The old lady reached out and touched the mushrooms. They were in good condition and intact. "Weigh out ten pounds for me. You're quite the businesswoman, aren't you?" Her own daughter lived in the same town. She would send some over to her and keep some for herself.
This one weighs five jin, that one weighs two jin, and in no time at all, a whole basket of mushrooms was sold out.
With the baskets cleared, it was time to go buy piglets. When selecting piglets, the first thing to do is to observe them. Healthy piglets are lively and active, have bright eyes, and make clear, crisp noises. In addition, pigs have smooth, oily fur, pink skin, good physique, and grow quickly, while pigs with "thick skin, thick fur, and tough meat" grow slowly.
Lin Jianguo picked out the biggest and most voracious piglet at a piglet vendor. He asked the price, which was twelve yuan a piglet. After haggling for a long time, the vendor wouldn't budge. It was time for Er Ya to step in. She blinked her eyes and pleaded, "Uncle, can you give us a discount? Just a little bit, please."
"Look at you, kid. Here's eleven yuan, that's the least you can do. Look at my pig, it'll grow into a big pig in less than two months. You won't lose out."
"Thank you, Uncle. You're so kind. You're sure to make a fortune today."
"Haha, if I really make a fortune, I'll buy you a pound of candy when I see you again." The piglet buyer didn't take it seriously, helped put the pigs into the basket, and then busied himself with attending to other piglet buyers.
Who knew that a wealthy customer would come along so soon, take a liking to all of his piglets, and buy them all at a high price. He was so happy that he didn't know what to say. Oh my, that little girl really was right! How amazing! He had to thank that little girl properly when he saw her again.
After buying the piglets, they were just about to go see the chicks when Er Ya suddenly tugged at Lin Jianguo's sleeve: "Dad, look at that little pig, it's so pitiful, it can't get anything to eat, and the other piglets are bullying it. Dad, shall we buy another pig?"
Lin Jianguo looked at the pig. Its cries were high-pitched and hoarse, and its breathing was rapid and its nostrils were flaring. It was obviously a sick pig. He said to Er Ya, "This pig is no good. It won't survive. Besides, you can tell its legs are lame. Let's not buy this pig, okay?"
Er Ya had a thought in her mind: she wanted to buy that piglet. She said to Lin Jianguo in a coquettish tone, "No, Dad, please buy it. I'll cut pig feed for it every day."
Lin Jianguo looked at Jiang's mother with a troubled expression. The family said they had sold the ginseng, but after buying the house, they had less than a hundred yuan left.
When Jiang's mother saw that Er Ya was determined to have the piglet, she suddenly remembered what had happened to Er Ya. She had always been lucky and blessed, so maybe she could really raise the piglet well.
Lin Jianguo was asked to go up and ask the price. When the piglet seller heard that Lin Jianguo had his eye on the sick pig, he glanced at Lin Jianguo. The man before him was dressed in patched clothes and didn't seem wealthy. He couldn't possibly cheat this peasant family, so he shouted:
“Brother, we farmers don’t lie to each other, and I won’t hide it from you either. This sow has a problem. I’m even afraid I won’t be able to keep her alive. If you want a piglet, I’ll pick out a plump and strong one for you. I guarantee you’ll grow to 200 pounds by the New Year.”
Seeing that Lin Jianguo was still determined to have the sick pig, the piglet seller said, "If you really want that pig, six yuan, you can take it." It wasn't that he was lying; the man was just being stubborn and insisted, so there was nothing he could do.
Er Ya was overjoyed to have bought the piglets she wanted. She dragged her parents to pick out nine hens and one rooster, so they could brood, lay eggs, hatch more hens, lay more eggs, hatch more hens... and so on, so there would be an endless supply of chickens to eat!
It was noon, and Er Ya was getting a little hungry. Seeing a state-run restaurant ahead, she wondered what the food tasted like in those days. She shook her mother's hand and said, "Mom, shall we eat here for lunch today? I want to eat the food here."
Looking at the restaurant in front of her, Jiang's mother thought that she had only eaten here once, when she got married, with Lin Jianguo, and had never been here since. Since her daughter wanted to eat here, she decided to take her. She had also earned about ten yuan from selling mushrooms today.
He glanced at Lin Jianguo, but he had no objection. It turned out that he hadn't had any money, so he had neglected his wife and daughter. Now that he had money, he couldn't let them suffer.
The three of them went inside. It was lunchtime, and all the round tables were full of people enjoying their meals.
I found an empty spot, took the basket down and put it away, and started looking at what dishes were served that day. Unlike modern restaurants where you get a menu and can order whatever you want, restaurants back then wrote down what dishes were available on a small blackboard, and you could order whatever you wanted.
In those days, state-run restaurants were all owned by the state. From the chefs to the waiters, everyone had a secure job—a guaranteed government job. If you weren't in that position, you couldn't get in.
I saw beef noodles on the blackboard, one yuan a bowl. At that time, cattle were not allowed to be slaughtered at will. They were precious. If you wanted to eat beef, you had to wait until the cattle died of old age before you could kill them. Without connections, you couldn't get any.
Er Ya's mouth was watering. She hadn't eaten beef in a long time, and she kept saying, "Dad, I want to eat beef noodles. I've heard people in the village say they're delicious."
Three yuan is enough for three people, enough to buy so much cornmeal. Even Jiang's mother was a little reluctant to spend the money, saying, "If Er Ya wants to eat, just buy her a bowl. I'll just eat the plain noodles."
Er Ya was unhappy when she heard this: "Mom, you should eat beef noodles. You can't usually eat them even if you want to. I heard that eating beef noodles is good for your little brother. Maybe your little brother will want to eat beef noodles too."
After much discussion, Lin Jianguo finally gritted his teeth and ordered two bowls of beef noodles. He went to pay first, and by then the waiter was getting impatient. "Poor bastard," he thought, "even eating a meal is so tedious. And he's bringing a basket full of pork and chicken stuff, it smells awful." His tone became impatient as well.
"Comrade, can you hurry up? There are so many people waiting. If you can't afford it, go eat at a street stall. You're just a peasant, don't pretend to be rich."
Lin Jianguo's face flushed red instantly, feeling that people behind him were pointing and whispering, and that this person was saying such awful things.
When Er Ya heard this person talk to her father like that, she jumped up and said, "Auntie, why do you talk so rudely? Your mouth smells bad. Er Ya can smell it even from this far away. It's not like you own the restaurant. You ordered three bowls of beef noodles for us, and you want extra meat. Hurry up and bring it up. We have things to do."
Upon hearing this, the waitress, a young woman in her early twenties, was furious that this child was calling her "auntie." She went up and was about to slap Er Ya across the face.
"stop"
To be continued!
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