That afternoon, Wang Yunlin, who was working at the Beiwei Road Cloth Shoe Factory, fell into a state of extreme joy from the moment she was called to the reception room and received the call from her daughter Hong Yanru.
As the saying goes, "People feel refreshed when happy events happen." So when Wang Yunlin returned to the sewing workshop, her whole spirit was different.
He looked extremely radiant and looked more than ten years younger. He no longer looked as haggard as usual, where he could only sleep four or five hours a day because of worrying about all kinds of trivial matters.
This strong contrast naturally made female colleagues who were familiar with Wang Yunlin come to inquire.
Because Wang Yunlin was very popular, although people at that time did not attach much importance to the "release of reform-through-labor prisoners after serving their sentences", due to the understanding that they were both women and mothers, most people learned about Hong Yanwu's return.
After hearing the news, I was still very happy for her.
In the following time, because this incident was quickly spread throughout the entire factory through "small broadcasts" by some good old ladies, Wang Yunlin also continued to accept congratulations from acquaintances in other workshops.
Although she was happy, there was an imminent practical problem that still faced Wang Yunlin - how should she deal with the dinner when her son returned?
According to the old saying, "the dumplings are put on the horse and the noodles are put on the horse." There is nothing more appropriate than a bowl of hot braised noodles to welcome the young son who has just returned from home after a long time.
But this is something that every household should take for granted, but for Wang Yunlin, it is currently a big problem that is very difficult to achieve.
Because not to mention skinned pork belly, eggs, yellow flowers, fungus, mushrooms (use dried shiitake mushrooms if you don’t have them), magnolia slices, sea rice, and carrots, she doesn’t have any of these indispensable ingredients, even if she just manages to get them.
It’s actually quite difficult to order white noodles.
What? Is this really so difficult?
There is no doubt about this, because the financial burden on Wang Yunlin is really too heavy.
At home, she not only has a husband who is bedridden all year round, but also has a daughter who is still in school. Her eldest son, Hong Yanzheng, already has a child, and a five-year-old grandson is added to the family.
Outside, in addition to Hong Yanwu, who is in jail, she also has a second son, "Hong Xiangyang", who is suffering in Yanbei, where he has neither food nor drink.
Which of these people doesn’t mean extra fees?
Therefore, no matter how smart and capable Wang Yunlin is, and even if her eldest daughter-in-law Xu Manli is helping her wholeheartedly, it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice. If she wants to successfully deal with so many things with only the salary of three adults in the family, it is absolutely impossible to deal with everything.
An impossible thing to do.
It is precisely because of this that everyone in the Hong family will work hard to paste paper boxes whenever they have time, just to earn extra income to supplement their family income.
But even so, the "in" and "out" of the family were too far apart. In the end, they were still struggling to make ends meet due to famine. As a result, Wang Yunlin was worried about money all day long, and she became heartbroken when she was anxious.
I was so panicked that I couldn't eat, and I had bouts of sweating.
To be honest, she had indeed tried every means she could think of to solve her family problems, and had exchanged all the money she could exchange.
But you should know that this year's Spring Festival has just passed less than a month ago, and everything in the family's shopping book, except for matches, soap, candles and some vermicelli, has long been sold out.
Nowadays, her noodle pocket is empty, and there are only a few stick noodles in the vat. As for dry vegetables, besides cabbage, potatoes, and some eggplant skins dried in the fall, they only have home-pickled pickles.
, I took out half a bundle of green onions and a bunch of garlic.
And to this day, she still owes the factory "mutual aid association" (a type of small credit loan) because of the festival. In the 1970s, every unit's labor union formed a mutual aid association and participated voluntarily.
At that time, people's wages were only a few tens of yuan, and each person had to pay 2 to 5 yuan as membership fees every month, which was managed by a dedicated person and used to borrow money when employees were in difficulty. The person in charge of the mutual aid association deposited the money in a bank near the work unit.
At the end of the year, the membership fees paid by each member for the year will be returned to him or her. During this year, if each member encounters temporary difficulties in living at home, he or she can submit a written application. After writing the IOU, the money can be borrowed, but the borrowing
It must be paid back the next month when wages are paid.) The ten yuan has not yet been paid.
Under such circumstances, where could she go to find the resources to make noodles for her son?
Thinking of this, Wang Yunlin, who was sitting in front of the sewing machine, hemming the uppers of her shoes, suddenly froze the smile on her face, and her brows that had just relaxed became tangled again.
After a while, she looked at the work in her hands that had stopped unconsciously and let out a long sigh...
At 5:10 pm that day.
After leaving the coal factory, Hong Yanwu, who came to take a shower alone, had just finished taking a shower and was lying on a bunk in the Zixin Road bathhouse in front of his house, covered with a bath towel.
He had a "North Sea" tree in his mouth, but his mind was still thinking about the injustice he and Quanzi had suffered today, and he could never forget it.
He hated Hu Erkui even more. Fortunately, the final "modification surgery" on the bicycle went smoothly. If nothing else happened, the old boy would soon be punished.
It was really choking. I wonder if it was because there was no food in his stomach. The heat in the bathroom made Hong Yanwu feel a little dazed at this moment.
So, he simply closed his eyes, smoked a cigarette and closed his eyes to rest.
At some point, he started humming unconsciously, which unintentionally attracted the attention of many people on the pavement around him.
This was for no other reason, because what Hong Yanwu was humming was a song that should not have existed at that time. It was "Friends" which was once popular all over the country, and every man would roar it when he was drunk.
Although the singer of this song was arrested for breaking the law, the song was really good. Therefore, the people around Hong Yanwu also thought the song was pretty good.
