Chapter 274 Bicycles Take the Open Road

After New Year's Day, two more boys in the class stopped coming. There were thirty students in the class when school started, but in the past six months, about ten have stopped attending classes one after another. The remaining half are also struggling to make ends meet.

That's how it is these days. The gap between rich and poor isn't that big, and everyone's situation is pretty much the same, unless your family has two or more working parents. But even if you have many workers and many children, once you average it out, the difference won't be that much.

The saying "a half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home" is absolutely true, especially in times when there was little oil in the diet. Drinking thin gruel every day would eventually cause health problems, so you had to have some solid food from time to time to maintain the body's basic balance.

It's one thing if he's not home, but when he is home on the weekend, she heard her husband call her name at least four times a day.

"Mom, I'm hungry!"

It's no exaggeration to say that the meals they ate daily were barely enough to fill their stomachs, and they would get hungry again after a short while.

If she didn't have the opportunity to cheat, she probably would have been like the guy, shouting eight hundred times a day.

This year, the Lunar New Year is relatively late; Lunar New Year's Eve will be on February 14th of the Gregorian calendar.

Given their high school lifestyle, they probably won't get their winter break until around the 25th or 26th of the twelfth lunar month.

The young man is now in his final year of junior high school, and his treatment is probably similar to hers.

The classroom in winter was almost an icebox, if not an icebox. The worst part was that there wasn't even a stove. At least rural kids could use firewood to light a stove, but who in the city would be willing to donate coal briquettes to the class? So everyone's face, ears, and hands were red from the cold.

If anyone's shoes were any thinner, getting frostbite wouldn't be surprising at all.

Xiao Jiu always carries her snake oil ointment with her and applies it whenever she wants. She's also generous with her roommates, handing them horse oil sticks to apply to their chapped hands or faces.

The weather in the north is dry. A little snow makes it a bit better, but if it doesn't snow and the wind blows, your hands, feet, and face will easily become dry and cracked, which is very uncomfortable.

The school knows that the current conditions are not good, so they can only boil as much hot water as possible, and students go to the water room to get hot water as soon as get out of class is over.

Xiao Jiu never had to worry about these things, because her roommates had already thoughtfully brought water bottles into the classroom and poured some for her so she could hold the teacup to warm her hands.

How fortunate I am to have such united and loving roommates during this difficult time, not a single one of them is a troublemaker. I couldn't be happier.

I hope I'll be this lucky when I go to university.

However, judging from the pace of rain and snow this year, the second half of the year should be better. As long as the first half of the year has a good harvest, the second half of the year should be able to recover.

Having learned from these past few years, let's see who else will recklessly compete on yields of 10,000 jin per mu.

Xiao Jiu has now developed a habit of subconsciously buying any newly released stamps.

This is all thanks to a friend who works at the post office. Ye Zhen is such a generous friend; whenever she cooks something delicious at home, she instinctively brings it over to share with her.

Xiao Jiu dislikes owing favors, so she accepts all the food Ye Zhen brings her. Occasionally, she skips evening self-study and waits for Ye Zhen at the post office to bring her some fruit, vegetables, or snacks. The two sisters developed a close relationship through this back-and-forth exchange.

Xiao Jiu overheard that her uncle worked at the Public Security Bureau, and she immediately thought of the bicycle. She secretly told Ye Zhen about how she had kept that scoundrel's bicycle that night, and Ye Zhen immediately realized what had happened.

"Then bring it over on Saturday afternoon, and we'll go to the police station together to transfer the ownership."

In those days, there were still second-hand bicycles for sale, so getting a new stamp from the police station wasn't complicated at all.

And so, the stolen bicycle was taken over, and this nearly new bicycle came into her name from then on.

For this reason, she specially invited Ye Zhen and her uncle to a state-run restaurant for a meal.

Her uncle was also very enthusiastic, and he patted his chest and said that she could go to him if she needed anything in the future.

Just take these polite words with a grain of salt; as for friendship, I still need to maintain good relations with Ye Zhen.

In mid-January, as soon as school let out at four o'clock in the afternoon, Xiao Jiu stopped taking the bus and rode his old bicycle directly to the bus station.

Why didn't she just ride home? The reason is simple: she's not tall enough. At only 1.5 meters tall, she can't reach the pedals and has to wiggle her hips so much that her back almost breaks. So she simply put away her bicycle and took a car home instead.

The weather in January was incredibly cold. As soon as I got on the bus, I went to the last row by the window, wrapped myself in everything I could—a headscarf, scarf, hat—and huddled up like a little quail, with only my eyes, nose, and mouth showing. I struggled to sit through the crack in the window all the way back to the county town.

Someone complained of the cold and told her to close the window, so she pitifully handed them a piece of candy.

"Auntie, I get carsick, could I drive for a bit?"

Even the most hot-tempered person wouldn't dare say anything after seeing her pitiful state.

With her thick skin, she drove all the way. She didn't know if others were cold, but if she hadn't been wearing three layers of scarves and hats, she probably would have been freezing.

