The father and daughter went to the black market. The black market in Shanghai was much larger than that in Lin'an City, and the goods sold there were also much richer. In addition to fresh vegetables, fruits, and canned goods, there were also sausages, bacon, and many rare Soviet canned goods.
Cheng Yaoyao was dressed to impress, and someone came up to sell fabrics and tape recorders. Cheng's father smiled and said, "Yaoyao, do you want one? Dad can get an industrial ticket and buy one for you at the mall."
Cheng Yaoyao was not interested in the recorder and said, "I want a refrigerator. It's so hot in the village in the summer that I can't even eat ice cream."
"Refrigerator?" Father Cheng was surprised and said, "Okay, Dad will find a way to get one and put it at home. When you come back, you can eat ice cream at home."
Cheng Yaoyao said casually: "I want to take it back to Tianshui Village."
Father Cheng laughed out loud: "What a child's talk. It's so troublesome to transport the refrigerator all the way over there. When you come back, do you think it will have to be transported all the way back again?"
Cheng Yaoyao thought about it for a while. She and Xie Zhao would be taking the college entrance exam next year, and the refrigerator would not be used for long in the village. So she put this idea aside and said, "Dad, let's buy some pickled fish."
The father and daughter bought a lot of good things, including bacon, yellow croaker, and dried kelp. When the meat was sold out, they bought two large bones. When they passed by Lao Dachang, Cheng's father also bought a piece of whipped cream.
Father Cheng grabbed all the food and urged Cheng Yaoyao: "Yaoyao, eat quickly. This is what you have loved since you were a child."
The cream of this year is fresh and mellow, melting in the mouth, sweet and rich, and bursting with heat. Cheng Yaoyao had eaten cream bread and pan-fried buns in the morning, and now he was eating whipped cream from time to time.
Father Cheng watched her eat with a smile on his face. In his eyes, his daughter's coquettish and picky look was extremely adorable.
The father and daughter walked downstairs with so many bags and small bags. The neighbors looked on in amazement and greeted Cheng's father one after another: "Teacher Cheng, is it Chinese New Year today? You bought so many delicious foods!"
Father Cheng's face was flushed, and his voice was much louder: "It's our family that has returned from afar!"
The neighbor looked at Cheng Yaoyao blatantly, and couldn't help but exclaimed in amazement: "Oh, this is Yaoyao? If you hadn't told me, I would have thought he was a movie star from somewhere!"
Cheng Yaoyao has been a well-known beauty since she was a child. When she first went to the countryside, her neighbors and acquaintances were all sighing in their hearts, wondering how such a delicate girl could survive in the countryside?
Unexpectedly, Cheng Yaoyao, this flower, not only did not wither, but blossomed more and more beautifully. Her every frown and smile, her clothes and appearance, were still those of a delicate young lady.
Cheng Yaoyao had a vague impression of these neighbors, and could only nod and greet them with a smile as Cheng's father did, calling them "Mother Zhang" and "Mother Wang". Cheng's father knew that his daughter was spoiled, so he smiled and said, "Yaoyao just came back and is very tired. Ask her to come to your house to wish you a happy new year some other day."
Housing in Shanghai is quite tight, and it is common for a family of seven or eight to squeeze into a small two-bedroom apartment. The Cheng family, however, has a three-bedroom apartment, and the kitchen can be considered spacious. It has all the necessary stoves and pots, and is filled with all kinds of seasonings and empty cans. A string of garlic and chilies hangs on the wall, and there is a thick layer of greasy dirt on the stove. The roses in the flowerpots on the windowsill have withered, but the green onions and garlic in the pots are lush and green.
Cheng Yaoyao wiped the wall with his finger, and a smear of dark brown grease suddenly appeared on his slender and white fingertips. Cheng Yaoyao wrinkled his nose in disgust.
Father Cheng rolled up his sleeves and started working in the kitchen. He said, "Yaoyao, the kitchen is dirty. Get out quickly. Dad will show you his cooking skills today."
Father Cheng's legs had not fully recovered yet. He was a very elegant man and tried to walk normally when he was outside. But now he was limping badly. Cheng Yaoyao felt sad again when he saw him busying around in the kitchen with sweat on his forehead.
