Raising Children in a Reconstituted Family [1960s] - CHAPTER 5

Although the dirt road was difficult to walk on, the journey was not long. The mother and her two daughters arrived at the main street of the commune in about half an hour. The large supply and marketing cooperative, with eight rooms in a row was much larger than their brigade.

It was the first time for the two little sisters of the Han Family to come to the commune. They were very curious of the shabby supply and marketing cooperative, and the grain and oil station there. Together, they carried a basket of eggs that their mother had conjured up and followed her into the gate of the supply and marketing cooperative.

“Comrade, how can we exchange eggs?”

A middle-aged man at the grocery counter looked up when he heard the voice and said, “One pound of eggs can be exchanged for three pounds of salt or half a pound of lard. There is no meat today, so I can’t exchange it.”

In this small place, the supply of meat is scarce, and it is basically out of stock. The most common thing people exchange eggs for is salt. A family can only feed a few chickens, so they have to save the salt and exchange it for daily necessities such as baskets, kang mats, and wooden barrels.

“Can I exchange it for industrial coupons and money?”

The man looked at her as if she were a fool. He thought; Why don’t you go to the black market or go door-to-door to ask for industrial coupons and money? Why did you come to this supply and marketing cooperative for this? Are you stupid?

“No.”

This guy not only had a dark face, but also spoke in a harsh tone. Gu Yan was so angry that her liver hurt. Damn it, all my things are time-honored and cannot be taken out, otherwise would I still need your little melons and dates. If you don’t want to exchange it, then don’t exchange it, what’s the big deal.

She got angry and walked out of the supply and marketing cooperative. The two children followed closely behind her. The two girls had eaten a lot of delicious food today, and their mouths were still filled with the fragrance of eggs. So they were not hungry or greedy, and just followed their mother around.

Standing on this dusty street, she couldn’t help but feel a little discouraged. She remembered that she had exchanged eggs for something, but the seller didn’t have what she wanted. What should she do now? She was really worried as she carried the bag in her hand.

The two children had developed the habit of judging people’s expressions since childhood, and they were very good at it. Seeing their mother’s stern face as if she was unhappy, the two stood behind her in silence, trying to reduce their presence as much as possible.

The sky was still gloomy, but the rain had stopped, and more people were walking on the road. A middle-aged woman came out of the supply and marketing cooperative and glanced at them secretly, then turned back after walking a few meters. She looked around and approached her quietly.

“Would you like to exchange children’s old clothes?” Seeing that she was stunned and silent, the woman looked at the two thinly dressed children behind her and muttered softly, “In fact, they are all good things. Our eldest uncle is a leader in the big city, and my husband went to get them back last year. It’s a pity that there is no such young child at home, otherwise I would not be willing to exchange them.”

“Yes, I want to exchange.” She quickly grabbed the woman’s hand and smiled as she regained her composure from her daydreaming. “I can exchange for all the old clothes and quilts.”

Every time a market is held, in which there are people selling second-hand clothes, which are actually second-hand goods that haven’t been sold for unknown periods of time. She was just now calculating how long it would take for the next market to be held, but she didn’t expect that she would be delivered a pillow just when she was sleepy.

“Then let’s go.”

Barter or rural fairs are not considered as speculation, so they did not dodge and followed the woman into the alley.

Gu Yan followed her into a courtyard with two entrances, carefully avoiding the puddles on the ground, and walked around the flower wall into the innermost house.

“Sit down, sister, would you like some water? I’ll pour you some.” People in this era are quite welcoming, and the public security is quite good without the floating population. People don’t have the defensiveness and alienation of later generations.

“No, I don’t want water.”

“Then wait here, I’ll get you the things.” The woman said as she left the house. She had just checked the eggs secretly, and they were all fresh, unlike the last time she went to the market, when the eggs she brought were all stale and some were rotten.

Gu Yan sat on the edge of the kang with her belly bulging, and the two children sat obediently on the small stools on the ground. The mother and her two children looked around, but were very polite and did not move. In less than three minutes, the woman returned again, followed by another woman of the same age. Both of them held few bundles in their hands.

“This is our neighbor. She has some stuff for little girls. Would you like to exchange it?”

Gu Yan nodded. The woman noticed the bag in her hand and pulled her closer to ask, “How many months long are you? Are you going to give birth soon?”

“Yeah, almost there.”

“Oh, your belly is quite big, are you having twins?”

Hearing this, both the ladies turned their eyes to the sisters on the stools. Gu Yan smiled and shook her head: “I don’t know, maybe.”

“It’s not easy to raise two children at once, especially these days. The harvest was poor last year, and this year is worse than last year. We don’t get much after paying the public grain. Which brigade are you from? Is the harvest similar to that of the commune?”

“The commune of Kono Brigade is only a few miles long, and the harvests are almost the same.”

“Oh!” Everyone in the commune knew about it, and the women even sighed, “It’s lost half of its harvest. Life is so hard.”

“Yes, that’s why I thought of exchanging some clothes in preparation. my children were only wearing thin clothes, and they felt very cold at night.”

