Xiao Yu looked at the sweet potatoes, steamed buns, shredded potatoes, and shredded radish soup on the dining table and said, "My wife is so great." His heart was touched. It was the first time that a woman other than his grandmother and mother had specially made soup for him. This was his wife.

Lin Yiyi said: "Of course, come and try it."

Xiao-Woo: "Okay."

Lin Yiyi ate half a sweet potato, drank a small bowl of shredded radish soup, a few chopsticks of cold shredded potatoes, and fed Lin Wudi half a steamed bun. The remaining one and a half sweet potatoes and half steamed bun all went into Xiao Yu's stomach, but Xiao Yu did not touch the remaining steamed bun. He was a very restrained person. What they were eating now was much better than what they had in the countryside, so he would not eat too much.

Lin Yiyi pointed at the steamed buns and said, "There's more."

Xiao Yu: “I’m full.” He was really full, mainly because there was a lot of shredded radish soup, which made it very easy to get full.

Lin Yiyi: "Then I'll leave these to you to clean up. The steamed buns can be left for breakfast tomorrow."

Xiao-Woo: "Okay."

Lin Yiyi clapped her hands: "Great, men who can do housework are the most attractive. Little brother, don't you agree?"

Lin Wudi, who didn't know what his sister was talking about, said: "Yes..."

Xiao Yu: "..." Why does he feel that his wife is avoiding housework?

Modern people know how to keep healthy, although this era is not so particular, but walking after a meal is necessary to live to 99. Lin Yiyi led Lin Wudi in the yard, and Xiao Yu used a hoe to prepare the land in the yard: "This season is just right to plant tomatoes and cauliflower, but the weather is hot, so we will build a greenhouse. In November, tomatoes and cauliflower can be eaten." There were no private plots in the 1960s, which was one of the reasons for the food shortage in rural areas. If there were private plots, the situation would be better.

It was not until July 1973 that the country proposed to implement the policy on private plots.

Lin Yiyi: "Okay, my brother Yu is really awesome."

Xiao Yu: "..."

There are two small plots of land, each about 2 square meters, located in the left and right corners of the courtyard door. After the land is prepared, the family takes a bath and goes to bed.

Xiao Yu finished his shower and went into the room. It was a little late, almost ten o'clock, at least later than usual. He saw Lin Yiyi half-closed her eyes and was about to fall asleep. Xiao Yu got on the bed and hugged her: "Thank you for today."

Lin Yiyi knew what he was thanking her for: "We are husband and wife."

Xiao Yu chuckled: "Yes, we are husband and wife."

Lin Yiyi: "I want a clock, otherwise I forget the time while writing the manuscript, and I don't know what time to cook."

Xiao-Woo: "Okay."

Lin Yiyi: "Also, I have an appointment with the director's wife tomorrow morning. Should I be careful when I talk to her?"

Xiao Yu: "No, there is no conflict of interest between me and the director."

Lin Yiyi: "That's good. By the way, I chatted with Grandma Wang next door for a while today. We agreed to go shopping after dinner the day after tomorrow. I don't know if it's a black market or something. If I go and get discovered, will it affect your work?"

Xiao Yu: "Under the current circumstances, relevant departments will not care about the black market. The government knows everything about the black market, but everyone is short of food, so the black market is also a way at the moment, so the black market is still safe. But safety is one thing, some things are different in the open and in secret, and the black market still cannot be put in the open." In fact, he also planned to go to the black market to buy some food for his family, but he had just taken over this position recently and was very busy. He planned to wait until he had time to inquire about this matter.

Lin Yiyi: "I understand."

the next day

Breakfast was the steamed buns made last night. There were 13 steamed buns in total. Xiao Yu ate 3, Lin Yiyi ate 1, and there were 9 left. Lin Wudi drank her and his rice porridge.

After breakfast, Xiao Yu went to the police station. Not long after Xiao Yu left, Cui Ping came and brought a pound of soybeans: "Yi Yi, I have a pound of soybeans here, and you can give me 4 pounds of bean sprouts."

Lin Yiyi: "Okay, no problem, but Sister Ping, bean sprouts don't last long. In this weather, you can only keep them until tomorrow at most, otherwise they will go bad."

