Chapter 92 Setting the Menu Prices, Departing for the County Town

Early the next morning, the back gate of Ming Dai’s small courtyard was knocked upon.

Zhou Sinian, who was in the kitchen steaming buns, came out holding a fire poker to open the door.

When he saw Liu Dazhu, Liu Qingmin, and Liu Guoqiang outside and recognized them, he turned around and went back into the kitchen.

Liu Dazhu swallowed nervously at the sight of the still-sparking fire poker in his hand. Only after Zhou Sinian had gone back inside did he and the other two enter the courtyard.

After closing the gate behind them, the three of them looked around and were amazed by the two large stacks of firewood piled high.

Hearing voices, Ming Dai came out of the house and saw the three men staring dumbfounded at the woodpiles.

“Uncle Captain, Uncle Secretary, Accountant Liu, have you had breakfast yet?”

Liu Dazhu snapped out of his stupor. “We’ve already eaten, we’ve already eaten, Comrade Ming, we came a bit early.”

Ming Dai smiled and shook her head. “Let’s talk in the kitchen, it’s warmer there.”

The three nodded and followed her to the kitchen.

Zhou Sinian had already heated up breakfast and was currently preparing bowls of fried flour soup for the two of them.

Ming Dai asked him to make three more bowls; he agreed, but only put one scoop of fried flour in each of theirs, while he and Ming Dai each got three scoops.

The three visitors stared blankly until Ming Dai set the bowls in front of them, snapping them back to awareness.

Liu Dazhu thought: This Ming girl is brave—she dares to order the madman around!

Liu Qingmin thought: Comrade Ming is impressive—even the madman listens to her!

Liu Guoqiang thought: Oh, finally, I get to taste the same fried flour soup as the madman!

Ming Dai also began sipping her soup, but it was so sweet it nearly choked her.

Zhou Sinian sat next to Ming Dai, placing the hot steamed buns and flower rolls between them, then fetched pickled vegetables from the cupboard and sat across from the three visitors, eating with relish—one bite of bun, one sip of soup.

His movements were so practiced and natural that the three guests were left speechless.

Ming Dai invited them to drink the soup and began asking about the vegetable delivery.

Liu Dazhu returned to the matter at hand, sharing the results of their discussion.

“Tomorrow, we’ll go into the county together and see. Qingmin’s second uncle’s third son’s wife has a relative in the county who knows the woman who washes dishes at the county government canteen. She can help introduce us.”

Ming Dai nodded. “Then I’ll save up all the vegetables from these two days and bring them all tomorrow.”

Liu Qingmin savored the sweet soup, smacking his lips. “Before we go tomorrow, let’s weigh all the vegetables, and put them on your account, Comrade Ming. Whatever you grow is yours; when the money comes in, we’ll settle up with you.”

Liu Dazhu agreed. “Right. Guoqiang, stop drinking—remember this! Bring a scale tomorrow!”

Liu Guoqiang swallowed the mouthful of soup he’d been holding. “Got it, Captain. I’ll come early tomorrow and help weigh the vegetables.”

Ming Dai reminded them, “We’ll need some straw as padding, or the vegetables might freeze.”

The three nodded, cherishing their bowls of soup before rising to take their leave.

Ming Dai saw them out and returned to the kitchen, where Zhou Sinian frowned at her. “I need to wash the dishes now.”

She finished her soup, handed him the bowl, and grabbed the two buns he’d given her.

Only then was Zhou Sinian satisfied. He took the dishes, placed the bowls in the pot to boil water, and started washing.

Ming Dai sat on a chair, nibbling on a bun, watching Zhou Sinian clean, all the while pondering how to price the vegetables.

After breakfast, the two of them gathered the vegetables in the basket.

They cut two large bundles of chives; there were quite a lot of chive shoots, too, and since the opaque basket didn’t hinder their growth, they’d grown tall—half a basket’s worth. Once these were cut, it would be at least half a month before they could harvest again, so the price had to be set high.

There were even more mushrooms—a large basket, over thirty catties. Worried they might not stay fresh, Ming Dai put them in her secret storage, planning to take them out the next morning.

Inside and outside the storage space, Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian were bustling with activity as they harvested the vegetables.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere at the front courtyard’s commune dormitory was desolate.

All the senior educated youths had taken leave to visit their families. Since labor time was short in Heilongjiang, their home leave had been extended. Except for Chen Erhong and Zhou Guiping, the rest had left one after another, seizing the chance to spend the New Year at home.

As for the new arrivals, since this was their first year, they weren’t permitted leave.

Qi Zhijun had been unusually silent these past few days, dazed and distracted, nearly scalding himself with hot water—if not for Liu Yan’s quick intervention, his hand would have been badly burned.

Ever since Fang Rou announced that there was no future for the two of them, Qi Zhijun had begun thinking of returning to the city. After several fruitless attempts to talk to Fang Rou, he finally lost hope and began writing letters to his mother in Beijing, arranging his return.

