“Alright then, tomorrow morning at seven o’clock, I’ll wait for you at the entrance of the neighborhood across the street.
Auntie will take you there on my bike.”
Her home was in the western district, almost on the outskirts of the city.
The villages where sweet potatoes were grown were about fifteen or sixteen li away, so they had to set out early.
After sending her granddaughter to school, it would be just around seven o’clock. Going early meant they could return early, making it back in time to prepare lunch for her granddaughter.
“Girl, let’s go early. Will you be here by seven?”
Seven o’clock? Yet another unfamiliar way of telling time in this place.
Ruan Jinxiang thought that when Auntie set the time with her, this “seven o’clock” must be the same as the shichen she was used to.
Go early? Ruan Jinxiang tentatively asked, “Mao hour?”
Auntie Zhou: !
This girl was dressed so strangely and seemed mentally unstable. It was likely that besides her family troubles, she had also suffered some trauma related to this.
She was living in her own world.
Auntie Zhou said firmly, “Exactly at Chen hour.”
Ruan Jinxiang quickly nodded, “Alright, I’ll wait for you, Elder, at the entrance of the neighborhood.”
Auntie Zhou taught Ruan Jinxiang how to recognize money, kindly treated her to breakfast, and then took her to gather sweet potatoes.
In Ruan Jinxiang’s heart, she had already come to regard Auntie Zhou as family in this place, feeling a sense of closeness and complete trust toward her.
After finishing breakfast, as the two prepared to leave, she asked, “Auntie Zhou, could you help me see if this money of mine can buy some coarse grains?”
“Of course. We’ll take a detour from the west side later—there’s a place there that sells grains and oil.”
After the meal, Auntie Zhou took Ruan Jinxiang to buy rice.
When they reached a stall, Auntie Zhou greeted the owner familiarly, “Boss Chen, how much is sorghum rice per jin?”
Since Ruan Jinxiang wanted to buy coarse grains, she directly asked for the price of sorghum rice.
Boss Chen, while weighing goods for the previous customer, smiled and replied, “Auntie Zhou, you’re here. Same old price, four yuan per jin.”
Auntie Zhou was a regular customer, and they spoke with ease.
What Ruan Jinxiang usually ate was wheat bran and coarse chaff.
Having a meal of millet or sorghum was already considered excellent fare.
This place was prosperous, and she thought there might not be any coarse chaff for sale. Sure enough, after looking around, she found none.
Besides sorghum rice, she also saw ground cornmeal.
“Boss, how much for this cornmeal?”
Seeing that Ruan Jinxiang was with Auntie Zhou, Boss Chen warmly greeted her, “Three yuan per jin.”
Ruan Jinxiang decided to buy cornmeal.
She quickly calculated in her mind—this way, she could buy an extra jin and a half of grain, enough for her and Ya Ya to eat for another day.
Glancing at the white rice the boss was weighing—this could be considered fine rice—her eyes filled with longing.
If only she could buy some white rice to cook porridge for Ya Ya.
With the years of war, food at home had been scarce. Tiedan’s grandmother occasionally made rice porridge, but Ya Ya had always eaten the same coarse chaff and wild vegetable buns as her.
It was her fault as a mother for not being capable enough.
The two children were twins, but Ya Ya was noticeably thinner and smaller.
Strangely enough, despite being small, Ya Ya had always been strong. Whenever Tiedan fought with her, he always ended up crying after being beaten by Ya Ya.
Because Ya Ya’s little fists were so hard, none of the children their age in the village dared to bully the two of them.
But white rice was too expensive, beyond what she could afford.
For now, she could only buy some coarse grains to fill Ya Ya’s stomach.
Reluctantly, Ruan Jinxiang pulled her gaze away. “Boss, I’ll take four jin of cornmeal.”
The boss responded, “Sure thing~”
Having finished weighing for the previous customer, he said, “Five jin and two liang, just give me fifteen yuan.”
The shopkeeper sized up the girl buying rice.
Judging by her age and attire, she was clearly a recent college graduate, someone who likely ordered takeout for every meal.
It was only on a weekend whim, wanting to cook for herself, that she’d come to buy loose rice.
