Chapter 136: The Second Set of Currency

Zhang Ping'an caught up to Lao Jia after passing Wu Qiang.

"Brother-in-law, are there any customs for paying New Year calls in our courtyard?"

"What customs could there be? Everyone isn't wealthy; giving money is impossible, so just giving some peanuts and melon seeds will do."

Zhang Ping'an thought that made sense. Families had different numbers of children; it was fine if people didn't fuss over it, but once someone took it seriously, it would be impossible to get along in the future. A handful of peanuts or seeds more or less was fine, and everyone could accept that.

"Alright, I've got it." Zhang Ping'an had originally planned to give each child one cent, so he was glad he asked.

Returning to the Siheyuan, the scent of meat wafted from every household, and the children's faces were filled with smiles as they chased each other around.

Zhang Ping'an had also prepared quite a few firecrackers this time; after all, it was his first New Year in the city, so he definitely had to set them off to his heart's content.

The spring couplets for the small courtyard had already been put up. Zhang Ping'an's mother and grandmother were still busy in the kitchen, his grandfather and father were drinking tea in the main room, and Wang Xiaoling was peeling garlic outside the kitchen.

Garlic scallops, oysters, prawns, abalone Braised Pork, braised venison, Sweet and Sour Carp, forest frogs, stir-fried chicken, and Lamb Soup—eight dishes and one soup, a table filled to the brim.

"Ping'an, go find your brother and bring him back; it's time to eat."

"Okay."

Having been here for nearly a month, his younger brother had become well-acquainted with the courtyard, especially with He Yuliang and Bang Geng, as they were all born in the same year.

He would go to work with San Jie, Zhang Xiaohua, and together with the two children from Yi Zhonghai's family, seven or eight children would play over at the Clothing Shop, returning with San Jie and the others after work.

"Dongxu, is Xile at your place?"

"Even Bang Geng is at Uncle He's house."

"..." Sure enough, good food was always the most attractive thing to children.

In He Daqing's house, unknown strips of dough were frying in an oil pan in the kitchen, and the children had all been shooed into the main room.

"Uncle He, when will the fried dough twists be ready?"

"Soon, soon."

"Brother He, if you don't hurry up, my brother is going to come and call me home."

"..."

Zhang Ping'an, who had just walked in, had black lines on his forehead; this little guy was actually urging the person whose food he was eating.

"Uncle!" X2

"Great-uncle!"

"Hmm, everyone go home and eat first. Come back and play after you've eaten."

"Brother, the fried dough twists!"

"You only remember eating. Is there not enough for you to eat at home?"

"There is, but Brother He makes them better; it's different."

"Hahaha, Ping'an, Xile has good taste. I made plenty, but it'll take a little longer. Come and have some later."

"Did you hear that? Everyone go home and eat first."

"Right, Uncle He will save some for you."

"Sister Xiao Zi, when the fried dough twists are ready later, I'll lock them in the drawer."

With He Yuliang's guarantee, the few little ones were finally satisfied and headed back.

"Heh, I'm not even as good as a child's guarantee." He Daqing was also speechless.

"Brother He, you don't understand. This is our agreement. You'll know when you get to my age."

"..." He Daqing.

"..." Zhang Ping'an.

"Ahem, Brother He, we're heading back first." Zhang Ping'an hurriedly picked up his little brother and left, fearing more shocking words might pop out.

After Zhang Xile finished eating at home, he couldn't sit still, as if there were steel balls in his seat.

"Go on, go on." Zhang Ping'an couldn't bear to watch and waved for him to leave.

Seeing his older brother give the go-ahead, Zhang Xile zoomed out.

"What is Xile doing?"

Zhang Ping'an then recounted what the children had agreed upon earlier.

"This child."

"It's fine. He ate so much at home that he doesn't have room for fried dough twists; he'll taste a bite or two at most. But Xile was right about one thing: Daqing's cooking is indeed good."

"Hmm." Zhang Ping'an nodded; he couldn't refute that.

He Daqing's house was already a children's paradise. Over a dozen children were lining up, and He Yuliang gave each one a fried dough twist the size of an index finger. The twists in the drawer were quickly divided up.

