Chapter 8
Even Jiao Huilan could see Meng Daguo's happiness.
"What's the happy event at home?" Jiao Huilan took out some tattered old cloth and tore the diaper for the child.
Meng Daguo lay on the bed and said, "Eryong is getting married!"
"Why are you so happy about Eryong's marriage?"
"That's my brother. Isn't it okay for me to be happy about his marriage?" Meng Daguo was very tired today and planned to lie down and take a nap.
Jiao Huilan tore off a piece of cloth, thinking that you were not so happy even when you got married. She turned around and asked, "How much do you want to give Eryong for his wedding?"
Meng Daguo paused and told the truth.
Jiao Huilan's expression didn't change at all, as if she didn't hear what he said.
Meng Daguo stared at her. "I said Jiao, you are not unhappy, are you? This is our mother's decision. After my father left, this family depends on my mother. You know what the situation is at home. Don't go and complain to my mother."
Jiao Huilan would not make trouble, as she knew her own worth, but the man's attitude still made her feel uncomfortable.
Meng Daguo lay on the bed and hooked her butt with his toes, "Did you hear that?"
"I know! I'm deaf!"
Meng Daguo was stunned. "You've become so capable that you dare to talk back to me! Do you know who is the head of this family?"
Jiao Huilan lowered her eyebrows and murmured, "Is it you who is not good enough?"
"That's enough! They say that an elder brother is like a father. My father is gone, so what can I do as the eldest brother if I don't take some losses? If you, as the eldest sister-in-law, care about everything, it will be difficult for the sisters-in-law to get along with each other in the future. I don't want to see my mother being bullied by two daughters-in-law."
Jiao Huilan knew that he was filial, and she didn't care about these things. She was already satisfied to be able to leave that den of tigers and wolves in her mother's family. Even if her mother-in-law was fierce, she was better than her mother in her mother's family.
People can't want everything, only a harmonious family can bring prosperity! What else can a sister-in-law do if she doesn't want to suffer a little loss?
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Meng Eryong was so worried about his marriage that he was afraid that Zhao Ying would not agree, so he told Zhao Ying about the situation at home. Zhao Ying did not expect Zhen Guizhi to be so strong, and he was a little embarrassed for a while.
"Zhen Guizhi is a well-known badass in the area. How can our Tao family be afraid of her? My daughter is pregnant with the eldest grandson of the Meng family, but she is not anxious at all!"
Old Man Tao shook his head and said, "Forget it. Aihong's belly is getting bigger. If we don't get married before the New Year, we won't be able to hide the belly after the New Year."
"We can't just let it go like this, right? What does twenty-four yuan mean to the Meng family? If Eryong's father hadn't passed away, I would never have agreed to this!"
"You also know that Eryong's father is gone?" Old Man Tao knocked his cigarette bag against the wall. "It's not easy for Zhen Guizhi, a widow, to raise three children! She could have married Meng Eryong. If she had married someone else, she wouldn't even have the money!"
Zhao Ying had no choice but to ask Aihong's father to mediate. Zhao Ying then "reluctantly" agreed and put on a high profile.
After learning that the Tao family agreed to her conditions, Zhen Zhen was not surprised at all. She asked for Tao Aihong's birth date and asked someone to check the date according to custom.
As expected, the wedding date was set for the 24th of Lunar New Year. It was a bit rushed, but getting married these days doesn't involve so many complicated matters, so it can be dealt with.
The next morning, at daybreak, Zhen Zhen put the quilt into the living room, took out a hot bun from inside, made a cup of cocoa bean milk powder, and ate and drank enough before going to the county town.
Many trees on the mountain have been cut down, so it looks bare. Because of the fog, the view in front of me is gray.
She heard yesterday that the team had a donkey truck going to the county town, so she told the team leader Li Decheng that she wanted to go together.
The original owner was a bad person with a bad reputation, but the man was a hero who died for his country, so the team had to take care of her. Otherwise, given Zhen Guizhi's character, she would definitely accuse him of bullying the widow of a martyr.
Li Decheng couldn't say no, so he had to agree.
The man who drove the car was called Lao Zhou, and he was in charge of the cowshed in the brigade.
The reason for going to the county town this time was because the autumn harvest had just ended and there was a lot of wheat in the brigade. According to tradition, wheat was used to feed livestock, but one of the old cows in the village died of illness last year. At the instruction of Li Decheng, Lao Zhou went to the county town to buy two calves and brought them back to raise.
Uncle Zhou is tying a donkey's rope.
"Uncle Zhou." Zhen Zhen said politely.
Lao Zhou glanced at her sideways. Zhen Guizhi, a shrewd person who often saw him with her nostrils in the air and ignored him at all, was suddenly so considerate and polite, and even took the initiative to say hello?
Zhen Zhen then opened the steamed bun cloth and took out a steamed bun. He cut the bun in the middle and stuffed it with pickled vegetables made by Liao Huilan.
She smiled and said, "Uncle Zhou got up early and hasn't had time to eat yet, right? Well, Daguo's father's comrade-in-arms sent some steamed buns over the day before yesterday. If you don't mind, have one."
Old Zhou looked at the steamed bun and his tongue became numb from how sweet it was.
His family was poor and had many children, so the flour they were given every year was immediately exchanged for coarse grains. They had not eaten white flour for two or three years. This steamed bread looked soft and white, and it was as beautiful as it could be.
