Xing'an Mountains 1984: Starting from climbing mountains to support the family

Chapter 84: If you have children, you must also have a wife
I briefly exchanged a few words with Master Chen, handed him a pack of cigarettes, and then naturally talked about the price of velvet antlers.
It was sold for 264 yuan. This pound of deer antlers might be much more expensive in other places, but it is a normal price in Heishong County, and the price given by Master Chen is very fair.

After getting the money, Chen Weidong drove the donkey cart and immediately went to South Street with his wife and six little babies.

South Street is the largest market in the county. The last time Chen Weidong came, the market had been closed. But this time, it was only around ten o'clock, and it was the busiest time.

There are donkey carts, horse carts, and bicycles for transportation.

Occasionally one or two tractors would pass by, causing the little ones to ask questions.

Tractors were not cheap in those days, and only those with an annual income of ten thousand yuan could afford to buy one. Chen Weidong remembered that before the production team was disbanded, there were only three tractors in the entire commune, which were manufactured in 1973 and cost about one thousand yuan at that time!
At that time, it was the treasure of the entire village. It was only used to pay public grain, buy fertilizers, or be of super heavy grade.

The five little ones all sat obediently on the donkey cart, staring at the surroundings with their big watery eyes. Liu Ni had already curled up in Liu Xueting's arms, looking around with her big round eyes, very quietly.

Soon there were too many people ahead and the donkey carts couldn't pass through. However, there was an old man in the market who was looking after the donkey carts and horse carriages and he only charged two cents.

After paying the money, Chen Weidong took the kids off the cart, tied up the donkey cart, and prepared to take his wife and children shopping.

The little ones were seen surrounding Liu Xueting tightly, each holding her clothes in their hands, for fear that they would get lost.

"How can I walk if you pull me like this?" Chen Weidong smiled.

"Dad, Sanni is afraid of getting lost!"

"Yes, Third Sister is right. If Si Ni is lost, Mom and Dad will be sad."

"..."

"Haha."

"It's okay, this is good. There are too many people here, don't let them get lost." Liu Xueting said a little worriedly.

There are six little ones, and one of them is Liuni who can only be held in arms. The couple can’t hold them all, nor can they lead them by the hand. It is safest for them to stay by their side.

Chen Weidong was also worried, but this time he brought a rope with him.

……

"Dad, why did you tie my and my sister's hands?"

Wu Ni looked at Chen Weidong curiously and asked in a baby voice.

"Silly girl! Aren't you afraid you'll get lost?"

Chen Weidong tapped Wu Ni's little head.

Liu Xueting smiled and said, "I didn't realize that your method is quite good. Now they won't run around anymore."

"That's right, don't you see who your man is! Oh, hold Liu Ni for me, and you hold the other five."

"OK!"

Liu Xueting rolled her eyes at Chen Weidong, then put Liu Ni into Chen Weidong's arms. This usually active little girl turned out to be surprisingly well behaved.

Chen Weidong and Liu Xueting, the young couple, with their six cute little babies, also attracted a lot of attention.

Liu Xueting looked at the bustling crowd. She hadn't been to the county town for many years.

The situation has changed drastically from before. After all, everything was owned by the public before. It was impossible for so many people to dare to sell things privately and openly.

"Mom, why are there so many people here!!"

"Many, many people!"

After walking among the crowd for a while, the little ones became bolder and started asking questions.

"Dad, look, what is grandpa doing?"

"Mom, what is this?"

"Big sister, have you seen it?"

"Second sister..."

The little girls kept asking questions, and Liu Xueting either answered the little girls' questions or followed Chen Weidong quietly.

"Xue Ting, look for a place that sells chickens. Let's buy two old hens and raise them at home! Let the little ones eat eggs~"

"Eat eggs. Si Ni likes to eat eggs."

"What food would you not like to eat~"

Egg-laying hens are not cheap these days. They are all real local chickens, costing three dollars and fifty cents each. Chen Weidong bought two hens, and then bought some vegetables!
"Xue Ting, if you want to buy something, tell me and I'll buy it."

"We have them at home,"

Liu Xueting shook her head. She was used to Chen Weidong buying a lot of things every time he came home, but she still felt a little distressed to spend money with him personally.

Although the family now has a little money, it is better to spend it slowly and in a steady stream.

"Xue Ting, although we are not rich now, we have money in our hands. Don't make yourself suffer. You are too thin. You should eat more. No matter how hard it is, we can't let the child suffer."

