Chapter 230: Seventies Treasure Appraisal System (4)

While lost in thought, Xie Yang arrived at the bicycle shed and found the 26-inch women's bicycle that had belonged to the original owner—it was one of the items in the betrothal gifts given by the Qin family.

Don't look down on the seventies; betrothal gifts consisting of "three turns and one sound" and "thirty-six legs" were the trend.

But those who could truly afford to give them, and give them in full, were only those dual-income families in the city.

For a portion of city dwellers and the majority of rural residents, missing one or two items, or only being able to give one or two, was a common occurrence.

Therefore, seeing that Qin Zheng had married a rural wife and had not only paid the betrothal money but also bought the "three turns and one sound," and that one of the "turns"—the bicycle—was actually a 26-inch women's model, the whispers had not stopped since the moment this bicycle was seen.

For a bicycle in a betrothal gift, one should definitely buy a "28-inch heavy-duty" one! That way, after the woman brought it over as part of her dowry, the man could ride it too.

It was even tacitly assumed that the bicycle in the betrothal gifts was for the man to use after marriage. After all, the man had a job, while the woman might not.

Someone like Qin Zheng, who bought a women's bicycle as a betrothal gift, was almost unheard of.

Also a city lad who married a country girl, He Ximing, who was in the same Transportation Team as Qin Zheng, was much more normal: not only did he buy a 28-inch heavy-duty bike, but after the wedding, he was basically the one riding it, and he would occasionally even lend it to factory workers in exchange for a few eggs.

"If Qin Zheng's wife had a job, buying a women's bicycle would be understandable, but she doesn't have any job at all! She's been idling at home for over half a month since she married over, doing nothing but eating and being lazy all day, leaving such a good bicycle to gather dust in the shed!"

"Little He's wife doesn't have a job either, but she's a calculating one. Little He usually doesn't need the bike when he's out on runs, so she takes the initiative to lend it to workers at the factory who don't have one, exchanging it for a few eggs every month. That's what a wife who manages the household looks like."

"You all say Little Qin looks so smart, so why is he so stupid when it comes to this kind of thing? His eye for picking a wife is really not very good."

"Men, no matter how smart, can't resist a woman acting spoiled for a few sentences. As for his eye, he clearly just took a fancy to that little hussy's face."

"Tsk! It's also lucky his mother doesn't live with him, otherwise it would have been a constant row."

"Who's to say it isn't... uh, Li- Xiao Xie!"

Caught red-handed while talking behind someone's back, the few gossiping women felt their old faces flush red with embarrassment.

Zhou Qiufang, the leader, relying on the fact that her husband was the Logistics Department Deputy Director and that she was one of the most senior people present, paused in embarrassment before greeting her as if nothing had happened: "Xiao Xie, going out for something?"

Xie Yang glanced at her; she had been the one spitting and fuming the most just a moment ago. Perhaps she had once wanted to set her niece up with Qin Zheng, only to be rejected by him, and was still holding a grudge.

She raised an eyebrow, and as she pushed the bicycle past the group, she tilted her head to look Zhou Qiufang over and asked as if casually: "Does your niece look like you?"

Zhou Qiufang was stunned, not understanding why Qin Zheng's wife would suddenly ask this, but she still nodded: "My niece looks most like me."

Xie Yang chuckled: "No wonder Qin Zheng didn't take a fancy to her."

"..."

After saying this, Xie Yang pushed the bicycle out of the shed and rode gracefully out of the Family Building gate.

The women present were dazzled by her bright smile, and upon suddenly hearing this remark, someone couldn't help but snort with laughter before quickly stifling it.

This was a roundabout way of calling Zhou Qiufang ugly.

Qin Zheng's wife was too bold!

Zhou Qiufang was so angry she became embarrassed and furious.

She really wasn't good-looking, and one could even say she was a bit ugly. If it weren't for the fact that she had been betrothed to her husband since childhood, someone with her looks would have found it difficult to even get a marriage proposal.

But ever since her husband became the Logistics Office Deputy Director, managing all the supplies for workers and their families, including the allocation of staff housing, even if someone didn't like her, they would never dare to make her lose face to her face.

Except for this little hussy, Qin Zheng's wife! She better not fall into her hands in the future!

Xie Yang didn't actually want to make an issue of someone's appearance, but since the other party was whispering such nasty things, if she didn't hit back after catching them in the act, they would likely only get worse in the future.

Settle grudges on the spot; don't let it weigh on your mind after it's done.

