Chapter 5 Black Market
Zhao family courtyard.
Zhao Xiaoxiao is Zhao Yi's younger sister and is usually the most favored one at home. After all, she is Li Daju's eldest daughter, the last born after three sons.
"Mom, why isn't breakfast ready yet?"
Zhao Xiaoxiao came to the kitchen and found nothing in the pot, so she hurriedly shouted towards the main room.
"Eat, eat, eat. You only know how to eat. Can't you make something yourself if you don't have food to eat?"
Li Daju suddenly became angry for no apparent reason.
Before Zhao Yi got married, he was the one who prepared breakfast. Li Daju hadn't cooked for many years. These days, she was the one who was busy. She had to go home to cook after work, and she always felt annoyed.
In the past, Zhao Yi not only had to work and cook, but also had to wash clothes for the whole family. He was very diligent and busy.
Now that Zhao Yi is married and has moved out, these chores naturally fall on Li Daju alone. The second and third sons don't know how to do it at all. Zhao Xiaoxiao won't let Zhao Yi help her wash clothes, she does it herself.
As for helping with cooking at home, I seldom do so. When I am not in school, I have to work with Li Daju.
"oh."
When Zhao Xiaoxiao heard the tone, she knew her mother was angry, so she hurried into the kitchen and started working.
It didn't take long for the meal to be ready.
"Where's Dad?"
At the dinner table, Zhao Xiaoxiao did not see Zhao Dahai.
"I'm going to work in the forest farm, eh!"
Li Daju sighed again when she thought of this. She couldn't understand why her eldest son had changed so much. He used to be so filial, but now he only knew how to eat alone.
This place is not far from the old house, and if you get closer you can of course smell the fish being cooked over there at night. But Zhao Yi has been eating fish for several days and he didn't even offer to send one over for them to try.
Li Daju put the bowl back on the table and looked towards the old house with a heavy heart.
"Mom, is the food I cooked not tasty?"
As soon as Zhao Xiaoxiao saw her mother, she knew something was wrong. Although her parents loved her, she would still be beaten if she made a mistake.
"I have no appetite, you guys eat."
Li Daju shook her head.
The food in the countryside is basically the same, and no one family's food is much better. Those who are capable and knowledgeable will go into the mountains to dig up things like yam and kudzu root, bring them back to dry, and mix them with staple food.
As for the vegetables, most of them are wild vegetables. There are not many vegetables in the private plots, so we have to eat them sparingly.
My son and daughter ate with great relish and finished the rice in their bowls in no time.
Li Daju walked towards the old house.
"The boss isn't here?"
Li Daju walked into the room and didn't see Zhao Yi. Only Zhang Jing was in the yard drying the mountain products that Zhao Yi brought back yesterday.
"He went out before dawn. I wonder what he was doing?"
Zhang Jing answered truthfully.
Li Daju opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but swallowed it back in the end. Zhao Yi had changed so much and was no longer the person who didn't know how to think for himself.
Zhang Jing watched her mother-in-law come and go back without saying anything. She didn't know what her mother-in-law was going to do, but the head of the household said that no matter whether her mother-in-law came or not, she just had to greet her. As for other questions, she could just answer a sentence or two if she asked, and not say anything if she didn't ask.
Zhang Jing naturally knew where Zhao Yi had gone, but Zhao Yi didn't let her tell him.
At this time, Zhao Yi had already arrived at the black market in the city.
Wangou Village is not far from the city, but it would take more than 20 hours to get there by taking the repaired dirt road.
But if you take the steep mountain road, it only takes three hours of walking and then one more hour to get there after crossing the top of the mountain. However, the mountains are full of dangers and there are no decent roads, so few people would take the mountain road to the city.
Zhao Yi set up many traps when digging yam and kudzu root in the mountains. Last night he caught two fish weighing five or six kilograms. Today he happened to go to the city to sell everything.
There was little harvest in the mountains, only a wild rabbit. It might be that all the game near Wangou Village had been hunted by the villagers.
If you want to gain more, you have to go deeper.
Twelve pounds of fish sold for 3 yuan, and a wild rabbit sold for 2.5 yuan.
Zhao Yi exchanged some bills on the black market, bought two kilograms of lard, and went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some daily condiments before rushing to Wangou Village.
When Zhao Yi returned home, it was already dark. In summer, it gets dark very late, around 8:30, and it gets light very early, around 5 o'clock.
It took almost ten hours to travel the mountain road and sell things.
People who are not familiar with the mountains can easily get lost in them.
"The head of the family."
Seeing Zhao Yi coming back, Zhang Jing immediately smiled.
Zhao Yi handed the thing in his hand to Zhang Jing.
"Hide these things for a while, and keep the money for now. When you get the cloth, go buy some and make some clothes."
Zhao Yi handed the remaining money to Zhang Jing.
Zhang Jing was staring at the lard in Zhao Yi's hand and smiling very happily. A strong laborer could not get much pork throughout the year. If he was unlucky, he would mostly get half lean meat and half fat meat. In the whole year, he could only get nearly six kilograms of lard, but he could get more than ten kilograms of vegetable oil.
After putting the things away, Zhang Jing hurriedly boiled water for Zhao Yi to wash. She was still very excited at this time. She had more than three yuan in her hand and didn't know where to hide it safely.
"Boss, you have never been to the city, how do you know where to sell things?"
Zhang Jing looked at Zhao Yi puzzledly and asked.
"Who told you that I have never been to the city?"
Zhao Yi asked with a smile.
People in rural areas basically don't run to the city. Places like Wangou Village don't need to go to the county town to hand in their grain supplies, they can just take them directly to the commune. After all, it's too far from the county town, which not only wastes time on the road, but is also prone to rainy days.
"What's the city like? How is it different from us?"
Zhang Jing suddenly became a curious baby. Apart from staying in Zhangjia Village, she also came to Wangou Village after getting married. She had never been to the county town, let alone the city.
"I'll take you to see it if I have the chance."
Zhao Yi said with a smile.
At this time, Zhao Yi was thinking about how to get a job, even if it was just a temporary job.
But nowadays it is very difficult to find a job in the countryside, and it is not easy even in the city, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many educated youth leaving their hometowns and coming to the countryside to work.
Zhao Yi had no idea and could only think about it.
As for going to work at the forest farm, Zhao Yi didn't want to go now. Lying on the bed, Zhao Yi tried hard to recall things from his past life.
It seems that there are no jobs that are easy to get in the rural area except those in the coal mines. It seems that we can only wait for the steel plant to send people to prepare for mining and then sign up at the coal mine.
Although it is a bit hard work, at least I get a salary of 26 yuan per month and all the benefits that workers have.
Just not considered a formal worker.
Thinking about these things, Zhao Yi fell asleep soon.
When I woke up again, it was already dawn. After hearing the gong, I had breakfast and went to work with Zhang Jing.
"Boss, how about I go back and ask my mom for an iron pot?"
Zhang Jing felt that eating boiled potatoes every morning was not a big deal, and said to Zhao Yi.
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