Chapter 215 Shaved Ice
Next, Song Yuanchao and Lin Yan will go to Yangcheng and Pengcheng. This time they are not just going for a stroll, but also to witness the establishment of the special economic zone in person.
In addition, Qin Zhengguo will also come from Hong Kong, and everyone has agreed to meet in Pengcheng, so considering this, Song Yuanchao asked Li Daqi to be prepared and go together when the time comes.
After staying at the new factory for the whole day, they returned in the evening. When they got home, Lin Yan and Li Xiaoyun also came back. The two girls had a great time shopping today and bought a lot of things, but those things were not suitable for Song Yuanchao to see. They hid in the room and talked excitedly, and drove Song Yuanchao out. Song Yuanchao smiled helplessly and went downstairs to the kitchen to busy himself.
The next day, Lin Yan and Li Xiaoyun continued to go out together, and seemed to feel that they could go shopping more freely without Song Yuanchao. So they expelled Song Yuanchao from the "revolutionary team" and left early in the morning, arm in arm.
Just as he had some free time, Song Yuanchao took the gifts he had prepared and went to the old factory to visit Director Ma and Principal Zhou.
Director Ma and Principal Zhou were very happy to see Song Yuanchao coming, especially the latter who came here specially because it was summer vacation and all schools were on holiday. Principal Zhou was waiting for Song Yuanchao in the factory on a bicycle on a hot day.
He stayed in the old factory for half a day and talked a lot with the two elders. After lunch, seeing that they looked a little tired, Song Yuanchao stood up and said goodbye.
Director Ma still had to stay in the factory, so he just sent him to the door and made an appointment to meet again in a few days. As for Principal Zhou, he also went home. Song Yuanchao and Principal Zhou pushed their bicycles slowly towards home, chatting as they walked.
"I will retire next year..." After walking a distance, Principal Zhou looked back in the direction of the school and said.
"So fast?" Song Yuanchao was stunned.
"How soon? I'm almost 60 years old. If I don't retire at this age, will I still be allowed to teach?" Principal Zhou said with a smile, and then sighed: "Time is unforgiving. The root of my illness has not been fully healed in the past few years. I have been struggling to keep working in the school in the past few years. But I have finally lived up to the trust of the organization. The school work has been regularized. Next year, I can retire with peace of mind and live a leisurely life."
Seeing the happy smile on Principal Zhou's face, Song Yuanchao couldn't help but be moved. Principal Zhou has worked hard for education all his life, and it is difficult for outsiders to know the hardships he has endured, but Song Yuanchao knows it clearly.
Not to mention the unfair treatment that Principal Zhou suffered in the previous era, in order to stick to his ideals and beliefs, Principal Zhou almost died like Song Guangzeng.
Although Principal Zhou eventually got through those difficult days, his body was severely damaged and he developed a chronic illness.
After resuming work, Principal Zhou devoted himself to education again without caring about his own health and working day and night. In the past few years, No. 2 Middle School has recovered very quickly in education, especially the high school entrance examination and college entrance examination enrollment rates last year and this year far exceeded those of other schools, and have been praised by higher authorities.
All of this is inseparable from the efforts of Principal Zhou. It can be said that without Principal Zhou, there would be no No. 2 Middle School today, and there would be no students who were admitted to high schools and universities with excellent grades.
But now, Principal Zhou is about to retire. After working in education for a lifetime, he suddenly finds himself leaving his beloved teaching position, and he can't help feeling a little empty in his heart.
"Principal...you..." Song Yuanchao wanted to say something comforting, but he didn't know where to start.
Principal Zhou smiled knowingly, patted Song Yuanchao on the shoulder and said, "He's old, and it's natural for him to retire at a certain age. I can't continue to occupy this position and prevent him from making progress, right? If so, wouldn't the whole country and society be in chaos? Besides, not only me, but also your master Lao Ma is about to retire. We have discussed this long ago. We have been busy working all our lives, so we should relax after retiring."
As he spoke, Principal Zhou looked at the blue sky and heard the sound of cicadas. " I have nothing to do after retirement. Old Ma and I plan to travel around the country to see the beautiful mountains and rivers of our motherland and fulfill our dreams when we were young."
Principal Zhou laughed, "When I was young, I wanted to be like Xu Xiake, traveling around the country, walking around, seeing everywhere, writing travel notes, etc., but I never had the chance. Now the opportunity has come, right? I have to make it happen, right? Otherwise, when I can no longer walk in a few years, I will never have the chance to make up for this regret."
Song Yuanchao nodded. Principal Zhou's optimism diluted the sadness of hearing that he was going to retire. But thinking back, it was true that retiring after a lifetime of hard work was not a bad thing. While they could still walk, they could go out and see more things. This would give these two old men a different feeling.
For a moment, Song Yuanchao suddenly thought of his parents. If his parents were still alive, they would probably consider this issue too, right?
As if he could see what Song Yuanchao was thinking, Principal Zhou smiled and changed the subject, chatting with Song Yuanchao about other things. The two of them pushed the cart and talked all the way until they sent Principal Zhou home.
At around three o'clock in the afternoon, Song Yuanchao returned to his home. When he got home, Lin Yan and Li Xiaoyun had not returned yet. He didn't know where they were wandering around.
As soon as I parked my bike, I heard Zhang Jianguo calling me from behind.
