When Huang Qinqin and Huang Jianjun arrived at the food station, there was a long queue in front of the meat stall. This made Huang Qinqin feel uneasy: by the time it was their turn, there probably wouldn't be a single scrap of meat left.
After all, you need meat coupons to buy meat these days, but most of the people who come here to shop are residents of the nearby factory family compound.
Each worker receives a fixed amount of meat coupons every month, even if they only buy meat products once or twice a month, but there are a lot of people in the entire residential compound!
Moreover, meat resources are not in sufficient supply every day, and even when they are available, the quantity is quite limited.
If you want to buy some decent quality fatty meat, you have to get there early, like going to war – you have to line up before dawn to grab it!
Huang Qinqin looked up at the sky and estimated that it was almost ten o'clock. She could only pray that there would be some scraps of meat left when it was her turn.
She hadn't tasted meat for over half a month. Although the Huang family had three workers, Huang Jianguo had only started working there in the last two months, and his salary was only eighteen yuan a month.
Huang Qinqin stood in line at the food station, her mind filled with images of various delicious meats, making her secretly swallow her saliva.
Huang Jianjun, who was standing to the side, took in Huang Qinqin's greedy look and couldn't help but find it a little funny.
Given Huang Qinqin's current height, even if she stood on tiptoe, she definitely couldn't reach the cutting board with the meat ingredients in front of her. But just imagining it made this little guy so hungry, it's really a bit exaggerated.
Huang Jianjun stared intently at Huang Qinqin and suddenly said, "Little sister, quickly wipe the drool from your mouth, or it will drip onto your clothes!"
His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, but it carried a hint of mockery.
Upon hearing this, Huang Qinqin subconsciously reached up and wiped the corner of her mouth. However, when she realized that she hadn't actually drooled, she immediately blushed with embarrassment and anger.
She glared fiercely at Huang Jianjun, cursing inwardly, "This guy is so awful! He always likes to play tricks on me! If my older brother were here, he definitely wouldn't be so bored!"
As she thought about it, Huang Qinqin couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "Ugh, so annoying! All he does is bully me all day long, he's not like a proper older brother at all. My older brother is so much better, he would never tease me like this..."
The more she talked, the more aggrieved she felt, and her eyes gradually welled up with tears.
Huang Jianjun looked at the younger sister in front of him and saw that her eyes were gradually turning red, and tears seemed to be about to burst out at any moment, like bright and sparkling pearls shimmering in her eyes.
At this moment, his heart was filled with a jumble of emotions, a pain he could hardly describe.
Huang Jianjun knew his younger sister's expression all too well—this was clearly another of her tried-and-true methods!
Without a doubt, his hard-earned savings are about to face another "catastrophe".
If he couldn't appease his younger sister, he would face an even more miserable fate when his parents and older brother came home from get off work, and might even be beaten by a mixed-gender couple! Thinking of this, Huang Jianjun couldn't help but regret teasing Huang Qinqin.
Even though I know she's someone who never suffers a loss! Not only that, this little one has been a "talented actress" since she was little, her tears are so easy to control!
It can fall down at any moment!
Although her family members knew perfectly well that she was faking it most of the time, she was still their beloved little sister. Who wouldn't feel sorry for her when they saw her with teary eyes?
So in the end, we usually end up giving in to her and spoiling her. Oh well, what can we do? We just can't handle this little devil!
In addition, her still-youthful, slightly chubby face, coupled with a pair of round, bright eyes like jewels, made Huang Qinqin's trick work every time she used it, and she never failed.
Huang Jianjun asked helplessly, "What do you want this time? Let me tell you, I don't have much savings left."
"Hehehe, I don't want your secret stash of money. Just promise me one thing, Second Brother. It doesn't have to cost any money, it's all small stuff, okay?" Huang Qinqin asked, shaking her braids with both hands.
“Tell me what it is first. I’ll feel uneasy if you don’t tell me. What you consider a small matter is different from what I consider a small matter.” Huang Jianjun immediately became wary upon hearing this. Every time Huang Qinqin mentioned a small matter, it was always a trap.
As the two joked and played around, the line quietly approached the end, and it looked like it would soon be their turn.
At this moment, Huang Qinqin subconsciously reached out and grabbed Huang Jianjun's strong arm, and turned her gaze to the cutting board full of various meats. But unexpectedly, the table was empty, with only a pile of bones left unattended.
She had been overjoyed and looking forward to buying meat to take home, but now her face was filled with undisguised disappointment.
"Take a look and see what you want. All that's left are these bones!" the butcher asked loudly, wiping his hands with his apron.
Upon hearing this, Huang Qinqin's eyes lit up. She quickly stepped forward, stared at the bones for a while, and then looked up at the butcher and asked, "Brother, these bones shouldn't require meat coupons, right? How much are they? How much per pound?"
The butcher's eyes lit up when he saw Huang Qinqin. He thought to himself, "This girl is really pretty, especially her eyes. They seem to be shining when she looks at you. She must be spoiled by her family."
Coming to his senses, he smiled and replied, "Little girl, these bones really don't require meat coupons. Although there's not much meat left, at least they'll have some meat flavor when you cook them. And they're not expensive, only three cents a pound. How many do you want?"
Huang Qinqin glanced at the cutting board, pointed to the ribs, and said, "Brother, we'd like two ribs, thank you!"
"Okay." The butcher replied while weighing the ribs. "Two ribs, that's 52 cents in total, here you go."
Seeing Huang Jianjun take the ribs, Huang Qinqin quickly took out money to give to the butcher, and then left with Huang Jianjun.
Huang Qinqin looked at the ribs in Huang Jianjun's hand, thought for a moment and said, "Second brother, let's go buy some potatoes. It seems we don't have any potatoes at home. Let's buy more potatoes and stew them with the ribs."
Huang Jianjun nodded and went with Huang Qinqin to buy another bag of potatoes. Vegetables didn't require coupons and were cheap, only two cents a pound. They bought a big bag of potatoes for only one cent. If they stewed them with the pork ribs, they could eat them in two meals, which was quite cost-effective.
After buying the groceries, Huang Jianjun asked Huang Qinqin, "Little sister, is there anything else you want to buy? If not, let's head back; it's getting late."
Huang Qinqin shook her head and said, "No, let's go home then."
"Huang Qinqin, wait a minute, I need to talk to you!"
When she reached the entrance of the family compound, someone suddenly called out to Huang Qinqin. Huang Qinqin turned around and saw Chen Ermei, who lived in the same family compound.
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