Chapter 9 Crossroads

"What are you so proud of?"

"Oh! I'm still showing off. What's the matter? Today, I'm discharged from the hospital. Give me a chance and let me thank you properly!"

Zhenni put her hands behind her back, blinked her big eyes, and smiled with the corners of her mouth raised. She was like a blooming Tianshan snow lotus, with a faint orchid fragrance and incomparably beautiful.

She smiled and replied, "How do you want to thank me? Tell me."

"Let me make it clear first, I don't even appreciate ordinary thanks. If I'm not satisfied, that won't work!"

Liu Zhiye: "Okay, sir! Let's do this~"

"I heard that Lao Mo near Xizhimen is of high quality. I've never been there either. Shall we go take a look today?"

Then Liu Zhiye pretended to be in pain and said:
"I'm going to risk my life today and give you a big meal to thank you for your careful care. How about that?"

Tell the truth, everyone!
The status of Lao Mo in the old city is not comparable to that of the later generations. Unlike the western restaurants that fill the streets in the later generations, Lao Mo in the old city is one of the few places where you can eat western food. Since it was built in 1954, it has become the enlightenment of western food for the people of the old city. For the people of the old city today, eating western food is still a fresh and avant-garde term.

Being able to have a "Western meal" is a very noble thing, so Liu Zhiye is really sincere.

"That's pretty much it!"

"Okay, you pass, hehe~" Jenny's face lit up with joy at first, then she replied with a smile.

Liu Zhiye stretched out his hand and made a gesture of invitation: "Hey! Let's go?"

A trace of sadness appeared on Jenny's face.

"Not today. We have another operation to prepare for in advance. Besides, it's a bit far to go through the city."

"Well~ you can't let it get away with it."

"How about this! Come to my house and pick me up next week, and we'll go for a walk together and explore this city. You haven't been back for many years, right? It's a good opportunity to see if there are any changes. How about going to Lao Mo while we're there?"

After saying this, she looked at him with her big eyes flashing, her eyes full of expectation.

"Okay, it's a deal then. I'll come find you someday when I'm settled. Give me your contact information so I can contact you easily."

When he heard that Zhenni had something to do today and couldn't leave, and that he also needed to go home after the surgery, he took the opportunity to agree.

"You can't stand me up, right?" Jenny looked at him suspiciously.

Then he pretended to have a ferocious expression, but it looked very cute in a cute way.

Said: "If you stand me up again, I won't forgive you. I haven't settled the old score with you yet~"

"Don't even think about it, you can escape~ humph!"

Liu Zhiye was afraid that this lady would really bring up the past, so he patted his chest and promised:
"No, I can't. I'm a grown man, and my words are as firm as my tongue. You should keep your heart in your heart, and I will do what I say. Otherwise, take your weapon and kill me."

"Puchi! If I kill you, you'll be lucky. I should dissect you and see if you're afraid...haha..."

"Oh! The sting of a wasp is the most poisonous, and the heart of a woman is the most poisonous." Liu Zhiye deliberately teased her and made jokes with an exaggerated expression.

"I'll go to hell~ Stop hanging around here."

Jenny touched him with her hand, gently, as if she was flirting with him.

Then he said, "Let's go! I'll get you discharged from the hospital. I have to do my own thing."

Having said that, he walked out of the ward first.

After Liu Zhiye finished the formalities and left the hospital, he stood on the roadside and looked at the people on the street, people coming and going. However, there were only a few cars, and they were all government jeeps and trucks, and only a few were seen occasionally.

In those days, people traveled by foot, animal-drawn carts, or human-powered bicycles. Bicycles were rare, with only about 16 for every 100 people.

As for taxis, by last year, 1957, there were less than 100 in Beijing. These taxis were concentrated in the embassy area, airport, etc. You couldn't see them for a while.

Other than that, you have to take the bus and trolleybus. The trolleybus is not out of service yet, but it will not be completely stopped until early next year.

Liu Zhiye was used to the convenient transportation in the later period, so he was completely confused and bewildered.

How should I go back? It's not convenient to go from the west to the east.
I saw the bus stop in the distance, so I decided to take the bus. After changing buses several times, I finally arrived at the D City District, the district government located at Qianliang Hutong and Yuqun Hutong.

It was almost noon at this time, and I came to the communication room at the gate of the district government. I knocked on the window, and an old man in his fifties came out.

He was wearing a gray-white Zhongshan suit, with blue sleeves on his elbows and thousand-layer soles on his feet. His face was full of wrinkles and his hair was a little bald. He limped on one leg and walked with a limp.
Asked: "Man! What's the matter?"

Liu Zhiye stood at attention and saluted: "Hello, uncle! I'm here to do some business at the district government."

As he said this, he put down his hand, walked forward, and extended his hand to shake hands with the other person.

"Uncle, can I ask you how to get to our district's People's Armed Forces Department?"

The old man shook hands with him and then looked him up and down.

"Look at your attire, you must have just been demobilized. Are you here at the People's Armed Forces Department to handle the demobilization?"

"Uncle, you are wise!" He gestured to him with his right thumb.

"Hey! It's not that mysterious. Aren't you looking for the district military department? It's the big compound to the west. Do you see it? It's the one with the sentry standing guard at the gate."

As he spoke, he pointed in the direction and then turned back to the message room.

Liu Zhiye came to the gate of the People's Armed Forces Department, contacted the Minister of Armed Forces through the sentry phone, and went up to the second floor of the office building. He saw a room marked "Minister's Office", walked to the door, straightened his military uniform, adjusted his hat, and then knocked on the door.

"Come in!" said a majestic voice in the room.

