1983, Northeast China

Chapter 43 Traded for a single piece of leather

Old Nian chuckled, his eyes gleaming with the shrewdness typical of a businessman. "He's picked up the habit of not accepting the first offer perfectly from Old Wei."

Seeing that Chen Shi didn't nod, Lao Nian held up three fingers, then pulled one back, "Two hundred and forty, that's the best."

Chen Shi did some mental calculations. The price was about the same as what he had heard before he came. The highest price the commune had offered was 180, but Lao Nian had asked for 60 more. These days, 240 was enough for a family of four to live comfortably for more than half a year.

"If you don't trust me, you can go to the county purchasing station and ask. They'll give you less than two hundred yuan at most, plus a bunch of grain coupons and cloth coupons. Coupons are much harder to use than money."

Chen Shi knew in his heart that he was telling the truth.

In this world, policies are constantly changing. Others may not know, but he knows it perfectly well. Soon, we will enter an era where money reigns supreme.

"Two hundred and forty, I'll take sixty in cash," Chen Shi said. "The remaining one hundred and eighty, could you exchange for some goods and take them to Kaoshantun? Is that alright?"

"What do you need?" Old Nian had already taken out a pen and paper, ready to write it down.

Chen Shi thought through the needs of each of his family members one by one.

"Fifty catties of wheat flour, twenty catties of millet, thirty catties of corn grits. Eight catties of cotton, it must be new and well-fluffed. One and a half bolts of cloth, it must be dark-colored and dirt-resistant. Three catties of brown sugar, two catties of white sugar. Five catties of soybean oil, ten catties of coarse salt. Ten catties of cured meat."

The old man wrote it down on the paper with a listless pen.

"I need two more new cotton quilts, thick ones, to keep out the wind. A pair of cotton shoes, women's size 38. A set of cotton-padded jacket and trousers for the child, made for a five or six-year-old girl."

Old Nian looked up at him and asked, "How many people are in your family?"

"A family of four. Me, my sister, a niece, and a nephew."

"This should be enough for four people until spring." Old Nian didn't ask any more questions, then lowered his head and added a few strokes to the paper. "Is there anything else we need to buy?"

"Two bottles of medicinal wine, please. Also, a box of acupuncture needles, the shortest being half an inch and the longest three inches, a few of each."

"Why are you bringing all this? Is someone in your family sick? There's a small pharmacy nearby with really good quality herbs."

Chen Shi didn't explain much at first, but when he heard the concern in the other person's voice, he still said, "My sister's health is deteriorating after giving birth, and I want to help her recover."

Old Nian didn't say anything after listening. He took out sixty yuan from the bottom of the cabinet, then took out a piece of paper, wrote a note, and had Chen Shi put his fingerprint on it.

"Pick up what you can carry back first, and get the rest within three days. Have Old Sun, the donkey cart driver, deliver it. Don't take the main road, and don't sleep too soundly at night."

When Chen Shi left Pihuo Hutong, the sun was still high. He went out into the street with sixty yuan in his pocket and found the pharmacy that Lao Nian had mentioned.

The shopkeeper was an old man in his fifties, wearing reading glasses and weighing medicine with a small scale.

"Shopkeeper, do you have mugwort, angelica, astragalus, or codonopsis?"

The shopkeeper glanced at him over his glasses, his gaze lingering on Chen Shi's old clothes. "Young man, angelica and codonopsis are both precious. Who are you giving them to?"

"There's someone in my family who's in postpartum confinement."

The shopkeeper nodded, asked Chen Shi how much he needed, and then took out some medicine from the cabinet: a handful of mugwort leaves, a few slices of angelica root, a small bundle of astragalus root, and only two pieces of codonopsis root.

"There's only this much Codonopsis pilosula left; it's in short supply this month."

"I'll take them all. Also, please get me some Angelica dahurica, safflower, and Clematis armandii."

Angelica dahurica reduces swelling, safflower promotes blood circulation, and Clematis chinensis is applied externally; these herbs were all prescribed for Lao Wei.

Old Wei's leg can only be warmed by the fire; he needs medicine to force the cold out of the bone crevices.

This medicine cost Chen Shi eleven yuan and thirty cents.

He felt a pang of heartache as he counted the money. Reborn, this was the first time he had money in his hands. Spending it felt great, but it also hurt.

