A century of poverty

Chapter 90 Innuendo

"Oh!" I replied. My second sister and I carried the two iron crates filled with chives out of the greenhouse and hung them on the rack of a "Baishan" brand heavy-duty bicycle.

My second sister rode slowly ahead on an old 26-inch bicycle, leading the way.

I pushed the large cart loaded with chives forward, wobbling along. I had never ridden a bicycle to carry goods at home before, and it felt strange to be doing this all of a sudden.

After creating some distance, I bravely tried to ride it, but the handlebars were unstable and it wobbled. I barely managed to ride it out of the village. When I got to the street, there were more people, so I didn't dare to ride anymore and got off to push it. My second sister got off to keep me company.

Arriving at "Xiangyang General Store", the second sister stopped: "Unload it, and we'll sell it here."

I said, "There's hardly anyone here."

Second Sister: "It's alright. This place used to be a vegetable market. The buildings on the right are the 'Infrastructure Compound,' which was built by southerners who came to Jinhai a few years ago. The 'Train Station and Bus Station' on the right are quite old."

The two baskets of chives were placed side by side, and the second sister took out several bunches and arranged them neatly. The scale was placed next to the baskets.

Just then, two elderly women walking towards the station from the residential area asked in a southern accent, "How much are the chives?"

Second Sister: "One yuan and twenty cents a pound. These chives are so fresh, just cut from the ground. Would you like two bunches?" She said, picking up two bunches and putting them on the scale.

The two walked forward, saying, "No, no, let's go back and talk about it later."

Second Sister: "Let me tell you how to read the scale. First, the scale starts at one star, which is one ounce; two stars, which is two ounces; and so on, counting down to one pound... two pounds, up to four pounds. Then, the scale starts at four pounds, up to twenty pounds. If you're buying a lot, use the scale that starts at the back."

I put a bunch of chives on the scale and weighed them. Looking at the scale, I saw, "This bunch weighs one jin and one liang."

"Yes! Yes! Weigh it like that. I have to go for a bit, you can decide how to sell it." He handed me a bag containing change.

"I'm going to visit my aunt in that building area; she's in her postpartum period." She said, walking in that direction.

I stared intently at the two baskets of chives I was selling, feeling a little nervous, as I had never sold anything before when I was at my parents' home.

Just then, a middle-aged man with a briefcase tucked under his arm approached from the direction of the station and asked, "How much are the chives?"

I answered, "One dollar and twenty cents."

The person picked out two handfuls and threw them onto the scale. I weighed them: "Two jin and six liang, one jin is one yuan and two fen, two jin is two yuan and four fen, six liang is seven mao and two fen, the total is three yuan and two mao."

As the customer handed over his change, he said, "I'll give you three dollars and one fen, what else do you want?"

"Okay," I said.

A large basket was placed down beside me. I looked at the person who had come; he was an old man in his fifties. He had small eyes, yellowed teeth, and wore an old, black, oversized cotton-padded coat with frayed edges. He lifted the lid of the basket, revealing a basket of mung bean sprouts. It seemed he had come to sell mung bean sprouts. He arranged the basket of bean sprouts next to my basket of chives and called out to everyone he saw, "Selling mung bean sprouts—two cents a pound!"

A passerby said, "Two cents a pound, I'll buy two pounds."

Seeing how quickly he sold his bean sprouts, I wanted to imitate him and shout out his wares, but my voice was stuck in my throat and I couldn't make it out because I was shy.

More than an hour later, the old man turned the bean sprout basket upside down, tapped it, hung it on the wooden stick of the cart frame, and left.

I feel lost; I'm all alone here again.

It was past noon when my second sister returned: "How much did you sell? Are you hungry? If you are, come home for lunch."

The person who came to move the frames said, "You didn't sell that many, did you?"

"Um."

We hung the basket on the back rack and came back. When we reached the center of the village, my second sister said, "I'm home. You can go back now. I have things to do this afternoon, so you can go by yourself!"

