Upon hearing the Erbao say that other families had also bought refrigerators,

Ning Shu wasn’t surprised.

It was summer, and it was normal for people to want to buy refrigerators.

If they were in the countryside, she might be surprised at who would be willing to spend that much money.

But in the family compound, there were plenty of wealthy people.

“So that family also made popsicles, and Dongzi is going to their house now?”

Exchanging popsicles was a hassle, and Ning Shu agreed to do it out of pity for the kids of that time who didn’t have many snacks.

But if they didn’t come to exchange, Ning Shu would actually prefer it.

“Yes, Dongzi said their house is closer, so he goes there now,” Erbao said.

“Well, let him be,” Ning Shu thought the Erbao might be sad, so she comforted him, “We don’t make money from exchanging popsicles, so if there’s one less person exchanging, we just make one less popsicle. It’s actually easier for us, don’t you think? Besides, their house is closer, so Dongzi doesn’t have to walk as far or be out in the hot sun.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Erbao wasn’t sad at all.

At first, exchanging popsicles was fun, but now that the novelty had worn off, he didn’t care much anymore.

After all, they were exchanging popsicles for items, not money.

If it were for money, Erbao might stay excited about it indefinitely.

With more families in the compound buying refrigerators, the excitement around the twins’ refrigerator gradually faded.

Since buying the refrigerator and the TV, the Lin household had been lively.

During the day, kids came to exchange popsicles, and at night, people from the street came to watch TV.

Lively as it was, it was also harmonious.

Even Wang Yuhong, who liked to act weak, would come to watch TV at night but didn’t cause any trouble.

She was envious of the Lin family’s refrigerator and TV, though.

Despite her envy, she had no intention of buying them.

Even if her husband could afford it, she wouldn’t buy them.

It seemed like a waste of money.

The TV was just for watching shows, but it wasn’t essential.

As for the refrigerator, aside from making popsicles, she couldn’t think of other uses. Spending 1300 yuan on a refrigerator seemed even less worthwhile.

One morning, shortly after Ning Shu had finished breakfast, He Jiaxing’s mom and others came over. “Ning Shu, are you ready?”

It turned out that He Jiaxing’s mom, Yang Wenjie’s mom, Cheng Yingyong’s mom, and Ning Shu had arranged to go to Moon Bay Production Brigade today to exchange eggs and pick wild peaches and bayberries.

They had made plans with the villagers to make dried bayberries and fruit preserves.

“All set,” Ning Shu said as she loaded baskets and sacks into a large basket, secured it on her bicycle, and then instructed her three children,

“I have some things to do today. Don’t slack off during your morning study time. When I come back, I’ll check your progress. If you can’t read the material smoothly, you won’t get to watch TV in the afternoon, and you’ll be banned from eating popsicles tomorrow.”

Hearing the punishment, the three children straightened up.

Watching TV and eating popsicles were their favorite activities now.

The children quickly promised, “Mom, we’ll study hard and not slack off.”

“Mom, when you come back, we’ll be able to read today’s material smoothly.”

“Mom, we promise to be good and listen.”

With Yi Bao around, Ning Shu felt reassured about the three children.

While Er Bao was mischievous, he always listened to his older brother, and San Bao was Ning Shu’s little sweetheart, always very well-behaved.

Out of the three, only Er Bao showed signs of a bit of a rebellious streak.

After instructing the children, Ning Shu pushed her bicycle and went to Moon Bay Production Brigade with He Jiaxing’s mom and the others.

The families of the soldiers often went to Moon Bay Production Brigade to exchange goods, so the villagers were familiar with Ning Shu and her companions.

First, they went to the homes of familiar villagers to exchange for eggs, then they went to another agreed-upon villager’s home to look at the wild peaches and bayberries.

“Comrades, here are the wild peaches and bayberries. Take a look. If you want them, we can exchange. If you’re not satisfied, you don’t have to,” said a villager.

These wild peaches and bayberries had been carefully selected and were considered rare treats for the villagers.

However, they weren’t sure if the military families would be pleased with them.

These wild peaches and bayberries were picked from the mountains.

If the visitors wanted to buy them, the villagers would sell; if not, they’d keep them for their own children to eat.

“Can we taste them first?” Ning Shu asked.

The villager replied, “Of course, feel free to try. If you want to eat the peaches, I’ll wash them for you.” He went back to the kitchen and returned with a wooden dipper filled with water.

He then picked out four peaches, washed them, and handed one to each of the women to try.

Ning Shu and the others started eating the peaches.

The wild peaches were small, a bit hard, and not very juicy, but had a slight sweetness.

Ning Shu commented, “These peaches are acceptable.”

qThey would be good for making peach preserves and dried peaches since making fruit preserves doesn’t require the best quality fruit.

He Jiaxing’s mom and the others also agreed they were fine.

However, when they tasted the bayberries, they had some reservations.

