Chapter 39 Reminder
A familiar man's voice came from outside: "Chu Hong, are you home?"
Xiao Jin's hand trembled, and the peanuts he had picked up fell back. He quickly pulled Chu Chu and Chu Yan up, and whispered nervously, "Quick, let's hide behind the stove."
Grandpa and the others repeatedly warned them not to come over often, as it would be bad for the Song family if others saw them.
But when being with Sister Xiaohong, they can warm themselves by the fire, listen to her stories, and let them bury food in the brazier.
Who can resist such temptation?
Besides, most people in the village went outside to watch the fishing today, so no one should come.
Moreover, they had discussed it before they came. In case someone came, they would hide behind the stove. There was a large water tank on the side to block them, so they could not be seen if no one was paying attention.
Chu Hong saw their quick and agile movements and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She also walked out and said loudly, "I'm at home."
The people who pushed open the gate and walked in were Gu Ci and a familiar middle-aged woman.
Aunt He was still very enthusiastic: "It's me, the aunt who bought pumpkin cakes and ordered taro dumplings."
Chu Hong also remembered and asked in surprise, "Aunt, why are you here?"
She couldn't help but speculate: "Do you have any relatives in our village?"
"No, I just came to see you." Aunt He was very glad. The last time Secretary Song delivered taro dumplings to their door, she also asked about his family.
In other words, it was because she left her address first and was the leader of the steel plant that Secretary Song dared to tell her where her home was.
They also agreed that if she had any problems, she should go to the commune and leave a message for the gatekeeper.
This is also the business that Secretary Song wants to do next time.
After all, people like Aunt He are generous. If they can introduce relatives and friends in the future, then they won’t have to sell things on the black market at all.
After all, going to the black market is risky.
Unfortunately, Aunt He never looked for him again.
Secretary Song would not be so tactless as to disturb them again.
But I didn’t expect that Aunt He would appear in my house now?
Gu Ci also spoke up: "I was almost at the entrance of the village, and I happened to meet my aunt asking about your family, so I came here with her."
He was also a little puzzled. He was close to the Song family, but had never seen this strange woman before?
"That's really a coincidence." Chu Hong smiled and said, "Aunt, come in and sit down."
She picked up the bamboo kettle on the table, poured half a cup of tea into a clean bowl, spun it around and poured it out, then poured some sugar from the jar beside it, took a few leaves from another tea can, poured in boiling water, and placed it in front of Aunt He: "Auntie, have some tea."
This white sugar tea is now used to entertain distinguished guests.
But the moment Chu Hong saw her, one word popped up in her mind: sucker.
If you didn't want to buy your own things, how could you come here?
In order to make some money, I naturally want her to see that I am clean and enthusiastic.
When Aunt He saw this, she was of course very happy. With a smile on his face, he said, "Look at you, you're still so polite."
He glanced at Gu Ci again and felt that what he was about to say was not appropriate in the presence of outsiders.
Gu Ci called the kids to follow him out: "We should go feed the chickens."
It is of course false to say that they feed chickens. What is true is that they feed rabbits. However, the rabbits are raised secretly and outsiders cannot know about it.
Aunt He really didn't notice the little ones. She looked at them with shock and envy as they left. She couldn't help but say what was in her heart: "You have a really big family. It's very prosperous."
Chu Hong couldn't help laughing: "There are only three sisters in my family. Is this the neighbor's child coming to visit? Are you preparing to bury sweet potatoes in the stove?"
After telling a deliberate lie, she looked at Aunt He with a smile and said, "Aunt, why are you here?"
Aunt He thought Chu Hong must have eaten a lot of good food these days, because her face had become rounder.
But her features became more and more pretty, and her smile became sweeter, which made me feel happy just by looking at her.
"Why didn't you go to the black market?" Aunt He sighed, "I've come to you guys several times to order another ten kilograms of taro dumplings. Can you do that?"
Last time, she gave some taro dumplings to her parents-in-law. Unexpectedly, the old couple also liked to eat them. Her sister-in-law, who was pregnant at an advanced age, also suffered from morning sickness and was craving for this dish.
What else could she do? She could only come to the door.
This money is easy to earn, Chu Hong agreed immediately: "Okay, I'll send it to you tomorrow morning."
Aunt He was also satisfied with her attitude and asked with a smile: "Do you have any other good things at home? Sell me some, too?"
I complained to her again: "Our factory hasn't had a holiday yet. I want to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some malted milk, canned food, etc., but most of them are sold out."
Everyone is saving money and tickets to go shopping during the Chinese New Year.
I heard that people lined up at the slaughterhouse in the middle of the night to buy pigs. The grain and oil stations and supply and marketing cooperatives were so crowded that people didn't even know where their shoes fell.
Black market prices are ridiculously high these days, it feels like they are being slaughtered like fat pigs.
Thinking of what the handsome young man had said about feeding the chickens, she whispered, "Are there any chickens or ducks? Or anything else to eat?"
Although there aren’t many delicious foods in the countryside, they can all make taro dumplings, so maybe there are other delicious foods?
Chu Hong hesitated for a moment: "Both roosters and hens."
There are three hens and a rooster in the house, and they are almost two years old.
Grandma has complained several times that the hens at home have stopped laying eggs in less than two years. She will go and see which hens are sitting on brooding eggs next spring and exchange a few chicks.
Aunt He was delighted: "I want both the rooster and the hen."
"Is it okay to go by the black market price of live chickens, 1.2 yuan per pound?"
In the supply and marketing cooperative, the price is 80 cents per pound and you need meat coupons.
However, the price of live chickens in the black market has risen to one yuan and forty or fifty cents per pound.
Chu Hong smiled and said, "But you have to give us some tickets for soap, sanitary tape and toilet paper, okay?"
Now they can only buy square yellow toilet paper. Toilet paper is more expensive and requires a ticket.
If you don’t have a ticket and buy it on the black market, the price will more than double.
But there are many women in the family, so toilet paper is indispensable.
Aunt He is a leader in the steel plant, so she must have a lot of votes.
Aunt He agreed immediately: "Okay, I'll go back and exchange some for you later. I guarantee it will be enough for you to use next year."
Chu Hong was happy and gave her a few more pieces of sesame peanut candy.
Aunt He took a bite and was immediately attracted by the rich aroma of sesame and peanuts. She offered a high price of two yuan per pound, and Chu Hong was only willing to give her two pounds.
But she weighed five pounds of peanut candy, which cost one yuan per pound.
Finally, Aunt He paid for the taro dumplings as well, a total of thirty-four yuan.
Before leaving, Aunt He stood by her bicycle and pointed to a vegetable field not far away: "Can you give me some vegetables? The vegetables at the grocery store are not as fresh as this."
Green vegetables weighed only two or three cents per pound, so Chu Hong was willing to spend some and even picked a few big radishes for her.
Aunt He said casually, "If you can't finish the vegetables at home, ask the brigade leaders and the commune leaders to discuss sending them to the grocery store in the name of supporting construction and production. That can also exchange them for some money and tickets, right?"
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