Upon hearing this, Zhu Huixi’s expression darkened, "My second uncle is just a laborer, he was born with both legs disabled. Our family was already struggling to feed ourselves, let alone care for a dependent like him. Out of desperation, my grandma thought about giving my uncle away, but she tried several times without success."
"Later, an old man from the library couldn’t stand by and watch, so he came by and took my uncle in. Then the Cultural Revolution happened, and that old man had his own share of troubles, dying when my uncle was just a teenager. It looked like my uncle would also face difficulties, so my grandpa and my dad took him back in. But my uncle, having grown up in the library and influenced by that old man, loved books deeply and was always seen with one in his hand. He never went to school, but his mind was filled with knowledge. He helped me prepare for my college entrance exams. If it hadn’t been for his legs, I am certain he would have been able to go to college too. Now he can only work in a paper box factory gluing boxes together, a job my dad found for him. I’ve always felt it’s such a shame."
Lin Xiaoguai hadn’t expected to hear about the other person’s family affairs, and felt a bit awkward, but also pitied the second uncle. During the ten years of the Cultural Revolution, how many talented people suffered persecution and even lost their lives, and how many aspiring individuals lost their ambition, content to live in obscurity, no longer willing to contribute to the country?
Zhu Huixi’s second uncle was one of the luckier ones, at least his inability to advance was due to his own physical limitations, and not from any real oppression.
Yet such cases weren’t unusual; in that era, there were many who lacked formal education but were incredibly learned. When it came to a thirst for knowledge, no matter if you looked before or after, that era was unparalleled.
That day, Lin Xiaoguai and Zhu Huixi talked a lot, about themselves, about each other, clicking more and more as they chatted, thereby laying the foundation for their lifelong friendship.
When the wakeup bell rang, Lin Xiaoguai and Zhu Huixi were already up. Lin Xiaoguai, having just finished brushing her teeth and washing her face, came out of the restroom, while Zhu Huixi was folding the bedding.
"You go get washed up quickly, I’ll see if I can get the meal tickets," Lin Xiaoguai said.
Just then, the dorm room door swung open, and a girl wearing a red dress with braids like ram horns stepped in. Seeing them, she paused, then smiled and said, "Hello, I am Yang Xiaoli, also from Room 406."
"Hello, I am Zhu Huixi."
"Hello, I am Lin Xiaoguai."
They each introduced themselves as well.
Yang Xiaoli went to the opposite bed that was already made, set down her bag, turned to them and said, "You haven’t had breakfast yet, right? I saw they’re distributing meal tickets downstairs in the dorm building. Shall we go together?"
"Sure, but you’ll have to wait a bit, I still need to brush my teeth and wash my face," Zhu Huixi said with a smile.
Lin Xiaoguai naturally had no objections.
Five minutes later, the three of them walked out of the dorm, picked up a month’s worth of meal tickets from the dorm supervisor, and headed to the cafeteria.
"Let me see... How come there are only fifteen yuan in meal tickets for a month?" Zhu Huixi said somewhat despondently.
A couple of years ago, fifteen yuan per month would have afforded decent meals, but prices had since risen significantly. A worker’s wages had increased from a maximum of thirty-six a month to now between fifty to a hundred. With only fifteen yuan a month for food, which included all three meals, it really wasn’t much.
"Let’s go take a look, maybe the food in the cafeteria is cheaper," Zhu Huixi suggested optimistically.
Unfortunately, reality wasn’t as hopeful as Zhu Huixi imagined, and Yang Xiaoli, with wide eyes, exclaimed, "A dish with meat costs 50 cents, while vegetables cost ten cents!"
Soup was free, and one could have as much rice and plain congee as they wanted for ten cents.
With just fifteen yuan a month, averaging fifty cents a day, spending at least thirty cents on the daily diet without additional dishes, the remaining twenty cents seemed hardly enough.
Lin Xiaoguai thought for a moment and said, "Or maybe we can check the portion sizes of the dishes. If they’re not too small, a few of us could share them, getting both meat and vegetables this way."
Zhu Huixi’s eyes lit up, "Right, why didn’t I think of that?"
For breakfast, other than plain congee and free pickles, there were only buns and fried dough sticks available – the dough sticks cost two cents each, vegetable buns were five cents, and meat buns were ten cents each.
Lin Xiaoguai ordered a serving of plain congee and a vegetable bun, then after some thought, asked the cafeteria lady, "Auntie, can we use banknotes to pay for meals here?"
Getting the answer, Lin Xiaoguai, along with Zhu Huixi and Yang Xiaoli, found a table and sat down.
"That’s great, if we run out of meal tickets, we can still buy food with our own money," Zhu Huixi said, squinting and smiling.