Most of the people in the market were selling agricultural and sideline products from production teams. It was hot, so Shi Rushuang bought a big bag of oranges for five cents.
Gu Yuanchao followed Gu Qingqing, carrying oranges, and placed the plum basket in the tailor shop without worrying that someone would take it away.
Gu Qingqing peeled an orange and broke off half of it for her mother. She saw a stall selling rabbits and ran over to look at them for a long time. When the stall owner asked her about it, she smiled and shook her head: "I'm not buying any, uncle. I'm just looking at them. I don't know how to raise them."
"Rabbits are very easy to raise, sister. Just pick out a few unwanted cabbage leaves and feed them to the rabbits," the stall owner enthusiastically promoted.
Gu Qingqing thought about it for a while, but still refused: "No, thank you uncle."
Shi Rushuang had no plans to buy anything, she just wanted to take the children for a walk.
All the major production teams come here to sell their surplus vegetables and sweet potatoes; their Invincible Production Team has no shortage of these.
Gu Yuanchao thought about the bag of green plums and asked his aunt while peeling an orange: "Should we buy some glass jars to make candied green plums?"
"No need." Shi Rushuang's remaining eyes fell on the girl who was looking around, and she said with a smile: "The canned oranges and yellow peaches that your mother brought back last year were all eaten by the little gluttonous cat. There are many glass jars at home. Yuan Chao, are you hungry?"
It was nearly ten o'clock when they arrived in town. They went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy cloth for the sewing shop. It seemed that it was almost time for lunch.
"A little bit." Gu Yuanchao touched his belly and grinned awkwardly.
"My dear," Shi Rushuang called her daughter, "Come here, let's go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some meat buns."
Gu Qingqing came running over when she heard this, "Mother, I want to eat more fried dough sticks~"
"Okay, all up to you."
When she reached the door of the supply and marketing cooperative, Shi Rushuang suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong, mother? You don't want to eat meat buns?" Gu Qingqing looked at Shi Rushuang with her big black and white eyes.
"Well, I won't eat anymore."
She glanced at her daughter who was about to go to the military corps, and then at her nephew who was looking around with his hands in his pockets. She gritted her teeth and stamped her feet, "Let's go to the state-owned hotel to eat!"
"Ah?" Gu Qingqing, who was hugging her mother's shaking hand, suddenly stopped and did not react for a long time.
What did mother say?
She turned her head doubtfully and looked at her brother inquiringly.
Gu Yuanchao was also dumbfounded: "Aunt, let's go to the hotel?"
"Let's go to the hotel." Shi Rushuang's eyes were determined. She took the two children, one on each side, and went to the state-owned hotel not far from the supply and marketing cooperative.
Gu Qingqing didn't react until the food was served.
Looking at the sauced beef, pork and pickled cabbage noodles and a large pot of pork and green onion dumplings on the table, Gu Qingqing pinched Gu Yuanchao's thigh.
Is this a dream?!
She couldn't help swallowing.
"Qingqing, it hurts, let go." Gu Yuanchao grinned, and only then did Gu Qingqing let go.
"Eat." Shi Rushuang served dumplings to the two of them with a smile on her face, and the white porcelain bowl was piled full.
The brother and sister looked at each other, picked up their chopsticks and started to eat.
Shi Rushuang shook her head: "Eat slowly, don't be in a hurry, no one is competing with you for the food."
Normally, there are very few people visiting the state-owned hotel. Most of them are people from other places who come here on business trips to have a meal.
A serving of braised beef costs 80 cents, and a serving of pork and scallion dumplings weighs almost three pounds and costs two dollars and fifty cents. Shi Rushuang ordered half a serving.
The pork, pickled cabbage and vermicelli noodles cost 18 cents, which added up to a total of 2 yuan and 23 cents, plus a pound of food stamps.
Although she was shocked by A Niang's generosity today, Gu Qingqing enjoyed the meal very much.
The dumplings stuffed with pork and green onions were full of oil, and the beef in soy sauce was even more fragrant. Gu Yuanchao kept slurping the vermicelli in his mouth, looking up from time to time: "Auntie, you eat too."
"I'm eating." Shi Rushuang picked up the bowl, put two dumplings in it and a large bowl of soup, and drank it slowly.
Gu Qingqing bit into the marinated beef and said with emotion: "Mother, today is the happiest day of my life."
"Little brat," Shi Rushuang scolded her with a smile, "Can you be a little more promising? Doesn't your uncle always cook delicious food for you when he comes home? His cooking skills are not worse than this, right?"
She tapped the girl's forehead with her finger and said, "You still have a long way to go. Stop talking nonsense and eat quickly."
Gu Yuanchao and Gu Qingqing ate until their bellies were full. Gu Qingqing was burping, with half of her body leaning on her brother.
"I can't walk anymore." He was really exhausted.
And he eats meat until he is full.
After Shi Rushuang paid the money and gave the grain coupons, she put the change back into her cloth pocket carefully. Seeing the lady's expression, she couldn't help laughing.
At around one o'clock in the afternoon, they went to the tailor shop to get the cloth. They measured the size without trying it on and put it directly in the green plum basket, and Gu Yuanchao just carried it on his back.