Surprisingly, the person waiting for her outside the bus station this time was her dear father.

As soon as he saw her come out of the bus station, her father's face broke into several wrinkles with a big smile.

"Daughter, here she is! Here she is!"

Upon receiving her, he eagerly pulled a hot sweet potato wrapped in oil paper from his pocket, as if presenting a treasure. The golden-brown roasted sweet potato emitted an enticing aroma and was still warm to the touch. He was instantly moved to tears.

"Dad, you've been so good to me. Of course, your daughter will remember your kindness. Ta-da! Look, what's this?"

As he spoke, he pulled out a pack of Xu brand cigarettes from his schoolbag (actually a warehouse). This was the best brand of cigarettes in their area. In later years, it would sell for twenty yuan a pack. Even now, it's not cheap, only three or four mao a pack. This pack cost three yuan and eight mao.

In their family, apart from the grandfather who smokes a pipe, none of the other men smoke. But given the father's current job, he must have a lot of social engagements.

"You can take the money for the business dinner, but you shouldn't smoke. Smoking is bad for you; it can easily cause lung cancer and is also bad for your throat."

Looking at the cigarette in his hand, Tao Changyi stuffed it into Xiao Jiu's schoolbag.

"My dear daughter always thinks of her father the best. Don't worry, I don't really like that stuff, but it's definitely good for business purposes. Where did you get the cigarette coupons? Even your brother and the others didn't think to get me a carton of cigarettes."

"I don't need a ticket. My classmate's brother works at the Xushi Cigarette Factory, so he bought it directly with his own money. It's a little more expensive than the kind that requires a ticket, four yuan and fifty cents a carton. By the way, Dad, why did you decide to pick me up today?"

"You didn't come back for the past two weeks, so I thought you'd definitely be back this week. I happened to be on my shift this afternoon, so I came over to try my luck. I didn't expect my little daughter to be here on time. Eat the sweet potatoes while they're still hot. Your mother is also on leave today and is making dumplings at home!"

Xiao Jiu exclaimed happily, "Oh ho! Doesn't that mean I'm in for a treat? What kind of filling is it?"

"Your sister Cuihong brought us a big bunch of chicken comb oil. Your mother used the oil to make dumplings with pickled cabbage filling."

When Cuihong was mentioned, Tao Changyi looked on with admiration.

"Your sister Cuihong is really amazing. She originally went with your sister Cuihua to the market in the countryside to see if there was any satin for weddings."

As a result, you accidentally stumbled upon a pig being slaughtered at the commune. The pig wasn't properly tied up and escaped, but your incredibly strong sister helped catch it and bring it back.

He also used his strength to help slaughter the pig, buying not only chicken comb oil but also over ten pounds of fresh meat. Even though it was lean, it was still meat! And here he is, delivering half meat and half chicken comb oil to our house.”

After hearing this, Xiao Jiu's lips twitched where Tao Changyi couldn't see. "Dad, you're really naive. You actually believe this?"

You have no idea how scarce pork is these days; people without power and status simply can't afford it.

The meat, pork fat, and offal she sent to her sisters were all sent out by them with all sorts of lies!

However, this reason is quite suitable for her fourth sister.

Although they don't eat much meat, the two families cook eggs and fish every few days.

Especially oils; animal fats are difficult to process, so blended vegetable oils and oils come in handy.

If it weren't for my grandparents and sisters adhering to the rule of not letting others see that they were living a comfortable life, they probably would have been eating like royalty by now.

When they arrived home with Tao Changyi, it was already completely dark, and the village was so quiet that not even a dog could be heard barking.

Every household is dark; that's how it is in the countryside during winter. People hurry up and cook and clean when they can still see shadows of people, and then find a place to hide as soon as it gets dark.

When people have plenty of food and drink, they gather in one place, burn firewood, and chat. But now, in this famine, they would rather lie down than stand.

Especially now that many families are eating only two meals a day, one at 10 am and another at 3 or 4 pm. If you're hungry at night, just go to bed early, and you won't be hungry when you're asleep.

When I got home, the yard still seemed to be filled with the strong smell of lard and the fishy smell of the sea.

There was a lot of seaweed hanging on the rope in the yard. Judging from its freshness, it must have been sent by my fourth sister.

"Mom, why do we have so much seaweed in our house?!"

"Oh, my dear daughter is back. The seaweed was brought by your fourth sister. Your sister Cuihua has already cooked and cleaned it at home. We can just bring it over to dry."

When you buy dried kelp, you should wash it first, then cook it, and then wash it again to remove impurities from the surface of the kelp.

After that, dry it in the sun. When you want to eat it, just soak it in hot water, cut it into strips or slices, and you can put it directly into the pot, which can reduce the cooking time.

Do merfolk dry the seaweed they collect for you?

What a pipe dream!

Therefore, the seaweed that Fourth Sister took out was absolutely the freshest. It could be cooked directly in a large iron pot and then left to cool.

She guessed that there were probably a lot of them hanging in the front yard, which was why they were in this state at their house. Otherwise, her sisters might have dried them and brought them over.