Chapter 26

When Song Zhaodi arrived at the non-staple food factory, it wasn't even ten o'clock, but it felt like the stall was closing. Because the people of this era did not dare to buy and buy them with a lot of money, the non-staple food factory was naturally deserted.

When Zhong Jianguo was on the island, he always came out to buy things, which led to a handful of times Song Zhaodi came to the non-staple food factory.

Even so, when she appeared at the entrance of the non-staple food factory with Sanwa in her arms, the workers of the non-staple food factory recognized Song Zhaodi, the most educated teacher on the island, at a glance.

The man who looked after the pork stall was around fifty years old. He was wearing gray overalls. He was average in appearance, with small eyes and protruding teeth. Strictly speaking, it was a bit ugly. Seeing Song Zhaodi walking towards him, her small eyes made a line of laughter, and she said hello before Song Zhaodi approached: "Mr. Song, what should I buy?"

"I want to buy some pork, but it's only halfway through this month, so I don't dare to buy any more." Song Zhaodi is not stupid, so naturally it is impossible to go straight to the destination as soon as she comes in.

I looked around at random, saw the man selling pork, and remembered Zhong Jianguo's saying that every time he came to buy pork, the man who sold pork would shake his hands when he cut the pork, resulting in more than half a pound of pork. Song Zhaodi thought that he should really like Zhong Jianguo, so she walked towards him.

Walking to the booth, Song Zhaodi glanced around seemingly casually. She didn't see the woman who was about her age. She was very puzzled. Could it be possible that the booth was harvested? So she asked, "When do you all close the booth?"

"We close the stall at night when we sell dry goods, and we close the stall when we sell fresh goods." The man pointed at the chopping board, "There are still more than ten kilograms, soon."

Sanwa can walk now, and it is not stable, but he finally learned to walk, so he doesn't like to ask Song Zhaodi to hug him. When Song Zhaodi stopped, he struggled to get down.

Song Zhaodi bent down and put him on the ground, the child was like a bird flying out of a cage. Song Zhaodi also saw that under the chopping board, there were many shaved big bone sticks in the basin: "Uncle, are the pork bones here at the same price as pork?"

The man smiled and said, "How is that possible? You don't need a ticket for pig bones, you can buy as many as you want. However, it's the same price as fat meat." want to?"

"I heard that children can grow taller by eating pork bone soup. I always wanted to buy some, but I was afraid to buy meat tickets like pork, so I didn't dare to buy it." Song Zhaodi really thinks so.

The man waved his hand and brought up the basin: "This thing has no oil or water. If you want meat tickets, the pig bones in my stall will already be piled up in mountains. Teacher Song, how much do you want, I'll weigh it for you."

"Wait for me." Song Zhaodi hurriedly brought back Sanwa, who had been wandering far away for a while, "Give me two. Uncle, I don't have a machete for cutting bones at home. Could you please chop it for me?"

The man said yes, took the fifty cents handed by Song Zhaodi, waved his machete and asked, "Mr. Song, what's the use of this child learning foreign languages? We're not going abroad."

"It's useful not to go abroad." Song Zhaodi noticed that the fish seller was looking this way, and quietly raised the volume, "For example, your child will join the army in the future and seize Lao Jiang's ship, all of which are written in foreign languages, and read every word. If you don’t understand it, it won’t work.”

Most people on the island know that Lao Jiang is supported by Americans, and the man who sells pork also heard that Lao Jiang's weapons were provided by Americans, and nodded again and again: "Mr. Song is right, that's the truth." Putting down the machete, she found that Song Zhaodi didn't take the back basket, "Mr. Song, you can use this back basket of mine first, and give it to me when you come to buy pork tomorrow."

Song Zhaodi smiled and said, "Thank you. I'll ask Lao Zhong to deliver it to you tomorrow. I'll take a look over there."

"Mr. Song, don't you want to buy a fish?" The fish-selling man who pricked up his ears to listen to Song Zhaodi's words suddenly said.

Song Zhaodi turned around and raised her eyebrows in surprise. Why did she feel like everyone knew her: "Is there a perch?"

