The Sweetness of the Seventies-Chapter 35 - No Reply Received_1
Chapter 35: Chapter 35 No Reply Received_1
Chapter 35 -35 No Reply Received_1
He Tiantian saw Aunt Liu was going to bring some things and casually asked if Old Man Qi needed anything.
Old Man Qi gave her fifty cents to buy some liquor for him.
Buying liquor didn’t require coupons, only money was needed.
However, in an era of material scarcity where people couldn’t even get enough to eat, very few people bought liquor.
Old Man Qi wasn’t short on money, so he could afford to drink two or three bottles a year.
After returning home in the evening, He Tiantian wrote a letter, prepared to send it out the next day to inquire about the situation.
She felt uneasy not receiving any reply.
Third Grandma Qi didn’t have anything specific she wanted to send back, but He Tiantian would still buy some easy-to-chew pastries for her.
If she had the ingredients, she could make them herself, but without the necessary materials, even a skilled woman can’t cook without rice and couldn’t make the variety of tasty pastries.
Wang Shuping gave He Tiantian quite a lot of money and coupons, Huo Yingjie also prepared a considerable amount of money and grain coupons for her, and with the share from the ‘educated youths’, she had enough to spend.
Early the next morning, He Tiantian and Qi Xiaoyan were waiting in a small grove not far from their village.
They avoided the crowds to prevent any gossip.
Soon, Qi Ergou drove the ox cart over, carrying Secretary Qi, swaying as they approached.
“Get on,” Secretary Qi said with a beaming smile when he saw his daughter, as if his cart was more stylish than a car.
“Ok!” He Tiantian and Qi Xiaoyan got onto the ox cart, all smiles.
Qi Ergou swirled his whip in the air, forming a whip flower, and a crisp sound echoed.
The originally lazy old ox gradually picked up pace and walked on the country road.
As the sky was just beginning to lighten, the morning dew was heavy.
Secretary Qi, like a magician, pulled out two hemp bags and said, “Each of you take one to cover up, don’t let the dew wet your clothes.”
“Thank you, Uncle Qi,” He Tiantian said as she took one to cover herself.
She benefited from being with Qi Xiaoyan today.
When no outsiders were around, He Tiantian changed her way of addressing him.
“Girl Tian, what are you going to the county town for?” Secretary Qi asked.
“The county town is not like it used to be, it’s quite chaotic.
Be careful, and whatever you want to buy, do it quickly.
Follow Ergou and don’t wander off!”
“I’m going to buy some pancreatin toothpaste and things like that, then go to the post office to send a letter,” replied He Tiantian softly.
She knew the county town was in disorder and remembered that in her previous life, around this time, Secretary Qi had brought back several people from the county town for re-education through labor.
Maybe this trip to the county town, Village Chief Qi was there for that reason.
Secretary Qi nodded and said, “As long as you two are aware, that’s good.
By the way, Girl Tian, you should have received a reply by now to the letter you sent to your parents a while back, right?”
“Yes,” He Tiantian said.
“Logically, after my parents received my letter, they would reply immediately.
But it’s been so long with no reply, I’m anxious.”
He Tiantian wasn’t immediately worried about her parents having an accident, and with Huo Yingjie there as well, no one from either side had sent her a reply.
She suspected her letters had been hidden by Qi Jianguo, Qi Shuli.
However, she had no proof and had to go to the post office to check.
“Oh, that explains it,” said Qi Dazhu.
“When we get to the county town, I will go to the commune.
Ergou can take you two around the county town to shop and to the post office.”
He Tiantian thanked him profusely.
Having good relations with officials made things much easier.
Along the way, Secretary Qi inquired about some situations in Nan City, and He Tiantian told him honestly.
She realized that Secretary Qi was so interested in Nan City because Qi Xiaoyan’s second brother was a soldier there.
It was such a coincidence—perhaps in the future, she could arrange for her second brother to bring something for her parents.
Items like those rare cured rabbit and wild chicken.
As they had left early in the morning, they arrived in the county town by ten, and Qi Ergou drove the ox cart straight to the commune’s courtyard and found a place to park it.
Secretary Qi went to a meeting at the commune, and Qi Ergou took He Tiantian and Qi Xiaoyan around the county town to shop for items on the shopping list.
The people on the roads hurried along with grey complexions and an appearance of malnutrition.
Their clothes were patched, and they seemed lost and aimless.
The sky was gray, the houses were dilapidated, and everything that met the eye exuded a sense of decay.
To change is to survive, not to change is to perish.
This was the driving force that kept He Tiantian going.
The supply and marketing cooperative was close to the commune’s courtyard, so the trio decided to shop there first.
The clerks inside, who were state workers with official positions, lacked the qualities of service personnel.
They were aloof and dismissive.
In her previous life, He Tiantian knew the faces of these clerks well, and even though they had poor attitudes, she had to tolerate them.
Fortunately, He Tiantian and Qi Xiaoyan were pretty girls dressed in clean and tidy clothes, giving the impression they came from notable families in the county town.
Although the clerks weren’t enthusiastic, they refrained from sarcastic remarks.
Qi Ergou had also dressed in his most presentable clothes for his trip to the town and still received disdainful looks from the clerks.
However, Qi Ergou had an inferiority complex; as a country boy, he didn’t dare to take issue with these workers.
The three quickly finished shopping and headed for the post office.
There was only one man in the post office, sitting behind the counter, busily sorting through letters.
“Comrade, hello, could you tell me how long it takes for a letter to go from here to Nan City in Su Province?” He Tiantian asked politely as she took out an envelope.
The young man, noticing a pretty girl and guessing she was an ‘educated youth’ from Nan City, immediately put down what he was doing and answered, “If all goes well, about ten days.
Do you want to send a letter?
Postage stamps are eight fen, and an envelope is one fen.”
He Tiantian took out one yuan and said, “Twelve envelopes and eleven stamps, which comes to exactly one yuan.”
The man efficiently fetched the stamps and envelopes and handed them over.
He Tiantian carefully put the letter inside, affixed a stamp, and wrote the address and recipient’s name.
“And how long does it take for mail from Nan City to reach here?” He Tiantian asked, aiming to estimate when she might receive replies from her parents and Huo Yingjie.
The man thought for a moment and asked, “Are you in the town or the countryside?”
“In the countryside, Qijia Village,” He Tiantian answered, still smiling warmly and very polite.
“Then it would probably take ten days to half a month,” the man replied.
“After all, our postal workers have to deliver each letter to the villages, and you know the situation in our county town: it’s all mountain roads, so delivering mail takes more time.”
