Hua Xiangyun was surprised that even though it was almost the end of the year, there was not much of a festive atmosphere in the streets of the entire county.
The slogans on both sides of the road have been repainted in red, which is a slight change and adds a touch of festivity.
"The streets haven't changed at all," he said, but Hua Zhian kept looking around. Though he was away from home, this was the place of his dreams.
“What changes could there be?” Tian Guihua said dismissively. “The regulations are stricter now; you need a lot of applications even to set up a shed.”
Hua Xiangyun: "Grandma, what should we buy?"
It seems like everything is ready at home; we can't just wander around the streets in this freezing weather.
Tian Guihua said, "Let's go to the supply and marketing cooperative first. But these days, many villagers from the surrounding area come to buy things, so there are quite a lot of people. We'll have to keep up with them later."
Hua Zhian's eyes lit up when he heard that it was nearby.
He knows this area well. If he could go into the mountains again, he could have a couple more meat dishes for the New Year.
"Why don't we go wait at the purchasing station?" Hua Xiangyun suddenly remembered that a few years ago, her family used to go there to barter, which was more interesting than visiting the supply and marketing cooperative.
Hua Zhian had the same idea. "Yes, I remember people used to bring food over. Now that there are more people in our family, we can prepare more."
Tian Guihua always went along with the child's wishes, saying, "Then let's go take a look."
During the journey, Hua Zhian shared his thoughts, "Grandma, actually I still want to continue going to the countryside. There are some things that can't be avoided."
Tian Guihua said, "We'll talk about this when we get back. When we get there, remember to keep an eye on your sister and make sure she doesn't get jostled."
Hua Xiangyun, “…” Is she really that frail?
Hua Zhian said, "Don't worry, I will protect both of you today."
Two long stalls have been set up at the entrance of the purchasing station, which is permitted to allow people to barter during the Chinese New Year.
"Auntie, look at this cabbage," someone greeted as soon as I approached. "It was just cut from the field today, and it's still very fresh."
Any ticket is fine.
Tian Guihua shook her head; she was getting sick of eating cabbage every day since the beginning of winter.
Hua Xiangyun glanced at it a few more times before following along.
"Grandma, look ahead." Hua Xiangyun pointed, and Guihua pulled them forward.
"How do I exchange this seaweed?" Tian Guihua hadn't expected such a discovery today.
They live far from the sea, so it's difficult for them to get these kinds of things to eat.
Many people in the surrounding area don't even know him; many ask about him, but few actually do.
When the young man saw that someone recognized him, he immediately perked up. "Auntie, look, I not only have kelp, but also seaweed, dried shrimp, and the like."
Hua Xiangyun squatted down next to Tian Guihua, while Hua Zhiping automatically stood behind them to protect them.
"Not bad at all, I haven't seen these things in many years." Tian Guihua examined them carefully and found that they were all in good condition.
"It wasn't that I went there as an educated youth; the production brigade was by the sea, and when I came back, I exchanged some work points for some."
My family didn't like the food either, so I thought I'd get something else to take home to supplement our income.
Huang Ping'an was also helpless. He had only thought of letting his family try it, but no one was used to it. He couldn't possibly carry it back again, could he?
Trading is permitted these days, so someone might be interested.
Who knew that even though he had been setting up his stall here for two days, many people asked about it but few changed their minds, and this old lady was the first one to recognize him.
Tian Guihua pointed to the seaweed and asked, "So how are you going to change this?"
"Auntie, one pound of grain coupons can be exchanged for five pounds, and for dried oysters like these, one pound of grain coupons can be exchanged for two pounds..."
Hua Xiangyun was somewhat surprised, "Aren't you at a disadvantage by doing this?"
You know, five pounds of dried kelp can expand a lot after soaking, not to mention dried oysters, which are meat too.
Huang Ping'an smiled wryly, "This is the price of this stuff in the rural area where I was sent. My family just can't get used to it, and there's nothing I can do about it."
Hua Xiangyun already had many seaweed recipes in her mind, all of which she loved. "Why can't I get used to this? How did you cook it?"
"How else can we cook it? Just boil it in water." Huang Ping'an himself wasn't a good cook, so when he went to the countryside, the female comrades were the ones who cooked for him.
Even Tian Guihua was speechless. "Weren't you going to the countryside? The locals should know how to do it."
Huang Ping'an smiled somewhat awkwardly. He wasn't a good cook, and the locals said the recipes were very simple, so he didn't ask any further questions.
I thought my family would know how to make it too, and they did manage to make it, but the top layer of sap made it really hard to eat.
"Auntie, make sure you know how to do it before you exchange it," Huang Ping'an reminded her, adding that he could always carry the items back himself.
"You're a bit silly," Tian Guihua said. This was the first time she had ever met someone so foolish, yet he was still setting up a stall. "How long will it take you to get anything out of this stall?"
"I can't let others suffer," Huang Ping'an didn't care. Anyway, he had been feeling a bit disheartened these past few days and was preparing for the worst.
Tian Guihua picked through the items at the stall. "Don't worry, I used to live by the sea, so I can handle these things."
Huang Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief and became much more enthusiastic. "Right? The locals seem to cook everything delicious no matter how casually they cook it, but I don't know why my family can't do it right at all. Auntie, how many are you planning to exchange?"
Tian Guihua looked through them and found that these things had been cleaned very well.
"Grandma, let's get some more," Hua Xiangyun suggested. In this era of scarcity, at least it would add another dish.
Tian Guihua also had this plan. She took out a handful of coupons from her red pocket, only to find that she only had one and a half jin of grain coupons.
"Are other tickets okay?"
Huang Pingan shook his head. The place where he went to work was most lacking in food. Although there was plenty of seafood, they couldn't always go without regular food.
Hua Xiangyun quickly retrieved the ration coupons that the old lady had given her from the space inside the cauldron. If she remembered correctly, there should have been three catties of grain coupons inside.
“I have some,” Hua Xiangyun said, stuffing the tickets directly into Tian Guihua’s hand.
Tian Guihua looked up at her. She knew how much Xiao Guai had. Could it be that Master Wu gave it to her?
Hua Xiangyun said, "Grandma, let's change our things first, but we didn't bring a basket, so how are we going to put them back?"
Huang Ping'an saw clearly that the other party really had grain coupons in his hand, and quite a lot of them. He said very solicitously, "That's easy. I'll use rice rope to tie up the seaweed for you. As for the other things, there are some sycamore leaves over there. I'll go pick some."
Tian Guihua was very pleased with his quick wit. "Then I'll trouble you, young man."
"How much do you want to exchange?" Huang Ping'an asked expectantly.
"Let's exchange it for two jin!" Tian Guihua felt that this much was enough.
Huang Ping'an completed his first order, diligently packing and weighing the goods, and chatting with Tian Guihua to inquire about how to make them.
Tian Guihua also shared her tips on how to handle these seafood items.
Huang Ping'an was afraid that he had a bad memory, so he repeated it to himself. Only after he was sure that he had memorized it did he keep saying thank you.
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