Chapter 37: A Mother’s Love (Part 1)

When he arrived at the county supply and marketing cooperative, Zhang Guoqing took out all the ration coupons from his pocket and went from counter to counter. It wasn’t until he reached the fabric counter that he realized Jiaojiao hadn’t told him what kind of fabric she wanted.

“Comrade, what kind of winter fabric do you women usually buy? Could you recommend something?”

“This thick army-green fabric sells best. It’s suitable for both men and women,” the long-braided saleswoman replied. She glanced at him again, then added, “Today, we have some defective cloth shoes and wool yarn that don’t require coupons. You’d better hurry—if you’re late, they’ll be gone.”

“Thank you so much for the tip, Comrade. I’ll take this bolt of army-green fabric.”

After getting the receipt, paying, and collecting the fabric, he hurried over to the counter selling defective goods. There was quite a crowd. He checked the wool yarn—there wasn’t much wrong with it, just some color variations. For the darker shades, you could hardly tell unless you looked closely, and the quality was genuinely good. He remembered back in college, Zhou Jiao had once bought two colors of gradient yarn and knitted a beautiful sweater. No wonder so many people were buying it today.

“Comrade, could you help me figure out how much yarn I’d need for a sweater for a woman who’s 167cm tall, and for myself?”

“You’ll need about 1.2 jin. For a tall, slim woman like me, 8 liang to 1 jin is enough. There’s not much yarn left—if you want it, you’d better hurry.”

“Could you please get me all the dark blue and gray yarn, and all the bright red and maroon as well?”

Zhang Guoqing saw that these colors were the best, with hardly any defects, and it was real wool.

The saleswoman looked at him curiously—no one had ever bought so much at once. “Comrade, that’s 8 jin in total. The original price was 12 yuan, but now it’s 6 yuan, no coupons needed. That’s 48 yuan altogether. Are you sure you want all of it?”

He glanced at the other defective goods to see if there was anything else he needed. “And could you get me two pairs of cloth shoes, both size 44? Also, five towels.”

Seeing the crowd, he didn’t feel like squeezing in with all the women. “That’s it, please total it up and write the receipt.”

The saleswoman now believed he was serious. “Two pairs of cloth shoes, originally 6 yuan each, towels are 0.80 yuan each—half price, so 8 yuan for those, plus 48 yuan for the yarn. That’s 56 yuan in total.”

He took the receipt, paid, and came back to collect his goods. The saleswoman carefully checked everything for him. “Here’s 8 jin of yarn, two pairs of shoes, and five towels. I’ve checked—none of the defects are serious.”

She opened everything for inspection, then packed it all into Zhang Guoqing’s cloth bag. Good thing the bag was big. It took him an hour to use up all his ration coupons. The prices weren’t high, but there were lots of little things, and the extra bag he brought was full too.

After a while, he just wrote receipts at each counter and paid for everything at the end, then went from counter to counter collecting his purchases. All the salespeople on the first floor were smiling at him. Zhang Guoqing had to explain that his wife was in confinement after giving birth, his coupons were about to expire, and he’d taken special leave to come today. It was better to explain—people would understand. Otherwise, if someone got suspicious, it could cause trouble later.

It wasn’t cowardice, just caution. Better to prevent problems before they happen than to regret it afterward. In the end, several kind salespeople helped him out, and he managed to finish everything in one go. Zhang Guoqing thanked them repeatedly—people in this era really were simple and honest.

He went upstairs and bought two cans of malted milk, put them in his bag, and hurried out—how embarrassing! He decided he wouldn’t come to the supply and marketing cooperative for at least a few months, not until people had forgotten about him and there was something new to gossip about. He’d already seen several young women and aunties whispering behind his back.

He strapped the two cloth bags to the back of his bicycle. Thinking about the cornbread at home, he gritted his teeth and headed for the state-run restaurant across the street. The good thing about this era was that you could leave your bike outside and no one would steal it. Still, out of habit, he carried the two bags inside.

There were hardly any customers in the restaurant—just one or two people eating noodles. The waitress, Sister Huang, knew him. He and Zhou Jiao used to come here for a treat when they were in junior high. She was daydreaming at the counter.

“Sis, what do you have to eat? Your little brother is starving!” Zhang Guoqing called out as soon as he walked in.

“Where’s your wife? Why didn’t she come with you? Haven’t seen her in ages.” Sister Huang looked behind him. “We’ll have buns this afternoon, and there’s your favorite braised pork. You’re in luck—there’s also some marinated beef. A production team’s cow fell into a ditch and died.”

