Bai Fumei in the ’70s Chapter 78
Translated by Serena Love
She muttered with unconcealed tenderness.
"You are so stupid. You gave me two hundred yuan to buy a watch. It was enough to repurchase the watch as is, but now you spent another thirty yuan."
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"If you go into business, you will lose money."
He Songbai didn't say a word. His gaze fell on the watch on the girlfriend's wrist. Although it was a male watch, it was simple and elegant. It made her white wrist look slenderer. Once he handed over the money for the pig farm, his pocket will be clean again.
But he kept thinking about buying a watch for her. He would never forget when she woke him up with excitement that night and took him to the bullpen to see the bicycle. The stars in the sky are not as pretty as her eyes, and she also gave him her most precious watch.
How could this be worth hundreds of dollars?
He Songbai exposed his white teeth and smiled happily, "It's not a loss."
Zhao Lanxiang had a desire to get close to him, but after she hugged him hard, she quickly released her hand.
She pursed her lips and smiled. She took out two hundred yuan from the drawer and gave them back to the man. She stuffed the bills straight into his trouser pocket and pinched his thigh.
"Then... I would consider that you gave me this watch. I didn't buy it myself, okay?"
The man coughed hard. Under her fierce eyes, his adam's apple rolled hard, and he said, "Okay."
...
Zhao Lanxiang shared the drunken crabs with Sanya and Sister He. Sister He had never eaten such delicious food. She only tried it but didn't eat it. She wanted to keep her share for Li Dali.
"Give Dali."
Zhao Lanxiang pushed her bowl and said, "You eat it. Brother Dali has bad health and is not suitable for eating."
Sanya nibbled the hard crab shell, eating with relish. She was drooling while eating as if she hadn't eaten anything delicious in her life.
Sister He glanced at her younger sister and tugged her to make her calm down.
In fact, since Zhao Lanxiang left the He family, the food in the He family has been extremely frugal. Except for the old lady who has to eat some minced meat and eggs to replenish her body, the two sisters have not been able to smell the meat for a few days.
Dali's treatment of Li Dali was costly, and during the quiet time for farming, Sister He also worked very hard and took some odd jobs. When she was free, she went up the mountain to collect firewood. In autumn, you can pick a lot of dead branches. You can get two cents for a bundle of firewood, and you can even earn 8 or 10 cents if you carry it back to the market every day.
Farmers' self-production and self-sale were not considered speculative, and firewood is cheap and affordable, which was more cost-effective than burning coal in the city. However, Sister He carried four bundles of firewood by herself, and her sturdy shoulder was bent. Sometimes Sanya would go with her to sell firewood after school.
Zhao Lanxiang seemed to see Sister He's embarrassment, but she didn't know anything.
She brought out a plate of fried fatty intestines from the kitchen, mixed with fragrant rice, and let them have a full meal.
Sanya had wished to the stars and prayed for her sister Zhao to come back. Now she squinted her eyes and ate her food, like a hungry pup.
Zhao Lanxiang said to the elder sister, "I have to ask Elder sister for help. Come to my house when Elder sister is free."
Sister He stopped her chopsticks and glanced at Zhao Lanxiang, then nodded.
In the afternoon, Sister He dragged the last two piles of firewood to the yard.
She washed her hands and went to Zhao Lanxiang's room.
As soon as she entered the room, there was a rattling sound of a metal plate from Zhao Lanxiang's sewing machine.
There was also a lot of cloth in her room.
Sister He couldn't help but let out an "ah" in surprise. She was shocked and froze in place, wondering whether she should go in or quit.
Educated youth Zhao is an ordinary person. How can there be so many fabrics in the room?
Zhao Lanxiang turned around and looked at Sister He, who was so scared that she turned white, but she couldn't help but cough.
She silently closed the door of her room.
At the moment, there were many fabrics scattered in Zhao Lanxiang's room. Gray, black, blue, and white.
With so many fabric, people can make a dozen or so pieces of clothes. Ordinary people would wear their most decent garments from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, which means they could only have new clothes for the New Year.
Many people in rural areas were too poor to think about clothes. It might take three years for them to make new clothes, which they will sew and repair for another three years. It is the reality, the poor peasants living in the ravine ditch, a family only wear shameful clothes, whoever has to go out can wear their nice clothes.
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He Songye seemed to be frightened. She took a step back. Her ruddy complexion after she had finished the manual work from the mountain paled.
She babbled, took Zhao Lanxiang's hand, and shook her head vigorously. Seeing that Zhao Lanxiang didn't move, Sister He rolled up the cloth that was scattered on the bed and the table like crazy and stuffed them into the cabinet. Then she leaned her whole person in front of the cabinet and took a breath.
Her big bright eyes were full of tears.
She seemed to understand how the delicious and full-bodied dishes made from Zhao Lanxiang's hands, and the rice came from. Her heavenly dream seemed to have been shattered, and she was stunned for a long while. The whole person slumped in front of the closet, blocked it tightly, like a person who resisted until she was exhausted.
