Electricity hadn’t even been connected yet, and cell phones were completely out of the question. Once it got dark, the only thing to do was sleep. No wonder the birth rate was so high in this era.
The next day, Bai Jiu got up in the dark before dawn, around five o’clock. Winter mornings were late to brighten, and at five, it was still pitch black outside. She couldn’t see a thing. Since it took about two hours to walk from the production team’s village to the county town, and there were no other forms of transportation, she had to get up early; otherwise, she wouldn’t make it back by noon.
After starting the fire and getting the charcoal glowing, she buried a few sweet potatoes in the ashes and wrapped four eggs just like she had yesterday. This way, the children wouldn’t go hungry when they woke up. The two kids were surprisingly capable of taking care of themselves. If they weren’t, given how neglectful the original owner of this body had been, they wouldn’t have survived this long.
At worst, she would miss half a day’s work. Although she would earn a little less, she had her spatial dimension. Even if she received a smaller share of the grain rations, it wouldn’t kill her.
Walking in the dark still gave Bai Jiu the creeps, but for the sake of their livelihood, she had to brace herself and keep moving. The harsh winter wind stung her face. She pulled an old-fashioned down jacket from her space—one that matched the style of the era—and put it on, finally feeling a trace of warmth. When she reached the county town, she needed to buy some fabric to take back so the three of them could survive the winter.
By the time she arrived in the county town, it was broad daylight. Fortunately, she had eaten something on the way, or she would never have made it through the long walk. However, upon seeing the town, she felt a wave of deep disappointment. The county town of this era was completely different from what she had imagined.
In this era, before the college entrance exams were even reinstated, a county town was worse off than a modern small town. The streets were dilapidated, lined with single-story houses on both sides. There were absolutely no high-rise buildings like in modern times. Not only was the infrastructure poor, but even the pedestrians looked travel-worn and emaciated. They only seemed slightly cleaner and tidier than the villagers back home.
After entering the main road, she noticed quite a few shops open on both sides: a supply and marketing cooperative, a state-run restaurant, a post office, and the like. Slogans typical of the era were plastered on the walls.
Bai Jiu knew exactly what she needed before she arrived. Upon entering the supply and marketing cooperative, she headed straight for the items she sought. The layout of the cooperative was just like in the TV shows. There were various large cabinets with transparent glass doors, displaying a wide array of goods that could be seen at a glance.
"Excuse me, do you sell pots?" Bai Jiu asked. The thing her family needed most right now was a pot; without one, she couldn’t even cook.
Since it was early morning and there were no discounted goods on sale, the cooperative was mostly empty. The salesclerk lazily lifted her eyes to glance at Bai Jiu standing at the counter. Judging by her clothes, she didn’t look like a city dweller. Given her attire, the clerk couldn’t even be bothered to acknowledge her.
"Yes, we do. Are you buying? They’re very expensive. If you can’t afford it, don’t ask." Her attitude was incredibly arrogant.
Bai Jiu was speechless. If someone had an attitude like that in modern times, they would have been beaten to death by angry customers long ago. She was just a salesclerk, yet she acted like she owned the cooperative.
"What, do you know for a fact I can’t afford it? Do you know how much money I have?" Bai Jiu wasn’t about to indulge her. What was her problem?
The salesclerk hadn’t expected the customer to be so fierce and was startled by her tone. "Ten yuan, plus ten industrial tickets."
In this era, buying things required more than just money; it required ration tickets. Eating out required grain tickets, buying fabric required cloth tickets, and even buying sugar required sugar tickets. Aside from some discounted goods, most items required tickets.
Bai Jiu frowned upon hearing this. She had completely forgotten about that rule. She really didn’t have any tickets. There was still half a month before she would receive Gao Zhijun’s allowance, so she genuinely couldn’t get her hands on any tickets at the moment.
Seeing Bai Jiu’s reaction, the salesclerk wore an "I knew it" expression. Her face was full of disgust as she sneered, "I told you not to ask if you couldn’t afford it. Some people just insist on asking anyway. See? A peasant is just a peasant. You don’t have any money, but you still want to play rich..."
Bai Jiu didn’t have tickets and truly couldn’t buy it, but this woman’s words were infuriating. That attitude of hers was just too much.
"Comrade, watch your mouth. What’s wrong with being a peasant? Did a peasant eat your family’s rice? If there were no peasants, what would you city folk eat? What would you drink? Do you think the grain in the fields grows itself?
"Hah! A salesclerk is technically a state employee, yet here you are, blatantly engaging in class discrimination and looking down on farmers." After speaking, Bai Jiu slammed her hand heavily on the glass counter in front of her.
The salesclerk jumped in fright, but what terrified her even more were Bai Jiu’s words. Being labeled with class discrimination carried severe consequences. She could very well lose her job and even implicate her family.
"Comrade, I’m sorry, I was wrong! I wasn’t thinking before I spoke. Please be the bigger person and don’t hold it against me. I wasn’t engaging in class discrimination! Don’t worry, I promise to correct my attitude from now on!" The salesclerk was terrified and hurriedly apologized.
Bai Jiu really didn’t have the tickets, and she knew that the salesclerk’s attitude was the norm for this era, so she decided to drop the matter. She had only been trying to scare her anyway.
"Alright, since you know you were wrong, we’ll let this pass. Let’s hope there isn’t a next time. Don’t embarrass the state."
"Yes, yes, yes, Comrade, I was wrong. I will definitely change my ways," the salesclerk agreed repeatedly.
Having money but no tickets meant there was no point in staying any longer. Left with no choice, Bai Jiu prepared to leave.
Seeing her walking away, the salesclerk hastily called out, "Comrade, aren’t you going to buy the pot?"
"I’ll come back to buy it later. If I buy it now, I won’t be able to carry it around." Bai Jiu couldn’t exactly admit that she didn’t have any tickets. She sighed inwardly.
After exiting the cooperative, Bai Jiu began pondering where she could get some industrial tickets. Otherwise, today’s trip would have been for nothing. Generally, only people who worked in the city had these kinds of tickets. It would indeed be quite difficult for her to get her hands on some.
A heavy sigh escaped her lips.
Apart from the supply and marketing cooperative, pots couldn’t be bought anywhere else. Even if someone were selling one, it would be second-hand. She certainly didn’t want to buy a second-hand pot.