He sat on the edge of the bed with his feet in the basin, smoking one cigarette after another. His mouth was filled with bitterness. He felt a chill on his feet. Only then did he realize that the water was completely cold. Bang! Bang! The kettle was empty.
He took his feet out of the basin and shook them twice. Without wiping his feet, he slipped them into his cotton slippers. He was about to bend over to pour himself some water when he was suddenly plunged into darkness.
Sudden blackouts, blackouts, endless blackouts, inexplicable blackouts. Many people might be watching TV. Not only were the children jumping up and down anxiously, but the adults were also anxious.
The capital and even the whole country often had blackouts. Every week, "three to four" would have a huge impact on the economy and people's livelihood. In order to save energy and electricity, daylight saving time was implemented at two o 'clock in the morning on May 4, 1986. At the Telegraph Building in Xidan, the workers set the clock hand on the top floor to three o' clock.
Millions of China people set their clocks forward by an hour. At two o 'clock in the morning on September 14, daylight saving time ended when the clock hand went back an hour.
Daylight saving time was only suspended in 1992. Regions could adjust their work and rest schedules according to the seasons to make full use of daylight and save electricity.
To Li He, a blackout was no big deal. The end of the world was no big deal either.
He was used to it. He guessed that the snow had crushed some power lines.
What did people usually touch when there was a blackout at night?
In the dark!
He felt around the edge of the bed for a lighter. He remembered that he had thrown it on the bed earlier. He climbed onto the bed and felt around the bed, inside and outside, but he couldn't find it. With a clang, he accidentally kicked over the basin.
He could imagine that the floor was covered with water. It was a basin full of water.
He didn't care anymore. He pulled the blanket over himself and seemed to remember something in his daze.
January 10, 1988 was the day his son was born. Excitement and happiness surrounded him on that day.
He remembered that it was Sunday and there were very few people in the hospital. It was snowing heavily and he was restless in the hospital corridor. Fatty Guo Dong even teased him, "You're too nervous. It's not a big deal. Just wait and see. By the way, do you want a daughter or a son? "
He said, "A daughter. A son is too naughty."
Fatty Guo asked, "It'll be difficult for you to have a second child."
"One is enough. How are we going to feed two?"
Later, fate made fools of people. Although Zhang Wanting was hooked, the probability of contraception failure was 0.1%. At that time, Li He was so upset that he wanted to bang his head against the wall. He couldn't bear to have an abortion because the family planning policy didn't allow it. Cheerful sorrow.
Zhang Wanting's belly was getting bigger and bigger. She was getting more and more scared by the rumors at work. She said to Li He, "I'll go to the hospital. Any later and it will be too late. "
"I'll resign." Li He hadn't slept well for a few nights and finally gave a definite answer. He couldn't accept killing his own child with his own hands. For a two-earner family that violated the family planning policy, one of them would have to resign.
Zhang Wanting cried. "If I wait to give birth, I won't have much salary. If you don't have a job, then how will our family survive? It's fine if we sew our mouths, but the child still needs to eat milk powder!"
Yes, they still had to send money, and their family of three still had to eat and drink. It was unbearable.
"I'll go into business." He had grown up in adversity. He had fears and worries, but he wasn't afraid of hardships or tiredness. He had never lowered his head. He was a stubborn donkey, and he never looked back once he set his mind on something. "If others can earn money, I can definitely do it too."
Zhang Wanting said, "I don't mind you taking on some private jobs, but you don't earn much money from them."
"Believe me."
In the end, the shiny land didn't cover up his brilliance. He took the college entrance examination and was lucky enough to go to university. He entered a big city, became a public servant, married a wife, and had a son.
He believed that as long as he worked hard, everything could be done.
"I know your personality too well. If you had a mellow personality, I wouldn't be worried, but you're a boring donkey. You offend people to death the moment you open your mouth. How are you suitable for doing business?"
