Chapter 35: A Trip to the County Town

Heard that Mom was going to see a movie, and both Mingming and Ruirui wanted to go too.

The main issue was that the two kids were still very young. From the family housing area to the county town, it took over half an hour for adults to walk there. The two of them would definitely be slower, and more importantly, they didn’t have much stamina — they’d probably end up needing to be carried partway. Lin Wei would be managing them alone, and it wouldn’t be easy to handle two kids by herself. But she also felt awkward asking others for help.

After all, this outing was meant to be a fun break — bringing children along would make it hard to relax.

After some thought, Lin Wei decided not to bring the kids. But she also promised that if Zong Shao was free next weekend, the whole family would go to the movies together.

Technically, Zong Shao had one rest day a week, and after returning from sea duty, he’d often get a few extra days off. But if something came up at the camp, he would still need to go back to handle emergencies, even on his day off.

So in front of the kids, Lin Wei didn’t dare make any promises that were too firm.

But the two children didn’t think that far — just knowing they could go next week made them happy.

Actually, they weren’t even that into movies. There weren’t any cartoons shown these days — most films were patriotic or ideological in nature. They were fine for adults, but for kids like Mingming and Ruirui, they were pretty boring and hard to understand.

What they really wanted was to join in on the excitement.

Before relocating with the military, the cotton mill had screened an outdoor movie. That night, the entire housing compound showed up. Some people even made snacks to sell at the venue.

Even though doing business was strictly prohibited at the time — people could be arrested for “speculation and profiteering” — enforcement wasn’t absolute. As long as you didn’t buy low to sell high or engage in frequent trade, you wouldn’t get in trouble.

In fact, in recent years the rules had eased a bit. Some places even reopened markets so farmers could sell extra rice and grain to trade for some food or industrial goods to improve their lives a little.

So selling snacks once in a while — nobody really cared.

With food, drinks, and a bunch of kids their age, the brothers had a blast that night and still remembered it fondly. That’s why the thought of going to the movies again made them so excited.

However, Lin Wei figured that once they actually went to a proper cinema, the boys would likely be disappointed.

Most moviegoers were adults, and unlike children, they wouldn’t be making a ruckus. If someone talked during the movie, they’d be shushed.

And since people paid for tickets, they expected a better viewing experience.

So once the brothers were in the cinema, not only would there be no other kids, they wouldn’t be able to run around the screening room either. Sure, they could bring snacks — even though the cinema didn’t sell any, they could carry their own.

But regardless, going to a cinema wouldn’t be nearly as fun for the kids as watching a movie in the family compound courtyard.

Still, Lin Wei didn’t plan to burst their bubble ahead of time. After all, no matter how much a mother explains, some things just have to be experienced firsthand.

Since they didn’t know better, Mingming was still full of excitement when he sent Mom off, especially reminding her: “Mom, you go with Aunties first, and then come with us next time, okay?”

Mingming’s words had a little hidden meaning — a gentle reminder to Mom not to forget about her sons just because she got to see the movie with her friends.

As his mother, Lin Wei could easily see through his little scheme. Holding back a laugh, she said, “Don’t worry. Mommy will definitely take you and your brother to the movies.”

After giving her sons her promise, Lin Wei put on her hat, picked up her bag, and set out.

The “bag” was really just a cloth tote with a shoulder strap. Nothing fancy — just two tightly sewn straps, strong enough to hold over ten jin of stuff. Lin Wei often used it to carry fruit.

Originally, Lin Wei hadn’t wanted to bring a bag — it felt too bulky. Her dress had pockets, and she had a small wrist purse that was more convenient.

But just before leaving, she changed her mind, thinking she might run into something tasty at the supply store and would need a bag to carry it.

After heading out, Lin Wei first stopped by the Zhou family’s home to pick up Deng Xiangyun and Chen Bamei.

The two were already ready and came out as soon as they saw Lin Wei. Together, they walked toward the main road.

At the entrance of the family housing area, Lin Wei spotted Liu Dan and the others waiting in the distance. She walked over and asked, “Have you been waiting long?”

“She got here a bit earlier. We only arrived two minutes before you,” Liu Dan said, pointing at Zhao Li.

Zhao Li smiled and said, “I had errands at the supply store, so I came early. After I finished, I didn’t want to go all the way home, so I just waited here. Only ten minutes or so.”

After a bit of small talk, the group started walking out of the housing area.

Outside was a straight road lined with red-brick buildings — the supply cooperative and seafood distribution center were located there. After passing the red-brick buildings, the scenery turned more barren, with weeds lining the road and forests beyond that.

After about seven or eight minutes of walking, they reached a crossroads. Left led to the fisheries brigade and the mudflats, while right led to the military base and the military hospital.

They kept going straight.

