Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 870 869 Housework is a Cage

There were fewer melons than apricots, and the melon sellers closed their stalls earlier, catching up with Tang Zhitong's pace a step earlier than the apricot sellers.

As soon as the melons were placed on the ground, Tang Zhitong took out four yuan from his pocket and handed it over: "Brother, could you go back and find a melon seller to bring the melons over? I'll buy them all. Leave the load here for now, and I'll pick them up myself. You can take the empty basket when you come back. Consider this extra fifty cents as a delivery fee, okay?"

"Okay!" Fifty cents isn't much, but it's enough for a day's work points. The melon seller had no reason to object. He took the money and walked back without looking back. As for the carrying pole, he wasn't too worried. The apricot seller was already there. Would a young man carry his own load in front of an older man?

"You must do it quietly, and only call one person. Don't call more than one, or I won't accept them!" Tang Zhitong reminded his older brother from behind, worried that he would make a scene when he got back.

Tang Zhitong pondered for a long time outside the train station. In broad daylight, without any baskets or sacks, he certainly couldn't collect too much. He could only think of a clumsy way: to lure the fruit farmers away and then collect the fruit one by one through a "Huluwa saves grandpa" method.

"Uncle..." After the apricot seller came over, Tang Zhu did the same thing, asking the apricot seller to run an errand for him and calling for a peach seller. However, this time he took out eleven yuan and gave an extra six mao.

Tang Zhitong had over a thousand yuan in cash, as well as three large yellow croakers and eight small yellow croakers in his space. If he were to convert all of them into cash domestically, he would still be about two or three thousand yuan short of becoming a "ten-thousand-yuan household".

If you could cash out your money overseas and the gold price were higher, you'd definitely be a millionaire. If you bought apples from Australia, how many would you have?
However, Tang Zhitong couldn't go out of the country and couldn't buy apples for Xiao Wang from Australia, so he had to give up on that idea.

Since many things are rationed these days, Tang Zhitong felt that even if he had more money, it wouldn't be of much use. He couldn't just buy a mink coat like a capitalist, could he?

But five cents was a different matter for the commune members.

These days, money hasn't started to lose value yet, and within the purchase restriction area, purchasing power is excellent.

Five cents is enough for a family to eat and drink for a day, and that includes rice!
After the two walked away, Tang Zhitong was too lazy to pick them up one by one, so he used his external tool to pull them all to the ground and arranged them neatly.

It would take at least twenty minutes to go back and forth, so Tang Zhitong took the opportunity to wash his hands and prepare to have lunch.

The dry food was steamed cornbread made by his mother, and the vegetable was braised pig's head that Tang Zhitong had made himself before.

Tang Zhitong really wanted to demonstrate how three people could eat a whole pig, but he was worried that such a way of eating might cause gastrointestinal discomfort, so he gave up in the end.

To be honest, Tang Zhitong felt that he was probably the worst eater among the transmigrators, but given his current situation, going too far would easily get him caught.

In addition to buying rickshaws, smoking imported cigarettes, wearing suits and expensive watches, Zhang and Yang were also extravagant in their diet. They ate dumplings with chive flavor, but without any chives, which made things difficult for the chef.

Tang Zhitong hadn't had enough of the enjoyable days yet. Although he wasn't at their level and his sources of supplies were decent, the lessons of the past were still fresh in his mind, and he couldn't be too reckless.

After lunch, the uncle and brother who had just finished selling fruit came over with two colleagues.

Tang Zhitong pretended to inspect the goods, first letting them carry away the two empty carrying poles, then paying them one by one, and then telling them to go back and find a fellow merchant.

While they went back to fetch more people, Tang Zhitong plucked some of the fruit from before into his spatial storage, leaving a little outside as a mere decoration. After all, the ripe apricots wouldn't keep for long; if left in the sun for two hours, they might all rot.

After several rounds of this, Tang Zhitong spent over a hundred yuan and collected over six hundred kilograms of fruit before finally stopping.

Adding to what he already had stockpiled, Tang Zhitong felt that he had collected all the common fruits for all four seasons, enough to last Xiao Wang for two years even if he ate as much as he wanted.

After watching the last two people carry their loads away into the distance, Tang Zhitong plucked the last bit of fruit from the ground and put it into his spatial storage.

I have to leave now. I just heard the production team's work bell ring. If I stay any longer, I'm afraid I'll lose my secret of being able to "perform magic".

Upon arriving at the station, Tang Zhitong first bought a return ticket, then stood at the entrance to watch the excitement.

Perhaps because he had acquired a lot of goods, there were fewer stalls in front of the square, and finally some vendors couldn't wait any longer and started trading with the members.

Once there's a leader, it becomes difficult to control the rest.