“Give me two buns and a bowl of noodles first. I’ll take the rest to go.” Zhang Guoqing patted his stomach—he couldn’t eat too much. “Jiaojiao gave birth last night. Her belly was so big these past months, I didn’t dare let her come out.”

Sister Huang stared at him, then exaggeratedly winked and bared her teeth. “You’re something else, becoming a dad so young. I’m already 22 and still single, and your Jiaojiao is only 16 or 17, right? Impressive.”

Zhang Guoqing rolled his eyes at her—what a cheeky woman. “You’d better marry my buddy soon. He’s doing well at the township grain station. If you wait any longer, the flower will wilt. Madman is already 25. Last time his mother came to ask me how things were going between you two.”

Sister Huang and his best friend Cheng Feng were a couple, but there were always issues—housing, bride price, her mother’s high standards. She thought her daughter was from the county and shouldn’t just marry a rural guy. Luckily, Cheng Feng’s family was doing well, and he’d gotten a job at the township grain station earlier this year. He was head over heels for Sister Huang.

“It’s settled—we’re getting married at the end of the year. Just finalized it a couple of days ago. When Jiaojiao is out of confinement, you all can come to the wedding. I might transfer to the township state-run restaurant, so I’ll be closer to you.”

“Great, Madman finally gets his happy ending. Congratulations to you both.”

He glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then whispered, “Sis, help me buy some good liquor from the head chef—get as much as you can. Once you’re in the township, you won’t be able to get it. Last time he wouldn’t even sell me a jin. As soon as I opened my mouth, it was gone. At least a five-jin jar. His stuff is better than what the supply and marketing cooperative sells.”

Sister Huang grinned and winked, then led Zhang Guoqing to the back kitchen. When they saw the head chef, Zhang Guoqing grinned foolishly, scratched his head, and signaled to Sister Huang to speak quickly—the chef was already glaring at him, brandishing a ladle.

“Quit making faces, kid. That liquor last time—I had to snatch it from an old friend. That guy treasured it like gold after his son was born, kept five jars for over twenty years, and now they’re all gone.” The chef looked at him like he was a ghost, sighing in distress.

“He only had one son his whole life. Chef, you’re not being honest, keeping it all for yourself. Maybe I should ask your wife about it—I can smell the liquor from here.” Zhang Guoqing started teasing him.

The chef had no choice—this brat was impossible to deal with. Last time, he’d managed to get two of the last three jin. The chef glared at Sister Huang—she must have tipped him off. He’d only brought the beef over today because there was marinated beef.

“Alright, at most two jin. That’s all I have left—a five-jin jar.”

If he didn’t give him the liquor, this brat would go straight to his wife, and everyone knew she worried about his drinking. If she found out he had liquor and didn’t bring it home, she’d make a scene.

“I want some too, Chef! I have to be filial to my father-in-law,” Sister Huang blurted out. “Bring two big jars at noon—last time it was five jin, this time at least ten. Xiao Wu, let’s find them ourselves.”

Zhang Guoqing glared at the chef, pretending to be hurt. “I’m going to tell your wife you’ve been hiding twenty jin of liquor for yourself and didn’t give me a drop.”

He exchanged glances and hand signals with Sister Huang. “Chef, if your wife comes, you’ll only get to keep one jin—the other nineteen are mine, deal?”

“Ay, I knew you’d be trouble as soon as you showed up. Five jin, that’s it. No more. If my wife finds out, I won’t even get to keep one jin. I’ve been hiding these twenty jin at an old friend’s place and just brought them over today.”

“Xiao Wu, found it! A ten-jin jar. Chef, let’s take it, okay?” Sister Huang called out happily.

“You two are something else, scheming like this. Just don’t tell my wife. Take the jar—out of sight, out of mind.”

“Chef, don’t drink it all at once, or I’ll tell your wife. She’s just worried about your health. No more than one jin at a time—Sister Huang will keep an eye on you.”

Joking aside, he still had to remind him—the old man had no self-control when it came to drinking, and he was worried something would happen.

“Got it. You’re always full of tricks. I’ll help you pack it up so you can carry it by hand.”

“Sister Huang, bring something to carry it in. I’ll take the jar home for my dad to enjoy slowly,” Zhang Guoqing reminded her to get a bottle. “Chef, give me a jin of marinated beef, too.”

Sister Huang shook her head. “No need. The jar is sealed—if you open it, it’ll be hard to carry on your bike, and my dad doesn’t drink anyway. Go eat your noodles before they get soggy and head home early so Jiaojiao won’t worry.”

Seeing that she really didn’t want it, Zhang Guoqing didn’t insist. He didn’t like drinking himself—he had plenty of good liquor stashed away at home. He just remembered how much his dad loved this liquor and had treasured the last two jin for ages. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble."