Spring in the capital always starts from the moment when "poplar beard" grows.
What is "Yangbeard"?
"Yangbeard" is the name people in the capital give to a kind of flower that grows on poplar trees in early spring.
In the south, this kind of thing is also called "yanghua".
The reason why the people in the capital would call it "Yang Bearded".
It's entirely because the flowers growing from poplar trees are fluffy and green, and they look like an old man's beard.
And it is obvious that the different names of the two places can reflect the distinct perceptions and attitudes of the south and the north towards things.
Southerners are probably more romantic.
What I pay attention to is the poetry of this thing, and I like the beauty of poplar catkins flying like heavy snow in the sky.
People in Beijing are more pragmatic.
Emotionally, I mostly hate the white hairs produced by this thing, which can penetrate everywhere and fly around everywhere.
This is not surprising, because spring in Beijing is windy and very windy.
It can cause flying sand and rocks, making people feel hairy and unable to open their eyes.
So just take a look when the time comes. There will be poplar catkins in the streets and alleys of the capital, in the sky and on the ground, on clothes hanging to dry, on bedding, in the water and vegetables...everywhere.
This thing will block people's vision, making people see mottled and dazzling things in front of them.
This thing can get into people's nostrils, making them itchy and making them sneeze all the time.
When it is inhaled into the throat, it will cause continuous coughing, damage the lungs and respiratory tract.
Once it flies into the collar or sleeve, people's skin will no longer have a safe and comfortable place, and they can only scratch it frequently.
But that's not all. The most critical point is that this thing still poses a risk of fire.
If anyone is willing to check the annual records of the Beijing Fire Department, it will definitely be a shocking experience!
In short, the disgusting guy "Yang Beard" spreads poplar catkins with the help of wind, just like a scoundrel.
It can't be beaten or scolded, it's sticky, greasy and crooked.
It has brought too much unhappiness and inconvenience to the lives and work of Beijing people.
But what is more interesting is that from March to May 1980, in this capital city where the "Yang Beard" was going on, the social situation was actually similar to that of the season.
It's like Yang Xu fills the sky, there is a little bit of romance, but there are also unclear entanglements and confusion.
Romance mainly occurs on college campuses, or among young people.
College students and young people in society during this period have two characteristics.
First, both body and mind are in the midst of a rapid change in concepts, and they begin to have diversified thoughts and desires about life and the future.
Second, many people have delayed their time due to historical reasons, and now they are faced with the need to start a family and start a business.
So for them, in addition to the poetry craze, literature craze, foreign language craze, movie craze, dancing craze, and Teresa Teng craze that have become popular.
Naturally, the thing that got hotter was the matter of falling in love.
As a result, thoughtful people began to discover that institutions of higher learning were no longer serious places for pure study of knowledge, and there were more and more cases of a man and a woman in the corner of the park.
Among young people, not only has a new word been born to describe people - "very open".
The originally distant and estranged boundaries between young men and women who have a crush on each other are beginning to be narrowed down through a more euphemistic approach to getting closer.
You know, the person who was dating her at that time was very conservative and did not dare to hold hands or hug openly in public.
But when walking side by side, their arms tend to be close together and carried behind their backs.
In this way, the greatest degree of intimacy can be achieved to reflect the extraordinary relationship between the two people.
This should be regarded as an innovative application of folk wisdom.
It's just completely different from young people who are eager for change.
During this period, almost all other groups are feeling anxious because of the huge changes that are happening or are about to happen around them.
For example, the upper echelons of the country are worried about our population explosion trend.
In order to prevent our country's population from exceeding 1.4 billion in 2000 from becoming a reality.
During this period, officials and experts from relevant departments continued to hold population symposiums.
To demonstrate whether the family planning policy is feasible and determine relevant scales.
In addition, because the "great man" gave a speech during this period, he announced that he could buy a house in installments.
And "foreign exchange certificates", as a second currency with transcendent purchasing power, began to officially circulate in our country.
It also makes some classes who have long had advantages in the housing welfare policy and material rationing system feel unprecedented confusion and at a loss as to what to do.
There are also ideological disputes in the literary and art circles, which are also intensifying.
At this time, Li Guyi was criticized and questioned by the industry just because he sang "Nostalgia", the theme song of "The Legend of Three Gorges".
Unlike many ordinary audiences who like her songs, many professionals believe that the lyrical singing method she is good at is unhealthy and has a poor style.
But the reason behind it is simply because she had too many good songs, was too famous, and was too popular with the audience, so she was shot first.
Who made her alone account for four of the fifteen songs selected by "Song" magazine that are loved by listeners?
If you don't hit her, who will you hit?
Even the lowest levels of society are not immune.
At work, large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises seem to be faltering and suffering from serious problems that are difficult to recover from.
For no other reason than in the past ten years, many workers have developed the habit of cheating and cheating.
They have all become cunning people who are good at slacking off work and eating more from the big pot.
However, due to system restrictions, company leaders have no right to impose substantial financial penalties on these workers.
Therefore, in an environment where work is all based on consciousness, these backward elements still go their own way.
And he has no respect or fear for his superiors.
Every day I either pretend to be sick, play cards or laugh at the leaders and those who work hard and are serious and responsible.
This resulted in some mouse droppings spoiling the whole pot of porridge.
If you do more, you will do less, and if you do well, you will do less.
Not only does it make people who long to restore the old glory become increasingly cold-hearted, but also those who work hard.
It also makes state-owned enterprises overstaffed and increasingly losing vitality.
In daily life, people in Beijing are increasingly feeling the inconvenience caused by the rapid growth of urban population and the shock caused by the shaking of the price system.
There is no doubt that the skyrocketing urban population is the inevitable result of the mass return of educated youth to the city.
In the three years from 1978 to 1980, the capital accommodated these young adults returning home from other places at a rate of hundreds of thousands per year.
Almost every family in Beijing has children belonging to this group, so no one can complain.
Take Courtyard No. 2 of Shan'er Hutong as an example.
After Ning Weimin, Bian Jiangong, the second son of the Bian family, and Mi Xiaoran, the eldest daughter of the Mi family.
They all returned home this spring and moved their household registrations back to the capital.
As a result, not only is the job gap getting bigger and bigger, but the educated youth who have returned to the city are nicknamed "unemployed youth."
The capital's municipal system and service industry are also deeply overloaded.
Whether taking the bus, shopping on the street, taking a shower in a bathhouse, getting a haircut in a shampoo shop, taking pictures in a photo studio, or eating in a restaurant.
These basic needs of people have all become difficult things.
Looking at the doorstep of Ning Weimin’s home, there are Qianmen Street, Dashilan Street, Xianyu Port, and the Polishing Factory.
As the downtown area of Beijing, it is overcrowded almost from morning to night.
And the working attitude of the eight members has certainly become more rude and bad as a result.
The social order that was originally relatively good has become chaotic again due to the increasing number of idle young adults.
In every corner of the capital, quarrels and even fights occurred every day.
It happened that during this period, the price system of the planned economy began to loosen as the reform process deepened.