The trader seemed in disbelief when he heard this. His lips moved for a moment, and then a hint of gratitude flashed in his dark eyes.
He jumped up and said, "Okay, thank you very much, comrade!"
"How many do you want? I'll help you pick out the big ones!"
The title "big sister" was transformed into the respectful title "you" without any hindrance, and Ye Qingshui was a little amused.
The price of eggs was not expensive, only one cent each. Ye Qingshui took out three cents and added a little more than 1.5 liang of food coupons to buy half a basket. She used the cotton cloth for buns to wrap these delicate eggs.
Eggs are a precious tonic these days. Whether it is a woman in confinement or a sick old man or child, they all dream of having a bowl of sugar-water eggs. However, due to the planned economy, each family is allowed to raise at most three chickens. Raising more than that is considered cutting off the tail of socialism. Holding more than 30 eggs, Ye Qingshui felt more fulfilled and rich than ever before.
With eggs, she can make some nutritious cakes.
Ye Qingshui packed up her stall and looked at the sun. It was still early. She clutched the warm money in her pocket and planned to go to the store to buy food. It was still too early. The people who lined up in the town looked sleepy and had no time to stare at her dark face.
When it was almost Ye Qingshui's turn to buy candy, she found Zhang Yuanchao, Young Master Zhang, sitting next to the salesperson with his legs crossed, "inspecting the work."
The monkey suddenly looked up and saw Ye Qingshui's dirty face, and almost spit out the tea in his mouth.
Ye Qingshui found that he recognized her, and frowned slightly in her heart. She remembered that the brothers and friends around Xie Tingyu were not very friendly to her. If it was in normal times, Ye Qingshui would not care about their prejudice against her. But when she was out speculating and met acquaintances, this was not what Ye Qingshui wanted.
Before Young Master Zhang could speak, Ye Qingshui reluctantly took out a remaining bun from his bosom and stuffed it into his hand, saying enthusiastically:
"Ah, Comrade Zhang, it's been a long time since we last met. I have a lot to say to you, but there are still a lot of people waiting in line, so it's not a good time to catch up with you now."
Zhang Yuanchao's mouth moved for a moment, but in the end he said nothing, only looking at her suspiciously. After looking at her a few more times, he looked away in disgust.
This country girl made herself look uglier and uglier. It was hard for Brother Yu to face such a wife every day.
"Two pounds of noodles, five ounces of sugar, three ounces of oil, and two ounces of meat. Thank you, comrade!" Ye Qingshui said in a crisp voice.
She bought food and oil and quickly left the team. When she got on the rickshaw, Ye Qingshui's stomach, which had been hungry all night, made a rumbling sound. She rubbed her stomach and rushed home despite the hunger.
In the store, Zhang Yuanchao held the steamed bun which was still warm in his hand, and thought to himself: I must not be corrupted by the enemy's sugar-coated bullets.
How could a little favor buy his heart as firm as gold? But he had to take a look to see what flavor of buns the village girl gave him. It didn't seem good to waste food. So... he decided to bear the pain and eat the sugar-coated bullets sent by the enemy.
Then he opened the wrapping paper and took a deep breath.
The sweet bean aroma of the buns grabbed him. He took another bite, and the soft and sweet taste like quicksand gently overflowed, like a gentle rain soothing the dry desert. The tip of his tongue, which had never tasted delicious food, seemed to be soothed. It was a feeling he had never experienced before.
Finally, the hungry customers who were queuing to buy food stared at Zhang Yuanchao with greed on their faces, watching him chew the buns with satisfaction and pleasure.
I'm so angry, but I can't say anything!
…
When Ye Qingshui hurried back home, the sky was just beginning to brighten dimly.
Because it was a farming holiday, the members of the commune did not work. Therefore, the educated youth from the city did not have to get up so early. When Ye Qingshui washed his face and tiptoed into the bed, Xie Tingyu had not woken up yet.
She glanced at Xie Tingyu. The hair on the sleeping man's head was slightly raised, and he looked a little dazed, losing the seriousness of the day. In the dim morning light, his face seemed to be favored by God. After being exposed to the sun for a whole summer, it was still whiter and more delicate than a woman's. Ye Qingshui saw her sunburned cheeks in the mirror and couldn't help but envy.
Ye Qingshui fell asleep and slept until lunch time. After washing up, she quickly made lunch. Only then did she have time to count the money she had earned.