Cheng Yaoyao leaned against the kitchen door and asked, "Why doesn't Wei Shujuan come back to cook? Do you often cook for yourself?"
"How can you call Aunt Wei by her name?" Father Cheng said, "Didn't I just tell you that Aunt Wei's family came to buy New Year's goods, and Aunt Wei went out with them. Maybe they ate outside."
Cheng Yaoyao was even more unhappy: "They ate outside and left you alone at home to be hungry? When I came back, the tea table still had a salty smell from the previous night. Did you also eat by yourself last night?"
Father Cheng stopped talking and searched around: "Where is the plane? It should be here..."
Cheng Yaoyao sighed and said, "You go out, I'll cook this meal."
Father Cheng was surprised and asked, "Yaoyao, can you cook?"
"Please get out!" Cheng Yaoyao pushed Cheng's father out of the kitchen, grabbed the apron and tied it on himself, then picked up the kitchen knife.
Father Cheng stood at the door of the kitchen nervously the whole time, muttering: "Yaoyao, be careful with your hands!"
"Slow down, slow down, don't cut your hand, the kitchen knife is very sharp!"
"Don't let the oil splash out, it will hurt if you get burned! Why don't you let dad do it!"
…
Cheng Yaoyao was extremely annoyed. If it wasn't for the small passbook, he would have yelled at someone. The original owner didn't know how to cook, so Cheng Yaoyao just casually stir-fried some shredded potatoes, a plate of steamed yellow croaker, and a bowl of tomato egg drop soup.
Two dishes and a soup were served on the table, the aroma was fragrant, the staple food was white flour steamed bread bought from the restaurant. This table of food was simple and rough, not even 30% of Cheng Yaoyao's cooking skills were brought into play, but it already surprised Cheng's father.
Cheng Yaoyao picked up a piece of potato shreds with chopsticks and put them in his father's bowl, saying, "Dad, eat."
Father Cheng came to his senses and put the shredded potatoes into his mouth, but his throat was blocked and he couldn't taste it: "Yaoyao can cook now, but this is the first time for dad to taste the food cooked by Yaoyao..."
Cheng Yaoyao scooped a bowl of soup and placed it in front of his father, a little embarrassed: "In the countryside, you have to know how to do everything. If you don't do it, you'll go hungry."
Father Cheng burst into tears. How much hardship did his darling daughter, who had never had to work at home, have to endure in the countryside?
Cheng Yaoyao, who had "suffered a lot of hardships", was unaware of it, and his eyes were filled with sincere admiration: "Dad, this is the first time I cook for you, you have to eat it all."
Father Cheng rolled his eyes, took the opportunity to wipe away his tears, and said, "Okay, Dad will eat it all!"
This was the first time that his daughter cooked for him, so of course Cheng's father tried hard to make her happy. Whether it was due to psychological effects or other reasons, Cheng's father just thought the food was delicious. The father and daughter ate a plate of shredded potatoes and a yellow croaker cleanly, and also drank up the tomato and egg yolk soup.
Father Cheng put down the soup bowl and broke into a sweat. He felt refreshed and in a better mood. He had been feeling tired these days and had not made any progress on many tasks. Now he suddenly thought of a new plan and wanted to go to the office to discuss it with his colleagues immediately.
Father Cheng rushed to clean up the dishes and looked at his daughter wandering around the living room, hesitating for a while.
Cheng Yaoyao asked again: "Dad, what are you looking at me for?"
Father Cheng hesitated for a moment: "Yaoyao, Dad wants to go to the unit this afternoon..."
"Ah? You said you would accompany me to the department store." Cheng Yaoyao showed obvious disappointment.
Father Cheng felt extremely guilty, but the inspiration was fleeting and would disappear if he didn't catch it: "It's Dad's fault. Can you please come back soon?"
Cheng Yaoyao pouted: "Then I'm going to go shopping by myself? I haven't bought new clothes for the New Year yet, and I want to make you a new coat too."
