"Ding-ling-dang, ding-ling-dang."
It is now the time when workers are off work and going home for dinner. Bicycles are passing through the alley one after another, and the bells are ringing non-stop. There are so many "Feige" and "Yongjiu" brands that it is hard to keep up.
Jiang Yi and a few others walked carefully along the wall, trying to leave the middle path empty.
"This supply and marketing cooperative in the capital is really impressive."
After crossing the alley and walking a few dozen meters, they arrived at a supply and marketing cooperative, which was two or three times the size of the one in Yuchuan County. The dazzling array of combs, facial oils, and hair ties dazzled the women, not to mention the green, gray, black, and blue cloths that were different from the monotonous ones in Yuchuan County. Gu Dongmei also spotted a piece of red cloth.
"This capital is really different. When our daughter got married, she couldn't even buy a piece of red cloth, and she didn't dare to modify old clothes in private. But the supply and marketing cooperatives in this capital dare to display red cloth openly."
Gu Dongmei whispered to Dashan's wife beside her.
Jiang Yilu who was standing by also heard what his mother said. The capital has always been the place where political trends are conveyed the fastest. Now that the Gang of Four has fallen, the impact is not only reflected in politics, but also in all aspects of life. Forget about a piece of red cloth. In a while, as long as you have money, you can buy any color and style of clothes you want.
Because they were in a hurry to go back to cook, Gu Dongmei and the others did not dare to walk around the supply and marketing cooperative for too long. They reluctantly withdrew their gaze and selected two coal stoves that looked sturdy and durable. Dashan's wife carefully noticed that there were no basic seasonings in the kitchen, so she bought some salt and a can of soy sauce.
It was getting late now and all the good meat had been cut off, leaving only some "lean meat" that people today would consider uneconomical and a few pig leg bones. Bai Fangqiu bought all of them. He also bought 20 kilograms of flour and some cakes and candies.
He took out a small notebook and a stack of money from his pocket and handed them to the salesperson next to him. The salesperson deftly tore off a few sheets of paper from the small notebook and gave him the extra money in change.
Gu Dongmei and others carried the two coal stoves, while Gu Xiashi held the heaviest flour in his arms. The pork leg bones and some lean meat were wrapped in yellow paper by the salesperson, tied with a hemp rope and tied into a knot skillfully, leaving a loop for Jiang Yilu to easily carry the meat in his hands.
"It's too expensive. This lean meat doesn't have much fat."
Gu Dongmei felt that it was not worth spending so much money to buy such a pile of fat meat, but she was also curious about the little book that Bai Fangqiu had just handed to the salesperson. Could it be that the way people in the capital bought things was different from theirs?
"It's not expensive. Although lean meat is not oily, it tastes delicious." Bai Fangqiu explained with a smile: "I also receive a lot of food subsidies every month. If Xiaobao and the others ever want to improve their lives, they can come to me. It tastes better when someone accompanies them to eat."
Bai Fangqiu smiled and looked at Jiang Yiliu, who was almost as tall as him. He had been living in Qingshan Village for many years and had long been accustomed to the noisy but smart and cute children of the Jiang family. In his heart, there was no difference between Jiang Yiliu's siblings and his granddaughters and grandsons. If he was not worried about being too isolated, he would have wanted them to stop living in the school dormitory and come to the courtyard to accompany him, an old man.
The house is too big and too quiet, and it’s not pleasant to live alone.
"Well, from now on we will come to Grandpa Bai's house every now and then to eat at his rich home. Don't refuse to let us in when the time comes." Jiang Yiluo understood Grandpa Bai's true thoughts and said with a smile while blinking.
"Okay, Grandpa Bai will be waiting for you then." Bai Fangqiu laughed heartily, and the wrinkles on his forehead smoothed out.
Gu Dongmei was moved as she listened to the conversation between the old man and the young.
It seems that Mr. Bai has no direct relatives. The one closest to him now is Er Ni. If Mr. Bai...
Gu Dongmei walked behind with her head down, calculating the old man's current property in her mind. The more she thought about it, the more excited she became. She would have to teach the younger ones good lessons when she returned. If they tried to curry favor with the old man during their time in the capital, they would enjoy endless wealth and glory in the future.
Gu Dongmei had never been so grateful for her father's decision as she was today. The one he invited into the house was not a plague god, but the god of wealth.
The group chatted and laughed and returned to the courtyard. Under the strange looks of the residents in the courtyard, they returned to their own yard.
Jiang Yilu looked at those people staring at the meat in his hand with resentful and jealous eyes, feeling helpless. It was not a good thing to let these people live here. This was obviously Grandpa Bai's house. Grandpa Bai was kind enough to let them continue to live here, but instead they created resentment. It was definitely not a good thing to be neighbors with such people.
He had to think of some way to get rid of those guests who refused to leave.
When they came back, Jiang Dahai and others had already skillfully built half of the stove. Mo Xiangdong and Huo Wu were mixing cement and handing bricks to Jiang Dahai and Jiang Dashan.
