Chapter 46: A Grand Shopping Trip  

A half kilo of salt cost 60 cent, and 1.2kg of salt required a total of 1.28 yuan.

However, they didn’t have a salt container, so they had to buy one separately. The container cost 50 cents each.  The container was more expensive than the salt itself.  

Not only did they need to buy a salt container, but also bottles for soy sauce and vinegar, a sugar jar, and a container for cooking oil. They had to purchase all of them.  

But it was just a one-time purchase.  

Next time, when they needed to buy these condiments again, they could simply bring their own containers.  

Buying once and using for ten years was a common practice in this era. After all, these bottles and jars were not cheap at all.  

Soy sauce and vinegar both 9 cents per half kilo.

Cooking oil was priced at 88 cents per catty.

White sugar and brown sugar were both 78 cents per catty.  

Purchasing all these items cost over 10 yuan.  

Not only were the prices steep, but more importantly, these goods were only available through ration tickets.  

Without tickets, even if one had money, they couldn’t buy anything.  

At home, there were only Su Ruanruan and Fu Wenjing, but thinking about the future and for the sake of convenience, Su Ruanruan still bought extra bowls and chopsticks.  

She purchased ten large bowls, ten pairs of chopsticks, and ten plates.  

She also bought a small yellow enamel basin, which could be used for storing lard or serving soup in the future.  

Additionally, she got a medium-sized enamel basin, a larger dough-mixing basin, and an enamel mug for drinking water. Fu Wenjing already had one, so she only needed to buy one for herself.  

She also purchased a towel and a pair of pillow towels for 1 yuan.

Fortunately, before coming here, Fu Wenjing had borrowed a bamboo basket, otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to carry everything back.  

After finishing shopping on the second floor, the two of them headed downstairs.  

Originally, they planned to buy grain, but when Su Ruanruan saw the counter selling pastries and candies, she squeezed her way through with her pastry and candy ration tickets in hand.

Assorted Candy cost 1.20 yuan per half kilo, so she bought 50pcs.

Fruit candy cost 1 cent each, so she bought 50pcs. 

Crispy mahua was priced at 4 cents per piece, and she purchased 10pcs.

Peach crisp cost 1 yuan per half kg, so she bought 1/4.

It wasn’t that Su Ruanruan was greedy for sweets. She had learned from Fu Wenjing that most of the guests coming over for the meal had children at home, though their ages varied.  

These candies and pastries were meant for those children.  

She didn’t buy a large amount, nor did she plan to buy them regularly.  

In the future, she could simply replenish them from Taobao’s shop as needed.  

Praising herself for her cleverness, Su Ruanruan then joined Fu Wenjing to buy rice, flour, and other grains.  

Standard flour was priced at 18 cents and 5 milicents per half kg. It was available only with ration tickets. She bought 5kg, totaling 1.85 yuan.

Rice cost 19 cents per half kg. She purchased 5kg, amounting 1.9 yuan.  

Corn grits were 7 cents per half kg, and she bought 10 kg. This was particularly good for making porridge, costing 1.40 yuan in total.

Black flour was 1 yuan per half kg. She purchased 5kg, totaling 2 yuan.  

Sorghum flour cost 9 cents per half kg. She bought 15kg, amounting to 2.7 yuan.

In total, they spent 9.85 yuan on grains, still under ten yuan.  

These supplies were enough for Su Ruanruan and Fu Wenjing to eat for a month.  

With their grain shopping complete, their trip was almost finished.  

Although Su Ruanruan still had plenty of money left, she was running out of ration tickets.  

She had only 1.5 kg worth of meat tickets, one soap ticket, and one laundry detergent ticket remaining.  

The meat tickets were reserved for later use, but the soap and laundry detergent tickets didn’t need to be saved.  

Telling Fu Wenjing to wait downstairs, Su Ruanruan happily took her tickets upstairs and bought one bar of soap and a bag of laundry detergent.  

Back at the Fu Family Home, They Used Only Water to Wash  

When washing their faces or hands, they only used clean water. Even for laundry, they relied on water alone. If the clothes were too dirty, they would rub them with plant ash.  

Soap and laundry detergent were precious commodities. Even when Fu Wenjing sent ration tickets home, Wang Maoni was reluctant to use them for buying these items. Instead, she traded them for food.  

Su Ruanruan understood Wang Maoni’s frugality, but she couldn’t live the same way.  

If something needed to be used, it should be used!  

After finishing their shopping, Su Ruanruan and Fu Wenjing wasted no time and took the bus back home.

When they arrived, their bamboo baskets were empty, but on the way back, both of their baskets were heavy with goods.  

Neither of them minded the weight. On the contrary, they were overjoyed.  

With all these supplies, their small household could finally start feeling like a real home.  

After all, among the military families who followed their spouses to the base, none of them ate at the canteen every day. Everyone cooked their own meals.  

The kitchen had already been cleaned, so when they got back, Su Ruanruan and Fu Wenjing worked together to put away the oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and grains, each item finding its proper place.  

Su Ruanruan glanced at her watch—it was already eleven in the morning. She decided to start preparing lunch.  

Just as she was thinking about what to cook, there was a knock at the door.  

“I’ll get it.” Fu Wenjing said, striding toward the entrance.  

Su Ruanruan watched as Fu Wenjing opened the door, and immediately, Niu Guifang’s voice rang out.  

“Seventh Fu! You two are back from shopping? Cooking for yourselves now?”  

“Yes.” Fu Wenjing replied.  

“I figured as much! You two haven’t planted any vegetables, so I picked a basket for you. Use them for your meals. If you need more, just go to the courtyard and pick whatever you like—no need to be polite!”

Fu Wenjing wanted to decline, but before he could, Niu Guifang shoved the basket into his arms and turned to leave.  

“What’s there to be polite about with your sister-in-law? Just take it! I need to go back and cook too.”  

With that, she left, leaving Fu Wenjing standing there, holding the basket of fresh vegetables.

When Niu Guifang spoke, Su Ruanruan had hurried outside, but she was still a step too late.  

By the time she reached the doorway, Niu Guifang was already gone, leaving only Fu Wenjing, carrying a basket filled to the brim with vegetables.  

The basket was packed full—a bunch of fresh bok choy, a handful of green onions, a piece of ginger, crisp cucumbers, bright red tomatoes, and a bundle of string beans.  

As Su Ruanruan rummaged through the basket, she was surprised to find two eggs nestled at the bottom.  

Seeing so many fresh ingredients, she couldn’t help but feel deeply moved.  

In this era of scarce resources, such an abundant gift was incredibly precious.  

Even if these vegetables were homegrown in Niu Guifang’s courtyard, they were still valuable.  

Her eyes stung slightly, but she quickly blinked away the emotion, then looked up at Fu Wenjing with her bright, shining eyes.  

“How many kids does Sister Niu have?” she asked.  

“Three.” Fu Wenjing replied. “Two sons and a daughter. The boys are both in elementary school—one in first grade, the other in second. The little girl is only about three or four years old.”  

“Aren’t they on summer vacation right now?”  

Even in the seventies, kids should have summer break, right?  

Did they still have to attend school?  

“They don’t have regular classes, but they have physical training every morning for three hours.”  

“!!!”  

Su Ruanruan was stunned.  

She could only sigh in admiration—as expected from courtyard kids, even their childhood was this competitive.  

“Three hours of training… If they left at eight, they should be back by now. I’ll take some of the pastries and candies we just bought over to them.”  

Fu Wenjing chuckled and nodded. “Alright, go ahead! I’ll wash the bowls, chopsticks, and the new basins while you’re gone.”

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