When Zhao Lanxiang returned to her room, she saw the wad of loose money on the table. Her hand that was wiping her hair froze.
The dim light from the kerosene lamp shone on her face. She pursed her lips as she looked at the money. This family was too poor. They were so poor that it was beyond Zhao Lanxiang's imagination. How could they be happy if they couldn't even fill their stomachs? Zhao Lanxiang felt that she should start doing something to improve this family's situation.
He Sanya was lying on the bed with her grandmother. She licked her lips in satisfaction and happiness.
"Granny, have you eaten meat?"
The old lady held her granddaughter in her arms and patted her back gently. "Yes, I have."
The delicious taste of the stewed pork trotter reminded the old man of the He family's situation before the decline of the He family. At that time, there were many servants and maids at home, and there was an endless supply of good food and meat, as well as an endless supply of silk and satin … Accompanied by these beautiful memories, the old lady sank into a sweet dream.
…
Zhao Lanxiang was sent to fertilize the corn fields early in the morning. She carried the ashes from the stove and waited for the members to dig a small hole. Then, she shoveled the ashes into the hole.
At this time, the corn had already sprouted buds that were as tall as a person. Zhao Lanxiang wasn't afraid of being dirty or tired. What she was most afraid of were the furry worms hidden under the corn leaves. She turned around every three steps and could see the worms wriggling in her field of vision. This sour feeling was even more torturous than having blood blisters on her hands and feet.
At this moment, she pulled out a caterpillar from her sleeve. She didn't know when it had crawled over, but she shivered when she saw it.
"Sister Zhao!"
He Sanya wriggled over from the green corn stalks. She grabbed two sticks and swiftly put the worm in Zhao Lanxiang's hand into her bamboo tube.
Zhao Lanxiang wiped the cold sweat off her forehead. "Why are you here?"
She touched He Sanya's sweaty head. The little girl handed over the bamboo tube obediently. There was a bunch of worms wriggling in the large bamboo tube.
Zhao Lanxiang looked over and goosebumps appeared all over his body.
"I'm here to catch worms and feed them to the chickens," He Sanya said softly, his eyes black and white.
She opened the lid and glanced at the worms in the tube. She would be able to catch enough worms for the day after a while.
When Zhao Lanxiang found out that He Sanya was the one who fed the chickens at home, he was even more impressed with her.
He Sanya had started feeding the chickens that his Sister He brought back from the town when they were still small and fluffy. She loved the chickens so much that she would run to the chicken coop every day and take turns to hold them. Every chicken's feathers were shiny from being fed worms by her.
Every day, Sister He would pick up two or three eggs. They were round and plump. Every now and then, she would crack one and make a bowl of egg custard to nourish her grandmother. The rest of the eggs were saved by her. Once she had saved a certain amount, she would let her younger brother take them to the supply and demand cooperative to exchange for money.
To this poor family, the hens were no different from a gold mine. The money they could exchange for eggs was a very important source of income. If it wasn't for the fact that each family could only keep three chickens at most, the three hardworking siblings would have raised ten to twenty chickens in one go.
He Sanya licked his lips and said, "Big Brother is going to town to exchange for eggs today."
Zhao Lanxiang said, "Really? I'm going to town to do something anyway. "
She finished her morning chores and asked for leave. The Brigade Leader, Li Dali, turned a blind eye and gave Zhao Lanxiang's job to Zhou Jiazhen. After all, if he didn't work, he wouldn't be able to earn anything.
Zhao Lanxiang didn't know if she would be able to meet He Songbai. However, when she returned to the He family, Sister He told her that he had already left.
Zhao Lanxiang took out a banknote from her bag and took a basket with her. This time, she didn't ask Zhou Jiazhen to go to town because she planned to do something big.
She walked into town and paid attention to the black market. She bought some fresh bayberries from a roadside stall and discreetly asked where she could buy food.
The honest farmer's eyes immediately became alert and he quickly waved his hand, "Comrade, how would I know if you ask me!"
"My sister-in-law just gave birth to a baby. She needs a lot of milk. My parents want to give her something good to eat." Zhao Lanxiang said.
The farmer took off his hat and carefully looked at Zhao Lanxiang.
This girl was dressed very prettily. She wore a checkered shirt with two braids hanging down. She wore a pair of black leather shoes on her feet. She spoke Mandarin with perfect pronunciation and her voice was soft and soft. She looked very scholarly.
Zhao Lanxiang took out some money and bought the rest of the bayberries. She said worriedly, "I can't buy eggs or meat. Let's buy more bayberries to increase her appetite … I can only spend some money to buy food. How much is a kilogram of food without coupons?"
The honest farmer's tight-lipped mouth was finally pried open, and he pointed her to an alley.
