dhibooks Chapter 1865 Reciprocity
Chapter 1865 Reciprocity
Chapter 1865 Reciprocity
The three of them entered the courtyard while talking.
Aunt Zhang put firewood in the kitchen and added some to the stove: "Come on, come on, come inside with me, it's really cold outside today."
The three entered the house, and Aunt Zhang pointed to the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove) and said, "You sit down, I'll go get the eggs."
Chu Xue thought she was going to get eggs from another room, but to her surprise, she took out a porcelain jar from the cabinet against the wall: "It's cold, I'm afraid the eggs will crack if I put them in another room. My kids often come to play in this room, and I'm afraid they might accidentally ruin them."
Chu Xue thought about it and agreed; eggs are considered a precious commodity these days, so it's only right to be careful.
Aunt Zhang placed the porcelain jar on the kang (a heated brick bed): "There are twenty-two eggs in here. It took me a long time to collect this many eggs. The chickens lay fewer eggs when it's cold. The reason I was able to collect so many is because my eldest grandson modified the chicken coop with a urea bag and a torn tarpaulin."
What people are saying is simply to show that these eggs are hard to come by and won't be cheap.
Chu Xue smiled and said, "Aunt Zhang, I'll take them all."
When Aunt Zhang heard Chu Xue say this, she knew that the other party understood her meaning: "I won't beat around the bush with you. In the summer, an egg costs five cents. You can see these eggs of mine. They are all quite big. I'll give them to you for eight cents each."
Eggs in those days weren't as big as those laid by broiler chickens in later years. A pound of eggs usually contained about ten. In winter, the purchasing station charged 60 cents a pound. The old lady asked for 8 cents, which wasn't much, since the black market price wouldn't be that high. However, she had to take a certain risk.
Chu Xue came over to exchange things, partly to cover up the situation, and she didn't care about such things: "Aunt Zhang, I have industrial coupons, kerosene coupons, and soap coupons. What kind of coupons do you want?" Aunt Zhang rubbed her hands and said, "Fu Tuan's wife, do you have any sugar coupons? My niece-in-law will be in confinement after the New Year, and it would be respectable for me, as her aunt, to send her some brown sugar."
Chu Xue actually had some sugar coupons. She originally wanted to save them to buy candy for her children later, but since Aunt Zhang had asked, it wasn't impossible. She could just ask the Ministry of Machine Building for some more sugar coupons at the end of the year.
Chu Xue smiled and said, "I was originally planning to keep it for myself, but since Aunt Zhang has said so, I'll give it to you for now, and I'll figure out a way later."
Aunt Zhang received the sugar coupons and couldn't stop smiling: "Oh my, this has really helped me a lot. I'll send some brown sugar back after the New Year to show my appreciation as an aunt. That would be so prestigious. Oh, by the way, I dried a lot of vegetables in the fall. I'll give you some to take back and try."
Chu Xue raised her hand to refuse, but Aunt Zhang had already gone to the next room and returned shortly with a small cloth bag: "This is from Fu Tuan's family. Don't be disgusted. Soak it in warm water, and it'll taste delicious."
Chu Xue smiled and thanked her, then placed the kerosene coupon on the table: "Aunt Zhang, it's only fair to reciprocate. I don't need these kerosene coupons, you can keep them."
Aunt Zhang probably didn't expect Chu Xue to do this: "Oh dear, this, this is really taking advantage of you."
Knowing that Chuxue genuinely wanted to give it, Aunt Wei said, "Sister, please accept it without worry. If you feel bad about it, why don't you think about which family in the village has a hen to sell?"
Aunt Zhang knew that the Hong family next door had chickens to sell, but the two families didn't get along, so she didn't want to get involved. However, since she had received kerosene coupons for free, she naturally didn't want them to go door-to-door in the village asking in this cold weather. "The day before yesterday, I heard in the yard that the Hong family next door had chickens to send to the purchasing station. They've been busy with their own affairs these past few days and haven't had time to go yet. Why don't you go over and ask them?"
(End of this chapter)