Chapter 30 Supply and Marketing Cooperatives
After a while, Zhang Ruifeng asked again, "Is the third son of the Zheng family a soldier?"
"Yes. Because he was a soldier and had good conditions, the Zheng family was very selective. They wanted someone with good looks, a simple family background, and someone who was easy to get along with. They also wanted the girl to be capable and gentle. They chose our Lao Wu because they were attracted by Lao Xu's status as a worker. He would definitely not be a burden to Lao Wu in the future."
Zhang Ruifeng smiled and said, "Your family's conditions are rare. Everyone has seen how the four daughters turned out after they got married. With a family like yours, there's nothing to worry about."
The smile on Xu Cheng's mother's face never faded. She liked chatting with Zhang Ruifeng. This person would never do anything like pouring cold water on others or deliberately making people unhappy. She only saw the good in others.
But after a moment, she sighed. "This marriage is good in every way. Being a soldier is also great, but it means being away from home all year round, and the risks are higher than for us farmers. I asked Lao Wu if she could accept a man being away from home for a long time, and Lao Wu told me, 'My dad is away all day too, and we live the same life.'"
Zhang Ruifeng said, "It's not like the past, with endless wars and soldiers hanging their heads on their belts. We are now in a peaceful era. Although imperialism still has the will to destroy us, we have stood up. Things are much better than before. In recent years, we haven't heard of any soldiers being sacrificed in our villages."
"You're right, it's different now than it was before. It's not as dangerous."
Xu Cheng's mother looked around and saw no one else, so she continued in a low voice, "Let's be frank. Even if he died, he's still a martyr. He'll get a pension. If he has children, the state will be responsible for raising them. I heard there's also child support. Our brigade will provide rations, and we don't even need work points. The children of martyrs are treated the same as the five-guarantee households. So even if he died, it's nothing."
Zhang Ruifeng patted Xu Cheng's mother lightly and scolded her with a smile, "Don't talk nonsense."
After a pause, she continued, "Although what you said makes sense, we still hope that the fifth child will live in harmony with his wife after marrying, and that the third child of the Zheng family will be safe. The state's pension is only temporary, and his good life is the long-term benefit. Besides, if he dies, it means he's on a mission, which means the enemy will cause chaos again. We still have to pray for the soldiers."
Xu Cheng's mother slapped her mouth, made two "Pooh" sounds, put her hands together and apologized to the gods and Buddhas in heaven, and then muttered piously, saying a lot of good things for Xu Laowu and Zheng Laosan.
After the affair was over, she said, "The only drawback of this marriage is that the couple will never be together. But then again, it's actually more comfortable when the man is not around. Lao Xu is usually away from home, and when he comes back occasionally, it's always about this or that, ordering me around. I'd rather he didn't come back."
Zhang Ruifeng smiled and said nothing more.
She was thinking about the situation of the Zheng family that she had analyzed with her daughter some time ago, and felt that the Zheng family might not be as optimistic as Xu Cheng's mother said.
Xu Cheng's mother was able to raise the children alone because she had no parents-in-law or sisters-in-law to rely on. Moreover, when Old Xu went to work as a worker, his eldest child was already 14 years old and could help a lot. Later, the children came one after another. Except for breastfeeding, she had to do it herself. Otherwise, the older ones could take care of the younger ones.
Moreover, she is the eldest in the family, and the children have to listen to her. She takes all the household expenses given by Lao Xu, so she can make the decisions on her own. In this case, it is good for Lao Xu not to intervene.
But the Zheng family, with its in-laws, sisters-in-law, and younger sister-in-law, has a lot of them. They've all been there for years, and there's no mention of conflict between them, which means they're all on good terms. It would be best if they had good personalities, decent intentions, and could get along with Old Five and help each other out.
I’m afraid that they will gang up on me and bully others, and exclude Lao Wu, which would make life difficult for Lao Wu.
Zhang Ruifeng's mind raced, but she couldn't say anything. After all, these were just her and her mother's speculations, with no actual evidence to prove that the person was a bad person. If she spoke out, she would be considered a troublemaker.
Besides, the Xu family's situation was different from hers. The Xu family had a large family, was well-off, and even had a worker. The fifth child shouldn't have to suffer any hardship if she married into the family.
If you think positively, maybe it will be a great situation where the whole family works together to pursue a better life.
She hoped it would be the latter. She had watched the fifth child grow up, and she hoped she would be happy.
The two chatted all the way to the commune, and then parted ways. The sawmill and the supply and marketing cooperative were not in the same place.
When Zhang Ruifeng arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, he first looked at the counter for purchasing medicinal materials. At first glance, he saw an old man sitting there. He was dressed neatly, shaved cleanly, had some gray hair, and looked quite friendly.
The image does look good.
However, the medicinal materials purchasing counter was very deserted. He looked lonely sitting there alone. He was so bored that he could only close his eyes and take his own pulse.
Zhang Ruifeng glanced at him a few times but didn't go over to say hello.
She and the old man were strangers and had no medicinal herbs to sell him, so it would be inappropriate for her to go over and start a conversation with him.
Then again, she hadn't noticed this corner in the supply and marketing cooperative before. This old man was too inconspicuous.
She walked up to the counter and said to the salesperson, "Comrade, I've saved some eggs at home. Could you please count them for me?"
The saleswoman opened her basket and checked and counted each one, shaking some to make sure none were dented or broken, and counted out 83. "Three cents a piece. Three and eight equals two and four, three and three equals nine, which makes two and forty-nine cents."
While the salesperson was calculating the bill, Zhang Ruifeng also quickly calculated it in his mind and found that there was no problem.
The salesperson put the eggs away before opening the drawer under the counter to count the money. After she handed the money to Zhang Ruifeng, she asked her to count it again in front of her. If she came back after leaving the store and said the count was wrong, they would not acknowledge it.
Zhang Ruifeng smiled and said, "It can't be wrong. I come here several times a year to sell eggs, and I've never made a mistake."
But she still counted the money carefully to make sure there was no problem.
"Comrade, I need a box of clam oil, two pounds of salt, a pencil, and a large piece of white paper."
"Clam oil is 7 cents, salt is 1.3 cents a pound, pencils are 1 cent, good ones are 2 cents, and large white paper is 4 cents. What kind of pencil do you want?"
"Better."
The one-cent pencil breaks easily and is about the same difficulty to use as the two-cent pencil. It doesn't write smoothly and requires frequent sharpening.
"That's thirty-nine cents."
Zhang Ruifeng counted out 39 cents from the money he had just received and handed it to the salesperson.
The salesperson first collected the money, then turned around and found what Zhang Ruifeng wanted on the shelf and handed it to her.
Zhang Ruifeng put the things into the basket, gritted his teeth, and said, "Weigh another half a pound of milk candy."
The children haven't eaten yet.
The salesperson took one yuan and 12 cents and said, "Toffees are 2.25 yuan per pound, and half a pound is 1.125 cents. 5 cents is hard to charge, so I'll weigh it a little less for you, okay?"
"Okay, okay. Thank you, comrade."
It was said to be a little lower, but in fact it was just flat, so she didn't suffer any loss.
As the salesperson wrapped the candies, he said, "Serving the people."
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