In addition to collecting some picture books with appreciation value, Jiang Yilu also collected some picture books that might not be valuable but had interesting contents. After all, there were too few activities these days and reading was a good pastime. He hid all these books in his space.
Jiang Yilu pretended to take something out of the package and secretly smuggled out a few picture books that Meng Xiangxue had not finished reading last time from the space, and then sent away the chattering little cousin.
The next morning, Jiang Yilu woke up and saw Meng Xiangxue's eyes were red like a rabbit. He knew that he must have stayed up late reading last night. This was not a good habit. Jiang Yilu thought that he must pay attention to his movements tonight.
"Dani, you've been wearing this dress for several years, right? It was made from your mother's old cotton-padded jacket. You're already a grown-up girl, how can you keep wearing old clothes? Your aunt will give you some cloth coupons later. You can take your two brothers to the supply and marketing cooperative and let them help you choose a nice dress. The supply and marketing cooperative has a large number of ready-made clothes. You don't have to go home and cut them yourself. You can wear them directly. Although they are a bit expensive, they are convenient. I took a look and found that some of them are suitable for you little girls."
Early in the morning, Jiang Dazhen suddenly said this at the dinner table, which made Jiang Dani a little at a loss. She glanced at Meng Dachang and Qu Ying who were sitting in the main seats, bit her lower lip, and was a little worried that the two old people would be dissatisfied with her aunt's behavior. After all, cloth coupons were hard to come by these days.
"Yes, Dani, your aunt is right. You should dress up as a grown-up girl." Jiang Dazhen had already discussed this with Qu Ying last night. She also knew that Jiang Dazhen was coming to Xiang Qianjin's house tomorrow, so that the two young people could make a good impression on each other. Qu Ying was not angry at all that her daughter-in-law helped her family. She was also a woman, so she naturally knew what Jiang Dazhen was thinking. On the contrary, she was very happy for Jiang Dazhen's honesty.
The Meng family's conditions are probably among the best in the entire county, not because they earn a lot, but because there are only six people in the family. Three are formal workers and one retired worker. The monthly salary plus subsidies are not a small amount. Meng Dachang is an orphan, and Qu Ying and her family were lost during the war. Both of them have no ties and no poor relatives to support. Moreover, they only have one son, Meng Pingchuan, in their life, and everything was left to him.
Meng Pingchuan and Jiang Dazhen had to hand over half of their monthly salary as living expenses, and the rest could be used at will. Meng Pingchuan's money had always been in Jiang Dazhen's hands, so as long as she wanted, she could support her parents' home privately, and Qu Ying would not know about it.
However, Jiang Dazhen is very smart and knows how to act in moderation. Every time she wants to get something from her parents' home, she will tell Qu Ying in advance, making Qu Ying feel that this daughter-in-law is well-behaved and sensible, and the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law will naturally become more harmonious.
"Aunt, my uncle bought cloth for my elder sister, and grandma and mom are already helping her make clothes." Jiang Yilu knew that his aunt suddenly thought of buying new clothes for his elder sister, definitely for Xiang Qianjin who suddenly appeared. This made him a little unhappy, and he said angrily.
"Uncle is uncle, aunt is aunt, how can they be the same!" Jiang Dazhen glared at his nephew who was trying to sabotage him, added half a spoonful of sugar to the hot soy milk, and served it to him: "Drink your soy milk."
Jiang Dazhen was a little puzzled. Xiaobao was usually very smart, so why did he turn down the opportunity to earn a piece of clothing for free? How could she know that Jiang Yilu was feeling so miserable at this moment?
Jiang Dani was not really completely clueless. Based on her aunt's expression these days, she had vaguely guessed something. Girls of this age all have some expectations for their future. She knew that the person her aunt chose for her would definitely not be too bad. She felt a little bit expectant and shy in her heart. Holding the porridge in one hand, she wished she could bury her face in the bowl.
Jiang Yilu naturally did not miss the expression on his elder sister's face, which made him a little conflicted. If that person was really good and his elder sister liked him, should he still stop him?
Jiang Yilu drank the soy milk without any taste, chewed the steamed bun in his hand mechanically, and had complicated thoughts. He hadn't seen Xiang Qianjin yet, so he would wait until he saw him in person.
After dinner, Jiang Dazhen handed a gray cloth clip to Jiang Dani: "The cloth coupons in it should be enough. You don't have to go to work for a few days. I'll ask for a day off for you. You can accompany Xiaobao to go shopping. There is still some money in the bag. When the time comes, you can buy some food for the two little ones. Don't let them go hungry."
