Affection for Sidaogou during the Famine

After dinner, Han Zhaozhao continued to weave baskets at home. She had to weave more deep-bottomed fruit baskets because her space would become a fruit orchard in the future, and she would not have enough baskets to hold the fruits.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Xiao'e came to call Han Zhaozhao, saying that all the cotton covers in her house had been prepared and needed to be taken home to make room for Xiao'e's family.

Han Zhaozhao went to settle the bill. For two quilt covers and more than four pounds of cotton for making cotton clothes, the cotton fluffer charged her family a total of three dollars and twenty cents.

Holding the soft and fluffy cotton, Han Zhaozhao returned home satisfied. After seeing off Xiao'e who helped him hold the cotton, Han Zhaozhao went to the vegetable market again.

She has had enough of cabbage and radishes, so she needs to go see if there are any fresh vegetables that she doesn’t have at home?

This vegetable market is not far from my home. It is a small open-air market.

It was already afternoon, and there were not many people in the market. Those who wanted to buy bought, and those who wanted to sell sold. Most of the people had already left.

"I'm late!" Han Zhaozhao thought.

But since she was already here, she couldn't make a wasted trip. What if there were other farmers like her who came out to sell things at this time?

Han Zhaozhao had never been to this small market before. Although it was close to her home, it was located in a rather remote area.

It is said that there is a haunted house not far away, but her grandmother was afraid that she was too young and weak, so she never brought her there.

She had heard from Xiao Sanzi a few days ago that this small market not only sells seasonal fruits and vegetables, but also street snacks, handicrafts, earthenware, pottery, and all kinds of miscellaneous stuff.

Han Zhaozhao walked from one end of the market to the other carrying a basket. She finally understood that this place was called a small market, which meant it was actually a small bazaar.

It is not much different from the rural fairs of later generations. People who sell and buy things gather together spontaneously, and over time, this small market is formed.

I heard that last year, you only needed money to buy things. Later, as time went by and supplies became scarce, the country implemented unified purchase and sale of some items.

But that's not all. Now is not the time when material supply is the most tense, so the market here is basically open. The government management is not that strict, and there is no requirement to control the number of animals raised in rural areas.

Except for grain, which is strictly controlled by the state and does not allow large-scale private transactions, for other agricultural and sideline products, the people can sell them at purchasing stations or exchange them freely in small quantities at the market.

There are no shops in this small market. Those who are more particular will spread a mat on the ground and display whatever they want to sell. Most of the sellers of this style are regular stalls.

Those who are not too particular will just spread a piece of torn sack on the ground, or just put anything on the ground and directly stick the baskets on the ground, shout a few times and start selling.

Most of the people like this are farmers in the suburbs and nearby residents.

Farmers sell seasonal fruits and vegetables grown in their own private plots, as well as eggs from their own chickens, ducks and other poultry.

However, few people sell grain. After all, the state has unified purchase and sales, and individuals are not allowed to sell large quantities of grain privately.

The things sold by the residents are very diverse, including handmade cloth shoes, children's toys, small chairs, stools, baskets, wooden basins, as well as porcelain plates, bowls and large porcelain jars... As long as it is something that people can use in their daily lives, they have everything!

After taking a look around, Han Zhaozhao had a general idea in mind. He saw an old man who had just put down his carrying pole. His baskets were filled with two fresh green celery and coriander.

Seeing people gathering around, Han Zhaozhao also squeezed forward to line up and bought five pounds of celery at three cents a pound, and one pound of coriander at four cents a pound from the old man.

I bought two pounds of tofu and one pound of tofu skin before the tofu stall closed.

Seeing nothing to buy, Han Zhaozhao turned around and walked back. When she reached the entrance of an alley, she saw three women talking in a mysterious way, as if they were bargaining.

"Are there good stuff?" Han Zhaozhao's heart moved, and she quietly moved over and followed behind them to listen to what they were buying and selling.

