Danru Commune consisted of six villages and twelve brigades. Liujia Village was the largest, with three brigades. The other five villages were Wanxing Village, Juzi Village, Lijia Village, Wangjia Village, and Yangshu Village. Wanxing Village was a mixed-species village, many of whose ancestors had fled here. Grandma Liu's family was from this village. Oranges from Juzi Village were the main raw material for the commune's cannery, making it the wealthiest village in Danru Commune. It had its own primary school and a distribution point for the supply and marketing cooperative. Lijia Village was right next door, so the children from Lijia Village also attended school there. Wangjia Village, where Xuemei's grandfather lived, was the farthest village from the commune, over 20 miles away.
Danru Commune's topography was roughly circular (excluding the five villages below, which would be what we now call a town). In the center (the center of the circle) stood the office building for commune cadres and staff. Next to the office building was the commune primary school, which also had a "Red Education Class" for children whose families were not able to take care of them while they worked. Next to the primary school were the library and the health center (the commune hospital). 500 meters north of the commune office building lay the residential area. To the west, the supply and marketing cooperative, the grain depot, the post office, and a grocery store and a cloth shop, all part of the cooperative, were located. The commune had two state-owned restaurants, one large and one small; the larger one was to the north, the smaller one to the south. The commune's purchasing station, pig slaughterhouse, oil press, cotton ginning mill, and scrap yard were all state-owned, located to the south. To the east, there was a cannery, brick factory, and cement plant. New residential areas were built along the original northern residential area, forming a continuous mass to the northwest and northeast of the commune. There is a station at the southern end, where the commune market is usually held, and Liujia Village is located in the south of the commune.
On the way out of the market, Xuemei suddenly remembered what Teacher Chen had said to her after the last midterm exam. Xuemei had scored first in the class, and Teacher Chen had rewarded her with a notebook, which she boasted about for days. But Teacher Chen also reminded her to practice her handwriting. So Xuemei said to Liu's mother, "Mom, our teacher wants me to practice calligraphy. Let's go to the scrap yard, buy some newspaper, and see if anyone has any unwanted copybooks."
"Okay, your dad will go with you. I'll go to the purchasing station to exchange the vegetables, and also go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some things." Mother Liu said as she took out the earthen basket from the basket.
Xuemei and Liu's father went to the scrap yard and first took several pounds of waste newspaper. After digging through the pile of waste paper for more than ten minutes, they found a handwritten book. However, it was only half-opened, and many of the front pages were torn. Xuemei saw that the handwriting was very good, so she decided to use it as a copybook.
Xuemei sold all this waste paper for one cent, two pounds, and with the books, ten pounds in total, for five cents. Why buy so much waste paper? One part is sometimes used to plaster the walls, one part is used by Xuemei and her sister for calligraphy and arithmetic practice, and one part is used for toileting. Nowadays, people in rural areas are reluctant to buy toilet paper, using sticks and bamboo strips instead. Liu's mother was also reluctant to buy toilet paper, but since she was little, she had never used bamboo strips or sticks at home. So, to save money, she used old newspapers for toileting, cutting each sheet into several pieces.
When Xuemei and Liu's father reached the intersection back to Liujia Village, Liu's mother was already waiting there.
Xuemei ran to Liu's mother and asked, "Mom, what else did you buy?"
"I bought five boxes of matches, two candles, weighed two pounds of salt, and bought eight canning bottles. I plan to go home and make some chopped peppers. The ones at home are almost finished, so I will send a few bottles to your uncle. Your uncle loves the chopped peppers I make the most. If there are a few bottles left, I will go to the market to exchange them for Dongxi later. By the way, I saw that the supply and marketing cooperative had just put canned oranges on sale, so I bought two bottles. Your grandma loves this the most. I will go to her house that day to get some. I just don't spend money easily." Liu's mother sighed.
Now matches cost two cents a box, salt cost 15 cents a pound, candles cost 5 cents a piece, cans cost 10 cents each (including the lid), and canned oranges cost 60 cents a bottle. All in all, I spent 2.5 yuan, and I have spent almost half of the money I exchanged today.
"Mom, I will study hard and go to college. I will buy you and Dad a lot of delicious food in the future." Xuemei said to Liu's father and mother.
"You must do what you say and study hard. If you are admitted to university, the government will assign you a job and you will be able to eat public food." Liu's mother said to Xuemei.
"Mom, you have to believe me, I will do my best."
"My daughter, Dad believes in you." Father Liu said with a smile.
…
As soon as Xuemei and her parents arrived at the entrance of Liujia Village, Qingya ran over.
"Dad, Mom, and elder sister, you're back. Did you bring any candy for me and my brothers?" Qingya ran around Liu's mother like a puppy.
"I bought it and will give it to you when I get home. Where are your two younger brothers? Were you obedient at home today?" Mother Liu said as they walked.
"My brothers are staying home to look after the house. Today I took them to dig up a lot of earthworms behind the house to feed the chickens." After getting the answer she wanted, Qingya ran to Xuemei and whispered to her, "Sister, did you buy the candied haws?"
"I've bought it. Mom, take it and you can eat it when you get home." Xuemei replied.
After returning home, Liu's mother gave Xuemei the malt sugar and candied haws and asked her to divide them while she packed up the other things.
When Liu's father received a string of candied haws, he was very surprised and said to Xuemei, "My eldest daughter is really filial."
When Qingya heard what Liu's father said, her eyes rolled. She took out the malt sugar that had already been put into her mouth and broke it into three parts. She stuffed one part into Liu's father's mouth and the other part into Liu's mother's mouth.
Father Liu quickly changed his words and said, "Both of my daughters are filial and are their father's little cotton-padded jackets."
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