Starting a new chapter in life

Seeing that the street office gate wasn't open yet, Jing Yan didn't go to the crowded areas. She found a quiet corner and squatted there, lost in thought. Just as she was getting bored, someone tapped her on the shoulder. When she turned around, she saw Gao Mei standing behind her, smiling at her. She quickly stood up, feeling a little embarrassed: "Sister Gao."

"How about that? Are you scared by so many people? This is the scene every year when it's time to store winter vegetables. You come with me through the side gate. Our staff can buy in the backyard first. We'll drive the car here after we've finished buying so others can choose. Have you made a list of the amount you want to buy? Just follow me in line so we can look out for each other," Gao Mei said.

Jingyan took out the note written by He Zhijun and handed it to Gao Mei: "Sister Gao, I don't think you mentioned side dishes like green onions yesterday. Don't we need to stock up on these?"

“Ah, those items don’t cost much to each household. The community doesn’t coordinate them. I’ll take you to the market this month. You can buy those small items directly from the villagers at the market.” Gao Mei said as she led Jing Yan into the backyard.

"Do we need tickets to go to the market?" Jingyan asked.

"The market doesn't require tickets, but it only happens once a month, which is too infrequent. The market mainly sells vegetables grown by the villagers themselves, as well as chickens, ducks, and eggs. Sometimes there's fruit, and occasionally there's grain, but usually in small quantities. After all, the production team has to pay grain tax, and the rest is distributed according to work points, so each household doesn't have much surplus grain to sell."

"I heard before that the black market doesn't require tickets, but the prices are slightly higher. If the public market also doesn't require tickets, is it similar to the black market?"

“It’s different. The black market is illegal, and if you get caught, you’ll be locked up. The market, on the other hand, is legal, and you’re only allowed to sell your own surplus agricultural products. You’re not allowed to resell them or take advantage of the socialist system. Your husband is in the military, so you can’t go to the black market. If you’re unlucky enough to get caught, he’ll be punished,” Gao Mei explained.

The two entered her office, and Gao Mei poured a glass of water and handed it to Jing Yan.

“But where we live, there are no markets where you can trade without tickets. Besides the supply and marketing cooperatives, the only place to buy things is the black market,” Jing Yan said.

At this point, Gao Mei's expression became proud: "This kind of market is unique in the surrounding provinces and cities. The municipal party secretary of Jiang City who was transferred from Beijing a couple of years ago was very decisive. He insisted on alleviating the difficulties of transactions for people in urban and rural areas and insisted on opening the market. At first, it was all about bartering, but later, money could be used. If it weren't for the low frequency, the black market would have to close down."

"That municipal party secretary is really capable; it's already quite an achievement that he doesn't get into trouble with the Revolutionary Committee." Jing Yan said with great admiration.

Gao Mei sighed and said, "To put it nicely, our place is vast and rich in resources, but to put it bluntly, we have a small population and the economy can't develop. When we first opened the market, the regulations were very strict. People selling things were questioned very thoroughly, especially those selling grain. They would try to calculate how much grain your family would need to eat in a year to have enough left over to exchange for money. This scared the people in those production corps, and they only dared to bring some vegetables to sell."

After a while, the municipal authorities probably realized that this kind of market wasn't effectively encouraging people to exchange goods and improve their quality of life, so they gradually loosened the restrictions. Later, items like chicken, duck, goose, and eggs were added, and then basket weaving and other goods were also introduced. The variety of goods increased, which is why it's becoming more and more lively now.

"If there are many things at the market, then can't we also buy winter vegetables there? Is the price too high?" Jingyan really didn't understand.

"There are vegetables at the market, but each household buys winter vegetables by the cartload. Farmers bring their own loads and push carts to set up stalls at the market, so there aren't that many. If you were caught trading privately, it would be a big deal, so neither the buyer nor the seller would dare to do that. Besides, even if each household's garden is big, how much can it produce? How could they possibly grow winter vegetables? They are all grown by the production team, and private sales are not allowed."

Some city dwellers with relatives in the countryside are better off; they don't have to scramble for vegetables like we do. They can have their relatives buy them from the production team and have them delivered. But those of us without connections can only rely on the community's generous welfare program to buy vegetables in bulk for us. In the last two years, the Revolutionary Committee hasn't been so strict. A few years ago, every household didn't have enough winter vegetables, and we ran out of food almost right after the New Year. Those were truly difficult times.

