Life 1984

Chapter 59 Don’t be timid about being close to hometown

Li Yunhai came to Nanmen Bay in Meishan County.

Nanmen Bay is still the same as in the memory, surrounded by post and telecommunications offices, non-staple food stores, department stores, May Day Hotel, clothing factory sales departments, etc.

He used to go to the post office often. The children's books such as "Childhood" and "Little Stream" on the counter were always so attractive. The old couple who sold the books were very nice people, and I can still clearly remember their kind smiles.

Li Yunhai walked into the May Day Hotel, sat down at a dining table, and put down his luggage.

The noodles in this shop are very famous. If you are lucky enough to try them, the famous signature noodles in the provincial capital will be nothing.

He put down his luggage and looked at the "Today's supply" written on the small blackboard.

A bowl of plain noodles costs [-] cents, and a bowl of beef noodles costs [-] cents.

Even children in the county town can only enjoy it once during their birthdays or when they are sick.It is common for some clever children to pretend to be sick in order to eat a bowl of noodles.

Li Yunhai spent [-] cents to buy a bowl of Gai Ma Beef Noodles. It tasted just like he remembered, spicy and delicious!

After eating the noodles, Li Yunhai stood up and left.

Next door to the hotel is a non-staple food store. Under the wall of the store there is a man tinkering with pots. Li Yunhai vaguely remembers that this man's name is Peng Dianzi. He heard that he was working in other places and was stimulated. He was sent home and spent all day. He is crazy and speaks half-baked Mandarin, but he has a good skill in mending the pot.The person who begged him to mend the pot naturally called him Master Peng to his face, but still called him "Peng Manzi" behind his back.When he was not tinkering with pots, he liked to give lectures to passers-by. The content of the lectures was very simple. He used chalk to repeatedly write the words sunlight, air, water, carbon dioxide, organic matter, inorganic matter, etc. on the wall.According to him, humans are organic matter, composed of water, carbon dioxide, etc. Li Yunhai thought that Peng Dianzi had a point in saying so.

Some people say that in our country, the real Jiangnan town is not Fenghuang, Lijiang, or Pingyao, but Meishan County.This is a bit loud to say, but it also shows the glory that Meishan once had.

You know, the originator of the Hunan Army back then was from Meishan County.

Decades ago, Meishan was one of the main battlefields in the Battle of Western Hunan. The Meishan tragedy destroyed the entire Meishan County.

According to the county annals, wherever the Japanese invaders went, the houses were ruins and corpses lay everywhere. The people supported the old and the young and moved away. The cries were loud and tragic.

The Japanese invaders used cruel methods such as shooting, burying alive, burning, disembowelling, removing livers, and dismembering the bodies with bamboo poles. They killed tens of thousands of innocent people. There are still mass graves to this day!

In the battle of Yangguling, the Japanese army was defeated and retreated. The Meishan soldiers and civilians fought bravely and tenaciously to hold on to the last front at a heavy cost.

What if the clean, smooth and bright bluestone roads in the county are still there; what if the rows of ancient houses are still there; what if, the City God Temple, Confucius Temple, Xuanyuan Hall, and Yuxu Temple, which contain the connotation of traditional Chinese culture, are still here. The palace and other ancient buildings are still there. What will Meishan look like today?

Li Yunhai returned to this ancient county again with many emotions.

He walked past the post office, the county office compound, passed the Yongxing vegetable market, and came to the Meishan County Machinery Factory.

There are two large iron doors at the entrance of the factory. A long wooden sign is carried on a cement pillar next to the door. On the sign, "Meishan County Machinery Factory" is written in six bright red characters.

The security guard at the door saw Li Yunhai. He was wearing a white shirt, green trousers and black leather shoes. He was holding a briefcase. He looked like a worker or a cadre. He called out to him: "Hey, comrade, who are you looking for?"

Of course Li Yunhai recognized him. At this moment, he could only pretend not to know him and smiled slightly: "Hello, I am a newly assigned technical secondary school student and I am here to report."

"Oh, you are a new technician! You are a technical secondary school student! Our factory is short of intellectuals like you. The administration building is on the left, that five-story building. You go to the second floor over there. Go to Section Chief Liu of the Human Resources Department to complete the formalities!"

"Okay, thank you. Uncle, can I store my luggage with you for a while? I'll come and get it later."

"Okay, no problem."

Li Yunhai put down his luggage and came to the administration building carrying only his briefcase.

He was familiar with the place and walked all the way to the middle office door in the left corridor on the second floor and knocked on the door.

Someone inside shouted: "Come in!"

Li Yunhai walked in and saw two middle-aged people, a man and a woman, sitting in the office.

He said to the middle-aged man: "Hello, Chief Liu. My name is Li Yunhai. I am a fresh graduate of Xizhou Industrial Technical School. I have been assigned by the organization to report to your factory."

Liu Fugui, the chief of the personnel section, put down his work, looked up at Li Yunhai, and exclaimed: "You are Li Yunhai, why did you just come to report? The other two comrades who were assigned to you at the same time have already reported for work. , I can get more than 20 days more salary than you!"

Li Yunhai took out his graduation certificate and registration certificate, showed them to Liu Fugui, and explained: "I have something to do in the provincial capital and was delayed."

Liu Fugui took the certificates, checked them one by one, and said with a smile: "Our factory has received your personnel files. I will help you with the relevant procedures."

Li Yunhai said hello and asked: "Chief Liu, I would like to ask if our factory can handle the formalities for suspension of salary and job retention?"

