National Tide 1980

"Okay, let's talk about some useless gossip, let's continue talking about the serious stuff..."

After Kang Shude had teased his apprentice enough, he took another sip of tea, moistened his throat, and then pulled it down.

"Having said so much before, you should understand the operating characteristics of a restaurant, right? The key is that the price is cheap and saves time. This kind of restaurant makes eating hassle-free, almost all ready-made. Simply process it, and you can't wait. It will take a while to satisfy your hunger. But eating at a restaurant is just a makeshift, the main thing is to fill your stomach."

"Under normal circumstances, half a pound of shredded pork fried cakes and a bowl of hot and sour soup are the consumption level of one person. For two or three people to eat, they may have dumplings, soup noodles, and some small wine and side dishes. For a family of several people, old and young, Only people want home-cooked food and rice. Therefore, the profit of this kind of restaurant lies in diversification, convenience and quick turnover. On the premise of meeting the needs of customers for a variety of tastes, it must also be easy, cheap and affordable."

Ning Weimin nodded frequently as he listened.

My heart said, isn’t this the Chinese fast food of the future?

Chengdu snacks, Shaxian snacks, hometown meat pie, Nancheng Xiang, Zhen Kungfu, Yonghe Soybean Milk, Qingfeng Steamed Bun Shop, almost all of them are here.

After 1978, the spring breeze of reform swept across China.

The Republic, with the joy of having just escaped from confinement, was bathing in the glory of the new era.

It's just that although the general social environment continues to improve.

But not everyone's life can be reversed immediately and lead to happiness.

Because there is a saying that goes well, all happy people in the world are the same, but all unhappy people are unhappy in their own way.

Don't forget, five fingers are not long on one side.

There are always a few people in the world who are special cases who can't memorize things ridiculously.

Although they had done nothing wrong, their lives were sinking deeper and deeper into the sour and bitter waters, with no sign of improvement at all.

It's impossible not to feel sympathy.

But even for such a poor person, it's still not the worst situation.

Because what is more miserable than one poor person is when two such poor people meet together.

Moreover, between these two poor people, there is a fundamental conflict of interest related to survival.

To put it bluntly, just like the "miserable comparison" joke in the movie "Tang Bohu Spots Autumn Fragrance", that's what fate is doing to people!

This is not nonsense, in real life, such a thing really happens.

If I don’t mention anything else, let’s talk about the old man and the young man in No. 2 Courtyard of Shan’er Hutong, Meishi Street, Beijing.

They were two unlucky people who met on such a narrow road.

The old one's name is Kang Shude.

Born in 1918, his ancestral home is Jinghai, Jinmen.

When he was young, he fled famine and came to the capital, where he later made a career out of playing small drums.

Because in the old days, there were only two industries in the capital that brought the most wealth.

One is for eating tiles, and the other is for antiques.

Kang Shude not only married a wife in the capital, but also bought a house.

In fact, he is the landlord of Courtyard No. 2 in Shan'er Hutong.

It's just that the times have changed, but it makes it difficult to grasp the direction of life.

After liberation, Kang Shude's whole family returned to their hometown.

After more than ten years of vicissitudes of life, he was left alone.

In 1979, the house in his hometown collapsed due to rain, and Kang Shude ran back to the capital.

When we met again, these old tenants in the yard all sympathized with Kang Shude.

Because his poor appearance is no different from the description of him begging for food when he came to Beijing.

So after several tenants argued, it was approved by the street and housing management departments.

Kang Shude moved into the two small north rooms where he had lived before and took up residence temporarily.

Since there is a process to apply for a household registration, the grain book Kang Shude receives is temporary. For the time being, he has to rely on his neighbors to provide monthly oil, salt, sauce and vinegar.

As for the source of income, Kang Shude could only make a living by supplying paper boxes to Tongrentang, which was renamed "Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Store" during the movement.

Is this a pitiful situation for such a large number of people at this age?

Don't look at him as pitiful, there are people even more pitiful than him.

It sounds weird, but it's not such a coincidence.

Not long after Old Man Kang reluctantly settled down.

Another owner who also had the right to live in these two small houses also ran back to the capital in the winter of 1979.

This is Ning Weimin, an educated youth who returned to the city.

Speaking of this kid, he is even more of a bitter boy.

Ning Weimin was born in 1961. His father, Ning Changyou, was a tricycle driver at Dashilan Crane Company.

When he was two years old, he suffered from cerebral congestion due to excessive smoking and drinking, and died early.

The Ning family is a real family with no relatives or friends.

So this child who lost his father at a young age never had a good day.

It was all raised by his widowed mother who worked in a street sewing club.

As for the two of them moving to No. 2 Courtyard of Shan'er Hutong, it was of course after Kang Shude's family moved out.

Mainly because the street cadres took special care of her. Poor Weimin's mother, a widow, had a hard time losing her job.

