From December 18 to 22, 1978, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China convened the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee, sounding the clarion call for China's reform and opening up.

This important meeting has also brought a new wind to the society, and this year's festival has also changed differently from usual.

A month before the Spring Festival, Lin Qiangsheng's family began to buy New Year's goods. Ten days before the Spring Festival, the auto factory also distributed benefits such as hairtail fish and rice and soybean oil to the workers. For the first time, the workers felt the treatment of employees of state-owned enterprises, and everyone had a heartfelt joy on their faces.

Before 1978, there was no morning market in Ben Cheng, and people had to go to the major farmers' markets to buy New Year's goods, and they had to buy them with tickets there. With the morning market, people can buy whatever they want and spend money. Although there are no vegetables in the morning market, people can often come here and walk back and forth for hours.

January 28, 1979, Chinese New Year.

This morning, the whole family started cleaning. Lin Qiangsheng swept the inside and outside of the house, and the snow outside the courtyard was also cleared.

Father was washing vegetables in the kitchen. Mother and sister, tidying up in the house, cleaning the windows. The window panes of the east and west rooms were wiped clean and bright.

After Lin Qiangsheng finished sweeping the floor, he also went to the kitchen to wash vegetables. There are a lot of preparations for this year's New Year, and it is really difficult for my father to be alone.

Although there are not many vegetables that can be bought now, Lin Qiangsheng has a way to make this Spring Festival more nourishing. He got a lot of mutton and seafood, and specially found a restaurant to cut the mutton into slices, and then there were vegetables and meat, as well as hot pot mutton and seafood, and the Lin family could eat a happy Spring Festival this year!

After tidying up, start and bread dumplings. Mother and sister, the two of them are all inclusive, and they don't need others to interfere. Mixing the dough, adjusting the filling, rolling the skin, very fast.

This year, the Lin family ate two kinds of fillings, in addition to the cabbage-stuffed dumplings that were the main ones in previous years, there were celery-stuffed dumplings this year. Lin Qiangsheng went to the morning market several times in order to buy such a bundle of celery.

"Xiang Rong, there is no letter from Qiangdong this Spring Festival? What's going on? Xu Hongmei asked Lin Xiangrong, who was making a hand, while wrapping dumplings.

In the past, during the New Year's holidays, the eldest Lin Qiangdong would write letters home, but he did not receive his letter during the Spring Festival this year, and his mother Xu Hongmei muttered.

Lin Xiangrong shook his head and said, "Don't think about it! What will happen to Qiangdong, it must be that the army has a task, and it is inconvenient to communicate with home! ”

This situation is also possible, it has happened before, the troops have a mission, and they cannot be contacted for a long time when they go to a remote place. Now the family can only guess what task Lin Qiangdong's troops have encountered.

Lin Qiangsheng glanced at his parents, saw his sister glaring at him, opened his mouth, and said, "Don't worry, parents." My brother will be fine. ”

Lin Xiang thought that Lin Qiangsheng would sneer at the eldest brother as before, because the relationship between the two brothers was not good before.

Xu Hongmei and Lin Xiangrong, including Lin Xiang, all looked at Lin Qiangsheng in surprise, Lin Qiangsheng smiled and said, "Maybe, my brother will be promoted again in a few months!" ”

Lin Qiangsheng's eldest brother, Lin Qiangdong, has been very obedient since he was a child, smart and sensible, and belongs to the kind of children from other people's families.

Lin Qiangsheng was always compared to his brother before, so he was naturally very disgusted, so he hated this big brother very much.

However, in his previous life, after he joined the army, he received a lot of care from his eldest brother, so later the two brothers slowly became close again. Lin Qiangsheng in this world is naturally different from before, so he took the initiative to start saying good things about his eldest brother.

Xu Hongmei reacted and said with a smile: "Hmm! To borrow Johnson & Johnson's good words, it's okay! ”

Lin Xiangrong nodded and said, "It's possible that he really went to the place on some mission, so he can't contact him for a while." ”

Lin Qiangsheng naturally knew that his eldest brother Lin Qiangdong was quickly promoted like many rocket cadres, and then participated in the counterattack against Vietnam. But fortunately, the eldest brother was not injured in this war, and later he was promoted to company commander in the line of duty, and after being discharged from the army, he became the director of the local police station.

Lin Xiang asked at this time: "Dad, after the Spring Festival, you, your mother and your little brother really went abroad for inspection?" ”

When she first learned the news, she was shocked. Regarding going abroad, Lin Xiang has no concept in his mind at all. Unexpectedly, her parents and younger brother would suddenly go abroad, which shocked her.

Lin Xiangrong nodded, patted the flour on his hand, and said with a smile: "Hmm! A few days ago, I was notified that after the Spring Festival, the people who went abroad would take a class to teach everyone about foreign customs and safety knowledge. Your mother and your brother have to participate. When the time comes, let's study hard, and don't embarrass the motherland when we go abroad! ”

Xu Hongmei smiled, she was quite happy to take such a class.

