In the end, Lin Lan received 100 yuan, and also some rations based on population.
When Old Man Han handed the hundred yuan to Lin Lan, he was also very upset. "Mother Da Wang, this money didn't come easily. Save it well and live your life. Don't spend it recklessly."
Don't send her back to her parents' home!
Lin Lan smiled and said, "Don't worry, Dad. I will definitely spend the money well."
The family still needs to buy furniture, cotton-padded clothes, and quilts, and the child still needs to go to school. Although this hundred yuan may seem like a lot, it is actually not enough to spend.
She herself didn't feel anything, and thought that a hundred yuan was nothing, but the people watching were already jealous and their hearts were sour. They calculated their own family's money and found that they couldn't even come up with ten yuan, but she was so good that she took out a hundred yuan at once.
Judging from the way the old lady was digging the door, if she took out a hundred, I'm afraid there would be still five to eight hundred left.
Many people's eyes lit up when they thought about this, and they couldn't help but grumble and swallow.
When Lin Lan went to take the money, she pulled it but couldn't move it. The old Korean man held the money in his hand reluctantly.
Lin Lan tried hard but still couldn't pull it. She immediately understood his worry and assured him, "Dad, don't worry. I will never send her back to her parents' home. I have five children to raise."
The old Korean reluctantly let go of Lin Lan's hand, and she immediately counted the money and put it in her pocket.
Everyone's eyes glanced at her pocket.
After the grain was weighed, the household items were divided.
I got a half-worn iron hammer, a broom that was almost worn out, several kinds of bowls and chopsticks, a basket, two broken lids, cooking utensils and some other things, and nothing else.
Lin Lan's eyes turned and she said, "Can we share one of our trees? Look, when his father and I got married, we had nothing. Now that we have split up the family and have many children, do we need to share a tree to keep things in good condition?"
Not to mention anything else, how about a desk and a closet?
Unexpectedly, she asked for quite a lot. The old Korean thought that she didn't have the insight and guessed that it was her son's idea.
Thinking his son would play tricks on him, he sighed and nodded, "Okay."
The old lady in the house heard this and rushed out howling, "No! The trees in the house are going to be used as tools for Jin Yu and Jin Bao's wedding!"
Sister-in-law Han held brother Han aside and didn't say a word. It was obvious that the parents were partial to each other, but the father was not so obvious, while the mother was extremely partial.
Han Yongfang also thought it was a bit too much.
Old Han waved his head and was almost unable to speak.
Han Qingsong couldn't bear to see his father like that and wanted to say no, but he still looked at Lin Lan and closed his mouth.
After dividing the money, food, household items and trees, there was not much left.
These are also written in the division documents, and can be used as a basis for other sons to divide the family property in the future.
That's what people think.
Lin Lan said, "Secretary, why don't you take charge and set the rules for future retirement. This way, we will know what to do in the future."
If you don't explain clearly, the old lady will definitely torture her son with filial piety.
Money and food are needed for birthdays, for festivals, and for younger brothers and sisters to go to school and get married.
When she got something good, the old lady came to ask for it with a clear conscience.
Han Qingsong is not good at speaking, and it would be bad if he couldn't save his face at that time.
Now that the rules have been set, she can use them to fight back against the old lady.
This blocked the old lady's retreat and deeply hurt Mrs. Han. The others also looked unhappy.
But Lin Lan was not used to them. She was a wife herself and she should have the privileges of a wife.
Who has ever seen a shrew trying to reason with others?
…
Han Yongfang nodded, agreeing with her idea. "Qingsong's wife has a good idea. We can do the same when each family splits up in the future, so that you don't have to make a fuss after the family splits up."
Many families say they are dividing up the family business, but they fail to clearly define responsibilities and obligations, and end up arguing with each other, with brothers turning against each other and becoming enemies.
Han Yongfang didn't want so many bullshit issues in his jurisdiction, so he thought this was a good idea and just copied it.
The experienced old people discussed the actual situation for a while, and then agreed that when the couple turned 60, their work points might not be enough to earn food, so their sons would make up for it, with each of the four sons contributing a share. After they turned 66, they could do whatever they wanted, and if they didn't want to work, they didn't have to work, and the four sons would make up for their food, make up for their money according to the actual pension standard, make up for their illness, and so on.
The old lady shouted through the window: "Jin Bao and Jin Yu haven't got married yet."
Han Yongfang said, "There is a rule for this. When my younger brother and sister get married, the betrothal gifts and dowry will be divided into four parts, and each family will pay one part."
Of course, the betrothal gift and dowry are the current standards, and you cannot deliberately ask for more.