After entering the room, I saw a colonel, about fifty years old, with a square face, thick eyebrows, big piercing eyes, and thick lips. He looked very dignified at first glance, sitting straight in a chair and working.

Liu Zhiye walked forward, saluted with a "bang" and said loudly.

"Chief, okay!"

"Liu Zhiye, former commander of the 113nd Battalion, 338th Regiment, 2th Division, XX Army, reports to you!" "Please give instructions!"

The colonel came out from behind his desk, shook his hand and said, "I know you, the combat hero of the ace army. Your division commander has told me about you. Come sit down and talk."

Colonel: "Xiao Liu, sit down, don't be shy, we are not strangers. My last name is Gao Yuliang. I am an old comrade of your Commander Jiang. He called me and asked me to look after you."

"Commander! I am so embarrassed to trouble you!"

"You. Don't be polite to me. This is a demobilization. It's not like being in the army. Don't call me leader, leader anymore."

"Call me Uncle Gao! My eldest son is a few years older than you, so you won't lose out by calling me Uncle Gao."

He said “Hahaha!” and laughed.

"Okay! Uncle Gao! From now on, I am your nephew!"

"Hey, that's right. I like your quickness and efficiency. I hate those who are hesitant and timid."

"Come to my house some other day. Get to know my place, ask your aunt to cook you some delicious dishes, and we can have a drink together."

"Haha..." It seemed that he was quite happy about having such a relative.

…………

We chatted back and forth for a long time about family matters.

Finally, Uncle Gao called someone to handle Liu Zhiye's transfer procedures. He stood up and walked to Liu Zhiye:

"Your work has been arranged in advance. You will go to the Jiaodaokou Police Station under the D City Branch as deputy chief. You will go to the branch in a few days and follow the branch leaders' arrangements for the specific matters."

Then he said to him seriously:

"Although you have become a professional and left the front-line troops, joining the public security team is also a new test. Although the domestic situation has improved, the enemy is still determined to destroy us."

"The saboteurs, enemy agents, criminals, bandits and bullies hidden among the people are also rampant."

"I hope you don't take it lightly and stay alert at all times!"

"I hope you will not fade away after your retirement, always maintain the optimistic spirit of a revolutionary soldier, bear in mind the mission of the organization, and make new contributions in your new position!"

"I'm too busy today, so I won't keep you here. Please come to my house some other day."

"Yes, I will ensure the completion of the task," Liu Zhiye answered generously and forcefully.

Then he stood at attention, saluted, and left.

……

At 11:30 in the morning, after coming out of the People's Armed Forces Department, I saw that it was almost time for lunch.

"Hey~"

The world is big, but eating is the most important thing. Let’s find a place to fill our stomach first.

So I found a small public-private joint-venture restaurant near Di'anmen East Street, spent less than one yuan plus a national food coupon for one kilogram, and ate my fill.

This is the characteristic of the planned economy. To buy things, you need not only money, but also the corresponding tickets. You buy things with tickets, such as grain tickets, meat tickets, non-staple food tickets, cloth tickets, oil tickets, cigarette tickets, coal tickets, bicycle tickets, etc.

It basically covers every aspect of people's daily life. If you don't have a ticket, sorry, you can't buy anything. For example, if you don't have a food ticket, you might even starve to death. You can only go to the black market to trade, and you have to do it secretly, so as not to be caught. That means you will be charged with speculation, which is a serious crime in those days.

After dinner, I took a walk to digest the food. At around 2 o'clock, I walked to the Jiaodaokou Office located between Bingmasi Hutong and Mianhua Hutong.

"Hello, sir! Sorry to bother you! Is the director of our office here?"

At the reception desk at the office entrance, Mr. Zhang raised his dozing head, squinting his eyes, and said nothing. He was obviously a little upset that his rest was disturbed.

Liu Zhiye, seeing the old man's expression, quickly put on a smile, took out a box of Daqianmen, took out a cigarette, and handed it to the old man:
"Sir, you smoke!"

Seeing Liu Zhiye's behavior, the old man finally let go of his grudges. He took the cigarette and put it between his ears without smoking.

Asked: "What are you doing here, kid? Are you here to see Director Wang?"

"Hey, this is the situation. I just changed my job. My ancestral home is in Nanluoguxiang, and I came to our street to handle the settlement procedures."

"The east wing in the front yard is Director Wang's office."

"Hey! Okay! Thank you, sir!"

Then he quickly stepped into the courtyard, found the east wing, knocked on the door and went in.

When I went in, I saw a middle-aged woman with short hair, willow-shaped eyebrows, an oval face, a slightly yellow complexion, and wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. She was wearing a yellow women's Lenin suit and was working inside.

He walked over and saluted, "Hello! Director Wang, my name is Liu Zhiye. I just got back from the military."

"My ancestral home is also in Nanluoguxiang, D City District. I came here today to see you to handle the settlement procedures. Here is my letter of introduction and professional certificate..."

Director Wang: "Okay, wait a moment. Xiao Liu, please take a seat first. Let me take a look at your information."

After a while, "Wow! What a coincidence! Your father's name is also Liu Jingzhai? Is he a middle school teacher?"

"Yes! My father's name is Liu Jingzhai. He also teaches Chinese at Yude Middle School. How did you know that?"

"Hey! Isn't this a coincidence? My youngest son was admitted to No. 22 Middle School last year. Oh, that's the former Yude Middle School. His homeroom teacher is Liu Jingzhai."

"So, you are his eldest son. Yes, I heard him talk about you when he came to visit. He said that his eldest son joined the army the year he graduated from high school."

"You've changed your job, you're really promising! You've become a battalion commander!"

……

(End of this chapter)