Shi Rushuang took the two children to the bus station. After waiting for half an hour, the bus arrived. Zhang Dahong greeted enthusiastically: "Going back to Datunzi Village?"
"Yes," Shi Rushuang sat down and took out six one-cent bills from her pocket with a smile, "I stayed at my mother's house for one night and I have to go back to work."
Gu Qingqing still sat by the window, Gu Yuanchao sat next to her, and a bamboo basket filled with green plums was placed in front of the seats.
There were not many people on the bus today, so there were many empty seats. Zhang Dahong sat down in front of Shi Rushuang, leaned on the backrest and chatted with her: "Isn't your husband the production team leader now? Ask him to arrange some easy work for you."
Shi Rushuang said, "Hi, Sister Dahong, please don't say that. It will have a bad impact if others hear it. The captain is here to serve the members. How can he abuse his power for personal gain? I just need to not hold him back. It's the same for any job."
"Blame me, blame me." Zhang Dahong realized something was wrong and slapped her mouth: "Don't take it seriously, sister. I just can't control my mouth."
"Nothing."
It was five o'clock when they arrived in the town. Just then, an oxcart from the Invincible Production Team came to the grain bureau to deliver food and took them back.
It was past six o'clock when she got home. Gu Qingqing stood at the gate of the courtyard and saw the smoke rising from the roof and sniffed.
Oh, I’m full and can’t eat anymore.
I haven't digested the food I had at noon yet.
"Qingqingbao is back." Gu Bao had just finished work and put his arm around her shoulders as they walked into the yard. "What are you doing at the door? You don't recognize your home after being away for so long? I miss you so much."
Just as she finished speaking, the little yellow dog ran over to her legs with its tail wagging, and kept rubbing against her legs. Gu Qingqing bent down, held the dog in her arms, and rubbed its furry head.
She used her slender fingers to comb the hair on Da Mi's head, and the little yellow dog hummed comfortably.
"Qingqing is back?" Zhang Cuifen came out of the kitchen. "Grandma, can you see how many plums you picked?"
Gu Yuanchao put down the bamboo basket, and Zhang Cuifen came over to take a look: "Wow, there are so many."
"Grandma, haven't my mother and Weiguo come back yet?" Gu Yuanchao poured a glass of water.
"No, I guess it will be tomorrow. It's rare for your mother to go back to her parents' home, so it's reasonable for her to stay a few more days."
"Lian Xin hasn't come back yet?" Shi Rushuang came over with a basin and prepared to fetch water to wash the green plums. It would be windy later in the evening, so she could hang them against the wall to dry for a while before bottling them.
"No, her home is far away." Zhang Cuifen touched her granddaughter's head a few times and helped to pick the green plums with satisfaction: "I went to the supply and marketing cooperative today and bought two kilograms of sugar. Together with the leftovers from before, it should be enough."
"That's enough." Shi Rushuang teased her youngest son who was in the army: "These few jars of sugar-pickled green plums he made have used up all the white sugar we have in our house for the year."
Gu Tiezhu and several of his sons came back from the fields one after another. Several boys from the Gu family went to the mountain to chop firewood. Gu Xiong was not at home, so they had a lot of things to do after work.
"Qingqing, are you back?" Gu Jin saw his daughter move a chair to the yard to enjoy the cool air, and asked with a smile: "Did you have fun at your grandparents' house?"
"I'm happy." Gu Qingqing thought of the braised beef at noon and licked her lips with a sense of satisfaction: "Mother took us to the state-owned hotel for dinner today!"
Gu Jin was washing his face with a handkerchief beside the well: "Is it as good as what your uncle made?"
"About the same. Uncle San doesn't usually cook so much meat."
Gu Cai, who was serving the dishes, happened to hear this. He curled his lips and said, "You are such a heartless kid. It's your grandma who picked it up. She kept all the chickens and ducks for eggs. Your uncle wanted to cook meat for you, but he didn't have the guts to do it."
Zhang Cuifen slapped her son on the back of his head and said coldly: "You come back to harm my chickens and ducks. Go away, you are blocking my way."
Gu Cai stepped aside and said, "I didn't eat much either. Your grandchildren and A-Bao ate it all."
Gu Bao looked innocent: "Brother, when will you return to the city?"
Gu Tiezhu was sitting in front of the stone table tapping his pipe. He couldn't help laughing when he heard Lao Laizi's words.
In the middle of the night, Zhang Cuifen and her eldest daughter-in-law made five jars of candied green plums, and then kneaded dough to start steaming steamed buns and corn, thinking that they could take their granddaughter with them on the train the next day.
The kerosene lamp in the kitchen was flickering all the time, and Gu Qingqing could see the figure on the paper on the kitchen window from the window of her room.
Thinking about going to the military corps tomorrow, she couldn't sleep.
With her hands behind her head, she tilted her head to look at the round moon outside the window.
It’s really great to have grandpa, grandma, dad, mom, uncles, aunts and brothers around.
The next day, she got up early, which was rare for her. The sun had just risen from the horizon.
