After spending a short time together, she felt that the Zhou family was quite nice. As expected, Bai Jiu was an excellent judge of character.
"I won’t take advantage of you with these chickens, young lady. Let’s make it one yuan and fifty cents a catty. They only go for about one yuan and twenty cents on the black market anyway. As for the eggs, I’ll just give you five yuan for the lot. How does that sound?" Zhou Daqing offered a price slightly higher than the black market rate. He had already gotten a good deal on the refined grains and didn’t want to shortchange her here.
Bai Jiu was dumbfounded. She wondered why getting five yuan for thirty eggs was so different from what Grandma had told her. Well, no one would complain about selling their goods for a higher price, would they?
"Alright, whatever you say, Brother Zhou," she agreed.
From this single trip to the Zhou family’s home, Bai Jiu made a total of one hundred and sixty yuan. She had to admit, making money on the black market was incredibly fast. Not only did Zhou Daqing give Bai Jiu all the ration coupons he had on him, but he also gave her half of Aunt Zhou’s coupons.
Bai Jiu didn’t plan on selling anything else today. With the coupons in hand and a bamboo basket on her back, she headed straight to the supply and marketing cooperative.
When she arrived, she happened to run into the same saleswoman she had argued with that morning.
"You’re here, miss! I’ll write up your receipt right away." Having learned her lesson that morning, the saleswoman didn’t dare to neglect her this time.
"Alright, sorry for the trouble. But I’ll also need you to get me three enamel mugs, a thermos, ten large bowls, three towels, three toothbrushes, and a tube of toothpaste." There was nothing she could do about it—her house was completely empty.
"Oh my, that’s a lot of things, miss. No wonder you said you’d come back later to buy them." The saleswoman’s mouth twitched upon hearing the list, secretly cursing her as a spendthrift. However, she maintained a fawning expression.
"Mhm." Bai Jiu didn’t want to talk to her anymore; there was nothing to say anyway.
The saleswoman was quite nimble. In no time at all, she packed everything up for Bai Jiu and wrote the receipt. "Miss, that’ll be a total of twenty-two yuan, plus thirty-five industrial coupons."
Bai Jiu pulled two ten-yuan bills from her pocket, then fished out two yuan in small change, consisting of fifty-cent and ten-cent notes. She had already sorted her coupons on the way over, making sure to spend the ones nearing their expiration dates first.
"Here, count it."
The saleswoman took the money and coupons, carefully counting them. It took her a good while to verify the amount. "It’s the exact amount. Take care of your things, miss."
After packing everything into her basket, Bai Jiu went to buy some fabric. She bought both coarse and cotton cloth, though there was no raw cotton for sale. Considering what she had in her spatial dimension, she hadn’t planned on buying any here anyway, especially since she lacked cotton coupons. There were cotton quilts in her dimension; she could simply take one out when the time came.
With clothing sorted out, shoes were next on the list. She bought pairs for herself and the two children, opting for the simplest traditional cotton-padded cloth shoes. They were cheap—only one yuan a pair. The only downside was that they couldn’t be worn outside, as they would get soaked.
Following her shopping spree, Bai Jiu left with her bamboo basket filled to the brim. Unbeknownst to her, the people in the cooperative immediately began gossiping about her the moment she walked out. However, that was none of Bai Jiu’s concern.
On the way back, Bai Jiu felt incredibly hungry, so she took two large meat buns from her dimension and ate them. After washing them down with a bottle of milk, she hurried home. Since she currently lived far from the center of the village, she didn’t run into anyone along the road.
When she returned, the two children weren’t home. Although she didn’t know where they went, Bai Jiu didn’t dawdle. She hurriedly took out all the cumbersome items she had hidden in her dimension and began tidying up.
She pulled out a cotton quilt, some undergarments, and two sets of cotton-padded jackets. The patterns were quite tacky, but that was only by Bai Jiu’s standards. In this era, they were considered high-quality goods. She didn’t dare to take out too much for fear of arousing suspicion, so she only prepared one set for each person. Having bought fabric today, she planned to sew a few more sets of winter clothes for the children later.
Before the children came back, Bai Jiu completely transformed the house. Not only were their daily necessities fully stocked, but the pantry was also filled with food. She even stored a considerable amount of chicken and meat to freeze at home. The stove had been repaired as well. A simple but cozy home had finally taken shape.
Looking at the fruits of her labor, Bai Jiu felt very satisfied. Checking the sky outside, she figured that even though she didn’t know where the children went, the villagers were always running into one another. The two kids had probably just gone to play in the village.
Bai Jiu washed her hands and started cooking dinner. Since the children hadn’t come back for lunch, she decided to serve dinner a bit earlier.
Just as she finished washing the rice, a sound came from outside.
"Why is our door open? Brother, is Mother back?" Xiuxiu was carrying a small bamboo basket on her back. Despite its small size, it was still larger than her frame. The little girl wasn’t even as big as the basket itself. Before they separated from the extended family, they couldn’t even get enough to eat—how could she possibly grow?
"Mother must be back." Zhengyang looked toward the dilapidated courtyard, his footsteps quickening. "Hurry up, let’s go inside."