But Chen Xiulan's health couldn't be restored by brown sugar water alone, and if Lao Wei's leg dragged on for another winter, he wouldn't be able to get out of the ditch by spring. His past experience told him that some money couldn't be saved.

He then went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought two jin of peach shortbread, a bag of sugar cubes, and a box of clam oil. He also bought several feet of black corduroy to make shoe uppers for Ya Ya and picked out a pair of cotton shoes. Chen Xiulan's feet were about size 37 or 38, and after gesturing for a while, he asked the salesperson to help him choose a pair of black shoes with thick soles and substantial cotton padding inside. Passing by a general store, he also bought a small bamboo basket, about the size of a palm, for Chen Xiulan to use for storing her needlework.

He had about forty yuan left in his hand, which he put into his inner pocket close to his skin.

When I rushed back to the truck assembly point, Old Zhou was squatting on the shaft of the truck, puffing on his pipe. "You're finally here. If you had been any later, I would have left you behind."

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

By the time the cart left the city, the sun was already almost setting.

The journey was slow, the days were slow, and a day would pass in the blink of an eye if you did anything. Chen Shi leaned against the side of the carriage, his hands in his sleeves, feeling for the money and the half-burnt cigarette holder in his inner pocket.

Chen Shi got out of the car and saw a person and a dog squatting at the gate of the courtyard from afar.

Ya Ya was wrapped in Chen Shi's old sheepskin coat, the hem of which trailed on the snow. Huang Er squatted at her feet, its ears perked up.

"Uncle!" Ya Ya jumped up, almost tripping over her sheepskin coat. Chen Shi quickly took two steps forward, caught her, and held her steadily in his arms.

"Didn't I tell you not to wait outside? It's so cold!"

"I want to see my uncle as soon as possible."

"Do you miss your uncle, or do you want him to bring you something delicious?" Chen Shi asked, picking up Ya Ya.

"I want both," Ya Ya said, squirming in his arms.

Chen Shi laughed and kissed Ya Ya, "Let's go home and eat something delicious."

Upon entering the house, Chen Xiulan was sewing shoe soles. Xiaoman was fast asleep in her stroller, her little fists clenched tightly.

"Sold...sold?" Chen Xiulan stopped what she was doing, her voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible tension.

"They're sold." Chen Shi placed the items one by one on the kang (a heated brick bed), "peach shortbread, sugar cubes, cloth, and your cotton shoes. Try them on to see if they fit."

Chen Xiulan looked at the new cotton shoes, rubbing her hand on her apron before daring to touch them. "Why buy these? The old ones are still wearable."

"The toes of these old shoes are practically split open. They've been patched so many times, why are you still patching them?" Chen Shi shoved the shoes into her hands. "Try them on."

Chen Xiulan took off her old cotton shoes. She put on the new shoes, stepped in them, and they fit perfectly.

She took off her shoes, placed them in the warmest corner of the kang (heated brick bed), and covered them with an old cloth.

He picked up the medicine packet again, unwrapped the oil paper, and smelled it.

"Angelica sinensis...Codonopsis pilosula?"

"Oh, you recognize this? It's for making chicken soup for you. Sis, you were really deprived during your postpartum period, just drinking brown sugar water won't be enough, you need to nourish yourself properly." Chen Shi pointed to several other packets, "These herbs, angelica, safflower, and clematis, are for Uncle Wei's leg."

Chen Xiulan glanced at him, her expression complex. "Are you going to deliver it to Uncle Wei?"

"Yes. His leg can't be dragged on any longer."

Chen Xiulan put away all the medicine packets, staring blankly at the packet of angelica root.

She had seen Chen Mancang buy this once when she was a child. That year, her mother was in poor health after giving birth to Chen Shi, and Chen Mancang made a special trip to the county town.

Her mother took the angelica root for two months and recovered. Later, her mother passed away, but she remembered that herb.

Beside the kang (a heated brick bed), Ya Ya was dividing up peach shortbread.

"One piece for Mother, one piece for Uncle, one piece for Second Grandmother, one piece for Uncle Li Cheng... one piece for Huang Er..."

Dogs can't eat sweets.

"Then... the piece of yellow fungus is mine too!"

Ya Ya quickly stacked her two peach shortbread pieces together, protecting them with her little hands.