"Big sister, can you make it cheaper? 25 cents a pound is too expensive. How much is it at the grain station?"

"Is this expensive? The grain station requires tickets, but I don't need tickets. Can the price be the same?

Besides, this is the rice we save from our own mouths, and it is cleaner after husking than the rice sold at the grain station. If you want to buy it, buy it. If you don’t want to buy it, leave quickly.

I brought a total of 50 kilograms today. I won’t have trouble selling it if you don’t buy it.

Sister-in-law, how many pounds do you weigh?"

Another older woman asked: "My family can't afford rice, how much is your flour per pound?

If the price is right, I'd like to buy some flour."

The saleswoman said: “75% flour is 28 cents, 85% flour is 21 cents, no tickets required.

Which one do you want to buy? How many kilograms?"

The woman who was doing the shopping was quite sensible. The standard price of flour at the grain station was 1.85 cents per pound. It was cheap, but it required food coupons and quotas. How could it be compared with the small market?

"Weigh me ten kilograms of 85 flour and ten kilograms of rice! My old man has a bad stomach, and the fine grains in the supply book are not enough for him."

"Well, you are kind enough to be filial to the elderly! I will weigh it for you first."

The two of them made the deal, and the person next to them became anxious. Seeing that the price could not be lowered any further, he had no choice but to buy it at the same price.

"Then give me five catties of rice and five catties of eighty-five grams of flour according to the price!

Come back sometime and give me a higher price. I will still help you with your business next time."

"Sister, you can't say that. I'm not a speculator. This year, our family has only saved a little over 100 kilograms of fine grain.

If I wasn’t getting married in the twelfth lunar month and waiting to exchange money for quilt fabric as a betrothal gift, I wouldn’t be willing to sell the grain.”

"Yes, I was wrong. Now the state has unified purchase and sale, and no one has surplus grain.

I mean if there is anyone in your village who wants to sell food rations, you can ask him to sell them here.

The market is frequented by people from nearby neighborhoods, and there are no bad people meddling in other people's business. It's very safe here."

"Thank you very much. I will tell everyone when I return to the village. However, don't count on us farmers.

There is no urgent need to exchange money at home, and no one is willing to sell food. Occasionally, they sell some for emergency use, but the quantity is not large, so you may not be able to catch up."

This is quite true, Han Zhaozhao thought.

Seeing two more middle-aged men coming into the alley, Han Zhaozhao hurried forward and bought 20 kilograms of 85% flour and 20 kilograms of rice.

He put the grain into cloth bags, tied the ends of the two bags together, and with the help of the aunt who sold the grain, he put them on his shoulders like he was carrying a sack. In this way, he carried the two bags, one in front and one behind, and went home with the vegetable basket.

It took me twenty minutes to walk home. The distance was not really far, only two miles in a straight line, but it seemed far because of the twists and turns and alleys.

With rice and noodles in hand, Han Zhaozhao decided to improve her life. She took out a young fish from her space and fried it, then found her grandmother's farm sauce and stewed it.

A sieve was placed over the fish, and a bowl of rice was picked and washed and put into a porcelain basin to be steamed.

Han Zhaozhao cooked rice and fish in sauce in one pot for dinner.

As soon as her grandmother came into the yard after get off work, she smelled the fragrance.

"Zhao Zhao, did you go fishing with your Grandpa Guan again today?"

Han Zhaozhao, the great liar, immediately responded: "No, I was at home fluffing cotton today, and Grandpa Guan went there by himself.

This fish was caught yesterday and Grandpa Guan brought it to me this morning. I haven’t asked Grandpa Guan whether he caught any fish today.”

Relying on her grandmother and the single old man's habit of avoiding suspicion, Han Zhaozhao decided to put all the blame on Grandpa Guan in the future. Anyway, they didn't have any contact with each other on a regular basis, so a few lies wouldn't be easily exposed.