In the main hall, He Ruixue took out snacks such as dried meat, candy, chocolate, etc. In order to avoid disputes, she took double portions of each item. "Just take whatever you want to eat. Don't be polite with my aunt."
"Thank you, Auntie."
Soft and sticky children's voices rang out one after another. He Ruixue touched their heads and accidentally touched her sister a little more. Seeing her brother pouting, she quickly touched him on the head again.
Although twins these days were not as exaggerated as those in later generations, where they would not even make a fuss if the family dog licked them one more time, they would still care about some things.
He Xiasheng chatted with Qiao Rui for a while before coming over with a rosy face. As she walked, she looked at the layout of the room, and a look of relief flashed in her eyes.
"You've become successful now. This house is bright and spacious, and you can even eat chocolate as much as you want.
I remember when I was little, I ate two pieces of your candy and you howled for half an hour without any rain or thunder. My mother almost kicked me out of the house.
He Ruixue said angrily, "You're talking as if you're in the wrong. Didn't you just steal my candy? You also pinched my face until it turned red, which is why I cried."
She felt a little embarrassed when she recalled her past embarrassment in front of the younger generation.
He Xiasheng laughed crisply, "Who made you so cute when you were little? You were like a little meat bun, white and tender, with a pit left by a poke."
Not to mention how good it feels, she just loves to pinch it, and even more so, to deliberately make her cry.
Zhao Meiya carried the old hen she brought from the countryside and shouted towards the yard, "He Xiasheng, why don't you come and help me? You really think you are a guest!"
He Ruixue clearly noticed her second sister's expression change, and hurried out, lowering her voice, "Mom, be quiet, Rui Ge is sleeping."
"Then don't be idle, go to the station to pick up your third brother and his wife. They insisted on dawdling this morning, and your father and I left early for fear of missing the bus.
If no one picks them up, they might wander off to the other side on their own, and then the whole family will have to go out and look for them.”
He Xiasheng didn't want to be too far away from Qiao Rui. What if he couldn't see her when he woke up?
The words of refusal came out of his mouth, "Mom, I'm unfamiliar with the place and I have to take care of two children. You can let Dongbao go."
Zhao Meiya immediately glared at her with bulging eyes, as if she had done something unforgivable. "You heartless person, it's fine if you haven't come back for a few years, but as soon as you come back you torment your sister. Are you deliberately trying to make me unhappy?"
"Mom, I'm just saying, don't get so angry that you get sick."
"Go away." Zhao Meiya pushed her away and went to boil water to pluck the chicken feathers.
"Neither you nor your third sister-in-law can cook. It's hard for an old lady like me to be stuck around the stove at such an old age. People say it takes ten years for a daughter-in-law to become a mother-in-law. When will I be able to do that? Unfilial children make their parents suffer."
"Mom, do you have a big problem with me? Why are you saying such hurtful things? So, I'll have my eldest brother go pick them up, and you don't have to cook. I'll treat you to dinner at the state-owned restaurant, okay?"
"You have so much money that I've already killed all the chickens. Dongbao, you're tired after a day's work. Go lie down for a while. Mom will call you for dinner later."
He Ruixue shook her head. "No, Mom. I'll go pick them up and buy some food."
"That won't do. We have plenty of food at home. Dongbao, don't listen to your sister. You might get tired."
"There's always something missing at home. You guys rarely come over, so tonight we have to have something nice. Mom, I've been sitting in the office all day, and I want to walk around for a while."
She winked at He Xiasheng, who echoed, "Yes, didn't I bring back a lot of dried seafood this time? Mom, let me teach you how to make it."
"Okay, Dongbao, don't buy too much. It won't keep well and it will be a waste if you can't finish it."
"I see."
Having lived in this area for such a long time, He Ruixue is no longer the newbie she was when she first arrived, and knows every place selling things nearby.
There is a market on the street behind the textile factory. Many villagers carry their own products to sell and exchange them for cloth coupons and cloth from the employees of the textile factory.
She didn't try to hide anything, just paid five cents and walked in. The market seemed unusually quiet. Everyone had baskets and wicker baskets in front of them, and they displayed the things they wanted to sell in their hands. When bargaining, they gestured with their hands, just like a pantomime.
At the turn of summer and autumn, melons and vegetables grow rapidly. Many farmers sell the ones they cannot finish eating from their own fields, and the prices drop.
He Ruixue bought some vegetables that she didn't have at home. There was a vendor selling wild delicacies in front, with baskets filled with dried ferns and various mushrooms. She bought a bag of each, for a total of less than one dollar.
It also includes wild mushrooms such as Hericium erinaceus, which are precious in later generations. In that era, they were priced the same as other mushrooms. They were all picked from the mountains and were not worth much.
After walking two steps, I met a man selling mutton. The cut meat was spread on the oilcloth, and the quality was good. Many people gathered around. Both sides were gesturing with their hands quickly. Those who knew were bargaining, and those who didn't thought they were making hand seals.
She knew that her bargaining ability was almost zero, so she quietly waited in the back, and only stepped forward after they had agreed. She took advantage of the fruits of other people's labor and bought a whole leg of lamb and a lot of shank meat at the price of 80 cents per pound, a total of five pounds.
Mutton is not more expensive than pork, and the price is quite reasonable without a ticket. The man is honest in doing business. He shaved off the lamb legs and weighed the pure meat. In the end, he also gave her a few bones.
At the end of the market, He Ruixue came across a stall selling ducks and duck eggs. The ducks were all lively and jumping around in baskets. They were not the common foreign ducks and grain ducks in later generations, but smaller local ducks that loved to go into the water. They had pockmarks on their necks and laid green eggs.
I asked the stall owner the price, and he said one dollar for each duck, plus two duck eggs.
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