Chapter 72 : Selling and Buying

The Lujia Village Brigade was busy paying the public grain, and it wasn’t until six or seven in the evening that the settlement was completed. A group of people returned to the brigade in a lively procession, all with bright smiles on their faces.

Of course, Su Mo didn’t watch the entire process. She watched most of it and, around four o’clock, followed the ox cart as it took the goods away.

After arriving home, Uncle Youdian, who was driving the ox cart, helped Su Mo move everything into the house. Su Mo was very grateful. In addition to giving him 20 cents for the fare, she also gave him a handful of fruit candies to take home to sweeten the children.

Uncle Youdian was also very happy, thinking that the old daughter-in-law of the secretary was a good person.

In the evening, Lu Xingjun returned home, lit two kerosene lamps, and began to settle the accounts.

As he was counting, he suddenly looked up and said to Liu Yuzhi, “My third sister-in-law bought 5 kilograms of eggs yesterday. Do you think she’s pregnant?”

Liu Yuzhi sat up straight immediately. “No way? It’s only been half a month. How would she know?”

“Then why did she buy so many eggs?” Lu Xingjun asked.

Nowadays, who would buy so many eggs unless they were pregnant?

“Can’t she buy them for herself? The life of the third brother’s family is different from ours.” Liu Yuzhi rolled her eyes. She thought she might be pregnant.

Considering how much the third brother cares about his family, he must send back thirty or forty yuan every month. Buying a few pounds of eggs is nothing, and you don’t need a ticket.

Lu Xingjun thought about it and agreed. For the entire winter, he would probably have to eat the five kilograms of eggs sparingly.

That night, Su Mo continued to knit her sweater. As for the quilt cover, she would wait until tomorrow to find an excuse to make the bedding disappear.

The next day, after Su Mo finished working in the vegetable garden, she set off on her bicycle. There were two bamboo baskets hanging on the back seat of the bicycle, one for the quilt and one for the mattress.

When passing by the Lu family, she met Li Yue’e.

“Mom, I’m going to the post office to mail the bedding to my uncle, and by the way, see if there are any pears for sale,” Su Mo said.

Li Yue’e waved her hand. “Go ahead.”

Su Mo rode her bike straight to the county. When she passed by the commune, she saw another brigade paying public grain, and it was still very lively. Su Mo took a look and saw that the brigade had a good harvest and many goods.

When they reached a remote section of the road, Su Mo switched the bedding in the two baskets for apples and pears, covered them with coarse earthen cloth, and went to the county supply and marketing cooperative.

She waited for Sister Liu to come out at the supply and marketing cooperative, then sent her home. A basket of 56 jin of apples was sold for 28 yuan, and a basket of 50 jin of pears was sold for 22.5 yuan.

“Sister Su, if you have other fruits, you can also send them to me. Winter is almost here, and relatives have stockpiled a lot of fruits,” Sister Liu said.

It was obvious that Su Mo’s fruit wasn’t grown locally. The quality was so good that it must have come from somewhere else. But since everyone was a speculator, they all knew it but didn’t say anything. Just like Su Mo, they wouldn’t believe that her things were divided among relatives. Everyone just found a similar excuse.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see what Sister Liu was doing, but she had been doing it for so long and hadn’t been reported or arrested, which meant she had a strong background.

Selling to her saved Su Mo trouble and put her mind at ease. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Then I’ll send you two more baskets this afternoon.”

Su Mo wasn’t in a hurry to sell the fruits. The main reason was that there wasn’t enough space, so it would be fine to leave some room.

Moreover, the temperature had started to drop today, and it was expected to snow in November. When it snowed, she wouldn’t want to go into the city again. Therefore, it was okay to sell two more baskets today.

Sister Liu laughed so hard that her teeth showed. It was because Sister Su’s fruit sold so well that every time it arrived, two or three people would share it.

When Su Mo returned to the supply and marketing cooperative, she saw a lot of people gathered around the meat seller, so she squeezed in.

There were indeed two large pieces of pork on the counter, and the butcher was cutting them up in an orderly manner.

I guess it was because all the communes were paying their taxes, and the purchasing stations had plenty of meat. It was already past ten o’clock, and there was still so much pork. Normally, it would have sold out in the morning.

Since there was a lot of meat, Su Mo didn’t rush to grab it. She waited until the crowd had mostly thinned out, then squeezed over and waved the meat ticket in her hand, saying, “Master, give me five pounds.”

This immediately attracted a round of angry glares. There didn’t seem to be much left. The man had asked for 5 kilograms, but by the time it was their turn, it was all gone.

Su Mo chuckled, “Sorry, there’s a happy event at home. This meat ticket was saved by my family for two or three months, just for today.”

These days, each person only had half a pound of meat coupons and three ounces of oil coupons per month.

Since it was a happy occasion at her home, no one could say anything. The butcher was also kind and cut a piece with more fat.

Su Mo handed over 5 jin of meat coupons and 4 yuan. The butcher wrapped the meat in straw paper and gave it to Su Mo.

After squeezing out, she placed the meat in a bamboo basket and carried it to find Sister Liu to buy more things.

First, she bought two pieces of coarse cloth, so she wouldn’t have to buy them later. She also bought four feet of cotton cloth and three pounds of cotton.

Then she asked for two bamboo thermoses, two toothbrushes, two tubes of toothpaste, two towels, two aluminum lunch boxes, two enamel pots, and a stack of toilet paper.

She saw some kelp, so she bought two kilograms. Since the salt these days isn’t iodized, she would send the kelp to the cowshed to add some iodine.

Two pieces of coarse cloth cost 30 yuan, four feet of cotton cloth cost 1.12 yuan, and three pounds of cotton cost 3.45 yuan.

A bamboo thermos cost 2.5 yuan each, two cost 5 yuan, toothpaste and toothbrush cost 1.4 yuan in total, a towel cost 1 yuan, an aluminum lunch box cost 2 yuan, an enamel pot cost 1.96 yuan, straw paper cost 0.5 yuan, and kelp cost 1.12 yuan per catty. Two catties cost 2.24 yuan.

The total cost of the purchase was 48.67 yuan, including cloth coupons, industrial coupons, and non-staple food coupons.

Sister Liu was also a little surprised when she saw Su Mo buying so much. “Sister, why did you buy so much?”

“The villagers asked me to buy it because they saw I had a bicycle and it was convenient for me to use,” Su Mo said with a smile.

After buying everything, Su Mo went to the state-owned restaurant for lunch.

She ordered braised fish, stir-fried vegetables, and a bowl of rice, which cost a total of 1.3 yuan and two taels of food coupons.

After lunch, Su Mo strolled around, then went to the secluded corner again, put the things in the bamboo basket into the space, and replaced them with two baskets of oranges.

When Sister Liu saw the two baskets of bright yellow, big, round oranges, her eyes nearly popped out.

This fruit is produced in the south, and it’s very rare here. It’s also delicate and difficult to transport. If you don’t have a very close relationship, you wouldn’t bring it. It seems that this Su girl also has strength and backing.

Sister Liu took one, peeled it, and tasted it. The taste was so sweet it touched her heart.

“Sister, I’ll give you 0.6 yuan per pound for these oranges. How many do you have left? I’ll take them all, okay?”

Su Mo shook her head. “Sister, you know how rare this fruit is. These are all I have. I kept a few pounds for myself to try, but the rest are all yours.”

“Can’t i really order more?”

Su Mo shook her head, and seeing this, Sister Liu didn’t press the matter further.

The citrus fruits were weighed, and the two baskets weighed 123 kilograms in total, with a profit of 73.8 yuan.