In the east wing of the main house, Zhang's mother opened the small storage room, which was filled with everything. Zhang Guoqing knew at a glance that his mother had prepared a lot of things during his absence.
Zhang's mother instructed him, "Xiaowu, pack up all these mountain products. I've already packed them, so you can squeeze them into two large bags. Press the remaining game and bacon firmly to prevent them from getting damaged. Put them into one bag. We'll send these three packages to the train tomorrow. Send a telegram to your grandfather and ask them to pick them up."
Zhang Guoqing was overwhelmed by all these things. "Mom, if we give them all away, what will we eat? Just pick up a few things and put them into a small package so they're easy to carry. The day after tomorrow, I'll go to another village and buy some and mail them over. We'll keep these for our family. Otherwise, we'll have to eat steamed bread with pickles."
Mother Zhang covered her mouth, unable to hold back her laughter. She stretched her head to look outside and whispered, "You're still thinking of buying from other villages? Your mother-in-law has plundered all the villages at the foot of Daqing Mountain to the north. We've plundered our village, so where are you going to buy? Some of it is just for people to eat, so you can't buy it. So listen to me, pack it up quickly. Take it back to the capital for her, or wait until her package arrives a few days ago and then mail it to her. These things are not rare anymore."
Zhang Guoqing was speechless when he heard this. "How many did you buy? It's causing a stir in the surrounding area. And how did my mother-in-law know where to find them? Those villages are at the foot of the mountain, and some of them are inaccessible even by car."
Mother Zhang proudly put her hands on her hips and squinted at him, "No, we bought them secretly. Your mother-in-law took Xizi to find hunting families. Each hunting family introduced her to another, and she followed this line. She had a full car for four consecutive days. She mailed two packages to Jiaojiao's second uncle in the northwest. She said that even if you want to eat them there, you can't buy them. You can eat them yourself or give them to others. These things are worthless here. They are very expensive in big cities and you can't buy them. In the next few days, she mailed packages to Jiaojiao's grandfather, uncle, and aunt. Xizi said there were too many things, so she mailed them twice to the county town, and then drove to several nearby villages to mail them separately. She was very careful. Otherwise, what if the news spread throughout the village?"
Zhang's mother watched him pack, offering suggestions from time to time. "Don't worry, she's mainly eating wild game and bacon. Every village has mountain products, so we don't have to worry about not being able to buy them. Besides, there are so many markets at the end of the year, so we can just buy more. There's still some in the kitchen cellar, so we'll keep it for our family."
Zhang Guoqing squeezed the game and bacon hard, forming a square package. He lifted it and it was okay, weighing 70-80 kilograms. He guessed his mother had bought a lot of it in the village. He would secretly give her some money later.
"Mom, I know. We only have about ten pounds of bacon at home. Who did you buy it from? No one in the village hunts. I think there are most pheasants. And this bacon is from this year. Whose is it?"
Mother Zhang picked it up herself and moved it to the corner with satisfaction.
"I took everything from your uncle's family. The village still has hunting before the New Year, so they don't have to worry about running out of game. The bacon is from your aunt's family. They secretly raised a pig for less than a year and just killed it to make bacon. They plan to sell it secretly, so I took it all. I didn't go to the village to buy bacon because there are too many people and too many eyes. Even the mountain products are bought from your eldest brother's tight-lipped friends, plus our own. Don't worry, your father has given instructions."
Zhang Guoqing was relieved after hearing his father's instructions, "Mom, if there are any families slaughtering pigs who want to sell meat, no matter how much, you should take all of it for me. Also, if there are any families slaughtering mutton in the village, buy some too. It doesn't matter how much, just buy more."
Zhang's mother looked at him curiously: "What happened? Why did you buy so much?"
Zhang Guoqing took a look at it and put the two packed bags of mountain products in the corner. It seemed that three of them were not very big. He would send them directly to the carriage tomorrow. When he got to Beijing, he would ask for help and send a telegram in advance to ask someone to pick them up. It should be no problem.
Zhang Guoqing thought about it and decided to reveal a little. He had heard a rumor in the provincial capital this time. Others didn't believe it, but he did. It seemed like time was almost up, so he should slowly collect some information.