She spent 20 cents on flour, 50 cents on oil, sugar and meat, and 30 cents on eggs, and she had almost spent all her money. She had only 9 cents left. She remembered that the snow cream Xie Tingyu had given her was worth one dollar, and she had worked hard all night for only these grains and oils. She couldn't help but sigh like a poor person.
However, these grain, oil, meat tickets, and various miscellaneous bills are quite abundant. This made Ye Qingshui feel a little relieved. These days, the bills used by city people are more valuable than money! Rural areas do not issue these meat tickets. Only at the end of the year when the pig is slaughtered, each household will be given ten pounds of pork to taste.
As a rural person, it is a great progress for Ye Qingshui to be able to afford meat.
Ye Qingshui was extremely energetic and prepared the precious two taels of meat with great care. In order to make the meat taste rich and worth the money, she cut the meat into strips, then chopped it up, mixed it with mushrooms and taro, and wrapped it into a ball, and stuffed it into the mountain mushrooms that had lost their stems. When you take a bite, a mouthful of rich meat juice splashes out, making the taste even richer.
She queued not too late, and perhaps the salesperson at the store thought that she was related to Young Master Zhang, so the meat they cut for her had more fat than lean meat, making it juicy and satisfying.
Ye Qingshui had prepared the meal. When Ye's mother came home from collecting firewood, she praised him as usual: "Shui'er... the buns this morning were really delicious. Mother saw that you were exhausted and hadn't woken up yet, so she didn't call you. I kept one warm in the pot for you. Have you eaten it?"
"Your father and I were also so noisy when we first got married. You young people have good physical strength. Eat more and give birth to a big fat boy soon."
She pursed her lips and smiled teasingly, and Ye Qingshui finally realized that his mother seemed to have misunderstood something.
Seeing A Niang so expectant, Ye Qingshui couldn't bear to break her fantasy.
In 1977, the educated youth were repatriated to the city in large numbers, and the country experienced the second divorce peak in decades. Several educated youth married in the village divorced. It was easier for Ye Qingshui to explain at that time. So she planned to wait until next year to tell them about the divorce. In the days to come, she would slowly lay the groundwork for the trivialities of the two people's separation and reconciliation, and wait for next year to make things go smoothly.
"Mother, smell it. Hmm... It smells so good. Shui'er, what did you do? Go and call Xiao Xie back. I think I saw him at the Youth League Center just now."
In order to prevent A-niang from imagining anything else, Ye Qingshui said coldly: "He will come back for dinner by himself."
A Niang said, "You are still being reserved, Shui Ya, A Niang will not make fun of you anymore."
"If you don't go, then my mother will go herself——"
Ye Qingshui had no choice but to wipe his hands and set off for the educated youth point.
The educated youth station of Hongqi Commune is located at the foot of Xiufeng Mountain. It was the only house in the village built with blue tiles, and the walls were painted white. In the past few years, the educated youth from all over the country have indeed made contributions to the commune.
After some educated youth came to work in the countryside, they became teachers in the commune primary school, accountants in the production team, and some who were familiar with machinery became tractor drivers in the commune. But later, as more educated youth came, their reputation gradually declined. The forest is big, and there are all kinds of birds. The villagers began to look down on the educated youth who were lazy and dragged their feet.
However, Xie Tingyu is definitely an exception. In the eyes of the team, he is almost an "all-rounder". He can fill in wherever he is missing.
Just as Ye Qingshui arrived at the educated youth point, he heard Xie Tingyu's mellow and deep voice reading.
He held a yellowed book in his hand, stood straight, and read meticulously. The educated youth sat in a circle around him, three layers inside and three layers outside, making it impossible to move.
He read: "A person's life should be spent in this way: when he looks back on the past, he will not regret wasting his time, nor will he be ashamed of doing nothing; in this way, when he dies, he can say:"
He paused for a moment, raised his head and looked at the crowd of heads below. His wandering eyes seemed to see Ye Qingshui.
He was not too surprised, and the voice of reading aloud sounded again, with clear pronunciation, correct pronunciation and beautiful melody.
He said: "'My whole life and all my energy have been devoted to the most magnificent cause in the world - the struggle for human liberation.'"
It was a bright sunny day with a gentle breeze. Xie Tingyu was wearing a dacron shirt with his back straight. He was bathed in the gazes of eager children in the commune and also endured the admiring eyes of educated youth. He seemed to shine in the eyes of others.
