Mingbei looked up and saw Zhenzhen's sinister smile. He then looked at the Maoken on the ground and shivered with fear. Zhenzhen is the one who likes to eat the most in the Li family. Although Mingnan and Mingbei also think about eating all day, they usually crave meat, chicken, rabbit, roe deer, as long as it is meat. Their favorite is naturally big fat pork. They can eat a bowl every day without getting tired of it. Zhenzhen is different. Although she also likes to eat meat, she can't eat much. She prefers snacks such as pine nuts, hazelnuts, Maoken, and wild fruits all over the mountains. She wishes she could eat these things as meals all day long.
In Mingbei's impression, Zhenzhen has been obsessed with all kinds of wild fruits and dried fruits since she was a little over one year old. She can tolerate her brothers teasing her however they want, but if anyone dares to spoil her snacks, Zhenzhen will definitely yell at the whole family, and then watch with glee as her grandmother beats them with her pipe.
Mingbei was worried when he saw the scattered mao ken on the ground. This thing was too scarce. It was usually only available during the Chinese New Year, and each person only had two taels of it. These mao ken were obtained because Old Lady Li saw Zhenzhen loved to eat them, so she specially found some seeds and planted more than ten trees by the edge of her yard. In total, she didn't harvest many seeds until autumn. Zhenzhen asked her sister-in-law to help fry a handful every time she was hungry. After eating them sparingly for almost a year, there were still more than two taels left. Zhenzhen thought about watching a movie today, so she specially asked her sister-in-law to fry them and bring them to her. In the end, she didn't eat any of them and they all fell to the ground.
"How about I pick them up for you and wash them at home before eating them?" Mingbei felt sad when he saw the melon seeds all over the ground, but since the melon seeds were covered in mud, Zhenzhen probably wouldn't eat them if he picked them up, because this little girl loves cleanliness the most.
Mingbei was so scared by Zhenzhen's sharp eyes that he dared not move even though he was holding onto his bicycle. It was just like the day when he met Dahuang. It was too scary. Mingbei gritted his teeth and reluctantly took out a dime: "How about I give you a dime to buy something delicious?"
Zhenzhen glanced at the dime and said with disdain: "What's the use? Melon seeds are only 2 taels per person during festivals. I don't even have a dime ticket, what can I do with it?"
Mingbei looked at the remaining 40 cents in his hand with distress: "The movie ticket is 17 cents, please at least give me some."
Zhenzhen looked at Mingbei and said, "Okay, I don't want a penny. When I get home, I'll tell Dad and Grandma that you threw me to the ground while riding your bike."
"Here, here, here, I'll give it to you." Mingbei looked at the notes in his hand in confusion, and after thinking for a long time, he stuffed another dime into his pocket: "I'll give you another dime, and I'll pay for the four cents for the movie ticket myself, is that ok?"
Zhenzhen took the two dimes and put them in her pocket, then patted the seat happily: "It's okay. If you throw me down again, I'll tell Dad."
Mingbei shrank his neck when he heard this: "Don't tell our father, in his eyes, this bicycle is much more dear to him than my own son."
Zhenzhen rolled her eyes at him: "What nonsense are you talking about!"
"Puchi..." A crisp laugh was heard. Mingbei and Zhenzhen looked to the side and found that the little girl in red was looking at them and laughing.
Seeing the two of them turning around, the little girl felt a little embarrassed: "Just now you fell down so loudly that I got scared. I was just about to come over to help you, but you two started bickering. I didn't want to interrupt you. Are you okay?"
Mingbei smiled foolishly twice, scratched his head, and didn't know what to say. His ears and neck turned red.
Zhenzhen really didn't understand why she was blushing without saying anything, but looking at Mingbei's expression, her mind must have gone blank. She quickly greeted the little girl: "Hello, sister. I'm sorry I scared you just now."
"It's okay, it's okay. I'm glad you didn't get hurt." The little girl stroked her braids and smiled, "Are you going to the movies? Then you better hurry up. The movie starts at 9:30. It's probably already 9 o'clock now."
Zhenzhen didn't have a watch and didn't know the time, but it was almost half past eight when they left, so it must be past nine now. Mingbei came to his senses, pulled out a rag from under the seat to wipe the dirt off the body of the car, straightened the handlebars, and quickly asked Zhenzhen to get in the car: "Hurry up, or we'll be late."
Zhenzhen looked back at Mingbei and quickly asked the girl, "Are you going to the movies too, little sister? Why don't you sit on the back of the bicycle and let my brother take us there, or we'll be late."
