Returning To 1980 To Enjoy Prosperity Chapter 11: Goals - Novel Cool

Chapter 11: Goals

Chapter 11: Goals

The next morning.

After brushing his teeth and washing his face, Deng Shirong greeted his eldest daughter, who was cooking breakfast, and set off for the village to buy some pork for his children.

The village committee was located in Naye Village, just over a hundred meters from Deng Shirong’s home. It took him only a couple of minutes to reach the pork stall next to the supply cooperative.

The man selling pork was a middle-aged man around Deng Shirong’s age, named Deng Changwu. He was from Yangdipu Village, which was adjacent to Naye Village, and was a well-known butcher in the area.

"Old Ninth, you’re up early!" Deng Changwu greeted him as Deng Shirong approached.

Deng Shirong nodded and asked, "How much is pork per pound these days?"

Deng Changwu replied, "Ninety-eight cents a pound."

Deng Shirong nodded again. In his memory, pork hadn’t yet reached a dollar a pound at this time. It would only rise to a dollar and ten cents by the end of next year and stay that way for several years.

Of course, this price referred to the market rate. The state-set price for pork was only sixty-seven cents a pound at the supply cooperative, but it required meat coupons, which were only available to those with jobs. Most rural residents didn’t have the means to buy state-priced pork.

"Give me two pounds."

"Sure thing."

Deng Changwu responded, then skillfully cut a piece of pork with a good mix of lean and fatty parts. He weighed it and said, "Old Ninth, it’s a bit over two pounds, exactly two dollars."

Deng Shirong nodded and handed over the two dollars.

Deng Changwu took the money, then grabbed a bamboo stick from the side. He twisted it in the middle, pierced it through the pork with the sharpened end, and twisted the ends again, forming a triangular handle.

He handed the pork to Deng Shirong and asked with a smile, "Old Ninth, I heard you and Uncle Yun Gui have taken over the kiln from the production team?"

Deng Shirong took the pork and nodded. "Yes, we’ve taken it over. We’ll start the official operations after the team finishes harvesting the rice."

Deng Changwu, envious, said, "With your skills in making large jars, your business is sure to thrive."

Deng Shirong waved his hand. "I’m getting old and can’t match the energy of the young. I don’t plan to continue making large jars. I’ll let my son Yun Tai and my apprentice handle it. Whether we make money or not is up to fate."

Deng Changwu was surprised. "Old Ninth, you’ve always been in good health. Besides, no one in the village can match your skills in making large jars. Now that you’ve taken over the kiln, it’s the perfect time to show your prowess. Why are you stepping back?"

Deng Shirong half-joked, "I’ve worked hard for half my life. Now that my eldest son and my apprentice are both skilled, it’s their turn. I plan to switch to easier work and enjoy my golden years!"

Deng Changwu couldn’t help but laugh. He didn’t believe this for a second. In this era, who would retire at forty-something? People worked until they couldn’t work anymore.

They chatted a bit more, and when they saw someone else coming to buy pork, Deng Shirong took his two pounds of pork and headed home.

When Deng Shirong returned home, his three sons—Yun Song, Yun Hua, and Yun Heng—had just finished washing up. Seeing the pork in their father’s hand, their eyes lit up, and drool uncontrollably trickled down their chins.

Deng Shirong chuckled and scolded them, "Look at you, such a sorry sight. Wipe your mouths and get ready for school. You’ll have your meal when you get back."

The three brothers chuckled, wiped their mouths with their sleeves, and set off to school with excitement.

In the current Shuangwang region, rural children don’t eat breakfast before heading to school. They attend two classes in the morning and return home around nine to have breakfast. After a little over an hour, they head back to school at ten to continue their lessons. They attend two more classes until noon, when they return home for lunch.

“Dad, how do you plan to prepare the pork?” After the younger brothers left for school, Deng Yunzhen took the pork from his father and asked.

Deng Shirong replied, “Let’s do a yellow stir-fry; it’s more fragrant.”

Yellow stir-fry is a local specialty, where the pork is washed and cooked whole in a pot until fully done. It’s then sliced and stir-fried with a bit of soy sauce for a delicious dish.

Deng Yunzhen nodded. “Alright, I got it!”

With the preparations left to his eldest daughter, Deng Shirong, who had nothing else to do, picked up his water pipe and walked to the longan tree in front of their house. He sat on a small stool and began to puff away, taking in the view of their home.

Their house, like most others in the village, was a mud-brick house. Mud-brick houses are a unique architectural style in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, dating back to the Tang Dynasty when the Baiyue people abandoned their elevated dwellings. This style has a history of over a thousand years.

Even though it was now the 1980s, 99% of the rural households in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions still lived in these mud-brick houses.

Deng Shirong’s house had a typical layout. From the front door, you entered a spacious living room with two side rooms on either side. Beyond the living room was the common courtyard, or "sky well," of a mud-brick house.

On either side of the sky well were two smaller rooms, currently used for living quarters. If his sons got married and started their own families, these rooms could easily be converted into kitchens. Above the sky well was the main house where Deng Shirong lived.

The main house had a large front door leading into a hall, which was usually used to store rice, grains, and various other items. On the left was Deng Shirong’s room, and on the right was the kitchen currently in use.

While the kitchen was connected to the main house, it was not directly accessible and had its own separate entrance.

For the other families in the village, this was considered a decent living condition. However, Deng Shirong, who had lived in a modern, beautiful house in his previous life, found these mud-brick houses too basic and crude.

So, building a new house was definitely on his to-do list, and he wanted to get it done as soon as possible.

One reason was that he no longer wanted to endure the discomfort of using the outdoor toilet. The other was that his eldest son was now twenty years old, and he needed to build a new house quickly to find him a virtuous and capable wife.

With this in mind, Deng Shirong silently set himself a short-term goal. Even though his total assets amounted to only a little over sixty-four yuan, he was determined to build the new house this year.

He wasn’t entirely sure if he could achieve this “grand” goal, but he would do his utmost to make it happen.

If he succeeded, he would, as his eldest grandson from his previous life would say, become the coolest guy in the village.

(End of Chapter)

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