Chapter 19
Xu Wen narrowed his eyes and hooked his finger towards Xu Man
Xu Man hurriedly brought his ear over
Xu Wen lifted his hand and lightly twisted Xu Man’s ear, saying in a single word: “I won’t tell you!”
Xu Man: “”
Rubbing his ears, he rolled his eyes, “He’s a child’s father and he’s still so childish!”
Seeing that he couldn’t ask anything from Xu Wen, Xu Man also stopped prying
When the slowest eating Xu cut full, take the initiative to pack up the bowl are outside to wash
The entire commune is not connected to the tap water, but Xu family has a well with the kind of old-fashioned hand-cranked water pump
Xu asked to pump some water and went to the stove to get lye
There was no detergent in the house, so lye was used to remove grease
Xu asked while washing dishes: How in the world did Lu Yuanzheng convince her parents?
Unfortunately, no one told her the answer until she went to bed
Xu Man was still tossing and turning and couldn’t sleep at night, but she managed to make it to dawn, and just as she got up to wash up and get ready to go sheep herding, she saw Zhu Meizhen yawning and coming out of the house
“Mom, why did you get up so early?”
Zhu Meizhen walked to the water well, washed her face and woke up for a few minutes before asking, “Didn’t your father say he was going to sell chickens? Come on, you can accompany me”
“I have to go and herd the goats”
“We’re going to meet the in-laws today, so don’t go go sheep herding Your father, your brother and I have asked the captain for leave”
Xu Man nodded and followed Zhu Meizhen to the chicken coop to catch two fatter chickens
Zhu Meizhen tied the claws of the two chickens with strips of cloth and chanted with a look of sadness, “Alas! We sold these chickens when they were laying eggs, so we’ll have to buy eggs from our family, not to mention selling them Xiaoqing is pregnant again and also need to make up ”
It’s not that Zhu Meizhen is stingy, only those who have been poor know what it means to be “penny wise and pound foolish”!
Two chickens in a rich family is just two pots of soup, but in their family is the source of the family’s daily living expenses, at least enough to Xu Che or Xu Wen’s tuition fees
After all, Zhu Meizhen grabbed the chickens and tied them up and carried them out of the house without any hesitation
No matter how poor or important the chicken is, it is not as important as the daughter’s meeting with her in-laws
The lunch banquet said nothing can not let the in-laws look down on it
Xu Man wanted to help take one, was Zhu Meizhen refused: “They fluttered and got dirty, you do not touch”
Xu Man: “”
So, is telling me to follow literally the same thing?
The basket of vegetables Zhu Meizhen said that it is not heavy enough for Xu Man to carry, this time even the chicken will not allow Xu Man to take
Xu Man hard from Zhu Meizhen arm off the basket on his arm, asked her: “Mom, the food station is not open until eight o’clock? What are we doing there so early?”
It’s only five o’clock now, and the sky has just dawned
“Not going to the food station” Zhu Meizhen whispered, “Let’s go to Little Sixth Street”
Little Sixth Street is not a street but a small farmers’ market
It’s not a big place, but the surrounding avenues and alleyways are especially numerous, so it’s a good place to escape
Individual economy was not permitted in the 1970s, but the control was not as strict as it was in the previous years
Especially in a place like Weizhuang Commune, where the emperor was far away and the people were poor and miserable
Many people couldn’t even earn enough food from their hard work all year round, so in order to survive, they could only sneak out their family’s belongings and exchange them for some money
At first it was a barter, but slowly it became a money trade
I do not know when there is a small Liu Street
Initially Xiaoliu Street is just some do not want to go through the food station secretly their own breeding of poultry or eggs and vegetables to trade and do not vote
Later slowly more and more buyers, sellers are more and more, just like a semi-public existence
However, the people are generally timid, this market every day at dawn began to people, up to seven o’clock in the morning here will be clean as nothing happened
So the economic department of the commune also turned a blind eye You can’t follow them every day, can you?
It’s useless to follow them, because the streets and alleys around Xiaoliu Street are so intertwined that it’s impossible to catch them
Besides, even if they shut down one “Xiaoliu Street”, there will be another “Xiaoliu Street”
These people are just trying to make a living and are not really trying to “dig up socialist corners”
The last time Xu Wen came to Xiaoliu Street was before Xu Wen got married At that time, Xiaoliu Street was not very crowded, and even the prices were similar to those at food stations
The sellers didn’t have to pay a share, and the buyers didn’t need to take a ticket
This time, just after arriving at the entrance of the market, Xu Wen was shocked and stared with wide almond eyes
The not-so-large open space in front of her was still scattered with the kind of stalls that could be rolled away at any time
What attracted Xu Man’s attention the most was one of the vans
Around the van was full of fresh fruits and vegetables, chickens, ducks, fish and meat, cloth and clothing, as well as other grain, oil, rice and noodles and other miscellaneous daily oil products
In short, a van held up a market
A large number of people around the van picking and choosing, bargaining, the bustling scene reminds Xu Wen discount morning market
It turns out that the enthusiasm of the big moms to grab cheap goods not only regardless of the country also regardless of the age
The point is that the van around the several people who opened the sale Xu asked yesterday, is to have dinner with Wen Yiming with the several people
Xu asked his eyes sweeping, sure enough, Wen Yiming stood away from the crowd of the roadside, leaning against the tree trunk, lowered his head and smoked
Around the time Xu Man’s gaze was detected, Wen Yiming raised his head and happened to meet Xu Man’s eyes
He obviously froze
Xu Man had already seen his appearance yesterday, not too surprised, nodded as a greeting, turned back to catch up with Zhu Meizhen’s footsteps, and asked her, “Mom, did you talk to the Wen family?”