All that was discussed was written down in triplicate, with the brigade keeping one copy as a backup so that other families could follow the same pattern when dividing up their property in the future.
Everyone was convinced and happy about this division of the family - although the old lady felt that Han Yongfang favored Han Qingsong's family.
Mrs. Han also tactfully asked how to divide the family property after Xiao Si got married. She would discuss Old Man Han's opinion when the time came.
But Han's second sister-in-law was not happy about it. She wanted to give all the money in the family to the third brother's family. Then when they divided up, there would be nothing left!
However, Han's sister-in-law knew that this was the compensation given by old Han to the third wife as compensation for the previous losses. In fact, one hundred yuan was a lot of money, but it could not compensate for the third wife's efforts.
After all, this money was earned by Han Qingsong.
It's okay if you don't get married. If you get married and have children, most of the money should be given to the third wife, but the old lady has been using it to give to her youngest son and his concubines. She is not right no matter how you look at it.
My father-in-law is also leaving a way out.
Old Han naturally has his own philosophy of retirement.
In fact, he is partial to his younger sons and daughters. It is human nature to favor children when one is old.
But he was not as unreasonable as the old lady, he still had a sense of propriety. According to the habit passed down by his grandfather and father, he treated his sons equally on the surface, so that when he was old, the sons would do their best and would not compete with each other.
If you favor one too much, when they are old, the sons will get angry and say that they are partial to the younger one. In that case, let the younger one take care of it.
When they get older and can no longer do the work, won't their sons and daughters-in-law still have the final say?
Even if the government supports him, what good is that? The government doesn't provide old-age care, so the son still has to pay for his food and take care of him.
This is also the true insight passed down by generations. Old Han doesn’t understand the big principles, but he wants to listen to the experience of the older generation because his grandfather was the same.
No matter how partial the mother is, as long as the father treats the children as equally as possible, the son will be grateful and will not treat the mother unfairly for the sake of the father.
And vice versa.
But if both elders are partial, the son's complaints will be silent. He dare not vent them when he is young, but when he becomes a father-in-law or grandfather, he will have authority. His old parents will be frail and have no authority at all, and they will have to depend on him for their living.
At that time, his resentment will burst out like a tidal wave, and no one will be able to bear it.
Old Korean now gives his son money and food and tries his best to meet the demands of his daughter-in-law. Then his son and daughter-in-law cannot have any complaints. At least on the surface, in front of everyone, he is fair and just.
When the time comes for retirement, the third son must also be attentive and not complain, otherwise he will not be in the right. If there are conflicts, everyone must help each other.
He also believed that the third son was a filial child and that the money was well-given, but it was a pity that the old woman could not see through it.
After the family split up, the old lady fell ill, applied plasters every day, sighed, and looked half-dead. She complained all day long that the old man had emptied the house and gave everything to his third son.
"You said you weren't partial, but I think you were partial to the third brother's family! I had already planned to buy Jin Yu a coat with the cloth and cotton coupons I got this year! Now it's more than enough!"
"What do you know? I'm doing this for your own good!" Old Han said while smoking a pipe.
It's fine if I'm here, the children won't be bothered. But if I'm gone, with my old man's temper, the children will definitely dislike me.
So he was also paving the way for a backup plan, so that if he really died early, they would be nicer to his wife for his sake.
Nowadays, there are many old guys who pass away in their sixties, and Old Han doesn't dare to think that he can live to be seventy or eighty.
But the old lady didn't think about that at all. Her eyes could only see what was in front of her, and she could only see that her precious children were suffering.
It will take several years of hunger to earn back that money!
She also muttered that she would first collect the cloth and cotton coupons from the third room so that Lin Lan would not be able to get them.
"Jinbao, Jinyu, why haven't you come back yet?" The old lady scolded her dearest son again, "You unreliable second son, where have you been when I asked you to deliver a letter to your brothers and sisters? Are you jealous of them? You didn't deliver the letter at all?"
When Han Erge and his wife, who were feeling distressed in the yard, heard this, they felt so wronged.
The food in the house was divided up by the third room, and they were jealous. Now his mother blamed him again, so he stomped his feet and slammed the door and went out.
Here, the sky is filled with sorrow and sadness, but over there in Lin Lan's place, there are laughter and joy, and everyone is very happy.
…
Lin Lan put her hands on her hips and directed the men and children to put away the food and household items they had brought home.
"A noodle jar, yes, just a small jar like this, put it in the house, cover it with a lid and put a mat on it to keep away mice."