Zhao Lanxiang coughed lightly, "Sister..."
Before, Zhao Lanxiang did not think about it. If Sister He knew that she and her dear brother were doing the shady business of the black market together, she would collapse.
Although she was prepared in advance, Zhao Lanxiang felt that she was taken aback by Sister He.
After a while, she said, "Can you help me keep this secret?"
Sister He didn't speak.
Zhao Lanxiang said another way, "This matter is only known to us two, okay?"
Zhao Lanxiang thought that Grandma Li was fascinating. She was such a savvy and vigilant person, but she raised her granddaughter and grandson into people who only cared about work and did not think about business. He Songbai still inherited her sharpness, but Sister He was a completely honest person and almost pure. She would never have thought that her brother would be working in the black market, and even the "progressive intellectual youth" in her family would be speculating.
However, Zhao Lanxiang still decided to "expose" it to Sister He.
She handed a handkerchief to Sister He.
Sister He wiped her face, her head rising dizzy and unable to think.
Zhao Lanxiang said, "I scared my elder sister."
"I am really sorry."
She pursed her lips and coughed softly. "These... these fabrics are not mine."
At this moment, Zhao Lanxiang decided to say "a lie in good faith" if it made Sister He feel better.
Although she was also a person of this era, she also had experienced decades of changes in the future. She supports the convenience of free trade, but she can even understand that people in this era who lived carefully, abiding the law, and would never cut the tail of socialism.
Sister He would have a breakdown!
Zhao Lanxiang couldn't bear to hurt her, but Zhao Lanxiang also couldn't bear to see Eldest sister was exhausted every day carrying firewood to exchange for the pitiful money. Probably she could not save enough money for Li Dali's medicine.
Li Dali's medical expenses still have to be spent, and the few cents that flowed in the family were not enough to plug the gap between the teeth. Li Dali's illness must be slowly looked after. Sooner or later, the money would run out. At that time, He Songbai's money would come out to treat Li Dali again, how should he explain?
Although she was helpless, it would not be a solution for Sister He to be kept in the dark forever. They should let her face the facts as soon as possible. It was the right thing for everyone to work together to make money.
She felt distressed by her man's predicament, so Zhao Lanxiang decided to trick Sister He a little bit.
Zhao Lanxiang paused and continued, "I have a sewing machine, and I have a little bit of sewing skill."
"Sew these fabrics into clothes, and others will pay me for it."
"As a result, I was stuffed with so much cloth. Even if I stayed up day and night, I couldn't finish it until the end of the year. Sister, can you help me?"
After she finished speaking, she kept a smile on her face.
He Songye heard the words, and her thoughts were suddenly pulled from her sorrow. She wiped her tears and sighed with relief.
It might be that she did not want to believe that Zhao Lanxiang was so courageous and dared to deal with this dark business. Sister He was more inclined to accept that other people pitted this kind girl, and now she can't jump out even if she wanted to.
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He Songye couldn't blame Zhao Lanxiang. They all ate the money she earned and the rice and meat dishes she bought. What qualifications did she have to blame Zhao Lanxiang? She apologized to the girl.
He Songye wiped away her tears and gestured, "Okay, how, do?"
"I, too, a little, needlework."
"However, not much."
Zhao Lanxiang sighed with relief, pulled Sister He to the sewing machine, and pressed her down.
Zhao Lanxiang patiently pointed to the parts and told her one by one. She taught her to learn to use the sewing machine personally and took out a rag for her to try.
He Songye was bold and attentive. She didn't make clothes before because there were no female elders to teach her. Grandma didn't learn female skills when she was young, and she was the most impatient. Over the years, He Songye had learned sewing with the girls in the village.
Zhao Lanxiang spent an afternoon teaching her how to sew and how to cut the clothes. She picked the most straightforward way and taught her.
She was a painter, but after divorce, she used her wasteful study and turned to design. She opened a small custom-made clothes shop and managed to make ends meet. Cooking can only be regarded as a typical pastime, but making clothes was the serious career she had done in her previous life.
Zhao Lanxiang smiled and pinched a sleeve of the sleeves sewed by Sister He, and praised it, "Sister, your craftsmanship is so good."
"Probably within a month, you will be able to make clothes!"
He Songye didn't care about the praises she received. She only asked, "How long will it take to do this?"
She pointed to the fabric in Zhao Lanxiang's room. She was worried for educated youth Zhao that these things would remain in her room and could not be explained if it was discovered.
Zhao Lanxiang was going to cook dinner, and she asked her to take a break. He Songye didn't care and kept working. She took the scissors to cut the fabric, folded it carefully, and put it under the needle of the sewing machine to sew it together.
Zhao Lanxiang looked at her cautiously worried appearance. She still worked in panic, but the work in her hand did not stop at all. She slumped and worked hard, which made Zhao Lanxiang a little uncontrollable. Her heart felt sour.
Although the He family is poor now, she felt that everything would be fine.
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