Chapter 111 Black Market Food Stamps
What Li Jianbai said went over and over in Fubao's mind.
She thought she could probably guess what he meant.
She covered half of her face with a scarf, lowered her head, and gently grasped the hard-earned food coupons in her pocket, walking towards the school with heavy steps.
The snow on the ground froze and then slid away, mixing with dead leaves and mud, making the road muddy.
Every time I stepped on the ground, it was either mud or snow. My shoes were already dirty from running around in the alley.
The sky was still overcast, and an endless gray haze pressed down on people's heads.
Pedestrians walked around cautiously, and the whole county was filled with a depressed and decadent atmosphere.
Fubao bit his lip, and Li Jianbai's refreshing and handsome face appeared in his mind.
She might have felt a little dislike for him before, thinking that this person would be difficult to get along with and intuitively disliked him, but now, in this cold and bleak winter day, she realized that none of this actually mattered.
Essentially, this person is a good person.
Thinking of the hint of sarcasm in his smiling eyes, she suddenly laughed too.
Maybe it's a bit stupid, but there's nothing I can do about it.
That's all we can do.
As he was walking, he saw two people in front of him looking up. Because it was a cloudy day and the light was backlit, he couldn't see their faces clearly, but Fubao recognized them as Gu Shengtian and Chen Cuier at a glance.
The two were very happy to see Fubao. Chen Cuier ran over and hugged Fubao's arm: "Are you okay? We got separated just now, and I looked for you for a long time! Later, Shengtian said we should wait for you here. If we still can't see you after a while, we can go back and look for you."
Gu Shengtian said worriedly, "What took you so long to come? Did something happen?"
Fubao nodded and said softly, "I met a few policemen and they questioned me."
Chen Cui'er was startled: "Are you okay? What did they say?"
Fubao pursed his lips: "I'm fine, but our food coupons——"
She paused deliberately.
Chen Cui'er: "The food coupons were confiscated?"
She stamped her feet immediately: "This is terrible!"
But soon, she came over to comfort Fubao: "Hey, it's good that everyone is okay. We can't get caught. That Shengyin is probably caught, and we don't know what will happen next."
Gu Shengtian saw that Fubao's trouser legs were soaked by the snow and frowned. "We'll think of other ways to deal with the food coupons. Let's go back first and ask Cui'er to get you some hot water to wash."
Fubao laughed suddenly: "I meant to say that the food coupons are safe in my pocket!"
Her voice was soft, there was a smile on her bright face, and her clear eyes were shining like stars.
Gu Shengtian and Chen Cuier finally reacted. Gu Shengtian let it go, but Chen Cuier rushed over and said, "I won't beat you up!"
After the commotion, several people hurried back to school to avoid the limelight. They would wait until tomorrow to let Gu Shengtian take the food coupons and money to exchange for dry food, or simply exchange the food coupons for internal school food coupons so that they could buy dry food in the cafeteria.
When calculated in terms of price, the dry food in the cafeteria is cheaper than outside.
The food issue was temporarily resolved, and Fubao and Chen Cuier were in a good mood. They even felt excited to do their homework in the evening.
Even though the food coupons were still in my pocket and I was still hungry, the thought of being able to eat new dry food soon made the feeling of hunger seem to ease a lot.
The next day, Gu Shengtian hurried to get his food coupons to exchange for dry food, which was hot black-faced steamed buns. Several people each had one and ate them with big mouthfuls, enjoying the delicious taste.
At this time, pickles and lard are no longer needed.
They can taste the aroma of fermented noodles in the black steamed buns.
Chen Cui'er laughed so happily, but as she laughed, she wanted to cry again: "I don't know if my parents are worried about me. My mother and grandma are crying."
Fubao: "It's okay. They know we have money, so they will definitely find a way. Besides, the three of us are together, so we will definitely help each other and won't starve to death."
As he was talking, he heard a few classmates talking mysteriously. One of them came over and asked Gu Shengtian, "Isn't Shengyin from the same village as you?"
Gu Shengtian just swallowed a mouthful and quickly drank a sip of water, pretending to be confused: "What's the matter?"
The classmate said, "Shengyin went to the black market to buy food coupons and was arrested!"
Fubao and Chen Cuier exchanged a look of surprise, "Buying food coupons on the black market?"
