Chapter 63: Selling Fish Better Than Pork, Honoring Huang Po

The man in the car was listening to Fu Zhengtu and Chenchen chatting, and he was almost crying because of Chenchen's cuteness.

How can there be such a perfect baby in the world? I really want to take it home and raise it!

But when I thought that he was Mr. Fu's son, I came to my senses.

Just look at it and think about it.

Everyone thought that Mr. Fu was a very strict father, but unexpectedly he was so patient and gentle with his children. But why is the gentle Mr. Fu more difficult to accept than the cold Mr. Fu?

As for Su Taotao, she very cleverly used a scarf to wrap herself up like a rice dumpling.

This outfit did not attract any attention when it appeared in the supply and marketing cooperative.

Everyone knows that the ultraviolet rays on the island are strong, so everyone uses their own methods to protect themselves from the sun. Even if you put on a cotton jacket in the middle of summer, people will probably think:

This could be a new way to protect yourself from the sun.

When she arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, Su Taotao immediately bought a straw hat and put it on her head.

A hat is more practical than an umbrella because it leaves one hand free to hold the dust.

This way no one will be able to recognize it.

This place is called a supply and marketing cooperative, but in fact it is already a small agricultural market.

The supply and marketing cooperatives sell all kinds of packaged daily necessities, canned food, seasonings, etc., while fruits, vegetables, meat, seafood, etc. are all displayed on stalls outside.

Su Taotao arrived not much later than Aunt Zhong. When she arrived, Aunt Zhong was waiting at a fish stall for several fish that had already started to roll their eyes to turn over.

She caught sight of Su Taotao out of the corner of her eye and waved at her from a distance.

Su Taotao walked over and said, "Aunt Zhong, you actually recognized me?"

Aunt Zhong: "Your hands are white. I saw you wearing this dress this morning and I recognized it at a glance."

Su Taotao: “…”

"What are you doing, Aunt Zhong?"

Aunt Zhong pointed at the fish that rolled its eyes and whispered in Su Taotao's ear:

"I've been watching these fish for nearly 20 minutes. Look, they're starting to roll their eyes. If they die in a few more minutes, they'll be half the price. Do you want them? If you do, I'll give you two."

Su Taotao: “???”

"No need, Aunt Zhong, I don't want to eat fish today. Let me see if there is anything suitable." The main reason was that there were so many fresh seafoods and she didn't want to eat fish today.

Auntie Zhong didn't force her and started to explain each stall to her:

"This fishmonger is the most honest. You can't go wrong buying fish here."

Su Taotao: “…” There’s only one stall selling fish, and you have to buy even if you’re not honest. Do you have any choice?

Aunt Zhong continued, "Zhu Rourong is the most difficult to get along with. It's not easy to get some meat on our island. He often hides the good meat and saves it for people who are close to him. Every time it's our turn to buy, there are only lean meat and some offal. I tried to bribe him with a handful of melon seeds, but I couldn't. What a waste of melon seeds."

Su Taotao: "..." You want to bribe someone with just a handful of melon seeds? No wonder you can't bribe him.

Su Taotao feels that there is still a generation gap between herself and this era. Aren’t lean offal the most delicious pork?

Auntie Zhong pointed to the melon-selling lady at the farthest corner:

"The one selling winter melons over there is Mrs. Huang. She has many children at home and her life is difficult. The organization gave her a large piece of land so that she can be self-sufficient. If there is any surplus, she can sell it to earn some living expenses. The melons she grows are tastier than those shipped in from outside."

"It's the same with the vegetable vendors next to her. They were all given land by the organization," Aunt Zhong sighed. "You don't know how envious I am. I also want a piece of land to grow my own vegetables."

Su Taotao: "There's so much land on the mountain, can't we reclaim it ourselves?"

Auntie Zhong said: "There is a lot of land, but there are not many places near fresh water sources with fertile land suitable for growing vegetables."

Su Taotao thought about it and agreed.

Su Taotao asked again: "Can't we plant crops on the land outside our yard? The land in front of my house looks quite fertile."

