The Shigang Commune’s market was typically held on the 3rd, 6th, and 9th of every lunar month—dates such as the 3rd, 6th, 9th, 13th, and so on.
The market days for the surrounding communes were all different. For example, of the two neighboring communes, one held its market on days ending in 2, 5, and 8, while the other held theirs on days ending in 1, 4, and 7.
These staggered market days allowed people to visit different communes to enjoy the festivities and, more importantly, promoted the circulation of goods throughout the region. Traveling to the market in groups was the favorite and most joyful activity for people of this era.
When Jun Ning arrived at the entrance of the Shigang Commune market, her eyes were met with a dense, swarming crowd.
She took a lap around the marketplace and found that most people were selling their own produce: green vegetables, eggs, and handicrafts like wicker baskets and stools. There was even a stall selling large flatbreads.
As she walked, she noticed an elderly man and a young boy, both skin and bones, selling firewood. Jun Ning saw the old man’s hands and feet trembling from hunger, while the little boy constantly licked his dry, cracked lips.
Feeling a pang of pity, she stepped forward and asked, “Old Uncle, how much are you selling this firewood for?”
Seeing someone inquire, the old man immediately smiled and replied, “Lass, if you want them, they’re ten cents a bundle.”
Such a large bundle of wood for only ten cents?
Jun Ning lamented how cheap labor was in this day and age. Noting that the old man had only six bundles left and a wooden wheelbarrow behind him, she said, “Old Uncle, I’ll take them all. Could you help me deliver them to that intersection over there?”
The old man nodded repeatedly. “I can, I can, definitely.”
The original owner of this body had been so generous to others that she had left herself penniless. Currently, Jun Ning didn’t have much cash or many ration coupons left on her person. She pulled out sixty cents and handed them to the old man.
With the deal closed, the old man seemed to regain his strength. He quickly loaded the six bundles of wood onto the wheelbarrow and called his grandson to follow Jun Ning.
Others nearby were also selling firewood. Seeing the old man finish his sale, they hurriedly called out to Jun Ning, “Hey, lass! I have firewood too. You can have it for eight cents a bundle!”
Jun Ning ignored them and led the old man and the boy away.
Once they reached the intersection, Jun Ning used her satchel as a cover to take six still-warm meat buns out of her spatial dimension. She pressed them into the hands of the old man and the boy. “Old Uncle, you must be hungry. I just bought these meat buns; please, have them.”
The old man didn’t want to take advantage of her and tried to refuse. “No, no, this won’t do. You’ve already paid for the wood. It wouldn’t be right for me to take your buns too.”
Jun Ning smiled. “Old Uncle, please take them. If you really feel bad about it, just bring me a few more bundles of wood next time. I’m an ‘Educated Youth’ from the Bailu Brigade living in a rented house. I don’t know how to chop wood myself, so I have to buy it for my stove anyway.”
“Oh, I see…”
Jun Ning reminded him again, “Old Uncle, my name is Jun Ning. When you get to our brigade, just ask where the Educated Youth Jun Ning lives. In the future, if you have firewood, you can deliver it straight to me. I’ll take all of it.”
The old man wiped away tears of gratitude. “Lass, you really are a good person. A truly good person!”
Jun Ning tucked the buns into his arms and said with a smile, “Old Uncle, let the child eat. I can see he’s starving.”
The little boy had taken a great liking to Jun Ning for giving them food. Hearing her words, he replied in a crisp, clear voice, “Big Sister, for the past two days, I’ve only had water and a little bit of wild vegetables to fill my stomach.”
Jun Ning reached out and patted his head, asking with a smile, “What’s your name? How old are you? Where are you from?”
The boy answered quickly, “Sister, my name is Mo Haoran. My dad says ‘Haoran’ stands for ‘Righteous Spirit.’ I’m six years old. I’m also from the Bailu Brigade, but we belong to Mo Village.”
Jun Ning searched the original owner’s memories and realized that the Bailu Brigade was divided into seven production groups. The Liang Village she lived in was the first group, and Mo Village was the fifth. The two villages weren’t that far apart.
The boy said he was six years old, but looking at his stature, he appeared to be only three or four. It was truly pitiful.
In the post-apocalyptic world Jun Ning came from, the population had plummeted. Women and children were scarce, and the numbers continued to dwindle every year. To ensure the survival of the human race, the major bases had enacted strict laws to protect women and children, imposing severe punishments on anyone who harmed them.
Though Jun Ning had never married in the apocalypse, her instinct to protect and cherish the young was ingrained in her soul. Seeing how clever and adorable Mo Haoran was despite being so frail and poor, she felt an even stronger urge to help him.
Old Man Mo was Mo Haoran’s biological grandfather. After the pair thanked Jun Ning a thousand times over, they finally left, filled with both reluctance to depart and newfound joy. Jun Ning was moved as she watched Mo Haoran look back at her every three steps. This child knows how to remember a kindness, she thought.
Once she confirmed no one was around, she expanded her mental power to shield the surrounding area. After ensuring it was safe, she moved the firewood on the ground directly into her spatial dimension.
Returning to the market, she passed a stall selling wickerwork. She used her rice supply to buy out the entire stall—baskets of all sizes, crates, back baskets, fish traps, and more. The vendor was incredibly grateful; he hadn’t expected to meet such a big customer today, as they usually couldn’t sell their entire stock even after standing there all day.
Jun Ning had him help deliver the items to the same intersection. Once he left, she set up a mental barrier and moved everything into her space.
Jun Ning then slipped into her dimension to disguise herself as an ordinary farm woman in her late thirties. With her extraordinary makeup skills, even her closest relatives or friends wouldn’t have recognized her standing right in front of them.
She then pulled a masculine-looking, 1.9-meter-tall intelligent robot from her space to act as her husband. She dressed the robot in clothes and gave him gloves, a hat, and a mask, leaving only a pair of dark, piercing eyes visible. He looked imposing, mysterious, and powerful.
Having circled the market several times earlier, Jun Ning had already scouted a location that was perfect for both trading and making a quick escape. She then brought out the goods she intended to sell.
There was a basket of eggs, bags of rice, and pre-cut slabs of pork. There were also packages of white and red sugar, a basket of bright red apples, and small pails of peanut oil and rapeseed oil. She loaded everything onto an old, plateless small truck and drove it to the market entrance.
If she ran out of stock, she could use the truck’s cargo bed as a cover to pull more goods out of her space. Jun Ning felt lucky that her mental power could create barriers and cloaking fields; otherwise, it would have been difficult to move things in and out of her dimension in such a crowded place.
Just as Jun Ning expected, the moment these high-demand goods appeared at the market entrance, they immediately caught the attention of countless people.