Chapter 315: Winter Storage Vegetables

As everyone sat down at the table, Eldest Uncle stood up: “Everyone, please listen to me for a moment. I won’t take too long.”

Everyone put down their chopsticks, eager to hear what Eldest Uncle had to say.

“Just now, Liao from the street office came by and said that starting tomorrow, we can go buy napa cabbage,” Eldest Uncle said.

Upon hearing this, the people present began to discuss among themselves.

Buying napa cabbage was a big deal. If they couldn’t buy any, they might not have any leafy greens for the whole winter. The winter in Forty-nine City was so cold that vegetables couldn’t survive.

Now, things were different from the later generations, with greenhouse farms and easy transportation. Even in winter, it was possible to eat fresh vegetables in Forty-nine City.

Many people planned to wake up early to line up. The first batch of napa cabbage was always better than the later ones. As the day went on, the quality of the cabbage would deteriorate, and by the end, all that was left were the leftovers that no one else wanted.

Eldest Uncle noticed the chatter and spoke again: “Everyone, please quiet down. In order for us to buy the best napa cabbage, I propose that we send someone to line up. The women will be in charge of selecting and purchasing the cabbage, while the men will handle borrowing the carts to transport the cabbage back.”

“Let’s gather the strength of the whole courtyard, and we’ll definitely be able to get the best napa cabbage!”

The people present felt that this was a reasonable idea. With so many people helping, everyone would benefit. Buying enough cabbage to last the winter meant buying in bulk, usually over a hundred pounds at once. It was impossible to get enough cabbage without a large amount.

Second Uncle spoke up: “If no one has any objections, we’ll do it as Eldest Uncle suggested!”

“Now, let’s eat the dumplings before they get cold.”

Only then did everyone start using their chopsticks, and the children, unable to wait, had already begun eating.

Perhaps because it had been so long since they had eaten dumplings, everyone ate heartily. The thirty pounds of meat filling was completely devoured, and some even felt they could have eaten more.

The next day, before dawn, the women of the courtyard were already up and lining up. They were determined to be among the first to buy napa cabbage.

Some women had even brought their children. While it wasn’t yet winter in Forty-nine City, the mornings and evenings were still quite cold, with temperatures around ten degrees Celsius.

Some children didn’t want to leave their warm beds, but after a “friendly” exchange with their mothers, they had no choice but to get up and join the queue.

In those days, children were expected to help out—there was no such thing as child abuse.

Auntie and the others had gotten up early, but they hadn’t expected that some people had gotten there even earlier. Some, upon hearing the news, had already started lining up in order to get the best napa cabbage.

Everyone gave their best efforts, and it could only be said that those who put in more effort were able to get there earlier and secure better cabbage.

At the designated place, long lines had already formed. Even the street office staff was involved. Seeing the long lines, they directed people to make turns to avoid blocking others.

The trucks carrying napa cabbage hadn’t arrived yet, and people, freezing in the cold wind, stamped their feet and rubbed their hands while eagerly waiting for the delivery trucks to arrive.

Finally, after much anticipation, the trucks arrived. There were both large trucks and tractors.

It was rare for the children in the line to see a cart pulled by a horse, and they excitedly gathered around to observe and discuss the horses pulling the carts.

The adults, however, were less concerned with the vehicles. They were more focused on the quality and variety of the cabbage. If they managed to get a batch of good cabbage, they would be very happy, feeling like they had scored a win and would have good cabbage to eat for the winter.

If the quality of the cabbage was poor, however, some people would be disappointed and complain to the street office staff, grumbling about why they didn’t bring in better cabbage.

But no matter how much they complained, they still had to buy it. The cabbage was being sold at wholesale prices, just a few cents per pound. If they missed this opportunity, buying such a large quantity of napa cabbage wouldn’t be so easy.

Director Li noticed that the street office staff alone couldn’t handle everything, so he had no choice but to ask for help. The local security officers, except for those who had to remain on duty, were called in to assist.

The security officers helped maintain order and unloaded the cabbage from the trucks. Most of the street office staff were women, and while women could certainly do a lot of work, it was better to leave the heavy lifting to the men.

Buying napa cabbage required two rounds of queuing: first, they had to wait in line to get a ticket from the street office staff. After showing their food ration book and confirming they were within the cabbage supply area, they would receive a ticket, which showed the quantity of cabbage they could purchase. Then, they had to line up again to pick up their cabbage.

However, if someone got the ticket for cabbage, it meant they were guaranteed to get it that day. If they didn’t get a ticket, they wouldn’t need to waste any more time standing in line.

Even if they couldn’t get a ticket, they would have to wait until the next batch of cabbage arrived.

So, getting napa cabbage wasn’t an easy task.

The street office staff had a heavy workload, but luckily the security officers were helping. Otherwise, with only the street office staff, completing the task for the day would have taken them until nightfall.

The security officers worked quickly, unloading cabbage from the trucks and tractors. Nearby, staff weighed the cabbage and stacked it into a small mountain.

After receiving their cabbage purchase tickets, people would go to the “cabbage mountain” and hand over their ticket to the staff.

The staff would check the ticket, then say, “120 pounds!”

Staff would then place the cabbage on the scales and weigh it. To save time, the weight wasn’t precise; it was only an estimate.

If everyone wanted the exact weight, it would have taken much longer, and there weren’t enough staff to do that.

Soon, the cabbage was weighed, but there was no packing assistance. People had to rely on their own hands to carry it back.

Transporting the cabbage home was a big task, requiring the entire family to pitch in. Whether young or old, everyone helped. Older people and women would fill bamboo carts and slowly push the cabbage home. Middle-aged people would pack the cabbage into baskets or, if they had bicycles, use them to transport the cabbage. Those without any transport tools had to use burlap sacks to carry it home, while children, not strong enough to carry much, would each hug one cabbage at a time to bring it home.

In later generations, various “leave request strategies” became popular online. People who wanted to travel or slack off, or even have their children write fake leave requests for them.

But in those days, if you said you were taking leave to buy napa cabbage, you could openly request time off, and your workplace wouldn’t block it or deny your leave—leave requests were granted immediately.

(End of Chapter)