The Siheyuan of the Young Educated Youth

Qi Feifei: "I came out early in the morning as soon as it got light."

Auntie: "Just you?"

Qi Feifei: "Just me."

Auntie: "The little girl is small, but she is very brave."

"35 jin and 3 liang, a total of 3.53 yuan."

At this time, the chef came out after cooking the dishes. He was chubby and looked nothing like most people of that era. It seemed that the restaurant had plenty of oil and water.

"These mushrooms are really good and fresh, little girl. Feel free to send them to me next time you have them."

Then he gave Qi Feifei three dollars, fifty cents and three cents.

“Aunt Ma, pick out the mushrooms and we’ll be done in a minute.

Xiao Gangzi, go to the front and tell Caifeng that there will be stir-fried pork with pine mushrooms for lunch today."

The young man responded and went to the front hall.

Qi Feifei: "Auntie, I want to buy some meat buns, how much are they?"

Aunt Ma: "A meat bun costs one ounce of grain coupons and one dime. You have to go to the front counter to buy it."

Qi Feifei: "Thank you, auntie."

Qi Feifei went out from the back door and went around to the front door.

I bought 10 big meat buns and spent one yuan per pound of food coupons.

I ordered a bowl of shredded pork and egg noodles, which cost me 32 cents and 2 taels of food coupons.

I put the meat buns in a basket and took them home to eat, and I ate the noodles directly in the restaurant and drank up all the soup.

This was the first lunch she had since her rebirth.

There is meat, eggs, noodles and soup, which is very satisfying.

Qi Feifei had eaten and drunk her fill, but at noon, when the post office was still closed, she went to the grain store to look around. But she didn't have a grain book, and even if she had grain coupons, they wouldn't sell them to her.

I heard there was a black market, but she had always worked in the mountains in her previous life. She really didn't know where it was.

Fortunately, the town was not big, so she strolled around slowly and observed.

There was a place where there were many traces of ox carts and horse carriages parked, as well as some bricks and stones. It was obvious that they were where the vendors sat while waiting to sell their goods.

It looks like a bookstore, and there are cleaners cleaning it.

Qi Feifei walked over and greeted the cleaning man.

"Excuse me, is this a market?"

The cleaning man stopped what he was doing, straightened up and looked at her.

"Girl, is this your first time here?"

Qi Feifei smiled shyly, "I live in the mountains, and this is my first time here."

The cleaning man was very kind: "Miss, you asked the right person.

This is a farmers market.

This is where the production team sells vegetables, brooms, brushes, mats, baskets, piglets, chickens, ducks, etc. You can come here. It's a few cents more expensive than the supply and marketing cooperative, but you have to wait, and if you can't sell it all, you have to take it back. What do you want to buy, girl?"

Qi Feifei: "I want to buy some rice or rice bran."

Uncle cleaner: "You are here too late. Others start arriving at 5 or 6 o'clock and leave at 11 or 12 o'clock in the morning.

Rice is not for sale. If you want to buy rice bran, you can go into an alley ahead. Go inside and you will see the rice mill. Most people take the rice bran home for their own use.

But there is some leftover from the machines and some from sweeping the walls and floors. You can go and ask."

Qi Feifei: "Uncle, do you know where I can buy eggs around here? My sister-in-law is in confinement after childbirth and needs eggs urgently."

The cleaning man looked around and saw that there was no one around. He whispered, "If you want to buy, you have to come early. There are markets every first and seventh day. At six or seven in the morning, when there are many people, some farmers come to sell eggs. There are usually ten or eight in a shift."

Those who dare to carry more eggs are buying them and it is difficult to bargain for the price.

But those people have ways to get good stuff, but it’s expensive.”

Qi Feifei: "Can't you find those people normally? I need them urgently, so a little more expensive is fine."

Qi Feifei stuffed the two remaining pieces of candy from the last time she bought into the old man's hand.

"You have a sweet mouth."

The cleaning man was a little embarrassed: "This, this..."

Thinking of his little grandson at home, he clenched his hands again.

"I just saw them enter the alley behind the school, but I don't know which house they went to."

Qi Feifei: "Thank you, sir. I'll find it myself. Thank you."

Qi Feifei went to the rice mill first. There was a rice mill that had just finished grinding and was cleaning up. They were grinding coarse rice. The rice grains were golden and shiny. It was really good rice.

Qi Feifei: "Big brother, can you give me some of your rice bran? I have a few chickens and need some rice bran."

This is quite common. Many workers in the town raise a few chickens in their yards and feed them with rice bran.

The big brother who was loading the grits was quite easy to talk to.

"A few pounds is fine, but no more. I have some at home waiting to be used."

Qi Feifei was very happy. "Okay, a few pounds will do. Thank you, big brother. My chicken doesn't need much. A few pounds will do. How much per pound?"

Big Brother: "Two cents a pound."

As agreed, Qi Feifei found that he didn't have a bag to put the bran in.

She had no choice but to ask the man at the rice mill if he could sell her a sack, even if it was torn.

The people at the rice mill are pretty nice too, sometimes when someone loses a bag on the road, he'll lend it to them or sell it to them.

I found one with a hole and tied the hole with a hemp rope.

"You can't put much in it, so this holey one is enough. Give me a dime."

Qi Feifei bought a torn sack and ten pounds of bran from his elder brother, spending a total of thirty cents.

Then he discussed with the eldest brother in the rice mill: "Brother, can you please save the bran for me if you meet someone selling it? I will come to get it later. My home is far away. I will come next time when there is market. Is that ok?"

The big brother in the rice mill said: "It's hard to say whether there are people selling bran here. Wait until autumn, when the pigs have been handed in and the new grain comes in. Only then will it be easy to buy bran."

Qi Feifei: "Please keep an eye on it for me. I will definitely take it if there is any. I will come over every once in a while. I have always wanted to raise two pigs, but I just don't have bran to feed them, and I don't dare to catch piglets. If I can have bran, I will dare to catch them."

When Qi Feifei saw the brother who was grinding corn grits had left, he spoke frankly.

"I won't let you work in vain. I'll come and bring you fish next time."

The eldest brother in the rice mill: "Okay, no matter what fish it is, just don't let me keep it and don't come to take it."

Qi Feifei was very generous and gave him two dollars at that time.

"More refunds, less supplements. We'll take whatever we can. If it's not enough, I'll make it up for you when I get here."

The big brother in the rice mill saw that the little girl was young and could do the job well. Anyway, if she didn't come to take it, there would be no chaff left, so he took the money and said, "Okay, I'll keep it for you. Come and see me when you go to the market."

Qi Feifei talked to the boss at the rice mill and went to the post office. She had been walking around for so long and it was almost time.

When we arrived at the post office, it was already open. There were two rooms, one for remittances, telegrams, and phone calls, and the other for receiving and sending parcels.

Qi Feifei took the parcel list and carried out a large package.

I didn't even open it and went to school with the package. The school was on summer vacation and there was no one inside except the teacher on duty.

Qi Feifei walked to the middle of the school's Fangshan flowers and green trees and saw that no one entered the courtyard on the weekend.

The buns were placed in the kitchen and the rice bran was placed in the southwest corner of the yard.

I opened the package and found that the contents were the same as Baisha described.