Zhang Guoqing rummaged through the bills in his pocket, changed his shoes, and said cheerfully, "I'm going to go out for a walk first. I'll leave my son to you."
Zhou Jiao followed him out of the bedroom, "Be careful. If you have any problems, come back and we'll discuss it."
"Shh... I know."
After leaving the compound, Zhang Guoqing wasted no time and rode his 28-inch bicycle to the uphill brigade in Lin County. Lin Xuelin's mistress, Hu Chunsheng's grandmother, Gu Xiuya, had married Hu Daqian, the eldest son of the Hu family in the first squadron of this brigade.
Zhang Guoqing didn't go directly to the other village, but went to the home of a schoolmate, Jiang Lizhi, who was also a member of the student union and they had a good personal relationship.
"Dazhi, are you there?"
Jiang Lizhi had just arrived home and was chatting with his grandfather. He was a little bit incredulous when he heard the familiar voice. He quickly responded loudly and said to his grandfather on the kang, "I'm a classmate of mine. He came here once last year. Grandpa, I'm going to go out for a while."
"Go and invite the guests in first."
Jiang Lizhi nodded happily and walked out, "Okay, you sit down first. I'll be back soon." After leaving the bedroom, he saw Zhang Guoqing standing outside the yard pushing a cart through the bamboo fence.
He ran over and jokingly said, "It's only been a while since we last met, and you're already reluctant to leave your buddy?"
Zhang Guoqing nodded with a smile, "That's right."
Jiang Lizhi opened the gate and said, "Come in first. You wouldn't come here for no reason. Tell me what's going on."
Zhang Guoqing pushed the cart and followed him into the yard. "Can you help me see if anyone has eggs? Sugar coupons or cloth coupons will do. Is everyone in the family working?"
"Except for my grandfather who's waiting for me at home, everyone else is going to the team. I'll have my mother go to the neighbors later to see if anyone has eggs. There aren't enough eggs in the city this month, are they?"
"There won't be enough. I'll go see the old man first."
Jiang Lizhi pointed to the vegetable patch in the corner of the yard and said, "Bring some fresh vegetables for the children later. I'll help you check with the production team to see if there are any good things. I think the countryside is better. You don't have to queue up every day."
Zhang Guoqing smiled and nodded, then followed him into the house. Seeing an old man lying on the kang, looking at him cheerfully, he went up to greet him with a smile, "Grandpa Jiang, how are you? I see that every vegetable garden in the village is full. This year's harvest is sure to be much better than last year."
"Come sit over here. It's really much better. Last year we divided up our own plots, and now every family has a much better harvest. Are you kids still able to eat well at school?"
“This year is much better than the previous two years.”
Old Master Jiang chatted for a while, then left early on the pretext of having something to do in the team, and kept asking him to leave some dinner for him.
Zhang Guoqing didn't delay and smiled as he walked him out of the room. It was still early for dinner, and if he really stayed, his wife would be worried. After watching the old man leave, he didn't go back to the room, but smiled at Jiang Lizhi and said, "Let's go out for a walk."
"Okay, I'll just take you to the river to see if there's anything I can find."
Zhang Guoqing's goal was not to go to the river, but to inquire about the Hu family. If he remembered correctly, the Hu family lived not far from the mill near the Shangpo Brigade.
"Didn't you say last time that your team is famous for their tofu? I need to go see what's different about the tools at the mill. Is that more convenient?"
Jiang Lizhi smiled and shook his head, then took the lead and led him out. "There are many people who share the same idea as you. The whole county used to love his tofu pudding and soy milk, and everyone thought he had a secret recipe. Back then, when we first joined the commune and the team set up the mill, many people came to see how he and his son operated it, but unfortunately, no one could see anything unusual."
"There are many experts among the people. If they could easily see through it, that would be terrible. Now your team is starting to supply the city again?"
Jiang Lizhi nodded and said softly, "Since the spring of this year, it's not much. The county supply and marketing cooperative delivers one truckload every day, and the extra and the tofu dregs are distributed to the team members."
Zhang Guoqing patted him on the shoulder and said, "The members of this team are so lucky!"
Inside the production team's compound, in the tofu shop, only two people were soaking beans and cleaning tools. Not far to the west, a few middle-aged women were grinding cornmeal.
Zhang Guoqing pretended to be curious and strolled around the yard, paying attention to the gossip around him.
An older woman, wearing homespun clothing with large patches on the sleeves, was standing at the back of the line. She probably hadn't gotten her turn yet. Seeing the stranger, she jokingly said to Jiang Lizhi, "Big Dog, what are you showing this city guy?"
Zhang Guoqing took one look at the gentle and refined Jiang Lizhi and immediately burst out laughing.
"Aunt Hua, please don't call me by my nickname, okay? This is my classmate, come over to see what's new. Why don't you let my sister-in-law and the others come over? This is too much trouble."
Aunt Hua shook her hand nonchalantly. "What's so heavy about it? I'm used to it. They're so slow at everything they do, and they're not as quick as me. Did you find the girl your mother mentioned last time?"
Jiang Lizhi was embarrassed when he saw a few onlookers. He blushed and quickly waved his hands, "I'm still young. It's not too late to talk about dating after graduation."
Zhang Guoqing suppressed his laughter and came to his side. "Men should get married when they are old enough. Don't be shy."
An older woman's eyes lit up when she heard this and she said to him, "That kid's right. Settle down sooner rather than later and get married right after graduation. It won't hinder your mother from having grandchildren. Big Dog, let me tell you something. Your grandma is worried that you won't find a partner and that will hinder your brothers. Last time, she said that as long as the girl is well-rounded and can read a few words, it's fine. She doesn't want you to find a city girl, you know? City girls aren't as reliable as village girls."
Jiang Lizhi didn't want to become the topic of conversation, so he nodded and changed the subject, "Do you want my help?"
"No, you're just a bookworm and can't do heavy work."
Zhang Guoqing walked to the stone mill and saw that the cornmeal was still being ground with the kernel and the skin on, which showed that everyone was still worried about food shortages.
"Dashun, why is there no movement from the house next door?"
Aunt Hua scoffed, "That family is worried right now. Have you seen the one who married later? I heard she got pregnant twice in the past two years and couldn't keep the baby, and now she's asking for a divorce again."
"It's karma! The one in front was so good, she gave birth to a big fat boy for their family, and took care of everything at home and outside. Now look what happened, she abandoned her wife and children to climb up the social ladder, let's see if they regret it."
Zhang Guoqing's eyes flashed when he heard this.
"What are you regretting? The old woman said that he was their family's benefactor. She asked Chunsheng to go to Yue's house to bring back a wife, but I don't know what happened. He didn't come back today."
"What a sin! Life is so good. Chunsheng even told people he didn't plan to go to the Northwest. Back then, he slipped away without anyone being able to stop him. Now he's fine, isn't he?"
"He can leave when he wants, come when he wants. Who does he think he is? This is hopeless. I heard from the child's uncle that it's easy to move away but hard to come back. No matter how high an official you are, it's useless."
Zhang Guoqing had an idea in mind after hearing this. As a grown man, he couldn't stay any longer. He said goodbye to Jiang Lizhi and left. Passing by Hu Chunsheng's house, through the low fence, he could see an old lady chasing away chickens that had flown into the vegetable garden with her bound feet.
This person should be Gu Ruyi's personal maid. He didn't expect that the maid had bound feet. This shows that she was treated well in the Gu family back then.
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