Chapter 520: Gossip Survival System (19)

The cloth coupons can be saved for now; I just made a set of corduroy winter coats for the whole family, which is enough whether worn alone in autumn or layered over a cotton-padded jacket in winter.

She and the old lady aren't lacking in cotton-padded jackets, as the ones made last year are still very warm, but she does need to make a thick cotton-padded outfit for the little cousin to wear when going out.

However, the fabric counter didn't have any festive patterns suitable for a baby to wear for the New Year, so I'll check again in a while; in any case, there are still one or two months until the New Year, and perhaps before then, fabric manufacturers will drive large trucks to the entrance of the State-run Market for direct sales.

Having bought everything that needed buying, she carried the items home.

Passing by the Vegetable Station, she remembered she still had a one-jin meat coupon.

But at this moment, the Vegetable Station didn't even have bones left, let alone meat.

Xie Yang paused in her steps and turned toward the black market.

There was no meat to be seen at the black market either, but she did see lake crabs.

The autumn wind rises, and the lake crabs grow plump.

At the end of November, it is exactly the time when lake crabs are so plump they drip with fat.

She spent three yuan and bought out an entire bucket of lake crabs.

In the courtyard of the Dazayuan, Widow Guo was asking Grandma Xie, who was pushing her grandson to sunbathe:

"Auntie, why are there so many varieties of vegetables growing in your garden? Where did you buy the seeds? I went to the Seed Station and didn't see many kinds."

Grandma Xie didn't know where her granddaughter had scavenged them from either, but since her granddaughter took over the small vegetable plot after going to Dongjiang County to bring back the little grandson, she figured she must have seen them there and brought them back, so she said:

"It's likely Yang Yang brought them back from Dongjiang County. I'll ask her later if there are any extras, and if there are, I'll spare you a few seeds."

"That would be wonderful! Yang Yang is becoming more and more capable; I heard she even received a commendation from the factory a while ago?"

Mentioning this, Grandma Xie couldn't stop smiling from ear to ear: "This child, she didn't tell me beforehand, and I didn't know until the commendation came down. Look, she was rewarded with a pair of thermos bottles. I'm saving them for her dowry."

As for the matter of being transferred to the Technical Department and getting a raise, she wouldn't mention it; one should keep a low profile when one can.

Her family has the old and the young; keeping quiet and making money is the safest way.

Just as this thought flashed through her mind, she saw her granddaughter return carrying two pairs of newly bought cotton-lined leather shoes, a large mesh bag of lake crabs, and a basket of groceries.

Grandma Xie: "..."

With a granddaughter whose spending habits are not exactly frugal, is it even possible to keep a low profile?

Xie Yang greeted Widow Guo and then got busy.

Seeing the lake crabs, she thought of crab roe noodles, but picking the crab meat is a time-consuming task and she definitely wouldn't finish in time for lunch, so she would have spicy crab for lunch, steam all the remaining crabs, and after lunch, pick out the crab meat and roe to stir-fry into crab roe sauce for crab roe noodles in the evening.

However, Grandma Xie is old and cannot eat too much spice, so the spicy crab for lunch didn't have too many chilies.

But even so, the overbearing and rich fragrance drifted out from the Xie family kitchen, making the neighbors lose interest in eating their own meals.

"What good dish is the Xie family making again? It's mouth-watering every single day."

"I saw Xie Yang bring back a large mesh bag of lake crabs; they must be eating lake crabs for lunch, right?"

"Don't lake crabs have no flavor? Why is it so fragrant?"

"Mom, don't lake crabs not require coupons? When can we buy a few to taste?"

Wang Lin smelled the lingering fragrance in the air and looked at the bland food on the table, instantly losing her appetite.

"It's all shell and no meat, what's so good about it?" Niu Cuifen said irritably, "Even if it doesn't require coupons, it costs money. I heard Grandma Xie say that mesh bag of crabs cost three yuan, which is almost enough to buy two and a half jin of meat. Only their family has the money to buy such flashy and impractical things."

