“Mom, you’re amazing! Meng Yue and I came to the countryside in a rush and didn’t even have sanitary pads. Last time, we had to borrow one from a dormitory youth, and we were just thinking of finding a chance to buy some.”
In the production team, asking for leave wasn’t something you could do at will, especially for newly sent-down youths—it was even harder for them.
Hearing “sanitary pads,” Li Shulan suddenly remembered the sanitary napkins she had seen in her soul-state vision before.
Those were much better than the makeshift pads, clean and hygienic. But buying them seemed to require foreign exchange coupons, and they were only sold in big department stores in major cities like Shanghai or Beijing.
She wondered if the Good Mother-in-Law System would reward her for buying them.
“All right. Besides sanitary pads, is there anything else you need, first son’s household?”
“Mom, if you have time, could you also get me some writing paper and envelopes, and some eighth-of-a-yuan ordinary stamps?”
Su Xiao, hearing Meng Yue’s request, immediately understood what she wanted to do.
She looked at their mother-in-law with hopeful eyes, though there was still some worry.
When they were suddenly sent down to the countryside by their parents severing ties, they had no time to prepare anything.
Even the clothes and shoes they brought were city-style cloth pants and small leather shoes, completely unsuitable for fieldwork.
Later, they had to trade with girls their age in the team to get proper clothes and shoes before going into the fields.
Because of this, the villagers all knew that their parents were capitalists and “bad elements.”
Their parents had even publicly announced their disownment in newspapers.
Otherwise, the team might have subjected them to public criticism and struggle sessions.
At the time, their mother-in-law had scolded them, saying people like them should have shaved “yin-yang” hairstyles, live in cow sheds, and endure daily criticism.
Now, if she knew they wanted to write to their parents, would she allow it?
Meng Yue felt a little nervous too.But there was no choice. For such a major life event as marriage, they had to inform their parents, and she wanted to know how things were going for them.
She had learned from chatting with Su Xiao that their parents had been sent to the same place.
Perhaps if she and Su Xiao became sisters-in-law, their families being closer would make things easier.
Li Shulan put down her bowl and said, “You can buy envelopes, writing paper, and stamps, but you can’t send letters in your own names. Write them out for me, and I’ll send them to the first son, who will then forward them to your parents.”
Meng Yue and Su Xiao instantly teared up.
“Mom, thank you!”“Meng Yue, I can finally write to my parents! I can finally write to them, sniffle…”
Su Xiao, after thanking her mother-in-law, couldn’t help but burst into tears.
She was her parents’ only daughter—how could she not worry about them?
Though she smiled all day, for more than a month since the incident and being sent down, she had cried every night in bed.
Her parents had never done farm work, and she couldn’t bear to imagine anything happening to them—she would be heartbroken.
“Don’t call her Meng Yue; call her Eldest Sister-in-Law. No more disrespect,” Li Shulan scolded gently.
“Okay, Eldest Sister-in-Law. Mom, I’m so happy!”
After breakfast, Meng Yue and Su Xiao each brought Li Shulan ten yuan and some vouchers.
“Mom, after discussing it, we’ll give fifteen yuan per month for food. The extra five is for any small items we need you to buy for us,” Meng Yue said.
Li Shulan didn’t refuse.“All right. Remember to clean the table later. I’m going to the town now.”
With that, she set off on her “two-eight” bicycle.
Li Shulan was in a good mood.
After breakfast, the Good Mother-in-Law System even rewarded her with two packs of sanitary pads.
Each pack contained sixteen pieces, just enough for one cycle, so two packs covered two months.
Over the next two months, the system would surely continue rewarding her with pads, so her daughters-in-law wouldn’t run short.
As for herself, probably because of too much work when she was young, she had reached menopause at forty, two years ago, so she didn’t need them.
The Yangjiao Brigade wasn’t far from town—a half-hour bike ride.
Li Shulan first stopped by the supply and marketing cooperative. To her surprise, there was still meat available, so she bought two pounds at once.“Two pounds, total one yuan forty, plus two pounds of meat vouchers.”
She paid using the system-rewarded meat vouchers and money.
Handing over the vouchers made her heart race, worried they wouldn’t work.
When the meat was finally in her hands, she relaxed and became excited.
Feeling happy, she bought plenty of food for her daughters-in-law.
Three pounds each of peach pastries, mung bean cakes, and glutinous rice sticks—one pound per person.
She couldn’t pamper her daughters-in-law and neglect herself.
Now that money wasn’t an issue, there was no need to skimp.
She also bought three sets of sunflower seeds and watermelon seeds—two pounds each—and three pounds of brown sugar.
She even saw apples and small cherries.
Apples were one dime per pound; she bought four pounds, twelve in total, four each.Small cherries were four dimes per pound; she bought three one-pound packs.
She spent twelve yuan fifty in total at the co-op, still using plenty of food and sugar vouchers.The basket she carried was already half full.
As for White Rabbit candy, malted milk powder, and other health supplements, she didn’t buy them—not because she didn’t want to, but they were scarce goods, only available in county or city stores.
Next, she went to the food station and bought ten pounds of flour and twenty pounds of rice, spending four yuan forty plus thirty pounds of grain coupons.
Then she went to the post office, spending four yuan on a small stack of writing paper, twenty envelopes, and twenty stamps.
With all her shopping done, she called her eldest son at the machinery factory.“Hello, is this Red Star Machinery Factory? I’m looking for Engineer Qin Zihai. I’m his mother. Wait ten minutes? Okay, okay.”
After waiting ten minutes, she called again. “Hello, Qin Zihai? There’s nothing wrong at home, the daughters-in-law are fine. I’m calling because I want you to pull some strings and get a flush toilet built at home, like the ones at your factory. Don’t worry, okay? That’s all.”
Although she wasn’t short of money, there was no need to waste it, and her son still had work to do.
With all errands done and shopping complete, Li Shulan didn’t linger in town.
She rode home, planning to make lunch for her daughters-in-law, wondering what the system would reward her this time besides the twenty yuan. Three dumplings hanging in front of her made her look forward to cooking.
She got home before eleven o’clock.Li Shulan first took out the pork, cutting half to cook for today and hanging the rest in the well for preservation.She also fetched three potatoes from the cellar. Today, she planned to make braised pork with potatoes.
Just as she held the potatoes, a woman’s voice suddenly called from outside the yard:“Aunt Lan, I heard Brother Zihai got married—is that true? How could he marry someone else?!”