The courtyard soon became lively, with the laughter of children, the occasional sound of firecrackers, the gossip of women, and the men boasting heroically.

In the evening, Zhang Ping'an set off the first firecracker of the New Year. Several strings of firecrackers were laid out in the courtyard, popping and crackling loudly.

Then, like a chain reaction, one family after another followed suit. The whole courtyard was filled with the smell of sulfur, which was actually quite pleasant. A group of children were searching for "fish that slipped through the net" after the firecrackers finished.

Zhang Ping'an was amused; he hadn't expected little boys to be picking up firecrackers now. He had thought that only happened in his previous life.

Zhang Ping'an waved his hand, and a group of half-grown boys ran over.

"Guangtian, you guys can take them apart and play, but you aren't allowed to blow up the toilet." Zhang Ping'an handed two small strings of firecrackers to Liu Guangtian, who was leading them.

"You got it, Uncle Zhang!"

The group of children didn't leave; they immediately started dividing the loot in Zhang Ping'an's courtyard, with each person getting two or three on average.

Before long, the sparse sounds of firecrackers and the shouts of the half-grown boys rang out outside the courtyard.

In the evening, the whole family was in the main room wrapping dumplings. After finishing, Zhang Ping'an also stayed up for the New Year for once; after all, he was married and an adult now.

Early on the morning of the first day of the New Year, Zhang Ping'an waited until Wang Xiaoling woke up before starting to set off firecrackers. Even so, they were the first family to do so, and then, like water droplets hitting a hot pan, it went pop-pop-pop, one family after another.

After eating dumplings, the children came rushing over to pay New Year calls, and Zhang Xile followed Donglai and the others to visit every house.

In the blink of an eye, it was the fifteenth. After eating sweet rice balls with a filling of crushed peanuts, lard, and sugar, Zhang Ping'an's grandparents returned to their hometown, and his father, Zhang Laohan, also went back home to check on things from time to time.

Time arrived at the end of February 1955. That evening at the Siheyuan, Director Wang from the Street Office brought two cadres over to announce something.

"Has one person from every household come?"

"Director Wang, everyone is here."

"Very well, I will now announce a matter. In order to further improve our country's currency system, the Second Set of Currency will be implemented starting next month."

"The Second Set of Currency has 11 denominations in total, including one fen, two fen, five fen, one jiao, two jiao, five jiao, one yuan, two yuan, three yuan, five yuan, and ten yuan, corresponding to the current 100 yuan, 200 yuan, 500 yuan, 1,000 yuan, 2,000 yuan, 5,000 yuan, 10,000 yuan, 20,000 yuan, and 50,000 yuan."

"Everyone must actively respond to the country's call and go exchange them as soon as possible. We have set up exchange points at every bank. If you do not exchange them before they expire, the old currency will become void. Do not let the hard-earned money you have saved with such difficulty go down the drain."

"I will hand the specific notice to your Managing Officials. If you don't understand anything, ask them immediately. Teacher Yan, Master Yi, and Master Liu, I leave this to you. We are heading to the next Siheyuan."

"Yes, yes, yes. Rest assured, Director Wang, we will certainly convey this thoroughly."

After Director Wang left, the crowd began to discuss it one after another.

"We have to go exchange it. I still have some Gold Yuan Coupons from years ago; they're even too stiff to wipe my backside with now."

"That is indeed true."

"Ping'an, are we going to exchange ours?"

"Of course we are. Director Wang just said that once they expire, they'll be like waste paper." However, Zhang Ping'an still planned to keep a few complete sets in good condition as a memento.

"Everyone, quiet down. I will read the Street Office's notice to you briefly. If you don't understand anything, you can ask later."

Yan Bugui spent ten minutes reading the entire notice and finally provided a summary.

"In short, it means taking the old money you have on hand to the bank to exchange it for new money. Also, it is best for everyone to go in groups of three or five."

"Teacher Yan is right. For the sake of safety, at least two people should go together. Those who are afraid of revealing their wealth can also go in several trips. In a word, hurry up and exchange the old currency in your hands for the new currency."