Chapter 11
Night Talk
Nie Bozhao did not get angry with his son, but he said sternly, "If you say such things again, you will have to go back to Qisixiang."
"Maybe she has already left us and ran away. I heard from my mother-in-law last night that the girls from Qisi Township are all bad. Maybe they are just here to cheat us and never thought about cooking for us or washing diapers." Nie Weimin couldn't find hope with his father, so he started to think of the worse.
He hadn't eaten a single bite of food since this morning, and his stomach was growling with hunger.
Comrade Chen's green canvas bag was lying on the woven bag, and the fried cakes were emitting a strong aroma. But Erdan and Sandan had eaten too much this morning, and Dad had just eaten two more, so there were only three left. If they were asked to eat more, the fried cakes would be finished.
Nie Weimin was choking on the oil pancake and wanted to be stubborn. He stared at the canvas bag with aggrieved and sad feeling. He couldn't help but curled up in the chair and cried like a little girl.
With the 168 yuan her mother gave her and the 20 yuan left over from her dowry, Chen Lina now had a total of 188 yuan in her hands, which was a huge sum of money in the 1970s.
Nie Bozhao was willing to talk about his struggles in his youth, but he was always tight-lipped about his family experiences.
Although she only stayed at Nie's house for one day, Chen Lina could see that Nie's mother was very difficult to get along with.
Of course, how can a son who was sold for fifty dollars be compared with his own son who was raised by himself?
Can you expect someone who even hides a few of her children's clothes to be truly kind to the Nie family father and son?
In the morning, the four father and sons ate He Laner's oily steamed buns until their mouths were full, but they could only eat the oily buns today at most.
Starting from tomorrow, I will have to take a train for three days and two nights to get to Uima. What should I eat during these three days and two nights?
What would we use if Nie Bozhao was penniless when we got to Wuima?
After Chen Lina came out of the train station, she went straight to the state-owned store and used her own milk powder coupons to buy two large cans of milk powder and two large cans of malted milk, which are essential for children. Then she turned around and wandered to the back of the train station.
In any era, there is no shortage of people who take the low path.
In the 1970s, there was a group of people known as speculators. They specialized in getting good stuff that could not be bought with tickets in state-owned stores, and they could also get all kinds of candies, biscuits and other things at shockingly high prices.
The trains sell goods to passengers traveling from north to south. These people hide behind the train stations and do a booming business.
"Comrade, do you want some candy? Authentic White Rabbit and red shrimp crisps, all from Shanghai Food Factory." When a profiteer saw Chen Lina, it was like a meeting between spies. Just one glance and both parties understood each other immediately.
"how much?"
"White Rabbit is two yuan per pound." The old man stretched out two fingers.
"Two pieces? Comrade, a pound of meat is only one piece now."
"We are speculating and risking our lives. Isn't life more valuable than meat?"
"I want two kilograms. Is one dollar and eighty dollars okay?" Chen Lina spoke in standard provincial dialect, sounding like a local.
The dealer was also very happy. When he heard that it was a local, he stopped teasing and said, "Okay, 1.8 yuan is 1.8 yuan. Business is not good now, comrade."
Chen Lina picked out a large iron box of cookies and two kilograms of sugar, all of which she put into a large woven bag. She was about to leave, but then she turned back and asked, "Comrade, what is that? Let me see."
The red paper package had a golden chicken painted on it and a line of large characters reading "Egg Instant Noodles", with the names of several Shanghai Food Factories marked below.
"This is the most precious thing I have. When I bought it from the vendor, it cost four dollars a bag. People here don't know the goods and can't sell it. If you want it, I'll sell it to you for three dollars and fifty cents a bag."
Although it is said that instant noodles in the future will be junk food, instant noodles nowadays are very expensive. Moreover, the instant noodles produced by Shanghai Food Factory are actually made of egg essence noodles and fried in vegetable oil. Chen Lina ate a bag of it when she was a child and she will never forget the taste.
"I want five packs, but I can only give you 2.5 yuan. If you want more, I really have no money." Chen Lina said pitifully and handed over all the few bills in her hand.
The dealer really couldn't sell them and was anxious to get his money back, so he frowned, waved his hand and said, "Okay, okay, we're having a big sale at a loss, take them all."
All in all, Chen Lina spent 16.5 yuan, and only bought a little food.
She took out some money from her pocket and sighed, saying that small amounts of money were really wasted.
When the train was about to leave, Chen Lina hurried back carrying a large woven bag.
"Comrade Xiao Chen, hurry up, the train will leave if you don't get going." Nie Bozhao held one in each hand, with bags on his shoulders and back.
As for the legendary train-robbing, the scene was almost the same as the assault on Shangganling.
The man ran at a brisk pace, and the woman followed closely behind, dragging the child. Carriage after carriage was packed with people. Just looking at the heads of people sticking out, Chen Lina's hair went numb. If they were squeezed like this for three days, they would probably be squeezed to death on the train.
However, once we found the carriage and got on board, everything suddenly became quiet.