Aunt Zhong took a deep breath, then slapped her thigh after letting go:

"Yes, yes, the open space in front of your first row is big enough. Although it's not as big as other people's whole plots, it's enough to grow some green onions and vegetables for your own consumption. Unlike our back row, there are rocks in front of the door and we can't grow anything at all."

Su Taotao said, "I don't know how to grow vegetables, how about you grow some in the field outside my door? Leave a small space for me to plant two flowers, and my mother-in-law will be here soon, so when she comes, you can plant some for her, she really likes growing vegetables."

Aunt Zhong looked at her in disbelief: "Of course you can, you really have to plant flowers for me now," but she still felt it was a pity that Su Taotao was going to use such precious land to plant flowers.

"The land on the island that can be used to grow vegetables is so precious. It would be great to keep it for growing vegetables. There are wild flowers everywhere. If you like, just walk to the back hill and pick them. In my opinion, the land near the door is the most suitable for growing green onions, ginger, garlic, and chives. When you find something missing while cooking, you can just walk to the door and have it ready. How great!"

The more Auntie Zhong thought about it, the more appropriate it seemed. She couldn't wait to plant the seeds. She asked again, "Are you really not going to plant them for me now?"

Su Taotao smiled and nodded: "Really, I really don't know how to grow vegetables, but I want to plant two flowers, and I also want to plant vegetables when my mother-in-law comes."

Aunt Zhong smiled happily: "Okay, okay, I'll plant more and we can eat them together. I told you I'm also good at planting flowers... Hey, my stomach is turning over! Selling fish, I want these four!"

…

Finally, Su Taotao bought all the fresh and cheap vegetables under the guidance of Aunt Zhong.

I also bought a small winter melon from Mrs. Huang to see if it was as delicious as Auntie Zhong said.

Su Taotao felt that it was a great loss for the Women's Federation if a social leader like Aunt Zhong did not join the Federation. Even if she joined a company and worked in administration, she would be a good hand. It was a waste of talent.

The variety of seafood on the island was less than Su Taotao had imagined, but Aunt Zhong said that most of the seafood caught by the fishing boats was handed over to the organization for unified allocation, and only a small part could be left for their own distribution. It was already very good that they could leave so much on the island.

Su Taotao understood that during the planned economy era and the movement, the city was in turmoil and people were in panic. The life here was simple and pure, far away from the hustle and bustle, and it was like a paradise.

She likes it here very much.

Mrs. Zhong is a good talker. She can chat with every stall owner for half a day. The place is so small that if Su Taotao was alone, she would probably finish shopping in ten minutes.

It took her more than an hour to buy these things with Aunt Zhong!

When I followed her slowly walking home, it was already past ten o'clock and almost eleven o'clock!

Su Taotao once again lamented that Aunt Zhong was a "time killer" and said she would never go shopping with her next time because it was such a waste of time.

Su Taotao bought seaweed and shrimps at the supply and marketing cooperative and prepared to make a simple seaweed, shrimp and egg drop soup.

She also bought two pounds of clams and made stir-fried clams with black bean sauce.

Two kilograms of clams are not even as expensive as half a kilogram of meat. Su Taotao was at a loss for words regarding the price.

Also, stir-fry some vegetables and cook some mixed grain rice, and lunch is complete.

There are not many trees on the island, and most of them are precious woods that cannot be used as firewood, so people burn charcoal and coal.

Xiao Lu reminded Su Taotao to buy coal and charcoal before going to the island. They bought a box of charcoal and a basket of coal respectively.

After completing all the preparations, Su Taotao realized that she didn't know how to burn coal. It was the first time she had ever seen a coal stove and she had no idea where to start.

The water for drinking and bathing these days was all cooked by Fu Zhengtu and Fu Yuanhang. She had just finally lit the charcoal stove and was now cooking.

There was no Baidu in this era, and she didn't want to go up and chat with Aunt Zhong for half an hour about changing the way to light the coal.

Looking at the watch, Fu Yuanhang and Fu Zhengtu should be back at about the same time, so I just moved a small stool to the door and sit there waiting for them to come back.