Zhu Meizhen nodded, “I asked Director Li to pass on the message last night You have agreed to marry Xiaozheng, we can’t keep Xiao Wen waiting It’s not good for your reputation if it gets out”
“Uh-huh” Xu Wen nodded, saying it was good
Zhu Meizhen didn’t think too much about it, letting Xu Man look at the two chickens he brought with him, and took the vegetable basket from Xu Man’s hands and ran to the van to squeeze into the crowd
Xu Wen stood in place and watched Zhu Meizhen tiptoe to probe into the anxious look helplessly shook his head
Other than that, Wen Yiming’s business acumen is really good
Xu Wen was a bit greedy, but she didn’t dare to do so
No capital is a reason, in addition in this era, the carriage of goods this behavior than the people sneak to sell some pocket money is not the same, called speculation, was caught to be paraded in the street or even sentenced to imprisonment
“Xu Man”
Xu Man looked up, Wen Yiming had already arrived in front of her, his eyebrows and eyes had a few points of urgency
Wen Yiming habitually wanted to hold his glasses, his hand raised to his ear and realized he wasn’t wearing them and then put them down and put them in his pocket, asking, “How did you get here?”
Xu Man pointed to the restless chickens at his feet: “To sell chickens”
Wen Yiming raised an eyebrow, “Is the family in trouble?” With that, he started digging into his pockets, “If there’s something you need to do, just let me know”
He pulled out a roll of money and handed it to Xu Man, “Take it first for emergencies”
Xu Man shook his head, “I told you last time, I won’t ask for your money No merit, no reward, thank you!”
“Ask, the meat in that car is fresh and cheap, let’s sell the chickens in a while to save going to the supply center, we can just buy it here” Zhu Meizhen walked back with an excited face, saw Wen Yiming standing in front of Xu Man, looked back and forth several times before tentatively opening her mouth to call someone, “Comrade Wen?”
Wen Yiming nodded and smiled civilly, “Auntie, just call me Yiming”
Zhu Meizhen looked Wen Yiming up and down with a look of hesitation
Xu Wen understood Zhu Meizhen’s feelings, she was a bit surprised to see such Wen Yiming at first sight yesterday
The contrast between the before and after is so big that it would be believable to say that it is two people
Wen Yiming himself knows, he slightly sideways head to avoid Zhu Meizhen’s gaze, pointed down the van, asked Zhu Meizhen: “Auntie, in that car see want?”
Xu Wen was busy giving Zhu Meizhen a wink
Unfortunately, Zhu Meizhen’s mouth was always faster than her brain, and she was immediately distracted by Wen Yiming, pointing at the van and enthusiastically introducing it to Wen Yiming: “There are many of them! That chicken, duck, fish and meat is cheap and do not need tickets Clothes and cloth are also ” Said this looked at Wen Yiming, especially enthusiastic, “You come over so early is also to buy things, right? What do you want to buy I’ll help you pick You boys buy things are closed eyes buy, easy to lose”
Zhu Meizhen especially like Wen Yiming, but Xu Man does not like her can not be helped The common saying “buy and sell is not benevolent”, even if Wen Yiming can’t be her son-in-law that can’t be and won’t be old and dead
“Good” Wen Yiming agreed painfully, “Then auntie what you think is good all give me a pick!”
“Then you come with me,” Zhu Meizhen pulled Wen Yiming’s sleeve toward the van, but also did not forget to instruct Xu Man, “Ask, you keep an eye on the chicken”
Xu Man opened her mouth and didn’t even have time to make a sound, Zhu Meizhen was already walking towards the van with Wen Yiming
When she tried to chase after them, one of the chickens fluttered and flew some distance away, falling to the ground
Xu Man hurriedly chased the chicken back, and when she looked over again, Zhu Meizhen and Wen Yiming had already drowned in the crowd
Xu Man let out a long sigh, a bit of a headache
Wen Yiming’s attitude is such that Xu Man can’t figure out if he knows she’s getting married to Lu Yuanzheng or not
This car is Wen Yiming’s, where the need for Zhu Meizhen to help choose things, eighty percent is to let Zhu Meizhen pick favorite to send them
I don’t intend to get married with others, how can I accept his things?
