On the night of National Day, a major event that could be recorded in the family history also happened in the Hong family.
That was when the old man of the Hong family officially announced at the dinner table that he would re-enter the business world and start a business.
Hearing the news, Hong Yanwu was overjoyed and especially happy.
He quickly stood up, toasted his father with wine, and said congratulations.
He said sincerely, "You have finally made up your mind. It's not easy."
The rest of the Hong family also hurriedly congratulated them and stood up to toast the two hometown brothers.
Even Hong Jun took Xiaoying and Hong Yi to pay tribute to his grandparents with "Arctic Ocean".
The only unhappy person was Hong Yanzheng, whose face was so droopy that he almost fell off.
Toasts are listless and perfunctory.
So now it was time to give Hong Yanwu a talking point.
He began to find fault with his elder brother, saying that he was disrespectful and that he was not even sincere in toasting his parents, which was so unruly.
I have to let him come back and give me a toast.
Unexpectedly, Hong Lucheng himself not only didn't take it seriously, but also stood on Hong Yanzheng's side and took credit for him.
"Third brother, please don't deliberately cause trouble for your elder brother. He is straight-tempered and shows all his emotions on his face. It is true that he is not happy for me to do business, but he is also good at it. Although he cannot be of the same mind, he can work together to do things.
.You were busy a while ago, but you haven't been seen lately. I asked him to help me with many things. You see, even if he was not happy, he still helped me get things done. It was a real effort. You still
Can you blame him?"
After saying this, Hong Yanwu quickly changed his attitude and toasted his elder brother with a stern face.
He said it was hard work and said that the eldest brother's hard work makes him great.
Amid everyone's laughter, Hong Yan glanced at Hong Yanwu and reluctantly drank a drink.
However, Hong Lucheng did not turn his attention to his eldest son, and still took the opportunity to say a few words to him.
"Yanzheng. In fact, I know why you are unhappy. You just think that I am an official retired employee of the state, and I can do business with public pension. People will think, is it because we can't live anymore? Or are we just trying to get better?
Are you obsessed with money? Right? What? It’s been so long and you haven’t gotten over it yet?”
Hong Yanzheng did not deny it, he spoke frankly.
"Dad, I really can't figure it out. Look at you, you have been retired for several years and are over 60 years old. How about raising flowers, walking birds, and strolling in the park? Our family is not short of money, so why do you have to do it?
What about returning to the old business? Not to mention that it would look bad in the eyes of outsiders. They would misunderstand that we are unfilial. They say that we let our children retire and go out to make a living. Even if we are doing business, I am exhausted from worrying about it. I am not just for
Face, but also for your health..."
But his filial piety still made Hong Lucheng shake his head.
"Boss, you are a sincere person and have good intentions. But you take people too simply."
"You know, people with the same rice can feed all kinds of things. What you think is good may not be applicable to all. Your uncle loves growing flowers and fishing. Of course, such a life is perfect for him. But for others, it is not good.
Otherwise."
"Don't talk about others, what do you think Director Chang will do after he retires? He doesn't like what you mentioned, so the fun becomes boring. When he first retired, he almost didn't even like to leave the house or see people.
People are almost isolated from the world. When they finally show up, they are flabby and look as if they have just suffered a serious illness."
"In the end, fortunately, he found his spirit at the second-hand bookstall in Liulichang, and then he regained his energy. You see now, he spends the whole day in Liulichang, and when he comes home at night, he also soaks in ancient texts.
Stacks of copybooks and articles. Do you feel tired if I ask you to do this? But I just enjoy myself."
"Me too. My whole life, I have focused on doing business. I don't love flowers, birds, fish, or insects. I only feel happy when I hear the sound of the abacus. What you think is tiring and laborious, to me, it's not
It is a game that is full of joy and makes everything orderly.”
"And the same is true in life. You can't measure everything with one ruler, and not everything has one answer."
"Who said that doing business is purely for making money, for personal gain? Look at the old knife sharpener in our alley, a kitchen knife only costs a penny. The car repairman in front of the food store on Zixin Road only brings a dime extra.
Fifth, the valve core is a penny and the pump is free. Who is obsessed with money? They have made everyone's life more convenient. Shouldn't we be grateful to them? Me too. If it is just to make money, I won't do this.
.”
"Yanzheng, you know best that I took over this business at the request of Aunt Bian. Am I not providing convenience for everyone's life? Am I not solving practical problems for the public? Am I not doing it for the public?
Contributing to socialism? This matter is fair and square to everyone. Why do you have to be embarrassed?"
"In the past, public-private partnership was a need of society. Now, encouraging individuals to do business is also a need of society. Isn't the reason why the country's attitude has made such a big change is because it is discovered that individual business is beneficial to society?"
"Since the times are changing, people's thinking and concepts cannot remain unchanged. I believe that soon, people will regain their objective views on personal business. By then, you will no longer feel awkward."
The old man's words undoubtedly left Hong Yanzheng speechless.
Regardless of whether he really understood it in his heart, he couldn't find any reason to refute it.
It's just that the old man also had a somewhat lecturing tone when he spoke, which somewhat affected the atmosphere at the table.
Fortunately, Hong Yanwu became more and more curious as he listened. He really couldn't figure out what business his father wanted to do.
As soon as he couldn't bear to ask, he changed the topic just right and relieved everyone's restraint.
