Starting a new chapter in life

I washed the basin inside and out and put it in the living room. There was no other way, as the living room was the largest space. The front door was already closed, so this really saved me the trouble of locking it.

She boiled the water, poured it into the bathtub, and boiled a pot of water for steaming before starting her comfortable bath. Although she couldn't fully enjoy it, it was still a rare luxury in this era. After about an hour, her stomach started to rumble. She washed her hair, got dressed, and went to the kitchen to cook herself a bowl of noodles. Only after she had eaten did she clean up the water that had been spilling in the living room.

I tore off a page from the calendar; it's already the last day of June. Tomorrow is July 1st, and I can start collecting my grain rations. I need to get up early, collect my rations, and then order meat. The market day is on the 3rd of this month, so it's relatively early.

I sprinkled a bowl of millet, the kind mixed with grit, on the chicks, then unlocked the gate. I scooped out a small basin of discounted millet from the barn, carried it back to the steps by the door, and sat down, picking through the millet and grit while letting the sun shine on me, warming me up and drying my hair quickly.

After picking through one small basin of millet, another small basin already had a thin layer of grit. It wasn't much, but it would definitely be hard to chew if used for cooking. She poured the picked millet into an empty jar, clapped her hands, tied her hair up, and poured the remaining grit into the chicken coop. She added some cooled boiled water to the chicks' food, then went back inside to lie down again. Ah, a sunny day is perfect for a nap. Time to sleep… She comforted herself and quickly drifted off to sleep.

She was awakened by a knocking sound when she opened her eyes again. At first, the knocking sound seemed very close, and she thought she was dreaming. The knocking sound at home always rang with a bell, but this time the bell didn't ring. She turned over, intending to cover her ears and sleep a little longer, when she heard someone knocking and calling, "Jingyan, are you home?"

This time, she finally came to her full senses, sat up abruptly, and said after calming herself down, "At home, cough, wait a minute." She slipped on her shoes, unlatched the door, opened the door, and saw Aunt Qi standing outside. She glanced at her watch and said, "Aunt Qi, it's only three o'clock. You shouldn't be off work yet. Why are you here at this hour? Come on in."

Seeing her sleepy-eyed appearance, Aunt Qi asked as soon as she entered the door, "How long did you sleep in the middle of the day? Are you feeling unwell or something?"

Jingyan poured herself a tub of warm water and gulped down half of it. This time she felt more awake, and her throat was no longer dry and parched. After relieving her dehydration, she finally spoke: "I planted vegetable seedlings for two days and only finished last night. My back hurts, and I'm so tired. I was thinking of taking a nap at noon, but I ended up sleeping until this late... Aunt Qi, how did you get into the yard?" Jingyan finally realized what was happening.

Aunt Qi was speechless. She tapped her forehead with her finger and said, "Should I say you're careless or just irresponsible? You're home alone and want to sleep, so why don't you lock the door? The door was just ajar, not locked at all. I was going to knock, but I didn't expect it to open with just a little force. Luckily, it was me today. If it were a stranger, it would be so dangerous. You even have chickens in your yard."

Jingyan smiled a little embarrassedly: "I guess I was too sleepy and my brain just stopped working. I actually forgot that I unlocked the front door when I got up this morning. Luckily, Aunt Qi came over, otherwise I probably would have forgotten that the front door was unlocked last night."

Aunt Qi meant well; she wasn't trying to meddle in other people's business. Seeing that Jingyan had realized her carelessness, she didn't say anything more, but simply asked, "Little Zhang, market day is coming up soon. Are you going to braise some meat these next few days?"

Jing Yan nodded: "We'll pick up the grain tomorrow, and start making it the day after tomorrow morning. It should be ready by evening. Since the weather is hot now, we don't plan to make too much, about thirty jin is enough. It would be a waste if we made too much and couldn't sell it. The ingredients are all quite expensive. The aunt asked about this because..."

"I was thinking of buying directly from you to save myself the trouble of going to the market, so I'm placing an order with you. Can I pick it up after I get off work the day after tomorrow? I'll order three jin of pork ribs. My kids will be coming back this weekend, so it'll be a good extra dish." Aunt Qi smiled.

Jingyan nodded: "Okay, just come when you come. I'll weigh it for you on the spot. Bring a bowl or something, and I'll add some braising sauce for you. You can use the braising sauce to make a noodle soup later, it'll be perfect."

