Chapter 13: Market Day

Chenchen still felt shy, and no matter how much Su Taotao tried to coax him, he kept his little face serious and refused to call her “Mom” again.

Su Taotao didn’t force him. Knowing this well-behaved child was normal and healthy already made her very happy. With good nurturing, he would definitely thrive.

Su Taotao cooked dinner while Fu Yuanhang took the little one to the vegetable patch to dig for earthworms.

The two kids brought the earthworms back and placed them in a large bamboo cage made by Zhou Linglan. Every time they fed the chickens, they would dig out some earthworms to feed them. That’s why our chickens were so healthy and laid eggs every day, enjoying a feast of earthworms at each meal.

Every week or so, Zhou Linglan would replace the soil in the bamboo cage with fresh soil to continue raising earthworms. The soil mixed with earthworm droppings was the best organic fertilizer. The melons, fruits, and vegetables in the family’s plot of land grew exceptionally well thanks to this organic fertilizer, along with chicken manure and other natural fertilizers, creating a healthy green cycle.

Farmers back then had their own clever ways of making things work. The fruits and vegetables they grew were free of pesticides and were green organic foods, a win on both fronts—good for the environment and good for health.

After the two kids placed the earthworms, Zhou Linglan returned from work and drew water for them to bathe.

Zhou Linglan had always done this well. Since Chenchen was a boy and had been smart and obedient from a young age, he knew how to hold onto the edge of the bucket while bathing to avoid getting water in his mouth. So, from the time he turned one, Zhou Linglan had Fu Yuanhang bathe him.

For dinner, Su Taotao made eggplant and potato braised rice and prepared an egg and shepherd’s purse soup.

The delicious meal received unanimous praise from the entire family. Fu Yuanhang’s stomach seemed like a bottomless pit; no matter how much Su Taotao cooked, he could finish it all. It was just that, in these times, there was a lack of fat in their diet, so no matter how much they ate, they never felt full.

Actually, this meal had a healthy combination of coarse and fine grains, dietary fiber, vitamins, and protein. However, with only two eggs to share among four people, the intake of fat and protein was far from sufficient. There weren’t many eggs at home, so she would have to find a way to buy some meat.

“Mom, I’ll go to the county tomorrow to get the money back. It’s also market day tomorrow, so I’ll take Chenchen to the market,” said Su Taotao. (Market day: a rural fair or market day)

Now that Zhou Linglan and Fu Yuanhang were no longer worried that Su Taotao would sell Chenchen, they were still concerned about her going alone.

“Can you manage by yourself?” Zhou Linglan asked.

Su Taotao thought for a moment and changed her plan, “How about the whole family goes to the county tomorrow? It’s been many years since you’ve been to the county, right?”

Although the county wasn’t far from the village—just a half-hour tractor ride—Zhou Linglan had been running around nonstop for many years, especially since she had taken on the role of grandmother. She rarely had time to go anywhere, even to the commune.

Fu Yuanhang perked up at the idea. Recalling that Su Taotao had said he could discuss anything with her, he bravely voiced his thoughts, “Sis, I really want to go. I always get first place in my exams, and I’ve already finished previewing my lessons. It’s okay to miss a day of school.”

He then looked eagerly at Zhou Linglan.

Zhou Linglan waved her hand, “You all go. I won’t.”

Missing a day of work meant losing out on some work credits, and she couldn’t bear to part with them.

Su Taotao had an idea. “How about this? Our family is very democratic. When we have disagreements in the future, we’ll hold a family meeting and vote. We have four members in our family, so four votes. The minority follows the majority, and in case of a tie, we respect the individual’s preference. Now, let’s vote. Those in favor of the whole family going to the market day tomorrow, raise your hand!”

Su Taotao immediately raised her hand and grabbed Chenchen’s little paw to raise it high.

Chenchen didn’t even know what was happening and was foolishly manipulated by Su Taotao.

Fu Yuanhang was still confused but snapped out of his daze, raising his hand as high as it could go with a silly grin.

Satisfied, Su Taotao nodded, “I now declare the result of the first family meeting of the Fu family, with a landslide victory of three votes to one. The proposal is passed. Tomorrow, the whole family will go to the market day. Mom, you have to come with us—it’s a family decision. Meeting adjourned.”

Zhou Linglan was left both amused and exasperated. Seeing how happy the whole family was, she had no choice but to go along with Su Taotao’s plan and agreed to take a day off from the village authorities and get a permit.

At bedtime, Su Taotao tried to get Chenchen to sleep in her room, but he clung to Fu Yuanhang and wouldn’t budge. Su Taotao ended up sleeping alone in her room.

