These days everyone is busy going up the mountain to collect mountain products, and there are fewer members coming to see the doctor. Tian Cai goes up the mountain during the day and cleans up at night with an oil lamp.
After picking off the last chestnut shell, she took off her gloves and rubbed her fingers, finally cleaning all the chestnuts.
She packed the chestnuts in bamboo baskets and stacked them against the wall. These things needed to be ventilated for storage. There was not enough space at home, and she couldn't eat them all herself. It would be better for her to exchange these chestnuts for some supplies for the winter.
The villagers were not even in her consideration, and as for the educated youth, she didn't want to take the risk before she had a thorough understanding of them.
After much thought, she decided to go to the county.
Tian Cai packed the peeled chestnuts into cloth bags, piled them together to fill a full bamboo basket, and then made a new slingshot and went up the mountain. After some effort, he successfully caught three pheasants. The next morning, he took these things and got on a donkey cart to the commune.
At this time, every household is busy, and there are few people on the donkey cart early in the morning.
It took nearly an hour to reach the commune. Tian Cai jumped out of the car, secretly reached out to rub his stiff buttocks, thanked the driver, Old Chen, asked how to get to the county, and left.
Old Chen also asked her what she was doing in the county. Tian Cai said she was sending some local specialties to her mother's family to fool them. It seems that in order to make it more realistic, she can "arrange" a relative for herself in the future.
When Tian Cai walked to the gate of the commune primary school, she happened to meet a tractor driver from the brigade who was transporting grain to the county. Upon learning that Tian Cai was going to the county, he enthusiastically invited her to take a ride.
The tractor driver was called Sun Aiguo, and he was a tractor driver from the Beishan Brigade, but he was from Qingshan Village. He had met Tian Cai before when he went to Kaoshan Village to harvest grain. The young man was still single, and he was always impressed by beautiful women, not to mention that Tian Cai was the village doctor.
Sun Aiguo tried his best to show himself in front of the girl he liked, and even shook his short hair like the most popular male educated youth in the village. As a result, he posed for a long time, but the girl didn't even glance at him.
Tian Cai's thoughts were wandering all the way. This was the first time she had left the village in so long. In fact, there was no difference outside. Most of the houses were even made of adobe and were not as good as those in the village. It was just that the transportation was more convenient than that of the mountain village.
Before coming here, Tian Cai had a general idea that there was a machinery factory in the county. She could take these things to the factory's staff quarters to look for buyers. Maybe there would be someone who wanted them. Her goal was very clear: she needed both money and tickets.
Tian Cai did not intend to go to the black market. Not to mention that as an outsider, she had no way of knowing the location of the black market, there would definitely be many pairs of eyes watching in such a place, and her background was not suitable for in-depth investigation.
After thanking the tractor driver, Tian Cai carried the bamboo basket and the bag and walked towards the machinery factory he had just asked about. Fortunately, it was not too far away, just not in the same direction as the county government where the tractor driver was going.
The machinery factory is right on the edge of the county. When it was built, it was probably located in the suburbs. Later, a family quarters was built between the factory and the county. As the family quarters expanded, it gradually got closer and closer to the county town, and now it is almost connected.
She found an empty alley, took out the headscarf she had prepared in advance and wrapped it around her face, pulled the hair on both sides to the middle to cover her eyebrows and eyes, and took out the charcoal she had prepared in advance from her pocket, and drew a few lines on her forehead, eyes, and nasolabial folds where wrinkles should appear. She then tried to lower her voice and said a few words. By then, the Northeastern accent should be fine.
Tian Cai found the family quarters by asking around. Since he had never done this before and didn't know how to sell it, he simply strolled around the area with a bamboo basket on his back. When he saw people, he would seemingly tidy up the basket unintentionally and "accidentally" drop some chestnuts.
After a while, a middle-aged woman came over and asked in a low voice when she saw Tian Cai pulling her to the wall, "Sister, do you have any chestnuts in this basket?"
Tian Cai immediately nodded with a smile, and the only eye that emerged from the headscarf blinked at her, "Not only chestnuts, I also have pheasants."
The middle-aged woman's eyes lit up, and she quickly grabbed Tian Cai's wrist and asked, "How much is it? How much is it?"
Tian Cai took a look at the woman's neatly dressed body. Knowing she was a plump fish, he tentatively said, "You know the price of this thing anyway. I have no problem selling it. Besides, these are all fresh chestnuts picked this autumn. They were just picked yesterday and they're so fresh. There are also pheasants flying around, so fresh!"
The woman smiled even more when she heard this. Her daughter-in-law was about to give birth, and by then, the chestnuts and pheasant would be stewed, and even the mother-in-law would not be able to find any fault with it.
"Open the basket and show it to me. If the things are really good, I'll find someone to buy them all for you!"
When Tian Cai heard this, he realized he was a big customer and generously took out a handful from the bamboo basket and handed it over. "My chestnuts are all this big. I guarantee that even the pickiest person can't find any fault with them."
As he spoke, he looked around and loosened the bag in his hand a little. The bag moved, and the pheasant inside fluttered, scaring the woman.
Looking at the shiny, round chestnuts in her hand, the middle-aged woman was even more satisfied. However, it was not her character to bargain when buying things. "Although your chestnuts are fresh, they are more moist and weigh more. I have to dry them myself. And the pheasant meat is firewood, so it will take a lot of firewood to make soup."
Tian Cai laughed when he heard this. "Chestnuts are rich in water and nutrients, and they are easier to store if they are not exposed to the sun. If they are stored properly, they can be eaten until the New Year. Although pheasants are small, they are nutritious. Many pregnant women, mothers and elderly people have found them very nourishing! I can't be any cheaper. If you don't want it, I'll go for a walk and have a look."
Speaking of strolling around, Tian Cai pretended to pack up his bamboo basket and leave. When the woman saw that he was really leaving, she changed her tune and said, "Okay, okay, I'll give it to you at the market price!"
The two of them were talking and tugging at the wall, which had attracted a lot of people's attention. Seeing this, the woman hurriedly led Tian Cai towards her home, and still bargained unwillingly on the way.
Finally, the two men agreed on a price before arriving at the woman's house. The chestnuts were to be sold at five cents per pound, which was the price using industrial coupons. Without coupons, the price would be doubled. Tian Cai had no coupons at all. She needed to buy a thermos before the weather got cold, which required industrial coupons. She also wanted some food coupons for the rice and flour she had been longing for.
As we turned the corner and approached the woman's house, the door next to us suddenly opened and an older woman came out. "Fengyun, you just got back. Hey, who's this you brought?"
The middle-aged woman said very naturally, "This is a relative from my hometown. He came to visit me and brought me a lot of things. I want to take him home and have a good rest."
The man glanced at the bamboo basket behind Tian Cai with a slightly suspicious look. Seeing that it was wrapped so tightly that he couldn't see what was inside, he walked away with a little reluctance.
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