Chapter 35 : County Food Market

“Beep, beep.”

“Sisters-in-law, please be seated. We will start the car soon.”

When the driver saw that everyone was in the car, he started the vehicle slowly.

The military vehicle headed east and reached the county in about half an hour.

In the back of the car, the sisters-in-law were still talking excitedly.

This day every month, when they go to the county town, is the happiest time for them.

“Hey, have you heard? Doctor Ting in the regiment was reported by someone in a letter.”

“I know about this matter. It seems to be quite serious. The commander called her back, and I heard he was furious.”

Hearing her sisters-in-law talking about Xiao Ting, Lu Fangfang, who was sitting aside, immediately pricked up her ears and listened curiously.

“Why was Xiao Ting reported?”

A sister-in-law asked the same question as Lu Fangfang.

Just as she wanted to hear the reason, she saw her sisters-in-law looking at her.

The sister-in-law who had asked the question just now understood instantly. What else could it be? It must be a problem of work style.

Lu Fangfang: “…”

She cursed her bad luck in her heart, never expecting that this would involve her.

“Huh? Comrade Xiao Lu, I just realized that you are really white.”

“Yes, yes, none of the sisters-in-law from the city who came to join the army have fairer skin than you, Comrade Xiao Lu, you have really good skin.”

The sisters-in-law looked at Lu Fangfang, and they were all very envious.

The Qilian Mountains grassland is a high mountain grassland. The sun is very strong here. When the sisters-in-law first saw Lu Fangfang’s fair skin, they were all surprised.

“It only looks white now, but it will definitely be tanned in two months. Look at you all making such a fuss.”

There were also sisters-in-law in the crowd who looked disdainful.

Lu Fangfang smiled, turned her head, and found that the person who was talking was her sister-in-law with the long face.

“Oh…”

She still remembers this person. Previously, the deputy head’s lover wanted to buy her own wardrobe but was rejected by her. At that time, it was this sister-in-law who said strange things in a sarcastic tone.

After the long-faced sister-in-law said this, everyone paused, and then started talking about Xiao Ting again.

“Doctor Ting’s incident with Captain Zhuang wasn’t all because of that. Ahem, I heard someone reported that Xiao Ting had a low level of ideological awareness.”

Upon hearing this, several sisters-in-law nodded their heads, “It’s really not high. Doctor Ting doesn’t even take us seriously. When I met her the other day, I greeted her, but she ignored me.”

“Okay, stop talking about this.” The long-faced sister-in-law interrupted them directly.

The other sisters-in-law curled their lips and were too lazy to pay attention to her.

“Xiao Lu, please retract your legs.”

Lu Fangfang frowned slightly. Her legs were already curled up, so where else could she move them?

However, the long-faced sister-in-law’s feet were already on the sack she was sitting on.

Lu Fangfang was very unhappy. She wasn’t someone who would provoke others, but she wasn’t someone who would be bullied either.

She reached out and pulled the sack out from under the woman’s feet. She closed her eyes, too lazy to pay attention to the woman.

“you……”

The long-faced sister-in-law felt a little embarrassed.

Seeing everyone looking at her with a smile, she felt angry that Lu Fangfang did not give her face.

However, she couldn’t get angry at this time, so the long-faced sister-in-law could only sulk in secret.

The sisters-in-law chatted and laughed for a while, and then fell silent.

In those days, all the roads were dirt, and the military vehicles had no shock absorbers, so the ride was extremely bumpy. It was a torture, and the sisters-in-law lost the mood to chat and laugh.

The military vehicle drove slowly for half an hour before finally arriving at the county.

The driver didn’t go anywhere else but drove the military vehicle directly to the most prosperous area in the county, the entrance of the department store.

As soon as the military vehicle stopped, the sisters-in-law hurriedly ran down as if someone was chasing them, and Lu Fangfang was stunned.

Wang Shufen next to her did the same, staring blankly.

Sun Manling jumped out of the car and saw the two people still standing on it. She hurriedly said, “Sister Fangfang, Sister Shufen, you two should hurry up and catch up. We have to go to the food market and line up. Otherwise, if we go too late, we won’t be able to buy meat.”

When Lu Fangfang and Wang Shufen heard this, they hurriedly climbed out of the car and followed Sun Manling.

The grocery market is just to the west of the department store. The sisters-in-law who had just come down were not in a hurry to go to the department store, but all ran there.

Lu Fangfang looked up curiously.

The county’s non-staple food market was a bit simple, with a big shed on top, just like the vegetable markets of later generations.

When she ran into the market, she looked around and found that there were quite a few people there.

“Fangfang, hurry up and catch up.”

Lu Fangfang took a few quick steps and followed Sister Manling into a long line.

Several people hurried forward but still arrived late and were at the end of the line.

Lu Fangfang stuck her head out and looked forward, and found that most of her sisters-in-law who came from the staff quarters were queuing in the team.

At the end of the line was a state-owned stall with meat hanging on it.

“Don’t queue, don’t queue, what we’re selling today is beef, not pork.”

“Ah? Beef? Didn’t the county kill pigs today?”

“Who knows? Anyway, we only sell beef.”

Hearing the discussions, the sisters-in-law in line were immediately disappointed.

Beef is not as fragrant as pork, and it cannot be used to make lard, so they don’t want to buy beef.

Some people in the team left immediately.

“I heard from sister-in-law Meijiao that there has been no pork supply for the past half month. It seems that all the pork has been sent to other places.”

“Why? We don’t have enough to eat.”

The sisters-in-law were talking about it. Sister Meijiao was a grocery store salesperson, so what she said must be right.

Well, now no one in the team will leave.

Just eat beef. After all, it’s good to have meat to eat, and beef is cheap, so you can save some money.

Yes, in that era pork was more expensive than beef and mutton. Pork was supplied at 85 cents per pound with tickets, while beef and mutton were only 65 cents, a difference of 20 cents.

Lu Fangfang was standing at the back, listening with great interest and feeling that her horizons had been broadened.

After a while, she who was waiting in line suddenly realized that she didn’t have a meat ticket and couldn’t buy meat even if she had money, so why was she waiting in line?

Lu Fangfang immediately greeted Sun Manling and Wang Shufen, and then started shopping in the market.

In addition to pork, the non-staple food market also sells salt, oil, sauce, vinegar, tobacco, alcohol, sugar, and tea.

There are dishes on the counter in the first row.

Of course, at that time, they only sold cabbage, radishes, and potatoes, nothing else.

Lu Fangfang was a little disappointed. A small supermarket in later generations had more abundant supplies than the current market.

When she reached the end of the market, she saw a stall selling chickens.

In this era, chicken, duck, and fish are only available during festivals, and it is not easy to find them. She hurried over to ask about the price.

“A rooster is eighty cents, a hen is ninety cents.”

“One pound?” Lu Fangfang was shocked by the price.

This is a live chicken. After being slaughtered, only 80% of the meat will be produced. Its price is much more expensive than pork.

The chicken salesman looked at Lu Fangfang as if she were a fool. “If it’s not one pound, how many pounds can it be?”

Lu Fangfang: “…”

“Well, the price is so high, do I need a ticket to buy chicken?”

The salesperson looked at her speechlessly, and after a while, he said, “One poultry ticket, to buy a chicken. Comrade, you still have to ask this? Have you never bought anything before?”

Lu Fangfang: “…”