But in this era, this was nothing out of the ordinary. Right now, it’s just a ripple; soon, the waves will grow ever more turbulent.

1992 was only a starting point. In the decade that followed, so many tears, so much upheaval, so many families’ pain and hardship... all were inevitable before the rolling wheels of history.

Those who never lived through this era often find it hard to understand just how much despair and helplessness the wave of layoffs in those years once caused.

Suddenly, the iron rice bowl was gone, the source of livelihood disappeared, and the state, which used to take care of everything for you, suddenly wanted nothing to do with you anymore. In this era, workers who had once been surrounded by honor and happiness simply couldn’t make sense of it, couldn’t accept it.

Relatively speaking, things were actually better in the south. As for those industrial provinces in the north and southwest, it really felt as if the sky had suddenly collapsed. So much so that later, when Eric Wood cheerfully shouted that line on the 1999 Spring Festival Gala—【The people must think for the country. If I don’t get laid off, who will?】—countless families were so stifled and depressed they couldn’t even eat their New Year’s Eve dinner.

Evan Ford suddenly remembered that his mom was about to be laid off from the county’s only collective factory too—probably next year. He recalled that she cried at home for several days because of it.

“What are you looking at? Get lost, all of you, get far away from me! If you keep staring, I’ll beat you up.”

The sudden shout interrupted Evan Ford’s thoughts. Adam Grant, supporting his sister, turned and yelled, sending the onlookers scattering in panic.

“And you... drive! I’ve already gotten out of the car, why are you still parked here? Watching the show?”

“Who—who’s watching? I’m just afraid you’ll want to get back in, that’s all,” the driver muttered under his breath and started the car again.

Emily Grant tugged hard at her brother’s sleeve, turned her head with a guilty look to the people on the bus, and nodded slightly in apology. The words were inaudible, but you could see it.

Just like that, separated by a bus window, her face slowly slid past Evan Ford’s line of sight.

It was a face that could instantly take almost any man back to a time of innocence—delicate, pure, carrying a tranquility that would be hard to find in later years.

Tear stains still clung to her cheeks, her eyes were clear, and her gaze held unease. Because tears kept welling up, her expression became all the more vivid and heart-wrenching.

At this moment, Evan Ford finally truly understood two idioms he’d thought he knew: one was “pear blossoms bathed in rain,” the other “delicate and pitiful.”

If he had to add one more, it would probably be “bright and captivating.”

“Thank you, age of innocence.”

His mood inexplicably improved. Evan Ford muttered softly to himself, the corners of his mouth unconsciously lifting in a smile.

Their eyes met through the bus window for just an instant. Emily Grant glanced at him, then hurriedly turned away.

The bus drove off into the distance.

Evan Ford took in the “once upon a time” sights of this city along the way: messy streets, tall buildings, but also rows of tiled houses and gray old Western-style buildings. In the distance, you could even vaguely see farmland and wasteland.

In the next decade or so, everything would change. This place would become a modern metropolis with a population approaching ten million.

Emily Grant’s era-tinged face floated through his mind again. Evan Ford suddenly had a hazy recollection—he seemed to remember hearing some rumors about the factory beauty and her brother later on. Apparently, something happened to them, and for a while, they were the talk of the town...

But he hadn’t heard the details at the time, and after all, more than twenty years had passed. Evan Ford focused and thought for a while, but really couldn’t remember.

……

……

1992, another spring.

This is a lyric that everyone would later know. In Evan Ford’s understanding, compared to 1978, 1992 was actually a more pivotal year in the process of reform and opening up, because that year the status of the market economy was made clear.

From then on, every year—work, life, money, material things, even people’s thoughts and ideas—would all undergo earth-shaking changes at breakneck speed.

But that year, the green trains hadn’t sped up yet, and as usual, they were running late.

After the train was delayed for nearly an hour, Evan Ford finally began his journey home.

In the high-speed rail era, it would take two hours to get from Linzhou City to Shuichang City, but this was 1992. Evan Ford swayed for a full six hours in a crowded, noisy, foul-smelling train car before finally arriving at the prefecture-level city of Shuichang.

After that, he still had to transfer in Shuichang and take a three-hour coach ride to get back to his hometown, Quannan County.

By the time the bus arrived, it was already nine at night. The lights all around were dim. The station wasn’t in the suburbs yet, but Evan Ford’s home was—in a two-and-a-half-story small building, which would be worth quite a bit later on.

In those days, small county towns didn’t have taxis, but fortunately, they weren’t big either. Evan Ford walked home, reliving “yesterday once more.”

“Dad, Mom.”

Standing at the door, calling out, Evan Ford’s eyes stung, but he couldn’t help the smile tugging at his lips—he was happy.

Before him stood his parents, young again. Really, so young—their hair jet-black and shiny, their backs straight, and... that grip.

His mom grabbed Evan Ford’s arm and shoved him aside, craning her neck to look into the distance.

“Still smiling? You didn’t even think to call Aunt Zhang’s shop first... So, where’s the girl?”

“What? Girl?”