Actually, Ruan Jinxiang was doing calculations in her head.
Four jin, it was actually a full four jin.
Auntie Zhou wouldn’t lie to her.
But her estimate of the weight couldn’t be wrong.
So where exactly was the mistake?
Auntie Zhou tugged at her, “You’re not wrong, girl. Look, the shopkeeper even gave you an extra two liang, saving you sixty cents.
Let’s go~”
Ruan Jinxiang lifted her feet and followed Auntie Zhou out.
Her mind was still turning.
Sixty cents for two liang of white rice, one liang would be thirty cents, so white rice is three yuan per jin.
Wait!
One jin is ten liang!
She muttered to herself, “One jin is actually not sixteen liang.”
Auntie Zhou was both amused and exasperated.
This girl wasn’t quite right in the head, living in her own world—and what’s more, it was an ancient world.
One jin equals sixteen liang, haha~ No wonder she said the shopkeeper shortchanged her on the scale.
It had to be said, Auntie Zhou had hit the nail on the head.
Ruan Jinxiang’s world was indeed ancient, not in the same time and dimension as hers.
Ruan Jinxiang suddenly understood.
No wonder, that shopkeeper at the purchasing station was so shrewd and cunning, how could he possibly make a mistake weighing?
Another thing that was different, she silently noted it down.
Feeling ashamed, she stopped in her tracks.
“Auntie Zhou, please wait for me a moment. I need to go apologize to the shopkeeper.”
Auntie Zhou smiled and said, “Go ahead~”
Ruan Jinxiang hurried back to the shopkeeper’s stall, “Shopkeeper, I’m sorry, I wrongly accused you. I apologize.”
She bowed deeply.
Shopkeeper Xiao Chen never dwelled on things; once something was over, it was over. By the time he walked back to his stall, his anger had already subsided.
Why bother arguing with someone who wasn’t right in the head?
He hadn’t expected Ruan Jinxiang to come back and apologize.
Listening to her speak logically, with a sincere attitude and understanding, even though her clothes were strange and tattered, they were clean.
He guessed that before this girl’s mind went awry, she must have been an educated and well-mannered person.
Maybe even a college student.
What a pity.
He was the kind of person who always returned respect with respect.
Seeing Ruan Jinxiang’s clothes patched over patches, he felt a surge of sympathy.
He picked up a trial-sized two-jin bag of white flour from the stall, “Take this to eat.”
Ruan Jinxiang couldn’t possibly accept it. She bowed deeply again and hurried away.
Shopkeeper Xiao Chen took a big step out of his stall and stuffed it into her bag, “No need to be polite. Next time you need rice or flour, come back.”
Ruan Jinxiang quickly bowed, “Thank you, shopkeeper, thank you, shopkeeper.”
Her face full of gratitude, this shopkeeper, like Auntie Zhou, was a good person.
But she had nothing to repay him with now, so she could only keep it in her heart, truly ashamed.
After bidding farewell to Shopkeeper Xiao Chen, she went to find Auntie Zhou.
The two left the morning market, and Auntie Zhou was also heading home.
They discussed going to dig for sweet potatoes tomorrow before parting ways.
Watching Ruan Jinxiang’s thin figure, Auntie Zhou suddenly remembered something.
She hurriedly called out loudly, “Girl, girl, wait a moment.”
Running over, she whispered a warning, “Girl, if anyone says they’ll give you food and asks you to go with them, you must never believe them.
No matter if it’s a man or a woman, no matter their age, even if it’s a child, if they say they’ll take you somewhere, you must not go.
Understand?”
It suddenly occurred to her that when she said she’d take this girl out of the city on her bike, the girl had believed her.
If she encountered a scammer, she had no money, but her body parts…
Recently, she had come across many videos online.
Her granddaughter’s school was just in front of the residential complex, yet she didn’t dare let the little girl walk to school alone, insisting on picking her up and dropping her off on time every day.
Ruan Jinxiang blinked. Having lived through three years of chaos in a turbulent era, she had experienced much.
She understood Auntie Zhou’s good intentions.
Auntie Zhou feared that a frail woman like her, alone and vulnerable, might encounter those heartless traffickers who preyed on women and children.
