In the span of one morning, Su Xiaoruan successfully sold three more braised pig trotters, two smoked chickens, and five roast ducks.
All these things were taken from the cooked food section of the Supermarket.
There were quite a lot of these Things piled up; there were several kinds of smoked chicken alone, and dozens in stock for each kind.
Su Xiaoruan earned eighteen yuan from the sales this time.
In those years, if one wanted to eat meat, they needed Meat Tickets.
But the items Su Xiaoruan brought out didn't require tickets, so naturally, they sold for a higher price, yet the taste was excellent. Anyone who got close enough to smell them would immediately pull out money to buy.
Su Xiaoruan secretly chuckled in her heart, how could it not be fragrant?
She had added so many Seasonings when cooking these; they were certainly the kind that made people unable to stop eating.
Su Xiaoruan put the money away safely and then slowly walked toward the east entrance of the Town.
When she came, she rode the Village's Ox Cart; going back now, she naturally had to take the Ox Cart too. Otherwise, relying on just her two legs would make her doubt the meaning of life.
Su Xiaoruan took two Meat buns from the Supermarket's cooked food section and deliberately heated them up.
She ate one herself, and handed the other to Third Master, who was driving the cart.
Third Master also had the surname Su, belonging to the same generation as Grandma Su and her husband, making him a cousin to Grandpa Su.
"This won't do, these Things are too precious. You should eat them yourself. You're still growing!"
"Third Grandfather, please eat it. I bought several. I ate one, and I also brought some for Grandma and my Parents."
Saying this, Su Xiaoruan, afraid he wouldn't believe her, deliberately lifted the cloth cover on the Bamboo basket to let him take a look.
When Third Master saw that there were indeed edibles inside, he stopped refusing and accepted it.
However, he didn't eat it.
In those days, Meat buns were good Things.
Especially the Meat buns from the State-run Restaurant—they were very substantial, with plenty of meat inside, fragrant with every bite.
Third Master intended to take it back to share with his Old Woman, so he wrapped it carefully in oiled paper and placed it close to his heart.
Su Xiaoruan felt a pang of heartache seeing this. Her Supermarket was piled high with all sorts of delicious food, but she couldn't openly take it out, which was incredibly frustrating.
Soon, the people who had come to the Town for business all returned one by one.
After Third Master counted the people, he drove the cart back.
Although riding the Ox Cart was a bit bumpy, at least it wasn't exhausting, and since it was open-air, there was no chance of motion sickness.
Li Hongxing sat right next to Su Xiaoruan. She was a bit taller than Su Xiaoruan and craned her neck to peek into Su Xiaoruan's Bamboo basket, but she couldn't see anything.
"Xiaoruan, what did you buy?"
"Just some common things, some Seasonings and such."
Li Hongxing clearly didn't believe her and pouted, "Our Village's Supply and Marketing Cooperative has these Things; why bother coming all the way to the Town?"
Su Xiaoruan smiled faintly, "They have some, but they aren't complete."
Su Xiaoruan knew what kind of Temperament Li Hongxing had, so she didn't plan on saying much more to her.
But Li Hongxing clearly wasn't planning to give up just like that, and pressed for details, "Isn't it just Oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar? What's so incomplete about it?"
Su Xiaoruan just smiled and remained silent.
Li Hongxing became displeased, feeling that this Su Xiaoruan was looking down on her. She had actively tried to speak to her, yet the other dared to ignore her—that was too much!
Su Xiaoruan had no idea what she was sulking about; she was entirely focused on how to explain things to her grandmother when she got back.
After Su Xiaoruan arrived home, she handed the money and tickets she earned to her grandmother.
Upon seeing these, Grandma Su immediately shut the door.
"Ruan Bao, tell Grandma the truth, how did you get this money?"
Su Xiaoruan knew her grandmother would press for details.
With no other choice, she naturally revealed some of her ability in front of her.
"Grandma, look."
As soon as she spoke, a smoked chicken, a roast duck, and one braised pig trotter appeared on the Kang Table.
This thoroughly frightened Grandma Su!
"You, what is this?"
"Grandma, didn't I tell you that when I fell into the water before, I heard the Old Master say he would give me a blessing? Actually, this blessing is a place where I can hide Things. I don't know where this place is, but I found that only I can see it, and only I can enter and exit it freely."
As soon as Su Xiaoruan finished speaking and thought about it again, the Things on the Kang Table vanished.
Grandma Su clutched her chest, clearly startled.
This was too terrifying!
These Things could appear and disappear just by thought?
"Grandma, these Things were given to me by the Old Master last night. He gave me a lot, and I felt our family couldn't eat it all. I was worried it would spoil, so I took some to the Town to sell today."
Grandma Su looked at the money in her hand and immediately understood.
"You keep this money. You earned it yourself; Grandma cannot take it."
Su Xiaoruan shook her head, "Grandma, please keep it. Once our family saves one hundred yuan, we'll go to the County to open a Savings Passbook."
Grandma Su was amused when she heard this.
The little girl had quite some ambition.
"Fine, you can leave this money with me for now. However, I need to explain some things to your older Brothers, so you must listen to me, understand?"
Su Xiaoruan didn't know what Grandma was planning, but she nodded, indicating she would certainly be obedient.
At Noon, Grandma Su asked Su Xiaoruan to take out one smoked chicken.
Su Xiangnan and Su Xiangbei were at school and only returned once a week; this one chicken would be enough for the few of them to eat well.
"Today is only Wednesday, and the children Xiangnan and Xiangbei are always reluctant to eat well. We still have one smoked chicken at home. When you finish work this Afternoon, borrow the Production Brigade's Bicycle and go to the County to deliver one to those two brothers to replenish their strength."
Su Jianye had no reason to refuse and quickly nodded in agreement.
This time, everyone was smart enough not to ask about the origin of this smoked chicken again.
They all assumed they knew the truth—it must have been sent by Eldest Uncle.
Su Xiangdong was called into the room by Grandma Su for a private talk.
"Xiangdong, you are their Eldest Brother and you are educated. I won't hide it from you; the smoked chicken we are eating today was brought by your younger sister."
Su Xiangdong was startled, "Ruan Bao? Where did she get the connections? No, even if she had connections, she would still need Money vouchers!"
"Don't worry about that. Your younger sister has great fortune ahead of her. It's not just this; the Rice and Flour we ate before were also brought by this girl. Since you are her Eldest Brother, after eating her food, you must remember her kindness, understand?"
Su Xiangdong didn't hesitate and nodded immediately, "Grandma, don't worry. Ruan Bao is my own younger sister; I will definitely protect her."
"Mm, you are a good one. Grandma knows you have ability; once the family saves up money, I'll buy you a Job in the city."