Early in the morning, Zhang Guoqing took Zhou Jiao's hand, and the couple, wrapped like balls, walked slowly towards the supply point.
"The spring breeze in February is like a pair of scissors"—this is even scarier than a pair of scissors. When it blows on the exposed skin, it hurts. If you can't feel the pain anymore, you're doomed.
Zhang Guoqing helplessly protected his wife, his eyes fixed on her. He feared she might slip and fall. Normally, he wouldn't let her go out before nine o'clock. Who would have thought she'd insist on sharing the burden of hardship with her husband? With the drastic temperature difference between day and night, he genuinely didn't want her to go out.
"Jiaojiao, watch the road. Don't go under the eaves. It's dangerous!"
"Don't lift up your scarf. And don't even touch your gloves."
"Jiaojiao, let's go home and not buy anything. Never mind Big Sister, it's such a hassle! Let's go and have a look when the sun comes out. I want to go back now."
Zhou Jiao burst into laughter, her laughter even more eerie hidden within her mask and scarf. The temperature dropped even further.
"Don't even think about taking off your scarf to talk, just nod and shake your head. Okay, okay... girl, you're awesome! Stop nodding, your hat's about to fall off. Are you sure you didn't mean to?"
Zhang Guoqing kept muttering along the way until we arrived at the grain station. Not far away, we saw a long queue with wooden benches and baskets in the middle to occupy the queue.
Zhou Jiao pulled Zhang Guoqing toward the center, her eyes darting. A few steps further, she saw Zhao Yuanyuan and her brother waving their arms like tumblers, and she was so happy she quickly grabbed Zhang Guoqing and ran over there.
Zhang Guoqing rolled his eyes at Zhao Yuanyuan—it was all this bad girl's fault. He said angrily, "Why don't you take off your scarf to talk? You're making random gestures, and no one knows what you mean."
"Xiao Wu, I have a miserable life. I just lay down when she woke me up with a towel. What sin did I commit that I ended up with such a sister?" Zhao Hongbing said with a sad face as he took off his mask.
The people queuing in front and behind burst into laughter when they heard this.
Zhou Jiao hurriedly took off her scarf and mask and said, "Brother Xiaobing, go back and get some sleep. I'm so sorry for making you wait in line for me. Don't blame Yuanyuan, it's all my fault."
Zhang Guoqing didn't wait for her to say anything else, and quickly snatched the scarf and wrapped it around her again. "Be good and keep quiet. Your little soldier is craving meat—he has to run next door to buy it. Is it okay for you to be here alone?"
Zhao Yuanyuan cursed unhappily, "Damn Xiaowu, can't you see I'm here? Why is Jiaojiao alone? Go buy some meat and stop interrupting our sisterly chat."
Seeing that people in front and behind were happily watching the show, Zhao Hongbing was so embarrassed that he quickly pulled Zhang Guoqing and ran away.
"Hey, don't run so fast. Jiaojiao, I'll be back soon..."
Someone in the crowd who knew Zhang Guoqing shouted after him, "Go quickly! If you can't buy meat, you'll see how your wife will deal with you."
Everyone burst into laughter. When several aunties saw Zhang Guoqing leave, they started teasing Zhou Jiao.
Zhou Jiao really didn't dare to take off her scarf this time. Faced with everyone's good-natured jokes, she could only smile and hide behind Zhao Yuanyuan.
Here, Zhang Guoqing and Zhao Hongbing arrived at the grocery store and saw several large baskets of glistening frozen cabbages and radishes already lined up at the door. He peered into the butcher shop and saw two butchers already packing up.
Just as he was about to go back to the queue, someone in front of him grabbed him and pulled him back to the line. Zhang Guoqing was startled and just wanted to see who it was. He heard his second sister's father-in-law, Uncle Chen, say with a smile: "Why are you here so late? Why isn't your father here?"
Zhang Guoqing smiled at the group, seeing they had no objections. He didn't leave, knowing this kind of queue-jumping happened all the time. He just stood there, took Zhao Hongbing's ticket, and told him to go to the grain station first.
"I think my father will be here in less than an hour. Where's my brother-in-law? I didn't see him in front of the grain store either." Zhang Guoqing asked curiously. His brother-in-law was a filial son, so why wouldn't he accompany his father?
"I told him to warm up at noon before going to the grain store. There's no rush. There's tofu available today, and it will be gone if you buy it late. Your little nephew loves it the most." Uncle Chen smiled as he mentioned his grandson.
Zhang Guoqing complained in a low voice, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? We can just go back to the village tomorrow and make some more. Is it really necessary for you to stand in the cold all morning just for a piece of tofu?"
Uncle Chen was afraid that Zhang Guoqing would bring another bunch of stuff to his door, so he pulled him close to his ear and whispered that there were new eggs today. He had exchanged the extra ticket just for this.
Zhang Guoqing nodded in understanding. Chickens don't lay eggs in the middle of winter, so they're worth buying.
When it was his turn, he followed the old man without saying a word and bought something with him. After buying everything, he said goodbye to him.
He hurried to Zhou Jiao's place and saw Father Zhang standing by the cart waiting from a distance.
"Dad, why are you here? Take a break, let me do it. It'll be our turn soon, and it'll be done soon." Zhang Guoqing put his things away, took out an old quilt from the cart, spread it on the cart, and let him sit down. He ran to the front to meet Zhou Jiao and the others.
Zhou Jiao listened to Zhao Yuanyuan's idle chatter, her attention focused on the chaotic, intertwined chatter in the nearby crowd. One family was offering to trade one pound of rice for seven pounds of sweet potatoes, while another suggested corn would be a better option, perhaps mixed with some dried wild vegetables. Needless to say, these were all tips from the elderly; she had to take note.
