Starting a new chapter in life

Chapter 124 Sending a letter to my uncle

Grandma agreed: "Even if soybean oil is unavailable, it can be mailed from your hometown, but the sausages you're making require minced meat, so we need to find out about a meat grinder as soon as possible, otherwise we can't rely on chopping by hand."

Speaking of this, Jing Yan was quite helpless: "I asked around in many places, but I still don't know where to buy it. A while ago, I asked Zhang Xiaofen at the slaughterhouse, but she didn't know anything about it either. However, she promised to ask for help. I don't know if she will be able to find out anything. After all, she is the last one I know."

Grandma was quite philosophical about it: "If we still can't find it, then we'll just make enough for our own family and stop selling it. Chopping meat every time will make our arms ache, it's not worth it."

Jingyan naturally wouldn't object, "I wonder how long it will take for Uncle to receive the sausages, and whether they'll spoil on the way."

Grandma shook her head: "It's already this cold here, it must be even colder over there. It might not be worse, but it might freeze solid. But they should be able to keep warm in their houses. We only received a few letters from him before, in which he casually mentioned the local customs and culture. But we've never been there, so we don't know the actual situation. We only know that resources are scarce, and they lack food and clothing. It's tough."

"What are the troops stationed over there doing?" Jing Yan asked curiously.

"They should be guarding the border. That side used to be Mongolia, and they are very wary of us. So the troops stationed there are considered elite units. In previous years, when the domestic situation was unstable, all the troops guarding the border had to be on high alert. Now that the situation is gradually stabilizing, maybe in another two years they can come back to visit their families," Grandma said.

Seeing her grandmother's expression, Jingyan understood that although her uncle was not her biological son, he had raised her and their bond was no less than that of a biological son. It was normal for the old woman to miss her son.

"Why don't you write to your uncle and ask him what he needs? We can send him whatever we have here, like fine rice, flour, cotton, or fabric. We can always scrape together what we need," Jingyan suggested to her grandmother.

Grandma was intrigued by what she said and went back to rummage through the drawers and cabinets looking for the letters she had received before. After finding them, she handed the envelope to Jingyan: "This should be the address. Check if he left a military address."

Jing Yan took the letter, saw the obvious military unit number on the mailing address, and nodded: "Yes, it is indeed a military address."

Grandma was relieved: "That's good. The military's address is stable and won't change easily. I'll have you write it this time. After all this time, your handwriting has improved to a decent level. My eyesight is failing, and I can't write small characters anymore because I can't see them clearly."

Jingyan obediently agreed and promised to help write the letter the next morning. She and Sister Wang cleaned up the dining table and kitchen before the family went to sleep. Tonight, He Chaoli suggested staying with his great-grandmother to see if he had adapted to life here. Jingyan naturally did not refuse. If An'an were not still young and needed to pee in the middle of the night, she would have left An'an with her grandmother as well.

The next morning at breakfast, everyone tried the scallion pancakes again. Although they weren't as good as freshly made, they were still quite crispy. Grandma thought it was worth a try. If they couldn't sell them, the family could use them up, since Mom and Dad would be coming over for Chinese New Year anyway.

Having made up her mind, Jingyan, being a woman of action, went to the post office after dinner and called her older brother, specifically instructing him to buy oil at the price without coupons and to send him fifty jin first, with her remittance later.

The eldest brother readily agreed, adding that his fourth sister had planted a large field of soybeans in the furrows near her house this year, and that she had recently taken the soybeans to the village oil press to have the oil extracted. He had also received a considerable amount of oil from her recently.

Since she started asking this year, it's estimated that Fourth Sister will plant even more next year, which would save money on oil and oil coupons; she would only need to pay for shipping. But Jingyan disagreed: "Brother, I'll wire the money over. I really don't need the money right now."

You don't know, I'm doing very well here. I even make and sell braised meat and sausages. It's just a pity that I haven't been able to find out where to buy a meat grinder here. Chopping meat is a huge undertaking.

"A meat grinder?" The older brother thought for a moment. "How big do you want? Our government recently bought a batch of meat grinding equipment for the meat processing plant. I can't get you the large kind, but the small kind is perfect for the ones that the meat processing plant has returned. If you don't mind, I can get one for you and send it over."

