Chapter 238: Spring of Jiaxu

All things are reborn, and we pray for good fortune and a good year.

When the beginning of spring arrived in 1994, China's social life and economy began to thaw on a large scale. The sound of ice breaking could be heard everywhere on the vast land. Winter will not last forever, and there will be spring. Once the severe cold begins to subside, all things will break out of the ground, and the earth will once again be full of vitality and vigor.

At the beginning of mid-February in the Gregorian calendar, a wave of deepening reforms in finance, taxation, foreign trade, foreign exchange, housing system, state-owned enterprise operating mechanism, and economic system swept across China on a large scale.

After the Third Plenary Session of the 14th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China put an end to the debate on whether reform should move forward or backward, the engine of private economic development was strengthened again, the number of individual industrial and commercial households increased rapidly, the construction of economic development zones was in full swing, government officials went into business one after another, landed on the beach and tried to break the three irons, workers were laid off, and "making more money" became the new fashion in the coastal areas that year. The first supermarket, Malaysian retailer Parkson, officially entered China, "mistresses" began to run rampant, and the reform and opening-up slogan of the 1980s was replaced by "all-round integration with international standards" and "international practices", while "competition" became the most beautiful and fashionable word in Chinese society that year.

Under the national policy of establishing a modern enterprise system, the reform of state-owned enterprises, which was a process of crossing the river by feeling the stones, also reached a critical moment this year. After many reform policies such as the reform of management rights and the reform of the contract system, state-owned enterprises are now facing the reform of the property rights system, which has greatly enhanced the vitality of many enterprises. However, at the same time, state-owned assets have begun to flow away. Faced with this situation, although there are still sighs in society that "the country will no longer be a country", no one can stop the development of this major trend.

In the countryside, although the days of farmers not having enough food and clothing were gradually fading away with the deepening of the production responsibility system in the 1980s, at the beginning of this year, the fiscal and taxation system reform implemented by the state abolished the rights of "agricultural to non-agricultural" and weakened the "collective ownership of land". The burden on farmers began to increase, more rural levies were imposed, and farming became less and less cost-effective. Under such circumstances, young and strong rural laborers began to go out to work, millions of female teachers went to the Pearl River, and countless migrant workers rushed to the coastal special economic zones to seek gold. They supported half of the "Made in China" and the great reputation of a generation of foot massage technicians in the coastal areas. However, many extremely difficult social problems in later generations, such as the hollowing out of the countryside, idle and barren rural land, and left-behind elderly and children, gradually emerged in this year.

At the same time, a new era of entertainment has begun.

The growing popularity of pirated VCDs in the mainland market allowed Chinese teenagers to see many Hong Kong classics. Hong Kong and Taiwan movies represented by "Chow Yiu and Sing Yi", "God of Gamblers 2", "Justice, My Foot", "Chungking Express", "From Beijing with Love" and so on were popular among young people, and "The Fugitive" allowed Chinese people to see the charm of Hollywood blockbusters for the first time. The popularity of karaoke made the Four Heavenly Kings famous all over the country. In the streets and alleys of the city, you could often hear the absurd tune of "Kiss Goodbye" coming from ordinary people's homes. At the same time, in this year, 16-year-old Yang Lijuan became fascinated by Andy Lau. From then on, she had no intention of studying and embarked on a crazy and jaw-dropping journey of chasing stars.

Since Cui Jian sang that song in front of more than 1986 spectators at the Workers' Stadium with his guitar on his back in 1, Chinese rock music reached its peak in 1994. The Magic Three composed of Dou Wei, He Yong and Zhang Chu and Tang Dynasty made the Hong Kong Hung Hom Stadium a hot night. The ideals and anger shouted out by these big names in difficult situations wrote the epic of Chinese rock music!
Many years later, Zhang Chu died, He Yong went crazy, and Dou Wei became an immortal. People realized that the Chinese rock music in 1994 had come to an end in glory. Classic rock songs such as "Shameless", "Lonely People Are Shameful", and "Beautiful Girl" gradually became masterpieces amid Dou Wei and other rock pioneers' questioning of perfect life and their unconventional tastes.

