Old Man Qian paused in his hand holding the pipe, then casually started smoking, which Qian Xiao happened to see. She didn't think much of it, but seeing her grandfather smoking reminded her of the things she had brought back.
"Third Uncle, where's my schoolbag?"
Qian Sanbao raised his chin: "Isn't that just sitting on the kang? You still haven't said why you brought back a bunch of iron lumps."
"I'll tell you later," Qian Xiao said, taking a bag of door towers out of his bag and handing it to Old Man Qian.
"Sir, you smoke this. The welding fumes are too strong and bad for your lungs. You'd better smoke less of it."
Old Man Qian chuckled as he accepted the cigarettes from his granddaughter: "My granddaughter still remembers me. You can't buy them next time. These things are not only expensive, but you also need cigarette coupons. Where did you get your cigarette coupons?"
"I traded two steamed buns with my classmate." Of course, I only traded one cigarette coupon; you have to make sure the coupon came from a respectable source.
"Are you out of money? I'll have your grandma give you some more money to carry with you. It's better to be prepared for a tough journey than to be without money in your pocket."
The old lady glanced at the old man and said, "Do you need to tell me? Would I mistreat my eldest granddaughter?"
"You silly girl, that money was for you to go out and eat something good to nourish your body. Why did you buy this stuff? It's neither edible nor useful. Don't buy it next time. You should have used that money to buy two meat buns to eat."
"Hehe, it's really not much money. I was thinking that since I finally made it to the county town, I should at least give some to my grandfather. This is for you, and the remaining three are for my mother and the other two to share."
Qian Xiao pulled four boxes of Gala Oil from her bag. It's supposedly the best skincare product available now. Qian Xiao couldn't tell if it was good or bad, she just knew it was incredibly oily, and she definitely wouldn't put it on her hands—it attracts too much dust!
"Mom, why did you buy this? I brought you some money and you spent it all on your family. I was wondering why you're so thin. Can't you fill your stomach first? We didn't need these things before and we got by. What's more important than a full stomach?"
The old lady was both gratified and heartbroken when she saw these things. She knew exactly how much money she had given Erdan, and these things had to be saved up from the smallest of circumstances.
"I've heard people say that if you soak your hands in hot water at night and then apply this, your hands won't crack as easily. Otherwise, in a few days, when the weather gets cold, your hands will be covered in cuts and it will hurt a lot."
"This isn't expensive at all. You can use it first, and I'll buy you more when you run out." She bought all of these with the money and tickets from her spatial storage, and she didn't feel bad at all. However, she couldn't reveal the source of the money.
Let my grandma misunderstand; it's better than me revealing the truth.
The old lady grumbled, but her face beamed with joy. She had three sons, none of whom had ever thought of their mother like this. She felt sweeter than if she had eaten candy.
"You brat, you're just wasting money. Don't buy that again next time."
If you ever stop smiling like that, I'll take it as the truth.
"Okay, we'll talk about it later. Also, this milk candy is said to be really delicious. I traded some candy coupons with someone and bought a pack. Keep the milk candy safe. Don't let the younger brothers eat it all at once, or they'll get tooth decay."
The little ones' eyes lit up. They had seen others eat this kind of milk candy but had never tasted it themselves. They heard it was delicious.
Qian Xiao pulled something out and the old lady's heart clenched. This brat had spent all the money she brought her on her family, leaving her starving and thin.
"Why buy this? What can a few kids possibly taste?"
"Just sweeten your mouth," Qian Xiao stuffed a pack of cigarettes, one grade lower than the one from the gatehouse, into the hands of her second and third uncles. She didn't know what else to buy, but since men love to smoke, she bought this.
Second Uncle patted his pocket and smiled憨厚ly, while Third Uncle just wanted to go out for a stroll and show off.
The old lady angrily tapped her granddaughter's forehead: "You silly child, you could have used that money to buy meat, don't buy it next time, remember?"
Qian Xiao nodded perfunctorily. What's wrong with her having money to buy things for her family? Her family is devoted to her, so why wouldn't she repay them?
Finally, Qian Xiao took all the metal objects out of her schoolbag and put them on the table. These were collected from the commune's scrap yard and had been stored in her spatial storage. Now that it was almost time, she brought them back.
Now you can't even find a piece of scrap metal in the county town. If only she had gone to check it out last year, she would have been better off. Luckily, she has enough, otherwise she would have regretted it to death.
The whole family stared at the rusty scrap metal on the table. The old man knew his granddaughter wouldn't do anything reckless: "Tell me, what happened here?"
Qian Xiao tried to keep a straight face: "You should have heard about it in our village. The whole country is calling for a massive steelmaking campaign. They say it has already started in the cities. When I came back, the county town had also started making preparations. Some families couldn't deliver enough iron, so they even had to hand over their iron pots."
"What? You've handed over the iron pot? How are we going to cook at home?" The old lady couldn't even imagine how she would cook without the big iron pot.
Old Man Qian nodded. Thanks to his granddaughter, their village now had a radio, and almost everyone in the village went to listen to the news every day. They had heard about this long ago.
Qian Baozhu also went to the meeting, but they didn't take it seriously. Such a big matter shouldn't concern their village. But judging from their granddaughter's expression, was this even a matter for them, a rural village?
"Why bother cooking? They've set up canteens and everyone's eating from the same pot now. In the city, people eat at the canteens in the neighborhoods. You don't need to cook at home at all."
Qian Sanbao asked excitedly, "Really? Do we have to pay for the meals? Will we be allowed to eat our fill?"
"Really, it had already started when I came back. You don't have to pay for meals. You just need to go and get your bowl when it's time to eat, and it's all you can eat."
"Oh my god, this is wonderful! We can eat as much as we want without paying! How can there be such a good thing?"
Qian Sanbao's eyes nearly disappeared from his grin. These days, who dares to feed someone until they're completely full? The most they ever eat is only about seven or eight tenths full. Everyone has children, and everyone wants to save a little food to feed their kids.
Old Mr. and Mrs. Qian felt they couldn't bear to look at their foolish son. How could there be such a good thing? Why don't you just wait for the heavens to shower you with good fortune?
"Erdan, tell me, where did all that grain come from?"
Grandpa was the only one who could get to the heart of the matter. With Uncle San's foolishness, what would he do without Grandpa and Grandma by his side? He would have sold himself out and been counting money for others.
"Where else can it come from? It's taken from the people and used for the people. Every household has to hand over their grain, and then the communal canteen will cook it all up. They say it's free food, but aren't we just eating our own grain?"
Qian Sanbao was dumbfounded. Why go to the cafeteria to eat? Wouldn't it be better to eat at home? What if they run into someone who can eat a lot, like his own Erdan? Wouldn't they be at a disadvantage?
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