Chapter 81 : Purchasing Items

Su Xieqiu was worried that Han Zhenyu might not be able to find her when he returned, so after sending the letter, she went back to the hotel to wait for him.

It took Han Zhenyu an hour to get everything ready.

He rode his bicycle and rang the bell. The jingling sound interrupted Su Xieqiu’s thoughts.

Seeing the handsome man at the door, she immediately went out with her things.

Noticing there was nothing in the basket, she asked, “Didn’t you buy anything?”

Han Zhenyu waited for the pedestrians to pass before whispering, “There were too many things to carry. They will deliver them to our house in the evening.”

Su Xieqiu understood that these items were bought on the black market, and it wasn’t convenient to carry them during the day.

She jumped onto the bicycle, holding Han Zhenyu’s clothes with one hand and the back of the bicycle with the other. “I’m ready, let’s go.”

“Did you send the letter?” Han Zhenyu asked.

“Yes I sent it.”

“Do you still want to go shopping?”

Su Xieqiu glanced at the glaring sun and shook her head. “No, let’s go home.”

She had to go back and figure out how to use the sewing machine. Once she learned, she would prepare winter clothes and quilts.

It was still a little hot in the morning, but by the evening, it would be chilly enough to need two layers of clothing.

Winter was coming quickly here, so it was time to prepare for it.

Although there were only two people in the family, they still needed the essentials for daily life.

As they passed the supply and marketing cooperative, Han Zhenyu stopped again and said, “The weather’s getting colder. Let’s buy some clothes.”

“Didn’t I buy a lot of fabric last time? Enough for both of us to use this year.”

Su Xieqiu had several sets of four-piece suits in her space, as well as clothes for all seasons.

When the time came to alter them, they wouldn’t even need all of them.

The last time she went to Aunt Qiuye’s house to get some vegetables, while they were chatting, she heard that her eldest daughter was getting married.

Aunt Qiuye wanted to buy her a new outfit for the wedding but didn’t have enough fabric coupons.

Su Xieqiu wanted to give her some, but there was no suitable red fabric for weddings in her space.

She asked Han Zhenyu, “How many fabric coupons do you have? Give them to me later. Aunt Qiuye’s daughter Daqin is getting married soon, so let’s prepare a gift box for her. During the time we were building our house, we ate a lot of vegetables and eggs from her. Aunt Qiuye paid for the eggs, but the vegetables were basically free. This is a good chance to return the favor.”

Han Zhenyu immediately took out a handful of tickets from his pocket and said, “They’re all here.”

Su Xieqiu took the tickets and looked at them. There were more than twenty fabric coupons, sugar coupons, non-staple food coupons, and other items.

She took out the fabric and sugar coupons, then returned the rest to him.

Han Zhenyu didn’t take them. “You keep them. I’ll give you my full salary from now on. You can buy whatever our family needs. If you don’t have enough money or tickets, just let me know, and I’ll find a way.”

Su Xieqiu thought about it and accepted. Since Han Zhenyu had given her his salary, she wouldn’t treat him unfairly. She would at least take good care of him in daily life.

The two rode their bicycles back to the village. When they passed the Youth League Home, they saw that the roofs of the four adobe houses had begun to be covered.

With the original two rooms, the already small space seemed even more crowded.

Han Zhenyu glanced at the yard and said to Su Xieqiu, “I heard from the team leader a few days ago that our team will assign ten educated youth to join us this time. Most of them are from Hai City and will arrive in the next few days.”

“That many?”

Su Xieqiu was a little surprised. She had read about this era in books before and knew that in the 1960s and 1970s, a large number of people from Hai City and Jing City were sent to the countryside to work in the fields.

Some went to the farms, and others were assigned to local teams.

But the Sanhua Brigade wasn’t that big. There had originally been seven or eight educated youth here. Why were so many more being sent now?

Han Zhenyu nodded. “The captain is quite upset, and the team members aren’t happy about it either, but this is an order from above, so there’s nothing they can do.”

Su Xieqiu said, “The villagers won’t be happy about it. Every additional person means more rations, and with so many coming this time, it will be difficult.”

It was almost noon when they got home. Su Xieqiu washed her hands and went to the kitchen.

Han Zhenyu took a shovel and said, “I’m going to the mountain to dig some thorn hedges and plant them outside the courtyard wall.”

When Su Xieqiu heard he was going up the mountain, she hurried out of the kitchen and said, “It’s too dangerous for you to go alone. How about we go together?”

There were many wild boars in the mountain behind them, and she’d heard there were also wolves and Siberian tigers.

It was noon now, so there wouldn’t be anyone else on the mountain.

If they encountered a large wild animal, there would be no one to ask for help.

Han Zhenyu smiled and said, “No, you stay at home and cook. I won’t go deep into the mountain. I’ll just dig some thorn hedges at the foot of the mountain.”

Su Xieqiu nodded. “I’m going to start cooking. Come back early.”

“Okay, I got it,” Han Zhenyu smiled and left the house.

As soon as he reached the main road, he ran into Sun Dahan and his eldest son, Tiezhu, who were returning from chopping wood.

“Zhenyu, where are you going?” Sun Dahan greeted him with a smile.

Tiezhu also smiled and called out, “Uncle Zhenyu.”

“Brother Sun, Tiezhu, I’m going to dig some thorn hedges.”

Han Zhenyu saw the firewood they were carrying and asked, “Brother Sun, have you cut enough firewood?”

“When I have time, I’ll go to the mountains and chop some for winter.”

Sun Dahan wiped the sweat off his forehead and said with a smile, “I got home early from work today, and since I didn’t have anything else to do, I took Tiezhu up the mountain to chop down a dead tree.”

“Brother Sun, our family hasn’t prepared firewood yet. I have to work the day after tomorrow, so I really don’t have time to go up the mountain and chop wood. How about this? You chop the firewood for my family, and I’ll give you money, or I can get you some receipts.”

“No, no.” Sun Dahan smiled and waved, “When we were building the house, your uncle and aunt-in-law told you that after the busy farming season, they would bring your cousin over to help you chop firewood for a couple of days. Han Lei, Sun Dashu, and I will go together then, so you don’t have to worry about the firewood.”

“So you guys have already planned this for my family? Why didn’t my uncle and aunt tell me when they left?” Han Zhenyu said gratefully. “Well, I’ll trouble you then, Brother Sun, when the time comes.”

Han Zhenyu didn’t refuse the kindness and planned to give them something when the time came.

“Don’t be polite, it’s nothing.”

Sun Dahan had helped him build the house for about ten days. Knowing that Han Zhenyu and his wife got along well, he had offered to help chop wood.

If the neighbor were a busybody, he wouldn’t have taken on such a task.

The two men chatted for a while on the road, and then Han Zhenyu took the shovel and headed to the foot of the mountain.

He had just dug a few thorn hedges when Sun Dahan arrived with his son Tiezhu.

Han Zhenyu thought they were still going up the mountain to chop firewood and was about to greet them when he saw two people walking toward him.

Sun Dahan said, “Zhenyu, these are too small. It will take at least a year for them to climb the wall. There are bigger ones in Hexi. I’ll take you there to dig them.”

“Brother Sun, can such big ones be transplanted and survive?” Han Zhenyu knew the thorn hedges he was talking about. The reason he hadn’t gone to dig them was that he thought they were too large and might not survive the transplant.

“The thorn hedge is very resilient. As long as it’s planted, it will survive.”

Han Zhenyu smiled and nodded. “Okay, I’ll follow you, Brother Sun.”