"A letter from Mingcheng?"
Lu Fangfang was overjoyed and quickly took it from Xiao Aiguo's hands.
She picked up the envelope and looked through it. All she saw was written: "For Lu Fangfang," and nothing else.
There was no address, no postmark, and not even a letter writer, making it seem very mysterious.
"Brother-in-law, where did this come from? Can I reply to Mingcheng?"
"Don't worry about where it came from. If you want to reply, just give me the letter you wrote and I'll send it to you."
Xiao Aiguo hesitated for a moment, somewhat afraid that Lu Fangfang would write something she shouldn't.
He cleared his throat and offered a friendly reminder: "Fangfang, well, Zhuang's workplace is a bit special. They check all the mail and such. Be careful when you write letters."
Lu Fangfang blushed and nodded shyly.
Forehead……
Seeing this, Xiao Aiguo added, "It's mainly about politics; it's fine to express feelings of longing."
"Cough cough..."
Upon hearing this, Lu Fangfang blushed even more.
Clutching the letter, she turned to leave.
"Hey? Fangfang, wait a minute, I'll give you the money from selling the cordyceps."
Xiao Aiguo quickly called her back.
He picked up the leather bag next to him and took out a small notebook and a stack of money.
“Your three jars of dried cordyceps weigh a total of three jin and six liang. The pharmacy bought them as second-grade products, at fifteen yuan per jin, for a total of fifty-four yuan.”
Lu Fangfang was overjoyed; the fact that it could sell for so much money was somewhat beyond her expectations.
"The freshly dug wet grass weighs four and a half ounces. It was purchased as first-grade grass at twenty yuan per pound, which is nine yuan in total. That's sixty-three yuan."
"Nine yuan? Hiss." Lu Fangfang was startled.
"Honey, how much did I sell for the ones I dug up?"
Wang Shufen, who was standing next to him, was also stunned. She grabbed Xiao Aiguo's arm.
"Yours is seven pieces."
"My goodness, we sold so many?"
Wang Shufen was overjoyed.
This is seven yuan! She thought it would only sell for two or three yuan at most, but she didn't expect it to be seven yuan.
Xiao Aiguo looked at the two of them and said with a smile, "The cordyceps you dug up are large and of good quality. The ones others sell are at most grade three, and they cost ten yuan per kilogram. Your cordyceps are worth twice as much as theirs."
Hehe~
Wang Shufen chuckled twice.
Looking at his money-grubbing lover, Xiao Aiguo shook his head.
He took the money and handed it to Lu Fangfang, saying, "The kang mat is 50 cents, and the pile of bamboo by your door is 70 cents. I've already deducted the difference. Here you go."
"Fangfang, the state-run pharmacies in the city prefer fresh cordyceps. After you've cleaned it, send it over. If anyone in the group goes to the city, I'll ask them to help sell it."
"Thank you, brother-in-law."
Lu Fangfang excitedly accepted it.
She took the money, clutched the letter, and carried the kang mat, happily returning home.
She carried the bamboo from the doorway into the yard, and then went to look inside the house.
The weather has been dry lately, and the yellow mud on the kang (heated brick bed) in her inner room has hardened considerably.
She rubbed the surface of the kang (a heated brick bed) vigorously and nodded. In a few more days, she would be able to move in and sleep there, and she was sure she could free up a bed before Zhuang Mingcheng's mother arrived.
She rinsed some rice and put it on the stove to cook, then carefully opened the letter Zhuang Mingcheng had sent.
“My dear Fangfang…”
"Hehe." Lu Fangfang chuckled foolishly.
This was the first time she had received a letter from someone, and she found the beginning quite novel.
Holding the letter, she continued reading.
"My dear Fangfang, it's been almost a month since we last met. I miss you terribly. How are you doing in the family compound? I successfully delivered the items, so don't worry about me."
...
"Now, I want to proudly tell you that I am participating in a very glorious mission. As I write these words, my heart is still filled with excitement. Comrade Fangfang, can you feel it in your letter?"
...
Lu Fangfang clutched the letter and pondered for a while.
A new province? A very glorious mission? Did Zhuang Mingcheng go to Lop Nur? A giant bomb?
She remembered learning in her elementary school textbook in her previous life that the hydrogen bomb explosion seemed to have happened within the last year or two.
The thought of this possibility made Lu Fangfang quite excited.
This is a huge bombshell! Just being able to get involved, even if it's just to lend a hand, would be an honor.
She quickly grabbed the letter and continued reading.
"Comrade Fangfang, I miss you so much. I'm so sorry to leave you all alone in the regiment..."
"I'll be back soon, and then we'll get married! By the way, would you like some local specialties? You can write to me and I'll buy them for you when I get back..."
Lu Fangfang's voice grew softer and softer, and she became somewhat embarrassed by the end.
She read the letter again, then quickly went into the inner room, sat down at the desk, and prepared to write a reply to Zhuang Mingcheng.
“My dearest Mingcheng…”
"hey-hey."
After chuckling to herself for a while, she picked up her pen, left a line blank, and continued writing.
She first talked about what she did in the family compound.
She wrote down everything in detail: cooking beef bones, clearing land, planting vegetables, catching small fish, hatching eggs, and digging for cordyceps. She also described to Zhuang Mingcheng the sea of flowers she encountered at the foot of the Gona Snow Mountain a few days ago.
She only mentioned the phone call from Beijing after she had filled two pages.
"Mingcheng, don't worry, I'll treat your mother well. Anyway, she can only accept me as her daughter-in-law. Otherwise, I'll accuse you of indecent assault. I'd like to see if she wants her son or..."
"Hmm!"
Lu Fangfang looked at it and felt something was wrong, so she picked up her pen and crossed out that part again.
As she finished writing, she hesitated again.
What are some special products from Xinjiang?
Hami melon, raisins, fragrant pears?
After thinking for a while, Lu Fangfang's eyes lit up; she had thought of the best local specialty.
"Mingcheng, I've heard that there's a kind of jade in Hotan called Hotan jade. When you leave, please bring me some raw Hotan jade stones. I like stones."
She put down her pen, got up, and took out all the money in the house.
The money Mingcheng left her, plus the fresh cordyceps she dug up, totaled forty-six yuan and fifty cents.
She took out a coin and put it into Old Xu's pile of money, then put the forty-five yuan and the letter together.
Zhuang Mingcheng finally made it to Xinjiang, and Lu Fangfang planned to send all the money there so that he could buy more Hetian jade when he returned.
These days, cordyceps costs over ten yuan per kilogram, let alone Hetian jade, which is certainly not expensive either.
Regardless of the circumstances, if you have the opportunity to buy some now, they'll definitely be valuable in the future.
Holding the two letters, Lu Fangfang read them carefully again before putting them down and going to eat.
Zhuang Mingcheng sent a letter today, saying that the cordyceps had sold for another nine yuan. She was in a good mood and ate a little more that evening.
After finishing her meal, she sat under the light in the outer room and began brushing the cordyceps she had dug up that day.
Because of the snow leopard, she dug up less caterpillar fungus today than yesterday. She estimated that she could earn six or seven yuan after selling it.
Earning six or seven yuan a day is something that might be hard to believe if you told people, but Lu Fangfang is already very satisfied.
...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
