Starting a new chapter in life

Peng Chunhai also wanted to sleep, but he still insisted on sitting on the living room sofa waiting for Jingyan to come back. Before Jingyan arrived home, Sister Gao's son brought over the cutting board and cutting board. Peng Chunhai and the boy each carried one and put the things in the kitchen. He thanked the boy, gave him a handful of White Rabbit candies, and then sent him away.

When Jing Yan entered the room, Peng Chunhai was almost asleep on the sofa. Hearing the door open, he opened his eyes and saw Jing Yan. He said, "You're back. The cutting board and chopping board have been delivered. I checked them, and the quality is quite good. I'm sleepy too, so I'll go take a nap."

Jingyan glanced at her fourth sister sleeping on the kang in the main room, then at her fourth brother-in-law whose figure disappeared at the door of the small house. She smiled silently, placed the aluminum lunchbox in her hand on the living room table, locked the door, went inside, and went to sleep on the kang as well. She didn't want to care about anything and would sleep first.

She woke up feeling refreshed. It was already dark. She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and reached out to pull the light cord on the wall. The dim light came on. She was alone on the kang (a heated brick bed). She put on her shoes and opened the door. There was no one in the living room. The kitchen light was on. She went over and saw her fourth sister kneading dough, with her brother-in-law helping her.

"Fourth sister, brother-in-law, when did you wake up?"

“We’ve been awake for a while now, and we were thinking we can’t keep buying food. Luckily, the cutting board arrived, so I’ll steam some buns. The cucumbers we picked earlier are still quite fresh, so I’ve already made a cold dish. You wash your hands first, and give me ten more minutes to heat up the vegetables you brought back, and then we can eat.” Fourth Sister said to her with a smile.

"Where did the flour come from?" Jingyan asked casually, fiddling with her messy braid.

"I had your fourth brother-in-law go out to buy it. Grain is really cheap here. A 50-jin bag of flour is only nine yuan, and a 20-jin bag of rice is only four yuan. We don't have enough grain coupons, so we only bought five jin of wheat flour. We'll bring more grain coupons tomorrow and buy more."

Jingyan nodded. "Okay, by the way, Fourth Sister, we've almost finished tidying up here. It's not far from Third Sister's house. Shall we go and see her?"

Jinghuan thought for a moment and said, "That works too."

“Let’s go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow morning I’ll go to the military base to talk to Zhijun and ask him to help us buy tickets.”

“We haven’t seen Third Sister for over six years. Do you know her exact location?” Jinghuan asked, puzzled.

Jingyan smiled and said, "You forgot that two years ago, when my third sister gave birth to our second child, she wrote us a letter after the baby was a month old. I've kept that envelope. If you look for it at that address, you should be able to find it. She's different from me; she's settled there and doesn't change her address easily."

“Okay, I’ll do it your way. I don’t know anything outside, so I’ll just follow you.” Jing Huan was very laid-back.

The next day, Jingyan took out fifty catties of national grain coupons, twenty catties of national oil coupons, and three catties of national meat coupons, along with fifty yuan, and gave them to Jinghuan: "Sister, I'm going to find Zhijun. You and brother-in-law can help me buy some daily necessities such as grain, oil, and seasonings."

Jinghuan took the money and nodded: "Okay, I'll buy it."

The two sisters went their separate ways. When Jingyan arrived at the military base's gate, she said to the soldier on guard, "Could you please help me find He Zhijun, a technician in the engineering and technical department? I am his wife."

The guard saluted and said with a smile, "I know you. You used to work in our canteen, but you haven't come to work since we moved here. I thought you stayed in Liaoning Province. I didn't expect you to come here."

“I’m an unofficial staff member. Chef Lin told me to come back next spring. There are still some people who haven’t come yet, but the cafeteria is currently well-staffed,” Jing Yan said with a smile.

“That’s right, there are still a third of our comrades in Liaoning Province finishing up. They won’t be able to come over until after the New Year at the earliest. Wait a moment, I’ll go in and help you find them.” The soldier said to another colleague on duty and then went into the office building.

About fifteen minutes later, He Zhijun came out of the office building, saw Jing Yan at the door, smiled, and quickly ran over: "You're here at this time, did you find a place to live?"

Jingyan nodded: "I've found one, a detached house in Hongqi Community. It's five yuan a month, paid annually. I also went to the secondhand market with my fourth sister and brother-in-law and found a cot, a wardrobe, and a dressing table. The dressing table is really pretty."

"How did you manage to move all that stuff back? Why didn't you come to me? I could have asked some of my comrades to help move the furniture." He Zhijun felt sorry for her.