Seeing that they didn't know, the classmate began to exaggerate what he had heard. The classmates gathered around, some sympathized, some were scared, and some were worried.
The lack of dry food is obviously a common problem for everyone.
When they finished eating and walked out of the classroom with their books in their arms, Chen Cui'er frowned, "She also went to the black market to buy food coupons. Instead of trying to cover for each other, she even tried to harm you. She deserves it!"
Gu Shengtian: "I'm afraid she'll turn around and tell us off, saying we went to the black market too."
Chen Cui'er was worried when she heard this: "Yes, she is so bad, maybe she did this on purpose to get rid of the crime."
Fubao thought about it and shook his head: "It's okay. If she bites us, we will insist that we didn't buy food coupons. It's a black market, but there are ordinary people there. Can't we just pass by?"
Chen Cui'er and Gu Shengtian thought about it and decided to stop thinking about it and look at the results of Shengyin first.
Over the next few days, everyone waited anxiously until noon that day, when the school principal solemnly convened a meeting of all teachers and students. He talked about the current difficulties, the school's porridge, and urged everyone to be strong and get through this difficult time.
After saying various slogans, the principal finally brought up the matter of making silver.
It turned out that after the principal negotiated with the other party and mentioned the various difficulties faced by the student, they decided to let her go considering her young age and the fact that it was her first offense, but she had to be given a warning.
When they heard that they would be punished, everyone was shocked, and some students shrank their necks in fear.
The school's demerits will be recorded in the files, and the stain will follow you for life. This is really miserable.
They also went to the black market, but fortunately they were not caught, otherwise they would have carried this stain for the rest of their lives.
After the meeting, everyone felt a little depressed. This time, the silver incident was really a warning to others and scared a group of people. Some students even wanted to sneak back home and tell their parents not to go to the black market, as being caught would be a big deal.
Fubao went to the women's restroom with Chen Cuier. After coming out, they washed their hands and planned to go to the classroom to study. But as they were walking, they were stopped by someone.
The two turned around and saw that it was Li Jianbai.
Chen Cui'er winked at Fubao ambiguously.
Fubao glared at her, then asked Li Jianbai, "What's the matter?"
She had been very polite to Li Jianbai before, but that politeness was only on the surface. Deep down, she didn't like this somewhat proud guy.
But now, she is truly grateful to Li Jianbai.
Li Jianbai glanced at Chen Cui'er before whispering to Fubao, "Come here."
Chen Cui'er pursed her lips and smiled: "Then you guys go ahead and wait for you over there!"
There was naturally teasing in her voice.
After Chen Cui'er left, Fubao felt a little embarrassed.
It was just a conversation, and it would have been fine if Chen Cui'er had avoided it, but his voice suddenly dropped just now, and Chen Cui'er acted like that, making it seem like there was something shameful going on between them.
Fubao lowered his head and looked at the snow on the ground. The snow was covered with mud and looked gray.
"What's up?"
The surroundings became quiet, and Li Jianbai felt a little uncomfortable.
It was originally a very upright thing, but now he feels like he is doing something shameful.
He was originally ordered to come here!
Looking at Fubao who was lowering her head slightly, he suddenly saw a little bit of the back of her neck exposed when she lowered her head.
It is delicate, white and soft, and looks particularly charming in a floral cotton jacket and a strand of soft hair.
With a sudden bang, a hint of red appeared on Li Jianbai's handsome face.
He couldn't help but grit his teeth and stamped his feet.
"I'm fine!" he said firmly.
"Ah?" Fubao was startled and looked at him in surprise. Why did he suddenly become so fierce?
"My mother has something wrong." Li Jianbai spoke seriously, as if he was answering a teacher's question in class.
"Aunt Sun? Does she want to talk to me about something?"
"Here, for you." As he said that, Li Jianbai took out a paper bag from his pocket. The paper bag was folded up, and it was obvious that there was something inside.
"What is this?" Of course Fubao wouldn't take other people's things easily.
"Food coupons." Li Jianbai said with a stern face, "My mother can't come out recently, but she's worried about you. She said you've had a hard time, that you're a good student, and that you have a bright future. She feels sorry for you starving, so she wants to give you food coupons."
Fubao just felt that he was a little mentally disturbed.