"I heard a rumor. Starting next year, everything will require coupons, even matches and needles. Just like the food coupons of previous years, everything will require coupons.
Items at the market cannot be sold privately, only exchanged. Only public and collective entities, such as supply and marketing cooperatives and village production teams, are allowed to buy and sell. Some even say the market should be closed.
So from now on, even if you have money but no tickets, you won't be able to buy anything. Tomorrow, after seeing my mother-in-law off, we'll drive around and see if there's anything else we can't miss at home, and buy it all. We'll also see if there's anything that doesn't require a ticket, and buy some of that too.
If that were true, imagine how rural residents, who had to buy everything besides food, wouldn't have needed coupons. If they had to wait until the end of the year to settle accounts and receive receipts, how would they have gotten through the year? Think about cloth coupons, too. In the past, all you needed to buy cloth was money, but now you can't even buy it without a cloth coupon. There's no need to panic about these rumors; just be aware of them.
I bought the meat as a gift. Several families in the county are in need of everything except meat. I'm thinking of getting my second brother into the Public Security Bureau so I can send some meat over and contact the leaders. I also want to give some away myself. "Mother, please advise me on how to arrange for my eldest brother. My eldest and second brothers can only be arranged in the county town and the township. We can't arrange for them all at once. We can't attract too much attention and cause gossip."
Mother Zhang looked at her son in surprise, wondering if she had misheard. How many people wanted to go to the city, but it was easy to get in? But now he told her that it was okay, but not to be too ostentatious.
"Mother, where are you?" Father Zhang's voice came from outside the door.
Zhang's mother quickly pulled him in. She didn't dare to make the decision on such a big matter at home, and she had to see what the child's father said.
Father Zhang looked at Mother Zhang, glanced at the package on the ground, and said to Zhang Guoqing, "Are you all right here? Come back to your room and tell me how your trip went and who you met."
Zhang Guoqing pulled his mother along, followed by Zhang's father, into the next bedroom. Zhang's father lit his long pipe, took a puff, and waited for them to speak.
Zhang's mother told him everything Xiaowu had said, about the possibility of having to use invoices starting next year. Zhang's father listened without saying anything, but looked at Zhang Guoqing and saw him nod.
Father Zhang narrowed his eyes, took another puff of his cigarette, and comforted his wife, "If everything is changed to a ticket system, then money will be useless, especially in the countryside. Grain tickets, cloth tickets, and then meat tickets. It wouldn't be surprising if everything was tickets next year. Mother, then just listen to Xiaowu and go to the provincial capital. There's no need to worry. With Xiaowu here, we won't have to worry about not having tickets or not being able to buy anything."
After hearing this, Zhang's mother thought for a moment and said, "Dad, Xiaowu is planning to have his second brother go to the county public security bureau. He asked my eldest brother what he plans to do."
Father Zhang shook his head. "Don't worry about the eldest son. He shouldn't go into the city yet. We can't have all three of us go. It wouldn't look good and wouldn't have a good impact. If the second son goes, his family will have fewer children and less burden. The second son's family can still earn some food at home. They can grow some vegetables in the yard and raise pigs and chickens. Wait until the fifth son goes into the city. Then we can arrange for the second son's family. We can take our time and it won't cause any trouble. As for the eldest son and the eldest daughter, I'll ask them what they think after the guests leave tomorrow. Fifth son, how is your trip this time?"
Zhang Guoqing pondered what to say, fearing they'd worry if he spoke too harshly. After a moment, he began by describing who he'd met in the provincial capital, the important elders he'd met, and the friends he'd made. He then spoke of the old man's care for him and what he'd been told over the past five days. When he finished, seeing his father had no further questions, he knew he was waiting for him to summarize his thoughts.
"Mr. Lin is 70% sincere to me and 30% intentional. My mother-in-law is here, so I haven't had time to talk to Jiaojiao about these things. I haven't come into contact with other members of the Lin family yet, so I'll take it one step at a time. Some things are hard to explain, but we'll understand when my father-in-law comes back. The most important person in the Lin family who I really have a relationship with is only my mother-in-law. If they are nice, I'll have more contact with them, but if they are not, I'll avoid them. I have something to discuss with you. Do you think we should register our Ping'an household in the capital or directly in the village?"
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