She waited in the space for about half an hour, and vaguely heard someone coming this way. She immediately took the pork out and put it in a clean snowdrift nearby. Then she squatted down and looked to the side. When Wang Qiang and Cao Lianhua came this way with a cart and no one followed behind, she stood up and waved to them.
"Aunt Cao, over here!"
The couple had been grumbling to each other in hushed tones about the terrible place. They were worried about being seen, so they were very careful and didn't dare to speak loudly. It wasn't until they saw Xiao Jiu waving at them that they quickly pulled the car over.
Xiao Jiu glanced at their car and nodded when she saw a pile of tattered quilts and straw.
"Here it is, take a look."
Cao Lianhua looked in the direction Xiao Jiu was pointing and exclaimed, "Wow, what a huge half-pig! The meat looks pretty fresh!"
And it wasn't frozen solid, so she quickly went over to take a closer look.
Wang Qiang stood still, using his height advantage to look around. Xiao Jiu could tell what he cared about just by looking at him.
"It's alright, Uncle. They've all gone far away to keep watch for us. They'll send a signal if there's any movement."
She said this mainly to explain that she didn't get the pork on her own; she had connections and didn't get it herself.
Wang Qiang breathed a sigh of relief after hearing her words and quickly went over. When he saw the meat placed on the ground, he knew that the young girl was not lying.
"This meat is quite fresh, it doesn't look like it's been frozen for many years."
"Uncle, this meat was only recently slaughtered and has been kept fresh!"
It only feels slightly frozen; it's not aged zombie meat.
Don't worry, it's safe and reliable. It's said to weigh 70 jin, but it actually weighs 75 or 76 jin.
You guys are efficient, so I can't be sloppy either, can I?
The couple tried to lift the meat, and Xiao Jiu quickly lifted the tattered quilt on the cart. Seeing that there were still quite a few cabbages underneath, she subconsciously gave them a thumbs up. After making room, she helped to steady the cart.
The pork landed steadily on the straw pile. The three of them worked together to pile cabbage on top of the pork, and finally wrapped it tightly with a tattered quilt. After completing this series of operations, Xiao Jiu stood in place and said to the two of them.
"Uncle Wang, Aunt Cao, does that mean we've finished settling accounts?"
"Yes, I don't owe you anything anymore, and you don't owe me anything either. We're even."
Xiao Jiu breathed a sigh of relief, "Then I won't see you off, I still need to find my friend."
Just as he was about to leave, Wang Qiang suddenly remembered something.
"Hey girl, wait a minute, do you have any other supplies? Like chicken and fish or something? My daughter-in-law is giving birth next month and needs to be in postpartum confinement. You see... Don't worry, we'll pay for it!"
Xiao Jiu shook her head. "Uncle, I traded my family's heirloom for this meat. Because of this job, our house is so drafty that we can't even plug the holes. We don't even know what we'll eat for Chinese New Year this year, let alone the good stuff you mentioned."
Wang Qiang's eyes were filled with scrutiny and suspicion, while Xiao Jiu didn't mince words, spreading his hands out generously, looking like he was 'very single'.
It wasn't until Cao Lianhua tugged at his sleeve that he nodded regretfully, and the couple struggled to leave with their belongings.
Xiao Jiu stood there for a while, then left in the opposite direction. Only then did the couple in the distance turn around to look in the direction she disappeared, stop, and seem to be deep in thought.
"You don't really think she has something else in her hand, do you?"
Wang Qiang gave her a cold look. "Let me ask you, with our current levels, can we get our hands on half a carcass of pork?"
After opening her mouth, Cao Lianhua had to shrug and admit, "That's definitely impossible. If we could get it, would we need to queue up for canned food?"
“But they brought it all, including the fine grains from before. I feel you’ve gone a bit too far this time. If you hadn’t pulled this stunt, we might still have been able to maintain the relationship. Now she’s already on guard against us.”
Cao Lianhua heard the resentment in Wang Qiang's tone and couldn't help but sneer.
"You used to praise me for being quick-witted, so what, are you trying to shift the blame now?"
Upon hearing Cao Lianhua's raised tone, Wang Qiang immediately looked around warily and quickly put on his shoulder straps.
"Oh my goodness, what are you yelling for? Quickly help her up and let's get home first."
Watching the couple walk away completely, Xiao Jiu, hidden in the shadows, let out a cold snort.
"I never want to have anything to do with people like you again. I was so naive to have believed you before."
Ning Meng's social circle has always been clean since childhood, and she has no messy or scheming people around her.
This made her both naive and kind, always believing that sincerity could be exchanged for sincerity, but Cao Lianhua taught her a harsh lesson.
"I may not be considered smart, but I'm not hopeless. If I can't learn from my mistakes, then I've wasted my life!"
Objectively speaking, she wouldn't shift the blame for what Wang Qiang and his wife did onto Ye Zhen, since Sister Zhen meant well.
My second sister's job, according to the current market price, all things considered, would be close to five thousand.
Fortunately, grain prices were cheap and meat prices were stable during the warehouse period, but it still cost around two thousand yuan.
