They sold the same item for 0.1 yuan, and it sold for 170 yuan.
The grapes weighed in jin (a unit of weight), and a bunch weighed 3 jin. They were sold by the bunch at 0.5 yuan per bunch, and the total sales amounted to 6,000 yuan.
We had 1200 jin of watermelons. We kept about 120, keeping 20, and sold the rest. Watermelons weighing over 10 jin were sold for 1.5 yuan each on the black market. We made a total of 150 yuan.
2000 jin of cantaloupes were harvested, each weighing about 5 jin, totaling approximately 400. I don't particularly like them, so I didn't keep any. Because they were a rare commodity, they were sold at the same price as watermelons, 1.5 yuan each, for a total of 600 yuan.
There were 1200 jin of melons, each weighing half a jin. They weren't rare, but because of the timing of the sale, they were sold at 0.5 yuan per jin, and the total sales amounted to 600 yuan.
In the spring of 1962, while idly wandering around the black market, I saw piglets for sale. Each piglet was selling for 45 yuan on the black market, so I bought four piglets in one go. I happened to have a lot of bran in my storage space, which was perfect for feeding the pigs. Moreover, pigs fed with grain would definitely taste better than those fed with pig feed.
Seeing the four piglets in the space, and then noticing the remaining 980 jin of pork, I decided to sell them little by little. On the black market, pork belly was 2.1 yuan per jin, and third-grade pork was 1.74 yuan per jin. I had 350 jin of pork belly and 630 jin of other cuts, which I sold for a total of [amount missing].
As for the remaining mutton, beef, chicken, duck, and goose in the space, none of them were sold. Starting in the autumn of 1961, my mother would secretly buy a chicken every two weeks or once a month to stew for me. Later, I just told her directly:
“Mom, I don’t have anything to do on Sundays, so I can go buy it myself, take it to the courtyard near the hospital to make soup, and then bring it back to eat. It’s still a bit inconvenient here in the family area.”
Liu Linjuan thought about it and agreed. Besides, her child would be going to high school in the city next year. He wouldn't be living on campus then; he would be staying in their old house. It would be more convenient for him to eat whatever he wanted there than here. So she said, "Okay, we'll do as you say."
Having sold so many things, I made a lot of money and all sorts of coupons, but apart from industrial coupons and national grain coupons, I spent all the other coupons.
I bought things like malted milk powder, various snacks, and cloth, regardless of whether they were usable or not, as long as I had the ration coupons.
By the way, over the past three years, I've visited every supply and marketing cooperative and department store in the city, and I've even patronized all the state-run restaurants in the city. I know exactly which restaurant has the best braised pork, which has the best braised fish, and which has the best noodles.
And so, the tableware that originally held cooked food in my space is now filled with cooked food bought from state-run restaurants, such as braised pork, braised fish, big steamed buns, white steamed buns, wontons, dumplings, fried dough cakes, pan-fried flatbreads, fried dough sticks, and pies. I've even bought braised beef a few times, but not often.
The most popular item I buy is the standard large meat bun of this era. Although it's mostly filled with fatty meat, it's really fragrant and the buns are huge. With my current appetite, three are enough for one meal.
Things these days aren't expensive, and the quality is excellent. Plus, they're stored in a space, so they won't be a problem for a long time. In total, it cost me about 2345 yuan. Over the past few years, I've earned [amount missing] yuan, which means I'm now a solid ten-thousand-yuan household.
However, there probably won't be as many things to sell in the future. I don't plan to sell them for the next few years either, as selling things in the city has been quite risky these past few years.
Fortunately, I have space, and I'm small and scattered, so there's no pattern to my selling. Not many people pay attention to me, otherwise I would definitely run into trouble, and that would be terrible.
Seeing how empty the space is now, I couldn't bear to look at it anymore, so I put all the furniture back in its place.
Other extra shelves were placed on the open space in front of the main house, and extra frames were also placed on the shelves.
Nowadays, the space is only filled with some grains, seeds, seasonings, dried goods, fruits, food, chicken, duck, meat and eggs. Things that are not in urgent need are stored in the warehouse, while food and things that are needed are stored in the kitchen.
Cotton clothes, quilts, and cotton were all stored in the bedroom. Seeing that there was still a lot of empty space in the storeroom, he put several large water vats and his own baskets inside, one after another. He planned to use these empty spaces to store chicken, duck, and goose eggs and fruits, and then sell these things.
As for the empty space in the space, I plan to plant some of the various grains I've bought that aren't currently available in the space over the next few years. Not too much, just enough to ensure a yield of around 500-1000 jin (250-500 kg) of various grains.
And so, the second year of high school started in 1964. Recently, I was the only one at home. My parents had both gone on missions and left after only a couple of days of the Lunar New Year. But I was used to it. Ever since we moved to the family compound, they would have missions every few days. The only difference was that this time they went together.
However, I'm 14 years old this year, a little adult. Besides, I'm pretty good at fighting. Although I'm not as good as my older brother Shen Dong yet, I'm still better than Sister Nan.
Speaking of his elder brother Shen Dong, he graduated from university more than a year ago and is now working in the Northwest Military Region.
My second sister, Shen Nan, graduated this year. However, not long after she started her senior year, the Department of Cardiac Surgery at the military hospital took her in. Now, apart from not yet receiving her university diploma, she has already started seeing patients and performing surgeries at the hospital.
My third brother, Shen Xi, is a junior in college this year. However, like my eldest brother, he went on missions alone while he was still in military school. Why do I say that? It was during the Chinese New Year that my fourth brother, Shen Bei, secretly told me, "My third brother has the same aura as my eldest brother."
Although he didn't say it explicitly, I still knew what he meant: if you've seen human blood or killed someone, there's nothing you can do. Even in the 21st century, there are always enemies lurking in the shadows. It's only a matter of time before soldiers see blood.
That said, Fourth Brother Shen Bei is currently a sophomore at a military academy.
I remember when the fourth brother got into university, the military family compound was so shocked when they learned that all four of the Shen family's children were attending military academies. It was a level of astonishment that you wouldn't see another family like that for at least twenty years—all their children going to university! Some people even secretly wondered if the Shen family's place was...well, you know. Others were asking when Uncle Shen and his family were moving, hoping to secure a place for themselves. Not only the women in the family compound, but even the military leaders were shocked and kept asking Uncle Shen and his family...
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