Chapter 6
The morning in Shanghai begins with the smell of coal stoves and the noise of collecting night incense.
In the alley where Song Yuanchao's home lives, not every household has access to gas. Due to limited conditions, many families still use coal stoves. The same is true for toilets. Many families still use toilets, so the two most important things people have to do after getting up every morning are to light the coal stove and put out the night incense.
Song Yuanchao didn't need to do all this. His house was the best one at No. 23. The third floor and the three-story attic above it all belonged to him, and he also had a separate bathroom.
The kitchen downstairs was connected to gas when Song Yuanchao's grandfather built the roof of the house. This gas has benefited all the residents of Building 23, who are among the very few residents in the entire alley who have gas.
After seven o'clock, the adults went out to work and the children went to school, and the noise outside gradually died down.
Song Yuanchao had two steamed buns he bought on the way back from the bathhouse yesterday for breakfast. Originally, these buns were intended to be dinner yesterday, but later Zhang Jianguo specially sent over the food, so they were kept until now.
Song Yuanchao finished the buns with boiled water in a few bites, washed his face, and changed his clothes.
This set of clothes did not belong to Song Yuanchao. In the northwest, living conditions were difficult, not to mention new clothes. Song Yuanchao had been in the northwest for eight years, and he only had three sets of clothes plus a worn-out military coat. One of the three sets of clothes was for winter, and two were for spring and autumn. Moreover, these clothes were all patched up and were no longer suitable for wearing.
Shanghai is the largest and most developed city in China.
The people of Shanghai have been in contact with the West since the late Qing Dynasty. In addition, due to the existence of concessions, Chinese and Western cultures collided in this place, thus nurturing the unique Shanghai culture.
Shanghainese have always been known for their refinement. Even if their family is so poor that they can barely afford to eat, they still dress neatly and cleanly when they go out. This is called respectability in the north, and is called style in Shanghai.
In the eyes of Shanghainese, those unkempt and sloppy people are synonymous with country people and are collectively despised by Shanghainese.
Song Yuanchao was only sixteen years old when he left home. He has grown a lot taller over the years and naturally can no longer wear his old clothes at home. The navy blue Zhongshan suit that Song Yuanchao is wearing now was left by Song Guangzeng. Song Guangzeng was a senior intellectual and a teacher. He paid great attention to his appearance when he was alive, so there were several sets of Zhongshan suits made of fine materials in his home.
When Song Guangzeng passed away, Wang Sufen only took one set to accompany Song Guangzeng for cremation, and the rest were neatly placed at the bottom of the box.
When he was tidying up yesterday, Song Yuanchao found these clothes. Although he is now a little taller than Song Guang, Song Yuanchao is thin and his father's clothes fit him well. Today he has to go out to do some work, so he has to wear something formal and decent. Therefore, Song Yuanchao ironed the clothes in advance and hung them in the closet, and now he is wearing them.
The same goes for shoes. For a pair of black leather shoes left by his father, Song Yuanchao found a box of solidified shoe polish in the cupboard, softened them over the fire, and then brushed them again. They looked brand new.
Wearing a Zhongshan suit and black leather shoes, standing in front of the closet mirror, Song Yuanchao was no longer in the dishevel he looked when he just came back yesterday. He nodded with satisfaction, took out the documents he had prepared long ago, closed the door, went downstairs, and headed towards the nearby police station.
More than ten minutes later, Song Yuanchao arrived at the police station and found Officer Wang after asking people.
The police in this era were much more friendly and easy-going than those in later generations, and there were not so many rules. What's more, Officer Wang knew Zhang Jianguo, and Zhang Jianguo came to say hello yesterday and entertained Song Yuanchao warmly.
Officer Wang carefully reviewed the information brought by Song Yuanchao and told Song Yuanchao directly that there was no problem with the household registration.
The country has already formulated special policies regarding the return of educated youth to their hometowns. This work is currently the most important task of the police station. As long as all the information and procedures are in compliance, the household registration problem can be solved quickly.
In response to this, Officer Wang quietly told Song Yuanchao that it would take at most a month, or at most half a month, and that he should just go back and wait for notification, and then he could come directly to the police station to pick up his household registration.
Song Yuanchao thanked Officer Wang profusely. He had originally brought a few packs of cigarettes with him when he came, but in the end Officer Wang directly refused the cigarettes that Song Yuanchao secretly stuffed into his hands. He told Song Yuanchao earnestly that it was not easy for young people like them to come back. Although they have returned, they now have no jobs and are having difficulties in life. As a people's policeman, it is his job and what he should do for them.
