The autumn rain slowly stopped.
Jiang Wanyue and Principal Zheng also boarded the bus to the county town.
The two men carried a large bucket into the car. There was a basin covering the bucket. The fish inside would stir from time to time, making a dong sound.
Everyone in the car looked at the bucket curiously.
Principal Zheng wiped his sweat and said with a smile: "My nephew's wife has given birth. Bring some fish with you to see the baby."
The ticket seller came over curiously and said, "This fish is quite strong. Can I take a look?"
Principal Zheng felt very guilty. After all, he was going to do business. If he was not careful, he would be considered as speculator, with disastrous consequences.
He couldn't help but look at Jiang Wanyue.
Obviously, he is older than Jiang Wanyue and holds a higher position than her, but for some reason, at times like this, he always wants Jiang Wanyue to make the decision.
Jiang Wanyue was ashamed.
The principal looks like a thief, it would be strange if others didn't suspect him.
They didn't do anything bad, but their sneaky behavior made others think that they were profiteering.
She smiled, took the basin covering the bucket away, and said with a smile, "These are fish caught in our brigade's pond. When our brigade goes fishing together at the end of the year, we will take the extra fish to sell at the food station. You can buy some to try."
The salesperson couldn't help but ask, "Your team leader is really easy to talk to. Does he usually allow members to catch fish?"
"Look at what you said." Jiang Wanyue smiled brightly, "Who doesn't have a daughter or daughter-in-law who gets pregnant and gives birth? Women have to drink fish soup to replenish their bodies after giving birth, otherwise the baby won't have milk to drink. We catch fish and use work points to deduct them, which doesn't violate the policy. Why doesn't the team leader allow it?"
The salesperson was speechless.
The other passengers on the bus also thought there was nothing wrong with it. However, their village caught fish secretly and no one reported it to the team leader.
The car bumped along the way and arrived at the county town at about ten o'clock.
Jiang Wanyue and Principal Zheng carried buckets of water and walked from the station to the Education Bureau. It was working hours and the door of the Education Bureau was closed. The old man was leaning against the door, drowsy.
Principal Zheng scratched the back of his head and asked, "Well, Xiao Jiang, aren't we here to sell fish? Why are we here at the Education Bureau?"
Jiang Wanyue shrugged: "Besides the Education Bureau, do we have any acquaintances elsewhere?"
Principal Zheng had a face full of question marks.
Do they have acquaintances in the Education Bureau?
Jiang Wanyue had already walked over and greeted loudly: "Uncle Liu!"
Last time she found out that the old man's surname was Liu, he was in his sixties, and he was a fellow villager of the director of the Education Bureau, so she got the job as a janitor.
Uncle Liu suddenly woke up and recalled for a moment before saying, "Oh, it's Principal Zheng and Teacher Jiang."
"Thanks to Uncle Liu's help, we were able to meet Director Qiao and make a deal. So, I picked some fresh vegetables to thank you." Jiang Wanyue stuffed a bag of cabbage and radish into the uncle's hands. "They are all grown by ourselves. We can't eat them all. Uncle, please help us."
After hearing her say that she couldn't finish it, Uncle Liu dared to accept it, but he didn't dare to accept it openly. He quickly turned around and hid under the table in the guard room. Then he turned around and said with a smile: "How old are you this year, Teacher Jiang? Do you have a partner?"
Jiang Wanyue immediately responded: "She's 26, got married a long time ago, and has three children."
"Oh, that's a pity." Uncle Liu shook his head. "I have a nephew who is a soldier. He is tall and handsome. I wanted to introduce him to Teacher Jiang."
Jiang Wanyue started chatting with the old man.
Principal Zheng: “…”
It turns out that the acquaintance Xiao Jiang was talking about was the old man who was guarding the door.
Today he finally realized how scary people who are very familiar with others can be.
The two chatted for a long time before finally getting to the point. Jiang Wanyue smiled and said, "I almost forgot about the main thing. Principal Zheng and I came back this time to thank Director Qiao and everyone in the Education Bureau. So, after asking the captain for permission, I caught a fish and brought it over as a snack for everyone in the Education Bureau."
Uncle Liu stretched his neck to take a look.
Wow, it’s a big grass carp, at least seven or eight kilograms, a big one.
In Lianhu County, although fish are not a rare commodity, they still cost about 50 or 60 cents per pound. As there are no large-scale fisheries nearby, fish can usually only be bought from the supply and marketing cooperatives during the Chinese New Year when the village collectively fishes in the ponds. On weekdays, people have to queue up and fight for fish.
Uncle Liu's eyes sparkled as he looked at the fish.
He said, "I'll go ask Director Qiao. Principal Zheng and Teacher Jiang, please sit aside for a while."
After he finished speaking, he walked inside to Director Qiao's office.
But Director Qiao was in a meeting, and it took about ten minutes for the meeting to finish. Uncle Liu went to greet him and said, "Director Qiao, Principal Zheng and Teacher Jiang from Xiaojing Brigade Primary School are here. They said that in order to thank you for your help last time, the brigade specially approved a fish for them to deliver."
Director Qiao's face suddenly darkened: "Old Liu, you have been in the Education Bureau for a few years, how come you don't know the basic rules? If I accept their fish, my position as director will be over!"
"Director Qiao has misunderstood." Uncle Liu said hurriedly, "They are not giving you a gift, but giving it to the cafeteria to give extra meals to everyone in the Education Bureau."
With this said, Director Qiao’s psychological burden was not so heavy.
If a gift is only given to one person, then he will become the target of public criticism.
If everyone eats it, it's no big deal since the law doesn't hold everyone responsible.
Moreover, this is a recognition of his work and a compliment to their Education Bureau. There is no reason to turn him away.
He nodded: "Then Lao Liu, you can take them to the cafeteria. By the way, it's not easy for them to come here, so you can take two meal tickets and let them have a meal before leaving."
Old Liu happily went to do it.
Jiang Wanyue and Principal Zheng were taken to the cafeteria.
There are not many staff members in the Education Bureau and the cafeteria is not very big. It is now past eleven o'clock and the chef is busy.
There were only two dishes in the cafeteria today, one was green vegetables, and the other was minced meat and green beans. This food is considered very good in this era.
When Uncle Liu brought the big grass carp into the kitchen, the chef was surprised: "Where did you get it from?"
Uncle Liu said excitedly: "Don't ask so many questions, just make the fish soup quickly so that everyone can have some."
The chef hadn't cooked fish for a long time, so he immediately killed the fish, gutted it, cut it into small pieces, heated up some oil in a pan, and first fried it until it was browned, then added water to stew it. There happened to be some leftover radishes in the kitchen, so he diced them all and threw them into the pot to cook together.
Jiang Wanyue had never expected that she and Principal Zheng would actually get meal tickets, which would be a good opportunity for them to try the big cafeterias of that era.
Principal Zheng was a little restless: "Xiao Jiang, weren't you going to sell the fish? Why did you give it away?"
During the Chinese New Year, the state purchased grass carp for 47 cents, and city dwellers bought it for 55 cents per pound. The fish they sent weighed eight pounds, which was worth three or four yuan.
Jiang Wanyue said: "Things are only worth so much money if they can be sold. If they can't be sold, they are worthless."
In this era, the economy is stagnant, and countless good things have been wasted, including vegetables that farmers cannot finish eating, fish that cannot be caught in the water, fruits that rot in the mountains, and various resources... Villagers cannot sell them, and city dwellers cannot buy them, as if there was a chasm between them.
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