Chapter 49: What a Small World

Chapter 49: New Year Plans

Cheng Baokun stood up and patted Zhu Shun Yao on the shoulder. "If you encounter any difficulties, feel free to talk to me anytime. If you run short on money, let me know as well. I may not have a fortune, but I can certainly scrape together a couple of thousand yuan."

"Factory Director, you've already thought of everything so thoroughly. If I still can't manage to build the house, that would truly be disappointing to you." With Cheng Baokun's support, the matter of building the house was resolved without a hitch.

When Zhu Shun Yao returned home and told Xie Xinlian, she was delighted. "The Factory Director is so kind to us. I think we should give her more rice cakes this year." Rice cakes were still made by hand, involving a complex series of steps. However, they tasted exceptionally good. The downside was that they required a significant amount of rice—only seven liang of rice cakes could be produced from one jin of rice. Therefore, families that weren't particularly wealthy dared not make too many.

Zhu Shun Yao nodded. "Yes, I was thinking the same. We have plenty of rice this year anyway. I plan to soak two hundred and fifty jin of rice. I'll give the Factory Director a hundred rice cakes. And for my parents-in-law, who have taken good care of us throughout the year, I plan to give them a hundred as well. Accountant Fang at the factory has also been helpful to me, as has Brother Lei Yao. I'll give each of their families fifty. I'll also send fifty to my own parents. And we can't forget our other relatives during the New Year." Adding in what they would eat themselves, two hundred and fifty jin of rice seemed about right.

Xie Xinlian nodded. "Indeed. Your two sisters' families will each need twenty, and my uncle's family will also need twenty."

"Let's calculate carefully to see exactly how much we need. I might as well soak the rice tomorrow, since the rice cake factory will open after New Year's Day. We should try to make the rice cakes as early as possible." Zhu Shun Yao took out a pen and paper to do the calculations. After a moment's thought, he added, "By the way, don't tell anyone the specific details about the materials for building the house."

"Understood, I won't say anything," Xie Xinlian nodded. She knew her parents-in-law well enough to know that if word got out, they would likely find fault with them.

New Year's Day arrived, signaling that the Spring Festival was not far behind.

By New Year's Day 1981, a sense of relaxation and joy had begun to permeate the air. To boost the enthusiasm of individual businesses, Sicheng Town specially organized a market fair for everyone to attend.

With the presence of individual vendors, the fair was even more lively. Starting from December 30th, the number of stallholders and shoppers gradually increased. By New Year's Day itself, which was the main event, even factories granted the day off to all employees except those on duty. Consequently, adults brought their children out to stroll and shop.

Zhu Shun Yao also brought Zhu Yan Yi and Zhu Yan Li out. Xie Xinlian did not join them; instead, she had bought a piece of meat and a fish early in the morning and gone to the Xie family home to prepare. After Zhu Shun Yao and his two daughters finished their outing, they would head directly to the Xie family home to celebrate the holiday.

"So many people," Zhu Yan Yi said, seeing the crowds from afar. Fortunately, everyone was walking; there were no congested streams of vehicles. In later eras, such traffic would likely cause gridlock lasting a full day and night. Indeed, as living standards improved, people's needs—both material and spiritual—also rose. Shopping was one of the simplest forms of enjoyment, but for Zhu Yan Yi, whether in her past life or this one, it felt more like suffering than pleasure.