Life is a Game

Zhang Chu ran quickly with his crying son in his arms, as if he was not a son but a time bomb. When we arrived at the captain's house, the captain's family was having dinner. There were eight people sitting at a small square table, not counting the children running around outside who didn't know if there were any children eating. It was considered a thriving population.

Seeing Zhang Chu coming, the captain's daughter-in-law put down the bowl and chopsticks and stood up. As a result, Zhang Chiyuan in Zhang Chu's hand coaxed the child twice and stopped crying, but there were tears on his face and snot bubbles under his nose. I thought it was just beaten up by my own father.

"Auntie is really bothering you. My kid doesn't know what's going on. Guixiang started crying as soon as she entered the room to pack her things. I can't coax her." Zhang Chu, the culprit, didn't even know why his son was crying.

The captain's wife hugged the child and said with a smile: "You men don't know how to take care of children. You are the first one who hasn't been taught by the old man. Take your time and you will."

"Guixiang is packing things, and she will send Chiyuan's clothes over after packing." Zhang Chu explained.

"It's okay, there's no rush. By the way, Xiao Zhang, there is one thing I want to trouble you with. Come in with me and I'll give you something." The captain's wife said, holding the child and walking in front of Zhang Chu and the captain. The room of the conversation.

Zhang Chu was a little confused, so he subconsciously glanced at the captain, who nodded at him, and Zhang Chu followed.

After the captain's wife entered the room and put the child on the bed, Nasuo opened the cabinet and took out a tin box from the top floor. Opening the box, there was a cloth bag in the box. When the cloth was opened, it was full of money in various denominations. Jiang Feng even saw a ten-yuan bill, but the most was a few cents in change.

The captain's daughter-in-law didn't take the change, so she took out a two-yuan bill and a one-dollar bill from it, closed the cloth and put them back into the box, put the box back into the cabinet, locked it, and handed the money to Zhang Chu. .

"Xiao Zhang, aren't you going to change jobs in the Longkou production team later? Someone in their production team must be killing pigs in the past two days. Please help me pay more attention to buying a few catties of meat, and how many catties you can buy. , I don’t choose the part, it’s best to make it fatter, and you keep the remaining change, just treat it as a little favor from your aunt.”

Zhang Chu didn't refuse to take the money and held it in his hand: "Killing pigs? How can you kill pigs this year?"

The daughter-in-law of the team leader said softly: "The son of accountant Qian in the production team will celebrate his tenth birthday in two days. You may not know the situation there. Accountant Qian is just such a precious son. He didn't even dare to drink when he was a month old. I’m afraid of being hooked away by little ghosts. Bah, bah, bah, you’re an educated youth, why am I telling you this? Last year, accountant Qian specially raised a pig just for his son’s tenth birthday this year. You know, these days People can’t get enough to eat, so how can there be extra food for pigs? Raising pigs is hard work and not gaining meat if they eat too little. After a year of careful care, they can only be two hundred catties without much fat. In the past two years, we produced There are not many people in the team and others who are willing to raise chickens this year, and it hurts to kill them if they don’t lay eggs.”

"Anyway, after you pass by, please help me pay attention. If you kill a pig, you will come to buy meat as soon as possible. Thank you for your hard work."

"No problem, don't worry." Zhang Chu licked his lips, feeling that he had eaten pork.

When Zhang Chu went out, Cao Guixiang came with her luggage. Two days after giving the small cloth bag containing Zhang Chiyuan's clothes to the captain's wife, she hurried to the entrance of the village, fearing that she would have to walk more than ten miles if she couldn't catch the tractor.

When approaching the entrance of the village, Zhang Chu secretly handed Cao Guixiang the three yuan given to him by the captain's wife just now.

Cao Guixiang was shocked when she saw the huge sum of money, and hurriedly asked, "Where did you get the money?"

"My aunt gave it to me just now. She said that the Longkou production brigade will kill pigs in the past two days, and asked me to buy a few catties of pork for her. The extra change will be used as our errand expenses." Zhang Chu said, his face full of longing. , "Unfortunately, we have no money. I haven't eaten braised pork in a long time. Guixiang, do you think I can save a plate of braised pork in a week if I do private work to help them repair some furniture and build a cabinet for a week?"

Cao Guixiang laughed: "Repairing farm tools during the day and doing private work at night, you don't look like you're sleeping? You also have braised pork. It would be great if you could save up a plate of braised pig's trotters."

Zhang Chu couldn't help but licked his lips again, feeling that the braised pig's trotters were already eating tight in his stomach: "The braised pig's trotters are also good, if you really can't do it, you can also put the braised pigs in the water, anyway, whatever you cook is delicious."

"Are you still dreaming? You think we are still in Beiping, and I am still in Yongheju. I have all the seasonings I want to use? Don't you look at our house, do you have other seasonings besides salt and oil? You have to go to the mountains without chili Pick dogwood instead, fermented soybeans can be used instead of soy sauce when frying vegetables, how to replace it when roasting meat, and vinegar, do you go to the accountant to borrow white vinegar? Their vinegar is also made from rice by themselves, where can I borrow it all the time.” Cao Guixiang couldn't help complaining, "Don't even think about pigs entering the water, can they be eaten without aniseed?"