Lao Zhou smiled unnaturally, "Hey, just ask if you have anything to say! We are all from the same village, how can I disagree? His father's comrades in the big country took great pains to send a few buns. It's because you orphans and widowed mothers have no one to take care of you. I want to help you, how can I eat your food?"
Zhen Zhen staggered into the car, "Uncle Zhou, you are being too polite. Life is hard at home, and I often go to the city to ask my second brother for help to get some food, but the county town is far away, and it is not safe for a woman like me to walk. This steamed bun is definitely not to bribe you, but I saw that you rushed to the car early in the morning and had no time to have a good meal, so I thought of bringing you a bun."
Old Zhou was surprised. When would Zhen Guizhi, this unreasonable and hot-tempered woman, say such nice words?
He would go to the county town often in the next few months, and he thought he could help her, so accepting a steamed bun from her was nothing.
Lao Zhou couldn't resist the temptation of the steamed bun, so he took it with a smile.
"Uncle Zhou won't be polite with you. If you need anything, just ask directly."
"Okay, Uncle Zhou, please put it at the door of the food supply and marketing cooperative for me. Eryong is getting married and Huilan is about to give birth. I'm going to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some brown sugar and other things."
Zhen Guizhi was well-known in the village for favoring boys over girls, but now she was willing to buy noodles and brown sugar for her unborn granddaughter, which surprised Old Zhou.
The smell of the steamed bun made his mouth water. He swallowed the whole bun in just a few bites. After eating it, he felt full of energy and rushed to the car with all his heart.
Zhen Zhen was initially carsick from the shaking, but felt much better towards the end.
Lao Zhou placed Zhen Zhen at the door of a supply and marketing cooperative that sold vegetables, rice, flour, grain and oil.
Zhen Zhen stood outside the door for a while. Those who still had tickets to buy things at the supply and marketing cooperative at the end of the year dressed differently from the farmers. They all had well-combed hair and were dressed very decently.
A woman with a shaggy hairdo and a black headband came out from inside, holding a torn grain ticket in her hand, and said angrily:
"Just because a dime is missing, they say it can't be used. Does that mean my good food coupons are invalid?"
Zhen Zhen came closer and whispered, "Auntie..."
The auntie glared at him, "Who are you calling me? Who are you calling me? You are already thirty years old this year, right? You are not much younger than me, but you call me auntie. You have a problem with your character as a gay!"
After being scolded by her, Zhen Zhen remembered that Zhen Guizhi was almost forty years old.
She lowered her voice and said, "Comrade, I accidentally called you the wrong name just now. You are from the city and look young, unlike us farmers who look much older than our actual age. Don't think I am old, I am actually only 25 this year!"
When the aunt heard that she was only 25, her eyes widened immediately. She thought that this comrade must have suffered a lot, and her words softened.
"Big sister, what's wrong with you?"
"Comrade, I have some noodles here, 2 jins, 70 cents a bag, do you want some?"
There are two kinds of noodles in Zhenzhen Space. One kind is the handmade noodles bought at the market, which come in spinach, tomato, sweet potato, and different colors. The price is 3.5 yuan per pound, and she bought 1,000 packs.
When she went to the supermarket, she found that the noodles were on sale, with a 1kg package costing only RMB 2.5. Seeing that the price was really cheap, she gritted her teeth and bought another 1,000 packages.
I originally thought that in the end times, instant noodles would be more convenient to eat. Even if I couldn't finish them, they would be considered hard currency and could be sold to exchange for basic living supplies.
According to the original owner's memory, flour at the supply and marketing cooperative was 1.6 cents per pound, and rice was 1.4 cents per pound, but you couldn't buy them without food coupons.
On the black market, flour costs 40 cents per pound, but rice costs 80 cents.
Zhen Zhen originally wanted to sell rice, but she had no packaging bags and no car, and rice was difficult to package and transport, so she decided to sell noodles first.
The aunt was very scared and looked around. When she saw that no one was watching them, she pulled her into a nearby alley.
"A 2-pound package of noodles costs 70 cents? Are you sure?"
All the food coupons in her family were stuffed in a book. But it rained a few days ago and water came in through the window, soaking the books.
By the time she discovered it, the grain coupon had already been stuck to the book. Although she tried hard to save it, a corner was still missing and the numbers on it were also blurred. The people at the supply and marketing cooperative refused to accept it.
If we don't buy some food, the whole family will go hungry, but where can we buy food without tickets these days? 70 cents is not cheap, but this is a 2-jin bag!
Zhen Zhen thought that she might have sold it too cheaply, but since it was her first time and she had no experience, she didn't care.
"Yes, they are all made of the best flour. Do you want some?"
Zhen Zhen used the sack to block the way, reached inside and pulled out a handful of noodles. The wrapping paper had been torn off, leaving only a circle of white paper on the outside.
When the aunt saw the quality of the noodles, her eyes sparkled with a strange light. It was difficult to find such good stuff even on the black market. If she had been short of money, she would have wanted to buy ten or eight packets!
"I want two packs, do you have any?"
Zhen Zhen gave her two packets of noodles. She paid for them, used her body to block the noodles and put them into her purse. She flattened the purse, touched her hair nervously, and walked away without looking back.
Zhen Zhen stuffed the money into the front pocket of his underwear and saw an old man walking out from a distance.
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