Zhang Fanjin

Everything in the past is a prologue. Time accompanies us through the spring, summer, autumn and winter, and time accompanies us through the blossoming and falling of flowers. No matter what kind of experience, the past is the scenery. Even if what we encounter is painful and sad, and feels bitter and boring, it is a ray of sunshine stored for ourselves. , is a corner of the scenery of life, boring can become interesting. Chernyshevsky said, "Anything that shows life or reminds us of life is beautiful." Because these memories themselves are real life.

?——Inscription

Although private cars are now almost universal, because I can’t drive, my main means of transportation is still a bicycle, so the memory of bicycles is always so warm .

I am a typical "post-60s". In my memory, the 1960s and 1970s were an era when people could not survive without vouchers. Food stamps, oil stamps, meat stamps, sugar stamps, cloth stamps, and coal stamps , kerosene certificate. Because these items are urgently needed, tickets are issued by specialized departments designated by the state. What is hard to find is the "ticket" to buy a bicycle, which all depends on connections. Therefore, owning a new bicycle has undoubtedly become a symbol of status. This not only shows that you are taking advantage of money, but also taking advantage of "relationships", and this "relationship" is definitely not available to everyone.

Our family bought the first bicycle after I entered high school. It was a "multi-hand bicycle". I was promoted from Chengguan Town Junior High School to town high school in the spring of 1977. Because there were no exams and everything was taken into account, for most of us, the so-called transfer to high school was no different from junior high school except for the change of classrooms and a few classmates. The school is still the same school. When I go to school, I still run twelve or three miles and two round trips while walking and playing. I still study lazily and play with enthusiasm. With the announcement of the resumption of the college entrance examination and the subsequent college entrance examination, our history of running around and having fun ended and we returned to the classroom in a real way. The concept of time began to be taken seriously. Walking to school took too long, and the idea of ??buying a bicycle gradually emerged. My brother first proposed the idea of ??buying me a bicycle, and my parents agreed, but the money and "tickets" gave me a rigid veto. The expense of one or two hundred yuan was an astronomical figure under the family conditions at that time. At that time, my father’s monthly salary was less than 50 yuan. Our family was not only a typical “money-gone family”, but we also lived without food from time to time. Even if you can raise enough money, where can you find connections to get "tickets"? It happened that a family in the west part of the village had an old bicycle that they wanted to dispose of. With the help of neighbors, they finally sold it for 43 yuan. 43 yuan seems insignificant now, but it was a huge expense at the time. At that time, pork cost 70 or 80 cents per catty. If you calculate it as one dollar per catty, you would have to buy at least 43 catties. Now it would cost at least 1,000 yuan. If converted into salary, it would be even more. 43 yuan is equivalent to spending 86 of the 50 yuan monthly salary. According to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2019 the average annual salary of people in my country's lowest wage income bracket and urban private sector employees was 53,604 yuan. Accordingly, a monthly salary of 86 is equivalent to the current 3,841.62 yuan. Of course I cherish the bike I spent so much money on. Although this car has lost its trademark, I don’t know what brand it is. It has no front fenders, the chain box is worn out, the wheel disc and flywheel are too old, they kick out from time to time, and the chain falls off. The frame beam is a bit "bowed", and the front and rear wheels are a bit "bowed". dragon". But I don’t care. I’m happy that I am now a real “car owner.” That kind of excitement is definitely more than what ordinary people feel today when they buy a top-end Mercedes-Benz or BMW, especially when facing the envious eyes of my classmates. It further strengthened my feeling of elation. After riding your bike home, rinse it with water, then dip it in engine oil to polish the frame, rims, and spokes. Afraid of losing it, I found half a sheep chain and added a door lock to use as a car lock. This car accompanied me through high school and college. This car also made me familiar with the bicycle repair technology. I can repair tires, hold wheels, tighten chains, and change axles.

The second bicycle is a Yanshan brand bicycle produced in Tangshan. This is a standard "second-hand bicycle". I was in college at that time, and it was said that my uncle and grandpa commissioned someone to buy it for 240 yuan.

The car seller was a bureau-level cadre. He had been riding the new car for two years and sold it to us at a price slightly higher than the original price. This was really a big mistake back then. Although I have a "new car" at home, I can't bear to ride it. I usually ride my "special car", and I only get out of it when I have "business" or when I go to the market or go to the store.