However, it is precisely because everyone has never heard of him that they think Hong Yanwu is very strange, and therefore pay special attention to him.
But Hong Yanwu was not aware of this at all. While he was humming, he was still thinking about a very important question in his mind.
That is - how is mom?
In fact, Hong Yanwu didn't really think that his mother would be in any bad condition, but until now, he had basically met all the people in his family who cared about him the most, but he had not met his mother, who was the only one who was kind to him, so he would naturally miss him.
When I got up, I felt restless and restless.
In his opinion, his mother Wang Yunlin is simply the greatest and most amazing person in the world.
Although she is just a weak woman, she faced so many difficulties at home and outside. Not only was she not knocked down by life, but she also held up the whole family, raising all her children and even her grandchildren. She was able to do this.
This step is not only difficult, it is simply a huge difficulty. In today's terms, it is a legend.
So on the other hand, now he can also empathize with the hardships and sufferings his mother endured.
Especially at this time, the family's financial situation was very poor, and his father's illness could not be separated from others, so he felt that his mother would be more worried and worried about him, which made him feel distressed and ashamed for him.
The thing that bothers him the most now is how to hand over the money and receipts in his pocket to his mother.
This will definitely alleviate the family's embarrassment to some extent, but without a suitable reason, his mother will definitely not accept it. Instead, she will interrogate him endlessly and worry endlessly.
Alas, it seems that he must solve this problem first. If he cannot solve it, his heart will not be at ease at all...
Just when Hong Yanwu was concentrating on this issue, suddenly, an extremely offensive voice sounded in his ears.
"Hey, let me tell you, after you finish washing, can you go home and lay out your body? If you have to sleep here, we guys won't have anywhere to go!"
The word "postere" undoubtedly made Hong Yanwu feel disgusted. He opened his eyes slightly and took a look. It turned out to be a young worker in his early twenties wearing denim overalls. He wore his hat on one side and smoked a cigarette. He looked extremely dissatisfied.
Virtue, standing in front of his bunk.
Then he looked around and found that there were a lot more people in the bathhouse, and the clock on the wall also showed that it was time to get off work.
It seemed that all the bunks were full. This kid probably couldn't wait any longer. He looked around and found that he was the only young man around. He thought he could be bullied, so he found the one on his head.
But under normal circumstances, no matter how big or small a factory is, it has its own bathhouse. So Hong Yanwu couldn't help but be a little curious despite being disgusted, so he propped up his arms and half sat up.
"Where are you from? You don't wash in your factory, why are you here to join in the fun?"
"Nonsense! If our factory hadn't repaired the boiler today, who the hell would have come here? It's so crowded, it's like dumplings... Hey, you have to finish washing and leave quickly, please move!
When Hong Yanwu saw that this boy couldn't speak, he turned his face away and lay back down, then coldly ditched him.
"What I owe you is yours! You have to wash away the basket!"
What Hong Yanwu refers to as "taking off the basket" is actually a common phenomenon that began at the end of the "movement" and saw the rise of public bathhouses.
As the economic tension began to gradually ease during this period, people had a lot more money, and more and more people went to bathhouses to take a bath.
Naturally, the limited beds are not enough for use, so all bathhouses prepare some extra large baskets to put clothes, shoes and socks for people who can't wait.
Especially before festivals or on rest days, the bathhouses are overcrowded. At such times, the "take off the basket" method is usually very effective.
In form, it is actually equivalent to temporarily adding tables to some particularly popular restaurants today.
However, the young worker obviously couldn't accept this kind of treatment, and he couldn't bear Hong Yanwu's indifferent attitude, so he gave Hong Yanwu a sideways look and immediately stretched out his hand to say hello from a distance.
"Brother Liu, there is a boy here who refuses to leave after washing, and even makes thorns with me! This is the door of your house. If you don't know him, I will slap him..."
As soon as he finished speaking, another worker came over from a distance. The boy was arrogant and nonchalant, and he was still muttering, "Who is it? Such a coward! There are many children in this area who are afraid of me. I have to take a closer look."
…”
Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived, this person felt like his throat was being strangled, and with a "crack", he was completely silent.
Not to mention, Hong Yanwu actually felt that the call was very familiar. But when he opened his eyes and saw it clearly, he snorted disdainfully.
As expected, I knew this kid Hong Yanwu who was following me. He had a suture mark on his upper lip. He was none other than his schoolmate and a worker at the 541 Factory, "Husband" Liu Fugen.
Now it was the turn of the "Huozi" who had just spoken loudly to be completely dumbfounded. He stared at Hong Yanwu as if he had seen some venomous snake and beast. He was so frightened that he stuttered and stuttered for a long time before he screamed.
"Red...red, red boy..."
"Huozi, you are so awesome, you are so majestic!"
Hong Yanwu teased him jokingly, sitting up all at once, and the bath towel he was covering fell on the bed.
Naturally, his upper body was completely exposed. The muscles not only had intimidating outlines, but also obviously contained incredible explosive power.
And the most astonishing thing is that his chest and ribs are covered with many hideous scars, some of which were left while practicing, and some of which were mementos of fights.
But in this case, it's like a sharp mouth that can eat people alive!
Okay! Now the other boy was also stunned and his face, which was "seven dissatisfied and eight dissatisfied" just now, was now completely green.
Not surprisingly, he should have heard of this name, so he naturally understands how "Huozi" feels...
If we want to use an appropriate metaphor to describe this situation, in fact, in a certain gangster movie filmed by "Japanese", a few gangsters were playing in the bathhouse and running wild, and finally found that the person they splashed water on was standing there.
After getting up, he actually had a gorgeous tattoo on his body, which had a dramatic effect.