During difficult times, not only was it impossible to buy meat, but even if you could, it was sold off by the ounce.
Even more extreme were the emergence of micro-quantity coupons, such as half-ounce meat coupons, three-qian fish coupons, and one-fen oil coupons...
Given the current difficulties, even in the Wang family's current situation, they can only manage to buy canned meat with great effort.
The fact that he immediately offered half a carcass of pork made the Wang family look at Xiao Jiu with the same fascination a cat has with a fish.
Moreover, she made the decision directly without consulting anyone.
The brighter the couple's eyes were, the more composed Xiao Jiu remained.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not a piece of fat meat that you can take a bite out of anytime you want."
Even when you're trying to fleece someone, you can't just grab one person and fleece them relentlessly.
We've already exhausted our resources on grain and money; this meat might mean we won't even have enough to eat for the Lunar New Year.
Even if my siblings say something, we can't withstand this kind of torment anymore.
The couple understood the implication in Xiao Jiu's words. After exchanging glances, they immediately made the decision.
"Okay, just like you said, meat is so hard to buy right now. What's the use of prices on the black market if you can't get any meat at all?"
Although your half-carcass of pork weighs less than a hundred pounds, you've brought out this much at once. So, how do you want to trade?
"I will complete the transaction whenever you can finalize everything in one go."
"Deal. Go back and wait for our news. We'll try our best to get it done before the end of the month so she can have commercial grain next month."
Xiao Jiu nodded upon hearing this, "If you've sorted things out here, just go to the old man at the school gate and let me know."
I need to send a message to my family.
We'll agree on the transaction location in detail later. After all, it's only half a carcass of pork, which would be too conspicuous. You should also find a cart.
After Xiao Jiu left, the couple suddenly felt like they had been hit by a pie falling from the sky, but they still felt like they weren't full.
"Half a pig sounds like a lot, but with so many relationships involved, is it enough to divide?"
Besides, this isn't all pork; there are also meat bones, right?
"How about we ask her for a few more chickens? Our daughter-in-law is about to give birth, and then…"
Wang Qiang glanced at his wife speechlessly.
"Come on, don't push people to the point where they cancel the deal in the end."
"In my opinion, this little girl is really out of options this time. Half a pig may be the only solution she can think of."
Cao Lianhua pursed her lips and gestured with her chin towards the cigarettes and alcohol on the table.
“I think we can let her come a couple more times; maybe she can bring more things then.”
"Luckily, I was quick-witted back then and realized that this girl was no ordinary person. I didn't expect her to actually be so capable!"
Wang Qiang gave her a deep look.
"Aren't you afraid that they'll have you under their control and then report you?"
Upon hearing this, Cao Lianhua glared at them: "What did I do to them? I did offer them permanent jobs!"
It's their own fault for not finding out beforehand.
If they didn't come looking for us, we could have figured it out ourselves, or just accepted temporary jobs—wouldn't that have avoided so much trouble?
"The problem now is that this young girl is greedy; she wants a permanent job and also wants a city household registration."
Are city residency permits so easy to obtain?
City men don't want to marry rural women, and in our city, you couldn't find even one or two out of a hundred city women who married rural men.
The difference between urban and rural household registration is already quite significant.
She thought she could get away with it for just five hundred yuan and a hundred jin of grain? How naive!
"Alright, alright, no one is as cunning as you. If that's the case, why didn't you just point it out in the first place?"
"Isn't it because only they can afford this grain? Otherwise, would I sell it to them?"
Besides, she had her rural household registration transferred to her work unit's collective household registration, and we had to pull some strings to get it done temporarily for her.
If we hadn't grasped this point, wouldn't we have had to give back this money and food? Would you be willing to give it back?"
Wang Qiang gave her a speechless look.
"What about this time? Since we have this quota, let's get it done for them as soon as possible."
It saves us from dragging things out and causing problems.
Let me tell you, I'm at a crucial stage of my career advancement, so don't hold me back.
The Lunar New Year is just around the corner, and I'm counting on this meat to pull some strings!
It wasn't for nothing that we worked so hard to get that spot!
Cao Lianhua stretched out her finger and tapped the man's forehead.
"Look at your timid and hesitant appearance. If it weren't for me, would you have gotten all these benefits?"
If I hadn't stopped you from giving the spot to your relative, would you have gotten all these benefits?
Don't always rely on your relatives for everything. When it comes to things that are beneficial, you should find someone outside the family to handle them for peace of mind.
See? I wasn't wrong about this little girl, was I? She does have some skills, as long as she doesn't try anything funny.
"Then I will definitely make sure her sister's household registration is properly settled."
——
On the other hand, Xiao Jiu, who had left the Wang family, was also worried that she might have been tricked again.
She had figured out Cao Lianhua's character; she was more cunning and calculating than her man.
No wonder Sister Zhen said that it was because of the Cao family that she and her husband were able to have their own house to live in.
The house he owns now was acquired later in his career, which shows how far he has come.
Actually, it's all thanks to having such a capable wife.
