Chapter 1020: Chapter 893: Seeing Through Without Saying Out Loud
In the study, the three of them each contemplated their own thoughts, the couple carefully pondering and experiencing their feelings. After a while, Zhang Guoqing’s question was heard again.
Zhou Xiaozheng didn’t mind letting his daughter and son-in-law understand more about the stubborn thinking of those old feudalists, nor did he mind them deeply comprehending the conflict between old and new thoughts.
Many things, many truths, seem very complicated. In fact, when simplified and summarized, they ultimately boil down to one purpose: interest.
As the ancient saying goes, "What comes from reading feels shallow, you must experience it yourself to truly understand." Honestly, just relying on the children to read a few books is still too superficial.
If it comes to teaching, Zhou Xiaozheng considers that not many people can surpass him. Even those old gentlemen still around, their rigid Confucian thoughts have long been unsuitable for the new era.
From ancient times to the present, mixing in famous figures from modern foreign history, he analyzed each one. Once again, with his vision beyond the current, he conquered the young couple who were "new humans."
"Listening to you is better than reading books for ten years," is that the feeling?
Zhou Jiao and Zhang Guoqing were long past the point of complaining. Her dad had already analyzed all possible situations; what should they do next?
After discussing the serious matters, they moved on to casual talk.
"...If we talk about backgrounds, which of them are really peasants for eight generations? If their ancestors were peasants for eight generations, how low would their intelligence have to be?"
Zhou Xiaozheng’s offhand joke amused Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao. To be honest, back then, without some family wealth, people couldn’t really afford to produce an educated person.
Some things are better left unsaid.
Zhang Guoqing then laughed, "Dad, you wouldn’t know that on this question, Mr. Mo finally won over Old Yi for once. He said his grandfather was even a servant."
Immediately, the study was filled with laughter.
In the past, when talking about ancestral history, everyone was eager to distance themselves from peasant ancestry. Who would be proud of being a servant? Now it’s different...
It has to be said that this is also a kind of sorrow.
Of course, not everyone enjoys watching the farce and laughing along.
On a winter day, unable to tolerate it anymore, Doctor Hu finally refused to stay in Beijing, left a letter, and went a long way away with Uncle Hu.
The mute Aunt, who stayed alone in the courtyard, continued to do street office manual work at home as always. Except for daily necessities, she wouldn’t go out if she didn’t have to.
Zhou Jiao went a few times, and although she saw that she was living leisurely, she was still a bit worried.
Although now no one dares to break in and steal, what if? And she’s very skeptical about how many people would come to help after Aunt beats the face basin and water bucket in case of an emergency?
At the first large courtyard at the entrance of the alley, three families live there. Some "expert" invited the Red Guards, insisting that the solitary elderly lady in the west room was a land*lady. In the scorching August, the lady in her sixties vehemently denied it, passing away in a few days.
There was also a two-entry courtyard not far from the intersection of an alley running through, where an elderly couple who often walked hand in hand had just "hanged themselves out of guilt" not long ago.
At the fifth courtyard not far away, stacks of thread-bound books were found, and the family is still under supervision, cleaning public toilets, frequently pelted with stones by children...
In such an atmosphere, after these people’s experiences, who would still be keen to come out and protect the neighbors’ safety? With Uncle Hu, a retired disabled veteran, around, it was not a concern, but now...
On the 24th, the day for buying grain, Zhou Jiao accompanied by Zhang Guoqing arrived at the small courtyard in the alley.
The gray brick walls of the old alley were plastered with big character posters, the red lacquer courtyard doors of each household inevitably faded and chipped, and the stone drums and stone lions at the door had long disappeared.
Under the warm winter sun, the familiar scenes of past years were nowhere to be seen...
Scattered elderly were sitting to warm themselves, and children ran around playing snowball fights, with an old man selling popcorn at the wall corner.
Not only these vanished, but the small restaurant not far from the big tree was also tightly closed.
At this time last year, there were always old gentlemen drinking scattered wine there, either playing chess and chatting or sipping small drinks and singing a tune.
Who knows if one can still taste a three-cent pork bun stuffed with crispy fritter, a one-cent bean juice, or a three-cent bowl of bean noodle meatball soup in the future.
Adding a spoonful of sesame paste, a bit of cilantro, and a drizzle of chili oil, the colors, aroma, and flavor were all there. Spending three cents for breakfast, you’d get everything done.
All this may never be able to be recreated, becoming history, becoming the stories of time in the alley. It has to be said that it’s a regret.
Zhou Jiao and her husband arrived a step late, the courtyard gate was closed, so they had to heading to the nearby grain store in search of Aunt. Her figure was absent in the long queue.
Zhang Guoqing suddenly pulled Zhou Jiao, pointing to the store entrance. Wasn’t that Aunt, gesturing in sign language with the grain store staff?
Doctor Hu and Uncle Hu had a letter of proof for visiting family back home.
According to the need for grain tickets when on a business trip, you can collect grain tickets within your ration quota, so this time Aunt had to collect not only her own ration but also the grain tickets for those two.
This involved the length of time they would be away and their complexity, difficult to describe in detail, even though Aunt repeatedly said Doctor Hu had handled it beforehand. Zhou Jiao was also worried she might face someone deliberately making things difficult due to her inability to speak.
Seeing this, the couple quickly went to meet Aunt. They didn’t expect that the closer they got, the clearer they could hear Grandma Tan and the others boasting about Uncle Hu’s glorious deeds.
The couple exchanged a smile, slowing their steps. Kind-hearted people!
After accompanying Aunt back, after a while, Zhou Jiao saw that she really had no issues now, and this time she felt much more at ease. When seeing that Aunt was preparing to cook noodles with meat coupons and cloth tickets, they quickly took their leave.
Unlike her, Zhang Guoqing and his wife were really not short of these things.
As time went by, their grades also climbed step by step, and their salaries also rose step by step. One salary corresponds to one grade, all based on the original salary increases.
Besides Zhou Jiao, due to special reasons, being promoted three levels to level 19, earning over 78 a month, Zhang Guoqing was not worse, with his military treatment at level 22 not much worse than the level 19 administrative treatment.
Over the year, his various tickets and overtime allowances accumulated to a considerable amount. The couple’s monthly salary was 140, not to mention the various benefits from their respective units during the holidays.
Especially now, with the current prices of over one cent for a catty of cabbage, three cents for a catty of watermelon, thirty cents for a catty of large mackerel or yellow croaker, 16.5 cents for refined flour, over eighty cents for pork belly...
Under such prices, even without the supplies from space, even without Zhou Xiaozheng’s subsidies, just relying on the couple alone, they could provide for a family of seven without worrying about food or clothing.
So how could they accept Aunt’s gifts?