"Dad, why am I confused? Why did Aunt Bian ask you to take action? How to solve the real problems in the streets? They are not asking you to set up a street factory, right? Don't you plan to run our old business?"
Hong Lucheng was very happy to hear this.
"Old man, I've thought about it all. Since I'll leave it to you sooner or later, it seems you have the ability. I won't worry about it anymore."
"As for what I want to do, it's a small business that supports five or six people. Where can it be as big as a street factory?"
"To tell you the truth, the tavern on Nanheng Street was closed due to poor management, and the seats at the non-staple food shop on Zixin Road were also removed. The nearby residents now have no place to have a drink outside. So.
I, for the sake of convenience, want to open a 'big wine tank'."
Of course, these words shocked Hong Yanwu. He never expected that his father, the dignified head of the Hong family, would open a tavern.
"Dad, you... aren't you overstating your talents? You said that after waiting for so long, you finally made up your mind... you, this is what you want to do?"
"Why don't you take the time to help me go out and see what's there, what's a good yard... Aunt Bian is begging you personally, so that you can't lose face?"
"Why not, I'll go find Director Li, and we'll pay for it and let the street open another one. Don't play around with them anymore. It's better to free up your hands and run a serious shop..."
"
But he didn't expect that like Hong Yanzheng just now, his own father would pout at his kindness.
"Hey, third child, I'm sorry, your knowledge is not much better than that of the boss, right?"
"I've been waiting for so long. What am I waiting for? I'm waiting for a good opportunity to hire workers."
"I can't provide an iron rice bowl like the government does, and I don't have as many friends as you, who respond to everything at once. If no one is willing to work for me, what kind of business can I do?"
"To be honest, with the increase in grain production year after year, grain stores have no restrictions on selling grain this year. And during the recent autumn grain harvest, the newspaper did what I thought and published the news that it is difficult to sell grain. Only then did I
Make sure to ask Lao Li to go back to his hometown and help me bring a few people over. Otherwise, the number of hired workers will be a ceiling. No matter how talented I am, I can't solve the situation."
"You still think this business is small and look down on it, don't you? Let me tell you, the more small-profit the business, the more you have to be really capable. Don't look at how you are torturing the boss outside, you really made this wine shop profitable.
If you don’t lose money, you may not be able to do it.”
"Nowadays, when it comes to doing business, everyone focuses on the profitable business. But almost all of the huge profits come from squandering scarce supplies. Making money that makes others cry? It is unethical! It will not last forever! Only when everyone
They all think that in a business that is bound to lose money, it is interesting and capable to make money that makes others laugh."
"Third brother, didn't I tell your elder brother just now? I don't do business for money. I am happy to do this because I have lived in Furu for decades and have been taken care of by my neighbors. I can't bear it.
We are all getting old and there is no place to drink or chat."
"That's why. In my eyes, even if you make a lot of money from all the things you do outside, you still don't have enough time to make that 'day and night shop' interesting and upscale."
"I'm not talking about you. I originally thought that Shui Qing was looking after you and that you could rest assured that you were close to Zhu Zhechi. Now let's see, there is still a question mark as to whether you can manage your old job well in the future...
…”
At this point, Hong Yanwu, who was as shameless as the city wall, actually said it was okay. However, Shui Qing couldn't bear it at first.
She couldn't help but defend Hong Yanwu who was wrongly accused.
"Dad, I'm afraid you have misunderstood Xiao Wu. Actually..."
Before I could finish speaking, Hong Yanwu himself stopped him with something to say.
"Don't say nice things for me. Dad's words really taught me a lot about this matter."
Then toast another glass of wine to Hong Lucheng.
"Dad, nothing else. You taught me another lesson. My son admires you, and I will learn from you in the future. Just tell me how much it costs, and it doesn't matter whether you pay or not. Anyway, you want to
Just do whatever you want. As long as you are happy..."
After saying this, not only the old man was happy, but Wang Yunlin was also happy.
As a result, the whole family said that Hong Yanwu was a flatterer, and everyone became happy again. They all stood up and toasted together, which was a lively event.
But in fact, everyone has almost misunderstood it.
Hong Yanwu definitely didn't mean what he said. What he said was all the truth.
Apart from anything else, just because he could benefit from others' misfortunes, he had no choice but to admire him wholeheartedly.
Because whether it is from Chen Peisi, Mr. Shan, or Xiao Heping.
His own gains are random, beyond his control, and purely a matter of luck.
What is commendable is that he knows how to kill two birds with one stone and gain popularity, and he just needs to think faster.
But that’s not the case with the old man.
His father could actually think about the difficulty of selling grain from the increase in grain production. Seeing the release of labor force, this state of mind was completely different.
He has clear thinking and foresight. He can understand the general trend of the world at a glance.
He thought about it carefully, although no one had ever mentioned this when summarizing reform experience.
But facts have proven that the wave of migrant workers, the wave of migrant workers, and the Spring Festival Transport started in 1984 or 1985.
Let’s think about Hong Xiangqi, the ancestor of the Hong family, who came to Beijing from his hometown in Fushan, Shandong during the Yongzheng period. It was only through the work of Emperor Yongzheng that he could enjoy personal freedom and have the opportunity to start a business in Beijing.
Isn't this somewhat similar to the current scene?
This is how a historical era begins quietly and inadvertently.
But besides his father, who else can make such a clear judgment?
History seems to always repeat itself inadvertently.
But besides him, who else could feel it so clearly?