Jingyan's eyes lit up: "I don't mind, as long as it works, that's fine. Brother, please check the blade of the meat grinder for me, it can't be dull. Everything else is fine. Is it a hand-cranked one?"

Zhang Jingtian replied, "Yes, this batch of new equipment is all electric, which is to replace the manual ones. So the ones that were replaced were all hand-cranked. We don't have enough electric meat grinders that we can buy for local use right now, so we can't get one for you."

Jing Yan didn't mind, as long as it worked: "Big brother, I don't mind. You have my mailing address, so you can just send the things directly to my house later. How much does the equipment cost, plus shipping fees? You have to pay for that, otherwise I won't talk to you if I have any difficulties in the future."

Zhang Jingtian chuckled: "I know, I won't stand on ceremony with you. I still have a son to raise, and I'm short of money. By the way, how's An'an doing? He lives too far away, so as his uncle, I should go and check on him."

“When he’s a little older, I’ll bring him home to show you,” Jingyan promised.

"Okay, you said it yourself, I've got it in mind. Alright, that's all for now, I'll hang up. Phone calls are too expensive, so write home often and don't worry us." Zhang Jingtian added one more instruction before hanging up the phone.

Jingyan happily paid the phone bill, then cheerfully went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy envelopes and stamps before returning home.

When I got home, I told my grandma that my older brother had agreed to help me get a used meat grinder. My grandma and Sister Wang were overjoyed. "Your older brother is really amazing. He actually managed to get one. What does he do for a living?"

"It seems like he's some kind of secretary in the municipal government, but I don't know the specifics. He never talks to me about work-related matters." Jing Yan didn't seem to care.

Grandma looked at her with amusement: "As expected, Zhijun chose you himself. Putting everything else aside, your character is excellent. If it were a girl from our area, if she had relatives in the government, she'd be walking down the street with her head held high."

You've never mentioned your family members' jobs since you got here, only your daily interactions. If your brother hadn't helped you so much this time, you probably wouldn't have brought it up at all.

Jing Yan was completely confused: "Why bring it up? It's so far away, my brother can't help much. Besides, even if he lived nearby, what would it have to do with me? He has his own family, and his honors belong to his family, not his siblings. There's no need for him to take advantage of this."

Grandma smiled and said, "Your parents really know how to raise their children. They are willing to rely on themselves rather than depend on others. You always mentioned your fourth sister before, saying that she is capable, skillful, and has a good personality. In our eyes, you are also a capable, decisive, and hardworking girl. Marrying you is truly a blessing."

Jingyan blushed a little after being praised by her grandmother: "Grandma, please don't flatter me. I'm already embarrassed. Shall we write a letter to Uncle first?"

Upon hearing this, Grandma immediately pulled her into the house. He Chaoli had already gone out to play with Hu Zi and the others. Only Sister Wang was guarding the living room, weighing and selling braised meat to neighbors who came to buy it. The house was quite lively.

After writing the letter, Jingyan discussed it with her grandmother and tucked in the remaining national oil coupons, grain coupons, meat coupons, and cloth coupons. Jingyan's household registration was now also here, and the registration now listed four people: He Zhijun, Jingyan, her grandmother, and He Jin'an. He Zhijun had handled the registration when the child was six months old.

So every month, the family received enough grain rations to feed the whole family. As a result, these ration coupons were not very useful and were mostly saved. Neighbors with large families would exchange money for these coupons if they didn't have enough grain rations. However, the coupons they received were mostly regional coupons. The nationally valid coupons were saved, but there weren't many of them.

However, there were no cotton coupons at home. Jingyan thought that when she met Sister Cheng Chunhua, who sold her rapeseed oil, she would ask her if she could help her buy some cotton in the countryside. If she could get some, she would send it to her uncle. However, there was no rush. In the afternoon, she went to the post office again and mailed the letter.

On her way home, she made a detour to the small market where Cheng Chunhua was selling vegetables. More and more people were setting up stalls there, forming a small market. Jingyan found the person relatively easily. When she arrived, the vegetables in Cheng Chunhua's basket had already been almost sold out.

She was delighted to see Jingyan: "Hey, girl, I haven't seen you lately. I was thinking you'd be coming to see me soon, since it's almost the end of the year and you'd definitely think of me first when you need to stock up on supplies at home. Look, here you are."

Jingyan glanced at her basket and asked, "Sister Cheng, are you packing up to leave? How about we talk as we walk?"