The third bicycle is a Hongqi brand made in Tianjin. This is the first new car our family has bought. In July 1984, I started working. It was very inconvenient to go home from Wei County Normal University. I urgently needed a bicycle. As a new teacher who is a role model, I should also have a new bicycle. My brother asked someone to buy one from Tianjin. At that time, they were pushing bicycles to smash the steel seals, that is, smashing the numbers. Because I had never ridden a new bike, I didn't pay attention to it, so I rode it to Weishi in a swaggering manner. The trip went very smoothly, but something happened when I came back. As soon as I rode to the south of the seventh-level town, I was stopped. The reason was of course that I didn't have a number. I was really a little frightened when I saw this situation, but I was relieved when I saw that I was not the only one who was intercepted. There were more than a dozen people holding on to the handlebars to bargain and beg for mercy. Through observation, we found that none of these people wanted to cancel their car numbers. Most of the reasons were that they were borrowing cars and could not make the final decision. Of course, I was even more reluctant. At that time, Nangong was much more developed than Wei County. Who would want to leave the imprint of Wei County on their new car. But if I also said it was borrowed, I would definitely end up with the same fate. I took the initiative and actively requested to cancel my account. The person who hacked the number was very happy when he saw me taking the lead. He came over and asked for five yuan. I pretended not to know and asked, "Why do you still charge me?" I don't! If you don’t believe me, take a look, I slapped my clothes on purpose. When I said I had no money, the caller immediately "instructed" me, "Don't you know how to borrow money?" I told him that I was from Nangong and had no acquaintance here. When it came to this point, the caller turned around and walked away. He didn't want to waste any more energy on me. Seeing that the problem could not be solved in a short time, I had no choice but to stand idle with my hands behind my back, without arguing or begging. Anyway, it’s been dozens of miles since Weishi rode here, so it’s time to take a rest. After a while, several "car owners" whose numbers had been smashed came to me and offered me cigarettes to plead for mercy. I quickly refused with a smile, I was also intercepted. After staying there for half an hour, the person who took the number saw that I had no money and couldn't borrow, and I didn't ask for mercy. Maybe he lost confidence in me, so he looked at me again and let me go. I cheated my way into the car and drove away. When I got home, I inquired about the procedures for canceling the number. The next day, I went to the Vehicle Management Office to "actively" cancel the number. From then on, I no longer had to worry about them intercepting the car. Later, I encountered someone who cut off the car and blocked the number. I pretended to be afraid of being cut off and pedaled a few times. An unexpected prank tricked them into chasing me for a hundred or ten meters.

The fourth bicycle is a permanent brand made in Shanghai. I bought the parts and saved them myself. In the early winter of 1985, after only a brief discussion of marriage, they couldn't wait to make the marriage official. After graduating from finance and trade school, my lover was assigned to work as an accountant in a county department store. During the summer vacation of 1986, he told me that the Dongcheng Wholesale Department of the company purchased a batch of permanent brand bicycles with an internal price of 180 yuan. The Forever Bicycle is a beauty on the market, and it is of course a dream to be able to buy one. Although "tickets" are no longer used at this time, it is still difficult to buy without asking someone to buy the bike, and the burden of asking someone to buy the bike naturally falls on the lover. On her body, it can be regarded as a certificate of submission for her before getting married. Of course, there is no suspense about the outcome. But except for the frame and wheels, the products she bought were all in pieces. She said that if they were not like this, they would not be able to grab them after the wholesale department collected the cars. I had no choice but to show my skills and make full use of the experience accumulated from frequent repairs of the "first car". It only took less than a day to save it. Riding my own "luxury car" really made me proud for a long time. What's more important is that we have made preparations in advance for the "three major things" of the wedding.

The fifth one has to be the most popular sightseeing tandem bicycle, which was purchased online in 2014. Of course, it is not ranked fifth. After buying the fourth bicycle, our family purchased and eliminated many more bicycles one after another. These were very normal commodity transactions and there was no need to write anything else about them. This tandem bicycle was a must. detailed. Dual bicycles are a standard feature in many scenic spots. Especially after riding on Sun Island this year, I became more determined to buy this bicycle. Unfortunately, Nangong's large and small bicycle dealers did not have it, so I thought of online shopping.

After it arrived, I felt a little regretful. This bicycle is perfectly natural to ride in scenic spots. But in a county-level city like ours, which is not very extroverted and open, wouldn't it be too eye-catching and too unusual? I didn't have the courage to ride anymore. After thinking about it during the "cooling-off period", the obstacles in my mind were relieved. So, on a weekend morning, my wife and I rode these two bikes for a trip. As expected, they immediately attracted many people to stop, and the number of people returning to this day has not decreased. In the spotlight of everyone, we rode leisurely, pedaling, talking, and sightseeing with my wife in the back seat. We have a clear division of labor. My wife just pedals and doesn't look at the road. He is responsible for the nagging of the family and the world. After I have a good grasp of the situation and have a good eye on the road, I am like Mr. Zhu Ziqing under the moonlight of the lotus pond. I can talk or not talk to each other. You can think about anything, you don’t have to think about anything, you can listen to everything, and you don’t have to listen to anything. Walk to the scenic spot, take a few photos with your mobile phone, and then move on while my wife continues to "broadcast". She confided to her heart's content, and I listened tirelessly. We rode leisurely, leisurely and happily...

September 21, 2020?

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