"...No." The man was embarrassed, "There is a hairtail, do you want it?"

Song Zhaodi shook her head again and again: "There are so many fish bones that a few children can't eat it."

"You are so kind to these children." The man blurted out.

Zhong Jianguo has a high position and a high degree of education. When he comes to the non-staple food factory to buy things and talks to the workers of the non-staple food factory, he has no official prestige. When the workers weighed things, Zhong Jianguo hardly looked at the scales. He gave the money and walked away with the things. It's neat and tidy, without any hesitation.

The workers of the non-staple food factory deal with all kinds of housewives every day, and most of the housewives are also preoccupied with each other. After all, life is not well-off, and can't help but care about eating more meat for family. As a result, the workers were not only physically tired, but also tired in their hearts, and their brains hurt too—noisy.

Compared with them, Zhong Jianguo is like a clear stream in the "vegetable market". As a result, the workers liked Zhong Jianguo very much, wishing that all the guests were Zhong Jianguo.

Just because he likes it, when he is idle, he will inevitably mention Zhong Jianguo. When he mentions Zhong Jianguo, he can't help but talk about his newly married daughter-in-law.

The man who sold fish was one of them. He pricked up his ears just now, not to listen to what Song Zhaodi was talking about with the pork seller, but to observe whether Song Zhaodi was good or not.

With a bald mouth, the tone of voice was a little unbelievable that Song Zhaodi was so kind to children, and the man selling fish was embarrassed, "I don't mean anything else, that is, Teacher Song is so young, I didn't expect to be able to take care of children."

"I'm not very good at taking care of children." Song Zhaodi said with a smile, "However, my nephew is about the same size as Lao Zhong's children. I often take care of them, and I learned a little from my elder sister. I saw that you have a pomfret here, Can you sell it to me?"

"Yes, yes." The man who bought the fish said quickly, "I'll find a rope to tie you up. Teacher Song, do you want anything else?"

Song Zhaodi gave him the money and looked around: "No need. I'll take a look at the counter that sells dry goods over there."

"Then go ahead, there's a lot of dry goods shipped this morning." The man said, "I see dried beans, dried kelp, and dried shrimp."

Song Zhaodi was going to take a look at the dry goods counter. When he saw what he said, she stopped and asked in a low voice, "Why has the counter changed? I remember that the counter over there was watched by a woman about my age?"

"I didn't come today." The man said, "I heard that she was sick. However, I was very energetic when I saw her yesterday. I want to be lazy and say I'm sick."

Song Zhaodi raised her eyebrows, the market is indeed the most well-informed place: "Aren't you afraid of fines?"

"Don't be afraid!" The man didn't lower his voice at all, "The girl has a good relationship with Head Qian, and the director of the non-staple food factory also expects to send her son to the army, for fear that the woman will talk nonsense in front of Head Qian in the future and dare not punish her at all. ."

Song Zhaodi was surprised: "Captain Qian doesn't care about recruiting troops, what is he afraid of?"

"What if it is assigned to Head Qian in the future." The man who sold pork continued, "No one knows what will happen in the future. It is better to have less than more."

Song Zhaodi nodded again and again: "That's right. However, how could she, a young girl, know Head Qian?"

"Captain Qian often comes to buy vegetables." Middle-aged women selling live chickens gathered around automatically.

Song Zhaodi was delighted, and sure enough, people of all ages like to gossip: "Captain Qian also came to buy vegetables?" He pretended to be surprised, "Our old Zhong actually told me that he was the only man who came to the non-staple food factory in the morning to buy vegetables. There is a feeling that he stands out from the crowd, he is lying to me."

"Captain Zhong didn't lie to you." The fish seller said quickly, "He is indeed the only man who buys vegetables. That person, Captain Qian, he is buying vegetables by the way. He came here to chat with her."

Seeing the other two nodded, Song Zhaodi was very curious: "I see that you all know that Colonel Qian really comes here often? He, he admires that girl very much?"

"That person Xiao Zhao can talk and has troubles. Head Qian likes to chat with her," said the middle-aged woman who sold chickens.