"Put the rest in that basin. There's nothing else..."
"Let's first... hey, pile these... in the kang hole."
The family had a half-sized jar and a small jar, which were not enough to hold the food, so they had to buy two large jars.
In addition, you need to buy a few basins, a water tank, and two water scoops...
With this calculation, I need to buy a set of household items for living.
Han Qingsong watched her pointing this, counting that, and calculating what else she wanted to buy, with a look of complete concentration. In the dim light, her pair of bright black eyes looked particularly beautiful.
He couldn't help but feel distracted and a little uneasy.
Lin Lan turned her head to meet his eyes and smiled sweetly at him, "The market is the day after tomorrow, we have to go to the market and buy some black goods."
She looks so beautiful when she smiles.
This was the first time she smiled so beautifully at him.
Han Qingsong suddenly felt his throat tighten and he was very thirsty, so he quickly went to drink some water.
Lin Lan was calculating again, "We also have to collect cloth coupons and cotton coupons to buy cloth and cotton. The quilts at home and the children's cotton-padded clothes all need to be mended. Da Wang's quilt is too short, so I'll just make a new one, add some cotton to the old one and give it to Er Wang, alter Er Wang's quilt and give it to San Wang, give San Wang's quilt to Xiao Wang, and take Xiao Wang's quilt apart to sew cotton pants for him..."
I don’t know why, even though it’s just useless mumbling, Han Qingsong thinks it sounds so good and he can’t get enough of it.
The next day, when Lin Lan went to work, she discussed with the director of women's affairs and other senior women who were easier to talk to, whether she could use the cloth and cotton coupons that her family would be distributed at the end of the year to exchange for the spare coupons she had on hand.
"Don't be afraid of the aunts and sisters-in-law laughing at you. We just separated and everything is in tatters. The weather is getting colder and we children won't have any cotton-padded clothes to wear when it snows. If anyone has any, please lend them to me first. I will return them to you at the end of the year when my family of seven has them."
Lin Lan knew that based on her previous connections, it would not be possible to borrow money from the whole village, so she could only find advanced individuals to make the first move.
The reason why advanced elements can be rated as advanced is that they naturally have their own strengths. Even if you disagree with them behind their backs, you will not say cold words to their faces.
Seeing how amiable she was now and how she treated people differently from before, the head of the women's department was very happy and felt that she had done a good job in educating her. "Qingsong, leave this matter to me. I can't get more, but I can still arrange some cloth coupons for your family of seven."
"Thank you, Sister Huaihua." Lin Lan hurriedly thanked her.
Compared to previous years, the economy has improved significantly. In the past, an adult was given three to five feet of cloth coupons a year, which was not enough to make a piece of clothing. Now an adult is given ten feet of cloth a year, and there is still a surplus after making a piece of clothing. Families gather together to make what is needed first.
There are seven people in Lin Lan's family. The adults have two meters of cloth, the half-grown children have seven and a half feet, and Sanwang and Xiaowang have five feet.
As for cotton, adults were given 2.5 kilograms of cotton coupons per year, and children were given 1.5 kilograms per year.
Fortunately, cotton-padded clothes and quilts are not made every year. One piece can be worn for several years, and only the children's ones need to be supplemented and modified.
Dong Huaihua acted quickly. After Lin Lan told her, she gave Lin Lan the cotton and cloth coupons that night. "Qingsong, my dear wife, when the cotton and cloth coupons come out at the end of the year, you must remember to give them to me. Don't give them to anyone else."
She was also afraid that Lin Lan would take it back to her parents' home and show off.
Lin Lan smiled and said, "Sister Huaihua, I'm telling you today, you don't need to give me the tickets later, just take the amount. It's only right to borrow and return. I'm grateful for your help in this emergency."
The invoice will not be issued until the end of the year. It will be too late to make cotton-padded clothes after receiving the invoice.
Dong Huaihua didn't expect that she was so sensible now, and she was more willing to talk to her. Generally speaking, people who do mentoring work always hope that their mentors can make progress and correct their mistakes, so that they can feel a sense of accomplishment.
After dinner in the evening, the family did not go out to chat. Lin Lan sat on the kang and put away the rags and torn clothes, and at the same time reminded the children of what to pay attention to the next day.
Han Qingsong borrowed some tools from a carpenter, got some broken door panels that had been taken down from other people's houses, and nailed a small stool in between.
Da Wang, Er Wang and San Wang helped him.
Mai Sui and Xiao Wang helped Lin Lan on the kang.
Han Qingsong said, "Just go buy them tomorrow and have them put them together for you. I'll borrow a trolley to bring them back at noon when I get off work."