Aunt Qi thought for a moment, then stepped forward and lowered her voice: "Can I tell our neighbors that you're making braised meat? If they want to buy, they can just come over, okay? Don't worry, it's all older women and young wives who come. There won't be any men, and we won't make a big fuss about it."

Jing Yan smiled and said, "That's great. Please tell them that I only have braised meat ready the afternoon before the market each month. It won't work if it's too early, and I can't lower the price. But I can give them some of the braising liquid as a gift. Thank you so much, Aunt Qi, for thinking of me so thoughtfully. I'll also be braising some eggs this time. How did the braised eggs taste last time?"

"Although it's not as fragrant as braised meat, it has its own unique flavor. It's much tastier than boiled eggs. It's flavorful. How did it sell at the market last time?" Aunt Qi said truthfully.

"I don't do much, the profit is too low. I did sell out, but it was all sold in small batches. Most of the customers were people with children who bought one for their kids, so I didn't get any feedback." Jing Yan smiled.

Aunt Qi advised, "Then you can continue, even if there's only a one-cent profit, as long as someone buys it."

Jingyan nodded in agreement: "That's what I was thinking too. I'm going to braise a lot of eggs this time. Even if we have leftovers, it won't hurt. We'll eat them at home anyway, and it's much cheaper than braised meat."

Seeing that the important business had been discussed enough, Aunt Qi said as she walked out, "I'm going to look around and see how much the neighbors need. That way, when you go to order meat tomorrow, you'll have a better idea of ​​what to expect. Otherwise, if our neighbors buy some and you don't have enough left, you'll have to pay stall fees every time you go to the market, which isn't worth it."

Jing Yan smiled as she saw the person off, then rubbed her forehead and sighed. She wondered if letting her neighbors know about her buying and selling would cause problems. She had absolutely no recollection of when she was allowed to do business in her previous life; after all, she had been selling barbecue at a stall since 1994, long after the reform and opening up.

She sighed deeply, as if she were given a second chance. Apart from her firm decision to marry a soldier, she knew nothing and couldn't see through anything else. However, she firmly believed that no matter what the future held, she would never regret it.

Shaking off the jumbled thoughts in my head, I mustered my spirits: "Eating is the most important thing in the world, let's cook!"

It was only a little before five o'clock after dinner. I tried to get sleepy, but no, I was so bored. I went to the front yard to check on the results of my hard work over the past two days. It was quite pleasing; at least for now, the seedlings seemed to have taken root. As long as they weren't wilting, they should be fine. I walked around to confirm that everything was going well. Then I went to check on the chickens in the coop. Two half-grown chickens were already looking like adults, and the three chicks had also grown to about half-grown. It looked quite lively.

She grabbed a handful of dried dandelions, pulled a chipped cleaver from the fence gate, squatted down and chopped them haphazardly before throwing the chopped leaves into the chicken coop. Watching the chicks cluck over and start pecking at the leaves, Jingyan casually stuck the cleaver back into the fence gate, showing no awareness of any safety hazards.

Just as they thought they had done everything and were about to lock the door, Aunt Qi pushed it open. The two stared at each other, momentarily stunned. Jingyan reacted quickly, forcing a smile: "Aunt Qi, you're here so soon!"

Aunt Qi also came to her senses: "Ah, right, I asked a few of my old friends, and they haven't bought your braised meat from the market yet. But they are all well-off, so they ordered two catties each, which is ten catties of braised pork ribs. Add my three catties, and it's a total of thirteen catties. This time, please reserve some for us. Okay, you're busy, I'll go back now."

Aunt Qi turned and left. After exiting the gate, she turned back and added, "Remember to lock the gate. Don't unlock it if you're not going out, so you don't forget later. Although our community is safe, we still need to be careful and not give any bad people any opportunities."

Jing Yan nodded quickly and assured her, "Don't worry, Auntie, I've learned my lesson this time and I won't forget again. Thank you for reminding me, I will be extra careful."

Aunt Qi nodded and left with peace of mind. Jing Yan watched her turn into the house before closing and locking the front door and the inner door. She then lay down on the kang (heated brick bed), turned over, and then, remembering the stove in the kitchen, got up again to make sure the fire was completely extinguished. She opened the kitchen window a crack before going back to her room to sleep peacefully.

