Chapter 70: Flashlight
The three entered the cooperative. To get in, you had to lift a heavy cotton curtain. The moment the curtain was lifted, the warm air inside collided with the cold air outside, instantly creating a cloud of white vapor. A salesclerk by the door rolled her eyes; she got hit with a blast of cold air every time someone came in.
Wang Defa walked in front, taking the lead. A few scattered customers were inside, picking out items. The salesclerks were similarly listless, each minding their own business. Someone who recognized Wang Defa offered a greeting, but it was a very casual one—not the deep-seated, bootlicking flattery people would show to leaders decades later.
"Comrade Wendong, you go ahead and see what you want to buy. When you’ve decided, come find me in the director’s office in the back. I’ll be waiting there for you. If you’re short on any ration tickets, I’ll have their director help sort it out. After you’re done shopping, I’ll go back with you and we can stop by to see Old Zheng."
"Alright!"
Zhao Wendong nodded in agreement and began to browse the county cooperative with Zhao Wenwu.
The county cooperative was larger than the Commune’s and had a more complete selection of goods, even divided into several sections. Still, it was nothing compared to the future, not even as good as a random department store. One had to remember, this was the entire county’s one-stop shopping center, the hub for all commercial goods. Compared to later times, the variety was meager and there was hardly any choice. Customers were more likely to ask, "Do you have this?" rather than "What kind do you have?"
This year was not only a year of natural disasters but also a period of severe internal strife and external threats. It was a time of extreme material scarcity, so even the elderly had to tighten their belts to get by.
In the deepest part of the cooperative, a separate space had been sectioned off with wooden planks. It was guarded by a dedicated person, and the shelves even had locks. This was the area for non-staple foods. With grain becoming increasingly scarce, all sorts of processed goods were now under exceptionally strict control.
This was also Zhao Wendong’s first stop. However, the shelves were mostly empty, except for some starch noodles. Things like dried noodles were completely sold out. The starch noodles required ration tickets, so he’d have to ask Wang Defa for help later.
Behind a long counter in the adjacent area were the pickled vegetable section, the condiment section, and the completely empty meat and egg section.
The condiment section had bulk soybean oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, leavening agent, baking soda, brown sugar, and even some rare white sugar. There was also bulk soybean paste?
Buy!
He hadn’t brought any containers, so Zhao Wendong bought a few new small plastic pails specifically to hold these items. Unfortunately, the white sugar required ration tickets and was only supplied to certain designated people.
The pickled vegetable section also had a decent selection: pickled radish strips, pickled mustard tubers, potherb mustard, and a small amount of pickled cabbage. Keep buying.
No container? No problem. He just bought a new, large water crock to put everything in. Zhao Wendong also stumbled upon some pickled sweet garlic. It was in very limited supply, and finding it was pure luck. He bought it all!
Zhao Wendong’s nouveau riche-like spending spree attracted a lot of attention. A young salesgirl couldn’t help but pay him more mind, her gaze turning much more fervent. But he ignored it all. He had been a bachelor for two lifetimes; Lin Zhiyin was his one and only.
Passing the snack section, Zhao Wenwu saw the treats inside and froze in his tracks. Seeing his second brother like that, and thinking how his parents had probably never eaten candy in their entire lives, Zhao Wendong waved his hand expansively. Keep buying! He’d even take a beating from his mom when he got home. A pound of candy balls, all of the hawthorn cakes, and were those frozen pears and persimmons? Don’t ask, if it’s edible, just bag it up!
Zhao Wenwu was grinning from ear to ear. The moment the salesclerk finished weighing them, he eagerly grabbed a candy ball and popped it into his mouth.
"Third Bro! Sweet! So sweet!"
He was so delighted his eyes narrowed into slits. After speaking, he tried to grab one for Zhao Wendong, who quickly refused in alarm.
On the south side of the first floor was a row of tall counters, topped with bolts of fabric. A few ready-made garments were also hanging on the wall.