Song Zhaodi: "So that's the case. I heard your accents are all from the island, so is Xiao Zhao?"

"No." The woman who had just arrived at the pork stall said suddenly.

Song Zhaodi was taken aback and said tentatively, "No? She is a young girl who came here, so her parents can rest assured. When I came here with Lao Zhong, my parents were not worried. Lao Zhong is still my cousin. We both know the bottom line."

"Mr. Song is Captain Zhong's cousin?!" the chicken seller exclaimed. Everyone looked over.

Sanwa was a little scared, Song Zhaodi quickly hugged him and patted his back.

Bai Hua used to get close to Mrs. Duan, and Zhong Jianguo was also a soldier of Master Liu. The Liu family knew that Zhong Jianguo had a bad relationship with the family, so Song Zhaodi was not surprised.

Most of the military family members are not people with broken mouths, and it is normal for ordinary people to not know about Zhong Jian's country. Song Zhaodi said, "Yes. I'm eight years younger than him. When the baby was born, I was still in high school." After a while, "Don't talk about me, what happened to that Xiao Zhao?"

Song Zhaodi doesn't come to the non-staple food factory often, and Xiao Zhao is not a special person who can't say it, and everyone is curious when they see her. The eldest sister who sold chicken said: "Xiao Zhao is from Hangcheng, and she has relatives on the island. When the army built this non-staple food factory, Xiao Zhao happened to be at her relative's house.

"Xiao Zhao has been studying for a few years, she is not timid, she can talk, the director saw that she was not bad, so he asked her to come to work here. Usually keep an account, follow the director to collect the goods, work is a good hand, It's just too lazy sometimes."

"Aren't you getting married?" Song Zhaodi pretended to be surprised.

The eldest sister who sold the chicken waved her hand as if she didn't want to say more.

Song Zhaodi looked at the others and didn't want to mention it when she saw others, she deliberately pretended to be more puzzled: "What's wrong?"

"What's not to say." The woman who said that Xiao Zhao was not from the island spoke again, "That Xiao Zhao has high eyesight. Once I went to the hospital to get medicine, I heard her ask the nurse about the officers of our army, and thought Marrying an officer. She is so close to Head Qian because she wants to ask Head Qian to introduce her to someone."

Song Zhaodi suddenly realized: "No wonder. Oh, no, she really wants to marry an officer, why doesn't she marry the big baby's father? As far as our old Zhong's condition is concerned, it's pretty good wherever she goes."

"Your old Zhong has three children." The woman said, "I used to wonder how you, a college student, would marry Captain Zhong. It turns out that you are cousins."

Song Zhaodi didn't understand the relationship between the two: "Cousin can explain it?"

"Of course." The woman said, "When the big baby grows up, if she doesn't want to call your mother, she has to call your aunt. No matter how you break it up, the relationship between you will continue to break, and several children of Chief Zhong must get Filial piety to you.

"The most worrying thing about being a stepmother is that you will not be able to raise a few children. Like you, you don't have to worry about a few children being unfamiliar. If it was me, I would be happy too. If your old bell treats me well."

Cousin, cousin or something? It's just to deceive people who don't know.

Song Zhaodi didn't want her half-truths to be exposed in the future, and everyone thought she was a liar, so they said, "Don't think about it. I have to go back to school to pick up the eldest baby and the second baby, and go buy some first. Dried mushrooms, we'll talk to you tomorrow." He waved to a few people and went shopping.

Dry goods and seafood do not require tickets or non-staple food books. The prices are relatively high, and there are not many people who buy them. Song Zhaodi saw that the good kelp was not picked away. Many of the kelp were thick and large. I really wanted to buy more and go back to make kelp soup. However, everyone is very frugal, Song Zhaodi didn't do anything special, and went back after buying a little bit.

Head Qian's concubine didn't see it, and Song Zhaodi didn't want to waste saliva on Teacher Yao. When Zhong Jianguo came back at night, Song Zhaodi said to him, "I want to take Teacher Yao out to see."

"Look at the situation outside?" Zhong Jianguo picked a piece of fish for his third son, "You are very concerned about her."

