At five or six o'clock in the morning, the sky was still just numb, the houses in Liwa Village were still sleeping, and there were a few farmers in the fields carrying tools to plow, watching Tang Qing pass by on the path, hurriedly put the farm tools in his hands on the ground, and stepped forward to talk: "Qing girl, go out so early, why are you in such a hurry, and which daughter-in-law in the county is going to give birth?"

Tang Qing was carrying a small bamboo basket on his back, looking heavy.

"No, I'm going home to see my parents today. Tang Qing replied happily.

"Go home, that's a good thing, it's to go back and see more, you stay in the countryside all the year round to study medicine, your parents definitely want to kill you." Since you are going home, then you are not in a hurry, my aunt will ask you if anyone is rushing to the county seat today and let him give you a ride. The village enthusiastically pulled Tang Qing with her aunt.

"No need, no need, auntie, you are busy, I am not in a hurry anyway, if I ask, it will trouble others, so I will leave." Tang Qing picked up the bamboo basket and hurriedly ran away.

"This kid. ”

ran out of the distance, Tang Qing looked back. Thinking of the first time I went to Liwa Village, I was still a semi-free hostage. Later, Qi Yu fell ill, and the villagers set fire to the house where they lived. In retrospect, it was a not-so-pleasant experience. At that time, how could he have imagined that this isolated small village would become his shelter for so many years.

Liwa Village is not far from Wanxin County, Tang Qing took a shortcut and walked for three hours to reach the county seat.

As usual, there are people standing guard at the main intersections that enter the county.

"Comrade, have you memorized the quotation?"

"I have made up my mind, and I am not afraid of sacrifice," Tang Qing recited a paragraph stubbornly.

Only then did the guard let go: "It's a good comrade, let's go in." ”

After entering the city, Tang Qing walked to the "garbage dump" familiarly, took out the black card given by Qi An from his pocket, and lit up in front of the gatekeeper.

In recent years, Tang Qing has not gone to the "black market" to trade, and first, she and Dr. Qin can't finish the food in the health center, not to mention that Tang Qing is used to taking food from the space. Second, the kittens and dogs send things to the health center every once in a while, and they have everything they need to eat.

That is, when Qi An was still in Liwa Village, he took her to buy seeds of vegetables and medicinal herbs several times, and added some important furniture.

This time I haven't been home for a long time, Tang Qing wants to bring more things back to Tang's father and Tang's mother.

Entering the field, Tang Qing took off the bamboo basket and held it in his arms. She carefully observed the crowd in the field. Soon noticed an empty-handed aunt with only a small cloth bag. I came here to buy something but didn't bring any packages, I must have brought money and tickets.

Tang Qing stepped forward quickly, approached the aunt, and said in a low voice, "Do you have a cloth ticket?"

The aunt was startled and looked Tang Qing up and down.

Tang Qing went home today and deliberately wore the gray pullover that Tang's mother bought for her, this dress is a little old, the color fades white, the cuffs that have been changed are a little tight, and the clothes are decorated with several patches with dense stitches. At first glance, it is a child of an ordinary family.

"Are there any eggs?" asked the aunt hesitantly.

"Yes, yes, yes, auntie, can you show me your cloth ticket?" Tang Qing lowered his voice.

"I can't still pit you, you sue me first, how many pounds of eggs do you have here?"

Tang Qing hugged the bamboo basket in his arms tightly, and reached into the bamboo basket to count, but in fact, he secretly put the eggs stored in the space.

"There are always four or five catties, how many cloth tickets can you exchange, auntie?" Tang Qing asked.

The aunt took out the ticket in the palm of her hand from her pocket, looked around, and saw that no one was paying attention to this corner, so she unfolded the ticket and showed it to Tang Qing.

It is still a rare military cloth ticket, which is used throughout the country, that is, the cloth ticket is only valid for one year, from January 1, 1968 to December 31, 1968. The left half also reads: Supreme Instruction to Serve the People.

The price of this cloth ticket is too high, Tang Qing felt a little difficult in her heart, she asked tentatively: "Auntie, how many catties of eggs do you want to exchange for this city-foot cloth ticket?"

"I'm not an ordinary cloth ticket, it can be used all over the country, and I won't change it without four catties of eggs. "Auntie's attitude is resolute.

"Auntie, eggs are not cheap now, and the most important thing is that they are difficult to buy. What's more, the spirit of hardship and simplicity is now advocated, and the clothes can still be worn if they are mended, but the food is gone. I see that you have children at home, and the child's body is important, so you can't do it without supplementing some nutrition. You say yes. Tang Qing continued to bargain, "Three catties of eggs, can you see it, I'll give you another catty of rice." ”

"Okay, you decorate me with this rice, and a few mouths at home. Originally, I also wanted to raise the price, but when I heard that there were more catties of rice, my aunt immediately agreed.

Tang Qing lifted the lid of the bamboo basket, and the bamboo basket was divided into three columns, one column was rice, one column was eggs, and one column was put some vegetables. It is covered with a thick layer of cotton. Tang Qing picked out more than twenty from the egg column and helped the aunt put them into the small cloth bag she was carrying. The aunt took out a handkerchief, wrapped about a pound of rice, and put it in a cloth bag.

