The next day, a thick fog rolled in. When I got up around 5 a.m., it was still dark and I couldn't see anything.
But Grandma had already started cooking. She boiled and fried eggs for her, sandwiched them in soft steamed buns, and also made millet and pumpkin porridge, which was thick and sticky. But in that small earthenware pot, it was clear that it was made just for her.
"Oh, Grandma, you're giving me special treatment again."
"Eat up. You'll be working hard and suffering once you get to school. How old are you? Do you really want to live on campus?"
"Yeah, boarding school is cheaper. If I had to rent a place, I might as well just go to school in the countryside!"
"How can that be? Your grades are so good, you should study in the city. Eat it while it's hot. This steamed bun with an egg is for your sister to eat on the way."
When they were almost finished eating, the eldest sister knocked on the door. Xiao Jiu couldn't bear to part with the elderly couple, so she went up and gave them a tight hug.
"Grandpa and Grandma, I'll come back to see you this weekend. Don't worry, I'm fine and I won't go hungry."
After leaving the gate, I put my luggage on the cart that my older sister had brought, and kept looking back at my grandparents standing at the gate.
When they walked about five meters away, the fog had already enveloped the grandparents, and they could no longer see their figures.
Cuihua seemed to sense Xiaojiu's mood and quickly tried to calm her down.
"Your older sister will take good care of them, so go to your studies without worry, sweetie!"
Xiao Jiu quickly ran forward and handed over the still-warm steamed bun.
"Sister, have you eaten? This is what Grandma left for you, but I've already eaten."
Cuihua wanted to refuse, but Xiaojiu said, "Sister, I have some. You eat quickly. I'll pack my luggage first. There's only a schoolbag left. You can go back at the intersection ahead. I can walk across by myself."
Cuihua took the steamed bun, both amused and exasperated. "You really trust me, don't you? You're not even trying to hide it. It's so dark and foggy. If I don't get you on the bus, won't I be waking up early? By the time I get there and turn back, the fog will have cleared up. Let's go, consider it exercise."
"Why did you suddenly decide to study? Aren't you afraid that skipping a grade will arouse suspicion?"
Xiao Jiu sighed, "I suddenly feel that there isn't enough time. I think my fifth and sixth sisters also realized this, which is why my sixth sister took the college entrance exam this year. Fortunately, it's a university, and we can get jobs first. I know it's too risky for me to go now, but the college entrance exam will stop in 1966. If middle school students graduate in 1968, they won't be able to go to university or get jobs."
It's 1959 now. She plans to take the high school entrance exam next semester, study hard for two years in high school, take the college entrance exam in 1962, and graduate in 1966. She should be able to catch the last train.
Or, if time allows, take the college entrance exam a year earlier. Since the age can't be changed anyway, just be a little genius and get into school early.
This timeframe is really unpredictable. Xiao Jiu's age discrimination is quite awkward. If she doesn't take advantage of this time to go to university and waits until 1977 to take the exam, she will be in her twenties or thirties by then, which would be even less worthwhile.
So this is definitely going to be in the spotlight.
While waiting for the bus, Cuihua slipped Xiaojiu ten yuan and asked her to buy herself something nice to eat.
"I don't have any tickets either. You'll have to figure out the tickets yourself. You keep the money."
Xiao Jiu knew she had to accept the money, otherwise the fight would never end. After she got on the cart and left, Cuihua noticed the cloth bag on the cart. She just touched it and knew that it must contain precious grain, about ten catties.
This child, even when he goes to school, doesn't forget to talk about home.
He casually tossed his coat onto the grain to cover it, so that no one on the road would see it.
Xiao Jiu's journey to school was truly simple. She only carried a backpack and went to report to her teacher. If it were another child, they might have been nervous. But she was not nervous at all. In fact, when the teacher invited her to the stage to introduce herself, she appeared poised and confident. Because she was relatively short, she was placed in the first row, a seat that the teacher had reserved for her in advance.
Xiao Jiu didn't mention her age in her self-introduction, mainly because she didn't want to get strange looks from her classmates. They thought it was abnormal for a nine or ten-year-old to be in the second year of junior high school, so she let them think that she was naturally short. Anyway, there are plenty of malnourished people these days.
During the long break between classes, Xiao Jiu talked to the teacher about the evening self-study session.
"Teacher, I don't want to attend evening self-study."
Although the school had electricity, the voltage was unstable and there were frequent power outages. When the power was out, she had to read by candlelight, which she felt would hurt her eyes. She preferred to study on her own in her study space.
She had already promised to complete her homework on time, so the teacher had no reason to refuse. Besides, it was a stroke of luck to encounter a genius like her in one's career, so naturally, the teacher had to do whatever she wanted!
If she doesn't attend evening self-study, school ends at 5:30, but she has to be careful that her parents don't come to visit, so she waits at school until 6:00.
Sure enough, her classmate called out, "Tao Tao, your parents are waiting for you at the school gate, hurry up!"