Xie Yang rode to the Coal Construction Company and used up all the Coal Ball coupons that were about to expire.

She bought a total of fifty jin of coal balls and twenty honeycomb briquettes.

Honeycomb briquettes were two cents more expensive per jin than coal balls, but they burned longer and stacked more neatly. Unfortunately, they were rationed; each household registration could purchase a maximum of twenty per month.

Xie Yang asked the clerk at the Coal Construction Company to deliver them to the First District Family Building of the Mechanical Factory later, as she still had to go to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to buy some vegetables.

There were several Supply and Marketing Cooperatives in Yongcheng, and the one closest to the Mechanical Factory was considered relatively large, with three floors in total. The first floor sold fresh produce, dried goods, and non-staple foods; the second floor sold fabrics, ready-made clothing, and other daily necessities; the third floor sold large items like bicycles and home appliances.

As soon as Xie Yang stepped into the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, she smelled the distinct fishy odor of seafood.

"Hairtail fish! Fresh hairtail fish from the south! 30 cents a jin, no coupons needed!"

Upon hearing that no coupons were needed, Xie Yang and the other women who had come to buy vegetables swarmed to the seafood counter.

"Why is this hairtail all mushy? The skin is broken too; is it even fresh?"

"That's right! Even though no coupons are needed, selling these broken-skinned, mushy-bellied fish for 30 cents a jin is too expensive! If we scrape together a few more cents, we could buy a jin of pork."

"Isn't that the truth? Hairtail absorbs oil; if you don't use enough oil to pan-fry it, it's dry and tasteless. It's really not as good as scraping together some money and coupons to buy meat."

"Buy it if you want, leave it if you don't! Stop picking and choosing!"

The clerk roared impatiently.

Being assigned to the smelly seafood counter was already unpleasant, and seeing everyone picking and choosing—with many people looking but few buying—made the clerk even more impatient.

Xie Yang recognized at a glance that this was the small-eyed hairtail from the Zhoushan area. From the silver luster of the scales and the redness of the gills, she could tell that the hairtail was actually quite fresh.

The reason it was so disliked by customers was, first, they thought it was expensive; pork belly was only 75 cents a jin, yet this smelly, bony sea fish was 30 cents! Once you removed the head, tail, and bones, the net price was about the same as pork.

Furthermore, hairtail was indeed very oil-intensive to cook well.

But Xie Yang had several unused oil coupons in her hand, so she didn't have that worry.

With quick eyes and fast hands, she picked out several large hairtail fish and handed them to the clerk: "Please weigh these."

Yongcheng wasn't far from the sea, and there was usually a regular supply of seafood, with dried seafood products available year-round—otherwise, they wouldn't have a dedicated seafood counter—but southern seafood, especially the small-eyed hairtail from Zhoushan, was hard to come by here.

Thinking that Qin Zheng also liked to eat seafood, Xie Yang bought ten jin at once.

Ignoring the strange looks and whispers of others, she efficiently processed the coupons, paid the bill, and continued to browse other counters.

For things that didn't require coupons, whatever it was, she would rush up and snap it up first.

For things that required coupons, she first checked if she needed them, and secondly, whether she had coupons in her hand that were about to expire.

After browsing the floors, she used up all the coupons that were about to expire, adding a wave of daily necessities to their small household.

When she came out of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, both her hands were full of things, and she had a newly bought bamboo basket on her shoulder.

She put the net bag in her hand into the bicycle basket, tied the two cloth bags together and hung them on the back seat, and rode the bicycle, preparing to go home.

Just then, she saw a seven or eight-year-old boy squatting at the corner of a wall, holding two sparrows in his hand, cautiously asking passersby if they could trade them for candy, saying his younger sister was sick and wanted to eat candy.

Xie Yang pushed the cart in front of him: "I'll trade with you."

A handful of White Rabbit Creamy Candy was traded for two sparrows.

Upon arriving at the family quarters, she had just carried the things upstairs and hadn't had time to put them away when she heard someone shouting from downstairs: "Household 208, the coal balls you bought have arrived!"

"Coming!"

Xie Yang took the coal receipt and the bamboo basket for holding coal, then went downstairs to collect the coal.

All the neighbors who were at home poked their heads out from their windows and balconies:

208? Isn't that Qin Zheng's home?

Isn't Qin Zheng still not back yet? So his wife bought the coal?

Is there some mistake? Qin Zheng's wife actually bought coal?

Not only did she buy coal, she went down to move it herself? Did the sun rise in the west?

(End of chapter)