China Entertainment 1981: Starting from Journey to the West

1981, early April.

It was late autumn, and the cold was beginning to set in. The first ray of sunshine in the morning penetrated through the layers of mist, shrouding the entire capital, drying and warming it, and waking up the sleeping people.

In a large courtyard somewhere in Dongcheng District, the creak of the door opened, and the originally silent courtyard gradually became noisy, with people washing faces and brushing teeth, greeting children, and lighting stoves for cooking, accompanied by the chirping of birds and insects.

"On the first day of reporting, don't be late."

Gu Bei also planned to stay in bed for a while, but the chatter outside the room continued. After trying hard for a long time, he still couldn't block it, so he could only accept his fate and sit up.

"You should be diligent when you first go and leave a good impression on your leader."

"I know, I know."

Gu Bei responded nonchalantly and sat on the bed, shaking constantly and looking shaky.

"I've been saying it for a long time, but you can't afford it."

The chatter suddenly rose, and Gu Bei was agitated, and his sleepiness suddenly disappeared.

"Get up, get up, get up now."

While talking, Gu Bei got off the ground, pulled on his slippers, put on his pants first, and then searched the room for his shirt.

"Mom! Did you see my vest?"

Before he finished speaking, a middle-aged woman with a gentle face opened the door and walked in. She was Gu Bei's mother Li Sufen, one of the first batch of literary and art workers in New China.

Li Sufen initially joined the army in the literary and art propaganda team. Later, after moving to the city, she was first assigned to go to school. After graduation, she was assigned to work as an art artist in a Beijing film studio.

During the torrent of the times, she was sent to the countryside. After the policy was implemented, she returned to the capital and continued to work in her old profession.

"You are so old, but you are so careless."

Before she could finish her disgusting words, Li Sufen reached out and pulled out a sky blue vest from the chair by the wall and threw it away.

"Hurry up, your sister is more diligent than you."

After saying that, he turned around and went out to trouble Gu Bei's father, Gu Xiaowu, who was even less diligent.

Gu Xiaowu is a retired soldier who works in a food factory. His work is far away and he has to go out early every day. It is obviously late today.

"elder brother!"

As soon as I put on my clothes, another uninvited guest came.

"what?"

The person who came in was Gu Nan, Gu Bei's sister. Listening to the names, one is south and the other is north, so there is no fear that the two brothers and sisters will really go their separate ways in the future.

Gu Nan is 14 years old and is in the second grade of junior high school. She looks very delicate, and her eyebrows and eyebrows are very similar to Li Sufen's when she was young.

"Mom made steamed buns and pickles again."

As he spoke, Gu Nan's eyebrows furrowed, perhaps not because he really disliked her, but because she was acting like a spoiled brat to Gu Bei.

Gu Bei was helpless: "What do you want?"

Ha ha!

Gu Nan smiled, moved closer, and glanced at the coat Gu Bei was carrying. She knew there was money in the coat pocket.

"Brother, I want to eat fried dough sticks."

Look at this pursuit.

"Wait!"

As a small request, Gu Bei, as an older brother, would naturally not disappoint Gu Nan. Fortunately, he still had a little bit of money, which he had saved when he was in school.

After getting dressed, he was about to go out. He stepped out with one foot, thought for a while, then turned back and picked up the small pot for cooking porridge.

The tofu puffs at the breakfast shop at the corner of the street are also pretty good, but it’s a pity that I’m short of money, otherwise I would have had a bowl of fried liver...

greedy!
"What are you doing? It's time to eat!"

Li Sufen had just woken up Gu Xiaowu, but when she saw Gu Bei was about to go out, she quickly stopped him.

"Nan Nan wants to eat fried dough sticks."

Before the words fell, people had already gone out.

"Just spoil her and make her naughty, and I'll settle the score with you!"

Gu Bei didn't hear the last sentence, and if he heard it, he just ignored it. After two lifetimes, he only had a sister like this, how could he not be used to it!
That's right, Gu Bei was born again. He didn't know what was going on, but he woke up in the capital in the early 80s.

For a whole month, Gu Bei had been careful and lived step by step, going to and from school every day. He had great ambitions, but there was no place for him to display them.

In the early 80s, the tide of the times had passed only a few years ago. Although the spring breeze of change had blown into the capital, giving the people here a slightly different taste, people who had just relieved themselves from depression were still cautious.

Nowadays, ordinary people are quite satisfied. After all, their hats are smaller, they have fewer shoes, their heads no longer hurt, and their feet are no longer so uncomfortable. What else is there to be dissatisfied about?

Moreover, although people in this era are breaking out of their cages and full of energy, relatively speaking, they are still keen on comfort and are used to living in a relatively familiar circle.

Not many people dare to take the first step.

But Gu Bei was different. Who allowed him to experience different eras?

His past life experience destined him not to be content with the status quo, and he would have to struggle sooner or later.

But now we still have to hold on tight and not let ourselves wander.

"Uncle Zhao, have you eaten? Are you going to walk the birds?"

"Uncle Wang, good morning, how many years is this bicycle of yours, and the patent leather is all gone? Are you still reluctant to replace it?" "Grandma Liu, please slow down, stop flashing your waist, I will help you get it."

Gu Bei walked out, greeting the neighbors along the way, helping with some small favors, and got several small red flowers.

Polite and warm-hearted.

These days, if you have a good reputation, you can use it as capital when dating someone.

