"Whoa!" Uncle Liu pulled the ox rope. After the ox cart stopped, he jumped off nimbly. "Three o'clock in the afternoon, wait here. Don't miss the time. If you miss the time, you'll have to walk back by yourself."
"I understand, Uncle Liu."
As soon as the ox cart stopped, everyone jumped off and after Uncle Liu finished speaking, they dispersed in all directions, each going to where they wanted to go.
Mother Xu looked at Xu Qianjiao and said, "Jiaojiao, go shopping by yourself later. We'll wait for you at the entrance of the state-owned restaurant at noon. Here are the cloth coupons and money. Be careful. I have something to do with your Aunt Tian."
"Huh? Where are you going? Can't you take me with you?" Xu Qianjiao asked with a puzzled look.
Xu's mother waved her hands impatiently, "That's enough, you're such a grown-up girl, and you still want to follow me, your mother? That's enough, that's enough, forget it, I'm leaving."
After saying that, he walked to Aunt Tian and the others and walked towards the city mysteriously. Xu Qianjiao looked at their backs and found that they all had baskets on their backs and their faces covered with a piece of cloth. There seemed to be something in the baskets.
Xu Qianjiao shook her head and didn't think about it any further. She put the money away and walked quickly towards the city.
She walked along, looking left and right at the streets on both sides. In this county town in the 1970s, most of the houses were bungalows, and only some staff dormitories were taller buildings - tube-shaped buildings.
The people on the streets were dressed simply, primarily in black, blue, and white. Their clothes might be worn and patched, but they were neatly dressed. Dacron and khaki were very rare in this era, with only a few people wearing other colors, making them stand out in the crowd.
Yet, despite living in a less modern environment, the people here exude a spirit unmatched by modern people. They exude a vibrant, upbeat aura, a sense of indomitable strength. Their steps are steady and powerful, their gazes firm and confident, as if telling the world: no matter how difficult life may be, they will persevere.
The faces of these people are filled with smiles, smiles that emanate from the depths of their hearts. They greet each other, help each other, and feel a strong sense of human warmth. Here, people are not concerned with material comforts, but rather with spiritual pursuits. They love life, are positive, and use their own hands to create a better future.
In this era, people lived simple and austere lives, yet they possessed a spiritual quality that modern people lack. Despite their harsh living conditions, their spirits were exceptionally high. This spirit imbued people with a sense of life force and filled them with hope for the future.
Xu Qianjiao walked and looked along the way, and unknowingly arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative. Nowadays, people mainly buy things in the supply and marketing cooperative, which basically has everything.
When they walked inside, there was a salesperson standing at each counter. When they saw Xu Qianjiao walk in, they didn't even raise their heads, but continued chatting or knitting.
Xu Qianjiao walked up to a relatively kind lady and smiled sweetly at her. "Sister, do you have any cloth? I want to buy some."
Sister Liu stopped what she was doing and looked up, only to see a pretty girl standing in front of her. "Oh, little girl, I'm so much older than you. You should call me aunt. You want to buy some cloth, right? Wait a minute, I'll bring it to you."
"Just call me sister. You are so young, calling you aunt makes you feel old." Xu Qianjiao said with a smile.
Sister Liu covered her mouth and smiled, "You are such a sweet girl, wait, I will get you some cloth."
Then he turned around and took out several batches of cloth from the cabinet behind him. "Here, they are all here. Take a look and see which one you like. I will cut it for you."
Xu Qianjiao looked at the batches of cloth in front of her. There were three colors, black, white and blue, but there was also one piece with small light yellow flowers. Xu Qianjiao silently calculated the money and bills in her pocket. She only had ten feet of cloth and money. She wondered how many clothes she could make?
"Sister, how many clothes can be made with ten feet of cloth?" Xu Qianjiao scratched her head and asked Sister Liu humbly.
Sister Liu took a look at Xu Qianjiao's figure and said, "Are you making this? If you are, you can probably make one piece of clothing and one small garment."
Xu Qianjiao nodded. "Okay, then, big sister, I need some light yellow cloth for a top and black cloth for pants. Could you help me cut them? Thank you, big sister."
"Okay." Sister Liu took out a ruler and scissors with swift hands and cut the cloth in no time.
"Here, ten feet of cloth coupons and three dollars."
"Okay."
Xu Qianjiao handed the money and the bill to Sister Liu, and then stuffed the cloth into the backpack. She now had 30 cents left in her hand and her previous savings of 2 yuan, a total of 2.3 yuan.
"Sister, what food do we have in our supply and marketing cooperative?" Xu Qianjiao asked anxiously, touching the money in her pocket.
The food at the Xu family is really a torture for Xu Qianjiao. She has never eaten such rough food before. Now every meal is sweet potatoes. She is about to vomit.
And now that winter is approaching, her grandmother has become even more stingy. When she cooks sweet potato rice, she doesn't put rice in it anymore. She just puts a little rice in, and the rest is wheat bran, which makes her throat sore, so Xu Qianjiao can't eat it at all.
Sister Liu took out a few jars from the cabinet with a smile, "Here we have green bean cakes for 4 cents each, sesame cakes for 3 cents each, fruit cakes for 4 cents each, crispy twisted dough sticks for 5 cents each, and fruit candies for 1.2 yuan per pound."
Xu Qianjiao looked at the things in front of her, feeling very conflicted. What should she buy? Mung bean cakes can be stored, so she can buy more. Sesame pancakes are cheap, so she can also order some. "Sister, I want 6 mung bean cakes, 10 sesame pancakes, 5 fruit cakes, 4 crispy twists, and half a pound of fruit candy."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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