Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Supply and Marketing Cooperative Procurement

After leaving the family compound, walk along the gravel road for five minutes to reach the supply and marketing cooperative.

It is already past nine o'clock, and the people who came to buy vegetables in the morning have dispersed. There are still some leftover vegetables on the vegetable stalls, but there is no meat at all.

The weather is hot and meat cannot be preserved for a long time, so the daily quantity is fixed.

The fruit stall next to it still has a lot of stock, and at first glance there seems to be a rich variety.

"Oh, strawberries!" Xia Qinqin's eyes lit up, recognizing that she had eaten this delicious fruit last year, "Mom, I want to eat strawberries."

Meng Yufei took her daughter to ask, "Excuse me, how much is this strawberry per pound?"

"30 cents a pound. This is all I have left, about 2.5 pounds. If you buy all of it, I'll give you 2 pounds, how about that?"

Behind the fruit stall was a young girl with a long braided hair, dark skin, bright eyes, and a brisk and loud voice.

Meng Yufei looked at the strawberries, which were big, red and very fresh, and nodded, "Okay, I'll take them all, but I don't have anything to put them in, so why don't you wait for me to get a plate when I get home?"

"Well, don't bother. I have a straw basket here, specially used for holding strawberries." As he said this, he took out a small basket made of wild grass from behind him. It was the size of a bowl, just enough to hold all the strawberries.

Meng Yufei held up the straw frame and looked at it, saying, "This is very skillfully woven. It must have taken a lot of effort."

The girl smiled and said, "It doesn't take much effort. I can make a dozen in half a day. Sister, you must be a new military dependent. You look unfamiliar."

Meng Yufei nodded, "I just got here today."

The girl said, "My name is Zheng Sanmei, and I'm in charge of selling fruits here. If you want to eat any kind of fruit, you can tell me one day in advance. We have all kinds of fruits in our commune. Every morning, the members pick them. They are very fresh."

There were various kinds of fruits on the island, and the residents could not eat them all, so the commune came up with an idea and cooperated with the supply and marketing cooperative to set up a stall at the door every day to sell fruits. The main customer group was the military families in the family compound.

Zheng Sanmei was the person chosen by the commune to sell fruit, mainly because she spoke Mandarin well, was smart, and could do math.

There is no need to go out to sea to fish every day, nor to replenish fishing nets to dry seafood. All you have to do is sit here and get paid. Zheng Sanmei likes this job very much and has a very positive attitude towards work.

She saw that Meng Yufei was well dressed, wearing a blue shirt and black pants, and thought she looked better than those women she had seen wearing long skirts. And this lady just bought two kilograms of strawberries without blinking an eye, so she looked like a big customer with potential for development.

Xia Qinqin stepped forward and asked curiously, "Do you have pineapples at home?"

Before she came, she heard from her uncle that she could eat sour and sweet pineapples here.

Zheng Sanmei nodded quickly and said, "Yes, not only pineapples, but also mangoes, pomegranates, and lotus seeds... By the way, lychees will be available in a few days."

She listed a series of fruits that Xia Qinqin had never heard of in one breath, which made the little girl swallow her saliva and feel that they all looked delicious.

"Wow……"

Meng Yufei and Xia Junshan looked at their daughter with amusement. She stared at the girl with her big, round eyes as she rattled off the names of the fruits, looking as if she was about to drool.

Xia Junshan said: "Save a pineapple for us tomorrow."

"Okay, I will definitely pick a good one for you." Zheng Sanmei responded happily.

After buying the fruits, Meng Yufei looked at the vegetable stall next to her and felt a little confused. There were few vegetables she was familiar with, and they all looked wilted.

Xia Junshan said hurriedly: "There is a canteen in the family compound, the food is pretty good. It's very hot here, and it's not convenient to cook. We can just eat in the canteen in the future."

Meng Yufei breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "That's fine. You know my cooking skills may not be as delicious as the big pot rice."

Xia Junshan said, "I think it tastes good."

Meng Yufei glanced at him sideways, touched her chin and said, "You're making me worry about the taste of the food in the cafeteria."

Xia Junshan: “…”

Meng Yufei chuckled and said, "Since you like my craftsmanship so much, I will show you a good one in a few days."

Xia Junshan grinned and said, "Okay, I'll wait then."

The two of them decided on the family's future eating habits, and the little Xia Qinqin had no say in this for the time being.

As soon as you enter the back room of the supply and marketing cooperative, you will see a long row of wooden cabinets. A salesperson is standing behind the cabinet. Behind the wall is a wall full of tall shelves filled with merchandise.

The things here are indeed quite complete. The two of them bought a shoe brush, four plates and two bowls. Meng Yufei just took a look in the kitchen. Although the bowls and chopsticks are complete, she still bought a few more as a backup.

There were already two washbasins at home, and Meng Yufei bought two more. Basins these days are all made of ferromagnetic, and one can be used for many years.

I also bought some oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, etc. Although I plan to eat mainly in the cafeteria in the future, I still need to cook at home occasionally.

Speaking of cooking, Meng Yufei bought two more handfuls of noodles and twenty eggs.

Xia Qinqin tiptoed curiously, lying on the wooden table, looking at the shelves at the back. She used to go shopping in department stores with her mother and grandmother. Although this place was not as big as a department store, everything was put together, and it looked so dazzling that she was overwhelmed for a moment.

Listening to her parents whispering about what they needed to buy for the house, she reminded them, "We also need to buy a toothbrush cup."

"Oh, yes, buy a few more cups." Meng Yufei hurriedly asked the salesperson to bring a few more cups.

