had to buy an egg ticket. He sold them for 8 cents each without a ticket, and they were still selling well.
City dwellers had money but no tickets, so it was difficult to buy things. Just now, a man who looked like a worker bought fifty eggs in one go.
Liang Baojun came across the black market when he entered the city two months ago. He had always heard about it, but was really surprised when he actually saw it. Here, many things that require tickets can be bought as long as you have money.
He watched quietly as someone made a few dozen yuan in a single move, which they could only get from working in the fields for a year. The money seemed to come so easily.
He was sharp-eyed and found Xiao Quan from the next brigade of Hongqi Commune was also there. Even though he was wrapped like a dumpling, he recognized him! Because this man was his elementary school classmate in the town. They both dropped out of school after only a few years. Later, he heard that he went to work as a temporary worker in a towel factory in the city. How could he be working in the black market?
Liang Baojun was very excited and tried hard to get in touch with Xiao Quan. After not contacting each other for many years, they were now like brothers. Liang Baojun started a black market reselling business with Xiao Quan.
However, the black market is dangerous and one can get caught if one is not careful. They come very rarely, only three times in the past two months, mainly to trade agricultural products in the village.
"Aren't you leaving yet? It's too late for you to go back with the others in the commune." Liang Baojun went into the city with the cadres from the commune who were buying fertilizers. He volunteered to help move the fertilizers and got the letter of introduction with good reason.
"You go back to the factory first. I'll go see my sister." Liang Baojun calculated the time and thought that if he went to see Baozhen, he could still catch the last bus back.
"Okay, be careful."
Liang Baojun's trouser pockets were heavy with twelve yuan from selling eggs, a huge sum of money. He seemed to be walking with the wind, somewhat arrogant and somewhat cautious. There was nothing else to worry about, except that he was worried about losing the money from time to time.
I asked along the way and arrived at Yueya Hutong. Looking at the densely packed courtyards inside, I didn't know which courtyard the Xu family lived in.
"Comrade, where is Xu Shengjie's home?"
There was a group of children playing at the entrance of the alley. A few boys were playing marbles and a few girls were playing with hand strings. A gust of wind blew by and no one paid any attention to him.
"You're not very good at playing marbles."
Wei Guobiao was aiming a marble with his chubby little hands when he suddenly heard someone criticizing his marble-playing skills. He looked over and saw it was an older brother.
"I'm very good at playing pinball." He held his head high as he spoke, looking very proud.
"Is it true?" Liang Baojun half-knelt on the ground and approached a few children, "Let's compare and see."
Wow, someone actually comes to challenge the strength of the pinball tyrants in Crescent Moon Hutong. Biaozi and his friends get together and roll up their sleeves to take on the challenge.
Liang Baojun and Biaozi, Xiaolong, Xiaohu and Xiaowei fought in a car race, one against four.
Xiaoya, Qin Xiaoyue, Song Xinhe and Song Xinmiao also put down their wrists and came over to watch the fun.
As a result, unfortunately, Crescent Moon Alley was a disastrous failure!
Biaozi was so anxious that he was sweating profusely. He looked at his three brothers who were not doing well and wanted to cry, "No, no, let's compete again."
Xu Shengwei was also unconvinced. The four of them were the best and were all masters of playing pinball in the school. How come this time... Looking at Liang Baojun who stood up like a mountain, he immediately said in a righteous manner, "It's not fair. You are so old, and you bully a child."
"That's right." When everyone came to their senses, they all felt that it was shameful for adults to bully children.
Liang Baojun didn't care about that. He touched the heads of the children one by one and smiled smugly, "You should admit defeat. What's the point of talking about adults and children? I've regressed. I was better when I was ten years old than I am now. My skills in playing pinball have declined over the years. If the ten-year-old me competed with you, you would lose even more miserably."
"ah?"
"Are you really that awesome?"
"Okay then." Biaozi thought about it and decided that the four of them were the ones who made the profit. It was a good thing they didn't meet the ten-year-old him.
"Okay, I'll teach you a couple of moves when I have the chance. I guarantee you'll be invincible." Liang Baojun threw the marble back and repeated the topic he had just talked about, "Do you know Xu Shengjie? Where is his home?"
When Xu Shengwei heard the name of his elder brother, he immediately pricked up his ears and looked at the strange man suspiciously, making sure that he did not know him. "Who are you? What do you want to do with him?"
"Brother..." Xu Shengya stared at Liang Baojun for a long while, gradually figured out a way out, quietly approached Xu Shengwei, and whispered in his ear, "Do you think he looks a bit like my sister-in-law?"
After hearing what his sister said, Xu Shengwei looked at the man carefully again, and it seemed that he looked a bit like her!
"Is your surname Liang?" Xu Shengya asked timidly.
Liang Baojun raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect this little girl to be so smart. He asked her cheerfully, "Is your last name Xu?"
"How do you know?" Xu Shengya smiled, thinking that this man was amazing.
Knowing that my last name is Liang, I must have guessed that Baozhen and I are relatives. The one who could guess this is most likely someone from the Xu family. Plus, Xu Shengjie has younger brothers and sisters who are about the same age as Baoling, so they are the two little ones in front of me.
"I'm very smart." Liang Baojun pointed ahead and called out, "Xiao Wei and Xiao Ya, right? Lead the way, I'm your sister-in-law's second brother."
——
When Liang Baozhen returned home, she heard a conversation coming from inside the house. It was a familiar voice, very much like...
"Second brother!" Seeing Liang Baojun sitting at the Xu family's table, Liang Baozhen was so surprised that her jaw almost dropped. Nothing could compare to the surprise and happiness of seeing one's family in the city. "Why are you here?"
