Its location was actually quite good. Exiting the alley led to the school; on the left and right were the residential compounds for the county committee and the county finance bureau, and a little further ahead was the county hospital.
It could be called the political and cultural center of Jiao County.
Although the alley was close to the school, it didn’t face the main road; it was nestled within the residential area, quiet despite being in the midst of activity, and easy to stay unnoticed.
Moreover, the alley branched in multiple directions, with several exits. If someone tried to catch anyone, it would be easy to escape, lowering the chance of being caught considerably.
Su Qiao didn’t know who had first thought of this spot, but she couldn’t help admiring the ingenuity of ordinary people.
Unfortunately, today she had still arrived too late.
By the time she hurried over, the small vendors were already packing up, and there were hardly any customers left.
The remaining stalls only had a few hard-to-sell items left, clearly making a last-ditch effort.
Su Qiao walked through the alley but couldn’t find any pork, she was utterly disappointed.
Turning around to leave in frustration, she suddenly noticed someone entering the alley.
The person wore rubber shoes, carried a bamboo basket on his back, had a flushed face, and was panting.
He stood at the alley entrance with a look of anxiety and disappointment, as if he had been searching for something in vain.
He looked much the same as when Su Qiao had first hurried over, the only difference being that one was a buyer and the other a seller.
Su Qiao’s eyes were sharp; she immediately noticed a few tiny fish scales stuck to the tops of his black cloth shoes.
A thrill ran through her, and she casually quickened her pace to his side, lowering her voice to ask, “Uncle, is that basket of yours full of fish?”
The man’s face lit up at her question, and he nodded repeatedly.
Su Qiao said nothing more and turned to walk deeper into the alley. The man followed without hesitation.
Once she was sure no one nearby was paying attention, Su Qiao glanced at the basket on his back. “Uncle, what kind of fish are you selling? Can I take a look?”
“Yes, yes!”
The man quickly took the bamboo basket off his shoulder and set it down between them.
He crouched, lifted the straw covering the basket, and beamed at Su Qiao with pride. “Bighead carp! Look how fat they are! You won’t find another stall like this anywhere in the market!”
Peeking through a gap in the straw, Su Qiao looked inside.
Sure enough, there were two bighead carp, alive and wriggling, and the size was impressive. Each one seemed to weigh at least two to three jin (about 1–1.5 kg).
She knew the man was right, these fish were not easy to come by.
But she didn’t show any excitement. She glanced once and looked away, then asked him, “How much per jin?”
The man hesitated as he looked at her.
He straightened the straw and asked again, “Young lady, are you serious about buying them?”
“Of course I am,” Su Qiao said, looking at him. “But it depends on your price. If it’s too expensive, I can’t afford it.”
“Not expensive, not expensive, three mao per jin! These two are about two jin eight liang each. If you want them, I’ll give you both for eight mao a piece. If I hadn’t come late today, I wouldn’t sell them at this price!” the man said.
Su Qiao didn’t respond immediately.
To be honest, she didn’t really know the current market price for fish.
More importantly, she had nothing to compare it with, she had never seen such large bighead carp at the free market before.
She lifted the straw again and looked inside, then pointed at a small, inconspicuous package wrapped in leaves tucked in the corner. “What’s inside this?”
The man clearly didn’t expect her to ask that.
“Tiny river shrimp,” he said as he opened the small package.
Sure enough, inside were some river shrimp no bigger than a fingertip.
They were very fresh, all pale pinkish-white, with some antennae still twitching, obviously they hadn’t been caught long ago.
At this time, river shrimp weren’t particularly rare. Any small river or creek could yield a few if one bothered to try.
But they had little meat, and cooking them well required oil, so not many people liked them. When they were sold, it was usually just casually, and they never fetched a high price.
Su Qiao, however, liked these shrimp. She could boil them in salted water or lightly fry them in oil as snacks for her younger siblings, a fun little treat and a way to help supplement their calcium.
