Starting a new chapter in life

When Jingyan saw this, she squatted down in front of the basket and asked, "Big sister, are these eggs for sale?"

The woman nodded and gave a shy smile: "They were laid by our own chickens. I didn't weigh them, so I can't sell them by weight. They're seven cents each."

Jingyan picked one up and shook it. It looked pretty good and fresh. "Then I'll buy twenty of them."

The woman was delighted and took out the cover. "I picked out the big ones for you, so I'll put them in your basket, right?"

Jingyan nodded. The woman put the eggs away, and Jingyan paid her, then struck up a conversation with her: "Sister, is this kind of small business no longer regulated? How did you sell your eggs before?"

Seeing the woman selling eggs become wary, he immediately explained, "I didn't mean anything by it. I just came to Haishi and I don't know anyone here. There are so many alleys and lanes here. Once I got lost and wandered off. If I hadn't run into someone I knew, I don't know if I would have been able to find my way home. That one time scared me so much that I don't dare to turn around randomly except for the roads I usually take."

The older woman's doubts subsided somewhat, and she nodded: "Indeed, there are too many small roads around here, and the elderly don't speak Mandarin; they all speak the local dialect of Shanghai. It's normal that you can't understand it."

Jing Yan nodded: "That's right, that's right. I asked people, and they were very enthusiastic in gesturing, but I just don't understand."

The older sister was amused by her: "In the past, we weren't allowed to do business. Our eggs were collected by the village and sent to the supply and marketing cooperatives in various districts. But in the last two years, the regulations have been loosened. The supply and marketing cooperatives are buying them at lower prices, so we sell them ourselves. Apart from being a little slower, it's not too bad."

There aren't many factories around here. Where there are factories, people usually set up their stockpiled goods at the factory gate, and people on their way home from get off work just buy them. They've been setting up these stalls for about half a year now without anyone arresting them, so I finally mustered up the courage to set one up this time.

Jing Yan nodded: "I heard that there used to be a black market here. Do you know where the black market is, sister?"

The older sister quickly waved her hand: "You can't go to that place. Not only do you have to pay to get in, but the people there are also very fierce. I'm a coward. I've only heard about it, but I've never been there. Little sister, listen to my advice, let's not go."

Jingyan didn't refute, but listened to what she said: "Big sister, do you know if there's a place around here where you can buy meat without meat coupons?"

Upon hearing this, the older sister looked around furtively, as if she had done something wrong. Only when she saw that there was no one around did she feel a little relieved. "I heard that the slaughterhouse has some meat that doesn't require coupons every day, but that's for their own employees. The price is the same as the supply and marketing cooperative, but the quantity is not large."

Many slaughterhouse workers will try to resell their quotas to families with fewer meat coupons. However, these days, who can afford to eat meat every day? And who knows how many people will actually buy it? If you want some, ask around if anyone works at a slaughterhouse; that's a more reliable way to find out.

Jingyan felt this trip was really worthwhile. Thinking of He Chunni in the Great Northern Wilderness, she asked again, "Sister, are you from a nearby village?"

The older woman nodded: "That's right. I married into this family from out of town. Most of the locals don't speak Mandarin. My family is willing to let me sell eggs because I can understand the local dialect of Shanghai and speak Mandarin, which makes communication easier. This year, many people from other places have flocked to Shanghai. They have nothing here and need to buy everything, so business is good. As long as you are careful, you'll be fine."

Jingyan moved closer to her and asked in a low voice, "Does your family grow soybeans and make soybean oil?"

The older woman looked at her in surprise: "We all use rapeseed oil here. Well-off families might use peanut oil, or soybean oil? I haven't heard of any village here that makes that."

"Rapeseed oil? You mean that dark oil? I've used it before, it has a certain smell." Jing Yan pouted.

The older woman looked at me like I knew nothing: "I get along with you, let me tell you, the rapeseed oil we use here is what makes dishes so fragrant. If you find it tastes off, you're using it wrong."

Peanut oil can be used for stir-frying as soon as it's hot, but rapeseed oil needs to be heated until it's very hot before stir-frying. This makes the vegetables very fragrant and removes any off-flavors from the rapeseed oil. Did you add the vegetables to the oil before it was fully heated?

Jingyan thought about it and realized it was true. Having used soybean oil for so long, she really didn't know that rapeseed oil was used like this. She nodded and said, "Yes, just heat the oil and then stir-fry the vegetables."