Unfortunately, the reply he received told him to stay put in the countryside.

His mother’s letter explained that the family was in trouble. His father was under investigation, and his brothers had all been either sent down or transferred elsewhere—none could remain in Beijing—so there was no way to bring him back for now.

She instructed him to keep an eye on Fang Rou while staying in the countryside. The Fang family had gotten into trouble first, and the Qi family was implicated. If Fang Rou made any moves, he was to send word immediately by telegram.

Qi Zhijun was dumbfounded. Wasn’t he supposed to be sent down for a few years and then return? Now he was stuck?

Not only had his childhood sweetheart rejected him, but his family might have dragged the Qi family down with them.

How could things have come to this?

Unable to accept it, he withdrew into silence, staying shut in his room and only coming out when Liu Yan brought him meals.

The new educated youths paid him no mind, busy with their own affairs.

Fang Rou noticed all this as well, and guessed that the Qi family had told him about their troubles. Seeing him so crushed, she was full of scorn. Could he not even handle this much? Much harsher realities awaited him in the future—her dear Zhijun!

The only one pleased by the turn of events was Liu Yan. Now that she was taking care of Qi Zhijun’s daily needs and could come and go from his room freely, she even rummaged through his luggage and read the letters he’d exchanged with his family. This only confirmed her belief that Qi Zhijun was a rare catch—a golden son-in-law she had to win at any cost.

She wondered if, with so few people around the commune, she should take advantage of the situation and force the issue with Qi Zhijun, tying him to her for good.

If she succeeded, it would be hard for him to do anything but marry her.

But in the end, she lost her nerve and abandoned the idea for now. Otherwise, given Qi Zhijun’s current mental state, it would have been all too easy to frame him.

Confusion reigned in the front courtyard, while the back courtyard was full of cheer.

Early in the morning, Ming Dai got up ahead of time to make sure she and Zhou Sinian finished breakfast before Liu Guoqiang arrived.

Liu Guoqiang brought the scale and weighed the vegetables Ming Dai had harvested.

Chives: 5 catties.

Chive shoots: 8 catties.

Mushrooms: 72 catties!

Liu Dazhu and Liu Qingmin grinned from ear to ear at the numbers.

They began discussing the pricing.

Liu Dazhu looked at the overflowing basket of mushrooms. “Girl Ming, you grew the vegetables—why don’t you suggest a price?”

Ming Dai was frank. “Uncle, these vegetables are unique in the winter, and growing them was no easy task—lots of labor, firewood, and energy. If we price them too low, we’re shortchanging ourselves. So I think chives and chive shoots should be one yuan per catty, and mushrooms, since there are more of them, half a yuan per catty.”

(Folks, just for reference, these are winter vegetable prices! I really don’t think they’re expensive!!)

“How much?!”

Liu Dazhu could hardly believe his ears. At this time, even pork only cost seven or eight mao per catty, and she was asking a whole yuan for vegetables?!

Ming Dai repeated the prices, and only then did the three realize they’d heard her correctly.

“Girl Ming, isn’t that a bit high?” Liu Dazhu asked.

Ming Dai shook her head solemnly. “Uncle, you have to understand—it’s not that vegetables are expensive; winter fresh vegetables are expensive!”

Liu Dazhu was still hesitant—it was a high price.

But Liu Qingmin thought it over and agreed. “Let’s go with Comrade Ming’s prices for now. If the county government won’t take them, we can negotiate down.”

Ming Dai nodded. “That works.”

Liu Dazhu tapped his unlit pipe. “Alright. Let’s set off, then. We’ll probably have to stay overnight in the county, but the village will reimburse us. Comrade Ming, give me your key so my wife can come over and keep the stove lit. These vegetables are worth their weight in gold—we can’t afford any mishaps.”

Ming Dai agreed—this was for the best.

Since they were going to the county, Zhou Sinian insisted on coming along. He was quite excited—since arriving, he hadn’t left the commune and didn’t even know where the county seat was.

They were traveling by horse cart this time. Old Master Liu was already waiting outside, fully prepared.

The cart was lined with straw. Liu Guoqiang loaded the vegetables, covered them with more straw, and finally two quilts for insulation—no one knew whose they were.

Ming Dai and the others also brought a quilt to cover their laps.

She wore her little floral jacket, a knitted hat, and a big scarf.

Zhou Sinian wore a military overcoat, a Lei Feng hat, and, despite Ming Dai’s protests, insisted on wearing his red headscarf on the outside.

Once the horse started trotting, Ming Dai dared to look at its tail.

Aunt Huang, worried the horse would freeze, had sewn a cotton sleeve over its bare tail and tied it to its rump with three fabric straps.

At first glance, it looked as though the horse was wearing a thong!

She felt sorry for the horse, but it was just too funny!