"Come and see you, and Grandma Zhou."
On the table was a can of maltose, which Liang Baojun bought on the black market. He said it was a worker welfare benefit issued by a towel factory in the city. The factory was short of money, so it sold the maltose that the supply and marketing cooperative was selling for eight yuan a can. Liang Baojun happened to come to give Zhou Yun a gift.
He represents the Liang family, so he certainly can't come empty-handed the first time he visits.
"Baozhen, your second brother just arrived a while ago. I asked him to stay for dinner, but he refused. You should try to persuade him." Zhou Yun talked to Liang Baojun for a while, and was coaxed into laughing by the sweet-talking Liang Baojun.
"Grandma Zhou, please stop worrying. I really won't stay at home to eat. I'll be back to the village in a hurry. Next time, next time I will definitely come to beg for money."
"Hey, kid, we are all family, why are you being polite?"
"Grandma Zhou, I'll be leaving first." No matter how casual Liang Baojun was on weekdays, he pretended to be a good boy in front of his brother-in-law's grandmother. When Zhou Yun stuffed him with four dried taro nests, he thanked her repeatedly.
Liang Baozhen didn't know why her second brother suddenly came to the city, and why he was leaving again. The two of them walked outside, and when they saw that no one was around, they hurriedly asked, "Second brother, why did you go to the city? Where did you get the money to buy maltose?"
Maltose is expensive, and my family would not be willing to spend money to buy it. As for Liang Baojun himself, it is even more impossible for him to be so lavish.
"I'm helping the commune buy fertilizers in the city. Don't worry about the money." Liang Baojun didn't want to say more. It wasn't that he was hiding this from his family, he was worried and scared. He didn't even dare to go back and tell his parents about the eggs he collected from his home and neighbors. He sold them for 30 yuan and he was worried that his family would be killed for the sake of justice.
With Liang Zhigao's temper, he might really force a man like him who was reselling things on the black market to turn himself in.
Liang Baozhen stared at her second brother, trying to read his face for any hint of pessimism, but this man always had a cheerful look on his face. If a man suddenly became rich and could buy expensive things, he must have made his fortune somewhere.
"You didn't pick up some money on the road, did you?" Did the second brother also find the gold bars somewhere? Or did he say that the gold bars he hid were discovered? Did the second brother use them?
"What are you thinking about? If I were so lucky, I would still have to get up early and work late." Liang Baojun took out the prepared purple glass hairpin from his trouser pocket, "Here, I found a good thing, you can wear it, it will be your birthday in a while."
There are a lot of things on the black market. Today he saw someone selling hairpins and hair ties. They were all new and the styles were quite fancy. They were said to be from the south. The department stores in the city didn't have this style.
The glass hairpin is a moist light purple color, gentle yet elegant. The workmanship is more refined than those in department stores, and you can tell at a glance that it is very expensive.
"Brother, where did you get the money? This thing is not cheap."
"Money just fell on my head. Okay, I have to go back. I bought some food for my family. If I'm any later, I'll become a drifter." Liang Baojun stuffed the hairpin into his sister's hand and prepared to leave. "I just met my brother-in-law's family. They are all very nice. You can rest assured in the city. There is a temporary worker named Xiao Quan in the towel factory who knows me. He is from the next brigade and has to go back to the commune from time to time. If you really have something, just ask him to tell him and bring it back."
"Okay, be careful on the road. I really like this hairpin. Thanks, brother!"
"I'm glad you like it. Go back soon. I'll come to see you again when I have time." Liang Baojun took two steps, turned around and waved to his sister, asking her to go back to the yard.
...
It was already dark when Xu Shengjie got home from get off work. Everyone in the family went back to their house to rest. He parked his bike in the living room, washed up and went back to his room. Liang Baozhen seemed to have fallen asleep, curled up into a ball, without any movement.
Next Friday is Liang Baozhen's birthday. Xu Shengjie took out the hairpin he bought for her at the supply and marketing cooperative today and put it on the table. At a glance, he saw a purple glass hairpin on the table, which was shining with soft light.
"Are you back?" Liang Baozhen was originally waiting for Xu Shengjie to come back, but ended up falling asleep in a daze. She opened her eyes when she vaguely heard some movement in the house.
"Did you buy the hairpin on the table?"
"Hmm?" Liang Baozhen rubbed her eyes, looked at the purple, and then told her about her second brother coming home. "My second brother gave it to me. It looks good, doesn't it?"
Xu Shengjie saw Liang Baozhen sitting up and talking happily about the hairpin Liang Baojun had given her. His eyes were still dazed, but he couldn't hide the smile on his face.
"It's very pretty in color and delicate in appearance. I didn't expect my second brother to have such good taste. He's really good at choosing."
"This is a gift for you. Your birthday is coming up soon." Xu Shengjie was originally going to wait a few days before giving it to Liang Baozhen, but when he saw Liang Baozhen talking about his second brother's gift, he couldn't help but give the bow hairpin in his hand to her.
Liang Baozhen looked at the bow hairpin lying in Xu Shengjie's palm. It was small and delicate, with a blue and white checkered bow tied on the hairpin. It was incredibly beautiful.
Liang Baozhen didn't expect to receive such a birthday gift. She blinked and looked at Xu Shengjie, "Thank you."
She took the hairpin and looked at it over and over again, then added, "I like it very much."
Seeing his wife's smiling face, Xu Shengjie was very satisfied. He sat down on the bed and pointed at the hairpin Liang Baojun gave her. "Which one do you like better, the one I gave you or the one your second brother gave you?"
The author has something to say:
Xu Shengjie: This damn desire to win!
Liang Baojun: It won’t be me who loses, right?
Liang Baozhen: Childish
See you at 9pm~
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