"Qingqing," Zhang Cuifen packed the package, tied it up and put it on the table, "Hurry up and wash your face and eat, your father will be back soon."
"Dad is out?" She finally reacted after saying that.
She slept too late yesterday and didn't even hear her father blowing the whistle. She used to get up at seven or eight o'clock, but today she felt that she was very early at six o'clock.
"He said he had something to tell your Uncle Qin. He will take you to the train station later." Shi Rushuang was counting the grain coupons and money and putting them into the small cloth bag she had sewed for the lady.
"Oh, then I'll eat first." After washing up, Gu Qingqing went to the kitchen. When she opened the lid of the pot, she saw hot sweet potatoes and cornmeal buns. Her uncles and brothers had finished eating and went to work, leaving only a few women at home.
Shi Rushuang went into the kitchen and handed her the cloth bag: "Here are the money and tickets. Keep them close to your body and don't put them in your bag. When we get to the station, your father will help you buy the ticket and take you to the platform to get on the train."
"If you get hungry on the train, just take food from the package. Your grandma brought you corn and white flour steamed bread, as well as fried pumpkin seeds and fried soybeans. Don't say anything when others ask you something, understand?"
Seeing that the girl didn't respond for a long time, Shi Rushuang asked again, "Did you hear what mother said?"
"I heard you, I heard you, don't tell anyone where I live or what I do, and don't take out your money. If you're hungry, just eat steamed corn."
"Yes." Shi Rushuang poked the girl's bulging cheeks, "If you don't know how to walk after getting off the train, ask the station attendant."
"I know!" Gu Qingqing swallowed the steamed bread in her mouth and rubbed her face against Shi Rushuang's shoulder: "Mother, I will be back in half a month, you don't have to miss me too much."
"What's there to think about? The house is much quieter now that the troublemaker is out. I'm so happy that I can't wait to see you." Although she said this, Shi Rushuang's eyes unconsciously revealed worry and reluctance.
"My dear..." The bicycle bell outside the courtyard rang, "Have you finished eating? Daddy will take you to the station."
"Here it comes!" Gu Qingqing grabbed the package on the table. It was quite heavy.
She took another bite of the steamed bun and rushed out of the yard: "Grandma and mom, please take care of yourselves at home! Please tell my uncle to take good care of the rice!!!"
When Zhang Cuifen saw her getting on the back seat of the bicycle, she said loudly, "You must be careful outside, okay? When you come back, grandma will make you braised pork."
"Okay!"
"Let's go, Mom, Rushuang, you guys just do what you need to do. Qingqing is old enough, there's nothing to worry about." Gu Jin rode his bicycle, swaying on the sand-filled path.
The bicycle headed towards the town facing the morning sun. Gu Qingqing held the package tightly in her arms while holding the seat under Gu Jin's butt with her other hand.
"Dad, has the summer grain been distributed?" She thought of the ox cart that the production team used to deliver grain to the grain bureau yesterday.
"Everyone is looking forward to the distribution of grain. Now it is distributed. Let's follow the method you and Grandpa Xu used before, 70% work per person and 30% labor per person. We will wait until the end of the year to see the late rice production and then re-ration it."
The distribution of grain not only includes rice, but also sweet potatoes, corn, potatoes, brown rice and other crops, all according to proportion.
"Have the educated youth sites been divided as well?" Gu Qingqing asked.
"Of course not. How can they really starve?" In fact, the reserve grains kept by the team every year were for dealing with various situations, such as famine, food-scarce households, and newly arrived educated youth.
When they first arrived in the countryside, if they did not get enough work points for their work, they would use the reserve rations to pay for it. We couldn’t just let people work on an empty stomach.
Gu Qingqing felt relieved and chatted with her father about the cultivation of medicinal herbs, squinting her eyes to enjoy the gentle morning breeze.
When they arrived at the train station, Gu Jin queued up and bought her a train ticket to the border town, which cost her RMB 7.52.
After sending Gu Qingqing to the bus and finding a seat, he did not get off the bus yet. He found the conductor and said a few words to him, asking him to take care of his daughter-in-law along the way, and then got off the bus.
The train whistle sounded and Gu Jin waved at her from outside the window. Although he said he was not worried, he still felt a little disappointed in his heart.
Nowadays, you need a letter of introduction when you travel far away. Gu Qingqing also had a handwritten letter with the brigade stamp in her pocket. She had never traveled far away before, so when the conductor came to check the letter of introduction and train tickets, she was still looking outside the car in curiosity.
"Comrade, please show me your train ticket and letter of introduction."
The young woman next to Gu Qingqing patted her arm gently and whispered, "Sister, it's time to check your tickets."
Gu Qingqing finally came back to her senses and quickly opened the package and handed over the letter of introduction and the train ticket.
"Hello, here is my letter of introduction and train ticket."
The flight attendant saw the words "The brigade agrees that member Gu Qingqing will visit relatives in the Construction Corps" and the red seal on the letter of introduction, and knew that she was a soldier's family member. His tone softened: "Thank you for your cooperation. Keep it. Call me if you need anything."
Gu Qingqing was flattered: "Okay, thank you."
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