Zhang Chu could only sigh: "I should write to Brother Qin to tell him not to send milk powder, malted milk and biscuits all the time, but to send some soy sauce, vinegar, chili, aniseed ingredients are better than anything else."

"Brother Qin didn't know that we are so poor that we can't even afford soy sauce. If he found out, he would definitely send all the condiments in the store in one pot, and he would pay it back. Anyway, we usually eat corn, sweet potatoes and vegetables. , and there is no opportunity to use seasoning. You have time to think about getting into the water, so why not spend time thinking about where to get some fine flour to eat cabbage dumplings." Cao Guixiang smiled.

Zhang Chu began to seriously think about who in the village had fine flour to make some dumplings for.

The two of them had time to chat during the walking time. When they got on the tractor, the road was so bumpy that they could spit out the food they ate the day before. The shouting on the opposite side of the tweeter may not be heard clearly.

Although the tractor was bumpy and noisy, it was better than the eleventh road walking on legs. If Zhang Chu and Cao Guixiang were going outside this time instead of changing jobs, the tractor would not be able to catch them.

After rubbing the tractor on the way for more than ten miles, Zhang Chu and Cao Guixiang walked on the dirt road for several hours. Halfway through, because they were not familiar with the road, they almost made a mistake and asked an old farmer by the side of the road before they got on the right track. It was already dinner time when the two arrived at the legendary Longkou Production Brigade. Everyone in the Longkou Production Brigade had already left work, and smoke was rising from every household. Seeing Zhang Chu and Cao Guixiang coming with things on their backs, they hurried up to meet them.

The child is probably too lonely to play in the mud alone, and is eager to go home for dinner. After seeing Zhang Chu and Cao Guixiang, he took him directly to the accountant of the Longkou Production Brigade. The accountant still had a vacant room where Zhang Chu and Cao Guixiang would live in the next week.

Because there is no telephone communication and information communication is all relying on running and shouting, the Longkou production team has always had one au pair this time and only Zhang Chu was replaced. When the accountant saw that it was a couple who came, he was stunned, and then he was ecstatic—— Originally, it was one for two but now it has become one for one. The accountant felt that he had earned at least one pig's trotter.

Zhang Chu and Cao Guixiang lived and boarded at the accountant during this period. At first, Jiang Feng heard from the captain's wife that the accountant of the Longkou Production Brigade had only one son, so he thought it was only a son, and she was all daughters. Only to find out that there is really only one son.

only son.

An only child who looks white, clean and thin, and feels like he doesn't even play with mud very much. No wonder his parents are worried that he won't be able to support him.

In the rural areas of this era, when family planning has not yet been popularized, ten-year-old only children are very rare. It is no wonder that on the ten-year-old birthday, there are so many people who have to raise a pig to kill.

Dinner is very rich, sweet potatoes, white rice, fried vegetables, and a bowl of egg drop soup.

After dinner, Zhang Chu didn't work either. He only worked part-time today, but he took full-time work points and rounded it up to say that he earned a pig's tail. The accountant led Zhang Chu to look at the agricultural tools he would repair in the future. They were all common wooden agricultural tools such as hoes and plows for plowing. Not small, no wonder it takes a week to change.

After reading the things, the accountant led Zhang Chu to meet the village leaders, that is, the captain and the branch secretary. After recognizing the person, he led Zhang Chu back. When Zhang Chu returned, Cao Guixiang was teaching the accountant’s wife how to use it. The best egg drop soup with the least amount of eggs.

Go to bed early in the countryside, and kerosene is expensive without electricity. Basically, there are no entertainment activities after it is completely dark. Cao Guixiang and Zhang Chu were also embarrassed to waste the accountant's kerosene, so they simply wiped their bodies and went to bed to get ready for sleep.

"I just went to the backyard to see their pigs."

Jiang Feng didn't have the habit of watching other people sleep. He was about to go out through the wall when he heard Cao Guixiang speak suddenly, and stopped in his tracks.

Zhang Chu:?

"I found that Accountant Liu's pig is really good, at least it weighs more than two hundred catties." Cao Guixiang sighed, "If you can get a piece of pork belly to roast, it must be very delicious."

Zhang Chu:? ? ?

"Didn't you say you didn't have seasoning at noon?" Zhang Chu asked soulfully.

"What I'm talking about is that we don't have any at home. I saw it when I entered the kitchen just now. Not only soy sauce and vinegar are bought by the supply and marketing cooperatives, I also saw star anise and fragrant leaves. I guess there are other seasonings in the cabinet. .” Cao Guixiang smacked her mouth, “I haven’t seen star anise and fragrant leaves for a long time.”

"It's a big family." Zhang Chu sighed, "Guixiang, do you think the legs of their table should be repaired?"

Cao Guixiang nodded: "I noticed when I was eating just now, the table is a bit crooked."

"I think there are a little few chairs." Zhang Chu said.

"The cabinet I saw in the kitchen just now seems a bit old." Cao Guixiang answered.

"There is only one son in their family who doesn't even have toys."

"Yes, there must be toys." The couple sang together.

Jiang Feng:? ? ? ? ?

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