Lin Lan smiled and said, "Okay."
She told Erwang and Mai Sui, "Don't play outside at noon. Bring Xiaowang back early to cook."
Erwang and Sanwang both responded happily.
She also called out, "Sanwang, you are not allowed to go swimming in the Nandagou. You can only play in the Xihe River."
Sanwang chuckled but didn't agree.
"Da Wang..." Lin Lan took a hesitant look. The boy was planing wood with his bare chest. He looked quite professional, but he still hadn't spoken to her in the past few days. She didn't know what was wrong.
Han Qingsong said: "Dawang will go to work for your mother in the future."
"No, no, he's still young. He needs to go to school, not work..." Lin Lan quickly stopped him.
"It's settled." Han Qingsong's tone left no room for argument.
Da Wang was planing wood in the corner, making a noise without saying a word.
Lin Lan continued to talk about other things. There were too many children, and most of them were naughty ones. She had to nag them repeatedly for fear that Sanwang and Dawang would cause trouble.
The children did not feel annoyed at all when they heard Lin Lan nagging like this, but were very happy. Because compared to their mother crying and swearing at every turn, they would rather she nag like other mothers.
Xiao Wang held his torn handkerchief, rested his head on Lin Lan's waist, and stepped on the windowsill with his little feet, mumbling little by little: "Mom's voice is getting better and better."
Then I fell asleep.
…
The next day when Lin Lan went to gather, she found six or seven women gathered at the brigade headquarters. They all asked for leave to go together.
It seems that they have been holding back for too long and are unable to hold on any longer.
Shanzui Village is not far from the commune, but because everyone has to go to work and cannot take leave casually, it is not easy to go to the commune.
Generally speaking, unless the family is out of kerosene and salt and has borrowed from all the neighbors, they will basically not take leave to go and gather.
When they saw Lin Lan was also going to join them, someone called her, "Qingsong, let's go together."
However, Lin Lan did not want to join them. Even though they asked her to join them, they did not have any friendship. In the past, the original owner had had dirty dealings with many of them. Now they were probably just trying to find out some fresh gossip to show off after seeing that Lin Lan's temper had changed after drinking pesticides and that she had a man back home.
She shook her head, "No, I'm in a hurry and walk fast."
Having said this, he left like a gust of wind.
Two female employees curled their lips and said, "You said she is such a person that she gets excited when she has money, but Han Qingsong didn't divorce her."
"She has children, how can she just divorce me?"
At first they wanted to compete with Lin Lan, but as there were so many people around, they naturally spoke slower.
Soon, they could no longer see Lin Lan.
Lin Lan was also feeling very miserable. Although it was only a few miles away, she was still very tired. She just didn't want to go the same way as those women, so she gritted her teeth and hurried on.
Fortunately, when she reached a fork in the road, she met a moped with five or six members in it. Seeing that she was a woman walking, they greeted her.
Lin Lan quickly thanked him. She didn't expect to get a ride.
When she arrived at the market, Lin Lan said goodbye to everyone. She stood at the entrance of the market, looking at the bustling crowd, feeling a little dazed.
The original owner had no money and no time, and to be honest, he had never caught up with any of the collections, so Lin Lan couldn't collect much useful information.
She took a look around first and found that most of the goods sold at the market were small items, grains, food, and handicraft tools. There were no high-end items, such as clothes, shoes, or fabrics.
Anyway, anything that requires coupons or tickets is basically not available here. I guess it is a hot commodity. If anyone has the connections, it will be sold out before they even leave the house, and there is no chance of bringing it to the market.
She strolled around, quietly observing the prices, and when she had a good idea, she bought two large glazed jars to store food, and two small glazed pots to pickle pickled vegetables. She also had to buy two or three medium-sized corrugated jars, one for water, one for sundries, and the other one later, because they would always be useful. She also had to buy a few clay basins and glazed basins, one for kneading dough, one for washing face, and one for washing feet...
Basins, clay pots and the like are 30 cents each, small jars are 50 cents, and medium-sized jars are 70 cents. Large jars are all glazed with a solid and thick surface, and are more expensive than ordinary black goods, so they cost one yuan and two cups.
Lin Lan exclaimed that it was a bargain! She picked a lot and asked them to give her two clay pots and two clay jars.
A clay pot can be used as a night pot in winter, hehe.
Buy, buy, buy…the father and his two sons who are selling goods are already grinning from ear to ear. Where did this big money god come from?
The black trucks are big and take up a lot of space. Their three trucks can't even carry several large vats. How could they not be shocked when she bought them all?
