Since the entire dormitory consisted of temporary workers, there was no question of anyone looking down on anyone else. As temporary workers, they were either not qualified enough or had rural household registrations. So when they saw Tang Cuilian bringing her younger sister over, no one said anything. When they heard that her sister would be staying for one night, they smiled amicably.
"Third sister, they seem quite easy to get along with?"
Tang Cuilian nodded, "It's alright. As long as there's no conflict of interest, it's all good. Sometimes there are fights and backstabbing over spots, but anyone who gets to that point would probably lose their composure. I can understand. If I'm on the official list, I might become more cautious."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jiu couldn't help but glance at Tang Cuilian again. Not bad, she's made progress. She's only been in the city for a year, yet she's already considered all aspects of life. It's no wonder her parents spent so much effort teaching her how to conduct herself. If she continues like this, there might really be hope!
“Our factory has set up a literacy class specifically for employees with low levels of education. It’s time for me to go teach now. Why don’t you take a break first?”
Tang Cuimei asked in confusion, "Third sister, with your current level, you could easily attend junior high school. Why are you going to a literacy class?"
Except for the fourth sister who has a hearing impairment and Xiao Jiu who is still very young, everyone else has successfully passed the elementary school curriculum.
The eldest, second, and third sons benefited from attending literacy classes in the neighborhood, the Tao brothers' teachings, and the intensive abacus and literacy classes they took while running a shop in the city. In addition, they have now worked in the factory and have all gone through three or four literacy classes.
"Hey, how can I stand out if I don't go!" Tang Cuilian winked at them. "Okay, I won't argue with you anymore. I'll come over after class at five. If you're bored, go out for a walk."
After Cuilian left, Xiaojiu knew that Sister Cuimei had something to do, so she decided to go find Zhao Lingli herself.
"Fifth Sister, you go ahead and do your work, I'm going to find my mother."
She had already inquired and found out that Zhao Lingli wouldn't get off work until 5:30. It was only a little past 1 a.m. now, so she could use those few hours after her fifth sister left to make some arrangements.
Xiao Jiu set off for the family compound behind the county hospital half an hour after Tang Cuimei left.
In her view, the people living here all had stable jobs. They would disguise themselves, change into patched clothes, wear hats and scarves, leaving only their eyes showing, and then carry baskets to sell eggs and quail eggs. Eggs were 15 cents for two and quail eggs were 10 cents for five, both prices without coupons.
Unexpectedly, the first store they went to had a bad start: "The supply and marketing cooperative only sells them for six or seven cents each, but you're selling them for 15 cents each. That's 75 cents each! And these quail eggs, you're too expensive! Only five for 10 cents, and they're so small. Little girl, give your auntie a discount."
Xiao Jiu shook her head and then covered the basket with the cloth. "Auntie, it's okay if you don't want to buy it. I'll go ask at another store. Thank you."
He politely nodded to the other person, didn't linger, and turned to go upstairs. The woman was dumbfounded when she saw him leave like that.
"Hey, you little rascal, how can you just dictate the price and not let me haggle!"
Xiao Jiu pretended not to hear and continued knocking on doors. Now they were begging to buy her things; if she didn't buy, plenty of others would. She didn't need to be afraid. Anyway, the policy on speculation hadn't been released yet, so they couldn't interfere. She didn't need to worry about being reported. With supplies so scarce, those who couldn't get eggs at the supply and marketing cooperative and had extra money would come to buy them.
If the price is agreed upon and the other party shows genuine interest in buying, Xiaojiu will offer a discount.
For example—
"Auntie, if you have any extra coupons, bring them over. I'll give you a discount. Six cents for an egg, or seven quail eggs for ten cents."
These days, quail eggs are a special commodity, and ordinary people can't afford them at all. It's already kind of Xiaojiu not to ask for an exorbitant price. Now, you can buy seven for a dime, isn't that like a pie falling from the sky?
She only wanted grain coupons, meat coupons, and cloth coupons; other coupons were of little use to her for the time being. Of course, she would also take cotton coupons if anyone had them, but unfortunately, after walking around the entire neighborhood, no one was willing to give up their cotton coupons. Even those with grain and meat coupons didn't give much. She sold a total of fifteen yuan, but she had a total of one hundred and fifty or sixty eggs. She sold fewer quail eggs because one hundred and fifty eggs cost three yuan each. So, she had to sell several hundred eggs to earn those fifteen yuan. She only got two jin of grain coupons, and even less meat coupons, one jin and four liang.
The thought of exchanging hundreds of eggs for such a small amount of money and tickets made her want to cry.
"The exchange rate between the two eras is right there, it makes me subconsciously think I sold a bunch of rotten eggs,"
Eggs used to cost five or six yuan per pound when they were expensive, and three or four yuan per pound when they were cheap. But here, they cost five or six mao per pound when they were expensive, and four or five mao per pound when they were cheap. In fact, the price difference is about ten times.
Comparing the purchasing power of the two eras, she no longer complained that fifteen yuan was a small amount. After all, fifteen yuan was half a month's living expenses for an ordinary person, so why would she complain?
