Chapter 65 : Going to the Scrap Collection Station

Coming out of the supply and marketing cooperative, Ma Xiaojuan came over mysteriously and said, “Su Mo, let’s go to the scrap collection station.”

Su Mo’s eyes flickered and she asked, “What are you going there for?”

Seeing that there was no one around, Ma Xiaojuan whispered, “Go see if there is anything to pick up.”

Her father had found several small yellow croakers at the scrap collection station, although they were not useful at the moment. But her father said that gold was hard currency and would be useful someday.

She only dared to say this to Su Mo, but not to anyone else.

Su Mo thought to herself, as expected!

After she came here, she never thought of going to the scrap yard because she felt that there would always be smart people in every era. If there were any good things, they would have been taken away long ago.

She didn’t think she was a very lucky person, so she didn’t try her luck.

Moreover, Qingxi County was not a wealthy place. After more than ten years of semi-colonial rule, the good things had long been plundered, and the rest were probably also confiscated during the period when the movement just started.

However, since Ma Xiaojuan wants to go, she will just accompany her. Maybe the god of luck will possess her and she will really find something good.

The two asked a passing comrade about the location of the scrap collection station. When they got there, they gave the old man who was guarding the station a few candies and asked him to help look after the bicycles.

The two of them went in and started searching, and came out only when they were starving. Naturally, they found nothing.

Ma Xiaojuan said she came to look for books, and she even spent 20 cents to buy a few old books.

The old man guarding the door had seen many people like this and didn’t even look at them.

Do you really think that the scrap yard is a treasure trove? How can there be so many good things to find? He is not blind. If there is really a good thing, can he put it out?

In order to get this position, he gave a lot of gifts.

Ma Xiaojuan was a little dejected. “It seems that I have no luck.”

Su Mo smiled and said, “Those things can only be found by chance.”

“That’s right.” Ma Xiaojuan said, “Come on, I told you to go to the state-owned restaurant for a big meal, let’s go now.”

The two of them arrived at the state-owned restaurant. Ma Xiaojuan was also quite generous and ordered a portion of braised pork, a portion of stir-fried vegetables, a portion of chicken stewed with mushrooms, and two bowls of rice. Seeing that there was mutton soup, she also ordered a bowl.

It cost four dollars in total.

The portions of dishes in Northeast China are huge, and the two of them almost had to walk with the help of the wall after eating so much.

Ma Xiaojuan stroked her bloated stomach and sighed, “It would be nice if I could eat like this every day.”

“What kind of family are you from? You still eat like this every day?” Su Mo said with a smile. “You should save your money and don’t buy anything that is not necessary.”

She noticed that Ma Xiaojuan was also a spendthrift and bought things as she pleased.

When she read novels, she had seen many stories about educated youth whose parents had financial support at the beginning but lost it later. The endings of those educated youth were not very good.

Ma Xiaojuan was her friend, and she didn’t want her to end up like that. Although Ma Xiaojuan’s parents seemed to love her very much, it was hard to say what human nature was, so it was better for her to save some money.

Ma Xiaojuan nodded, “I know.”

“I heard that our commune is pretty good and has been developing the collective economy. I’m thinking of looking for an opportunity next year to see if I can pass the exam to become a worker. If I have my own income, I won’t have to rely on my family all the time.”

Ma Xiaojuan also understood that she took the initiative to ask to go to the countryside, and her family felt guilty about her, so they gave her money without hesitation. But her family had many children, and if she kept getting money for a long time, her other brothers and sisters would have some opinions.

“Well. Let’s take a look together next year to see if there are any job opportunities?” Su Mo said. It’s enough for her to know how to make plans.

The two rode their bikes around the county town for a while, took in the county’s scenery, and then rode back.

When passing by the commune office building, Su Mo saw Geng Changqing’s back as he hurried in. Thinking about how much money she had received as a gift when she got married, and how much mountain products she had picked up, she decided to bring some mountain products to visit him tomorrow.

