The Leisure Life in the 1970s

3

Chapter 3 3. The first braised pork

The food that Song Jin had left for his family before he went to college had been almost consumed. Qiao Zhenzhen wondered if she should go to the town to restock the food. Besides, there were a lot of food and vegetables in the warehouse, so she might as well go and trade them.

In order to eat meat as soon as possible, Qiao Zhenzhen rode out on her father Qiao's bicycle early in the morning.

As the captain of the Red Flag Brigade, his father bought a bicycle. He usually rode a bicycle to the commune for meetings and studies, which was a sign of his status.

After riding for 40 to 50 minutes, Qiao Zhenzhen finally arrived at her destination - Changfeng Town. If she didn't arrive, she would be exhausted. Her feet were sore from pedaling. She would take a car next time.

After finding an empty corner, Qiao Zhenzhen put her bicycle into the space warehouse, and then went straight to the supply and marketing cooperative. After asking about the price of food, she began to think about how to sell the things in the space.

Fortunately, there is still a space, otherwise Qiao Zhenzhen really doesn't know how to survive.

Although it is a collective economy now and people are not allowed to trade privately, there is a market where there is demand. The monthly supply of food for city dwellers is not enough to eat, especially for families with more people, who have never had a full meal. It is not that they have no money, but that they have no place to sell. The supply and marketing cooperatives have a limit on what they can buy, and they cannot exceed the limit by even a penny, so the black market was born.

Qiao Zhenzhen wandered around the town for half a day and found a suspected black market den, a remote alley surrounded by low bungalows. Two streets away is the only hospital in the town, the County People's Hospital.

Qiao Zhenzhen saw someone carrying a basket into the alley, and not long after, he came out with a basket. Although the basket was still covered with a rag, it was obvious that the things in the basket were gone, and the person also showed a satisfied smile on his face.

There was also someone who clearly went in with an empty bag, and when he came out, the bag became bulging, and he looked mysterious, as if he was afraid of being discovered, and ran away in a flash.

Qiao Zhenzhen didn't have a basket or anything, but she brought a torn bed sheet from her home, found a deserted place, took out 50 kilograms of rice and 20 kilograms of apples from the space, wrapped them in cloth, and went directly to the alley.

Of course, Qiao Zhenzhen also dressed up, such as blackening her face and changing her hairstyle. She didn't have any makeup tools, so she could only do this. Although acquaintances could still recognize her at a glance, it was better than nothing.

Like others, Qiao Zhenzhen found a wall to squat, holding an apple as a sample in one hand and a rag bag in the other hand, looking around with her eyes rolling around, as if she was ready to run away at any time, which made others know at a glance that she was a scoundrel.

After a while, an old lady came up and asked, "Hey, this apple looks so juicy, how do I exchange it?"

"Auntie, you know the goods. This is a good thing, sweet and crispy. It just arrived today. It's 20 cents each." Qiao Zhenzhen deliberately lowered her voice and said.

"20 cents? This is too expensive. Rice is only 30 cents per pound. You actually want 20 cents for one. Your one is at most 3 taels." The old lady looked frightened, but she didn't move a step.

Qiao Zhenzhen knew there was something going on and whispered, "Auntie, this is top-quality apples. This one weighs at least half a pound, and the bigger ones are almost eight ounces. The key is that there aren't many of them. If you miss this opportunity, you'll never get another one. And if you buy it early, you can pick a bigger one, which is a better deal."