Seeing that they had already settled everything among themselves, Lin Shengxia couldn’t help smiling along with them.
The price of the carp had already been agreed upon. After weighing the fish, Lin Shengxia accepted the money from Xu Aixia.
However, she was a little troubled when she looked at the dozen or so yellow catfish.
She had no idea how much they were worth. It wouldn’t be right to charge too little or too much, especially since most of the people who came to buy from her were familiar faces from the neighborhood.
As luck would have it, Li Xiangqin had just finished handling things at her shop and came out to help.
After hearing about Lin Shengxia’s dilemma, she laughed.
“What’s so difficult about setting a price? Truly wild yellow catfish like yours are hard to come by. Even farmed fish being passed off as wild sell for thirty yuan a jin outside. Yours are genuinely wild, so charging Old Lin thirty-five yuan a jin isn’t too much, right, Old Lin?”
Li Xiangqin directed the last question at Lin Changcheng.
She knew that Lin Shengxia was an honest girl and worried that she might feel embarrassed about naming a fair price herself, so she simply did it for her.
Naturally, Lin Changcheng had no objections.
Anyone who had eaten the wild vegetables Lin Shengxia sold knew just how sincere the girl was. Thirty-five yuan a jin might seem more expensive than elsewhere, but as far as Lin Changcheng was concerned, it was worth every cent!
He immediately placed all the yellow catfish onto Lin Shengxia’s electronic scale.
Exactly three jin.
That came to 105 yuan!
Not even counting the wild vegetables, she had already earned a full 600 yuan from selling fish today!
Including the vegetables, her total earnings were close to 800 yuan.
Satisfied, Lin Shengxia put away the money and was about to gather up the coarse cloth she had spread on the ground when she noticed a familiar-looking auntie lingering nearby, hesitating instead of leaving.
Curious, Lin Shengxia asked, “Auntie, is there something you need?”
Seeing that Lin Shengxia had noticed her, Li Guiying finally voiced her request.
“Shengxia, do you think you could get your hands on a free-range chicken?”
Her daughter-in-law was less than two months pregnant, but severe morning sickness had already caused her to lose nearly ten jin.
Worse still, she couldn’t stand the smell of fish and couldn’t stomach meat either.
At the moment, the only thing she could eat was the wild vegetables Lin Shengxia sold. That was why Li Guiying came every day to buy one or two bunches.
But eating nothing but vegetables without any meat wasn’t enough to provide proper nutrition!
The elderly woman was terribly worried about her daughter-in-law, so she had come to ask Lin Shengxia if she could help.
Lin Shengxia frowned in difficulty.
Her family’s status in the production brigade was unusual. Even if she wanted to exchange something with the villagers for a chicken, they probably wouldn’t be willing to deal with her.
She looked apologetically at Li Guiying, and her expression said everything that needed to be said.
Although Li Guiying was disappointed, she understood that this wasn’t something Lin Shengxia could control.
With a sigh, she left.
Afterward, Lin Shengxia stood uneasily in front of Li Xiangqin and asked nervously, “Auntie, did I do something wrong?”
Seeing her looking as though she had made some terrible mistake, Li Xiangqin’s heart softened.
She smiled and gently stroked Lin Shengxia’s head.
“Shengxia, you didn’t do anything wrong. I just feel sorry for Auntie Guiying. I know that if you could get a free-range chicken, you definitely wouldn’t refuse to help her. If you happen to find anything fresh and appetizing, though, you could save some for her.”
Li Xiangqin was a mother herself.
Back when she was pregnant with Cui Shijin, she hadn’t been able to eat anything either. Every day, she would cling to a bucket and vomit until it felt as though she might even throw up bile.
In the end, her husband had been so worried about her that he took her all over the streets, hoping they might stumble upon something she actually wanted to eat.
And surprisingly, they did!
The moment they passed a shop selling hot and sour soup, Li Xiangqin’s mouth had started watering uncontrollably.
Even now, remembering how delighted she had been when she finally got to eat something she craved filled her with satisfaction.
Lin Shengxia left with the money in her pocket, her mind still preoccupied with Li Guiying’s request.
Even after arriving at the supermarket, she still couldn’t think of a good solution.
So she decided to put the matter aside for the moment and focus on buying clothes for her family.
After clearly explaining what she wanted, a saleswoman led her directly to the sleepwear section.
“This is our pajama section. These are pure cotton and offer the best value for money. They’re breathable and absorb sweat well. We also have Tencel and mulberry silk if you’d prefer those…”
Lin Shengxia stared at an entire wall covered with pajamas.
Her mouth fell open in astonishment.
Her expression was so amusing that even the saleswoman couldn’t help laughing.
The saleswoman could tell that the young woman probably didn’t come from a wealthy family. After thinking for a moment, she kindly recommended another option.
“If you don’t care much about patterns or designs, I’d actually suggest this brand. They’re running a promotion right now.”
They were simple, solid-colored, round-neck cotton pajamas.
Buy one, get one free.
For Lin Shengxia, there couldn’t have been a better deal!
At first, the saleswoman had worried that she might dislike such plain pajamas.
Instead, Lin Shengxia immediately picked out four sets in her family members’ sizes.
Only then did the saleswoman relax and smile as she led Lin Shengxia toward the checkout area.
As they passed the fruit section, Lin Shengxia suddenly stopped.
Her eyes landed on a display of bright red apples, and she couldn’t help craving one.
She was just about to pick some up when the saleswoman gave her a meaningful look.
After making sure her coworker in the fruit section wasn’t paying attention, the saleswoman lowered her voice.
“Those Red Delicious apples look nice, but they don’t taste that good. If you’re buying them for your family, get these instead. They’re Luochuan Red Fuji apples. They taste much better.”
Following the saleswoman’s gaze, Lin Shengxia looked at the other apples and nodded gratefully.
“Thank you, Sister. Then I’ll take these!”
Lin Shengxia understood the wisdom of listening to good advice.
Given her family’s current circumstances, practicality mattered far more than appearances.
After paying for everything and leaving the supermarket, Lin Shengxia found a deserted place and stored all her purchases inside her mysterious space.
Only then did she return to the ruined temple.
Dong Wanqiu was sitting in the courtyard weaving bamboo baskets.
Lin Qizheng had cut down the bamboo and prepared the strips beforehand. Since the weather was good today, Dong Wanqiu decided to make use of the sunshine and get some work done.
The things Lin Shengxia brought back were wonderful, but many of them couldn’t openly appear in this era.
Their family still needed ordinary items they could use without attracting suspicion.
Dong Wanqiu was just finishing the rim of a basket when she heard her daughter’s voice.
She immediately tossed the basket aside and hurried over to open the door for Lin Shengxia.
Seeing her daughter smiling brightly, Dong Wanqiu finally relaxed.
She handed Lin Shengxia a cup of boiled water that had already been cooled and sweetened with brown sugar. Then, without needing to be asked, she walked behind her daughter and helped remove the basket from her back.
But the moment she saw what was inside, Dong Wanqiu froze.
“What are these?”
“I bought everyone in the family a set of pure cotton pajamas! We’ll wash them first, and then we can wear them to sleep tonight. Now that I can earn money, we’ll close our doors and live our own lives better and better!”
Hearing her daughter’s cheerful words, Dong Wanqiu’s eyes grew warm with emotion.
She had only just taken out the pajamas when she noticed the fresh apples at the bottom of the basket.
They hadn’t eaten apples in nearly half a year.
Seeing them so suddenly, even Dong Wanqiu couldn’t help swallowing.
Noticing her reaction, Lin Shengxia quickly took out two apples and washed them thoroughly in the basin in the courtyard.
Then she cut each apple in half and gave everyone in the family a piece.
The saleswoman really hadn’t exaggerated.
The Luochuan Red Fuji apples were wonderfully crisp and sweet.
The entire family finished their pieces and still wanted more!
Lin Handong even took the leftover apple cores and buried them in the ground.
In his childish innocence, he believed that by doing so, apple trees would grow by next year, and then their family would have more apples than they could ever eat!
Lin Shengxia didn’t stop him.
She simply let him happily do as he pleased.
It wasn’t until Lin Handong came running back to her, his forehead covered in sweat, that Lin Shengxia smiled and took out the gift she had specially prepared for him.
The moment Lin Handong saw what his sister was holding, his eyes lit up.
He excitedly threw himself toward her.
“Sister! Is this for me?!”