"Uncle, aren't you at work at this time?" Turning back, Song Yuanchao asked with some surprise.
"I finished my work early today and came back straight away." Zhang Jianguo said cheerfully, and then said to Song Yuanchao: "Yuanchao, are you okay now?"
"It's okay, uncle, do you have something to talk to me about?"
Zhang Jianguo smiled and nodded, then thought for a moment and said, "Since we have nothing to do, let's go. I'll take you to eat shaved ice. I remember you loved it when you were a kid. You haven't eaten it in all these days since you came back, right?"
Zhang Jianguo's words reminded Song Yuanchao of shaved ice. Just as he said, he hadn't eaten it in so many days since he came back. When he mentioned it, he immediately thought about it.
Smiling and nodding, Song Yuanchao and Zhang Jianguo walked towards the entrance of the alley together. After leaving the alley, they walked along the road to the left for a while and came to a state-owned food store.
Shaved ice is sold here. It is the best cold drink in this era. Compared with ice cream and popsicles, shaved ice attracts more people.
The method of making shaved ice is very simple. Put a large block of edible ice under the ice shaver. Then press a button and the ice shaver will shave off the ice layer by layer like shaving wood. Then use a cup to collect the crushed ice, and then turn the cup of crushed ice upside down in a cup filled with mung beans and sugar water. In this way, a cup of shaved ice is ready.
Mung beans can relieve heat, the syrup is very sweet, and with the cool crushed ice, eating a cup of shaved ice like this on a hot summer day is the best enjoyment.
When they arrived at the place, Zhang Jianguo asked Song Yuanchao to wait outside. He went in, paid for two cups of shaved ice, and soon came out with a spoon in his hand.
"Here, try it." He handed a cup directly to Song Yuanchao, who took it with a smile. The two sat down on the steps at the entrance of the store.
Slowly pull out the spoon, trying not to damage the crushed ice on it, and then use the spoon to poke the crushed ice into the sugar water and mung beans. When the crushed ice, sugar water and mung beans are mixed together and half melted, just scoop it out with the spoon and eat it. It will feel sweet and cool in your mouth, making you want to shout out in comfort.
"It still tastes the same!" Song Yuanchao couldn't help but sigh. When he was a child, his parents were busy, so he often followed Zhang Jianguo to play. Every summer, Zhang Jianguo, who was still a teenager at the time, would take Song Yuanchao to play everywhere, such as climbing trees to catch cicadas, fishing in rivers, picking lotus pods... They had done all of these, but what Song Yuanchao could never forget was that Zhang Jianguo brought him here to eat shaved ice before going home.
At that time , Zhang Jianguo had not yet started working. How could a big kid who had not yet started working get pocket money? However, Zhang Jianguo was quite smart. When he was playing with Song Yuanchao, he would pick up some glass bottles and waste paper and collect them and sell them to the recycling station, usually for a few cents.
Most of the time, these few cents were exchanged for shaved ice, and since the two of them were short of money, they usually shared a cup of shaved ice, taking turns to eat a bite, which tasted especially sweet. Recalling the past, a smile appeared on Song Yuanchao's face.
No matter how good something is, it will eventually be finished. Also, you can’t eat shaved ice slowly, because if you do, the ice will melt completely and the taste will change.
After eating the shaved ice, Zhang Jianguo took the cup to return it (the deposit for the cup was three cents). After returning the cup, Song Yuanchao handed a cigarette to Zhang Jianguo, and the two continued to sit on the steps, smoking and chatting.
"Yuan Chao, you are a college student, you have broad knowledge and know a lot of things. There is something your uncle wants to ask you." After taking a puff of cigarette, Zhang Jianguo mustered up the courage to speak.
Song Yuanchao smiled secretly in his heart. In fact, when Zhang Jianguo invited him to eat shaved ice, he knew that he had something to talk to him about today. But since he didn't say it, Song Yuanchao didn't dare to ask. After all, Zhang Jianguo was a very face-conscious person, and as a junior, he couldn't ask directly.
"Uncle, you say."
"This matter... How should I put it..." When the words came to his lips, Zhang Jianguo didn't know what to say. He scratched his head and thought for a while before saying, "You know what I do, right?"
"I know. Aren't you the driver of the company's small car team?"
"Yes! It's the driver!" Zhang Jianguo nodded, sorted out what he wanted to say, and then spoke slowly.
As Zhang Jianguo was speaking, Song Yuanchao was listening carefully. After listening to Zhang Jianguo's words for about ten minutes, Song Yuanchao also understood what Zhang Jianguo meant.
It turns out that as a driver of the unit's small car team, Zhang Jianguo had a good job. His salary was higher than that of ordinary workers. In addition, he received car subsidies and some extra "benefits", so his monthly income added up to a lot. Compared to ordinary workers, his life was much better.
If there were no changes, Zhang Jianguo would probably continue working in this position until their unit became worse and worse, and eventually ten years later the unit collapsed and all the employees were laid off.
After being laid off, Zhang Jianguo started driving a taxi. Taxi drivers were quite popular in the early 1990s and earned a lot of money. He drove a taxi for more than ten years. After 2000, Zhang Jianguo stopped working as a taxi driver due to his age and the fact that driving a taxi was tiring. Instead, he became a security guard in a resettlement community, and earned some pocket money while receiving his pension from the property management company every month. He worked there until retirement.
