Rebirth 1979: Marrying a poor girl at the beginning

At noon, at the West Street State-owned Workers and Peasants Restaurant.

The sign with Song font on the door is quite impressive.

Above the door are hung the words "Serve the People", and on both sides of the door are hung the words "Independence and Self-reliance" and "Self-reliance".

Lin Zhengjun stopped the tractor, got out with Tang Xiaofu, and walked in together.

Originally, Lin Zhengjun asked Director Hao to join him, but he declined.

Firstly, he couldn't wait to go home and make turtle soup for his wife, and secondly, he also knew what was going on and didn't want to disturb Lin Zhengjun and Tang Xiaofu's world of two.

There are more than a dozen tables, but not many customers, so it seems deserted.

On the wall were menus and signs that read "Guessing numbers, finger-guessing games, or singing are strictly prohibited" and "Beating customers without reason is strictly prohibited."

Finally, the sense of age has reached its peak... Lin Zhengjun sighed inwardly.

Lin Zhengjun handed ten yuan and a stack of food coupons to the waiter and said, "I want some boiled chicken, braised beef, braised carp, and a pot of pork soup..."

"It's too much! Don't just order meat dishes. One meat dish and one vegetable dish will be enough, and the nutrition will be balanced!" Tang Xiaofu complained.

This is the most upscale state-owned restaurant in the county. Not to mention the members, even workers and cadres have to be courageous enough to eat here.

It was an enviable thing for the educated youth to come here for a meal after receiving remittances from home.

This was the first time Lin Zhengjun took me to dinner and he ordered so many dishes, which showed how much he loved me.

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Lin Zhengjun smiled.

We had boiled chicken and braised beef in soy sauce, and added fried peanuts and stir-fried vegetables. The staple food was two bowls of mutton noodles, and we ordered a few bottles of soda, which had to be chilled.

While I was drinking soda and waiting for the food to be served, a woman in a headscarf came in timidly and said to a male waiter with acne all over his face, "Young man, please be kind. It's too hot. I've finished the cold water I brought. Can you give me some hot water?"

Her clothes were covered with patches, her skin was dark and rough, and she looked like a woman from the country.

"You don't need coal to boil water. Why should we give you state-owned assets for free? If you want to drink boiled water, you have to buy food first!" Acne rolled his eyes.

"Some cold water would be fine. I brought some steamed corn bread, but the weather is too hot and my mouth is so dry that I can't swallow it!" the woman said hesitantly.

"No! You are dirty and smelly, get out now and don't disrupt our normal business order!" Acne waved his hand in disgust to drive him away.

The woman sighed helplessly and walked out the door dejectedly. Her face was pale and she was panting. She was about to have heatstroke.

At the next table, a square-faced old man in his sixties was reading a book with great interest, eating mutton noodles, and taking a sip of wine with peanuts from time to time.

Seeing this, he turned his eyes away from the page, looked at the waiter and said, "You're talking about state-owned assets over a bowl of boiled water. That's really too much. Look how hot she is. She's about to get a heat stroke!"

I don't know what disease the pimple has, but she remains unmoved. I wave my hand and drive her away, saying, "Look at her. She's dirty and her face is sallow. She might have some infectious disease. We gave her some hot water to drink, and we have to disinfect the bowl!"

"What kind of service attitude do you have!"

"unacceptable!"

Two angry voices sounded almost at the same time, one from Tang Xiaofu and the other from the square-faced old man.

"Auntie, drink it first, don't get a heat stroke!"

Lin Zhengjun was also annoyed. He opened a bottle of soda and stuffed it into the woman's pocket. He pointed at the acne and said, "Look at your sign. It's a state-owned worker-peasant restaurant. We serve the people!"

"Aren't farmers part of the masses? You should serve not only the working class, but also the peasant class!"

"Over the years, our industrial accumulation has been achieved by relying on the scissors gap between industrial and agricultural products. Farmers have made great sacrifices and contributions!"

"Without farmers growing crops and paying taxes, what would you eat? Without farmers raising silkworms and growing cotton, what would you wear? You have nothing to eat or wear, so why are you so arrogant?"

"What's the matter? You've only had enough food and clothing for a few days, and you've forgotten the farmers' kindness? You think they're not worthy of your service!"

“I didn’t…” Acne’s face was in a state of panic.

The old man looked at Lin Zhengjun in surprise and said with a smile: "Hey, young man, your theoretical level is quite good. You even know the difference between industry and agriculture!"

"It is said that farmers are the class brothers of workers, but you look down on others all day long and call it serving the people. Do you have the nerve to do that?"