Tang Zhitong came empty-handed and left empty-handed; anyone who didn't know better would think he was visiting relatives!
After the train arrived at Xizhimen Station, Tang Zhitong slowly walked out. Only after most of the passengers had left did he go into the alley and retrieve his bicycle.

To make the excuse of "labor" seem more believable, Tang Zhitong smeared some dirt on his hands, arms, and trouser legs. He didn't need to worry about sweat, because by the time he rode his bicycle to the National Library, his beggar's clothes were already stuck to his body with sweat.

"Oh dear, you're all dirty. You should at least wash up at school before coming here. It must be so uncomfortable on the way here." Seeing her husband's travel-worn appearance, Xiao Wang complained with concern, but she poured water for him to wash his hands.

"There were too many people and not enough taps, so I didn't have time to check." Tang Zhitong's breath hitched. How could she not have thought of that? She couldn't very well say that she had deliberately left it for her to see, could she?
"Are you tired? You've sweated so much, have a glass of water." While her husband was washing his hands and face, Xiao Wang poured him a glass of warm water from her own cup and held it for him until he finished.

"Not too tired, just a little sunny." Tang Zhitong wiped her face with Xiao Wang's towel, took the water cup from her hand and drank it all in one gulp, then patted her bag and teased, "Guess what I bought?"

"What? It can't be an apple, can it?" Xiao Wang unconsciously swallowed. He had just said he wanted to eat an apple last night, and they've already made it for him today?
"You guessed right, it's apples." Tang Zhitong took them out of his bag one by one and placed them all on Xiao Wang's desk.

"Where did this come from?" Xiao Wang suddenly felt his mouth water and couldn't stop drooling.

"I'll change it. I'll wash one for you." Tang Zhitong saw the bright look in Xiao Wang's eyes and stopped talking nonsense. She picked one up and put it in the ladle to scrub.

After kneading it, I handed it directly to Xiao Wang, and then scooped some water from the bucket to rinse the ladle clean.

"So fresh, the stem is still green! Where did you get it?" Little Wang took a bite, the juice flowing out, and it tasted great.

“At the school gate, someone came with a basket to exchange for grain coupons, and I borrowed some grain coupons from my classmate.” Tang Zhitong originally wanted to say that the grain coupons were stored by nearby farmers under their beds, but was caught off guard by his classmate Xiao Wang’s comment that “the stems are still green.”

The apples stored under the bed are lucky they're not rotten; it's impossible for the stems to still be green. "You must have spent a lot of food coupons, right? You didn't need to spend those coupons for me." Xiao Wang was touched, but also felt sorry for her husband; she couldn't help much and was only causing trouble.

"It's not much, only a pound and a half, a great deal. We have plenty of grain at home, exchanging an apple for you is nothing, eat up. I'll take two home, the rest I'll leave in the office, you can eat them slowly." Tang Zhitong was multitasking, lying while tidying up the apples on the table, and also plucking the stems off all the apples in her storage space!
He spent his days hunting geese, but one goose pecked at his eye; he almost got exposed by his classmate Xiao Wang because of an apple stem.

"You can't just change it like that, who knows what will happen in the future?" After muttering to himself, Xiao Wang suddenly became excited again: "Editor Yang just called me and said he really likes 'The Little Girl Picking Mushrooms' and has decided to hire me!"

"Oh? The letter arrived so quickly today?" Tang Zhitong was somewhat surprised.

"You're not a deliveryman anymore, so why are you still focused on delivery? Editor Yang said the payment will be sent out today. I don't have to work tomorrow, so I'll definitely receive it the day after." Thinking about the payment coming in, Xiao Wang wasn't so worried about the apple anymore.

"Great! I told you to open source! Let's create more inspiration and write more songs together, then you'll have fruit, right?" Tang Zhitong chuckled, now having a reason to buy fruit.

"Hmph, you must have something on your mind." Seeing her husband's smile, Xiao Wang turned her face away. Picking mushrooms was tiring, and she was sweating all over.

"Haha, my mind is perfectly clear. Shall we go to Chunshu Hutong after get off work?" Tang Zhitong remembered that she hadn't sent a portion of the meat she bought to Director Ye's place a while ago, so she decided to make up for it today.

The Post and Telecommunications Institute is holding a celebration banquet tomorrow, and there will probably be some raw meat. I'll deliver it today. If the aroma of rendered meat wafts out, it will avoid any suspicion that I'm misappropriating the meat from the celebration banquet for my own consumption.

"Okay." Xiao Wang nodded in agreement without asking why.

"After get off work, let's split up. You go back and open the door first, and I'll go find a friend to get some lard." Even if Xiao Wang didn't ask, Tang Zhitong had to take the initiative to explain. If she didn't send her away and the two of them went together, the source of the lard would be exposed.

