Aunt Zhang finally squeezed out from the shopping area, grabbed Zhou Yian, and hurried to the meat stall.
There were quite a few people at the meat stall, but this time Aunt Zhang didn't squeeze in and lined up obediently at the back.
"Let me tell you, sometimes the supply and marketing cooperatives sell things that don't require a ticket, and there are always a lot of people rushing to buy them," said Aunt Zhang proudly. "Luckily, I got in quickly, otherwise they wouldn't be available."
Indeed, with so many people, it’s quite impressive that anyone can squeeze in.
The line was quite long, so Zhou Yian pulled Aunt Zhang aside to ask her about gossip.
"Auntie, you just mentioned how many children you have in your family."
"I have five children in my family!" Aunt Zhang said, looking very troubled. "It's really hard to support them all."
Aunt Zhang has five children: the eldest daughter Ge Chun, the second son Ge Xia, the third son Ge Qiu, the fourth daughter Ge Dong, and the youngest son Ge Tian.
The eldest daughter and the fourth daughter are all married.
The sons all got married and had several children.
It was such a lively family that it was impossible to have no friction. However, in those days of scarcity, with Aunt Zhang's guidance, they were able to move forward as a team.
Zhou Yian had heard his grandfather mention before that life in those days was really not easy, especially the famine in late 1958.
Even the wild vegetables were dug up.
Many people exchanged their children for food.
For Aunt Zhang, giving birth to five children and raising them is indeed something to be proud of.
"Auntie, can you tell me about Village Chief Ge's family?" Zhou Yian wanted to know more, mainly so that she could live a smoother life.
Aunt Zhang looked at her and said, "Oh, I thought that Song Zhiqing was quite good yesterday. You can't have your cake and eat it too."
What's going on? Zhou Yian was confused.
Looking at Zhou Yian's confused face, Aunt Zhang felt a little embarrassed, as if she was overthinking it. After all, many people did ask her about Ge Qiuze, and it was a conditioned reflex.
"Well, this village chief Ge's family is also a mess."
It was her turn to buy meat. Aunt Zhang didn't have time to say anything and quickly went up to buy it. "Master, give me a pound of meat, and cut more fat."
"One meat ticket costs fifty cents." The pork seller had a fierce look on his face.
"Give me two more bones without a ticket." Aunt Zhang took out a meat ticket and money.
"Two bones, 8 points each." The chef directly pulled out two bones that had no meat on them and were quite long.
It's Zhou Yian's turn.
She just checked her space and found that she still had three pounds of meat coupons, but she couldn't buy them all because Aunt Zhang was still there and it would be too conspicuous.
Fortunately, the meat coupons were still valid and didn't need to be expired. She smiled and said, "Take a pound of meat, with more fat. And two bones that don't require coupons."
Zhou Yian had sharp eyes and noticed some pig offal placed nearby. "How much is this pig offal?"
"Two cents."
It is indeed a bit expensive, it is better to spend more money to buy meat, but Zhou Yian likes to eat it. As long as it is cleaned thoroughly, it is still delicious when stir-fried with peppers.
"One more."
After paying, the meat was skewered with string – plastic bags are no longer popular these days. As for the pig offal, they probably didn't like the smell, so they put it in a small fertilizer bag.
Fertilizer bags, okay, she doesn’t mind.
It was just a bit ostentatious to carry the meat and bones. Zhou Yian saw that Aunt Zhang was holding a bamboo basket filled with vegetables.
I quickly went over to ask Aunt Zhang to help hide it. Aunt Zhang was very thoughtful. She even brought a piece of cloth with her when she bought the meat and covered it with it so that others would not know what they had bought.
The pig offal has a bit of a smell, so I feel embarrassed to put it in other people’s baskets, so I have to carry it myself.
After buying the meat, I saw that it was only eleven o'clock and Aunt Zhang was already preparing to go back to the ox cart and wait.
"Aren't we going shopping? Aren't we going to have lunch?"
"We've visited all the places we need to visit. For lunch, there's nowhere else to go except at the state-owned restaurant and my relatives' homes," Aunt Zhang explained patiently. "It's not that I don't have relatives in the city, and even eating at the state-owned restaurant requires food coupons."
"Why did the old man who drives the cattle set the time at one o'clock?" Zhou Yian was a little confused.
"Those who often go to the county basically have relatives there. Generally, the better relatives will leave meals for them, so I just order some."
"I see."
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