Chapter 22: The First Rush

After a whole year of hard work, the Wen family got 68 yuan and a number of tickets.

Don’t think that 68 yuan is a small amount. You must know that when the year was bad a few years ago, some families owed money to the brigade because their money was used to buy food from the brigade.

The brigade headquarters is lively and bustling today, with ninety percent of the village gathered there. Wen Jiajia didn’t stay long and left after getting the money.

Sixty-eight yuan is a huge amount.

The combined strength of the three members of her family isn’t even comparable to that of an underage boy, so it’s best for them to develop quietly.

Fang Baoguo, who was handing out money, wanted to call her back, but after hesitating, he let Wen Jiajia leave first.

Evening.

Recently, the evening breeze has been quite cool, and Wen Jiajia needed to turn out the padded jackets of the original owner and the second sister to wear.

The bedding at home had also been replaced with thicker ones.

She was given 6 catties of cotton some time ago, but because she had cloth and cotton at home, Wen Jiajia didn’t use it.

She actually tried synthetic cotton.

A ball of cotton, a rag, a towel that had been stripped off, a cotton jacket, and a cotton coat.

What is combined?

It was a long cotton suit, a piece of cotton cloth, and a long cotton skirt.

Did Wen Jiajia dare click on Synthesis? Of course not!

Who knows what the surface of the padded suit is, and she was very suspicious that the synthesis system would make her a polyester fiber suit.

Unless there is a padded jacket one day, she will not consider whether to synthesize it. After all, if she could directly synthesize a padded jacket, she would save herself from finding someone to make clothes.

A piece of cotton cloth is possible.

But she didn’t want a cotton dress, and even if it was synthesized, it could only be used as a nightdress.

It’s getting colder, there’s no heating, and there’s not even a fire kang, so what kind of nightdress would she want?

Well, let’s leave it there for now.

Half a month ago, taking advantage of the good weather, Wen Jiajia moved out a few quilts at home to dry them again.

The quilt of the original owner’s parents seemed to be a five-pound quilt, but in fact, it was already a little lumpy, and Wen Jiajia couldn’t play cotton, so she could only beat it hard with a wooden stick in the sun every day.

Not to mention, after beating it for more than a week, there wasn’t much dust, and the whole quilt became a little fluffy.

After drying the quilt of the original owner’s parents, Wen Jiajia used it as a mat.

The cushion was placed on the straw mat, and the originally hard bed instantly became soft. It felt extremely warm when lying on it.

And Sister Wen’s quilt was covered by Wen Chun and Wen Xuan, while Wen Jiajia used the quilt of Sister Wen’s parents.

After this operation, it was no longer cold when she slept at night. Day and night, she could sleep in a warm and soft bed until dawn.

It wasn’t enough to just dry the quilt; the padded jackets had to be taken out to dry as well.

In the evening, the moon rose, and the night breeze was cool. Wen Jiajia was collecting her padded jacket when she saw Fang Baoguo walking towards her house.

“Captain, what’s the matter?” Wen Jiajia asked.

She secretly thought in her heart that she had already returned all the money she owed to the captain’s wife. Could it be that the couple didn’t communicate well?

Fang Baoguo didn’t enter the house. He stood in the courtyard, looked outside the door to see that there was no one, and said, “You did a good job catching the thieves in the mountains that day. Because it had to be kept secret, the county and the commune won’t praise you openly.”

Wen Jiajia hurriedly shook her head.

Did they think she had lived for a long time? If she could do this, there was a very high possibility that there was a gang behind her. Who knows if there were any accomplices still out there? If she were to be praised openly, she would have to live in fear every day.

Fang Baoguo showed a teachable expression. In his opinion, Wen Jiajia was indeed a smart person.

He took out some money and tickets from his pocket and said, “Thirty yuan, plus ten tickets. This is the reward given to you by the county and the commune.”

The higher-ups had investigated Wen Jiajia and knew what she lacked the most before giving it.

His words had some meaning behind them.

Wen Jiajia was startled!

She was going to be scared to death. If they really wanted to investigate her, she couldn’t stop them.

They wouldn’t be able to trace the two kettles that were sold.

Wen Jiajia was feeling oddly guilty, so she obediently put the money and tickets in her pocket without even looking at them.

But as soon as Fang Baoguo left, Wen Jiajia couldn’t wait to close the door and then went back to the house to count the tickets.

The money was indeed thirty yuan, so she had received a total of ninety-eight today. That was good, almost in the triple digits.

As for the tickets, there were the most common food stamps and meat stamps, which added up to twelve catties and meat stamps totaling eight catties.

There were also two industrial tickets, five pounds of oil tickets, and the most pleasing thing for Wen Jiajia was that there were two soap tickets!

You know, she was running out of soap at home. She had saved and saved, and now there was only a thin layer left.

Wen Jiajia decided to go shopping tomorrow, not only to buy soap but also to buy meat.

She was crazy about eating fat now. Especially the pork belly, with its three layers of fat and lean, fatty and glutinous braised pork!

It’s no wonder that people in those years especially loved eating fatty meat. When people didn’t consume enough oil and water for a long time, they really couldn’t resist fatty meat.

It’s just that Wen Jiajia couldn’t go to the county seat the next day.

Because the “big set” of Hongji Commune was about to open, and it was said to open next Wednesday. Since this was the case, Wen Jiajia decided to wait for the big set.

The big market was almost the only place where people could buy and sell privately. It allowed farmers to circulate their goods, buy less and sell more, and reduce the pressure on urban materials.

The first big market after the autumn harvest was the most lively of the year, and even the last one of the year couldn’t compare.