This kind of gentle, handsome and rich man is really a harvester of girls' hearts. Ye Qingshui took a look and saw that the young girls looked at Xie Tingyu like a dog looking at a meat bun.
Ye Qingshui took a look and walked out without much interest.
In those days, knowledge was still very scarce and education was very backward. Many children could not afford to go to school and had to rely on occasional weekends to listen to the lectures of the educated youth. Some educated youth with low education levels were also willing to absorb knowledge and learn from others with an open mind.
Xie Tingyu was a person who had finished high school and knew a lot, and he was a standout. Ye Qingshui recalled that Xie Tingyu later got into a key university with high scores.
Ye Qingshui squatted outside the educated youth site, counting the birds flying past him out of boredom, so that from outside he could hear the end of his recitation of Chairman M's quotations, as well as the applause that broke out after the "lecture" ended.
After class, Xie Tingyu came out first and raised his eyebrows: "What are you doing squatting here?"
Ye Qingshui shrugged, "My mother asked me to call you home for dinner."
The educated youth at the educated youth point did not mind the trouble and came over here with their eyes.
Some of the female educated youth glanced at Ye Qingshui. They had just paid special attention to her, but when they saw her coming, they listened to a few words and then left in a cowardly manner.
The female educated youths were somewhat amused. Ye Qingshui's foolish appearance of waiting for a man at the door was no different from that of ignorant women in the countryside. They couldn't help but feel sorry for Xie Zhiqing.
Some of them also complained about Sun Lingyu being punished, muttering, "After all, she is uneducated and ignorant. Comrade Xie just said something very well, but she probably didn't listen to a word he said. She's just squatting here counting ants!"
"Ye Qingshui, you and Xie Zhiqing have been married for so long. Did Xie Zhiqing teach you how to read and write? One of you is full of cultural knowledge, while the other is illiterate. This is not good. Xie Zhiqing is such a good person. You should ask him for advice and make up for your shortcomings."
"Let's go, let's go. You're the only one who talks too much! Even the food in the cafeteria can't stop you from talking!" Sun Lingyu pulled back her girlfriend who was speaking up for her, and at the same time gave Ye Qingshui a disdainful look.
Ye Qingshui was very familiar with the gazes that came from all directions like a tide, watching the fun and looking down on the country people. Her eyes became sharp and she looked at the group of female educated youth.
Ye Qingshui touched his ear, shook his head and said, "Why are you leaving? Wait, please stay. You say bad things about people in front of me, and you think I have no temper, right? How come I have never been to school? After all, I graduated from elementary school."
She immediately caused a burst of laughter. What kind of capital is it to brag about if you graduated from elementary school?
Ye Qingshui smiled as if she didn't care, and continued: "These three or two sentences have wiped out my five years of hard work. This is not acceptable."
She said seriously: "I didn't study that much because my family was poor and I couldn't continue my studies. Secondly, I was smart and didn't need to waste so much time studying. In fact, I already have a college education."
Her words caused another burst of laughter.
"You think I'm bragging, don't you believe me?"
She read out a string of words very quickly: "The human race that was set free by fighting has already devoted all its energy and life to the most magnificent world in the world. I can say that it is enough for him to die at that time."
After reading it, the female educated youth who had just burst into laughter looked confused. What did this all mean?
Ye Qingshui then hummed softly:
"I told you that your brains are not as fast as mine, but you still don't believe it. It's useless even if you squat beside Xie Tingyu and listen to him read every day. The opposite of this sentence is-"
"I have dedicated my entire life and all my energy to the most magnificent cause in the world - the struggle for the liberation of mankind! You are so arrogant and conceited. Fortunately, one or two of you listened carefully just now. It's ridiculous!"
She called out again, "Xie Tingyu, let's go home and eat!"
Xie Tingyu, who was named, was almost choked.
But then again, it was time for dinner and I was hungry. Xie Tingyu thought of the dinner at home and couldn't help looking forward to it.
He cooperated slightly, "Here it comes."
Ye Qingshui ignored the group of educated youths behind him who were still in shock. They were completely furious:
"Wait, what did Ye Qingshui just say? Did she really know it by heart? Is she... lying?"
Another educated youth said in confusion: "You spoke too quickly, I didn't remember it."
"Brother Yu has a good memory, I think he can remember it. Let's ask him later?"
The author has something to say:
The passage that Brother Yu read was from How the Steel Was Tempered
Shui Yaer: I really have university culture
Do you believe it?
Brush up the word "Xin", quickly!
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