Lin Lan was still muttering about the black goods at the market, which were all crudely made pots and pans made by people in the countryside, and actually had nothing to do with porcelain.
Fragile and unhealthy.
Now, most members use these, as well as wash basins, hot soup pots, and large pots of food. Lin Lan is worried that some heavy metals will be dissolved out, so she has to go to the commune to see if she can buy some coarse porcelain bowls, basins, and soup pots.
She realized that she had accidentally bought too much. If she could still take one or two jars of Han Qingsong back, she could still take them back, but wouldn’t the cart be able to fit so many?
She negotiated with the black goods seller, "Uncle, you see I bought so much, and my home is not far from here. Can you bring it to me when the market is closed?"
The boss was a father with his two sons. After discussing it, he said readily, "Okay."
After all, Lin Lan’s sale was what they had been selling for several days.
After the discussion, Lin Lan went to buy something else.
These days, public security and credibility are good, so appointments made at the market will never go wrong.
Lin Lan went to buy some straw goods, including straw boxes, small boxes, rattan baskets, and wicker rafters.
I also bought a few lids, baskets, gratings, and grating lamps.
I also bought some polished wooden sticks and used them to make hoes, pickaxes, shovels, etc.
Lin Lan bought a lot of things, big and small, put them all together, and went back to put them in a jar to send them over.
It's really cheap! It didn't cost much at all!
Straw weaving is especially cheap, costing only one or two cents a piece.
The baskets are a bit more expensive, but the baskets are super cheap.
Sister Kuan, buy, buy, buy!
The vendors were dumbfounded, wondering where this silly woman came from... Oh, Goddess of Wealth, they quickly gave her all the small baskets and baskets that were hard to sell.
Lin Lan also lamented how simple and honest the people were at that time!
A win-win situation, everyone is happy.
She herself didn't know that this buying spree had caused a big sensation at the market. People said that there was a woman with big hands who bought almost all the black and straw goods.
When the women in Shanzui Village heard this, they all thought of Lin Lan, "No way?"
"Of course not, she has a hundred dollars!"
"Han Qingsong just gave her such a mess?!!"
The money in their family is all in the hands of the mother-in-law or the husband, and when they collect the money themselves, they just buy what they need and don't buy more of the same thing.
"What a spendthrift woman! Who doesn't know how to nail a mattress? And my mother-in-law knows how to weave a basket."
"That's right. And the iron skewer handle, why do we need to buy it? Can't we just carve one at home? Give me a dollar and I'll carve a bunch for her!!"
They were filled with indignation and felt as uncomfortable as if Lin Lan was spending her own money.
A woman nearby listened to them talking for a long time, and finally came up to ask, "Sisters-in-law, are you talking about the Han family in Shanzui Village?"
"yes."
"Your mother's home is Linjiatun, right?"
"That's her. Do you know her?"
The woman chuckled twice and said, "I know her." Then she ran away with the basket in her hand.
…
After Lin Lan finished "sweeping" the market, she went to the commune.
This time she only had a hundred yuan in her pocket, but somehow she felt the vanity and pleasure of a world luxury goods buyer.
The kind that looks at the things on a stall, takes a quick glance, points and says this and that... No, just pack up all the rest for me.
Haha, she found it funny thinking about the speechless expressions of the father and his two sons when she bought the black goods.
Dressed in a beggar's outfit that was patched up with patches on top of patches, with her hair cut unevenly like a dog's bite, straw sandals on her feet, and a rag bag on her shoulder, Lin Lan walked with great vigor, giving off a fashionable vibe that made her look like she was walking on a catwalk.
Sharp sister!
Sister Xili suffered a setback when she arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative.
The supply and marketing cooperative was not big, with a facade of three rooms. Various revolutionary slogans were posted on the south wall, such as "May the great Chairman M live forever", "We must fight against selfishness and criticize revisionism!" and "Oppose corruption and waste"!
There are three counters on the left, middle and right. The one on the left sells cloth, clothes, shoes and socks. Unfortunately, for some reason, there is no cloth at the moment.
There are goods but no tickets, there are tickets but no goods!
Damn it, isn’t it infuriating?
She had decided to buy all the cloth and cotton coupons.
Seeing so many people queuing, Lin Lan had no choice but to buy something else first.
New households can use their household registration books to buy iron tools and household items, such as hoes, iron shovels, pickaxes, shovels, kitchen knives, etc. These iron tools are not available at the market; they are sold at a unified price just like salt, oil, and cloth.
Because the ironware was too heavy, she told the salesperson to leave it there first and the man would come to move it later.