The way Li Jianbai spoke through gritted teeth made it seem like he had a grudge against her.
But what he said was well-intentioned, absolutely well-intentioned.
Fu Bao couldn't help but stroke his forehead: "Well... we are no longer starving, and we have some food coupons to eat for the time being. Auntie has..."
Before she could finish her words, Li Jianbai suddenly reached out and snatched the book from her hand.
He was so eager to grab the book that Fubao no longer had the book in his arms and was still in a daze.
After snatching the book, Li Jianbai stuffed the small paper bag into the book and said, "I'm giving it to you. Don't let anyone else see it."
After saying that, he turned and ran away.
He ran very fast, as if there was a tiger chasing him.
Fubao slowly put the food coupons into his arms and went to find Chen Cuier.
When Chen Cui'er saw her, she smiled with her lips pursed, looking sly.
Fubao looked serious, as if nothing had happened.
Chen Cui'er: "Tell me, why does he keep looking for you? Is he interested in you?"
Fubao thought about it seriously and said, "You're really overthinking it. It's better to say that his mother is interested in me than that he is interested in me."
Chen Cui'er burst out laughing: "Fubao, you look so lucky to be with your mother-in-law. No wonder her mother likes you!"
Fubao spread his hands and blinked: "My mother likes you very much, too."
Chen Cui'er stopped smiling and gritted her teeth: "You actually spoke about me in a roundabout way!"
As he said that, he was about to hit Fubao.
The two girls laughed and joked for a while, then Chen Cui'er turned serious and said, "I think Li Jianbai is actually a nice person. He's really handsome. I've asked around, and he's the best-looking in Class 4, and he seems to be doing well in school."
Of course, it's far worse than Fubao. He can probably rank around 40th or 50th among more than a hundred students, but overall it's acceptable.
Fu Bao sighed softly: "Cui Er, that's not the case at all. It's all your illusion. Besides... there's absolutely no way he and I can be together. I haven't had the slightest thought of that."
Chen Cui'er: "Why?"
Fubao thought for a moment and said, "We're fifteen now. If we don't go to school, it will be time for blind dates in a few years. I sometimes wonder what my future will be like and what kind of person I'll find. But after much thought, I feel that I definitely won't find someone like Li Jianbai."
Chen Cui'er was confused: "Why? I think he's a good guy, from a good family, and he's good-looking."
Fu Bao frowned slightly, "I don't know either. Actually, I'm not familiar with him. But even if we were, we'd probably be gay at best. It's definitely impossible for us to have that kind of relationship."
Chen Cui'er was puzzled, and suddenly she thought of something: "Ah, you are not thinking about your brother Dingkun, are you?"
Of course she knew that Fubao and Xiao Dingkun had been in correspondence, and that Xiao Dingkun would mail various foods and books to Fubao - and she would occasionally benefit from these things as well.
In fact, Chen Cui'er's memory of Xiao Dingkun was a little vague. She only remembered that he was tall and seemed very capable, but also cold and fierce, and not easy to approach.
Fu Bao was helpless: "Cui Er, stop letting your mind wander. We've just had our fill and we're in the first year of high school. The pressure of studying is huge and we need to study hard. How can I have the time to daydream?"
Chen Cui'er disagreed. She just felt that Fubao and Xiao Dingkun had a very good relationship.
Think about it, they haven't seen each other for eight years. When they parted, Fubao was only seven years old, but the two of them have been in correspondence all the time.
Moreover, Xiao Dingkun cares about Fubao in all aspects, and the two of them talk about everything.
but……
Chen Cui'er thought about it: "I remember he was older than us, right? Much older."
Fubao: "Brother Dingkun is twenty-two years old this year."
Twenty-two-year-old Xiao Dingkun is now a technical backbone of their factory. I heard that the factory appreciates him very much and will promote him in the future with a salary increase.
Twenty-two? So old.
Chen Cui'er wrinkled her nose and said in disdain: "They are all uncles!"
For fifteen-year-old girls, being in their twenties is indeed very old, so old that it is unimaginable.
Fubao: “…”
She didn't say anything else.
In fact, it doesn’t matter whether they are old or not. After all, she and Brother Dingkun are not in the relationship that Chen Cuier thinks.
but……
When Fubao was asked this by Chen Cui'er, he couldn't help but wonder what his brother Dingkun looked like now?