Families living day-to-day always bought it by the bag.
Ruan Jinxiang froze. Wait a minute!
She silently calculated in her head.
Wh-what?
White rice is also three yuan per jin?
And it’s actually the same price as coarse grains like cornmeal!
It’s even one yuan cheaper than coarse rice like sorghum!
Although she had just told herself not to be constantly surprised, Ruan Jinxiang couldn’t help but feel excited.
Grain, this was grain.
The finest white rice here was actually sold at a fair price!
Her voice trembling with urgency, she hurriedly corrected herself, “Boss, I want four jin of white rice.”
The boss, who set up his stall here every day, had seen plenty of strange people and odd incidents. He didn’t find Ruan Jinxiang unusual, especially since she was accompanied by Aunt Zhou.
He weighed out the rice, giving her the full amount.
Ruan Jinxiang counted the money over and over, making sure she hadn’t made a mistake, before handing it to the boss.
Taking the rice, she completed her second transaction in this area.
Her previously tense heart finally relaxed with a long sigh of relief.
She left the rice stall with Aunt Zhou.
But just after taking two steps, she felt something was off.
Four jin of rice—this weight in her hand… Ruan Jinxiang frowned slightly.
It felt more like two and a half jin!
Ruan Jinxiang pursed her lips in grievance, whimpering inwardly—this place was bullying her.
They were all unscrupulous merchants!
This rice was life-saving food for her and Ya Ya.
No matter how scared she was, she had to get it back!
So, Ruan Jinxiang pitifully complained, “Aunt Zhou, the boss shortchanged me on the rice. He didn’t give me the full weight.”
Aunt Zhou was startled, “That can’t be. I’ve always bought from this stall, and I’ve never been shortchanged.”
She took the rice bag from Ruan Jinxiang’s hand and weighed it in her palm.
Accustomed to buying rice, vegetables, and even scrap, Aunt Zhou could estimate the weight fairly accurately.
Muttering to herself, she said, “This feels like four jin.”
Ruan Jinxiang shook her head firmly, “It’s not enough.”
Just two steps away from the rice stall, Ruan Jinxiang’s accusation of being shortchanged was heard clearly by the young boss, Chen.
Nearby customers also overheard, and the boss immediately grew anxious.
He had never engaged in dishonest practices like using underweight scales.
Some stalls, seeing young people who didn’t pay attention or understand, even dared to use scales that were off by a large margin—truly despicable.
Having done nothing wrong, Boss Chen was full of confidence, “How can you talk nonsense like that!
Come on, let’s go weigh it on the market’s fair scale!”
Seeing Ruan Jinxiang so certain, Aunt Zhou grew suspicious. Could it be that she had been misplacing her trust in Boss Chen all along?
The three of them went to the market management office, and some curious onlookers nearby followed along to watch the commotion.
Placed on the fair scale, the manager announced the weight, “Four jin and two liang.”
Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhou realized Boss Chen had even rounded down the extra weight, and she felt relieved that she hadn’t been cheated before.
She gave Boss Chen an apologetic smile.
Patiently explaining to Ruan Jinxiang, she said, “Look, child, this is the weight in jin—two point one kilograms.
One kilogram is two jin; two kilograms is four jin.
This is the price—three yuan per jin, which is six yuan per kilogram.
That makes twelve yuan in total. It’s correct.”
Turning to Boss Chen and the others who had followed, she explained, “This child,” pointing to her head, “has some issues.
Don’t take it to heart, Boss Chen.”
With just one glance, Boss Chen could tell this girl wasn’t quite right.
If it had been anyone else, he definitely wouldn’t have let it go so easily.
He would have demanded a public apology over the market’s loudspeaker.
Waving his hand, he said, “Alright, I’m heading back then.”
Aunt Zhou added a few more kind words for the boss and watched him leave.
The onlookers, seeing that the boss was in the right, silently noted Boss Chen’s stall for future purchases of rice and flour before dispersing.
Seeing everyone had left, Aunt Zhou prepared to take Ruan Jinxiang out of the market.
Turning around, I saw her staring blankly, lost in thought.