Song Zhaodi sighed: "I don't want to either. But as soon as the principal and the others are worried about sleeping and eating, I'll be tired."

"Mr. Xiao Song, what about them?" Zhong Jianguo reminded.

Song Zhaodi: "I'm going out on Sunday. I ask Aunt Liu to help me take care of it for a day. The eldest baby, the second baby, I have something to do when I go out in a few days. Can you help grandma to take care of my brother together?"

Zhong Jianguo and Song Zhaodi's expressions were very serious, the big baby knew that if he dared to shake his head at this time, his father would really beat him, and nodded: "You come back early."

"I will try my best to come back before dark." Song Zhaodi did not go to Teacher Yao directly, but sent Lin Zhong to go there.

When Teacher Yao came, Qian Qinghua also followed.

Song Zhaodi noticed that Qian Qinghua was walking a little wobbly, and frowned slightly: "Why are you here? Is the injury on your body healed?"

"It's okay to hurt the flesh." When he passed from Zhong's house that day, Qian Qinghua questioned his father, what the fuck was wrong with his head, Qian Qinghua, and he wanted to kill them all. Head Qian didn't admit or deny, but he took off the belt and beat Qian Qinghua, cursing and scolding as he walked.

Qian Qinghua was utterly disappointed with his father, and he didn't even ask for a letter.

Head Qian was not a careful person. He didn't realize that the letter was lost, and he gave Qian Qinghua time to hide the letter. As soon as he saw Lin Zhong today, Qian Qinghua knew that Song Zhaodi had sent him here.

Qian Qinghua mistakenly thought that there was a new situation on his father's concubine, and regardless of the injuries on his butt and back, he insisted on following his mother.

Seeing the anxiety in Qian Qinghua's eyes, Song Zhaodi couldn't help sighing. It was the child who was hurt the most by the parents' discord: "I want to take your mother to Hangzhou, and I'll stop by to see if I can buy cloth there. Three The kids are getting taller by the day, so I have to prepare some more cloth. Can you go?"

"Yes." Qian Qinghua said, "I'll go with you."

Zhong Jianguo is the head of the regiment and Song Zhaodi is the teacher. The food and food stamps given by the school and the army cannot be eaten by their family. Her mother's family had private plots, so she didn't need Song Zhaodi to help her, so Song Zhaodi saved up the food stamps and planned to go out and exchange them for those who could get rid of them.

With the cloth ticket and money in his pocket, Song Zhaodi said, "Let's go."

Nowadays, the cloth that everyone gets every year is only enough for an adult to make a set of clothes. Even if you don’t want to wear old clothes, everyone has to wear old clothes. Song Zhaodi's clothes have patches, and Yao and Qian Qinghua's clothes also have patches.

The three of them seemed to be no different from the others, and when they arrived in Hangcheng, no one stared at them.

Song Zhaodi came here once a year ago, and when she came back after the year, she found that the atmosphere was more tense than before.

When Teacher Yao and Qian Qinghua came out for the first time, they saw the streets and alleys covered with big-character posters and people with red armbands everywhere. Qian Qinghua subconsciously grabbed his mother's arm.

Song Zhaodi noticed that Teacher Yao was nervous and scared, and sighed: "Mr. Yao, now you know that I didn't scare you."

"Thank you, Teacher Song." Seeing the words posted on the wall, Qian Qinghua couldn't help but whisper, "Mr. Song, let's go back."

Song Zhaodi: "My ancestors have been poor peasants for generations. You can follow me. I will recite the chairman's quotations. Don't be afraid. Let's go to the cooperative now."

Once here, Song Zhaodi knew where there were cloth sellers. It's been hot these few days, and it feels like it's jumping straight from spring into summer. Song Zhaodi wants to try her luck at the cooperative to see if she can get seasonal cloth or exchange food stamps.

Arriving at the cooperative, Song Zhaodi picked a good-looking eldest sister and asked in a low voice if she wanted food stamps, which could be exchanged for cloth stamps.

The lady at the counter lit up and asked her how much she had.

Song Zhaodi wanted to say that she weighed 30 pounds. When the words came to her mouth, she turned her tongue and said that she only weighed 10 pounds.

