When Xu Ning rode his bicycle to Zhao Jianshe's house, neither Zhao Jianshe nor Su Hongmei were at home.
Su Hongmei's mother was helping them take care of the children. She gave the mountain products she brought to Sun Hongmei's mother and left.
She plans to go to the shoe factory in the city today to see if she can sell two military coats.
She only had some bed sheets and a military coat in her space that could be exchanged for some money, and the rest was just enough for her family to use before returning to the city.
Xu Ning walked around the shoe factory's staff quarters and knocked on the door of a small courtyard.
An old lady came out with a child. The child's clothes were not patched at all.
Her face was ruddy, and it was obvious that she had plenty of food and clothing. The old lady didn't recognize her, so she asked, "Little girl, who are you looking for?"
Xu Ning smiled and said, "Auntie, I'm thirsty. Can I ask for a glass of water from your house?"
At this time, a woman's voice came from the courtyard again, "Mom, who is it?"
"I'm a passerby, I want to ask for a bowl of water." The old lady called inside, and a woman in her thirties came out. She was white and clean, with a student's haircut.
She glanced at the large backpack on Xu Ning's back, then at her bicycle, and said, "Mom, let someone come in to drink!" Then she went into the house.
The old lady looked outside, and Xu Ning followed her gaze. Not far away, there was an old lady in her 50s standing there, looking over here.
The old lady sighed and said to her grandson standing next to her, "Dabao, go to the kitchen and get a steamed bun for Grandma Wang."
The child named Dabao responded and ran to the kitchen to get a steamed bun made of 200g flour and brought it to the old lady.
The old lady touched Dabao's head and moved her mouth, but Xu Ning was too far away to hear what she said.
After a while, Dabao came back with steamed buns, and the old lady also walked to a small courtyard not far away.
Dabao took the steamed bun and said, "She doesn't want it."
The old lady sighed again and said to Dabao, "If she doesn't want it, take it to the kitchen." Then she invited Xu Ning into the house to drink some water.
Xu Ning asked as he drank water from the bowl, "Auntie, what happened to Grandma Wang just now?"
The old lady said to Xu Ning, "It's all because of the world. Their family used to be a well-known wealthy family here.
The area where we live, including the shoe factory, was owned by them. Later, they donated the factory and the house, leaving only the small courtyard where we live now.
Now the street has arranged for a couple to sweep the floor here, and they receive some coarse grains every month.
Xu Ning asked, "Then they don't have any children?"
The old lady said in a heavy tone, "The child joined the army in 1950 and never came back. We don't know whether he is dead or alive."
I joined the army in 1950, and now it’s been 20 years, but I haven’t come back. Most of the people there are no longer around, alas!
Xu Ning put the bowl on the table and said to the middle-aged woman who was knitting next to him,
She said, "Sister, my brother sent me a military coat from the army, but we are reluctant to wear it.
My second brother needs money to get married, so he asked me to sell it. Sister, do you know anyone who wants to buy a military coat? ”
As he said this, he opened the backpack and took out a brand new military coat.
The middle-aged woman also put down the sweater in her hand, walked over to look at the coat in Su Ning's hand, took it in her hand and touched it.
He flipped it back and forth and looked at it again and said, "How much do you plan to sell it for?"
Xu Ning said, "Big sister, if you want it, just give me 50 yuan. If my family didn't really need the money, my parents wouldn't let me sell it."
The lady must have known the price of the military coat, so she gave Xu Ning 50 yuan without bargaining.
Xu Ning carried a backpack and pushed his bicycle back to the alley they came from.
Just as I reached the old lady's door, it opened from the inside. The old lady looked around.
When he saw no one, he whispered to her, "Girl, do you have any food? I'll give you something to exchange."
Xu Ning's heart moved, and he said to the old lady, "Grandma, what kind of food do you want?"
When the old lady heard that she had food, she let her in and told Xu Ning that her husband's surname was Wang.
Xu Ning looked around the small courtyard. It was a very small courtyard with only three houses and a toilet.
The old lady took her into the house. On a chair on the right side of the room lay an old man in his 50s, who looked very thin.
When he saw Xu Ning, he asked the old woman, "Old woman, who is this?" He started coughing violently as soon as he said this.
Aunt Wang quickly poured him a glass of water and said, "This girl has some food. I want to exchange some fine food with her to nourish your body."
The old man sighed and said, "What else can I do to replenish my body? Let's change it. You can replenish yourself and live a few more years. See if you can wait for your son to come back?"
"What are you talking about, old man? We both need to live well and wait for our son to come back," she said, wiping her tears and went into the inner room.
Xu Ning felt sad listening to their conversation. The current peaceful era was achieved at the cost of so many lives.
Aunt Wang came out from the inner room, took out a small yellow croaker, and said to Xu Ning, "Exchange this small yellow croaker for some fine grains."
Xu Ning looked at the gold in front of him and wondered how much he would need to exchange for it?
"Grandma Wang, how much do you want to exchange? Is rice or flour okay?" Xu Ning asked.
"Just give it to me as you see fit! Just give me whatever you have!"
Xu Ning thought for a moment and said, "I don't bring much today. There are ten kilograms of rice, twenty kilograms of flour, two kilograms of brown sugar, and one kilogram of pork in my backpack.
You guys eat these first, I'll bring the rest next time and you can give me the money."
It’s hard to say if there are too many things, after all, the backpack can’t hold too many things.
Grandpa Wang, who was lying on the chair, waved his hand and said, "Leave the things here, and you can take the little yellow croaker away!"
Grandma Wang handed her the small yellow croaker and said, "Take it back!"
Xu Ning accepted it without any hesitation, put the things down, and planned to come back in two days.
As I pushed the cart out the door, I turned around and glanced at Grandma Wang standing at the door.
The family property was donated to the country, the son joined the army and his life and death are unknown, but now he is sweeping the streets and receiving a little coarse grain every month.
I thought to myself, although I am not a saint with overflowing love, nor do I have much ability and cannot help much, but since I have encountered this! Just do your best, after all, they have given you money.
At least it allowed the two of them to see a glimmer of light in these dark days.
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