Based on my second sister's current salary, it will take her at least two or three years to pay it back.
Even though she's settled now, we still need to urge her to find a way to get a junior high school diploma; the higher her education level, the more stable her job will be.
Moreover, although my current position is a sorting and sealing clerk, I will still try my best if there is an opportunity to transfer to another position.
I have a feeling that this position can be done by any temporary worker. If I don't learn some professional skills, I might be laid off one day.
With Tang Cuiju's matter resolved, Xiao Jiu devoted herself entirely to the exam.
I finally breathed a sigh of relief after finishing the exam at 4 pm on the 4th.
Back in the dorm, she immediately packed her luggage. She had already moved part of it to another room while she was on leave, so now all that was left was her bedding. Xiao Jiu packed it all up and carried it on her back before saying goodbye to her roommates.
"Everyone, please drive carefully. I'll stay at my second sister's place for the next few days, and I'll go back after I receive my admission notice."
The 8th is the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, which is also the eve of the Lunar New Year in their northern region. The school has set this day for students to return to school to pick up their admission notices and new books in order to prepare for the next semester. She wanted to take advantage of these few days to tutor Tang Cuiju again and go out to sell some things. She did not plan to go home for the time being.
When she arrived at the Weng family's house, her second sister hadn't finished get off work yet, so she went straight to the post office and lined up at Ye Zhen's workstation.
After waiting for about twenty minutes, Ye Zhen finally got to join the queue. When she saw her, Ye Zhen was very surprised.
"Hey Xiao Jiu, are you on vacation?"
"Yes, Sister Zhen, I'm sending a telegram,"
Ye Zhen quickly handed her a form to fill out.
Although she was a telephone operator, she also managed the telegraph section and worked on a shift system.
In those days, a character cost 0.035. She wrote three characters, "小年归" (returning home for the New Year), which cost 10.05 cents. Since she didn't have change, she rounded it up to 10 cents.
Since Ye Zhen was still at work, Xiao Jiu didn't bother her much and simply greeted her.
"Come visit my house later, it's the Weng family's house in Liuxiang behind."
"Okay, it's cold, don't stay outside, go home quickly."
The older sister's tone was warm and caring.
After wandering around asking around and not finding Tang Cuiju, Xiao Jiu obediently returned to the Weng family home.
She had just put her things down and left, and the old couple hadn't had a chance to talk to her. Now that they saw her come back, they quickly called her over.
"You're on holiday? When are you going back?"
"If we go back before the Lunar New Year, we'll have to go to school to pick up the notice. Grandma, have you finished eating? Is there anything else you want?"
The old lady was overjoyed when she heard Xiao Jiu speak to her.
"It's almost Chinese New Year, so feel free to send over anything good you can find. Make sure there's enough for you to eat before you come over, okay?"
Xiao Jiu thought for a moment, glanced at the cart outside her house, and said, "Okay, lend me the cart, I'll bring it over tonight."
The old lady quickly waved her hand and said, "Okay, but you have to be careful. I heard the black market has been quite turbulent lately, and a lot of people have been arrested."
Xiao Jiu smiled slightly, didn't explain further, nodded, pulled the cart straight past the house, and walked directly out.
Once she found a suitable spot, she first collected the cart, and then, taking advantage of the scrap metal collection station's closing time, she strolled around and swept up some old newspapers and books again. Because she came here often, the old man and woman there all knew her.
The purchasing station has so many full-time employees, they're definitely not just sitting around doing nothing. Every item is neatly categorized and meticulously sorted. Trying to cheat here is difficult. You know the good stuff, and so do they; they've already taken it before it even enters the station.
In other words, these old books contain some valuable items that illiterate people wouldn't understand, such as antiques, which are more easily identifiable and harder to preserve.
However, the probability of finding ancient books and secret recipes among these old books and newspapers is still quite high.
She has collected at least hundreds of rare and out-of-print books.
Bringing old books and newspapers home allows my second sister to read them first, then use them as practice paper, and finally they can be used to start a fire or even as wallpaper – a truly multi-purpose solution.
So the old newspapers at the recycling station sold quite quickly.
Each time she comes, she spends a penny or two. They don't weigh the items; they just estimate the amount.
As dusk fell, she used a cart to deliver the things she had organized in the space to the Weng family.
There is a large millstone in the Weng family courtyard.
So this time she brought out twenty catties of corn kernels, twenty catties of buckwheat, ten catties of quinoa, ten catties of millet, ten catties of wheat flour, two catties of red dates, thirty catties of sweet potatoes, twenty catties of potatoes, twenty catties of red and white radishes, a large winter melon weighing one or two catties, and four large pumpkins each weighing about ten catties.
Finally, there are five catties of eggs, two fat chickens each weighing seven or eight catties, five liters of soybean oil, five catties of vermicelli, and five catties of artificial meat.
She thought it over carefully and decided not to add pork.
And so, after entering the deep alley, these things appeared on the cart, which was pushed directly to the door of the low shed. She helped the old couple unload them and take them home. As she unloaded each item, she announced it. By the end, the old couple's hearts were trembling.
"Child...you've brought too much! Enough for us to eat until spring!"
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