She picked up the leaf-wrapped bundle and weighed it in her hand, thinking it must be at least close to two jin.
So she said decisively, “Two fish, one pack of shrimp, and you throw in this bamboo basket too. I’ll give you two yuan and twenty cents. Deal?”
The man immediately frowned.
Without thinking, he shook his head. “No way, no way. The fish and shrimp alone are worth two yuan. This big basket, and you only give me twenty cents for it?”
Su Qiao pouted. “And you want four mao for the shrimp? What a joke!”
Then she tapped the rim of the basket. “Look at your basket, it’s all broken. If I hadn’t come out without something to carry things in, I wouldn’t even want it for free. Two yuan twenty, will you sell or not?”
Hearing this, the man looked at his basket and finally noticed that several of the upper rattan strips were indeed broken.
He glared, annoyed, but reluctantly said, “Just replace a couple of strips at home, it’s easy. What’s so broken about it?”
Su Qiao didn’t reply; she just turned and started walking away.
Seeing her leave, the man panicked. “Hey, girl, why are you walking off mid-conversation? Fine, fine, take it, take it!”
He hurried after her and set the basket down in front of her.
Two fish, one pack of shrimp, and a bamboo basket about seventy or eighty percent intact, all for two yuan and twenty cents. Su Qiao was very satisfied.
She didn’t know the exact market price, but she knew that, like herself, the man had arrived late today.
Otherwise, his goods would have sold easily, and she might not have had a chance at all.
But late was late, nothing could change that.
The morning market was nearly over now, and most of the buyers had already left.
If she left as well, there wouldn’t be many people willing to buy all of these items at once.
The man had obviously thought of this too, which is why he agreed to her offer.
In any case, the transaction ended with both sides satisfied.
Even though she hadn’t bought meat, Su Qiao was very content just having the fish.
With the basket on her back, she headed back to Xiaobei Camp.
Since she was already there, she naturally wanted to look around some more, hoping to find a house as soon as possible.
After getting off the bus, Su Qiao first went to the supply-and-marketing cooperative’s purchasing point, spending fifteen cents on a bottle of fermented rice wine and forty cents on two clay pots.
She happened to see some mixed candies being sold without coupons. Although slightly sticky from poor storage, they were still edible.
She quickly bought a pound for the kids at home.
The fermented rice wine and clay pots were for making fermented fish with the two large fish she had bought, a dish she was particularly good at.
Su Qiao’s fermented fish was fragrant, spicy, delicious, and could be stored for a while. Everyone who had tasted it liked it.
In the past, friends would always beg her to make it, and as soon as she did, it would almost immediately be devoured.
Seeing the big fish, Su Qiao immediately thought of this dish. She figured giving it as a gift would be impressive.
After putting her purchases into the basket, Su Qiao began slowly wandering around the area.
This time, she had thought things through: she didn’t have to limit herself to finding a house in the chemical plant or tire factory residential areas. As long as it was safe, ordinary houses along this route would do.
If that failed, she could step back and consider areas a little farther away.
At worst, she could move in temporarily and keep looking for a better place later.
This approach greatly expanded her options.
But after wandering for two hours, Su Qiao realized she had been overly optimistic.
She had walked through almost every street and alley around Xiaobei Camp. Her legs felt like they were filled with lead, the basket on her back growing heavier and heavier, and yet she still hadn’t found a suitable house.
In the current Jiao County, there weren’t many transient residents; even locals didn’t have enough homes for themselves.
Especially in an industrial area like Xiaobei Camp, many families had been working in the factories for generations, and now the entire family still lived together in a single apartment.
Hardly anyone was willing to rent out their place.
The midday sun was blazing hot, and even the leaves on the trees were wilting. Su Qiao was exhausted and worn out; she could hardly keep walking. She decided to find a place to rest and grab a bite to eat.
She didn’t plan to go to a state-run restaurant.
