On New Year's Day in 1961, local governments went to great lengths to give the people some real benefits. Items that were usually not available, such as canned meat, tea, and sesame paste, were put on the market that day, in limited quantities and on a first-come, first-served basis.
So there aren't many people like Xiao Jiu who just stroll around the streets. People are either queuing up here or there, and some are even running breathlessly while queuing.
Although it is the Gregorian calendar year, everyone attaches great importance to it, with red flags and colorful banners hanging everywhere, creating a strong festive atmosphere.
The sad thing is that people still can't buy fresh meat, and even chicken, eggs, and freshwater and seafood are in short supply.
Many people were so angry that they sat in front of the supply and marketing cooperative and cursed loudly because they couldn't get their hands on canned meat. They had a sense of helplessness about having money but not being able to spend it.
Xiao Jiu also had meat coupons, thirty or forty catties of meat coupons. He would select some that were about to expire and exchange them for cash when exchanging them for vegetables with some buyers. One catty of meat coupons could be sold for three yuan.
Of the less than 40 jin of meat coupons, about 16 jin were sold, leaving 20 jin of older coupons, which brought in about 50 yuan.
Seeing that some people couldn't buy canned meat and were getting anxious, Xiao Jiu took the opportunity to weigh out the meat in her storage space, one pound at a time.
Then it was sold for three yuan per jin (500g). No meat coupons were required. Three yuan per jin was expensive, but people were still eager to buy it.
Besides, a meat coupon costs three yuan, and that's the black market price. A pound of real meat for three yuan is already a great deal!
In one day, she sold about 200 jin (100 catties) and made a net profit of 600 yuan. You have to know that the price of pork in those days was only 70 or 80 cents. She sold it for 3 yuan, which was a bit like taking advantage of the situation.
But things are valued for their rarity, and she did help people in their time of need.
Whether it's expensive or cheap, at least she sells them real, fresh meat.
Nobody wants pork ribs and offal; nobody wants to pay a high price for those things. So, during the Chinese New Year, Xiao Jiu braised a big pot of offal in his space and would chop some up and stir-fry it with vegetables whenever he had free time.
By the end of the day, he was exhausted from running around trying to attract meat buyers, and he also had to be careful not to be reported.
As a result, she changed her clothes again and again. So when she heard that the department store was selling ready-made clothes without coupons, she got anxious and rushed over to squeeze through the crowd to pick out suitable clothes.
Unfortunately, after looking around, she couldn't find anything suitable for herself; those ready-made clothes weren't appropriate for someone her age.
I finally found a floral cotton-padded jacket that I liked, but there was only one left. Not only did it require cloth coupons, but it also required cotton coupons. Seeing so many people touching it, I simply didn't take it.
Finally, I bought a pair of red handmade cotton shoes for three yuan.
Many workplaces gave employees a day off on New Year's Day, including the scrap metal recycling station she wanted to visit, so she changed her plans and went to Xinhua Bookstore instead.
I selected several sets of traditional Chinese medicine books that are still being published and spent 68 yuan.
She went to a traditional Chinese medicine shop and bought two expensive acupuncture kits, one costing 200 yuan and the other 400 yuan. These two kits alone cost her all the money she had earned that day.
In addition, I also bought some medical equipment that I can practice at home, which was also quite expensive, costing a total of 250 yuan.
Since she had come to the pharmacy, she picked up some commonly used prescriptions, which cost her another thirty-three yuan.
Look, spending money is faster than earning it. At this point, her savings have fallen below three thousand, leaving her with only 2,800 yuan.
When I returned to the dormitory at five o'clock in the evening, laden with my purchases, my roommates were already back.
"Come and try some of these fried meatballs and sesame candy made by my mom."
"These are lotus root sandwiches that my mom fried, and they're filled with tofu dregs."
...
When it was Zhu Hongqi's turn after going around the circle, she felt a little embarrassed.
"My family steamed radish dumplings with sweet potato and sorghum bread for the Lunar New Year. You should try them."
Xiao Jiu quickly came to the rescue: "I didn't bring you anything, haha. I was out all day, and L City is really bustling. You have to queue for everything. I couldn't even squeeze in. I just grabbed Sister Hongqi with my bare hands!"
"Mmm, it's delicious! There must be a lot of oil and vermicelli in it, right? Not bad!"
Upon hearing this, the others quickly picked one up and tried it. Everyone praised how delicious it was, and the blush on Zhu Hongqi's face gradually faded away.
Xiao Jiu didn't stand on ceremony with the things others brought, nodding repeatedly to say they were delicious, but only tasted one or two items and didn't take more.
After all, no one has it easy, and fried food is considered even more precious. Such special treats are only offered during holidays and festivals when we try to improve everyone's lives.
Xiao Jiu didn't take the food that everyone gave him for nothing. After eating his share, he took out some dried sweet potatoes and gave each person two or three pieces.
"These are dried sweet potatoes, first steamed and then sun-dried. They're not as hard as dried white sweet potatoes, and they're very delicious. You should try some."
The bright red sweet potato fries are chewy and springy when you bite into them, and most importantly, they're sweet—much sweeter than dried sweet potatoes.
"This is way too sweet! Did they add sugar?"
Xiao Jiu shook her head. "I don't know. My brother sent it to me. I haven't eaten it yet. Everyone, try it today. It's really sweet. If it were a little softer, it would be as chewy and sticky as a persimmon cake."
In recent months, Xiaojiu's older brother and sister have been sending her test papers. Because of the increased communication, there have been more packages sent to her.
Of course, it's not just things sent by others; Xiaojiu also sends back pastries from her online space, as well as homemade dried meat, millet rice crackers, and various kinds of pickled vegetables as snacks.
It's pitiful that she attends classes all day and then has to work overtime in her online space at night to prepare delicious food.
If I hadn't been a foodie in my past life, and followed all the food bloggers and learned some cooking skills from them, I really wouldn't know what to send to my older siblings.
In recent years, people's mouths have been so bitter that they can't even taste the flavor of meat and grain. Those who can go to school are all from families with some means. So you see, even if they eat very poorly, they are just skinny. Yesterday, she saw a pitiful person on the street who was swollen all over and had difficulty walking.
I asked them and found out that they were eating salt grains with water, which caused them to have edema.
She was shocked. Who would dare to eat like that? Wouldn't that kill someone?
The man merely glanced at her before swaying away.
"Death? Haven't enough people died in the last few years?"
Yes, how many people have died in the past few years? Because of famine, there have been cases where more than a dozen people died in a single year.
The corpses on the escape route were sometimes so numerous that even the PG (posture) was gone; it was a true hell on earth.
Xiao Jiu closed his eyes, truly unwilling to think about the hardships and suffering of ordinary people at the bottom of society in this era.
What can she do? She does have a spatial ability, but how can she alone save the country from this predicament faced by multiple provinces?
The blame lies with those officials who made grand promises and disregarded the lives of ordinary people. In their eagerness to make a quick buck, they even took away the people's food and seeds, which was tantamount to leaving them no way to survive!
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