The next morning, around five o'clock, Yang Xiaole was awakened by the alarm clock.

After washing his face, he left the space.

The lane was dark and empty, with no one riding a bike. He walked straight out of the lane towards the nearby pigeon market.

When he arrived, it was very quiet inside.

Yang Xiaole quickly realized what was going on.

Now that everything belonged to the collective, there wasn't much to sell, so naturally there were fewer people.

After a while, when there was no food, this place would probably be crowded again.

Ignoring this, he went straight in.

There weren't many people, and the ticket sales were also very slow. The seller squatted there, using a rush woven fan to drive away mosquitoes and cool off.

Yang Xiaole covered his face and went straight to the ticket seller.

"What tickets do you have?"

The ticket seller glanced at him. "What tickets do you want?"

"Meat coupons, food coupons, sugar coupons, soap, laundry detergent, iron pots... give me some of everything."

He still needed to buy some tickets, just in case he needed them when he wasn't in the space, and he didn't need too many.

At least he needed to replenish the things that were not in the space.

When the ticket seller heard this, his eyes lit up. This was a big customer coming!

These days, there were fewer people selling things, so there were naturally fewer buyers, and the tickets were starting to pile up!

He quickly started rummaging through his bag under the streetlight.

Surprisingly, there were iron pot tickets this time, so he bought one.

He bought five catties of meat coupons, twenty catties of food coupons, three bars of soap, three bars of laundry detergent, and so on...

In total, he bought 18 yuan worth of tickets before stopping.

After buying everything, he put it away and continued to hide in the lane, observing to see if there was anything in the space that he didn't have.

After a quick look, he felt like there was nothing to buy.

But at this moment, he frowned.

Because of his physical condition, he had paid special attention to his surroundings when he came in.

And he actually found something.

Not far away, two young men were pretending to inquire about things, but their eyes kept glancing in his direction. Whenever he looked around, they turned their heads away.

Seeing this, Yang Xiaole looked around and, seeing nothing worth buying, he went straight out of the lane and back to the one he had come from.

As he approached the lane, he glanced sideways.

He pretended to take something out of the bag of noodles he was carrying.

He suddenly turned around with a butcher knife in his hand, pointing it at the two people following him and said, "Tired of living? Want to try your luck following me?"

As he walked, he backed away.

The two men had been eyeing him, thinking of taking advantage of his size.

But when they saw the gleaming butcher knife, they hesitated.

This thing was very sharp.

Although they had brought weapons, there was no way they could bring such a long one. They only had two small knives, so they were at a disadvantage in comparison!

The two men looked at each other, said nothing, and silently retreated back the way they had come.

Seeing the actions of the two men, Yang Xiaole frowned. It seemed that his idea was right; he should stay away from the black market with his small build.

It wasn't time to run out of food yet!

When that time came, not only would they rob him of his things, but they might even eat him.

When he reached the entrance of the lane, he calmly looked down the road before walking in.

He took out his bicycle from the other side and came out again.

There wasn't much time left until dawn, so he had no intention of going back into the space.

He saw that the breakfast shop not far away was already open.

Since he hadn't had breakfast, he went straight there.

It was a breakfast shop converted from a quadrangle courtyard, with a total of five rooms, which wasn't too small.

There were three people inside, busy with their work.

Several people were already eating at the tables.

When they saw him coming, the master of the noodles, wearing an apron, smiled at him and said, "Comrade, what would you like to eat?"

Yang Xiaole looked around and said, "Give me a bowl of tofu pudding, two meat buns, and two fried dough."

"Alright, sit inside. It'll be ready in a moment."

Yang Xiaole sat down, and soon the food was brought to him, along with the money and tickets.

It was a good thing it was salty tofu pudding; he wasn't used to the sweet kind.

As he ate, he pondered the events at the pigeon market.

He was truly thinking about the future for the first time.

There was still so much time until the reform; was he just going to eat and drink in the space?

He wouldn't be satisfied with that.

He couldn't completely trust the procurement of the major factories either. Would he send out supplies and find someone to do things for him?

Thinking about it, it wasn't feasible. If he didn't make a name for himself and someone robbed his things, that would be good enough.

For a while, he couldn't find a good solution.

He would go back and think about it slowly. If it didn't work, he would bring his big brother in.In his thoughts, the voices of conversation from the next table came over: "Hey, how's your big sister's situation?"

"Ugh, don't mention it, Old Scrooge Hu is asking for 400, it's outrageous!"

"Ah, that high?"

"Yeah, can you believe it? Even though it's a job at the grocery store, he doesn't think about how many years Old Lady Hu has left to live. I'll wait a bit. With this much money, I could give something to the sub-district office, and that would be better than this job. Plus, I'd have to work as an apprentice for three years."

Yang Xiaole subconsciously looked back.

