Gu Guihua had been looking at Chen Qiangwei and the other one. Seeing the genuine emotion they showed when they mentioned Gu Sannai, her smile became even warmer. She took the basket and took out two fruit candies from her pocket. "Here, have some candy. Thank you for coming all this way."
She knew her grandmother's personality. She was cold on the outside but warm on the inside, tough on the outside but soft on the inside. She was also very good at judging people. If she wasn't really satisfied, even if her seventh uncle stepped in, it wouldn't work. The fact that these two female educated youth could stay at home for so long showed that they were very much loved by her grandmother.
This also relieved her of a worry. She worked in the commune and her husband's family was also from the commune. The three children in the family were at the age when they could be naughty. She had to work and take care of the children at the same time, and she was too busy to do everything.
She had told her grandmother to ask Uncle Qi to find one or two hardworking, good-tempered female educated youth to live with them and take care of Grandma. But every time she brought this up, her grandmother would get angry. Now, finally, there were two who caught her eye.
Chen Qiangwei took the candy and said, "It's not hard. We came here on Uncle Wu's ox cart."
Chen Qiangwei thought about how they had walked more than half the distance from Shengli Commune to Huaihua Brigade for the first time, and suddenly realized that it must be Gu Aiguo who asked Gu Wubo to test them.
Although they had a lot of luggage at that time, it was not heavier than two adult women. Most of them were quilts, cotton jackets and other things that looked light.
When they came to the commune today, Uncle Gu Wu did not let them walk half the way and then take the ox cart in pairs.
Gu Guihua asked enthusiastically, "What do you want to buy?" and then whispered, "I have some defective cloth that doesn't require a ticket."
Wang Xiaomai said excitedly, "Is it a free defective cloth?" This was the first time in her life that she had come across a free defective cloth.
Gu Guihua nodded, "Yes, there are some minor flaws, but it doesn't matter. I just don't want the ticket to be more expensive." She took out a piece of gray cotton cloth from under the counter. There were some small black spots on the edge of the cotton cloth, which could be perfectly covered by hemming when making clothes.
Wang Xiaomai happily touched the cotton cloth. It was so comfortable, smooth and soft, just like her little cousin's face when he was just born.
The vest she is wearing now was made by her aunt using her old clothes. It has been worn for two years and is now worn out. She wants to make two vests. The new cotton fabric is so soft and will definitely be more comfortable to wear.
Chen Qiangwei had no shortage of clothes and fabric. Besides, even though the supply and marketing cooperative had some defective fabric, the salespeople usually divided it up among themselves first, and only sold any leftovers. There was no defective fabric on the counter, so the defective fabric Gu Guihua mentioned was probably hers.
"Thank you, Sister Guihua. I have enough clothes to wear and I don't need any fabric for the time being."
Wang Xiaomai asked, "How much is this cloth per foot?"
Gu Guihua, "Usually it's 40 cents a foot with a cloth coupon, but now it's 56 cents a foot without a coupon."
"Hiss!" Wang Xiaomai took a breath and pinched her pocket in pain. She had brought two dollars with her before going out.
Wang Xiaomai calculated in her mind that the cotton cloth was about 75 centimeters wide, and an adult would need about six feet of cloth to make a vest. Wang Xiaomai was relatively thin, so a vest would require four feet of cloth, and the money in her pocket was not enough to make a vest.
Wang Xiaomai took a reluctant look at the defective cloth, then turned to look at Chen Qiangwei, "Sister Weiwei, can I borrow 2.2 yuan from your sister first? I'll pay you back when I get back."
Chen Qiangwei, "What's wrong with that? Is twenty-two cents enough?"
Wang Xiaomai nodded rapidly, "That's enough, that's enough, thank you Sister Weiwei." A vest cost two yuan and twenty-two cents. She had never worn such expensive clothes in her life.
In the end, Wang Xiaomai bought four feet of cloth from Gu Guihua with both pain and joy. After a while, someone came to the counter to buy something, and Chen Qiangwei and Wang Xiaomai said goodbye to Gu Guihua.
"Sister Guihua, we still have to go to the post office to pick up the package, so we won't delay your work. We can talk again when we have time."
"Hey, wait a minute." Gu Guihua turned and called to the salesperson at the cake counter, "Xiaofang, weigh me a pound of egg cake."
The saleswoman, Xiaofang, responded and deftly weighed out the egg cake and handed it to Gu Guihua. Gu Guihua took the egg cake and gave Xiaofang two yuan and fifty cents from her pocket. Egg cake is arguably the most luxurious pastry these days. It doesn't require a ticket, but it's very expensive, at two yuan and fifty cents per pound. Even cadres and workers' families buy a small amount at first, and only when a child is sick and cries for it will they bite the bullet and buy half a pound.
Gu Guihua handed the egg cake to Chen Qiangwei, "Sister Qiangwei, Sister Xiaomai, please help me take the egg cake back to my grandma."
"Okay, goodbye, Sister Guihua."
The two put the things into the backpack that Wang Xiaomai was carrying. They had specially prepared an extra backpack before going out.
After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, the two asked for directions and went straight to the post office. The post office was not far from the supply and marketing cooperative. When passing by the state-owned restaurant, Chen Qiangwei saw Huang Meixia, Jiang Feng and Jia Zhenzhen coming out of the state-owned restaurant with protruding bellies.
Han Qianshan and Wei Sijue were about to enter the state-owned hotel with their luggage when they saw Chen Qiangwei and Wang Xiaomai.
Han Qianshan waved towards Chen Qiangwei and said, "Comrade Chen Qiangwei, Comrade Wang Xiaomai, would you like to improve the food? We can share a table."
Chen Qiangwei also waved her hand and said, "No need. We still have to go to the post office to pick up the package. You guys take your time eating." After saying that, she nodded to Huang Meixia and others before leaving.
Jia Zhenzhen glanced at Wang Xiaomai's backpack, which was covered with an old piece of floral cloth. She curled her lips, thinking that these two people must have received benefits from Gu Guihua.
The post office staff glanced at the woman in front of her, then looked at the five parcel slips in her hand, "Are you Chen Qiangwei? Sign here first." She politely took out a notebook and a pen and pointed to the place where the signature was required.
When the five packages arrived at the post office, they were stunned. In all their years working there, this was the first time they had seen such a strange sight. Chen Qiangwei thanked him, took the pen, and signed her name in a few strokes.
The staff member checked and put the notebook away, "Wait a moment."
As he spoke, he entered the small room behind him. After a while, he took out three packages from the small room, then returned to the small room and dragged out three large packages one by one. Each package was half a person's height.
The staff member was also exhausted and out of breath. She looked at the five packages on the ground with some envy, thinking how nice it would be if these were hers.
This is Wang Xiaomai, who successfully received five dollars with the remittance slip. She was putting the money carefully into her pocket and patting it with her hand.
Wang Xiaomai opened her mouth in surprise. "Wow! Sister Weiwei, isn't this too much?"
Chen Qiangwei hadn't expected there would be so many things. "Xiaomi, please ask Uncle Wu to drive the ox cart here." These packages were quite heavy, and it seemed unrealistic for the two of them to put them on the ox cart.
Wang Xiaomai nodded and went to find Uncle Gu Wu, while Chen Qiangwei moved the packages out of the post office one by one and waited for Uncle Gu Wu's ox cart on the roadside.
About ten minutes later, Uncle Gu Wu arrived at the post office driving a bullock cart with a "deer, deer" sound. When he saw the package next to Chen Qiangwei, his reaction was no less than Wang Xiaomai's.
"Chen Zhiqing, you've moved your family here."
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