Time flies like water.
In the blink of an eye, it was the 1980s. Su Qingmeng was a junior in college. After taking her last exam, she said goodbye to her friends and went home. The summer breeze blew away the heat on her face. There was no air conditioning in the classroom, and she sweated after taking an exam.
Passing by Weiming Lake, a student band was singing on the lawn. This year's atmosphere is more open-minded, and Peking University students are keeping up with the times and adapting to trends. There are now many interest groups on campus, which are more in line with the rich community culture of modern times.
Su Qingmeng rode her bicycle through the crowds and out of the campus. The streets looked different. The pedestrians' clothing was no longer just black, white, and gray; it was now colorful. There were also more street vendors.
At the entrance of the alley, I saw the newly married daughter-in-law across the street, Wang Xinyan. After Shang Yunhe's divorce, Granny Zheng arranged for her son to marry a new daughter-in-law, but she had a bad reputation, and the girl from a good family was unwilling to jump into this fire pit.
Cheng Yaozu was already in his thirties, so Grandma Zheng had to lower her requirements. Finally, the matchmaker introduced a rural girl. At that time, urban household registration and worker status were still a plus, and the girl happily married him.
"Students from Soochow University, are you back from school?" Wang Xinyan greeted them warmly. She really admired these cultured people.
"Yes. Comrade Xinyan, where have you been?" Su Qingmeng quite liked this new daughter-in-law. Wang Xinyan was not the kind of person who would be bullied. She was well behaved for a while after she got married, but she soon understood the situation of their family and began to oppose Grandma Zheng.
As the saying goes, every wicked man will be punished by his own wickedness. Wang Xinyan became more assertive, and Granny Zheng became more obedient. She couldn't let her son get divorced again, as that would mean he would be getting married for the third time and wouldn't be able to find a good wife. Wang Xinyan thus established herself firmly in this family.
"I heard the agricultural and sideline food store had a batch of fish, so I rushed to buy two." She raised the basket in her hand to indicate, "Everything is good in this city, but the supply is fierce. In the countryside, if I want to eat fish, I can go down to the river and catch it!"
Su Qingmeng pushed the cart and walked with her. "But the supply has increased in the past two years. Farmers are now encouraged to raise meat, so meat is more readily available." They reached home as they spoke. "I'll be going home now. See you later, Comrade Xinyan."
"See you later." Wang Xinyan also went back to the door opposite. She liked talking to Su Qingmeng, a university student. Su Qingmeng was pretty and polite. She never looked down on her. She was like a fairy.
Su Qingmeng parked the car. Lin Xiuyao was not at home. He finished the exam before her and went to see the decoration of the new house.
Last month, they finally bought a satisfactory two-story courtyard house in Dashihu Hutong, west of Beijing, near Houhai Lake, about an hour's drive from here. They are currently renovating it with a skilled craftsman.
They also looked at other houses, but either the size was not suitable, the location was not satisfactory, and some of the tenants were difficult to deal with. After two and a half years in Beijing, Su Qingmeng finally bought the courtyard house she had been dreaming of.
The house purchase wiped out all their cash, leaving them with no income for the past two years. Although Lin Xiuyao occasionally set up a stall selling Northeastern specialties on weekends, he only made a dozen yuan a day. Both of them were willing to spend money and couldn't save it.
Lin Xiuyao's friends would pick up the goods from their hometown and mail them to him from time to time. He would set up a stall whenever he had free time, actually wanting to observe the market situation. After all, he was studying economics and wanted to start his own business in the future, so now he was just gaining experience.
He didn't go there often, and whenever he found something good, he would save it for himself. So they only had a few thousand yuan, and the courtyard house was priced at 20,000 yuan, so they sold some of their gold to raise the money to buy it.
Although they don't have much cash, their family assets are still quite rich, including gold and jade, antique calligraphy and paintings, as well as stamps that will be valuable in the future. At the beginning of this year, the monkey stamps were issued, and she bought thirty sets, which will be worth more than several million in thirty years.
Thinking of this, Su Qingmeng also sighed. Maybe in the future she would be a multi-millionaire or even a billionaire, but now she was just a pauper.
Lin Xiuyao returned home before dinner, "Wife, have you finished the exam?"
Su Qingmeng: "Well, today is the last show. How is the decoration of the courtyard going?"
Lin Xiuyao washed his hands and said, "I've finished dismantling the shack that I built in a random way today."
"That's quick. Let's eat first." Su Qingmeng set the table. Dinner was boiled fish, celery and shrimp stir-fry, and West Lake beef soup. Their meals showed that the city had ample supplies. They hadn't been back home last year, so the stock in their space had long since run out. However, with the opening of several new markets, many farmers had come into the city to set up stalls and sell vegetables.
An English tape played in the recorder. Lin Xiuyao had been studying English recently. The library had introduced a batch of economic works, all in English, and Su Qingmeng had helped him translate some. She had studied English at Modern University, but she later went to study for final exams, so Lin Xiuyao took matters into his own hands and began studying English.
Su Qingmeng asked him, "When are you leaving?"
Lin Xiuyao was planning to go to Pengcheng to take a look. He had been curious about the development of the south for a long time, and he wanted to take advantage of the summer vacation to go there, otherwise he would not have such a long vacation after graduation next year.
He said, "Erlinzi and his group will arrive in Beijing tomorrow, so we'll leave directly."
His friend not only delivered goods for him, but also ran a small business himself. He would also mail the scarce supplies in the countryside back to them for them to sell. With money in hand, the few of them decided to go to Pengcheng together so that they could have someone to look after them on the way.
Su Qingmeng: "Then you have to be careful! Do you really not need me to go with you?"
Lin Xiuyao shook his head, "No need, don't you trust me? I'm so cautious. This trip is very tiring, just stay at home." Su Qingmeng is prone to motion sickness. It's summer now, and the train smells even worse. It would be so uncomfortable for her to go on this trip.
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