“You’re quite busy right now, there’s no need for you to take time off for such a small thing. I asked the owner of the secondhand market to help with the delivery and moving. I paid an extra three yuan for the transportation and moving fee. I didn’t do any work and just got back. My fourth sister helped me clean up the house, and my brother-in-law even cleaned up the vegetable garden and cellar for me.” Jingyan’s tone carried a hint of pride.

He Zhijun chuckled: "Wait for me, I'll go back and ask for leave so we can go familiarize ourselves with the place together. I still have some common coupons that my family sent me a while ago, and they also wired me some money. We can go to the post office together to pick them up, see if there's anything else we need, and buy it on the way."

"Wait a minute, there's something else I wanted to say." Jingyan tugged at his sleeve.

He Zhijun stopped turning around and said, "Go on."

“I won’t be back to work until after the New Year. My fourth sister and brother-in-law’s letter of introduction will take a month to arrive. We’re thinking of going to Jiaxing to visit my third sister. She’s been married to us for six years, and we’ve only seen her once, when she came back to visit her parents. We’re in the same province, so this is a rare opportunity.”

"You want me to ask the logistics department if they can help you buy train tickets?" He Zhijun smiled.

Jing Yan nodded. "Okay, is that alright?"

He Zhijun ruffled her hair: "Then wait for me a little longer. I'll go ask for leave first, then go back to the dormitory to get the remittance slip, and then go to the logistics department to ask if we need three tickets. Wait for my news."

Jingyan stood obediently under the window sill at the gate, waiting patiently.

He Zhijun ran back to the office building. Jing Yan waited at the gate, from standing to squatting. She didn't know how long it took, but it was quite a while. Finally, He Zhijun came out with a package in his hand. He signed the form at the gate, smiled, and took Jing Yan's hand as they walked out.

"The logistics department will help you buy the tickets. Once they're bought, I'll send them home to you. Let's go to the post office to get the money first."

"How much will it cost if you mail it to me? Do I need to open a bank account?" Jing Yan asked.

"It's not much, just two hundred yuan. This is for us to buy daily necessities. You don't need to save it, just keep it with you and spend it. You didn't have much money with you when we left. You've spent almost all of it these past few days, staying in guesthouses, renting apartments, and buying furniture, haven't you?"

"Adding the change I had, I still have almost a hundred yuan left, but I'm out of tickets," Jing Yan said truthfully.

"You're amazing! This cost much less than I expected. I thought it would cost at least five or six hundred to get everything."

When they arrived at the post office, He Zhijun took the money order and withdrew the money. The two sat on chairs in the corner of the post office. He Zhijun handed Jing Yan the money he had just withdrawn and the money he had on him: "I've packed everything here. I've also paid for the train tickets. I still have more than 200 yuan left of the 300 yuan you gave me before I left. I'll keep 30 yuan for spending money. Here's a total of 400 yuan for you. Keep it safe."

Jingyan was a little nervous. "Let's go home first. I'm a little uneasy having so much money on me."

He Zhijun couldn't help but laugh: "Okay, let's go home first."

When they arrived home, Fourth Sister and her husband were also back, cooking. Seeing the two of them enter, Fourth Sister handed the spatula to Peng Chunhai, saying, "Here, you do it."

“Jingyan is back. Today we went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy rice, flour and cooking oil. The cashier, Sister Fu, said that if we exchanged our national grain coupons for local grain coupons, we could get 1.2 jin per jin. I thought it was a good deal, so I exchanged the grain coupons for her and then used the local grain coupons to buy grain.”

Thirty catties of rice, thirty catties of flour, twenty-four catties of soybean oil, and we'll just buy three catties of pork. The meat coupons aren't worth that much, so I'll just exchange them one catty for one catty – consider it a tip. If you ever bring national grain coupons again, just go find Sister Fu; she's willing to exchange them. Here's the remaining change.”

Jingyan didn't take it: "Fourth sister, keep it. It's not much money. I didn't pay for the flour my brother-in-law bought before. We don't need to be so calculating."

Fourth Sister smiled and put the money back into her coat pocket.

He Zhijun asked in confusion, "Fourth Sister, did she say what she wanted to do with the national tickets? Buying and selling them is too risky. If she gets caught, it will be a big problem."

Jing Huan quickly waved her hand: "It's not speculation. I asked her, and there are five people in her family. Three of them have jobs, and her youngest son and daughter went to the countryside in response to the policy. But they are originally from the city and have never done farm work. They don't have enough to eat and drink there. It would be too expensive to send these things home. She was thinking that if she could exchange some national grain, oil and meat coupons to send to her children, they could improve their meals."