That's no problem.
She bought two large bowls, a large enamel bowl, and ten coarse porcelain bowls. She wanted to buy an enamel basin and a warming pot, but she couldn't buy them because she didn't have special coupons. She also bought a round mirror, a comb, a brush, and a few red hairbands and hairpins, which didn't require tickets.
She bought some stationery and saw a flute in the corner, so she asked if she could do without the ticket.
The salesperson was eager to sell it. In a small rural area, no one would play musical instruments, let alone spend spare money to buy this thing. This thing has never been sold since it came in, and it has been lying there gathering dust.
When she saw Lin Lan buying this thing, she wondered if she was the school's music teacher.
Lin Lan wanted to buy some dried goods such as red dates, dried shrimps, and kelp, but they all required food coupons and could not be bought casually.
If they didn’t want to sell it, she really wanted to slam a hundred yuan on the table and shout: Give me a hundred yuan for the goods!!!
She had to find a solution.
She put her notebooks on the counter and said, "The sea is sailed by the helmsman. The PLA is the most lovely people among us. Give me five kilograms of red dates."
The salesperson was stunned for a moment, "Dongfang Red Sun Rising, it won't work without a copy."
Lin Lan pushed her notebook over to her so that she could take a closer look.
The salesman smiled and waved his hands, "No, this is from your village. You have to get one from the commune."
Lin Lan snorted in her heart. I don't know if I should ask for the commune's money. But the commune's money is only given to you workers who eat commercial grains, not to us members.
"We are all poor and middle peasants. My husband is a member of the People's Liberation Army. Comrade, please be flexible and weigh a few pounds. My children are anemic."
The salesperson became more and more certain that Lin Lan was a teacher. He quickly picked up the household registration booklet and took a look. He found that there was no mark on the back, which meant that she was a member of Shanzui Village.
She was a little confused and didn't know what to say for a moment.
Although the Cultural Revolution was in full swing, it was in the big cities. Remote areas, especially the countryside, were not so active. Moreover, the situation had stabilized in the second half of 1970. Except for a certain vice chairman who was frantically issuing the Little Red Book, it was generally stable.
Below the county seat, in the communes and villages, it was impossible to ask everyone to memorize the Quotations because many of the people there were uneducated farmers.
Not only would it be difficult to memorize it, but it might also lead to mistakes and jokes, so the cadres instructed that advanced members should study and exercise regularly, while ordinary members should concentrate on production.
Therefore, there is no need to shout slogans in the commune supply and marketing cooperatives.
She was confused by what Lin Lan said.
"Comrade, I didn't lie to you. Look at my household registration. My husband is a soldier and is away from home all year round. I have five children at home and I don't enjoy any of his benefits. Now that we have just separated, we can't even afford to eat. My five children are all skinny and pale. I bought some red dates to replenish blood and some shrimp and kelp to replenish calcium. Is that okay?"
The salesperson was still embarrassed. "There are regulations. Without a ticket and the non-staple food book issued by the commune, we cannot sell it."
"Why don't you sell it to me? My husband is a member of the People's Liberation Army. I haven't enjoyed any benefits at home, and I don't need any help from the government. Why can't I spend my own money to buy some red dates? This won't work. I want to see your leader!"
"Just sell it to this sister-in-law. She has a hard life and she is from a glorious family." Someone who was queuing to buy cloth shouted.
Most members don’t buy this kind of stuff, so they are happy to be good people.
Finally the salesperson had no choice but to go to the back to ask the old president.
The old president took the household registration book and looked at it. When he saw Han Qingsong's name, he knew who it was. After all, there were only a few military officers in the entire commune.
He asked about Lin Lan's situation again, and then personally ordered three pounds of dried red dates, five pounds of kelp, and one pound of shrimp skin for Lin Lan.
Lin Lan originally just wanted to give it a try, but she didn't expect it to actually work. She happily paid the money, packed the things and left them here waiting for Han Qingsong to come and pick them up.
After buying these, Lin Lan also went to ask about the cloth.
Several members were shouting, "We came here with great difficulty, how could it be gone? They said the day before yesterday that there would be stock today, how come it's gone?"
"That's right, I came here early in the morning to queue up, and I clearly saw a truck coming to deliver the goods, how could it be gone? It's impossible that it's gone!"
"There must be some in the warehouse, but they are deliberately not selling it, hoping to increase the price during the holidays!"
Although the price was determined collectively and purchased with coupons at this time, prices would sometimes be temporarily increased to cope with various festivals.
