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文|StewieHuh
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introduction
Speaking of China's 80s, many people think that materials are quite scarce, but the term "material scarcity" is not accurate, and it is most appropriate to describe it as low productivity.
This is low productivity, low incomes, and therefore low prices. If you look back at the current generation, you will find that over the past few decades, you have felt not only the increase in age, but also the feeling of soaring prices.
For example, the price of meals is now dozens at every turn, but in the former state-run hotel, on a one-sided menu, the highest was only three yuan, which was clearly written.
(Kitchen in a restaurant in the 80s)
However, although the price is low, it depends on whether most people can afford it at that time. Speaking of which, I don't know how many people have experienced that period, so you might as well go back to the past and talk about that period.
1. The menu of the hotel
As the saying goes, food comes first, and no matter what era it is, eating is always the top priority in everyone's daily life.
However, in today's society, people want to eat a good meal, but it has become a problem, pre-made dishes, complex additives, and ridiculously expensive dishes, which really makes people sigh unconsciously.
(Former state-run hotel)
Especially the older generation of people, after inner comparison, always feel that many meals are not as affordable as before, so how "cheap" are the previous meals, a recipe of a state-run hotel can make people sigh.
On this recipe, there are hot dishes, cold dishes and soup dishes, and the dishes are varied, and at a glance, the low price of the dishes can make many modern people drop their jaws, because they are basically a few cents to two pieces, which looks no different from modern people buying a piece of candy.
However, if you really think about it, it is obviously a bit too simple, and in that era, even if it seemed so cheap, most people could not afford it.
(Menu of public hotels)
Related to the price of meals is often people's income. Forty years ago, the factories were all state-run at first, and in the state-run factories, there was a clear division of workers and income, and non-regular workers such as apprentices were generally paid about 18 to 20 yuan a month.
From the first level to the third level of workers, the salary is often between 21 and 32 yuan, the fourth level and the fifth level, basically 35 to 52 yuan, the sixth and seventh level, 55 to 96 yuan, and finally the eighth level of workers, this kind of senior engineering and technical professionals, the salary can be as high as hundreds of yuan, extremely popular.
(Workers eating at a restaurant)
In a factory, generally speaking, there are quite few senior workers, and most of the workers below the fourth level are workers, whose monthly wages are 20 to 50 yuan, and if they want to go down to the restaurant to eat a good meal, it seems that they have to spend a day or even a few days of wages depending on the price of food at that time.
This is equivalent to letting modern people spend one or two hundred yuan for a meal, presumably except for the children of rich families, few people are usually willing to do this.
Not to mention the price of food, young people at that time started a family earlier than modern people, and a wedding banquet cost dozens of dollars, two or five yuan in gift money, and ten yuan for the gift, which must be quite an intimate relationship. After starting a family, there are always a few people to support, so it is reasonable to go to the restaurant is the most inappropriate.
(Chinese family in the 80s)
Although few people go to restaurants to consume, they have to admit that the amount at that time was more than the current one, and spending more than ten or twenty can make the family have a big meal.
In addition, due to the limited storage technology, vegetables are seasonal vegetables, through the skillful chef stir-fry, the dish has a vegetable flavor, the meat has a meaty aroma, occasionally call a few relatives and friends, pour a little wine, eat some side dishes, not to mention how refreshing the taste.
(Workers' meals)
Of course, it's refreshing to eat, and whether you can eat it depends on the salary. I don't know how everyone's salary was distributed that year, and whether they could afford to consume this menu, but if they can't accept it, it doesn't matter, after all, the price of this dish is really not very cheap.
Second, the times have changed
When it comes to these eighties, there are endless topics. Some people say that in the 80s, people were very energetic, dared to endure hardships, dared to struggle, and there was equality and trust between people.
However, decades have passed, and it seems that there are differences in some aspects, such as the price of one or two yuan of vegetables, which has already increased several times, not to mention that the amount is getting smaller and smaller, and even the chefs in the store are becoming more and more lazy.
(Old photo from the 80s)
This can't be said to be all their fault, human nature is evil, this is ahistorical, but also eternal, when people are evil, people can be called wild monkeys, good times can be called civilized people, in the lack of resources, less competitive pressure, the good side will be magnified.
In today's era, with the gradual increase in productivity, the continuous development of the economy, the increasingly fierce competition, people are under great pressure, and the pace of life has to be accelerated, which is part of the reason.
However, despite this, the current era has shown us a richer and more prosperous side, and many people have withstood the pressure and the fast pace to build the motherland from poor and white to what it is today.
(Beijing Hutong in the 80s)
In the 80s, the living conditions were not good, I couldn't eat a few meals of meat a year, and my clothes were sewn and mended for another three years.
Older generations, do not have to complain about young people, lack of vitality and spirit, in the past, all kinds of industries have sprung up, opportunities and prospects are good, but now it tends to be saturated, the world of young people is shrinking, naturally the pressure is quite large, and the mentality is very different.
(Youth of the Eighties)
Each era has its own memory points, in the eighties, there are both good and bitter sides, in particular, when people are young, when they are not earthly, it is easy to misjudge the world, if they do not think about it, and later, it will become a good memory in their hearts.
In short, life in the 80s was not as convenient as it is now, how much hardship people endured, how hard the peasants lived, presumably those who experienced it had the most right to speak. Nowadays, with the development of science and technology and economy, people's daily living conditions have been greatly improved, and life is always moving forward.
(Modern City)
When I got here, I always felt that the topic was a bit dull, so it was better for all the officials to go back to the 80s and talk about the profound memories of those years.
epilogue
A recipe, a few pictures, a topic, can always evoke people's memories of the infinite past, the eighties, some familiar, but too far away, I don't know what kind of picture and what kind of emotion is left to people in that era of hardship and passion.
Resources
GUO Runyu. "A Comparison of Wage and Living Conditions of Wage Earners in China." Price & Market 2 (1995):4.
Changes in the Dining Table of Chinese People in the Past 30 Years From Food Stamps to Nutritious Meals.CCTV,2008-11-22