Sure enough, when Zhu Meizhen carried a bunch of things out of the face is very strange
Almost to the front, Zhu Meizhen also asked: “Yiming, you all these to me?”
Wen Yiming nodded, “Auntie, our family really do not lack anything, you can rest assured to accept”
Zhu Meizhen was busy shaking her head, a face of hesitation, thought for a moment, stuffed the things into Xu Wen’s hand, lifted two chickens from the ground and handed them to Wen Yiming, “Yiming, we can’t take your things for nothing, these two chickens are for you”
This way even if they exchanged, they still suffered a slight loss
Wen Yiming took a step back and shook his head, “Auntie, I’m asking about this relationship, how can I ask for your chickens?”
Xu asked: “”
What is our relationship worth two chickens?
Zhu Meizhen heard this stopped, frowned and asked him: “Last night, Director Li did not go to your home to say?”
“What?” Wen Yiming looked puzzled, “I was with my friends yesterday and didn’t go home at night”
Zhu Meizhen immediately made a mistake, looked at Xu Man, and then looked at Wen Yiming, hesitated to put the chicken on the ground, and then from Xu Man’s hand to take the things that Wen Yiming bought over and put them at Wen Yiming’s feet, and only then did she open her mouth, “Yiming, originally, we entrusted Director Li to your house to pass on the message, and looking at the situation that the message hasn’t been passed on to you yet, I’m going to be straightforward then Although I think very highly of you and ask, you two are not destined to be together I am also very sorry But marriage is all about what you want You’re a good comrade, surely you’ll be able to find a better girl than our Ask”
Wen Yiming furrowed his brows, his gaze falling pensively on Xu Man’s face with a few moments of questioning, “What does that mean?”
“It means what you heard” Xu Wen didn’t flash or avoid looking straight at Wen Yiming, sending him the good guy card, “You’re so good you deserve a better girl, sorry”
Wen Yiming stepped forward and narrowed his eyes at Xu Man, “Because of that soldier?”
Xu Wen nodded and shook her head again, “I am with him, but it has nothing to do with him We’re not suitable with or without him”
Her seemingly uncontroversial and quiet nature was actually nothing more than an attempt to hide her clumsiness
She was afraid that if she said something wrong or did something out of character, she would not only harm herself but also involve her relatives who were so good to her
She is different from the native girls of this era, even if she is looking for a partner, she is most interested in freedom
She doesn’t have to be on edge all the time, and she doesn’t even sleep well for fear of saying something she shouldn’t
Once she was looking for her cell phone in her dream, and was woken up by Zhu Meizhen, who asked her what her cell phone meant
Since then, Xu Man has never dared to sleep in front of her family and get up behind them
Some of this won’t change because she married someone else, but Lu Yuanzheng can
He was always away from home when he was in the army
When Xu Man married Lu Yuanzheng, the Xu family didn’t have to worry about her marriage anymore
The problem of sleeping could be solved, as could the problem of going to school
As for Dongsheng, even if they lived together, they slept in separate rooms
When they go to college, they can go out and rent a room
All this, Wen Yiming can not give Xu Wen
The point is, Wen Yiming is a person with too many secrets, which is really not suitable for her who also hides a lot of secrets
He seems to be gentle and courteous, but in reality, he is very strong Underneath the gentle tone were words of command
Wen Yiming narrowed his eyes, his anger obvious
Zhu Meizhen hurriedly shielded Xu Wen behind her and frowned: ”Comrade Wen, nowadays, even though we don’t talk about parental orders but free love is also a matter of your love and my willingness Ask doesn’t have any thoughts about you in this regard, and a twisted melon isn’t sweet, is it?”
Such Wen Yiming, let Zhu Meizhen heart also some drums
“Quickly run! The law enforcement brigade is coming!”
Small Sixth Street entrance came a commotion, stall vendors, baggage a roll have fled, not big market into a mess
Wen Yiming’s face changed, leaving behind a sentence, “Xu Man, don’t marry Lu Yuanzheng! You will regret it!” Running towards the van
Xu Man couldn’t return the favor, grabbed the chicken on the ground and greeted Zhu Meizhen, “Mom, hurry up!”
If she was caught, the chickens would be confiscated and she would be fined Her family didn’t have the money to pay a fine
Zhu Meizhen in a hurry to take all the things just bought, Wen Yiming do not want her to, anyway, she does not take the law enforcement brigade will also take away
Zhu Meizhen grew up in the commune, familiar with the terrain here, leading Xu asked to take a shortcut to escape
When Xu Man left Sixth Street, he looked back and saw that the van had been surrounded by people from the law enforcement brigade
I don’t know if Wen Yiming is okay