Cui Ping: "Don't worry, I'll see you off. Come on, I'll take you to get familiar with the county town."

Lin Yiyi: “Okay.”

Because Lin Yiyi was with Lin Wudi, they had fewer places to visit. They first went to a department store, where Cui Ping introduced a salesperson to Lin Yiyi, who specialized in buying cloth. Then they went to the supply and marketing cooperative, which Lin Yiyi had never been to before. Finally, they went to the vegetable market, where you had to buy things with the purchase price, such as vegetables, which were limited in quantity, although you didn't need a ticket. But now, there was nothing in the vegetable market. During famines, vegetables were all snapped up because the supply was low. Another reason was that the vegetable market was owned by the government, and the prices here would not change because of famines. It was not a black market, where prices changed every day.

After visiting these places, it was already noon.

We still eat steamed bread at noon, and there is only one dish, potatoes. But today it is baked potatoes with soy sauce. Baked potatoes with soy sauce is one of the few dishes that Lin Yiyi can cook, and it is the one she is best at. Because she has no technical production, she only needs to pour soy sauce and sugar, and then add water. When the potatoes are soft and the water in the pot is almost dried up, it can be served.

Lin Yiyi watched her mother make this dish, but she would add preserved plums and garlic pickled in sweet and sour sauce. After the potatoes were baked, the taste was amazing. Unfortunately, the conditions here were limited.

But even with limited conditions, when Xiao Yu ate it at noon, he was very surprised: "This potato is delicious."

How could people in this era be willing to bake potatoes with sugar? So this was the first time Xiao Yu had eaten it this way.

Lin Yiyi said: "I heard from others that if you like it, I will make it for you next time."

Xiao-Woo: "Okay."

Two adults and one Lin Wudi, the staple food is white steamed buns, and the side dish is a plate of baked potatoes. Lin Yiyi baked two plates, and there is one plate to eat in the evening. Even so, this meal is better than the Xiao family.

There are 9 steamed buns, and 4 are missing, only 5 are left. In fact, one pound of flour can make steamed buns for a day, which is quite cost-effective.

In the evening, Xiao Yu got off work a little late. When he came back, he was holding a clock that looked a little old.

Lin Yiyi: "Where did you get the clock?"

Xiao Yu: "Didn't you say yesterday that you wanted a clock to tell time? I went to the scrapyard to say hello before going to work this morning, and they sent it to me when I got off work. It was originally broken, so they fixed it. The scrapyard knew that I needed it urgently, so they didn't have time to paint it. What do you think of this one? If you like it, we can paint it."

This is a wall clock, which can be used as a table clock or a floor clock. Only rich people can afford this kind of clock in this era. However, this clock is very old. The clock body is made of wood, with a round dial on the top and a pendulum at the bottom. It will make a ding-dong-dong sound on the hour. If we count from 1960, the wall clock has been introduced to my country for nearly 360 years.

Lin Yiyi: "The scrapyard really has everything."

Xiao Yu: "They also collect scrap privately. Some people don't want their scraps, so they can sell them to the scrap station. For example, this bell is too old. When the people at the scrap station collect it, they will check to see if it can be repaired. If it can, they will collect it. Some of the work is done by them privately, and some is collected on behalf of the scrap station."

Lin Yiyi: "There is such a thing? How much did you pay for it?"

Jin-Woo held up five fingers.

Lin Yiyi: “50 cents?”

Xiao Yu tapped her forehead and said, "What are you thinking about? Five dollars. I haven't paid you yet. I'll take it to you when I go to work tomorrow. You have to give me five dollars." He didn't have any private money yet and felt sad.

Lin Yiyi slapped his hand away: "The wall clock will ring, you have to turn off the sound, otherwise you will be woken up when you fall asleep at night."

Xiao-Woo: "Yeah."

After dinner, Lin Yiyi started to clean the wall clock while Xiao Yu started to sow seeds. With this wall clock, Lin Yiyi's mood became much better. She cleaned the alarm clock and put it on the dresser in the room. She went to see Xiao Yu sowing seeds again: "How are you going to build this pergola?"

