"Big sister, I'm willing to go to town." As long as she could go to school, she was willing to go anywhere.
"Big sister, can I go to town too?" Chen Lifei, who was standing nearby, suddenly asked.
"It's not enough to have your second sister causing trouble, why are you joining in the fun?" Wu Chunmei scolded unhappily.
Hearing Wu Chunmei's words, Chen Lifei's eyes immediately filled with grievance as she looked at Chen Lishu.
Chen Lishu smiled at her, "If you want to go, wait until next year when you start junior high school, and Big Sister will arrange it for you."
With that, the matter was settled. The sisters agreed to go to town early the next morning, and Chen Lishu then returned to the Gu family.
Everyone had gone to work in the fields, so Chen Lishu thought for a moment and took her basket and knife to the mountain to dig for wild vegetables.
Late May was the peak season for wild vegetables to grow. It didn't take long for Chen Lishu to dig a basketful of goosefoot, and she even found two clumps of edible mushrooms in the dead leaves in the woods.
Returning home, she went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy meat, planning to make dumplings for dinner.
"Third sister-in-law." Zhang Xiaoju was sitting at the counter knitting a sweater. She smiled and got up when she saw her come in.
"I dug some goosefoot on the mountain, so I've come to buy some meat to make dumplings."
Upon hearing that there would be dumplings, Zhang Xiaoju immediately smiled happily, "Third sister-in-law, you're a good cook, your dumplings must be delicious too."
As Zhang Xiaoju spoke, she went to the side to get a knife and cut off a piece of streaky pork. After weighing it, she refused the money Chen Lishu handed over, "Third sister-in-law, you're in charge of making the dumplings, I'll pay for the meat."
"Alright then." Chen Lishu didn't argue and took the meat with a smile before turning to go home.
Upon arriving home, Chen Lishu first kneaded the dough. After the dough was kneaded, she covered it with gauze and let it rest. Then, she washed the goosefoot clean and blanched it in boiling water before draining it and setting it aside.
Chen Lishu then washed the meat she had bought and chopped it into filling. She then chopped the goosefoot and added it to the meat filling, along with seasonings, and mixed it all together.
She was naturally quick and efficient. In one afternoon, Chen Lishu made nearly three hundred dumplings. Although the family's iron pot was large, it still took two batches to cook them.
"Third aunt, what delicious food are you making?" Gu Song rushed into the kitchen as soon as he saw Chen Lishu after school. He knew that as long as his third aunt was home, there would be good food. Indeed, when he saw the plump white dumplings cooking in the pot, he was so happy he almost jumped.
"I'll go get the table!" he exclaimed, then eagerly went to set up the table.
When Chen Lishu and Gu Song had served the seven plates full of dumplings, the Gu family members were just returning from work.
"Third sister-in-law, you made dumplings!" Gu Xingye's surprise was no less than Gu Song's. Looking at the plump white dumplings, Gu Xingye was eager to pick one up and eat it, but Li Xiulan, who followed him in, unceremoniously slapped the back of his head, "You're going to be a father, and you're still so rash."
Hearing her words, Chen Lishu's gaze fell on Zhang Xiaoju's belly, and she exclaimed in surprise, "Fourth sister-in-law, are you pregnant?"
Zhang Xiaoju smiled and touched her still-flat belly, "Just three months."
"Congratulations to fourth brother and fourth sister-in-law."
"Third sister-in-law, you've been married for two or three years, why haven't you shown any signs of pregnancy? Don't tell me there's something wrong with you?" Liu Yuemin couldn't help but interject.
Li Xiulan's expression turned a bit unpleasant upon hearing her words, "They only saw each other a few times a year before. Lishu has only been there for a short while. You're meddling too much. Go quickly and get water to wash your hands and eat."
For the sake of the dumplings, Liu Yuemin didn't say anything else. She soon fetched water and placed it in a basin, and the family gathered around the table to have dinner.
After dinner, Chen Lishu and Zhang Qin cleaned the kitchen together. By the time everything was tidied up, it was already getting dark.
Since they had to get up early to work in the fields the next day, the family went to bed early.
The next day, Chen Lishu got up with everyone else. Breakfast was cornmeal pancakes and coarse grain porridge with pickled mustard stems, made by Zhang Qin and Zhang Xiaoju.
After breakfast, some went to work and some went to the fields. Chen Lishu returned to her maiden home to call Chen Liyuan to go to town together.
"Big sister, I thought about it for a long time yesterday, and I've decided not to aim for high school anymore."
As the sisters walked towards town, Chen Liyuan said, "I want to apply for a vocational school."
Chen Lishu was startled, "Why?"
Chen Liyuan bit her lip, "I can't let Big Sister support me forever. Vocational schools provide a subsidy every month, and I can start earning money to help the family after only two years."
She knew that Wu Chunmei had always been reluctant for them to study so much, and it was only thanks to Chen Lishu that they had been able to continue studying until now. But with several younger sisters waiting, she couldn't be so selfish. She wanted to grow up quickly and work hard to relieve the burden on the family. In the future, she could also support her younger sisters like Chen Lishu, giving them more opportunities.
"How old are you? You don't need to worry about money yet."
Seeing her sensible and well-behaved demeanor, Chen Lishu felt comforted and couldn't help but advise, "Don't just look at the immediate returns from vocational school. Once you start working, you'll know that you'll be at a disadvantage compared to those with junior college and bachelor's degrees."
"Big sister, as long as I don't have to go back to the countryside and I can earn a salary every month to help the family like you, I'll be content."
Seeing her attitude, Chen Lishu knew that anything she said now would probably be useless, so she didn't force her to do anything, but said, "Let's not rush. There's still over a month left. You can think about it slowly."
After a pause, Chen Liyuan nodded.
They walked to town, and it was already almost nine o'clock when they arrived. Chen Lishu didn't take Chen Liyuan directly to the Second Middle School but went to the department store first to find Nan Haitao to buy some scarce goods.
Nan Haitao was currently frowning at the woman opposite him, a trace of impatience flashing in his narrow eyes.
"Manager Nan, I know that you provided the fabric for the lingerie. For Director Zhou's sake, could you be more accommodating? I don't want all of it, just a portion."
Nan Haitao chuckled softly, "I think you might have misunderstood. I know about the lingerie you're referring to, but I really don't have anything regarding the fabric."
Seeing that he denied it again, Liu Xiaoting's smile stiffened, "How much did you sell it to the other party for? How about I offer you a higher price?"
As the ration coupons for chemical fiber products became fewer, the price of 'fake collars' gradually decreased. A few days ago, at three yuan, hardly anyone bought them. She was forced to lower the price to two yuan and ninety cents. Who knew that as soon as she lowered the price, another batch of 'fake collar' makers quickly followed suit, also at two yuan and ninety cents, snatching away a lot of business.
"If I really had it, I would definitely give it to you for Director Zhou's sake. It's a pity I really don't." Nan Haitao looked at her with a distressed expression.
Seeing that he really had no intention of cooperating with her, Liu Xiaoting could only smile helplessly and get up, "I've bothered Manager Nan."
Chen Lishu stood at the door of Nan Haitao's office. Just as she was about to knock, the door was suddenly pulled open from the inside. The two people, inside and outside the door, met each other's eyes and were stunned at the same time.
"Sister Xiaoting." Chen Lishu greeted them with a smile first.