The matter of attending the literacy class wasn't going so smoothly because even after Li Erfu agreed to let Li Xianglu go, Ge Sanmei still made a fuss. However, Li Erfu was very firm, so Ge Sanmei compromised, but she demanded that household chores must be completed before going.
And then Li Jianqing said something that hurt Ge Sanmei to the core: "I'll help my sister finish the chores, and we can go together."
The literacy class had already started, and Li Jianqing alongside Li Xianglu had nothing, so they needed to go to the township commune to buy some study supplies.
Therefore, Li Erfu made a firm decision to check out the market three days later and, by the way, buy some pencils and notebooks for the two children.
Li Xianglu was very excited about going out for the first time. Based on the original host's memory, it seemed that she had only gone to the market once when she was six and never again after, so she was quite unfamiliar with the market.
Moreover, Li Xianglu had another plan, which was to buy some legal books of the era, as well as some newspapers concerning current affairs, as she wanted to see the recent situation from above.
But the biggest difficulty was that Li Xianglu had no money on hand; she had to figure out a way to get some money.
Three days later, early in the morning before dawn, Ge Sanmei was taking a large piece of pork to the township subsidiary food purchasing station to exchange for money, while Li Erfu was driving the cart. Another person who Li Xianglu rarely saw was also there, Li Jianwen, who Ge Sanmei called a mortal Wenquxing—a seventeen-year-old youth.
A clean, slender, and tall youth, unlike any of the Li Family men, dressed in a brand-new blue jacket and a pair of new black cotton-padded shoes.
Li Xianglu frowned at her own worn-out cotton shoes patched at the toes, the soles not yet fixed properly, so she could only wear an old pair of Ge Sanmei's for now. These shoes were not only tattered but also too large; even wearing three pairs of socks, Li Xianglu found them too big. However, there was no other choice, as she couldn't take out the shoes from her own space either.
The Li Family Village Production Team had two mules and two donkeys, usually dedicated to working for the team, and Li Erfu had a good job, which was to take care of the team's beasts of burden. This work was relatively relaxed, and the distribution of goods was ample.
After greeting his elder brother, Li Erfu hooked up the mule to the cart and rolled it out. Joining the trip were Auntie Liu Aidang from the family and Li Xiangwei.
Looking at the cart full of people, Li Xianglu was somewhat anxious, not knowing how she would avoid them once they arrived.
As for the Jigu Commune, it was exceptionally large and should have been upgraded to a county according to the normal division. However, in recent years, because emphasis was placed on other aspects, this was put on the back burner, hence the existence of such a large commune.
Originally, Li Xianglu was pulled by Li Erfu to sit near the mules, a spot not only stable but also allowing her to take shelter from the wind behind Li Erfu.
But Ge Sanmei was not happy with this arrangement and stubbornly asked Li Xianglu to move to the back, allowing Li Jianwen to sit there.
Li Jianwen stood up and took the spot without any sign of reluctance.
Li Xianglu frowned; this Li Jianwen was also selfish.
Seeing this, Li Jianqing merely frowned and pulled Li Xianglu to sit in front of him, helping shield his sister from the wind.
Although there was no snowfall, the morning's north wind was as sharp as knives after the frost, especially indicating a climate soon to bring snow, the dry and cold air chilling them to the shiver.
Li Xianglu was not wearing much, and despite having on two old cotton-padded jackets, the cold wind still pierced through.
Luckily, Jigu Commune wasn't far, and it would only take about forty minutes by mule cart.
It was just getting light, still dusky, and the shapes of buildings on either side were faintly visible.
They were all low-lying, with the highest being the two small buildings at the very center, which looked to be only four stories tall. However, the buildings were old, and slogans in bold red characters, unique to this era, could be vaguely seen on the surrounding structures.
The mule cart stopped at the commune's health station, which was backed by a large empty space where everyone generally parked their cattle and mule carts, though they did need someone to keep watch.
Upon arrival, Ge Sanmei was carrying pork to trade for some money, and for some reason, Li Jianwen insisted on tagging along, while Ge Sanmei asked Li Xianglu and Li Jianqing to wait for them there.
Li Jianqing naturally disagreed, so he said to Ge Sanmei, "Mom, give us the money, we can buy the notebooks ourselves, and then go find Daddy at the health station."
Li Erfu was tasked with watching over the mule cart, so he stayed put, while Liu Aidang planned to visit her maiden family, taking Li Xiangwei to her brother's house and naturally bringing some meat as a gift. She couldn't take these siblings along.
Seeing this, Ge Sanmei decided to go exchange the meat for money and then take her second son to buy some cloth and tonic to visit a teacher's house. It really wasn't feasible to bring the younger children along. Therefore, with reluctance akin to cutting her own flesh, she laboriously fished out a wad of money from an obscure pocket at her waist and handed Li Jianqing one yuan.
Upon seeing the money, Li Jianqing frowned and said, "What can we do with one yuan? Not enough, at least three."
Hearing this, Ge Sanmei immediately scolded, "Why do you need so much? A notebook only costs one cent!"
Li Jianqing immediately latched on, "If you don't give it to us, we'll just follow Mom. Wait for Mom to take us to buy one cent notebooks."
Ge Sanmei, infuriated and almost capsizing, knew this couldn't do. Meanwhile, Li Jianwen, with his brow furrowed deeply, spoke impatiently, "Mom, just give it to him, hurry up, the teacher is still waiting."
Ge Sanmei, trembling with anger, pulled out a few tickets from a pile of small change, licked her saliva-lubricated tongue, counted the money twice before handing it to Li Jianqing, then glared at him, "Spend it sparingly!"
Li Jianqing beamed with a nod, while Ge Sanmei, unable to hide her irritation, strode off westward carrying a urea bag weighing tens of kilograms, with Li Jianwen following behind rather disdainfully.
Li Xianglu frowned, watching this unfold, wondering if Ge Sanmei's heart-wrenching generosity towards such a selfish person would ever be rewarded.
Li Jianqing was just about to take his sister with him when Li Erfu stopped them, and after fumbling inside his jacket for a while, he managed to pull out a few crumpled tickets. After counting them, he cheerfully stuffed them all into Li Xianglu's hands, "Take them, buy something you like."
Li Xianglu gratefully accepted them, and without counting she guessed there were probably 5 dollars to 6 dollars there, and to her astonishment, there was even a one-pound food ticket! What a delightful surprise!
Seeing his little daughter so happy, Li Erfu's mood lifted as well. He explained to his daughter, "This food ticket was from the commune officials who came to handle some affairs at the beginning of the year. I gave them a few rides back and forth, and they gave me this as a token of thanks."
Li Xianglu looked over the food ticket. She vaguely recalled that at this time, buying food required food tickets; even if you had money, you couldn't just buy freely. All grain supplies were rationed.
Seeing that Daddy gave her money and a food ticket, Li Jianqing wasn't upset but also looked thrilled.