"Where have I lost weight?"

Liu Xueting said somewhat unconvincedly that these days Chen Weidong required three meals a day and frequent meat eating, and she felt that she had gained a lot of weight.

"Mom, lose some weight, my fourth sister is the one who gets fatter!"

Wu Ni said.

Si Ni: “…”

"Your fourth sister isn't fat either. You guys should eat more."

Chen Weidong smiled.

Then Chen Weidong took his wife and children and started shopping again.

"Da Ni, Er Ni, what do you want to eat? Daddy will buy it for you."

Looking at the little girls looking around behind him, Chen Weidong asked.

"Dad, we have candy." Dani said. After her elder sister said this, several little ones spread out their cute little hands. They were the candy cubes that Master Chen had given them just now, and they had not eaten them yet.

A family of eight was walking down the street, and Chen Weidong was thinking about what to buy for his wife and children.
As his thoughts surged, Chen Weidong subconsciously turned his head and saw Si Ni blinking, stretching out her little arm and pointing at an old man on the street.

Chen Weidong took a closer look.

Good guy!
He is an old man selling candied haws.

"Tang-gourd-yo-",
The old man held a shelf full of candied haws on a stick and shouted at the side of the street. The man selling candied haws when he shouted had a melodious tone, which was very rhythmic. The word "sugar" must be elongated, as if to highlight the sweet taste of the candied haws.

There were a few children around eight or nine years old following behind him, their eyes wide open, staring at the candied haws in the old man's hand.

Wherever the old man who sells candied haws on a stick passes by, the eyes of children are focused on him.

There was even a little boy of six or seven who cried for food, but crying was useless. In the end, he was killed by his mother.
They were beaten up in vain, and even the road was blocked.

People are not surprised,
You must know that in this era, children have no snacks to eat, especially in the cold weather. Therefore, the appearance of selling candied haws haws is very "amazing". When it comes to delicious snacks, candied haws haws are basically ranked first, especially To those little kids.

However, candied haws are not cheap, and many children usually cry but still cannot get one, so basically every time there are candied haws for sale, there will always be one or two children crying.

The same thing happened to the six little girls. Even though they had just talked about having candies, when they saw the red candied haws, they were almost unable to walk. They stared at the red candied haws connected in a string with their watery eyes, and their little mouths were almost drooling.

"Dad, I want to eat candied haws!"

Si Ni swallowed.

He raised his head and stared at Chen Weidong with sparkling eyes.

"Dad, Wu Ni wants to eat too~" Chen Weidong was amused. "Da Ni, Er Ni, San Ni, do you want to eat?" Chen Weidong asked with a smile.

"I want to eat~"

The three little girls were very united this time.

Chen Weidong smiled and gently scratched their noses. Liu Ni was no longer quiet and kept shouting "Eat~Eat".

Chen Weidong handed the child to Liu Xueting, then quickly squeezed into the crowd.

"Uncle, how much does a bunch of candied haws of sugar cost?"

"Two cents per skewer! How many skewers do you want? Children like to eat it best!"

"Five skewers..."

Chen Weidong turned his head to take a look. There were one big and five small ones. As for Liu Ni, he naturally ignored her. This little guy could only be fed by biting her into pieces, and she couldn't eat much.

Chen Weidong swallowed the words back when they were on the tip of his tongue.

"Six skewers!"

he smiled.

The old man selling candied haws quickly picked six strings and handed them to Chen Weidong.

"Six strings of candied haws, a total of 1.2 yuan."

The man selling candied haws on ice said quickly, then looked at the children around him and shouted happily.

This makes the surrounding children envious! !
"How generous! He bought six strings of candied haws at once. It would be great if I were his dad." Chen Weidong was so shocked that he almost stumbled when he saw the jealous sighs of a group of children.

Chen Weidong paid the money and then walked through the crowd with the candied haws. Liu Xueting, holding Liu Ni, and the five little ones were waiting for him on the side of the street.

Seeing Chen Weidong coming back with the candied haws, the six little ones were very excited. The five little girls' big watery eyes seemed to be filled with little stars. Liu Ni also became uneasy. She stretched out her two little hands and rushed towards Chen Weidong, trying to reach the candied haws in his hand.

"Dani, yours~"

"Ernie..."

Dani, Erni and the other five little girls stood on tiptoe happily and each took a string from Chen Weidong's hand.

"Thank you dad,"

Dani said happily.

"Ugh! This girl is being polite to me."