Looking at the time, it was already past four in the afternoon. Xiao Jiu had moved to another residential compound, this time selling fruit.
Fruit was a rare commodity in those days. The expensive ones sold for a dollar a pound, while the cheap ones still cost five or six mao a pound. There were apples, oranges, tangerines, persimmons, pomegranates, bananas, and pears. It wasn't too surprising that these fruits appeared in this season because they were of excellent quality. In those days, there was no concern for excessive packaging, so what you held in your hand was the real deal.
However, because it was too expensive, not many people bought it, and it only sold for six yuan in the end.
Looking at the time, I realized my mother was almost done with work, so I had to hurry back to avoid making her anxious.
Before she could even leave the residential area, an older woman wearing a red armband followed a group of elderly women running towards her.
She was so clever! As soon as she realized something was wrong, she took off running. Sure enough, the group of old ladies behind her were chasing her.
"Stop right there, little girl! Why are you running? We're not going to do anything to you. Come here, we just want to ask you something."
I'm not stupid, how could I possibly believe you? Seeing how aggressive you are, I know you're just looking for trouble. She doesn't have time to waste here.
While looking back, he searched for a route that would be advantageous to him. As soon as he saw a public toilet, he would slip inside, hide behind the door to enter his spatial dimension, change his clothes, and then swagger out.
Sure enough, as soon as she stepped out, she ran into that group of middle-aged women. Seeing her come out of the restroom, they asked her if she had seen a little girl wearing patched black cotton shoes, about the same height as her. Xiao Jiu decisively shook her head and replied to them in her hometown dialect, "No, I didn't see her."
But she wasn't in a hurry to leave, because she had changed her hat, scarf, and even shoes from head to toe. She wasn't worried that they would recognize her; she was just a little curious about why they were chasing her!
Unexpectedly, the trouble started with the fruit she was selling. It turned out that a few days ago, the supply and marketing cooperative had lost two boxes of specially supplied apples, reported it to the police, and the police had even come to investigate in the vicinity. So, as soon as she started selling apples, some busybodies started thinking about it and rushed to the neighborhood committee to find someone, trying to dig a loophole in her story so they could get a reward.
Wow, they mistook her for a thief! Luckily she ran fast, or something terrible would have happened.
Although we're not thieves, if we end up in jail and can't explain where the fruit came from, we'll be punished. We can't let our family be implicated.
Thinking of this, she secretly turned around and went home. On the way, she patted her chest, thinking that she shouldn't sell anything for a while to avoid getting into trouble.
When she returned to the factory, she heard the bell ringing to signal the end of the workday. She calmly walked to her mother's dormitory, where her older sister and aunt worked the night shift. The dormitory for those with regular work assignments was a bunk bed room for eight people, which was much better than her third sister's dormitory.
Everyone knows her, and she's well-behaved. Knowing that her mother sleeps on the upper bunk, she didn't go and sit on the lower bunk. When Zhao Lingli came in, she wanted to pinch her face as soon as she saw her.
"Oh dear, Mom hasn't washed her hands yet. Where's your fifth sister? Let's call her over and go eat together."
"Fifth Sister went out this afternoon, I don't know if she's back yet. I'll go check on Third Sister's dorm."
Unexpectedly, Tang Cuimei left even earlier than she did. When she arrived, Tang Cuimei was helping Tang Cuilian clean the dormitory. Upon seeing her, she quickly offered to take her out to eat, which pleased Tang Cuimei.
"That's perfect! My mother asked me to call my sisters. Come on, let's all go together!"
The distillery's canteen is quite large, as it houses several hundred workers. As soon as they finish work, everyone goes to the canteen to queue up.
Xiao Jiu shoved the meat and grain coupons she had just received into Tang Cuilian's hands: "Sister, these are what I saved up, you take them."
Cuilian and Cuimei were surprised at first, but then they realized what she meant. Was she worried that she wouldn't have a ticket if she rushed to pay later?
"Where did you get the alcohol?"
"My brother secretly slipped it to me,"
"Oh, that's not appropriate! They're still in school!"
As she was saying this, she tried to put it back, but Xiao Jiu saw this and put it back into Tang Cuimei's hand.
"Fifth Sister, if you don't need it later, you can take it to school."
After saying that, she ran off to find Zhao Lingli. Clutching the ticket tightly in her hand, the Tang sisters felt a mix of emotions and were extremely upset.
Cui Mei had gained nothing this afternoon, neither money nor tickets, and was already quite disappointed. However, Xiao Jiu's actions made her feel even more indebted to the Tao family.
This is why, over the years, Tang Cuihua has always felt indebted to the Tao family.
It's true that we owe them something. From the old to the young, from the oldest to the youngest, everyone thinks about them. Whatever food they have, whatever money they have, or even the freshly harvested grain, they think of sending it to them as soon as possible. They really treat them like their own daughters and spoil them. If any of them is unfilial in the future, they will never forgive each other.
Tang Cuilian patted Cuimei on the shoulder: "These all have an expiration date. Since you gave us the wine, take it. You and Lao Si both have to go to school, and you'll need these. Keep them. I still have tickets and money. Don't worry about me!"
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