Jiang Dazhen stood at the door and said to Jiang Dani. Jiang Dani wanted to refuse, but Jiang Dazhen pushed her back: "I'm going to be late for work, so don't refuse. When you get married, you can still honor your aunt in the same way."
After that, Jiang Dazhen got on the back of the bicycle, wrapped her face with a big scarf, and went to work with Meng Pingchuan. Meng Dachang left earlier than the two of them. Jiang Dani looked at the gray cloth folder in her hand and pursed her lips.
"Okay, now that we've finished our housework, Dani, take Xiangxue and Xiaobao out for a walk. I'll be watching over the house."
Jiang Dani and Jiang Yilu helped Grandma Qu clear the table, wash the dishes, and re-clean the living room and kitchen. Even Meng Xiangxue, who used to be the most lazy, was too embarrassed to step forward to help when he saw his younger brother, who was younger than him, working.
Seeing that Jiang Dani was about to go upstairs to clean, Qu Ying quickly pushed her out. If she continued to procrastinate, she didn't know when she would be able to buy clothes.
Dani then went out embarrassedly and stood at the entrance of the alley, looking at the two streets in front of her, not knowing which direction to go.
"Sister, why don't you leave?" Meng Xiangxue said in confusion. Jiang Yiliu saw the dilemma of the elder sister, and thought that the elder sister might not have been to the supply and marketing cooperative during these days in the city.
"Sister, go that way." Jiang Yilu simply walked to the front to lead the way. He had come to the county several times with Jiang Dahai and his uncle Gu Xiashi and was familiar with the main roads.
Jiang Dani felt a little embarrassed, and followed her brother to the front with a red face. Meng Xiangxue patted his head. He thought that his elder sister had been here for so many days, but he had not taken her out for a walk. He was really careless. He should take his elder sister out for a walk more often in the next few days.
Ten minutes later, when they arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, there was a group of people gathered at the door of the cooperative, and they didn't know what they were looking at.
"Hey, big sister, this is obviously money, why can't I buy things with it?"
An old man with a hunched back stood at the door of the supply and marketing cooperative, and in front of him was a fierce woman with one hand on her waist. The old man was wearing a cotton jacket of an indistinguishable color, which was bulging and had several patches on it, with some straw leaking out from inside. It was obvious that the old man's clothes were not stuffed with cotton at all, and although they looked thick, they were not very warm at all.
The old man had messy gray hair, a face full of wrinkles, cloudy eyes, and red blood clots on the surface of his eyeballs, which looked a bit scary. His ten finger joints were protruding, and the skin on his hands was like dry old bark, with cracks everywhere.
At this time, he was holding a pile of colorful change in his hand, and his expression as he looked at the woman in front of him was full of pleading.
"You old man, don't you understand what I'm saying? I've told you that this three-dollar note has been invalidated. You can't buy anything no matter where you go. And look at what you have in your hand. You want to buy clothes with just this little coupon? I think you're dreaming. Go away, don't dirty my place."
The woman pushed the old man forward in annoyance. The old man was caught off guard and sat on the ground.
"What's wrong with you? Don't you see that you are already old and you don't have any elderly people in your family? Aren't you afraid of retribution?" The people around condemned the woman and stepped forward to help the old woman up.
"Oh, you are nice people, so why don't you give him money to buy cloth? You all have nothing better to do than to meddle in other people's business." The woman was not afraid of everyone's accusations at all. Instead, she became even more arrogant. Nowadays, those who can work in the supply and marketing cooperatives are all from some background and are very proud and arrogant.
At this point, the onlookers were speechless, as no one had money to buy cloth for a stranger.
"Lady, please take another look. This three yuan was given to me by the country. How can it not be used? Take another look." The old man was helped up, and without even having time to brush off the dust on his body, he tremblingly took out a three-yuan banknote with the largest denomination from a stack of banknotes and handed it to the woman.
The old man couldn't understand why he couldn't use the money he had saved with such great difficulty. He came out of the mountains only rarely, just to use the money he had saved over the years to buy a new set of clothes for his daughter. His daughter had never worn new clothes in her life, and on the day of her wedding, he, as her useless father, had to make her look good again.
The old man thought about his daughter's smiling face when he took the cloth back home, but why couldn't he use the money?
"I've already told you it can't be used, are you annoying?" The woman slapped the old man's hand, and the banknotes in his hand flew away and fell at Jiang Yilu's feet.