The girl blushed and glanced at Li Mingbei, waving her hands repeatedly: "No need, just go over there, it's not far away, and I have tickets so I can go in and watch it directly."
Zhenzhen looked at the girl regretfully and said, "Okay, see you later." Mingbei blushed and looked at the girl, said "goodbye" quickly, and rode out on his bike.
Before Zhenzhen noticed, Mingbei had already ridden seven or eight meters away. Zhenzhen was so angry that she jumped up and down on the spot: "Li Mingbei, dare you ride faster?"
Mingbei then realized that he had forgotten about Zhenzhen. He braked quickly and waited for Zhenzhen to jump on the back seat before he started riding again. It took Li Mingbei only five minutes to reach the two-kilometer distance. Zhenzhen patted Mingbei on the back with a puzzled look on her face: "Why are you riding so fast?"
Mingbei smiled foolishly: "I'm a little embarrassed."
Zhenzhen stared at him speechlessly, not knowing what to say. Mingbei found a shady place to lock his bicycle, took out money to buy two movie tickets, and quickly took Zhenzhen inside.
The movie that has been showing at the Hydrolysis Plant Cinema recently is "Land Mine Warfare". Beicha is a remote place, and new movies are released later than in other places. I heard from Mingdong that the cinemas in Bingcheng started showing "Land Mine Warfare" last summer, but it has only been shown in Beicha for two months.
Although the movie ticket indicated a few rows and seats, you could basically sit anywhere you wanted. Mingbei and Zhenzhen arrived a little late, and the theater was almost full. Mingbei stretched his neck and saw that there were still a few seats in the first row, so he pulled Zhenzhen to move forward. Zhenzhen pulled him over and took him to the last row to sit down.
Mingbei rubbed his arm with a grin: "Sister, why are you so strong? I couldn't even pull you just now."
"It's natural, otherwise Dahuang wouldn't listen to me so much." Under Mingbei's worshipful eyes, Zhenzhen opened her cloth bag, took out the kettle and drank some honey water, then took out a small square trash box that she had folded herself and put it on her lap, and grabbed a handful of pine nuts from the cloth bag and ate them.
In order to eat pine nuts and hazelnuts while watching movies, Zhenzhen used her supernatural power to make a crack in the pine nuts and hazelnuts at home, so that she could eat them by just peeling them. Throwing a pine nut into her mouth, Zhenzhen looked around curiously. This cinema only had one screening room, which could accommodate about a hundred people. There was a simple movie screen hanging on the stage. Most of the people watching the movie were children, chattering about the plot of the movie.
The two teenagers sitting in front of Zhen Zhen seemed to have watched it more than once. They argued endlessly about one of the plots, both of them were angry with each other: "If you don't believe me, let's watch it later. Whoever loses, please watch the game."
"Okay, let's compete. I've watched seven games. I don't believe I will lose to you."
Zhenzhen had a very unhappy face. It was not enough to watch a movie seven times, and she was planning to watch it an eighth time. She was just like the tap water in the 1960s.
As the movie was about to start, people continued to come in. However, at this time, people liked to squeeze to the front to watch movies, and there were still a few empty seats in the last row.
Suddenly, a red figure came in from the exit. Mingbei, who had been absent-minded, immediately brightened up his eyes. He stood up as if he wanted to wave to someone, but suddenly he seemed to remember something and sat down awkwardly.
Zhenzhen ate pine nuts and smiled. The girl looked around but couldn't find a good seat, so she walked to the last row. Mingbei stared at her and swallowed nervously. He turned his head to the other side in panic, pretending not to see her.
Zhenzhen was amused by Mingbei's awkward look. When Mingbei didn't know what to do, the lights suddenly went out and a ray of light hit the movie screen. Mingbei subconsciously turned his head to look to the side, and saw the girl sitting next to him in the faint light of the screen.
Although Zhenzhen watched many old anti-Japanese movies when she was a child, she was very impressed by "Tunnel Warfare" and could even hum the theme song. Comparatively speaking, she had basically no impression of "Land Mine Warfare" except for some clips. Therefore, Zhenzhen was attracted as soon as the movie started. Not only did her hands keep peeling pine nuts, her eyes never left the screen.
Mingbei couldn't watch a movie all year round, and this time he got the chance thanks to Zhenzhen. But he couldn't concentrate at this moment. When he thought of the beautiful girl in red sitting next to him, his palms began to sweat.