"I've already decided." Li He said with certainty, "I'll do the last step for our factory. If other small workshops can do it, why can't I? Guo Dong will take care of me. Don't worry. "
The bumpy road and the wandering man felt tired, but he couldn't stop to rest …
Zhang Wanting sighed and said, "Life, it's all fate. I'm used to it. "
That sentence expressed how much helplessness and sadness she felt.
Li He still remembered Zhang Wanting's expression when she said that, so after he was reborn, he swore that he wouldn't let Zhang Wanting live like that again, and he would give her the best life. He would only try his best to smile, just so that she wouldn't worry.
The next morning, when he woke up, he found that there was water on the ground, and his shoes were soaked. However, because the heater was strong, there were only a few water stains left.
He put on his clothes and shoes, and used the broom behind the door to sweep the floor. As long as the water was not thick, it would evaporate in a short while.
Four saw that Li He had already brushed his teeth and washed his face, and took out the deep-fried dough sticks and buns from the pot.
"Someone came to say that a house you bought is going to be demolished, and they want you to sign it."
"Where?"
"Shuangyulin. It's the house that I accompanied you to. "
Li He held the deep-fried dough sticks in one hand and opened the drawer with the other. "See if it's this?"
He had bought the house less than two months ago, and he hadn't had the time to put the property certificate in the basement.
Four opened the property certificate. "It's this."
This house was under her name. She had accompanied Li He there, so of course she knew.
Li He said, "Go ahead."
"I don't know about these things."
"Learn. You'll take whatever they give you. Just sign it when you get there. There's no need to say much. " Li He didn't want to haggle inside. There wasn't much point. "You can keep the house and the money for the relocation. Consider it my dowry for you in the future. "
Old Four's face turned red. "You're talking nonsense. I don't want it. You're not married yet. "
"Let's settle it first. Be careful when you take the bus. " Li He only trusted Four a little. She was very assertive and could be independent. Li Long couldn't compare to her in this aspect.
Four said, "I'll call Li Qiuhong and ask her to accompany me. We'll take the subway. The Fuxingmen turnaround line was opened a few days ago."
Due to historical reasons, the Fuxingmen subway line had never been circular.
After Four left, Li He locked the door. He was going to ask around for information.
The snow had stopped, but the wind was still strong. He flagged down a few taxis, but none of them were willing to stop.
He walked straight. There were many places on the road that were being demolished. There were large areas of ruins, hemp ropes, cloth, cotton, and waste bricks.
Demolition slogans with white words on a red background:
"Agreement lenient resettlement, strict determination of expropriation", "Open demolition, put it on the wall", "Look at the big picture".
Along the way, there were more slogans like "If you want to be rich, build roads first", "Five stresses, four beauties, and three loves", "Face modernization, face the world, and face the future".
Some shopping malls also hung banners saying "Customers are God". People who had not completely gotten rid of all kinds of tickets did not understand what rights customers had. However, the majority of the working people finally saw the reluctant smiles of the salespeople.
Maybe it was a rest day, but there were very few people coming in and out of the mechanical department. He didn't see any familiar faces. There were armed police at the door, and he couldn't enter without an ID.
There was a phone booth next to him. He stuffed a coin into it and wanted to try it with Yang Hao.
He called Yang Hao's unit number and could only pray that Yang Hao was at the unit today.
Someone answered the phone. "Who is it?"
"Yang Hao, it's me, Old Li." Li He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh, Xiao Li. Why did you call me? "
Li He was very helpless. He didn't care about the title and asked directly. "I'm at the entrance of the mechanical department. I want to ask about someone. Do you know anyone in the seven machinery department? "
Yang Hao said, "Why are you going to the mechanical department? The seven machinery department is no longer under the control of the mechanical department. It's called the aerospace industry department now. If you want to find someone, you have to go there."
"Oh, okay, I got it." Li He patted his head and cursed his pig-brain. How could he forget this!
"That's okay. I'll help you ask around."
"No need. I'll ask around myself." Li He remembered that his classmate, Wu Bo, was inside, so there was no need to ask Yang Hao. "Okay, thank you. I'll hang up first. I'll treat you to a meal when I have time."
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