Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 6 Visiting Others

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Xiao Wei asked Station Master Wang, "Uncle, what grade is Xiao Hong in?"

Station Master Wang said, "He's in his first year of high school, and his grades are just average. I don't know if he'll be able to get into a good high school. The college entrance rate in our county isn't high, and we don't have any connections to get into the city. We'll just have to make do."

Xiao Wei said, "Yes, Xiao Hong is so clever, she'll definitely pass the exam and become a city dweller. She shouldn't be farming, farming is too tiring."

Station Chief Wang said, "We'll see. We'll try to find someone to help her with her household registration and see if she can find a job in the county. If she gets into a vocational college, that would be great; getting into Benxi Steel would be much better than working in the county."

Back then, schools weren't like they are now, only concerned with collecting fees and randomly opening majors without considering students' employment. They were focused on making money. Schools at that time attached great importance to students' employment. They would conduct thorough investigations before opening majors, fearing that students would have difficulty finding jobs after graduation. For example, the Benxi Metallurgical College of the Ministry of Metallurgy would coordinate with Benxi Iron and Steel Group and Anshan Iron and Steel Group before each enrollment year to adjust the majors according to their needs and ensure students' employment.

In that era, rural students basically aimed for metallurgical engineering majors. If they passed the exam, they would have urban household registration and could work at Benxi Steel, where they would receive the treatment of ordinary cadres.

At 6:27, Xiaohong ran into the room, shouting, "Turn on the TV! Turn on the TV! Oh, I finally finished writing! I almost lost the connection!" She ran over, plugged in the TV, and turned it on. The TV hummed, and a small bright spot appeared in the center of the screen. The spot then spread outwards, and the screen lit up, displaying a circle filled with small squares of various colors. Below was an electronic timer ticking the time. Of course, on a black and white TV, you couldn't see the colors; the squares were all black and white, in varying shades.

Station Master Wang finally said to his daughter, "Be careful, you're a grown woman."

Xiao Hong stuck out her tongue, sat down obediently, and said to Xiao Wei, "Have you seen this cartoon? It's really good."

Xiao Wei scratched his head, a little embarrassed, and said, "I've never seen one. I've never watched TV either. There's no TV in the fort. Who could afford one?"

Xiao Hong stuck out her tongue again, a little embarrassed, and said, "It's okay, you can watch it at my house from now on. Let me tell you, this cartoon is called The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, it's an American movie, it's really good. Nils bullies the goose, and then he shrinks to be smaller than the goose. The goose can still fly, and it takes him up into the sky. They travel with a flock of swans, and he can even talk to the swans, and he can understand them all."

As they were gesturing excitedly, the TV screen flashed, and a tiny figure was seen riding on a goose, flying around. Music started playing, and the show began.

Xiao Hong called out loudly to Aunt Wang, who answered from the outer room and walked in while wiping her hands. The four of them watched TV quietly.

……

The next morning, after breakfast, Station Chief Wang drove Xiao Hong to the county high school in his jeep, then turned around and drove out of town with Xiao Wei, saying, "Don't be nervous, that's my comrade-in-arms. Just treat him like your uncle. The key is to be shrewd and perceptive, so that no one can find fault with you."

Xiao Wei nodded and tugged at his blue vest.

Once out of the city, the car drove onto a dirt road and began to bump along. After driving for about ten minutes, we saw a hill in the distance. The top of the hill had been leveled and a large house had been built on top of it. The terrain here was relatively flat, and the nearest mountain was several kilometers away. This small hill became the highest point in the area, making even the house on it appear taller.

The car followed a cement road, making several turns before reaching the top of the hill. There was a large flat area right there, and the house was built on the other side of the flat area, with a large courtyard and a swimming pool. This is really rare in Northeast China.

The jeep stopped at the gate of the courtyard. Station Chief Wang led Xiao Wei out of the car and walked to the gate, calling out, "Old Xia, Old Xia, is Old Xia home?"

Several black dogs in the yard started barking.

Standing here and looking at this house, a two-and-a-half-story building with large glass windows and walls covered with small tiles, it looks so cool and dazzling in this era.

As soon as the building door opened, a woman came out and called out, "Who is it?"

Station Master Wang said, "Sister-in-law, this is Lao Wang from the agricultural machinery station. Is Lao Xia home? I made an appointment with him."

The woman immediately walked over with a smile and said, "Oh, Station Chief Wang, I'm home! I've been waiting for you. I even prepared some good wine, saying I wanted to have a drink with you. Come in, come in." As she spoke, the woman opened the courtyard gate and greeted Station Chief Wang warmly and politely.

Xiao Wei followed Station Chief Wang into the courtyard. The woman closed the gate, quickened her pace to lead the way, and said, "Station Chief Wang, you must be very important to us. It's been a while since you've come to visit. Do you look down on our humble home?"

Station Master Wang turned to see Xiao Wei following behind him and said with a smile, "Come on, sister-in-law, if your family is just a poor family, how are we supposed to get by? Xiao Wei, call her Aunt Xia. Sister-in-law, this is my nephew from my hometown, his name is Xiao Wei."

Xiao Wei bowed slightly to Aunt Xia and said, "Hello, Aunt Xia."

Aunt Xia smiled and looked Xiao Wei up and down a few times, saying, "Okay, you're good too. We're all family, no need to be so polite. Come on, Lao Wang, come inside. Lao Xia is on the phone in the back room. You and the child go straight in. I'll go check the kitchen." She pointed to the east and hurried off to the back kitchen.

Station Master Wang responded, led Xiao Wei through the first-floor living room, into the small east corridor, and directly to the innermost room. He knocked twice on the door and pushed it open.

A middle-aged man with slicked-back hair was sitting on the sofa making a phone call. Hearing the door open, he turned around and saw that it was Station Chief Wang. He raised his hand and gestured to Station Chief Wang, indicating that he should sit wherever he wanted. He pushed the cigarettes and lighter on the coffee table toward him, and held the phone receiver to his ear with his other hand, occasionally grunting in agreement.

Station Master Wang pulled Xiao Wei to sit down on the sofa, lit a cigarette, and quietly listened to the man make a phone call.

"Okay, okay, I'll listen to you. Okay, okay, the area at the south end is a bit difficult to handle, that area is rice paddies. The west and north sides are fine, to be honest, the riverbank at the east end is better than the south end. You decide what to do. Okay, okay. Okay, whatever you say goes. Hehe, okay, anything else? I'll hang up now. Two people are coming over, okay, got it. Okay."

The middle-aged man put down the phone, smoothed his slicked-back hair a few times, lit a cigarette, and said, "Want a drink? Let me tell you, I've got something really good this time, you've definitely never seen anything like it. It's a 30-year-old vintage, from the bottom of the Qingjiu distillery, there's only one and a half cases left."

Station Chief Wang asked, "Is the distillery completely demolished? Have you heard anything from the grain depot?"