Father Cheng understood and quickly took out his wallet and the family's food: "Here, my dear daughter, take these and buy whatever you like. Daddy doesn't need to buy yourself two more new clothes. Daddy's dear daughter is so beautiful, it would be a pity if she doesn't dress up well!"
Got it! Cheng Yaoyao calmly put away the food book, took out most of the money and bills in his wallet, and turned his anger into joy: "Dad, have we bought the New Year's goods for our family?"
Father Cheng said, "Not yet."
Cheng Yaoyao was surprised and asked, "Didn't Aunt Wei go with her relatives to buy New Year's goods? How come our family hasn't prepared anything?"
Father Cheng coughed twice and didn't answer.
Cheng Yaoyao pointed at the receipts and said to himself, "Why are there no candy tickets? I haven't had candy for a long time, and I want to buy two kilograms of White Rabbit milk candy."
Father Cheng suddenly felt uncomfortable. Wei Shuying accompanied her family to buy New Year's goods early this morning and asked him for many receipts, but she didn't buy any New Year's goods for her family. She even made his daughter lose her receipts when she wanted to buy some candy.
Father Cheng thought of the fact that Wei Shuying had not received her grain book and most of the receipts for a while, so she had to spend a lot of money to buy food for the family. This was the first time he bought salty food this month, and it was to entertain her family.
The more Cheng's father thought about it, the more frustrated he became. He could only coax Cheng Yaoyao: "Yaoyao, Dad will go to the unit this afternoon to exchange some candy tickets with his colleagues. Just wait, Dad will definitely let you eat milk candy and chocolate!"
Cheng Yaoyao said sensibly, "It's okay. I'll go to the black market to buy it. When I was in the educated youth camp, I often went to the black market to buy firewood, rice, oil and salt."
Cheng Yaoyao naively talked about his life in the countryside, which made his father feel distressed again. He hurriedly warned him: "The black market is too chaotic. You are not allowed to go alone without your father! Do you hear me?"
"Okay, okay." Cheng Yaoyao returned the wallet to Cheng's father and stuffed the bills and money into his own small purse.
When Cheng's father walked to the door to change his shoes, Cheng Yaoyao suddenly asked: "Dad, the house is so dirty and messy, I need to clean it up."
Father Cheng looked around the house and saw that it was a bit messy. He said, "My dear, where did you get all this? Wait for your Aunt Wei to come back and clean it up."
"No!" Cheng Yaoyao said, "I can clean it up. I can do the work now!"
Father Cheng was so touched by his daughter's coquettish tone that he smiled: "Okay, don't get tired."
Cheng Yaoyao chased him into the corridor again and asked, "Can you throw away those tattered newspapers?"
Father Cheng was full of energy at the moment, with his head full of work plans, and was eager to leave: "This is your home, you can tidy it up however you like, I'll do whatever you want!"
I've been waiting for you to say this! Cheng Yaoyao smiled and waved at his father's back. As his father walked out of the door, Cheng Yaoyao followed him downstairs and ran to the entrance of an alley not far away.
Across the street, the style of this alley is very different from that of the concession. The alley is always damp, with moss on the corners of the walls, and bamboo poles hanging in all directions above, with clothes, sheets and diapers full of patches hung on them. Coal briquettes and coal stoves are placed on the roadside, making the already narrow alley even narrower.
There was a store with all kinds of sundries piled up at the door, sorted into different categories such as aluminum foil and cardboard, and packed and bundled in an orderly manner. Several children were playing at the door, and when they saw Cheng Yaoyao smiling at them, they were stunned.
Cheng Yaoyao smiled and said, "Is Grandma Zeng here? I am..."
An older child turned around and shouted into the room, "Grandma! Mom! The beauty from the research building is here!"
Cheng Yaoyao: “…” Okay, it turns out you all recognize her.
A sixty-year-old woman came out of the house, with her gray hair tied up and a blue cloth jacket that was washed out and faded, looking very neatly. The Zeng family's grandmother narrowed her cloudy eyes and looked Cheng Yaoyao up and down: "What do you want me to do?"
Cheng Yaoyao smiled and said, "What else can I do for you?"
The old lady from the Zeng family asked suspiciously, "You have scraps to sell?"