Lin Lan couldn't help but feel curious. How could it be like this?
She walked to the front, leaned over the counter and looked inside. How come it was gone when it wasn’t even a holiday?
The saleswoman was a woman wearing a white dress with small flowers and two big braids. She glanced at Lin Lan coldly and said impatiently, "No more, no more. Back off. It's no use for you to shout."
Don't look down on others. Sister-in-law, I have money. Lin Lan was a little unhappy.
The salesperson impatiently used a feather duster to poke her hand, "Move away, move away. What if you get it dirty?"
Damn it!
Lin Lan was angry. "My clothes are a little torn, but which eye of yours saw that I was dirty? I've been cleaning them every day since I wore them. I've also been washing clothes every day, okay?"
When she got angry, she would slam the counter and say, "I want to buy cloth and cotton, don't give me useless things!"
Don't forget that she is a married woman!
The privilege of a promiscuous woman is that she can promiscuously act at any time and in any place according to her mood, regardless of the occasion.
Of course, now it’s not about mood but about need.
Her lion-like roar stunned not only the salesperson but also several shouting members.
Immediately, the members who were originally queuing came behind her and encouraged her, “Yes, we want to buy cloth, and we have been queuing for two days.”
Lin Lan: ...
The salesperson saw that she looked like a shrew, with her hands on her hips and her eyes wide open. Although she was a country woman, she looked very imposing, like a female cadre. The salesperson couldn't help but feel a little weaker.
Compared to a salesperson like her who was simply snobbish, Lin Lan's eyes were naturally much more venomous, and she saw through the salesperson at a glance.
Lin Lan smiled and said, "Sister, you are just a salesperson. How can you handle it if the members start to make a fuss? Since there must be goods in the warehouse, you can either ask your leader for them or take them out and send us away. There are only a few of us. How much cloth can we buy? If you wait, more and more people will come and there will be a commotion."
The saleswoman's lips moved. For some reason, she felt that Lin Lan's bright black eyes could see through people's hearts. She said, "We still have cloth, but we don't have enough cotton."
Hearing her say this, Lin Lan felt that she was also a real person, not the kind of snobbish person who could be found out with just one sentence.
"Big sister is an honest person. We trust you, so let's talk."
The salesperson took a deep breath and had to take out the cloth that he had secretly kept with the intention of partnering with someone to resell it at a high price.
She had just been tricked into joining the gang and was still inexperienced, so she was tricked out by Lin Lan.
Soon everyone lined up to start buying cloth. Lin Lan had a lot of cloth coupons, so she tore off the ones that were about to expire, and then bought the remaining few feet after a while.
After all, there wasn’t much cloth left, and other people were still queuing, so we had to buy some.
When they were negotiating the cloth, it was even more chaotic. The girl with the big braids was not very good at accounting, which caused the members who were even worse at accounting to be very dissatisfied. They all said that she charged too much.
Seeing that the big braided guy was arguing with others fiercely and sweating anxiously, Lin Lan offered to help with the accounting to avoid those members who couldn't calculate the accounts and liked to make trouble endlessly.
No one knew her, but because she had dared to challenge the salesperson before and was powerful, they were willing to listen to her and believed her calculations.
An old lady said that she didn't know how to do the math and didn't trust the salesperson, so she asked Lin Lan to do the math for her.
After Lin Lan gave up, she smiled and said, "Big sister, I believe you. I believe what you say."
Lin Lan smiled awkwardly, "Auntie, you are my auntie! Please don't call me sister!"
Behind the counter on the east side opposite, an old cadre stood there from some unknown time. He was wearing a four-pocket shirt with a pen in his left breast pocket. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the cloth counter with great interest.
While looking at it, he asked the salesperson next to him about the previous situation.
When it was over, he smiled and said, "This woman has brains and temper, she is a doer."
"Boss, what do you mean?" The salesperson was sensitive and noticed something.
The old president shook his head and said, "Nothing, just work hard and serve the people."
Lin Lan bought three meters of cloth, but failed to buy cotton, so she was a little worried.
She looked at the time and wanted to go to the slaughterhouse to buy some meat. As soon as she came out of the supply and marketing cooperative, the old lady pulled Lin Lan's sleeve and said, "Sister, I have some cloth I wove myself. Do you want some?"
Lin Lan immediately pulled the old lady to hide in the corner, "Big...sister, I want as much as you can give me!"
Seeing the old lady's earnest look, she was too embarrassed to call her auntie.
