Chapter 45: Bus Ticket and Salt Ticket

Su Ruanruan did not say much about the font issue. Instead, she pointed at the content on the paper and said: “Take a look and see if anything is missing.”

Fu Wenjing carefully examined it and said: “I exchanged some meat tickets this morning. Let’s buy more meat and render some pork lard. It tastes much better than cooking with soybean oil.”

“It’s better not to buy it yet.” Su Ruanruan shook her head. “Didn’t you say that Sister Niu and the others will be coming over for a meal in a couple of days? We should save the meat tickets and buy meat when they come so we can cook for them.”

Before Fu Wenjing could say anything, Su Ruanruan continued: “Anyway, you’ll get more meat tickets next month. We can buy pork then and render the lard.”

Only then did Fu Wenjing nod in agreement. “Alright, I’ll listen to my wife.”

Thinking about growing vegetables in the courtyard, Su Ruanruan asked Fu Wenjing: “Can we buy shovels and hoes? We’ll need them for tilling the land later.”

“These things aren’t easy to find outside. I’ll ask around later. For now, we can borrow Sister Niu’s when we get back from shopping.”

Su Ruanruan nodded. “In that case, there’s nothing else we need to buy. Let’s go now. The earlier we leave, the earlier we can return.”

The two of them quickly reached an agreement. After locking the door, they left the courtyard.

When they arrived earlier, it had been pitch dark, making it impossible to see anything. Now, they could finally make out their surroundings.

In front of the house was a three- to four-meter-wide road lined with small courtyards of equal size on both sides.

Although there were doors on both sides of the road, they were staggered in such a way that one couldn’t see directly into another’s courtyard when the doors were open.

The road itself was just a simple dirt path, but it seemed to have been compacted, making it relatively smooth.

Even though it was summer, there were no weeds growing on the road, likely because someone regularly cleared them.

Following the road forward, they soon reached a crossroads, which was much more spacious. At the intersection, there was a cement-built water pool.

The pool was long and rectangular, with a row of faucets in the middle. It was quite convenient for washing clothes and vegetables.

At both ends of the pool, there were individual faucets. People could place buckets underneath to collect water.

This was much faster than drawing water from a well.

Su Ruanruan stared at the pool for a while, then suddenly thought of something. She turned to Fu Wenjing and asked: “Didn’t you say winters here are extremely cold? What happens when the pipes freeze in winter?”

“In the winter mornings, every household boils hot water and pours it over the exposed pipes to melt the ice inside!”

“You won’t see such a thing happen back where we are. You’ve never experienced it before, but when winter comes, you’ll see—it’s actually quite fun.”

Su Ruanruan had indeed never seen it before, so she could only imagine it in her mind.

As they talked, they did not stop walking.

It was already past eight in the morning, yet the courtyard was unusually quiet. They walked all the way without encountering many people.

Fu Wenjing explained that all the men had gone to the Military Unit, and the older children had left for school.

As for the women, some had gone to work, while others stayed home to do household chores or take care of younger children. That was why there were so few people outside.

Su Ruanruan was not particularly concerned about the rest, but she was curious about the jobs the women had.

“Can the families of military personnel also work? What kind of jobs do they do?”

“There’s a military factory near the Military Unit. They produce soap, canned food, military coats, boots, and even some medical supplies. The workers include retired soldiers as well as family members of military personnel. The goods produced are not usually sold to the public; they are mostly for internal use and supply. If you’re interested in working, I can ask around for you. But the factory doesn’t hire all the time, so you might have to wait.”

Su Ruanruan had only asked out of curiosity and was not particularly eager to get a job. “Go ahead and ask, but it’s fine even if there aren’t any openings.”

“You don’t have to work, my wife. I can provide for you.”

Fu Wenjing was not just boasting.

As the Company Commander of the Third Company, he held a formal company-level rank and earned a salary at the 19th grade. He received an allowance of 80 yuan per month, along with a substantial amount of ration tickets.

Each month, after receiving his allowance, Fu Wenjing would send 30 yuan to Wang Maoni, along with some of the ration tickets.

Even with only fifty yuan and half of the ration tickets left, he and Su Ruanruan could still live quite comfortably.

Su Ruanruan explained: “I know you can support me, but women hold up half the sky. I can’t just revolve around the kitchen—I need something to do.”

“Yes, yes, yes! You’re absolutely right, my wife. You are a modern woman, and I’ll support you in whatever you want to do!”

Only then did Su Ruanruan smile in satisfaction.

Fu Wenjing was capable, earned a good income, treated her well, and was not a male chauvinist. A good man like him was truly rare.

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The two of them continued chatting as they walked, and before long, they reached the entrance of the courtyard.

The young soldier on guard duty clearly recognized Fu Wenjing. As soon as he saw him, he snapped to attention and saluted with perfect precision.

Fu Wenjing returned the salute before leading Su Ruanruan out.

Just as Fu Wenjing had said, there was a bus stop outside the military compound.

The stop was very simple—just a wooden pole with a sign attached—but it still served as a recognizable marker.

The summer sun was already glaring at just past eight in the morning. There was no shade around the stop, and Su Ruanruan could barely keep her eyes open under the harsh sunlight.

Fortunately, they did not have to wait long before a bus slowly approached.

The bus looked old and weathered from the outside, and the interior was even more worn out.

But no matter how old it was, it was still a bus!

Having a ride and not having to walk was already a luxury—who needed a bicycle?

The fare was cheap, too. Five cents per person, ten cents for the two of them.

There weren’t many passengers, so they easily found seats and sat down.

As soon as they settled in, Fu Wenjing spoke in a low voice: “I heard from Sister Niu that there’s a monthly bus pass. Six yuan a month for unlimited rides.”

Su Ruanruan raised an eyebrow. “6 yuan for unlimited rides? Based on the single-ride fare, we’d have to take the bus sixty times to break even. That means we’d need to ride back and forth every day.”

As she said this, she couldn’t help but laugh.

She wasn’t so free that she would take the bus every single day just for the sake of it.

Fu Wenjing laughed along with her. “I didn’t think much of it at first, but after hearing your calculation, it really doesn’t seem worth it. Let’s not get the monthly pass, then.”

The bus moved at a steady pace, neither too fast nor too slow. After thirty minutes, they arrived at the town, also known as the People’s Commune.

The town was quite large, with several intersecting main streets. There was a post office, a photography studio, a supply and marketing cooperative, a department store, and even a state-owned restaurant.

Without wandering around, the two of them headed straight for the department store.

In this era, buying anything required ration tickets—even basic necessities like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.

The salt sold at the department store cost one yuan and six cents per jin.

According to regulations, each adult was allowed to buy one jin and two liang of salt per month. The salt tickets clearly stated “600g Salt Ticket.”

In the past, Fu Wenjing had always sent his salt tickets back to the Fu family. These two salt tickets were the first ones he had just exchanged today.