A generation will eventually get old, but there will always be someone who is young.

With the continuous enrichment of material life and civilization, civilian culture has emerged. The grand collective narratives of the planned economy era are far away, new life desires and emotions are beginning to emerge, and the new generation of young people are increasingly pursuing personal liberation, subject discourse power and the improvement of their own value. Because, another historical turning point in 1994 was the issuance of the "Pilot Opinions on Further Reforming the Admissions and Graduate Employment System of Ordinary Higher Education Institutions" by the former State Education Commission. College students are no longer guaranteed jobs and are no longer the veritable chosen ones of the s and s.

Of course, at that time, Wang Xiaokai, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Yang Wei and others in the small town called Jiangchuan in the south were far from realizing the tremendous changes that had quietly taken place in their destiny under this national policy. They could not foresee in advance that after they entered university, ordinary colleges and universities would be faced with a policy of expanding enrollment. Tuition fees began to soar, and the once noble college students began to be mass-produced in industries. From then on, "difficulty in finding employment" became a social topic.

In the festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year in 1994, they either squandered their youthful time in the roller skating rink or game hall, or bit the tip of their pen while copying their winter vacation homework in the study. But on this sunny afternoon, Wang Xiaokai and his two brothers were called by Zhang Yunqi to Zhangji Qifengdu Fish Noodle Shop for lunch.

After the winter break at No. 1 Middle School, Zhangji Qifengdu Fish Powder Shop closed down and had not been open for quite some time. When Wang Xiaokai, Tian Zhuangzhuang and Yang Wei came to Zhangji Qifengdu Fish Powder Shop together, they saw a basket of fermented black beans drying on the door before they even entered. The pungent spicy smell came from the crack of the door. After the three brothers opened the half-closed shutter door, they saw Zhang Yunqi wearing a white chef's uniform, holding a spatula and fiddling on the stove. Wang Xiaokai pinched his nose and walked in to look at the dark black fermented black beans in the pot and said, "Boss Zhang, what are you cooking?"

"You'll find out later."

Zhang Yunqi glanced at Wang Xiaokai, smiled and told them to find a place by themselves, then put onions, ginger, star anise, dried chilies and peppercorns into the wok, fry them until fragrant and crush them, then remove them and add the fermented black beans, stir-fry over low heat until fragrant, then add a sticky secret mixture, as well as appropriate amounts of sugar and salt, boil water, thicken with starch, then take the black and red chilies and fermented black beans out of the wok and serve them on a plate.

Zhang Yunqi cooked three more bowls of clear soup noodles, added a spoonful of the chili and fermented black beans he had prepared earlier, and brought them to the dining table for the bored Wang Xiaokai and his two brothers to eat.

Tian Zhuangzhuang grabbed the chopsticks and stirred the bowl vigorously. A layer of red oil immediately floated on the surface of the noodle soup. He took a chopstick of noodles dipped in black bean sauce and stuffed it into his mouth, muttering: "What kind of dish is this? It tastes good."

Zhang Yunqi lit a cigarette and sat on a chair and said, "How does the chili and black bean sauce taste?"

"Fragrant, spicy, fresh. Strong enough." Wang Xiaokai gave a six-character evaluation, and then finished a bowl of chili and black bean noodles in a few mouthfuls. He wiped his mouth and burped and said: "Speaking of which, you didn't come out to play these days when I asked you to. Now you are fiddling with this chili bean sauce in the store?"

Zhang Yunqi nodded: "Would you be willing to pay for it?"

Wang Xiaokai crossed his legs and said with a smile: "Do I even need to ask? Even if what you, Boss Zhang, sell is a pile of shit, I will still buy it."

Zhang Yunqi sometimes found it difficult to follow the strange train of thought of this little fool. He would bring any serious topic to an irrelevant topic: "To put it bluntly, after the Chinese New Year, I plan to sell this chili and black bean sauce. The price is tentatively set at 1.5 yuan per bottle. Do you think there is a market for it among the students of our No. 1 Middle School?"

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[Volume 1: Yu] The opening chapter transitions to the background plot.

(End of this chapter)