"Dad, did Xie Yang really get transferred to the Technical Department?" Wang Tao asked curiously, "Doesn't that mean she got a raise? Isn't it said that a Technician's base salary is higher than the workshop's?"

"Yes." Wang Guoli is also an employee of the Mechanical Factory and naturally knew about this, "A Technician's starting salary is 45."

"That high?"

Not just Wang Tao, even Wang Lin was envious.

Niu Cuifen felt sour inside too; if her daughter hadn't gone to high school and had entered the factory after graduating from junior high, with her cleverness, she might have been able to let the family eat meat every now and then.

"Linlin, you study hard and strive to get into university." Niu Cuifen turned to look at her daughter, "Getting into university not only guarantees a job assignment but also allows you to become a Cadre."

"I know, I know." Wang Lin curled her lips, "You only know how to urge me to study; why can't you listen when I urge you to buy some meat?"

"..."

Meanwhile, the Zheng family, who were lucky enough to taste the spicy crab, were all saying "delicious" non-stop.

"I didn't expect Sister Yang Yang's cooking to be so good; I thought she only knew how to make clothes and wasn't very good at cooking."

Zheng Miaomiao slurped the sauce of the spicy crab and sighed with satisfaction:

"It's so fresh! Mom, when can we buy some lake crabs to eat?"

"We'll buy some next time we see them."

Miao Lan felt for the first time that lake crabs could actually be so appetizing; next time she sees them, she'll buy a few and make them this way.

The Xie family also started their meal amidst the fragrance and steaming heat emitted by the dishes.

It wasn't Grandma Xie's first time eating lake crabs, but the last time was a long time ago; eating the spicy crab, she couldn't help but think of her late husband, and her eyes grew a bit moist.

"If your grandfather were still here, he would definitely have warmed a pot of Yellow Wine by now."

"Then next Qingming, I'll steam a few lake crabs and warm a pot of Yellow Wine to visit Grandpa."

"Good, good."

The grandmother and granddaughter chatted about daily life while eating the delicious spicy crab.

"By the way, before you came back, your Auntie Guo was just asking me where we bought the seeds for our small vegetable garden. I said you brought them from Dongjiang County. If you have any left on hand, why don't you spare her a few?"

Xie Yang nodded: "I do, I'll give her some in a moment. But it's too late to plant them now, right? If she wants to eat them, she can come to our vegetable plot and pick some."

The asparagus, garland chrysanthemum, cilantro, and Malabar spinach that Xie Yang planted, plus the chives, celery, scallions, ginger, and garlic that Grandma Xie had been growing, were all growing extremely well under the irrigation of the Plant Nutrient Solution. In that small vegetable plot, the family couldn't even finish picking them for two meals a day.

There were also sweet potato leaves and vines, which were clipped and grew back, grew and were clipped again, yet the texture remained very tender.

It was truly the additive effect of carefully selected high-quality seeds combined with the Plant Nutrient Solution.

She began to look forward to the sweet potatoes in the ground; they would surely be delicious too.

After lunch, Xie Yang didn't rush to pick the crab meat, but first went to the west Ear Room, took some shade-loving vegetable seeds, wrapped them separately in paper, wrote the names of the seeds on them, and sent them to Widow Guo.

She also told her to go pick some from their vegetable plot; there wasn't much, but enough to pick a bowl's worth of each variety to get a taste of the freshness.

Widow Guo looked grateful: "Then thank you so much, Yang Yang. Your auntie doesn't have anything good to thank you with... Oh right, when is your family buying Coal Ball? I'll have your sister Lihua go with you; it's not easy for you to haul it back alone. Also, have you ordered your winter storage radishes and Chinese cabbage yet? Let me know in advance when you go to move them. If your sister Lihua can't get time off, I'll go with you. Your grandmother still has to take care of your younger brother, someone always needs to stay at home."

"..."

Lately, she had put all her energy into work and had truly forgotten such important matters as stocking up on coal and winter vegetables.