The speakers were two middle-aged men in their forties, slurping up fried liver and eating fried dough sticks.

The breakfast master next to them probably knew these people and interjected, "With Old Scrooge Hu's personality, you never know. He doesn't realize that the city is undergoing major construction everywhere and hiring people left and right. He's stubborn about this price!

In my opinion, it's not that hard for us city folks to find work, no need to waste money like this. Any job is just about the same in the end."

Hearing this, someone at the table responded, "Yeah, that's what I was thinking too."

Behind them, Yang Xiaole pondered over these words.

What can be said about this price!

Is it high? Actually, it's very high.

After the Soviet Union's aid, industries and their supporting facilities have sprung up all over the country, creating a great demand for labor.

City workers have the advantage of household registration, so there's basically no problem finding work.

It's just a matter of good or bad.

And after all, it's only been a few years since liberation, and people's savings aren't as substantial as they were in the 70s and 80s.

After taking care of household expenses, 400 yuan isn't something that most ordinary working families can save up.

Those who have the ability don't care about this job.

And this price is basically unacceptable for rural families.

For him, it's no big deal how much money it is, it's just a matter of one or two pigs. Maybe he can give it a try.

After all, nowadays, in order to take care of retired workers, it's allowed for family and friends to take their place in a job.

Thinking this, he planned to go inquire about it later.

But he was thinking about who to give it to. It's not necessary to give it to Big Sister for now, he can figure out a way for her later.

After all, she's still so young!

So it's only for Mom.

And nowadays, household registration follows the mother, so when Mom comes to the city, their household registration can also be moved to the city.

At least it's better than scratching a living from the land!

He just doesn't know if Dad will be happy with his idea or if he'll scold him.

After all, they're living apart!

Whatever, he'll figure it out after getting into the city.

As for Dad, he'll figure something out later.

Thinking this, he continued to listen, hoping to hear some useful information, especially an address.

Without an address, how will he find it?

But after listening for a while, even after the two people finished eating and left, he still hadn't heard anything useful.

And by this time, more people had started to come into the breakfast shop.

After finishing his meal, Yang Xiaole went to the breakfast master and asked, "Uncle, I want to ask, who is this Old Scrooge Hu you were talking about? Where does he live?"

Hearing this, the breakfast master paused for a moment, looked him over, and then smiled, "What's this? Are you interested in that job too?"

Yang Xiaole got straight to the point and nodded, "Yeah, my sister doesn't have a job yet! I just want to ask. It's just that the price is too high. I want to see if I can get it cheaper!"

"It really is too expensive, but I doubt it!"

After the man finished speaking, he said to Yang Xiaole, "Go ahead and give it a try, it's right up ahead, in the courtyard at X number in Lamb Meat Lane."

As he spoke, he pointed to the lane in the distance.

"Alright, thanks Uncle!"

Yang Xiaole said thank you and left, pushing his cart.

Looking at the time, it was only a little after six, so it shouldn't be time to start work yet.

He rode his bike in the direction of Lamb Meat Lane.

Turning into the lane, he found the location the breakfast uncle had mentioned.

He locked his bike at the entrance and walked inside.

As soon as Yang Xiaole entered the large courtyard, an old man in the passageway stopped him, "Whose kid are you? What are you doing here?"

The old man was chopping firewood along the wall in the courtyard.

Hearing the question, Yang Xiaole looked over. It was a quadrangle courtyard, also known as a large mixed courtyard.

He then smiled and said, "I'm looking for... Grandpa Hu!"

Others might call him Old Scrooge Hu behind his back.

He couldn't just call him that directly.

The old man looked him up and down, "What do you want with him?"

In his thoughts, a big lady came out from inside and greeted the old man with a smile, "Grandpa Hu, are you busy?"

"Ah, busy! Time to go to work!"

"Yeah, time to go to work, you go ahead, I'll leave first!"

After saying goodbye, she left.

After the others had left, the old man looked at Yang Xiaole with a strange look and asked nonchalantly, "Speak up, what do you want with me? About the job? Tell your family to come and ask. 400 yuan is non-negotiable."While stacking the chopped firewood in the corridor, Yang Xiaole took some and walked towards the east wing.

Naturally, Yang Xiaole followed him.

There were three rooms, with plenty of firewood piled up at the door, and a shed set up outside for cooking.

It seemed that all three rooms belonged to the old man.

The smell of Chinese medicine permeated the house.

The old man looked at him and turned to look at him as he entered. "Didn't I tell you to bring your parents over?"

Seeing this, Yang Xiaole spoke directly, "Grandpa Hu, I can make the decision. Can we talk? Besides, I need to find out the situation before I can go back and report it!"

"There's nothing to talk about. 400 yuan, take it or leave it."

Hearing the old man's words, Yang Xiaole frowned and asked, "The money is not a problem, no need to negotiate. I just have a few questions."

