I need everything! Tickets, tips, whatever—throw them all my way over! Mwah!
"A lot of pigs are being slaughtered this year? Why is that? I'll have to buy more then."
"Everyone is afraid that the drought will continue into the new year, and everyone is afraid that they won't be able to afford to raise the animals to the point of losing weight, so it's better to kill them now."
"That's good too. Who killed them all? Does anyone in our village want the rest? Or should we give them to the supply station?"
"I guess our village divided it up themselves. Food is so scarce right now, who would want to sell it?"
"Yes, that's how it should be. I heard that pork on the black market in the city is five yuan a pound now, but we can't go there, the regulations are very strict."
“Our village has plenty of food, who would want to take the risk? Besides, the village chief and my dad wouldn’t let them go. Let’s go, it’s time to eat.”
"Sister Erya, I just ate, I'm not going."
"Okay, I'm going to eat now. You must be tired, so get some rest. Oh, by the way, the eggs are all in the cabinets in the storeroom. They've laid twenty eggs in the last few days."
The next morning, Liu Erya came over with a bowl. "Hongmei, I told my dad about you wanting pork, and he said you don't need to buy any. We'll save twenty jin for you."
"Okay, but if it's free, I won't take it. Twenty pounds isn't enough. When we eat, I'll ask Brother Er Lengzi which family slaughters pigs. If it's a wealthy family, I'll save ten pounds for him."
Why did you buy so much?
"Is it too much? I just want my third aunt to pickle it for me so I can eat it slowly. Besides, I also need to give some away."
Liu Erya immediately thought of Zhang Xingguo and the others, so she stopped thinking about Zhang Hongmei. After all, they had even given Hongmei a bicycle, so giving her some pork was nothing.
Zhang Hongmei didn't tell anyone about Zhang Xingguo and the others leaving, because she felt it was unnecessary.
Breakfast was sorghum, sweet potato, and pumpkin porridge, which tasted quite sweet and fragrant, at least in Zhang Hongmei's opinion. The other children were tired of it, since it was the same porridge every day.
Zhang Hongmei found Er Lengzi and said, "Brother Er Lengzi, when you go to slaughter the pig, could you buy ten catties of meat for me from each household? Just the ribs will do; I'm planning to give them away."
“Yes, that’s quite a lot. Ten families in our village have already placed orders with me.”
"I still think it's not enough. If you have extra, buy more for me. Who knows what year next year will be? It hasn't snowed yet. It's always good to have extra food."
"You little devil, I'll buy you as much as you sell in Mongolia." After agreeing on the deal, the two went their separate ways.
The children were still learning to read at Zhang Hongmei's house, but now Er Ya is teaching them. The children have learned 130 characters and they all stand tall and proud!
Zhang Hongmei played the radio for them for a while, and most of the children were able to sing along, especially the revolutionary songs.
While they sang, Zhang Hongmei quickly jotted down the lyrics, organizing them and keeping them so she wouldn't forget them later.
Now the children don't come over in the afternoons anymore. Liu Erya also has to read books. Fortunately, Zhang Hongmei lets her read all her books. Zhu Zi sometimes comes over too. He copies the texts back home to memorize, since it's not appropriate for a grown man to always be at a young girl's house.
Now that Zhang Hongmei is back, she can help them with their first-year math. So now it's their study time this afternoon.
After dinner, Zhang Hongmei took some yogurt to chat with the old lady.
Tomorrow is the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, and every household wants to go to the village market to buy New Year's goods.
"Girl, you go with your third aunt. Don't cause trouble, but don't be afraid of trouble either. If you get bullied, bully them back tenfold."
"Hmph! Do you think I have a face that's easy to bully? Does anyone think they can step on me?" Her arrogant demeanor made the old lady unable to resist ruffling her hair.
"I'm not a cat, really."
"Grandma, do you think it's too much for me to give meat to the principal, the teachers, and Aunt Li from the Women's Federation?" Zhang Hongmei was also undecided. Giving such a generous gift would be bad for both sides. As an orphan, giving something too nice would attract attention, and the recipients would feel bad about it.
"It's alright, sending a little something is fine as long as it's a token."
"Okay, then two jin each?"
"There are too many people who would want to take advantage of you."
The next day, almost half the village went to the market. Zhang Hongmei, Er Ya, and several other children of similar age followed behind the adults, chattering excitedly. It was almost New Year's, and maybe the adults would buy them whatever they wanted?
People in this era attach great importance to the New Year. Even though there is a drought this year, the New Year still has to be celebrated. Everyone hopes that the drought will pass and that there will be a good harvest next year.
So there were a lot of people at the market. Li Cuihua told them not to get lost. Ever since Daya ran away, Li Cuihua had been keeping a very close eye on her three children. If it weren't for Liu Maocai's words, she probably wouldn't have let Erya go to school.
"Mom, you go ahead and do your thing. Hongmei and I will go for a walk by ourselves."
"I'm relieved that you two have company. Let's meet at Jikou."
"Okay, Auntie, don't worry! We won't run around."
The two strolled around slowly, neither intending to buy anything, but they did buy as many eggs as they saw Zhang Hongmei selling them.
They bought thirty from the first household, twenty from the second, and twenty from the third, which made Er Ya keep pulling at her.
"Your chickens are laying eggs, why are you buying so many? They'll spoil in the hot weather if you can't finish them."
"If I can't finish them, I'll pickle them. I want to eat salted duck eggs. If I don't have duck eggs, I'll pickle chicken eggs."
All you ever think about is eating.
"Why aren't you eating? Sister Er Ya, what do you think is the purpose of life?"
"To serve the country and bring honor to our ancestors."
"That's all true, but isn't the most important thing just to have something to eat?"
"You're full of twisted logic. I'll put them all in a cage for you, and I'll carry them. You'll just keep going for this one bite of food."
"My second sister is quick-witted! Okay, you can have them all." Neither of them were interested in the other dried vegetables. Zhang Hongmei, however, had bought all the matsutake mushrooms; they were delicious, especially stir-fried with pork belly!
Er Ya stopped trying to persuade Zhang Hongmei. The girl was stubborn and wouldn't listen to anything you said, so Er Ya decided to save her breath.
I brought the glass noodles back myself; they've already been taken through the open road, so there's no need to cook them again. Besides, these glass noodles look like they won't hold up well after cooking.
I don't need potatoes and cabbage myself, and they're ridiculously expensive.
Seeing that there were portraits of Chairman Mao for sale, the two quickly squeezed in and each bought one. Zhang Hongmei also bought a New Year's picture of a chubby boy holding a red carp.
As for the couplets, neither of them left; they can just go home and write them themselves.
Seeing Zhang Hongmei selling pine nuts, I bought them all. They're delicious, but peeling them is too much trouble, so I had to buy them quickly since they were already peeled.
"Why don't you go up the mountain and pick them yourself?"
"Peeling them is too much trouble."
"You're so lazy!"
"Do I? My hands hurt from peeling pine nuts."
"A bunch of excuses."
Before she had even walked a third of the way, Liu Erya's hands were already full.
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