Zhenzhen was completely immersed in the movie at this time. She didn't even eat the pine nuts. She hugged her kettle and laughed like a chicken and a pig, which made Mingbei unable to concentrate. After the movie was over and the lights came on again, Mingbei came back to his senses. When he thought of the girl sitting next to him, he wanted to stick himself to the chair. He was so nervous that he didn't even dare to move his head.
Zhenzhen wiped away the tears from her laughter, wrapped up the pine nut shells she was eating, turned around and greeted the girl next to her: "Hello, little sister, we meet again."
"Hello." The girl was particularly enthusiastic towards Zhenzhen, seeing that she was white and tender like a doll. "You are not from the hydrolysis plant, are you? You look unfamiliar."
"Well, my dad works at the grain warehouse, and my family lives south of the railway track." Zhenzhen handed her cloth bag to Mingbei and quickly introduced herself: "This is my brother, Li Mingbei, and I'm Li Mingzhen."
"My name is Yu Wanqiu." Seeing someone coming to clear the area, Yu Wanqiu quickly stood up and called Zhenzhen, "Let's talk outside."
Following the flow of people outside the cinema, Li Mingbei hurriedly pushed his bicycle. Zhenzhen pulled Yu Wanqiu and said, "Sister Wanqiu, I used to go to the bathhouse when I came to the hydrolysis factory, and I never really visited other places. Is there anything fun in your factory?"
"Yes, our supply and marketing cooperative is big, and the buying is more relaxed than outside. Some small things don't require tickets. How about I take you to have a look?" Yu Wanqiu looked cheerful and enthusiastic, and she didn't mind Zhenzhen's young age. The two of them seemed to get along well when she talked about all kinds of things.
The hydrolysis factory supply and marketing cooperative is not far from the cinema, and it is only a ten-meter walk away. The hydrolysis factory has many people and the supply and marketing cooperative is also large, with two doors in front and back. There are quite a few people inside, some are buying things and some are just here to watch the fun. Yu Wanqiu was afraid that Zhenzhen would be squeezed by the crowd, so she enthusiastically held her hand and went to each counter to look.
All daily necessities required tickets, but needles, thread, face and hand wipes, pens, erasers, etc. were more lenient. Zhenzhen also had 70 cents in her pocket, 50 cents was secretly stuffed by Old Lady Li, and the remaining 20 cents was extorted from Mingbei. In this era, 70 cents was considered a lot of money. Zhenzhen touched her pocket and wanted to spend the money.
After walking around the supply and marketing cooperative, Zhen Zhen's eyes were fixed on the high-end candies and cakes in the glass cabinet. She usually bought the biscuits and fruit candies at home with coupons, so she couldn't buy much, only a pack of biscuits or a few candies a month. In addition, there was another kind of thing that could be bought without coupons, which was the high-end milk candies and egg cakes on the counter. No coupons were required and there was no limit on the quantity.
Zhenzhen pointed at the milk candy and asked the salesperson: "Auntie, how much is the milk candy?"
The salesman looked her up and down, and seeing that she was dressed neatly, he smiled a little: "Two cents a piece."
"How much is that pastry?" Zhenzhen asked again.
"Egg cake, one dime a piece."
Mingbei smacked his lips and secretly tugged at Zhenzhen's sleeve: "This is too expensive. It's only a dime and it's gone in two bites. It's not worth it."
Zhenzhen looked at Mingbei, blinked her eyes and said seriously: "But I want to try it." Although this thing may not be better than the ones in later generations, but I have traveled to this era and I always feel like I am missing out if I don't try everything.
Mingbei helplessly dug out five cents from his pocket: "I can only afford two candies for you."
Zhenzhen smiled and glanced at him before turning away: "I have my own money." She took out seventy cents from her pocket and handed it to the salesperson: "Auntie, I want six pieces of cake and five pieces of milk candy."
The salesperson wrote a receipt for Zhenzhen to pay, and helped her pack the cake and milk candy swiftly. Mingbei watched Zhenzhen spend 70 cents without blinking, and he felt distressed and said, "You could just buy one piece to try, but you bought six. Oh, it's such a waste."
Zhenzhen smiled and put the cake into the cloth bag, and handed a piece of milk candy to Mingbei: "Buy it back for grandma, mom, sister-in-law and Roubao to try. We finally got out, shouldn't we each have a piece?"
Mingbei waved his hand while holding the candy in his mouth: "I won't eat it. If I eat it, I'll be so upset that I won't be able to sleep at night. I'd better leave it to you."
