Chapter 511: Gossip Survival System (10)

"Back so early today?"

Hearing the movement, Grandma Xie poked her head out and beamed:

"Are you worried about your little brother? Don't worry, he's doing just fine! He's a child who doesn't give anyone any trouble."

Xie Yang smiled, washed her hands, and opened the lunch box, placing it on the table: "Grandma, we're having braised hairtail for lunch today."

"Oh! We have hairtail? That's wonderful! It's been a long time since I've had seafood."

"Then when I have a day off, I'll go to the Vegetable Station and see if I can get some seafood to bring back and cook for you."

Grandma Xie grinned from ear to ear, always feeling that since her granddaughter had been ill, she had become more sensible and endearing than before.

After lunch, Xie Yang fed her little cousin some goat milk after he woke up, then washed the used diapers and hung them in the Courtyard before riding her bike back to her unit.

She brought a jar of Chrysanthemum and Goji Berry Tea for Zhao Wenhui to help clear internal heat and nourish the liver.

She had collected and dried these while traveling through various planes in her last life; their medicinal efficacy was far superior to anything artificially grown in the modern era.

It was just that she had hoarded too many types of medicinal herbs, focusing mainly on heavenly treasures like Ginseng, Ganoderma, Solomon's Seal, and fleeceflower root.

She didn't have a large stockpile of common herbal teas; she only had a few catties of goji berries and chrysanthemums in total. Giving half a catty to Zhao Wenhui was a way to repay her for looking after the original owner after Xie Yang's mother had passed away.

Zhao Wenhui was also working overtime at noon. Seeing Xie Yang bring over the Chrysanthemum and Goji Berry Tea, she said happily: "I really do need some herbal tea to reduce internal heat. I've had a blister on the corner of my mouth for a week and it still hasn't healed; it hurts so much I can't even open my mouth wide. It's really frustrating."

"Hui Yi, then you should start brewing and drinking it. If it still doesn't go down, you'll have to go to the hospital to get some medicine."

"Alright, I've got it."

The next day at work, Zhao Wenhui came over with a paper parcel: "Xiao Xie, thank you so much for your herbal tea. The corner of my mouth doesn't hurt anymore."

"That effective?" Sister Han from the packaging workshop passed by and glanced at the scabbed-over blister on Zhao Wenhui's mouth. "It really is! I saw you still had a pustule yesterday afternoon, and it's already scabbed over in less than a day?"

"Yes, I drank the Chrysanthemum and Goji Berry Tea that Xiao Xie gave me for most of the day yesterday, and the corner of my mouth is better."

Zhao Wenhui smiled and stuffed the paper parcel into Xie Yang's arms: "These are some slightly defective pastries that your sister Wenqing brought back. They don't look very good, but they taste the same. Take them home and eat them with your grandma."

Zhao Wenhui's daughter, Gu Wenqing, was a salesperson at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and could often buy defective goods that didn't require coupons. Common items included defective Fabric, defective Soap, defective bowls, and occasionally she could get broken biscuits, slightly crumbled sponge cakes, or loose sugar balls broken in half.

What was in this paper parcel were defective sponge cakes.

After getting off work, Xie Yang brought them back for the old lady to have as a snack.

A few pieces of broken old-fashioned sponge cake made the old lady beam with joy: "The old-fashioned cakes from our Beijing still taste the best!"

Xie Yang couldn't tell the difference; didn't all old-fashioned sponge cakes taste like this?

"If you like them, when I have a day off, I'll make you some that are even softer and fluffier than these."

Xie Yang calculated the ingredients currently at home; she couldn't make a baked cake, but she could try a steamed cake.

"Oh, why waste the time?"

Although the old lady didn't know the production process for cakes, if it were simple, every household would be making them—why bother spending money to buy them?

It was clear that it was either very complicated or very time-consuming. She felt bad for her granddaughter and only wanted her to rest well on Sunday: "We aren't short of food at home. As for snacks, if we have them, we eat them; if we don't, we don't. There's no need to go out of your way to make them."

Xie Yang nodded.

She thought that eating too many sweets really wasn't good for anything; having them occasionally as a treat was enough.