The old man was in the main hall, setting up a coal stove (not a portable stove, but one installed in the house). He paused when he heard this.

It was the first time he had heard someone say that money was not a problem.

After thinking for a moment, he nodded, "Alright, ask your questions!"

Yang Xiaole then said, "First, is it okay to have a rural household registration? Second, will your children cause trouble for us in the future? If both are not a problem, then it's settled."

Old Scrooge Hu frowned when he heard this.

"Who? How old?"

"My mother!"

Hearing this, Old Scrooge Hu pondered for a moment, then nodded, "Okay, when the time comes, just say she's my niece in the countryside, and let her go to work directly."

After saying that, he paused and said, "I have no children, so no one will cause trouble for you. Besides, even if I had children, even if they had jobs, you wouldn't be able to replace them."

Then he continued to work on the stove.

Yang Xiaole felt a little apologetic and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know about this."

The old man shook his head, indifferent.

He didn't say anything.

Yang Xiaole looked at him and, thinking about what the other party had just said, curiously asked, "Grandpa Hu, why did you say... we wouldn't be able to replace them?"

He didn't want to touch a sore spot, but he understood what it meant.

"How would I know? This is the policy of the unit. If I had children, I could only let them take the job. Unless they have a job."

After the old man finished speaking, he looked impatient, "Alright, that's all. If you don't understand anything else, bring your parents over."

Then he stood up and walked into the house.

Because there was a coughing sound coming from inside the house.

Yang Xiaole stood in the main hall, although he was curious about the situation inside, he didn't go in, but waited quietly outside.

After waiting for more than half an hour, some people had already gone out to work in the courtyard.

It was only then that the old man came out after tidying up, washing his hands at the washstand.

Looking at Yang Xiaole, who had not left yet, he frowned, "Why haven't you left yet? Is it not clear enough?"

Yang Xiaole didn't expect it to be so simple to succeed, but he still didn't have enough money.

He hurriedly asked, "I understand, but, Grandpa Hu, when can my mother come to complete the formalities?"

The old man thought for a moment, "Just come as soon as possible, it will take some time to complete the formalities. Let your production team issue a certificate, but remember, if you come next time without money, I won't help you complete the formalities."

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiaole quickly agreed, "Alright, no problem. But I can't give you all the money at once. I'll give you half first, and the rest after the job is arranged. Besides, we're not afraid of running away."

The old man pondered for a moment and finally nodded, "Alright, but you have to send some money over first, or else if someone else comes and it's not as troublesome as you, I'll have to help them instead!"

Yang Xiaole's mouth twitched when he heard this.

Do you really think I don't know anything?

But he still asked, "How much money is appropriate?"

The old man thought for a moment and quoted a number, "Thirty! If it doesn't work out, I'll refund your money."

"Alright, no problem. I'll give it to you now. This time, let it go, but next time, you have to give me a receipt, or else it will be unclear later."

Yang Xiaole took out three ten-yuan bills from his pocket and handed them to him.

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The old man was surprised to see that he could actually take out thirty yuan, knowing that this was a huge sum of money!

But he didn't care, whoever gave him money, he would work for them.

Yang Xiaole watched as he took the money and greeted him with a smile, "Alright, that's settled then. When I bring my mother over one day, or let her come to find you herself, is that okay?"

"Alright! I got it."

Seeing the old man wave his hand, Yang Xiaole greeted him and left.

After coming out, Yang Xiaole thought about the housing situation and turned back to ask about it.

He didn't have to wait long before he got an answer.

After completing the formalities, he had to go to the sub-district office's housing management department to rent a house.

(About why it's renting a house instead of getting a house, the author explains it in the following words, but it's not written here.)

After coming out, Yang Xiaole was also very happy for a while, not expecting it to be so simple.

But then he had a headache.How am I going to explain all this money when I get back?

I reckon Mom would faint from shock if she heard about this amount of money. I wonder if she's ever seen so much cash in her life up to now.

After some thought, I decided it's best not to tell her just yet.

I'll drag it out until all the paperwork is done. By then, it'll be a done deal.

Let's talk about the houses.

Back then, there were several types of houses.

One type was the large, mixed courtyards where the common people lived, which were definitely privately owned.

The second type belonged to some of the middle-class and wealthy individuals of the time, who rented out their houses to the Sub-district Office. (After the reforms, many people who returned from abroad came back with contracts to claim these Quadrangle Courtyards.) This category was the most numerous at the time, with about 1.2 million rooms—not suites—of which 920,000 were for private use. Most of them were managed by the Sub-district Office.

The third type included the mansions of princes and famous ministers, which were generally used as offices, schools, and the like, or partly as dormitories for the staff of various units. This kind didn't require rent.

The last type was newly built, which also didn't require rent.

(End of Chapter)