On her first day of school, they definitely came. Not only did they come, but they also worried that she wasn't eating well, so they bought her jujube cakes and peach crisps. They asked her teachers, her classmates, and how the food in the school cafeteria was, and whether she could keep up. She naturally said it was good. Before leaving, her mother even gave her five jin of grain coupons.
"Don't skimp on it, we'll talk about it if we need more."
Seeing her mother's overflowing heartache and reluctance, Xiao Jiu's eyes welled up with tears.
“Mom and Dad, I have food. My grandma made a lot for me when I came. You need food coupons more at the factory. I’m really doing well.”
She tried to put it back, but her parents waved to her, turned around, and rode away on their bicycles.
"Study hard, I'll come see you again when I have time."
Is this what a sweet burden is?
I hope they come to see her at this time every day, or around noon, but please don't come at night, or they might find out one day.
No, she had to think of a way to cover up the lie if she was exposed.
After her parents left, she also left school with her schoolbag. It was almost time for evening self-study to start, and the teacher had given her a leave slip so she didn't have to attend evening self-study, so the security guard let her go.
Instead of rushing to find a place to enter the space, he put his backpack inside and wandered aimlessly around the streets, finally deciding to try his luck at the family compound behind the hospital.
In her view, doctors generally come from well-off families; at least their jobs are stable, and they won't lack food or clothing.
Under the cover of darkness, she went into the space, selected some green peppers, mushrooms, and onions, and then, carrying a basket, randomly chose a doorway with many lights on and went inside.
Knock on the door, the door opens, and either an elderly man or a younger uncle or aunt greets you with a friendly smile.
"Hello, sorry to bother you. Do you need any vegetables? I have fresh green peppers, mushrooms, and onions here. They are all grown in my own plot of land. There are many people in my family, and we are out of food. I hope a kind person can exchange them for some food coupons and money."
Her green peppers were long and big, and most importantly, straight and fresh enough to reflect light. The mushrooms were plump and juicy, and they looked quite appealing. The onions were even better, big and fresh, much better than the small and rotten ones that were left over at the market.
Because the quality of these vegetables is really good, no one refuses them once the door is opened. Moreover, the prices of these vegetables she sells are based on market prices. If they were of the same quality, they would be a few cents or dimes more expensive per pound, which is normal.
Green peppers cost one cent per pound, mushrooms one and a half cents per pound, and onions eight cents per pound. Of course, these were all prices without coupons.
If tickets are available, the price will be calculated based on the total weight, and then adjusted according to the rarity of the tickets.
For example, this aunt bought four catties of mushrooms, which cost six mao (0.6 yuan). She was given a grain coupon for one catty. Based on the average market price of one mao (0.1 yuan) of grain, she would get a discount of one mao (0.1 yuan).
The price of each type of grain is different. Rice and flour cost less than 20 cents per pound, and other coarse grains are even cheaper, averaging about 10 cents. And that was before the price increase. It's impossible to estimate the price after the price increase, as it changes almost every day, and the black market is even more unpredictable.
Her prices are still within a reasonable range. The most important thing is that the quality of her vegetables is good, so anyone who knocks on the door will want some, more or less.
Of course, she doesn't just sell vegetables; she also sells fruits along with them.
In those days, people didn't have many entertainment options, so they went to bed early. She only sold until 7:30 before returning to the vicinity of the school to count her money in her spatial dimension.
In just over an hour, I earned five yuan and eight mao in cash and eight jin of grain coupons, all of which were still valid. That was pretty good.
After smelling the delicious aroma of food all the way, it was finally my turn to eat.
I scooped out two or three ounces of noodles, poured on the sauce, stirred it slightly, and slurped down a fifth of them. Feeling unsatisfied, I took out the chili sauce my grandma made, scooped some out with a small spoon, stirred it again, and when I took another bite, the fresh and spicy taste stimulated my taste buds, and I instantly felt like I could eat another bowl.
But she held back. Food was already scarce, and if she wanted to eat until she was plump and healthy, wouldn't that be asking for trouble?
After eating her fill, she wandered around the warehouse collecting items to sell the next day. Only after feeling that she had used up some of her energy did she sit down at the square table she had bought from the scrap yard and begin to study.
The content of her study is naturally today's homework, as well as all the compulsory subjects in the second and third years of junior high school. She needs to identify the key points and review them in advance.
I started washing up and going to bed around 11 o'clock. I got up at 5:40 in the morning to wash up and leave the space. At this time, it was still dark, and there were hardly any people on the road except for day students.
The school starts morning exercises at 6:00 AM, roll call is held 20 minutes later, followed by an hour of morning reading time, then time for meals and cleaning, preparation at 7:50 AM, and classes officially begin at 8:00 AM.
This was all part of the normal study schedule, but Xiao Jiu never expected that her female classmate would be murdered that very morning, shortly after she enrolled in school.
She was a day student and did not participate in morning exercises or early morning self-study. Just as the teacher was about to contact her parents, the police came to the school to investigate and discovered that her body had been found and abandoned in the latrine behind the school.
If it weren't for the farmers applying manure to the crops and clearing the latrine, her parents would probably still be frantically searching for her.
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