The next morning, Jingyan woke up early, made some spring pancakes, and stir-fried some shredded potatoes to make pancake rolls. By then, it was barely light. She pushed her cart to the neighborhood office to collect her grain and oil. When she got home, she carefully put everything away and looked at her own supplies, feeling very satisfied.

There's still one can of the forty jin of soybean oil I bought from He Chunni that I haven't touched yet. Although the monthly oil allowance isn't much, there are only a few people eating at home. Except for the period around the Lunar New Year when she diligently cooks delicious meals, after He Zhijun went to work, she just makes do with what she can and chooses quick and easy dishes, so she hasn't used up much oil. As for grain, we can't finish it all each month. Should I take some grain to the market this time and sell some of it? Hmm, Zhijun should be back tomorrow, I'll discuss it with him then.

She went to the meat processing plant again, but didn't see Zhou Xuyang this time. However, since she had become familiar with the gatekeeper, she could now use the back door. When she heard the amount of meat she wanted, the gatekeeper nodded and wrote it down on a piece of paper: "Section Chief Zhou isn't here today. I'll write it down for you. You can come and pick it up tomorrow morning. There's no deposit this time. You can pay the full amount tomorrow."

Jingyan had no objections, thanked them, and then went home with light steps.

The next day was another busy one. By the time He Zhijun returned in the evening, not only was the braised meat already finished, but even the neighboring aunties had taken their ordered meat and left. This time, they all wanted ribs. There was no discount on the price, but each household received a free braised egg, and giving away braising sauce was now standard practice.

Aunt Qi told them that stewing potatoes and ribs with this braising sauce is also very delicious, and quite a few of the aunties said they wanted to try it when they got home. This made Jingyan want to stew it herself too, but she put the idea aside and decided to wait until after the market day to try making some delicious food.

On market day, the couple set off with 30 jin of braised pork ribs and 40 braised eggs. They set off again in the center of the market. The July weather suddenly became hot, so they dared not cover the pots with lids anymore. Instead, they covered the braising pots and basins with gauze with screws hanging from the four corners. The aroma of the meat spread, attracting people and attracting flies.

Since there was nothing to repel flies, He Zhijun could only wave a stick with thin cotton strips tied to it around the cart. However, this did make things much better, and the customers who came to buy meat were quite satisfied, since it was food and it looked very clean.

After selling a batch, Jingyan would wash the cutting board and meat-cutting dagger with clean water. Fortunately, she hadn't brought much meat this time. Business ended at three o'clock in the afternoon. After cleaning up, the couple hurried home. It was so hot that they didn't even feel like buying lunch. After arriving home, He Zhijun set up the stall, and Jingyan washed her face with cool tap water and made some cold noodles. On such a hot day, a bowl of cold noodles was really refreshing.

Then I gnawed on the big bone I'd left at home. Ah, finally I felt alive again! No more feeling of being both hungry and hot. The mung bean soup I'd cooked this morning was cold; I drank a bowl and exhaled a sigh of relief.

Looking at the heat outside, Jingyan said, "Zhijun, if it's still this hot next month, I'm going to stop making it for two months. The braised meat won't last overnight, but it won't be flavorful if it's not kept overnight. I'll make it again in November when it's cooler."

He Zhijun readily agreed: "Great! It's really too hot, and I don't have an appetite for meat. I heard from Battalion Commander Gao that my professional title should be promoted this year. It should be approved this month, and I'll get my allowance next month. Then I'll have fifty-six yuan a month."

Jing Yan's eyes widened, her face filled with surprise: "You leveled up so quickly? That's great."

He Zhijun explained with a smile: "I am a technical soldier, and my promotion is different from other soldiers. I should get a little more rations next month, but not much. You should ask when you go to collect them."

Jingyan nodded, then discussed with him: "We have plenty of grain, how about I stop selling braised meat for now, and sell some of the surplus grain at the market next month?"

He Zhijun nodded: "You decide what to do. Just make sure there's enough food at home."

After the holiday, He Zhijun returned to the army with great enthusiasm. Jing Yan, besides tending the vegetable garden at home, spent her time making her own soybean paste. And you know what? The aroma of the soybean paste was slowly coming out, but the color... was a bit hard to describe.

The soybean paste my fourth sister made was a golden-brown color, which looked very appealing. But mine was a brownish-yellow color, which looked a bit like... well, you know. Ugh, I can't think about it, it's disgusting.