Lin Qiangsheng rolled his eyes and said: "Actually, I just listened to the nonsense of those people who are engaged in foreign trade and economic cooperation, and they want to scare everyone!" ”

Lin Xiang asked in surprise, "Is it?!" ”

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and said: "They like to praise foreign countries, how prosperous the economy is, and how materially developed. He also scares people, saying that as soon as they go abroad, they will be dazzled, and they should not lose themselves in the material pursuits of developed countries. What else will they say about the unsafe and chaotic in foreign countries, foreigners have guns, and blacks are robbers. What's the point of scaring yourself? Do they feel a sense of accomplishment in this way? What a mentality! ”

Lin Xiangrong glared at his son and said, "How do you know?" Clean nonsense, can people still lie to us?! ”

Lin Qiangsheng smiled, his mother Xu Hongmei and sister Lin Xiang were also happy, so Lin Qiangsheng really said nonsense.

After wrapping the dumplings, put all the dumplings into the warehouse to freeze, so that when it is time to eat them at night, you can cook the frozen dumplings directly.

At noon, the whole family had a simple lunch and rested. At two o'clock in the afternoon, I started to cook the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner.

This year's Chinese New Year's Eve dishes are extremely rich, compared with previous years, it is a heaven and an underground, there is no comparison at all!

Stir-fried pork with fungus, fried meat with cauliflower, stir-fried meat with celery, stir-fried meat with mushrooms, braised carp, stewed mushrooms with chicken, and rice were served one after another.

My father fried a large pot of shrimp chips and small fish. Lin Qiangsheng cooked a salted shrimp, put the previously washed seafood and mutton into the hot pot together, and finally brought a large pot of pork and beef offal and shutters and put it on the edge of the kang. The table is too small, and there is really no room.

"This is a big table!" Mother Xu Hongmei looked at the dishes on the table and was stunned.

Lin Xiang looked at the table full of red and bright dishes, and exclaimed, "Ah! When did our family's life become so good?! Little brother, take a snapshot! ”

"Click" Lin Qiangsheng took a family photo of the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner in 1979.

Lin Qiangsheng looked at these dishes with satisfaction, nodded, and said, "It's almost!" This is the well-off life in the future! People will often be able to eat like this in the future! ”

Father Lin Xiangrong shook his head and said, "What a waste!" This table of dishes has caught up with our family's food money for a year! Johnson & Johnson, how much does it cost to get seafood, how many votes! ”

Lin Xiang grinned, patted Lin Qiangsheng's shoulder, and said with a smile: "Dad, you don't have to worry!" Our Johnson & Johnson is very rich now, he is a big capitalist! Do you know? Ah, Mom! ”

Xu Hongmei slapped Lin Xiang and blamed her for not covering her words. In the past, the husband and wife, it was very strange to see Lin Qiangsheng busy, what did his son do like this, but gradually felt that his son seemed to be enjoying it, so he didn't want to say anything.

In the evening, the whole family changed into new clothes, which Lin Qiangsheng bought from a state-run store.

Father Lin Xiangrong is a dark gray suit, mother Xu Hongmei is a red tweed coat, sister Lin Xiang is wearing a cashmere sweater and jumpsuit, and Lin Qiangsheng himself is wearing a leather jacket and jeans. Each also had a pair of black leather shoes, polished to a shiny finish.

The whole family has changed into new clothes and shoes, and it feels very strange to be at home! It was as if the family was going to some formal occasion. Yan sù's funny appearance provoked the family to laugh at each other.

Xu Hongmei said with a smile: "Put it on and take it off, you have to take it off when you eat, the clothes that Johnson & Johnson bought are not suitable for wearing at home!" ”

Lin Xiangrong looked at his wife, looked at his suit again, nodded, and said appreciatively to Lin Qiangsheng: "The clothes my son bought are good!" Pretty! ”

Xu Hongmei looked at Lin Xiangrong with a smile and praised: "You are wearing this suit, I feel as if you are ten years younger!" ”

Lin Xiangrong looked at his wife and said with a smile: "Really? I see that you look ten years younger in this red tweed coat, so beautiful! ”

Lin Qiangsheng and his sister Lin Xiang glanced at each other, and the two smiled.

The family was happy and had a Chinese New Year's Eve dinner. The fish at this time is delicious, the chicken at this time is delicious, and the seafood at this time is delicious.

Lin Xiang was holding a prawn in one hand, and he couldn't eat it with one mouth. Lin Qiangsheng gnawed on the chicken leg and chewed it fiercely, fragrant! Move! It's pure, chicken-flavored!

On the thirtieth night of 79, Lin Qiangsheng's TV contributed again, even if it was freezing outside, it couldn't stop the heat of the neighbors!

Lin Xiangrong had to move the TV to the yard, cover it with an overcoat, and put two braziers next to it!

There are very few programs on TV, there is only one station in total, performing traditional programs such as "Outwitting Tiger Mountain", "Shajiabang", and "Red Lantern". The TV station played it casually, and the audience also watched it with taste.

On Chinese New Year's Eve, in the dry and cold outside, even if the neighbors were freezing, they stared at the TV, and kept cheering and applauding the wonderful performance on the TV. The applause spread from the courtyard to the house and to the outside of the courtyard, attracting more people to come.

At nine o'clock, the TV program ended, and the neighbors left laughing and went home to eat dumplings.

Visiting relatives and friends, setting off firecrackers, that is also indispensable. Lin Qiangsheng's neighbors also came to the factory director's house to sit for a while, put an egg, put a handful of melon seeds and peanuts, all as New Year's gifts.