Chu Miaohong poured the boiling water in the kettle into the neighbor's thermos placed by the door, and then used tongs to pick up the red-hot coal in the middle of the neighbor's coal stove and stuffed it into the bottom of her own coal stove, and then put a new piece of coal from her own home on the top of the other person's stove.
Using your own new coal to borrow fire is a more elegant practice.
Fill your neighbor's kettle with water and place it on their stove, and the process of borrowing fire is complete.
The few aunties from the nearby lane who were looking around were shocked.
They have never seen many female comrades who don't know how to live like Chu Miaohong.
Shanghai does not produce coal, but there are many places and people who need coal, so coal has always been in short supply in Shanghai.
People are generally reluctant to use new coal to borrow fire.
A few years ago, Shanghai began to adopt a rationed supply of coal for residents. Urban households with 1-2 people were supplied with 100 catties; households with 3-4 people were supplied with 140 catties; households with 5-6 people were supplied with 160 catties; and households with 7-8 people were supplied with 180 catties.
In theory, Chu Miaohong and Zhang Hongcheng are two single households, and their maximum quota is 200 kilograms.
"Oh, I can't envy you enough," one aunt sighed as she picked vegetables. "Doctor Chu and Section Chief Zhang aren't registered in Shanghai. They're educated youth from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and they're state employees. Their grain and coal rations are based on Northeast China standards. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk."
"Exactly, absolutely," someone lowered their voice. "We went to the street to buy our grain quota, and we went to the coal shop on the street to get a book to buy coal. I heard they went directly to the train station, and their quota was included in the grain and coal shipped to Shanghai from the Northeast Army Corps. They just bought it from the trailer! (Boasting)"
Chu Miaohong didn't care that she and Zhang Hongcheng became the topic of discussion among the neighbors. She was thinking about what dishes to prepare tonight.
In her opinion, the small but warm space in the tube room and the sky above her head were enough to accommodate everything for herself and Zhang Hongcheng.
A bicycle came from one end of the narrow alley. The man on the bicycle had trembling hands and tried not to pay too much attention to the woman who was building a stove on the side of the road.
He was afraid that this female comrade would find out that something was wrong with him - he would wait for Chu Miaohong to come home every day and then deliberately pass by her door.
A borrowed bicycle, a little wax on the hair, and a buttoned collar even in the hot summer...
But what he didn't know was that Chu Miaohong didn't care at all whether anyone passed by.
The car was slowing down unnoticed, and sweat was already forming on the man's forehead.
He was wondering if it would be presumptuous to greet the other person now that he was "passing by" for the fourth time.
"Xiaohong," suddenly the voice of the aunt from upstairs rang out above the man's head, "Can you please move aside so I can water it for you?"
Chu Miaohong smiled and took a few steps back.
The old lady cursed as she poured a basin of water from washing clothes out of the window.
"This water needs to be poured more frequently. Why are there stray dogs running around everywhere? It's disgusting."
"Cool you down, or you'll get angry!"
The dirty water splashed and wet the man's rear wheel. The man's face flushed red. He subconsciously pushed the ground with his foot that was about to stop the car. He sat back down and rode away like the wind.
Chu Miaohong smiled indifferently.
It seems that my boyfriend has given a lot of benefits to the aunt upstairs...
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