Chapter 323: This Scene Looks Familiar!
“You’re going to mail letters? Perfect. I still have one written to Comrade Ji—send it along with this one to Big Brother. Also, this letter is for the newspaper; help me mail all of them,” Ning Qingyuan said, pulling three pre-written, stamped, and sealed letters from his pocket and handing them to Ning Xiyue.
“Alright, but Comrade Ji has gone to study at the school for three months. The address has changed. You’ll need to update the address on your letter. From now on, if you want to contact him, mail it to this address.”
Ning Xiyue took out her letter with the updated address and handed it to her second brother, asking him to make the change. She also returned the letter he had intended for Comrade Ji so she could mail it later.
“Studying—that’s a good thing! I should congratulate him.”
Upon hearing the news, both Ning Qingyuan and Ning Xiyue thought the same.
He opened the envelope, pulled out the pen hanging from his pocket, and added a few words of congratulations and praise at the end of the letter.
After finishing, he put it back in the original envelope (without changing it), corrected the address, and returned the letter to Ning Xiyue.
Standing with hands on his hips, he exhaled: “Done.”
Ning Xiyue placed all the letters into her cloth bag and asked again: “Second Brother, you really don’t want to buy anything?”
“No, you buy what you want.”
Ning Qingyuan got up to gather the dishes and wash them. “Later, when we return to the front yard, I’ll give you some money and tickets to use. Last month’s salary from the newspaper hasn’t been spent. You wanted meat, right? Then we’ll buy more and make dumplings.”
“Okay, I’ll buy more. There’s still meat sauce left, so we won’t cook that—just use it all for dumplings. The wild vegetables outside have started growing; I’ll gather some tender ones for dumplings and steamed buns.”
Ning Xiyue remembered the tender shepherd’s purse they saw on the roadside when she went up the mountain with the captain. They were just sprouting, very fresh, and would be delicious in steamed buns.
They must have sprouted after last night’s heavy rain. She planned to pick them tomorrow morning after returning from town.
Her mornings were completely free—she could go to the clinic or do other things without anyone interfering. As long as it wasn’t a place requiring an introduction letter, she didn’t need to report to the captain. She had total freedom.
Ning Qingyuan, hearing about the wild vegetables, was interested. He volunteered: “This afternoon after work, I’ll call Zhiyu to help dig them up. We can add some to the noodles in the evening.”
“Alright, you go dig,” Ning Xiyue agreed happily.
To buy the meat, Ning Xiyue set off on her bicycle to town at 5 a.m. the next day.
Her first stop was the supply and marketing cooperative. She arrived at 5:30, but there was already a line at the meat counter. Luckily, it wasn’t long—only about ten people ahead of her.
When the counter opened, it wasn’t long before it was her turn.
There was still half a pig on the counter. Plenty of good lean meat remained.
Seeing it, Ning Xiyue smiled and pointed to the leanest section: “Sir, give me five jin of meat—mostly lean with just a little fat. And another two jin of pure lean meat. Keep the five and two separate when cutting.”
The butcher, seeing she wanted so much lean meat, looked up. She was young; he worried she might not know how to buy meat and get scolded at home, so he kindly advised: “Miss, all lean meat isn’t very tasty. See this piece? Perfect for frying or cooking, especially fragrant. How about I cut this one for you?”
Ning Xiyue looked at the piece he indicated. Most of it was fat, with only a little lean meat—not what she wanted. She shook her head: “No, thank you. Just cut the piece I pointed out. I’ll use it for dumplings. Too much fat isn’t good—I like lean meat.”
“Alright then,” he said.
He cut exactly the piece she pointed to. The first cut was perfect—exactly five jin, with only half a jin of fat; the rest was prime lean meat, looking delicious.
The second cut gave her the two jin of pure lean meat.
A benefit of this era: buying pure lean meat didn’t cost extra; the price was the same.
After paying, Ning Xiyue left the counter with the two cuts. The person behind her in line sighed with relief, eyeing the large fatty piece the butcher had initially recommended to her.
He pointed at it and said eagerly: “Sir, I want that piece—the whole thing.”
Others in line watched as he bought the fattiest piece and murmured among themselves.
A woman behind him called out: “Hey kid, leave some for me! That’s a big piece!”
“Sorry, ma’am. My family is big. We haven’t eaten meat for two months. Today we’ll use all our tickets to eat,” he said with a grin.
Ning Xiyue smiled inwardly—luckily, her preference for lean meat was different; no one competed with her.
After putting the meat in her basket, she went to the vegetable seed counter and bought seeds: lettuce, green beans, and cowpeas.
Next, she visited the scrap station to buy some old newspapers and books.
Old newspapers were for pasting on windows and walls, as last night’s heavy rain had dampened the old ones.
The books provided an excuse to give her second brother the vehicle repair book—scrap stations were the best cover in this era.
Finally, she went to the post office, her last stop, to mail everything. Her errands in town were complete.
She got back on her bicycle—it was only 8 a.m.
Time was still early.
When she left town, the captain had just arrived with the ox cart. They didn’t cross paths.
Ning Xiyue rode along the roadside, picking wild vegetables as she went. Near the edge of the river outside the brigade, the mustard greens were plentiful and tender.
Her eyes lit up. She parked her bike and began harvesting enthusiastically with a sickle.
On the riverbank slope, she discovered new wild vegetables, standing straight.
“Ha, aren’t these fiddlehead ferns? Perfect for stir-frying with the meat I bought today.”
She climbed up and plucked a tender one. Quickly, she placed her basket in front and harvested the whole patch of young ferns.
It didn’t seem like much at first, but she discovered low-lying shoots hidden in the grass. She ended up gathering a large bunch—enough for two or three dishes.
Unexpectedly, she also found a few young dandelion shoots. Though just sprouted, it was a delightful surprise.
Normally, they wouldn’t appear for another half month. Perhaps the higher temperatures this year caused them to sprout early.
All the wild vegetables she gathered today were first-growth, very tender.
The joy of harvesting wild vegetables made Ning Xiyue squint with delight.
Her basket was now full enough for dumplings and buns. It was getting late, so she stopped harvesting, carried the basket, and rode back to the youth hostel.
Near the big willow tree by the brigade, she saw a few people standing under the tree in the distance.
Riding closer, she recognized the captain with four unfamiliar faces—two men and two women—holding large and small packages.
This scene looks familiar!
