Qian Duoduo was also curious about how much money these red berries and wild apples could sell for. She saw He Ying taking out handfuls of money from her wallet, quite a lot. He Ying looked at Qian Duoduo's bright little eyes and said, "Duoduo, come on, help Auntie count the money."
Qian Duoduo asked, "Is it okay?"
He Ying looked at Qian Duoduo with encouraging eyes, which immediately energized her. She stood up straight and said, "Auntie, I will definitely complete the task."
Qian Cai, He Ying, Qian Sheng, and Jin Jinxiu all laughed at Qian Duoduo's antics. The four adults sat around the table, watching Qian Duoduo count the money while chatting about their day at the black market. Qian Sheng heard He Ying say that Qian Duoduo had brought in her first customer, and that her little mouth was chattering away about red berries, and she had easily completed her first transaction. Everyone looked at the short girl who was diligently counting the money, and she really looked like a little money-grubber!
Seeing Qian Duoduo divide the money into several piles according to denomination, then put the whole numbers together and the loose ones aside, while also making notes in a small notebook, Qian Cai finally asked, "Duoduo, have you finished counting?"
Qian Duoduo glanced at her notebook, then at the neatly arranged money on the table, nodded, and said, "All done."
Qian Sheng asked, "Miss, how much are these worth?"
Qian Duoduo looked at his notebook and said, "The largest denomination here is one yuan, there are three of them. Here, there are ten 5 mao (0.5 yuan) bills, which is five yuan. There are also 2 mao (0.2 yuan) bills, there are 32 of them, which is six yuan and forty mao. Here are 18 1 mao (0.1 yuan) bills, which is one yuan and eighty mao. There are also 40 5 fen (0.5 yuan) bills, which is two yuan. There are also eight 2 fen (0.2 yuan) bills and a set of 16 bills, which is thirty-two mao. I just added them up, and it's eighteen yuan and fifty-two mao in total."
Qian Cai fell silent, and Qian Sheng was also stunned. You know, their brigade only had fifty yuan in cash as a reserve fund. They earned almost half of that in just one day. Is this black market really that profitable?
Looking at the money, Jin Jinxiu was honest. It had taken her and her husband over twenty years of marriage to save up such a small amount of money, which they wanted to use for their son's wedding. Yet, they had only gone out for half a day and earned 18 yuan. It all felt unreal to her. She tugged at He Ying and said, "Sister-in-law, shall we go again tomorrow?"
He Ying rolled her eyes at her and said, "I'm not going." Although she was also taken aback by the money today, she was still quite clear-headed. Even setting aside the fact that she sold these red berries today, the fact that she was constantly going to the commune was already attracting attention. Besides, there weren't many beets left; every little bit sold was a precious one.
Qian Duoduo asked, "Does the commune's supply and marketing cooperative sell white sugar? How much does it cost?"
Qian Sheng patted Qian Duoduo's hair and said, "White sugar requires sugar coupons, and we probably can't find a single sugar coupon in our village."
Qian Duoduo thought about it and agreed, so she didn't bring it up again.
He Ying stepped forward and looked at the money, saying, "This idea was ours, Duo Duo. And Duo Duo has been dealing with a lot of things today, so let's give this little bit to Duo Duo as pocket money. As for the remaining eighteen yuan, my sister and I will each have half."
Jin Jinxiu immediately said, "Duoduo is still a child, why would she need money?"
Qian Duoduo's bright eyes suddenly dimmed, and she sat there with her head down, clutching the hem of her clothes in her little hands, without saying a word.
He Ying laughed and said, "Come on, I know you too well. Hurry up and buy some rice, our Duoduo has lost weight."
Upon hearing this, Jin Jinxiu glanced at the unhappy Duoduo beside her. Hmm, she did seem to have lost some weight, and her clothes were a bit too small. Under He Ying's gaze, she swiped the small amount of change in front of Qian Duoduo: "Duoduo, here, this is from your auntie, thank you, auntie."
Qian Duoduo immediately smiled and said, "Thank you, Auntie, thank you, Uncle, thank you, Mom and Dad."
Jin Jinxiu looked at her smiling daughter and felt a pang of sadness. She realized that she was still too incompetent. Otherwise, her daughter wouldn't have been so upset over a few cents. So be it!
He Ying took the money and followed Qian Cai home. Jin Jinxiu immediately went to cook. Just as she finished cooking, she heard the voices of Qian Gui and Qian Mao. These two brothers would go up the mountain to collect firewood whenever they had time, and they really did bring back quite a lot. Didn't you see that the woodshed was almost full?
Seeing that Jin Jinxiu was home, they put the firewood in the woodshed, then went to the kitchen to wash their hands and asked quietly, "Mother, have all the hawthorns been sold today?"
Jin Jinxiu smiled and said, "They're all sold. There were quite a few buyers, and we made some money. I'll have your dad go to the brigade to buy some grain later." When buying grain at the brigade, they usually buy coarse grains. There aren't many fine grains in the brigade, and the little money they make is enough to buy coarse grains. Only the educated youth from the city can afford to buy fine grains.
Upon hearing this, Qian Gui and Qian Mao immediately laughed. Qian Gui asked, "Then when are we going to buy the grain?"
Jin Jinxiu said, "From what your father said, he plans to go to the day after tomorrow or the day after that, because your father is going to a meeting at the commune tomorrow."
Qian Gui nodded. With the money, buying grain wouldn't be far off; he could wait.
Qian Sheng and the accountant Li Dafa went to a meeting at the commune in the early days. When they came out, neither of them looked too happy. Li Dafa asked in a low voice, "Captain, what does the secretary mean by this? He wants us to clean up the cowshed so that the people from above can stay there. He also wants us to do dirty and hard work. He really doesn't treat people like human beings!"
Qian Sheng immediately looked at him: "Don't talk nonsense, what if someone hears you?"
Li Dafa immediately fell silent.
Qian Sheng said, "I need to go to the post office."
Li Dafa asked curiously, "Captain, what are you doing at the post office?"
Qian Sheng sighed and said, "Qian Feng and Qian Yu have been in the army for several months now. I want to go and see if they have written any letters."
Li Dafa then remembered that Qian Sheng's eldest and second sons had joined the army, so he accompanied Qian Sheng to the post office. Qian Sheng told the post office staff his name and asked them to check if there was any mail for him.
The other person looked at Qian Sheng. Although his clothes were faded from washing, they were unpatched, and he had a hint of authority about him. Without saying much, the other person went to find something for him. Sure enough, he brought out three envelopes and said, "Qian Sheng, there are three letters for you."
Li Dafa looked at the envelopes curiously. One was very thin, and the other two were a bit thicker, but not very thick. He asked, "Captain, who came to Dexin?"
Qian Sheng laughed and said, "It's those two lads, Qian Feng and Qian Yu. Hehe, let's go home."
Although Li Dafa's gossip instincts were running high, Qian Shengyi quickly put the letter in his pocket. Even if he was curious, he could only be curious.
Upon arriving at Beian Village, Qian Sheng said to Li Dafa, "You go to the village office, I'm going home first." He then left, leaving Li Dafa behind. Li Dafa wanted to say that he could go to the village office together and read the letter there, but he was not given the chance.
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