Yuan Ni grabbed hold of the object tightly, finally saving it from a fate of being shattered to pieces.
It was an old pickled-vegetable jar, round-mouthed with a flat bottom, its entire body black and grimy, giving off an indescribable smell of salt and sourness.
“Hey, you two should watch where you’re going.”
The owner of the pickle jar was a middle-aged woman. She had been bumped quite hard and was rubbing her waist while complaining.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.” Mother quickly apologized—it was indeed her carelessness.
Yuan Ni smiled and returned the pickle jar to its owner. “We collect scrap. Auntie, do you have any toothpaste tubes or old newspapers at home?”
“I do. By the way, do you take jars?”
Yuan Ni looked troubled. “You don’t mean this one, do you? This is porcelain—the scrap station won’t take it. But I can throw it away for you while I’m at it.”
“Oh, I knew they wouldn’t take it. Fine then, help me toss it out. I’ll go get the newspapers for you right now. By the way, how do you price the newspapers?”
“Six catties of newspapers for one catty of eggs, or you can trade for something else.” Yuan Ni pointed at the cart.
The middle-aged woman took a look and saw that the cart was quite well-stocked. “Alright then, I’ll bring out my scrap and we can discuss the trade.”
“Okay.”
Soon, the middle-aged woman came out carrying a big pile of stuff.
Yuan Ni didn’t have the patience for haggling over these little odds and ends, so she left it to Mother to handle.
The two women squatted on the ground, picking through items and bargaining with endless fuss, until finally a deal was reached.
The middle-aged woman walked away carrying a dozen or so eggs.
Following the middle-aged woman’s lead, quite a few more people came, some even bringing broken iron pots.
After a busy afternoon, all the remaining eggs had been traded away.
Yuan Ni noticed that people in the city residential compounds preferred eggs, while the villagers favored enamel basins, soap, and daily necessities.
Mother had successfully closed several scrap deals and was feeling much more confident. “Ni, let’s head back. We need to hurry—we still have to drop things off at the purchasing station.”
After leaving the residential compound, Yuan Ni’s Mother was about to throw away the pickle jar. “Let’s toss it out now—it smells awful.”
Yuan Ni quickly stopped her. After a whole afternoon of work, this was the most valuable item of all—she couldn’t let Mother throw it away.
“Keep it for now. I have a use for it.” Yuan Ni said, packing the jar into a cardboard box.
Yuan Ni’s Mother nodded. “That’s true—it can still be used after a good scrub.”
That was Mother’s best quality: although she didn’t understand much, she was willing to listen to Yuan Ni.
At this early stage, Yuan Ni needed exactly this kind of helper—someone who wouldn’t have too many ideas of their own, just obedient and reliable.
On the way home, they happened to pass by the scrap purchasing station. Yuan Ni stopped the cart and had Mother watch the goods while she carried the scrap she’d collected inside in several trips.
As luck would have it, the same master who had bought the copper ingots was on duty.
This old master was a kind man. He casually sorted through the scrap and told Yuan Ni, “Separate them, then put them straight on the scale.”
Toothpaste tubes, newspapers, and scrap iron—all were weighed by the catty.
First weighing, then calculating.
“…That comes to eight yuan and thirty cents in total. Little girl, I remember you came by a few days ago, didn’t you?” The old master remembered Yuan Ni.
“Yes, I’m from the village. I collect scrap now and then. I’ll be coming by often in the future—please take care of me.”
“Labor is the most glorious thing. Picking up scrap is nothing to be ashamed of—turning waste into treasure earns you money and answers the nation’s call. Don’t worry, as long as what you bring is up to standard, I’ll definitely take it.” The old master said with a chuckle.
Yuan Ni wanted exactly those words from him.
She was counting on the purchasing station to make money, so she needed to maintain good relations with them.
When the mother and daughter returned home, they happened to catch Maternal Grandfather hauling bricks to the house.
