Hearing the voices of the two elders of the Weng family, she took advantage of the fact that there were not many people in the courtyard and brought thirty catties of fine grain to visit them.
"What's wrong with Grandpa Weng?"
Upon entering the house, she smelled a strong aroma of Chinese medicine and saw the old lady, whose complexion was not good but who was still trying to hold on. She asked her with concern.
"I was experiencing early signs of a stroke. The neighborhood committee has a new leadership, and our houses are going to be confiscated. They're only keeping this small room for us, and the rest will be taken over by the neighborhood committee."
Xiao Jiu thought of a term: "Does this mean rent management?"
The old lady nodded, "Yes, my husband was so angry that he almost turned crooked and his eyes were distorted."
Xiao Jiu doesn't really know much about this era, but he does know that the struggles before and after the founding of the People's Republic of China were fierce.
Actually, it was already quite good that the previous leadership was able to reserve a room for those with "bad class backgrounds".
She felt that ordinary people rarely had such good fortune.
Whether they spent money or hired people back then, they've been living peacefully for so many years now.
It's better to confiscate everything now than to wait a few more years.
Thinking about the couple's fate a few years from now, Xiao Jiu looked at them with some worry.
Have you managed to contact your daughter-in-law and grandchildren?
The old woman shook her head. "They ran away; how could they possibly take care of us?"
Xiao Jiu thought for a moment and said, "Grandpa and Grandma, it's fate that we met. I have connections and know that things will change drastically in the next few years."
Especially those of you with questionable class backgrounds, that's even more... So you guys figure out a way to get out!
The old lady knew Xiaojiu's character well and knew she meant well, especially since she had been admitted to such a good school.
“It’s not that I don’t know what’s good for me. You’ve advised me before, but we’re old and frail. Where else can we go?”
Let's live one more day as long as we can; you're the only one we can trust.
It would be tragic if you were to die before you've spent all your money.
So since you're back, could you please exchange these things for cash for us?
When the old lady pulled a mahogany box out from under the bed and opened it to see various gold, silver and jade artifacts inside, Xiao Jiu was not surprised.
“You can’t take any more with you. Take this box first, and see how much it’s worth. Take it all.”
Xiao Jiu picked it up and placed it on the table, startled by its weight. She rummaged around and saw that it was piled up with small yellow croakers underneath.
She turned her head in surprise: "Grandma Weng, are you really willing to sell it to me?"
“You’re the only one we trust. If we don’t sell to you, who else should we sell to? Take it.”
After confirming the other party's intentions, Xiao Jiu began to take stock of the items: twenty small yellow croakers and the rest were jewelry.
Previously, the small yellow croakers were sold for 100 yuan each, so these 20 would cost 2,000 yuan.
She remembered that she had obtained a lot of banknotes from the Japanese on the island. It was a small outpost in a nearby fishing village, so it was not surprising that they had their money. There was a whole box of them, about 18,000 yuan, and a lot of receipts.
Last night she picked out all the coins with collectible value, and she still had 15,000 yuan left. She decided to spend that money first.
"Is two thousand five hundred yuan enough?"
The old lady was shocked by the number, and even the old man in the inner room choked on his saliva and coughed incessantly.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the old lady hurriedly went inside to pour him water. After comforting him, the elderly couple seemed to have reached a reasonable price.
"Little Jiu, just give us a thousand yuan. A thousand yuan is enough for us to live on for many years. Let's get through these few years first."
"Take what's left and process it into grain, raw grain is fine too, it's easy to store."
So I didn't refuse. "I'll take half a day off every week. If I have the chance to leave the school, I'll have someone send you food in batches."
Don't worry, you won't be shortchanged; it's safer than leaving it with you.
After Xiao Jiu returned to Cui Ju's place with the things, she counted out another thousand yuan and sent it over.
"You can eat these thirty catties first, and I'll have my second sister deliver some to you later."
Time was of the essence, so Xiao Jiu immediately put the items into her own space. Cui Ju didn't ask any questions, but she remembered Xiao Jiu's words.
"If there's anything you can help with over there, you'll probably need to pay your rent to the neighborhood committee after the New Year."
After briefly discussing the rental housing, Tang Cuiju expressed some concern about the potential price increase.
Xiao Jiu shook his head, "Probably not. If prices rise too much, there will be more troublemakers. It's unlikely. Besides, the market is what it is, it won't get much more expensive."
Before leaving, I gave the old man two jin of eggs and a jin of fresh meat, and also mentioned how to exchange the remaining 1,500 yuan for supplies for them.
“I will give you all this grain at the black market price. I will not make any profit from the difference. I will give it to you at the original black market price.”
The items that are sent back will be accompanied by a list, with deductions made little by little. You can keep track of the prices too; even close brothers like us keep clear accounts!
I promise I won't take advantage of you.
Grandma Weng waved her hand at Xiao Jiu: "No need, no need, how could we not trust you?"
Xiao Jiu insisted, "One thing at a time. Due to time constraints, that's all for today."
I have to go now. I'll send this to my second sister later so she can share it with you all. Take care and look after yourselves.
Xiao Jiu was very satisfied with the many gains she had made on this trip home.
However, judging from the appearance of the two elders of the Weng family, there should still be quite a few things they haven't sold yet.
The price she offered was far beyond their expectations, but she wasn't losing out either. She got it for free anyway, so it didn't matter who she sold it to.
The elderly couple from the Weng family were her regular customers, and she didn't want to take the risks of going to the black market. This arrangement was suitable for both parties.
Cuiju rode her bicycle to return the small bottle of liquor to the train station, and everyone had lunch together before boarding the train back to Xishi.
——
Although Cuihong didn't go home for the Chinese New Year, the couple didn't just go through the motions and prepared a lot of New Year's goods.
In previous years, Niu Feng would spend the Spring Festival with the soldiers. On New Year's Eve, Cui Hong and several other military wives would go to the canteen to help make dumplings.
The New Year's Eve dinner for thousands of people, although meat was added to the dumpling filling, was still not oily enough; at least, the dishes on display did not contain any meat.
The taste wasn't great, but soldiers train intensely and eat a lot, so this was a very good New Year's Eve dinner for them.
After eating dumplings, we watched a cultural performance prepared by the military, and a cultural troupe came to visit us.
Although Cuihong couldn't hear clearly, the festive atmosphere of the New Year and the ever-present smiles on everyone's faces gave her a unique experience.
Niu Feng also took good care of her, knowing that she wasn't very sociable, so he took her out of the theater before the movie was over.
After he learned she was pregnant, he treated her even better, rushing to do housework when he got home from get off work, which made Cuihong very happy with him.
Cuihong naturally went out to buy the New Year's goods with the other military wives, but Niufeng only needed to see the result of what they brought home.
"Are you full? Or should I make some more dumplings?"
This year, the two of them made mackerel dumplings, which is Cuihong's favorite. Niufeng, who grew up by the sea, naturally doesn't dislike them either.
"Okay, let's make some more together. There are a lot of kids at our table, and I haven't eaten much."
"If we prepare the food for the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, we can sleep in."
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