Holding eighty-eight yuan in his hand, Brother Yu was walking unsteadily, completely dazed.
He was an honest man since childhood. His ancestors were poor farmers for eight generations, honestly and conscientiously cultivating their small plot of land. After the war, his family settled in Shanding Brigade. With their strength, they were able to eat their fill and wear decent clothes.
From spring to winter, despite being busy, his family never managed to save more than ten yuan, except for enough to eat and wear.
Although they were poor, Brother Yu felt that things were not bad. At least they had enough to eat and wear, their wife and children had a warm bed, and the couple could manage both the household and the outside world. Their two children were also lively and healthy, and they didn't have to worry about the future. This was something they had never dared to hope for before.
But today, he sold three baskets of fish and earned eighty-eight yuan.
Eighty-eight yuan!
Since he and Guihua got married, their family savings have never exceeded thirty!
This is such a large sum of money; Brother Yu never even dared to dream of it before!
Brother Yu lowered his head and carefully stroked the banknotes of ten-yuan and one-yuan notes. His eyes were moist, and he took a deep breath.
Brother Yu said sincerely, "Second brother, thank you."
His voice was still choked with emotion.
Zhou Mingli was silent for a moment, then said, "Brother Yu, life will get better and better from now on."
Brother Yu was in a good mood. He wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and grinned. "I believe you. Look at the years ago when we were still at war. We fought the Japanese and then the Americans. What kind of life did we have back then? We were lucky if we could even eat tree bark! Now it's much better. We can eat our fill, and occasionally we can have some meat. We even have the festive spirit during the New Year."
"Second brother, we're doing so well now!"
Zhou Mingli's throat bobbed.
He thought things would get better in the future, with meat at every meal and white flour at every dinner.
A thousand words churned in Zhou Mingli's throat, but in the end, he only said, "May I have a good New Year this year."
Brother Yu laughed heartily, "Yes, that means we can buy a lot more meat! We can also make a cotton-padded coat for each of those two rascals at home, so they can have a warm New Year!"
As the two talked, under the dim light of dawn in the east, their bicycle wheels rolled over the dew-covered wild grass by the roadside, and they returned home.
Jiang Ci hadn't slept well all night. Hearing the noise outside, she immediately got out of bed, picked up the wooden stick beside her bed, opened the window and looked out. When she saw it was Zhou Mingli, she breathed a sigh of relief, put down the wooden stick, put on her slippers and went out.
"Is everything alright?" Jiang Ci walked over and helped Zhou Mingli take the fish basket off his body.
“No, the guy I met at the black market who exchanged bicycle tickets was a kitchen helper at the stone quarry canteen. I sold the fish to him directly.” Zhou Mingli parked his bicycle to the side. “I sold it for sixty-eight yuan.”
Jiang Ci, "Very good, more valuable than that snake."
Zhou Mingli turned to look at her, "Don't you think I overshadowed you?"
She sold a snake for only 63 yuan, while he sold his fish for 68 yuan.
Jiang Ci looked at him intently, then held out her hand. "Where's the money?"
Zhou Mingli took the sixty-eight yuan out of his pocket and put it in Jiang Ci's hand.
Jiang Ci casually stuffed it into her pocket, raising her chin slightly. "What a joke! I've already got my hands on a big yellow croaker, why would I worry about you overshadowing me?"
Zhou Mingli was taken aback. He watched Jiang Ci walk into the house quite casually. After a long while, Zhou Mingli couldn't help but smile and followed her into the house.
Sister-in-law Yu was also tossing and turning, unable to sleep, waiting for her husband to return.
As soon as Brother Yu returned, Sister-in-law Yu rushed out, asking, "How did it go?!"
Brother Yu's face was beaming with joy, "I made a profit!"
The couple went into their room, and Brother Yu took out the eighty-eight yuan.
There were a full eight ten-yuan bills, which made Sister-in-law Yu's eyes dazzle several times.
"This...so much!"
"Eighty-eight yuan!" Brother Yu handed the money to Sister-in-law Yu.
Sister-in-law Yu counted them over and over again, her eyes getting a little red.
Brother Yu felt a pang of sadness and grabbed Sister-in-law Yu's hand, saying, "We're able to earn so much money thanks to the second brother's family. We didn't go to the black market; we bought it from the people in the stone factory's canteen. There was no risk involved."
Sister-in-law Yu burst into laughter through her tears, wiping her eyes. "I understand. The second son's family never takes advantage of us. You two caught so many fish together, you should have split them equally, but he insisted that we take more. We're the ones who benefited."
Whenever Zhou Mingli cooked something delicious, Jiang Ci would have Erzhu or Dazhu bring a bowl home to eat. Over time, their families developed a very good relationship.
Sister-in-law Yu muttered to herself, "Xiao Ci isn't very good at sewing. I'll make a few clothes for her family when winter is almost here."
...
All the wheat in the threshing ground has been threshed and dried thoroughly. Today is the last day; tomorrow morning, it will be bagged and shipped out.
In the morning, Zhou Mingli and Brother Yu went to listen to the captain talk about the key points of the night patrol.
In addition to the area around the threshing ground, vigilance must also be maintained in areas a little further away. The militia will lead patrols in groups of four at a time to prevent the wheat in the threshing ground from being stolen.
The first patrol team consisted of Zhou Mingli, Xia Lei, Zhao Wei, and another villager, a man known as Erzhuang.
Zhou Mingli and Xia Lei already had a grudge, and now that they were assigned to the same patrol group, the atmosphere was exceptionally cold.
The militiamen didn't know what was going on either; Zhao Wei and Er Zhuang remained indifferent, as if it were none of their business.
Widow Wang then bent over and hid to the side to eavesdrop.
In the morning, Boss Zhou told her that the patrols were conducted in groups, with the militia members leading the way. So she had to seize the opportunity and grab Zhou Mingli whenever she had a chance!
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