Ning He was busy all night.
Making sweet fermented rice took time—the rice had to be soaked, steamed, and cooled down. By the time the processed rice was packed into the glass jar, sprinkled with a layer of dry distiller’s yeast, and sealed tight with a lid, it was already nearly midnight.
When Ning He woke up after a full sleep, it was almost one in the afternoon. She whipped up a bowl of powdered paste to fudge a meal, then went upstairs first to check on the planted vegetables.
Merely two days after sowing, the vegetable sprouts had long breached the surface, generally reaching the height of a palm; it was estimated they would mature in another two days.
With the noodle shop sealed, her originally envisioned route for selling vegetables had blown up in her face. Ning He had to think of another way.
However, this matter could not be asked about out in the open, and with Ning He’s abysmal popularity, there was no one she could count on. After scratching her head for a long time, she decided to visit that lady who sold chives.
Recalling that lady’s vigilance and hostility toward her, Ning He went to a steamed bun shop first to buy a box of buns as a gift, and then arrived at the lady’s front door, knocking gently.
“Hello, is anyone home?”
The door was gently pulled open a crack. Seeing Ning He, the person inside froze for a moment before her brow furrowed—she was both surprised and vigilant.
“It’s you? What are you here for?”
Ning He smiled servilely: “Sister, there was a big misunderstanding last time. I came to apologize to you, sister, and I even brought you a box of buns—thin skin and generous filling meat buns, fresh out of the steamer and still piping hot!”
The woman glanced at the food container held up in front of her by Ning He; waves of heat wrapped in a savory meat aroma were incomparably enticing.
This box must cost several dozen Yuan Dollars, right?
The woman’s brow furrowed even deeper.
“What exactly do you want?”
Ning He looked left and right: “I want to ask sister about something. You see, shall we step inside to talk?”
The woman hesitated for a moment, her gaze falling upon that box of chubby meat buns. Thinking of her youngest son who had not eaten meat in a long time, she ultimately took a step back and opened the door.
“Come on in.”
“Thank you, sister!” Ning He’s eyes lit up, and she immediately squeezed inside.
The two sat down by the table, and the woman poured Ning He a glass of water.
“What do you want to ask? Speak.”
“You don’t mind if I call you Sister Helen, do you?” Ning He tried to cozy up first.
The woman froze for a moment. The Ning He before her was vastly different from her past impression, making her a bit unaccustomed.
“Of course… I don’t mind. But… how did you find me? In the past, you never spoke to us at all.”
Ning He showed a sorrowful expression and let out a sigh.
“To tell sister the truth, in the past I was out of my mind and listened to that bastard’s words, blindly thinking of climbing to a better place, which was why I didn’t cultivate good relations with the neighbors. Now that he dumped me and ran, I only just realized I was duped.”
As Ning He spoke, she choked back a sob and wiped her face.
Helen remained stunned for a few seconds, unable to quite believe it.
“In the past, Qiu Luo lied… lied to you? Wasn’t it you who insisted on—”
Helen stopped before finishing her sentence; after all, she had to save some face for the person.
Ning He wiped her eyes, and stimulated by the chili water smeared on her fingers, tears gushed out of her eyes. Helen was startled.
“Don’t be sad, I didn’t mean it that way. It’s really… just…”
“I don’t blame Sister Helen. It was my own young age and foolishness—duped by someone while still counting money for him.”
Crying and sniffling, Ning He recounted her carefully decorated version of the story to Helen.
She very cleverly spun the original body’s process of relentlessly clinging to Qiu Luo as Qiu Luo playing hard-to-get with her innocent self, luring her step-by-step so that she devotedly dedicated herself to him. Starting from the age of eighteen, she funded his studies and took care of his sick mother for him, and her usual stinginess and harshness were merely forced by life.
In the end, her full heart of sincerity resulted in losing both money and love, ended by being abandoned by a heartless man.
In short, it made all who saw it sad and all who heard it weep!
It was precisely because the original body had never had any deep interaction with the neighbors, and no one knew clearly about her past with Qiu Luo, that Ning He dared to spin such a wild tale.
Sure enough, Helen had a face full of shock and sympathy.
“So that was how it was. But I heard that when he left, he left his scholarship to you; at least that made up for some of the loss.”
Speaking of this, Ning He secretly gnashed her teeth.
She smiled bitterly and shook her head: “What scholarship was there? It was just a blank check—it can only be issued after he stays in the research institute for half a year and passes the assessment. By then, where would he still remember a person like me?”
That guy with the surname Qiu put out a empty promise to buy himself a good reputation; what a fine plan he had hatched!
She would never let him get away with it.
“How… how could this be?” Helen was shocked beyond measure.
No wonder she was surprised.
Qiu Luo was simply too outstanding and too flawless in front of people.
Exceptionally smart, handsome, dashing, polite, and gentle toward everyone.
Who could have guessed he would be such a heartless person?
“So, the person who jumped into the river was really you?”
*Damn it, why has everyone seen that news?*
While cursing secretly, Ning He squeezed out a bitter smile: “It was me. At that time I lost my job and ran out of money, really not knowing how to keep living, so I did a foolish thing.”
Helen let out a sigh.
“It really was hard on you. If you need any help, you can tell me. We’re all neighbors; if I can help, I won’t refuse.”
Delighted in her heart, Ning He continued to maintain a sorrowful posture.
“There really is a matter I want to ask sister about. Last time I saw the chives sister grew were especially good, so I went back and tried it myself. In the end, a blind cat ran into a dead mouse, and I actually grew them—they grew quite well. With so many vegetables, I can’t finish them by myself, so I want to ask sister if there’s a way to handle them?”
She spoke euphemistically, but Helen understood immediately, her expression changing slightly.
Seeing her hesitate, Ning He hurriedly struck while the iron was hot.
“If sister finds it difficult, it’s fine. Just pretend I didn’t ask. It’s just that money really is tight for me right now, and I won’t be able to pay the rent soon. I might have to move to the Fifth Ring right away. When I’m not around then, I can also stay out of everyone’s sight.”
As Ning He spoke, she wiped her eyes, tears flowing down in torrents again.
Looking at this, Helen felt very uncomfortable in her heart.
In these times, living was not easy. Anyway, it was not a huge secret, so telling her did not matter.
In the end, she relented.
“Are the items you want to sell numerous? If it’s just selling a few pounds occasionally, I can help you find buyers. If you’re selling a lot, that’s another method.”
“What method?” Ning He asked hurriedly.
Helen pursed her lips and lowered her voice: “Blackstone Lane in the Fifth Ring has a vegetable shop. If you have a lot of vegetables to sell, go find the vegetable shop owner and say you want to buy meat. No matter what the owner says, you keep saying you want to buy meat, and in the end, he will take you to the place you should go.”
The Fifth Ring?
An abrupt melody subconsciously surfaced in Ning He’s mind; tossing the tune out of her head, she gratefully grasped Helen’s hand.
“Thank you, Sister Helen, I’ll keep it in mind.”
Helen smiled: “It’s fine. But be careful when you go to the Fifth Ring—the people living there are a mixed bag. Leave as soon as you finish your business and don’t linger.”
“I understand.”
What a truly kind person.
Ning He walked out of Helen’s house with complete satisfaction, calculating when to go check out that Blackstone Lane.
However, for now, resolving the cafeteria issue came first.
Passing another day, Ning He opened the glass jar in the afternoon to inspect it. After a day and night of fermentation, the rice inside had seeped clear wine liquid.
Ning He took a sip—the familiar, sweet, subtly tipsy aroma was present. Success!
Ning He packed a large bowl of it into a fresh-keeping container and quickly rushed to Connie’s house.