Chapter 43: Going to the Countryside as Educated Youth in the 1970s 6
[This is a parallel fictional world. Please do not take any similarities between place names and people as they appear.]
Zhang Xiaojia hung a sign at the door: Health Center.
The three rooms in the west wing are used as treatment rooms. There is no kang or fire wall here. He Qi enthusiastically said that he would make a ground fire dragon, which could warm the entire room in her house and there would be no need to heat the kang for two months. Zhang Xiaojia was surprised when she heard this and quickly nodded in agreement.
She saw them coming to her yard and starting to hammer, dig and shovel. They were digging a large cellar under the ground of the house for heating, with a depth of no less than 1.6 meters. The top was covered with cement boards and a ground fire dragon. The heating method was similar to a kang, using a stove to ignite firewood, and the heat was discharged through several flues and chimneys.
Zhang Xiaojia cooked for them every day, but the rest of the time, they would kick her out and tell her to go out for a walk. Zhang Xiaojia was depressed. Wasn't it just because she wanted to learn more and was curious? But those grown men actually disliked her for being too talkative.
During this period, Zhang Xiaojia lived in Pangpang's house.
The blind grandmother told the story of that night. It was a very simple matter. After He Shijiu got married, he went to the army. His wife Xiu'er became pregnant and her health deteriorated after giving birth. In addition, she went up the mountain to chop firewood and it rained heavily. Her fat mother was afraid that she would be cold, so she went up the mountain to bring her rain gear. Her health was not good to begin with, and after this incident, she soon died.
He Shijiu was on a mission at that time and was not notified, so the He family arranged his funeral.
He Shijiu hadn't contacted his family in the past two years, with no news at all. However, when they heard about him again, they found out he had remarried and had a child. This news was like a bolt from the blue, and the old patriarch was furious. He ordered He Qi to rush to the army and demand an explanation from him.
Only after learning the truth did He Qi understand the twists and turns. It turned out that He Shijiu, just as in the novel, had lost his memory, which was why he got married. Upon learning this, He Qi ordered He Shijiu to return to the clan to handle the matter. Due to the unique circumstances, the clan conceded and no longer required him to wait until Pangpang turned sixteen.
There are only two options before He Shijiu: one is to divorce, let the two children return to live with the tribe, and then endure for eight years before reuniting with his future wife.
The second is to be expelled from the tribe. In this way, he is no longer a member of the tribe and can do whatever he wants.
But He Shijiu firmly disagrees with the divorce, and the result is that he will be expelled from the clan.
"I even knelt down and begged this little beast, but he just walked away without even looking back, saying this was feudal thinking and that we should get rid of old traditions in this new society."
The blind woman continued angrily, "There is nothing better than the rules of the clan. Who did that little beast marry later? He could say, 'Those are your brothers. They are the roots of the He family. As an elder sister, you should take good care of your brothers.' Just based on this sentence, I will never let them come back. What if I die, Pangpang will be bullied to death by them! What excuses can you make for being Chen Shimei? If Xiu'er hadn't been for an old woman like me, he wouldn't have gotten sick and wouldn't have died. Even considering this, he doesn't care. I don't count on this son anymore. The clan will take care of us. Whether he lives or dies, whether he is good or bad, it all depends on his luck."
He Qi finished everything in half a month.
She had been here for two months, it was already mid-December, and the bills were due at the end of the year.
Looking at the bill in his hand, Zhang Xiaojia was silent. Is this considered property management fee?
Groundwater plumbing fee: 170 yuan [cement, bricks, labor]
Earth dragon management fee: 2 yuan per time, 4 yuan per year
Summer ice fee: 1 yuan (I didn’t come this year)
Toilet maintenance fee, 2 yuan per year
Winter snow removal fee: 2 yuan
Transportation fee: 1 yuan
He family management fee: 2 yuan per year
Zhang Xiaojia paid the money to Uncle He Liu, who enthusiastically explained, "The underground dragon can be used for two months each time, so twice a winter is enough. We will clean out the ashes and help you move the firewood in to ensure that the underground dragon can burn for two months. In the winter when it snows, someone will sweep the snow off your roof to prevent it from collapsing. In the summer, if you need ice for one month, you can order it from us and we will deliver it to you twice a day. Also, you are using the latest toilets, so someone needs to clean the septic tank, otherwise it will be full. There are tractors to transport you to the market and the county town. Every family has to pay the management fee, which is considered a life-saving money for the He family during difficult times."
Zhang Xiaojia asked curiously, "Are there many people in the He family who use floor heating and toilets?"
He Liu smiled and shook his head and blurted out, "There aren't many fools who would spend that kind of money, only 7 or 8 families."
Zhang Xiaojia glared at him and walked away angrily. She was the fool.
No wonder the He family didn’t sell the house to the educated youth, fearing they couldn’t afford it!
There is no need to heat the kang every day. The floor heater can be turned on once for two months, and the room can be kept at 25 degrees. Zhang Xiaojia is still very satisfied.