It was already around three in the afternoon when she got home. As usual, Su Mo took care of the vegetable garden, watered it, and put the dried hazel mushrooms and weeds into sacks in the house.

It’s fine if hazel mushrooms and wild vegetables are dried to a similar degree. If they are dried too much, the taste will be affected.

After finishing, Su Mo returned to her room, took out the wool she had bought earlier, and prepared to start knitting a sweater for Lu Changzheng.

Taking out a bunch of miscellaneous books from the space, Su Mo found the book called “100 Ways to Knit a Sweater.” After putting the other books back into the space, Su Mo took the book and began to study it seriously.

Finally, she decided to weave a simple and elegant diamond checkered pattern. This pattern is neither too advanced nor too fancy, but better looking than simple flat weaving. It is also not difficult and is suitable for her as a beginner.

Following the recommendations in the book and based on Lu Changzheng’s body shape, Su Mo started with roughly 280 stitches and knitted a small section. She was going to go to Brother Lu, who had a similar body shape to Lu Changzheng, in the evening to compare with him.

While there was still time, Su Mo went to get a backpack and packed out the things she would be sending to her parents in a few days.

First, she took 5 jin of cornmeal, 2 jin of white flour, and 2 jin of rice. The rice and white flour were prepared by Lu Changzheng before. The ones she had in her space were much whiter than the ones she had now. The situation in the cowshed was unclear, so she decided to use the local ones first.

Then, she packed a bar of soap, a roll of paper towels, a tube of toothpaste, a pack of matches, and two toothbrushes. She also took a small bottle of oil, filled with about 1 jin, and salt, half a jin.

The dishes cooked with soy sauce are too fragrant, so she decided not to give them for now. She would see how the situation went later.

After she put the things in the backpack, she placed Su Tingqian’s cotton coat on top, covered it with a piece of coarse cloth, and then put the backpack into the space. When she was almost at the cowshed, she could take it out and carry it on her back.

After finishing, Su Mo saw that it was getting late and estimated that Lu Xingjun should be going home. So she grabbed a handful of candy and took the sweater sample she had just knitted, ready to go over and compare.

When Su Mo arrived, Liu Yuzhi was cooking. Su Mo leaned over and smiled “Sister-in-law, are you cooking?”

Liu Yuzhi was a little surprised to see that it was Su Mo. “Third sister-in-law, why are you here? Come in and sit down.”

The layout of their house was similar to Su Mo’s, with a living room and a kitchen in the middle.

“Where are the children?” Su Mo asked when she went in and didn’t see any children.

“The eldest and second girls went to wash the vegetables, and the third boy went out to play somewhere and hasn’t come back yet.”

Su Mo took out a handful of candies from her pocket and gave them to Liu Yuzhi. “Sister-in-law, these candies are for the children to sweeten their mouths.”

Liu Yuzhi took it with a smile. “It’s good that you came. Why bring candy? You won’t spoil the child. Don’t bring it next time.”

“Hey? Where’s brother? He hasn’t come back yet?”

“He’s been busy dealing with the tax payment these days, so I guess he will be late. What? Do you want to talk to him about something?”

“Yeah. I want to knit a sweater for Changzheng, but I’m afraid it’s too narrow. I think they are similar in body shape, so I want to compare it with big brother.”

“What kind of thread? How many stitches did you cast on?”

“Medium-thick thread, 280 stitches,” Su Mo said.

“That’s enough. I just knitted one for your elder brother two years ago. I also used medium-thick yarn and cast on 270 stitches. Changzheng is stronger than your elder brother, so 280 stitches are enough. The body part won’t be a problem. It’s mainly the shoulders and cuffs. When you get to those parts, come and compare with your elder brother,” Liu Yuzhi said.

“Okay, thank you, sister-in-law.” The problem was solved easily, and Su Mo was very happy.

“What are you thanking me for? It’s just a simple conversation between sisters-in-law. Why are you bringing so much candy?”

“The candy is for the children,” Su Mo waved her hand. “Then you are busy, sister-in-law. I will go back to cook.”

After saying that, she left.