Chapter 3: I’ll Remember for Eight Lifetimes

Zhou Yimin first took out the remaining peanuts from the shopping basket.

“Grandpa, these peanuts are for you to enjoy with your drinks.” He knew that the old man liked to have a couple of drinks, but the only alcohol they had at home was sweet potato liquor.

During this time, grain was scarce, and most people brewed alcohol using sweet potatoes. The brewing process was simple, and the resulting liquor didn’t taste good. It was only used to satisfy cravings and for the strong, burning sensation.

The old man was overjoyed.

“Oh wow! So many peanuts!”

When peanuts were stir-fried, their aroma was simply irresistible. Thinking about pairing them with liquor, the old man couldn’t help but swallow his saliva, eager to take a sip right away.

“I’ll just take a handful to satisfy my craving. The rest should be saved for later.” In the end, the old man resisted the temptation.

Zhou Yimin shook his head. “Grandpa, just keep them for yourself! Your grandson now works in procurement at the steel factory—we don’t lack these things.”

“Ah! Procurement is good, very good!” The old man was delighted.

A procurement officer was a highly sought-after job! They had access to a variety of supplies, and right now, the most scarce thing was resources. At the very least, his grandson would never go hungry in the future.

Next, Zhou Yimin pulled out a bag of flour.

“You and Grandma are getting older. You should eat more refined grains from now on.”

The old man took it and was shocked when he saw the fine, white flour. “This is Fuqiang Flour!”

Fuqiang Flour was a high-gluten, finely milled flour with fewer impurities and a whiter appearance, similar to premium-grade flour.

After the founding of the country, flour was classified into No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 grades, with No. 2 being the most widely distributed under various brand names.

In the early 1950s, the original labels were gradually abolished and replaced with three unified grades: Fuqiang (Prosperity), Jianshe (Construction), and Shengchan (Production), corresponding to the former No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 grades. That’s how Fuqiang Flour got its name.

So, Fuqiang Flour was now the best quality flour available.

The old man sighed.

If this were coarse grain instead, how much could it buy? In the countryside, even coarse grains like cornmeal were not enough to go around, let alone refined flour like this.

At the same time, he felt deeply moved—his grandson was more filial than his own sons.

“This Fuqiang Flour could be used to get a wife.”

That’s right! In rural areas, ten pounds of grain was enough to marry a wife. To reduce the burden on their families, some households were even willing to forgo a dowry entirely.

“Grandpa, Grandma, don’t worry about finding me a wife. My father has already arranged everything. As for this flour, I have enough to eat in the city, so just enjoy it without worry!”

Then, Zhou Yimin took out some eggs.

“And these eggs… oh no, two of them are broken.”

The old man turned his head and saw that two eggs had indeed cracked, their contents spilling out. He felt a pang of regret—such valuable nutrition wasted!

“Why bring so much good food over?” the old man “scolded” him.

“Grandpa, I’ll be coming back to stay often from now on, so of course, we need to stock up at home. I can’t stand eating that coarse cornmeal that scratches my throat.” Zhou Yimin deliberately said this.

Hearing this, the old man was overjoyed. “Really? Good, good, good! Later, I’ll have your grandma make dumplings.”

Now that his grandson would be visiting often, nothing else mattered. His grandson was precious, and he should eat well.

Zhou Yimin nodded. “Great, I’ll help chop the filling later.”

As he spoke, he took out a large slab of fatty pork and some pork belly.

The old man’s eyes widened. So much meat! And the fatty cuts were especially rich—this was all premium meat!

“This…”

He suspected that his grandson had brought home an entire year’s meat ration. He knew the city had more supplies, but he also understood that there were strict rations—meat wasn’t something that could be taken in unlimited quantities.

Zhou Yimin interrupted before the old man could say anything. “Grandpa, you know I work in procurement. Having some extra meat is completely reasonable, right? You and Grandma just eat well and don’t worry—our family won’t lack food anymore.”

The old man thought for a moment. That made sense. His eldest grandson was a procurement officer.

He had almost forgotten about that.

“This meat is fantastic! I’ll render the fat right away.” The old man kept praising the large piece of pork fat.

Zhou Yimin had underestimated how much people in this era craved fat and oil.

The old man carefully stored everything, then took the large piece of pork fat and cut it into a basinful of chunks. He quickly got a fire going to start rendering the lard. In this weather, meat wouldn’t keep for long, so it had to be processed quickly.

Rendered lard could be used to make dumplings—who needed lean meat filling when they had crispy pork cracklings?

The pork belly was cut into long strips, salted, and hung up to dry as preserved meat for later.

“I’ll go fetch some water,” Zhou Yimin said, noticing that the water vat was running low.

The old man quickly stopped him. “Yimin, take a break. Your cousin Xu Qiang fetches water for us every day.”

Zhou Yimin remembered his cousin, Zhou Xuqiang, who was responsible for taking care of their grandparents.

His cousin’s family was struggling too, with three children—two boys and a girl. Back when they divided up the household, his cousin’s family didn’t receive much inheritance.

At the time, Zhou Yimin’s grandfather had helped them out.

In return, his cousin’s family often came to assist with chores like fetching water and chopping firewood, ensuring that Zhou Yimin’s grandparents didn’t have to do such labor.

The old man would never let his eldest grandson do heavy work.

Just then, three little kids ran in from outside—it was his cousin’s children: seven-year-old Laifu, six-year-old Laicai, and four-year-old Laifang.

They were barefoot, their clothes full of patches, their hands dirty, and they looked malnourished.

As they ran, they shouted, “Big Brother! We want peanuts too!”

Looks like they had heard the news and rushed over.

“Come here, wash your hands first.” Zhou Yimin picked up a ladle and scooped a ladleful of water.

The three little ones obediently followed his instructions.

“Scrub hard and wash them clean.”

Zhou Yimin kept scooping water. When he got to the third ladle, his grandfather hesitated as if wanting to say something.

It was a drought, and the river was nearly dry. Villages had fought over water, and two or three people had even died because of it.

“Big Brother, the water used for washing hands can be used to water the fields,” Laifu reminded.

At home, if they used water like this, they’d get spanked.

Zhou Yimin was stunned for a moment, then smacked his forehead.

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Grandfather quickly reassured him.

What was the big deal if his eldest grandson used a few extra ladles of water? He would just have Xuqing fetch a couple more buckets later.

Instead of giving his younger siblings peanuts, Zhou Yimin took out the candy he had just bought from the store and told them, “Eat it at home, don’t take it outside.”

“It’s candy!” Laifu and Laicai were overjoyed.

The little girl said innocently, “I’ve never held this much candy in my entire life!”

Zhou Yimin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

You’re so young, and you’re already talking about ‘your entire life’…

Not far away, Grandfather “taught” the three little ones, “You must always remember your Big Brother’s kindness, understand?”

He couldn’t let his eldest grandson raise a bunch of ungrateful brats.

Laifu and Laicai nodded seriously. “I’ll never forget it in my lifetime!”

The little girl added, “I’ll remember for eight lifetimes!”

Zhou Yimin: “……”

Why did that sound a little strange?

(End of Chapter)