The old lady of the Qi family was only furious with Qi Zhijun that day. After that, she surprisingly calmed down and didn't make a fuss anymore. She waited until Qi Zhijun and the others left in the morning before making breakfast, and she made dinner a little earlier than usual. In her deliberate avoidance, she actually didn't see Qi Zhijun and Xiao Cui again.
She stopped pasting matchboxes and was introduced to sewing shoe soles. She earned two yuan for each pair of soles. The old lady worked neither fast nor slow, sewing four pairs a month, which was eight yuan, a little more than she earned pasting matchboxes. She would also occasionally bring Wang Dong and Wang Hong two cornbreads or a bowl of stir-fried vegetables, without saying much, just leaving them there and leaving. This improved her relationship with Wang Dong and Wang Hong considerably.
That day, after handing in the shoe soles and receiving four yuan, I was on my way home when I overheard some old ladies chatting, "Grandma Hu, why are you in such a hurry?"
Old Mrs. Hu looked around and whispered, "Go to that vegetable patch in the countryside and harvest autumn vegetables! Let me tell you! You can load up a whole cartload and you'll only get a dollar. The cabbages don't have heads, the radishes are small, and the potatoes are tiny, but they're so cheap!"
"What?"
"Don't shout! Keep your voice down."
Do you need tickets?
"What a load of crap! The good ones have already been taken. They may not look very good, but what's the point if it just goes through your stomach and then leaves? I saw it, and those vegetables were much better than what the supply and marketing cooperative dumped out."
"Then wait for me, let's go get some together."
"Okay, hurry up! If all that land is taken soon, it'll be a wasted trip."
"Alright! Okay!"
The two of them hurriedly left after agreeing on the wine. When Qi's mother heard about this good news, she quickly ran home.
When he got home, he pulled out his big cart, grabbed a shovel, a kitchen knife, and scissors, thought for a moment, left a note for Wang Dong, and hurriedly headed over there with a flatbread and a bottle of water.
Once inside, she saw dozens of acres of vegetable fields. The gatekeeper glanced at her car, asked for a dollar, and let her in.
Grandma Qi quickly found a quiet spot and started digging potatoes with a shovel. She dug up two sacks of potatoes, pulled up two sacks of radishes, and chopped down over sixty cabbages. Finally, she dug up a sack of mustard greens. Exhausted, her back and legs ached. Turning around, she saw some unharvested soybeans by the edge of the field and quickly grabbed some scissors to pick out the better pods. She continued until it was almost dark and visibility was poor. "Grandma, Grandma, where are you?"
Qi's mother straightened up and called out, "Dongdong, Grandma's here!"
Wang Dong rushed over and said, "Grandma, what are you doing!"
Mother Qi picked up the 20-odd pounds of bean pods she had cut and said with satisfaction, "Dongdong, we don't have to worry about not having vegetables to eat in winter. This is enough to get through the winter."
When Wang Dong saw the large amount of vegetables, he quickly tied the bean pods to the cart and whispered, "Grandma, are all these ours?"
Mother Qi nodded and said, "Yes, the delivery is today. I heard from them that this whole cartload only costs one yuan. Although the quality isn't great, it's cheap! So I came right away. I'm so glad you came to pick me up, otherwise I really wouldn't have been able to get it back by myself."
Wang Dong immediately perked up and hurried back with Qi's mother. The journey back took almost an hour.
When they got home, they quickly put all the vegetables in Wang Dong's cellar. By the time they finished tidying up, it was almost eight o'clock in the evening. Wang Hong heated up some vegetable porridge, and Qi's mother ate a little. Wang Dong asked, "Grandma, is there any more vegetable?"
Mother Qi shook her head and laughed, "What else? We've run out. We'll keep an eye on things next year, and this will be enough. We won't have to worry about vegetables in winter. Oh, by the way, let's exchange the vegetable coupons we saved for autumn vegetables for grain coupons!"
Wang Dong and Wang Hong nodded quickly. Wang Hong took out the food coupons and gave them to Qi's mother. Qi's mother nodded and said, "I will exchange the grain for it tomorrow, and we won't have to worry about food this winter."
The next day, Qi's mother was exhausted, feeling like her body was falling apart. She gritted her teeth and got up at the supply and marketing cooperative, exchanging her vegetable coupons for 30 jin of grain and two yuan. She then withdrew all 26 jin of grain for the month and spent one yuan to buy 20 jin of sweet potatoes. After delivering them back, she went to the black market and spent ten yuan to buy 12 jin of rice. She had a few yuan left over.
After a long day's work, she returned home and gave Wang Dong thirty catties of grain and two yuan, keeping only her own rations, sweet potatoes, and twelve catties of rice. Wang Dong couldn't bear it any longer and said, "Grandma, why don't we live together again?"
Tears streamed down Qi's mother's face. She nodded, choking back sobs, and said, "Okay, okay, okay! We'll live together." From that day on, Qi's mother no longer ate alone. She lived with Wang Dong and Wang Hong. The side room was rented out by the neighborhood committee to a single man who worked nearby for 2 yuan a month. It didn't have a kitchen. The man readily agreed.
Qi's mother lived with Wang Hong in cramped quarters, sewing shoe soles and cooking for her grandson and granddaughter every day.
Wang Dong and Wang Hongqi's mother each received 30 yuan a month, and their lives improved.
When Xiao Cui found out, he was furious. He growled, "How can your mother be so dramatic? What is she trying to do?" Xiao Cui had a feeling that the old lady was definitely planning something big.
Qi Zhijun calmly said, "Let her be! She didn't scheme against you!"
Xiao Cui sneered, "Let me tell you, Qi Zhijun, if your mother wasn't playing a big game, I'd take your surname."
Qi Zhijun sighed, too lazy to argue with Xiao Cui anymore. Qi Zhijun looked at Xiao Cui and said, "Go to sleep! We still have to sweep the streets tomorrow!"
Xiao Cui was furious. Qi Zhijun was having a cold and lonely time, while Wang Dong was having a relatively comfortable time, at least he didn't have to worry about going hungry.
With Wang Dong's help, Qi's mother was able to sew shoe soles much faster. Wang Dong was tempted by the high return of two yuan per pair of soles. The grandmother and grandson worked hard and made five pairs of soles a month, with a surplus each month. Qi's mother gave all the remaining money to Wang Dong, who was deeply moved and treated Qi's mother even better.
Two months later, just before the Chinese New Year, Qi Zhijun was suddenly reported as a scab. The crime wasn't serious, but it wasn't insignificant either. Although he proved his innocence, it still had a negative impact. In the end, he was demoted by his employer to the Cangzhou Design Institute. He and Xiao Cui packed their bags and didn't even get to celebrate the New Year together.
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