Lin Guoqing went to the provincial capital for the second time in mid-August. He rode Lin Fuqiang's bicycle. There was a large basket hanging on both sides of the back seat. There were 300 eggs in them, weighing about 40 kilograms.
Forty kilometers would take at least three hours by bike, so he didn't even take a break after lunch. He set off straight away. Lin Guoqing said goodbye to everyone on either side of him before riding off, stopping about a kilometer away.
About half an hour later, Liang Shengdi came walking towards us with a basket on her back and a basket in her hand.
"I waited until they were all asleep before I ran out," Liang Shengdi said, handing the basket to Lin Guoqing, then carrying the two baskets, unsure where to put them. "Don't you have too much stuff? Can you still ride it?"
"Yes! Just hang the basket on the handles on both sides. The weight is about the same. I can hold it steady."
Lin Guoqing staggered onto the road like an acrobat. The sun was extremely scorching in the dog days of summer. The straw hat on his head could not block much of the sunlight. Instead, he felt more and more stuffy the longer he wore it, and was covered in sweat.
Lin Guoqing wanted to take it off, and his hand was even reaching the brim of his hat, when he suddenly remembered what Chen Chunhua said, that he was getting darker and darker, and the darker he got, the older he looked.
He thought of Ye Juncai, that delicate and tender face. Although he was younger than him, he looked several years older than him...
Lin Guoqing snorted and thought, "Forget it, just wear it, otherwise your wife will dislike you in the future."
The roads were rough these days, and Lin Guoqing, carrying two baskets of eggs, didn't dare to ride too hard. After a while, his legs were shaking with fatigue, but he didn't dare rest, fearing it would be too late and the food station would be closed.
By the time he finally reached his destination, it was already four in the afternoon. He felt like he was about to collapse, his entire body drenched in sweat, as if he had just been pulled out of the water. He took a breath, then pushed the bike to the food station and carried the eggs and mushrooms inside one by one.
There were already many women comrades in the food station carrying baskets to sell vegetables. The staff inside were still indifferent and arrogant, but when they recognized Lin Guoqing, they hurried to the purchasing department to find Zhuang Zhijie.
Zhuang Zhijie was fine with the mushrooms, but the two baskets of eggs,
"Wow, Comrade Guoqing, these eggs of yours...are also laid by your own chickens?" So how many chickens do you have? Forty or fifty? Does that still count as raising your own chickens?
Lin Guoqing looked at his astonished eyes and quickly waved his hands.
"They're not mine. Other families in the village also raise chickens. I just helped bring them here."
Zhuang Zhijie understood, probably because they had food coupons as a reward, and he immediately felt relieved.
"Okay, let's weigh it first."
The profit from mushrooms was about the same as last time. Lin Guoqing got 3.15 yuan. There were 43 kilograms of eggs. Zhuang Zhijie gave him 31.5 yuan in cash and 8.6 kilograms of food coupons, which were valid throughout the country. It was a really thick stack of food coupons.
Lin Guoqing wanted to remain calm, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up. He held the food coupons and wanted to ask Section Chief Zhuang to exchange them for a regular one, but after thinking about it, he held it back.
"Then Chief, I'm leaving now and will come back in two weeks. Thank you so much for today."
"Okay, okay, take care on your way!"
Zhuang Zhijie was also very happy. He just liked this kind of large-scale purchase. Some farmers sent in one or two kilograms at a time, which always caused complaints from the accounting staff in the finance office. This kind of one-time purchase of dozens of kilograms was convenient for everyone.
Lin Guoqing rode his bicycle and did not return directly. Instead, he went to the grain and oil station near where he bought the cake last time. He went in with a stack of 2-liang grain coupons to buy rice.
"...How many do you have here? They're so broken! Why can't you just give me a whole one? You're wasting my time!"
The counter clerk counted with an unhappy look on her face, and occasionally glanced at Lin Guoqing with her triangular slanted eyes.
Country people are troublesome! At least they are not ugly, otherwise she would not bother to count them!
"Forty pieces, a total of 8 jin."
Lin Guoqing knew that counting would be a hassle, so he quickly reported the number. He'd wanted to exchange it for a whole bill earlier, but he was worried the staff at the food station would accuse him of taking advantage of the villagers, or perhaps it was a form of speculation. He didn't understand, so he didn't exchange it anyway.
He also left 6 taels of food coupons in his pocket, which he would give to his sister when he got home.
The staff counted the bills and found nothing wrong before putting them away. "Give me another dollar and twenty-eight cents."
The price of rice today is 1.6 yuan per pound. Lin Guoqing handed over the money he had prepared and added,
"Comrade, I forgot to bring my bag. Could you help me...get one?" Seeing the woman at the counter frown again, he quickly stuffed the money into her hand and said, "Here's one dollar and three cents. You don't need to use it."
Her anger subsided instantly. She counted the money and raised her eyebrows. "Wait."
***
When he came back, there were more than ten kilograms of mushrooms in the backpack, and when he left, there were eight kilograms of rice. Lin Guoqing had been riding a bicycle for several hours today, but he didn't feel tired at all.
8 jin of rice is not much. His family consumes at least 1 jin of rice for dinner, if it is not mixed with sweet potatoes or potatoes. Add to that the occasional porridge in the morning, and 8 jin is only enough for a week.
But they were able to take 8 kilograms again after half a month.
This means that from now on, the village will distribute enough food to last half a month, and you can use the food coupons given by the food station to exchange for rice for the remaining half a month. No longer need to worry about not having enough food at home and having to make sweet potatoes and wild vegetables, and no longer need to carry sesame oil to exchange for food coupons!
8 jin of food coupons! At Lao Shi's place, 1 jin of food coupons cost 40 cents each! He saved more than 6 yuan every month!
Adding the money from selling mushrooms today, he also had three pounds of eggs. After deducting the money he had already given to everyone, he still made five yuan and forty cents. If he added the price of the food coupons...
Big profit! Big profit!
“Ahhhh…wuwuwu…oh oh oh oh…”
Lin Guoqing stood up on the bicycle with the rice on his back and rode it, making primitive sounds while riding, which scared the people passing by and they thought he was crazy.
Lin Guoqing doesn't care what others think of him, he's just happy! His family won't have to go hungry anymore, his wife is so smart, he's so lucky!
Happy, so happy!
Hehehehe!
By the time Lin Guoqing returned to the village, it was past eight o'clock. He had spent six or seven hours on his bike that afternoon and had only eaten two sweet potatoes. He was starving. He rushed home, thinking he'd eat something before returning his bike.
When they got home, there were only four children, and Chen Chunhua and Liang Shengdi were not there.
"Dad, you're back?" Lin Shuying poked her head out from the room, and then, like a mother hen leading her chicks, three more heads popped out from above and below her.
"Dad, are you back?"
"Dad, are you back?"
"Dad, are you back?"
Lin Guoqing touched each head and said, "Well, I'm back. Where are your mom and grandma?"
Lin Shuying: "I went to my aunt's house. She's about to give birth."
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