There wasn’t much left of the family’s food ration coupons, and before finding a house, Su Qiao didn’t know how many more trips she would have to make into town. She needed to be frugal.
Besides, she had brought steamed buns that morning, and she had even stuffed some salted radish strips that Xiao Qifeng had brought from home into them.
She only intended to find a small eatery selling something soupy and have a quick bite, just enough to get by.
Su Qiao walked slowly along the street, looking for a small restaurant.
According to her memories from her previous life, she knew a few private eateries in the area that served decent food, but the problem was it was still too early; none of them were open yet.
If her memory was correct, the small restaurants nearby wouldn’t start opening until the following year, after the tailor street near the chemical plant’s residential area had gradually taken shape.
But she couldn’t wait that long.
Fortunately, Su Qiao’s luck held out. Passing by a small alley, she noticed a wonton stall tucked at the very end.
The stall was run by an old man. What Su Qiao called a “stall” was actually just a carrying pole with two large baskets hanging from it.
One basket seemed to hold a coal stove, coal briquettes, a pot, and various utensils. The other basket contained a small cabinet with several compartments for packed wontons, seasonings, and tableware.
At the moment, the baskets were placed inconspicuously against the wall.
The old man sat by the stove, and the cabinet was right next to him.
The conditions of the wonton stall were extremely simple, there wasn’t even a proper table for eating.
Around the stove, a few small stools were scattered haphazardly, nothing more.
Yet the old man’s business seemed quite good. Five or six of the stools were occupied, and a few customers squatted casually on the ground nearby, chatting with the old man while enjoying their bowls of wontons.
They were clearly regulars.
Seeing this scene, Su Qiao knew the wontons had to taste good.
She naturally walked over.
“Big bowl, two mao; small bowl, one mao five. No ration coupons needed. Miss, big bowl or small bowl?” The old man greeted her warmly as soon as he saw her.
Su Qiao immediately understood why his business was so good.
Setting taste aside, in these times, anything that didn’t require ration coupons would sell without worry!
She looked at the bowls held by the other customers and thought they looked appetizing. So she readily took out two mao: “One small bowl, please.”
“All right!”
The old man took the money, gave her five fen in change, then skillfully dropped a few small wontons into the boiling soup.
The wonton wrappers were thin and slightly translucent, so they cooked in just one or two spins in the pot.
He picked up a small bowl beside him containing seaweed, dried shrimp, and seasonings. Once the soup was boiling, he ladled some into the small bowl, then used a slotted spoon to scoop the cooked wontons into it.
The whole process took just a few minutes, and a bowl of wontons was ready.
Su Qiao took the small bowl and looked around for a place to set it down, but couldn’t find any.
“Go into the courtyard; there’s seating there.”
Noticing that it was her first time, the old man pointed to a courtyard at the far end of the alley while he was preparing wontons for others.
Following his directions, Su Qiao carefully carried her bowl toward the courtyard. When she arrived, she realized it was actually a small street-side clothing processing workshop!
She wondered what connection the old man had with this workshop.
In any case, when the middle-aged woman guarding the entrance saw her carrying a bowl of wontons, she didn’t ask a single question and even enthusiastically pointed inside: “Sit over there; there’s space.”
Su Qiao then realized that the wonton stall’s customers were more than she’d thought, the courtyard had its own setup.
Along the wall near the gatehouse was a long table. Technically, it was just stacks of bricks with a wooden board on top, a makeshift table.
At the table were over a dozen small stools, almost all occupied by customers.
Su Qiao quickly grabbed a stool and sat down, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
She took a sip of the soup and couldn’t help but hum in approval.
The wontons were really well made.
Although the filling was tiny, each wonton’s meat barely bigger than a fingernail, the seasoning was excellent. One bite left her wanting more.
Moreover, the broth that served as the base for the wontons was definitely a rich stock made from bones, genuine, full-bodied, and flavorful.
One sip made Su Qiao feel even hungrier.
She took out the steamed buns she had brought from her backpack and ate them alongside the wontons.