Jiang Yilu was looking at the three-yuan banknote in front of him. This set of banknotes was the second set of RMB issued in my country in 1955. The exchange and circulation of this three-yuan banknote stopped in 1964. During that period, the country began to recycle this three-yuan banknote. He didn't know why the old man in front of him didn't go to the credit union to exchange it. But now it has been more than 1970s, and he didn't know if it could still be exchanged. Jiang Yilu was a little unclear about the current banking rules.
He looked at the relatively new banknotes in his hand and felt a little excited. He had collected all the banknotes from the second set of RMB except for this rare three-yuan note. You know, this complete set of banknotes was sold at a high price of hundreds of thousands in later generations.
While Jiang Yilu was deep in thought, someone had already explained to the old man why the supply and marketing cooperative did not accept three-yuan notes. The disappointment on the old man's face was beyond words.
"Little boy, please give me back the money." The old man looked gloomy and stretched out his hand towards Jiang Yilu. Due to the presence of his elder sister and cousin, Jiang Yilu handed the banknote back.
"Alright, alright, everyone, go away. If you're not buying anything, don't block the way here." The woman waved a feather duster at the crowd like a victorious general, which made people feel even worse when compared to the old man's sad departure.
"Sister, cousin, wait for me, I'll be back soon."
Jiang Dani took Meng Xiangxue to the supply and marketing cooperative and picked up the clothes. Jiang Yilu gritted his teeth and ran to the end where the old man disappeared.
"Wait a minute, grandpa." Jiang Yiliu called out to the old man who was walking hunched over in front of him. The old man turned around with red eyes. When he saw Jiang Yiliu catching up with him, he wiped his face with his sleeve and said kindly, "Little boy, what's the matter?"
"Grandpa, I'll trade this piece of cloth for the three dollars." Jiang Yiliu was holding a piece of army green cloth, which was just the right size to make a green military uniform, which was the most fashionable clothing style. For such a large piece of cloth, in addition to enough cloth coupons, it would cost at least ten or twenty dollars.
"This..." The old man's hands were shaking. He wanted to touch the brand new cloth, but was afraid that his hands would damage the cloth.
"Little boy, your mother didn't know when you took out this cloth. Take it back quickly, otherwise you will be spanked." After an inner struggle, the old man rejected Jiang Yilu's suggestion and advised kindly.
"It's okay. My family has plenty of money--" Jiang Yilu held his head high and said nonchalantly, with an attitude of "I am the best in the world and second only to you", which frightened the old man.
Today he was wearing Meng Xiangxue's old clothes, the material of which was very good. The old man felt that only a child from a wealthy family would do such a thing.
A daughter's wedding only comes once in a lifetime. The old man thought about the treasure he had just gotten when he was nearly 40 years old. For her, he would go against his conscience for once.
The old man gritted his teeth and had a mental struggle, but he couldn't make the decision in the end.
"I just want those three dollars, grandpa, just exchange them with me." Jiang Yilu saw that the old man was wavering and kept on trying to persuade him.
"If you really want it, I'll give you the money. It's useless anyway." The old man sighed. He had never done anything without conscience in his life. If he really cheated a child, what would it matter if his daughter got married in new clothes?
The old man trembled as he took the banknote out of the package: "I was planning to burn it when I got home. If you like it, keep it."
Jiang Yilu was a little dazed. He took the three-yuan bill handed over by the old man and bit his lower lip.
For the old man, this banknote will definitely not be kept well. Perhaps, it would be most appropriate to give him something truly useful.
Jiang Yilu took the banknote, put the cloth in his hand on the ground, and ran away without looking back.
"Little kid, little kid!" The old man was hunched over and couldn't catch up with him. He picked up the cloth he had thrown on the ground, panting. The cloth was a bit heavy, and there was a slightly bulging thing in the middle. The old man opened the cloth and found a small bag of tightly wrapped white flour and a piece of fresh pork. The old man's mouth twitched, and he looked in the direction where Jiang Yiliu was going away. A line of hot tears slid down his turbid eyes: "Good people, good people must be rewarded."
The old man carefully stuffed the cloth and the small bag of white flour and pork into his arms, hunched over, and continued walking in the direction he had just walked. Now, his daughter could have a decent wedding, and he could do justice to his old wife who died early.
Jiang Yilu watched the old man walk away before he came out from the corner, touched the banknotes that were still warm in his arms, and turned away.
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