"Okay, I'll find some time later to go to the city and get some information." Zhang Wenmin thought his younger sister was right and nodded.
The next day, they got up early in the morning and picked 34 kilograms of mushrooms.
Zhang Qiurui took them to the black market to resell. This time he didn't meet a big customer like Xin Zhao, so he only sold them sporadically to passers-by. Although the price was not as good as the last time he sold it to Xin Zhao, it was still considerable. It was better than eating it himself or letting it rot in the fields. He sold them all at an average price of 1.2 cents.
"I sold them for four dollars and eight cents this time, with an average price of twelve cents. It seems that the weather hasn't cooled down completely yet, and some of the mushrooms in the mountains can still be harvested, which has caused the price to not go up. I guess after a while, when the weather cools down completely, these mushrooms will be able to be sold at a good price." When Zhang Qiurui returned home, she carefully counted the money she earned from selling mushrooms, and after confirming that it was correct, she gave it to her third brother.
"I will make more and more money in the future, so there is no need to rush." Zhang Wenmin put away the scattered banknotes and coins, and he was open-minded.
..........
Security room of Shaxian Shoe Factory.
"Zhang Wenmin, you have a letter, please sign for it!" A uniformed post office worker stood at the door, holding an envelope in his hand and shouted to the security room.
"My letter? Where did it come from?" Zhang Wenmin asked curiously.
After finishing my military service and returning to my hometown, I occasionally corresponded with my good comrades in the first two years. However, as time passed, we were all separated by distance and busy with our own livelihoods, so our contact gradually became less frequent.
This sudden letter made him feel uneasy.
The postal worker who delivered the letter glanced at the envelope impatiently and urged, "I don't know either. The letter is addressed to Zhang Wenmin, the security captain of the shoe factory. If you are Zhang Wenmin, please sign for it quickly. I have letters to deliver to other places."
Zhang Wenmin quickly took the pen and carefully wrote his name on the receipt, silently speculating about the origin of the letter.
Just when he was about to open it and take a look.
Suddenly, he remembered that Qiu Rui had asked him last time if anyone would write letters or mail things to him. She also said that if he suddenly received a letter after a while, it would be from her, and she asked him not to open it.
Zhang Wenmin began to wonder, where had this letter come from? Who had sent it to Qiu Rui? Qiu Rui had never even been to the city, so who could have mailed a letter to her? He was filled with doubts.
Although Zhang Wenmin was curious, he decided to keep his promise to Qiu Rui.
He carefully placed the envelope in the drawer, intending to give it to Qiu Rui after she got off work.
After get off work that day, Zhang Qiurui had already prepared dinner and was waiting for her third brother to come back for dinner.
At the dinner table.
"Qiu Rui, someone delivered a letter today. Is it mailed to you as you said before?" While eating, Zhang Wenmin took out today's letter and handed it to Zhang Qiu Rui and asked.
"Yes." Zhang Qiurui took the letter but did not open it immediately. She pinched it with her fingers and saw that there were only two or three thin layers inside. She quickly understood what it meant and a satisfied smile appeared on her face.
"Qiu Rui, who mailed this letter to you?" Zhang Wenmin asked curiously.
"Aunt, this can't be......."
"Little kids, stop asking questions. Third brother, don't ask anymore. I won't tell you even if you ask. Besides, I will tell you what I want to say." Zhang Mingqi was interrupted by Zhang Qiurui's scolding before he could finish his words.
Seeing this, Zhang Wenmin shook his head helplessly. He knew his sister's temper very well. Once she didn't want to talk, ten oxen couldn't pull her back.
He picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and put it in her bowl, saying with a smile: "Okay, since you don't want to talk about it, then we won't ask. Come on, eat, eat, the food is getting cold."
The atmosphere at the dinner table became a little awkward because of this little episode, but it was quickly alleviated by other topics.
Zhang Qiurui was thinking about the contents of the letter while eating, with a faint smile on his lips from time to time, and it was obvious that he was in a very good mood.
Zhang Mingqi was scolded by her aunt. She curled her lips but did not dare to ask any more questions. She just occasionally glanced at the letter in Zhang Qiurui's hand.
After dinner, Zhang Qiurui opened the letter after Zhang Mingqi went to wash up.
Inside was a letter and a remittance slip.
This letter was written by Xie Yu, the editor-in-chief of Xiaoxiang Magazine. The main content was to tell her that her previous submission, "The Fault in Our Stars", had been officially accepted and would be published in this issue of the magazine.
She said the magazine had spoken highly of her novel and told her the fee was 3.5 yuan per thousand words.
Zhang Qiurui's novel has a total of more than 195,600 words. At the price of 3.5 yuan per thousand words, it comes to 682.5 yuan. Together with the money for the three poems, the total is more than 740 yuan.
After reading the letter, Zhang Qiurui felt a little excited, not only because his first novel was accepted, but also because the fee was more than 700 yuan.
In 1975, the average salary was around 40 yuan, so the royalties of more than 700 yuan were undoubtedly a huge sum of money for Zhang Qiurui.
More importantly, she can be bolder in contributing to the family in the future.
She carefully kept the remittance slip and letter, but withdrawing the money was a bit troublesome.
Although I can go to the post office with the remittance slip to withdraw money, I am so young and I am afraid that going to the post office with the remittance slip to withdraw such a large sum of money will cause unnecessary trouble and suspicion.
Zhang Qiurui thought about it and decided not to make it public for the time being and find a suitable adult to accompany him.
……….
After the busy farming season holiday, Zhang Qiurui and his classmates returned to school to continue their studies, and soon it was time for the midterm exam organized by the school.
"Oh no! When I took the math test just now, I couldn't answer several questions. I don't know if I can pass. If my dad finds out, he will definitely give me a beating. Zhou Tan and Mingqi, how did you two do in the test?" Wang Shi said with a sad face.
"Wang Shi, why don't you ask me how I did in the exam? Do you look down on me?" Zhang Qiurui asked with a smile when she saw Wang Shi with a sad face.
"Qiu Rui, not only do you daydream in class every day, but you also often do your own things. You definitely haven't learned much knowledge, and it goes without saying that you did worse than me on the exam." Wang Shi said with a look of contempt for Zhang Qiu Rui.
"I felt I did okay in the Chinese test this morning. As for math, I felt I did better than Chinese. How about you, Mingqi?" Zhou Tan replied with a smile.
"I feel pretty good too. Although some questions are more challenging, overall, it's still under my control." Zhang Mingqi glanced at her aunt. She really didn't know her aunt's strengths and weaknesses, nor did she know how she performed in this exam.
Although her aunt seemed not to be serious in class every day, either drawing or writing something, Zhang Mingqi knew that her aunt Zhang Qiurui had always been smart. During the exam, she also glanced at her aunt's test paper. It was full of words.
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