The weather was getting colder and colder. When winter arrived, the temperature seemed to drop like bungee jumping, falling off a cliff with a click.

The village sold some oranges and distributed the rest.

The Wen family was given two wooden boxes of oranges, which were not very durable if they were not soaked in potions. So, Wen Jiajia directly put the two boxes of oranges in the hall and ate them whenever she wanted.

The tangerines of this year really had the taste of oranges, but to say they were very sweet wasn’t necessarily true.

Some of them are so sour that they make people grimace, and some are sweeter than rock candy, bringing joy to people’s hearts.

The key is that these oranges are mandarins, not tangerines, with enough moisture and delicate flesh. Wen Jiajia can eat ten a day.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan obviously like oranges as well. It’s just that the two girls have fragile stomachs, so Wen Jiajia often has to bake oranges on a brazier before giving them food.

Wen Jiajia built a barbecue grill during this time, and because she couldn’t figure out how to assemble it, she ended up dismantling the barbecue grill violently. In the end, only the iron mesh where the ingredients were placed was left, and she repurposed the rest to make something else.

After dozens of days of hard work, she decided to treat herself to a barbecue at the end of the year.

—

Jiang Province, Linhe City.

A military unit is stationed on the outskirts of Linhe City, and because the unit has recently built a family home, the area around the unit is livelier than ever.

Naturally, the family homes were not built within the troops’ area but on its periphery.

The first thing Wei Dai did after receiving the reply was to read the letter, and the second thing was to run to the planning area of the family home.

It is true that the family area is on the periphery of the troops, but the location is first-class security. The family area is surrounded by a U-shaped valley, and the troops are right at the U-shaped entrance, so they don’t have to worry about thieves and traffickers. It’s difficult for them to break through the troops and enter the family area.

“Wei Dai, what are you doing?” the logistics officer Lao Wang asked. “By the way, I heard that you are also going to apply for a room. What kind of room does a bachelor like you want to share?”

Wei Dai was not happy when he heard this. “Bachelors aren’t allowed to have partners? I used to be, but I’m not now.”

Wang Sihua exclaimed, “Do you have a partner?”

Wei Dai’s face remained calm, but the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

“When are you going to get married?”

Wei Dai stiffened slightly but quickly responded, “The house needs to be settled before I can think about marriage.”

Wang Sihua seemed to see through it and said with a smile, “Then you have to hurry. There’s a high chance these houses won’t be enough and can only be distributed to those who are already married. However, if you get married soon, given your achievements, you might just get a house. But there’s no guarantee for the next batch.”

He was implying that Wei Dai should get married as soon as possible, or else he might not be able to get a house for the next ten years.

Wei Dai was stunned, stepped forward, and asked in a low voice, “Lao Wang, do you think I can get a bungalow?”

“Bungalow?” Wang Sihua was surprised. “If you want a bungalow, there’s no problem. But everyone wants a building. Why do you want a bungalow?”

Is it because the bungalow is bigger?

In fact, the area of the bungalow is also strictly controlled, with a yard of 50 square meters and a house of 100 square meters. It’s simply impossible to build a house as big as a rural family.

Wei Dai said, “I just like it, I like it.”

Originally, he did want a building, but Jiajia said that the sound insulation of the building was not very good… Ahem, he decided to give up.

Wang Sihua understood, realizing Wei Dai was being considerate of his partner’s wishes.

Since he wanted a bungalow, he took Wei Dai to take a look.

The number of bungalows is not very large; there are 16 here, built at the foot of the hill, divided into two rows. Many people with large families who can’t fit into a building will settle for a bungalow.

“Second team’s old Zhao Xiaogang, you know him, right? His family has six children, almost having one every two years like climbing stairs. His family insisted on living in a building, but they could only get more than 30 square meters. In the end, they had no choice but to choose a bungalow.”

Wei Dai walked around and felt that the geographical location here was average.

The building is not far away, and standing in the corridor of the building, you can clearly see the scene in the courtyard of many bungalows.

His house can’t be like this. It’s too exposed, and Jiajia wouldn’t like it.

Wei Dai thought for a while and then asked, “I heard that there are still eight bungalows in Beishan?”

“Yes, these are all newly built houses. The 16 sets here are all 50+100 square meters, and the eight sets in Beishan are 50+120 square meters. Although the area over there is larger, because it’s far from the building, there’s no running water, so you can only carry water. But if you’re willing to contribute some money, you can have it installed.”

Saying that, he took Wei Dai to Beishan.

The Beishan bungalows are significantly larger, and the distance between the rooms is wider.

The house faces north and south, and there is a large open space in front of the house, which is crucially closer to the canteen and infirmary than the previous bungalows.

He looked around again and found that even if he stood on the hill, he couldn’t see the situation in the courtyard, so he nodded in satisfaction.

He was really satisfied this time.

Wei Dai looked around twice and finally set his eyes on the house on the far right.

He made a note of the layout and location of the house and decided to draw it for Wen Jia when he returned.

—

The temperature is getting colder, dew condenses into frost, and it is only after a month of frost that the land is covered.

It’s another day of waking up with Wenchun.

Because of the cold, Wen Jiajia has always loved Wen Chun and Wen Xuan’s quilts recently.

The children are full of energy, and the two girls sleep together, generating a lot of warmth. The whole quilt feels as if it has been baked by fire, and Wen Jiajia is unconsciously drawn to it.

No way, her body is like an ice block.

Her feet are only warm when they are soaked in hot water, and even if she puts a hot water bottle in the bed, she still wakes up with cold feet the next morning.