There were just too many things she wanted to buy, but for now, she could only pick the most urgently needed items.
Since Gu Shen asked, there must be a way to handle it. Yu Nian’an no longer worried about keeping her distance she would buy the things first and worry about everything else later.
All three of them focused their attention on him.
Gu Shen reached into his chest and pulled out a box wrapped carefully in a handkerchief. “Here,” he said.
Looking at his serious face, Yu Nian’an didn’t hesitate and took it directly.
The handkerchief was wrapped with particular care, clearly protecting something valuable. Yu Nian’an unwrapped it and found inside various industrial and grain coupons, along with a few other types exactly what she currently needed.
Yu Nian’an was surprised. “This… is for me?”
“Mm,” he replied.
Seeing how serious he looked, Yu Nian’an suddenly felt the items in her hands were almost too hot to hold. She shook her head quickly. “I can’t take this.”
“Consider it repayment for saving my life,” Gu Shen said.
His words immediately piqued the curiosity of the two others beside them.
“Saving your life? What life? How?”
Once Yu Nian’an entered the supply and marketing cooperative with the coupons in hand, Ye Xiao grabbed Gu Shen by the shoulder and asked in a low voice, “Come on, tell us what exactly happened?”
Gu Shen stood straight, hands clenching slightly, then slowly exhaled and recounted the incident of the day he fell into the river.
Inside the store, Yu Nian’an first went to the oil counter.
“Comrade, how much is the oil?”
“80 cents a pound, ticket, pot, give it to me.
The clerk quoted skillfully, then held out his left hand, ready to receive the goods.
The clerk quoted the price smoothly, then held out his left hand, clearly expecting her to hand over a container.
Yu Nian’an realized she needed a jar to carry the oil, and noticing that the oil was still being sold in bulk, she had to leave for the moment and go buy other items.
Besides salt and flour, she looked at the little remaining grain at home and, gritting her teeth, bought ten jin of rice.
Finally, she went to the daily goods display and picked out a bar of soap.
All of this together cost a little over two yuan, and by the time she came out of the supply store again, both her arms were full.
By now, Gu Shen had already told the other two about her brave act. Ye Xiao, who had been favorably impressed by her from that morning’s incident, felt their friendship deepen and proactively helped carry some of the weight.
Yu Nian’an initially felt a bit embarrassed, but with his insistence, she finally relaxed her grip.
“Comrade Yu, anything else you need to buy?” Lin Zhi walked up and asked.
Thinking about the oil situation earlier, Yu Nian’an looked across the street at the butcher shop.
Since she didn’t have a jar, she might as well buy some fatty pork. Lard counts as oil, and the rendered bits could even serve as a meat dish. Her stomach had been suffering along with her lately why not treat herself a little?
“I need to buy some meat.”
“Meat?”
Lin Zhi was a little surprised but quickly glanced at Yu Nian’an’s frail frame. She figured a bit of good food would do her well, so she didn’t ask further and followed her across the street.
Fatty pork was relatively cheap and required fewer coupons. Considering the cost of rendering it into lard, Yu Nian’an finally had the shopkeeper cut her five jin almost taking all the remaining fat off his stall.
She wrapped the remaining coupons and returned them to Gu Shen. He had solved her urgent problem, and in her mind, she was already thinking about how to repay him.
She also covered the pork with the shop’s rough grease paper. The other three didn’t comment buying this much at once would certainly draw attention from bystanders.
After all, buying so many things at once was bound to draw the attention of bystanders.
They still understood the principle of “don’t flaunt your wealth.”
The four of them then headed toward the place where they had gotten off the tractor that morning. On the way, Ye Xiao took the opportunity to buy a few large fried flatbreads, handing one to Yu Nian’an.
“Eat it while it’s hot. Saves you from having to cook when you get home.”
Yu Nian’an didn’t refuse and, impressed by his generosity, took small bites as she ate.
When they arrived, the tractor was already filling up with people. Ye Xiao had already experienced sitting by the side railing and felt lucky that they had come early this time.
Once they found seats, they placed their purchased goods at their feet. Someone sharp-eyed noticed that Yu Nian’an had brought back two large baskets and couldn’t help but ask,
“Anni, what did you buy all this for?”
“This morning, Aunt Chunxing asked me to bring some vegetables to her son. Well, his factory handed out some employee benefits, so she had me bring them back.”
Yu Nian’an had anticipated their curiosity and, thanks to Aunt Chunxing as a cover, no one doubted her story. The other three who knew the truth listened to her serious-sounding nonsense and tacitly remained silent.
More people arrived gradually, and once everyone was on board, the tractor rumbled to life and began the return trip.
On the way back, Yu Nian’an thought about how to return the favor. But judging from the fact that Gu Shen could suddenly produce so many ration tickets, he was likely from a well-off family and lacked nothing, which left her momentarily unsure how to handle it.
Sitting beside her, Lin Zhi was no longer as distant as in the morning; she would occasionally chat with Yu Nian’an.
The return journey seemed to pass faster than coming, and before long, they were already at the village entrance.
Since the youth work station and Yu Nian’an’s home were in the same direction and she had many items, the other three actively helped carry some of her load.
Only then did Yu Nian’an notice that Gu Shen seemed to have been traveling empty-handed the entire time. She wondered if he hadn’t bought anything because he’d already given her the tickets and didn’t have enough left for himself, so she asked him.
Gu Shen, worried she might overthink it, shook his head immediately.
“I don’t need anything. I brought everything I needed when we came to the countryside.”
Yu Nian’an looked at him half in doubt, half amused.
“So… you’re just following along for the fun of it today?”
Yu Nian’an looked at him half in doubt, half amused. “So… you’re just following along today for the fun of it?”
Gu Shen didn’t answer, but Ye Xiao, who had been listening closely the whole time, stepped forward and spoke for him.
“He’s going to send a letter home to let his family know he’s safe.”
With that, Yu Nian’an’s mind finally settled. So it wasn’t that he had no tickets to use good enough.
By now, they were almost home. Her gaze was drawn to the newly built courtyard wall, making her overlook the dark expression on Gu Shen’s face.
Quickly reaching the doorway, Yu Nian’an measured with her eyes. The wall was now taller than her head. If she hadn’t requested it to be built a bit higher, it would already be considered complete.
Lin Zhi walked up behind her and, looking into the courtyard, spoke with a hint of admiration, “Comrade Yu, your little courtyard… it’s really nice.”
Yu Nian’an’s heart skipped a beat at the words.
Could the plot already be reaching this point of inevitability?
Even though she had avoided the original owner’s deadly fate, the female lead could still recognize her house at a glance.
Just as she was thinking of what to say to dispel that thought, Lin Zhi leaned toward her ear.
“Comrade Yu, how are you calculating the labor and material costs over here?”
Yu Nian’an glanced at her, not understanding why she would ask that.
“There’s only one toilet at the youth work station, which isn’t very convenient, so I was thinking of building another one, separated for men and women. That way, it could avoid some trouble.” Lin Zhi phrased it very politely, but Yu Nian’an understood.
“If it’s just for a toilet, Uncle Jianping alone can handle it. As for materials, I really don’t know how much is needed. Why don’t you ask him later?”
Uncle Jianping was busy working with a new pile of yellow clay. When he saw her return, he just nodded in greeting.
Yu Nian’an still had to deliver the things she brought back to Aunt Chunxing’s house, so she asked Lin Zhi to wait a moment she would be back shortly.