He Zhijun nodded: "If she wants to change it for her own use, we'll change it for her. The receipts we give her every month are nationally valid. Oh, right, I have a grain and oil supply certificate. As long as you're married and have a military rank, you get a certain amount every month. I'll report our home address to the logistics department later, and they'll allocate my grain and oil quota directly to the Hongqi Community. You can just take this certificate to the community every month to collect it. If it's not enough, we'll buy more."

Jing Yan happily accepted the booklet: "I'm an unofficial staff member, so I don't get one, right?"

He Zhijun nodded: "Those who can bring military dependents can collect their quota at the military region or exchange it for cash. I'm not planning to exchange it here. You can collect it here and get to know the people around here. Since you are a military dependent, people can take care of you in the future. Otherwise, I'm not comfortable with you living alone."

Jing Huan chuckled, "I didn't expect the military benefits to be so good. Jing Yan's allowance alone is almost enough."

“There are still coupons. My quota for this month hasn’t been issued yet. These were sent from home. You can use them first. If you have any extra, take them back to your fourth sister. They can be used in Liaoning Province too. Don’t be stingy. They all have an expiration date. It would be a waste if they expired.” He Zhijun handed over an envelope.

Jingyan and Jinghuan sat down at the table and started sorting through the tickets: "We'll keep the ones we need, and take the rest to Jia City. If our third sister doesn't have enough, we'll leave some for her, and the rest for our fourth sister."

Jinghuan nodded repeatedly: "We have everything we need. Just keep a few oil and sugar coupons. Give the rest to Third Sister. She's all alone here, and we don't know if she needs any money or coupons."

Seeing that the two had finished organizing the tickets, He Zhijun took out a Shanghai ladies' watch from his pocket and handed it to Jingyan: "This is a gift from your mother. It was originally supposed to be given to you at our wedding, but we couldn't find any tickets to buy it then. This time we finally managed to find some, so we mailed it to you. It will be convenient for you to keep track of the time when you wear it."

Jingyan took it with great care and put it on her wrist, saying, "When you write back home, please thank Mom for me."

He Zhijun agreed: "Shall we go to the supply and marketing cooperative again? Let's see if there's anything else we need to buy."

Jinghuan quickly stopped her, saying, "We've already bought all the grain, oil, and seasonings for the house. We're so close to the supply and marketing cooperative, so don't buy too much at once. We can buy more when we've almost finished eating. Keeping too much grain at home will attract mice."

Jingyan listened to her fourth sister, just as Peng Chunhai came out of the kitchen: "The food is ready, hurry up and pick up the bowls and wash your hands, let's eat."

After lunch, He Zhijun returned to his unit. Jingyan said to Jinghuan, "Zhijun asked the logistics department to help buy train tickets. Once we get them, we can go to Third Sister's place. Let's rest well for the next few days. We don't know if things will get busy when we get there."

The three of them began their carefree life as couch potatoes, while also getting acquainted with their surroundings.

Two days later, He Zhijun brought the train tickets over during his lunch break: "With this document, you can prove that you are a military dependent. You can stay in a guesthouse there. The train departs at five o'clock tomorrow morning. I won't be able to come out then to see you into the station. Be careful. I've inquired, and it will take more than ten hours to get to Jiaxing. I couldn't get sleeper berths, only hard seats. This trip probably won't be easy. Bring as little as possible. The train is crowded and chaotic, so safety is the most important thing."

If you're about to return and it's difficult to buy tickets there, send me a telegram a few days in advance. I can ask my comrades for help. Don't mistreat yourself while you're away; bring plenty of money. It's better to have too much than too little.

Jing Yan nodded repeatedly, while Jing Huan covered her mouth and chuckled, "Brother-in-law, have you eaten yet? I'll cook you a bowl of noodles."

"No need, Fourth Sister. I've already eaten and come out. It's almost time for my lunch break, so I need to get back as soon as possible. Be careful on the road. I'll be going now." Although He Zhijun came and went in a hurry, he showed great concern for Jingyan, which pleased Jinghuan. "Seeing how much Zhijun cares about you, I can rest assured. I was worried that you would have a hard time here all by yourself, but now it seems that with someone who cares for you, it shouldn't be too bad."

Jingyan got up before four o'clock the next day. Jinghuan got up even earlier and had already made a lot of scallion pancakes. When she saw that Jingyan was up, she smiled and said, "Hurry up and wash up. We'll have scallion pancakes with porridge and a salted duck egg for each of us. Take the rest of the pancakes with you. If you get hungry at noon or in the evening, you can soak them in hot water and eat them."

After lunch, the three of them carried their changes of clothes to the train station. The train was departing early, and since it was the starting station, there weren't many people. They easily boarded the train and found seats, which were four-seaters, and the three of them had plenty of room to sit.