Chapter 87: The Difficulty of Buying Meat

Over the next period, she continued her routine of going between home and the commune.

She was also waiting for news from Second Brother and Wang Yumeng.

But a week passed, and there was no news from Second Brother and Wang Yumeng.

She asked Lu Qiaoqing and learned that Second Brother, as before, would help Wang Yumeng after finishing his own work.

They were laughing and chatting every day.

Villagers said they were dating, but Wang Yumeng never admitted it directly, saying they were just revolutionary comrades helping each other, their relationship was pure revolutionary friendship.

Since Second Brother wasn’t in a hurry, and Wang Yumeng wasn’t causing any trouble for now, Shen Chuning didn’t want to worry too much.

She temporarily put it aside, waiting for the opportunity.

In the blink of an eye, it was the weekend again.

The vegetables in Shen Chuning’s yard were ready to eat, she picked five radishes, a head of Chinese cabbage, a head of napa cabbage, and two stalks of Chinese mustard greens.

She planned to pick up the cotton she had had processed in the city and buy some meat to cook a delicious meal for her teacher.

When she arrived in the city, she parked her bicycle outside the supply and marketing cooperative.

She thought she had arrived early enough to be at the front of the line and buy good meat.

Unexpectedly, there was already a long queue in front of the meat counter.

Shen Chuning honestly lined up at the back of the queue, craning her neck to look at the counter.

There was only about half a pig’s worth of pork left on the counter.

She estimated that by the time it was her turn, even if there was still meat, there would only be some unpopular bones and scraps left.

Meat was expensive now, the bones were truly bones, with almost no meat.

Buying ten jin of bones, the meat on them might not even be enough for one bite.

The person in front of Shen Chuning was also complaining, “So many people, only a little meat left, will we be able to buy any when it’s our turn?”

Another person responded, “What can we do, we don’t have connections? Look at those with connections, they come and leave with meat, and it’s all good meat.

We get up early to queue, let alone good meat, we might not even get scraps.”

Shen Chuning had been lucky before, every time she bought things, it went smoothly, and the saleswoman she always bought from was very enthusiastic.

She had never experienced the difficulty of buying things under limited supply.

Today she experienced it.

At the same time, hearing the people around her complaining about those with connections, she also felt a little resentment. If it weren’t for these people with connections reserving the good meat.

Those without connections, who could only queue honestly, could at least buy some meat, even if they couldn’t buy good meat at the back of the line.

Shen Chuning was squeezed in the queue, thinking whether she should give up buying meat and take the meat she had bought from the black market and stored in the space.

She heard someone calling her, “Little sister, little sister…”

Shen Chuning turned around and saw the saleswoman from the supply and marketing cooperative.

The saleswoman beckoned her, “Come out.”

Shen Chuning quickly squeezed out of the queue, “Big sister, aren’t you working today?”

Salespeople in the supply and marketing cooperative couldn’t leave their posts during working hours, the saleswoman didn’t sell meat, so she couldn’t come to the meat section during working hours.

“I’m off today.” The saleswoman said, “Little sister, you want to buy meat today?”

Shen Chuning nodded.

The saleswoman lowered her voice, “Our supply and marketing cooperative only received one pig today. Half of it was reserved for those with connections, and you came late, there will be no meat left by the time it’s your turn.”

Shen Chuning smiled, “Yeah, I was thinking about not queuing and not buying.”

The saleswoman pulled Shen Chuning aside, “I asked someone to reserve four jin of meat today, I’ll give you two jin.”

“Thank you, Big sister.” Shen Chuning quickly thanked her.

“It’s nothing, I just bought a lot today. Wait here, I’ll get it for you.”

Shen Chuning waited for a while.

Soon, the saleswoman came out with a piece of meat, three parts lean and seven parts fat, the fat glistening, in this era of lack of oil and meat, it was definitely top-notch meat.

Shen Chuning didn’t like fatty meat.

But her teacher did.

This fatty meat stewed with radishes would be soft and melt in the mouth, no need to use teeth.

Shen Chuning quickly gave the saleswoman money and coupons and thanked her repeatedly.

A disdainful voice came from the side, “Heh, another person with connections.”

Shen Chuning: …

She had just been complaining about people with connections making it impossible for them to buy meat.

Now she had become one of those with connections.

The feeling was quite subtle.

The saleswoman saw Shen Chuning’s expression and thought she was shy about being called a person with connections.

She quickly said, “Girl, don’t mind them, they’re just sour grapes.”

After comforting her, the saleswoman lowered her voice, “By the way, little sister, my relative sent another can of malted milk and milk powder, do you want some?”

Shen Chuning nodded repeatedly, “Yes!”

She felt that her family had a great need for these nutritional supplements.

Not only was her teacher in poor health and needed nutritional supplements, but her father had been doing hard and tiring work with high work points in the production team to support her.

Although her father seemed fine now, the root of the disease must have already been planted.

If they didn’t take care of it now, it might be too late when the problem broke out.

Shen Chuning rode her bicycle to the family courtyard with the saleswoman.

She waited outside the courtyard as usual.

Before going home to get things, the saleswoman lowered her voice and asked her, “Little sister, I see you often buy a lot of cloth.

My family has some unused cloth coupons, they’re nationally valid, do you want some?”

Shen Chuning nodded without hesitation, “Yes, please get them for me, I’ll take all the cloth coupons.”

Although her father, brothers, and teacher’s winter clothes were already made, her father-in-law and mother-in-law’s weren’t.

Moreover, after winter, her father, brothers, teacher, father-in-law, and mother-in-law would need clothes for spring and summer.

There were many people in the family, they couldn’t have too many cloth coupons.

The saleswoman immediately smiled, “Okay, wait a moment, I’ll get them for you.”

She felt that giving Shen Chuning two jin of meat was a great deal.

She had channels to get malted milk and milk powder, and she could also make a profit from selling them.

But malted milk and milk powder were in short supply and expensive.

Not many people in their small place could afford them.

Shen Chuning bought another can of milk powder, a can of malted milk, and thirty chi of nationally valid cloth coupons from the saleswoman.

These things cost almost fifty kuai.

Looking at her shrinking savings, Shen Chuning sighed again, money was hard to earn but easy to spend!

After picking up the cotton she had had processed last weekend, she took her things back to the commune staff dormitory.