There was also an old lady who spoke mysteriously about who's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were arguing again, and boasted about how filial her own daughters-in-law were and what gifts they had given them during the New Year.
Some young women were standing nearby, excitedly remarking on how lucky they were to have bought a lot of eggs before the New Year. The conversation turned to the newly added egg coupons.
There was an unfamiliar woman in front of them, perhaps she should be called Grandma. Zhou Jiao couldn't be sure of her age. She turned around and looked back with a sad face, occasionally glancing at her and the others with envy.
Zhou Jiao couldn't bear to look at the man's cracked hands. She looked down and saw that the man's cloth shoes were covered in scars, the white uppers stitched into a misshapen shape. She subconsciously looked ahead and saw a couple standing in front of him, standing away with disdain.
The couple were still wearing patched clothes, and Zhou Jiao couldn't see why they looked down on others. They really thought that just because they had a broken pen hanging from their chest, they were cultured and could look down on others.
Zhou Jiao glanced back at the woman in front of her and subconsciously smiled at her, causing her to become so excited that she hesitated to speak and clutched the food allowance tightly.
At this moment, bursts of shouting and cursing came from behind. Zhou Jiao didn't care about the other party and turned around to look behind her.
Not far away, the families who had marked their homes with bricks and stools were now all back in line. Seeing that the grain store was about to open, some people who had been waiting in the cold wind were not happy about being cut in line. In a few words, the people who were not in the right were surrounded and scolded.
"You have to rush to go to work. Didn't we all take half a day off? Just go to the back and line up!" An older woman put one hand on her waist and pointed at the other person and yelled.
The spectators in the crowd thought it wasn't lively enough and added fuel to the fire, jokingly saying, "Don't you see that the female comrades are bossing you around? Why don't you go back and find your men for support?"
"Whose kid are you? You think your life is too comfortable, right?..."
There were so many people, and every word was shouted at. This was because it was winter, and most of them were dressed like bears. Otherwise, with such strong tempers, there would definitely be many fights in the summer.
A few old men and women gave some advice and pushed away a few people who cut in line, and finally calmed the accident.
Seeing that most of the onlookers looked regretful and could not continue watching the show, Zhou Jiao lowered her head and laughed silently.
After waiting for the doors to open, a large crowd rushed forward, shouting and waving their notebooks. The people in the queue behind them followed suit and pushed forward.
Zhao Yuanyuan yelled angrily, "What's the rush? Are you trying to reincarnate? Get in line! Get in line!"
At this moment, a middle-aged man came out of the grain store and shouted at everyone to line up and come one by one according to the formation. Only then did the crowd quiet down.
Zhou Jiao gestured to Father Zhang, who was pushing his way over, telling him to wait outside because their family hadn't arrived yet. He glanced ahead, then at the line behind him, smiled, shook his head, and walked away.
Seeing this, she laughed happily. She guessed that Father Zhang felt that queuing for shopping was as strange as she did, and the huge crowds were really lively.
When Zhang Guoqing arrived, he saw Zhou Jiao squeezed in the crowd, looking around like a fool, laughing non-stop. He quickly went over to replace them, pulling Zhao Hongbing, who was watching the fun, and asked the two girls to go back to accompany Zhang's father.
Zhou Jiao kept shaking her head. After leaving the line, she still pulled Zhao Yuanyuan with her, standing on tiptoe to look inside. She saw that the staff inside were very fast, and they hurried people to the side as soon as they were led.
Seeing their home, Zhou Jiao quickly pulled Zhao Yuanyuan closer to Zhang Guoqing and his wife. At this time, the aunt just now called out softly, "Little girl, little girl."
Zhang Guoqing quickly said, "Auntie, please speak louder, my wife can't hear you. Is there something wrong? It's the same if you tell me." After saying that, he saw the other party smiling at him awkwardly without saying anything.
He looked at Zhou Jiao with a questioning look, could it be that they knew each other?
"Aunt, what's wrong? Do you know me? If you have something to say, you should tell us quickly. It's our turn." Zhou Jiao suspected that the other party wanted to borrow money, so she hurriedly said.
Seeing Zhou Jiao's smiling face, the other party nodded repeatedly, "I know your mother-in-law. Was that your father-in-law just now?"
Zhou Jiao nodded and smiled. Seeing the other party's attitude wasn't flattering, she was curious as to why he was trying to get close to her. Logically, Xiaowu, her mother-in-law's biological son, was the person he wanted to talk to.
Seeing that it was her turn soon, the other person looked around and whispered, "Tell your mother-in-law to be careful that her old sisters will come to your house deliberately to complain about being poor." After saying that, she immediately lowered her head and said nothing, squeezing to the front.
Zhou Jiao looked at Zhang Guoqing, feeling both amused and embarrassed. She knew he had excellent hearing, so he must have heard what she had said. He just smiled and shook his head. They both smiled knowingly, and didn't chase after her to ask further questions.
Half an hour later, Zhang Guoqing had packed the rations for the three families. The nearby processing plant was crowded with people, and with the woman still there, he didn't want to interact with them. He left Zhao Hongbing and his sister behind, picked up the cart, and left.
Faced with Zhang's father's puzzled look, he didn't elaborate, only smiling and saying that the family wasn't short of food at the moment and they would process it together next month. He didn't take the man's words to heart. Regardless of his mother's thrifty nature, who wished the whole family had nothing to eat and was saving money, anyone complaining about being poor would be of no use.
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