Push the door and enter the house.

The three little ones are lying on the kang, with their feet tucked under the quilt, and they are reading comics together attentively.

Xu Qing walked over and took a look, which frightened the three little ones into panic.

Xu Xiaoya grinned and said:

"Brother, we have been studying for a while, just watch it for a short while."

Xu Aiguo knew he was wrong, so he quickly put the comic away and handed it to Xu Qing with his head lowered.

Xu Fengming curled his lips, with a look on his face that was still full of meaning. He reached out and grabbed the Chinese textbook beside him and started flipping through it.

Xu Qing knew that the three of them were young and still very childlike, so he said:

"Okay, you guys have fun today, but you have to read a lot tomorrow."

The little girl immediately rushed to Xu Qing's side, hugged Xu Qing with her arms, and said happily:

"I knew my eldest brother loved us the most."

Xu Fengming threw the textbook aside with a sigh, grabbed the comic strip, lay on the kang, and continued reading with gusto.

Xu Qing put the shovel away and saw that the briquettes in the stove were almost burning out again. He took five briquettes from outside the door and threw two into the stove.

Then he turned around, closed the door, and headed out of the compound, preparing to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy meat.

When passing through the middle courtyard.

Silly Zhu and Xu Damao were arguing about something, and they were blushing. Yi Zhonghai tried to break up the fight, but pushed Xu Damao back to the backyard.

Xu Qing took a look, tightened his cotton-padded jacket, walked through the middle courtyard and front yard, along the alley, and headed towards the supply and marketing cooperative.

........

Inside the supply and marketing cooperative, it is warm and lively, with many people and many things.

The smell is indescribable. The raw smell of pork, the mutton smell of mutton, the smell of chickens in the chicken coop on the ground, and the earthy smell of cabbage and radishes piled up like a hill, permeate the whole house in confusion.

A dark iron stove was set up in the corner of the wall. The stove was roaring, and a hole was opened in the window for the chimney.

Without a stove, people can’t stay inside in this cold winter.

Today, Saturday, the people who come to buy things are all workers from nearby factories. They are all wearing cotton jackets, cotton trousers, and cotton shoes. They hold money and various tickets in their hands and shout to the salesperson.

The salesperson is very busy, but he is very orderly.

The person who cuts the meat needs to weigh it, and the person who takes the money takes the money. There is no mistake.

Xu Qing reached out and took out five taels of meat coupons from the pocket of his cotton-padded jacket, and handed them to the salesperson together with the one yuan that Qin Huairu paid back.

"Half a catty of five flowers."

The salesperson glanced at the meat ticket, raised his head and raised his neck and shouted to the middle-aged man who was cutting the meat.

"Cut half a pound of pork belly."

Then he started looking for money for Xu Qing.

When the meat tickets were first issued, they were divided once and could not be divided again.

Therefore, after buying the meat today, I can’t buy more this month. I can only wait until the factory pays wages next month and reissues meat tickets.

After receiving the money handed back by the salesperson, Xu Qing lowered his head and counted it again. Seventy-six cents was the right amount.

Then he put it in his pocket, turned around and walked towards the meat stall. At this time, the man who cut the meat cut half a catty with a sharp knife, weighed it, asked for it, and tied it with a hemp rope and handed it over.

Xu Qing carried half a catty of meat and had already thought about it. After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, he found a deserted place and cut it into two pieces.

Half a catty becomes one catty, and you can eat two meals.

Xu Qing reached out and lifted the cotton curtain at the door of the supply and marketing cooperative.

When I looked around, I saw Ma Jiefang, who used to go to high school, riding an old bicycle with a vinegar bottle stuffed in his chest.

Ma Jiefang rode all the way, his face turned red from the cold, and when he saw Xu Qing, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he grinned:

"Hey, Xu Qing, I haven't seen you for a long time. I miss you so much. If you don't study, what are you doing now?"

"Go to work."

"Where?" Ma Jiefang, wearing a military coat, put his bicycle on the ground with a clang, and said with excitement: "Brother, I don't want to read anymore. I will go to work like you in the spring next year."

Xu Qing was very happy to see his old classmate after not seeing him for a long time. But he did not expect that Ma Jiefang would not go to school anymore, which was a bit unexpected.

Ma Jiefang comes from a good family. His father works as the section chief of the Security Section of the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill. The family is in a good situation.

Although there are five sisters above, Ma Jiefang is the only boy in their family. Three of the five sisters are married. Not to mention, the family has received a lot of gifts.

Ma Jiefang said these things before, so Xu Qing remembered them.