It turned out that even in this prosperous land, where food and clothing were abundant, such things still happened.
She nodded emphatically, “Auntie Zhou, I’ll remember that.”
“Good, good. By the way, girl, what’s your name?” She couldn’t keep calling her “girl” all the time.
“My name is Ruan Jinxiang.”
“Jinxiang—what a lovely name,” Auntie Zhou waved her hand. “Go on then, Jinxiang. Be careful crossing the road, and watch out for cars.”
“Alright~”
The two parted ways.
Ruan Jinxiang glanced at the sun—it wasn’t even noon yet.
For ordinary folks like her, two meals a day were the norm. Only wealthy families or officials’ households could afford three meals a day.
It was still early to go back, so she decided to collect more recyclables to sell for money.
Following the road toward the recycling station behind the Sunshine Garden residential complex that Auntie Zhou had mentioned, she rummaged through one trash bin after another.
From the roadside bins, she mostly found plastic bottles and aluminum cans.
By the time she reached the recycling station, she had collected another large bag of recyclables.
The owner here was a woman in her forties, whom others addressed as Little Tian.
After the previous person finished selling their items, Ruan Jinxiang politely called out, “Boss Tian, I’m here to sell recyclables.”
“Sure, put them over there. There’s water if you’re thirsty—help yourself,” Boss Tian replied warmly.
The large barrel of mineral water and disposable cups were specifically prepared for elderly folks who sold small amounts of recyclables.
Some elderly people made a living by collecting recyclables, and after spending half a day or a full day scavenging, they wouldn’t go all the way home just for a drink of water.
She saw it as a small kindness to offer them water and a place to rest.
Ruan Jinxiang was indeed very thirsty. She quickly bowed, “Thank you, boss.”
But as she approached, she hesitated. How was she supposed to get water from this large transparent barrel into the small, deep white cup?
Ruan Jinxiang’s bow left Boss Tian momentarily stunned.
After a brief thought, it dawned on her.
Seeing Ruan Jinxiang fumbling awkwardly, unsure how to get the water, Boss Tian hurried over to demonstrate.
“Look, take a paper cup, press this switch, and the water will come out.”
Watching the water flow, Ruan Jinxiang exclaimed, “Oh~” in surprise—it was so ingeniously designed.
She took the cup, “Thank you, Boss Tian~”
Her voice was gentle and clear, with a crisp quality, and her politeness made Boss Tian feel particularly at ease.
Noticing the other large bag Ruan Jinxiang was carrying, with a corner of something pink—somewhat dirty—peeking out, Boss Tian guessed it might be old clothes she had picked up.
Seeing the layers of patches on Ruan Jinxiang’s clothes, she felt a pang of sympathy.
“Sister, let me gather some old clothes for you. They’re ones I used to wear—please don’t mind. I washed them clean before storing them away.”
Ruan Jinxiang quickly replied, “I wouldn’t dare trouble you or have you spend money.”
“Spend money? It’s nothing. They’re just taking up space anyway.
Someday when I tidy up, I’ll probably throw them out.”
Hearing this, Ruan Jinxiang gratefully nodded, “Then thank you so much, Boss Tian.”
Boss Tian lived on the second floor. She went upstairs and soon returned with a woven bag full of clothes.
Seeing so many clothes, with fabrics intact and looking seventy to eighty percent new, Ruan Jinxiang was both surprised and delighted.
She hurriedly expressed her gratitude once more.
“Boss Tian, I don’t have anything proper to give in return, so I’ll just dump these scraps here for you.”
“That won’t do. Business is business.”
Seeing Ruan Jinxiang pour out a bag of scrap and turn to leave, Boss Tian quickly stopped her.
“Little sister, a few old clothes—taking advantage of you like this, what kind of person would I be? You sit here and rest for a bit. I’ll count them quickly.”
Pulling Ruan Jinxiang to sit on a small stool, she deftly began counting the bottles one by one.
At her scrap collection point, plastic bottles were five cents each, and aluminum cans were ten cents each.
“Little sister, there are 72 bottles and 46 cans. Let’s round it up—here’s ten yuan for you.”
When she encountered homeless people collecting scraps, she treated it as a favor and didn’t make money off them.