"Big sister, what else do you want, I'll help you ask. Auntie asked enthusiastically.

"Auntie, do you know which house has wine?" Tang Qing wanted to pour more liquor, Dr. Qin and Dad Tang both love to drink, and if there are more, you can take them back to be filial to Brother Qi and Old Man Qi.

"You come with me. The aunt in the floral cloth dress led Tang Qing to a corner facing east, and kindly persuaded: "Child, don't blame the aunt for talking too much, although there is no famine year now, but this food still has to be saved, and people can't live a hungry life." ”

Tang Qing thanked her for her kindness, and said softly with a smile: "I know that buying these is also to honor the elders in the family, and I won't spend it indiscriminately." ”

The aunt looked at Tang Qing again and said with a smile: "Good boy." ”

"Don't you still have two bottles of Wuliangye there? The aunt said to a man dressed in blue.

"Does she have enough things to change?" the man hesitated.

"Enough, why not enough, a child, you don't want more, two catties of eggs for a bottle, the same as me, how about a four-catty egg?"

Tang Qing hurriedly reached into the bamboo basket and counted the eggs, just twenty-four, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: No matter how much I have, I will really be gone.

did not predict the current price, Tang Qing only changed a cloth ticket and two bottles of Wuliangye, and then came out of the "black market".

Originally, Tang Qing planned to go to a place before going home, but who knew that he was busy and delayed a lot of time, and it was almost noon at this time, so he could only hurry home.

Tang's father works in a mining factory and has been promoted to a state-owned second-level worker, with a monthly salary of 41 yuan. Tang's mother also works in a textile factory, although her salary is not as much as Tang's father, she is also a second-level worker, with 36 yuan per month. The combined wages of two people can barely live as a family. Fortunately, when there was a shortage of food a few years ago, I exchanged four catties of rice for my current house, otherwise, the monthly rent is enough to pay now. For a house of about 100 square meters, until now, you have to pay at least ten yuan of rent every month.

Since Tang Qing moved out, he followed Dr. Qin to study medicine, and he didn't need to go out of the house to eat and drink. Tang Pei also followed Tang's father to work in the factory, and he could receive a salary of 18 yuan per month. The Tang family's life has gradually become more comfortable, but it has also jumped out of the stage of "counting and spending money".

Out of the "black market", two streets around, is the Tang family's house. It turned out that there was a courtyard here, but later when the Tang family moved over, they changed the structure and changed the direction of their door, which was separated from the people in the back yard. For this, Tang's father also made a special trip to apologize and invited the people in the backyard to dinner, only saying that there were many children in the family, and it was too noisy, and he was afraid that they would run away.

"Tang Pei, I sue you, I have already checked it, you will take a vacation tomorrow. So you are determined to go to this girl, you have to go if you don't want to go, there is no need to discuss. I discussed it with Aunt Wang next door, if you don't go, what will people think of me. Before I entered the door, Tang Qing saw that I heard Tang's mother bombarding my brother wildly, and I said why I was in a hurry to pull me back, and I went to the countryside to move the rescuers.

Putting aside Brother Tang's careful thinking, Tang Qing, a person with such a democratic and open mind, of course, supports his heart to marry freely. She pushed the door into the house, called Tang's father and Tang's mother, and said to Tang's brother: "Brother, you just go and have a look, my mother didn't let you get married now, you can force you to marry freely." ”

Tang's mother was still angry, and when she saw her daughter who finally went home, she was embarrassed to keep a straight face again: "As long as you can, you still know how to go home, you won't come back when you come to the county for medical treatment, and I will forget about me and my dad when you come." ”

"Mom, aren't I coming back, when I get out of school, I can stay home for as long as I want. Tang Qing hugged Tang's mother's arm and said coquettishly.

"When you come out, you can talk about it, how many times have you said this. The girl's family, what is not good, I want to study medicine, after studying for so many years, I haven't seen anything good. I've heard that up to now, some pregnant daughters-in-law have asked you to go to the doctor. If you study medicine together, you are going to be a stable woman. "Tang's mother has become more and more ruthless in her speech over the years.

Tang Qing touched his nose and didn't speak again. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Hu Die behind Tang's mother, and made a grimace at himself: "You deserve it." ”

She couldn't help but roll her eyes, just as she was seen by Mama Tang: "What's the matter, I said you, you're still not happy." If you come back and work in the factory with me, you can endure so much hardship. ”

Tang Qing hurriedly lowered his head and made a small face: "Yes, yes, Mom, you are right." ”

"Just knowing how to coax me, it's not like doing things by yourself. Tang Ma said angrily.

"Okay, it's rare for the child to come back, you let her stop the meeting. After listening to Tang's mother for a while, Tang's father finally couldn't help but interject.

Tang Qing saw the stitches: "Dad, you see what I brought you back." She took out a bottle of Wuliangye from the bamboo basket and pointed at Dad Tang.

"I knew that your dad had forgotten about me. Tang Ma pretended to wipe her tears.

"How can you. Tang Qing hurriedly took out a cloth ticket from his pocket and stuffed it into Tang's mother's hand, "Mom, make new clothes for you." ”