Nie Bozhao bought a sleeper berth, which cost more than 20 yuan. Without a letter of recommendation from the work unit, ordinary people could not buy one. As for the young guards, they would rather die in the hard seat car in front of them like canned fish than in the sleeper car because they had to respond to the call of the leaders, work hard, be frugal, and not engage in the extravagant capitalist practices.
So, even though the front carriage was packed with people like a meat pancake, there were only a handful of people in the sleeper car, all of whom were staff members from various large units, so it was of course exceptionally quiet.
After a long, crowded bus ride, the three berths finally freed the kids. Erdan and Sandan went up to the top berth and started playing with their pillows.
Nie Weimin was still serious, like a small cadre, sitting in the lower bunk, not eating or drinking, with his head straight and his eyes not squinting.
He looks most like Nie Bozhao, with the same nose, eyebrows and eyes. The father and son are probably angry, and even their angry expressions are exactly the same.
One is a middle school kid, the other is an angry young man. Chen Lina thought that these two father and son are a perfect match.
"What did you buy?" asked Nie Bozhao.
Chen Lina opened the woven bag and took out a box from it. She opened it with a clang. Erdan, who was working on the upper floor, immediately looked down and said, "Mom, these are biscuits. Biscuits."
"I don't have the cookie ticket. Where did you buy these cookie?" Nie Bozhao was stunned, and Erdan almost fell off the bed in his attempt to grab the cookie.
Chen Lina got three slices for Erdan and two slices for Sandaner. When it was Nie Weimin's turn, he was given four slices.
But Nie Weimin sniffed and turned his face away, "I don't want to eat it."
Chen Lina then closed the box, took a snap, and started eating the biscuit.
Biscuits of this era do not have too many flavoring additives, the milk flavor is very pure, and they are crispy and delicious.
Then, Erdan exclaimed again, "This is malted milk, milk powder, this is red shrimp crisps, oh, this is White Rabbit, White Rabbit milk candy."
The bag was full of snacks for the three children.
"You can only eat one candy a day. If you eat Red Prawn Crisps, you can't eat White Rabbit. If you eat White Rabbit, you can't eat Red Prawn Crisps. Comrade Xiao Nie, do you want to eat it?"
Nie Weimin’s favorite food is White Rabbit, but at this time he was still too proud to eat it.
Chen Lina didn't say anything. After distributing the food to the children, she tied up the woven bag and stuffed it directly under the bed.
The train was rattling. Chen Lina and Sandan slept in the middle bunk, Nie Weimin occupied the upper bunk alone, and Nie Bozhao and Erdan slept in the lower bunk.
When she was about to fall asleep, Chen Lina was woken up by Nie Bozhao.
There were actually not many people in this carriage, and the three seats opposite were still empty. When Chen Lina saw Nie Bozhao standing on the ground, she was startled.
"Comrade Xiao Chen, please come down and let's talk."
Chen Lina rubbed her eyes and sat up. "Let's talk about it when we get to Umayyad. This train is shaking and it's giving me a headache. I also want to sleep."
"You spent at least twenty dollars today. Is that the money I gave you last time?"
"Yes, but not as much as twenty. About sixteen or seventeen." Chen Lina wanted to stretch her legs, but the bed was too short. Her long legs had to be bent like that, and she was about to feel uncomfortable.
"You shouldn't be so indulgent with children, and you shouldn't spend money recklessly. Also, why do I feel that your ears are clear, your mouth doesn't twitch, your brain is not damaged, and your legs are..." They are long, straight, and you walk very flexibly.
"Why do I feel that you are not mentally ill? Are you pretending when you slap your lips?" Nie Bozhao threw out all the doubts he had along the way.
Turning to one side, half asleep and half awake, Chen Lina looked at the serious man with his hands on his hips, who looked like an old cadre, with a smile on her face.
He was wearing a shirt and asked the child to rub the buttons when he went to sleep. Wow, his muscles were faintly visible, his bronze skin, and his big eyes were slightly deep. Oh my, he was so handsome.
"Then tell me, if I'm a 20-year-old girl and I'm not stupid, why would I want to follow you and your three children into the Gobi Desert?" Chen Lina, who was lying on her side on the middle bunk, gave him a coquettish look.
The honest man blushed instantly. When he was young, he was very vulnerable to teasing.
"Dad, I want to pee." Little Sandan was snuggling in Chen Lina's arms. As soon as he said "pee", Chen Lina threw him to Nie Bozhao.
The kid just peed when he said he would, and in a flash he peed all over Nie Bozhao.
At this time, Nie Weimin, who was extremely hungry, started crying on the upper floor, sometimes whimpering and sometimes sobbing.
Chen Lina wanted to coax him, but Nie Bozhao suppressed her and said, "Don't worry about it. Let him alone for a day."
You are the one who decides what to do with your sons, Chen Lina thought to herself, your three sons are indeed troublemakers, and they will all be big pests that endanger society in the future. You have to educate them from the root and be really ruthless.