When I got home, I put the bicycle with the chives hanging on it aside, covered it, and went straight to the west room to hand the money bag to my father-in-law. I knew I should do this; that's what my father taught me—to be honest and respect the elderly. This was also a rule my grandmother often mentioned. My father-in-law was the head of the household, so I should give the money to him.

My father-in-law took out the larger denomination bills, kept some change, and threw the bag at me, saying, "Keep this and use it to resell things. The food's in the pot, you eat it!"

And so, the task of selling chives fell to me again. One day, two days, three days passed, and I got used to selling vegetables, mastered weighing, and handled the accounts with ease. I was happy; by the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, all the chives were sold out, and I could finally go back to work.

Before I knew it, it was the fourteenth day of the first lunar month. After breakfast, I finished cleaning up and put the dishes in the cupboard. As I turned around, my mother-in-law on the kang (a heated brick bed) said, "Don't go sell the chives today. Your older brother and sister will be here in a little while. You stay home and cook, and soak the mushrooms and wood ear fungus."

"Okay!" I replied. The mushrooms and wood ear fungus were already in the outer room. I put them in a suitable bowl and poured warm water from the pot into it.

Mother-in-law: "Put it on the kang (heated brick bed), soak it, and I'll pick it."

"Ah!" I replied and carried it to the kang (heated brick bed).

Around nine o'clock, the eldest brother's wife and her family, who lived in the village, arrived first. The father-in-law brought out two large enamel iron trays used for holding thermos flasks, one filled with peanuts and the other with sesame candies, and placed them on the kang (a heated brick bed).

The eldest sister-in-law looked around, her eyes scanning everywhere. Seeing that everything was tidied up, she said sarcastically, "If there's any work, let your dutiful son and daughter-in-law do it!" After saying that, she went out and went to the second sister-in-law's room in the three rooms of the landlord's house.

The grandmother sat on her mattress, with her two granddaughters standing before her. The elder, Su Lihua, was fifteen or sixteen and already over 1.6 meters tall, while the younger, Su Lirong, was thirteen or fourteen, about the same height as her older sister. The grandmother held her granddaughters' hands: "Are you cold?" The two girls shook their heads.

The eldest brother-in-law sat at the end of the kang (a heated brick bed), his left hand on his hip and his left foot rubbing the ground: "I came here carrying a manure basket."

I was puzzled. What did he mean by that? Was it directed at me? Zhiqiang? Or the old man?

Our father taught us to talk less and work more, and this has long been the code of conduct for us siblings. I don't want to think about anything else.

"Bang! Squeak—!"

"Grandma!" Ten-year-old Su Zi ran in.

The eldest sister-in-law arrived with her two daughters. The mother-in-law looked at her eldest daughter and asked, "Why didn't Su Hongyuan come?"

My sister-in-law said, "You don't need to worry about that brat."

"Mom, I'm going to my aunt's house." With that, Su Zi took off running.

"Mom, I'm going to play with my third sister," eleven-year-old Su Yi said steadily, looking at her mother.

Her mother: "Go ahead."

Her grandmother said, "Take a few pieces of candy."

Not long after, the third uncle and his wife arrived with their daughter, Su Libo.

My mother-in-law looked at me and said, "Get to work. Start stewing the chicken first. Bring me a small bowl; I'll pick some mushrooms."

"Okay," I replied and went to the outer room, turning off the hairdryer's blade switch on the door frame. The hairdryer started humming. I chopped the chicken and put it in the pot, while watching the fire and washing the vegetables, getting busy.

The third sister-in-law came out and said, "Let me fix it for you!"

"These plates aren't enough! Where are there any more plates?"

"The slop bucket is full, should we empty it?"

Wang Liqiu, the third sister-in-law, asked questions as she worked.

I cleaned the fish, cleared away the ashes, lit a fire, and started stewing it in the pot. Two hairdryers were whirring in the outer room, and the two stoves were filled with pots and pans, creating a bustling scene. The chicken and fish were almost done stewing when my eldest sister-in-law, who lived in the backyard, came over. As soon as she entered the outer room, she said, "Is everything all set up? I'll have your brother-in-law cook the dishes later; he's a good cook."