Eight years have passed, but she can still recall what her brother Dingkun looked like back then.
But now, eight years have passed, has he grown older?
This idea lingered in Fubao's mind, so much so that one night, Fubao took out some letter paper and couldn't help but write a letter.
At the end of the letter, she thought for a moment and finally asked, "Time flies by so quickly. It's been eight years since we last met. Brother Dingkun, do you have any photos? Shengtian asked yesterday what you look like now. We thought it would be great if you could send us a photo."
After writing it, she looked at it herself and crumpled up the letter.
What is written? The words don’t make sense and it’s incomprehensible!
——
The weather has remained gloomy these past few days, with occasional snowflakes drifting down from the gloomy sky. The already cold snowflakes add a touch of bleakness, and the entire county is shrouded in a depressing atmosphere, as if even breathing has become difficult.
Although the students of No. 1 Middle School were busy studying at school, they could still vaguely feel the tense atmosphere outside.
The teachers' faces were always tense, the principal had not been seen for a long time, people on the streets were always in a hurry, banks had not been open for several days, and even state-owned shops and restaurants closed early.
All this made everyone feel as if something big was about to happen. In comparison, it seemed that being hungry was not a big deal. The students became somewhat restless, whispering in class and not paying attention.
Fubao continued to study calmly. After all, no matter what happened, he could not change it, so he might as well read more books.
At noon that day, she was flipping through "Records of the Warring States Period" and reading casually while leaning against the headboard of the bed. She felt a little tired while reading, so she leaned against the headboard to rest for a while. Who knew that she fell asleep just like that.
In a trance, she had a dream. In the dream, in the gloomy and dull weather, there was a loud bang, and the rocks from the Big Roller Mountain rolled down and hit the Pingxi Production Brigade. Many old people and children were injured, some houses collapsed, and people cried and wailed.
Fubao suddenly woke up from his dream.
In the dormitory, Chen Cui'er and several other roommates were lying on the bed taking a nap. The sound of snoring could be heard in the quiet dormitory. Outside the window, a cleaner was struggling to push the snow aside from the road. Occasionally, a student would walk through the campus holding books or enamel pots after eating.
Everything looks quiet and peaceful, and the world is still the same as before.
But Fubao recalled the scene in her dream, and a deep sense of unease crept into her heart. In her dream, nothing had happened in the county town, but the Pingxi Production Brigade had been destroyed by a huge rock rolling down the mountain.
Regardless of whether this dream was true or false, he had to go back to Pingxi Production Brigade and inform the villagers.
Fubao thought for a moment, then tiptoed out some dry food from under the bed, and then took out his thickest cotton clothes and put them on. When he was ready, Chen Cui'er had already woken up.
Seeing this, Chen Cui'er frowned in confusion: "Fubao, what are you going to do?"
Fubao shushed her, asking her not to wake up the other two roommates, and then whispered, "I'm not feeling well. I have to go back to the village."
Chen Cui'er was even more surprised when she heard this. They were starving and suffering here because they were not allowed to enter or leave the county town. Why would Fubao suddenly say that he wanted to go back?
Fu Bao took Chen Cui'er out of the dormitory and came to a secluded place. He whispered, "Cui'er, I can't explain the specific reasons to you, but I feel that our Pingxi Production Brigade may have encountered a disaster. I must go back to inform them and ask them to take shelter."
Chen Cui'er was so surprised that she was speechless. Disaster? What disaster?
Fubao lowered his eyes, was silent for a moment, and then gave a brief description of the scene in his dream.
After hearing this, Chen Cui'er was horrified: "Is this really going to happen? Can this dream come true?"
Fu Bao shook his head. "I don't know, but it's better to believe it than not, so we have to go back and tell them the news. If something like this really happens, they will be prepared and avoid casualties. Otherwise, it will be a disaster."
Chen Cui'er's mind was in a mess now. She thought about it and realized that Fubao had always been quite smart. She and Fubao had known each other for so many years and there were some small things that happened, and it seemed that after Fubao said them, they all came true.
Her mind was in a mess, and her face turned pale with fear. After thinking for a long time, she suddenly said, "Fubao, let's go back quickly. I'll go back with you. Oh, and call Shengtian!"
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