Chapter 136: Chunfang Fell into the River
Lu Zhenping explained that he actually didn’t spend any money on those things; his comrades from Hai City heard that he wanted to buy them and specially purchased them from the Friendship Store. When he went home to get the money from his wife, his comrades even teased him a bit.
Shen Meng couldn’t relate to this camaraderie, but she was willing to offer more care.
When Uncle Guai came with the ox cart, he saw two sacks placed in front of them and shouted "Oh," but didn’t say much. They had greeted Uncle Guai, so he made an extra trip in the afternoon to pick the three of them up.
Lu Zhenping handed Uncle Guai 50 cents and a lunchbox.
"What’s this?"
"We had a gathering with comrades today, and one of the dishes, braised fish, was too salty and hardly anyone touched it, so I scooped it out. We’ll share it between our two families."
Upon hearing this, Uncle Guai laughed cheerfully. He took it and glanced; the braised fish, somewhat frozen, emitted a mix of fragrance and a faint fishy smell, and there were holes poked by chopsticks on top. Only then did he feel at ease to take it.
Country folks aren’t too particular; if the food is good, they’ll eat it. Uncle Guai, seeing that Lu Zhenping and his wife could still think of his family even when they went out for a meal, was overjoyed. On the way back, the old ox’s behind made popping noises, not at all like the heartache it showed when coming to the county.