"Ah!" I replied, thinking that would be even better.

I scooped the chicken from the west pot into a basin and placed it on the east stove to keep it warm. I rinsed the west pot clean. Su Lei arrived, wearing his own sleeves and apron, and I started the fire.

The children were running around, inside and out. The table inside was already set up, and I would put one dish on the table as soon as it was cooked.

"Let me help you carry it!" The second sister-in-law, wearing a tight-fitting lapel suit, walked in through the front door with her hands in her pockets, followed by the tall, hunched-over eldest sister-in-law, Hei Xin Gan.

"No need, you can stay on the kang (heated brick bed), everything's ready," said Wang Liqiu, the third sister-in-law.

The old woman couldn't sit still any longer. Leaning on her cane, she got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and paced around, muttering, "Why isn't Xiaoqian here yet?"

Just then, the second sister-in-law, Su Zhiqian, arrived with her child in her arms, and her husband, Cao Qingxue, and their family of three.

After finishing cooking, Su Lei took off his apron: "Why hasn't Su Hongyuan arrived yet!"

On the kang (heated brick bed), two rectangular tables were pushed together, where the two elderly people, Hei Xingan, Zhang Guozhi, and the children sat. On the floor, there were two round tables, one inside and one outside. The one inside had the three older brothers with their three sons-in-law, and the one outside had the three older sisters with their two younger brothers. Wang Liqiu and I squeezed in at the outside table.

The children on the kang table weren't waiting for anyone to start eating, while the other two tables on the floor were still waiting for the son-in-law.

Su Zhiwei loosened his grip on the chopsticks, and they landed on the table with a clattering sound.

"Let's eat! We'll eat while we wait."

Cao Qingxue looked at Su Zhiwei: "Want some baijiu first, some beer first?"

Su Zhiwei: "White."

Cao Qingxue, holding a "Jinhai Bai" wine glass, started by filling the glasses for his eldest brother, then his second and third brothers, himself, and Su Lei in a circle.

At the sisters' table, there was a bottle of low-alcohol "Xifeng" liquor. Zhiqiang filled the glasses of his three sisters, and then poured one for himself and his younger brother.

Just as they picked up their chopsticks, the door to the outer room creaked open, and everyone turned to look out through the glass on the kang (a heated brick bed). Su Hongyuan entered. The family greeted him warmly and led him to the seat of honor at the table with his elder brothers.

This man is truly handsome. In his early thirties, he's of good height and build, with fair skin, well-defined features, a slightly upturned mustache, large double eyelids, and sharp eyes. You can tell at a glance he's a capable individual; he currently works as a workshop foreman at a food company.

As he took his seat, he took off his shiny leather jacket, which Su Lei took and placed on the lid of the box, revealing a beige and blue plaid wool sweater. He rolled up his sleeves, grabbed a bowl and chopsticks, and Cao poured him a full glass of wine.

The whole family was together, drinking slowly and heartily, switching from baijiu to beer, until two or three in the afternoon. After eating and drinking, the sisters also started clearing away the cups, plates, bowls, and chopsticks, piling them all on the east and west stoves. Instead of leaving the table, they replaced it with two mahjong tables and started playing mahjong.

They played mahjong on the ground table and then moved to the heated brick bed, where they played cards, led by Hei Xin Gan.

I painstakingly cleaned up the leftovers, washed and neatly arranged the pots and pans on both sides, and by then my back ached from exhaustion. I came inside, grabbed a handful of yams, and...hmm? Why are these yams so small? I didn't see anyone picking them out, why are they all small?

I sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) resting while watching the mahjong game. Then I turned to look at the card table on the kang and saw Su Lihua forcefully throw down three cards: "Rocket!" Her mother, holding the cards, said, "That's right, daughter, well done! You can spend any of the money you win!"

This table had even more people; six people were playing, in groups of three.