"Then go back and try making it the way I taught you. I guarantee it will taste delicious," the older sister said confidently.

Jingyan continued, "Does your village have any surplus rapeseed oil to sell?"

“I don’t know about other people’s houses, but we have them. There’s a small hill next to my house, and every year my in-laws plant rapeseed on it. You don’t know, it’s rapeseed blooming season now, and the hillsides are covered with flowers. It’s very beautiful.”

In two more months, this year's rapeseed oil will be ready for pressing. My family still has several large barrels of rapeseed oil from last year. If you want some, I'll bring some over tomorrow. How much do you want? Where should we meet?

When the older sister heard that she wanted oil, she immediately perked up. There was plenty of rapeseed oil around here, and every household had enough. Peanut oil could fetch a good price, but rapeseed oil really wasn't.

"Ten pounds, please? How much is it per pound?" Jingyan asked her.

"It's one yuan per jin. Our family's buckets are 15 jin each. Do you have any buckets for storing oil?"

Jing Yan nodded: "My family's oil drums are all 10-jin (5 kg) each. I'll bring the oil drums over tomorrow, or we can leave them here? What time will you arrive tomorrow?"

"Around ten o'clock, you can come over at noon, little sister, it's settled then." The older sister couldn't help but confirm again.

Jingyan was certain she would take it, so she carried the basket home. When she entered the house, all the workers had already arrived and were working hard. Yuan Xiaoling was sitting in the yard with a small stool and a notebook on her lap, writing and calculating.

Yuan Xiaoling calculated for a while, then looked up at the door and saw Jing Yan enter. She quickly put away her notebook and came to greet her: "Jing Yan, my mom has news about kittens and chicks. As for the chicks, my mom said that as soon as our chicken coop is finished, she can help get the chicks."

As for the kittens, she said someone had a litter of kittens recently, and they'll be weaned in a few days. Once weaned, they'll be easier to raise. My mom will take you to choose a kitten then.”

Jingyan perked up: "Oh my, we've got news so quickly! Zhijun said that when hiring a cat, you have to bring betrothal gifts. Are there any customs here? Should I go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some candy or something beforehand?"

Yuan Xiaoling thought for a moment: "It seems the owner didn't ask for candy. My mom asked you to prepare 50 cents, saying that it can be used as money to buy the cat."

Jing Yan nodded: "Giving money is fine too, it can be considered a betrothal gift."

Yuan Xiaoling didn't understand why she was fixated on the word "betrothal," but she didn't ask any further questions. Jing Yan also scratched her head: "Don't you know? Zhijun told me that in ancient times, you had to write a betrothal letter. It seems that nowadays, there aren't as many customs as before."

Yuan Xiaoling shook her head: "I really don't know. It's just that when you ask someone for something, you have to give them some money as a courtesy. Otherwise, according to my mother's idea, she would just go and bring one back for you. But I told her to go and pick one that she likes, and that's why I said to give her 50 cents as a token."

Jingyan nodded and noted it down. The two then prepared to cook lunch. Some time ago, Jingyan had already dug up all the vegetables in the field to plant the seeds given to her by her fourth sister. Only a few cowpeas were left, clinging to the wall in the corner. Hmm, the cowpea vines were still there, and there were quite a few cowpeas on them.

The two picked a large basin of cowpeas, washed and picked them, and Jingyan treated them like the cowpeas from her hometown. She heated the pan with slices of pork belly, then threw in the cowpeas and stir-fried them until they changed color. She added various seasonings, then spread the freshly made dough on top of the cowpeas, covered the pot, and started stewing the dish.

Yuan Xiaoling was helping to start the fire, and she was dumbfounded by her rough methods. After a while, she swallowed and said, "The way you cook in your hometown is too... how should I put it, it's just so simple and crude?"

Jingyan was a little confused: "It is a bit simple, but it's not exactly crude. That's how we cook green beans where I'm from. You'll see in a bit, it smells amazing."

Yuan Xiaoling smiled and changed the subject, "Why did you buy so much meat again? One dish is enough for lunch."

Jingyan shook her head: "One big flatbread is enough, but there aren't enough vegetables. There are four big men, and I have a big appetite too. Let's stew some pork ribs and potatoes."

The stove in the kitchen was already in use. Now that the weather was fine, the kang (heated brick bed) didn't need to be heated anymore, and it wasn't cold. Jingyan didn't want to sleep too hot at night, so she lit the small stove in her grandmother's room. And you know what? This kind of small stove, which was used in the Great Northern Wilderness, was quite handy. Before long, she covered the pot with the lid and let it simmer.