It was about four or five li (2–2.5 km) from the housing area to the county town — not far. Walking alone would be dull, but in a group, chatting and laughing made the time pass quickly.

The county town was just as Lin Wei remembered it from last time — a fair number of people on the streets, but not exactly bustling.

The cinema, however, was much busier. A new film was playing, and the ticket line was long. The women joined the queue, while Zhao Li went up to check and reported back: “The next show starts at 11 and runs past 1. Should we watch that one?”

“No other time slots?” Lin Wei asked.

Zhao Li recalled the noticeboard and said, “There are only four showings today. The first started at 9 and ends at 10:40 — already halfway through, so we wouldn’t see much if we went in now. The third is at 1:30 and ends around 3, and the last one is at 3:30 to just after 5.”

Liu Dan immediately said, “That last one won’t work. It’ll be too late by the time we’re done — we still need to get back.”

“If we go to the next show, will the state-owned restaurant still have food after 1?” Yang Yi asked.

There was only one state-owned restaurant in the county town. It served a limited number of dishes at noon and 6 p.m. While the town wasn’t large, there were plenty of people willing to dine out — weekdays were okay, but on Sundays, food usually sold out before 1 p.m.

Lin Wei said, “Why don’t we go to the 1:30 showing? After we get our tickets, we can stop by the supply store and hardware shop to get everything we need. If we finish early, we can stroll around a bit, then go eat at noon, and see the movie after lunch. How’s that sound?”

Since it was a rare day out, Zhao Li didn’t want to go home hungry. She quickly agreed: “Sounds good to me.”

With the two of them taking the lead, everyone else agreed with Lin Wei’s plan. They bought tickets for the 1:30 p.m. show.

The line was a bit long, so it took over 20 minutes to get tickets. By the time they left the cinema, it was nearly 10:30. Zhao Li did a quick time check and laughed, “We were just talking about going somewhere to look around after shopping, but honestly, by the time we finish shopping, we might as well just queue at the restaurant.”

Shopping for materials went fairly smoothly. The supply store had all kinds of fabric, and they just had to pick what they wanted.

But since they were only making hats and didn’t need much fabric, they had to ask the clerk to cut small pieces — which made the woman impatient. While cutting, she muttered under her breath: “Buy a little, ask for a lot!”

After joining the army’s relocation, Zhao Li had been assigned to work at the base’s supply store as a sales clerk. She really liked the job and always remembered she was “there to serve the people,” greeting every customer with a smile.

Therefore, from the moment Zhao Li entered the supply and marketing cooperative and walked to the fabric counter, seeing the attendant sitting on a stool with an indifferent expression when customers arrived, Zhao Li’s mood soured.

When she overheard the salesperson muttering something, Zhao Li couldn’t hold back and asked loudly, “Who are you calling troublesome?”

The salesperson, with a bad temper, didn’t flinch even when the customer heard her muttering. She scowled and said, “Whoever talks, whoever is troublesome!”

Zhao Li slammed her hand on the counter. “What kind of attitude is that?”

The salesperson became even bolder, pointing at Zhao Li and asking, “What are you slapping for? Can’t you see this is glass? If you break it, you’ll have to pay for it, and you won’t be able to afford it! Also, stop trying to act tough with me. This is my attitude, take it or leave it. If you don’t want to buy it, I’ll have some peace!”

Zhao Li retracted her hand, still fuming, and loudly asked, “You treat customers like this, do you think I won’t complain about you?”

The salesperson sneered at her, looking her up and down, and said, “Go ahead and complain. Do you think I care?”

At this time, Zhao Li’s anger reached its peak. She raised her voice, but before she could continue, Lin Wei grabbed her wrist and silenced her. Zhao Li turned to look at her.

Lin Wei stepped forward, walked up to the counter, and asked, “Do you know how to read?”

Although Lin Wei’s tone was calm, the salesperson, noticing that she was with Zhao Li, didn’t answer but instead rolled her eyes and retorted, “What’s it to you if I can read?”

Lin Wei remained unruffled, her tone still even. “You should know how to read, right? I heard that there are educational requirements to work at the cooperative.”

This remark struck a chord with the salesperson, who puffed out her chest proudly and said, “Of course I know how to read! I graduated from middle school and passed the recruitment exam to get into the cooperative.”

At that time, people with a middle school education were rare, especially women. It wasn’t that women couldn’t study, but the societal environment heavily favored boys over girls. In families that had the opportunity for education, most would prioritize sending the boys to school. Chen Bamei’s family was a typical example: her seven daughters couldn’t read, but her son wanted an education, and they even sold the daughters to support him.

So, it was understandable that the salesperson took pride in her education.

But Lin Wei didn’t care about her education. She didn’t praise her; instead, she pointed to the wall across and asked, “What does that say? Can you read that?”