After taking the candied haws, the little ones ate them happily, and Liu Ni also started crying.

"Why did you buy so many skewers? Wuni, you're small, you can't finish one skewer, but you're just greedy! I can feed Liuni the leftovers later."

Chen Weidong said: "I don't buy more for the children~"

Liu Xueting was puzzled: "That is..."

"Take it."

Chen Weidong handed it over with a smile.

He stared at Liu Xueting, leaned over, got close to her ear, and whispered, "I bought it for you! My daughter has it, and my wife must have it too."

Liu Xueting was stunned.

His face suddenly turned red.

He, what does he mean?
You...how old are you?

And comparing with my daughter?

And eating candied haws, isn't that a joke?
Seeing her mother holding the candied haws, Liu Ni was happy. Liu Xueting ate one, took a bite, and fed it into Liu Ni's mouth.

It was the first time for several of them to eat this kind of delicacy, and they ate it with relish. However, they did not forget Chen Weidong. Seeing that he had no candied haws in his hand, they handed the candied haws that they had licked twice to his mouth. Chen Weidong was not polite and the little guy took a bite of one.

Afterwards, Chen Weidong took the little ones for a stroll on the street for a while and then came to the supply and marketing cooperative.

The little ones Sanni, Sini and Wuni entered the supply and marketing cooperative for the first time. They held candy in one hand and candied haws in the other, blinking their big watery eyes with curiosity and anticipation.

Chen Weidong also bought some daily necessities. There were six little girls and eight people in the family, so the consumption was very high. Things like Dengta brand shampoo, Gongnong brand saccharin, Dongfang brand tooth powder, etc. Although the family had not used up all of them, Chen Weidong bought some more, and also bought two pairs of batteries for the iron flashlight!

Then I bought some refined grain noodles.

He didn't buy much as his family was short of food, so Chen Weidong planned to go back to the village to buy cheap food, especially corn flour and bean flour. In addition to eating them himself, he also wanted to use them to make dog food, which consumed a lot of food, so he had to buy more.

A lot of stuff piled up on the counter

"The total is..." The saleswoman had just finished counting the money and was about to talk to Ran'er, but before she could finish her words, she heard a voice interrupting her.

"Wait, I have another one here." Liu Xueting walked over here and handed the thing she had been holding tightly in her palm to the counter.

When the items were placed on the counter and Chen Weidong saw them clearly, he was slightly stunned.

It’s alcohol and cotton balls.

This is a commonly used antiseptic and hemostatic drug these days.
"If you go up the mountain often, you will inevitably encounter some bumps and bumps. You still need to prepare some of these."

Liu Xueting explained.

His heart suddenly felt warm again.

Chen Weidong smiled.

He turned to the teller who was looking at him and said, "She is my wife, and we want this too."

"Okay, the total is twenty-eight dollars and eighty-three cents.

Chen Weidong took out three ten-yuan big unity notes from his pocket and handed them to the teller. Liu Xueting looked at the three ten-yuan big unity notes handed over by Chen Weidong. Although she felt a little distressed, she didn't say anything.
After receiving the change, Chen Weidong came out with the two hens and the little ones, each carrying something.

It was almost past eleven o'clock after visiting the supply and marketing cooperative.
When Chen Weidong came out of the supply and marketing cooperative, the people in the market were already scattered.

"Looks like there's a strike!" Many vendors were pulling carts or driving horse-drawn carriages back home.

Chen Weidong also brought the children to the donkey cart. In fact, Liu Xueting had urged Chen Weidong to go home a long time ago, but Jiuqutun was so far away, and it was not easy for him to bring his wife and children to the city. How could Chen Weidong let his wife and children go back hungry?

"What do you want to eat?"

"Eat noodles! My sister said she ate them very deliciously in the county town last time~"

Without waiting for Si Ni, San Ni started talking in a baby voice. Chen Weidong looked at Si Ni. The little girl was chewing the last candied haws.

"Then Dad, I'll take you there~"

"Drive~"

Chen Weidong whipped his donkey whip and the little donkey set off.
It took only twenty minutes to reach the noodle shop. He tied the donkey cart at the door. The little kids were hungry, so they only ordered six bowls.

Liu Xueting brought another bowl and divided the food among the little ones.

"The noodles are very hot. You need to blow on them before eating them, okay?"

Liu Xueting warned.

The five little guys nodded, holding their chopsticks, and nodded impatiently.

Soon he started eating with a slurp.

(End of this chapter)