The Idea of ​​Making Money

Wow~ Wow~ Wow~

Chen Weidong was awakened again by Chen Xiaoan's crying.

"I'll do it."

Seeing that Su Man had also opened her eyes, he said softly.

Su Man nodded slightly and closed her eyes again.

He picked up Chen Xiaoan, and sure enough, she had peed.

Chen Weidong wiped Chen Xiaoan's bottom with a clean cloth, then skillfully changed a new diaper, put it back on the kang (a heated brick bed), and gently patted his belly. Soon, Chen Xiaoan fell asleep again.

This was the third time that night. When he first started taking care of Su Man and Chen Xiaoan at the hospital, he was still a little unfamiliar with the process, but after these few days of training, Chen Weidong had become quite proficient.

Lying back in bed, Chen Weidong couldn't fall asleep for a while. His eyelids felt sore and he just couldn't drift off, his mind filled with all sorts of random thoughts.

The biggest problem at home right now is that we're too poor, and we're about to have to make a living.

With just the bag of cornmeal and a few potatoes at home, we'll probably be able to make do until the day after tomorrow.

With two babies at home and Su Man, who has just given birth, everyone is waiting for him to buy rice to cook.

He can't possibly borrow again; he already owes thirty yuan.

At that time, no one was well-off. He Yan and Fu Xiao were able to save money because they were single. Other families in the village had three or four members and they didn't even have enough to eat for themselves, let alone lend money to him.

If we wait another ten years or so, even if we don't have a job, we can still earn money by working on construction sites. As long as we work hard, we can definitely support our families.

But now it's a large collective, and there's nowhere to find work.

As for doing business, that's even worse. If you're caught, you'll be treated as a speculator.

Moreover, without a letter of introduction from the brigade, it's difficult to even go to a county town, let alone do business.

At present, some people secretly do jobs such as shoe repair, knife sharpening, haircutting, carpentry, and bricklaying.

Unfortunately, Chen Weidong couldn't do any of these jobs.

A safe and lucrative job...

Or you could try your old profession!

Chen Weidong had a sudden inspiration. He thought of writing, which was the safest and most reliable way to make money that he could think of at this stage.

In 1976, People's Literature, the first literary journal of New China, was revived; in August 1978, October was founded; in early 1979, Harvest was revived; in May 1979, Flower City was founded; and at the end of 1979, Contemporary was founded.

The relaunch or launch of these literary magazines in the late 1970s foreshadowed the beginning of a "literary fever."

In fact, "scar literature" has become quite popular in the past two years, with works such as Liu Xinwu's "The Class Teacher," Lu Xinhua's "The Scar," Jia Pingwa's "Full Moon," and Wang Meng's "The Most Precious"...

These are representative works of "scar literature," followed by reflective literature, reform literature, and so on. Each period saw the emergence of a large number of outstanding writers and intellectuals, ushering in a golden age of literature.

It just so happens that Chen Weidong had also written for a while in his previous life. Although he didn't make a name for himself, he still knew a bit about basic writing techniques. He had read a lot of novels in various magazines and newspapers, and even watched quite a few movies adapted from novels.

However, this time he wouldn't stubbornly try to reinvent the wheel. Although time had passed and he couldn't recall the specific articles, he still remembered bits and pieces of what he had read, especially the movies adapted from novels, which he remembered very well.

If there's a shortcut, why would anyone take the long way around?

Besides, he was just paying tribute, is that not allowed?

As for what to write?

Chen Weidong rubbed the back of his head where he'd been kicked by a horse, and a line from a movie came to mind: "Old Xu, do you want a wife?"

This iconic scene has remained popular for decades.

The movie "The Herdsman" is adapted from "Soul and Flesh." Chen Weidong doesn't remember much of the original article, but he has watched the movie many times.

In particular, the simple and pure love between Xu Lingjun and Li Xiuzhi comforted the hearts of a generation.

It just so happens that Chen Weidong himself was a horse herder, so it's perfectly reasonable for him to write this story.

……

Chen Weidong drifted off to sleep, and when he woke up again, it was already daylight.

"You're awake. Wash your face and have some breakfast."

Su Man said to Chen Weidong while washing Chen Xiaosui's face.

"Why didn't you wake me up? Just rest and recover during this time. I'll cook for you from now on."

Chen Weidong got off the kang (heated brick bed), quickly washed his face, and lifted the pot lid. Inside the steamer were potatoes, and underneath was still corn porridge.

"There's fried pork rind paste and pickled vegetables over there."

Flaxseed oil is an important crop in several northern provinces. The oil residue left after pressing can be made into oil residue paste, which is both a daily food and an important oil purchased by the state.

Especially the fried pork crackling paste, with a little salt and chopped green onions, is particularly delicious when dipped in potatoes.

The pickled vegetables were all made from pickled mustard tubers in advance. Chen Weidong cut them into strips with a knife and served them on the heated brick bed.

"We're out of potatoes at home. Go find He Yan later and get some from the cellar. Also, get some cornmeal and wheat flour from the jar."

Su Man put the potatoes into the corn porridge, stirred them with chopsticks until they were mashed, and fed them to Chen Xiaosui beside her while speaking to Chen Weidong.

Chen Xiaosui is too young to eat cornbread all the time, so Su Man plans to give the child some steamed buns to improve her diet.

"Ah, we still have grain at home!?"

Chen Weidong was full of surprise. He had been worried about this for half the night, since his family's food supplies were running low.

"Of course, we've only been rationing grain for a few months now, so we definitely still have some at home, stored in cellars and jars."

Su Man knew that Chen Weidong didn't usually care about these things, so she told him about her family's finances and added, "Don't take too much, just enough for about ten days."

She and Chen Weidong were counting their food rations, and there were still more than half a year before the next distribution of grain. If they ate too quickly, there would be no grain left to eat.

"I understand, I'll go in a bit."

After finishing his meal, Chen Weidong washed the dishes and went to find He Yan.

He knocked lightly on the door and went straight in. He Yan was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), looking at a newspaper.

"Brother Yan, what are you looking at? I want to go to the cellar to get some potatoes."

"Wei Dong is here. He borrowed the People's Daily from the team yesterday. I don't have any at home either, so I'll take some too."

He Yan handed over the newspaper. Chen Weidong glanced at it and saw that the front page headline was about the follow-up to the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, including editorials such as "Shifting the Focus of the Party's Work to Modernization" and "Emancipating the Mind, Seeking Truth from Facts, and Uniting to Look Forward."

"Does our team have newspapers?"

Chen Weidong looked through it with some surprise.

"Of course there are. Not only newspapers, but also books. You just haven't paid attention to them. If you want to read them, you can just go to the brigade to borrow them. They're in the house behind the brigade headquarters."

Seeing that Chen Weidong was interested, He Yan spoke up, then picked up a basket and led Chen Weidong to a corner of the educated youth settlement courtyard. He removed the dry firewood and weeds, revealing a large hole, and tied a rope to the basket.

"Weidong, I'm going downstairs. I'll call you in a bit, then you can bring the basket back up."

"Brother Yan, should I go down?"

Seeing Chen Weidong's eager expression, He Yan thought for a moment and nodded, instructing him, "Then be careful, the kiln on the left is yours, and the one on the right is mine. Just help me get one basket."

……