The salesperson looked in the direction Lin Wei was pointing. “It says ‘Serve the People,’ such simple words, and you don’t even know them?”

“Yes, ‘Serve the People,’” Lin Wei nodded, meeting the salesperson’s gaze and asking, “Do you think you’ve done that?”

Lin Wei’s tone wasn’t harsh, almost like a gentle breeze, but the salesperson was left speechless, her face flickering between blue and white.

Before Zhao Li could understand why Lin Wei had stopped her, she suddenly realized what was going on. She clapped her hands and said, “Some people, they always talk about serving the people, but when it comes to real customers, not only do they refuse to serve, they can’t even be bothered to give a friendly face. It’s a shame, after all these years of schooling, it’s like it all went into the dog’s belly!”

The salesperson was a little guilty, but when Zhao Li said this, her anger flared up, and she was ready to snap back. But before she could, she heard Lin Wei’s soft voice, “Alright, let her be. Please, can you continue cutting the fabric for us? We have other things to do, and we’re in a bit of a hurry.”

With Lin Wei’s polite tone, the salesperson swallowed her words, forced out a dry, “Please wait.”

This time, she didn’t mutter under her breath but swiftly cut the fabric, wrapped it up, and handed it to them.

Although the matter was resolved smoothly, and they got the fabric, Zhao Li still wasn’t fully satisfied. As they left, she grumbled, “This is supposed to be the city’s supply and marketing cooperative, but the salesperson’s attitude is worse than mine.”

Lin Wei smiled and teased, “Well, Zhao Li, comrade, you’re the model employee of our base’s supply and marketing cooperative.”

Liu Dan also joked, “That’s right. I’m just thankful we have someone like Comrade Zhao Li at our base’s supply and marketing cooperative. Otherwise, if everyone had the same attitude as the person we just met, I wouldn’t know if I was going there to buy goods or to get scolded.”

Zhao Li, flattered by the praise, felt her mood lighten.

…

Though there was a minor setback while buying the fabric, things went more smoothly afterward. The hardware supply department had just received a new batch of iron wire, and the thinnest wire was perfect for making hats.

The problem was that the wires came in bundles and weren’t sold individually. Though one bundle was only five meters, they didn’t need that much for the hats.

While they were discussing, Deng Xiangyun suggested, “Let’s just buy one bundle. You can use as much as you need, and I’ll take the rest. It’ll come in handy later.”

“Why do you need so much iron wire?” Liu Dan asked, concerned that Deng Xiangyun was spending money unnecessarily.

“I might need it for hats or toys,” Deng Xiangyun replied, handing the money and ticket to the salesperson. She then turned to the others and said, “I’ll buy it, and when we get back, we can figure out the rest.”

After gathering all the materials, they noticed it was almost time, so they headed to the state-owned restaurant to line up.

They were lucky to catch the coconut chicken, which was on the menu that day. The restaurant provided chicken once a month, though in limited quantities, and families usually pooled their portions together. With some mushrooms and potatoes, it was enough for two meals.

Since the island had abundant fishery resources, they could occasionally go catch seafood for extra meals. So, they didn’t skimp on meat and decided to get a portion of the coconut chicken.

Coconut chicken is a dish where chicken is stewed with coconut, giving the soup a fragrant, refreshing taste. It’s delicious and hearty, so after ordering it, they only needed a plate of braised tofu and a bowl of noodles each.

In the north, people eat noodles, while in the south, they eat rice noodles. There were many ways to prepare noodles on Yanzhou Island, and the state-run restaurant offered several varieties, including pickled and soup noodles. Among the pickled noodles, there was even a sour noodle option.

Since they had ordered the coconut chicken, the others chose pickled noodles. Liu Dan, Zhao Li, and Yang Yi went for the sour noodles, while Lin Wei, Deng Xiangyun, and Chen Bamei had the regular pickled noodles. Zhao Li shared a few bites of her sour noodles with Lin Wei, who found them quite tasty — sour, spicy, and savory, which whetted her appetite.

Liu Dan, a native of Sichuan Province, loved spicy food, and Lin Wei noticed that when Liu Dan ate her noodles, she added a lot of chili paste. Curious, Lin Wei also tried a bite.

After finishing, Lin Wei quickly poured herself a bowl of chicken soup, but it was too hot to drink. She put it down without taking a sip. Fortunately, Deng Xiangyun, with her quick reflexes, poured her a glass of cold tea, helping Lin Wei recover.

Seeing Lin Wei in such a predicament, Zhao Li couldn’t help but laugh and asked, “Aren’t people from Hunan Province supposed to be able to handle spicy food? What happened to you?”

Lin Wei was about to retort, saying that people from Liaoning Province also had big gold chains, but then she remembered that it was the 1970s, and people from Liaoning didn’t even have gold chains, at most fur coats.