Seeing that no one was in the yard, Tang Baozhu decided not to deal with the fish herself and went straight back into the house, where she put the fish and the bucket into her small space.
I filled a clean basin with some water imbued with spiritual energy and placed it at the door. I remembered that when I was by the lake earlier, I had completely forgotten to freeze the ice. What a blunder! I need to make up for it now.
After tidying up the room and removing the fishy smell from my clothes, I took the remaining money and went to Li Feifei's room.
She knocked on the door, and someone quickly opened it. "Who is it?... It's Baozhu! Come in quickly, is there something you need?"
"Sister Zheng He, it's really nothing. I saw the vermicelli you brought out at dinner yesterday, and after eating it, I thought it was delicious. So I was wondering if you knew anyone who had some? I was planning to go and get some too. I'm not very familiar with the people in the village, so I could only come to you."
“You have a good eye. Those vermicelli are really good. They’re all handmade by the villagers. Because they’re handmade, the yield is a bit low. They might only cost three cents a pound at the market. If you buy them in the village, they’ll cost at least three and a half cents, maybe even four cents. Do you want to buy them now, or wait until spring? At that time, before the start of the work season, there will be another market.”
Tang Baozhu thought for a moment and decided to just buy some for herself. By the time spring came, the herbs in her space would be ripe, and she could grow as many as she wanted without spending money.
"I didn't buy much, it's too expensive and not worth it. Buying ten or eight pounds would be enough, just to satisfy my craving."
“Sure, I happen to know an auntie who makes some at home. She makes a lot every year and exchanges it with us educated youth and others. Don’t worry about them not having enough vermicelli.”
Zheng He figured she didn't have anything else to do, and she was already tired from making shoe soles, so she figured she might as well go with Baozhu since she had some free time.
"Okay, I'll go with you. Wait for me a moment, I'll put on another thick coat."
Tang Baozhu saw Feifei and Xiaoxue working, and judging from the shoes they were making, which were probably cloth shoes to wear while waiting to start work, their hands seemed to be constantly moving, which made her feel very tired.
But she also admired Feifei and the others for making the most of every minute. It seems that she should read more books in the future, and when she gets tired of reading, she can do more handicrafts or knit some handmade items.
After Zheng He got dressed, she and Baozhu left the educated youth settlement together.
"Sister Zheng He, does that aunt live far away? Are her family members easy to get along with?"
"Baozhu, don't be afraid. That aunt is easy to get along with. Besides, they often exchange things with others, and they're very nice."
"Hmm. What's your aunt's name? Tell me in advance what everyone usually calls her, so we don't get embarrassed when we get to her house and don't know how to greet her!"
Zheng He suddenly remembered that she had indeed forgotten, and slapped her forehead, surprised that she had forgotten something so important.
"Just call her Aunt Chun, the Chun of spring. I think her original name was Chunhua, but she thought Aunt Chunhua sounded too rustic, so she told everyone to call her Aunt Chun. As long as you don't call her by the wrong name, she's quite easy to get along with. Of course, if you do call her by the wrong name, it's okay, she'll just ignore you."
Zheng He said that Tang Baozhu had such an impression in her mind, and had a particularly interesting image of an aunt in her head.
She pursed her lips, trying to hold back her laughter.
About ten minutes later, we arrived at Aunt Chun's house.
Zheng He knocked on the door, thinking that she probably wouldn't hear it, since it was so cold and everyone was staying home to hibernate. She quickly called out, "Aunt Chun, it's me, Xiao He from the educated youth compound. I need to talk to you about something. Please open the door."
Tang Baozhu never expected that Zheng Hesi, who was so gentle, would have such a loud voice. She wondered if she would also have a loud voice if she stayed in the countryside for a long time.
Just thinking about that scene is unbearable, especially the image of Tang Baozhu standing with her hands on her hips cursing in the street. It made me shudder and I quickly banished the image from my mind.
Zheng He called several more times, and finally heard a voice from inside, "Coming, coming, it's Xiao He. Hurry up and come inside. It's so cold outside. Why aren't you hiding inside to hibernate in this cold weather? Is something the matter?"
Tang Baozhu didn't feel cold, but Zheng He was noticeably more comfortable after entering the room, which showed that she had indeed been freezing.
"Auntie, this is a new educated youth who came to the shop this year. He ate your vermicelli during the Spring Festival and thought it was delicious, so he thought he would come here to exchange for some. If you ask me, the vermicelli you make is the best in the whole village."
Aunt Chun smiled like a chrysanthemum after being praised like that. It's no exaggeration to say that no one in the whole village is as good at making vermicelli as she is.
"Auntie, we don't have much else here, but we have a lot of vermicelli. What's the little girl's name? How much do you want this time? I'll go get it for you right away."
"Hello, Auntie. My name is Tang Baozhu. You can call me Baozhu if you like. How much are the vermicelli per pound? I'm planning to buy ten pounds. The vermicelli you make is so delicious that I just want to eat more."
When Aunt Chun saw such a pretty young girl, she praised her skills to her face and, in her delight, gave her a market price.
"The little girl is so pretty, and Xiaohe brought her here. Auntie won't make any money off you. Just give her three cents a pound. If you finish it, feel free to come back and exchange it."
Tang Baozhu was surprised that Aunt Chun was so easy to talk to, and quickly thanked her, "Then thank you, Auntie. Don't worry, I will definitely come back to exchange for more after I finish eating, because Auntie's vermicelli is the best."
"Come on over, your auntie would love to."
He counted out three yuan from his pocket and handed it to Aunt Chun. Then he carried ten jin of vermicelli. The vermicelli was quite heavy, but there was a lot of it. Even if he ate vermicelli every day, it would last for ten days. Of course, no one could eat vermicelli every day.
Tang Baozhu chatted with Sister Zheng He and Aunt Chun for a while. Seeing that the other families were almost ready to cook dinner, she quickly said goodbye. After all, in this era, it was rare for someone without relatives to eat with others. People didn't have enough food to begin with, so it would be too impolite to eat at their house.
Back at the educated youth settlement, Tang Baozhu felt she couldn't let Zheng He's trip be in vain, so she quickly stopped her from going back to the dormitory. "Sister Zheng He, wait a minute. It's so cold. You came with me, but I can't let you go for nothing. I went fishing this morning, so let's take a fish back to cook."
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