She bought a bunch of things here and there, spending a total of 12.73 yuan. Before leaving, Meng Yufei brought a few different tickets with her just in case, and she found them one by one to pay the bill.

The salesperson packed the items quickly and said to Meng Yufei with a smile, "You must be the family member of Captain Xia, right? I am from Hou Quanxi's family of the Second Regiment. My name is Zhao Meixia."

Xia Junshan thought for a moment and said, "Captain Hou won the second prize in shooting at the competition last month. I didn't expect that his lover is you. I just came here not long ago, so I don't know."

Zhao Meixia smiled and said, "Thanks to Captain Xia for remembering him." She said to Meng Yufei, "I have been here with the army for four or five years. If there is anything I can help you with, feel free to contact me. Every month, our supply and marketing society goes to the city's department stores to purchase. If you need anything, just tell me and I can bring it to you."

Meng Yufei nodded slightly and smiled: "Thank you very much, sister-in-law. My name is Meng Yufei, you can just call me Xiao Meng."

Zhao Meixia said hurriedly: "How can that be possible? How about this, I am a few years older than you, and I will shamelessly call you sister from now on?"

Meng Yufei naturally agreed, and the two exchanged some polite words before saying goodbye.

On the way home, Meng Yufei asked Xia Junshan: "That sister Zhao was so enthusiastic towards me just now, could it be that Captain Hou wants something from you?"

Although Xia Junshan was the regiment commander, he was only from the first regiment and not the direct superior of Battalion Commander Hou of the second regiment. Sister Zhao's attitude just now was a little too enthusiastic.

Xia Junshan said: "Captain Hou was a strong contender for the position of deputy commander of the Second Regiment, but the last division commander promoted Deputy Commander Chen as an exception before he left. The division commander wants to reorganize the personnel structure of the troops recently, and Captain Hou probably has other ideas."

When it came to his work, Meng Yufei didn't ask too many questions. She wanted to know the general situation so as to be careful about how to interact with other family members.

When she got home, Xia Qinqin pointed at the straw basket and urged, "Strawberries, strawberries, I want to eat strawberries."

The sweet scent of strawberries smelled all the way, which made her very anxious.

"Okay, okay, but you have to wash first. Dad will go wash it now."

Meng Yufei took out a newly bought porcelain basin and handed it to him, "Use this basin to wash. From now on, this basin will be used exclusively for washing fruits."

Xia Junshan took it and nodded, "Okay."

The father and daughter were washing strawberries outside while Meng Yufei was putting the things she bought in the kitchen.

"Is anyone home?" A loud female voice came from the gate.

Xia Junshan went to open the gate. The person who came was Wang Cuilan, the wife of Political Commissar Yu. She was wearing a Zhongshan shirt and coarse cloth pants, and a sports cap with straight ears, looking neat and tidy.

"Sister-in-law, you're here. Come home and sit down." As he said this, he stretched out his hand and led her home.

Meng Yufei heard the voice and hurried out. When she saw the person coming, she smiled and said, "Junshan, someone is coming home."

Xia Junshan introduced the two people, "Fei Fei, this is Wang Saozi, the wife of Political Commissar Yu, and the director of the Women's Committee of the Family Courtyard." He pointed at Meng Yufei and said, "Sister-in-law, this is my wife Meng Yufei."

Meng Yufei hurriedly took two steps forward and said with a smile, "Hello, Director Wang."

Wang Cuilan laughed and said, "You are an interesting girl. I don't like it when others call me sister-in-law. The work of liberating women is also a revolutionary cause. Why do you call me sister-in-law? It's just ignoring my duty!"

'Bystander' Xia Junshan smiled at the side. Wang Cuilan pulled Meng Yufei and said, "They are men, but we women are different. You should call me Sister Wang from now on. Calling me Director or not Director is too distant."

Meng Yufei nodded and said, "Okay, then I will call you sister from now on."

She turned to her daughter who was washing strawberries under the faucet and called out, "Qinqin, come over and say hello to Aunt Wang."

Xia Qinqin ran over with washed strawberries in her hand. "Hello, Auntie Wang. Please have some strawberries."

"Oh, this girl is really sensible. You can eat the strawberries yourself. Auntie won't eat them."

Wang Cuilan couldn't help but touch Xia Qinqin's face and said, "This little face is so white. After all, she is from a big city. Unlike the two brats in my family, they are black."

Meng Yufei was about to lead Wang Cuilan into the house, "It's hot today, let's not stand in the yard, come in and have a drink of water."

Wang Cuilan waved her hands and said, "No, I just came to ask Captain Xia if your family coupons have been issued this month?"

Xia Junshan shook his head and said, "We haven't had time to go to the logistics department to make connections yet."

Wang Cuilan patted her forehead and said, "Oh, yes, I forgot that Xiao Meng just came."

She reminded them, "But you have to do it as soon as possible. You don't know that the financial situation of the logistics department of the compound is getting outrageous. Half of this month has passed, and I have received many complaints from family members. The tickets are either not issued or issued incorrectly. Really, I don't know what these people are doing every day."

"Okay, I still have to go ask other people. You guys stay home. I'm leaving now."

Meng Yufei quickly pulled her back and said, "Sister Wang, you don't have time to drink water. Eat some strawberries to quench your thirst."

Wang Cuilan refused directly: "No, I'm here to work, I can't violate the rules, okay, okay, don't send me off, I'm leaving."

After saying that, he hurried out of the yard and went to Captain Ma's house next door.