The two people in the personnel department were both startled and looked at each other.Liu Fugui frowned, looked at Li Yunhai in disbelief, and said: "You little comrade, you just started working, why do you want to take a leave of absence without pay? Do you know that it's not easy for you?" I just relied on studying to get out of the farm. If you don't work hard as a worker, what do you think?"

Li Yunhai coughed lightly and said with a smile: "I'll just ask about the situation first. Isn't it popular to go to sea now?"

Liu Fugui shook his head and said with a sad look on his face: "Going to the sea? Those people will regret it sooner or later! It's inappropriate to leave good national workers alone. How can they become self-employed and set up a small stall on the street in the sun and rain? They are very promising. Is that so? That is a job only done by idle and unemployed people in society! It has no social status at all!"

However, Comrade Li Yunhai just doesn't understand. He ignores the country's workers and wishes to become unemployed soon.Most people cannot understand his thoughts.

The woman sitting opposite Liu Fugui put down the enamel cup she was drinking from and said earnestly: "Comrade Xiao Li, you are still young and do not understand the hardships of the world! In a word, you must not go to the sea! Our factory's Work is an iron rice bowl. Aren't you reading so many books just to get an iron rice bowl and eat national food? If your parents know that you have such unrealistic and random thoughts, be careful that they whip you with a bamboo whip!"

Li Yunhai just asked about suspension of work without pay, but he was accused of treason.

He didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and asked calmly: "Chief Liu, I just want to ask, can our factory handle suspension of wages and job retention?"

Liu Fugui coughed slightly and raised his eyelids: "It can be done, and the policy allows it. But you have just been assigned, and our factory is lacking knowledge-based technical talents like you! So, you want to apply for a leave of absence without pay? , the factory will not approve it! The factory director even asked me today if you have come to report!"

Li Yunhai frowned and was speechless.

Anyway, let’s complete the registration procedures first!
From a procedural perspective, you must first become a worker in a machinery factory before you can apply for resignation or leave without pay.

Li Yunhai told Liu Fugui that he had just returned from the provincial capital and reported immediately. Before he could return to his hometown, he wanted to come back to work in the factory the day after tomorrow.

Liu Fugui said yes. You can come to work after taking care of your housework. The factory needs technical talents like you.How did he know that the day Li Yunhai went to work was the day he resigned.

Li Yunhai went through the relevant procedures and was assigned to a dormitory.

He did not go to the dormitory, left the administration building, went to the security room to get his luggage, and left in a hurry.

It was getting late now, it was already time to get off work, and the shuttle bus back to Baixi Township had stopped operating.

Li Yunhai called for a turtle car and asked how much it would cost to deliver it to Shiban Village, Baixi Township.
When the car owner saw what Li Yunhai was wearing, he asked for three yuan. He also said that the distance was quite far and no one was willing to go even for three yuan. If I take you there, I would have to drive back at night with an empty car. It would be very difficult. Not a good deal.

In county towns these days, turtle cars are equivalent to taxis in later generations. The starting price is one or two cents. Most people are reluctant to take a ride, let alone rent a car to go back to the countryside!When people in the county get married and there is no way to find a car, they use this kind of turtle car as a wedding car.

Li Yunhai returned to the countryside so late. When he got there, he had to go to the village. There was no car along the way, which was very troublesome. He didn't bother to advise him. He said three yuan, just three yuan, let's go!

The turtle car buzzed and drove towards Li Yunhai's hometown.

Although the car was small, he was the only one in the car. The seats were quite spacious, and with ventilation and cool breeze blowing from all sides, it was much more comfortable than riding in a passenger car.

A person who truly misses his family is not afraid of being close to his hometown, because he can immediately see the relatives he misses day and night!
The turtle car drove very slowly, carrying Li Yunhai out of the county seat. After more than 20 minutes, it entered the streets of Baixi Township. After exiting the streets, it drove for another 10 minutes before arriving at Shiban Village. There were three wells and a Stopped in front of an adobe house in Zaoshulin.

It is rare for a car to come to the village. No matter what kind of car it is, the children in the village will run behind it.

Li Yunhai got out of the car and paid three yuan for the ride.

He was carrying his luggage and as soon as he turned around, he was hugged by his younger brothers and sisters who ran out.

"Brother!" the younger siblings shouted, "Brother is back! Brother is back!"

Li Yunhai touched the head of the eldest sister Li Yunfang, patted the shoulder of the third eldest brother Li Yunshan, hugged the fourth eldest brother Li Yunfeng, and finally pinched the face of the fifth sister Li Yunying: "Yingzi, do you miss your eldest brother?"

They are five brothers and sisters, one is two years apart, and the fifth sister is only ten years old. They raised their heads and grinned: "Brother, I miss you! Did you buy me candy?"

Li Yunfang spat softly: "Yingzi, do you want big brother or candies?"

Yingzi chuckled and said, "I want it all!"

Li Yunhai smiled and said: "Brother bought a lot of candies and went into the house to eat."

He raised his head and saw his grandparents, parents, and parents standing neatly at the door, all looking at him and smiling.

Seeing his lost and found relatives standing in front of him alive, Li Yunhai's eyes were sore!
It’s great that you are all here!
Li Yunhai instantly understood that the greatest significance of re-living his life is not to know how many wealth codes you have mastered, but that you will have the opportunity to do it again for the people you missed, the wrong things you did, and the filial piety that was too late.

A proper medicine for regrets in life is more precious than the elixir in Laojun's alchemy furnace!

(End of this chapter)