Then she lay down, listening to the even breathing beside her, and slowly closed her eyes.
Su Yunyi was woken up by Xiao Ze.
“Su Yunyi, get up. I’ll take you to buy chicks.”
Hearing about the chicks, Su Yunyi struggled to open her eyes.
Seeing that she was up, the man lifted the curtain and left the bedroom.
Su Yunyi casually tied her hair into a ponytail, took out a piece of clothing brought from the city from the box, and put it on. She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but the flesh around her waist seemed to be less than when she first arrived.
While brushing her teeth, Su Yunyi watched Xiao Ze wrap the peeled and processed rabbit in something and put it in a backpack, with a bulging package underneath.
She quickly washed her face, put on her small army-green shoulder bag, put a “Da Tuan Jie” (a 10-yuan banknote) in her pocket, and followed Xiao Ze out the door.
The summer days were naturally bright early on. It was just dawn, and Su Yunyi estimated it was no later than six o’clock.
People in this era were truly diligent. The bell hadn’t rung yet, meaning it wasn’t time to go to work. Su Yunyi was still yawning, but there were already villagers working in their small vegetable patches.
Seeing the couple walking one after another with their backpacks, some curious villagers asked, “Xiao Laosan, are you taking your little wife out of the village so early in the morning? You’re not going to sell her, are you?”
Su Yunyi immediately became vigilant.
He had been normal these past few days. Could it be that he was really going to sell her, which was why he hadn’t hit her and had even caught fish and rabbits for her?
Xiao Ze saw the young woman’s obvious nervousness.
He scolded the person rudely, “None of your damn business.”
The person, having been rebuffed, walked away grumbling.
Xiao Ze cleared his throat and explained unnaturally to the girl beside him, “Unless I sell you by the pound, who would I sell you to?”
Bastard.
He was calling her fat.
Su Yunyi’s cheeks puffed up in anger.
However, she was clearly no longer nervous.
“Brother Ze.”
A frivolous voice called out with some uncertainty.
Seeing the person’s appearance clearly, Xiao Ze shielded Su Yunyi behind him, blocking the other person’s gaze.
The newcomer was named Zhang Feifei, a notorious rogue and womanizer in Dahe Village, and also Xiao Ze’s gambling buddy.
Seeing that he didn’t respond, but rather protected the woman behind him.
“Yo, this must be sister-in-law.”
Zhang Feifei grinned lewdly, his eyes fixed on the woman behind Xiao Ze. He had already seen that this young wife’s skin was fair and radiant, and she was very alluring.
Xiao Ze’s sharp eyebrows showed a hint of ferocity, and he clenched his fist: “Mind your eyes. Where are you looking?”
Zhang Feifei sneered dismissively.
“Brother Ze, that’s not nice of you. You’ve only been married for a few days and you can’t get out of bed? You haven’t come to find us brothers for a drink or a game. We just finished.”
Xiao Ze’s expression turned grim, and he shouted, “Watch your mouth from now on. If you don’t know how to speak, shut your stinky mouth.”
Then, he shielded Su Yunyi and walked towards the outskirts of the village.
Watching Xiao Ze and Su Yunyi’s retreating figures, Zhang Feifei’s teasing gaze turned sinister. He sneered, “Xiao Laosan, pretending to be a prodigal son who has turned over a new leaf? I’ll make you lose your pants and then personally deliver your little wife to my bed.”
After walking out of the village, Su Yunyi turned to ask Xiao Ze, “Was that your friend just now?”
“No.”
He was truly a man of few words.
“He doesn’t look like a good person. Can you not hang out with him? Gambling and playing cards are also not good. When you win, you’ll expect to win more, and when you lose, you’ll always want to win back. It’s also not good for your health. Prolonged mental stress will lower your immunity, meaning you’ll get sick easily.”
The girl’s voice was soft and gentle. She earnestly advised him to reform.
Xiao Ze turned to look at her. The girl’s high ponytail revealed her small, jade-like earlobes, and her rosy lips moved as she spoke earnestly.
As if by some strange impulse, he replied, “Mm.”
Su Yunyi thought she had misheard.
Just as she was about to ask for details, the man beside her took a boiled egg out of his pocket and handed it to her.
With her mouth full of egg, Su Yunyi obediently followed Xiao Ze to the commune.
The man skillfully led her through alleys to a place that resembled a market in her previous life.
Here, people set up stalls, placing the goods they wanted to sell in front of them.
Xiao Ze told her to guard the rabbits and sell them, saying he had something to do and would be back soon, then left with his backpack.
Before leaving, he instructed her that if she encountered any police, she should abandon the goods and run.
Su Yunyi then realized that this place was not a market as she had imagined, but a black market.
In those years, trading goods freely could constitute the crime of speculation and profiteering, a crime second only to murder and arson.
After he told her, Su Yunyi felt uneasy, as if she were in a state of constant alert.
At first, she had planned to call out to customers, but now she dared not.
She had already decided that if she couldn’t sell them, she would make them into dried rabbit meat when she got home.
Unexpectedly, after sitting for a while, someone came to ask for the price.
The old lady, seeing her young face, inquired, “Little girl, did you catch this rabbit yourself? Is it fresh?”
“Auntie, this is a litter of rabbits my man caught in the mountains yesterday. There are only these few left. Once they’re sold, there won’t be any more.”
The old lady had initially thought she was some rabbit dealer because she was a young girl. However, seeing her clear eyes and sincere words, she didn’t seem like a liar. Moreover, the rabbits looked plump and large, and the price was reasonable. She bought two at once.
Soon after, a young wife bought all her rabbit pelts, saying she wanted to make gloves for her child to keep warm in winter.
The joy of doing business and making money gradually made her forget her fear, and she enthusiastically introduced customers who inquired about how to cook the rabbits.
The people nearby listened with watering mouths. When she had only one rabbit left, the older brother selling eggs nearby finally couldn’t resist and bought her last rabbit.
She also bought twenty eggs from the older brother. The older brother generously said, “Sister, I sell them for 8 fen each, but you are honest in your business. I’ll charge you 6 fen each.”
Thus, Su Yunyi, having sold the last rabbit and bought eggs, clutched nearly twelve yuan, unfamiliar with the place and afraid to wander around.
She chatted with the older brother next to her. When he heard that she wanted to buy chicks, he enthusiastically offered to take her there.
Just then, Su Yunyi saw Xiao Ze carrying his backpack.
He was tall, taller than everyone around him, with an outstanding appearance, giving him a distinguished air.
Seeing him, Su Yunyi hopped in front of him, tilted her head up, her eyes shining like stars, and excitedly told him, “I sold all the rabbits!”
She even pulled his head down and whispered in his ear, “The rabbits and pelts sold for thirteen yuan in total, and I also bought eggs.”
Xiao Ze looked at her excited expression and swallowed the fact that he had just sold the large catch at the biggest pharmacy for eighty yuan.
“Keep the money from selling the rabbits. Let’s go buy chicks now.”