Before I knew it, it was almost dusk.

Chen Qi looked at the time, put away the manuscript paper on which he had written a few pages, and put it under his bed.

When the soft light of the setting sun fell on the table, the large yard that had been quiet all day finally became lively. The bells of bicycles rang, the noise of children, the clinking sounds of chopping vegetables were mixed together, and wisps of smoke were scattered in all directions.

Come.

"Mom, you're back!"

"Did you buy something delicious?"

“If it’s not the New Year or the festival, what are some delicious things to buy? Cabbage, potatoes, and pickles.”

Yu Xiuli got off work on time and didn't care about anything else. She took off her coat and started working when she came in. She also gave instructions: "Put the pickles on the plate. Take out the half piece of tofu left in the morning!"

"How to make tofu? Do you roll tofu with pickles?"

"Roll it up, scald it with hot water, mix with sauce and eat!"

There are two kinds of pickles, pickled cucumbers and sweet and spicy dried radish, both of which are from Liubiju.

Liubiju used to be called "Red Flag Pickles Sales Department". In 1972, when Japanese Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei visited China, the delegation asked to visit Liubiju, so this old plaque was re-hanged.

The small kitchen is set up outside the house. It is a simple shed made of bricks and linoleum. It is fully occupied by a stove and a cupboard. Next to the kitchen is a place where briquettes are placed, which is also covered with linoleum and neatly stacked. This is

People who love cleanliness.

If you are lazy, just let it go. On rainy days, puddles of black water flow out of the coals.

Chen Qi took the initiative to help.

He has only been here for a few days, how can he have any feelings for his parents?

Of course not, but when people treat her well, she doesn't hesitate to respond. Yu Xiuli cooks quickly and glances at him from time to time, wondering in her heart, this kid was like a salted fish a few days ago, why did he suddenly become a carp?

When it was dark, the food was served, and the cheap dad Chen Jianjun came back.

He is also in his forties, tall and thin, with a gentle temperament. Although his clothes are old, they are neat and clean, and he has a pen in his chest pocket.

Chen Jianjun is a salesman.

Xinhua Bookstore is the largest book distribution unit in the country. If you want to distribute a book or magazine, you have to contact each salesperson. The salesperson will make a preliminary judgment based on the content of the book and report a number to the bookstore, such as 1,000 copies.

, the bookstore will order 1,000 copies first and then wait and see the market response.

But later the salesperson's job changed and became sales, because the book industry was liberalized and the monopoly was gone.

"dad!"

"Are you going to the meeting?"

"Go!"

"Well, let's talk after dinner."

Chen Jianjun smiled, and his smile was very gentle. He had never used foul language in his life.

Dinner is very simple, potato vermicelli stewed with cabbage, tofu and pickles.

It’s not that you can’t afford meat, it’s that you can’t buy it. Urban residents only get 3-5 taels of pork per person per month. During the three-year difficult period, the capital only supplied 8 and a half taels of pork per capita every year. It’s even worse in other places, even with this little bit of meat.

None.

My parents both went to school and are a bit particular at heart, so they don’t talk about things during meals.

After finishing eating, Chen Jianjun asked, and Chen Qi repeated the contents of the meeting.

"What do you think?"

"I……"

Just as he was about to answer, someone outside suddenly shouted: "Is Chen Qi at home?"

"Hey, Aunt Wang!"

"Come in quickly, come in quickly, why are you here?"

The person who came was an old lady with gray hair and a kind smile. She was a street cadre. She sat down and said with a smile: "There will be a meeting this morning. In the afternoon we will assign tasks. The street has entrusted 13 people to me. I must give them to them."

Find a job.

I thought I would be at home at night, so I came over to take a look, you are the first household."

"That's really troublesome for you. You can't rest at night..."

Yu Xiuli poured a glass of water, just in time to ask about this matter, and said: "Aunt Wang, I heard from my children that they want to establish a production service cooperative. You also know that it is a collective unit and has always been ignored. I am not saying that collective units are not

Okay, but isn’t there a third garment factory in our street? Can’t it be accommodated in the factory?”

"Oh, to put it lightly, do you know how many unemployed young people there are in the district?"

Aunt Wang slapped her thigh and made a gesture: "80,000 people! Where can the government find 80,000 jobs? Everyone is worried to death from top to bottom. And many of them are in their mid-twenties and have not had jobs for several years.

jobs, we must prioritize their placement.

That No. 3 Garment Factory, we managed to get more than 100 people in through hard work, so don’t worry about it."

"Then what do you want them to do?"

Chen Jianjun asked.

"I thought so……"

Aunt Wang took a sip of water and said: "The front door is a treasure. People from the capital love to go shopping, and people from other places also like to go shopping. Every year, I don't know how many people from out of town come here for business trips, and they all have to come and take a look, right? But there are so many shops at the front door, I'm stunned.

There was no water seller, and when these people came, they couldn't even get a drink of water.

You said it costs only 15 cents to buy Arctic soda, and you also need a ticket, so no one is willing to part with it. I saw it with my own eyes, and some people drank water from the hoses used to water flowers.

??????55.??????

So we thought, if we set up a stall selling tea at the front door, someone would definitely buy it."

Selling tea???

The parents looked at each other, this is so unbecoming! We are both educated people and work at Xinhua Bookstore, but our son sells tea? In the old society, that was a job for lower-class people!

How inferior?

It is written in "Camel Xiangzi" that an old man can no longer pull a rickshaw, so he can only carry a burden and sell tea along the street, barely making a living. It is very miserable... Look, the tea seller can't even compare to Xiangzi. After all, Xiangzi

I have a house (rented), a car (I bought it three times and lost it all), and a wife (who died in childbirth).

"Aunt Wang, is there really no other position?"

"Yes, technical position. Does your boy know carpentry?"

"Won't!"

"Do you have tailoring skills?"

"No!"

"Can you use the spoon to stir-fry?"

"cannot!"

"That's it!"

"..."

The parents looked at each other again, even a little ashamed. So my son is a loser? What's even more annoying is that the loser is still happy, as if he is not the one he is talking about.

"Okay, you guys discuss it, I have to go to the next house!"

Aunt Wang got up and ducked.

The family of three was silent for a while, then Yu Xiuli said: "Speak, what do you think?"

"I obey the organization's arrangements and do whatever the organization asks me to do!" Chen Qi said.

"I asked you to sell tea, so why don't you go there? Or at the front door, how far is it from the bookstore? My colleagues can't laugh at me to death?"

"No, because your colleague's child is selling tea with me."

puff!

Yu Xiuli was almost angry to death, and said angrily: "Stop talking to me, I will apply for early retirement tomorrow, and you will take over my shift!"

"I don't need you to retire. If you do, I will set up a stall overnight."

"Xiao Qi, don't be glib. Tell us the truth, why do you want to go?"

Chen Jianjun, who had been silent all this time, asked.

"There is no special reason. I just think that labor is glorious and you can contribute to the motherland wherever you are. It's because you have serious old ideas and look down on tea sellers. Shi Chuanxiang can become a deputy to the National People's Congress and a national model worker even if he picks up excrement. How can I sell tea?

Yes? I will be able to stand in the General Assembly Hall and shake hands with leaders in the future!"

Good guy, Chen Qi’s party spirit is brilliant.

Shi Chuanxiang was a excrement worker in Chongwen District. On National Day in 1966, he climbed onto the Tiananmen Rostrum. The teacher shook hands with him, Wu Hao toasted him, and Mr. Zhu gave him some food and said: "Old Shi, you are

People who do heavy physical work should drink more and eat more vegetables..."
To be continued...