Just then, someone outside shouted, "The vegetable truck is here! Those who want to buy vegetables, hurry up and get your money ready and go to the backyard to pick your vegetables!"

Gao Mei reacted quickly, grabbing Jing Yan's hand and pulling her outside: "Let's hurry, the sooner we buy it, the sooner we'll be done. This car won't be parked for long."

The two ran out and found a crowd gathered around the truck. People got off the truck, lowered the side panels, and turned around to say, "Line up, one by one. Those who brought sacks can open them themselves. Those who didn't bring any can buy them from us for one cent each."

Community security guards also came over to help, set up the large scale, and started. Most people brought a bag of various kinds of bags, including burlap sacks, urea bags, and even cotton bags, all sorts of different kinds.

Jing Yan followed Gao Mei in line. As she watched, someone curiously asked Gao Mei, "Who is this?"

Gao Mei responded to someone, "My distant cousin used to live in Liaoning Province. She came here with her husband who was in the army and asked me, her cousin, to help her settle in. I'll lend a hand and take care of her. We're all relatives."

Whether others believe it or not is unknown, but the general explanation makes sense.

Soon it was their turn. Jing Yan didn't know she needed to bring a bag, and even if she did, she didn't. She simply told the man standing by the scale, "I didn't bring a sack, I'll just buy it from you."

Hearing this, the man was very happy and quickly dragged a stack of sacks out of the driver's seat. He said to Jing Yan, "Little sister, look, I'm not cheating you. These are all new sacks, very sturdy. Just tell me what you want and how many you want, and I'll pick out the best ones for you."

Jing Yan… well, she looked at Gao Mei, who nodded: “Give me the number you want.”

Jingyan told him how much she wanted to buy, and the man filled one sack and then moved it to another. Sure enough, he picked out the largest cabbages and other vegetables. After they were all packed and weighed, the four kinds of vegetables took ten sacks. The total came to twenty-six yuan and fifty cents. Jingyan quickly paid the money, and only then did Gao Mei step forward to make the purchase.

The man helped her put the ten sacks of things in a pile and said to Jingyan, "Little sister, these sacks are very sturdy. If you bring your own sacks next year, you won't need to buy any more. This batch will last you for ten or eight years without any problems. Trust me."

Jing Yan was a little confused. Were the people here really this enthusiastic? But she kept thanking them, saying, "Thank you so much, brother. I know. I'll bring a sack next year."

The man smiled and went back to work. Jingyan stood blankly next to the pile of sacks, waiting for Gao Mei.

Gao Mei brought enough bags of her own, and put the weighed ones together with Jing Yan's. The new and old burlap bags were easy to distinguish and wouldn't get mixed up. After she finished shopping, Gao Mei told Jing Yan, "You stay here and watch over things. I'll ride my bicycle home and have my husband push the cart over to help us transport them back."

Jing Yan nodded quickly, "Okay, Sister Gao, you go ahead, no rush, I'll keep an eye on things here."

Gao Mei left in a flurry, leaving Jing Yan looking at the pile of over thirty sacks, feeling a bit of a headache. Back home, the village secretary delivered winter vegetables directly to each household according to their submitted needs; this was truly the first time she'd ever been out scrambling for winter vegetables.

In less than 15 minutes, Gao Mei rode her bicycle with her son on the back, followed by a cart being pulled by the bicycle. Gao Mei pointed to the man riding the cart and introduced him to Jing Yan, saying, "This is my man. Yours is less, so load yours first. He'll come to pick me up after you get yours home. My son will also help you unload the cart. When you get back, take the cabbages out of the sack and lay them out in the yard to dry. This afternoon, I'll take my son to help you take the cabbages to the cellar. It's inconvenient for you to do it alone."

Jingyan thanked them repeatedly, but before she could even reach out, Sister Gao's husband and son carried the sacks onto the cart. After they were loaded, Jingyan and her son walked alongside the cart while Sister Gao waited in the community courtyard. To save time, Jingyan ran and stumbled along the way, and by the time she finally arrived at her doorstep, she was already panting heavily.

After opening the gate, Jingyan only had time to move two bags before she finished moving the remaining eight. Seeing the two about to leave, Jingyan quickly went inside, grabbed a handful of White Rabbit candies from the candy box, and stuffed them into the boy's coat pocket: "This is for you, Auntie. Don't push me away, it doesn't look good."

The boy, who had initially wanted to decline, looked at Jing Yan, his lips twitched, and he mumbled, "I'm already fifteen years old this year, you should be the older sister."

