Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

Zhao Fengying felt very comforted by her son's filial piety.

Besides, since I've already bought it, I can't return it.

He just laughed and scolded, "You little rascal, you really go all out when it comes to buying things," before continuing his needlework.

Xu Juan knew that her mother had given the last bite to herself yesterday, so her brother said that she was the one who had eaten the sweet food and felt numb.

She immediately stood up from the kang (a heated brick bed), feeling both embarrassed and touched. "Brother, you're so kind."

At the same time, he peeled open a piece of White Rabbit milk candy.

Xu Bei smiled and approached the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), leaning forward to accept the food. "It's good that you know. Thank you, my Xiao Juan."

The White Rabbit milk candy, wrapped in a layer of transparent glutinous rice paper, melts in your mouth, and the rich milky aroma fills your entire mouth, making you feel sweet all over.

Xu Juan smiled happily, "You're welcome. I'm just using what you bought to give back to you."

Then, she picked up another White Rabbit milk candy with its wrapper still on and fed it to Zhao Fengying.

"Mom, you eat too."

Zhao Fengying naturally didn't hesitate to eat it anymore, and opened her mouth with a smile, "Oh my, it tastes so milky. No wonder it's so expensive. My dear girl, don't bother with that, hurry up and eat."

Xu Juan smiled broadly and nodded, then peeled off a piece and put it in her mouth. She didn't even bother to chew it, but instead held it in her mouth and slowly savored it, even squinting her eyes in satisfaction.

Xu Bei didn't cherish the food as much as the mother and daughter did; he quickly chewed and finished off a large piece of White Rabbit candy.

Then, he took out the pay envelope from the inside pocket of his coat, which was hanging up.

"Mom, I earned thirty-six. Give thirty to the family, and I'll keep six for spending money."

"Fine, if you don't have any money, ask me for more."

Zhao Fengying put down her needlework, took the envelope with the hand with the thimble, and said with emotion, "Your father also gave sixty to the family, plus what I earned from selling stools. If your grandmother and aunt hadn't come, our family would definitely have saved a lot this month, and we could have had a prosperous New Year next month."

Upon hearing his mother mention the old lady with bound feet and Xu Dahong, Xu Bei frowned.

But what's coming is already set in stone, and even if he were reborn, he couldn't change it.

However, it wouldn't be a problem to do some small tricks beforehand so that they can't gain any advantage.

"Oh, right, Mom, I went to the city today and met the person who deals in wooden products. He ordered another fifty wooden stools, and I also exchanged some cloth coupons with someone."

Zhao Fengying only paid attention to the first half of the sentence and didn't listen carefully to the second half. She even almost pricked her hand in her excitement. "What? Another fifty orders so quickly? Doesn't that mean I've earned another five yuan commission?"

"My goodness! Your sister and I think it's amazing that we order a dozen or so a day, but you're ordering fifty at a time! We couldn't keep up even if we rode a horse!"

Xu Juan stared wide-eyed at her brother with admiration and respect.

Xu Bei was amused by his mother and sister's reactions. "Then why chase them away? I don't order this much every day. Also, you forgot that I said I exchanged cloth coupons with someone."

Zhao Fengying couldn't help but glare at him. "How much did you exchange? It must have cost a fortune! I really can't let you have any money in your pocket, otherwise you'll just buy whatever you want!"

"Mom, you're wrong," Xu Bei said seriously, trying to deceive me. "I got a great deal. There was a crackdown on speculation and profiteering, and the person in charge gave it to me. It didn't cost much in total."

As he spoke, he took out the cloth coupons he had exchanged with Old Scar for several days from his pocket.

Zhao Fengying and Xu Juan immediately stepped forward and took the cloth ration coupons belonging to their province, examining them carefully.

In those days, cloth coupons were supplied annually. Usually at the beginning of the year, the work unit would notify employees or their families to sign for and collect the coupons at a designated location.

In some more meticulously managed units or neighborhoods, the distribution might be carried out by officials or accountants going door-to-door.

The cloth ration coupons allocated to each person per year were enough to make just one pair of trousers and one shirt, which would consume a person's entire year's supply. Therefore, every family used their cloth ration coupons very frugally.

If you want to buy trendy clothes or fabrics, you need to go to big cities like Beijing or Haicheng. You can't use the fabric coupons from your own province; you need national fabric coupons.

However, with the Lunar New Year just a month away, Xu Bei couldn't travel far for the time being, so even though Lao Ba had some, he wasn't in a hurry to replace them.

In addition, he recalled that around the end of 83, the cloth ration coupon system was abolished, and people were no longer restricted from buying cloth by coupons.

"Mom, it's not too late yet. Find the cloth coupons at home, and let's go to the store in the bureau to buy cloth and make clothes."

Otherwise, once my grandma and aunt arrive, someone else will benefit from it.

Zhao Fengying was furious when she recalled what had happened in previous years, but she hesitated when she thought of Xu Dashan. "Shouldn't we all tear off some cloth to make clothes? Your dad would scream and yell if he found out!"

Xu Bei twitched the corner of his mouth and advised, "Mom, it's better to act first and ask questions later. The real benefit is getting what you want. Anyway, we have new clothes. What's the use of him cursing or yelling afterward?"

Besides, this house doesn't belong to him alone. The cloth ration coupons were issued according to our numbers, and we all earned the money together. I even spent money to buy cloth ration coupons. Why should I selflessly give them to the old lady and the others, and in the end, do I get a kind word in return? I'm already being ungrateful for not getting any benefits!"

Zhao Fengying was successfully persuaded and immediately slipped out of bed to change into her outdoor clothes.

Xu Juan exchanged a glance with Xu Bei from afar, then smiled and pulled her trousers over her cotton-padded trousers.

The mother and her two children quickly got dressed and locked the door.

Xu Bei gripped the handlebars tightly. His younger sister sat on the front of the bike, and his mother sat on the back of the bike.

Braving the cold wind, I rode my bike towards the Forestry Bureau store located next to the bureau building.

Once we arrived at the store, after locking the car outside and going inside, we immediately felt a difference from the cold wind outside; the store was much warmer.

Since it was already December, some families had started preparing for the New Year, so there were quite a few people of all kinds in the store.

Xu Bei and his two companions didn't look at anything else, but instead went straight to the counter selling fabrics.

The long counter was about half a person's height, painted green, with mottled edges.

Under the glass tabletop, there were several yellowed price lists.

Xu Bei glanced at it and saw that it listed prices for various fabrics, including polyester, corduroy, gabardine, khaki, polyester twill, coarse cloth, and plain weave.

Behind the counter was a floor-to-ceiling wooden shelf, each shelf crammed with colorful fabrics.

These fabrics were tightly wrapped around cardboard more than a meter long and stacked vertically on the shelves, like thick, hardcover books.

There were also some pieces of cloth on the counter.

The saleswoman behind the counter was a woman with curly hair, wearing blue arm sleeves and a leather measuring tape around her neck.

She was busy calculating the bill for the previous customer, the abacus beads clicking and clattering.

Xu Bei and the others didn't rush to ask any questions; instead, they started examining the fabrics they could touch at the counter...