Zhenzhen looked at Mingbei with joy and took out another piece of land for Yu Wanqiu: "Sister Wanqiu, please have some candy."
Yu Wanqiu waved her hand and said, "Keep it for yourself. If I want to eat it, I'll buy it myself."
"I don't care if you bought it yourself, this is my treat." Zhenzhen couldn't help but put the milk candy into her hand: "Next time I come to the hydrolysis plant, I want to play with you. Do you dislike me because I'm young and don't want to pay attention to me, so you don't want to eat my candy?"
Yu Wanqiu was amused by Zhenzhen. She took the candy, peeled off the wrapper and put it in her mouth: "Thank you for the candy."
After watching a movie and going shopping, it was almost noon. Zhenzhen was afraid that their family would be waiting for them for dinner, so she didn't dare to delay any longer. After saying goodbye to Yu Wanqiu, she quickly let Mingbei ride his bike home.
As soon as she entered the yard, Zhenzhen jumped up from the back seat of the bicycle and ran into the house, shouting, "Grandma, Mom, I bought you some delicious food."
Hearing the sound, Roubao stood up from the kang and stretched his neck to look outside: "What did aunt buy?"
Zhenzhen took out an oil-paper bag from her cloth bag and opened it carefully: "Cake, made of egg white flour and sugar, smell it and see if it smells good."
Roubao leaned over it and sniffed it gently. He couldn't help but open his mouth and take a bite. His eyes lit up instantly: "Delicious!"
"It's delicious, isn't it?" Zhenzhen pinched Roubao's chubby face and pointed at the one he had bitten: "This is yours. You can take it yourself if your auntie hasn't washed her hands."
Roubao picked up one and looked at the others reluctantly: "Roubao wants to eat two."
"No, each person can only eat one." Zhenzhen washed her hands and happily put the cake into Mrs. Li's mouth: "Grandma, try the cake I bought."
Old Mrs. Li hurriedly backed away: "I won't eat it. It's such an expensive thing. Keep it for yourself."
"One piece each. Try it. If you don't want to eat it, I won't eat it either." Zhenzhen finally persuaded Mrs. Li to take a piece by acting like a spoiled child and threatening her. Mrs. Li took a small bite carefully and quickly handed the rest to Zhenzhen: "Just take a bite to taste it. It's a waste if you eat too much."
When it came to Wang Sufen and Guihua, they were reluctant to even taste the food. Zhenzhen felt a little depressed holding the cake. She had several boxes of gold bars on the mountain, but her family was reluctant to even eat a cake. If only there was some way to exchange them for more food and daily necessities, that would be great. Looking down at her body, Zhenzhen sighed in frustration. She was still too small and really wanted to grow up quickly.
Zhenzhen wrapped the remaining cake and put it on the cupboard, then took out two pieces of candy from her pocket and gave them to Roubao. Roubao took the candy and was looking at Zhenzhen happily when suddenly a roar from the yard startled them both.
"Li Mingbei, get out here!" Li Muwu was furious as he stood in front of his beloved bicycle holding a tape measure.
Li Mingbei squatted behind the door and trembled, pretending to be calm and sticking half of his head out: "What... What happened..."
"Did you drop the bike?" Li Muwu's face turned green with distress: "The handlebars moved one centimeter to the left. You must have fallen to the right."
Li Mingbei was almost scared to death. He had never seen a ruler measuring a bicycle after riding it. How could this thing measure a deviation of one centimeter? He had clearly checked several times before entering the door!
Zhenzhen was completely impressed by Li Muwu. In front of his beloved bicycle, Li Muwu's intelligence and intuition were like Conan possessed!
The author has something to say: My mother grew up as the daughter of a hydrolysis factory. Her favorite thing was watching movies, but movie tickets were quite expensive. In order to watch movies more times, she and her friends tried all kinds of tricks, such as picking up torn ticket stubs and gluing them together, and then asking the ticket inspector to tear off the other side the next time when there were many people around, or hiding in the toilet. Out of ten times, she would succeed once or twice when the theater forgot to clear the space, or she would go directly to the projection room. The neighbors would not chase her away when they saw her, so my mother’s best record was watching four repeated movies a day. I’m so impressed!
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I remember the price of the candy very clearly because my grandma once told me that my mother loved crying when she was a child and could only be coaxed by candy. A piece of candy cost two cents, and she would stop crying after being given two cents. I suspect she was crying because she was greedy~~