Returning to the topic, the two women put away the pity on their faces, opened the bundle and took out the things. The first one was two thin jackets, the color was pale, and it felt a little cottony when she touched it. Only the cuffs were patched, and the rest was fine. Those jackets were not bad.

“It’s just right for one person, what do you think?”

“Okay.” She had plenty of supplies, so exchanging them with others was a disguised form of help, so she didn’t bargain at all. “How do you think we can exchange them?”

“I estimate that your eggs weigh 100 kilograms, which is less than three yuan. I will give you these two sets of old clothes, is that okay?”

After calculating in her mind, she realized that this sister-in-law was a down-to-earth person. She nodded and said, “Anything else? I still have two pairs of pillowcases and a bed sheet.”

As she spoke, she took out the things in the bag. The old hat that was despised in later generations was collected together with the supplies. The delicate workmanship and materials were definitely good things in that era.

“Oh, this pillowcase is really nice, the colors and patterns are so lively.” The woman who came in later praised it, “My nephew is getting married, and he has a stable job. I was wondering what to buy as a gift. This is really a pillow that was sent to me when I was sleepy. I want both the pillowcase and the bed sheet.”

The people living in this courtyard all have stable jobs in the commune, otherwise they wouldn’t have such great abilities. Gu Yan happened to come across the right place by accident.

“I have a little quilt for a child, and a piece of cotton cloth inside, and some little clothes. Look…”

Everything was old. The quilt was patched, and the neatly sewn patch at the top was all broken. The cotton was hardened when she touched it. The wrapping cloth and clothes were also old and white. The best cotton cloth nowadays was only 25 cent. Plus, pure cotton is not wear-resistant, and it looked even more sparse. She probably felt embarrassed to exchange for something so bright, so she smiled shyly before she finished her words.

“Or, I’ll give you another one of my old clothes.”

Gu Yan pretended to hesitate for a while and nodded. The other party did not ask her where these things came from, so she saved herself the trouble of explaining. She had a lot of these things in her space, but she didn’t dare to take them out in her current situation. She had no choice but to replace them with old ones.

After wrapping the old things into a big bag, she stood up and said with a smile: “Don’t tell anyone about what happened today, especially the pillowcases and bedsheets.”

Her bedsheets were made of 40-cent long-staple cotton, which is beyond the reach of today’s technology. But she was not a professional, so she just thought it was good, and she probably couldn’t say exactly what was good about it.

The two women had experience and nodded when they heard it. “Don’t worry, I promise I won’t tell. If anyone asks, just say that the eggs were exchanged.”

The two girls each grabbed a corner of their mother’s clothes and left the house with the big bag. When they were almost out, Gu Yan remembered the newspaper and had to turn around again.

“By the way, sister-in-law, do you know where I can get some newspapers?”

“For what? To paste them on wall?”

“Um.”

The woman hesitated for a moment, her eyes flashing with reluctance. “Big sister, can you get me some wool?”

I’m talking about newspapers, why are you pulling wool? After a moment, Gu Yan understood and said, “Sure, how much do you want?”

“Can you really get it?”

“Yes, what color do you want?”

“Red. If you can get me two pounds, I’ll give you two stacks of newspapers for free.”

Gu Yan nodded, indicating that it was no problem. The woman asked nervously and expectantly, “When can we get it? And what do you want in exchange? Money, tickets, or…”

It would be best if she could exchange old clothes. Her family has three relatives with stable jobs, and they are all very well off. They often give them some old clothes. They are not short of them.

“Old clothes will do.”

“Okay, Thank you.” The woman smiled happily, and did not bother to ask whether the promise was true or not. She happily handed her a large stack of old newspapers and gave each of the two children a piece of fruit candy.

Although the two children were very greedy, they didn’t take it without their mother’s approval. Facing the children’s eager eyes, she smiled and let them take it.

After the three of them left, the woman who bought the bedsheets whispered to the other woman: “This stuff seems to be from the north. How can she get it here?”

“Who knows? We are a million miles away from the north. This woman is not simple.”

“Yes. But why does she want old things instead of money or tickets?”

“Who knows… What a weird person.”

Ignoring the speculations of outsiders, as soon as Gu Yan and her children left the commune, raindrops began to fall again. People who were getting food ran back, holding their rice bowls. Smelling the hot rice, the two children swallowed their saliva subconsciously.

The taste of corn mixed with sorghum is actually very similar to pig feed in the future. But for people who are starving every day, this thing is also very fragrant.

“Are you hungry?”

“No. Mom, do we need to exchange anything else?”

“… Forget it, we’ll talk about it next time. … Why did you two put your straw hats on the bag?” After asking, she wanted to swallow the words back. As it was raining a little, and the children were afraid that the things in the bag would get wet. So they put them on it.

“We are afraid of it getting wet.”

“Hurry up and go. Don’t wait for Mom. Go hide under that old elm tree.”

The two children hesitated for a moment, and she took a step forward, “Mom is following.”

The two girls nodded and ran away with their short legs. The old elm tree had thick branches and dense leaves, so the little rain wouldn’t leak down at all. The bag was full of treasures, so they couldn’t get it wet.