“Yes, yes. Tomorrow I’ll have that kid send everything over to you. Big sister, you’re really amazing.”
A mother will always worry when her son runs into trouble. At this moment, Wang Dazhi’s mother felt fortunate that she had shared the honey sweet potatoes with Yang Yufen back then.
“It’s just that your nephew grows good honey sweet potatoes. There just wasn’t anyone who knew their value. Now, the ones who recognize quality have come,” Yang Yufen said modestly.
She didn’t stay long, worried about Qin Nian at home. She even started wondering whether she should still go out and sell sweet potatoes the next day.
Nian Nian’s condition wasn’t good. Yang Yufen gritted her teeth—she wouldn’t go. She would wait until her daughter-in-law stopped vomiting before she went back to selling, even though it was a pity for the newly prepared stove.
In the middle of the night, Qin Nian vomited again. She had barely eaten anything, and now even stomach acid came up.
Yang Yufen even decided not to keep the remaining two thousand jin of sweet potatoes anymore. Making money was nothing compared to her daughter-in-law’s health; they still had enough money at home.
Early the next morning, Yang Yufen planned to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to see if they had any canned fruit. Qin Nian had only managed a little plain boiled noodles for breakfast; she couldn’t even stand the smell of eggs, yet still insisted on going to work, which made Yang Yufen’s heart ache.
But just as she stepped out of the residential compound gate, she saw Xiao Zhang squatting there.
“Yang Auntie, why are you out so early? Didn’t we agree on eight o’clock?”
Xiao Zhang spotted her immediately.
“It is eight. It’s only seven now. How long have you been here?”
Yang Yufen noticed frost forming on his hair.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d come early,” he said.
Mainly, he was afraid that if he came late, his parents would find out he wasn’t at work.
“You came so early—have you prepared the stove and everything?”
Yang Yufen suddenly asked. Xiao Zhang instinctively shook his head.
“Forget it. It’s also fate. My daughter-in-law is suffering from severe morning sickness, so I won’t be going out to sell roasted sweet potatoes for now. I can rent the stove to you. When she feels better, I’ll still need it back.”
As soon as she said this, Xiao Zhang’s eyes lit up. It was exactly what he needed.
“Really? That’s great! Don’t worry, Auntie Yang, I’ll take good care of it. I won’t damage it at all. If anything happens, I’ll make you a new one.”
He was very excited.
“Can I rent your tricycle too?”
Yang Yufen shook her head. “That’s borrowed too.”
“Then can I buy your remaining sweet potatoes? I won’t lower the price—just your retail price.”
Even though there was no discount, he would still make a profit.
Yang Yufen didn’t immediately agree. Seeing this, Xiao Zhang quickly continued:
“Auntie, someone as kind as you is rare. Your daughter-in-law is truly blessed. But morning sickness doesn’t get better in just a day or two. And if it snows, going out will be even more dangerous. If you’re running back and forth, your daughter-in-law will worry too. Please, take pity on me and sell me the sweet potatoes.”
Hearing this, Yang Yufen nodded.
“You’re right. But don’t spread this around—we already made a deal yesterday.”
“Don’t worry, my mouth is sealed tight,” Xiao Zhang quickly promised.
Money matters like this couldn’t be leaked anyway. He was already worried—the honey sweet potatoes sold well, but there wasn’t enough stock to last until the end of the year. And New Year’s was the real peak season.
“Auntie… my dear auntie… can I take the stove now?”
“If you take it, you’ll need a cart first. I still have to go to the supply store. Another person will come later—you should avoid bumping into each other and making it too obvious.”
“Got it, I’ll go right away!”
With Xiao Zhang gone, Yang Yufen quickly rode off on her tricycle.
The supply and marketing cooperative had just opened when she squeezed in.
She didn’t even ask prices—just bought whatever looked useful: canned fruit, sour pickles, hawthorn snacks.
Nothing is truly inedible; as long as it can be eaten, it’s good enough. Otherwise, how did she grow so strong and raise Shen Xiangjun?
There was no malted milk powder or fresh fruit to be found, but she still managed to buy a few things. She also picked up three lunch boxes.
She loaded everything onto her tricycle and rushed out as quickly as she came.
By the time she returned to the residential gate, both Wang Dazhi and Xiao Zhang had already arrived.
“Wait here. I’ll take you in to sign first.”
She brought them to the security office, then led them inside.
There were only about a thousand jin of sweet potatoes left. They had agreed to split them equally, so they packed and carried them onto their carts.
Raw sweet potatoes were being sold by Yang Yufen at 0.15 yuan per jin, but she sold them to them at 0.13 yuan per jin. One thousand jin came to 130 yuan total, 65 yuan each.
Wang Dazhi hurried off with his goods to start business. Xiao Zhang, however, waited outside the compound for a while longer.
Yang Yufen came out with lunch boxes hanging on her tricycle and the stove loaded behind.
“You can take it. Pay a 10 yuan deposit and use it for a month. It’s more convenient to have your own stove if you’re doing business.”
“Thank you, Auntie.”
Xiao Zhang handed over the 10 yuan and loaded the stove onto his cart. Yang Yufen even gave him some charcoal—enough for a full day.
After collecting the money, Yang Yufen rode off with an empty tricycle toward the research institute.
“Please help me send these lunch boxes to my daughter-in-law. I’ll bring lunch again at noon.”
The security staff looked at the two lunch boxes—this weight, surely it must be food?
They still checked them anyway. Inside was peeled, cut fruit in one box, and roasted sweet potatoes in the other.
When Qin Nian heard that the security office had delivered something for her, she was slightly stunned. She wasn’t feeling well that day either; she hadn’t eaten much, so there wasn’t much to throw up, but she still felt weak and exhausted.
“Your mother-in-law sent you lunch again? And so early—it’s not even ten yet,” her colleague said.
Qin Nian nodded. She didn’t feel like eating much, but she still opened it out of appreciation.
When she saw the fruit, she paused. There was no fruit at home—so her mother-in-law must have gone out early in the morning to buy it.
There were even bamboo sticks inserted neatly, clearly prepared by her mother-in-law herself.
“Your mother-in-law treats you really well. She’s like a real mother. If it were my mom, she’d never bother peeling fruit for me,” her colleague said.
“She really is good to me,” Qin Nian replied.
She used a bamboo stick to pick up a piece of fruit. It was sweet and sour, slightly cool, and it didn’t upset her stomach.
She then opened the other box—it was roasted sweet potato. After eating fruit, she suddenly felt like she could manage a bite.
“I’ll share one with you. I can’t finish it anyway, and it won’t taste as good when it’s cold,” Qin Nian said, handing one to her colleague.
“Then I’ll take advantage of you,” her colleague laughed.
The roasted sweet potatoes were small on purpose—perfect for snacks.