The market was busier and more crowded than the last time we came, which excited Ru Mei and Liu Er Cui, who had never been there before.
The flower and plant vendors were inside, and they slowly strolled in from the outside.
"Oh, there are chickens and ducks for sale too." Liu Ercui stood in front of a stall, her eyes fixed on the lively chickens in the cage.
Seeing this, the stall owner quickly called out, "Comrade, would you like one?"
Liu Ercui asked about the price and then compared it with the price sold by the cooperative. Without meat coupons, the chicken was more than twice as expensive as at the cooperative. Even with meat coupons, it was still a little more expensive.
Qin Hanshu thought Liu Ercui wanted to buy chicken, and was about to come over to help her negotiate the price with the stall owner, but Liu Ercui pulled her aside.
"Hey girl, who owns this market? Won't the Revolutionary Committee come and shut it down?"
Qin Hanshu quickly understood Liu Ercui's meaning, "Sister-in-law, you mean..."
Liu Ercui looked at Qin Hanshu and nodded.
She keeps two hens on her balcony for laying eggs. She also has six pigeons, three of which are hens and also lay eggs.
She was reluctant to sell the hen for the time being because she wanted it to lay eggs, but she could sell the pigeons; she had seen them for sale at the market.
Moreover, Liu Ercui had done the math: pigeons could be sold as squabs, which could be sold after being raised for one or two months.
There are also eggs at home; she can simply eat less of them, and the rest can be sold.
This way, I can have some income almost every month. Although it's not much, it helps supplement my family's income.
Qin Hanshu looked around and whispered:
“Sister-in-law Er Cui, I advise you to give up this idea. This is the black market. Although it has existed for so long and must have its own connections, you are not qualified to do such a thing.”
“We’ve been in the market for a short time, do you think we’ve run into how many familiar faces? If someone sees you selling things in the market, Battalion Commander Zhang will definitely be implicated, and he might even have to go back to his hometown.”
"It's that serious!" Liu Ercui exclaimed in shock.
Liu Ercui knew, of course, that selling things privately was illegal, but it wasn't strictly regulated in her hometown. People in the village would often take things they produced themselves or things they found in the mountains or rivers to the market to sell.
She figured that with so many families coming to the market to buy things, selling a few pigeons and eggs shouldn't be a problem...
Qin Hanshu seemed to see through her thoughts and said, "Strictly speaking, buying and selling on the black market is cutting off the tail of capitalism, but if something really happens, the nature of selling and buying is completely different."
“You’re not the only one in the family compound who raises chickens and pigeons, but no one thinks about selling them for money. There must be a reason for that.”
Liu Ercui shuddered and fully came to her senses. "Sister, I was confused for a moment. Luckily, you reminded me."
Actually, Liu Ercui had never thought of exchanging the eggs laid by her chickens for money before. Ultimately, it was because her living expenses were now halved, and she was in a hurry.
Liu Ercui already regarded Qin Hanshu as a good sister, and thinking of this, she felt the urge to pour out her troubles, so she briefly explained her family situation.
Finally, he sighed, "It's also my fault for being useless. If I had a job like you, life wouldn't be so hard."
Qin Hanshu frowned. What kind of social engagements would require a quarter of her monthly salary?
Zhou Weiguang receives a little over eighty yuan a month. Zhang Lei is of the same rank as Zhou Weiguang, but has served in the military for longer. His salary, allowances, and subsidies should be a few yuan more than Zhou Weiguang's.
Liu Ercui lived a very frugal life. Her family of four had only twenty-odd yuan for living expenses, which was just enough to get by.
Seeing that Liu Ercui trusted her man very much, Qin Hanshu didn't say anything more to avoid being suspected of sowing discord.
She simply said, "Sister-in-law, if you're having difficulties at home, you should talk to Battalion Commander Zhang about it. It's his responsibility to support the family, so don't be shy. Even if you can endure the hardship, you're pregnant, so you can't let your little girl suffer before she's even born."
Liu Ercui kept saying that she hoped she would have a daughter this time.
When the topic of her pregnancy came up, her previously hesitant expression hardened, and she nodded, saying, "I have to fight for the child..."
Actually, she's not stupid; how could she not realize that there was something wrong with Zhang Lei suddenly asking for twenty yuan?
In Liu Ercui's hometown, it's common for men to earn money and women to manage it. The women don't spend the money on themselves, but rather allocate it reasonably to all household chores.
Liu Ercui's mother once said that it's a bad omen for a man to want to save money on the side. Saving a little bit of spare change is fine; it's understandable if he sometimes uses it to buy cigarettes or alcohol. But saving a large sum of money is not right.
This money may not necessarily be spent on other women, but it certainly represents the man's feelings for his wife and family, which are already quite strong.
This is the Zhang Lei that Liu Ercui sensed.
She knew that Zhang Lei always disliked her, but she was also certain that Zhang Lei considered her the wife he wanted to spend his life with.
Lately, she sensed that besides disdain, the man seemed to be showing something else...
***
Ru Mei frolicked in the market, looking at this stall and that stall, and it was only after a long time that she realized Qin Hanshu and Liu Ercui hadn't followed her.
And at a glance, the two figures were nowhere to be seen.
Ru Mei stood there for a while, but no one came, so she decided to go back and look for them.
Today she was wearing a dark green sweater, the round neckline revealing the collar of her white shirt underneath. The sweater had no pockets, and the pockets on her pants were too small, so she carried a military green crossbody bag.
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