Zhao Lanxiang followed his instructions and found the black market in Qing Miao Town. This place was very mobile. Because they were afraid of being arrested by the police, they changed locations every once in a while. If it wasn't for Zhao Lanxiang's sharp eyes that smelled the scent of a drug dealer on the stall owner, she probably wouldn't have been able to find this place even if she searched the entire town.
She haggled until her mouth was dry. She spent five dollars to buy five pounds of meat coupons from a drug dealer. She also spent money to buy a number of food and sugar coupons. She also bought many rare spices on a street in the black market.
The prices of goods in the 1970s were actually very cheap. The state fixed the prices and didn't dare to change the prices easily. You could buy a lot of things with ten dollars. Father Zhao's salary was so high that he still had more than fifty dollars left every month. It wasn't that he was stingy, but that most things in the city required coupons. After using up all the coupons, he had too much money to spend and had to save it.
Zhao Lanxiang was relieved to have bought the meat and grain coupons at a low price. She took the coupons and walked resolutely to the grain and oil store. She planned to buy some pork trotters and meat back.
Before going to the grain and meat store, she passed by the supply and demand cooperative. Her sharp eyes noticed He Songbai's thin back.
"I can only give you this much." The salesperson of the supply and demand cooperative said with a look of disdain.
"Look at how big your eggs are. Do they deserve the price of fifty-five cents? For a small one like you, I'll charge you five cents. "
Zhao Lanxiang looked at the eggs He Songbai carried. They were round and plump. Even the chicken feces on them had been carefully wiped clean.
Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that the salesperson was lying through his teeth. He was deliberately making things difficult because he didn't have a good background.
He Songbai was also used to this kind of cold treatment. He didn't even bat an eyelid. Selling eggs also depended on luck. When the salesperson was in a good mood, he would pay fifty-five cents per egg. When he was in a bad mood, the price would be lower.
He pushed the eggs forward and was about to open his mouth to agree. At this time, he was suddenly pulled back by someone …
Zhao Lanxiang smiled and said: "Big sister asked me to say a few words to you."
As she spoke, she took the basket of eggs from the counter and dragged the man out with her other hand by tugging at the corner of his shirt.
He Songbai wrinkled his thick eyebrows. His sharp eyebrows were inverted and the corners of his eyes had a kind of unreasonable indifference.
"What do you want to say? Speak quickly."
Zhao Lanxiang said: "I'll help you sell the eggs."
He Songbai looked like he was dealing with an unreasonable San Ya. He said fiercely: "Don't make trouble. Give me back the eggs."
He wanted to take back the basket of eggs from the woman's hands by force because he was young and strong.
Unexpectedly, the woman lowered her head and held the eggs firmly in front of her chest with both hands. She didn't want to be entangled with him. She turned and walked away. As she walked, she scolded him: "That person's attitude wasn't good just now. You were quite pleasant to him. I didn't do anything to offend you, right? Why are you giving me such a bad face? "
"Wait and watch. Don't stop me."
Zhao Lanxiang took the eggs to a street of the black market and yelled, "Fresh farm eggs. They are big and nutritious. Pregnant women and elderly people can come and have a look. The price is cheap and the price is fair."
Her voice was clear and loud, and she spoke in standard Mandarin. She was different from the silent dealers who only set up stalls in other places. Her straightforward and generous appearance attracted the attention of the regular customers on the black market street.
"How much is this?"
"Little girl, you only have so few eggs? Can't it be cheaper if you buy all of them? "
Soon, people swarmed in front of her and asked her questions.
Zhao Lanxiang's basket of more than thirty eggs was quickly sold out. The quality of the He family's eggs was very good, so it was easy to tell if they were good or bad.
She counted the money in her hands. She bought two cents more for each egg. The thirty eggs were sold for a total of 1.71 yuan. She handed the money to He Songbai.
From the beginning, He Song Bai silently watched her sell the eggs. Until Zhao Lanxiang sold all the eggs, his pair of dark eyes finally had a feeling of relief.
"You, you …"
He Songbai's thin lips faintly lost the color of blood. It was as if he was getting to know Zhao Lanxiang all over again.
The fierceness in his eyes instantly disappeared. Then, he became even fiercer and more unreasonable: "You can't do this kind of thing in the future!"
He was completely considerate of her. The He family's boat was completely ruined. No matter how bad the situation was, it was their business. However, she was a knowledgeable youth with a bright future. She didn't lack money or food. It wasn't worth it for her to do … such terrible things for them.
Zhao Lanxiang smiled and said: "Why do you care?"
The woman's smiling eyes were bright and warm. They were as brilliant as the light that fell into his eyes. Her slender and exquisite body walked gracefully, and her entire body exuded confidence and certainty. She knew everything, and could use a bellyful of words to block all of his coarse and crude words.
She was eloquent and unreasonable.
He Songbai fell into a terrifying calmness. His tightly pursed thin lips became even paler.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