Cheng Chunhua readily agreed, "Okay." After quickly tidying up, she shouldered the carrying pole, picked up the basket, and headed out of the market. "So, what rare item do you want?"

"I want to buy cotton, the kind that doesn't require ration coupons. Are there any cotton growers around here? I wonder if I can buy it from private individuals?" Jing Yan asked.

Cheng Chunhua laughed: "We do grow it here, but we don't grow it in our village because it's too much trouble. To be honest, if you want it, I can help you buy it. The market price is 55 to 60 cents a pound right now, but that requires a ration coupon. If I go to buy it directly, it will cost about 70 cents a pound. But I can't go for nothing, right? Including losses, how about 80 cents a pound?"

Jing Yan considered it for a moment and nodded: "Okay, then I need fifty catties of cotton. Do you think that's a good quantity to buy?"

Cheng Chunhua waved her hand: "This amount isn't large. I'll buy more later and sell it. Anyway, with you as my backup, I won't lose money on this trip."

Jing Yan smiled and thanked her, "Sister Cheng, do you still remember where I live? Could you please deliver it to my house for me?"

Cheng Chunhua readily agreed: "No problem, I'll make the trip alone."

Jingyan returned home and told her about ordering fifty catties of cotton. Her grandmother asked curiously, "We have enough bedding and cotton clothes at home, why do you need to buy cotton again?"

“I was thinking of sending this to my uncle. You said the Northwest is bitterly cold, so I thought we could make him a few quilts and send them over as a token of our appreciation. Actually, what I wanted to send was a 300 yuan remittance that my uncle specially sent to us when Zhijun and I first got married, saying it was a wedding gift. I’ve been very busy these past few years, so I thought it would be nice to give back a little something in return. It would also make the elders think I’m not polite,” Jingyan said.

Grandma chuckled and patted her hand: "Our family is truly lucky to have such a generous daughter-in-law like you. Okay, Grandma will accept this kind gesture. I will tell your uncle in the next letter so that he knows that his nephew's wife is thinking of him."

As February arrived, the festive atmosphere of the New Year grew stronger. He Chaoli had fully adapted to life here. Every morning after breakfast, he would practice calligraphy with Jingyan and then read comic books for a while. His favorite books were "Sanmao's Wanderings" and "Journey to the West".

Occasionally, he would discuss with Jingyan why Sanmao had to wander. If that was a drawback of the old society, would there still be a Sanmao in the new society?

At times like this, Jingyan doesn't know what to say. Should she say that wherever there are people, there will be children who have lost their only child, or that many of the "Sanmao" incidents are man-made? This topic is really heavy, and she has no way to explain it. She can only tell him that she doesn't know either, because she is uneducated and therefore lacks knowledge. She tells him to wait for his uncle to come back and ask him, since he is educated and knows more.

Grandma, sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), couldn't help but smile as she heard her say that the potty had been given to He Zhijun: "Zhijun is truly blessed to have you."

Jing Yan, on the other hand, said confidently: "He said before that we should leave the education of our children to him. Isn't that his responsibility? If I were to give unsolicited advice and make a mistake, wouldn't that be misleading the children?"

Jingyan has been feeling very sleepy lately. After practicing calligraphy for a while, she started to feel sleepy again. She yawned and said to her grandmother, "Grandma, I think I slept well last night, but I'm really sleepy. I want to take another nap."

Grandma also noticed that An'an hadn't been in good spirits lately. Fortunately, An'an was old enough that Grandma and Sister Wang could take good care of her. On the contrary, this unreliable mother wasn't very useful; at most, she could only offer some psychological comfort to the child. Grandma felt sorry for her, so she took An'an out.

In the quiet environment, Jingyan slept so soundly that she wasn't even woken up when He Zhijun came back from his holiday. He Zhijun put his luggage in the room, warmed his hands, and lay down by the kang (a heated brick bed) to look at Jingyan sleeping so soundly. He was a little worried: "Grandma, how long has Jingyan been sleeping like this? Something doesn't seem right."

Grandma thought for a moment and said, "It hasn't been long, just seven or eight days. I'm wondering if it's because I've been using my brain too much lately. You don't know, Xiao Li asks so many strange questions every day. Jingyan is always speechless when he asks her questions. Of course, we get stumped too. I guess we've been put through a lot of trouble and our brains need a rest."