At the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, there was a limit on how much fabric one could buy. Even with money and ration coupons, they wouldn’t sell more. After much persuasion, Su Qing managed to buy only five meters of fabric. As she stepped out, she scratched her head in frustration.
Just as she was feeling thoroughly irritated, a shifty-eyed young man appeared before her, grinning at her.
“What’re you staring at? Trying to harass me?”
The young man’s mouth twitched, and it took him a moment to collect himself. “Auntie, you sure know how to joke. You’re old enough to be my great-grandma—what would I want with harassing you? I saw you in the Supply and Marketing Cooperative just now. Didn’t you want to buy fabric? How about I take you somewhere?”
Su Qing blinked. Could it be the Black Market?
“Where exactly? Young man, don’t do anything foolish. This old lady has six sons at home. If you dare trick me, my boys will pound you into mincemeat.”
“Heh, Auntie, you’re sure wary. The place I’m taking you has everything. You can buy whatever you want, but you’ll have to pay me twenty cents as a referral fee.”
“Payment after we get there. How do I know you’re not lying? This old lady is in fine form—just the other day, I jumped into the river and saved someone. If you try to cheat me, watch out or I’ll knock your block off.”
The young man flushed red at Su Qing’s words. Older folks really had no filter.
After winding through several alleys, they arrived at a lane lined with vendors selling vegetables, fruits, biscuits, candies, and snacks. Not far away, a peddler with a shoulder pole was hawking game meat, and there was also a butcher stall.
“Whoa, this place is great. Here’s your money, young man. This old lady spoke out of turn earlier. Now hurry up and take me to where they sell fabric.”
“Sure thing, right this way.”
Finally seeing the town’s Black Market, Su Qing mentally calculated the value of the fruits in her Space. In these times, fruit was a luxury, especially the fresh, juicy ones grown in the black soil of her Space—they were sure to fetch a good price.
With money in hand, she directly bought two bolts of fabric—one black, one navy blue. Spotting a large pig’s head at the butcher’s stall, she thought it over and decided to take it. Her Space’s convenience store sold liquor, and she figured she’d cook a nice meal that evening to treat the Wang family ancestors.
Maybe she’d even unlock a new shop tonight. Passing by a locked Mala Tang Restaurant, she felt a fierce craving.
Impressed by her lavish spending, the young man recommended other items. She bought fifty eggs and placed an order for a batch of cotton, planning to return for it once they had gathered enough.
All her purchases were packed into a backpack basket. When the young man lifted it, he staggered and nearly fell. Turning around, he saw Su Qing deftly take the basket and hoist it securely onto her back, then stride away briskly.
His eyes widened in shock. For an old lady her age to walk so swiftly—she was remarkably spry.
Catching the noon ox-cart back to the village, she spotted Wang Yongqiang waiting for her from afar. She waved him over and, once he was close, transferred all her goods into his backpack basket.
“Good heavens, Mother! How much did you buy? I can’t carry this!”
“You foolish child!”
Wang Yongqiang, caught off guard, swung the basket onto his back with such force that he stumbled and fell flat on his face, his mouth hitting the mud and filling with filth.
Su Qing was startled. Thankfully, she had caught the basket in time, or the eggs inside would have been smashed to bits.
“Yongqiang, it’s not that your mother is criticizing you, but why is your physique so weak? You were clamoring for me to find you a wife before, but if you really married, wouldn’t that be unfair to the girl?”
“Mom, what, what do you mean? Are you saying I’m, I’m not capable?”
Su Qing gave him a disdainful look. He was practically groveling to Zhao Su’e, and today she had personally witnessed Zhao Su’e flirting with a young man. Their relationship was clearly more than casual.
Her foolish son kept scavenging things to give to her. Hmph, after all that fawning, he was still just a backup option—barely even that.
“Hurry home. I bought you a pair of Double Star shoes—haven’t you been wanting them?”
“Really, Mom? Mom, you’re so good to me.”
Wang Yongqiang chuckled twice. With new shoes, he even forgot about his injuries, his chin unconsciously lifting high. It had been a long time since he hung out with his buddies. Now that the fieldwork was mostly done, he could soon take a break and show off his new shoes. His friends would be so envious.
Checking the time, it was probably too late for a good lunch, but dinner was still possible.
In the afternoon, Zhou Chunxia efficiently cleaned the large and small intestines. The Wang family members all swallowed their saliva at the sight of the offal their mother had brought back. The aroma of last time’s braised meat still lingered in their minds, and now they were about to enjoy it again.
With nothing to do in the afternoon, Su Qing cut the two bolts of cloth into nine portions, saving some for her three daughters to take back to their in-laws when they visited.
Following Su Qing’s instructions, Zhou Chunxia prepared the braised pig’s head: she sliced a plate of pig’s ears and tossed them with soy sauce, mashed garlic, and cucumber into a large cold dish. Another cold dish mixed pig’s head meat with blanched kelp strips and wild vegetables, seasoned with the braising sauce for a delicious flavor.
She simmered a large pot of bone broth and steamed a pot of hearty rice.
Even the chef, Zhou Chunxia, was drooling while cooking this meal.
By dinnertime, the Wang family—adults and children alike—had eagerly taken their seats with chopsticks in hand, waiting only for the matriarch to emerge from her room and give the signal to start the feast.
After a long wait, the old lady finally came out carrying a basket. When the familiar small bundle was placed on the table, Wang Weidong and Liu Aijun held their breath.
Was their mother not planning to distribute anything to their branch of the family this time?
“Getting impatient, are you? Hehehe, everyone has been doing well lately. Today, I went to town and bought you all a bottle of liquor. Have a couple of drinks tonight to relax.”
She pulled two bottles of Quanxing Baijiu from the basket.
Wang Baoguo’s eyes widened, and he swallowed hard in disbelief.
“Besides that, I also bought labor protection shoes for the eldest and second son in town. Yongqiang is young, so I got him Double Stars. The salesperson at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative wouldn’t let me buy more. Next time I go to town, I’ll get pairs for the third, sixth, and seventh sons too. Oh, and here’s the cloth I bought—seven and a third meters per family, plus two yuan for each household. Take it back and divide it as you see fit.”
As the small bundles were handed out one by one, praises filled the air. With Su Qing’s command of “Let’s eat,” the Wang family’s dinner began.
Liu Aijun and Wang Weidong were both extremely anxious. They never expected to receive the same share of belongings as the other branches of the family. Ever since they had brought up the idea of dividing the family property last time, their lives at home had become unbearable.
Though the family saw each other constantly, the words exchanged were sharp enough to pierce one’s heart. Whenever they dared to talk back, they were immediately met with sarcasm.
“Can’t stand it? Then go ahead with the division! Didn’t you bring it up with the old lady a long time ago?”
Wang Weidong knew his brothers were resentful, and he instinctively assumed that his mother had also taken it to heart. Now, watching his wife holding that small bundle, he felt increasingly that he was nothing but a disgrace.