Xiao Yu: "You only need to build three sides and the roof of the pergola. Now you don't need to build the two sides. It's the wall of the yard. You can use wood on one side and wooden boards on the other side."

Lin Yiyi: "We still have to go to the countryside to find wood and planks."

Xiao Yu: "No, we have them at the scrap yard. We can use door panels instead of wooden boards and put them on the roof. Door panels are perfect."

Lin Yiyi: "It seems that it is possible. If you don't grow vegetables anymore, this pergola can still be used to store waste."

Xiao-Woo: "Yeah."

The next day, when Xiao Yu went to work, Lin Yiyi gave him 20 yuan. Xiao Yu went to the scrapyard before work and told them about the door panel and asked them to deliver it to his home after get off work. The people at the scrapyard were already familiar with Xiao Yu. The new deputy director of the Public Security Bureau was a powerful person, so the people at the scrapyard were willing to make friends with him.

With a wall clock today, Lin Yiyi no longer has to worry about writing. She lets Lin Wudi play in the room while she writes, checking the time and Lin Wudi from time to time. But she doesn't need to cook today, because she cooked enough sweet potato and rice porridge in the morning. One meal is enough for three days. It's just that there's nothing good to cook at home, and Lin Yiyi's cooking skills are just that... But she eats sweet potato and rice porridge for three meals, unlike the clear soup in the countryside, Lin Yiyi's is still thicker.

Xiao Yu is the kind of person who is not picky about what he eats. He will eat whatever you cook. He has not eaten in the Public Security Bureau cafeteria recently, nor has he brought vegetables from the cafeteria, because his family came that day, and he prepaid for this month's food. He first took the food from his colleagues, and then returned it to them day by day. You don't need a ticket to eat and buy vegetables in the Public Security Bureau cafeteria, but you need money. However, there are regulations on the daily food and vegetables.

At dinner time, people from the scrap yard came with a cart loaded with planks and some wood.

After dinner, Xiao Yu started to make the awning and take care of the baby, while Grandma Wang took Lin Yiyi to buy food. On the way, Grandma Wang said, "Yiyi, your man is so handsome. You must take care of such a man until he is old. There are many seductive women nowadays. Plus, your man has to be good at his job, so be careful not to be seduced by others."

Lin Yiyi: "..." This grandma Wang is not only warm-hearted, but also very gossipy. She knows everything about the little things happening in the family compound. She is not scheming, but she is quick-witted. Lin Yiyi thought about it and decided that she would not go shopping with grandma Wang next time, so as to avoid any trouble in the future. Today was just a chance to get to know the way.

Grandma Wang talked a lot of gossip along the way, but she didn't stop. She took Lin Yiyi to an alley and knocked on the door. A voice came from inside: "Who is it?"

Grandma Wang: "Nephew, I'm your aunt."

Lin Yiyi: "Grandma Wang, is this really your nephew's house?"

Grandma Wang: "How can that be possible?"

After a while, someone came to open the door. It was a middle-aged man. Seeing Grandma Wang, he was very enthusiastic: "Aunt, why are you here? It's so late at night. Stay at home tonight. My father still misses you."

Grandma Wang: "I'm not staying overnight. I borrowed money from you because my family was in financial difficulty. I'm here to pay you back."

Lin Yiyi: “…”

Grandma Wang and the middle-aged man went into the house while chatting idly.

When Lin Yiyi saw that she had entered a man's room, she hesitated for a moment.

Grandma Wang said, "Come in, there's something secret in his room." As she spoke, she pulled Lin Yiyi into the room, and then the man closed the door. As the man closed the door, Lin Yiyi's heart began to lift.

The man said, "My last name is Wang. Everyone calls me Brother Wang. Some also call me nephew. People call each other by age. Since I'm young, you can just call me Brother Wang." As he spoke, he moved the bed. There was a wooden board under the bed. When they pulled out the board, there was a passage. It turned out there was a basement underneath. Oh, people in that era called basements cellars.

Lin Yiyi looked a little surprised.

The cellar was not big, only about four square meters, and there was no space for three or four people to stand. But the cellar was very clean, with wooden grids, a bit like modern grid cabinets, so there were several grids in a row, so there was room for a lot of things.