After finishing, Su Qiao, following the example of the other diners, placed her used bowl into a wooden bucket by the table and prepared to leave.
But after just a few steps, she saw two people carrying an unusually large hemp sack out of the workshop together.
Like most small street-side factories of the era, this clothing processing workshop was very modest in scale.
The courtyard, Su Qiao estimated, was only slightly larger than the combined front and back yards of an ordinary household.
There were only five or six small buildings, plus two locked rooms used as storage.
It was so small that she had already scanned the entire area while eating her wontons.
The two people carried an open hemp sack, bulging with scraps of fabric, some spilling over the edge and trailing on the ground as they walked.
Seeing the pile of fabric scraps, Su Qiao felt frozen in place.
Her heart raced wildly; she realized she had discovered an extraordinary opportunity.
She stood still, watching as the two workers placed the sack haphazardly against the wall in the narrow gap between two factory buildings, letting scraps spill out freely.
Looking around, she saw that no one was paying attention, or if they did, it was so common they didn’t bother to notice.
Su Qiao walked a few steps closer to the workshop, confirmed that the sack contained discarded factory scraps, and then turned back toward the gatehouse.
She pulled out her tea container from her backpack and politely asked the middle-aged woman at the gate, “Auntie, do you have hot water here? Could you pour some for me?”
The woman, seeing Su Qiao enter earlier with her bowl, responded warmly.
“Is the wonton too salty? Next time you come, tell me in advance, and my dad will put in less salt.”
Su Qiao hadn’t realized that this woman was the old man’s daughter.
She quickly waved her hand, “No, no. It’s just so hot today, I’m a little thirsty. Your father’s wontons are amazing, by far the best I’ve ever had!”
Hearing this, the woman’s face lit up with pride. “My dad’s wontons are indeed famous around here. Don’t let our small stall fool you; we get plenty of customers every day.”
She set aside the knitting she had been working on, stood up, and waved to Su Qiao, “Come in, I just boiled some water. Come inside and have a sip.”
Seeing how polite she was, Su Qiao quickly thanked her and walked over to place her tea container on the table.
The woman picked up a thermos and poured half a container of hot water for her, explaining as she did, “It’s very hot, so I only poured a little for now. Drink it first, and I’ll pour more later.”
“Thank you, Auntie.”
After saying this, Su Qiao took a handful of fruit candies from her bag and placed them on the table. She then picked out a mint-flavored one and handed it to the woman. “Auntie, have a candy. This one’s minty, it’ll wake you up.”
The woman didn’t expect her to offer candy and quickly laughed while declining, “Oh no, no need, little girl. You keep it for yourself. I’m too old to eat candy now.”
“I still have more, Auntie, please take one. You’re sitting here alone, and you can’t even rest at noon. It’s too hard. This candy is cool and refreshing; it’ll make you feel good and keep you awake.”
Even though it was just an ordinary mint candy, the way Su Qiao spoke made it sound pleasant and heartfelt.
Hearing this, the woman didn’t insist further. She laughed, took the candy, unwrapped it, and put it in her mouth.
“You really know how to speak, little girl. I feel embarrassed not to eat it now.”
After saying that, she smiled at Su Qiao, looking at her knowingly, tilted her head toward the inner courtyard, and asked, “I saw you walking in earlier. Are you planning to buy some fabric?”
Su Qiao nodded, a faint shyness coloring her face.
With an expectant look, she asked, “Auntie, is the fabric for sale? Can outsiders buy it?”
She was young, with fair skin, and even a hint of shyness caused a gentle blush to spread across her cheeks.
Even if she had a little scheme in mind, to an adult, she just seemed like an interesting child, not bothersome at all.
Seeing her like this, the woman’s expression shifted slightly, and she asked, “What do you want that for?”
Su Qiao didn’t answer immediately.
Although she really needed the fabric, facing a stranger in such a big, uncertain environment, she couldn’t help but remain cautious.