I feel that if they move here, their work will be close by.

They were two unlucky people who met on such a narrow road.

The old one's name is Kang Shude.

Born in 1918, his ancestral home is Jinghai, Jinmen.

When he was young, he fled famine and came to the capital, where he later made a career out of playing small drums.

Because in the old days, there were only two industries in the capital that brought the most wealth.

One is for eating tiles, and the other is for antiques.

Kang Shude not only married a wife in the capital, but also bought a house.

In fact, he is the landlord of Courtyard No. 2 in Shan'er Hutong.

It's just that the times have changed, but it makes it difficult to grasp the direction of life.

After liberation, Kang Shude's whole family returned to their hometown.

After more than ten years of vicissitudes of life, he was left alone.

In 1979, the house in his hometown collapsed due to rain, and Kang Shude ran back to the capital.

When we met again, these old tenants in the yard all sympathized with Kang Shude.

Because his poor appearance is no different from the description of him begging for food when he came to Beijing.

So after several tenants argued, it was approved by the street and housing management departments.

Kang Shude moved into the two small north rooms where he had lived before and took up residence temporarily.

Since there is a process to apply for a household registration, the grain book Kang Shude receives is temporary. For the time being, he has to rely on his neighbors to provide monthly oil, salt, sauce and vinegar.

As for the source of income, Kang Shude could only make a living by supplying paper boxes to Tongrentang, which was renamed "Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Store" during the movement.

Is this a pitiful situation for such a large number of people at this age?

Don't look at him as pitiful, there are people even more pitiful than him.

It sounds weird, but it's not such a coincidence.

Not long after Old Man Kang reluctantly settled down.

Another owner who also had the right to live in these two small houses also ran back to the capital in the winter of 1979.

No matter who they are, they all have legitimate reasons to claim power for themselves.

Don't look at him as pitiful, there are people even more pitiful than him.

It sounds weird, but it's not such a coincidence.

Not long after Old Man Kang reluctantly settled down.

Another owner who also had the right to live in these two small houses also ran back to the capital in the winter of 1979. It sounds weird, but it's not such a coincidence.

Not long after Old Man Kang reluctantly settled down.

Another owner who also had the right to live in these two small houses also ran back to the capital in the winter of 1979.

No matter who they are, they all have legitimate reasons to claim power for themselves.

So difficult! How to solve this problem is really embarrassing!

Not to mention the two unfortunate people, they themselves were troubled and troubled.

Even the people around them shook their heads and sighed on their behalf, and gnashed their teeth in embarrassment.

So after a lot of calculation and deliberation, the solution finally given by the street officials was to divide it equally!

Since it's not appropriate to ask anyone to move out.

There are two small rooms, just one for each person.

But to be honest, neither Old Man Kang nor Ning Weimin felt comfortable with this outcome.

Because this is not a kindergarten where children sit in rows and divide fruits.

First of all, this room is divided into inside and outside, which is a problem.

These two small rooms are actually the two easternmost rooms of the five north rooms in the front of the small courtyard.

It's like a suite with a door inside and a door outside.

Breaking down a door temporarily is of course unrealistic.

Regardless of whether you have money or not, just for the sake of keeping warm, you have to wait until the spring comes and the flowers bloom.

So who is in and who is out?

Both wanted to live inside, but both knew they would be disturbed if they lived outside.

For this, we have to fight first.

Old man Kang's attitude of relying on the old and selling the old has worked.

He said he was too old to bear the wind.

With this, he temporarily won the game and moved into the inner room.

But within two days, he took the initiative to change out of the back room.

For no other reason than because Ning Weimin hung the portraits of his parents on the west wall of the outer room.

Every day when Old Man Kang came in or out, he had to see the dead people in the photos.

As time went by, he couldn't stand it anymore.

He would rather suffer the consequences of his old bones than let Ning Weimin's parents glare at him again.

And this was just the beginning, and there were more disputes later.

For example, Ning Weimin hated Old Man Kang's snoring.

As for Kang Shude, he also disliked Ning Weimin for being unruly and rude.

For another example, Ning Weimin blamed Kang Shude every day for covering the outer room with cardboard boxes, so that the smell of paste could not be dissipated.

As for Old Man Kang, he was also determined not to let Ning Weimin smoke in the house, fearing that he would attract the carton.

And he retorted, saying that if he went to bed without washing his feet, the smell would be worse than paste.

Besides, I would rather have no income for the people, but still have to eat and drink.

He unceremoniously used Old Man Kang's rice noodles and coal fire.

How could Old Man Kang be willing to do it?

Of course he had to cover it up, not wanting to be taken advantage of.

But Ning Weimin said again that the furniture, stove, pots and pans in this house all belong to their family.

If it doesn't provide food and drink, then don't use it.

In this way, the two of them quarreled so much that they alarmed the neighbors. Only with everyone's persuasion and witness, they negotiated a solution.

