The two elderly women fought for a long time, and in the end, neither could win, so they angrily began to negotiate.
They agreed to split the items in half, glared at each other, and then each took their share and left.
Ruan Jinxiang thought for a moment and quietly followed the old woman to see how she would handle the cardboard and bottles.
She followed until the old woman entered a tall building. Ruan Jinxiang waited outside for a long time, but the woman never came out.
Secretly disappointed, she thought the woman must have gone home.
She was about to rummage through the trash bins again, hoping to find something good like she had the day before, when she spotted an old woman in dark green clothes pulling a small cart piled high with cardboard.
Ruan Jinxiang felt a surge of joy and quietly followed her again.
After walking a short distance, she was surprised to find herself back at the entrance of the large gate she had stumbled into the day before.
Turning right out of the gate and walking a little over two zhang farther, she reached the spot where she had fallen yesterday.
She made a mental note of the route.
After turning down two more streets and walking for about a quarter of an hour, she saw the green-clad old woman enter a shop by the roadside.
Only then did she realize that cardboard and bottles could be sold for money!
No wonder they had fought over them.
And there were many other discarded items that could also be sold for money.
Money, she understood, was used to buy things in this magical realm, just like copper coins and silver in her own world.
Realizing this, Ruan Jinxiang’s eyes lit up.
If she could earn money by collecting scrap, she could go to that market and buy some food to bring back!
She carefully memorized what kinds of scrap could be sold.
Her heart burning with excitement, she wasted no time.
As she walked back, she rummaged through every trash bin along the way.
By the time she returned to the familiar area of tall buildings, she had searched every single trash bin there.
The more she searched, the brighter her eyes grew.
These two pieces of clothing didn’t even have a single patch—they were just thrown away. She took them.
A large bag made of some unknown material, much sturdier than cloth bags—she took it, perfect for carrying things.
Cardboard, various bottles—she took them all.
A small pink blanket, probably meant for a child—she took it.
It was already winter, yet there was such a large, fresh head of cabbage!
Inside this transparent bag were three large sweet potatoes.
They were only slightly spoiled, and they were just thrown away? She had to take them.
…
After searching all the trash bins, Ruan Jinxiang had collected two large bags full of items.
She found a secluded spot and organized everything.
One bag was dedicated to scrap. She flattened the cardboard like the old woman had done earlier, stacking it neatly to sell later.
The other bag contained the old clothes, worn bedsheets, and similar items she had picked up to take back.
She had decided not to take anything that didn’t exist in her own world, as she wouldn’t dare use it anyway. As she picked through the items, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.
Carrying the two large bags, she walked while pondering.
While rummaging through the trash bins, she had listened carefully to the conversations of the occasional passersby.
She had also overheard a few elderly women who had returned from buying groceries chatting together.
She learned that this area of tall buildings was called a “residential community.”
Here, everyone was considered equal, with no distinctions of high or low status, so people didn’t bow or kneel when they met.
People here didn’t address each other as “master” or “madam” either—they called each other by their names casually.
Both boys and girls were sent by their parents to a place called “school” to study.
Oh, and here, parents weren’t called “father” and “mother” but “dad” and “mom.”
Everything she heard felt strange and fascinating.
She also overheard someone say that they had argued with the official in charge of this area the day before.
How dare you disrespect an official, and not even get a beating for it!
Just now, she had listened, and the little iron spoon she picked up slipped right back into the trash bin—she was utterly stunned.
This place was prosperous, yet also…
Ruan Jinxiang was almost at the scrap collection station before she realized she couldn’t quite describe it.
Seeing the signboard, her heart couldn’t help but race, pushing aside the thoughts she had just been pondering.
Selling things in this area for the first time, she nervously swallowed her saliva.
Walking in, she imitated the tone of the old man from earlier, “Boss, selling scrap.”
What they called the shopkeeper back home was called “boss” here.
“Put it there. Bottles are five cents each, cardboard is six mao per jin.”
The boss didn’t even look up, taking the large bag from Ruan Jinxiang’s hands, pouring out the bottles with a clatter, his hands moving swiftly as he counted them.
Ruan Jinxiang watched intently.
“Fifty-four bottles, two kuai and seven mao.”
She frowned slightly.
The boss moved quickly, but she had counted clearly—there were sixty-seven bottles.
This boss was just like Butcher Liu back in town, shortchanging people!
But she didn’t dare say anything.
The boss weighed the cardboard, “Sixteen jin, nine kuai and six mao.”
“Total, twelve kuai.”
Rounding off the change, he directly handed Ruan Jinxiang a ten-kuai note and two one-kuai coins.
Ruan Jinxiang’s frown deepened, certain now that this was a black-hearted boss.
Although she didn’t know how money was calculated in this area, seven and six definitely didn’t add up to a whole number.
Wuwuwu~ She still didn’t dare speak up.
Even if she mustered the courage to argue with him, she didn’t know how money was calculated here and couldn’t make a logical case, so she definitely wouldn’t win.
Wait!
That stack of cardboard she picked up weighed sixteen jin?
Usually, she also carried firewood and vegetables to sell at the market and could roughly estimate the weight.
When she carried the cardboard, she estimated it was around ten jin.
Did the boss misweigh it, or was his scale inaccurate?
Seeing her hesitate to take the money, the boss spoke unpleasantly.
“With this little stuff, you’re just wasting my time. Sell it or not, up to you. If not, take it away!”
Ruan Jinxiang hesitantly took the money. The cardboard was definitely overcharged, making her uneasy.
Gritting her teeth, she thought, forget it, the bottles were undercounted anyway.
She turned to leave.
But just as she lifted her foot, someone grabbed her.
She thought to herself, “Oh no!”
Was the boss doing this on purpose? Would he drag her to the authorities and accuse her of fraud?
Butcher Liu back in town had done exactly that.
He deliberately gave an old woman an extra three liang of meat, then accused her of trying to cheat him.
Dragged before the village head, the old woman was given five strokes of the cane and fined ten times the price of the pork.
Thinking of this, Ruan Jinxiang’s face turned pale.
Looking back, she saw it wasn’t the boss who grabbed her but a woman in her sixties.
This old woman had been counting another pile of bottles nearby earlier—she must be the boss’s family member.
Panicked, Ruan Jinxiang tried to break free and run away.
The old woman grabbed her again, patting her chest boldly, “Don’t be afraid, girl. Auntie will help you get your money back!”
Ruan Jinxiang: ?
Then she heard the old woman speak quickly, “Black-hearted Liu, have you no shame? How can you cheat anyone like this!
That cardboard was seventeen jin. How can you round it off like that!”
Anyone could see at a glance that this girl wasn’t quite right in the head.
She hadn’t forgotten basic needs like eating and drinking, and she remembered some common sense. When she didn’t speak, she looked like a normal person, surviving by scavenging outside.
When you meet someone like this, even if you don’t help them, you shouldn’t make black-hearted money off them.
Boss Liu looked displeased, “Auntie Zhou, are you done counting? The truck collecting goods will be here soon.”
This old lady Zhou only sold things at his place once every ten days or half a month, and every time she meticulously counted the bottles herself again.
It’s just that this old lady is quite feisty, and she knows all the scrap collectors in the area, so he doesn’t dare provoke her too much.
Aunt Zhou let out a heavy “hmph.”
If it weren’t for her electric scooter running low on battery today—she was afraid she wouldn’t make it back from the distant recycling station—she wouldn’t be selling here at his place.
Every time, he either secretly steps on the cardboard to make it seem lighter or flicks through the bottles one by one, deliberately undercounting them.