Chapter 49: A New Car Enters the Village

Generally speaking, there are two ways to obtain a bicycle voucher at this stage.

One is the bicycle voucher issued by various units according to their plans.

The other is by accumulating industrial coupons.

For example, a regular worker at the Hongqi Coal Mine receives one industrial coupon for every year worked at the unit. Once they have accumulated 15 coupons, they can exchange them for the eligibility to purchase a bicycle.

The bicycle vouchers issued by various units all feature a simple line drawing of a bicycle on the front, a decorative border around the edges, and the four large characters "Purchase Vehicle with Voucher" in the center.

In addition to this, the back is stamped with the issuing unit's seal and an expiration date.

There is a hierarchy to these seals: coal mine seals, public institution seals, supply and marketing cooperative seals, and so on, all of which differ.

Among all the seals, the seal of the Military Control Commission is the most formidable. It signifies that the person buying the bicycle might have connections within the units under the Military Control Commission.

The sales clerks working in the supply and marketing cooperatives are true experts; they can glean a wealth of useful information from the slightest clue.

"Wait here for a moment, I'll go pick up the bike for you!" Holding a copy of the completed voucher, Li Li said her goodbyes and went to retrieve the bike for Yue Feng.

Soon, a bright and shiny, heavy-duty Yongjiu bicycle was pushed out.

Yue Feng immediately tore off the foam packaging from the wheels and the crossbar, grabbed the handlebars, and walked out of the supply and marketing cooperative.

Once he reached the main road, he stepped onto the pedals, swung his leg over the frame, and with a light push, the bicycle surged forward.

Truth be told, this brand-new bicycle rode even more effortlessly than the one owned by the village secretary, Wang Jianguo. To put it hyperbolically, it actually felt like he was flying.

Wherever the gleaming new bicycle went, it drew admiring glances from pedestrians; the head-turn rate was practically 100%.

In high spirits due to the good news, Yue Feng hadn't even fully processed the feeling before he arrived at the entrance of the village.

As soon as the bicycle reached the village convenience store, it instantly caught the attention of three or four women from the local "intelligence department."

"Second son of the Yue family, you bought a bicycle, eh?" Li Yinhua, the shop owner, stopped playing with her small tiles and stood up to come to the doorway.

"Ah! Auntie, have you eaten yet?" Yue Feng responded politely, having no intention of getting off to chat.

"I've eaten. How much did this bike cost? Is this a heavy-duty Yongjiu?"

"Hehe, not much, about a hundred yuan!" Yue Feng gave a perfunctory answer and continued moving forward.

By the time Li Yinhua wanted to ask a third question, Yue Feng had already ridden far away, leaving her to return to her shop in disappointment.

"That second son of the Yue family has really made something of himself. I don't know where he earned the money, but he's even bought a new bicycle!"

"I heard from my little Bao that in the Yue Lei's courtyard, they have a whole rack of hawks tied up! Lately, the Zhang brothers, Xiaowen and Xiaowu, and the Li father and son have been going up the mountain with him to fly hawks and catch wild game!"

"Just catching some wild game? Can that be worth that much? A bicycle like that must cost at least a hundred yuan, right?"

"It's more than a hundred. A heavy-duty Yongjiu goes for 180 yuan a piece! Last year, right before the New Year, my husband and I went to check, but the vouchers were too hard to get. Even if you had the money, you couldn't get one!" Li Yinhua said with professional expertise.

Hearing the figure of 180 yuan, the other women in the room exchanged glances, and a momentary silence fell over the scene.

What a massive sum of money that was. One had to realize that in an ordinary household, having thirty or fifty yuan in savings was considered a sign of a well-off family in the village.

Yue Feng's journey wasn't over yet. As the bicycle passed through the back street of the village, a crowd of children soon began following behind him.

The children had rarely seen such a bright, polished bicycle. The model was different from Secretary Wang's, and the bell sounded much crisper.

Among the group of children, Yue Feng's younger sister, Jingjing, was the happiest of all.

From a distance, Jingjing called out, "Second Brother!"

Hearing this, Yue Feng stopped, picked Jingjing up, and sat her on the crossbar. With a push of his feet, the bike surged forward again.

Under the envious gazes of her many playmates, the little girl rode home on her brother's bicycle, feeling as if the very air around her smelled sweet.

When the bicycle stopped at the front door, Yue Feng propped it up, opened the door, and pushed it into the courtyard. The little girl remained sitting on the crossbar, unwilling to get down, and kept playing with the bell.

Soon, his mother, Meng Yulan, and his father, Yue Lei, came out of the house.

"Dad! Mom! This is the bicycle I just bought!!" Yue Feng grinned, standing there quietly.

Meng's eyes fixed on the brand-new bicycle in the courtyard, and her brow furrowed slightly. "Buying something this big... son, why didn't you discuss it with the family first?"

"This is a heavy-duty Yongjiu! Where did you get the voucher?" Yue Lei inspected the nameplate on the bike, his eyes filled with a mix of joy and confusion.

Yue Lei and his wife were aware that their son had been earning money recently by delivering wild game, as his wife kept the accounts every day and distributed the money to the hawk hunters.

However, no one had dared to assume it was enough to buy a bicycle. In a relatively remote and underdeveloped mountain village like Xing'an Village, such an item was not something an ordinary family could afford.

As for the "Three Rounds and One Sound" (bicycle, sewing machine, watch, and radio) that people bought when getting married, that was still a long way off!

"Hehe, I had enough money. I need to go to town every day anyway, and I can't keep borrowing from my uncle. Since the opportunity came up, I just bought it! I spent fifty yuan to get the voucher through a friend I met at a black market! How about this—let me hold you up, and you can ride a couple of laps in the courtyard?" Yue Feng answered with a smile.

Yue Lei shook his head. "My legs aren't quite right yet; I wouldn't dare show off! But buying it is a good thing. It'll save my legs when I go to town every day. A forty-li round trip on foot is hard to sustain in the long run!"

Since his father didn't voice any opposition, it meant Yue Feng's unilateral decision was officially settled.

Although his mother complained verbally about him not consulting the family, her body was quite honest; she leaned toward the bicycle, carefully touching the paintwork, an uncontrollable smile spreading across her face.

"Life is only going to get better! Right now, the bicycle is just an appetizer. Once I've saved enough money, I'm going to buy a gun and a dog too!" Yue Feng continued to "vaccinate" his parents against future shocks.

"Buy a gun? You might as well buy a cannon!! Once you earn money, you aren't allowed to go wasting it. Give it to Mom; I'll save it for you. You'll need it to build a house and get a wife in the future!"

Meng Yulan felt a slight pang of regret that she hadn't nationalized the local finances, as she said, glancing at her son.

Yue Feng grinned. "Look at what you're saying! Your son can earn dozens of yuan a day now! Buying a gun or a dog won't cost nearly that much! Dad already agreed to this, so Mom, don't hold me back!"

Yue Lei also nodded. "If our son wants to do it, let him! Old Li and I are keeping an eye on him. Xiaofeng is steady; he won't act recklessly!"

And so, the father and son reached a united front. Although Meng Yulan still felt a bit reluctant, she stopped insisting.