Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

After eating four black steamed buns, Chen Xiangdong was finally about 70-80% full. Back in his hometown, four steamed buns would be equivalent to a meal for the whole family, and that was only if they were eaten sparingly with pickled vegetables.

Satisfied, he went to the pond in the courtyard to wash the dishes and chopsticks clean. Just as he was about to go back to the woodshed to lie down, he suddenly caught sight of a woman wearing a light blue corduroy jacket walking towards him.

"Lu Meiyin, why is she back at this time?"

Chen Xiangdong was taken aback when he saw the person who had just arrived. He remembered that when he first joined the troupe in his previous life, Lu Meiyin had just gone to another city for a blind date and would not be able to return to the county troupe for another half month.

But what's going on? Did my memories get messed up after being reborn? Or has the course of history been altered?

Lu Meiyin was a charming woman in her mid-twenties. Her high nose bridge and bright eyes made her look stunning in theatrical costumes. When she first appeared on stage that year, she caused quite a stir in Dongping County.

In addition, she has a clear and bright voice and has always been a pillar of the troupe. It wasn't until she went home for a blind date last month that Pan Lanxiang had an opportunity to rise to prominence and become the troupe's second leading actress.

Now that she's back ahead of schedule, Pan Lanxiang is probably the most unhappy one.

Just as Chen Xiangdong was hesitating whether to greet her, a dormitory door on the west side of the courtyard suddenly opened, and Liu Dezhu waved in their direction:

"Meiyin, why are you back so soon? Come on, it's been a while since we last saw each other, let's chat for a bit."

Carrying her suitcase, Lu Meiyin turned around and glared at him irritably, scolding, "You idiot, can't you see I'm carrying luggage? Come and open the door for me."

Liu Dezhu chuckled and came running over, saying, "Coming, coming!"

Taking advantage of the moment when the two were flirting, Chen Xiangdong turned and walked away quickly.

As he was leaving the courtyard, he glanced back and saw Liu Dezhu taking a key out of his pocket.

He hid behind the courtyard wall, peeking out with his head out, a smile involuntarily creeping onto his lips.

Liu Dezhu and Lu Meiyin, these two sworn enemies, have been having an affair for quite some time now, but he never expected that the two of them would be so blatant now, even having each other's dormitory keys.

Even a fool could guess that tonight will be a fierce battle, a double whammy where the enemy suffers eight hundred while both sides lose a thousand.

However, he couldn't bring himself to do such a cowardly thing as eavesdropping, so he simply carried the bowl and strolled back to the woodshed.

The room was drafty and let in some light through the door and roof, but thankfully the bedding was all brand new, and it was warm and cozy inside. A strong urge to sleep washed over me, and within two minutes, the sound of snoring filled the woodshed.

Early in the morning, just as dawn broke, the courtyard echoed with the sounds of people practicing their voices and skills, chanting "ee-ee-ya-ya" and "hehe-haha."

Chen Xiangdong got up early. The troupe's funds are still sufficient, at least enough to provide toothpaste and soap. But if another year or two passes, the people in the county will get tired of the troupe's repetitive plays, and they'll have to pay for their own toothbrushes and baths.

There were only four taps in the courtyard. Apart from those who got up early to practice, everyone else was lining up to wash up. When it was Chen Xiangdong's turn, he turned on the tap and filled his basin with water. Just then, Liu Dezhu hurriedly walked out of the courtyard with a burlap sack tucked under his elbow.

He met the old gatekeeper, Hu Xiaolian, who was carrying a washbasin. The old man asked him, "Where are you going so early in the morning?"

Liu Dezhu walked past him without turning his head and said, "I'm going back to my hometown. There's something I need to take care of."

Seeing that he was leaving in a hurry, the old man didn't ask any more questions.

When she saw Chen Xiangdong brushing his teeth with foam all over his mouth, she was first taken aback, then remembered that he was a temporary worker that the regiment had just hired yesterday. She nodded to him and went over to get water.

The county theater troupe's canteen has fixed meal times: 7:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 6:00 PM, without fail, regardless of whether it's cloudy or rainy.

Breakfast is simple: pickled radish strips with cornmeal porridge. The porridge is unlimited; eat as much as you can as your stomach can hold.

Then came the scene where Chen Xiangdong was surrounded by a group of people while he was drinking porridge.

Lin Gouwa counted on his fingers: "How many bowls is this?"

Hu Xiaolian, who was standing to the side, was also amazed: "Eight, no, nine bowls!"

