Crossing 70: Fish in the Pond Have Good News

At the end of September, the weather began to cool down.

Because the corn harvest was about to begin, the new educated youth collectively asked for a day off, saying they were going to the town to purchase supplies.

Six people got on the cart pulled by Uncle Niu's precious old cow, and chatted and laughed with the village aunties as they traveled.

The aunties looked at the pattern on Xue Li's sweater and said, "How did you draw it? The pattern is beautiful, simple and pretty! It really suits girls like you."

Xue Li scratched his head, "I don't understand either. I bought it at a department store."

"I thought it might be made by a machine, different from the ones we make by hand." The aunt looked at it curiously, but didn't start to work on it directly. She just praised it twice.

"Auntie Liu, are you going to buy some wool this year?" the lady with a beauty mole next to her asked her.

The aunt shook her head. "I won't buy any this year. I just bought new sweaters for those bastards last year. How can I wear new ones every year? I don't have the means."

The lady with the beauty mole exclaimed, "That's perfect. I'll buy some wool and come to you to make it for me."

"It's up to you." The aunt replied indifferently.

Listening to their conversation, several people thought about the matter of wintering.

The winter in Northeast China is very long and cold. You have to stay in bed almost every day and find something to do.

Jiang Yu's focus was different. She was thinking about eating the pot, so she went back to dig some mud and bring it back to make a small red stove. She remembered someone had said that there was a big river in the mountains and the mud there was particularly good, so she would go there after the harvest was over!

After arriving in the town, the few of them separated temporarily because everyone had different things to do and were in a hurry, so they didn't hang out together.

Wu Aiqing went to sell medicinal herbs, Chen Jinghan and the other two went to look for friends, Xue Li went to the supply and marketing cooperative to do some shopping, and Jiang Yu... went to pick up scraps.

This time it happened to be the end of the month, and the person standing outside the recycling station was the old lady who had told Jiang Yu that she would clear the garbage at the end of the month. After hearing her purpose, the old lady took it directly to a big house in the backyard.

"Go ahead, it depends on your luck what you can find." After opening the door, the old lady left without even looking inside.

Jiang Yu was a little surprised by her attitude, but still looked around vigilantly, then took out his detector and started working.

They took out five broken wheels, seven or eight broken tires, and a few handlebars, and Zhuang Shouren's bicycle order was ready.

The detector suddenly began to emit red light, and Jiang Yu stopped. Could this be the luck that the old lady was talking about? It can't be such a coincidence? Or is she trying to frame me...

However, she still put on gloves and turned over the garbage to take a look.

It is an incense burner that is so rusty that its original appearance cannot be seen.

Jiang Yu picked it up and took a look at it. She didn't know what antiques were, but the incense burner looked quite quaint. Nowadays, people are not allowed to deal with these things, so no one wants things like incense burners. After making sure that there was no one around, she put the incense burner back into the space.

Afterwards, she picked up another metal plate. It was also extremely dirty and impossible to look at. She couldn't even tell what material it was made of. It felt heavy in her hand, so she collected that as well.

During this time, she picked up all the things she needed and put them at the door, and soon she had accumulated a pile of them.

In the corner of the room, he found a buried metal box, which was also so rusty that even the lid couldn't be opened. Jiang Yu saw that there seemed to be a gap in the middle of the box, and thought that maybe it could be removed by derusting and cleaning it. If it could be opened, it could also be used to store money and bills!

After gathering the things he wanted to take away, Jiang Yu walked to the door carrying the heavy garbage.

In this day and age, you’ll probably never meet another person who can spend more than twenty dollars picking up junk from a scrap yard in your lifetime.

The woman who was weighing the ginger fish seemed to be hesitant to speak, but she held back and finally asked, "Girl, what are you going to do with these things? Is your family a blacksmith?"

Jiang Yu blinked and actually accepted it, "I have other brothers who want to use it together."

The aunt’s eyes widened. He was actually a blacksmith?

"Well, it's good to have a skill. You never know when it might come in handy." The old lady shook her head with amusement. What's the use of being a blacksmith these days? Kitchen knives and scissors can be bought at the supply and marketing cooperatives, and they're produced by big factories.

Or maybe if you report your special skills when you go to the factory to recruit workers, you will be given priority? The aunt thought about it and said, "Wait a minute, I'll find you two urea bags to pack."

After sorting out the pile of junk, Jiang Yu happily said goodbye to the aunt and left.

This time, she was able to make three bicycles alone. She was so rich! She patted these treasures happily.

After entrusting the rags to Uncle Niu, Jiang Yu went to the state-owned restaurant to pack up some food. Today they had braised pig's trotters, half a portion, with black fungus and day lily, the fragrance of which could be smelled ten miles away. She came at the right time, so there were exactly three portions left.

"One to take away, one to eat here!" Jiang Yu quickly paid, "Another portion of homemade tofu and three taels of rice."

The waiter took her aluminum lunch box and money and said, "Come and pick up your meal when your number is called."

When Xiong Lijin came in with a friend, he unexpectedly met Jiang Yu serving dishes. He greeted her with a smile, and when he heard her say there was also a serving of pig's trotter, he hurried over to order the dishes.

There were no extra seats in the restaurant, so Xiong Lijin took his friends to share a table with Jiang Yu.

"This is my friend, He Qingmian." Xiong Lijin introduced Jiang Yu, "This is Jiang Yu, a good friend of mine at the Youth League Center."

He Qingmian had a warm smile on his face, with a small dimple on his cheek, "Hello, hello, Comrade Jiang Yu."

Jiang Yu swallowed the food in his mouth and nodded slightly, "Hello, Comrade He."

Xiong Lijin didn't bother to chat with her, but just talked to He Qingmian about going to S City.

Although Jiang Yu didn't interrupt, he could guess from what he heard that they were doing reselling and that they went to S City to purchase goods.

Xiong Lijin comes to town from time to time, probably to take care of these things.

Perhaps when more bicycles are made in the future, she can discuss the sale with Xiong Lijin. He has sales channels, which should be better than her looking for them everywhere on her own.

I have to say that the two of them have a tacit understanding. Xiong Lijin originally wanted to talk to Jiang Yu about this cooperation. Bicycles! Not only are there no shortage of sales channels for scarce materials, but they can also be used to build relationships. Isn't it killing two birds with one stone?

After dinner, Jiang Yu went to the supply and marketing cooperative again. She wanted to buy some skin care products and some clam oil for rubbing her hands. After the weather turned cold, she could clearly feel the climate getting drier. Her hands, which had been doing farm work for a long time, not only grew calluses, but also felt dry and uncomfortable.

In addition, she asked if there was any cotton available for purchase.

Normally, the cotton here has just been picked, so there should be some in stock, but the staff shook their heads and said, "This year's cotton has all been sent away, and we haven't seen any cotton yet."

Jiang Yu was a little confused, but it didn't matter. She could go back and study the leather she had left over and make a pair of fur boots to wear in the winter.

After buying these things, she went to the bicycle counter again, but the staff waved their hands and said, "Don't ask, they are out of stock!"

Well, it seems that there is a real shortage. Jiang Yu was a little happy, smiled at the other party and turned away.