Early morning.
On this day, Zhao Yi again did not go to work, instead heading back into the mountains.
From what Li Dequan had implied yesterday, Zhao Yi could rest for several days. Handling his own matters first would allow him to work better later.
Following the trail of markers, Zhao Yi found the patch of wild grapes.
After filling his backpack basket with wild grapes, Zhao Yi hurried back home.
When he returned home,
Zhang Jing was already busy in the yard making cotton-padded clothes.
"Husband, why did you pick so many wild grapes?" Zhang Jing asked curiously, though her hands never stopped working.
"Bringing them back to make wine. Probably can sell it for twenty cents per jin," Zhao Yi joked.
Wild grape wine was quite tasty, but few people would spend money to buy it. City folks didn't recognize this stuff—it was more like soda to them, though soda didn't taste like this.
Zhao Yi only planned to brew a small amount. The rest he would sun-dry and take to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to see if they would buy them.
After washing the wild grapes, he plucked them from the stems and placed them one by one into jars.
When the jars were nearly full, he used a pestle to crush the grapes inside, added cooled boiled water, poured in the white sugar he had Zhang Jing buy, and then sealed the jars.
He placed them in a corner of the kitchen to rest for about a month.
After that, he would filter out the residue with cheesecloth and let the grape juice sit for another half month before it was ready.
Many people in the village knew how to make it, but since sugar was expensive, they never made much. They would bring it out during holidays for the children to drink together.
Though called wine, it was more like a beverage—sour and sweet, with a particularly good flavor.
"Anyone in the village who wants to drink it would go pick their own from the mountains. Who would you sell it to?" Zhang Jing chuckled teasingly, then lowered her head to focus on her work.
"Let's give it a try. What if we can sell it?" Zhao Yi said with a laugh.
This was one possible avenue. If it worked out, they could make more every year at this time. If it didn't sell, they could always keep it for themselves to drink.
Zhang Jing didn't concern herself with how Zhao Yi handled it. After all, household decisions were his to make.
Not long after, Zhao Yi went into the mountains again, returning with another basket full of wild grapes.
He cleaned out the storage room thoroughly and set up several simple five-tiered wooden racks. On each tier, he spread out winnowing baskets filled with the washed wild grapes. There were several main methods for making raisins: air-drying, sun-drying, and oven-drying.
Zhao Yi planned to use oven-drying to shorten the time needed to turn the grapes into raisins.
The storage room maintained good ventilation, and since it was summer, the temperature inside would be even higher with two charcoal braziers.
"What are you busy with?" Su Hong asked cheerfully as she walked into Zhao Yi's yard. It was nearly evening.
"Making raisins from the wild grapes I picked in the mountains," Zhao Yi replied without hiding anything. It wasn't anything unusual.
"I didn't know Comrade Zhao had such skills. When they're ready, save some for me to try," Su Hong said with a smile.
"Definitely," Zhao Yi nodded. This was his family's benefactor—buying fish, paying for errands—earning him over ten yuan a month from her. She was truly a golden goose.
Finding a job with a steady income was extremely difficult. Now, just by catching some fish for her, he could earn such a good income. If that wasn't a golden opportunity, what was?
Zhang Jing set down her work and walked toward the riverbank. She collected the fish trap, carried the fish back to the yard, and picked the largest one to hand to Su Hong.
"How much do I still owe for the fish here?"
Su Hong looked at Zhao Yi and Zhang Jing as she asked.
"We don’t charge by the weight—each fish is at least around three jin, and we only charge you fifty cents a day. Today is the sixth day," Zhao Yi said cheerfully.
On the first day, the fish Zhao Yi sold to Su Hong weighed nearly six jin, and today’s fish was at least four jin. She was a long-term, valuable customer, and even if they took a small loss, they hoped she would keep coming back.
"Alright, here’s five yuan—for ten more days."
Su Hong handed five yuan to Zhang Jing, smiled, and hurried off toward the cowshed not far from the slope.
Zhang Jing took the five yuan, beamed at Zhao Yi, then went inside and tucked the money away in a small cabinet.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yi went to the backyard to prepare charcoal.
It would take at least four or five days to dry the wild grapes, and during that time, the temperature inside had to be kept from dropping too low.
After finishing these preparations, their lives returned to normal. Each day, they worked alongside the other Commune Members.
After work, Zhao Yi would go into the mountains to gather firewood for making charcoal. At noon and again at night, he would add more steel charcoal to maintain the heat.
Zhang Jing, after work, busied herself making cotton-padded clothes and shoes for the winter.
Over a week passed.
The raisins were fully dried. Zhao Yi tasted one and found the flavor quite good—sweet and tangy.
"Wife, try this and see what you think."
Zhao Yi grabbed a handful and passed it to Zhang Jing.
"Mmm, it’s delicious, though it took some effort to make."
Zhang Jing ate one and nodded repeatedly.
In an era with little entertainment and few snacks, this sweet-and-sour treat was irresistible once tasted.
"Educated Youth Su, you’re here! Try these and see how you like them. If you enjoy them, take some more back to snack on."
Zhao Yi scooped up a handful and offered it to Su Hong.
"Not bad, not bad! I didn’t expect Comrade Zhao to be so skilled."
Su Hong ate one and nodded repeatedly, then couldn’t stop herself from eating one after another.
Zhao Yi quickly went inside, brought out a small clay jar—originally made by his grandfather for storing salt—and filled it to the brim before handing it to Su Hong.
The jar could hold about five or six jin.
"How much do I owe?" Su Hong asked, looking at Zhao Yi.
"How could I charge for something like this? It didn’t take much effort. If you finish these and want more, just come by and take some," Zhao Yi said generously.
She was already letting them earn over ten yuan a month—this small gift was nothing. If she ate it all, he could simply make more. Aside from the time spent, it cost nothing.
Labor wasn’t worth much anyway.
Hearing this, Su Hong nodded. She hadn’t expected Zhao Yi and Zhang Jing to be so generous. Every time, the fish they gave her weighed at least four jin, and Su Hong was no fool—she knew fish usually cost twenty-five cents per jin.
It was clear they were looking out for her. Now they were even giving her snacks. After all this time interacting, she knew they weren’t the type to take advantage of others.
Dawn broke.
Zhao Yi found several newspapers at Li Dequan's house, carefully lining his bamboo basket with multiple layers of newspaper before gingerly packing the raisins inside. He then covered them with a clean, worn-out piece of clothing.
"Be careful on your way, dear."
Zhang Jing saw Zhao Yi off into the mountains before reluctantly turning back home.
Zhao Yi was carrying these raisins to the city's Supply and Marketing Cooperative to inquire if they would purchase them. If they were interested, he planned to make more while the season lasted.