Jing Yan looked at the base of the white wall, which was already turning slightly black, and felt a bit overwhelmed. This was too fragile; it hadn't been burned for very long, so how could it have turned black again?

Yuan Xiaoling came out of the kitchen and saw her frowning as she looked at the corner of the wall. She smiled and said, "As long as you keep burning firewood, let alone the wall so close to the stove, the walls of the whole house will turn black in time. We can just repaint it later."

Jingyan sighed helplessly, "If only the tiles on this side of the stove could cover all the walls of the house, it would solve the problem once and for all."

Yuan Xiaoling thought she was being delusional: "Jingyan, if the tiles are laid on the ground, it shouldn't be a big problem. But if they're on the wall, as far as I know, neither the glue nor the cement we can buy right now can hold them in place for long. If they fall off the edge of the stove, at most the tiles will break, but at least it won't be dangerous."

"But if a wall tile falls and injures someone, that's considered lucky. If it hits someone on the head, that could crack their skull open. Hmm, the risk is too high." She shook her head repeatedly after saying that.

Jingyan thought about it and agreed. She checked the stove fire again to make sure there was enough coal, so she stopped watching the pot and sat on a small stool in the yard. Looking at the sprouting vegetable seedlings, she was in a good mood.

Because the gate to the courtyard was open, passing neighbors couldn't help but peek inside when they saw so many people. Jingyan would occasionally glance at them but wouldn't say anything, pretending not to see them.

People are generally good at making things easier for themselves. Since she couldn't speak the language here, she didn't want to cause trouble for herself and simply stopped trying to maintain good neighborly relations. With Yuan Xiaoling, who was a local expert (mainly because her mother was a real know-it-all), she avoided taking too many detours (literally).

But even though she ignored them, some older women still stood at the door and started talking to her. She couldn't understand a word they said. Luckily, Yuan Xiaoling was there. She went to the door and chatted with the women for a while. After the older women left, Yuan Xiaoling shook her head and closed the door.

"Jingyan, that older woman just asked me if you were the owner of this house, and she also asked if you were planning to rent it out. She has a large family, and she was thinking of having her youngest son and daughter-in-law stay if she could rent a room from you, but I sent her away."

You've gone through all this trouble just for your own comfort, so why would you want strangers in your home? Besides, that older woman doesn't seem easy to deal with. It's better to avoid trouble.

Jingyan nodded in agreement: "I like peace and quiet and don't want too many people in my house. Besides, I'm pregnant now and I'm lazy and sleepy. I'm usually the only one at home. If a stranger moves in, Zhijun will be worried. Please tell the neighbors that this is my family's place and we don't intend to rent it out."

Yuan Xiaoling also felt that Jingyan's concerns were only natural, and immediately said that she would take care of things for her when she got home, but she couldn't say that there was only one person at home usually. If she said that, there might be more people with ulterior motives. She should just say that the man doesn't want strangers to live in his house, and avoid suspicion.

Jingyan was grateful for her thoughtfulness. Calculating the time, she first went to the kitchen to check on the flatbread in the green bean pot. She poked it with chopsticks and saw that the flatbread through the hole was indeed cooked. Only then did she remove the fire from the stove and extinguish it with water.

"Cut this flatbread into small pieces so we can eat it later. Take out the green beans and I'll go check on the ribs." Jingyan said to Yuan Xiaoling, then went to the main room to check the pot. She tested the ribs and found they were thoroughly cooked. She pierced a potato to check and found it was also cooked, crumbling easily when pierced. It looked fluffy and appetizing. She turned off the fire in the stove and put the vegetables into a serving bowl.

After everyone washed their hands, they sat around the dining table in the main room for lunch. There was a small bowl of flatbread, a large bowl of green beans, a bowl of pork ribs and potatoes, and finally a plate of cold dishes. Apart from Liu Qiang and Lao Chen, who looked at the dishes with excitement and nostalgia, the others were shocked.

Seeing the confused looks on his two friends' faces, Liu Qiang kindly explained, "This is authentic Northeastern cuisine. It's not that the portions are large; it's just that stewing a dish takes a lot of firewood, so the portions are larger. One dish is enough for a whole family. It's not like the dishes here where there are plates and dishes on the left and right, and you have to wash the dishes for a while."

The others chuckled at his words: "I understand, it's just the first time I've seen a meal without bowls and plates, served in basins instead."