As for Zhao Dahu and his father, they spent the last few days of the Lunar New Year hauling things home. They brought back eight large pig trotters, 27 jin of pork forequarters, two large intestines, two pig livers, four pig tails, four large carp, and five grass carp. That covered all the meat. As for vermicelli and tofu, they would have to buy them at the grocery store while Zhao's father and Zhao Dahu were on holiday.
This time, the father and son took turns bringing back 15 boxes from the cannery, and this time they paid for them. They even gave Old Wu a pack of Lao Dao brand candy.
The Zhao family still had plenty of the fifty cabbages, 30 jin of radishes, and 50 jin of potatoes they had stocked up on in the fall, so they had never gone hungry. Their grain reserves totaled over two thousand jin.
That day, Zhao's parents and Zhao Aiguo were at home making steamed buns and bean buns. Every now and then, Zhao Aiguo would sneak a bite of bean paste into his mouth like a cat stealing cream, which amused his parents. Zhao's mother, unable to bear watching any longer, took a bowl, added a spoonful of sugar, and made Zhao Aiguo eat it on the side.
Looking at Zhao Aiguo's adorable little face, Zhao's father smiled and said, "Look how round this kid has become again."
While wrapping the bean curd, Zhao's mother continued, "He's still a bit thinner, but he's grown taller. He's much taller than the grandson of Old Mrs. Lin from the previous house! The other day when we went to buy tofu together, the two children compared their heights, and he's a year older than our Aiguo!"
Mr. Zhao nodded with a smile, "That's right, don't you know whose pet it is?"
Just then, Zhao Dahu and Wei Shuqing came in carrying the welfare benefits issued by the factory. Wei Shuqing said, "It's really cold today. The supply and marketing cooperative's grocery store is so crowded it's impossible to move."
Zhao's mother glanced at what they were holding and asked, "What did you send?"
Zhao Dahu took the things from Wei Shuqing's hands and put them on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), telling Wei Shuqing to go change and wash. After the commotion, Wei Shuqing was covered in dust and dirt. Then he said, "Each person received three jin of meat, three jin of wheat flour, five jin of cornmeal, and three jin of biscuits."
Zhao Aiguo's eyes lit up immediately when he heard the word "cookies," "Dad, I want cookies!"
Zhao Dahu chuckled as he opened the oil paper package and took out five peach shortbreads, saying, "I knew you'd be greedy. Here, one for each of you, but don't eat them all. Shuqing and I finally managed to squeeze in, but the tofu was gone. We bought ten jin of frozen tofu instead, since that didn't require coupons. We also used our food coupons to buy ten jin of vermicelli and ten jin of dried tofu. That's all we have for this month. Next month, we'll be relying on my dad to support us."
Zhao Aiguo quickly handed one piece to each of his parents. The elderly couple took a bite of the biscuit with great happiness, as if it were not a biscuit but a delicacy or an elixir of immortality.
Zhao's father swallowed the peach shortbread and gestured for Zhao Aiguo to eat it himself, then said, "You little brat, you think you can go hungry? Stop talking nonsense."
Zhao Dahu chuckled and said, "Dad, Lao Sun from the meat processing plant is going on a mission tomorrow. There's a stop on the bus that happens to pass by Shuqing's parents' house. I'd like to take Shuqing with me to deliver some New Year's gifts to my mother-in-law!"
Father Zhao nodded and said, "That's only right, go ahead!"
Zhao Dahu smiled and said, "Shuqing and I have fifty jin of grain coupons. We can exchange them for fifty jin of grain. These days, every family is short of grain. Please help us pack the grain in a bit. You can get ready first. I'll go pick up my brother-in-law. We'll leave at four o'clock tomorrow morning. Let him sleep here for the night."
Zhao's mother nodded quickly and said, "Then hurry up and go, old man. Don't pack anymore. Come with me to pack some things for Shuqing and then cook a dish. Our brother-in-law is coming, we can't just eat at the canteen!"
Zhao's father nodded and immediately shouted, "Shuqing, keep an eye on Aiguo. Your mother and I are going to clean up!"
Wei Shuqing had just finished washing up and changing her clothes when she came over with a "hey" in response. Seeing Zhao Aiguo eating peach shortbread, she sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and continued making bean buns.
The elderly couple gathered two hundred catties of grain, a box of canned meat, five or six catties of meat, a large intestine, two pig's trotters, two catties of dried black fungus, two catties of dried mushrooms, and a carp. Zhao's mother also found the cotton-padded jackets she had made for Wei's mother and the two maids. In those days, these were considered generous gifts.
Leaving that aside for now, let's talk about Zhao Dahu riding his bicycle to the light bulb factory to find Wei Xigun.
Just then, Wei Xigun and his group also received their perks: one pound of wheat flour, three pounds of cornmeal, and one pound of meat.
Everyone looked grim; most families were running out of food, and life was even harder in the countryside. What little they had wasn't much of a help.
Just as he was getting annoyed, someone came over and said, "Wei Xigun, your brother-in-law is looking for you! He's waiting at the gate!"
Wei Xigun was taken aback, quickly put on his clothes and ran outside, calling out from afar, "Dahu, what brings you here?"
Zhao Dahu smiled憨厚ly and said, "I have a car here tomorrow, let's go straight back! Brother, go pack your things, have dinner at my place tonight, and we'll leave together tomorrow!"
These days, everyone is struggling to get enough to eat, and Wei Xigun didn't have the nerve to go to other people's homes for a meal. He declined, saying, "Forget it, just let me know what time you're leaving tomorrow! I'll go by myself!"
"Around four in the morning, the factory won't let you out even if you get up that early! Stop dawdling, grab your things, we're family, why are we talking like strangers?" Zhao Dahu pushed Wei Xigun back.
Actually, there wasn't much work to do on the night shift, so Wei Xigun went to ask his team leader for leave, and the team leader readily let him go. Wei Xigun packed his things with a heavy heart. His fellow villager asked, "Xigun, where are you going? Aren't you going to work this shift?"
Wei Xigun forced himself to stay alert and said in a light tone, "My brother-in-law wants me to go to his place. He has a friend who's driving back tomorrow morning and can give me a ride."
The coworkers chimed in, saying, "Xi Gun is a good brother-in-law; Shu Qing has married the right person."
"That's right, this time your brother-in-law will definitely send food to your family, so you can rest assured."
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