After walking for over an hour, Gu Jiaojiao finally arrived in the County Town.
When Leng Yuan had taken her to the departnt store yesterday, they had passed the supply and marketing cooperative, so she knew where it was without needing to ask for directions.
Gu Jiaojiao had the original owner’s mories and knew what the supply and marketing cooperative should look like. But when she walked inside, she discovered that the one in the county was much smaller than the one in the city. There wasn’t much rchandise, and the selection was limited.
She had a ration ticket for half a pound of candy, and Leng Yuan had given her another one for a pound and a half, allowing her to buy two pounds in total.
The cooperative offered seven or eight types of candy. There were unwrapped orange drops for 1.2 yuan per pound, four or five flavors of cellophane-wrapped candies for 1.5 yuan per pound, and the classic White Rabbit creamy candy for 1.8 yuan per pound.
Gu Jiaojiao asked for a pound of the wrapped fruit candies and a pound of White Rabbit creamy candy.
She also had a ration ticket for a pound of pastries, which she used to buy a pound of sponge cake. With another ticket for half a pound of cookies, she got half a pound of walnut cookies. The sponge cake cost one yuan per pound, while the walnut cookies were eighty cents a pound.
Besides those, she had a soap ticket. Soap was a rare commodity. Leng Yuan had given her the ticket, which was a special perk, as only one was issued every three months.
Li Hongi had used Gu Jiaojiao’s previous bar of soap, which was now being used to wash rags. It seed a waste to just throw it away, after all.
All told, her purchases ca to this: one pound of fruit candy for 1.5 yuan, one pound of White Rabbit creamy candy for 1.8 yuan, one pound of sponge cake for one yuan, half a pound of walnut cookies for forty cents, and one bar of soap for eighty cents. The total was 5.5 yuan.
After buying these items, Gu Jiaojiao went to the non-staple food store. She had a at ticket for one pound, and Leng Yuan had given her another one, so she could buy two pounds of at.
It was late by the ti Gu Jiaojiao got there, and all the fatty at had been bought. Only the leaner cuts were left. Gu Jiaojiao asked for two pounds. She then saw so bones with the at removed and, after asking, learned they didn’t require a ration ticket, so she had them packed up as well.
The pork was eighty cents per pound, and the bones were twenty cents per pound. Two pounds of pork cost 1.6 yuan, and ten pounds of bones cost two yuan, for a total of 3.6 yuan.
After buying everything, she had spent 9.1 yuan. A whole ten-yuan bill was gone just like that.
Carrying her purchases, Gu Jiaojiao started the walk back. After about half an hour, she saw soone lying on the ground in the distance. As she got closer, she saw it was a pregnant woman.
Gu Jiaojiao quickly put her bags on the ground and hurried forward to check on the woman.
The pregnant woman’s face was deathly pale, and her forehead was covered in cold sweat. She clutched her stomach, looking to be in great pain.
"How are you feeling? Where does it hurt?"
When the pregnant woman saw Gu Jiaojiao, her eyes imdiately reddened. She had fallen here half an hour ago and couldn’t move. No one had co down the road, and she was beginning to despair.
To her, at this mont, Gu Jiaojiao was like a savior.
"Please, help . My leg is injured, and my stomach hurts."
Gu Jiaojiao lifted the woman’s wrist to check her pulse. She found that there was nothing seriously wrong. The fall had been hard on her leg, dislocating a bone and immobilizing her. As for her stomach pain, it was partly from the shock and partly from lying in an awkward position for so long.
Knowing the woman wasn’t in any real danger, she imdiately reassured her, "Don’t be nervous. The more nervous you are, the more your stomach will hurt. Relax, I’m not going to leave you. Don’t worry."
Hearing this, the woman did relax quite a bit. Gu Jiaojiao taught her a breathing technique, and the woman followed her instructions. After a little while, her stomach really did stop hurting.
Her eyes lit up. "You’re amazing! My na is Wang Xiuhua, I’m Zhao Tiezhu’s wife from the Qingshan Team. Could you please go get soone for ?"
Gu Jiaojiao hadn’t expected such a coincidence. "I’m from the Qingshan Team too. I’m one of the educated youth there. Don’t move, I’ll be right back."
Wang Xiuhua was even more relieved to hear this. Since they were from the sa village, it was unlikely Gu Jiaojiao would just abandon her.
Although Gu Jiaojiao had promised to go for help, she knew that food was scarce these days. Seeing how weak Wang Xiuhua was, looking as if she might faint, she took a few pieces of creamy candy from her bag and placed them in the woman’s hand.
"Eat one to get so energy. By the ti you finish the candies, I’ll be back with help. Don’t worry."
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