It's almost minus twenty degrees Celsius now, and it's not the coldest yet.
Ping An handed her a registered letter, parcel receipt, and remittance slip. "Sister, this is your letter."
Zhang Xiaojia asked curiously, "Ping An, don't you have to go to class?"
"It's winter vacation, sister. My uncle is coming over at the end of the month. Can you take a look at his leg? He broke his leg while trying to save me, and now he's limping."
"I need to check if the bones are okay and if they're not properly connected. There are also various other factors. Most importantly, your father hasn't finished my scalpel yet. I can't contact him, so there's nothing I can do."
Zhang Xiaojia looked at the letter from his father and the weather outside. He didn't want to go get the package because it was too cold.
I also had to call my dad, but there was no way I could find someone to replace him.
Zhang Xiaojia stood up and planned to borrow the He family's tractor to retrieve the packages. He went to the living room and took out two packages, which he planned to send to his father and Aunt Leng. They contained some dried mushrooms, bean curd sheets, soybeans, and dried bamboo shoots.
"Ping An, is Uncle He here? I'm going to borrow a tractor."
"Sister, if you go to the county town now, it will be 2 o'clock in the afternoon and it will be dark when you come back." Ping An was a little worried.
"It's okay, it only takes 2 hours round trip."
Zhang Xiaojia arrived at the post office and asked, "Comrade, thank you for your hard work. Is there any package for Zhang Xiaojia from the Ninth Village?"
The staff member took Zhang Xiaojia's parcel list and said, "Yes, the parcel is very large. Do you have a bullock cart to pull it? Come in! We can carry it out together."
"I borrowed a tractor from the village," Zhang Xiaojia walked in quickly and carried out three huge packages by himself.
After giving her the remittance slip, the staff handed 50 yuan to Zhang Xiaojia.
Zhang Xiaojia came to the other side and made a long-distance call to the staff.
Zhang Xiaojia waited for a while and then heard his father's voice.
"Dad, everything is fine here. I got the doctor's certificate. How is yours?"
"Dad, it's nice here too. How's the weather there, Niuniu?"
"It's too cold. It's over 20 degrees below zero now. Don't send anything next month. It'll be at least 30 degrees below zero next month. I won't go out."
"Okay, I, your Aunt Zhu, and your grandfather are all fine. Don't worry about us. You're fine too, okay?"
"Don't worry, Dad, I'm here and everything is fine."
"That's it, I'm hanging up."
Zhang Xiaojia waited until his father hung up the phone, then hung up too.
Go home, go home quickly, it's too cold here. Her light energy converter is in the space buckle. She can sometimes take out things from the space buckle in this world, and sometimes she can't. But the space grid is filled with supplies given to her by He Fei, except for the mini light energy machine.
It's too shady. It costs her 1 yuan to borrow a tractor. She has spent 850 yuan on buying a house, making furniture, and building a floor lamp. She has no job now. If she continues to spend money at this rate, she will starve to death.
When the three packages were opened, they revealed three military coats! These coats looked very thick and of excellent quality, in the classic army green color. There was also a black mink coat—real mink! This mink coat probably belonged to Grandpa, but Aunt Zhu had altered it to her own style. Even more surprising to her was that the remaining mink fur had been made into gloves and a scarf!
Besides the military coat and mink coat, there were also several pairs of leather military boots. These were all Dad's. After Aunt Zhu cut off the military uniform's ranks, Aunt Zhu remade it to her measurements so that she could wear it properly! He only kept two sets for himself to wear, and gave the rest to her.
Zhang Xiaojia sighed and continued to unpack. There was a big bag of seafood, a bag of salted hairtail, a bag of dried shrimps, a bag of dried shrimp skins, a bag of dried kelp, a bag of shell meat, a bag of miscellaneous unknown sea fish, and a bag of dried small yellow croaker.
There was one package left. When I opened it, I saw it was sent by Aunt Leng. It contained 5 kilograms of White Rabbit milk candy, 10 kilograms of cotton, 10 kilograms of bacon, and a large bag of shredded cotton cloth.
Aunt Leng got divorced, so she no longer has to send letters to the factory because she has a new address.
Put these things in the small room in the backyard, otherwise they will go bad.
Another group of educated youth came and notified Zhang Xiaojia to attend a meeting. Zhang Xiaojia directly refused. He Wu told her not to go, saying that there would be no good results if she did not listen to advice. Zhang Xiaojia hid in He's house and never went out.
We met again at the market.
Zhang Xiaojia, Xiaocao and Xiaohua (He Ba’s daughter) came out.
"Sister Xiaojia, what do you want to buy?"
"Meat, chicken, duck, beef, pork, fish are all fine, I'm not picky"
After hearing this, He Xinhua was speechless. Where could they get beef and pork? Even if the old cow was injured, it would be sold to the supply and marketing cooperative and would not be sold to private individuals.