’The family needs to get out of these tattered clothes.’ Zhao Wendong first bought a bolt of coarse cotton cloth. The khaki cloth required ration tickets, and rural folk wouldn’t bear to wear something so fine for manual labor anyway, so Zhao Wendong didn’t buy any. He saw some yarn and thought about buying some for Chen Yanmei and Song Xiaoyu to knit sweaters, but then he remembered they probably didn’t know how to knit, so he gave up the idea.
The ready-made clothes consisted of cotton-padded jackets and trousers, all in a single, drab gray color and style. Zhao Wendong counted on his fingers and bought fifteen sets straight away. He did the same for cotton-padded shoes, getting a new pair for everyone. When he saw there were also felted wool boots, he was overjoyed and bought five pairs. They were made of wool, waterproof and slip-resistant, perfect for wearing in the mountains. Finally, he saw some dog-skin hats and bought four of those too. Their current cotton hats were old and didn’t provide enough warmth for the mountains.
He also bought some other necessities like sewing needles, thimbles, cotton thread, buttons, and elastic bands—all things needed for daily mending at home. He also bought a new pair of socks for everyone in the family. Their current socks were not only stiff as boards, but everyone’s—man or woman, young or old—were riddled with holes.
There were two grades of cotton quilts, A and B, both requiring ration tickets. Zhao Wendong planned to ask Wang Defa for help with those later. Having more or less finished on the first floor, the two of them went up to the second. It was Zhao Wenwu’s first time on a staircase. He had just stomped his feet hard twice when Zhao Wendong quickly pulled him back. If he made the stairs collapse, they couldn’t afford the damages even if they sold themselves.
The second floor started with an area selling all sorts of tools, like hoes, sickles, shovels, and pickaxes, as well as hemp rope, burlap sacks, iron nails, and wire. It was basically the equivalent of a future hardware store. With more and more stuff to carry, Zhao Wendong bought a few more burlap sacks.
The furniture selection was limited and the styles were ugly. Zhao Wendong bought a large dining table. The one at home had a wobbly leg and shook whenever they ate. He could have a carpenter build a new one, but carpenters were a scarce trade in this era; their village didn’t have a single one. ’Besides,’ Zhao Wendong thought, ’our rundown house isn’t worthy of all new furniture anyway.’ At that moment, the idea of building a new house sparked in his mind.
Building a house was a major undertaking. Before, he wouldn’t have dared to think about it without money, but now he would have at least a few hundred yuan left over. If he saved up a bit more during this disaster year, perhaps they could move directly into a house of blue bricks and tiles, like the cooperative building. Those kinds of houses were still common in the countryside fifty or sixty years later—sturdy and practical.
The only problem was that the cost, labor, and materials required were no small amount. The hardest part would be the materials. Whether red bricks or blue tiles, they were all state-planned resources at this time and not supplied to individuals.
Further inside, they were selling kitchenware. Zhao Wendong bought a complete set of everything, from large iron woks for the house down to chopsticks and spoons. He basically bought one of everything in the kitchen supplies section.
There was also a school supplies section selling pencils, notebooks, and the like. They didn’t need these things for now, but seeing them stirred something in Zhao Wendong. ’This isn’t sixty years in the future,’ he thought. ’Right now, knowledge can truly change one’s fate. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. The schools are all closed now... maybe I can do something about that, even if it’s just for Little Tuanzi and Shitou.’
"Third Bro, a flashlight!"
Zhao Wenwu had suddenly spotted something and was pointing and shouting. Zhao Wendong hurried over and saw several "Worker-Peasant" brand flashlights displayed in the counter.
"How much for this flashlight?"
The salesclerk on the second floor didn’t know Zhao Wendong had been brought by Wang Defa. If he hadn’t just bought a huge pile of kitchenware, she probably would have told him to get lost. How could an ordinary peasant possibly afford a flashlight?
"Five yuan. The batteries are fifty cents each."
"Alright. Give me one flashlight and four batteries. Ring it up."
The salesclerk was stunned. It took her a long moment to snap out of it and go write up the bill. When Zhao Wenwu saw that Zhao Wendong had actually bought the flashlight, his face lit up with excitement. He looked all around, muttering constantly to himself like a little kid who had just gotten a beloved new toy.
"Hehe, our family has a flashlight now!"