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

Lin Datou curled his lip: "This brat must be a reincarnation of a starving ghost. How big is his stomach to hold nine bowls of water? It's lucky it's cornmeal porridge. If he had rice porridge, Jia Dafang would have been cursing him out of his mind."

After finishing nine bowls of hot porridge, Chen Xiangdong finally let out a satisfied burp; he hadn't eaten so much in a long time.

The reason he was able to eat so much was twofold: firstly, he was young and still growing; secondly, the food these days was not very oily and didn't keep him full at all.

Chef Qin leaned over the food window, watching the little figure gulping down bowl after bowl of food. He scratched his head and muttered, "How can this tiny little thing eat so much? No, I'll have to make that kid do more work later, otherwise it'll be a waste of all this cornmeal."

So, after Chen Xiangdong finished breakfast, Chef Qin called him to go out together. The burly Qin Gang walked in front with his hands behind his back, while Chen Xiangdong followed closely behind, pulling a cart.

Passing by the state-run grain store in the East District, seeing that Qin Gang showed no sign of stopping, Chen Xiangdong couldn't help but ask curiously, "Chef Qin, didn't you say you were going out to buy grain? We're already at the East District grain store, are you planning to go to the grain station in the South?"

Qin Gang turned around and smiled mysteriously at him: "You'll find out soon enough. Pulling it from this side will only make things more difficult for you."

Chen Xiangdong blinked blankly, then had no choice but to pull the cart forward.

After pulling the cart for another half hour, they turned onto Zhengyang Street. The third shop inside was the Dongping County South District State-owned Grain Store. Qin Gang instructed Chen Xiangdong to wait outside, and then went into the grain store alone.

A dozen minutes later, Qin Gang waved to him with a big smile, and he went in to help Qin Gang lift the flour sacks onto the flatbed cart.

Ten bags of flour, each weighing fifty jin, totaling five hundred jin of flour. Chen Xiangdong was about to ask if this small amount of flour could feed the troupe for a month.

But Qin Gang waved his hand again, so he swallowed his doubts and pulled the cart in silence.

Half an hour later, when they arrived at the bull market outside the city, with one walking in front and the other pulling the cart behind, Chen Xiangdong's doubts grew stronger, and he finally couldn't help but ask:

"Chef Qin, aren't grain prices on the black market higher than in grain stores?"

He had barely finished speaking when he suddenly widened his eyes and stared at Qin Gang in astonishment.

This guy looks honest and upright, could he really dare to... resell public grain and make a profit from the price difference?

The thought of this possibility made him increasingly uneasy. Although things were much more open these days than in previous years, this was still speculation and profiteering.

Qin Gang, that coward, still has a legitimate job with a stable position in the county theater troupe. If things go wrong, he'll at least get a major demerit, and he might even lose his job!

However, Qin Gang guessed his suspicions and glared at him: "Don't talk nonsense. Commander Jia and the others all know that I'm doing this."

"what?"

Chen Xiangdong was even more bewildered. Was the head of the county theater troupe also an accomplice?

Holy crap, isn't this a bit too egregious?

"You brat, can't you think of me for once?"

Seeing Chen Xiangdong's dumbfounded expression, Qin Gang was immediately furious and hurriedly explained:

"It's tough working in the kitchen. Each person only gets a small ration of food, and some of them have families to support, so they can't give it all to the kitchen. The entire regiment has over seventy people, and with such a small ration each month, and everyone being a big eater, it's just not enough to fill their stomachs."

He pointed towards the cattle market: "There's no other way. We have to exchange some of our wheat flour for cornmeal and sorghum flour, otherwise how will we survive until the end of the month?"

Chen Xiangdong suddenly realized that this was how it was. But why didn't he just exchange the white flour for mixed grains at the state-run grain store instead of traveling all the way to Guniu Market to exchange grains?

But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he wanted to slap himself; he had done something stupid.

You need grain coupons to buy grain at grain stores, but not on the black market.

Moreover, on the black market, one pound of wheat flour can be exchanged for two pounds of cornmeal, which is more cost-effective than anywhere else, and there is no limit to the amount.

Five hundred catties of wheat flour can be exchanged for six hundred and fifty catties of cornmeal at a grain store, but on the black market it can be exchanged for a full thousand catties!

Chen Xiangdong opened his mouth, secretly marveling: Every profession has its own tricks, and even ordinary people have their own wisdom.