Jing Yan... well, she's twenty-one this year. Becoming an aunt seems a bit early.

The father and son left quickly. Jingyan carefully took out the cabbages one by one from the sack and neatly arranged them on the ridge. After arranging the three sacks, she felt quite tired and sat down on the red brick path, lost in thought.

After waiting a while and checking the sky, I carried a cabbage into the house. Hmm, I was too lazy to cook for myself, so I decided to make a dumpling soup with the cabbage and take a nap. Thinking it was a good idea, I went out and locked the outer gate of the courtyard from the inside. After eating, I went to sleep.

When I woke up, I opened the front door. Gao Mei said she would come over in the afternoon, but I didn't know exactly when. I was worried that she might not be able to hear me when she arrived. I went inside and found some wire in the storeroom. I found an awl and went back to the yard. I used the awl to poke a hole in the root of the cabbage, threaded the wire through it, cut it, and lifted it up. Hmm, it's pretty sturdy.

She skewered twenty-five cabbages before putting away the awl and returning the remaining wire to the storage room. When she got to the yard, she heard someone knocking on the door. She quickly opened the gate, and Gao Mei and her son were standing at the door. "Sister Gao, I thought you would come after get off work."

"Hey, everyone bought winter vegetables today. The boss knows we've been thinking about harvesting them, so he gave all the women half a day off to go home and get ready. That's why I'm back now. My vegetables have already been taken to the cellar, so I came over here."

Jingyan invited the two in, and Gao Mei laughed when she saw the cabbages laid on the ground with wires already threaded through them: "You've finished half of this already?"

Following Gao Mei's gaze, she said, "It's not half, it's all worn. I'm going to take out twenty cabbages to pickle, keep a few for this period of time, and put the remaining twenty-five into the cellar."

“Then this job is easy for you,” she said, then looked at her son and said, “You go down to the cellar, and Xiao Zhang and I will pass it to you.”

The boy nodded and went down the ladder into the cellar to the bottom. He took out a basket with a rope tied to it and said, "Mom, use this basket to pass me things. I'm ready. Take the things down."

Gao Mei took the basket and nodded to him: "Okay, stand back a bit, don't let it hit you."

Jingyan and Gaomei first put cabbages into the cellar, five or six at a time. Once full, they slowly lowered the basket down the opening. When they reached the bottom, they could still hold onto a piece of rope. The boy picked out the cabbages, and the two prepared the next basket. He hung the cabbages on the wall, and tied the burlap sacks with ropes to the remaining cabbages, lowering them into the cellar and stacking them according to type.

The work was almost finished in no time. The boy came up, and Jingyan covered the cellar entrance with a lid. She invited the two of them inside for water, but Gao Mei declined.

"I'm heading back now. It's rare for me to have half a day off to go back and cook a good meal for the kids. Starting tomorrow, we'll be receiving our monthly grain rations. Remember to bring your ration certificate, flour sack, and oil bottle. Oh, and the market here is on the first Sunday of every month. There are only three days left. I'll come find you then."

"Thank you very much, Sister Gao."

"Don't be so polite with me. Look at you, you already accepted your husband's thank-you gift, and today you even gave my son candy. I'd feel bad if I didn't help you out a little more. Alright, go back now." Gao Mei left with her son, and Jing Yan watched them walk away before locking the door.

The next morning, Jingyan took a clean empty flour bag and an empty oil bottle, put the ration certificate in her wallet, put a basket on her sling, locked the door, and went to the street office to collect the ration food.

She thought she had left home very early, but when she arrived, she saw a long line already formed at the food distribution window. She stood at the back of the line and joined it. After a while, the crowd began to stir. Jingyan was confused, but she was really curious, so she asked the older woman in front of her, "Sister, what's going on?"

The older woman turned around and glanced at her: "Are you new here?"

Jing Yan nodded: "My husband's food ration has just been transferred, this is my first time here."

"No wonder, it's nothing, it's just that the people from the neighborhood office have started working. Look, the line is starting to move. Even though we're in such a long line, it'll only take half an hour for us to get in. They're all experienced, they're quick."

To be honest, once the team started moving, they were quite fast. Although it wouldn't be half an hour before they reached her, they were getting closer and closer. Finally, it was her turn. After handing over her supply certificate, the person inside looked at it and said, "You're a military dependent? Your husband's rank allows him to receive double the allowance of a normal urban resident. He gets fifty catties of grain per month. How much wheat flour and rice do you want?"