Chapter 5: Eat and Pick Now
The county is extremely poor financially and cannot allocate funds for education.
Most of the teachers are private teachers and farmers, and they all farm their own land at home.
It is difficult to support a family with the meager salary of a private teacher. During the wheat harvest and autumn holidays, teachers are busy going to the fields to harvest their own crops.
In addition, in order to prevent some parents in the village from not sending their children to school because they are too poor, the school will let the children go back to the fields to help during the busy farming season. The wheat, millet, sorghum, etc. harvested can be used to offset tuition fees.
First, it was to respond to the national policy of "returning the grain to the warehouse"; second, the school paid the "grain tuition" to the teachers intact to offset the long-overdue teachers' salaries.
"Who do you want to borrow some grain from?"
"No, no, I don't want to cause trouble for the unit. The school said that if we don't have to pay food, we can pay 15 yuan, so I want to take the duck meat and duck eggs to the gate of the staff quarters to sell. Uncles and aunts work hard all day, and they can have a meal of meat when they go home. What do you think?"
Su Xiaoli didn't say that her aunt had taken away all the family property of the Su family, and she didn't want to reveal such a bad thing to anyone.
"Haha, little girl, your brain is as sharp as your father's. You dare to think and act. In my opinion, you can do it. As the great leader said, be self-reliant and have enough food and clothing!"
With the support of Li Zhengde, this deal is on the way.
Su Xiaoli felt much more at ease.
Li Zhengde was grateful for her kindness and not only agreed to let her set up a stall in front of the staff quarters, but also allowed her to borrow the pots, pans, and utensils from the canteen.
Just after five o'clock, Su Xiaoli came to the gate of Shouzhengqu family compound carrying a pot of stewed duck meat and more than 40 wild duck eggs and stood guard.
There were not enough ingredients to pickle salted duck eggs, so she discussed with her grandmother and decided to sell the fresh duck eggs first.
After setting up the big pot, Su Xiaoli placed a piece of scrap wood next to it, with the words "Fresh duck eggs cost 2 cents each, stewed duck meat costs 7 cents a bowl."
Many of the people going home from get off work knew the grandparents and grandchildren. When they saw Su Xiaoli hawking at the gate, they couldn't help but walk over.
"Hey, isn't this Xiaoli? What are you doing?" An uncle named Liu passed by on the channel.
"Hello, Uncle Liu. I'm working here to earn money for my studies. Can you bring a bowl of freshly stewed duck back to my grandfather Liu?"
The Uncle Liu in front of us lives with three generations of his family in the staff compound. The old man in the family is over 70 years old.
Uncle Liu glanced into the pot and his reaction was even stronger than Li Zhengde's. He had worked on the dam all day and was already starving.
"Okay, little girl, you don't study hard, but instead start a business. I support you!" Uncle Liu handed Su Xiaoli 70 cents without bargaining.
To open the store for business, Su Xiaoli filled a bowl with meat and poured two spoonfuls of thick soup into it.
"Uncle Liu, you have to take it. Just return the bowl to the cafeteria tomorrow. If it tastes good, come back again."
Just after seeing Uncle Liu off, a fat aunt came over with her new daughter-in-law.
"Xiao Li, why are you here?"
"Aunt Shen, Sister Hongxia, you're back. I'm working part-time to earn money for my studies." Su Xiaoli greeted them, showing her eight teeth.
"Oh, you are so sensible. This is... a duck egg." Aunt Shen asked.
"You are absolutely right. These are fresh duck eggs. They are bigger than chicken eggs and are priced the same as chicken eggs. Give a few to my sister-in-law Hongxia to nourish her body so that she can have a grandson soon." Su Xiaoli smiled.
"You are such a good talker, kid." Aunt Shen was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. She had just married her daughter-in-law two months ago.
The new national policy is "family planning, eugenics, and only one child at a time." Since my family all work in public institutions, it is natural for me to respond to the call.
only……
The old man's family has been a single-son family for three generations, and now the whole family is hoping that his daughter-in-law will get pregnant as soon as possible.
The new daughter-in-law is good in every way except that she is too thin. If she doesn't gain some weight, she will be doing a disservice to her future grandson.
"Okay, Hongxia, do you want to eat?" Aunt Shen looked at her daughter-in-law Guo Hongxia.
Guo Hongxia blushed. She wondered how this teenage girl could be more aggressive than the older ladies. At the same time, she saw that the duck eggs were really good and was quite tempted.
"Mom, I don't know how to make duck eggs..." Guo Hongxia whispered.
"Well, there's nothing I can't do. Steamed egg custard is a bit fishy, but stir-fried chives are just right."
Aunt Shen has been a housewife for many years, so she spoke like a real mother-in-law.
"But we didn't buy any leeks today..."
Su Xiaoli's eyes lit up, "Aunt Shen, I have chives growing in my backyard. The price is the same as in the vegetable market, 0.2 yuan per pound. You can just cut them and eat them now. They are very fresh."
"Isn't that what you and your grandma eat?" Aunt Shen looked at the vegetables in the basket. She had already bought quite a few today, and it would be a waste to buy more.
"There's no way the two of us can finish it. Take my sister-in-law to have a look. If you like it, come and have some." Su Xiaoli did not give up and continued to encourage the two.
Although Lingzheng County is a poor county, Aunt Shen and her husband, one works on the Shouzheng Canal and the other at a veterinary station, and their son Dazhuang is a worker at a fertilizer factory.
There are three earning money in a family of four, so they can earn more than 100 yuan a month, so they are not short of money.
Aunt Shen was obviously interested. "Hongxia, I'll take you to have a look. If you want to eat it, we can buy some."
"Okay, I'll listen to you." Guo Hongxia nodded.
Her hometown is in the mountainous area, her family is poor, and they can only eat eggs a few times a year. This time she has duck eggs to eat, and she is very happy in her heart, but she still looks reserved on the surface.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law bought ten duck eggs at once and went to Grandma Su’s vegetable garden in the backyard of the unit.
Grandma Su was recognized as a good farmer in the brigade at that time. She grew leeks with strong roots and lush leaves that were shiny and glossy.
Aunt Shen didn't bother to be polite with Grandma Su. She bought two large handfuls for 20 cents, and then left with her daughter-in-law, satisfied.
On the way back, Aunt Shen met a few aunts from the family compound. After exchanging greetings with them, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law talked about Su Xiaoli's small business at the gate of the compound.
These days, meat, eggs and milk are all rare commodities, and it is even rarer to dare to do small business in a poor county town, not to mention that Su Xiaoli is just a teenage girl.
After receiving the latest information from Aunt Shen, the other aunties rushed to the gate of the courtyard to watch the fun.
Su Xiaoli is sweet-spoken and skillful, and always greets people with a smile.
These aunts are the "bank presidents" of their families and have cash in their hands.
Some people bought duck eggs and stewed duck meat on the spot, and a few others heard that they could pick vegetables directly from the backyard, so they went straight to Grandma Su's vegetable garden. They all fought hard and harvested all the leeks in two rows.
An old lady saw that all the leeks had been harvested, so she bought a bunch of long beans for two cents and took them home to cook some vegetables, in order not to leave empty-handed.
Su Xiaoli happily welcomed the middle-aged women returning with freshly picked vegetables at the gate of the courtyard.
After selling the last drop of soup in the pot, she touched her bulging trouser pockets and walked home happily.
"Grandma, guess how much you made today?"
Su Xiaoli handed a stack of banknotes to Grandma Su.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