However, the old lady's birthday was coming up. Since she wasn't allowed to make a cake, she would make a new set of clothes instead.

She found all her Cloth Coupons, totaling seven feet and six inches. The old lady wasn't tall, so it should be enough to make a top and a pair of trousers.

The next day at noon, after lunch, Xie Yang went to the State-run Market and bought four feet and three inches of gray twill Cotton Cloth, and used the remaining three feet and three inches to buy black plain-weave Cotton Cloth.

When Sunday arrived, she sat down in front of the sewing machine and got busy.

She wasn't afraid of being exposed; the original owner had often watched the old lady make clothes and had long since learned how to operate the sewing machine.

When Grandma Xie learned that her granddaughter was making her new clothes, she felt both distressed and moved: "You, why do you look for work for yourself when you finally have a day off? Wouldn't it be better to sleep in or go for a stroll?"

Wang Lin, who wanted to sleep in but was called up by Niu Cuifen to wash the whole family's clothes: "..."

Truly, the same people have different fates!

"Old Feng, went to queue for meat again?"

"It's Sunday today, Old Feng must be going to buy meat! His grandsons, granddaughters, and grandchildren-in-law are all coming over!"

"Old Feng, the meat you bought looks really good! I also got up early to queue, but I only managed to buy a piece of lean meat without a bit of fat on it."

Old Feng's cheerful voice rang out: "My old lady urged me to get up and queue before four o'clock."

"Oh my! I couldn't get up that early."

Voices could be heard in the Courtyard.

Xie Yang looked up through the window, then lowered her head again to hold the tailor's chalk and draw lines on the Fabric.

Her family didn't go to the Vegetable Station today; Grandma Xie had bought a catty of small river Shrimp yesterday, and when she got off work, Hui Yi had given her a few small Crucian Carp, saying they were caught in the suburbs by Sister Wenqing's partner.

Since they already had Shrimp, the Fish were kept in a water vat by Grandma Xie, saved to be eaten today.

It was Sunday, after all; every household would buy some meat and cook a good meal.

But for people like Feng Da Bo and his wife to queue at four in the morning just to buy meat and vegetables, that was truly rare.

The key wasn't that it happened occasionally, but that it was like this every single week.

And Feng Da Bo's children, whether they were unaware or just pretending to be, would come over every Sunday without fail to sponge off a meal.

It would be one thing if they came early and helped out with some work, like helping to wash vegetables, assisting in the kitchen, or washing the quilt covers and airing the bedding for the old couple.

Yet they always arrived just as it was time to eat, sat down to eat a ready-made meal, and didn't even get up to help clear the bowls and chopsticks after finishing. They would just sit there chatting about this and that, and once they'd had their fill of talk, they would just dust off their bottoms and leave.

Xie Yang shook her head. If her children were to act like this in the future, she would offer them three words: "Keep dreaming!"

But the old couple of the Feng family seemed to enjoy it, and others couldn't really say much.

Zheng Miaomiao, next door, heard the movement in the Courtyard and scrambled off the kang: It's Sunday again! Oh my! Finally, there's gossip to eat again!

Last Sunday, she had finally witnessed the power of the legendary Feng family children sponging off their parents; describing it as a "locust plague" wouldn't be an exaggeration. They really did eat and take things without doing a lick of work.

It was said that Old Feng's son and daughter were quite capable, either working in government offices or as mid-level Cadres in state-run factories, yet every time they came to their parents' house to sponge a meal, they didn't even bring any fruit, arriving completely empty-handed.

"Sister Yang Yang, how can their faces be so thick!"

Zheng Miaomiao was not satisfied with eating melon alone, so she ran over to the Xie Family, teasing the newly awakened Xiao Shitou while whispering to Xie Yang to complain about the shameless behavior of the Feng family's children.

Last week, before her summer vacation had ended, she felt bored staying at home after recovering from her illness, so she often came to give Grandma Xie a hand, helping to hold Xiao Shitou, or handing over a milk bottle or sterilizing a pacifier; through this back and forth, she became a frequent visitor to the Xie Family.