The other party was overjoyed and quickly told Song Zhaodi to wait for her for a while.

About ten minutes later, she brought a woman in her forties from outside. At this time, Song Zhaodi also separated the 30 catties of food stamps.

Song Zhaodi saw someone coming over, took a look, and took out ten catties of food stamps to exchange for cloth tickets with her. After they left, Song Zhaodi gave the eldest sister at the counter a pound of food stamps. Without waiting for the other party to ask questions, Song Zhaodi asked if there was a change of seasons, not the cloth and rags of the ticket.

The weather has been too hot these few days. People in the cooperative are afraid that it will continue to heat up. Thick fabrics are piled up in the warehouse to occupy space. When the thin fabrics arrive tomorrow, there is no place to put them. They plan to start processing them in two days.

The other party went to ask the leader for instructions, and came back and told Song Zhaodi that he could not sell her too much.

Song Zhaodi didn't want too much, just enough to make a set of clothes for the three children.

Seeing that Song Zhaodi was so good at talking, the other party thought about it, and gave Song Zhaodi half a bag of the scraps he had saved, and confiscated Song Zhaodi's money. However, Song Zhaodi gave the other party a dime while they were not paying attention.

Teacher Yao and Qian Qinghua watched Song Zhaodi and the eldest sister at the counter come and go, and their eyes widened, as if they knew Song Zhaodi for the first time.

Before leaving, the eldest sister at the counter greeted Song Zhaodi, come back next time.

Teacher Yao couldn't help sighing: "Mr. Song, you are really amazing." After a pause, "I saw you staring at the woman just now. Are you sure she has a cloth ticket? How did you see it?"

"Her clothes are not patched, and her face is sallow. At first glance, there are people who are not short of clothes and food." Song Zhaodi said, "When I talk to her, her mouth has a smell, and that kind of smell is only found in people who have never eaten breakfast. ."

Teacher Yao opened his mouth, and after a while he said, "You are so careful."

Song Zhaodi smiled and said, "I'm not careful. Last year, when I came back with Lao Zhong, we took the train for one day and two nights, and there was nothing to eat on the way. When I arrived at the station in the morning, the smell was in my mouth. As for her face, it was closely related to the family members in our village. There are many people who don’t have enough food. Only I can conclude that she is short of food stamps.”

"Then you are good enough." Qian Qinghua admired.

Song Zhaodi thought to herself, I was in the fashion circle in my previous life, and my eyes were not very bright. Even with the help of nobles, I would not want to go to Milan or Cannes.

"Do you want to buy something?" Song Zhaodi asked, "I actually have food stamps."

Teacher Yao: "We also have it in our house. If we need something in the future, we will come here to exchange it. However, I also hope that Teacher Song can join us. If you want me to come alone, I dare not come."

"I really want to promise you, but I can't, the three children can't do without me." Song Zhaodi really couldn't appreciate Mr. Yao's character, and didn't want to get too close to Mr. Yao, "People from our island often come out, so Mr. Yao can Join them. When you get here, don't talk, don't look around, and don't mind your own business, nothing will happen."

Sanwa was still young, so Mr. Yao did not doubt Song Zhaodi's words.

After getting off the boat and arriving on the island, Song Zhaodi asked, "What are you going to do about Head Qian?"

"I can't get a divorce." Qian Qinghua went out and became more determined, "If my father forces my mother again, I will write a letter to the commander."

Song Zhaodi said "um": "My opinion is that no matter what happens, you can't change your career and go back to your place."

"I know." Qian Qinghua said, "My eldest brother is also a soldier, I will discuss with him."

Seeing this, Song Zhaodi was completely relieved. When she saw that her house was coming, she waved to Teacher Yao and put the cloth in the room before going to the next door to pick up a few children. Unexpectedly, she saw Head Qian's concubine coming from the next door Lin's house. come out.

Song Zhaodi hid behind the fence and waited for the woman to walk away before asking the mother in the forest, "Sister Chen, isn't that Xiao Zhao who collects money at the counter in the non-staple food factory? You know her very well?"