Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space-Chapter 662 - 538: Slow Match

The regional department store has two floors and is considered the largest market in the suburbs within a hundred-mile radius.

The crowd at this moment is substantial, comparable to the city itself.

Before entering, you can hear the loudspeaker announcing which items are on the shelves and which flawed items don’t require a ticket.

Zhou Jiao hadn’t heard these announcements for a long time and momentarily thought she was hallucinating. In the past two years, it’s either out of stock, limited per person, or no stock at all so don’t queue.

After walking around with Qiao Na, Zhou Jiao noticed that compared to her first trip to Beijing, the prices of many items had risen significantly, and their quality had become much rougher. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"I’ll queue up to buy fish skin beans first. They’re almost gone. Do you want to buy some for Ping’an? That hawthorn cake and peanuts are great—kids love them. Buy quickly. I missed them the last time."

Zhou Jiao glanced at the crowded crowd and immediately shook her head, "You buy them. I’ll look around the side."

Qiao Na waved her hand, rushed to queue with urgency.

Seeing this, Zhou Jiao couldn’t help but chuckle. Didn’t they say they’d buy fabric? But looking at the food counter crowded with customers, it is evident that food is the most popular.

Strolling inside the mall, surrounded by people, Zhou Jiao looked at her petite frame and decisively gave up moving forward. She couldn’t forget those times some women pushed her until she couldn’t breathe.

Moreover, if a customer dispute accidentally occurs, causing her unwarranted trouble, that would be terrible, so Zhou Jiao is always cautious in crowded places.

From downstairs to upstairs, she found a counter with fewer people, only to find it was selling textiles.

She wasn’t surprised that there were relatively fewer customers here.

Grain tickets are valuable, but cloth tickets aren’t far behind. In previous years, each person in Beijing could get seventeen or eighteen feet; now, for the past two years, she’s only received over seven feet of cloth tickets annually at year-end.

Compared to a few years ago, families are even more constrained now, continuing the days of wearing things new for three years, old for three years, and patching up for another three years.

It’s 1962, and there’s still enduring ahead...

When Qiao Na came over, she saw Zhou Jiao picking scraps of cloth, quickly coming over to stop her. Oh my, using cloth tickets to buy these scraps—are you crazy?

"What are you buying these for? Quickly help me pick which pattern looks nice. I’ve saved up tickets for two years, so I have to pick carefully. You don’t know how much effort I put into getting these tickets, exchanging just before they expire every year is really troublesome."

Zhou Jiao was pulled away by her and didn’t continue choosing. She really didn’t lack fabric; it was mainly because she was bored, thinking these scraps could make a sachet or something.

As summer approaches, mosquitoes are becoming more common; she’s unsure if they can buy mosquito coils this year.

Zhou Jiao regrets not preparing enough raw materials, thinking wormwood wasn’t scarce, she’d ignored it.

Now it’s karma. The stored mosquito repellents and fire sticks she’d generously given away are almost depleted, and she never liked mosquito coils. Back home, she could forage in the mountains. But in the outskirts of Beijing now, even finding a single sprig of wormwood is rare.

(If Zhang Guoqing knew, he’d surely chuckle—Girl, you lack common sense. It’s still late spring now, wait until end-summer to go wild with your brother.)

Zhou Jiao followed Qiao Na to the side, looking at the few floral fabrics on the counter, she really didn’t see anything worth picking. They seemed indistinguishable.

In the end, Qiao Na used her two to three years’ worth of cloth tickets to choose some light pink floral fabric. Judging by her beaming face, she was very happy, having longed for this for quite some time.

Zhou Jiao mischievously poked her, "Not making a smock?"

"No, I’ll manage for now. The next two years’ tickets must go towards graduation and work preparation."

Zhou Jiao jokingly said, "Then after that, prepare for your wedding attire."

"Exactly... Ah, you tricked me!"

Having purchased her things, Zhou Jiao didn’t want to shop further, pulling her to head back. As for the invitation to eat fried sauce noodles, Zhou Jiao declined, saying they’d return to catch the meal.

She isn’t willing to let others spend money, nor does she want Zhang Guoqing waiting alone at school to eat with her. That man would definitely wait for her return.

Having thought they’d return empty-handed today, they didn’t expect a big surprise waiting at home.

After the two returned to the school and bid farewell to Qiao Na, Zhou Jiao headed straight upstairs.

Just arriving at the dormitory door, before taking out a key to unlock it, Zhang Guoqing unexpectedly opened the door from inside and promptly pulled her in.

—The familiar scent of wormwood filled the room, baskets on the table with hairy cherries and mulberries—these wild fruits were exactly what she intended to search for at the small market earlier.

Mm, truly a case of great minds think alike.

Zhou Jiao surveyed the room and softly asked, "Weren’t you running errands with Da Yi? How did you get these things?"

Zhang Guoqing cheerily embraced her, "We went to a farm with them to discuss a dual-harvest task. After that, we split off and ran to a village with them."

"Spent a lot of money?"

Zhang Guoqing shook his head, "Not much. Three cents for a fire stick, and a bag was only two yuan. Each of us got a bag, and that team leader is quite smart—bringing the old driver to send us back while also not forgetting to bring back a lot of fire sticks. Earlier, several teachers and students also bought from him."

Zhou Jiao smiled understandingly.

Located in a remote area surrounded by many trees and wasted farmlands, mosquitoes are particularly abundant. Many students can’t afford mosquito nets, and without burning mosquito coils, they couldn’t endure.

Fire sticks are better than mosquito coils, inexpensive and efficient, fifteen centimeters long, one stick burns for a whole day and night, not a single mosquito remains in the room, no smoke, just a faint scent of wormwood, clean and eco-friendly.

However, apart from freshmen and financially better-off students and professors, most old students should have personally twisted quite a few last year, saving them for this year’s use.

Earlier, she also followed the trend and twisted a couple, later giving up entirely. Not only were the raw materials hard to find, but also the skill for twisting fire sticks was beyond her. It was faster to directly make medicinal powder.

"Keep the leftover medicinal powder for Dad and Ping’an. From now on, let’s just buy instead of preparing medicines—it’s too troublesome. That team leader has loose lips and is too amiable, so I didn’t order more from him. I’ll find a village in a few days to order more fire sticks for future use. If you’re concerned about lacking raw materials and future inconvenience, I’ll have them gather more by the end of summer."

Zhou Jiao nodded. She didn’t find making medicines troublesome; all the crafts are done by him, and she feels a bit sorry for tiring him. As her mom said, anything money can solve isn’t a problem.

Especially fire sticks—if they can be bought, she definitely doesn’t want to go through it again. Zhou Jiao has no interest in twisting things like hemp rope or fire sticks. Watching her mother-in-law do it effortlessly, but in her hands, it just wouldn’t work.

She never compares her weaknesses to others’ strengths—how foolish would that be? Especially tasks as cumbersome as twisting fire sticks.

The processes are challenging. First, you’re dripping in sweat as you harvest them in the heat of the summer, then carry them back home. That’s not all, they mustn’t be too thick or too tight—a thick or tight twist won’t burn well.

That’s not the end of it; once twisted, they have to hang under the eaves to air dry for a whole half-day without direct sunlight.

When the finished products come out, your face is sunburned, your body aching, and your hands are full of blisters. Frankly, three cents a stick truly undervalues the product.

Alas... as for now, three cents? In the future, if it’s not three hundred yuan each, no one would be willing to do it.