Judging from the position of the sun now, it was probably only five o'clock. After walking around, Ye Zhiqiu finally found the person who was dealing in the bills.
He mainly needed to buy food coupons, because without them he couldn't buy staple foods. To eat at a state-owned restaurant, he needed meat coupons for meat dishes and food coupons for staple foods. There were very few things he could get without coupons.
The bills were not expensive at the time. A pound of grain coupon was only 10 cents, and a pound of meat coupon was 50 cents. In other words, if you used a pound of meat coupon to buy a pound of meat in the city, you would need to pay 60 cents for the meat, and the pork would cost 1.2 yuan per pound.
But if you buy it at the meat stall in Ye Zhiqiu’s commune, you don’t need a meat ticket, and it’s only 80 cents per pound!
So Ye Zhiqiu often thought that if he had money, he would buy meat everywhere to store it. In two years, when the price of meat on the black market rises to ten yuan per catty, he would be able to make a lot of money.
But he had no money, and later found that even if he had so much money, he wouldn't be able to spend it at all! Because he later learned that the commune had purchase restrictions! In other words, you need to show your ID to prove that you are a member of the Black Mountain Commune before you can buy no more than five kilograms of meat.
In fact, in essence, this pork is provided for those who get married, celebrate the full moon banquet, etc. Because now people don't need to worry about eating meat in the canteen, everything is arranged by the commune.
Grain coupons were cheap, so Ye Zhiqiu simply bought 50 kilograms of local grain. These were time-limited, valid only this year. He also bought 10 kilograms of meat coupons, spending only 10 yuan in total.
I went to a state-owned restaurant and had a meal of braised pork and rice. It cost me two taels of meat coupons, two taels of grain coupons, and 40 cents. The braised pork cost two taels of meat coupons and 30 cents, and the rice cost two taels of grain coupons and 10 cents.
It was enough for Ye Zhiqiu to eat his fill, and after finishing, he followed the example of others and poured water into the bowl. As he drank, he realized that this was to avoid wasting the oil and water in the bowl!
After eating and drinking, Ye Zhiqiu walked back to the hospital with his hands behind his back. When he returned to the hospital, it was already 6:30 in the evening.
Originally, he had proof that he could go to some run-of-the-mill guesthouses, which were actually hotels, and rent a room there to sleep in.
But he thought that he was not a rich man. If Wang Tiezhu let it slip, wouldn't his mother be worried about his money all day long? So he had to be honest and go back to the hospital to spend the night.
"Xiao Zhiqiu, you're back! Have you eaten? I still have two steamed buns I bought!" Seeing Ye Zhiqiu coming back, Wang Tiezhu asked hurriedly.
Ye Zhiqiu smiled and said, "Well, I ate at a friend's house. How is Aunt He? Is she feeling better?"
He Xiaolian fell asleep at this time. Wang Tiezhu said happily, "She's much better now. She ate three steamed buns for dinner and can even go to the toilet on her own. But the leg she said was bitten still feels a little burning."
If you can walk now, it means there is really no big problem.
So he smiled and said, "Of course. In that case, I'll go check tomorrow to see if we can find a bus back. If not, we might have to wait until three in the afternoon and take the bus back to our Black Mountain Commune."
"I don't know the way either, so I'll have to trouble you!"
Ye Zhiqiu nodded, found a chair, sat down and busy himself with the space matters for a while, and then fell asleep.
It wasn't until ten o'clock in the evening that the nurse came in to check on him and woke him up. It was the same kind nurse from that day, holding a notebook and writing something down for He Xiaolian.
Although she was quite pretty, with a delicate and elegant appearance, Ye Zhiqiu had no particular thoughts. He had to choose a good wife after all, and since she was still two years away from marriageable age, he had plenty of time to search.
He closed his eyes again and went back to sleep. When he woke up the next morning, Ye Zhiqiu found himself numb.
It took him a long time to recover. He took the buns bought by Wang Tiezhu and started eating without even washing up.
After breakfast, Ye Zhiqiu said to Wang Tiezhu and He Xiaolian, "Old Wang and Aunt He, you two stay here at the hospital for now. I'm going to run around and see if there's a bus back home. If I find one, I'll come back and pick you up. If not, we can leave at two o'clock, and then we'll have to catch the three o'clock bus back."
"This is really hard work for you."
Ye Zhiqiu waved his hand and without further ado, he began to walk towards the exit of the city according to the route he remembered.
He spent the entire morning hailing cars and asking questions until he found an empty horse-drawn carriage carrying goods. He found out his commune was right next to the Black Mountain Commune. Sending the goods back to the Black Mountain Commune would only add another forty minutes to the round trip. Ye Zhiqiu offered fifty cents and completed the deal.
It was already twelve o'clock at this time. Ye Zhiqiu led the way to the hospital, but found that Wang Tiezhu and He Xiaolian were already sitting outside the hospital entrance.
He asked the fellow villager who was driving the carriage to park it over there. The two of them also saw Ye Zhiqiu and stood up and waved happily.
After the two of them sat down, they asked what had happened. It turned out that after the examination at 9 o'clock in the morning, they were asked to go through the discharge procedures.
But Wang Tiezhu was well aware that he couldn't go to the hospital to complete the paperwork, as he would have to pay dozens of yuan. He had spent a lot of money in the past few days, and only had about 20 yuan left, which was not enough to pay the hospital.
So, while no one was looking, Wang Tiezhu grabbed the quilt and the odds and ends he'd bought over the past two days, and ran to the hospital entrance with He Xiaolian in his arms. They didn't dare run far, fearing they wouldn't see Ye Zhiqiu when he returned, so they stared at the street for over an hour.
Ye Zhiqiu gave a thumbs up and said, "Haha, luckily you guys didn't run too far! Otherwise, when I go into the hospital and ask you, they'll probably arrest me and make me pay!"
They both grinned.
After three and a half hours, the group finally got off the carriage. Wang Tiezhu paid the fifty cents fare, which was his due, and Ye Zhiqiu didn't try to rob him.
After all, the commune leaders had been instrumental. Wang Tiezhu supported He Xiaolian, and the three of them went to visit the commune members and express their gratitude to the leaders.
The commune leader was quite happy. He adjusted his glasses and smiled, saying, "Great! I'm glad you can recover! Be careful when you go up the mountain next time. The weather is hot now, and it's the season when snakes appear!"
Safety is of paramount importance. We will hold a meeting to announce this matter. Let everyone know that if you encounter such a situation in the future, go to the hospital for life-saving treatment!
The couple nodded quickly and replied, "I understand. We will definitely pay attention next time..."
Ye Zhiqiu also smiled and asked, "Thank you, leader. Could you please arrange for us to return to Kaoshantun? If it were just the two of us, we wouldn't dare to trouble you. The main thing is that the patient's bite site is not suitable for long-term exercise, so I have no choice but to ask for your help."
"That makes sense. In that case, I'll arrange for someone to take you back."
In this way, Ye Zhiqiu and the other three got on the tractor again, and after more than 40 minutes, they finally returned to Kaoshantun.
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