Zhang Xiaojia gave each of them 10 yuan and asked them to go their separate ways and sell chickens and ducks.
It was the end of the year and the chickens and ducks stopped laying eggs, so the villagers took them out to buy. Zhang Xiaojia went around and bought two, Xiaocao bought three, and Xiaohua bought two. The three of them bought all the chickens and ducks in the market.
The three of them stood in the stall and watched.
Zhang Xiaojia broke the silence and asked, "This is sheepskin. There are three of them. They are not cooked. They are freshly slaughtered. Where is the meat?"
The stall owner said to the old man, "The fifth son of the He family bought all of them."
"Why does your fifth uncle want so much mutton? Can he finish it?" Zhang Xiaojia complained.
"My fifth uncle would buy mutton every year and send it to my brother and uncle who are serving in the He family's army."
"Six of my brothers are soldiers, and three of our uncles were soldiers in the previous generation. This is their dividend! Plus, my eldest brother likes to eat mutton, so my fifth uncle will send him a special mutton."
I was a step slower, otherwise I could have eaten mutton tonight...
Forget it, I can make some cured chicken from 7 chickens for Dad and the others to eat.
When I went back, I saw the new educated youth. This group of new educated youth came from Shanghai.
Zhang Xiaojia nodded and said hello, then left with Xiaocao and Xiaohua. However, he didn't walk fast enough and was stopped.
"Zhang Xiaojia, educated youth, please wait a moment. I'm a new educated youth. We're planning to get together on New Year's Day and go to the Fourth Village. You can drive a tractor, so can you take us with you?"
Zhang Xiaojia's mouth twitched. "How expensive is a tractor!" Compared to it, it's even more valuable than the Mercedes-Benz of later generations. The He family lent her money because they saw her father's background and had no choice but to lend her money.
"Get me a tractor and I can be your driver for once."
The girl smiled and said, "You can borrow the He family's tractor to go to the county to pick up the package. The He family agreed to such a private matter. What's more, it's a serious matter now. We support the New Year's Day gathering of the educated youth who went to the countryside."
Zhang Xiaojia narrowed his eyes and threatened her.
Zhang Xiaojia leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Threatening me, haha."
Zhang Xiaojia left immediately after saying this.
After returning to the village, Zhang Xiaojia came to the brigade office. The brigade leader was the son-in-law of the He family.
Zhang Xiaojia handed the method of making corn stalk sugar to the team leader and said seriously: "Team leader, as long as we have these materials, which are already available in the village, our team's He Family Old Distillery can make corn candy."
The team leader's face was filled with excitement. If they could really make candy corn, then their team would have a great New Year this year! It wouldn't be like previous years, where they could only salivate over the aroma of meat from the He family next door.
"Xiao Jia, thank you so much! This way, there won't be so much resentment in our village during the New Year." The team leader patted Zhang Xiaojia's shoulder gratefully.
Zhang Xiaojia smiled slightly and continued, "Captain, I heard that New Year's Day is coming up in a few days, and all the educated youth in the county will be gathering to celebrate. A bunch of young people getting together might cause some trouble, and then it would be difficult to resolve. I think instead of letting them make such a commotion, it would be better to let those educated youth perform in our elementary school classrooms. It would also be a way to broaden the horizons for the people in our village. What do you think of this idea? If the commune supports it and the newspaper reports it, the educated youth and villagers will be like one family."
The team leader was also a smart guy and immediately understood what Zhang Xiaojia meant. He knew that Zhang Xiaojia definitely didn't want to attend the educated youth gathering, but he was embarrassed to directly refuse the other educated youth, so he came up with this idea. However, when a group of young people get together, they are hot-tempered and things will happen.
So, he smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay, we'll do as you say. I'll report it to the commune."
Zhang Xiaojia smiled and said, "Captain, corn candy is very simple. A brewer who knows how to make wine will be able to do it right away after seeing these."
Zhang Xiaojia returned home and immediately boiled a large pot of water while looking after the five chickens and two ducks.
Kill the chicken today, bleed it, and immediately add salt and water to let the blood coagulate.
Grab the chicken feet, put the chicken into boiling water, blanch it for ten seconds, and then it will be easy to peel the feathers. Then take out all the internal organs, wash the chicken belly, cut off the chicken feet and neck, and use a rope to air-dry the chicken. Zhang Xiaojia put the chicken in the dining room of the east wing and hung it up. He opened the windows to keep the room temperature at about 5 degrees.
Now there is a basin of solidified chicken blood, 5 chicken necks, 10 chicken feet, and 5 pairs of chicken offal.
Boil a pot of water, turn on the heat, pour the coagulated chicken blood into the hot water, cover it and let it sit for 10 minutes, and the blood clot will be ready.
Wash the chicken intestines and gizzards, and fill the basin again.
After washing, Zhang Xiaojia lost his appetite, so he took out a rice ball and ate it.
All the chicken blood, chicken offal, chicken feet, and chicken necks were thrown into the space cabinet.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com