Learn from your mistakes!
Although this household registration process has gone through so much trouble, and may even expose my abilities, it is still a huge undertaking.
But Wang Qiang is only a deputy director now, so he must be wary of her. As long as he wants to climb the ranks, he won't do anything to her.
Including Cao Lianhua, whose son was able to marry a girl from the provincial capital and whose daughter was able to marry into the provincial capital, their family is indeed quite capable.
Regardless of whether their relationship is currently based on mutual exploitation, once the household registration issue is resolved, she never wants to have anything to do with them again.
——
Time flew by, and it was January 31, 1961. It was a Tuesday, around noon, at the school gate.
Cao Lianhua said, "The household registration issue has been completely resolved. Your sister is here too. You can ask her if you don't believe me."
Tang Cuiju nodded at the small bottle of liquor. "It's real liquor. I went through the procedures again, and my work unit officially registered my household registration with my rural-to-urban household registration certificate. There won't be any changes in the future. I didn't have this certificate last time."
Afterwards, Tang Cuiju took out all the things she had prepared.
The red "Urban Residents' Grain and Oil Supply Certificate".
“I am a light manual laborer. I receive 27 jin of grain every month. I go to buy grain on the 20th of each month. I can buy 30% of it refined grain and 70% of it coarse grain.”
A household registration certificate with a kraft paper cover.
It says "Household Registration Certificate of Heluo City Public Security Bureau" on it, and the date on the cover is today.
After opening it, there was only Tang Cuiju's name. The change of agricultural status to urban status was clearly written on it, indicating that the job had been secured and the quota had been filled.
The small blue booklet reads "Coal Supply Certificate for Residents of Heluo City," issued in 1961.
And there are two red seals, one large and one small, prominently displayed on it.
Opening the cover, the title page contains records of the head of household, family members, address, and other information.
The second page outlines the service principles of the honeycomb briquette station: purchase coal with vouchers, exchange honeycomb briquettes, delivery records, and high-quality service.
Scrolling further in, you'll find the coal purchase records.
This includes information such as the date and quantity of coal purchased, and the stamp of the ticket clerk.
Because it was a collective household, the head of household was the Kaiyang Road Post Office in Heluo City, and the family only had one person, Tang Cuiju, whose address was also the Kaiyang Road Post Office in Heluo City.
They have many coal mines in western Henan, so they are not short of coal.
For someone like Tang Cuiju who lives alone, she can buy 50KG, or 100 jin, a year.
In colder areas, the calculation is done by household rather than by individual.
Each household can buy two tons of coal per year, and the price of one ton of coal is 10 yuan.
I can afford to buy it, but it's quite troublesome; I have to go and get it myself.
Of course, some places issue coal coupons every month or every quarter, and regardless of how they are sold, they must be allocated in fixed amounts.
In addition, there were also white-covered, black-lettered "Resident Purchase Permits," mainly for buying matches, kerosene, and salt.
Salt was also rationed, one jin per person per month.
Purchase ration coupons can also be used to purchase temporarily allocated food and daily necessities. After purchasing, the purchase should be recorded on the purchase ration coupon to avoid duplicates.
They also have these purchase certificates at home, meaning they are also issued to the farmers.
Farmers used purchase ration coupons to buy salt, soap, matches, kerosene, and small quantities of food and industrial products that were allocated according to the plan.
Seeing the things in her sister's hands, Xiao Jiu knew that this family still had a conscience and had done what they said they would do.
Xiao Jiu shoved the note in her hand directly into Cao Lianhua's hand.
"Thank you, Aunt Cao. Just go there at the time on the note tonight."
Cao Lianhua hesitated, but Xiao Jiu said honestly, "Don't worry, you're straightforward, so I can't lie to you."
Then he turned to Tang Cuiju and said, "Second Sister, don't you have to go to work this afternoon? Hurry back and see Aunt Cao off for me!"
"No need, no need. I rode my bike here. My home isn't far from here. In that case, let's go first!"
After seeing them off, Xiao Jiu asked her teacher for leave from evening self-study after class.
"The exam is the day after tomorrow, you'd better hurry up and study!"
They have exams for three days, February 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. The 4th is Saturday, and they will have a holiday after the exams.
This day happened to be the Beginning of Spring, the nineteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, which means that the holiday started relatively early this year, before the Little New Year.
However, I estimate I'll have to come back next week to pick up my report card and new books. The official holiday will start around the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month (in northern China).
Since it snowed, the sky has been overcast, so it got dark before six o'clock.
Xiao Jiu arrived at the agreed-upon place around 5 a.m., which was a small grove of trees on the side of the street not far from the police station's family compound.
Behind the woods is a small park where local residents often come to exercise; it is relatively spacious.
If there are any problems, you can leave at any time. She has already surveyed the terrain and not only written down the address but also drew a map for Cao Lianhua. She should be able to find it.
Because it was too cold, she deliberately found a secluded spot to enter the warehouse and wait, while also selecting out a half-carcass of pork weighing around seventy pounds.
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