The next day’s breakfast was prepared by Zhou Linglan, who had gotten up very early. By the time Su Taotao woke up around six, Zhou Linglan had already finished preparing breakfast. There was no way to catch up.

Zhou Linglan wasn’t a stingy person by nature; she was just careful and meticulous in managing the household’s food supplies. That morning, she had made pancakes from a mix of flour and cornmeal, with eggs and scallions added for flavor. They were absolutely delicious. She also baked a few sweet potatoes to take along as lunch.

Su Taotao had planned to treat everyone to a meal at the state-run restaurant, but with only 13.85 yuan, she knew it wouldn’t be enough for much. The problem was that back then, you needed ration tickets for everything, and she didn’t have any. So, they had to bring their own dry rations for lunch, which was quite amusing.

That said, bringing dry food while going to the market was quite common in those days. Most team members would do the same when they went into town, so it didn’t seem out of place.

It was a rare “trip far away” for the two kids at home, and they were especially excited. Fu Yuanhang had been so excited the night before that he didn’t fall asleep until late.

Despite being young, Chenchen understood everything. That morning, he was especially excited and pointed to the least patched-up shirt, asking his younger uncle to help him put it on because he thought it looked the best. Even his “best” clothes were just old clothes of his younger uncle’s, refashioned for him.

It was heartbreaking to think that while the previous owner had plenty of clothes, Chenchen had never owned a single new piece of clothing. All the fabric tickets had been used up by the previous owner. Zhou Linglan and Fu Yuanhang also wore clothes that had been patched and mended over the years.

Su Taotao thought for a moment, then packed up the colorful clothes from the wardrobe and some dried goods from the storage room. She also found a few bags of dried goods to bring along.

Seeing all the packages, Zhou Linglan assumed Su Taotao was sending them to her parents in the city, so she didn’t ask any questions. Instead, she found a pair of baskets and a carrying pole. “Taotao, put the things in here. I’ll carry them on the pole, or we won’t be able to take so much.”

Su Taotao thought her mother-in-law’s emotional intelligence and generosity were truly unmatched. She didn’t even ask what all the things were for and just let Su Taotao do as she pleased.

After breakfast, the family split up. Zhou Linglan went to the village authorities to get permission and a permit, while Fu Yuanhang, with 15 cents from Zhou Linglan, took Chenchen to school to ask for leave before heading to the banyan tree to wait for the tractor. Su Taotao stayed home to prepare the dry food for noon.

When Zhou Linglan returned with the permit, she immediately shouldered the things Su Taotao had packed and headed towards the banyan tree.

At seven in the morning, the tractor appeared at the banyan tree on time. Fu Yuanhang paid the fare for three and climbed on, carrying Chenchen and securing a good spot.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law worked together to load the goods onto the tractor. In no time, it was filled with team members. Zhang Daniang, who arrived late and couldn’t get on the tractor, was visibly upset. She wanted to go to the county seat to exchange eggs. The county supply and marketing cooperative gave an extra cent per egg compared to the commune’s cooperative. Seeing this, she decided to pick on Zhou Linglan, who she saw as an easy target.

“Hey, Zhengtu’s mom, you hardly ever go to the county seat. What’s with you getting here so early and taking my spot?”

Zhou Linglan was about to stand up and apologize when Su Taotao pressed her hand down and asked, not too softly but not too harshly, “Uncle Niu, is this tractor privately owned? How come there are designated seats? I don’t see any names written on them, do you?”

Uncle Niu, the tractor driver, was an upright and selfless man. He said sternly, “There’s no such thing as reserved seats. The tractor belongs to the whole village, and it was thanks to your family, Zhengtu, that we even have it. It’s five cents per seat, first come, first served. If anyone has priority, it’s you.”

Su Taotao waved her hands quickly. “No, no, Uncle Niu, don’t say that. We got here early too and paid our fare.”

Uncle Niu cleared his throat. “Exactly. Even for you, there’s no special treatment. If you had come late, I wouldn’t have saved you a seat either.”

Without even looking at Zhang Daniang, Su Taotao smiled at Uncle Niu and said, “Right, Uncle Niu is truly an upright and good comrade. No wonder the team leader trusts you with this valuable asset. Since the tractor is full, let’s get going. If we don’t leave now, we’ll be late.”

“Alright!”

Uncle Niu hopped off the tractor, grabbed the starter, and cranked the engine. A loud roar followed, accompanied by a cloud of black smoke. He climbed back on, and with a final nod, the tractor rumbled off toward the county seat.