Moreover, there are quite a lot of things here. Of course, it’s not that the variety is really large, but considering the situation of this era, there are too many things.

Lin Yiyi looked at it and couldn't help but feel happy: "How are these vegetables sold? There are eggs, radishes, lotus roots, and oil. What are the prices?"

Brother Wang said, "The eggs and oil just arrived today. You are lucky to have come across them."

Grandma Wang said, "I came here just because I knew they would have the goods today." Brother Wang had mentioned this to Grandma Wang when she came to buy something a few days ago, so she remembered it.

Brother Wang said, "Eggs are 6 yuan a pound, no ticket required, other vegetables are 2 yuan a pound, and oil is 15 yuan a pound."

Lin Yiyi was stunned. Eggs were sold at 60 cents per pound in the supply and marketing cooperative, which was ten times the price. Vegetables were usually sold at 5 cents per pound, but now they were sold at 2 yuan. Who could afford this? An ordinary worker could only afford 5 pounds of eggs with a month's salary. Oil was not a necessity, and the supply and marketing cooperative only sold it at 5 yuan per pound, so it was only 15 yuan per pound here. So the expensive things were still food, vegetables and other things that could fill the stomach.

Brother Wang said, "Little girl, this is the price in today's world. A few years ago, eggs were only 1.5 yuan per pound at most. Who called it a famine?"

Lin Yiyi: "I understand." When the disaster hit, many people in the county town didn't starve to death, but they used up all their savings over the years. However, Wang Ge bought expensive things and collected expensive things.

Lin Yiyi: "Give me two pounds of eggs, two pounds of lotus roots, three radishes, three pounds of oil, and two pounds of Chinese cabbage." I can't carry any more.

Grandma Wang was stunned: "Yiyi, you are so willing to give it up."

Lin Yiyi: "My husband works hard, so he needs to replenish himself." She calculated that, except for the long-lasting radishes, the other foods could be eaten for one day, so except for the eggs, these foods would only last for three or four days. After three or four days, she would have other plans.

Brother Wang: "75 in total."

Grandma Wang bought a lot of things as there were six people in her family to eat, but she only bought vegetables and didn’t buy oil. She could save on oil because she was reluctant to buy it. But she couldn’t save on things that would fill her stomach.

After buying it, the two left.

This alley is very safe. Every family has dealings with Brother Wang, especially in this year. They have all bought things from Brother Wang, so everyone hopes that Brother Wang is doing well.

Therefore, Grandma Wang and Lin Yiyi are actually quite safe.

It was around seven o'clock when the two returned home.

Brother Lin Wu squatted aside and watched Xiao Yu busy. When he saw Lin Yiyi coming back, he rushed over like a small cannonball: "Sister..."

Lin Yiyi was carrying something on her back and was pushed back a few steps by him.

Xiao Yu quickly dropped his things and picked up the backpack: "It's so heavy? Is your shoulder okay?"

Lin Yiyi: “It hurts a little.” In front of a man, a woman doesn’t need to pretend to be strong when she should be soft.

Xiao Yu: “Let me see.” Then he pulled Lin Yiyi to the room.

Lin Wudi, who was fed dog food... hurried to catch up.

Xiao Yu pulled down Lin Yiyi's clothes and saw two red stripes on her shoulders. "Don't buy so much at once next time." He took out the red oil from the drawer and said, "Bear with it, I'll rub it for you."

Lin Yiyi: "Don't rub it now, wait until I take a shower, otherwise it will be washed off when I take a shower later."

Xiao-Woo: "Okay."

Lin Yiyi: "But I'm not taking a shower now. I still want to go to Brother Wang's place. When I went there with Grandma Wang before, I wanted to ask her some questions, but I didn't want to ask in front of Grandma Wang, lest she be careless and spread the news."

Xiao-Woo raised an eyebrow.

Lin Yiyi said, "He has a lot of stuff there, but the prices are expensive. If we keep buying food there, my royalties plus your salary may not be enough. I want to ask him if he accepts soybean sprouts and mung bean sprouts. You've seen that the bean sprouts I grow are great, right?" She calculated that today's trip had cost her 75 yuan, and she took a total of 90 yuan in change with her. It was almost gone. She wanted to save a large sum before the turbulent period in 1966, but now the famine had used up all her money. What was there to save?