“These bayberries can’t compare to the ones Ning Shu exchanged for last time. The difference is too much,” said He Jiaxing’s mom.

Yang Wenjie’s mom added, “These bayberries are small and less juicy, but they’re not too sour. If we make dried bayberries with syrup, it should be okay.”

Ning Shu decided, “Let’s buy some.”

They would buy a smaller quantity here and supplement with some from the app.

However, whether it was wild peaches or wild bayberries, there weren’t many to start with.

Wild fruits from the mountains were already limited, and since the villagers had picked the best ones for them, there were even fewer.

Cheng Yingyong’s mom asked the villager, “Uncle, what do you want in exchange?”

The villager replied, “Sugar coupons, meat coupons, or grain coupons are all fine.”

Everyone knew that the coupons from the military had no expiration date and were accepted nationwide; they were highly valued.

Since everyone in the village knew about picking wild bayberries and peaches, they couldn’t use money for the exchange.

Plus, money wouldn’t be worth much; they preferred the coupons, especially since villagers often lacked them.

After exchanging their coupons for wild peaches and bayberries, Ning Shu and the other three women left.

They put their items in the baskets on their bicycles and walked back to the military base, chatting and laughing along the way.

Once they reached the base, they decided to go to Ning Shu’s house to divide the bayberries and peaches.

When they arrived at Ning Shu’s house, they saw the three kids and He Jiaxing’s and others watching TV.

Seeing them come in, the children happily ran over.

“Mom, what did you buy?”

“Mom, you’re back?”

The kids couldn’t help but gulp when they saw the bayberries and peaches being taken out of the basket.

Ning Shu said, “Do you want to eat them? These peaches and bayberries aren’t very tasty eaten as they are. They’re better when made into canned fruit and dried fruit.”

“Wow, I love canned fruit the most,” said Erbao.

Ning Shu chuckled, “Didn’t you say you liked popsicles the most yesterday?”

The mothers also laughed.

Erbao’s face turned red. “Today, I like canned fruit the most. Yesterday and today are different.”

Ning Shu said, “Then washing the bayberries and setting up the fire will be your job later.”

Erbao his chest and promised, “No problem, I guarantee they will be washed clean.”

Yang Wenjie’s mother said to her son, “Mom is going home to make canned fruit and dried bayberries. You go home and help mom wash the bayberries and set up the fire.”

Although Yang Wenjie wanted to watch TV, the allure of canned fruit and dried bayberries was greater.

He didn’t hesitate to say, “Alright.”

Then he told his friends, “I’ll come back to watch TV after my mom finishes making the canned fruit.”

After dividing the wild bayberries and wild peaches, the mothers took their children home.

They had gotten used to having their children help with chores.

Plus, with the allure of canned fruit, the kids wanted to help even without being asked.

Ning Shu looked at her three kids and assigned tasks, “You two fetch water and wash the bayberries. First, soak the bayberries in salt water, then wash them clean and put them in the basket. I’ll go prepare lunch.”

Yibao child replied, “Alright, Erbao and I will fetch the water.”

They knew how to wash the bayberries since they had eaten a lot of them and had seen their mom wash them many times.

Yibao and Erbao filled a wooden basin with water and added salt.

When adding salt, they didn’t know how much to add.

Erbao asked, “Mom, how much salt do we add?”

Ning Shu replied, “Add five tablespoons.”

The bayberries bought from the Moon Bay Production Brigade needed only five tablespoons, as they couldn’t use the bayberries from the app.

Yibao and Erbao added five tablespoons of salt to the wooden basin of water and then carried it outside, placing it under the eaves.

Together, the three brothers put the bayberries into the wooden basin.

After placing them, they squatted down to watch.

When Mom first soaked the bayberries in saltwater, they asked what she was doing.

Mom said it was to wash away the dirt inside the bayberries.

Now, with the bayberries soaking in the saltwater in the wooden basin, they curiously stared at it, wanting to see what dirt would come out.

Ning Shu wanted to make the dried bayberries and canned fruit quickly, so she took a break from her usual routine and made egg fried rice for lunch.

After cooking the rice, she started making the dried bayberries.

After soaking in the saltwater, there were indeed many tiny things in the water when the bayberries were taken out.

The three kids stared at the wooden basin in astonishment, surprised to see so much dirt coming out of the bayberries.

In fact, bayberries can be eaten without washing.

In hot weather, overnight bayberries can grow many small bugs.

And bayberries used for making dried bayberries, if not washed clean, will go bad.

Ning Shu used the stove to make the dried bayberries.

After boiling the sugar into syrup in the pot, she added the bayberries and then some water to simmer slowly over low heat.

As the bayberries were simmering, it was time to prepare the peaches.

However, peeling peaches without a peeler in this era was a bit troublesome.

This job had to be done by Lin Guodong.

So, when Lin Guodong came back from work, he was recruited for this skillful task!