The mother and her two children walked towards the commune.
After arriving at the commune, Jiang Wanyue asked Song Yunying to go to the supply and marketing cooperative alone to sell eggs.
The little girl came out quickly and handed over the two dollars she had earned.
Jiang Wanyue put the bag of fruit and some snacks from her backpack into the empty cloth bag and asked the little girl to carry it.
They were lucky enough to get on the bus as soon as they arrived at the station.
Children didn't need to buy tickets and there were no seats. Jiang Wanyue was taking care of two children by herself, and one seat was not enough. She paid for two people and sat down in the last row of seats. Then she took out two fried dough twists from her cloth bag and let the two children eat them by themselves.
She peeled an orange and felt better after smelling the peel.
There was no air circulation in this car, and all kinds of smells were everywhere. Every time she rode in this car, she always felt carsick.
She took a bite of the orange. It was not as sweet as later generations, but more sour, refreshing.
Several people in the car looked at Jiang Wanyue after smelling the scent, but private transactions were not allowed these days, and Jiang Wanyue didn't have the courage to shout in the car.
After about two hours, around ten in the morning, the car arrived at the county station.
She put the backpack on her back, picked up Song Huazhi with her left hand, held Song Yunying tightly with her right hand, and walked out of the station.
Song Yunying looked around excitedly: "Mom, the buildings here are so beautiful, two stories high, wow, so many people are riding bicycles..."
Jiang Wanyue's fatigue from the ride was instantly swept away, and she smiled and said, "When we go to the provincial capital in the future, there will be taller buildings, more bicycles... There will be many beautiful cars in the provincial capital."
The little girl opened her eyes wide and asked: "Can I go to the provincial capital too?"
"As long as you study hard, you can get out." Jiang Wanyue brought the two children to the entrance of the black market alley quickly.
It was actually very risky for her to carry so many supplies to the black market, but risks and benefits existed equally, so she had to take the risk.
This black market is the same as last time. At first glance, you can't tell that this is an underground market.
She took out a bag of brown sugar from her backpack and held it in her hand, walking slowly with her child. After she had walked a few steps, an old lady grabbed her and said with a hint of anxiety on her smiling face: "Big sister, what are you doing?"
Jiang Wanyue smiled and said, "My sister just gave birth to a child and is in confinement. I'll go and see her with some brown sugar."
"You must have three pounds of brown sugar here." The old lady said with a smile, "My home is over there, how about coming over to have a drink?"
Jiang Wanyue knew at first glance that the lady really wanted brown sugar.
Brown sugar is a scarce commodity these days. Even having a ticket may not guarantee that you can buy it. It all depends on luck.
She followed the old lady through two alleys and arrived at the door of a bungalow.
The old lady finally told the truth: "My daughter-in-law gave birth prematurely a few days ago, and we didn't have time to prepare brown sugar at home. The supply and marketing cooperative didn't have any, so I went to the black market to look around. Big sister, can you spare some of your brown sugar?"
The old lady also knew that Jiang Wanyue's claim of visiting her sister who was in confinement was just an excuse. People who came to the black market were either buying or selling things.
"Premature babies need to be well nourished." Since everyone knew it, Jiang Wanyue did not hesitate and picked up the brown sugar. "Give all this brown sugar to Auntie. The supply and marketing cooperative wants 70 cents per pound of brown sugar, but I don't want 90 cents per pound. Is that okay with you?"
The old lady nodded hurriedly.
Things that don’t require a ticket will naturally be more expensive.
She immediately took out the money, counted out two dollars and seven cents, and bought all the brown sugar.
Jiang Wanyue continued to take out a large bag of noodles from the backpack calmly. Noodles made of white flour were also a rare commodity in that era. Many families regarded them as a nutritional supplement for the body and were suitable for postpartum women and children.
As soon as she took it out, the old lady's eyes widened: "This is a good thing, I want it."
The noodles were sold at RMB 1.30 at the supply and marketing cooperative, but Jiang Wanyue didn't want a ticket and sold them at RMB 1.50 per pound, a total of three and a half pounds, for RMB 5.25. She wiped out the change.
The old lady had bought things on the black market several times. Those sellers were all trying to make more money. The girl in front of her not only had a fair price, but also took the initiative to give her a discount, which naturally made her feel a little good about her.
After buying the most needed things, the old lady's smile became more relaxed: "Big sister, this is the house for the families of the textile factory employees. If you have anything, you can take it out. Don't worry, we won't do anything that would ruin people's jobs."
Jiang Wanyue stood at the door and could hear the crying of a child in the house. This lady was indeed a resident here and an honest person.
If she could solve the problem in this one store, she wouldn't have to carry the basket around looking for the next customer.
She took out the things in the backpack: five kilograms of flour, five kilograms of rice, and three kilograms of sugar. The most eye-catching thing was the pile of fruits: apples, oranges, bananas, and pears.
The old lady pulled Jiang Wanyue into the house and said, "You and the two kids sit down first. I'll go next door and call someone over."
The house was very cramped, probably less than 50 square meters, with three generations living in it. The living room was so small that Jiang Wanyue felt like she couldn't even stretch her arms and legs.
It seems that living in the city is not necessarily so comfortable these days.
After a while, the old lady brought two other ladies with her. When the two ladies saw the rice, flour and sugar, they bought them without saying a word.
Fruits, however, were not so easy to sell. Apples were the most expensive, equivalent to a pound of meat. People without much financial resources were simply reluctant to spend the money, and in the end, only two oranges and two pears were sold.
"Big sister, if you have anything in the future, just send it directly to my house." The old lady smiled and took Jiang Wanyue's hand, "We can buy good things, and you and the two kids don't have to go through so much trouble, isn't that right?"
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