In fact, after 63 years, the lives of the members have improved. Now the cotton and cloth are not so tight. The tension in the old Han family was caused by the old lady exploiting everyone to provide gold and jade. The local cotton planting is not as strict as before. Some families plant in the riverside ditches and weave cloth after harvesting cotton.
"You can just call me Sister Liu. We grow a lot of cotton in Gao Lao Zhuang. The water and soil are good. We can plant some and harvest it anywhere. We are much richer than your Shangengen."
"Sister Liu, where are you?"
Sister Liu whispered, "We can't just take the alleys out and let the administrator cut off the tails and confiscate them."
Although tail-cutting is not so severe nowadays and no one controls the sale of grain and vegetables, industrial products are still not allowed.
Especially materials like cloth and cotton, they still have to be handled secretly.
Lin Lan followed the old lady to the alley, where a wheelbarrow was parked and a simple-minded young man was waiting there holding a large sycamore leaf.
There were two rolls of cloth on the cart, one was a dark beige natural cloth, and the other was a three-color checkered yarn-dyed cloth. Due to the limitations of the loom, this kind of cloth was only about one foot wide, but four meters long.
Homemade cloth is not as fashionable and beautiful as purchased cloth, so city dwellers do not want it, and even country folks are starting to pursue machine-woven and chemical fiber cloth.
Lin Lan thought it was a good thing, and it was best used to sew quilts. It could also be used as a bed sheet, and as a cool mat in the summer, absorbing sweat and keeping you cool. It was great.
The price is great too!
The width of the machine-woven cloth sold by the supply and marketing cooperative was about three feet per piece. The cheapest one cost 28 cents per foot, while the better ones cost 40 or 50 cents, which was still very expensive considering the current income.
Home-woven cloth is cheap. A foot of natural cloth costs less than ten cents, and a whole piece costs only three and a half yuan. A piece of color-woven cloth costs four and a half yuan, and it is easier to calculate the bill if you buy it in round numbers.
Two pieces of cloth only cost eight yuan.
In her previous life, Lin Lan thought that it was a bargain to watch movies at a low price!
However, out of habit when buying things, if you buy a lot, you will always bargain for a lower price.
At this time, Sister Liu began to complain about how difficult life was at home, how difficult it was to weave cloth, her back pain, etc. She even showed Lin Lan her twisted and deformed fingers.
The twisted joints of the short fingers were so painful to look at that Lin Lan immediately felt compassion.
Influenced by the labor value concept of previous lives, I always felt that it was not easy for people to turn cotton into cloth.
After the cotton is planted, it takes several months of hard work to care for it, and finally it is harvested. The cotton seeds are rolled, the cotton wool is plucked, the cotton strips are rolled, the yarn is spun, the yarn is wound, the yarn is dyed, the yarn is starched, the yarn is threaded, and the yarn is put on the machine for weaving.
It can be said that it is really not easy. It takes a lot of effort before getting on the machine, and after getting on the machine, you have to find time to weave cloth in your spare time. I am often so tired that my waist is sore and my eyes are blurry. It takes several days to weave one piece.
Out of respect for the working people, Lin Lan felt that it was okay not to bargain, after all, that was the market price.
Moreover, she had not yet fully integrated into the current environment. She always had a feeling that the developed society looked down on the working people in difficult times, thinking that they worked too hard and that a few cents was enough for them to eat for a long time.
After all, one cent could buy a pile of grass, and 1.8 cents could buy a pound of fine noodles... But when she paid, she felt a little painful, thinking how hard it was to make money at that time. She worked so hard all day and earned seven or eight work points, which was only worth four or five cents.
"Sister Liu, I won't bargain. You still have some tassels to sell. Give them to us."
Sister Liu was also straightforward, "I have three left from what I sold, I'll give them to you, and I also have a bunch of scraps of cloth, I'll give them to you if you don't mind."
Lin Lan naturally didn't mind.
Sister Liu smiled and said, "Big sister, you have a really good brain. You can do the math and buy things."
Lin Lan smiled and said, "Sister Liu, you are better at selling. It is impossible to sell at a loss if you only buy at a loss."
Sister Liu laughed out loud, her heart was filled with joy, for she was the first person to buy two pieces of cloth.
The two pieces of cloth were still quite heavy, so Sister Liu asked her son to push the cart to help Lin Lan deliver them to the supply and marketing cooperative.
At this time, a woman rushed in from outside the alley, "Finally I found you!"
Lin Lan thought it was the market manager, so she suddenly burst into strength and picked up two pieces of cloth and was about to run. The woman shouted, "Lan Huahua, why are you running? Stop right there! You are a dog-bitten Lu Dongbin who doesn't know how to be kind!"