Chapter 45 Exchange
Next to Hu Zi stood an old man in his fifties or sixties, with two large bundles of firewood at his feet.
Seeing Xu Lin coming out, they both smiled ingratiatingly. Perhaps feeling embarrassed, the old man kept rubbing his hands.
"Sister Xu, this is my grandfather Wang Sanlai. I heard that you can exchange maltose and White Rabbit milk here.
My grandma caught a big white goose and also brought some dried mountain products for us to eat.
She wants to bring some pickled cabbage and sweet potatoes back. She will be here in a moment. Do you think it's okay?"
Hu Zi forced out a pitiful and flattering expression, and the old man nodded beside him and continued with a red face,
"Xu Zhiqing, I'm sorry. I know I'm a little greedy. This is not... Oh, I'm really sorry.
Could you please give me some of it evenly? We all remember your kindness, but the baby is too young and was born prematurely."
The old man's eyes were red as he spoke. In fact, his family had asked the educated youth for help before, but the good things they had were limited.
Asking new educated youth to come here again is a bit too much to ask because of one's guilty conscience.
"It's okay, it's okay, this is an equal exchange, you don't have to feel sorry."
Xu Lin felt a little embarrassed. She was not afraid of others being mean to her, but she was afraid of others begging her in a nice way.
"Well, come in."
Xu Lin invited the two to come in quickly and took the big white goose from Hu Zi's hand. Goose stewed in an iron pot is a famous dish in Northeast China.
Just thinking about it made Xu Lin's mouth water.
There is nothing more to say, this big goose must stay.
The old man is an honest man and not very good at talking, but Hu Zi is the one who talks all the time.
He told Xu Lin what delicious food there was in the mountains and asked her what she liked to eat, and he would find it for her later.
The little one looks so cute.
Xu Lin tied the big white goose to the woodshed and said, "Malted milk is a rare commodity. The supply and marketing cooperatives charge 25 yuan for a can.
If you go to those places to buy it, you have to spend thirty or forty yuan to buy a can. Of course, the goods here are bought from the supply and marketing cooperative.
So I don’t want you to pay too much, let’s just exchange it at the price of the supply and marketing cooperative, is that ok with you?”
"Okay, okay, thank you so much. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be able to buy such a precious thing. I thank you on behalf of my baby."
As the old man was about to perform a great ceremony, Xu Lin was frightened and quickly stepped forward to stop him.
"Master, you are shortening my life. Besides, if this gets out, how can I continue to be a member of the Wangzhuang Brigade?
If this gets to the Ideological Committee, I won’t be able to say anything.”
Xu Lin gave him a look that said "you know what I mean". The old man's face turned pale with fright and he stood up straight. He was the one who wanted to save her.
You can't make any mistakes these days. If he harms your little comrade, he will be committing a serious crime.
The old man was just wondering what to say when he heard shouting from outside the door again.
"Xu Zhiqing, are you there?"
Hu Zi was delighted when he heard the shouting and said excitedly, "My grandma is here, my grandma is here."
Xu Lin walked out quickly and saw an old lady with gray hair and wrinkled face standing at the gate of the courtyard.
"Auntie is here, come in quickly." Xu Lin greeted her with a smile, and Hu Zi and the old man also hurried to greet her.
The old man quickly took the backpack from the old lady's back and held it in his hand.
Although he didn't say a word, his action silently expressed his concern for the old lady.
Soon the four of them sat down outside, and the old lady nodded continuously as she looked at the clean room.
"Hello Xu Zhiqing, I am Hu Zi's grandmother. I am too proud. From now on, you can call me Nanny Wang San."
"Yes, Auntie Wang San." Xu Lin called out with a faint smile. Facing someone weaker than herself, Xu Lin really couldn't stab her.
Hey, Wang Sannai agreed happily, and her eyes turned softer when she looked at Xu Lin. She felt that this girl was really beautiful and kind-hearted.
"Xu Zhiqing, you are really a great benefactor to our family. If you have any work in the future, just ask our two brothers to do it.
If they dare to say no, I will beat them."
Wang Sannai patted Xu Lin's hand and said, "You can't do heavy work with your small body. It will affect your growth."
"I think so too." Xu Lin nodded in agreement. After being abused by the Xu family for sixteen years, her physical development was also affected.
Xu Lin decided to take good care of herself and try to save herself, maybe she could even grow taller.
But her straightforwardness made Wang Sannai even happier. She liked the straightforward little girl and took Xu Lin to talk about many things in the countryside.
Tell Xu Lin what kind of work she can take and what kind of work she cannot do. If she is assigned a job that she cannot take, she can ask Da Niu and Er Niu in his family to switch.
They country folk don't have much else but a lot of strength, which they can grow back even if they use it up.
He also told Xu Lin which people in the village had bad tempers, which ones he shouldn't associate with, which ones were second-rate people and he should avoid them if he met them.
In short, many of the secrets of the village that could not be revealed to outsiders were told to Xu Lin.
Xu Lin knew all the secrets that even the old educated youth might not know.
After being reminded of the key points several times, Wang Sannai finally got back to business. When it comes to socializing, Wang Sanye really can't catch up with Wang Sannai no matter how hard she tries.
It seems that Hu Zi's little mouth resembles that of Wang Sannai, so he might have said something.
When Wang Sannai heard that Xu Lin’s malted milk was only 25 yuan per can, she was even more moved. This price was really reasonable and she didn’t ask for a penny more.
The most important thing is that they can’t buy the products even if they have money. The supply and marketing cooperatives are either out of stock or the products are sold out as soon as they are put on the shelves.
As soon as those who had connections heard the news, they rushed to the supply and marketing cooperatives to grab the goods. By the time the news reached them, the goods had already been snatched away.
They also went to the black market to buy it. Not only was it extremely expensive, but it was also difficult to buy. One had to rely on luck. If they could buy it twice out of ten times, they were considered lucky.
The most important thing is that his family doesn't have much money, and they can't afford it if they buy it on the black market.
It’s okay to buy it once or twice, but if you buy it too many times, other people in the family will have opinions.
Alas, Wang Sannai sighed in her heart, this is really a mess.
Xu Lin did not take advantage of them. The big white goose was 1.5 yuan per catty. As soon as Xu Lin picked it up and weighed it, he knew that the big white goose weighed more than six catties.
Nanny Wang calculated it as six kilograms, so on the surface Xu Lin got the better deal, but compared with malted milk, it was actually Nanny Wang's family that got the better deal.
A big white goose cost nine yuan, and the firewood was actually worthless, so Xu Lin charged fifty cents for it, but Wang Sannai disagreed.
There is firewood on the mountain and you can pick up as much as you want. How can it be worth fifty cents?
Auntie Wang insisted on charging it only two cents, and she would absolutely not agree to any more.
They have already taken advantage of the situation, how can they continue to take advantage?
Xu Lin did not insist. Whether it was fifty cents or twenty cents, it made no difference to her. However, she could see that Wang Sannai was a good person.
He would not bully outsiders by relying on his status as a local, nor would he take advantage of Xu Lin because she is young and ignorant.