That is, Ning Weimin has to help paste a certain number of paper boxes every day, and he also has to take out the non-staple food book and share it with Old Man Kang.

Only this old man Kang can provide free food, drink, coal and fire.

In short, the old man and the young man had never had a good impression of each other since they first met to compete for a house.

With such huge differences in personal emotions and living habits, it is natural that we cannot live together.

For them, everything can become a contradiction, and it is good that the human brain is not turned into a dog brain.

And this also posed a problem for the entire courtyard.

The neighbors are really annoyed. When they talk about trying to break up a fight between these two people, they all get a headache.

The difficulty lies in the fact that it won't work if you focus on this, or on this or that. No matter what you do, it will be wrong.

But don't mention it, just when everyone thought that Old Man Kang and Ning Weimin would go further and further down the road of fighting each other.

There will never be any other possibility except hurting each other.

Destiny arranged another very wonderful plot twist, which changed the situation from bad to good in one go.

That was around the Spring Festival of 1980.

These two people, who could be called enemies in the past life and rivals in this life, not only completely resolved their old conflicts, but also became as close as one family.

You want to ask what happened?

The answer is actually very simple, just five words, a friend in need is a friend indeed!

The cause of this change occurred on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Old people feel less and get up early.

As soon as Kang Shude got up that day, he noticed that the smell of coal in the house was not right.

Wearing some clothes, he found Ning Weimin's door after looking for the smell.

He then knocked on the door and called for someone, but there was no response from the house.

The old man immediately became anxious and knew something was wrong.

He decisively smashed the window in the inner room with a stool, thus saving Ning Weimin's life.

But after the New Year, it was Kang Shude's turn to have an accident again.

At noon on a working day, Ning Weimin rushed back from outside for dinner.

I didn't see him eating, but I found the old man lying on the table with a paper box in his hand and his eyes closed.

No matter how much I scream, I can't wake him up.

Touching it again, my forehead felt hot.

Come on, Ning Weimin didn't hesitate and quickly carried Kang Shude on his back.

I also called out to my neighbors at home, retired Uncle Bian, and Aunt Bian, the director of the neighborhood committee.

Several people sent the old man to Friendship Hospital together.

Unexpectedly, the situation was not very optimistic. Not only did he need an intravenous drip, but he also had to be hospitalized for two days of observation.

The problem is that Kang Shude has to pay for medical treatment at his own expense. Who will pay for it?

Just when Auntie Bian was trying to talk to the hospital and asked if the neighborhood committee could provide a guarantee.

No one expected that Ning Weimin went out for a while.

I came back more than half an hour later, and like a magic trick, I sold sixty yuan on the spot.

What's even more unexpected is that Ji Chibai Lian finished paying the money.

Ning Weimin fell to the ground without even allowing Aunt Bian and Uncle Bian to ask.

There was chaos at the scene.

The old couple of the Bian family were also frightened and quickly called the doctor passing by to see what was going on.

Then the mystery was completely revealed.

Where did this money come from?

Daqing Ning Weimin suddenly came to his senses. He had just gone to the blood drawing room to donate blood.

The list in my pocket is clearly written.

300CC was extracted from him in exchange for this life-saving money.

Also, don’t forget, when was this?

Ning Weimin hadn't eaten until this moment.

He carried people to the hospital on his back, and after drawing blood on an hungry stomach, he felt angry and didn't even take a sip of water. How could he not faint?

Then think about it, what will it feel like when Kang Shude is rescued and knows what happened?

People's hearts are full of flesh and blood. No matter how much discord there is in daily life, it can't be worth a life-long friendship, right?

Speaking of which, neither the old man nor the young man expected that the other party would do this at a critical moment.

So after all these struggles, they all felt that they could rely on each other in times of trouble.

Thinking of each other's good things, they naturally become harmonious.

Going forward, it will definitely be different.

The weak fight against each other has turned into sympathy for each other, Ning Weimin respects the elderly, Kangshu is virtuous and cares for the young.

Even if they have any conflicts, they can tolerate each other.

They never got angry when talking, but they often laughed and chatted to make me bored.

People who don't know, think that the father and son are originally a family.

In this way, the street cadres finally relaxed and even considered merging the old and the young into households so that they could truly become a family.

The neighbors in Shan'er Hutong were all beaming with joy, taking this incident as an example of "true love exists in the world" and talked about it endlessly.

But here, there is something that must be explained clearly first.

This seemingly satisfactory result is not the end of the story, but just the beginning.

Because the tricks played by fate are so incredible that they are far beyond what people can imagine.

No one can realize that the Ning Weimin in their eyes is actually no longer the Ning Weimin of the past.

This kid's body has been replaced by a brand new soul...

PS: For friends on other reading platforms, it is best to transfer rewards and subscriptions.