Lin Zhengjun pointed at the acne-prone man's nose and continued to speak crazily: "I'm telling you, your behavior is engaging in class discrimination, is divorced from the masses, and is destroying the class feelings of unity between workers and peasants. Believe it or not, I will go to the county party committee to sue you!"

"Also, don't think you're here because you're so great. That's because the private economy hasn't been completely liberalized yet. There are only a few state-owned restaurants like yours in the whole county. No matter how bad your service attitude is or how bad your food is, everyone has to hold their noses and put up with it."

"But now the country has allowed idle labor to engage in individual labor in catering, repair and handicraft industries."

"Just wait and see. In less than three years, the streets will be full of independent restaurants. Not only will their food be delicious, but the prices will also be cheap and their service attitudes will be good. How can you be competitive by then? You may even have to close down. Why don't you build up a good reputation while you still have customers? You're stupid!"

The old man was delighted when he heard this. He picked up the wine glass and drank it all. He said with a smile, "Good scolding! It's a great scolding! It's time to make it clear!"

Tang Xiaofu's beautiful eyes were also shining.

Lin Zhengjun is so handsome! Not only does he have a sense of justice, but he is also very eloquent, hitting the nail on the head and getting to the heart of the matter!

Nearby, several customers also applauded.

"What the young man said makes sense!"

"We obviously spent money to eat here, but they didn't provide us with warm service. They even found fault with us, as if we owed them a few bucks!"

"You are just looking down on others! If a private restaurant opens in the county, I will not eat here even if you kneel down to me. It would be best if it closes down!"

"What are you making such a fuss about?!"

The hotel manager was alarmed by the quarrel and came out with an angry face.

After asking the waiter what happened, he not only did not criticize the waiter, but also glared at Lin Zhengjun and shouted: "What did you say, kid? What restaurant is closed? You are wantonly attacking the dictatorship of the proletariat and maliciously slandering state-owned service enterprises. Believe it or not, I will tie you up and criticize you——"

"Manager Hu, it's already late. The focus of our work has shifted to socialist modernization, but you are still fighting and bullying people!" The old man slammed his wine glass on the table and shouted in a cold voice.

When Manager Hu saw the old man clearly, he was so frightened that he trembled all over. He hurried over and said flatteringly, "Old leader, you are here, why didn't you greet me?"

"Why should I greet you? Even if I greeted you, I have never seen such a bad service attitude in your hotel!" The old man immediately started to scold, making Manager Hu blush and sweat profusely.

Lin Zhengjun and Tang Xiaofu looked at each other. It seemed that this old man had some status.

Manager Hu finally finished being scolded and glared at the pimple: "Write a 3,000-word self-examination this afternoon. If you continue like this, you will stop reflecting on yourself!"

"Manager, I know I was wrong and I will never do it again!" Acne immediately backed down.

Manager Hu ran up to the woman again and said with a smile, "Auntie, it's our poor service. I apologize on behalf of the hotel. I hope you can forgive me. Please sit down and I'll treat you to a bowl of noodles!"

"Thank you, thank you, I finally met a good person this time!"

The woman was so moved that tears welled up in her eyes and she kept bowing to Lin Zhengjun and the old man.

The woman enjoyed the delicious noodles, and Lin Zhengjun was too lazy to pursue her and returned to his seat.

"Excuse me, calm down, I'll give you a pot of Maojian tea, it's mine!"

Manager Hu first served a pot of tea to Lin Zhengjun's table, and his service attitude improved greatly and became enthusiastic.

"Thank you!" Lin Zhengjun was not reluctant to give in.

We can’t say that these waiters in state-owned restaurants are bad people.

But once a market monopoly occurs, it will most likely lead to poor service, regardless of whether it is private or state-owned.

Manager Hu came up to the old man again, nodded and smiled, "Old leader, are you satisfied with this handling?"

"I'm just a layman now, not a leader. Go and do your own thing!" The old man waved his hand and continued to read, drink and eat peanuts.

"Hey, hey, hey, if you need anything, just call me and I will serve you personally." Manager Hu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and left embarrassedly.

The old man picked up the wine glass and suddenly raised it towards Lin Zhengjun. Lin Zhengjun also raised his soda, and the two smiled at each other.

"This uncle is a cultured person. He seems to be reading Don Quixote translated by Mr. Yang Jiang."

Tang Xiaofu whispered, "My classmate wrote to me and told me that this book was just published last year. It is very humorous and exciting. It is sold out in Xinhua Bookstores in big cities."