“Auntie, would you like to buy some wild boar meat?”
The meat seller was a young man, dark-skinned with an honest face.
Seeing someone approach, he hurriedly asked with enthusiasm.
“This is wild boar meat?”
Zhang Aihua was taken aback for a moment, but she didn’t overthink it.
No matter what kind of meat it was, as long as it was meat, it was fine.
These days, who wasn’t craving meat?
When there was a chance to buy meat, who would be foolish enough to let it slip by?
She just didn’t know why those people nearby weren’t coming over to buy some.
“It’s wild boar meat, killed just last night.”
“Do you want some?”
“But this wild boar meat of mine doesn’t require ration coupons.”
Hearing that no ration coupons were needed, Zhang Aihua knew this meat would come at a price.
And the price was surely high, otherwise others wouldn’t have passed it up.
“I want some Western medicine for treating colds. Do you have any?”
“If you have cold medicine, I’ll exchange this whole piece of meat at market price.”
So that was it—the young man needed medicine.
But how would Zhang Aihua have any?
Although there was still some oxytetracycline at home, that was kept in case of emergencies for her own family.
These days, medicine was hard to come by.
To buy medicine, you had to get a referral letter from the brigade and bring the patient in person for a visit.
The doctor would only prescribe a tiny amount each time—just enough to finish the course and recover.
The dosage could only be less, never more.
Some barefoot doctors’ bitter herbal decoctions, on the other hand, could be supplied in unlimited quantities.
She just didn’t know why this young man wouldn’t go to a local herbalist and insisted on Western medicine instead.
Ordinary folks wouldn’t go to the hospital privately—most would seek out a local herbalist. Only when there was truly no other way would they go to the hospital.
“Looks like we won’t be able to eat this meat after all.”
Just as Zhang Aihua said this, she turned her head and saw the burning look in Lin Jiaojiao’s eyes.
She swallowed the rest of her sentence.
“Jiaojiao, do you really want to eat this wild boar meat? If you really do, I’ll go back and get the oxytetracycline.”
These days, there were only a few kinds of medicine for treating illness. Zhang Aihua didn’t hesitate anymore.
“No need, I happen to have some on me.”
“A neighbor of mine who’s a doctor gave it to me before I came to the countryside.”
“Young man, see if these will work?”
Lin Jiaojiao took out two paper packets—oxytetracycline and analgin.
The oxytetracycline was scavenged from the original host’s home, while the analgin came from the Space.
When the young man saw these two medicines, his eyes went wide.
And there were plenty of pills—definitely enough to treat a cold with some left over.
“Enough, enough.”
“Big sister, I’ll count these medicines as 10 yuan, and you can pay for the rest with ration coupons!”
As the young man spoke, he turned and pulled out another large piece of pork hind leg from the basket on his back.
Plus the one on the stall.
The two most delicious hind legs of the wild boar were all here.
If taken home and properly cured, it would definitely be enough to eat until the New Year.
Zhang Aihua’s eyes lit up too.
She hadn’t expected there to be so much.
She couldn’t let Lin Jiaojiao pay, so she took charge of the accounting from there.
Lin Jiaojiao only contributed the two medicines.
“Young man, my one basket can’t hold it all. Can you give me your basket too?”
The young man was very agreeable—the basket was old anyway, so giving it away was no big deal.
The two of them bought two pork hind legs, putting one in each basket, tied to either side of the bicycle’s rear rack.
Now Lin Jiaojiao couldn’t sit on the back anymore.
But neither of them cared—even walking back wouldn’t be a problem.
If it really came down to it, they could send the things back first, then come back to pick up the others.
Zhang Aihua wasn’t worried—such a small matter wouldn’t stump her.
“Jiaojiao, let’s go!”
“Buying this much stuff is way too conspicuous. If we stay any longer, someone with ill intentions might take notice.”
Zhang Aihua pushed the bicycle, feeling it was considerably heavier than before.
She didn’t dare linger any longer at the market, wanting only to get the things home as soon as possible.
If they were spotted by thieves and robbed halfway, she—a woman with a young girl in tow—would be no match for a group like that.
“Alright.”
“If only the brothers were here, then we could browse a bit longer.”
At that, Zhang Aihua had an idea.
“Your uncle’s here too. How about we send the things to him?”
Hearing that the Daduizhang had come, leaving the things with him would indeed be safer.
So the two left the market and hurried toward the post office.
The county post office had a dedicated telephone.
Though every minute cost money, and not cheaply either.
Especially around here—whether the call was long or short, the starting price was a whole yuan.
So not many people made calls.
By the time the two arrived at the post office, the Daduizhang was already walking out.
Seeing his furrowed brow, it seemed he’d run into some trouble.
Zhang Aihua naturally knew what the man had come for, so she stepped up and asked.
“How did it go?”
Seeing his wife and daughter, the gloom on the Daduizhang’s face vanished in an instant.
He immediately broke into a smile and said to them.
“You traded for this much stuff?”
“Let me take a look—what did you buy?”
The Daduizhang reached to lift the cloth covering the basket on the back of the bicycle, but his wife slapped his hand away.
“What nonsense are you talking?”
“We went to visit relatives, and they gave us a few things. Nothing valuable—nothing worth looking at.”
Zhang Aihua’s eyes swept the surroundings, making sure no one was paying attention to them, before lowering her voice.
“Jiaojiao and I traded for an old hen and two big wild boar legs.”
“We’re worried someone might try to rob us on the way, so you need to take these home.”
The Daduizhang, having managed the villagers for years, carried an imposing presence.
Ordinary folk wouldn’t dare mess with him.
“Alright then, I’ll take these home and come back to pick you two up.”
“If you want to browse more, go ahead—I’ll be quick.”
With that, the Daduizhang took the bicycle and rode off toward home.
Lin Jiaojiao and Zhang Aihua, meanwhile, returned to the market.
This time, they’d dressed up a bit, each buying a headscarf to wear.
Even half their faces were wrapped up inside—as long as no one looked too closely, they shouldn’t be recognized.
Zhang Aihua even turned her jacket inside out; luckily, it was made to be reversible, so it didn’t hinder her at all.
Back at the market, the auntie who’d sold the old hen and the young man who’d sold the wild boar legs were already gone.
But a few more stalls had appeared.
“Homegrown pears—want some?”
Passing a stall, the vendor called out in a low voice.
“Uncle, are these pears sweet?”
Lin Jiaojiao crouched down, picked one up, and examined it carefully.
“Girl, I wouldn’t cheat you—these pears are on the sweet-and-sour side.”
“But rest assured, sweetness makes up most of it—they’re absolutely delicious.”
As he spoke, the old man picked out a small one, cut it open with a knife, and let the two of them taste it.
“It really is like that older man said—though it has a bit of a sour taste, it’s not bad at all.”
Lin Jiaojiao picked out a few and put them into the cloth bag she had gotten from Daduizhang earlier.
“This is too heavy, let me carry it.”
A few pears weren’t worth much money, so Zhang Aihua didn’t argue with her over paying.
The two continued walking forward.
Soon they came upon a place selling bowls and chopsticks.
Lin Jiaojiao squatted down again, thinking that ever since she arrived at Daduizhang’s house, she had used quite a lot of their resources.
As a result, the bowls and chopsticks at home had become somewhat scarce.
Now that she had come across some, it was a good opportunity to pick out a few she liked and buy them to bring back.