"Okay." Little Wang agreed readily, without any suspicion.

After getting off work, Tang Zhitong watched Xiao Wang leave, then walked around Fuyou Street before finally returning to Chunshu Hutong.

"Little Tang? Why are you dressed like that today?" Gao Dashan was sitting at the gate smoking a cigarette when he saw the person in beggar's clothes coming over. He wanted to stop him, but after seeing that it was Tang Zhitong, he sat back down.

"Hello, Master Gao. The school has arranged for us to do labor, so we're wearing old clothes. It's not a big deal if they get worn out." Two people have already said this today. Tang Zhitong felt that she had miscalculated. If she needs to disguise herself again next time, she should bring it with her and find an opportunity to change out when she arrives at her destination.

"Here, change your clothes, I'll wash them for you." As soon as Tang Zhitong entered the room, Xiao Wang took out the clothes he had found after returning from the sofa and handed them to her.

"Your little cotton-padded jacket is letting in the wind! You've practically stripped the house of all the clothes we have. Let's change here, drop off our things, and go home." Tang Zhitong took the clothes and put them back on the sofa.

Knitwear will soon be included in the category of items that can be purchased with purchase certificates, and the fabric will become even tighter. However, the fabric materials these days are not durable enough, and it is normal for a mischievous boy like Wang Jingmin to wear out two sets of clothes in one season.

These clothes from Wang's father can not only be altered for the children to wear later, but the scraps can also be used to mend clothes. In the next year or two, these will be good things that you can't buy outside, so we can't let little Wang keep taking them home.

Tang Zhitong did not accept Xiao Wang's kindness, but he did not leave without putting down the grease.

Director Ye hadn't left work yet; only Jingmin was there. Jingmin was someone who only knew how to eat but couldn't cook. Since he was already there, he couldn't let Director Ye cook after he got off work.

After chopping the lard and putting it into the pan, Tang Zhitong remembered the microwave oven.

In the eyes of heretical practitioners, microwave ovens are kitchen gadgets for lazy people, capable of almost anything; a bowl of lard can be rendered into cracklings in just five minutes.

It is indeed highly efficient, but Tang Zhitong cannot replicate it because current microwave ovens weigh around 700 kilograms, and due to technological limitations, it is difficult to miniaturize and improve them.

The aroma of lard being rendered in the iron pot quickly wafted out, and Jingmin, like a kitten drawn by the smell of lard, darted into the kitchen.

"Don't steal any, or your second sister will beat you when she gets back." Tang Zhitong picked up a piece of fried pork fat and fed it to Jingmin, thus glossing over the matter of satisfying her brother-in-law's craving.

The oil residue was hot, and Jingmin, with oil residue in his mouth, breathed on it, making "hmm hmm" sounds through his nose to indicate his agreement.

I couldn't refuse, because my second sister really hit me hard! Anyone who didn't know better would think she ate a lot all day!

When Tang Zhitong got home, she took a shower first. When she came out, Xiao Wang was squatting down, struggling to wash his tattered beggar clothes full of holes. She quickly stepped forward to stop him: "Let me do it. Take it easy. If you squeeze your stomach, you'll regret it."

“Oh, it’s not that serious. I know what I’m doing. Go over there and rest. Is washing clothes a man’s job?” Xiao Wang disagreed, blocking her husband with her arm.

Tang Zhitong didn't dare to use force and could only let her be, but she didn't stop talking: "This is not right. Some people say that housework is a cage. How come you don't have any awareness of being an independent woman?"

"Who said that? What nonsense! Doing housework is the duty of every family member. How did you bring up independent women? You're up to no good." Xiao Wang glanced at her husband, wondering where he had heard such strange talk.

"Hey, you're the one who's got the sense to say this." Tang Zhitong chuckled beside him. Even Xiao Wang could understand the point, but some people couldn't and were just blindly following along.

Back home, she confidently declared that housework was a prison, but when she went to her husband's family, she didn't become the matriarch; instead, she cooked Chinese food for the whole family and did it happily.

Some people say this is irrefutable proof that Western medicine works quickly, because if you don't do it, you'll really get beaten up.

However, Tang Zhitong felt that these kinds of people might not necessarily have been subdued by beatings; they might have received some shady money.

"Work is work, and life is life"—pfft! That's utterly awful!

However, to live that kind of life, you need to have some strength. If you blindly believe it and run away, the outcome probably won't be good.

The electronic pet is a good example. Not only did the Mexican and Black people force-feed it cream puffs, but they also fed it squid sausage. As for the outcome, it probably ate too many donuts because they were too delicious, and it will likely regret it.
(End of this chapter)