Grandma Jiang suspiciously let go, and Jiang Ruyu immediately moved three meters away from her grandmother. Her grandmother was good in every way, but her habit of resorting to violence at the drop of a hat was not good.
"Of course it's true, otherwise where would I get meat without tickets? But, Grandma, what is this Jixiang Hutong you mentioned?" She had actually guessed that it was probably a place similar to a black market. If she could, she would like to go there too, but unfortunately, she didn't have the guts.
"It's not a good place, you don't need to know. I'm telling you, Ruyu, don't be foolish and go to places you shouldn't go, understand? Our family is rich, we don't need you to take risks, understand? The same goes for you two, understand?" The old lady still couldn't help but remind her again.
"Yes, yes, I know. Grandma was talking about the black market in Jixiang Hutong, right? And she was hiding it." Jiang Lin immediately exposed what the old lady didn't want to talk about.
Grandma Jiang picked up a feather duster from the dresser next to her and chased after him, yelling, "You little rascal, how did you know? I'll beat you to death, you brat!"
Jiang Lin was startled when he saw his grandmother pick up the feather duster and ran outside.
Jiang Ruyu and Jiang Hui watched the commotion with their arms crossed. When the grandmother and granddaughter were exhausted and sat back down, Jiang Ruyu finally spoke about her plans for tomorrow: "Grandma, I'm going to visit my maternal grandfather at my uncle's house tomorrow. It's been a long time since I've been there."
Grandma Jiang slapped her thigh: "That's right, I had forgotten. We should go. Your grandfather is getting old, and your mother is gone. You siblings should visit him often."
The next morning at seven o'clock, the three siblings got up. Jiang Ruyu cooked breakfast. She was actually a pretty good cook, but her grandmother always complained that she was wasting oil. So she cooked some rice porridge on a coal stove and simmered it over low heat. The porridge was sticky and thick. She mixed wheat flour and cornmeal to make a batter, added finely chopped green onions, a little salt and sesame oil, and stirred it well. Then she took a griddle and placed it on another stove with lit coal briquettes. In no time, the fragrant green onion pancakes were ready.
In the morning, they ate rice porridge with pancakes and a dish of pickled radish made by their grandmother. It was a good meal and filling. After the meal, the Jiang brothers, Lin and Hui, were responsible for washing the pots, dishes, and cleaning. Grandma Jiang packed five jin of flour for them, gave them a box of peach shortbread, and gave Jiang Ruyu ten yuan to buy a roast duck on Qianmen Street.
"Go ahead, these days food is precious to everyone. Jiang Hui and Jiang Lin, don't eat too much there, you two eat too much, do you hear me?" Old Mrs. Jiang instructed her two grandsons worriedly.
"Grandma, don't worry about us. We won't be back for lunch, so don't make do with whatever you want. Eat whatever you like. If you do make do, I'll buy meat for dinner when I get back." Jiang Ruyu threatened her grandma.
"Get out of here, you brat! You've been burning yourself out. You eat meat every day, what kind of family do you think we are?"
Since Jiang Ruyu started working, her voice at home has gradually grown stronger. She can now have a say in half of the family matters, and her grandmother has slowly shifted the burden to her eldest granddaughter. These changes are subtle, and only Jiang Ruyu herself has noticed them. She is also more eager to earn money to provide her family with a better life.
Jiang Hui carried the things in a basket on his back, and the three siblings walked out of the courtyard, through the alley, and onto the main road in front of the gate. They went to the roast duck shop to buy a roast duck, which came with pancakes, sauce, scallions, and cucumber strips. The whole bag cost eight yuan. It smelled delicious, and the three siblings, who had just eaten, couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
After buying the roast duck, I walked towards the bus stop. It took me ten minutes to reach the bus stop. The post office was only a few minutes away, and there was also a small supply and marketing cooperative next to the post office.
Jiang Ruyu thought for a moment and said, "You two wait here for me. I'm going to the supply and marketing cooperative over there to buy some more things. I'll be right back. Don't wander off. Just wait here for me, okay?"
"Okay, sis, go ahead, no rush. If you miss this one, you can catch the next one." Jiang Hui and Jiang Lin didn't say they wanted to come along. They've both been sensible since they were little, but Jiang Lin is a bit more lively. Jiang Hui has always been like a little old man.
Jiang Ruyu walked quickly, found a secluded corner, took out two pieces of pork belly weighing one pound each, a bag of flour weighing five pounds, and the goose. She took out a snakeskin bag from her pocket, put the things in, and carried it to the post office.
When Jiang Ruyu arrived at the post office, she looked for Wang Fang, the older sister she had met that day: "Sister, I'm here again. Give me a set of stamps, I'm into stamp collecting."
Wang Fang looked up and saw Jiang Ruyu. She immediately thought of the girl and remembered the bag of polished rice. With a smile, she said, "It's you! Buying stamps? Here, take this set. They're really nice. Do you want them?"
Jiang Ruyu took a look and liked it too: "This one, let's get another set. The background is the Great Hall of the People, right? It looks so solemn."
"Okay, two stamps per set, face value eight cents, two sets for thirty-two cents." Wang Fang put two sets of stamps in an envelope. The envelopes originally cost two cents each, but she gave them to her without asking for the money.
Jiang Ruyu took the envelope and put it in her pocket. She glanced at her colleague and whispered to Wang Fang, "I just came back from my uncle's house. I have some pork belly. Do you want some?" She could lie without batting an eye. After all, when you're out and about, you have to give yourself an identity.
Wang Fang laughed when she heard this: "There's such a good thing? Wait a minute, I'll go out and we'll talk about it later."
Wang Fang said something to her close colleague and then left the counter, pulling Jiang Ruyu into the break room next door: "Girl, we're both legitimate people with jobs, don't worry, I won't cheat you. These days, everyone is struggling to afford meat and grain, and it's not easy for you to have any meat. Do you really want to trade with me?"
Everyone knows that "exchange" here means "buy": "My family is small, and we have enough food for everyone. We also receive a lot of subsidies. My uncle works at a slaughterhouse in the suburbs, so he doesn't lack meat. I have two pounds of pork belly here. No coupons required. Do you want it?"
Wang Fang believed Jiang Ruyu's words. This girl's clothes and demeanor didn't seem like those of a poor family. Not only were the clothes she wore without subsidies, but the materials were also of good quality. "Then I'll take advantage of you. We won't let you suffer a loss. Since you don't want coupons, can't we just go by the supply and marketing cooperative's price? One yuan per jin, which is a bit lower than the black market price. How about that?"
Jiang Ruyu didn't care about the penny or two, after all, this wasn't the black market: "Okay, we're both straightforward people." Jiang Ruyu opened the snakeskin bag and took out the two pieces of meat, top-quality pork belly with three layers of fat and lean meat. She also deliberately let Wang Fang see that there were other things in the snakeskin bag.
Wang Fang's eyes were glued to the plump goose, but she knew it wouldn't be cheap. She thought about what her best friend had said about her elderly relative who was dying and wanted to eat something good, but she couldn't find any chickens, ducks, or geese. After thinking for a moment, she pulled Jiang Ruyu aside.
"Hey girl, I saw an old goose in your bag. Want to sell it? I have a friend who's also a colleague in our bureau. Her elderly relative is getting on in years, and we want her to have something nice to eat before she passes away. Could you give her this?"
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