Xiao Yu: "Okay, let's go and take a look." In fact, he was not encouraging Lin Yiyi to start a bean sprout business, but he wanted to see if that place was safe.

Lin Yiyi: "This backpack still belongs to Brother Wang. When I went there, I took a basket, but it couldn't hold all the things. Now that we've passed by, we'll return the backpack to him."

Xiao-Woo: "Okay."

Lin Yiyi: "When we get there, wait for me at the door. It's not good for a police officer like you to go into a place like that."

Xiao-Woo: "Okay."

15 minutes later, Lin Yiyi brought Xiao Yu to the alley. Lin Yiyi asked him to wait outside and went to knock on the door.

Brother Wang: “Who is it?”

Lin Yiyi: "Uncle Wang, it's me. My grandma said she dropped something when she came here just now. She was waiting for me on the road, so I ran back to get it."

Brother Wang: “…Yes, yes, yes, auntie’s basket is pulled down.” Brother Wang opened the door, looked at Lin Yiyi who was smiling at the door, and immediately invited her in. “Girl, you’re here again, and there’s no need to be so anxious about carrying the basket.” As he said that, he handed her the basket.

Lin Yiyi didn't want to sue anymore and asked directly: "Brother Wang, are you accepting the goods?"

Wang's eyes lit up when he heard this: "I'll take anything. What do you have? I'll give you an estimate."

Lin Yiyi: “Soybean sprouts and mung bean sprouts.” That’s all she knows.

Brother Wang was enlightened: "It's a technical job to germinate soybeans and mung beans. I've never bought any. But my vegetables are 2 yuan per pound. I'll tell you the current price. When I bought them, they were 1.5 yuan. If you have some, I'll buy them for 1.5 yuan."

Lin Yiyi: "I know how to grow bean sprouts, but I don't have much soybeans and mung beans at home. Do you have any?"

Brother Wang said, "Really? A lot. Mung beans can also sprout? Mung beans are just a dessert ingredient here, like mung bean soup and mung bean cake, so most people don't buy them. If you want them, I'll give them to you for 5 yuan a pound. The price of mung beans and soybeans is the same as food. Now rice is only 5 yuan a pound. Although mung beans are a dessert ingredient, they can also fill your stomach like rice."

Lin Yiyi calculated that one pound of mung beans less 10 pounds of bean sprouts could be sold for 15 yuan, and the original capital was only 5 yuan. She answered: "How many mung beans and soybeans do you have?"

Brother Wang: "There are about 40 kilograms of mung beans, right? There are more soybeans, about 60 kilograms."

Lin Yiyi: "I want them all, but I don't have any money on me. I'll bring the bean sprouts to you three nights from now, and we'll settle the payment then, okay?"

Brother Wang: "Okay."

Lin Yiyi added, "I'll bring back 2 kilograms of winter melon, and give me 2 kilograms each of salt, soy sauce, and rice vinegar." So, the original 90 yuan was now only 5 yuan, and the rest was Xiao Yu's 2,500 yuan deposit and her remittance slip. Salt was usually 0.12 yuan, soy sauce was usually 0.14 yuan, and rice vinegar was usually 0.11 yuan, but now they are all one yuan per kilogram.

the next day

Breakfast was sweet potato with egg custard, with an egg beaten into two small bowls. Lin Yiyi and Lin Wudi shared one bowl, while Xiao Yu had one bowl. Xiao Yu wanted to give it to Lin Yiyi, but Lin Yiyi refused, saying she couldn't finish it. She really couldn't finish it, so it was just right for her and Lin Wudi to share one bowl.

After dinner, Lin Yiyi sprouted the remaining two pounds of mung beans. After that, she took Lin Wudi to the bookstore.

Librarian: "Hello, what book are you looking for?"

Lin Yiyi: "Hello, do you have any recipes here? They are about how to cook various dishes. The thing is, my elderly family member is in poor health and nothing he eats tastes good. I want to learn a few dishes by following the recipes."