On the other side, Qiao Wenwan, who had borrowed the money, said many words of gratitude in one breath, and then saw her basket and knew what was in it at a glance.
"Wang Fang, I really envy you. You have so many chickens at home, and you have eggs to sell after the family eats them all."
In the past, if Qiao Wenwan had said something like this, Wang Fang would definitely have given her an egg.
But thinking about how many times she had borrowed money from her recently, and what Jiang Wanwan had said at the brigade headquarters yesterday, Wang Fang smiled and said, "My mother likes to raise chickens the most. We have a large family, all of them strong laborers, so we have enough food to eat if we raise a few more chickens."
Qiao Wenwan waited for a long time but didn't get the eggs she imagined. She smiled awkwardly and said, "Yeah, the little food I had was taken away by Jiang Wanwan. It's not enough to eat, let alone raise chickens."
After saying this, he looked worried and gloomy.
Wang Fang was also at the brigade headquarters yesterday. She sighed, "I know it's not easy for you. It's all the burden of your family. Since she owes you money, there's nothing wrong with her asking for food from you."
Qiao Wenwan felt like vomiting blood in her heart. Why did Wang Fang also speak up for that bitch?
With a look of doing good for others, she said, "It's not that I don't want to give it to her. You don't know, Wanwan is very picky about food. When she was in the educated youth camp, she hated corn cakes and steamed buns the most. I always gave her some white flour mixed in. I was thinking that since this is the case, I should give her wheat when the summer grain comes in next year. You also know that Brother Jiaming has been sick again and again recently. In order to take care of him, I haven't been to work for a long time. We are from the same hometown who went to the countryside together. How can I be so unkind?"
Even if her purpose for going to the countryside was exposed, what would it matter? Jiang Wanwan was wrong to disregard revolutionary friendship.
Influenced by her father, Wang Fang values a person's character the most. As long as the branch secretary's family dislikes Jiang Wanwan, she will have no good life in the Red Star Brigade.
Seeing that Wang Fang frowned, Qiao Wenwan was secretly happy.
Wang Fang was indeed thinking about these things. "Wen Nuan, I think Du Jiaming is a grown man no matter what. Even if you are from the same hometown and sent to the countryside together as educated youth, you should keep your distance."
"How can you say that?" Qiao Wenwan complained. "You don't know how seriously ill Brother Jiaming is this time. If I hadn't discovered him at the educated youth camp, he would have died. The male educated youth in their room can't be relied upon at all. If you were in my place, you wouldn't watch your comrade die of illness, would you?"
"But you borrowed so much money for him, and you've never thought about why you still don't have it? I'm not asking you to take care of him, but there should be a limit to the care between revolutionary comrades."
There was one thing Wang Fang didn't say. Du Jiaming and Jiang Wanwan were childhood sweethearts as everyone knew. Jiang Wanwan went to the countryside for Du Jiaming.
Now that Jiang Wanwan is married to Lu Xiao, Qiao Wenwan has a close relationship with Du Jiaming, which doesn't seem good no matter how you look at it.
Qiao Wenwan thought to herself, "You know shit. There's no revolutionary friendship between her and Du Jiaming. She wants to be his wife and lover."
She wasn't discussing this matter with Wang Fang to let her blame herself. She only knew how to criticize her without even considering Jiang Wanwan's character.
"Wang Fang, I know you're doing this for my own good, but I can't help it. I went to the countryside for Jiang Wanwan, and now she's turned on me and pushed all the mess onto me. I'm powerless. If I had known she would be so cruel, I shouldn't have accompanied her to the countryside."
Wang Fang had heard something about this matter, and it was because of her gratitude to Qiao Wenwan for her loyalty and righteousness that she became good friends with her.
But after yesterday, she not only doubted her words, but also her as a person.
"Wu Nuan, I have something else to tell you, let's play again when we have time."
Looking at Wang Fang's back as she left without hesitation, Qiao Wenwan stamped her feet in anger.
It’s all because of that bitch Jiang Wanwan. Now even Wang Fang has started to distrust her.
……………………
Jiang Wanwan met Aunt Xu as soon as she arrived at the black market. This time, Aunt Xu introduced her to several clients. In order to facilitate the transaction, Aunt Xu took her to a small alley near the textile factory.
"I ate a piece of mung bean cake at Sister Xu's last time. I thought she bought it at the grocery store, but it didn't taste the same the second time I bought it."
"Me too. I had to ask Mrs. Xu and found out that she didn't buy it at the grocery store at all."
"My daughter-in-law has a poor milk supply, so my grandson usually relies on mung bean cakes and biscuits to fill his stomach. Sister Xu said that your mung bean cakes with goat milk are more nutritious, so she gave us a piece. What's more, my grandson ate the whole piece of mung bean cake in one meal. I've never seen him love food so much."
The people around were chatting with each other, and soon most of the mung bean cakes and chestnut cakes in Jiang Wanwan's basket were sold.
After everyone left, there was a middle-aged woman next to Aunt Xu. She poked Aunt Xu and seemed to have something to say to Jiang Wanwan.
Aunt Xu was straightforward and said directly, "My dear, my sister has a pair of twin grandchildren. I know you have a lot of good things, so I want to ask if you can get any other milk besides goat milk? Her little grandchildren really don't have enough to eat."
Milk powder is definitely a scarce commodity in this era, and sometimes even requires special approval, making it difficult for ordinary people to buy it.
If there is not enough milk for a child at home, we either look for cattle or sheep that have just given birth, or make porridge.
Children who are too young to absorb the porridge are not able to absorb it well and it is not nutritious. Children who eat it often have pale faces and thin bodies and poor physical constitutions. Those who have a little common sense or family background will try every means to find a source of milk for them.
There is indeed pure milk in Jiang Wanwan’s two-bedroom apartment, but that kind of sterilized pure milk is not suitable for very young children to drink, and it is difficult to preserve it if she removes the packaging. However, milk powder can be considered.
When they heard that Jiang Wanwan could get milk powder, their eyes lit up.
"Thank you so much! You don't know how skinny and tiny my two grandsons were when they were born, and they had no milk. Some people advised me to give one up, but I'm so fragile, and I'm thinking, 'I'm going to raise them even if I have to sell everything I have.'"
Jiang Wanwan didn't say too much, and always left some room for herself in everything.
The two parties agreed on the time and place for the next transaction, and Jiang Wanwan returned to the black market.
She also had some mung bean cakes and a bag of rice. Aunt Xu didn't plan to sell anything today, so she went back to the family compound with the aunt.
The weather has been very good these days, and the sun is very strong, making me feel warm when it shines on my body. Jiang Wanwan didn't sleep well last night and was drowsy from the sun.
After selling two kilograms of rice, I leaned against the wall when I heard someone shouting in the distance, "Run! The patrol team is coming."
Now that autumn has just passed, the farmers have received their share of gifts, and it is also the slack season, black market transactions have become more frequent, and patrols have also begun to appear more frequently.
Without giving it any time to think, Jiang Wanwan ran in the other direction, holding the basket in one hand and the rice bag in the other.
With the experience from last time, she had a goal in mind when running, but the bag of rice in her hand was a bit heavy, which affected her speed.
Just as she was wondering whether to take the risk of putting the rice bag into the two-bedroom apartment, she felt something light in her hand, and the rice bag was taken away. At the same time, a woman's voice said, "Follow me, hurry up."
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