Gu Bei's family lived in a standard courtyard, with three entrances to the courtyard, but there were no three masters in charge, nor was there a pretty little widow washing clothes in the courtyard all day long, waiting for idiots' lunch boxes.

Although there are inevitable quarrels and bickering among neighbors, there is absolutely no dirty stuff like intrigue. People of this era are still very simple in their thoughts and realm.

Gu Bei also gradually integrated into it from being unaccustomed to it when he first arrived. In his previous life, he lived in a reinforced concrete city. He closed the door and didn't even know what his neighbors looked like. There was no human touch at all.

It’s not like now, no matter whose family is in trouble, if you stand in the yard and say hello, the neighbors will lend a helping hand.

It is not difficult to see from the structure of the entire courtyard that it was originally very regular. However, as more and more people moved in, and the basic national policy had not been implemented before, three or two children per family were considered standard, and five or six children were allowed. Not without.

There are more children, but the living space will not increase accordingly. When the children are small, it is fine, and they can live on the kang casually. But when they grow up one by one, and when they reach the age of marriage, each family can only make their own decisions. Method.

Today you build a side building, and tomorrow I build a wing house. Don’t tell anyone.

By the time the neighborhood committee found out, the deal was already done. People just stayed in there and couldn't come out. We couldn't just break into the house and beat them to death.

Gu Bei and his family did not join in the fun, partly because Gu Xiaowu and his wife were in the countryside at the time, and there were only two brothers and sisters in the family, no one in charge, and also because their family had no shortage of housing.

The three main rooms in the middle courtyard, plus the wing rooms on both sides, all belong to their family. For this reason, many people are jealous.

But there is nothing to be done if the eyes are hot, who made the Gu family have a large population in the first place.

Later, my grandma and grandpa passed away and my aunt got married. Now there are only four of them left, and the per capita living area seriously exceeds the standard.

Therefore, Gu Bei's house is the only one that can still maintain its original appearance.

In a few years, someone will stand up and express their regrets. Every brick and every green tile here carries hundreds of years of history.

"Ah~~~~Eh~~~~Ah~~~~"

Across the hanging flower door, at the door of the east wing of the front yard, a tall and thin girl was singing her voice. Standing beside her was a middle-aged woman, doing a T-step with her hands on her hips subconsciously. As soon as this posture became clear, you knew what she was doing.

"Auntie, morning!"

"Xiao Bei! Why are you going?"

Gu Bei held a basket in one hand and a pot in the other: "Nan Nan wants to eat fried dough sticks."

The woman smiled: "You, just spoil her, go ahead! Beibei, don't be lazy!"

The girl who was about to take the opportunity to rest for a while stuck out her tongue and started singing "babble ya ya" again.

Walking out of the door, a stronger atmosphere of the times hits your face, familiar and yet strange.

Less of the hustle and bustle of a modern metropolis, more of the tranquility of a thousand-year-old ancient capital.

People who got up early had already gone to work and school. Bicycles were passing by Gu Bei with jingling bells. People were greeting each other, and their faces were filled with longing for the future. He couldn't help but feel the same way, and he was full. Blue bar.

"Comrade, eight fried dough sticks and one pound of tofu."

Hand over the basket and pot, along with money and food stamps.

That's right, food stamps.

In the era when Gu Bei lived, this thing had become a collectible. Nowadays, it still circulates with currency and plays an extremely important role in people's lives. It took until 94 for the ticket to completely withdraw from the stage of history.

Should I save some in advance and wait for the value to rise?
This thought flashed through my mind and was listed as an option.

After taking the change and returning the same way, everyone in the family got up, and Li Sufen also put the steamed buns and pickles that Gu Nan disliked on the table.

"My brother is still nice to me."

This girl is not eye-catching at all. Can't you tell who is in charge?

Snapped!
Sure enough, as soon as Gu Nan finished speaking, a pair of chopsticks fell on her head, causing the child to burst into tears of grievance.

"Have a meal."

Gu Xiaowu is a middle-aged man who doesn't like to talk. After saying these two words, he grabbed the steamed bun and ate it. He got up late today. If he doesn't hurry up, he will be late for work.

"Xiao Bei, hurry up and don't be late on the first day."

Li Sufen said and gave Gu Nan a fried dough stick.

Gu Bei responded vaguely and took a sip of the tofu. Sure enough, the salty one was the authentic one, while the sweet one was just the opposite.

"Dad, Mom, I'm done eating, let's go first!"

Gu Bei said as he went out. There were three bicycles parked by the window, belonging to three adults in the family. Gu Bei was 19 years old, but he was about to start working, so he naturally fell into the category of adults.

After exiting the courtyard gate, turn around the entrance of the alley and join the traffic.

Decades later, the traffic in the capital would starve people to death. Now bicycles were driving openly on the motorway with no one paying attention. There were not even a few cars along the way. Gu Bei suddenly felt that the air was much fresher.

It would be better if there was no yellow sand rising in the evening.

Ride for 15 minutes to reach your destination.

The building in front of him was where Gu Bei was assigned to intern. From the perspective of future generations, it was nothing outstanding, but at the moment it was a landmark in the capital.

If nothing else goes wrong, after the three-month internship period, he will get a formal establishment, and from then on he will have an iron rice bowl. After more than 20 years, he will still be able to sit in an office wearing big pants and become a star in the eyes of a bunch of newbies. Elder.

A huge butterfly-shaped sign hangs on one side of the building - CCTV!