After leaving the police station, seeing that it was still early, Song Yuanchao took the bus directly to the No. 2 Middle School where his father used to work.
The No. 2 Middle School where Song Guangzeng taught before was not too far from where he lived. It only took half an hour by bus. It was a key middle school in the district with junior and high schools. It was also Song Yuanchao's alma mater. Unfortunately, Song Yuanchao was unable to graduate, and he had no chance to take the college entrance examination that year, so he went to the northwest.
Standing at the school gate, Song Yuanchao recalled every detail of the past. Compared to when he was studying, the appearance of the school has not changed much. The faint sound of teachers lecturing and students reading aloud coming from the teaching building has more of the original atmosphere of the school than when he left.
It is class time now. The school's big iron gate is closed. There is a small door on the left side of the big iron gate. Behind the small door is the guard room. The guard, Uncle Liu, is sitting inside reading a newspaper.
"Uncle Liu!" Song Yuanchao stepped forward and knocked gently on the window glass.
"Comrade, who are you looking for? Which unit are you from?" The security guard, Uncle Liu, pushed open a small window, tilted his head and looked Song Yuanchao up and down. Seeing that Song Yuanchao was dressed like a cadre, his tone was somewhat polite.
"Uncle Liu, I haven't seen you for a long time. You always smoke." Song Yuanchao smiled and handed him a cigarette. Uncle Liu hesitated and took the cigarette but said nothing, as if waiting for Song Yuanchao to introduce himself.
"I'm Song Yuanchao, the son of Teacher Song Guangzeng. I was also a student here before. Uncle Liu, do you still remember me?" Song Yuanchao said with a smile. The doorman, Uncle Liu, is an old man in the school. Song Yuanchao doesn't know how many years he has been the doorman in the school. Anyway, in his memory, Uncle Liu has always been the doorman. It's just that Uncle Liu now looks much older than in Song Yuanchao's memory.
"Song Guangzeng, Teacher Song's son?" Uncle Liu looked at Song Yuanchao, and after a while, Uncle Liu's serious face suddenly smiled.
"Song Yuanchao! I remember you, kid. You often got into trouble in school, and Teacher Song cleaned up your mess. In the blink of an eye, you have grown up. Come in, come in quickly."
As he spoke, Uncle Liu opened the small door and called Song Yuanchao in. Song Yuanchao thanked him and walked into the gatehouse.
"Have a seat, have some water, some freshly brewed tea." Uncle Liu placed a teacup in front of Song Yuanchao and pulled him to sit down.
Song Yuanchao thanked him and took a sip from the teacup without even noticing that it was Uncle Liu's. When he put down the teacup, Uncle Liu had already lit a cigarette and was looking at Song Yuanchao with a smile.
"You haven't come back to visit for a long time, right? I remember that your class didn't graduate, and later many of you went to work in the countryside. What about you?"
"Yes, I went there too. I went to the northwest."
"When did you come back?"
"I just came back yesterday." After hearing what Song Yuanchao said, Uncle Liu sighed: "You look dark and thin, I guess I am the same. But now it's finally okay, the national policy has changed, I'm glad you can come back!"
As he said this, a trace of regret flashed across Uncle Liu's eyes, as if he had thought of something. Although he was not a teacher but only a teaching staff, he had worked in this school for more than 20 years. He and Song Guangzeng were very familiar with each other back then, and he was deeply impressed by this hardworking teacher.
It's a pity that due to the times, Song Guangzeng died early, and Uncle Liu was powerless at that time. In the face of the big trend, Uncle Liu, a gatekeeper, could only do what he wanted but not what he could do.
Thinking of Song Guangzeng's experience, Uncle Liu shook his head and sighed, but he did not mention Song Guangzeng. The reason for this was that he did not want Song Yuanchao to recall those sad past events.
He chatted with Song Yuanchao about his experience of settling down in the northwest, and expressed his feelings about those difficult days. Then Uncle Liu asked about Song Yuanchao's plans after returning.
"I just went to the police station today and solved my household registration problem first. The comrades at the police station asked me to wait patiently for news at home." Song Yuanchao told the truth.
"That's right. Household registration is the most important. Move back quickly while the policy remains unchanged. It will be hard to say after a long time." Uncle Liu agreed with this and gave Song Yuanchao some advice as a person with experience.
"Uncle Liu, the current principal is still Principal Zhou, right?" Song Yuanchao asked.
"Yes, it's still Principal Zhou." Uncle Liu nodded and said, "It's not easy for Principal Zhou either. He was sent down for several years and now he's not as healthy as before. Last year, the higher-ups asked him to continue to serve as the principal. No matter what, Principal Zhou has finally gotten his reward after all the hard work."