Cheng Yaoyao glanced at the old lady and said, "You can't carry it by yourself. You have to call your daughter-in-law as well."
Zeng's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are specialized in buying waste. Their price is slightly lower than that of the waste collection station, but they are willing to collect it at the door. Most of the nearby residents are too lazy to make a special trip for such a small amount of money. It is also pitiful that these two widows have to take care of a group of children, and the waste is sold to them.
The Zeng family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law followed Cheng Yaoyao back home. On the way, Zeng's mother kept muttering, "How much cardboard and iron can this family sell? They still want us to pull a cart here."
Cheng Yaoyao opened the door and invited the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law into the house.
It was such a spacious and bright room, with shiny tiles on the floor. The Zeng family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law tiptoed carefully into the room.
Just as I was feeling anxious, I saw Cheng Yaoyao casually sweeping a few boxes from the cabinet onto the floor: "Take away everything that was thrown on the floor."
Zeng's mother was suddenly excited: "Can this be taken away?"
The old lady from the Zeng family scolded her harshly and said to Cheng Yuanyao, "How much do you want to pay for these things?"
Cheng Yaoyao smiled and leaned against the counter with his arms folded: "Just charge me the price of waste. But there is one request - you have to help clean my house after you collect it."
The Zeng family grandmother said calmly: "No problem!"
Zeng's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are experienced and can tell how much groceries there are in the house with just one glance. With such a large pile of things, if they go back and sort them out and resell them, they can earn enough for half a month's living expenses! Labor is the cheapest these days, how much can you earn from cleaning a house? Zeng's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, who are savvy in accounting, understood this immediately.
Wei Shujuan had been collecting old newspapers and cardboard for years, and her three-bedroom apartment was filled with all kinds of things that she couldn't use but couldn't bear to throw away. Cheng Yaoyao threw things as he walked, like a cat spreading its wings, overturning all the things he didn't like on the ground, leaving the ground piled up with no place to stand.
The Zeng family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were very efficient and quickly sorted out the things. They trampled and tied up all the things that belonged to the stepmother without hesitation, and picked out the things that belonged to Cheng's father and put them on the table.
Zeng's mother opened a big bag and made a new discovery: "Wow, these are all nice clothes! You don't want these?"
Zeng's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have been doing this for so many years, and they have never been greedy for small gains, which is why they have a good reputation. When they found good clothes, they did not steal them secretly, but told Cheng Yaoyao.
Cheng Yaoyao took a look and saw Zeng's mother took out an 80% new woolen coat and a cashmere sweater from her pocket, which was pressed underneath some old newspapers. If she didn't check it carefully, it would naturally be regarded as unwanted waste. Cheng Yaoyao sighed. Her mother's family had just arrived, and such good clothes were stuffed into her pocket as waste?
Cheng Yaoyao smiled and said, "Grandma Zeng, Madam Zeng, please help me search carefully to see if there are any good things mixed in with the waste. These newspapers are for you."
The Zeng family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law said happily: "Hey!"
After searching for a while, the two of them found two pairs of leather shoes, a bundle of new cloth, a few men's clothes, some ornaments, and a stack of money and bills from an old notebook. They handed them all in. The rest was all miscellaneous items. They swept out dozens of kilograms of empty cans and other waste from the kitchen alone. Cheng Yaoyao also sold all the ugly and low-quality furniture. Several children from the Zeng family met downstairs and used a cart to carry the waste back and forth several times before they finally took away all the waste.
The room suddenly became dark and empty. Zeng's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were both neat and tidy people. They spent the whole afternoon with soap and brushes, cleaning Cheng Yaoyao's house.
After finishing all these, the Zeng family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law wiped their sweat and left with satisfaction. They made a lot of money on this trip!
The whole room looked brand new. The floor tiles were spotless, and the walls were wiped to their original white color, giving off a faint scent of soap. The layout and design of this room were quite stylish, and now without the clutter and ugly furniture, it immediately returned to its original appearance.
Cheng Yaoyao sat on the freshly polished leather sofa, drinking tea from a fine porcelain cup, feeling extremely relaxed.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
