He had barely slept all night. It felt as though the covers had been letting in drafts the whole time, and in the middle of the night he had been attacked either by feet or by fists.
The boy-and-girl twins could sleep their way from one end of the bed to the other, even ending up on top of the quilt. They could sit up in the middle of the night while still asleep, and occasionally even giggled in their dreams.
It was far too lively for him to handle.
All night long, he had been covering one twin with the quilt and moving the other back into place, while keeping them both from rolling off the bed. He could only lie at the edge of the bed, unable to sleep soundly.
No wonder his parents had the twins sleep separately. Love and exasperation at once-now he knew the feeling!
Unable to sleep well, he got up early. He tucked the twins in before going out.
Mother Chen was up early too. The rice porridge was ready in the pot, and she was at the table counting money and a pile of coupons.
The production team also issued the coupons according to a family's work points. Some of the work points were exchanged for coupons, which was why there wasn't much cash in hand at the end of the year.
Mother Chen looked up at him. "You're up? Wash up and eat, and then we'll head to town early. The earlier we go, the earlier we'll be back. Your father and the others can take care of the work at home."
"Okay."
Chen Haichao gave his face a quick rub with cold water, instantly clearing much of the fog from his head. He was never sleeping with both of them again. At the very least, he'd move one of them elsewhere.
The sky was only just beginning to lighten. By the back door, his father was already washing the shrimp they had caught the night before, waiting for the porridge to be taken out of the pot so he could cook them.
He looked at the coupons his mother had sorted into categories and curiously picked some up for a look. He hadn't seen them in decades, and they were something of a novelty.
In the countryside these days, coupons were as important as money, sometimes even more so. For some big-ticket items, money alone wouldn't buy them without a coupon.
In another two years, though, coupons like these would be largely unnecessary. Although they would still be in circulation, their coastal area had a wide variety of goods from elsewhere and plenty of smuggled merchandise. Most things could be bought without coupons, putting them a little ahead of inland and mountain regions.
"Cloth coupons, grain coupons, cotton coupons, kerosene coupons, soap coupons, sugar coupons... there are so many different kinds?"
"Where do you see many? It took a whole year to save these up, and last night I even traded your eldest aunt for several cloth and cotton coupons. Otherwise, how could these few coupons be enough to buy cloth for the whole family's clothes? Since we're going to the supply and marketing cooperative before the New Year, we'll buy everything we need and replenish what we're short of at home."
Mother Chen took the coupons back from him and hid them on her person. Then she fetched a basket and put a patched-up piece of ragged cloth inside to cover their purchases.
"Eat quickly. We'll leave when you're done."
"Okay. Are there cigarette coupons?"
Mother Chen shot him a sidelong glance, then dug a few cigarette coupons out of the ones she had put away, muttering, "Of all the things you could pick up, you had to pick up this bad habit. What a waste of money."
"Who says? If it weren't a good thing, why would people produce it? Surely our motherland wouldn't harm me."
"Twisted logic."
"I'm contributing to the People's Liberation Army's military supplies."
Mother Chen didn't argue with him. He had an answer for everything.
After taking out the cigarette coupons and hiding them on her person too, she ladled all the porridge out of the pot, scrubbed it clean again, and added fresh water. The faint fire in the stove flickered as she stirred it, then she added firewood and got it burning again.
Once Chen Haichao had finished eating, he and Mother Chen went out together, taking the bamboo basket she had prepared in advance.
The sun had yet to rise in the early morning, and the wind was bitingly cold. A thick layer of frost coated the grass by the roadside, and their breath came out in white mist. He shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders.
Heading out first thing in the morning to walk more than an hour to the town's supply and marketing cooperative was no pleasant task. Staying home would have been much more comfortable.
But after walking for a while, he warmed up.
They passed quite a few people on the way to town, in twos and threes. Some were carrying local specialties on shoulder poles to sell, while others were taking advantage of the approach of the New Year to shop for the holiday.
When they ran into acquaintances, they walked together and chatted for a while, talking about this year's work-point earnings, what New Year goods they were going to buy, and so on.
After walking for a little over an hour, they finally reached Wanyu Town. The sun had come out, and a thin layer of sweat had formed on his body.