With money, things were easy to arrange. Maternal Grandfather had settled on a price with the neighboring brick kiln, and today he had brought back the bricks and tiles.
Everyone in the production brigade knew that the Chen family’s daughter had divorced and was coming back to live at home for good.
As for Maternal Grandfather’s actions, some approved, while others muttered complaints.
After all, Yuan Ni’s Mother was a married daughter who had been given away. The saying was to encourage reconciliation, not separation—how could her natal family help a married-out daughter build a house?
But those grumblings could only be whispered behind the Chen family’s backs. No one dared say them to their faces.
Because Eldest Uncle Chen had big fists and loved bringing his brothers along to “reason” with people.
“Guiying, the new house will be built right here. This used to be the livestock shed—do you mind?” Maternal Grandfather said cheerfully, pointing at the old sheep pen, letting Yuan Ni’s Mother decide the spot.
The Chen family had many members, and they had long since built rooms in a circle around the courtyard.
Only the old sheep pen was empty, so building the new house there was perfect.
“I don’t mind at all. This spot is good—facing south with its back to the north, it’ll be warm in winter.”
Once the location was settled, Maternal Grandfather began arranging the schedule and preparing to start construction.
The Chen family had plenty of men, so they could handle building the house themselves. Outsiders coming to help would only get in the way.
“Then let’s start tomorrow. At worst, we’ll earn a few less work points,” Eldest Uncle suggested.
There wasn’t much work lately, and even those who went to the fields couldn’t earn full work points. Some of the lazier villagers were already resting at home.
No one had any objections, and the matter of building the house was settled.
Taking advantage of the free evening, Yuan Ni scrubbed the pickled vegetable jar clean and returned to the room to study it carefully.
Judging by the heat radiating from her palm, this jar’s preciousness was second only to the Tang celadon bowl.
So, which dynasty’s treasure was it?
The oil lamp was too dim, and Yuan Ni’s eyes were growing sore from straining.
Yuan Ni’s Mother shook her head, rubbed the awl against her hair, and continued sewing the shoe sole. “You never stop with this junk-collecting. Still examining it so closely? I don’t believe you can make flowers bloom from such a broken jar.”
If conditions allowed, Yuan Ni wouldn’t have chosen to study it in front of everyone.
But the current situation was that she and her sisters would have to share a single room for quite a long time.
So Yuan Ni needed everyone to get used to it—and to help her keep the secret.
“Big Sister likes it, so let her look at it,” Zhaodie said supportively.
Pandie nodded along. “I like jars too.”
“Fine, fine, fine. You all like them. Then tomorrow we’ll find a bigger box, specially for broken jars and chipped bowls…”
As the sisters chattered merrily, someone suddenly knocked on the door. “Third Sister, are you in there? I want to talk to you about something.”
Outside the door was the voice of Little Uncle Chen Xuewen.
Yuan Ni quickly hid the jar away before letting her mother open the door. She didn’t want Little Uncle to discover her secret.
“Xuewen, what’s the matter?”
Ever since Chen Xuewen had urged Yuan Ni’s Mother to vacate the house, the relationship between brother and sister had cooled.
Though neither owed the other anything, Yuan Ni’s Mother had returned to her natal family in distress—life wasn’t easy for her. If Chen Xuewen wasn’t going to offer warmth at a time like this, he at least shouldn’t have piled on more hardship.
Chen Xuewen held a few walnuts in his hand. With an awkward smile, he placed them on the table. “Yuan Ni, these are for you.”
Yuan Ni was now someone with a bankbook—she couldn’t care less about a few walnuts. Even Zhaodie and Pandie remained unimpressed.
Seeing that his mother and sisters all wore cold expressions, Chen Xuewen awkwardly rubbed his hands together and let out a few dry laughs before finally speaking up.
“Sis, I want to discuss something with you. Since our family is about to build a new house, could you let me have it?
You know, I’m getting married next month, and having a new house would look much better…”