"Wow!"
Wow! That's amazing.
“It’s so beautiful!”
The yard was immediately filled with the children's chorus of frogs, and the triplets joined in with their incessant "Wah! Wah! Wah!" while the yard reeked of tension.
Another type of square box caused a small panic. Unlike the previous one, it didn't stay lit properly after being lit, and the whole box flew around wildly. When the three Yu siblings saw this, they quickly got out of the way while holding the triplets, and almost burned their pants.
Next, Yu Zhang took out the remaining bundle of thread and gave a few to each of them, even the triplets. "I heard this is pretty and has a nice name, called 'Ti Liu Jin' (提溜金)."
The name is nice, and the meaning is good too. It crackles and pops when lit, and it can burn for quite a while. If you hold the firecracker in your hand and swing it around a few times, it looks like a wheel of fire at night.
Seeing that there was no danger, the group dared to take the triplets out.
The firecrackers were set off for a short while, and the smell of gunpowder lingered in the yard, which wasn't very pleasant. So, everyone went home and went back to their own homes.
The group of people arrived home noisily and sat around the dining area in the main room. The dining table had been moved aside, and the four of them—the mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, and son—were playing cards. A small tea table was placed next to them, covered with dried fruit, candy, melon seeds, and peanuts. So, the group of people sat around the stove talking and eating.
After preparing the New Year's Eve dinner, Yu's mother put away the playing cards, while Yu's father secretly led the family to worship their ancestors.
After finishing their New Year's Eve dinner, the group continued chatting and eating around the stove. They seemed to be having a good time. When the clock in the main room was about to strike 12:30, the triplets had already gone to sleep, but Liu Yun was the first to give up.
"Ah—" She yawned several times in a row.
"Okay, let's all go to bed."
With a wave of her hand, Yu's mother told everyone to go back to their rooms to rest, and then patted Liu Yun, who could fall asleep even while sitting up, awake.
I already took a shower yesterday, so I'll just wash my hands and feet with hot water tonight. Liu Yun snuggled into the covers and fell asleep.
The next day was supposed to be an early start, but Liu Yun was woken up by the sound of firecrackers. Firecrackers were set off for breakfast on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Hearing the noise from the kitchen, Liu Yun got up as well.
Although she went to bed late, she slept well and didn't feel too tired when she woke up. She had no dreams last night and her sleep quality was excellent, which made her feel great when she woke up.
The house was very lively today. Sister-in-law Yu the second and third were already chatting and eating with Mother Yu in the living room. Most of the dried fruit and snacks on the coffee table were gone, which showed that they had been chatting for a while.
Unlike other families, they didn't need to do any of the chores. Neither of Yu's parents were locals. Yu's father was a soldier who transferred here after his military service. They didn't have any relatives back in their hometown. So today, they were just visiting Yu's father's former leader and comrades-in-arms. However, they still accepted red envelopes. With triplets, they could finally recoup their investment.
In the afternoon, Sister-in-law Yu got bored, so her mother took her three daughters-in-law shopping. It was the first time the four of them had gone shopping together!
Liu Yun had never really explored this place before. She had plenty of food and clothing. She usually ate what she had in the space, bought what she needed at internal exchange meetings, and had her clothes made by Cheng Ke. Yu Qian would bring her things whenever he went on business trips, and she would never forget her brother-in-law when he drove his car to bring things back for her sister. So she had nothing to lack, but she didn't want to spoil the fun, so she went along with them.
"Fourth sister-in-law works at a department store, so she must not lack anything! She always gets news first about when defective products arrive and when something is available. Don't forget your sister-in-law too!" Third sister-in-law Yu is a primary school teacher. These days, she lacks everything and nothing is easy to buy. Being a teacher only gives her a good reputation, and she has to curry favor with students from wealthy families to have any connections. She is extremely envious of Liu Yun's job.
"Yes, yes!" Sister-in-law Yu was also envious. She was a nurse and worked herself to the bone at the hospital every day. She was very envious of Liu Yun's job.
Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. We are currently on a one-and-a-half-day holiday. We will be open for business at noon today. (Author's personal interpretation) People like Liu Yun took leave on the 29th.
“A colleague of mine has a relative who works at the supply and marketing cooperative. I heard there will be a batch of cloth today, but not much. We’d better hurry to the supply and marketing cooperative.” This is also why Sister-in-law Yu wanted to go shopping.
"Fourth sister-in-law, when will your department store get fabric or cotton? You can let us know when that happens! I also want to make a cotton-padded coat for your third brother and the others." Third sister-in-law Yu also wanted good fabric.
Liu Yun genuinely didn't know this, since she didn't lack these things. Her clothes were all made by Cheng Ke and the others, without using cloth coupons; the price was a bit higher, but the calculation for her wasn't much more expensive. As for cotton, even Xiao Zhihua couldn't get much, mainly because it was too conspicuous, and they were truly short of it—they didn't even have as much as Liu Yun!
"Okay, if there's any, I'll tell Mom or Yu Shan." It's not a big deal, and it's fine to agree, since they're relatives. But introducing them to Cheng Ke and the others is out of the question. Selling some cotton to them later isn't out of the question, but she's not keen on it. Growing and harvesting cotton is too tiring, and ever since seeing how much money Yu Qianhe made during the New Year, she's looked down on these paltry sums.
Cloth coupons are now considered precious. Each person's annual quota is only three zhang (approximately 1.5 meters) of cloth coupons, and cotton coupons are even less, only three liang (approximately 150 grams). Even so, as long as the supply and marketing cooperative releases news that there is cloth or cotton available, the supply still cannot meet the demand, and every time you want to buy it, you have to fight for it.
In their city, things are alright; at least there's a supply of fabric. But it's still very difficult to get nice fabrics. Usually, once they arrive, they're snapped up by people with connections. Even cotton has to be fought over.
Liu Yun had no worries about cloth coupons and cotton coupons, as she hardly ever used them. She exchanged most of her cloth coupons for nationally valid ones for Yu Qian and others to take on business trips. She used most of her cotton coupons nearing their expiration date to exchange for other people, and she also kept a considerable amount that was still far from expiring. When Liu Yun took stock last time, she sorted out a stack of them, which included coupons of various denominations.
Every month when she received her salary and grain rations, Liu Yun had to count the receipts, afraid they would expire. She would use many of the unwanted receipts to exchange for favors or other useful ones, such as cloth coupons, cotton coupons, and even grain coupons. She always said that these were not as good as industrial coupons, soap coupons, or meat coupons.
Liu Yun actually knows how to make soap, and she had thought about making it herself, but she gave up because lard was too difficult to work with.
After all, she had enough soap coupons for laundry, but she still didn't dare use soap to wash clothes; she used soapberry and tea seed powder instead. Since they were all natural, it was alright.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
