MDMP Chapter 10.2

The other side—

Zhao Suisui was finishing graffiti with Zhao Jingcheng, and she became fascinated by the painting for a while.

When she looked up again, she realized that her mother had been taken away by her bad Dad.

Zhao Suisui immediately put down her paintbrush and rushed into the closed room. Just as she was about to knock on the door, Zhao Suisui suddenly heard voices inside.

Rolling her eyes, Zhao Suisui put her ear against the door and overheard her bad father asking her mother to do something!

Until there was no sound after listening, Zhao Suisui immediately patted the door: “Mom, Mom!”

When Feng He heard her daughter’s voice, her face blushed slightly. She immediately struggled to push Zhao Haoyang away in front of her.

Zhao Haoyang, who was just a little bit closer to kissing his wife: “…”

He extremely suspected that his daughter did it on purpose!

***

The supply and marketing cooperative in the family compound did not have a complete range of products, so the ingredients needed for the treat had to be bought in the market.

Early the next morning, Feng He followed the logistics department’s car to the city to make purchases.

Zhao Jingcheng and Zhao Suisui were still young. Feng He wanted to buy something, so she didn’t take them with her. Instead, she gave them money and tickets and asked them to go to the canteen to eat by themselves at noon.

Dangerous items at home were also put away, and water and snacks were placed within their reach, lest they become hungry or thirsty.

Before leaving, Feng He was worried and told Zhao Jingcheng: “Chengcheng, watch your sister and don’t let her eat too much candy.”

Zhao Suisui: “???” She is obviously so good!

However, when Feng He left, Zhao Suisui looked at the candies on the table eagerly and tugged on the corner of Zhao Jingcheng’s clothes: “Brother, can I have candy?”

Zhao Jingcheng: “…”

However, who can refuse such a cute sister? Anyway, Zhao Jingcheng couldn’t do it.

He took a candy and handed it to her: “Eat it, but don’t eat too much. Mom will check it when she comes back.”

Zhao Suisui nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

While Zhao Suisui was eating sweets, she and Zhao Jingcheng went out to play with other children.

As usual, she went to the big tree first, but she still didn’t see Lu Zhou in the tree.

Lu Zhou gradually stopped climbing trees after being caught by Zhao Suisui several times on the tree. Zhao Suisui couldn’t find him even if she tried to find him.

When she asked the other children, they didn’t know where Lu Zhou was and reminded Zhao Suisui not to play with Lu Zhou.

Of course, Zhao Suisui didn’t take the other children’s reminders to heart. She knew that Brother Lu Zhou was not like what they said!

Was it that Brother Lu Zhou avoided her now?

Did Brother Lu Zhou in his memory avoid her? Zhao Suisui thought about it carefully.

Maybe not?

But it seemed that she didn’t chase Brother Lu Zhou in her memory. They didn’t look familiar. Then, why did Brother Lu Zhou come back to look for her later?

Zhao Suisui thought about it for a while, but then she stopped thinking about it.

At noon, Zhao Jingcheng took Zhao Suisui to the canteen for lunch.

Materials are scarce these days, so you are lucky to have enough to eat, and there is nothing to choose from.

Therefore, the same kind of food comes and goes in the canteen of the family compound, and the chef in the canteen cooks whatever he cooks.

A half-person-high wall separates the cooking and dining areas in the canteen. The wall is separated by yellow-painted glass windows. Cooks wearing green military uniforms, caps, and white aprons are busy behind the glass.

When Zhao Jingcheng and Zhao Suisui walked to the cooking window, they were not even high enough.

Zhao Jingcheng stood on tiptoe and put the lunch box in his hand on the table. He raised his head and said to the window: “Uncle, we want three steamed buns, one portion of eggplant, and one portion of fried pork with chili!”

The cook poked his head out of the small glass window and saw the two little carrot heads looking up at him outside. He couldn’t help but smile: “Okay, the total is 2 cents and 7 cents, plus six taels of food stamps and one tael of meat stamps.”

Zhao Jingcheng took out the money and food stamps from his pocket, counted them carefully, and then handed them over on tiptoe.

The cook took it with a smile and quickly put the food in the lunch box. Seeing that the two of them were short, he leaned forward and lowered the height so that Zhao Jingcheng could reach it.

“Thank you, Uncle.” Zhao Jingcheng and Zhao Suisui thanked each other in unison.

“You’re welcome.” The cook smiled heartily.

After finishing the meal, Zhao Jingcheng held the lunch box and Zhao Suisui prepared to find a seat to sit down.

After taking just two steps, Zhao Suisui noticed with sharp eyes a small figure sitting at a mahogany table not far away, eating. That was—

“Brother Lu Zhou!” Zhao Suisui shouted happily, then turned around, and pulled Zhao Jingcheng in which direction, “Brother, let’s go eat with Brother Lu Zhou!”

When Lu Zhou, who was eating, heard this voice, his little figure who was immersed in eating froze.

 

*****

Translator’s Little Encyclopedia:

Grain Rationing in China (Part 1)

Nationwide grain rationing was first established in 1955. During central planning, the government aimed to boost industrialization and growth in urban areas, enforcing policies to secure enough food from the rural areas. The state held a monopoly and therefore set both agricultural and industrial prices.

Low food prices (prices set below market price) determined low wages in the countryside, which in turn allowed the state to achieve higher gains in the urban industries and reinvest them. Through this system, money was ‘extracted’ from the countryside in order to finance industrialization in the urban areas.

In the 1950s, communes were established in rural areas and the government imposed ‘procurement planning’, which required peasants to deliver a certain amount of food to the state at state-imposed prices. However, demand exceeded supply and the agricultural sector became very inefficient.

The government tried to solve this problem by introducing a grain rationing system, combining consumer rationing and compulsory purchases from producers.

(To be continued…)

 

 

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