The next morning, after breakfast, Jin Jinxiu went to Qian Cai's house to find He Ying and recounted what had happened the previous night. Finally, she asked, "Sister-in-law, do you think this will work?"
He Ying looked at Jin Jinxiu and said, "Second son's wife, this wasn't your idea, was it?"
Jin Jinxiu looked at He Ying in astonishment: "Sister-in-law, what do you mean?"
Seeing Jin Jinxiu like this, He Ying didn't hide anything anymore: "Is this what you were thinking? Your second son is the brigade leader, he certainly wouldn't have such an idea. Otherwise, your family wouldn't be in such a poor situation all these years. If it weren't for those two silly boys, Qian Feng and Qian Yu, leaving, your family wouldn't even be able to afford sweet potatoes now."
Jin Jinxiu remained silent. Her sister-in-law knew the situation perfectly well.
He Ying said, "Actually, this matter is easy to handle. I know that there is a black market in an alley in the commune."
As soon as He Ying finished speaking, Jin Jinxiu immediately opened her eyes wide and looked at her: "Sister-in-law, how did you know? You've been there?" Seeing He Ying nod, she immediately said: "Aren't you afraid of being arrested?"
He Ying said, "I was lucky and didn't encounter those things. So, you come with me tomorrow, and we'll go and see what's going on."
Jin Jinxiu nodded.
He Ying asked, "Have you pickled your sauerkraut yet?"
Jin Jinxiu nodded: "I just pickled them a couple of days ago."
He Ying nodded and said, "I've put all the fresh vegetables from my house into the cellar. If you want some, just have Lao Si come and get them."
Jin Jinxiu nodded. He Ying had been in Northeast China for over twenty years but still hadn't learned how to pickle sauerkraut. However, Jin Jinxiu's pickled sauerkraut was very delicious. So the two families agreed that Jin Jinxiu would pickle sauerkraut and He Ying would stock up on fresh vegetables. Over the years, they had worked together very well.
Before dawn, Jin Jinxiu and Qian Sheng got up. Qian Sheng had already prepared two letters of introduction yesterday. He Ying and Jin Jinxiu carried two willow baskets and set off for Mao'ershan Commune. Fortunately, it was cold now, and there weren't many people going to the commune. Old Xu, who drove the oxcart, stopped the cart under the big poplar tree in the commune and said, "Go back at two o'clock this afternoon. Don't forget the time."
Jin Jinxiu smiled and said, "Okay, we understand."
Jin Jinxiu followed He Ying around the commune. She asked in a low voice, "Sister-in-law, what are we doing here? Shouldn't we be doing our jobs? What's the point of wandering around like this?"
He Ying whispered, "Wandering around the streets is naturally to see how tight things are in the commune. If things are tight, that place might not be open anymore."
Upon hearing this, Jin Jinxiu immediately asked, "Is it tight?"
He Ying took a deep look at the somewhat simple-minded Jin Jinxiu in front of her. How could such a simpleton give birth to the clever and adorable Duoduo? Did she give all her limited intelligence to her daughter?
He Ying ignored Jin Jinxiu. After walking around the commune, she took Jin Jinxiu to disguise herself and then headed to a relatively secluded alley. Jin Jinxiu touched the dirt on her face and said, "Sister-in-law, what are you doing? You're so dirty."
He Ying explained, "No matter what, Lao Er is a captain. If someone sees you in this black market, who knows what kind of trouble it will cause. If we disguise ourselves, others won't recognize us, which will save trouble and prevent Lao Er from getting into trouble."
He Ying's words made Jin Jinxiu immediately swallow her initial disdain. She couldn't let it affect her old man's position as captain, so she might as well be a little sarcastic.
There were two people standing at the entrance of the alley. When they saw two elderly women walking over, they didn't care what they had on their faces and asked in a low voice, "Buy or sell?"
He Ying said, "Sell first, then buy."
One of the shorter men nodded and said, "Two people, one cent."
He Ying nodded, took a dime from her pocket and handed it to the other person. The other person had lent money before and could tell from He Ying's actions that this wasn't her first time here, and that the money had been prepared in advance. She waved her hand at them, and the two of them went back to the alley entrance to chat.
He Ying led Jin Jinxiu inside. It was only a little over a meter away. After turning a corner in the alley, the place suddenly became lively, selling all sorts of things. However, everyone was speaking in hushed tones, which explained why they hadn't heard anything from outside.
He Ying looked around and found a spot. She placed the willow baskets on the ground, one filled with red berries and the other with wild apples. Neither of them made a fuss; they just left the goods there. As a result, they didn't sell a single one all day.
The two returned home disappointed. When Qian Duoduo saw her mother's unhappy expression and glanced at the two full willow baskets in the kitchen, she knew why. She went up to her and said, "Mom, it's okay. This is only the first time. Besides, people don't recognize these wild fruits, so it's not surprising that they don't want to buy them."
Jin Jinxiu sighed and said, "If we don't sell these, where will we buy grain?"
Qian Duoduo thought for a moment and said, "Mom, I remember that Auntie's family grows a row of beets, right? Let's boil these fruits with beet juice, so they'll become sweet and we can sell them."
Jin Jinxiu asked doubtfully, "Will that work?"
Qian Duoduo said, "Now that these live animals can't be sold, we have to find a way, otherwise we'll just watch them rot, which is such a waste."
Jin Jinxiu thought about it and realized that made sense. She immediately stood up and said, "I'm going to find your aunt." After saying that, she ignored her exhaustion and went to Qian Cai's house.
Not long after, Jin Jinxiu and He Ying brought Qian Xiang and Qian Gui over with the beets. Looking at the beets on the ground, Qian Gui hesitated and said, "How do we turn these into juice?"
Qian Duoduo: "Crush it into shreds, then squeeze out the water with a drawer cloth."
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