Compared with the isolated village, the town was a different kind of lively scene altogether. A level gravel road ran through the whole town, with adobe houses and red-brick, tiled-roof buildings neatly lined up on both sides. Most were state-run shops.
There was the state-run grain station, the food station, the state-run restaurant, and so on. The busiest place of all, of course, was the supply and marketing cooperative. They could hear the roar of voices from a distance, long before they got close.
Mother Chen turned and warned him, "Stay close to me in a bit. There are too many people. If we get separated in the crush, it won't be easy to find each other again."
"I'm not a three-year-old. Are you afraid I'll get lost?"
"I'm afraid I'll spend ages looking for you and hold up our trip home. There's still a heap of things to do when we get back."
"Got it."
They continued forward as Chen Haichao looked around. The pedestrians on the street were uniformly dressed in three colors of cloth: blue, gray, and army green. Bright colors were rare, and everyone wore a simple smile and a look of anticipation for the New Year.
Now and then, a few twenty-eight-inch bicycles went by, their bells ringing. Pedestrians automatically stepped aside and watched them with envy. They drew even more attention than a Porsche on the street in later years.
The supply and marketing cooperative was a two-story red-brick building coated in whitewash. Above it were the five large characters "Serve the people," painted in red. People crowded the entrance in an endless stream.
Mother Chen pulled him forward through the crowd, calling for people to make way.
As soon as they entered the cooperative, warmth enveloped them. The air carried the fragrance of pastries, the savory saltiness of seafood, and the scents of all sorts of other goods. It was a jumble, full of life.
The interior was spacious and orderly, with rows of long shelves reaching from floor to ceiling. They were piled with every kind of merchandise one could wish for.
The shelves on the left were the cloth section, the middle held non-staple foods, grain, and cooking oil, and the right was packed with daily necessities and household goods, pots, bowls, ladles, basins, and the like.
The salesclerks behind the counters wore matching work uniforms and blue sleeve protectors. They weighed goods, kept accounts, tore coupons, and wrapped purchases in an orderly manner, their movements practiced and brisk.
Mother Chen pulled him straight toward the cloth section on the left, squeezing all the way to the front.
The salesclerk frowned and shouted, "What are you pushing for? Do you still want to buy anything or not? One at a time! Decide what cloth you want and how many chi, get your money and coupons ready in advance, and call it all out at once. Don't waste the time of the people behind you..."
Chen Haichao turned his head and glanced at the slogan on the wall: "Insulting or beating customers is prohibited!"
Very good! As expected of an iron rice bowl!
These days, a job as a salesclerk at the supply and marketing cooperative was a prized opportunity. The work was easy, the pay was high, there was no pressure, and it came with a little authority. Without strong connections, one couldn't get the job.
There were also drivers, cooks and servers at state-run restaurants, postal workers, projectionists, and the like. They were jobs practically everyone dreamed of, jobs people would rack their brains to get.
Mother Chen looked at the prices marked on the various fabrics on the shelves and mentally calculated the quantities. Squeezed into the crowd, she got her money and coupons ready first, then held them high and shouted.
"Seven chi of navy-blue twill, eight chi of dark-blue twill, twenty-six chi of red floral cloth, forty-one chi of black lining, six jin of cotton..."
The salesclerk collected money while scolding people, serving them one by one. The clerk took their money and coupons, noted the measurements and calculated the prices, then measured out the cloth.
Chen Haichao had come along today to serve as labor. Mother Chen took the floral cloth the salesclerk handed over and shoved it all at him to carry.
After buying the cloth, they went over to the non-staple food section. The counters here were just as crowded, with people holding money and coupons high and shouting out what they wanted.
Peanuts, melon seeds, candy, and the like were indispensable for visiting relatives and entertaining guests during the New Year. Mother Chen took out her sugar and food coupons and squeezed in with the others, calling out her order.
He waited outside the crowd. Most of the people inside were women scrambling to buy New Year goods. There were seas of people everywhere, and the sight before him sharpened memories that had already grown hazy.
This was the spirit of the New Year!
There were never this many people on ordinary days. Everyone had to work, and of all the year, it was only at New Year that they were willing to spend.
Now there were shouts and arguments everywhere inside. It was noisy and chaotic, like a battle.