Chapter 8 Big Purchase
Zhou Ziwen and the Chen sisters came to the village entrance to wait for the bus, and found that there were many people going to the county town, including several educated youth who had gone to the countryside with them.
After meeting, everyone was a little awkward and nodded to each other as a greeting.
After all, building a house is something that is really hateful.
When he went back to get his luggage yesterday, he received a lot of envious and jealous looks.
But he thought it was a good idea. He had barely spoken to these educated youth and they were not even friends, so there was no need for them to get together and chat.
Soon, the ox cart heading to the county town arrived.
Everyone was busy getting on the bus and had no time to care about anything else.
It costs money to take a bullock cart, three cents to the commune and eight cents to the county town.
Zhou Ziwen handed in his share, then climbed onto the ox cart and found a place to sit down.
Chen Shiying and Chen Qiaoyi sat next to him.
But no one spoke. After all, there were so many aunties and grandmas in the car, and maybe gossip would spread just by chatting.
He was fine, but he was afraid that he would ruin the girl's reputation.
But soon, the aunts and grannies taught him a lesson.
Even if they don't talk, people will bring the topic back to them.
Along the way, the aunts and grandmas began to ask about their various situations.
Among them, Zhou Ziwen and the Chen sisters are their main focus.
As for people, sometimes being too good-looking can be a problem.
These aunties have very strong observation skills. Not only can they see the watches under the sleeves, but they can also clearly tell whether there are any patches on the clothes.
In this day and age, not many people can afford to wear a watch. If Zhou Ziwen hadn't gone to the countryside this time, his father wouldn't have been so generous as to buy him a watch.
As for the clothes, they were prepared for him by Zhou Ma.
Faced with the questions from the aunts and grandmas, Zhou Ziwen almost couldn't handle it and could only smile awkwardly.
However, Zhou Ziwen did not gain nothing. At least along the way, he became familiar with these aunts and grandmas, and heard a lot of news about the village from them.
Although they are all about trivial family matters, they are quite interesting to listen to occasionally.
For example, which village’s widow is having an affair with a man, which family’s daughter-in-law is lazy and gluttonous, etc.
Zhou Ziwen was willing to listen and they were willing to talk, so the journey was not boring at all.
After listening to the inside news in the village, Zhou Ziwen also came to the county town.
After getting off the bus, Zhou Ziwen and the Chen sisters naturally reunited.
"I'm going to the post office first to send a letter to my family to let them know I'm safe." Zhou Ziwen said.
"Oh! Sister, we seem to have forgotten to write a letter to our family." Chen Qiaoyi grabbed her sister's arm and exclaimed.
"It's okay, I didn't write it either, but I have some paper here, so it's not too late to write it now." Zhou Ziwen patted the bag around his waist.
It was already very late after dinner yesterday, and Zhou Ziwen had a few drinks, so he didn't think about this.
The three of them looked at each other and tacitly passed over the topic.
This matter is actually quite important. After all, my family members are worried about me since I have come to such a far place in the countryside. Reporting my safety is the most urgent thing.
They found a secluded place to write the letter, and then went to the post office.
Because it was still early and the ox cart returning to the village would not leave until the afternoon, Zhou Ziwen was in the mood to appreciate the surrounding environment.
Most of the houses of this era are adobe houses, with only a few being brick and tile houses. Small villas are even rarer. In any case, Zhou Ziwen has only seen one along the way.
He also discovered that on Heijiang's side, many people liked to twist a big pipe. Not only the men, but many old women also held pipes in their hands, and some even smoked while walking.
This special culture can perhaps only be seen in this era.
When we arrived at the post office, there weren't many people sending letters, so they were sent out quickly.
Next, Zhou Ziwen discussed with the Chen sisters and decided to go to the grain station and food supply station first.
It’s not that I want to buy anything, but I want to know the price first.
After all, it's a rare opportunity to come to the county town, and I'll need to live here for the next few years, so it's necessary to understand the market conditions.
He never had to worry about these things before, as his mother and sisters kept the house in order.
Now that I'm in the countryside, I have to rely on myself for everything.
After some inquiries, Zhou Ziwen also learned about the price of food here.
Rice is 25 cents per pound, cornmeal is 8 cents per pound, and flour is 18 cents per pound.
There is also rapeseed oil, which costs 90 cents per pound.
However, if you want to buy these things, you need money alone, you also need tickets.
Fortunately, before he came, Zhou Ma stuffed him with a large pile of bills, so for the time being, he would not be short of bills.
After learning about the price of food, they went to the food supply station.
The food supply station sells all kinds of meat, such as pork, chicken, fish, etc.
But it was obvious that they came late today. It was only a little after nine o'clock, and all the pork in the supply station was sold out.
I didn't buy the meat, but I did find out the price.
Pork costs 80 cents per pound, chicken costs 68 cents per pound, and fish is a little cheaper, but still costs 65 cents.
Originally, Zhou Ziwen was planning to buy some meat to take back. After all, he was staying at someone else's house, so he should show some appreciation.
But today I was unlucky and even the lean meat was sold out.
In this era of food and oil shortage, fatty meat is everyone's favorite.
After leaving the food supply station, the three came to the supply and marketing cooperative.
The things here are more comprehensive, and all kinds of daily necessities can be bought here.
Here, Zhou Ziwen and the Chen sisters started the large-scale purchasing model.
Large iron pot, pot lid, steamer, casserole, cutting board, bowl, chopsticks...
Including soy sauce, salt, vinegar and so on.
Zhou Ziwen spent money to buy everything he could use.
Anyway, some things you buy can be used for several years, so it’s easier to get them all at once.
The Chen sisters are similar to him, but not as exaggerated as him.
After a lot of shopping, I spent dozens of dollars.
The most expensive item was the big iron pot, which cost him eight dollars.
The kitchen knife and hatchet also cost several dollars.
In order to take these things back, he bought a large backpack, otherwise he would not be able to take them away.
"Are you hungry? Why don't we go eat first?" Zhou Ziwen said after they had almost finished buying things.
"Okay, I've been hungry for a long time." Chen Qiaoyi nodded quickly.
Chen Shiying on the side didn't say anything, but nodded slightly.
After shopping for half a day and buying so many things, they were already hungry.
So the three of them ended their trip and found a state-owned restaurant to eat.
Not many people came to the state-owned restaurant to eat, and when they went there, there was not even a single customer in the restaurant.
Of course, it is also possible that they came too early, as it is only half past eleven.
The food in state-owned restaurants is not cheap. A bowl of ordinary noodles costs ten cents.
And it’s not enough to just give money, you also have to add two taels of food coupons.
(End of this chapter)
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