"Liberation, why don't you want to read it anymore? With your family's conditions, it's not a problem?"

"Hey, don't mention it, I got fired for fighting."

Ma Jiefang took out the vinegar bottle from his chest and stuffed it into his cotton trousers pocket.

He dug out a box of Huazi from his military coat, handed one to Xu Qing, and took out a gasoline lighter. He turned the flint and started a fire. After lighting it for Xu Qing, he lowered his head and lit the cigarette at the corner of his mouth.

He took a sip and said:

"Xu Qing, do you still remember Liu Toad, who was a senior in our school? That kid took advantage of the fact that his brother was a bastard. Last month, someone blocked me and asked me for a cigarette."

"I was with Li Guohua and Wang Erniu from our class at that time."

"It turned out that the boy saw that it was a good cigarette, so he snatched it away. He even shouted that he asked me to bring him a box of Xiaojing the day after tomorrow. Do you think I can bear it, brother?"

Xu Qing leaned against the wall at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative and asked: "Then you will take action?"

"Well, among our buddies, is there any one who is naughty?" Ma Jiefang held a cigarette in his mouth and gestured with his hands:

"At that time, I broke off a brick from the back wall of our school and hit Liu Toad on the head."

"Xu Qing, you don't know. That guy Liu Toad looks fierce, but he's actually a softie."

"Don't expect me to bully people all day long. I didn't expect that when I opened my head, I was so scared that I wet my crotch."

"I greeted Li Guohua and Er Niu, and the three of us beat up Liu Toad's gang and chased them through seven or eight alleys. Only those few boys could barely catch up, otherwise I would have to kill them all one by one.

It’s too late!”

Xu Qingdao: "What happened next?"

Ma Jiefang spread his hands: "That coward Liu Toad and his mother told the school that I bullied him and led a group of people to beat him for no reason."

"I pointed out Li Guohua and Erniu at that time."

Xu Qing took a breath and said, "Then you didn't tell the truth?"

"No, bro, I didn't plan to study in the first place, so I just took over the whole thing."

"Anyway, even if I tell the truth, the school will still record the punishment, and then Guohua and Erniu will be implicated."

"The two of them are determined to go to college. If they are punished, it will be difficult for them to go to college in the future."

Xu Qing remained silent.

These days, education is very strictly controlled. Once someone is punished, the university is almost hopeless.

"Hey, let's not talk about this anymore, Xu Qing, where do you work now? Is it the Red Star Steel Rolling Plant? I heard my dad say that he seems to have seen you a few times in the factory." Ma Jiefang turned to Xu Qing:

"But you also know that my dad doesn't have a very good memory. You came to my house several times, but he didn't remember it."

"It's my fifth sister who remembers you. Hehe, she always asks me about you."

"If you have nothing to do today, come to my house to play."

Xu Qing hurriedly shook his head and said:

"I just bought some meat and I want to make dumplings for my younger brothers and sisters when I get home. I'm not as lucky as you. There are five sisters on top. Even if the sky falls, there will be someone to carry them."

"Xu Qing, don't talk about such irrelevant things. To be honest, I feel like my fifth sister has fallen in love with you. Please be more careful."

Xu Qingwuyu, Ma Jiefang's fifth sister, he has met several times. Not only is she pretty, pretty and good-looking, she also works in the art troupe.

But Xu Qing thought that he was still an apprentice and had to take care of his younger brothers and sisters.

I don’t think about my own affairs at all, and I don’t have the time or energy to think about major life events.

Xu Qing smiled and said:

"If you don't talk about me, let's talk about you. You don't go to school and have never thought about becoming a soldier?"

"Don't mention this." Ma Jiefang blew out a smoke ring and said with a depressed face: "My cousin is a soldier. Since he came back last year, he has always disliked me. I don't want to be a soldier. It's too hard. Besides, my dad

I’m just a single person, but I’m reluctant to let you go.”

While talking, a cigarette was burned out, Xu Qing said:

"Let's talk when we have time. Go ahead and get jealous."

"Hey, let's talk next time. By the way, you still live in the same compound now, right? If I have time, I'll have a drink with you in the evening." Ma Jiefang tilted his body and took out the vinegar bottle from his cotton trousers pocket without forgetting it.

Feeling emotional.

"In the past, when I was studying, I would drink, and the school would take care of it, and my family would take care of it. Now it's better. I don't go to school anymore, and no one takes care of it. Finally, I don't have to be secretive."

"See you later!"

"See you later!"

After Xu Qing finished speaking, he turned around, picked up the pork, put his hands in his sleeves, and walked quickly back to the courtyard.
Chapter completed!