"Light the fire first." Lin Juan, Tiezhu's mother, lit the waste paper and the wood chips in the stove. She then placed a layer of coal balls on the burning wood chips and then kept fanning the air to aid the combustion. After a while, thick gray-black smoke filled the yard.
“Ahem…”
"Who is so heartless that they start lighting the stove when everyone is eating? Is it so people can eat, or so that they can eat ashes?" A tall and thin woman stood at the gate of the second courtyard with her hands on her hips, yelling and cursing. Although she didn't point fingers at the people in the yard, everyone knew who she was targeting.
"That's right. He has no sense of public morality. Why would we let him come back? Who knows what he is up to in private? I think we should let the Red Guards investigate him again."
The old lady who had just spat at the backs of Bai Fangqiu and others walked out of the house, covered her nose, looked at the people in the yard with contempt, and echoed the fierce woman in a sarcastic tone.
"Mom, what are you talking about? The Red Guards are long gone."
A pretty woman came out in a panic and pulled the old lady back: "Mom, please go back to the house. Doudou can't eat without you feeding him."
The guy named Doudou was probably the younger generation that the old lady liked very much. When the old lady heard what the young woman said, she no longer cared about the argument. She glared at the people in the yard and walked away with her back straight.
The pretty woman nodded apologetically to Gu Dongmei and the others, then left with the old lady.
"I don't care. Put out the stove for me. Look at the thick smoke. It's hard to let people live in peace."
The fierce woman saw that the people who agreed with her had left, but she was not afraid. She still put her hands on her hips and pointed at the people in the yard and spoke.
"Big sister, we are going to cook. It will only take a while. And you have a stove outside. If you find it too hot, how about I move the stove outside and cook it together with yours?"
A powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake. After all, this is not their territory, and they don't want to make things awkward. Lin Juan tried to explain, but the man ignored her and continued to insist.
"I don't care. Anyway, your stove is disturbing me. You have to turn it off today."
The hot-tempered woman looked at the figures standing in the windows of other houses, who seemed to be paying attention to her every move, and her arrogance suddenly rose. She had long disliked the old man of the Bai family. They had lived in this house for more than ten years. Where did this old man come from? He said that this house was his, so it was his. She also said that this house used to belong to her ancestors.
In short, she was asked to give up the house without a door. Not only that, she also had to find a way to kick that old man out.
“Pah—”
Jiang Er Ni couldn't stand this. She had been displeased with the people outside the house since she entered the house. After listening to the shrew's unreasonable words, she picked up the bucket of water that had just been drawn, stepped through the door, walked past the woman, stood beside the stove she had just lit, poured the water in the bucket, and the fire in the stove was immediately extinguished, leaving only the crackling sound of coal cakes and firewood.
"What are you doing, you damned little bitch."
The woman was stunned at first, having never expected Jiang Erni to do such a thing. When she came to her senses, she was immediately furious and reached out to grab Erni's face. She had worked so hard to get angry, and she still had to prepare to cook.
When it comes to fighting, Er Nico is not afraid of her. She just rolls up her sleeves and is ready to fight. Although Old Lady Miao has rarely beaten her sisters since her younger brother was born, the foundation she built up over the years is still there. She is still confident that she can hide from a shrew whose fighting ability is far lower than that of Old Lady Miao.
"What are you doing?"
Jiang Dahai and a few others were repairing the stove when they heard the noise outside and came out with their tools in hand.
Because they were repairing the stove, several people took off their coats, leaving only their sweatshirts, and their strong muscles and strong bodies were clearly visible. At this time, they were holding shovels and kitchen knives in their hands (they couldn't find suitable tools, so they used kitchen knives to level the cement), and their bodies and faces were covered with mud and dust, which made them look very tough.
The fierce woman who was about to take action suddenly felt weak in the knees. She withdrew her half-extended hand, fell to the ground, and rolled over crying.
"What are you doing?"
Jiang Dahai scratched his head and looked at the woman rolling on the ground in confusion. He didn't do anything.
"Ignore her."
Erni picked up the bucket on the ground and walked to the yard: "She complained about the smoke from the coal stove, so I helped her turn off the stove. Isn't this a way for her to thank me?"
Jiang Yilu stopped his steps and tried to help, instead he praised his second sister for her increasingly good ability to lie with her eyes open.
"The people in this capital are really strange."
Jiang Dahai naturally knew that the truth could not be like this, but he felt that his daughter was smart and sensible, and naturally would not be the one who provoked first. The other party must have done something wrong, which led to Erni's counterattack.
Thinking of this, Jiang Dahai returned to the kitchen without any psychological burden and continued to fix his stove.
The fierce woman cried for a long time, and when she saw that no one in the other room stood up to speak for her, she felt a little annoyed. But let her do it on her own. Thinking of those ferocious-looking men just now, she felt a little timid.
Thinking about her husband who was about to come home from work, and the beating she would receive if she hadn't finished cooking by then, she could only bite her lip, stand up, glare fiercely at the yard, pat her clothes, and go to clean up the mess Erni had just left.
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